2012-08-14 Devils and DevilCats

Tender Hearts, Tender Paws Animal Shelter. 5:35PM. It was a no-kill, not for profit pet shelter that was actually doing well for itself. How did it get by? Providing services for animals as well to raise money: grooming, nail clipping - they even had a vet who provided services, and donated the proceeds to the shelter. He was a very good vet. Dr. Gruber. And the prices were lower - it was considered an outreach of sorts, to the poorer community it was nearby. But the shelter still enjoyed extra hands to help out, keep the place clean, so on so on. And Karen Starr really did enjoy doing stuff like this, giving back to the community. Even as she tries to keep a puppy in her left hand safe from the mean cat in her right, all while staring blankly at the volunteer supervisor. "Fsssst! Rrrrow!" says the cat, digging its claws into Karen's skin as she holds it with arms outstretched, the quivering boxer puppy in her left hand burying its head into her shoulder. "Um. You want me... just to hold these until the vet gets a free moment?" she asks. The Cat was clawing at her sweater, tearing gashes in it. "Augh! Bad kitty!"

"Thank you, young man. You've been very helpful," an elderly woman can be heard saying as she enters the shelter. Right behind her is one Eddie. Dressed in jeans and a Superman t-shirt today, he's carrying a pair of pretty big carriers. In each is an oversized cat. He's just barely managing to carry them but he's not complaining. He just stumbled upon the woman struggling to get into the shelter and stopped to help her. "It's okay, let's g-get them over to the sign in," Eddie replies, lugging the carrier along.

The ride back to Manhattan was grueling, but the Phantom knows only one place that would help him right now--the Tender Hearts Shelter. Thankfully he'd managed to convince a Metropolis officer to take him and Devil; that city's police really are darn nice. Not quite as over-worked as Manhattan's, and definitely not as jaded as Gotham's. Not but five seconds after Eddie and the elderly woman enter, the door suddenly is pushed open, and the Phantom hurries in, ignoring everyone and jogging right to the desk. In his arms he carries--a wolf, of all things. A bloody wolf at that, with glass shards sticking out of his left side and most of his back. They're small--which actually makes it worse. Many had gotten through the fur and embedded themselves into the flesh. "You have to help him," says the Phantom, a touch of pleading in his voice when he gets to the desk. The wolf just looks--weary, and in pain. There might just be a note somewhere about the Phantom--guy in a purple costume, nice, and pays with gem stones. Never leaves a bill unpaid, and pays /well/ for this place to tend to this very wolf.

Guilt is a pretty strong motivator. Rain likely feels pretty bad after running off when the cops showed up. Poor Devil. Regardless, she makes her way here. She has a pretty guilty expression on her face. Though, mercifully, she's in a frilly shirt and not her duster coat of doom. She is quiet though, noticing Phantom and Devil. "Oh no. I'm sorry." Her eyebrows furrow. The wacky awkwardness is left for a moment. She feels pretty horrible, actually.

"Karen, Karen, please - you're scaring the puppy!" says another volunteer. A girl who looked to be maybe about fourteen or so, rolling her eyes at the older, taller woman. "/I'm/ scaring the..." Karen begins to say in protest, when she was interrupted. "Oh, can't you do anything right?" The girl moves to take the boxer puppy from Karen, and leave her with the devilcat. Who was still squirming around and clawing at the material of her sweater.

"Karen, Karen, please - you're scaring the puppy!" says another volunteer. A girl who looked to be maybe about fourteen or so, rolling her eyes at the older, taller woman. "/I'm/ scaring the..." Karen begins to say in protest, when she was interrupted. "Oh, can't you do anything right?" The girl moves to take the boxer puppy from Karen, and leave her with the devilcat. Who was still squirming around and clawing at the material of her sweater. "I... um..." Karen realized that the cat had squirmed into kinda a hold where she was squeezing him about the belly, and that probably wasn't good. "Can you get me a carrier please, Annette?" she asks. It was about that time that the Phantom enters. And sadly enough, in this part of town, costumed people dashing up to the counter to demand something was not altogether unheard of. And from the sound of things, the Phantom was a fairly regular customer. The secretary at the desk - her eyes widen as the Phantom himself enters; "Doctor Gruber, Doctor Gruber! We have an emergency! Quickly - bring him to the operating table in the back!" she tells the Phantom, her eyes briefly going to Rain. "And you - quickly! Put that cat in a carrier and grab some towels and the kit." As for Karen: she looks up at the operating room, and her head nods as her grip slackens a bit. Bad move. The Cat leaps from her hands, yowling, flying directly towards Eddie, all claws and bad attitude!

