Rigel
I am at work, meeting with Kayla, a human client. Seeing another human distracts me; my mind keeps drifting to Ava, wondering if she is getting better.
"Kayla's session is over. There is no more time remaining," announces my wall unit.
Oh, my stars. Where did the time go? I've been so distracted.
"So, will you?" asks Kayla, her brow creasing.
Ava's name echoes in my mind. Wait, what did Kayla ask?
Focus. "Can you repeat the question?"
"Normally, I would ask Tarak to escort me, except according to her records, Ava is afraid of scourges."
"Kayla, have you been poking through Hydra's computer records again?"
"Is it my fault that Hydra leaves that information readily accessible," she huffs. "You also haven't answered my question. Since it would not be appropriate to go with Tarak, could you..." She grips my hand. "...take me to the hospital to see Ava?"
"Let me check if there are any updates," I say, turning toward the wall. "Wall unit, are there any updates on—"
My all-knowing wall unit is already answering my question. "The human pet Ava is now conscious. The medical staff has concerns about her phobic behavior."
My skin prickles. Under normal circumstances, I would first get my emotions under control before visiting her, but Kayla looks at me with sad eyes. It is moments like this that I understand why Tarak does whatever his human asks.
I clip Kayla's leash to her collar, and we walk to Hydra's medical wing for pets. The lobby door opens. Kayla and I approach the scourge at the front desk.
From the open doorway behind the scourge comes the sound of a human scream.
What?! Ignoring the shouts of the scourge at the front desk, I run through the open door. Kayla, the loyal human, runs with me.
Only when I get closer to Ava's room does it occur to me; human screaming might mean danger. Tarak will never forgive me if something happens to his mate. Since rushing with Kayla into the room might place her in the path of danger, she can't go. Hydra's regulations also forbid leaving pets unattended in a medical facility, so leaving Kayla alone is also not an option.
A scourge wearing the smock of a vet tech staff and carrying an armful of sutures walks past us. An opportunity! I throw the other end of Kayla's leash at him. "Hold her!"
Kayla shouts at me but I am already leaving them.
I burst into Ava's room. Scourges surround Ava in her hospital bed. One of the scourges is trying to pin Ava's arm to the bed rail to bind it. Ava looks up at me with tears running down her face.
How dare the scourges treat a human with a history of abuse like this?
I spread my wings. "Do not touch her!"
Most of the scourges run out of the room. For the two foolish scourges who do not, I chase after them.
Now it is only Ava and me in her hospital room. Seeing someone so angry must not be good for Ava. I should leave and give her the quiet she needs to sleep. Except now I am desperate to know what state she is in.
I go to her bedside.
Ava reaches for me, and I sit on the edge of the bed, placing a protective wing around her. Ava sinks her hands into my wing, raking hooked fingers through my fluttering feathers. I shiver.
Kayla enters, glaring at me. "What is wrong with you? I'm not a dog." When she sees Ava, she stops admonishing me and sits on the other side of the other edge of the bed near Ava, holding her hand.
It is like the three of us are in a bubble. Ava is at the center with me on one side, protectively draping a wing over her, and Kayla on the other, fiercely gripping Ava's hand. Ava and Kayla whisper to each other, their voices too low for my wrist unit translator.
When a scourge stands enters the room, Ava shrieks.
I leap to my feet, beating my wings and driving the scourge out of the room. "No! Scourges cannot enter, not until they understand. No more crowding around her! No more tying her if she refuses to comply!"
I have driven the scourge out of the room, but I keep my wings wide and outstretched. I dare you to defy me. Try to enter.
"I agree. I reviewed her records. What the other scourges were doing is not appropriate. I promise that the medical staff will do better," says the scourge.
Is it really this easy? I lower my wings, but I do not step away from the door, keeping my body between the scourge and the humans. First, I give instructions for her care. When my mind spirals back to the constant worry I've had since Ava has been here, I ask my question. "Can I take her home with me?"
The scourge activates a wall unit in the hallway, showing me the details of Ava's medical report. "Unfortunately, the human is not yet fit for release. As you can see here, the human is dangerously underweight." The scourge concludes the presentation by telling me that visiting hours are over and soon, we must leave.
I continue speaking with the scourge in the hallway. I do not re-enter Ava's room because my body might betray me; I might hold onto Ava and refuse to let go.
Even though my back is to Ava, I am aware of what is happening in her room. Ava cries while Kayla tries to soothe her.
Kayla and I are quiet as we walk together through Hydra's corridors. When we arrive in front of Tarak's quarters, Kayla's inquisitive green eyes look up at me.
"Rigel, why didn't you say goodbye to Ava?"
I can't tell her about my need to possess Ava, but I tell her about my worries. "The medical staff should never have treated her so inappropriately."
"And you were giving them guidance?"
"Yes, but what if..." My feathers flutter. "What if the staff fails? What if they hurt her?"
"Do not worry. I will ensure that Ava's staff is changed," she says, cracking her knuckles and her eyes flashing with her plotting-and-planning look.
