A snake with its head cut off is still a snake.
Alex was tied to the bed. As soon as he woke up, his first thought was to go on a suicide mission—which was difficult enough when he couldn't even move. When the doctor finally came after getting fed up with his shouting, he questioned whose lunatic idea it was to immobilize him.
The doctor shared with him that it was the kid who had declared that he refused to rest in his room until he had finished tying the wolf.
"You're a doctor, aren't you?" snapped Alex. "How could you let him tie a patient to the bed?!"
"Actually, I think it's necessary," the doctor replied.
"What?!" growled Alex.
"You're in no condition to fight, you're not even well enough to leave the hospital," the doctor shared his opinion.
"Don't bullshit me, doctor," the wolf growled, "I have to go, and I have to go now! I don't want to spend one minute..."
"Do you really think that would make sense?" the fae interrupted, and the other was stunned into silence "You'd get yourself killed for nothing."
"But..." the wolf began. "I... have to..."
He hadn't noticed when the tears started to flow.
"Don't forget this feeling, Alex," said the doctor, "It's called bitterness, despair even—those who let it get the better of them are rushing to their death. But he who keeps them deep within himself, and nurtures them patiently, may become victorious. If you really feel it was your fault, I could say otherwise, but you wouldn't believe me, so I won't even try. Instead, I'd rather say, if you really feel it was your fault, remember these feelings and become stronger instead of getting yourself killed."
With that, the doctor left the room with the elegance and superiority of a fae. Alex covered his eyes with his arm and was now sure that every word the doctor said was true. He was determined to burn into his heart all the things that had made his chest ache so painfully so that he would remember them forever.
The door creaked open, and Ábel entered with a large pile of candy in his arms, a forced smile on his face. "I thought you could use some cheering up," he said, trying to sound upbeat, but his voice lacked its usual confidence.
Alex, still bound to the bed and drenched in frustration, glared at him. "Candy? Really?" His voice held a hint of amusement, but it was tinged with exhaustion.
Ábel hesitated for a moment, shifting the candy in his arms, and gave a sheepish laugh. "Yeah, I know it's not the best idea. But I thought… maybe it'd help distract you a little."
Alex couldn't smile, but he appreciated the gesture. "Thanks, Ábel. I'm just… tired, you know?" He gestured to the restraints, his voice softer now. "I can't do anything. I can't move, I can't help anyone. I'm useless."
Ábel's face fell, the lightness in his expression vanishing as he set the candy on the table beside Alex's bed and sat down. "No," he said quietly, shaking his head. "You're not useless. You've always been the one to look after everyone. You're strong, Alex."
Alex sighed and looked away, his eyes distant. "I don't feel strong right now."
Ábel dropped into the chair beside him, not bothering to unpack the candy. His shoulders slumped, and he stared at the floor for a long moment before speaking again. "I... I know this is tough for you. For both of us. For all of us. And I don't really know how to help."
Alex stayed quiet, his mind too clouded with frustration to reply. But Ábel wasn't finished. "I just… I don't know what to do, Alex. I'm worried. I'm scared. I don't know how to fix any of this."
He looked down at the candy on the table, as if it could somehow provide an answer to the storm swirling inside him.
"I just… I just want him back," Ábel said quietly, his voice full of pain and trembling.
Alex looked at him, seeing how much Ábel was hurting. "I know. We all do."
Ábel sniffed and wiped his face, but then his eyes started to well up again. "It's just—"
He was cut off by an exaggerated sniffle that wasn't quite as dignified as he hoped. "Ugh," he groaned, trying to pull himself together. "I swear, I've never cried this much in my life. I'm such a mess. If I had a dollar for every time I've cried in the last ten minutes, I'd be rich. Fuck. I know, I am not really helping with this."
For a brief second, Ábel's shoulders shook with another suppressed sob. "Sorry. I don't even know what I'm doing."
Alex couldn't help but watch as Ábel tried to fight the tears, his effort to appear composed only making it more pitiful. Ábel sniffled again, and then his face contorted as if he were bracing for another round of tears. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, looking utterly defeated. "Sorry, I'm probably going to flood this whole room."
"Well," Alex said with a slight smile, "just make sure you don't drown in it. I'm not in any condition to rescue you right now."
Ábel nodded vigorously trying to hold himself together, but then his face crumpled. Before Alex could blink, Ábel was bawling, full force. He buried his face in his hands and let out an embarrassing sob, his body shaking as he hiccuped between the tears.
"I am so sad!" His voice cracked as he sniffled loudly, the sound more tragic than anything Alex had heard in a while. Ábel sniffed, wiped his face with the back of his hand, and immediately started to sob even harder. "I want to beat up everyone who hurt you guys!" He looked at the candy bag like it was his last hope.
"Okay, okay..." Alex said softly. "Just... try not to eat all of it, alright?"
Ábel, eyes red and puffed up, hiccupped, his face almost unrecognizable in his misery. But then, with an audible sniff, he grabbed the candy bag and ripped it open in a frenzy, eyes wide. "I need this. I need this more than oxygen," he muttered, shoveling pieces of candy into his mouth like he was on some bizarre sugar-fueled trip.
