Raising Spirits

Aimee killed the engine on Myrkrnipt, though it rumbled a bit as she did so. Patting the gas tank, she sighed and stared blankly for a few moments before removing her helmet. She'd been driving around town for over an hour, aimlessly, clearing her head and assessing the damage the dragon's spell had wrought. As it came to mind again, her hands clenched the handlebars, and it was only with effort she calmed and let go.

"Stay," she whispered to the bike as she stepped off, walking up the stairs to Ronnie and Bea's apartment. She paused a moment, knowing this would be another long day, then knocked.

After a few moments the door opened.

"Hey." Ronnie said, standing in the doorway, "Come on in. Is everything okay?"

"Hey Ronnie. Thanks," Aimee replied, stepping into the apartment. She stretched, turning around to regard her friend.

"Not necessarily wrong, per se. Someone needs to go check in on Nils, and I'm worried he might be backsliding. And I was hoping you'd come along to keep me from smacking him upside the head."

"Of course" Ronnie nodded, "Let me get my coat."

She walked back into her bedroom and emerged a few moments later with her coat and hat.

"Where is he? Your place?"

"His place, I hope. He took off in the middle of all the crap with the dragon and such. I'm...I'm really worried about him."

Ronnie stepped outside with Aimee and locked the door behind her.

"Me too." she said with a sigh, "Demigod or not, I don't know how much longer he can keep this up. Something has to give sooner or later. I wish I could just... I don't know... turn him off and fix him or something."

"We can't, that's the problem. You and I both know he has to fix himself, and he doesn't seem terribly in a hurry to do that." Aimee sighed dejectedly, shoving he hands in the pockets of her jeans. "Maybe we should, I don't know, try to keep him out of this stuff for a while. Give him some down time, you know? Lord knows some of us could use it."

"I would suggest we take a vacation or something, but look what happened last time we did that..." Ronnie sighed.

"I mean, I don't know if there IS a way to keep him out of it."