some time for healing, while inner demons need dealing.

It had been two days since Ave was brought into the hospital. the first day he had to spend a lot of time being patched up and repositioned, and checked up to see how he felt, so this is his first day really just realxing and healing.

Ave simply sat there. he wasn't exactly bored out of his mind, since he was resting. he understood that his condition wasn't.. the best, but it appears that he'd be fine. He happily thanked the nurses whenever they offered him help, but as always, it was kind of an act. he didn't want the nurses to feel bad or like they weren't doing anything. He had enough to think about, mostly his own actions, as varying weather happened outside. He didn't exactly have interest in any of the books the hospital offered.

His eyes slowly blinked as he stared down to his stomach, thinking about what he had done. He had tried to remove his destiny.
he wondered what he was thinking... Or actually, the worst part is, he knew what he was thinking, and still kind of understood it. He wondered, curiously. should i be banishing these thoughts? should i look for a different route to my goal? he was confused. Unsure. If dark magic was the only way to get permanently rid of his lying, it wasn't a goal worth pursuing. but then he'd be stuck lying to everyone forever.

The ticking of a clock didn't help his thinking as the autumn wind blew outside. he was cozy and warm under his hospital blanket, really. so the weather didn't affect him. his ears twitched at the notion of any sound, he was very receptive to anything happening in his surroundings due to not having many distractions from it. His ears twitched right now, as a matter of fact, as the door to the room he was in opened...

The corridor echoed with the sound of hoof steps as Aero made his way through the hospital. This wasn't the first time he'd been here. A splint was wrapped around his left wing, held against the tendon. Thankfully it wasn't serious and was only there as a precaution more than anything else. Within a week he'd easily be back to flying, but for the moment Aero was grounded.

While he loved to fly and hated the fact he was missing exercise and routine, this wasn't the first wing injury he'd ever had. He wouldn't have minded so much if it weren't for the fact that he had a lot on his mind, and a lot of questions. Some were to be answered another time, but some he hoped he could get seen to today. Had Aero been able to fly, he would have arrived earlier.

Trotting down the sterile hallways, he eventually found the room he was after. His hooves remained still for a moment, as he stood unmoving outside the door. Would Ave want to see him, or anyone for that matter? There isn't any way to know how he would react. Well, knowing him, not very much, Aero thought drily.

With a touch of hesitation, the pegasus reached for the door and opened it. He trotted in, his gaze fixing on the resting form of Ave, lying on a hospital bed.

"You up for a visitor?"

"Hmm?" Ave said with a happy tone. Noticing it was Aero though, his face drained of emotion. Even though Aero knew better, it still looked like it was unappreciative. "Yeah. I still owe you, after all." Ave said, bringing up the pay for the escort. he also owed Aero an explanation. But the vice versa was also true, since Ave had no idea how they had come back, and a nurse hadn't cared to tell him yet.

Ave seemed.... Well, there was no bloody idea to know how exactly ave felt, and he hasn't exactly given any hints yet. In truth he was glad to see Aero, but he wasn't exactly sure what words to choose or hoe to convey it, so he just went over to facts. He didn't say much more, letting Aero walk over to him first and react.

Judging by his expression, Aero was momentarily unsure whether Ave wanted him there or not. When his words confirmed that he did, the pegasus fully entered the room and let the door close behind him. It was only on the subject of owing him that Aero considered his payment for the trek. Truth be told, he'd forgotten the pay in concern for their wellbeing in the Everfree and for the aftermath now.

"Yeah, well, I expect interest," joked Aero, with a chuckle.

His laughter was cut short when a weak spasm of pain shot through his skull. Aero stopped in place with a wince. He raised a hoof to his head to massage his temple. Thankfully, all he suffered was a bruise and the mild concussion.

"I have to say, you earth ponies sure know how to throw rocks. You have any idea how much that stings?" he commented, a sense of humour still in his tone, "Although I think the more important question is how are you feeling?"

