Loona laid in the hospital bed, the last thing she had remembered before waking up was the sound of a rifle being readied to fire, then a dot on Blitz, and then...pain as everything went to black. As much as she hated how Blitz would make her life unbearable with his irrational over protectiveness and refusal to see her as anything but his "little" Loonie when she was clearly ANYTHING but, he was still her dad, and she didn't want him dead. After all, the talk Carnavont had given her back when Octavia had ran away that she then gave to Octavia, in her own wording, still held true. Blitz wasn't perfect, he was annoying, a constant screw up, a bit of a moron, and got on her nerves...A LOT, but he was still the one demon that chose her out of all the hounds in the orphanage. Not as a pet, but as family.
She then heard Blitz a bit away from the door having a fuck you match with what sounded like Xera, then Carnavont yelling about giving Xera a direct order. She sighed; then again, would it be so wrong? At least he wouldn't kill her through embarrassment. Loona swore to Satan that if she was able she'd go and kick Blitz in the dick...again. It wasn't long after that that she saw Carnavont and the others walk in with Moxxie and Millie.
"Hi Loona." Carnavont greeted as he and his team walked in. "How are you feeling?"
"Hey…" Loona replied with a slight smile. "I'm fine. Well, as fine as I can be in the shape I'm in. Sorry about Blitz...God he can be embarrassing."
"Fuck that guy!" Xera muttered. "He tries to disrespect us again and I'm shooting his ass."
Carnavont looked at Xera. "Xera…"
"Don't Xera me, I'm serious. He pulls that shit again or worse and I'm killing him."
"Carnavont just sighed. "No you won't."
"The fuck I won't!" Xera fumed.
"That's right, you won't." Carnavont firmly asserted, only for Xera to grumble.
Had Moxxie and Millie gotten in touch with HOUND thinking she'd want to see them, to see Carnavont? They didn't have to do that...not that she'd owe em anything for it. Loona blinked; wait, why were they bandaged up? They weren't injured last she remembered. Why was Carnavont so injured? Just what the hell happened while she was out?
"What happened to you?" Loona asked as she looked at Carnavont's injuries with concern. "Did a job go bad?"
Carnavont blinked, blushing slightly as he placed a hand on the back of his head. "I uh...well…"
"He went fucking berserk when he heard that Striker sent those guys after you." Xera answered.
Loona blinked at Xera. Carnavont went...berserk because she got hurt? She felt her cheeks heat up a bit as her tail wagged a bit under the covers. "You...did?" Loona asked as she looked to Carnavont.
Carnavont blushed as he rubbed the back of his head, Xera and most his team slightly smirking at him. "I...might not have been able to take hearing you getting hurt all that well….or the mental image it gave."
Loona blushed all the more as her tail waged a bit faster, only to blink a moment later. "Wait, Striker? That asshole sent those guys after us?" She asked as she looked to the M .
"Yeah." Moxxie replied. "Apparently he did it so we wouldn't be able to interfere with his attempt on Stolas. Me and Millie went after him when Stolas called Blitz while we were taking you to the hospital." he explained.
"Dick." Loona muttered. "But how did you get involved?" Loona asked as she looked back to Carnavont. "Did short stuff and his wife call you?"
Carnavont shook his head. "No, Octavia had gotten in touch with Typhus to ask for our help when she couldn't reach you or IMP. She was there when Striker abducted the prince. Or, from what I can gather, a portal was open where she was witness to it." he paused a moment. "Striker...had pointed a gun at her when she tried to interfere."
Loona growled slightly. "She shouldn't be in danger because of her dad."
Carnavont nodded. "That's exactly why I helped. And since Typhus cares for her, I didn't do it as a job, but as a personal request. Which is why I'm the only one banged up. Interfering with a colleague's job when not paid to is highly frowned upon. So in order to not risk my team or the business I went alone."
"I see." Loona smiled a bit. "You're really something."
Carnavont blushed rather deeply. "Thanks…" He replied as his tail wagged.
"Do we need to get you two a room?" Havoc teased.
"Or leave so you can get kinky?" Xera chimed in with a grin, causing both Carnavont and Loona to turn dark red.
