As the sun began to come up, everything seemed to start happening very quickly around Hawk. The long-eared nurse returned to carefully remove the IV from his arm, explaining as she went that the scales and feathers that had been covering his face and arms had taken some skin with them when they'd fallen off. She had Hawk sit up and spread his wings out as far as he could; a slight figure with a bird's body and a human face showed him where his cut primary feathers would grow back, given time. He was given a neurological exam, his bandages were changed, a four-armed fox-faced person in scrubs finished shaving the left side of his head to match the right--he took a hot shower, put on fresh clothes, and looked blankly at himself in the mirror.

Jasmine had interviewed him on and off while this happened, writing down his answers on her clipboard.

"Do you go by Alexei? Alex?"

"I go by Hawk."

"Hawk. Do you recall when you were abducted?"

"...It was October, last I checked."

"I see. Are you Archipelagan?"

"Yeah. I'm from Violetta."

"Is there anyone there we should contact for you?"

"...No."

The sun was still not quite up when he was on his feet and following Jasmine around--she barely came up to his shoulder. As they passed an open doorway, Hawk looked in.

Three of the children he'd seen in the truck were standing at the large floor-to-ceiling windows, looking out. A four-winged crane was hovering around them, using one wing to point towards something outside and below. The dog-headed boy was holding a three-eyed teddy bear and talking quietly to the young red harpy beside him.

"Are there any services in particular we can help you with here? Counseling, legal assistance, housing..."

The children looked up, startled, as Hawk came to stand at the window as well without a word. The hospital was on a hill, and the land ran down covered in trees to the city below. Most of the buildings from this view were low, arranged in grids along pale streets. A lagoon cut through part of the city, and beyond that was another strip of land that ended in the ocean at the horizon.

"No, no, I...I guess I'm...I'm not real sure where to go now."