"I've never been in so much pain before, but i'll be fine. Moreso curious how we got back here. did you carry us? i only remember taking you back to the castle and fighting some plant monsters on the way..." It seems that Ave didn't have it easy either. "It's good to see you'll be fine though, sorry about... well.. all that." he said. His eyes averted away from Aero for a bit. Emotion or not, Aero could tell that Ave did so cause he was embarrassed or ashamed of what he had done. Truly, Ave did regret attacking Aero, and the worst was that he remembered it all, and quite well.

Ave's everything hurt. Since it was everywhere, and not horrible pain, he didn't really take to much notice of it. Despite his pain, he wasn't set up to any extreme apparatus, so it turns out he's avoided anything too horrible. Perhaps he had a mild concussion himself, he didn't really think on it, as he was stuck with what he was going to do from here on out. It was all somewhat hazy to him but he did know what happened up until the point he passed out.

Ave took a look to his saddlebags. "Bits are in there. Take as many as y'want. don't have much more than the price of the trip in there." He mentioned. Bits were the least of Ave's problems right now.

Aero waved a hoof in a dismissive motion. "Don't worry about it. Not your fault. That castle played tricks on both of us."

It was obvious what Aero was referring to in reference to himself but he didn't specify. He didn't want to think back to that.

He made his way over to Ave's saddlebags and took out the bag of bits. He made a point to take only the agreed amount; 100 bits. No more, no less. The rest went back into the saddlebag. That was the deal. If there was one thing Aero stuck to, it was an agreement, out of respect.

As he did this, he answered Ave's question.

"Actually, I didn't carry you. Two other ponies came by and saved both our flanks. Hearth and Regal Skyline. They told me they were old friends of yours."

Aero avoided mentioning exactly what they had spoken about, letting Ave interpret what he would from that.

Ave watched silently as Aero took exactly much as they agreed in advance, or atleast, as much as Ave remembered. He didn't really care if he said something else.
Listening attentively to what Aero said, Ave was somewhat surprised by the notion of hearth and regal, although it didn't show. He rubbed his chin softly with a forehoof, wincing shortly after and stopping. "Those two? how'd they know where we are...?" he was.. suspicious, but he supposed it was a good thing since they were saved by the two. it was only a moment later that he did wonder how much the two told.

It was a difficult decision for Ave to go in on this and ask Aero what exactly was up, or to just let the whole thing be. He figured he at the very least didn't -mind- Aero knowing, nor would he mind telling Aero more, but he was very unsure how much of this he wanted to do himself. He chose to let it be for this second unless Aero steered the conversation that way himself. Ave wasn't exactly the type of guy to spill out all his emotions in one go.

There wasn't much of a reaction from Ave on hearing about Hearth and Regal. Then again, this was Ave, so expecting even the slightest change in his demeanor was an act of pure optimism.

Aero didn't think the pair were bad news for Ave. They considered him a friend, showed concern for him and seemed genuinely protective over his secrets. Still, he would like to know Ave's opinion on them.

"Tracking spell, or so they said," Aero answered. "They seemed worried about you."

There was a momentary pause as Aero considered his next question. The thought of asking 'who are they?' or 'how do you know them?' but those seemed too simple and wouldn't give much away. Instead, he settled on...

"Are you glad you missed them?"

Ave thought. I- What? what kinda question is that..? he said, as Aero asked it. He felt it was specific. Too specific. and people ask specific questions when they want something, an answer with certain information. Ave was not aware that aero suspected the two of lying, so he didn't think about that either. Instead, what he thought was that Aero was testing him. Testing what kind of friend he was.

Ave knew how to play this game, and he was completely unaware that there just was a chance that Aero suspected the other two or were just a little weird. Although somewhat delayed, Ave gave response. "No. They are my friends." He said, flatly and at a normal pace. He's a practiced liar, so the only thing Aero had a good chance to be suspicious about was the short silence before Ave gave the answer. Thinking Aero was going to continue digging, Ave started paying proper attention to Aero, ready to undermine him if he took too long stating his question.