"Come now, the boss has been teased enough about letting himself get recklessly furious after hearing about Loona." Destra commented.
"Fiiiiine." Xera relented. "So, how long you in the hospital for?" Xera asked as she looked at Loona.
"A few days, five at the most before getting released. But I'll still need a few weeks of recovery after that." Loona answered.
"Sounds boring." Havoc commented.
"Hella boring." Xera agreed.
"Well, doesn't mean we can't stop by when we can to help it be less so." Destra said with a smile.
"True." Havoc agreed.
"If there's anything you might want I could see about getting it and bringing it by." Typhus offered.
"Loona smiled. "Thanks..."
"You look like you were more than shot though." Zever pointed out. "What exactly happened?"
Loona sighed. "A gang of imps and hellhounds ambushed us outside of Fa-...their apartment." she started to explain as she nudged her head towards Moxxie and Millie. "Blitz didn't have any weapons other than his gun, which left us with having to split up and divide them to hope to have a chance. Of course Blitz couldn't think of a plan fast enough while we were being chased, so I drew most of the hellhounds away and well...took them out the best I could. After we got back together I heard something from a nearby building and saw a sniper sight on Blitz. There wasn't much time between seeing the dot and hearing the gun fire so…"
Carnavont clenched his fist as he growled. "If they weren't already dead…" He muttered, only to flinch a second later.
Zever looked at Carnavont. "You need to…"
"I know, I know. But it's kind of hard to take it easy when hearing about…" Carnavont blushed slightly. "How Loona got hurt…" he then quickly looked to Loona. "Not that I'm saying you can't take care of yourself or anything! I just...it's hard not to get worked up when hearing..."
Loona blinked, blushing slightly. "It's OK...it's….nice to hear how much you care." she smiled as her tail wagged. Seeing that Carnavont could get that protective was...reassuring. Sure Blitz could be as well, but his form of protectiveness was suffocating, if not outright unbearable. There was a clear difference between the two. Loona could easily tell that Carnavont's fierce protectiveness was coming from a place that was far different than from whatever fucked up shit of a need Blitz had. Which, again, wasn't ENTIRELY wrong, but needed some SERIOUS working out before she joined Xera in killing him. "And to know that you all care..."
Destra smiled. "Of course, we think of you as our friend."
"Definitely, you kick major ass." Xera grinned.
"And you're very nice." Typhus chimed in.
Loona smiled a bit, feeling for the first time like she had some genuine friends and that life wasn't completely horrible. Well, it actually wasn't all that shitty, but it definitely wasn't great either. Things could definitely be better and she could be treated less like a helpless pup among a list of things, but it wasn't unbearable. Especially now that she actually had some actual friends, now that she had Carnavont. Loona blushed as she smiled, but quickly looked at Moxxie. "You say one word and I'm ripping your baby dick off and punting you across the street."
Moxxie sighed. "Uh huh…"
"Loona…" Carnavont said, grabbing her attention. "I know he's a beta male, but go a little easy on him. I'd be dead if it wasn't for him and Millie."
Loona blinked. Dead? Carnavont almost...died? Just how bad did the encounter with Striker go? And Moxxie, the lame ass tightwad along with his wife kept him from dying? She looked at Carnavont then to Moxxie. "….Sorry…' she muttered. "And...thanks…"
Moxxie blinked, that was the first time Loona ever apologized. It felt a bit too surreal to have happened. "I...it's fine…" he said, not wanting to push his luck. This was the first time Loona had apologized for ANYTHING and he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth, perhaps Carnavont was the person she needed to mellow her out. A sentiment Millie seemed to share as he noted her gleeful look.
"I hope this doesn't mean I need to start cutting Blitz more slack too.." Loona somewhat muttered, still angry from the exchange she was able to hear.
"Eh, not really." Carnavont replied. "I mean, still try, but feel free to kick him in the dick if he asks for it."
"Loona smirked. "What about strangling him?"
"…maybe." Carnavont replied with a look that suggested he might be seriously contemplating if that would be OK.
