Looking For Group

Part 31

The first thing Wild saw when he woke up again was Twilight.

Twilight was on the bed adjacent to him. He was asleep, his chest slowly rising and falling, his steady heart monitor showing he was having hopefully pleasant dreams. He had a breathing apparatus over his nose, an IV in his right arm, and settled over his chest was the Master Sword. He was shirtless, his torso an ugly sea of purple bruises. Taking a longer look, Wild could swear he could see the bruises slowly melting away

Twilight's left arm was set in a cast. Someone had already decorated it with several badly-drawn penises.

Speaking of, Wild realized he had to pee. Badly. He quickly checked- no catheter- and sat up in bed, groaning lightly as the small movement nearly had him lose control. It was a simple matter of pulling out the IV. After all those months in the hospital he's had plenty of practice. His saline bag was nearly empty anyways. He reached over and turned off his heart monitor.

Three, two, one...

A nurse came rushing into the room. "Goodness!" She said, seeing a perfectly alive Wild. "I was ready to call for a crash cart."

"I'm fine," said Wild. He swung his legs over the edge. "Just getting up to use the toilet."

She came closer to help. "Do you need me to lean on?"

He's been escorted to the toilet a thousands times to feel embarrassed by this point. "Sure."

From behind he heard a strange noise, like a mouse sneezing. He turned around to look.

Flora Roham was curled up asleep in a chair.

She... did not look like Wild expected. In all of the magazine covers she's been on, she's always posed and collected, wearing the fanciest clothes money could buy. The girl sitting here was wearing a wrinkled hoodie, had no makeup on, and her short blonde hair was a mess. She also wore thick round glasses. Wild didn't even know she wore glasses. They sat low on her nose, threatening to slip off.

Wild gaped at the sight. "How long has she been sitting there?" He whispered to the nurse

"Um... since you've nearly been here," she said.

Flora Roham. The heiress to the Guardian Company. This... was his princess, right? The person blessed by the Goddess Herself to act as the other half to the Hero? Wild thought back to what Twilight had said. "You have someone who loves you and wants to see you!"

Right now he couldn't concentrate on that. His bladder was giving him a five second warning to either get it to a toilet or prepare to soil himself. He tore his gaze away, and with the nurse's help, waddled his tired body over to the bathroom.

***

"I think I can walk just fine now," said Wild once he finished washing his hands "I feel better."

The nurse nodded. "Alright. I'm going to check on your Hero friend and then I'll let you rest."

Wild didn't leave the bathroom just yet. He took a moment to drink some water and wash his face. He looked at himself in the mirror, turning his head to the side grimacing at the sight of the gigantic bruise on his cheek. He had so many little scabs, and wound under his chin had been stitched up. Just another scar to add to his shitty collection.

As he exited the bathroom, the nurse passed him by, giving him a quick nod, then left the room. He looked back to his hospital bed.

Flora Roham was awake.

She was standing up, her hands clasped in front of her. She was still-half asleep, and she took a moment to take off her glasses to rub at her eyes. She put them back on, standing at attention.