Chapter 49
This was supposed to be the simplest part of his plan. Even if he didn't run, and he had planned not to because that would look suspicious, his home was close enough that he'd make it there during the night, or at least early morning. He chose a route that wouldn't have much people even during daytime, much less at night, but of course, he ended up running in to someone. That wouldn't have been a problem otherwise, but the person just had to be someone he knew.
"Shouldn't you be stuck at the nut house?"
Straight to the point, for once. Grior didn't exactly look impressed with him or anything.
"Would you believe me if I said I was let out due to good behavior?"
"Flat chance" the man said, crossing his arms and accusing: "You ran."
"Yeah, I did" Nikolo said, crossing his own arms "And what are you gonna do about it?"
Silence. Nikolo supposes that meant Grior hadn't decided yet. The easiest and safest conclusion for the man would be to let the former soldier continue on his way and go report him so he couldn't be blamed of conspiring with him later on, and that's honestly what Nikolo expected of his former partner. He was a calculative man, one that didn't hesitate to throw others to the dogs if it benefitted him.
"What exactly are you trying to achieve by running?" he answered with a question instead "I don't know the details of your situation, but I know you're out of the military for good, and the more trouble you keep causing, the more it'll affect your family, too, not to mention any chances of good future for you. What is it that you consider to be worth all this trouble?"
"…I think you already know" Nikolo replied, and Grior's scowl told him that he was right.
"Are you kidding me? Still? Even after all this trouble?" the bewildered Marleyan shook his head "If you felt grateful to her for helping you to stay alive, I'd perfectly get it. If you kept her in your thoughts as some kind of romantic, foolish dream from your younger years, that I could also understand; many people have done stupid things when younger that they wouldn't do anymore but look back to with fondness. But this? You're willing to dig yourself in to an even deeper hole, perhaps even drag your family down with you if you keep up this pace, all for her?"
Nikolo didn't answer; he just kept looking at Grior from where he stood. What was his problem anyway? He understood that his actions annoyed the man when they were stuck with each other on the island, but now? Now Grior could easily just turn around and pretend he didn't see anything; he didn't need to get involved. Or he could've just taken off when he saw him and go report him. Why was he still bothering to talk to him?
"Guess the nuthouse is the right place for you after all" Grior continues "You've completely lost your mind."
Like Nikolo hadn't heard that one before; what did Grior think he'd achieve by pointing it out?
"I wonder which is worse: that you still want to go back there or that you still think she's waiting for you" the man continued, and that got Nikolo's attention as he clenched his fists "It's been three years; I wouldn't be surprised if she'd completely forgotten that you exist by now."
Nikolo couldn't help but snort at that; there was no way. Even if his feelings wouldn't be returned the way he wished them to, he'd left a mark that would last forever in Sasha's memories with all his cooking and all he'd taught her. Of that, he was sure.
"Or on second thought, that glutton probably remembers you. You and the meals you cooked" Grior corrected himself, and Nikolo found himself agreeing "She probably occasionally mourns over losing her personal kitchen slave."
Not a choice of words Nikolo himself would've used, but they sounded like they could be close enough to the truth. Sasha probably did miss him cooking for her.
"But that's all you were to her, you know. Someone to go to for free food. She doesn't care about you, not really. She may have helped to save your life, but that was for the food… or do you think she had feelings for you? I suppose that's possible, but those feelings would surely be gone by now. For all you know, she could have married someone else by now, like one of those two soldiers usually seen with her, and she might have even bore more devils for them."
What should Nikolo be feeling right now, listening to Grior ramble on like this? At some point, he would've certainly gotten angry, perhaps even discouraged to go through with his plan, but now… he felt nothing. Nothing at all as he stared at his rambling former colleague. Had he heard these words from someone else, he would've probably reacted at least somehow, but this was Grior, the man he knew to, for whatever reason, like pushing his buttons. He liked insulting Sasha, and knowing these things, he knew not to put too much weight on the man's words.
"Are you finished?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Judging from the slightly taken aback look on Grior's face, he's surprised of Nikolo's reaction, or more like the lack of one. Deciding that he could get some clarity to whatever it is that has been going wrong between the two of them for years, he might never get another chance, anyway, the former soldier says: "Just tell me what the problem is. What do you have against me? Against Sasha? Against us? I feel like this can't be just about the fact that she's an Eldian, not anymore."