Blitzo was making his way through the hospital, muttering to himself about the fact that he had to put up with that crimson cock sucker Carnavont and the rest of the jackasses from that rival business. That shorter one, Xera, was practically begging for him to put a bullet in her. But Things were already tough enough as they was with Loona, and he didn't want to make things worse. So for now, he'd tolerate things, but so help him Satan the moment they try to take Loona from him.
It wasn't just that though, but also the fact that there was no alcohol to be found in the hospital. Sure it was a hospital, but this was hell dammit, why did this one thing from the mortal realm have to be followed as well? Blitz continued to mutter and grumble to himself as he made his way to the entrance of the hospital, surely there was a place with good enough booze nearby. "Oh shit…" he said with shock as he stopped, spotting Stolas' wife and daughter, quickly hiding before they could spot him. Them seeing him would be the absolute topper to this shit sundae of a day. As they walked passed the door he slipped out behind them, moving as fast as he could to get out of sight and get a drink.
Stella and Octavia made there way to the receptionist, the female candlehead quickly standing and greeting them with a bow. "My lady."
Stella nodded. "What floor is my husband on?"
"He's on the sixth floor in a private wing, I'll get someone to escort you." The receptionist replied before glancing at Octavia. "The prince is in...pretty bad shape...I'm not sure if-"
"I will be the judge of that." Stella interrupted.
"Yes, of course, my apologies." The receptionist said with a quick bow.
With that, the receptionist quickly summoned two nurses as well as the doctor who was attending to Stolas, the three escorting Stella and Octavia to the wing Stolas was in. "We've done what we could for the prince since his arrival. We're optimistic about stabilizing him, but his wounds are...severe. Honestly it's surprising he's even able to continue breathing." the doctor explained as they walked. "There's been…" he glanced at Octavia. "Extensive damage done to his legs, a lot of blunt trauma to the head and face, not to mention inflictions caused by sharp objects. It's...not a pretty sight."
Stella held back every urge she had to smirk, it sounded as though Stolas had gotten the same amount of pain he had caused to the family. And whatever the doctor said about it must surely be a bit exaggerated, Striker was a professional after all from what he claimed about himself. He likely just roughened Stolas up a bit to throw off any suspicions of it being a personal hit. "I see." She commented.
The doctor nodded. "We're currently doing everything in our power to make sure he's stabilized, but even if successful, there's still a lot of procedures that we need to do, operations to perform. In the state he's in...it's about a forty percent chance that he'll pull through, and that's on the optimistic side."
"And the...pessimistic side?" Octavia asked.
The doctor looked at her, taking a moment. "Well…"
"You can tell her, she's not some young adolescent." Stella commented.
The doctor nodded. "Around twenty percent. But these are just estimations mind you, I'm sure if we work around the clock and pull our best to help, his chances might improve." he then paused a second. "Not that we wouldn't pull our best or work around the clock on him. We'll make sure he has the very best chance." he nervously assured Octavia.
Octavia just nodded, at least he didn't lie to her about his odds. While she would have loved to hear that it was better than what it actually was, she wasn't going to fool herself into thinking that the situation was anything but as bad as it was. Accepting how dire things were didn't stop the knot forming in her stomach though, or the looming dread, just how bad did her father look? Octavia found herself glancing down to her pocket, thinking of Typhus saying if she ever needed anything or someone...she just might if it was bad enough.
When they got to the private wing Stolas was in the doctor stopped as they neared a door. "His room is right ahead. I'm sure the receptionist already said, but he really is in bad shape...maybe the young lady should…"
Stella looked at him, then her daughter as Octavia grabbed her arm, looking a bit away toward the floor. "I did say I'd go in first, see if it's something you can handle." Stella said as she placed a hand on Octavia's shoulder. "Do you still want to do that or go on in?" she asked with a familial warmth and care Octavia hadn't heard for some years.
Octavia looked at her mother. Part of her wanted to go on in, but the other part of her was very much scared of what she would see. What if her dad was as badly hurt as everyone was saying? She had already lived through the trauma of seeing him kidnapped, a gun aimed at her...as strong as she wanted to be, Octavia just found her strength failing her. "You go in first…" Octavia answered with a heavy heart.
