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Stolas sat on the hospital bed, now dressed in his own clothes. It was time to go home. Via had brought the clothes over a few days earlier. Stolas had asked Blitzo to give him a ride home; not that he wasn’t well enough to create a portal, he just wanted the company of someone he could trust.
A nurse knocked on the door. “Are we all dressed here?” she asked in a kind voice. Stolas nodded.
“I’m going to remove your cannula now. You might feel a little sting, but it will be over in a moment.”
Again, Stolas nodded. The nurse wheeled over a low, black stool and sat down next to him, removing the adhesive tape. Stolas stared at the cannula as it was pulled out of the vein, but his mind felt blank. The nurse taped a folded-up piece of absorbent material over the insertion point and asked Stolas to apply pressure on it. She explained that pressure would make it stop bleeding faster.
“Here are some pads you can take home with you. Make sure to exchange it every 8 hours, more often if needed. 12 hours is the absolute maximum. The discharge should stop within a week but if you are still experiencing bloody discharge after 7 days, be sure to give us a call. And here’s a card with the appointment for your stitches’ removal. Are you still with me, your highness?”
“Uh – Yes, thank you.” Stolas clutched the pack of sanitary napkins, trying not to drop it.
“Do you have any questions?”
“No. Thank you.”
“Alright. Our orderly will be with you in a minute. Our hospital policy demands that all patients remain in a wheelchair until outside the entrance. It’s a standard procedure, not that we doubt your ability to walk or anything.”
“I understand. Thank you.”
After the nurse left, Stolas checked his phone. “Wating by the cunter”, was the most recent message from Blitzo.
The orderly arrived soon after, a hellhound. After asking for permission, he scooped up Stolas as if he weighed nothing and set him down in the wheelchair. Stolas knew that he could have easily moved to the chair himself, but he didn’t want to be difficult. Hospital policy.
After a short elevator ride, they were in the lobby. Stolas could see Blitzo from afar and his heart leapt. Once Blitzo saw him, he waved awkwardly in a way that brought back memories of their first encounter as adults.
“Heya Stolas”, Blitzo said, fiddling with the keys. “You good?”
Stolas just nodded.
“If you just sign here, your highness”, the nurse at the counter said, holding out a clipboard with a pen. Stolas realized he was still clutching the package of sanitary napkins like a plushie.
“Yes, of course”, he muttered, taking the release form. “Thank you.” He signed his name with the usual flourish and handed the clipboard back.
“Here are your personal belongings.” The nurse handed him two plastic bags marked “EVIDENCE”. Stolas turned them over in his hands. Even through the plastic, he could faintly smell a trace of blood. His blood.
The first bag contained the remains of the clothes he had been wearing when Striker attacked him. He knew even without looking that they were torn and soiled beyond redemption. But it was the second bag that made his blood run cold. He lifted it up in the air and he could see white light emitted from the rope within. It made his skin tingle like a sunburn. He wanted to drop it, but his talons curled up involuntarily around the bag, and he could feel his own pulse against his fingertips. His heart was pounding too fast and his lips suddenly felt dry.
“Stolas. STOLAS!” It was Blitzo. Stolas turned his head in a daze, wondering how long he had been trying to catch his attention. He tried to speak but found his beak curl up into a sad grimace. The next thing he knew, tears were streaming down his cheeks, and he was shaking like a leaf. He clenched his beak.
Blitzo forced the evidence bag out of his clenched hand and shoved it up to the face of the nurse behind the counter, who recoiled. He practically had to vault himself over the counter with one hand like a gymnast, given how tall it was.
“Just what the fuck were you dipshits thinking?! Do you have any idea what seeing this does to him?!”
“It’s a standard policy”, the nurse stuttered, eyes widening. ”We’re obligated to- “
“I don’t give a fuck about your stupid policy! Can’t you see he’s suffering? You did this!” Blitzo was practically rubbing the bag against the woman’s face.
“Sir, if you won’t calm down, I’m going to have to call security.”
“Fuck security, and don’t you ‘sir’ me. You’re going to apologize to Stolas or else.” Blitzo moved his coat aside, revealing the handle of his pistol. By this point the nurse was on the floor, reaching for the security call button under the desk, while the orderly grabbed Blitzo by the armpits like a cranky toddler and pulled him back. Blitzo was flailing his limbs, screaming a hurl of obscenities. In an instant, they were surrounded by hellhound guards, closing in on Blitzo with tazers and yelling at him to stand down.
Stolas saw the events unfold in slow motion. His ears were ringing. He was struggling internally to snap out of his panic attack and in the end, the only way out was to shift into his eldritch form. He morphed into a dark abomination with countless red eyes, filling the lobby with darkness and eliciting screams from the people present. He engulfed Blitzo, causing the hellhound holding him to fall backwards.
“Enough! You will not harm him! Stand down, everybody, stand down!” His eldritch voice was commanding, without any trace of the panic that plagued him in his bird form.
The security guards fell on their knees in reverence, dropping their tazers and trembling.
When everything was clear, Stolas shrunk back to his original form, still holding Blitzo protectively.
“I’m sorry for the commotion. Let’s put this behind us and forget anything happened.”
“Stolas, why the fuck are you apologizing to them? They should apologize to you!” Blitzo broke free of his embrace, clearly seething. Stolas couldn’t bear to look him in the eye.
“We’ve caused enough of a scene as it is. Let’s just forget all this and go.”
Blitzo gathered the items that had fallen on the floor and Stolas sat back down. The orderly was too stunned to stand, so Blitzo put the items on Stolas’ lap, save for the angelic rope, and grabbed the handles of the wheelchair, wheeling him to the exit.
“W-wait, your highness!” The nurse was running after them. “Hospital policy demands that – “
“Fuck your policy!” Blitzo snarled.