Oh no. "Kayla, you aren't planning to hack into Hydra's computer system again, are you?"
The door opens and upon seeing Kayla at my side, Tarak pulls his human mate to his side, roars at me, and then the doors to their quarters close.
My walk to my own home is brisk.
Time to use my excess energy to prepare for Ava's eventual arrival.
"Halazone," I tell my wall unit. "Show me pet supplies appropriate for a human."
"May we suggest a collar," says the warm voice of Halazone through the wall unit.
Hydra requires all pets to wear a collar. I remember seeing Ava's metal collar, a vestige from Loviatar. I did not like the look of the collar. Not just because he hurt her, but it was like he was still doing it. The parts of her neck touching the collar looked red and inflamed.
If she is coming to live with me, then I have the power to change this. So, with Halazone's assistance, I purchase a new collar for her, one that is pliant and lined with soft fur. Maybe she will think of me when she wears it?
When will she come home?
***
An emergency alert awakens me in the middle of my sleeping cycle.
I wave my hand, accepting the communication.
A big, burly scourge that I do not recognize—Ava's new nurse—fills up most of my wall screen. She gets closer to the wall monitor to see me, probably because she is surprised to see someone like me instead of a scourge. "Are you the human's emergency pet care provider?"
I wipe the sleepiness out of my eyes. "Yes, I am the designated temporary carer for the human, Ava. Is there a problem?"
"Her treatment is not yet finished, but I think she might be more comfortable if she could—"
I hear a human scream.
Ava! I jump out of bed, running through Hydra's corridors.
Only when I burst through the doors of the veterinarian medical unit does it occur to me that I could have asked questions via the wall unit instead of running here. I didn't even stop to get properly dressed and now I stand in the lobby only wearing a loose pair of boxers.
The scourge nurse, the one I just saw on my wall unit, waves at me from the desk in the lobby. The scourge nurse slowly introduces herself, telling me how she has recently been appointed to monitor Ava.
My wings beat. If the scourge nurse doesn't get to the point soon, I might shove this scourge out of the way and—
Too late. my wings spread out, taking up a large part of the lobby. It is a good thing that at this time of night, most scourges are sleeping and only the two of us are in the lobby.
This scourge nurse acts as if she does not see my outstretched wings. She must be used to belligerent, over-possessive owners.
I growl. "What's the problem this time? Are the medical staff not being appropriate again? Did they crowd her, try to tie her down, or—"
Her tail makes a loud thwack, striking the floor. The scourge glares at me. "I am the head nurse. No one would dare treat a reactive pet like that."
"Then why was she screaming when you contacted me?"
The door between the lobby and the hospital wing opens. "When anyone goes into her room, she panics."
I follow the scourge nurse down the hallway and when she comes to a sudden stop in front of Ava's room, something feels off. I tilt my head, listening. It hits me. The hallway is ominously quiet.
"When you called me, she was screaming. Did you do something to her?"
"Sedating a patient in her state is contraindicated, but we didn't see many other options. That's why I contacted you. Scourges terrify her and even though she is not quite ready, I think she might benefit from being away from the many scourges."
I walk into Ava's room and go to her bedside. For someone who has been causing a commotion, now, with her eyes closed and laid out in the hospital bed, she looks harmless.
Ava cries out. A nightmare, maybe?
I run my fingers through her hair. Ava quiets.
Petting Ava's soft hair calms me, but now that I have a taste of what I could have, petting is not enough. I would feel better if Ava were away from the scourges. "Can I...?"
Swish-swish, swish-swish. The scourge's tail rhythmically writhes on the floor. "The necessary reports have already been filed. You can take her home now if you wish. Let me get her medication, and then you can go."
I place my hands underneath the back of her knees and her backside, carefully lifting Ava from the bed. She whimpers and her eyes flutter open. I hold her close to me, running a hand through her hair.
Ava burrows herself into my chest and grabs onto my wing, pulling it over her like a blanket.
Mine! My wings snap around her.
The nurse re-enters the room. "I will send instructions about her care to your wall unit. Are you familiar with Your Human and You?"
"I..." I have given several of my clients that exact text. Despite that, I feel out of my depth. Reading about humans—even previously instructing my clients how to care for them—is not the same as having one. "Is there something important I need to know?"
"If she were in anyone else's guardianship, I don't think she'd survive—"
"Is she that bad?"
"Yes, but although your human is underweight and malnourished, based on how she responds to you, she has a better chance at recovering. Feed her often. Also, here are some sedatives," says the scourge holding out a bottle. "Be careful with them. Using it too frequently isn't good, but she might need it to become less reactive to scourges."
I grab Ava's medication. Finally, I leave, carrying Ava underneath my wings through Hydra's corridors.
Upon entering my quarters, I eye Ava's food pellets and new collar—these can wait until tomorrow after she gets a good night's sleep.
Only now do I realize the most critical pet care supply I overlooked. I only have my bed. Where exactly is Ava supposed to sleep?