Stella nodded. "Of course my astral princess." She said as she gently pecked Octavia's forehead, sensing how distressed her daughter was. "You may go now." she remarked to the doctor and escorts who simply nodded and left. Turning around, Stella headed to the door the doctor indicated, walking in and shutting it behind her.
As stella shut the door she allowed herself to grin, expecting to see Stolas for the pathetic weak traitor he was. She took her time to relish the moment as she saw his silhouette behind the medical curtain, oh how sweet this situation was after all he was putting them through, the danger to their family he was threatening with his fascination with a lowly imp. It was enough that Stella didn't mind that he wasn't killed in the attempt, him passing from his injuries from it would be just as beneficial to their image and status not being tainted.
"Oh how the mighty have fallen." Stella said mockingly as she approached the bed curtain. "Then again, it's just what you deserve for daring to do what you did." She said as she slowly ran her sharp black nails along the curtain before pulling it back.
Stella's almost gleeful grin soon changed as Stolas' condition was revealed. For once she was left in almost full on shock at the sight of how battered, swollen, and utterly bruised he was. She had expected him to look bad, sure. But this...this was something that even she thought was a bit excessive...to a degree. What enjoyment she was expecting to have at seeing him in a helpless state was gone as Stolas was almost to where it was hard to recognize him.
She wanted him to suffer sure, she was even hoping he'd have some injuries if Striker chose to not do a quick and clean kill from ranged. But what was laying before her was the evidence of a hatred that seemed almost, if not, grater than hers. Stella didn't want Stolas dead looking like...this. She wanted their daughter to still be able to look at his corpse and not be affected. Although she supposed that was on her for not giving the assassin specifics on how to deal with her husband. Still, she would have words with Striker should Stolas pull through.
A bit of sympathy overcame her, outstretching her hand to place on him only to retract it back before she touched him, a fleeting moment born from what once was. Stella then sighed, preparing herself to face Octavia. She felt no regret, this was for their benefit, for Octavia's future. But now more than ever, her daughter could NEVER know the driving force behind why her father would be dead. Walking out of the room she slowly shut the door behind her, walking solemnly over to her daughter.
"How's…" Octavia started to ask, hesitation in her voice.
Stella looked at her daughter before glancing away. "He's...in as bad a shape as they say, if not worse." Stella informed, the concern that she feigned for Stolas now mixed with a slight bit of genuineness. "I...don't think you should see him…it's...bad."
"Oh…" Octavia said as she looked down at the floor again, the knot in her stomach becoming more painful as mental images of the worst started to flood her mind, each one worse than the last. The knot grew ever tighter until Typhus once more came to mind. "Mum?…" Octavia asked.
"Yes Octavia?" Stella replied.
"Could I...call Typhus and hang out with him a bit please?" Octavia asked.
Stella blinked, the thought of Octavia being so friendly with an even lower lesser demon worried her. But at the same time she could see how worried Octavia was and that it was affecting her. She was torn. On the one hand she was doing what she was so Octavia didn't get backlash or targeted for what her father was daring to do. It would be so easy to just say no, to forbid it to be sure that if there was something, something that she feared would cause her to face what her father would, it would be squashed.
But on the other, she had just gotten back in good standing with her daughter, grown closer after years of distance. Not only that, but Octavia didn't have any real friends as it was, let alone anyone around her age to just be with when she needed someone. What would happen if she put her foot down, expressly say she couldn't?
Stella sighed, hoping that her concerns were for nothing. Stolas' betrayal and unfaithfulness was one thing, her daughter wanting to be around someone around her age was different and could be dealt with if needed. "Of course. And considering how you're feeling, we can stay with Camazotz if you want until your father hopefully recovers."
Octavia smiled a bit as she hugged her mother. "Thanks mum...you're not as bad as you used to be."
Stella blinked, a smile slowly forming as she hugged her daughter back. "Don't be out too long OK? Let me know when you're ready and I'll open a portal for you."