The emotions crossing Grior's face look complicated, and while Nikolo can't pinpoint what it was, he knows that something he said must've hit a nerve.
"Don't those nine years that we wasted on that island bother you at all? Doesn't it bother you to have lost nine years of your life!?" Grior yells, and Nikolo is surprised by the sudden change of subject, and even more so by the sudden change of volume. Still, the question is simple and the answer even more so, so he answers: "They weren't a waste. Not for me."
Of course, Nikolo knew that it wasn't what Grior wanted to hear, but he didn't expect the man to close the few meters distance between them and grab his collar for it, yanking him close.
"And that is the sign that proves you've lost your mind!" he hisses at him "Those nine years-!"
"Were the best thing to ever happen to me" Nikolo says, and he means it. It wouldn't be so if it weren't for Sasha, but she wasn't the only good thing that those years had brought to his life. He met new friends, but more important than that, he learned a lot about the world and himself, both good and bad. He doesn't know what kind of person he'd be now had he not gotten stuck on Paradis, but he certainly wouldn't be who he is now, he'd be someone worse "There were things that I regret doing and not doing, and things that I'd prefer to not have happened at all, but was it all worth it? Yes, yes it wa-"
Nikolo registers the punch coming and reacts fast enough to turn his head so that it doesn't hit him right in the nose, but he's not fast enough to even try to properly dodge and thus Grior's fist collides with his cheek. He staggers back, his attacker having let go of him, and brings a hand to his cheek. It hurt, but he was pretty sure he hadn't lost a tooth or anything. He glares at Grior, wanting to return the favor, but knowing that it was a bad idea. It would waste even more of his time, and if he attacked, things would probably escalate to a full brawl and someone would hear them and call for help. Or he could end up in such a bad condition that when he could finally leave the man, he wouldn't be able to sneak around properly. Or something else could go wrong, something that he didn't want to happen. He had to hold his anger in.
"If that was all, I have to get going now" Nikolo says, his anger definitely showing on his face and tone, but he manages to keep himself from resorting to violence. Or he would have managed had Grior not thrown another punch, one that he fortunately managed to dodge this time.
"What the hell is your problem!?" he asks as yet another punch is aimed at his face, but this time he blocks instead of dodging "Seriously, back off before someone gets hurt!"
"You don't actually think that'd be me, do you?" Grior asks as he tries to swipe Nikolo's feet from under him, but the former soldier sees it coming just in time and steps away in time, barely out of reach "I'm the stronger one to begin with, and you've been stuck at the hospital for months; you can't win in a fight against me!"
It was most likely true; while Nikolo had never had an actual fist fight against Grior, they had arm wrestled several times over the years, and he could never win. And he had to admit that Grior was probably better at close combat, too; he'd seen the man spar with others. For him to get out of this relatively unharmed, he'd either have to outsmart his opponent or talk him out of this. With Grior, neither would be an easy task.
"You wouldn't be willing to solve this by talking, would you?" Nikolo asks, but he gets in to a fighting stance as he does so. He already knows the answer, he's pretty sure, but he had to try, just in case.
"If I wanted to talk, I'd be doing just that!" Grior remarks just before throwing a punch, which Nikolo blocks with his elbow. After that, he throws a punch too, but Grior dodges, immediately returning with one of his own, and it hits the former soldier's shoulder. It's hard enough to make Nikolo stagger, but not enough to make him loose focus and he takes the chance of Grior being so close to hit him in the jaw. Both are surprised about how good the hit actually ends up being, but both also know it'd be a bad time to stop, for it would give advantage to the other, so all the soldier can do is give his former coworker a glare before punching him in the stomach. Nikolo doubles over, and Grior takes the chance to swipe his legs out from under him, causing him to land on the ground, right on his left arm. It hurts, so much that he lets out a loud shout. His arm must've broken.