Eddie's not moving very quickly but thankfully he doesn't get smacked by the door or knocked over by the Phantom. He's all set to frown at the person who's in such a hurry when he sees who it is. "The Phantom!" he grins, quite pleased to see a superhero. That little boost of enthusiasm gets him moving a little faster. Unfortunately for him, it's not fast enough to evade the incoming danger. He turns in time to see the cat coming at him. And since he's got his hands full of heavy pet carriers, he can't even shield his face. "EEP!" he lets out before DevilCat latches on with claws and teeth. Poor Eddie.

When Eddie calls out his name, the Phantom pauses just long enough to look at the young man and give him a small smile. "Hello," he says. "I'll be right back." Yes, he takes the time to greet someone. He's not a yutz like some costumed-people and thinks only of his own troubles. He starts to turn, then sees Rain. "And hello to you, too," he tells her, giving her a nod of his head. No bad feelings harbored, there. And with that, he hurries around back to the operating room, where he eases Devil onto the table. "It'll be okay, Devil," he tells the wolf, scritching the wolf's cheek. The wounds are obvious; he knows he doesn't need to go into too much detail; Devil's medical history is noted under whatever secretive system Doctor Gruber uses, and it's pretty obvious what the problem is. Glass shards. In the skin. He'll still have to actually be shooed out of the operating room, though, but it's like anyone with an animal friend--and it's obvious that Devil is his friend, not pet. He hates to see his friend hurt. A moment taken to take a breath and compose himself before he'll head back out.

In fairness, some of those troubles are perfectly valid. Rain didn't bolt for no good reason, far as she knows. At least she tried to find them, after. Rain looks guilty "I'm... sorry. Um. One second..." She has to save poor Eddie from Hell cat. "Here kitty, kitty. Friendly kitty, um, stop biting kitty..." She'll try to grab the kitty and scritch him behind the ears and alongside his jaw. She may get a cat clamped to her head for her trouble. Rain won't go towards the operating room, she's got HellCat in hand. "Um. This cat is angry." She frowns. She looks towards the operating room, but for now is trying to befriend and/or juggle a cat. "Where's his um... carrier?" She looks apologetically towards Eddie. Karen gets a blink too. "Erm." Awkward. Rain's left holding the cat.

DevilCat was not going to be nice to the new friend that they discovered. In reality, the cat was scared - this was a shelter for abandoned animals, and why they had it outside of a carrier at all, was anyone's guess. Maybe Karen just looked like was a secure enough place to hold things? Regardless of the matters, the Cat greets their new friend by clawing, hissing, and biting - the cat attempting to climb up to the top of Eddie's head as best it can, looking for a chance to leap off and run to the door. It makes a low, lingering yowl at the bottom of its voice, and turns its evil eyes upon Rain. When Rain approaches, it hisses, and digs its claws deeper into Eddie's scalp - but allows itself to be extracted. Rain seemed to be a soothing influence on it, but it was glaring at /everything/, and Rain was probably getting a clawed death grip on her arm. The carrier would come from Annette, who was fiddling with it in the corner of the office. It was a bit slow, because the teen was doing it with one hand, balancing a boxer puppy in the other. But Doctor Gruber steps out from one of the side offices. He was in his late sixties, perhaps, wrinkles balanced out with laugh lines at the corners of his lips, and a bald spot in the midst of his greying hair. He kinda projected a sense of professionalism, in spite of the slump he was getting to his neck, his coat and otherwise always immaculate. But there was no smile on his face right now, as he surveys Devil. "Phantom, it will be okay," he says in his baritone, sparing a moment to favor the Phantom with a smile. "But we're going to take a look, and make sure none of those glass shards went too deep - please... everyone out of the room who isn't supposed to be in here - that means yourself as well, Phantom." Karen couldn't get a towel - they were provided by other people.

Eddie falls flat on his rear when the cat starts biting and clawing and climbing. The two carriers he's carrying get dropped, the fat cats inside looking annoyed but unharmed. When Rain finally gets that cat off him, Eddie falls back. He's bleeding from multiple scratches and bites and just looking sad as he looks up at the ceiling. "Ow," Rain gets a thankful look at least.

