ISHI POV (Continued):
Karlos, the 'doctor', led us down a hall and showed us into a room second from the last. He is the same guy who approached Kori in the palace.. Or at least I think so. They all look alike.
"She can recuperate in here." He said.
The room smelled like Mika, and there was a rag on the floor near the bed. She must have woken up here alone. I looked around the plain and crude room. I bet she thought she was taken captive… this looks nothing like a medical bay.
I laid her down on the bed, she winced and rolled over on her side.
I froze.
What the hell is that?!
I had to stop myself from saying it out loud.
"Can I have a minute?" I asked them, as I crouched by her side.
"Sure." Kori said dismissively, as she led Karlos out of the room.
As soon as the door closed, I reached out and touched her. Her tail had gotten bigger and looked quite strange. I checked her backside and was baffled. The lump that had appeared had grown into another tail!
Why the hell does Mika have two tails? I Covered her up to hide her tails. I can't be sure if they know about it or not, but I need to try to protect her. Gods only know that they might do if they see that.
I composed myself then left the room. They were waiting for me in the hallway.
"Is she your mate?" Kori asked.
"No." I answered swiftly.
"Is the wolf your mate then?" She prodded.
"No. I have no mate." I felt a cold, empty feeling in my chest as I said it.
"Does the wolf have a mate?" She asked.
I immediately became defensive, "Yes he does."
"Woah, calm down." She giggled, "I'm not interested, trust me."
The doctor intervened. "The wolf was mumbling something about a mate while we were patching him up. He became frantic and tried to get up so we had to knock him out."
"If he's not your mate, then…" The girl added, looking around me towards the room Mika was in.
"Yes. They are mates." I said firmly, giving her a look that said 'back off.'
"Interesting.." She said, with an ambiguous look on her face.
"What do you know about her condition?" Karlos asked me.
"What condition?" I asked back, feigning confusion.
"Her double tail." He said.
Shit. They know. Ugh, I wish Isola were here. I don't know if I should tell them what I know or if I should lie.
"Does that have anything to do with her sickness?" I asked, crossing my arms.
"It might, depending on what you tell me." He was sly, despite his careless appearance. He adjusted his glasses as he stared at me for an answer.
"I don't know if I trust you enough to tell you anything." I decided to be frank.
"Trust or not, if that mana fever gets out of control she could die.. And she might take us along with her." He said pointedly.
I growled at his threat.
"Now, now. Calm down, both of you. Let's find a place to chat." Kori said.
We went back towards the entrance and into a conference room. We all sat down and another arctic fox brought us some hot drinks.
"Ishi, I know it may be hard to trust people you just met, but we mean you no harm. You heard the elders tell me to give you anything you need. We have no reason to hurt you or your friend. As long as you do not pose a threat to us, you have my word that we will not hurt you." She turned towards the doctor and added, "Karlos, perhaps you should explain to our guest a bit more about what's going on?"
"Right." He said, adjusting his glasses. "So when your friend Mika arrived to us, her temperature was so high that she was giving off heat. I've never seen anything like that. She has no sickness known to us. That's when I remembered the mana fever. It's got an insidious onset and progresses pretty quickly. It was only seen in those who could wield mana, such as the progenitors and their partners. In one case, a mate of the water kelpie caught mana fever and exploded, killing themselves and everything within a half mile radius."
"Just because it's nothing you have seen before, doesn't make it mana fever." I retorted.
"There is truth in those words. However if you take into account her… peculiarity… and the fact that she was found laying on the ground with no snow around her for many feet -despite the blizzard. I feel the situation might warrant some creative thinking."
"I-" I went to object again but he cut me off.
"Besides, without all the information, making an accurate and complete diagnosis would be near impossible."
I felt trapped. Mika needs help, but I don't want to turn her into some quack's science experiment. However if she might actually die… maybe its worth the risk to ensure she stays alive.
Noting my contemplation the doctor added, "what do we need to do in order to secure your cooperation?"