"Do you get it now? This is the kind of thing that starts happening when you get too attached to those Eldians!" Grior yells, and Nikolo expects the man to start kicking him while he's down, that's what usually happens after all, but he doesn't. That gives Nikolo a small chance to recover, so he takes in some calming breaths, sitting up as he does. He knows it's a stupid thing to say, but he says it anyway: "It's you who's beating me up, and last I checked, you weren't an Eldian. Doesn't this actually make you worse than them?"
Again, Nikolo notices the fist coming, but doesn't have time to dodge and it connects with his already swelling cheek. He falls back from the power behind the punch, but manages to protect his most likely broken left arm by cradling it with his right.
"DON'T YOU DARE TO COMPARE ME TO THOSE DEVILS!" Grior yells, looming over Nikolo despite being on his knees. Before the younger man has a chance to sit up again or say something, he throws another punch. And another, this time to the other side of his face. He continues throwing the punches, switching to hit the rest of Nikolo's body. If it's out of concern for his face, wanting to do as much damage as possible or simply a lack of proper coordination, Nikolo doesn't know. He can't get up now, so he just tries to protect the more damaged parts of his body while waiting out Grior's fit of anger. Finally, the punching slows down before stopping completely. Grior's still right there though, and right now, Nikolo no longer wants to risk provoking him more, so he keeps his mouth shut. Not that he's sure he'd be able to say anything; he tastes blood, and his face has probably started swelling by now. Plus, his arm is killing him.
"…It's not fair, you know" Grior mutters quietly, and Nikolo almost misses it. He has no idea what exactly the man considers to be unfair, but if he's about to open up about something, he definitely doesn't want to interrupt. At the very least, it'll buy him a bit more time to catch his breath. And he isn't the only one out of breath; Grior was breathing rather heavily, too.
"I wasted nine years in that place. So many wasted opportunities, so many lost chances… I lost so much, yet you gained things! How's that fair!? How come you got somewhere with your life when everyone else lost so much!?"
Nikolo swallowed. He understood Grior's anger a bit better now, or at least so he thought. He was bitter because Nikolo had actually lived his life during the nine years, while Grior himself, and so many others, he knew, had simply been trying to survive. He was bitter that Nikolo, who he'd worked side by side with, hadn't shared his struggles. In fact, often it had been the opposite; he'd told Grior about his plans he had with Sasha, how excited he was about the new dishes he'd try, all at the same time as the other man simply thought about surviving. Looking back at it now, perhaps he should've taken Grior's feelings in to account a little better. Perhaps he should've kept it to himself how well he was doing, or asked him about how he was doing more often. In fact, had he ever asked him?
"…Sorry" he said. Talking hurt, but he was pretty sure it came out clear enough.
"You think a simple sorry will cut it!?" Grior yells again, and for a moment, Nikolo's sure he'd throw at least one more punch at him. But he doesn't, despite the glare he keeps giving him.
"Not really" Nikolo replies, though Grior probably wasn't waiting for an answer "But… I'm still sorry. I should've been more considerate of your wellbeing back then."
He managed to speak surprisingly clearly, but things would certainly be different tomorrow. Maybe he should write a letter to his grandfather before he reaches him?
Grior sighs, finally moving away from Nikolo and sitting down next to him instead. Assuming he's safe for now, Nikolo starts attempting to sit up again. It doesn't go well, and he decides he could keep laying down for a moment longer. Grior doesn't seem like he'd snap that badly again, so it was probably safe.
"Have you seen any of the others since we got back? Do you have any idea what kinds of lives we're living? How much everyone has lost during these years?"
He hadn't. He'd seen two or three of them a few times during these three years, but when he did, he'd barely changed any words with them. They'd said they were doing fine, but it might not have been true for all of them. Would they have been honest if he was someone else?
"Derek's mother had died of cancer during those nine years. His father had died a year before he left, and he was an only child, so she'd died alone. Anton's year-old son had grown up, not even remembering his father. Josef's wife was pregnant when we left, and he stayed sane all those years because he looked forward to meeting his child once he got home, but it turns out his wife had suffered miscarriage when she found out her husband had been caught by the devils. Fred's wife had killed herself after five years, and when he found out about it, he followed after her. Ludwig- "
"I get it!" Nikolo interrupts, managing to sit up thanks to the surge of adrenalin, though it did hurt. Maybe he had some kind of responsibility to hear all this, to know the fates of his comrades, but right now, he couldn't handle hearing more "Others, probably everyone, got their lives ruined by this. I get it, and I'm sorry about it, but it's not my fault! And my happiness isn't taking anything away from them in any way!"