Octavia nodded, hugging her mother a bit more before pulling out her phone as she turned around, starting to pull up Typhus' number. As she pulled it up she stopped for a moment, feeling a bit of warmth forming in her cheeks as just how nice the hellhound was popped into her mind. How genuinely kind and considerate, not to mention helpful when he didn't have to be like when he helped carry her things when they went shopping not because she was a noble, but because he genuinely wanted to...even though she was willing to carry them herself. The fact he had let her know more than once she could call him if she ever needed anything or anyone was just something she really appreciated, and found...likable. Octavia quickly cleared her head, dialing Typhus number.
Typhus stood a bit away near the door as the other continued to converse, Loona having asked if Striker was dead only to be told he was still alive. Zever meanwhile, as Carnavont had mentioned, did offer to give some tips or help with Millie's fighting if she wanted. It really did seem that his boss' more courteous and sportsmanlike nature was infectious as the others were getting along quite well with the imp couple. As he stood there Typhus blinked, his phone vibrating.
Taking it out he saw it was Octavia and quickly answered it without much thought, thinking that she was in need of company based on their last talk. "Hi Octavia…" he answered as he blushed a bit, hoping to have done so without drawing any attention...only to see everyone turn their attention to him.
"Hey Typhus…" Octavia greeted back, having moved a bit away from her mother as she waited for him to answer his phone. "So...are you, free?"
Typhus blinked, cheeks turning a deeper red. "Y-yeah, I'm free…' he answered, unable to not notice the growing manically gleeful grin from Millie and the grins of Xera and Havoc.
Octavia smiled a bit ."Great...I'm at the hospital in Sloth at the moment, but I'm sure my mum can open-"
"Oh, I'm actually at the hospital Carnavont escorted Stolas to." Typhus interjected.
Octavia blinked. "Really?"
"Yeah, turns out the hospital Carnavont escorted Stolas to was the same one Loona was taken to" Typhus answered.
"What floor are you on?" Octavia asked.
"The second." Typhus replied.
"What room?" Octavia inquired.
"Room two thirteen." Typhus replied.
"I'll be right down." she said as she hung up, turning to see her mother with an arched brow. "Turns out Typhus is here, a mutual friend got hurt." she said, not really sure it was best that her mother knew it was the adopted daughter of the guy that her father chose to ruin their family with.
Stella continued to look at her daughter, brow relaxing a bit. "I see, well I suppose that does save a portal. Call and let me know when you're ready for me to open a portal from Camazotz' or need anything."
Octavia nodded. "I will...and thanks."
Stella smiled, nodding slightly. "Take care my astral princess." she said before walking off to where she could make a portal to leave.
Octavia smiled a bit as her mother left. In some odd way, her father having cheated on her mother had brought out the more motherly side of her that Octavia hadn't seen in...well, a very long time. It still sucked that it was destroying her family, but maybe things could improve once the divorce was over. Before she headed off to meet Typhus she turned to look at the door to her father's room, the temptation to see just how badly injured he was was great, like a foreboding melody, dark and sweet with it's siren allure.
Octavia looked at it a moment, the morbid curiosity that whispered in her head lead her to walk towards the door. What harm could there be in one quick look, if only to satisfy her desire to know just what state her dad was in. Sure the hospital staff and her mother said it was bad, but just how bad was bad? Octavia slowly and hesitantly stepped towards the door, making her way to it and stopping a foot away. She stood there, looking at it, hesitating all the more.
Half of her wanted to just go in as the other half screamed not to, that whatever was waiting behind that door for her to see would not be worth ignoring the various warnings of it being really bad. Octavia gulped, nervously moving her hand towards the doorknob. Just a quick peek, surely one quick look wouldn't be that bad...could it? As she touched the doorknob Octavia hesitated all the more, the conflicting desires battling out for which would prevail. Curiosity won out though as she turned the knob.
Opening the door a bit Octavia peered in, hoping to at least get a glance only to have to step in because of the curtain around Stolas' medical bed, the sound of beeping medical equipment filling the room. Octavia made her way across the room slowly, dread filling her more and more as she got closer. When she got closer to the bed curtain Octavia stopped, moving her hand towards it in her morbid curiosity of wanting to know...if only just a little. Octavia slowly pulled the curtain back a bit, just enough to get a glance, nothing more.
