Levik could have shapeshifted into a Skyavok or something, so he could more easily make his way around the Arksini hospital, the main hospital in Palaestra, but now he was a semi-famous gladiator, Levik had worked out that he could get away with a lot just by being cute and somewhat honest. Eksi, one of the Skyavok trainers, had informed Levik that Psiksi had gone to the hospital that morning, and since Levik didn’t have any work or training to do currently, he had headed to the same hospital in the hopes of finding Psiksi.
Eventually, Levik found the right department, but the department in question was rather worrying. The Xenopneumatics department was there to deal with races that had more than two types of lungs, namely Lanex, Rethavok and Skyavok. And as Levik approached, he could hear coughing.
As Levik turned the corner, he was greeted by a lot of annoyance. Psiksi was indeed present, and he had spotted Levik almost instantly. Before Psiksi could say anything, he started coughing. Between the coughs, Psiksi made his way to a water cooler and got himself a drink, then sat back down.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Psiksi snarled as his coughing died down.
“I… I was…” Levik started stuttering, not expecting Psiksi to be visually angry. “I… I heard you were ill and I wanted to see you and… I was worried about you!”
Psiksi closed his eyes, then sighed. “Fair, I guess. I did somewhat just disappear…”
Levik was about to make his way over, but hesitated. “Can I… can I sit next to you?”
“Yeah, sure. What’s fucking me up isn’t contagious, as far as I’m aware.”
Levik hesitated some more, then sat down next to Psiksi. Psiksi noticed that Levik seemed fluffier than normal.
“What’s wrong?” Levik asked.
“Ugh.”
“Do you not know?”
Psiksi nodded. “Doctors are still trying to figure out why, but there’s some liquid in two of my lungs. My nitrogen lung and my oxygen lung. I can survive on just my mixed lung, but… Well, right now, I feel fucked over and I didn’t really want people to know that I’m ill in general.”
Levik shifted closer. “Why not? We’re allowed to be ill. I’m on a ton of medication that stops me from forgetting that I’m a Spast.”
Psiksi opened his mouth to explain, but he paused. That last sentence sounded weird. “You… forget that you’re a Spast?”
“Yeah. I have some sort of weird mental illness where, if I shapeshift, I stop believing I’m a Spast and struggle to turn back. For a long time, I thought I wasn’t a Spast at all, I was imprisoned in a body and living a life that wasn’t my own. When the whole… darkness thingy happened, when I nearly died, I sort of… fixed myself. And now I work as a gladiator, I’ve found some new medications that make me kinda normal and, amazingly, don’t mess with my shapeshifting.”
Psiski blinked. “Fucking really?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s insane.”
“I’m insane.”
“No, you’re fine. Considering what you just said to me? It’s amazing that you seem very settled in life. Should be proud, really. You showed your dad that you’re better than he thinks.”
“I guess…” Levik wanted to change the subject. “But why are you hiding away? You know we all care about you. You’re the best Skyavok gladiator ever!”
Psiksi went back to frowning. “I’m also pretty damn ill. When I beat Abius, I could barely breathe and had to get out of the arena as soon as possible. Didn’t even have a chance to tell Abius that I appreciated their efforts and that they lost gracefully. Is Abius alright, by the way?”
Levik shrugged. “I think so. They seemed fine when I chatted with them after their Thirteenth Night match and they seemed fine this morning too.”
“That’s good. Abius is a good guy. You’re a good guy too, Levik. You didn’t need to rush all the way here to find me and check in on me.”
“To be fair, I did fly here.”
Psiksi blinked again, suddenly caught off guard. But he quickly calmed down when he realised he was talking to one of the best shapeshifters alive. “Fair enough.”
“So, uh…” Levik changed the subject again. “Are you alright?”
Psiksi didn’t answer at first. He coughed a few times, then fell silent and stared at the floor. “… No. I’m not alright…”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Yeah. Whatever’s wrong with me… well… my career might be over. I can’t fight any more. Not like this at least. And I’ve been left with some horrible choices to make. If I get better nice and quick, maybe I can do my 300th match then bow out, whether I win or lose…” Psiksi paused to cough. He coughed quite a lot. “But if I’m ill for a while, I might not ever be strong enough to fight again. So the question is, do I stop now, with an unbeaten 299 wins, or do I try for that final 300th battle, regardless of my health, and probably end up losing because I have fluids in my damn lungs and spend half my time technically drowning?”
“I… I don’t know what to say…” Levik frowned. “I don’t think I can offer anything.”
Psiksi coughed, then shrugged. “It’s fine. My 300th match was already planned out for me. If I am capable of fighting, my 300th match will be against Timik. And you would be my 301st win if I beat Timik.”
“Wait, really?”
“Yep.”
“Why?”
“Because Tromos is a bastard and wouldn’t let me go through with the Xeno Dessaron Two plan unless I fought all three of you. And now… now I’m too ill to even try and do team battles… If the doctors can’t work out what’s wrong with me, my life is basically ruined…”
Levik looked Psiksi up and down, then shifted himself closer. At the same time, Levik made himself much fluffier.
“I don’t really know what to say to help you make a choice, but I hope my fluffiness might make you feel better.”
Psiksi inspected Levik the same way Levik had inspected him. “You are letting me… pet you?”
“Yeah. Tenuk used to tell me and Kohra that he used to make himself fluffy and let others stroke him to make them feel better. I hope I can do the same for you.”
“You… You…” Psiksi stuttered, then, after a few coughs, he closed his eyes and sighed. “You’re so damn sweet. Why would anyone disown someone as delicate and kind as you?”
Levik shrugged. “Some people just don’t appreciate kindness. But yeah, if it makes you feel better, you can stroke my fur as much as you’d like.”
Psiksi smiled, just a little, coughed a few more times, then patted Levik on the head. “Thank you, Levik. You’re the best.”
“We’re the best. Plus, like it’s the least I can do, to make you feel better…”