"You make it sound weird." Kori interjected, looking exhausted. "He wants to know what we have to do in order for you to trust us with her condition."
"I want assurances." I told them. "I want to know that whatever I tell you stays between us, for one." I said as I held up my first finger to count off my demands.
"That would have already been assured, we don't gossip about our patients." He said indignantly.
"No matter how strange or rare her condition might be. I want assurances that you will keep it between us." I clarified.
"Very well." He agreed, with an intrigued look on his face. His elbows rested on the table as he interlaced his fingers and rested his chin on his fists, waiting for the rest of my demands.
"No unnecessary tests. I don't want her turned into some sort of science project." I told him, holding up a second finger.
"Indeed… Okay, nothing unnecessary. Got it." His eyes were lighting up with enthusiasm.
"We pose no threat to your people, so I want assurances that we can leave when we are ready. Nothing can keep us here." I told both of them this one as I held up a third finger.
The doctor looked at Kori. She seemed to reflect deeply on the matter before replying, "That aligns with what the elders dictated. So be it."
"anything else?" The doctor added excitedly.
"Yes. You must not hurt her and you must run everything by me." I added the last two things I could think of in the moment.
They both nodded in agreement.
"Absolutely." The doctor agreed.
"Okay then, it's settled. I'm heading off." Kori said as she stood up from the table, "Karlos, send for me if anything changes. They can stay in the recovery rooms, right?"
"For the time being, yes." He answered as we both stood up as well.
"Okay. I leave them in your hands." Kori said as she waved and dismissed herself.
"Follow me, I'll get you settled and cleaned up while we talk." He told me.
I nodded and followed him, "Thank you."
Truthfully, the wound on my forehead had started to ache and throb once I was out of the cold. I've just been too preoccupied to really care.
He led me through the hallways to an exam room that looked exactly like an exam room should. I heaved a sigh of relief.
Once we entered, I sat on the exam table, allowing him to inspect my wounds before gathering materials. As he was rummaging through the cabinets, he started asking me questions.
"So what can you tell me about your friend, Mika, and her condition." He asked.
I told him the tale while he stitched up my head. I told him about how Mika came to us, telling us that she lost her memory. How she told us that her ears and tail spontaneously grew and that she has never been able to transform. I summarized what I understood of Ishi's theories and tests.
"She grew her beast attributes? You are sure?" He asked.
"I believe her. Isola did too. She was working on a formula to force the transformation, but we were waiting for her vitality to improve."
"Indeed, your alchemist is very wise." He said in agreement.
"Yes she is." I said with an aching heart.
He moved on to the cut on my stomach.
"This one won't require stitches, but I will have to clean it and disinfect it. It will hurt."
I nodded.
"So did she always have the extra tail?" He asked.
"No, thats new. A week ago it was just a lump, like a growth near the base of her tail. It wasn't even a full tail yesterday." I told him.
"That's unique, indeed. What do you know about the snow - or lack thereof -when she was found?"
"She has developed some strange abilities.." I hesitantly decided to tell him the whole story, "She was told that she has the ability to see the physical manifestation of mana. Since then she has also developed the ability to see visions, access an interdimensional space, and summon fire. The clearing they witnessed was caused by her, although I'm not sure it was intentional."
"And the tail appeared after this?" He asked eagerly.
I hissed as he pried open the wound a little farther to dig in and pull out debris.
"Sorry, almost done." He added.
"Yes. I suppose that a full blown tail wasn't there until after this incident." I answered through clenched teeth.
"Did they suspect a connection to the progenitors?" He asked.
"Yes, it was theorized. However we have no proof." I answered him as he finished digging around in my stomach and used a strong smelling liquid to disinfect it.
It burned and popped. I dug my claws into the table and tried to suppress a growl.
"Try to relax. This will cleanse and seal the wound." He said nervously.
It finally stopped.
"So what is wrong with her?" I asked him.
"I think mana fever is the best explanation, especially with her being able to see and harness mana." He said.
"How is it treated?" I asked him.
"That's where things get tricky…" He looked hesitant to answer.