"You think it was nice for everyone else to look at you with your head in the clouds due to that woman when all our loved ones were out of our reach!?" Grior shoots back "You made us all feel even worse!"
Nikolo flinches. Did he? But if many others knew as much as Grior did, surely someone else would've sold him out from the beginning. Which means-
"I made everyone feel worse or I made you feel worse?" honestly, he wouldn't have been surprised if Grior would've punched him for that, but he didn't, he just glared.
"Fine, you made me feel worse. Happy now?" he relented after a while.
"Why would I be happy about it?" Nikolo asks. Looking at Grior, he knows it's risky, but he asks anyway "What did you lose?"
Instead of glaring, Grior averts his gaze. Nikolo knows the man wasn't allowed to return to duty right away, but there had to be something else, too. Something he wasn't willing to share, apparently. Something rather personal… he didn't know much about Grior's family, or his personal life in general. Had someone close to him died during the nine years? It was possible, but who-
"I had a girlfriend" Grior finally interrupts Nikolo's musings. He blinks in surprise. Grior had never mentioned this to him before as far as he could recall "I had planned on proposing; I'd even picked out a ring. I planned to propose after I got back from the island; I didn't want her to worry of a fiancé that had to deal with the devils, but when I got back, she'd… already married another. They have a child on the way, too."
Nikolo bit his lip. That must've really stung, but he highly doubted Grior would want his pity. He was bringing a point across, and he didn't need to say more for Nikolo to get it. He'd been going on and on about Sasha while his companion had been missing his love, and it must've stung even more after the man found out that his girlfriend hadn't waited for him. No wonder he insisted on making Nikolo believe that Sasha had moved on; he was jealous. It's not like the possibility hadn't occurred to him before, but he hadn't put all that much thought in to it. Maybe he should've; if he'd realized what the problem was, he would've certainly talked less about Sasha, which in turn might've made Grior less hostile towards her.
"Well, what's done is done" he thinks with a sigh. Knowing that he should say at least something regarding this matter, he lets out: "You'll find someone better."
Grior actually snorted at that.
"You could find someone better than the one you drool after now if you just stopped living inside your daydreams and got a grip. Nothing good will come out of your obsession with that woman." like Nikolo hadn't heard that one before. He didn't bother answering, didn't even look at Grior, letting the silence speak for itself. After what feels like forever, Grior sighs, saying: "Perhaps it's actually you who'll end up losing the most after all's said and done."
Nikolo looked at Grior after that, vary. Was the man just trying to provoke him, or did he actually have some point? He studied his sort of friend's face, but it was hard to tell.
"You've already lost your job, this mess is costing your reputation and it's putting a strain on your family, too. If you don't put a stop to this whole mess soon, you're bound to lose them, either to their grief or with them turning their backs on you. And if you don't give up, you'll lose your heart, too. That woman will destroy it."
Nikolo felt like he'd already lost his heart to Sasha, just not in the way Grior meant. It was futile to argue about that with him, anyway.
"Have you been talking to my family or something?" he asks instead.
"A time or two" Grior admitted easily "Your brother's pissed as hell, it's easy to tell even when he tries to look as civil as possible, and your mother seems to barely hold herself together. Your older sister, or was she your twin, seems more worried about your mother's sanity than she's of you."
That sounded about right. Since Grior didn't mention the others, he probably hadn't had any chances to talk to them. Even if it was just this, and just from Grior, Nikolo was glad to hear a little about his family when he had a clear head.
"You need to stop" Grior continues when he doesn't say anything "If not for your own sake, then for your family's. Surely, they're more important to you than that woman, right? They're your own flesh and blood!"
"I'm the black sheep. I've mentioned that before, hadn't I?" Nikolo knows he has "This'll trouble them for a while, but they'll get over it. They survived with me on Paradis, too, after all."
