Chapter Text
Avana was walking home from a snack run. She had drawn the short straw and thus was cast out to go buy more snacks for all-nighter study sessions. The student had argued she was the worst one to go as she’d accidentally break a bone tripping over her shoes. Though, she had been getting better at not falling or running into things all the time. She carried the food and drinks in her backpack.
Despite it being night time, she hummed a happy tune as she walked back toward the campus dorms. Her mind wandered to her project she needed to complete, planning out structures to better manage her time and make it all worthwhile. She thrived on organization with her class projects and studies. Everything needed to be planned out before being set in motion. Being so lost in thought, she didn’t notice that someone had been following her.
Avana yelped when her backpack was pulled causing her to fall backwards. She quickly dropped the backpack and scrambled to her feet. “What the hell?” she huffed, narrowing her eyes. A small group of dark clad figures were behind her. “What is this? If this is a prank, it isn’t funny.” she growled.
“Oh shut it,” one of them snapped at her. “You don’t deserve to keep wasting his time.”
Avana blinked in confusion. “Huh? Are you insane? What are you on about?” she asked, cautiously stepping back. The group tried to surround and box her in. Unease pooled in her gut. Her eyes darted around for an escape route.
“The Doctor, are you dumb?” another voice scoffed. “You keep wasting his time with your constant problems and idiocy.” Avana raised an eyebrow and the group circled her even more. “Please, you really think he won’t leave like your parents did?”
Avana couldn’t help but flinch back, eyes widened. Mentioning her parents had always been a low blow. She grit her teeth and tried to bolt through a small gap in the circle. The people quickly grabbed her and threw her back into the middle. She grunted as she hit the ground with a thud. “Come on,” she grumbled. “You’re all crazy!”
Those words seemed to make them snap. The small mob lunged at her. Avana shrieked and conjured a shield of fire to protect herself. The fire didn’t scare off the gang—it only seemed to fuel their attacks. Her shield cracked and weakened and Avana tried to strengthen it, yelping as the shield shattered from a particularly hard blow.
“Get her!” Avana hissed in pain as people kicked her and punched her. She curled into a fetal position to protect her face. Pain blossomed throughout her body, mind too scattered from the pain to create another shield. She protested and struggled to get away from the constant pain. She sobbed, clawing at the ground.
A sharp agonizing pain flared through her side and the group stopped their barrage. Avana panted and weakly reached for her backpack. The group snickered and laughed as they left her on the ground, bruised and beaten. She shakily grabbed her *phone from the front pocket, dropping it before calling for help and pressing on the bleeding stab wound in her side.
—
Being famous came with a lot of pros and cons. Fame brought power, status, and money as well as crazy fanatics. Any celebrity could attest to having some more unstable and crazy fans as well as psychotic haters. Veritas Ratio was no stranger to this harsh reality. However, he didn’t think they’d be crazy enough to go after his own students.
It wasn’t uncommon for the professor to spend late nights in his office grading papers and filling out paperwork for his classes. He didn’t immediately hear his phone ring. Ratio frowned as his office hours had long ended. If his students needed help with the work, they could call him tomorrow, and Aventurine was still busy with his own mission so he wasn’t calling.
“This better be important, Avana,” Ratio sighed, answering the phone. His brows furrowed in concern as Avana was breathing painfully and heavily. “What’s wrong?” He stopped his paperwork and turned his phone on speaker.
“Umm,” Avana’s voice was uncharacteristically quiet and meek. “Doctor…I need help.” She hissed in pain, pressing her side firmly. Blood seeped through her clothes, staining her hand. “I…I was attacked and umm, I think I was stabbed.” She coughed weakly.
Ratio felt his blood run cold. “Where are you?” he asked, grabbing his jacket and first aid kit. He didn’t wait for an answer before leaving his office.
“Near…the dorms.” Avana’s voice grew weaker and Ratio started running. “Don’t hang up. Stay awake for me,” he demanded. “Don’t you dare fall asleep, Avana.” He kept running through the building and into the cool night air. He grit his teeth when he could hear her phone claatter to the ground.
“Oh, Aeons,” Ratio cursed, finding Avana in a pool of blood. He knelt next to her, anger rising as he took in her injuries. She breathed shallowly, frighteningly pale. He took off his sash and used it to wrap her torso and side, putting pressure on her wound. He gently picked her up after grabbing her backpack and the medkit.