All things considered, the Phantom really likes Doctor Gruber. It's not many people who'd really deal with the costumed crowd like this. And he handles people just as well as he handles animals, which is always a plus. The Phantom is an animal lover, after all. He's actually smiling, if a little, when he re-enters the lobby--and sees the hell-raising cat trying to use Rain as a scratching post. He hurries right over, saying, "Here, let me hold onto it while you tend to the kind young man, here, okay? My costume can take whatever the little fella wants to dish out." He holds out his hands to try and get the cat off Rain before it can rip her to shreds. His costume can take a lot more than this cat, so if he can take it he'll let it claw the heck out of his chest if it really wants to. Makes it easier to cuddle the thing and purr at it, too. Yes, the Phantom actually purring to try and calm down a cat that realizes it's been abandoned. Good thing there are no reporters around.

Poor DevilCat. Abandoned, possibly feral and who knows what it's scene. She hisses in pain, gritting her teeth as it makes Rainkebobs out of her arm. Where is this cat when she needs to cut up a steak? "It's okay, little guy... please stop maiming us all..." Watering eyes are wide. As the Phantom returns, Rain looks his way and turns a bit. "I'm okay, it's mostly light scratches..." She tries a little chinrub. But maybe, considering his costume and might need a distraction... she will let Phantom hold him until Annette can get there with the carrier. She apparently does feel pretty bad for the poor cat. Nevertheless, she'll smile apologetically and let Phantom hold him. "Careful. I think he likes chinrubs and ear scritches." She'll even get the back of kitteh's neck if he likes. "I um," She'll let it be for now, but there is apparently something more, "will bother you shortly. I think we need the Batman Bandaids or something..." She'll look to Eddie. "We should probably clean ourselves up..." Eddie may or may not need to worry about infection, and while Rain could likely cure it, getting it is no thrill. She's a quiet brand of awkward as she looks around.

A tumbling sound from the corner, and a surprised yelp from a puppy. Annette hadn't dropped the puppy, thank goodness, but it was just scared as she knocked over the stack of carriers. Annette falls flat on her butt, and she does drop the puppy in her lap. And now - we have a skittering boxer puppy on the loose. It was surrounded by /giants/. So it starts dashing towards the desk, leaping over the fallen Eddie - if Eddie was quick enough, he could grab it before it made its way to the door, opening for a pair of teens, leading a (gentle-looking and skittish) pit bull in on a leash. And Karen Starr just glances around - but it was the fallen Annette that caught her attention the most in the chaos, Karen dashing to the teen's side and asking, "Are you alright? Here, I'll get the carrier, you go get the puppy, alright?" Annette would still need a moment to get to her feet, and by that time, the puppy could even dash through the door, if no one stops it! Karen, for her part, assembles a carrier - setting a top half on a bottom half, and snapping it together, before approaching the Phantom. On the way, though, she pauses, as she notices Eddie, her eyes widening. "...oh, jeez, what happened to you? Are you okay?" she says, looking up towards Rain then.

Infection is a worry for Eddie unless he can borrow someone else's healing powers. He looks up as Rain speaks, nodding. Thankfully someone else has taken the heavy carriers and the old woman they belonged to away from Eddie's sides. Without those to weigh him down, Eddie's able to show that he's a quick little thing. When there's a puppy coming his way, he reacts on reflex and catches the poor thing. When he realizes he has a puppy in hand, he gives it a 'please don't bite me' look and then glances up. "Umm...?"

The devil-cat is continued to be hushed and stroked by the Phantom, and he lets it dig his claws right in. "It's okay," he murmurs to the creature between purrs. When the puppy dashes out, he starts to move--then has to smile when the young man catches it. "Hey, good job," he tells the young man sincerely, then looks to Rain. "After you guys get the puppy dealt with, maybe you could help tend to his wounds?" he asks as he cants his head a little. It might be gathered by the young woman that he's trying to subtly reference her magic. He remembers her dislike about publicly displaying such, but maybe she could take him aside or some similar.