In truth, Ave wouldn't have minded telling Aero more, but he didn't like Aero's style at the moment, which might be influencing his mood. Ave was a secretive pony and a skilled liar, so cracking his shell was difficult, and Aero might have just made it a good bit harder on himself.

The question had failed to provoke much response from Ave. Certainly not enough to go by. Again, this was Ave, so Aero hadn't expected to get much out of him. If anything, he got the sense that the earth pony was more adverse to his questioning now. The only thing he even got the vaguest hint of was a steely glare, if only for a moment.

Aero forced himself to remember that despite his apathetic nature, Ave was someone who did actually care about him before. He'd been the one to help him in the castle after all. While Aero would usually be ready to force or try to convince answers out of some pony, this was someone who he himself considered a friend. This wasn't how to treat a friend.

"Sorry. Of course, they are," Aero apologised, looking at the clean hospital floor for a moment, as he pawed it with a hoof in a sheepish manner. He was not good at personal talk."I...I shouldn't ask that. It's not right to say that to a friend. Sorry."

The same happened to Ave. Aero was a -friend- now. and without Aero, he would've never survived. heck, he might not even have been Ave. Without Aero's help, he never would have gotten into this spot, even if it's somewhat unpleasing to be completely unsure about your future. Ave looked away, somewhat saddened and ashamed he suspected Aero.

"No. It's okay. it's kinda how i act to people, too." he admitted, his voice flat but his heart burning with mistakes. "I'm... so used to the secretive thing... it's hard to be .. Real with people, yaknow?" Ave sighed somewhat. he really was a shell of his former self due to the way his social life had developed. "Let's.. Not play this detective slash conversation game with each other. I think at this point we both should just be capable of asking each other questions. From what i've seen, we've both earned it." Ave said, reassuring Aero of what he's done and telling Aero how he'd like to communicate. it was hard to say it all. Ave had a lot of practice with talking and saying what he wanted, though... and it felt... Relieving. Someone who was willing to go through the effort of figuring out Ave, and someone whom with some mutual life saving has occurred. Friendship. A rare.. perhaps.. 'magical' gift for Ave. somepony whom he can confide the truth to, in the web of lies he's spun so thickly around himself. And a friend was somepony you had to forgive, even if you did feel bad about what he did.

It seemed Ave was in a forgiving mood. Aero would be the first to admit he wasn't the greatest at friendship, nor being ablate cope with personal matters with others. Regardless, it didn't mean he could just try to cox answers out of those he considered friends. It was only right that they should be respect each other; that was one thing that Aero could always understand.

"Thanks. Appreciate it," said Aero, nodding to Ave as a sign of solidarity.

With that being said, the ill will between them seemed to have dropped. He decided to lay all his cards on the table.

"I woke up in the Castle of the Two Sisters. Hearth and Regal asked me who I was and how I knew you. I told them you hired me to accompany you, and that you tried to find a book to help you with your...situation," he explained, avoiding the unnecessary context. "They told me you were all childhood friends. You left because you hurt others with your talent and changed your name."

Yes, because being so blunt was much better. There was probably a more tactful way of explaining that but what was said was said.

It took Ave a while to process it all and thing of a reply. The bluntness did set him off a little, but he knew he had to take it and understand it, although he wasn't the best at it. "Yeah. All of that does sound logical. So they were suspicious of you? Makes sense. Turns out to them i'm more transparent than i thought. They knew something was up. Hm.... I suppose you know that now, and yeah." Ave looked around. There weren't any people directly in the surroundings, and the guy on the other side of the room, in his own bed, seemed to be asleep.

Ave wasn't worried to tell more. "My birthname is indeed different. i was born with the name 'Intellectual Awesome'. Obviously, my parents had... expectations." he stated, sighing as he thought about the past. "Eventually i... learned about my ability, and as is natural, when you can, you make things easier on yourself. So i lied and lied and made a little perfect life for myself. But as good as you are with lying and treating people perfectly, not everything goes according to plan, and they end up getting hurt." Ave admitted. He wasn't proud of it, but he never wrote it off to himself. he blamed his fate and his misfortune to everything that had happened. Ave did not even realize it might be his own shortsightedness and the fact he didn't make a long-term plan for his lies is what left his youth in a more undesirable state.

