~Chapter 4~
Mae…" Jack's voice called to her, "Wake up, Wife-of-mine."
"Bed comfy." She giggled, and reached out, her hand sweeping through nothing.
"Mae…" His voice faded.
"Jack, don't walk away."
"Mae…"
"Jack?"
"Mae, open your eyes." The voice changed.
Someone else was calling to her. Someone closer.
"Should she feel this warm?"
Something moved from her forehead and shifted to her cheek as she sluggishly came around. Languishing somewhere between awake and dreams, she preferred the latter. She didn't want to open to her eyes to the waking world. She was comfortable and warm, but her mind wouldn't settle as a terrible sense of dread crept in. The veil of her dream had been lifted, and only the nightmare remained.
"I'm not certain." This voice was familiar too, she recognized it as Karanosi's. His hand felt enormous and cold as he pressed the tips of his fingers to her brow and blotted out the light. "We need to get her up so we can check her injuries. If she's contracted an infection, I don't know what we can do for her."
"Let me die…" she muttered as she shifted her head, causing him to retract his hand.
"Very well. If you wish to discard your life, I will not stop you," he remarked from her left side, "but I can't promise my son will do the same."
"Ignore him, Mae," Ven spoke from her right, "I do apologize for having to wake you, but we need to get you up. It's time to change your bandages. How are you feeling?"
"Thirsty," she replied, her voice raspy, her mouth dry and throat hoarse.
"I suspected that might be the case," he replied as he leaned towards her, holding a pink hued cube that reminded her of a small square of watermelon before her lips. "This will help. You can suck on it or chew if you prefer, but don't swallow it."
Opening her mouth, he placed the cube between her front teeth. It was squishy, like a firm sponge, and a liquid, the consistency of a heavy cream, with a slight nutty flavor began to seep into her mouth. Sucking back against the spongy cube, she eagerly drank the refreshing, albeit oddly textured drink. After a few moments, Ven reached towards her mouth. Willingly she opened up, and he took the cube from her.
"How was that? Would you like some more?"
"No, but thank you," she replied, as she berated herself for her own stupidity.
Her thirst having gotten the better of her, she had now foolishly ingested an unknown substance from an alien planet! She knew better! She should have known better. But what could she really do now? Recovering was the first step to going home, and getting home, seeing Jack and Koobs again, was all she could live for. If for nothing else, she needed to find a way to get a message back to Jack. One that explained what had happened. One that told him, to be happy, because she didn't know if she could find her way back to them, no matter how hard she tired. But this also meant she had to adapt. She had to eat and drink their food, and trust in them, not just for her care, but to teach her of this strange, alien world. It also meant that she had to do what they told her and not be disagreeable. It no longer mattered how scared she was or uncomfortable or anxious, she had to fight through it all, deal with it and move on. For despite how accommodating Ven and Karanosi seemed, she knew nothing about either, and had no way of knowing how far their generosity and hospitality would go. She had no way of knowing if her life had value or if she was just a curiosity, because in this place, it was her that was the alien, not them.
"If you're ready, we would like to get you up and have you move around a bit. Then we'll get you situated, your bandages changed, and something for you to eat. How does that sound?" Ven questioned.
"Sounds good," she replied, forcing a gentle smile.
She wasn't overly enthusiastic about the idea of getting up, giving how excruciating the pain in her arm had been when she had attempted to move it earlier, but she did want to get up so she could get a better sense of her surroundings, and maybe, even a look outside.
Together, Ven and Karanosi folded back and lifted off, the thick, heavy blanket that had been pinning her down. Relieved of the weight, she finally grasped how truly heavy it had been, and took her first look at the condition she was in. Her legs, bent slight at the knees, rested over a round, sturdy pillow covered in a light brown material that looked like suede, and beneath her was a thick blanket that appeared to be an unbleached fleece, slightly fuzzy, but incredibly soft. Every visible part of her, save for her feet, were wrapped in a green linen like cloth, that reminded her of woven bamboo fibers, and she was immediately struck by a pungent herbal aroma similar to moldy grass clippings mixed with some variety of fragrant mint.
"Oh, wow," she exclaimed turning her head, reflexively lifting her arm, "that is, oh, that does not smell good."
"I am terribly sorry, but please bear with the odor." Ven chuckled to her reaction. "I promise, it smells far more pleasant when it is first applied."
"Ven speaks truth," Karanosi remarked as he set the blanket aside, with ease, a clear indicator of how incredibly strong he was. "What you're smelling now is an indication that the treatment is working. Thankfully, it seems your flesh reacts very similar to that of Ven's"
"You were injured to?" she asked as she looked towards him.
"No, not this time. My clothing is designed to protect me from such things, and my back was to the explosion when it happened. But given what he just said, I'm betting you'll be all healed in a day or two."
"I won't be able to give an accurate estimation until we remove the bandages and I can examine your injuries. But I would suspect, one more night beneath the hasvaden will be required."
"Has… vaden?"
"The heavy mat you were under. It provides equal compression on your injuries and prevents you from moving while you sleep… if your species is prone to such things," Ven remarked, the awkward and somewhat uncomfortable expression returning to his face. "The thing is, we know nearly nothing about Nubarra or its species, and what we do know comes from historical literature written by questionable sources. Namely the Fae. While they are great with keeping incredibly accurate numerical records, they aren't great with anything else."