He winces, accidentally having moved his left arm. He feels it with his right, and confirms that it's indeed broken. Well, if he messes up even more and gets sent back to the hospital, at least he's in the need of one right now.
"They managed because they had nothing to feel guilty of. Have you thought of what happens if the higher ups get tired of trying to control you? You'll get thrown down to some shithole, drugged all the way to next Sunday as they claim that you're uncurable. Or perhaps they'll just get rid of you with an "accidental" overdose or set up your suicide. Then, your family will spend the rest of their lives blaming themselves, wondering how they could've done more for you."
Nikolo grits his teeth. He hadn't thought of it like that, but Grior had a point. Perhaps he should think about that later, but right now, something else that the man had said was bugging him, too.
"You knew they keep drugging me?"
"I stopped by once, and you were so out of it as one can be. I know your type of crazy, and I know that wasn't it, so it was easy to tell what had been done. You're in a bigger danger than you probably even realize. You've pissed off the wrong people."
"…They offered me a deal, though" Nikolo points out, telling what Dr. Becker had told him. Grior looks at him like he's one of the biggest, if not the biggest, idiots he's ever seen.
"For God's sake you moron, take the damn deal" he says "It's not that hard to say things you don't mean. For a while you'd probably even get away with claiming Eldians to be something too hard to talk about."
"But everyone's working so hard to show the world that they're something else than what we've been taught them to be! I can't jeopardize that!"
"Figures" Grior says dryly, and this time it's Nikolo who glares… or tries to, anyway, but it hurts his face. It probably doesn't look like the way it should with how beat up he is. Suddenly, a thought occurs to him.
"It's been quite a while, but didn't you once say that Sasha would probably wait for me? That no one else would be stupid enough to want her and so on" not that Nikolo agreed, but hadn't Grior said something like that?
"Did I say that?" his face is blank as he turns his head to look up at the darkening sky. The moon was out already "Guess I thought that you'd have to fall from high up to come to your senses. Back then I thought you would've managed to get your wish by now, seen that she wasn't worth it, returned here and come to your senses. But obviously, that didn't happen. Just what needs to be done to get you to your senses?"
Was Grior telling the truth? His distaste for Sasha made it likely, and he was the type to play the long game.
"Do you even have a plan? You got out, but what did you plan to do after that?" Grior narrows his eyes "Don't tell me you snuck out without thinking of the next step."
"Of course not, I-!" he clamps his mouth shut so fast it hurts, though that might be due to his injuries. He wouldn't tell Grior; that'd be just stupid.
"What, don't trust me?" Nikolo gives Grior's raised eyebrow a look, to which the man just shrugs "Fair enough. But will whatever your plan is work with your face beaten to a pulp, your hand broken and who knows what else damage you got?"
"Probably not" Nikolo thinks immediately. Even if he did get to his grandfather, unnoticed by everyone else, the old man would probably be determined to send him to a hospital, and in his current condition Nikolo wouldn't be able to escape. As an addition to that, he really did need someone's help for his injuries, preferably a professional's.
"Guess I need a new plan" he almost shrugs, but stops himself as he realizes it's probably a bad idea with his injuries. He knows it's futile, so he asks more as a joke than anything: "Unless you would be willing to help me?"
"In your dreams" Grior says flatly "But I'll give you free advice: go back, apologize and say you'll take the deal. Even if you don't actually plan to go through with your part of it, you'll have a place and help to recover and time to think of your next step when you get out."
Nikolo stares. He doesn't understand Grior; now, it sounds like he's trying to help him, even though just a moment ago it was clearly the opposite.
"Don't look at me like that" he scowls as he notices the former soldier's disbelieving stare "It's your attitude and stupidity I hate, not you. If you need to get a few beatings to get back to your senses, I'll volunteer for it any time. Not that it seems to help; it looks like the only way you'll be able to return to your senses one day is to get burned by that woman personally, instead of your love for her taking everything from you. But that won't happen if you never actually manage to return to her, so drag your ass back to the hospital so you can plot your escape to Paradis, get your heart broken and then run back here with your tail between your legs!"
