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The thing about Ether corruption is that even the doctors studying its effects barely have any concrete timeline for symptoms. There are generalities and similarities but at the bottom line everyone’s body turns into an ethereal in a different way. The good news is that being out of the hollow and having my system flushed with anti-corruption medicine’s, thank god for the Thymefield family by the way, I wasn’t going to fully turn into an ethereal in the ambulance and they managed to get me into an actual hospital bed in the city. The bad and terrible news is that I could feel the crystals in my lungs. Apparently my body reacts to intense ether corruption by losing control but I get to keep on feeling and thinking, and I will be honest Lucy, I would rather have gone into a standard coma. Maybe if that were the case I’d get to have a moment like my romance novels where the next thing I remember after an accident is some stunning hero, muttering something stupid about their feelings for me as I slowly drift back to awake.
Unfortunately I remember the ambulance and I remember getting a breathing tube shoved down my throat. When I wake up, remind me we gotta pay Burnice more, by the way. That girl stayed in the ER with me and even though I couldn’t hear what she was saying when the doctors and nursing staff tried to usher her out they ended up bringing her scrubs and she stayed in the room. I think they actually ended up deferring to her as far as my burns go, which is impressive considering I don’t think she has a doctorate of any kind but I also stopped feeling the burn pain and got to focus on the ether pain instead. Yay.
For what its worth Lucy, I think if I don’t make a recovery you should absolutely take over the Sons. I know we’ve argued plenty but you’d be the best to lead it, just remember to listen to Pipe when it comes to the logistics side of things, that woman has forgotten more about trucking than either of us will ever know, but you learned business from your family before you ran away. Family might be a strong word there actually. You have their name, I don’t know how you’d ever hear what I’m saying now but I hope you know that we are family too. You and Calydon, me and Calydon. We fight and we tussle and we argue but we’ve always had each other, Big Daddy raised me and Piper is like an aunt. Lighter is great for stress relief and Burnice always keeps the mood up, but you, you came later. The Outer Ring is harsh but out there we’ve always managed to persevere and it’s made us strong. When you showed up, fresh from your boarding school and running away from your pampered problems. At least that’s what I thought, and that’s what I continued to think for a long time.
Lucy Montefio, you proved me wrong more times than I can count. Not about running the Sons of Calydon, of course, even when you’ve been right about that, you’ve been wrong, because I’m in charge. No, you proved me wrong about yourself. Even with your fancy lotions and shampoos that I can’t pronounce you’ve proved that you are just as stubborn and hard headed as any Outer Ringer I’ve ever met. The little ones get it from you, you know? The reason they’re so stubborn and combative (and maybe the reason they can swing a bat so well).
Being in a hospital bed and not being able to even talk to the people in the room is its own special hell. Burnice is here all the time keeping watch and telling me what the gang is up to, but the treatment sucks and even though they got the ether crystals in my lungs to go down the ones in the rest of my muscles still sting and hurt like hell every time anything moves. No matter how many painkillers they have me on, a thousand little razors cutting up my muscles still hurt like a mother fucker, and the boredom might be worse than anything else. Even with the periodic updates Burnice is taking it hard and she isn’t her usual self when she comes to update me. It’s been 2 weeks and she’s running out of optimism with me unconscious in a bed, listening and quiet, not that she’d be able to tell I can see and hear her right now. You haven’t come by yet, by the way, I’d want you to know that I’m stable, but I’m sure the others have told you by now and I’m still pissed that I haven’t seen you.
That hurts worse than anything else y’know Lucy? That Burnice is here every day talking to the doctors about my treatment and progress, giving me updates even though she doesn’t think I can hear them. Lighter shows up every few days with the silver haired Phaethon to check on me. Even Piper has managed to make it out here between being the acting overlord and organizing the truck routes so the gangs are actually split evenly. And nothing from you, not a note or flowers or anything from the girl who I’ve fought with the most and relied on to keep things running in spite of my mistakes. Even Big Daddy managed to get out here once. He was a blubbering mess and his emotions were intense but how can he manage to get out here and see his daughter and the closest person in my life can’t? Talking to you is the only thing keeping me from losing my mind. You were there in the ambulance and now even with everyone in my room you aren’t there and I am alone.
I haven’t talked to Billy in years, at least not in person, and I guess I still haven’t if we’re being technical. But he talked at me at least. It’s good to hear him, and he’s doing well at Gentle House it sounds like. Same old Billy, he brought in a stack of Romance Manga and read them to me. Sweet guy, he puts on a full performance and when Lighter got in with Wise they put on an even fuller performance if you can believe it. I hope I wake up soon so I can tease Lighter, his performance as the FMC was good though, I think I would have been moved to tears if my body would react. After the performance Lighter and Wise went up to the roof to catch up and Wise stayed in the room, changing my pillow and getting the care updates from the nurses. He’s good like that, and it seems like he’s been the one sharing updates with everyone when they can’t make it in person. I hope he’s been updating you.
Luciana Auxesis Theodoro de Montefio stood in the hospital waiting room, the tension in her body had already bent the metal armrest on the chair she was using. Upstairs she knew Caesar was in a bed, stable but prognosis uncertain, she had read Wise’s updates, each one concise, for hours each. Those updates were her lifeline out of despair and fear, and even then the uncertainty had bent or cracked every armrest that she’d been awake in. Every armrest except for the ones in Steeltusk, the truck was like its driver and owner in that way, a rough exterior that simply would not budge until it wanted to, something solid, which she needed more than ever right now. It was stupid, Piper also had a lot of stress right now, being in charge of the new Sons of Calydon operations back in Blazewood, but Piper was rock solid and wizened by years, and Luci didn’t know what to do at the prospect of losing her–. Losing her what? Her enemy? That wasn’t right, they fought, sure, but even if Caesar never saw it, Luci was glad that she never won the duels for leadership. She would be fine at it of course, exemplary even, after the years at boarding school she had learned how to lead and run any organization. That wasn’t why she challenged her. She challenged Caesar because it drove Caesar to try even harder, and do everything she could to run the gang as best she could.
