“Ah.Like inebriated rocks, I’m sure.We’ll not wake them.”
Raven nodded.He was still hugging himself, looking lost.
“I’ll be back in seconds,” Maxim said, then sped downstairs.
Heath and Jason were indeed asleep, the two Lares nowhere to be seen, though probably still watchful in that way Lares had.Maxim worried briefly about Heath falling off the couch in his sleep but concluded that it wouldn’t make his son’s hangover headache any worse if he did.
Raven’s shoes were in his room, discarded as if he’d taken them off in a hurry to get into the shower.There were socks in his bag, and Maxim collected a fresh pair along with the shoes, then ran back upstairs with them.
“There you go.”He put the shoes on the floor by the couch.“I’ll be just a moment.Wait for me when you’re ready, okay?”
Another small nod, but nothing more.As Maxim walked back to his bedroom, slowly, so Raven could see him, he realized how dark it was, a darkness that would’ve been too much for humans.His vision is adjusting well, then.That’s good.
Maxim didn’t care to let Raven wait alone for too long, so he picked a pair of loafers, slid them on, and made his way back.Raven was sitting on the couch, crying silently.He was trembling so hard that he couldn’t do up the laces of his shoes.
“Raven, may I use my knack for bunny ears once more to help you out with those?”Maxim squatted next to him and waited for permission.
Raven nodded, letting go of the laces—the most mundane thing, but it was beyond him in this moment.Just like when he’d woken from the turning.
“There.”Maxim tied one shoe, then the other.“Good to go?”
“Yeah,” Raven said, his voice rough.
“Excellent.Let’s pretend we’re sneaking.Those two really don’t look like much could wake them up right now.”Come to think of it, I only heard him when he opened my door.He takes easily to being quiet.
Raven followed Maxim’s lead down the stairs, moving with less noise than a regular human as they headed toward the elevator, which opened with minimal noise too.It was when the elevator doors closed behind them that Raven flinched and raised his arm to cover his eyes.
“The light sensitivity will fade over time.We’re almost there.”
Raven tried to lower his arm, blinked, and kept it up.“It’s not so bad.”
“That’s the spirit.Really, a nighttime walk is much better than what we did earlier.Sunshine hits you much worse than this.You handled it well.”
They arrived in the lobby, which wasn’t as bright yet still slightly illuminated.Maxim glanced at the front desk, but Bryan wasn’t there, maybe intentionally giving Raven space.
Maxim walked toward the doors with slow deliberation.Raven followed him, quiet as a mouse—encouraging in terms of his vampire attributes, less so in other ways.
One thing at a time.And at his pace.Everything has to go at his pace.
When the doors opened, cold night air welcomed them; a breeze that carried with it all those little smells that made the city home, that made it noisy and bright but also a place worth being in.
As Raven fell into step, following behind Maxim, that thought brought guilt up to the surface like wastewater from a clogged toilet.Did he come here, to this city, thinking nothing bad would happen to him?He’s young.Of course he did.I failed him.It’s my fault this happened.I am the one who’s supposed to keep this city safe, and I didn’t.
Maxim knew it wasn’t as simple as that, and he knew he’d done his best.He’d done his best ever since he’d first picked up a weapon, after he’d learned to bridle his anger.Yet the guilt was, in itself, a scar, showing the way in which he had healed from a wound so much like Raven’s.
“You’re…wearing pajamas,” Raven said.
Maxim shook out his sleeves.“Oh, yes.Do you like them?Heath gifted them to me.”
“Yeah…but we’re outside.”
A group of five was walking in the opposite direction on the other side of the road, their voices loud.Raven drifted closer to Maxim, who held the course.
Maxim tsked.“Raven, are you saying these are not fashionable enough to wear around the city?”
“…no?They look…good.Sorry.”
“Hush, I’m teasing.I’m sure it’s fine.You must’ve seen worse.I assume you’re acquainted with the city’s subway lines?”
