Finger's Crossed: Mark of The Egos Volume II

Magic and Medicine

There was a knock at Schneeplestein's door. When he opened it, he was met with a hesitant Marvin, his mask barely concealing his worry.
"Marvin," Schneep confirmed the sight.
"Henrik," Marvin answered. "May I come in?"
Schneeplestein gave a solemn nod and Marvin gave a timid smile before entering and sitting down on his friend's couch. His leg bounced around, no matter how much he rubbed it. Schneeplestein noticed it first. "Do you want me to prescribe something for your nerves? I think the pharmacy's still open-"
"No, that's okay," Marvin intercepted. "I don't want to take too much of your time. It's just..." he sighed. "My home is no longer safe. I-I need a place to stay."
Schneep's jaw dropped, eyes widened. "Oh," he muttered. "Schiesse, Marv, what happened?"
Marvin looked up, begging himself not to let down his guard, forcing the lump down. "A whole bunch of anti-egos tracked me down while I was with a regular customer. They threw a Molotov cocktail through the window, and it hit the customer's sister." He once again got choked up, but he tried to push through it. "She was 12. The customer was 16." Marvin bowed his head down, softly weeping. "I have nowhere else to go, Henrik."
Schneeplestein was speechless. "Hey, you can crash here. It's fine, liebchen."
Marvin looked up from his hands and smiled. "Thanks, man."
Schneep shook his head. "No problem."
Marvin brought a hand to his mouth, coyly refraining his mouth from view and laid on the couch. Schneep rushed over to get a blanket from the bin below, but before he could, Marvin brought his cape over his shoulders, removed his mask, and closed his weary eyes. In minutes, Schneep saw him go into R.E.M. His eyes darted back and forth, but Schneep could see the dark circles, deciding not to wake him. He walked to his room, letting out a heavy sigh once he closed the door. He went to sleep that night, and dreamt he was locked in a black and dark blue room, barren of any windows, furniture or shelving. When he awoke, he went out to the living room to ask Marvin what it meant, but he instead found a folded blanket and a note;

Thank you Henrik.
I sincerely apologize for my intrusion, and pray the bad blood between us has evaporated.

The note was only signed by the top half of a cat's face, but only Marvin could write cursive that neatly. Atop the note was a stack of quarters and 20 dollar bill. Schneeplestein set the money on the table next to the sofa and flipped the note over.

The money's for putting up with me. *wink*

Schneeplestein smiled. And just like that, the bad blood evaporated.