The redhead sat up abruptly - a weight had vanished from him, an odd, familiar yet unfamiliar weight. He frowned sharply and looked around. Nevin was alone, Eteri hadn't come back. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath, then exhaled softly and steadily. This was one of those times he wished he was more of a real god then whatever fledgling thing he was; he couldn't feel normal people’s presences, only if they were bleeding. He shoved himself off the end of the bed, staggering a bit at the motion. His lips curled downwards in a frown. He couldn't feel normal people’s presences but he had found a knack for knowing when other deities were around.

So why then, had Vitruvion left. He had been clearly invested in Raevin and his recovery. Nevin sighed and ran his hand through his hair, pushing some of the sleep-tousled strands out of his face. The alchemist had a feeling that if he found out where his girlfriend was, he'd probably find out the answer to that question too. He bent down and scooped up the vial that contained the demonically corrupted flesh, which was now far more quiescent than it had been, further confirming that its antagonist, Vitruvion, was gone.

Nevin put the vial and its dark burden into a safe pouch, a hardened thing meant to protect his potion vials, and headed back towards Raevin’s room. He'd check on the recovery of the Elf, then look for his girlfriend and his friend. The room where Raevin was was curiously empty - aside from the dead man. Nevin frowned and headed over to check on the body - it was still warm, still fresh. Strangely he didn’t seem to be cooling down any - no rigidity had set in at all. The one problem was - the leg did not seem to be returning. The damage to the rest of his body was peculiarly healing up, regenerating, but not the actual lost limb. Nevin frowned and headed back out, to search the adjacent room to see if the others had gone there. If not, he’d head downstairs, maybe they had wanted more tea.

He opened the door to the adjacent room- and froze, staring at the sight before him. It took him a long moment to process, during which nobody seemed to move. Eteri was currently sitting beside Stare, cat wrapped around bird, as the kenku shivered and stared ahead blankly. Nevin drew in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. He couldn't recall Stare ever looking like this, but he could only guess at one individual being responsible. Well - two. The alchemist lifted his hand and rubbed his forehead tiredly. He sighed. It was almost enough for him to turn around and just head back to his own house, and go to sleep and just ignore all of this. But - no. Instead he knelt down and tilted his head to the side.

“<What happen?>” His voice was soft and steady as he spoke in their home language. He winced as he realized he’d gotten the tensing wrong, but he pushed that concern aside for the moment as he was more worried about seeing Stare like this. Just what had happened while he was recuperating?

Stare was still for a moment longer before she shook her head and slid out of Eteri's hold. Tucking her legs beneath her she stood, her eyes still full of torment though, and avoidance. Her wings beneath the cloak flinched as she caught her balance. “Nothing happened. It's fine. How is Raevin?” Her tone was flat and dejected. Nevin stood up and gripped her shoulder, holding her in place as he studied her.

“He’s still dead.” Nevin’s voice was even - but not like hers was. He continued to hold her gently as he looked to his girlfriend. “What happened, love?”

Eteri’s ears perked up. “Eteri give old man lecture!” She jabbed her fingers in the air in sharp motions. “Like this! Told him he is mean and selfish. Made Stare sad.” She seemed proud of this accomplishment. “Will punch in jingle jangles if mean to Stare again!” Nevin’s eyes closed and he took in a deep breath.

“Please don't do that,” Stare sighed quietly. Nevin gently pulled her into a hug and he exhaled slowly, his eyes on his girlfriend. It took a little doing to avoid hurting her with her new appendages, but Nevin managed.

“I see. So, then, he left, and I would assume in a bit of a tiff didn’t he?” Nevin pulled back and raised an eyebrow at the bird woman.

“He back down!” Dark red eyes turned to look at the blue-haired cat girl, and Nevin gave a quirked smile. He gave Stare’s shoulders a final squeeze and stepped back, letting her passed to the bed.

“He'll be fine,” Stare whispered to herself. “He just needs time to-” she shook her head and started to walk back through to the room with Raevin. Her footsteps were small and she slid her arms around herself to hug herself as she went. Nevin drew in a deep breath, and let it out slowly, and held one arm up for Eteri to come hug him. This had become a rather different night than he had been expecting.

Eteri slinked up to him and wrapped her arms around him. Her ears flat against her head as they watched Stare. “Did...Eteri do wrong?” He stroked her back with his hand as he thought about how to respond to that.

“I… don’t think so, no. But I do think you need to be careful. That man is not nice, at all. He and Stare have a very different relationship than we do, love. He has hurt, and scared, Stare in the past. A lot. He has gotten better but - when he is angry, I think she remembers it.” He hugged her tight against his side. He sighed and shook his head. “We should go check on them, make sure that everything is moving along properly. Then, can head home and get some proper rest.” He gave her another squeeze then followed after the kenku, slowly.

Stare had already made her way to Raevin's side. She was perched on the very edge of the bed, her wings slightly visible as they kept her balanced. Her eyes were staring at the dead man and she was completely silent. Nevin slipped into the room and crossed his arms over his chest. “The wounds are all closing up. There does not seem to be any trace of the corruption left within him.”

“Nevin,” she said quietly, in a shaking voice. “I was killed by - by my brother.” Nevin’s eyes went wide, then narrowed. There was silence for a few heartbeats, as he heard Eteri enter the room behind him. That - Avis had told him, that her whole family had died. That she had been found and raised by a baker for a time. So…

“So someone, or something brought him back.” His voice had gone flat. He already had a fair guess as to who.

She swallowed and nodded, rocking back onto her behind so she sat there, curled. “Vitruvion tried to chase him down but - I was already dying. It's - he didn't even know who I was.” Nevin reached past her wing and placed one hand on her shoulder. He swallowed, and tried to sort out what he knew. There had been some work done on bringing the recently deceased - and that meant the very, very recently deceased - back to life through science, in Alerar. He was trying to think of what the medical newsletters he had seen about the topic had mentioned.

“It is possible that.. Flirting with the veil of death has damaged his memory. If that is the case, it should restore itself in time.” Nevin tried to comfort her.

“I finally get a piece of my family back for that single moment,” she hissed, as her eyes started to glisten. “And then it's - no, fuck you Stare, have another shit thing happen to your life. Balls, Vitruvion is a lot easier to deal with now but fucking hell…” she shoved her head into her hands. “Raevin better come back, Nevin.” The alchemist held his breath as his body sagged. He didn’t need her seeing how worn he was at that moment. He felt Eteri squeeze his arm tightly from behind.

“He will. He’s stronger than the corruption, Stare. And the blood I pulled from you was potent, and different. It sang of life and rebirth. He will come back. And then, you will hunt down your brother and drag him back kicking and screaming. He’s being used as a weapon against you.” He shook his head softly. “When is... Vitruvion returning?” It would be a damn good idea for them to be gone before the hidden deity returned - Eteri would undoubtedly rile him up even more, and right now, that was not what Stare needed in her life.