Handcrafted Presents Are Best Presents

Summer 2021, Week 4

Wednesday morning

Riverview Hospital Center, City Centre

Ari Thomas

Walking the sterilized white halls of the hospital made him feel slightly uneasy. He gingerly cradles two boxes, two gifts of many to come for the AERI team. It was easy-ish to find Inferno and Victory, as they were here in the hospital. As for the others: the small girl with a metal suit, Miss Sloane, Rosey, and the other two that he didn't recognize so well.. the one with the white hair and facial studs, and the other lady, he still would have yet to give them theirs.   It took a little convincing and to actually open up the packages to show they were gifts and not something bad. Jeez, being a public figure for evos is getting to be scary if they have to check for bombs and crap. He was led to Inferno's room first, the person escorting Ari knocking lightly on the door.  

Isaac Crysentine

Isaac had been doing nothing besides staring at the ceiling and contemplating his life choices when the knock startled him from the door. "Come in!" he said loudly but meekly, almost entirely healed but still weak from his time in the hospital. He had no idea who it could be - Isaac hadn't seen any of his friends since he went unconscious. It could be Sloane coming to chew him out, or the Mayor telling him he was done. Or maybe it was Bolt who had escaped, and was finally come to kill him once and for all. 'Please let it just be Sloane coming to scold me.'  

Storyteller

The nurse escorting Ari smiles and opens the door, stating in a soft voice, "You have a visitor. Someone that has a gift for you!" He stands to the side, holding the door for Ari as he steps into the room, a warm smile on his face.  

Ari Thomas

"Heyya, dude. It's me, the boulder brain from a couple days ago." Though his expression was warm and pleasant, it did little to cover up how tired he felt; his eyes had dark circles beneath them, and the bruises he recieved on his face still hadn't completely healed.   "I wanted to check in and see how you were doing, and I made you a gift to hopefully help you feel better." He smiles and sets a cardboard box labeled 'Inferno' on the top of the table near the bed. "I'm sorry the packing tape had to be cut open, but the people up front wanted to make sure it wasn't dangerous."  

Isaac Crysentine

The flame hero's expression went from defensive and mentally blocked to relaxation and warmth. As Ari put the gift in his palms, Isaac couldn't help but notice the exhaustion in the man's eyes. Gingerly, he opened the present to reveal a black-tinted glass cup with flames etched into the base. Isaac was nothing short of dazzled by it, running his fingers over the little embers and seeing the painstaking attention to detail that went into this. 'Nice to have a rock dude on our side.' he thought to himself, setting the cup down.   "I think I'll be using this to drink everything from now on, thank you so much." As he gave a shy smile, he looked back to the nurse and the man standing before him. "Make sure to get some rest, you deserve it. It's been a long week and it seems like everything is starting to just get worse." Isaac leaned back into his bed and looked at the view of New Victoria from his hospital room. "You're one of us now, don't forget that. Do your best and I think you'll do just fine." He gave a big thumbs up, hoping the man would take solace in the fact that he had his support.  

Ari Thomas

He somehow grins even wider as Isaac runs his fingers along the glass, admiring the craftsmanship. "I'm glad you like it, buddy! I gotta say, I think yours was the hardest to make because I.. um.. tend to freak out around fire." His grin falters slightly as he says those last words, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath in. "I'll, uh, do my best to get some sleep, and be ready for what's coming."   Those last words seem to spark a bit of.. hope(?) in Ari's eyes, replying, "Thanks dude. It means a lot that you feel like I'm already a part of the team, but I still have a lot of practice and work ahead of me to be a real hero."  

Storyteller

The nurse smiles, and softly says "Yes, rest will be good for both of you, I think. Though I believe you have one more stop before you go find yours, Mr. Thomas."   Ari and Isaac say their goodbyes, wishing the other some good rest. The nurse quietly closes the door and leads Ari to Andre's room, where he knocks and says, "Hello, Victory. You have a visitor, and he's brought a gift for you!" Smiling pleasantly, they await Andre's permission to enter before leading Ari inside.  

DeAndre Walker (Victory)

He sat up in bed, winces slightly as his scar stretched and pulled. Putting on the best smile he could he told the nurse, “Please, let them in. I’d love to have a visitor.”  