Her eyes went wide in horror as she caught a glance of her father, quickly shutting the curtain and stepping back. Tears began to form in her eyes as the brief glimpse she had, even if not a full look, was enough to make her stomach churn. Guilt flooded over her from how weak she felt earlier. Could he have been in better shape if she had just been stronger or at the very least was even a bit as adept in using magic like her father was? That glimpse was all Octavia needed, she doubt she could handle seeing him fully. As mixed emotions swirled inside her Octavia quickly left the room, the only thing she could think of that might help calm her was being around others, being around...Typhus.
The others continued to look at Typhus as he hung up, Xera and Havoc grinning all the more as he looked away while blushing. "So, hot date?" Xera teased, making him all the more bashful.
"From the way he's acting it seems like it." Havoc chuckled. "Way to go little guy."
Typhus just flustered more, feeling his heart beat a bit faster. "I-it's not a date...she just...wants to hang out."
"Uh-huh…" Xera smirked. "Suuuure."
"Sounds like a date to me." Havoc said with a grin. "And I'm proud of ya."
Carnavont looked at Havoc and Xera. "That's enough you two."
"Fine, daaaad." Xera teasingly protested.
Loona blinked. "Dad?"
"…Don't want to talk about it." Carnavont muttered.
"Mills said we were likely a family and we kind of agreed that Carnavont was the dad." Havoc explained as he continued to grin.
Loona blinked again. "Huh…" To be fair, Carnavont did have strong protective instincts from what she could see, admirable and likable instincts…Loona felt her cheeks heat up before shaking her head.
Millie smiled as she walked over to Typhus, patting him a little. "Don't worry hun, just remember, be yourself." she assured.
Typhus looked at Millie, smiling a bit as his tail wagged. It wasn't long until there was a knock at the door, Typhus going to open it and seeing Octavia; she seemed...a bit distressed. "Octavia...is everything alright?" he asked with a bit of concern.
"Hi Typhus, I'm...fine…" Octavia replied. "How's…" Octavia stopped as she saw Loona.
"Hey…" Loona greeted with a smile.
"Hey..." Octavia replied. Loona looked quite hurt, like she had been in a bad fight, Octavia could only imagine where she was shot. Her attention the shifted to Carnavont, he looked just as bad, if not worse. Did...did he go by himself? None of the others looked hurt at all, save for the two imps that worked for the one her dad was fucking. Speaking of, he was the only one of IMP not there, was he in another room? Regardless, the two who had been there for her when she had ran away being hurt made her feel guilty.
"So, you're the noble girl that's got Typhus all flustered." Havoc commented, drawing her attention. "Nice to meetcha."
"Yeah, you seem pretty nice, must be why he likes ya." Xera chimed in with a smirk.
Octavia blinked. "W-wot…" she said as she felt her cheeks heat up a bit.
"Don't mind them, they like to tease." Carnavont said, shooting them a "stop it" look.
"Oh…" Octavia replied, still slightly flustered.
Havoc smirked. "All in good fun, name's Havoc."
Xera nodded in agreement. "Yeah, just a bit of light teasing since little Typhus hasn't had a female friend before, name's Xera."
"N-nice to meet you." Octavia said, the flustered feeling from hearing Typhus liked her, which may or may not be true, combating with the outright mixture of guilt, horror, and distress from what she had been through and seen.
"Nice to meet you your highness." Zever said as he gave a proper bow. "I'm Zever."
"That's not necessary…" Octavia commented.
Havoc shrugged. "Eh, don't mind him, real big on professionalism."
Destra smiled politely. "Nice to meet you finally, I'm Destra."
Octavia nodded. "Nice to meet you…"
Carnavont arched a brow slightly, sensing something was a bit off, something he noted the others could feel too. "If you want to spend some time with Typhus and Loona, we could…"
"N-no, no...umm…" Octavia shifted her eyes. "Typhus, would you mind if we...got some fresh air?"
Typhus blinked. "Yeah, sure…" He said as he walked over to Octavia, the two walking out as the others looked at one another.