He chewed noisily, his tears still falling. The candy wrapper crinkled as he chewed and sniffled, making everything worse. "I promised Shay that I would protect him. I promised to protect all his friends," he mumbled between bites, tears dripping onto his shirt. "I am an awful brother!" He shoved another handful of candy in his mouth, chewing so quickly that it was almost painful to watch.
Alex couldn't hold it in any longer. He laughed, a quiet, raspy chuckle escaping him as he watched Ábel shove candy into his mouth with wild desperation, the sugary mess distracting him from his sobs. "Ábel, you're—you're going to choke."
"I can't stop!" Ábel wailed, crumbs and wrappers falling from his hands as he grabbed more candy, shoving it in his mouth like it was his last meal. "I'm eating my feelings! This is supposed to make me feel better, right? So why do I feel worse?!"
"I don't think you're supposed to solve everything with candy," Alex teased.
Ábel paused mid-sob, looking at Alex like he was the one who'd lost his mind. "Do you see the state I'm in? What do you think I'm supposed to do? Scream? Punch a wall? Because all I want right now is to drown in sugar and pretend everything is fine!"
He didn't wait for a response, instead grabbing even more candy and stuffing it into his mouth, like the universe could somehow be fixed with sweets.
After a long pause, Alex let out a sigh. "Ábel..." His voice was quieter than usual, thick with the weight of everything they were facing. "Can you, uh... feed me some?"
Ábel, mid-bite, froze and looked up, his eyes wide as if Alex had asked him to do something impossible. He wiped his face with the back of his hand, tears still streaming down his cheeks, and nodded like it was the most serious mission he'd been given all day. "What do you mean, feed you—oh, I—sure, of course!"
Ábel's hands trembled as he grabbed another piece of candy, unwrapping it clumsily, and brought it to Alex's lips. Alex took it without a word, his face unreadable. They ate in silence, Ábel's sobs occasionally hiccupping through the room.
Ábel sat there for hours, feeding Alex candy in the dim light of the room, both of them crying—Ábel loudly and uncontrollably, while Alex's tears fell more quietly, unacknowledged, but no less real.
A week had passed since then—it must have seemed like an eternity to Alex. Promising the doctor that he would at least wait until most of his wounds had healed, the fae removed the straps that held him to the bed.
Since he was condemned to lie down, he could do nothing but stare aimlessly at the sky stretching outside the window. It was on one such afternoon that there was a soft, awkward knock at his door.
He sighed deeply and pretended not to hear it. He heard faint sounds of speech from behind the door, and then it opened. The half-angry-half-confused Coffee entered first, followed by Mose.
"Why didn't you say anything?" hissed the vampire girl.
Alex slowly raised his eyes to her. "It's far better that you came here than going after Shay."
Coffee was so shocked by what she had heard that, in a moment most unbefitting of a noble vampire, her lips parted slightly.
"Don't...," she began quietly, "Don't you want to go after him?"
"Don't get me wrong," Alex said immediately, as he turned his gaze to the vampire girl again.
It was the first time Coffee had seen him so serious. The intensity in his eyes was hauntingly familiar—the look of a man bracing for the battle ahead, a warrior preparing for the inevitable clash.
"The Crosspherat will regret that they ever incurred our wrath," he continued, "They thought Shay was the real threat, as he is the leader of our famiglia... but I think we ourselves can be as much of a threat as our leader."
The vampire girl nodded.
"Well, then, I guess we'll need a safe place to plan a counterattack," Moses interjected as he piled a large stack of books and scribbled notes on Alex's bedside table, adding casually that they were his books and his photocopied notes from school.
Alex didn't quite understand why he needed to catch up with school at such a critical time, but he left it at that and asked what he was a little more concerned about.
"What do you mean by 'we'?" Alex asked, and then his eyes widened. "Why are you even here? Why do you even know about the situation?"
The boy chuckled, and then his lips settled into a slight smile as he spoke.
"I assumed Shay would keep my secret," the boy said, "In any case, I'm a mage. I know a trick or two."
Alex frowned in puzzlement as he glanced at Coffee, hoping she would shed some light on why Mose was crazy—but the vampire princess did nothing of the sort, merely nodding her head.
"What?!" Alex sat up immediately in bed, but immediately regretted the abruptness of it, and fell back into the pillows instead. After about two seconds of malfunctioning, he asked the question rather resignedly, "How is that possible?"
"Well, I can explain my family tree, but I don't think you'll find it too interesting," Mose replied, and Alex just gave a tired little nod.
"And what's the plan?" asked Coffee.
"Bring Roli over," said the wolf, "He's probably already got some sort of a plan."
Coffee pressed her lips together, regaining her composure. "You're putting a lot of faith in him," she remarked.
The wolf shrugged. "That little bastard thrives on chaos. If anyone can turn this mess around, it's him."
Coffee hesitated. "Are you sure about this? He's just a child."
The wolf gave a dry chuckle. "A child who could outsmart the people in this room more than once."
She frowned, clearly unconvinced. "That doesn't mean we should be dragging him into this."
"Coffee," the wolf said, his voice steady, "he's already in it. Whether we like it or not."
She let out a slow breath, her lips pressing into a thin line. "Then let's hope he really does have a plan."