"They are biased, angry, and prone to holding long grudges. Especially against species they… clashed with," Karanosi explained as Ven lifted her legs and he pulled the pillow out from under them.
"Fae? As in Fairies?"
"Amongst others. Technically speaking dragons are Fae, but they hate to admit it," Ven said as he lowered her legs and Karanosi huffed.
"Be that as it may, so are many other beings. It's a very broad category. Basically, Mae, any being with innate magical abilities that do not originate from an outside source, usually the planet they are from…"
"As in my case," Ven interjected.
"Are considered a Fae race," Karanosi concluded.
"That seems pretty straight forward," she replied while Ven, with extreme care, slid his hand beneath her neck and lifted her as Karanosi, swung her legs out over the side of the bed towards him, lowering them until her heels came in contact with the floor.
She was surprised to find how far up she actually was with well over a foot between her and the floor, which was twice the height she had suspected.
"I know you maybe more comfortable being close to Ven, but if you will allow it, I can make this easier on you," Karanosi said, offering out his hand to her.
"I'm sorry for how I reacted when I first saw you. First contact woes and all that," she said as she stared at his hand, hesitant to take it, despite her own hand being entirely bandaged down to the tips of her fingers. "Nothing you could have done could have made that any easier. I have to learn to trust, and that tends to take time. Small steps, if that's agreeable to you."
"Small steps," he nodded, as she slowly lifted her arm and set her hand cautiously into his.
Leaned forward, he lifted her hand and set it onto his right shoulder. Sliding his arm around to the back of her waist, and exchanging Ven's hand on the back of her neck for his other, she felt like a child as he pulled her towards him, stopping when she was in an upright position. Dropping to a knee, he allowed her to use his shoulder to stabilize herself, while his hands hoovered at her waist, ready to grab her at a moment's notice. Momentarily feeling light-headed, she swayed and clutched at his shoulder. Closing her eyes, she lowered her head and took a couple of deep breaths, waiting for the feeling to pass, before straightening herself back up.
"Take all the time you need," he remarked as she looked down at him.
He was even larger than she had perceived him to be, for even down on his knee, the top of his head was in line with her shoulder, minus the horns that curled back over his skull, reminiscent of the mountain goats of earth, but his were white and glistened like freshly fallen snow.
"I'm okay. Probably low blood pressure. I don't remember the last time I ate."
'Don't forget the beer.' A memory flashed through her head, Jack's voice as loud and clear as if he were the one kneeling before her.
She bit down upon the inside of her lip, anything to distract her from her thoughts.
"I have food preparing on the fire. Something hearty, but easy to eat. Although, I am guessing based on the look of your teeth," Ven admitted as he made his way around the bed to her.
Holding out his arm, he was also taller than she had assumed, easily standing over six feet, possibly nearing seven.
"Take a hold of my arm. I'll walk you to the relief closet, while Karanosi adjusts your bed."
"Would you mind, um, taking me to the window first?"
"Not at all. Slow, easy steps," he replied as she moved her hands from Karanosi's shoulders to his arm.
Walking gave Mae no difficulty, as long as she took the slow, easy steps, Ven had recommended, and she didn't dare to bend her knees. When they reached the window, which was nothing more than a square with rounded corners cut through the wall, which was easily two feet thick, Ven stepped aside, letting her transfer her hands from his arm to the windowsill, although he remained within an inch of her.
Lifting her eyes from the sill, her heart beat rapidly, pounding against the inside of her chest, as she got her first glance at the world beyond her room, to find that this alien planet, Sah'Korhune, bore some resemblance to the earth she knew. From her window, a sea of grass, thicker, broader, and longer, the color of a glacier lake, shimmered to silver, as it swayed to the will of the wind that swept across it. And beyond, a solid wall of white and grey, mountains of stone. Her limited view offering no way to gage how high they were or how far they went as the overhang of the roof prevented her from seeing the sky.
"Are we in a valley?" she asked, turning towards Ven, who was standing at her shoulder looking out at the same view.
"We are. We are up in a secluded valley in the mountains of Horizn's Deep. I know the location means nothing to you now, but it means that we are very safe here. A single path leads up from the valley below, but unless you know how to recognize it, it's near impossible to find. The nearest town is half a day's journey down the mountain by mount."
"Or a quick ten-minute flight, as a dragon flies," Karanosi commented as he toiled away behind them.
"Are dragon's common here?"
"They are, although most steer clear of the cities built by the smaller races. Far too difficult to navigate through and no one enjoys having to sort out the cost of property damage. And unlike the crystal and silver broods, the others are incapable of shifting to smaller forms, the silver being the most naturally adept."
"Mae, there is so much for you to learn and discover about this world. While that may seem like a terrifying and daunting task, you aren't alone in this endeavor. Getting you home will always be a priority, but until that task can be accomplished, this is the world you must live and survive in. Karanosi and I will do all we can to make being here as easy on you as possible. Of that, you have my word."
"Thank you, Ven," she replied turning towards the window once again, "but as you said earlier Karanosi, let's focus on what comes first."