The boarding ramp to the Agkistrodon lowered with a steady hiss. Vatra watched the maw of her ship open with disinterest. Her muscles felt heavy, weak. A strong dose of painkillers was running through her veins.

A splint had been placed on her right arm. The hard plaster was anything but state-of-the-art. On any other planet, her arm would have been set with a more flexible material that would have been barely noticeable.

"Stop fidgeting with it," Hisato scolded her.

Vatra blew out a raspberry. "I'm not," she slurred out.

Hisato reached out and snapped her left hand up in his grasp. She had been scratching under the plaster without even realizing it.

The both of them looked up the ramp. Enyalius walked half-way down, a hand on his hip as if he'd been waiting for them for hours.

"Thank you for the get out of jail card, but we could have done without the embarrassing escort back to the ship," Enyalius said.

"You're welcome," Vatra giggled out. She was tugged up into the ship by Hisato, pulled along like a toddler.

Enyalius watched them pass with a raised eyebrow. "Is she high?"

"No," Hisato said. "She broke her arm and they gave her too many painkillers."

"I'm hiiiigh." Vatra dragged her words out.

Following behind them, Enyalius closed the boarding ramp. It shut with an airy hiss that made Vatra laugh.

"Gods, she's high," Enyalius said. "This is worth the stay in that awful holding cell. We must take advantage of this and get her to sing some ridiculous karaoke."

"Oooh, karaoke!" Vatra stumbled behind Hisato, but she watched Enyalius as if pleading for him to rescue her. "Please, let's do some karaoke!"

"No karaoke," Hisato said. "You need to rest. Spyro would space me out of Tau Honnor if I didn't get you to your room safely. Where is he, anyway? Why are you the only one here?" He regarded Enyalius with his last question.

The god shrugged his shoulders. "Down in the holding cell watching our captives. I'll let him know you're both back, if you want. The others are all hanging around in the rooms below. It's been a day for everyone."

"Have you ever thought about how many times we've used the bathroom throughout our lives?" Vatra stared off at the ceiling. "I've taken so many shits in my life."

Hisato and Enyalius stopped walking and looked at Vatra. She almost bumped into Hisato, and her attention slowly flickered back to the man leading her.

"Incredible," Enyalius mused. "Truly, I love this side of her."

"Did I say something? I'm tired," Vatra said. Her eyes glazed over after a moment, as if she were zoned out into another world.

Sighing, Hisato shook his head. "We can never acknowledge this again. She'll kill us both."

"Well, she'll kill you," Enyalius corrected.

Clearly biting his tongue, Hisato stopped himself from saying anything in reply to what Enyalius had said. Instead, he continued leading Vatra to her room. They neared the ladder down to the level below.

"Are you going to help me get her to her room, or are you going to watch? You're clearly enjoying this too much," Hisato complained. He stopped just at the top of the ladder, holding up Vatra who was wobbling on unsteady legs.

Enyalius sighed and brushed a hand through his hair. "You and all your muscles. What use are you, anyway? I'll go down first since I'm taller. Sit her on the edge and I'll catch her down below."

"You'll catch me? Ooh, my hero!" Vatra laughed, tapping her fingers on Enyalius' chest. She wavered and fell back into Hisato's arms.

"It's like they wanted her to fall down a garbage chute somewhere," Enyalius dead-panned. "I'm almost glad I metabolize drugs and alcohol so well."

The god jumped down to the lower level, forgoing the ladder altogether. His boots thudded on the metal below and he raised his arms above him in anticipation.

"Whenever you're ready," Enyalius called up.

Hisato guided Vatra to the edge of the ladder. She leaned her head against his shoulder and sniggered when he supported her under her armpits. Her knees wobbled, arms stretching out over her head.

"Vatra, sit down on the ground," Hisato said coolly.

"No," she shot back. Her weight went completely into his hands, leaning back against his torso.

Grunting, Hisato stumbled back. "Sit down!" he shouted.

"No!" she yelled back, laughing. Twisting and turning in Hisato's grip, she fought the weakness in her knees pulling her to the ground and attempted to lock them straight out in front of her.

"Do you need help? I could get Spyro for you. He seems like the stick in the mud type to always volunteer as the designated sober one," Enyalius said from below.

"Do not get Spyro. He would kill us both if he saw Vatra like this," Hisato replied through gritted teeth. He resorted to getting down to the ground with Vatra, forcing her to the floor.

"Why would he kill me?" Enyalius questioned. "You're the one that allowed those excuses of medical personnel to give her a questionably high dose of painkillers."

"Did you forget who put her in this position in the first place?" Hisato pushed Vatra to the edge of the ladder, avoiding her flailing arms, and shoved her legs down toward Enyalius.

The god fell silent for a moment. "Oh, right." He reached up and grabbed Vatra, catching her as Hisato pushed her through the hole.

"My arm!" Vatra shouted.

"You didn't hit your arm on anything," Enyalius said. He had caught her with one arm around the small of her back, and she folded over his shoulder like a sack of flour.