Nonetheless, he bared the truth of how it went overall to Aero, not specifying the important details. although he wouldn't mind giving them out if Aero specifically went in on it. After all, how he discovered his talent was an important process. Cause and Effect was the way it went, and the one of the most big and important first 'cause's was uncovering your talent.

Aero listened in silence as Ave spoke. There were moments when he wanted to interject or pose a question, but he held off. This was undoubtably uneasy for Ave to talk about or at least something he didn't like to talk about, so it was best not to interrupt.

Once he had finished, Aero simply nodded as he sifted through this new information. It was good to hear that his decision to trust Hearth and Regal had been right. Childhood friends indeed. Ave himself was the bigger area of intrigue. Lies and expectations. It almost seemed to familiar for Aero's liking, although he was sure their stories were quite different.

The pegasus couldn't help but wonder what set the earth pony out on this adventure to find a way to fix himself. Just as with his own life, Aero suspected there must have been some events that occurred that made Ave's mind up.

"What happened? To make you leave?"

"Ironically enough.. Despite the bad memories and unpleasant faces, i left cause i never did get a solid job in manehattan. The city isn't kind without a job." he stated, the answer far less informative than what Aero might've hoped, but it seemed that Ave was being honest. No real point in lying, now. "Leaving behind my name.. however.. was a more personal choice. I didn't want to have to deal with my family's expectations and Ponyville ponies thinking i was all high and mighty. So that's why... Inty Average. It's similar to my old name, really." he stated.

indeed, they did both have the same start. the Int... A.e.... sound to them. It seems however his childhood friend referred to him as Intel. Makes sense, Intellectual Awesome is two mouths full, really. Truthfully, it wasn't the recent past that made Ave decide to take his drastic action. It was the far far past that was never rectified that made him act like he did. Something from long ago that boiled within. Aero could almost tell, since it seemed that the later of his life Ave spoke of, the easier he spoke. The words came out -ever- so slightly more fluently. a small difference, and not everypony would notice it.

"I think I'll just stick to Ave," Aero remarked absently, as his thoughts mulled over what Ave had said. Hearing more about his life, his past and his abilities, Aero couldn't blame the stallion for having secrets and being the way he was.

"I get it, you know," stated Aero, before clarifying, "Leaving home and wanting to move on."

This was a line of conversation he rarely ever spoke about. Just as he imagined it felt for Ave, he didn't like to talk about some of the moments of his past, and this was one of them.

"My father wasn't the most supportive of ponies. He always worked hard to provide us with a good life, but he never approved of anything I did. Not once. He didn't think I worked hard enough just because I wasn't like him. We fought a lot of times when I was older and eventually...I just left."

He cut the story short. Aero didn't fancy going into all the details right now. Besides, this was to support Ave, not bring out his own problems.

"So I get where you're coming from. But why try to remove your cutie mark?"

Ave nodded, glad Aero shared his story aswell, he listened intently. He knew how Aero felt, even though the two might have experienced it differently. In the end, they were really similar in some points. It seems they were both cutting stories short at the moment, but Ave could sympathize. not everyone had the most pleasant past, and it looks like these two both didn't.

Ave thought. What exactly to tell.. why to hate his cutie mark so much. "Cause i know it has to do with my specific.. ability." He stated, getting slowly to the final word. Curse is what he would like to call it, although he wasn't born with it as a curse, it became one all the same. He thought on how he'd continue that thought. "Knew it from the moment i got it." he said, avoiding details and actual story, since it was a hard one for him.

"And... as i stated. i don't know of any other way to get rid of my ability." Truthfully, he was facing a bit of a mental crisis at the moment. He couldn't get rid of it, atleast, not for a worthy price... but he couldn't just live with it, could he? forever a life of lies and depreciation. It's not what he wanted or ever could want for life. He hadn't a clue how he might 'come to terms' with the cutie mark and it's talent. Or if coming to terms was even an option he could ever achieve, at that.