Nikolo's at a loss of words; he really doesn't get it. Did Grior want to drag him down, make him as miserable as the rest of the former POWs, or was he genuinely trying to help with his questionable methods? Why would the later be the case? Against his best judgement, he asks the man just that, and Grior sighs in clear frustration.
"Even if we aren't so anymore, we used to be friends, didn't we?" he asks, lowering his head in his hands "Even before this whole mess. We weren't the closest, but we were friends, weren't we? And after capture, we stuck together, even if it was by coincidence that we ended up in the same cell. I was glad to be with someone who seemed as afraid as me, even though I hid it better. I was glad to be among my own on that Devil's Island. And even when they made us work, we managed to stick together. Maybe I was sent along with you to that restaurant because we just happened to share a cell, who knows, but I was glad I wouldn't have to deal with all on my own, nor with someone way calmer than me who'd make me feel like a pathetic coward. I figured we were very alike, and that we could push through it all together. And for a while it seemed like it'd be the case… but then she came around, and you started drifting away. Because of her, you were no longer like me. You started enjoying your life there, enjoying your time with her, and you left me alone!"
Grior's voice had risen towards the end, and the last part he definitely shouted. Nikolo sat there, unmoving, staring at the man's distressed form. He couldn't see his face, the man holding his head and having buried it to his knees, and he realized that he didn't want to see it right now, either.
"I blame you, but I know it's not just your fault! You got bewitched, by them, by her, and that's why we lost you. I'm trying to help you! They are not worth it, she is not worth it, and I regret never being able to show that to you!"
Nikolo knew that by "bewitched" Grior didn't mean it literally; the man knew they had no such powers. He just meant that Nikolo couldn't see their true colors. If all he was saying was what he really thought, then Nikolo couldn't help but feel bad for Grior. The man was trying to help, yet there was no way he could help his friend the way he wanted.
"I too was relieved to not having had to be alone there" he managed out "Even when I became friends with Sasha and the others, I was still glad that you were there, even when you were openly hostile. I might have gotten along with them, but I was never one of them. I always felt like an outsider with them, but not with you. I felt like I was among my own people, even after it was clear how much our views differed."
He left out the fact that ever since Sasha had woken up from her coma, he had really wanted to feel like one of them, to be one of them. He'd never gotten to that point, but he still hoped that he someday could. But he couldn't tell that to Grior, not now when they were apparently making peace with each other.
"And they still differ, don't they?" at Nikolo's nod, Grior sighs in frustration "Fine, I give up. Go and get burned; that seems to be the only way. But get yourself patched up first so that you don't die before you reach the damn devil."
He had a point, Nikolo knew. Not that these injuries would kill him, unless something got infected, but if he got in to any more trouble in this condition, that could be fatal for all he knew. But getting proper treatment while on the run wasn't exactly simple… guess he had no choice. He really hoped he wouldn't regret this.
"You're probably right" Nikolo says with a sigh "Guess it's time to swallow my pride and take that damn deal."
Assuming he could still get it, that is. Well, if he walked back on his own after a successful escape, then despite clearly being beaten up, it could show them he was serious.
"Good" Grior says, standing up and holding his hand out to Nikolo in order to help him up. The beat-up man had no problem accepting the help; he had already decided to swallow his pride in front of the doctor, and this was small in comparison. Plus, he probably wouldn't have gotten up on his own all that easily, and struggling to get up and eventually having to accept help would've been even more humiliating.
"Think you'll make it back on your own?"
"Unless I run in to someone else who feels like beating me up, yeah" Nikolo answers "I just hope the deal's still on the table. If not, I'll need a completely new plan."
"Your family has a lot of influence; they won't waste the chance that having you on their side will bring" Grior said "Just don't screw it up."
"Me? Screwing things up? Never" Nikolo says drily, and Grior chuckles. Turning on his heels, the man says: "I'll hold you on to that. Guess I'll see you around once you get out, if you do."
"Have some faith!" Nikolo snaps, but can't help but laugh. Watching Grior's retreating back, he wonders why the man hadn't told him to not mention him when he'd be questioned about his injuries. It was a given that there'd be questions, so why wasn't he worried? Was he ready to deny everything, trusting that his word would be believed over Nikolo's? Did he have an excuse prepared in case he was ratted out?