"She must be going through hell…" Destra commented with concern.
"Has to, her dad being abducted and all…" Zever agreed. "It's good that she can go to Typhus, though I wonder if she has other friends."
"I'm guessing not from when me and Typhus first met Octavia when we helped Loona find her." Carnavont said as he looked at the others.
"Must be pretty sheltered, or just not much of a social girl." Destra mused.
"Well her parents are going through something, and from how she talked about it I'm guessing a divorce...a bad one." Carnavont commented.
"I see, that would definitely effect someone." Destra commented. 'I heard they can be very nasty. At least it seems she has Typhus to rely on...to be an anchor for her."
"And Typhus her to start living for more, no matter what happens." Carnavont mused.
"If they're anything like me and Mox, I wouldn't worry." Millie smiled.
Octavia and Typhus made their way through the hospital, heading to some stairs after Octavia mentioned wanting to go to the roof. When they had made their way to the roof Octavia moved to sit on the ledge, looking up at the growing night sky of the late evening. "I wish this day, this whole bloody nightmare was over…" she said partially cradling her head in her arms as she curled up slightly.
Typhus sat next to her, looking at Octavia with concern. "I'm, sorry you're having to go through this...it's not right…"
"It isn't…" she sniffled. "Because my dad had to fall for that weird imp, our family has fallen apart and now, now he's a target of an assassin that I couldn't do anything to even try and help against and because I was weak he's...he's…" Octavia started to cry. "I saw him Typhus, I saw how hurt he was...I couldn't–" she started to cry more. "Why couldn't I be stronger instead of just standing there as my dad was taken?"
Typhus blinked, looking at Octavia as she bawled her eyes out, wishing she had lived in blissful ignorance of the extent of her father's injuries. Without a second thought he moved his arm behind her, only hesitating a second before gently holding her. Octavia looked at him a second before instantly leaning into him, wanting any form of comfort at the moment. Typhus blushed as she did, whatever concern or worry was in his mind about it possibly being him taking advantage of the situation was second to making sure Octavia felt better.
"Thank you…" Octavia said as she stayed close to Typhus.
"You're not weak." Typhus said as he looked at Octavia. "You're strong, stronger than I am. You did what you could so there's nothing to be ashamed of. Because of you getting in touch with us he's got a chance, you saved him from certain death. Plus…" Typhus paused as he glanced away. "I don't want to see you hurt." He said with a blush before looking back at Octavia. "I wanted so bad to help, to join Carnavont today after hearing that you had a gun pointed at you, but I'm too weak...I would have just been a hindrance. At least you tried…at least you did something that mattered."
Octavia looked at Typhus. "You're the strong one. After knowing where your scars come from, I could never see you as weak. To go through what you did...to still be who you are...you're stronger than I ever could be. And it's because of you that I was able to get help, have someone who I…" she felt her cheeks heat up. "Can go to."
Typhus blinked, blushing as he shook his head. "How can I be strong when I can't even help you where it matters. If I was stronger, more capable where I could do field work, maybe your dad wouldn't be so hurt–"
"You're helping me now, and this matters...a lot." Octavia said as she rested her head against him. "Can I...stay like this for a bit?"
"S-sure…" Typhus said as he blushed.
Octavia mustard whatever slight smile she could. "Thank you…"
Octavia leaned a bit more into him, needing all the feeling of protective and caring warmth she could get. She felt safer around Typhus, more at ease. He was like the calm in the storm that her life had become and a source of caring kindness she had not experienced in anyone, not that she really had friends or anything like that prior. Still, there was just something...special about Typhus, something comforting that she found herself rather drawn to.
Typhus sat there as he held Octavia, willing to do so for as long as she needed him. His liking for her didn't matter at the moment, all that mattered was that he comforted her, made sure she felt better. He wanted to do more though, cursing his weakness for not being able to aide in rescuing her dad. Maybe if he was more capable, stronger...he didn't want to see her like this. As he held Octavia, Typhus vowed he'd do whatever he could to be stronger for her, to be there for her...whenever she needed, however she needed.
