I didn't sign up for that shit

A pleasant Surprise

Hover was.. well, he was hovering. His brain was racing, trying to figure out ways to soothe the little ones while helping the teenager. He was FAIRLY CERTAIN that this shouldn't be possible. Error was far too young, at least physically, to mutate. Yes Error may be way older and stuck in the body of a teen, but it wasn't- It wasn't normal! He was screaming in pain and his back- Oh stars his back! Something- most likely wings, was trying to manifest and it was obviously draining on his soul, which made Hover start applying green magic directly to the boy's SOUL. 

And the children were swarming them and it made him panic- he looked towards Despair with a pleading gaze and shook his head, shrugging in defeat. "I don't know if I can be of any help, all I can do in this situation is lessen his pain. I'm sorry."

But Despair just shakes his head and gets up. It was clear that he was worried, but also knew that there wasn't much he could do. However, when he tried to move the children away from Error, each one held onto their friend's unconscious body.

"We can't leave him alone!" Said Killer.

"We already let him down once when he needed us the most!" Interjected Cross.

"We're not making... the same mistake... twice.", added Horror.

"We won’t be going until he wakes up." Dust finished.

With a small sigh, Hover looked at the four. "Fine. But then you also help. I need soft blankets and towels and clean water. Normally I would have been prepared for it, but Error’s mutation came so suddenly. So now you have to help me make everything as pain-free as possible for him, okay?"

The children nodded eagerly and ran off to get what Hover had asked for. It gave Hover at least some time to  rest.

"It's not normal for the mutation to show up so early.”, said Love as he sat down next to Hover and also used his healing magic to help Error. His concern was clearly evident on his face. Hover understood. It was just too soon. “But whatever caused the premature mutation of Error, we have to consider that it will happen to the others as well. I mean, we could still call Error an early bloomer, but that’s pretty much it."

"We should prepare.", interjected Frezh. "We don't know whether it will actually turn out that way, but if it starts with Error now, we can actually be sure that it won't be long before the next one shows signs that their mutation is coming through as well."

Hover could only agree with him. It seldom happened that anything happened in order with the gang, so there was a very good chance it won't be long and all five have their mutations. It was exciting and terrifying at the same time. It just looked so wrong to see children suffering from the pain of the emerging mutation. Hover remembered what it was like when he and Despair got their wings, horns and tails. They had just lain in a soft nest of moss all day, keeping company while pain ravaged their bodies. It had been one of the worst days of their lives, but when it was finally over, they were both bewitched by the new look of the other person.

"Can I say that in spite of everything, I'm excited to find out what their mutations will be? After all, it seems to be different from our versions. Because I'm sure that spiders don't have wings.” Despair said and it was evident that nobody was looking forward to the children suffering from pain.. But on the other hand, it was like parents watching their children grow. And Hover would make sure each of them suffers as little pain as possible when the time comes.

"We have the blankets and towels!" Cried Cross, who was carrying huge piles of towels and blankets with Killer. Despair was definitly hoarding too many blankets.

"And... the water.", added Horror, who was carefully carrying a large bowl full of water with Dust. And Hover was honest, it touched his soul to see how much these five care for each other. It reminded him so much of the time when their gang was still alive.

Hover missed them.

(And yet he didn't have the courage to contact the rest of the people who stayed behind.)

With the help of the others, Hover managed to carefully place the blankets under Error and at least give him some cushioning. He carefully dipped the towels in the water and began to clean the places where he could see that something would appear, which mainly appeared to be the head and back. All he could do was gently coax the magic into forming slowly so that it was easier for these new limbs to finally come.. more painless as well.

"... There is... fur on... his neck...", Horror informed everyone there quietly while carefully pulling Error's collar aside. Indeed, around Error's neck there was a little collar of yellowish fur. Hover could imagine that this fur would still grow. But one thing was certain - it already looked very fluffy.

However, as if Horror's words had triggered something, the greatest wave of pain struck Error and a disgusting tearing sound was heard. Hover could see many of them flinch. But shortly afterwards, small antennae appeared on Error's head, one in red with blue and yellow stripes and one in blue with red and yellow stripes. Soon, however, the tearing sound was again louder, this time mixed with the sound of breaking bones. But this revealed a beautiful pair of wings. They were light blue and decorated with yellow lines and a red point in the tips of the wings. And since the light fell just right on the wings, it looked as if little stars were twinkling on his wings.

"He's... a moth." The surprise could not be overheard when Love said and even those who did not recognize what Error was, knew what Errors Mutation had produced. And Hover honestly didn't expect him to be a moth. But now in hindsight it was kind of obvious. Moths were majestic creatures and yet so easy to break. It went well with Error’s character. Hover would just make sure that no one had a chance to break Error ever again.

Now he’s even more eager to know what the mutations of the children are going to be.