Not that any of it mattered, for Nikolo had already decided not to mention him. With that in mind, he starts the painful walk back to the hospital. It wasn't a long one; he had only covered a few kilometers, possibly four, before running in to Grior, but with his injuries, it was quite walk. At least he was lucky enough to have the worst damage on his face and arm and not his legs… or was it really luck? Had Grior avoided damaging his legs on purpose? It was hard to tell with that guy.
If it weren't for the unfortunate circumstances, this would be a nice walk; the weather was good, and it wasn't too cold despite it being night time. Not many people were out, he'd taken a route he thought would be the emptiest anyway, and the few that were didn't pay him much attention. He liked to think it was due to darkness, but it could very well be that at least some of these people noticed the condition he was in, and simply pretended not to in order to not get involved. Of course, that worked in his favor right now; he didn't want the extra attention, but looking at the bigger picture, people being so uncaring was rather depressing. Or maybe the problem was simply this neighborhood, with the mental hospital being so near and all. Maybe they thought he was some runaway lunatic, which was closer to the truth than Nikolo liked to admit.
The hospital was finally in front of him after a near two hours walk, and to his luck, the gates were open. As far as he knew, that usually wasn't the case at night time, so perhaps this had something to do with his escape. He felt a little smug, but it could also mean trouble. The angrier this made the doctor, the less likely he would be to still get that deal.
Walking to the front door, which was locked, of course, Nikolo knocked on it with all the strength he could muster. With a patient on the run, there would certainly be someone nearby to keep an eye on things, and surely this person would hear him. He turned out to be right, though it took a second try from him to get their attention. The guard in question recognized him immediately, and he was ushered right to Dr. Becker, who was clearly just as surprised at the state he was in as the fact that he came back willingly on his own. The guard who'd brought him here had left, but two more had come in before he did. The doctor's trusted ones, Nikolo knew. He'd had the displeasure of having to deal with those two before.
"I must say, I was surprised to be informed of your escape, didn't think you could pull such a thing off, but I'm even more surprised to see you return willingly" Dr. Becker says after Nikolo has sat down "Why the change of heart?"
"Let's just say I had a sudden moment of clarity" Nikolo says "Is the deal you offered still on the table?"
The doctor raises his greying eyebrow, though he doesn't seem particularly surprised. He must've figured out that Nikolo returning on his own had something to do with it.
"That depends. Why the change of heart?" when Nikolo doesn't answer, he continues: "You aren't in the best of shapes, it seems. Could it be that you ran in to an Eldian or two, ones that you favored, yet they didn't take that well in to seeing you? Perhaps that was your sudden moment of clarity?"
Nikolo doesn't answer. He had figured out on his way back that this could very well be what the situation would look like, and saw no harm in letting the man believe so. Even if they looked in to it, no Eldian would get in trouble because there had been no such a person, and if a possible search was limited to them, Grior was in the clear. The system's prejudices would work in Nikolo's favor, now. He doesn't squirm under the doctor's gaze, just looks straight ahead. The man stares right back, and while Nikolo doesn't know what exactly he's thinking, he was sure there was something about this situation that convinced the doctor of his own theory.
"Well, guess the deal could still benefit us both" he finally says "But your recovery will be a slow process."
"Figures" Nikolo says. He can't help the jab that comes "After all, it'd be suspicious if someone who was so out of it made a fast recovery."
"Exactly. Now, you must be tired, but you don't look too good, so the guards will take you to a nurse to get you looked at before you can return to your room. Any questions?"
Nikolo had none; he was sure he'd get the details of their deal later, closer to the time he'd get out.
Out. Now he had a way out, and while he dreaded what he might have to do, he was glad he'd finally be getting somewhere. And if he had a solid plan by the time he got out, he might not have to fill in his part of the deal before managing to slip under their radar.
"No more mistakes… this time, I'll do this right!"
A.N: When it comes to Grior, we don't really know much. I'd say that the canon tells us that he's opportunistic and ready to swallow his pride for his own safety, and that he doesn't hesitate to be a jerk when he thinks he's in control, but, well, that's kinda all. We don't know anything about his motives or the like, so I'm filling in the blanks in ways that fit the story.
