Feathers & a Dash of Magic

Chapter 28: Patton's Pep Talks

CW: talk about previous fights and injuries, self deprecation

Roman groaned in pain when he woke up. His whole body felt sore, and everything was heavy. Luckily whatever he seemed to be laying on was soft, though after a moment he felt something pull a blanket over him.

He opened his eyes and was surprised to see Patton. Almost on instinct, he tried to sit up but he whimpered in pain from the movement. The human shushed him lightly and pushed him down.

"Don't try to move, at least not yet anyway," Patton advised.

"What-what happened?" Roman asked, his voice hoarse.

"That's what I want to know." Patton turned towards the hallway, hesitating for a moment. "Ah, I'll get Logan in a moment. I don't want to yell and end up waking Virgil up."

Roman's eyes widened. "Virgil!" He tried to get up, only managing to fall down again from the sudden weakness that hit him. He whined as he curled up in pain, though really his leg hurt the most, everything else just felt bruised.

"He's okay," Patton reassured him. "Virgil... Logan's making sure he's okay. Most of his injuries seem minor, and they seem to have already started healing."

The witch sighed in relief, relaxing back into the couch. Looking around the living room he saw some medical supplies on the coffee table. Cut gauze, cotton, and disinfectant.

"How did we get here?" he asked the human.

Patton picked at loose thread on his sleeve. "Logan and I brought you here, took a while though and we had to get the carriage. Darrell got us, he scratched at the door and when we opened he seemed really distressed. We followed him down the road where we found you and Virgil passed out. It looked like Virgil was trying to carry you here before he passed out." He looked up at Roman. "You two were covered in blood, and we heard gunshots earlier. What happened?"

Roman rubbed his eyes, trying to figure out the best way to say this. "We..." he sighed. "We ran into hunters. Darrell caught Virgil's scent and we were on our way to his usual spot, then we heard a gunshot. I got a bad feeling and started running, and when I got there I saw four hunters. I felt Virgil's magic and saw one of the hunters was holding his sketchbook. I figured he was hiding, and I wanted to get them away before they found out he was there. They had hunting dogs with them and-"

"They had dogs?!" Patton shouted, eyes widening in surprise.

The witch cringed back. "Y-yes? What...?"

"Oh god... Virgil..." The human put his face in his hands for a moment, rubbing his eyes. "He can't stand dogs, he's afraid of them."

"Oh... oh stars..."

"With that combined with the hunters..." Patton looked up from his hands. "What happened next?"

"The-the hunters started a fight with me, they tried to kill me. One of the hunters was the guy from town, the one I fought with. Virgil came out of hiding to help me, and things escalated from there. I ended up getting shot in the shoulder and... I don't remember much from there. I think Virgil pulled out one of my potions to heal my shoulder?" The witch rolled what was his injured shoulder around. "It doesn't hurt nearly as bad, it's just sore now. I'm just glad to hear Virgil isn't badly hurt."

The human hugged himself, leaning back in his wheelchair. "Well, his right hand is badly burned, but that's the most serious of his injuries. I'll have to ask him his side of the story."

Roman looked around some more. "Where's Darrell?"

"He's with Virgil right now. He had some blood on his fur but he didn't seem injured, do you know what that was about?"

"No, I told him to hide and stay hidden. As far as I can remember, he did exactly that. Where was the blood at?"

Patton shuttered. "Right around his mouth and claws. Maybe he got into the fight after you passed out?"

Roman folded his hands on his stomach, closing his eyes with a frown. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to protect Virgil."

"What? Roman you were shot! You did everything you could to protect him!"

"Yeah but- shit. Shit!" Roman forced himself to sit up again. "Fuck, they saw us use magic."

"They what?!"

The witch held his side as he tried to stand, only for his eyes to roll back as he fell back onto the couch. He held his head as he groaned from both pain and panic. "They saw us- Virgil he- stars... Virgil used his magic to protect me, they were going to shoot me. After he used his magic, I used my own. What if they tell someone?"

Patton put his hand on Roman's shoulder. "Why don't we ask Virgil what happened when he wakes up? In the meantime, stay here with us, I don't want you going back to the woods if it's not safe."

Roman held his face in his hands, his elbows resting on his knees. "Fuck. I should have been stronger, I wish I was better!"

"No, don't beat yourself up over it. You've saved Virgil three times now!"

"I didn't save him this time. It was more like he saved me, but we both still ended up hurt. Either way I should have been better! I've had more experience with fights! And running from hunters, monster hunters! Those Randsted hunters should have been an easy fight!"

"Hey, look at me." Patton waited till the witch looked up, seeing the serious face on the human. "If you weren't there today, Virgil would be dead." The certainty in his voice made Roman's blood go cold. "There's no way he would have been able to take on all of those hunters and dogs alone. You did help, sure he helped with the fight this time but what's wrong with that? Everyone needs help sometimes, and it's been five years since you've been in a major fight, right?"

Roman hugged himself. "I guess? But still-"

"No, stop that. You did help my brother. He's home right now, resting safely in his room. So is Darrell! And you're here too, you're just as important as Virgil. I know you're probably still going to feel bad for yourself, but try looking at it from my perspective? Because of you, my brother was saved from those hunters three times now! You helped him each time, and he's still alive because of that."

"And if those hunters tell someone? What if monster hunters come?"

"You've seen how this town acts with Virgil, he might not believe it but I'm fully confident that if some outsider tried to take him they would all fight for him. And as for you? You've not only helped keep some of us alive, but you've also saved Virgil from the hunters. You're part of this village whether you like it or not, and they're not going to let anyone hurt you."

"You have no idea what monster hunters are capable of. Besides, maybe Miss Kayda and the Millers don't hate magic, but how do you know all the others don't feel the same way?"

"I don't, but I do know that they care for you two. Plus, if they all hate magic so much then the moment the rumor of you being a witch started going around they probably would have done something to you. Matela is loyal, and it's your home now." Patton took his hand off of Roman's shoulder. "I'm going to check on Logan and Virgil, I'll be back soon."

Roman nodded and the human started to leave. Before he went down the hall though, the witch called, "Hey Patton?"

"Hm?" He turned around to face Roman.

"Thanks."

"No problem, you're practically family at this point."