Eight months after Wu Hai left, his Mother had found herself yet again with child. Ooran was losing his hair. The once proud long-locked head of his Father was starting to gain a sparkling shine. Stress was surely part of it but it is said that a man who matures early or has too much Mojo will eventually find himself without hair atop his head. It was not a sign of weakness, but sign of wisdom and age.
Regardless of how it appeared, Ooran still missed his hair.
Calistown had gotten Lei to calm down a bit, Lei would often try talking her Mothers stomach. Many times, Lei would approach and the kicking fits would start.
"Mother, how much longer??" Lei would constantly ask.
"Why do you ask this everyday? It's clear that I'll tell you the moment I know. Go find your Father, I'm sure he can use help with whatever he's 'not' doing lately." Calistown was a little overwhelmed with the prospect of a fourth childbirth. It was already a massive handful with Lei. Her pregnancy had only just started but Lei's perception made keeping it quiet impossible.
The little girl never stayed put and could cause big waves every time she ventured out. The Zao Clan would eventually have some serious problems if they continued.
"Perhaps it would be good to find another building or lot in the capital." Thinking to herself, Calistown could only go about her normal, busy day. Tomorrow Zhan would return from duty and the family would sit down to Dinner. It had become a tradition since their arrival at the Capital.
Something had happened, a disturbance outside in the yard caused the birds in the area to fly away and alerted Lei. She went outside.
"FATHER!" In a frantic state, Lei rushed to her fathers side.
He was struggling on the ground, his body was sweating a lot and he had a pale color. He'd been poisoned and become gravely ill. Blood came from his wrist, a bite wound could be seen, it pulsed with black.
Enveloping him in her telekinesis, Zao Lei slowly dragged her father's body towards to house while screaming, "MOTHER! COME NOW!"
Seeing Ooran being dragged towards her, Calistown dropped everything in her hands and almost fell while sprinting to her husband's side. "Put him down, quickly, let me check."
Lei immediately lowered her father to the ground.
"He's still breathing but he's not talking. I don't know what is going on, go get Uncle Jiang. Hurry!" Sending a four year old alone into a Capital City would foolish but Zao Lei was incredibly difficult to handle, she was somewhat safe. Calistown did her best to examine Ooran while Lei scrambled toward the City.
She could fly with her abilities, it made the trip to the Bookstore very fast. Finding Old Man Jiang was very easy, he had been holed up on his roof observing Troop movements and battle drills near the main gate while lost in thought.
"UNCLE! FATHER IS SICK!, MOTHER SAYS COME QUICK!" Shouting as she flew towards to shop, there was likely no one in the vicinity that was unable to hear her. By the time she reached the door, Old Man Jiang was already locking the Store. He grabbed Zao Lei's little hand and sped back to her home. She was a fast flyer but he studied movement techniques and faster was better in the case of an Emergency.
Calistown was grieving heavily when Old Man Jiang arrived, he proved with his senses into Zao Ooran's body and retracted them almost as fast, "Poison, but how?"
He saw the wound on Ooran's wrist, "Calistown, what have you guys been doing? Has anyone come around that was unwelcome or rude? Ooran's been poisoned and it is a very strong, very specific poison. I don't know what I can do here." Old Man Jiang's voice trembled with uncertainty, his connection to the family had grown significantly since Wu Hai had become a Disciple.
Ripping shirt to the sides, Old Man Jiang exposed Ooran's chest. A dark patch of blue and purple was rising from the area near his kidneys and he was covered in tiny boils. If things didn't change and quickly, he would have no route for survival.
"I am afraid our options are few. I cannot produce a 'Flower of Life,' however my medicine garden is well equipped. I also have some proficiency in antidotes but the problem is that I don't know what poison this actually is. It's very frightening, it reminds me of the Assassin groups and Cultists, the poison has spread very quickly, look." He pointed to the tip of one of the tendrils from the poison damage, it grew while they stared at it. Master Jiang channeled his ability and struck at Ooran's chest near his kidneys.
The blow made Ooran look even worse but it was a necessary tactic for cutting off the bloodstream.
Feeling a Mountain of despair, Calistown could only continue to cry.
"I can cleanse his body while I read but his time is short. We cannot stand around." Old Man Jiang stood up and told Lei to grab her father, they rushed to Bookstore together.
"The last time I saw anything even close to this type of poison it was in a War, a Man boiled on the battlefield, burst and infected his comrades." Hearing what Old Man Jiang had said, he started prepping some herbs to slow down the rate of the poison. "All poisons react to certain materials, if we can see it retreat from any of them, we will have a chance to save him. If not, we would have to face the possibility of spreading whatever it is that's infected Ooran."
"What can you do?" Calistown was frantic and trying to keep calm, the kicks from her stomach had even grown faster.
"I don't know but I'm trying everything that I can. Go check the shelf marked poisons and bring me everything." Old Man Jiang sent Calistown off to look for books, hoping it would calm her nerves a bit.
It did not work that way. She returned with two handfuls of books and started to look for anything similar. It was better than hearing her worry aloud, Old Man Jiang hoped she would find something he missed but it was unlikely.
"Mother? Is Father going to be alright?" Lei was crying at her Mother's leg.
Picking Lei up, Calistown hugged her daughter and sat her in a chair at the opposite side of the room. She told her to stay.
Returning to the books, Calistown was intent on helping. ' I won't let you die,' she cried as she kept her eyes on the pages.
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Zhan had a few more things to do on patrol, it had been quiet day. He was about to be relieved and sent home for a few days, he was eager and waiting. His Mother was pregnant again and Rachael was also waiting for him to come home.
A few months after Wu Hai had left, he and Rachael were quietly receiving each others affections. They had grown quite close and he even considering giving up on his future adventures with Wu Hai, it started to seem as if he might have his own direction and life for him was at an all time peak.
Reporting to his Superiors, Zhan was finally able to leave his post.
"Thank you, I will see you in a few days. Don't get lazy, we have more drills next week." Sergeant Morris thanked Zao Zhan and sent him off.
Packing his Firewolf with gear, he started the ride home. After about an hour he arrived back at the Capital and went to find Rachael.
She was home and waiting for his arrival. The dress she wore was special, she had been keeping it with her to wear when he returned. It was a special dress that was bought the last time they had gone out.
"Come on, lets go. I don't mind walking." Dismounting, Zhan saw a familiar face rushing towards him from far away.
"Brother Zhan!" With snot rolling down her face and flooded eyes, Zao Lei crashed into her Brothers chest. "Father...." She seemed out of breath and it was hard to understand her at first. "Quick, we must go to Uncle's Shop!" She grabbed at his wrist, "Poison." Breathing heavily, Lei was trying to keep herself from crying. Her panic was obvious, she was seriously worried.
Rather than asking questions, Zhan grabbed Rachael's hand. "Rachael, lets go." Jumping onto the Firewolf again, he pulled Rachael onto its back and Lei flew into her arms. The Firewolf ran at its quickest speed and in minutes they arrived at the Bookstore.
Seeing his Fathers state, Zhan lost his composure and asked the myriad of questions. None of them had answers so he sat down and started to look over the books that his Mother.
"Rachael, could you watch over Lei for a little bit. I have to help them look for a solution." Zhan was trying his best but his Father was dying on a table next to him and no one had any idea of what to do. Keeping himself focused was already a difficult task.