[ meanwhile, in direct contrast, charles not only has no need to breathe, but also "running for his afterlife" is a regular, run-of-the-mill, every third day of the week type of an activity for him — but he slows their pace to let junpei catch his breath, while very genuinely wondering if it'd just be quicker for him to carry him. ]

Not a bad idea. That was a right proper throw. [ his earnest little compliment aside, ] I know. [ he grips his bat tighter as he says, ] Pretty sure that's a smaller version of a snake that was fed little girls on the regular. The only upside to this whole thing is that the witch isn't here —

[ that's all that charles manages to say, before a rattling sound cuts him off; the snake's taken a different route, not following them directly but rather rounding the block the other way around, and charles has just the time to let go of junpei's hand and say one single fuck before the snake's tail smashes right into him and sends him flying straight into the nearest building, the sound of breaking glass mingling with the snake's hissing as he forgets to phase through the building and breaks the window instead.

it's okay, he's fine, it looks far more dramatic than it is — the snake's fangs would have done some real damage, but this is just damage to the property and not him. ]