Her friend? That wasn’t inaccurate, they were friends, even if Caesar kept stealing the exotic shampoos and bodywashes that Luci bought at a wild premium, usually through that new Thiren girl Burnice had dragged into the gang. Pulchra usually could find the better deals on things from the city and was a reliable gofer. Friendship, though, seemed like a different type of relationship. Friendship was what she had with, not many people, she thought, but more these days than she used to. Lighter was the closest thing she had to what she’d call a “friend”, but she wasn’t the greatest at expressing her feelings. Burnice and Piper she could also call friends, but they were more like sister and aunt. She loved and cherished them, but they both did things that drove her insane. Pulchra she could probably be friends with before too long too, the cat was actually very business savvy and took things seriously, also, she smelled nice and bought her own shampoo’s.
No, she either didn’t know what Caesar was to her, or didn’t want to admit it. She couldn’t imagine a life without Caesar. Caesar who had lit a fire in her when she ran away. Caesar who managed to make a home, somehow, out of a desert outpost, and convinced Luci to stop running. Caesar who she loved to see fight. Caesar, who hadn’t opened her eyes in 2 weeks and who might not open them again.
Someone sat down next to Luci. She could smell the distinct cigarette and engine grease and so she didn’t react when the figure grabbed her hand except to squeeze it hard.
“It’ll be okay Luce. She’s a fighter, you’ll probably know that better than anyone else. In the meantime I know you’ve left running things in Blazewood to me and Big Daddy.”
The Younger woman was holding on to Piper’s hand as though it was the only warmth she had ever felt. Her heart felt like it was trying to pull itself through her ribs the wrong way and the guilt she had about her inability to do much these past weeks was already starting to pull tears from her eyes. The hospital waiting room was already intense and she wasn’t sure what she would do if Piper said anything to reprimand her now.
The older woman sighed and took a deep breath, squeezing Luci’s hand and pulling her out of her own head, which was a terrible place to be at the moment, “Don’t worry about it. Big Daddy and I have been talking. You didn’t grow up in the Outer Ring. You fit in there and I won’t ever say that you aren’t from there, but you haven’t been there long as me and the Boarman. Loss happens out there. Lord knows I’ve lost more ‘n a few good friends and even some that I’da called family. Right now I think that’s a good thing. We’re all worried about Caesar, her being in this coma is tough. If I recall this is the first time you’ve had to worry about something like this.”
Luci stiffened. Piper wasn’t exactly right, but she wasn’t fully wrong either. She hadn’t ever had anyone die on her yet, outside of some distant family when she was younger, but she had lost people from her life for other reasons. Hell, she had lost a good amount of her family for other reasons too.
“Do you think she’ll be mad that I haven’t made it in to see her yet? I– I miss her Piper. You guys are the closest I have to family since I left the city, and I don’t like to come back here. My family is still trying to find me and drag me back to be the heiress.”
“You should tell her yourself. Honestly, if she is frustrated it might be enough to wake her up just so she could fight you about it.”
Luci felt a smile crack her face, it felt unnatural after so long and she had been convinced the muscles had atrophied.
Piper stood up and pulled Luci unwilling to her feet.
“We’re going upstairs. You don’t gotta say anything you ain’t ready for, but we are going upstairs and you’re at least gonna let her know you’re there.”
Luci nodded, lightheaded and scared, and let her friend pull her into the elevator. As the door closed, she stiffened, as two men in suits with her family’s crest on the breast pocket walked into the waiting room and walked up to the front reception.
You finally walked in the door. I think it meant more to me that I thought because the cardiac monitor jumped a couple times and I could feel my eyes flutter under their lids. If I weren’t stuck in this bed I would have jumped out and smacked you for waiting two weeks to come see me.
Piper had stepped outside the door and it looked like she had a bat in her hands, but I couldn’t see what what she was actually doing.
You were here though, so I really couldn’t care less what else was happening outside the door. You were here, stiff and motionless in the corner, but you were here, finally.
You stepped forward, and I couldn’t smell your usual perfume, your clothes were wrinkled and dirty, even for an Outer Ring girl. You never let your clothes get dirty, so my frustration kinda got the wind knocked out of it. I’ve never seen you look so tired.
“Hey Caesar,” you said “You’ve been out for a while,”
You always whine about such small things.
“We’ve been doing okay. I’m sure they already told you but Big Daddy and Piper are handling the new duties we have as the head gang out by Blazewood.”
You always whine, I’d never seen you be timid.
“I’m sorry I didn’t come in earlier. It was a lot. I don’t think I’ve told you this, but it’s dangerous for me to come into New Eridu. Some people here would prefer it if I didn’t leave the city.”
Whatever that meant was interrupted by one of the nurses coming in. She was some sort of rodent thiren I couldn’t quite place and she came in with a grim look on her face. She said something quiet to you that I couldn’t quite hear but the look on your face made it clear that it wasn’t anything good. She handed you a clipboard and a pen and gave what I’m sure was supposed to be a comforting squeeze on your arm but she doesn’t know you like I do.