Ari Thomas

Being ushered in, he nervously approached the bedridden hero with the gift box in hand. "Hello, Mr. Victory, sir. I don't know if you remember me all that well, but I'm that rock man, Ari. We, um.. didn't have much time to talk, but I wanted to thank you for talking me up when you did." He walks over to the side of the hospital bed and sits in one of the chairs nearby. He grins and presents the gift box, a rather unremarkable and plain cardboard box that looked like it had already been opened. "They, um, needed to check it just in case if I wasn't a fan, I guess."  

DeAndre Walker (Victory)

"Ari...yeah, yeah no I remember." Finally settling into a comfortable sitting position, he took the box and started to look inside it while still talking. "You threw up the barriers that protected the wounded. Excellent work there. That's the type of focus all our team needs. We need to get you a better name than 'rock man' though." He said with a smile as he pulled out the gift.   His smiled and words trailed off as he examined the mug. The coloring and V were expertly done even to his untrained eye. Did he make this? Turning it gently in his hands, his eyes caught the words on the handle. Be a Hero. Flashbacks of that night came back, the moment he had run into Ari and told him those words. Smile growing, he cupped it in both hands. "You were a hero that day." He said softly. "I hope I can use your example to be better myself. Thank you for this, Ari."  

Ari Thomas

He beams, laughing a little at the mention of the way he described himself. "Yeah, I've been thinking about that a lot lately. I think I might be going with something like 'Mountain'. Something more recognizable and less.. conceited than Geb?"   He watched excitedly as Andre opens the package and examines the mug, a warm smile spread upon his face. Then, it falters slightly as Andre spoke once more. "I.. I wish I felt more like one, sir. I did my best, but.." he takes a long breath in before continuing. "But I still couldn't do enough. And.. I lost it a little bit when you got yoinked away by that one dude. That's why.. I want to learn to be better. With the team." His smile returns, though with a more morose feeling behind it. "I'm going to work on keeping my resolve. Like you, a real hero."  

DeAndre Walker (Victory)

“Mountain. Now that’s a good name. One people can cheer on and put on flyers. And one that says ‘I won’t be moved.’ I like it.” Andre replied with a nod of approval.   When Ari went on about how he felt, Andre shifted a bit in his bed. “A lot of us feel that way after Henry. Like we failed. And maybe we did. Maybe I did. But you, Ari. Without training. Without any obligations besides being a good human being, you stood in harms way and defended people against forces they couldn’t hope to handle themselves.”   “As far as I’m concerned, you were a hero that day. My hero. The city’s hero. And I’ll be damn glad to have you on the team.”  

Ari Thomas

Oh my God.. he feels like he failed, too. C'mon Ari, be supportive. "I'm glad you think so. It means a lot coming from you, sir. I guess.. we all could have done more in hindsight. But we did what we could with what we knew at the time! I.." He gulps. "I don't even want to imagine what would have happened if any of us didn't show."   He cracks a smile, adding "I guess.. we just learn from it and work hard with each other to make sure it doesn't happen again."  

DeAndre Walker (Victory)

“I guess we will.” Andre said with a small smile, taking the man’s words to heart. Looking back down at the glass, he turned it in his hands again. “This is really well done. Thank you again. I’ll put this in my office when I have one. For now it’ll stay right here.” He reached over and set it on a table near his bed, in front of some flowers and baskets in a prominent spot where it was the clearest thing one could see. “So I’ll see you at our next meeting, right?”  

Ari Thomas

He beams with pride, replying "You're welcome, sir. I wanted to show my appreciation in a way I knew best, and made it specially for you. And I wouldn't dream of missing the meeting. I'll see you there, big guy." He stands up, raising a fist for Andre to bump.  

DeAndre Walker (Victory)

Andre holds out his fist and gives a proper smile in return. "Take care of yourself, Ari. And feel free to stop by here or when I'm out if you ever want to talk. We're a team now."  

Ari Thomas

He continues to smile wide, replying, "Will do, Andre, and if you need it I'm happy to give you an ear, too. For now, just focus on healing up and getting some well-earned rest."  

Storyteller

Shortly after their goodbye, Ari was led back out to the front lobby of the hospital, where he made his exit to continue patrolling as best he could. Certainly not able to cover much ground, but if there was trouble he would try his best to put a stop to it.   Because that's what heroes do.