Poor Eddie. Well, at least there's bat band aids, Neosporin, and hand soap. Rubbing alcohol if you feel feisty. And oh dear, there's a puppy. Amazing how fast the little wrigglers can move when determined. Stubby puppy legs should not go that fast. "There was a scared cat. He decided to try for his freedom. Or at least take us all with him. Umm. Do you have - well, I can't stick his head in the faucet... I guess alcohol wipes or anything..?" She nods at the Phantom. But then a pause. "Um, yeah, I can get some wipes and take care of it." Whether mundane or magic healing, it's not wise to go at it in the midst of a bunch of critters. "I hope the cat likes you more... he seems scared." But she has a few scratches, too. She looks to Karen and pauses. "Sorry."

Karen was hovering over Eddie, and so was Rain, it seemed. Add to that Annette. Annette was a gangly young woman, with glasses too large for her face. "He likes you, I think," she says kinda calmly, looking down to Eddie. The puppy in question was sniffing at the young man's face, and, smelling the wounds or the blood, perhaps, starts to lick him excitedly, the boxer puppy's butt wagging along with its tail. This draws a giggle from Annette, and a fond smile from Karen. And yes, Phantom, DevilCat was purring, and glaring - and one should be thankful for that armor that you wear. Karen Starr finally lifts her eyes up from the group around Eddie, and lifts her eyes up towards the Phantom, stepping nearer to the man - and giving him a once-over. "Nice outfit," she says, holding up the carrier, with the door opened. "If you'd like that Mr. Mephistopheles there to stop clawing into your arm, you can put him in here," she says, giving the Phantom a dazzling smile. It was Rain that draws her coherence next, her eyes sparkling a bit as she looks to her. "No problem at all. Are you alright? Are you both alright?"

Eddie blinks when he's licked, holding the wiggling puppy and looking utterly lost. He's not used to nice reactions from dogs...mostly because the only ones he'd had much interactions with until now were guard dogs and hungry strays. Phantom's praise gets a blink and then Eddie just -BEAMS-. A superhero told him he did a good job, this is great news. He blinks again when he catches that subtle reference, glancing at Rain to see what she'll do. It's only then that he notices so many people hovering over him and ends up blushing as much as he can at the moment. "I'll be okay, ma'am. I've b-been hurt worse than this before," says the teen with blood dripping out of wounds on his head, chest, arms, and face.

Aww, such a cute cat when he calms down a little. "It's okay, little man," he murmurs as he leans down to the carrier. "You just go in here for a bit, okay? I'll see you again." He lightly nudges the cat into the carrier, patiently and gently pulling the claws out of his costume until he's freed. When the cat's stowed away safely and securely, the Phantom grins at Karen. He's not a bad cat once he calms down--and thank you for the compliment," he says, then goes to crouch next to Eddie. The pup gets a passing scritch, but his attention is more drawn by the young man.  "I think you should let Rain here take care of you, young man. She's a good sort and can help you feel better in no time. You may have been hurt worse before, but that's no reason to let you suffer now, okay?" That's said with a friendly smile as he goes to lightly clasp Eddie's shoulder--as long as it, too, hasn't been scratched the heck and back, of course.

((Phyla-Vell enters))

Evenings make for busy diners. Diners make for either very good, or very poor meals. Space travelers with forms of currency never used on this world... well, they make for angry waitstaff. Angry waitstaff make for well intentioned, yet troublesome aliens. "But, these coins are accepted on twelve worlds." explains Phyla as she's escorted out of the establishment across the street. She has her hooded cloak doffed, and draped over her arm as she holds a hand out with a variety of coinage in it. "Ma'am. I don't know what you think you're doing, but those ain't legal tender in this country. Now get out and don't come back!" explains the owner/cook, complete with stereotypical dirty apron and scowl.

Why bat bandaids? Because after DEVILCAT, Hello Kitty might be a bit much. Rain tilts her head. "Did you want some help?" She smiles faintly at Eddie. She seems pleased as he beams. Aw. "Yeah, it was a good catch," She agrees. But aw. She won't push the point. "And he's way too nice to me," Rain murmurs nodding at the Phantom. She might not be aware of what's going on across the street just yet, but it's been kind of a wild evening for Rain. "And you have a way with kitties," She peers at the Phantom. But there's a smile at that. "I'm sure he appreciates it." Whatever happens, Rain will quietly linger in the background. She's likely concerned about a particular wolf, too. He did let her scritch him. And he even nudged her. Friendship! But yes, she's becoming a fixture in the background, not unlike those unnerving stuffed deer heads or something. Thankfully, she doesn't wear a hat inside. To Karen, she nods. "I'm fine, thank you."