“I need some help here!” Ratio demanded as he burst into the Guild’s hospital. Nurses immediately rushed over and Ratio gently put Avana down on the hospital bed. “She was attacked and stabbed. She’s lost a lot of blood, and she may have some cracked or broken ribs.” He distributed his medkit and the backpack on the chair before following the nurses into the OR.
—
Avana groaned, slowly opening her eyes. Her body ached and the bright hospital lights nearly blinded her. Surrounding her hospital bed were Chase, Rivera, and Jasper. Ratio was outside of her room, angrily pacing. She tried to sit up, hissing in pain as the stitches pulled. So, she was forced to lay back down. The hospital room was relatively large with a tv, a small bathroom, and a window couch that could be pulled out to a small bed.
“You’re awake!” Rivera exclaimed in relief, gently hugging Avana, careful not to aggravate her wounds. “You were out for a while.” Her green eyes were full of worry and anger. “You…you almost died,” she murmured hauntedly. Avana’s eyes widened.
Chase was sitting the closest to the hospital bed. He gave off a slight chill, eyes narrowed. “We’ll get the bastards who did this,” he growled, eyes softening as he looked at her. “Are you okay? I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help you,” he whispered, swallowing thickly.
“I’m…okay,” Avana whispered, unsure if she was lying or telling the truth. She didn’t know what to feel. “Umm, I don’t know. I’m alive, right?” She shifted, feeling the discomfort of IV in her arm. The machine's steady beeping grounded her.
“It’s natural to feel off after a near death experience. And don’t you dare call it ‘a vibe check from Nanook’ or I will punch you,” Jasper deadpanned, rolling his eyes as Avana giggled, hissing in pain again. “And no laughing. It will hurt.”
“Yeah, no shit Sherlock,” Avana huffed, looking at her brother. She grabbed his hand. “I’m alive, Chase. Don’t…don’t blame yourself. Don’t any of you blame yourselves.” She looked at all of them and Chase squeezed her hand. “No one could have predicted this. Please, don’t blame yourselves,” she whispered pleadingly.
Avana looked up when Ratio came into the room. He had bags under his eyes and he looked ragged. He hadn’t slept or rested since she had called him. “You’re awake,” he said, relief evident in his tone. “You did the right thing by calling me. If you are able to, can you walk me through what happened?”
“Doctor, I don’t think—” Chase was cut off by Avana. “I can,” she nodded. “Chase, it’s okay. I’m okay.” She took a deep breath and recounted the incident, putting emphasis on how she shielded herself at first before the attacks got too bad. Her voice cracked by the end of her recount and she took a shuddering breath.
“Thank you,” Ratio pursed his lips, anger burning through him. He’d make sure all of her attackers were charged and arrested. “Get some rest, and don;t worry about your project or the classes. I’m sure someone will take notes for you. Just focus on getting better.” He squeezed her shoulder comfortingly.
Avana hesitated but nodded after seeing his stern look. “I will,” she sighed, not exactly happy with it. “Can you stay?” she asked quietly, fidgeting with her fingers. Ratio’s eyes softened and he nodded. “Of course.” He and Jasper set up the small window bed. Rivera left to grab more pillows and blankets from the nurses, and Chase stayed glued to Avana’s side. He had climbed into the hospital bed with her. It was a tight fit, but one Avana appreciated. She rested her head on Chase’s shoulder, exhaustion washing over her.
“Sleep well,” Chase whispered, shifting to get comfortable as his sister let her exhaustion get the better of her. As the night droned on, Ratio found himself at the bottom of a cuddle pile with Rivera and Jasper. Early into the next morning, Aventurine had breathlessly arrived at the hospital. He had gotten the message from Ratio about Avana’s attack and immediately dropped his work to come over.
The Stoneheart sighed in relief as he saw everyone asleep. He quietly stepped into the room, definitely not taking any pictures of everyone sleeping. Aventurine fixed the blanket over Avana and Chase and settled into one of the chairs, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He’d help Ratio catch her attackers, and he wouldn’t show mercy. No one hurt his family and got away with it. But for now, he could rest assured that Avana was alive.