“I may have driven your bike back here. Don’t worry, I didn’t crash or anything, but there is a lot of blood on it. We’ll see about getting it cleaned.”
“You drove the bike back from Indras?” Of the whole story she’d told him, that part was by far the most unbelievable. “Are you injured?”
“As you can see, we both made it back alive. Is that so hard to believe?”
“Yes. You have had several previous accidents on record. Evidence suggests you lack the required skill to make such a trip unscathed.”
She knitted her delicate fingers together in front of her chest. “Well, you’re back, aren’t you? My driving skills didn’t do you in.”
S’samph sensed the frustration from the female in the way her face fur came together above the bridge of her nose. She did not seem pleased to hear him state the truth about her driving abilities. He wasn’t familiar with the expression ‘do you in’, but he assumed it was another human euphemism, this time likely for death.
“So it seems. I am not dead.” He responded as he reached for another hydropod, crushing the exterior between his lips. “You kept me alive and brought me back here.” It was a statement of fact and an acknowledgment of her bravery and kindness. A latil’e female would preen at the compliment, but instead Eleri seemed confused by his summary.
“It’s my responsibility to keep the people of Laurus and Indras in good health.” She busied herself adjusting some of the monitors at his bedside. “It’s up to you if you want to stay here to recover for longer.”
“No. Thank you. I’ll return to my nest. There are things I must attend to there.” He did not want to inconvenience her any further. Besides, hospitals always reminded him of death. He would recover faster in his own space.
The ridge between the fur on Eleri’s face furrowed deeper, and she stopped her idle tapping on the monitors. “You’re stable enough to go home, but I’ll have to stop by twice a day to change your bandages. And you won’t be able to do any manual labor for at least a month.”
“You are very welcome to visit my nest.” He found more meaning in the words than he expected. It wasn’t exactly how he had planned to get her to spend more time with him, but he wasn’t averse to proximity out of necessity, even if the circumstances were unfortunate.
Eleri smoothed her hands down the fabric at the hem of her shirt. “I won’t be in your way if that’s what you’re worried about.” She tucked thehydropods away in a drawer. “They’ll be quick visits and I can help out with any housework you need while I’m there.”
S’samph found himself disappointed she wasn’t intending to stay with him in his nest. Never mind it wasn’t in any way suitable for a mate the way he’d left it, but a small part of him had hoped she’d change her mind given his condition. “S’kasia will come to help. And K’kaen.”
“It sounds like your sister has her hands full enough with her eggs.” Eleri’s words were gentle, but he could hear the chastisement buried within. He wasn’t about to tell her his sister’s eggs had long dried up; the husks she kept around in her home were a symptom of a larger problem. As much as he worried about the mental state of his sister, those were not his secrets to share.
“She does. Then I will accept your help.” The words were strange on his lips but must have been stranger in her ears because her face darkened to a painful shade of scarlet. From what he remembered from his reading, a color like this on a human was more likely to indicate embarrassment.
“Good. Are you hungry? Most of the food here is nutrition goo, but there might be something more solid I can find.”
“No. Not hungry. I’ll eat when I get home.”
“If you’re sure.” Eleri turned away from him and started toward the doors to the clinic atrium. “K’kaen is here to help get you home.”
“What about you?”
“Me?” Eleri blinked her bright eyes. “I’m busy with training at the clinic this morning, but I’ll be by in the evening to change your bandages and bring you more pain medication.”
“Fine. I’ll leave my door open for you. K’kaen can give you a ride on his bike.”
“Why are you volunteering my services without asking, you absolute ravik?” K’kaen came stomping through the doors of the clinic. “Eshar, you look terrible. What in the dust plains happened to you?” K’kaen’s frill lay flat with concern even though his words were sharp.
“Raviks on the road to Indras. They wanted my food. Gave them some vela beans.” S’samph puffed out a breath of dry laughter and regretted it as pain seared up his side.
“Looks like they wanted a piece of you more than they wanted the food. No one could possibly be so worked up over a bag of vela beans.” K’kaen came over to his bedside and let S’samph sling his good arm over his shoulders to prop him out of bed. “S’kasia’s been beside herself, you know. Try not to get yourselfmurdered, hmm?” K’kaen grunted under S’samph’s weight, and S’samph did his best to put even more of his dead weight onto the other Latil’e to make a point.
“Here. Let me help.” Eleri came over then and supported him from the other side. Unlike K’kaen’s sharp talons digging into his side, Eleri’s hands were soft and delicate against his waist. He shifted even more weight to K’kaen’s side to avoid overburdening her.
“You saved this sad creature, little human? Are you sure that was a good decision?” K’kaen asked with his tail flicking in lazy amusement, causing Eleri to change colors again. If S’samph weren’t struggling to stand, he would have punched the other male. Instead, he settled for a menacing hiss, his tattered frill rising to the best of its ability. To his chagrin, K’kaen ignored him, mistaking his warning for a noise of pain.
“Anyone would have done the same. He was badly injured.” Eleri repeated her same refrain when her color had tempered enough for her to remember to speak. “Are you sure you don’t need more pain medication? It might be better for you to stay here for a bit longer until you’re more recovered.”
S’samph’s frill flattened. “I am better off returning home.”
“Not anyone would have saved him, you know.” K’kaen picked up on the earlier thread of their conversation. “I wouldn’t have scraped him off the ground and brought him back here. I heard you even drove his bike all the way from Indras. Especially after he so thoroughly rejected you.” K’kaen shifted S’samph in a way that must have been intentional to cause more pain than necessary.
“I won’t be injured forever, K’kaen,” S’samph muttered the words as a warning as he forced his legs to move up the steps separating the recovery room from the main treatment area of the clinic.
