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He was watching his phone for hours on pins and needles. Was this some sort of sick joke? Was everyone okay and just laughing at the dumb newbie left behind? When the tone on his phone finally chimed he jumped up. New Message. He felt dread twisting and turning in the pit of his stomach as he avoided looking at first. He had to know. He had to do what he could. He looked and instantly regretted it.

He didn't think to grab much as he bolted out of his room into the halls. It didn't even matter to respond to that, how could you anyway? He was alive though, right? If he wasn't they would have...
He sprinted across Deus and burst through the infirmary doors. It didn't occur to him to stop and ask for directions. Instead he opened every door in his path in search of... he froze near a bed. If not for the patient chart plainly stating his name, Al would have never recognized.

"Noah..." he looked like a pile of used gauze bandages. "Wh... what the hell happened?!"

He was visibly shaking as he reached out, hands too scared to touch and kept inches above contact. "Shh-shhhh. s**t. Please don't move man. It's okay. You can tell me the details later." It was enough just knowing Noah could still talk underneath it all.

It was a lot to take in; he didn't know what to do. He wanted to help, but there just...

He retracted his hands from hovering above his friend and clutched the edge of his bed so hard his knuckles turned white. "D-do you or Laz need a-anything?" He repressed the feelings, pushed them down. They would only get in the way right now. It didn't stop his eyes however from turning red the longer he looked at Noah. So he looked down at his own hands and leaned into them.

"Is it okay that I'm here? I can leave if you want... m'probably making it worse," he decided to voice his insecurities as concerns continued to flood his senses and he wanted to absolutely sure Noah didn't think it was his fault.

It bothered Al greatly seeing Noah in this condition. Part of him worried that Noah would not recover, another part of him was kicking that thought; Noah was just too strong for that - Laz too - he will be okay. The remaining thoughts left him drowning in a sea of guilt. Why didn't he go? He could have protected him. Petty childish hopes and squabbles distracted him too much from what was really important.

At the sudden question, Al erupted with life again and was looking around thoroughly for the totem. He eventually found him resting on the table beside Noah's bed. Al carefully scooped Laz up with his hands, using so much care you would think Laz was made of diamonds cut to razor sharp points; both precious and dangerous at the same time.

"H-here. He's here," Al paused. Uncertain where to lay the totem that his hunter may feel his presence the most. "Is it okay if I set him on your pillow beside you?" Everything else seemed like it would be too painful.

Al lowered the chain onto the pillow, right in the crook of Noah's neck just below his jawline. That looked nice and cozy. He was sure that is where Nuru would have wanted to be placed given the same circumstances. He gently pat the chain to try and get it placed a bit more carefully so he shouldn't roll too much if Noah moved. "G-good boy Laz, I'm sure you will have Noah up and kicking a** again real soon." Al hoped that reached the weapon as encouragingly as he intended.

He took the edge of Noah's bed again, only this time he looked at him. He had to accept that this was ******** real and a thing that happened. It was hard as hell, but his friend really needed him to be strong right now. "Is it okay if I come back again tomorrow? and um... Do um... do you like music?" He was trying to think of anything he could do to keep Noah distracted.

Al would have told him it was a surprise anyway, it was probably a good thing that Noah decided to conserve that energy. He leaned onto the edge of the bed with his elbows, relaxing a little more. Noah was still alive and Laz would fix him. It would be okay. He still worried though, even after the initial shock began to fade. All he could think about is how much pain the other trainee must be in, and worse without any distractions.

"I hope you like violin," he still hinted at his intentions in hopes of getting Noah to think about something else even if just for a minute.

"It's okay man," he replied to the clear attempts of the other to give something. They couldn't though - and shouldn't. "You can just be like, twice as loud and animated to make up for this once you're all better."

No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

"Until then, just relax or I'll have to punch your lights out," he smiled mirthlessly. It was hard to joke at times like these.

Al watched Noah for quite some time and then his room as his breaths turned slower, indicating sleep. He wasn't sure what kind of threats he would be expecting here of all places, but he was watching out just in case.

When it got late, he finally pulled away - extremely careful of his movements so as not to wake Noah. Next time he knows what to expect and has an idea or two on how to counter that. He promised himself he was going to be more useful next time. It was the only way he was going to keep moving forward.

He tip-toed out the door to eat and prepare.

Noah had broken his arm when he was twelve, falling out of a tree, the stereotype of every country kid anywhere. He still remembered how long it had taken for the constant ache to go away. The decline in pain hadn't even been noticeable, a long slow slope down until one day he'd realized, surprised, that it wasn't hurting. This was different. He could actually tell that he hurt less than he had the day before, thought he could feel the skin coming back, if he concentrated. Laz wasn't growling about it as much, either.

He wasn't getting the painkiller that made him fuzzy-headed and kind of high any more, either. That had been just the first day, and infrequently. He was kind of sorry about that, but he was also wary of the fact that he was sorry about it, because he suspected that Laz could fight off a purely physical addiction, but psychological dependence was a different thing entirely. It was probably a good thing that he'd been taken off the really high-test stuff, even if that meant that he had to endure pain with more awareness of it.

He had found that he could endure it, and that had its own value. He didn't really know what to think about that, either.

When Al came in, he'd been dozing, but he woke easily enough, his breath hissing in slightly as he returned to awareness and fought back the first startled shock at hurting. He opened his eyes and turned his head just a little to see what Al was doing. "You did?" he whispered, trying not to move his mouth too much. "What is it?"