Locking the devilcat away in the carrier, Karen Starr sets it to the side. The staff of the clinic were in the room with the doctor, working on the poor Devil who had been wounded terribly. Setting the carrier with the cat behind the desk, Karen moves back over to the stack of fallen carriers, gesturing to Annette, who sighs, and moves to take the puppy from Eddie with a sigh. Whether or not Eddie let the puppy go, Karen would start assembling another, when she glances out the window, and sees the woman from a few nights before, Karen pursing her lips in quiet thought. It wouldn't be beyond reason for Phyla to see her through the window as well. Perhaps even recognize her as POWER GIRL, even in the turtleneck she was wearing?

Thankfully, Eddie's shoulders have escaped the wrath of Hell-O-Kitty. And that simple gesture from the Phantom along with the friendly smile have the teen smiling more than he has since getting there. He nods a little, not trusting himself not to babble if he opens his mouth. He lets Karen take the puppy, glad it didn't get away even if the poor thing needs a bath now. Looking to Rain, he blinks. "H-here?" he squeaks, thinking she was going to use her magic in public.

Shoulders drooping in defeat, Phyla nods to the proprietor, "I shall do as you ask." she states, turning to slink away but taking a moment to tuck those few coins into a pocket in her outfit. As she does so, she pauses and inclines her head a bit. Sensory input from the bands is.. well, it's a mental link, so it's not like she needs to turn her eyes onto things. "Interesting." she remarks softly as she turns her eyes -right- to the window Karen is behind. One blue eye and one glowing golden one locking onto her.

"Well," says the Phantom, grinning at the young man, "I'm sure there's a back room you can go so you don't have to be tended to in the middle of the lobby." He looks up to Rain, then. "I think it'd be easier that way, but it's really up to you two." He's not the one with the magic and all, so he'll leave whether she wants to do it, and how, up to her. He still holds onto the young man's shoulder, since it's plain to see how much it means to him. The young man deserves that much, at the least.

"Um. I was thinking more somewhere towards the back because no one would like to watch me pretend to be Dr. House," Rain smiles faintly. She nods at Phantom. "It probably would. But if not, no sweat." Rain doesn't seem too ruffled if she gets told no. "I'll have to meet people here sometime when it's less busy," She admits. She does seem a bit less flaily than usual. Probably post ant-battle exhaustion. There's a pause and she looks to the Phantom. "By the way, I can pick up something for you to eat and drink, since I kinda bailed earlier."

Karen recognizes Phyla in a moment, her features suddenly growing a bit serious. Karen wasn't quite taking the puppy, but Annette was certainly happy to take him from Eddie's hands, and again cradle him like one would a baby. When Phyla's eyes glance to the window, Karen's own widen, and she glances away, looking back towards Annette with a smile she didn't really feel, her mind whirling with thought. "I know you really like that one, but here - he can sleep safe and sound in here, and they'll get him a good home, I promise, Annette," she says.

Eddie's a fan boy. Attention from a superhero like this makes all those wounds worth it. He looks a little uncertain about the idea of Rain's magic being used to heal him. It's not that he doesn't like Rain...he just doesn't trust her teacher at all. "You d-d-don't have to, Rain. I c-can wait for a doctor to be free," he says, also not wanting to trouble her at all. "Who's Dr. House?" he's never seen or heard of the show. "Umm....does anyone have a tissue?" he asks, wiping some blood away from his eye.

"I tell you what," the Phantom says to Rain with a smile, "make it tomorrow and you've got a deal. Tonight will be busy with trying to get Devil settled at home." Then he looks to Eddie, saying, "As for you, well--that's alright. Tell you what, let's go and see what I can do until the doctor or someone else is free and can tend to you properly, okay?  I can at least clean the wounds up for you." That's said with a grin, and as he stands, he offers his hand to Eddie to help him up as well.

"..." Rain looks faintly hurt, but smiles politely and nods. "Of course. Be well. I'll probably just clean up at home." She smiles politely at Karen as well. She will turn and wander out.

Eddie Resilver winces when he notices Rain's hurt look. He makes a note to call and apologize later. Possibly with ice cream and explain why he's so wary. It's not Rain's fault, Eddie is just concerned about people too close to Loki. He jumps slightly though and looks to Phantom. "Devil's going to b-be okay, right?" he asks, concerned for the wolf. Then it registers that the hero offered to help clean wounds and he nods. "Okay," he squeaks, accepting the hand up.