Again, the idea of just removing a cutie mark was somewhat harrowing to Aero. While there was some ambiguity to what they fully meant, the dragons on his flanks had been there as a constant reminder of his desires to push himself. They were a driving force in his mentality to be the best he could be and of what he could achieve.

"Well, maybe your cutie mark doesn't mean what you think it means?" Aero suggested, more voicing his inner thoughts rather than trying to convince Ave of anything. "Maybe your just missing something. Some kind of job or trait or way of using your abilities that you hadn't considered?"

The motion seemed rather implausible, although it wasn't likely to hold up to much scrutiny since he had only just conceived the point. To be honest, finding a true calling in life was something Aero admittedly had a little trouble with himself. Not that he'd voice that to anyone. He knew his path in life would be clear soon. Definitely.

Ave thought deeply to his past, to what he had done and how he felt. "I can't imagine any other meaning. Lying is natural, it feels right, up until the very moment the guilt kicks in. Feeling natural in what you're doing... that's what a cutie mark is about, right?" it seems Ave was convinced to the core of the meaning of his cutiemark. it -is- why he called it a cruelty mark... something he mentioned to Aero, even if he didn't recall doing so this very moment.

"I-i..." Ave wanted to say something, but had a very hard time saying it. it was difficult when you're so used to hiding things from people, to let the weakness show. he just couldn't finish that statement. "i.. Should just continue what i'm doing. Hide it and do what i can to earn my living." he stated, apparently planning to live as a fake blank flank forever now. It sorta sounded like Ave had... given up. Like he didn't believe there were any other options for him anymore, not that he could ever admit it straight to someone's face. Ave calling in life was completely clouded for him now. He'd continue on a path on which he might never find it.

Ave's words were like an icy dagger into Aero's core. Hiding his cutie mark, no matter how unfair or cruel you thought it to be was a recipe for disaster.

"You can't be a blank flank forever," replied Aero, blunt but honest. "Not using your talent, ignoring that it exists...that's the kind of behaviour that leads to a sad life. Eventually, you'll find the true calling for your talent. Until then, just tough it out."

His words sounded harsh but Aero stuck by them. He couldn't believe that a mark was insignificant, or the reason for such suffering. He refused to believe it. Not after having spent so much time wandering Equestria to find a place that his destiny would lead.

Ave was silent for a bit. Despite Aero's good intentions, his words stung. However, Ave didn't receive the message well, even with the stinging. he took it more as a 'well, then a sad life is the life meant for me.' way. he looked away a bit. "Not all of us have the luxury of that kind of optimism." he said, staring down. he noticed a nurse come in the room. Ave looked to Aero. "Do you know where my place is? i think visiting hours should be over soon, and i probably won't be staying here -much- longer." he stated.

That Aero didn't make him feel well didn't mean he was about to sacrifice their friendship by avoiding Aero. they said beforehand that they'd be honest with one another. That had the risk of either of them saying things that the other didn't like. It turned out that's exactly what happened, as they both were twisting metaphorical blades into one another, Aero with his ides of optimism that Ave couldn't get bored into his thick skull, and Ave's hopelessness that set way to darker thoughts which chilled Aero's spine...

Truthfully, Aero didn't consider himself optimist, but a realist. It didn't seem unreasonable that the destiny tied to a cutie mark would show through eventually, even if it had caused little else but heartbreak for most of Ave's life. It was obvious that there wasn't anything to be said right now that could change his mind.

Aero turned his head to see the nurse that Ave had seen. The mare looked over to him, her expression welcoming but a little terse. Clearly she about to tell him that his time to visit was over, just as Ave suggested.

Aero nodded in response to the untold instruction and returned his gaze to Ave.

"Take your time. Think about things," he said, his expression understanding. He took hold of a pen in his mouth and quickly scribbled his address on a notepad, "Come and find me after if you need me."

The pegasus made his way to the exit. His front hooves stopped on the boundary of the doorway as he gave a final look over to the bedridden earth pony.

"After all, that's what friends are for."