Enyalius stepped back and allowed Hisato down the ladder.

"I wouldn't put her down," Hisato warned. "We'll be dragging her to her room for another fifteen minutes."

Chuckling, Enyalius turned and followed Hisato to the sleeping quarters. "I quite like her in this state. Seriously. She's not as mean."

"I don't know, she was still throwing pretty hard punches up there. At least when she has a clear mind, she tells you when she's going to try and throw a left hook," Hisato grumbled.

They stopped in the communal hall of the sleeping quarters. Standing in one of the open doorways of her newly designated room was Fulgora. She had an elbow propped up on the frame, her other hand on her hip. Drawing her eyes up and down the sight in front of her, a wide grin crossed her lips.

"What does a goddess have to do to get carried to her room?" Fulgora questioned. She pushed herself from the doorframe and strode out into the hall, glancing at Vatra.

"She doesn't look so good," Fulgora added, a legitimate concern darkening her features.

Vatra gasped, lifting her head as best as she could. "Fulgora! Your hair looks so beautiful in this light. Did you take a bath?"

"Is she high?" the goddess asked, looking up from Vatra to Hisato and Enyalius.

Both Enyalius and Hisato exchanged a quick glance. "Yes," they said in unison.

"Great, Spyro won't exactly find this as funny as any of us." Fulgora sucked her teeth.

"I don't find it funny," Hisato said.

"It's a little funny," Enyalius whispered, leaning in to Hisato. "Admit it."

"I think it's funny!" Vatra shouted, tugging at her braid. She allowed her hand to fall back down and watched it swirl in circles below her face. "Funny, funny... Fun-knee!"

"Gods, let's get her to her room," Fulgora said. She brushed past the two of them and walked to Vatra's room. 

Trailing behind, Enyalius managed to keep Vatra perched over his shoulder. She impatiently thrummed the fingers of her left hand along her right arm. Her field of sight was limited to the hall behind them, but she heard the door open to her room.

"Are we having a sleepover?" Vatra twisted her head. "I don't mind sharing a bed."

"You're sleeping off these drugs, love," Enyalius said. He walked into Vatra's room and passed by Hisato and Fulgora. The two had stepped to the side for him to pass.

The god walked up to Vatra's bed and pulled her from his shoulder. He went to set her down, but just as her weight dropped, Vatra encircled his neck with her left arm. Both her legs wrapped around his waist, and Enyalius fell to the bed. He was entrapped on top of her.

Enyalius froze in place. "I should have seen this coming," Enyalius grumbled. He tried to pry Vatra's arm free, but the woman had him in a vice grip. Her legs alone kept him pinned close.

Vatra giggled against his cheek. "A sleepover!"

"Care to help her off of me?" Enyalius peered behind him.

There was a soft laugh from Fulgora. "Are you seriously so embarrassed to be near a woman?"

"As much as I enjoy a beautiful woman's embrace, I certainly won't accept it when they're in such a state. I take back what I said before, Vatra is above this," Enyalius said. The last of his words were muffled as he craned his neck, turning his face as far from Vatra's as he could.

Hisato neared the bed. "I agree. Whatever this is, it's over." He kneeled onto the bed and pried Vatra's legs off of Enyalius until the god was able to slip free.

Enyalius stood up with the haste of a startled animal. He straightened the front of his jumpsuit, as if it had moved out of place, and ran a hand through his hair. A blush reddened his face.

"Remember, we don't mention any of this to her when she's back to her old self," Hisato said.

"No one wants to have a sleepover?" Vatra rolled over to her belly and edged to her pillows. "I guess I'll go to sleep. Night-night."

The woman wrapped herself in her blankets. The messy sheets tangled around her in an instant, and the black pillows swallowed her head and shoulders. She was completely hidden within her bed.

An equal look of exhaustion passed between Enyalius and Hisato. Only Fulgora looked as energized as she had been upon her involvement in their situation. She tugged at her blonde tresses falling in loose curls down her back and grinned in lost thought.

"What is it?" Enyalius questioned the goddess.

"I was just thinking," she paused, "that I probably would have been a good mother."

Enyalius almost choked on a breath as he held in a laugh. "If putting Vatra to bed safely is that threshold, then that means the three of us would be parents. Gods, could you imagine me having a kid?"

Fulgora's smile vanished in an instant. "You don't have any kids?" she asked with a blank look. "You gods have kids with anything and anyone you want. I personally never gave it much thought until now."

"Well, there's one other person here that fits your checklist for good parenting. Maybe you two should give it a go." Enyalius slapped Hisato on the shoulder before turning and leaving the room.

"Wait, what?" Hisato turned, having clearly been unfocused from the conversation.

Slinking up beside Hisato, Fulgora winked before laughing. "Don't worry, we were only playing. God and goddess things, you know."

"I can't wait until Vatra wakes up," Hisato muttered. He followed after Fulgora and turned the light off before the door slid shut behind them.