And she walks out. The Phantom makes a mental note to talk to her later and apologize for not being able to focus better. Right now, though, he's got to focus on Eddie, and he notices the young man's reaction. After helping Eddie to his feet, the Phantom motions toward a small hall that should lead a number of rooms, including an examination room. Close enough, he figures. "Devil will be okay, and I know he'll appreciate your concern," he replies to the young man. "I do, too. And you did do good today.  It's not easy, letting yourself be hurt so an innocent animal can be helped.  Most people wouldn't do that, you know.  It takes someone with a big heart and a good amount of courage to let themselves be turned into a scratching post."

Eddie follows quickly, frowning as he looks at some of the cuts. "I'm glad," he really is happy Devil will be okay. The teen ends up blushing again as Phantom keeps up the praise. "I d-don't know if I did anything the cat kind of jumped on me while I had my hands full."

"Could have refused, could have just tried to throw the cat off, something like that," says the Phantom as he motions to an examination room so Eddie can precede him. He'll close the door most of the way, leaving it open a little, then head to the sink to get some paper towels from the dispenser. He gives the young man another smile, adding, "Don't sell yourself too short, now."

Eddie shuffles into the room a little nervously and pulls himself up onto the table. He watches Phantom as he moves, still blushing. "So many people telling me that," he murmurs, smiling a bit. "I'm j-just happy I can help."

"And help you did," says the Phantom as he wets some paper towels with warm water and brings them over to Eddie. "It also sounds like you've got a lot of smart people around you." That's said with a grin, then he has to add, "Alright, this shouldn't hurt much. It's just water, so all we'll be doing right now is cleaning you up." And with that, he starts to gently wipe the blood from the young man's face.

"They are pretty smart," Eddie agrees. He doesn't seem worried about potential pain at all, holding still. "Thanks," he speaks quietly. He's silent a moment before a thought pops into his head. "I hope I don't need any stitches..."

"You're welcome," replies the Phantom with a smile as he continues his work. "And they make really good stitches these days; dissolve right into your system, so you don't need to have them taken out later. I can say they're pretty snazzy, really." And he would know, really, as often as he needs stitching up.

"They do?" Eddie's surprised by this news. "I just used normal thread..." he remarks softly, without really thinking about it. "I wonder what they're made of if they dissolve like that."

Pursing his lips a moment in thought, the Phantom says, "You know, I don't know. But I can say they're pretty nifty." He leans back from his work; the young man's face and head are about as clean as they're going to get. The doctor can worry about the disinfectant and such. As he starts on Eddie's arms, he says, "I've had to use normal thread before. Hard as heck to sterilize, right?" He's genuinely commiserating; trying to stitch oneself up when one doesn't have the appropriate tools is a pain.

Eddie blinks, looking worried when he realizes he's said it. But when there's no horrified reaction, he relaxes. Nodding slightly, the teen frowns. "Sterilizing anything was hard where I was," he admits. "Fire only worked on the n-needle."

"Mm--rubbing alcohol, if you can get it," remarks the Phantom, brows knitting a bit as he works down Eddie's arms. "Douse the needle in that, then use a lighter to burn it off. Just remember to make sure the fire's out." That's said with a smile; he's obviously forgotten a time or two. And he doesn't really have a problem sharing information like this because for one thing, the young man is obviously in a better place, and for another, who's he to judge? All he knows is that Eddie is a good sort, and that's all he needs to know.

"I used it while I had it," Eddie admits, smiling. He winces as well at the mention of fire. One time and one burn mark on his leg were enough to make him remember. Thankfully he is in a much better place now. "I'm j-just glad I don't have to do any of that anymore."

"So am I," says the Phantom, then he stands up straight. "I'm glad you don't have to worry about that. Now, that's about the best I can do.  What do you think, eh?" Not a bad jo, if he says so, himself.

Eddie Resilver looks down at himself and smiles. "Y-you did an awesome job, sir!" he chimes cheerfully. "Thank you for the help."

That makes the Phantom grin again. "Think nothing of it, eh? And thank you for your help.  Now let me go see about getting a doctor or someone, okay?" He'll go to squeeze that young man's shoulder again, then turn to head out of the room.