“Blitzo. It’s alright.” Stolas patted the back of his hand soothingly.
“Hospital policy demands that we remove your identity bracelet to prove that you have been discharged instead of ran off.”
“Yes, of course.” Stolas held out his hand, and the nurse cut the bracelet, her hands trembling.
“Once again, I’m sorry for the inconvenience. Have a nice day, ma’am”, Stolas said.
Blitzo wheeled him out the door and stopped at the top of the stairs.
“Welp. That was a fuckfest. Can you walk?”
“I think so.” Stolas wasn’t quite sure, but when he stood up, his knees were steady.
“Okay, good. The van is in the 30-minute slot, but we’ve got time, y’know, in case you need to take it slow.”
“I’m fine, Blitzo. Thanks for coming to pick me up.”
“Yeah, no problem.” Blitzo wrapped his hand around Stolas’ hips. Stolas noticed he was holding onto the rope bag with his free hand but didn’t say anything.
When they got to the van, Stolas sat by Blitzo, a bunch of items on his lap. During the drive he tried to explain himself, but Blitzo cut him short, saying it was alright. After that, they just sat in silence. Stolas thought about asking if he could turn on the radio, but he didn’t want to bother him. He fiddled with his hands, casting an occasional glance at his companion, who was clutching the steering wheel so hard that the skin was visibly tight around his knuckles.
Along the way, Stolas thought about his first day at the hospital. An officer had come to see him and explained that they took some samples and photographs while he was under anesthesia. The thought of it made Stolas feel uncomfortable; That there were pictures of his private area on some hard drive. He imagined all the instruments shoved inside of his unconscious body. The officer had explained it was standard procedure in this sort of case. He ensured they would do everything they could to capture Striker and bring him to justice, but the trail had gone cold. He was talking about posting around-the-clock security around the palace once the prince was discharged. In case the perpetrator came back.
“We’re here.” Blitzo pulled into park. He circled around to the other side and opened the door for Stolas, helping him step down. “Would you like me to escort you?”
“Yes, I would like that, as long as it’s not too much of an inconvenience for you.”
“Pfft, shut up.” Blitzo waved his hand dismissively, trying to sound humorous. For a moment, he reached out his hand as if about to touch Stolas, but then pulled back, sticking his hand in his pocket instead.
They walked over to the door, Stolas huddling a bunch of items against his chest. Blitzo was still carrying the rope. As they opened the door, Octavia was there to greet them. She wasn’t wearing her usual headphones, which meant this was a special occasion. Stolas could only take a few steps into the hall before Via rushed over to hug him. He dropped what he was carrying, (save for his phone), and hugged her back.
“I’m so happy to see you, my Starfire”, Stolas mumbled into her hair.
“I’m glad you’re home, Dad.”
“Is… Stella here?” Stolas asked cautiously, pulling back from the embrace.
“No. I know you would rather not see Mum, so I convinced her not to come.” Via stared at her feet, obviously uncomfortable.
“Thank you, darling.” Stolas touched her cheek briefly.
As they were talking, one of the servants discreetly gathered the discarded objects from the floor and was standing in attention, waiting for instructions.
“I’ll take that card. You can put the um… hygiene products in my chambers and as for the clothes, burn them. And dispose of the bag.”
The servant bowed, handing over the appointment card.
“You are dismissed.”
The servant nodded and flitted down the hall.
“Dad, you look tired. Would you like me to ask the servants to tend to your guest?”
Stolas felt confused for a second before he realized Octavia was talking about Blitzo. He turned around, finding Blitzo still standing by the door, his tail wrapped around his ankles, eyes wandering restlessly.
“Would you like to stay for tea?” Stolas asked while walking back over to Blitzo.
“Nah, I should get back to the office. What do you want me to do with this?”
The bag.
“I’ll put it some place safe. Are you absolutely positive you can’t stay?”
“Yeah, sorry, we’ve got paperwork piling up.” He shifted weight from one foot to the other. “I really should get going.” Blitzo handed over the bag, holding it between his index finger and thumb like a dirty sock.
“Well, I won’t hold you back any longer. Thank you for the ride.”
“No problem. Bye, Stols.” Blitzo touched the back of his hand briefly, running his thumb over Stolas’ knuckles before turning on his heels and hurrying out the door.
“Dad, what’s that?”
Stolas hid the evidence bag under his cloak, feeling the holy heat even through his tunic.
“It’s nothing, dear. Nothing to worry about.”
“Alright, Dad.” She sounded suspicious but didn’t press the matter.
“I must retire to my chambers, dear. Will I see you at lunch?”
“I’ll be there, Dad.”
Once Stolas got to his room, he took the bag from under his cloak, running his thumb over the contours of the rope. It made his skin crawl. He knew it was dangerous to keep such an object in the house, so close to him, so close to Via. He would have to come up with a safe way to dispose of it, permanently.
He opened his wall safe and placed the bag inside, pushing it all the way to the back. It was glowing softly in the shadows. He pushed the door shut and it locked with a click. Only then could he breathe again.
---
Blitzo was still sitting outside in the van, keys in the ignition but the engine wasn’t running. He felt like he should go back to the door, or climb the balcony and make sure Stolas was alright, or at least walk the perimeter and ensure there were guards posted, but he just sat there for ten minutes.
Then he took a deep breath and started the engine, pushing the gear into reverse and leaving the parking spot. He wasn’t going to the office. Moxxie had the paperwork under control. It was so obvious that Stolas didn’t actually want him to stick around and was just trying to be polite out of obligation. Blitzo could see right through him. Stolas was only using him when it was convenient for him. That bastard. Yet try as he might, Blitzo couldn’t stop thinking about the owl. He cranked up the radio to drown out his racing thoughts. It almost worked. Almost.