The Star Children's Destiny

Chapter Fifteen

"Here's your hot chocolate," Cane said, setting the mug down on the coffee table. "Tenshi, are you sure--"

"For the last time, Cane, all I did was push myself too hard to reach him. It was no big thing," Aletta said from her spot in the round chair.

"You were bleeding from the nose for a turn. That's sixty mecros, Tenshi. Please, at least let me take a look at you."

"No."

Cane closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You do know that the mecro Prince Ethan wakes up, the first thing that he is going to do is expect to see you. If I tell him that you don't want him to see you or that you can't come to see him, then he is going to panic and probably hurt himself worse trying to come find you."

"So?"

"Tenshi, right now you are very pale, you can barely move, and your nose is starting to bleed again," he said, holding out a tissue.

Cane took a good look at the blood that came from her nose once again. It was a little lighter than before, but it was still as thick as it was when they had found the two at the shrine. They had gotten them home and into bed. That was yesterday. Today when she woke, her nose began bleeding again and it was the same color and texture that it was when it first started. It kept on bleeding for an hour before finally quitting. Now, barely ten minutes later, it was at it again.

Aletta claimed that she had done it trying to reach Ethan as he went Neiku. She used her mental powers to try to calm him down, but said that she couldn't reach him for a few seconds, and when she finally did, it was because she had forced her way into his mind. It had calmed him down enough for the process to be completed, but there was a backlash from using her power. It recoiled and hit her full-force, causing her nose to bleed. Cane was worried that it might have been something more than that, which is why he wanted to check her over.

Aletta wiped away some of the blood before looking at Cane and letting out a huge sigh. "Fine, you can examine me. Poke, prod, do whatever; just don't touch anything you don't have."

Cane smiled at her remark as he kneeled down in front of her. He helped her sit up so he could work his power better and placed his hands on her face. The balls of his hands rested on her temples while his fingertips just brushed the top of her head. An ocean blue glow, the same color as his wings, surrounded his hands. The glow slowly spread from his hands to Aletta's head before fading away.

"There. Feeling any better?"

"Yeah. Lots. You had better go check on Ethan. He should be waking up in a few clicks or so."

"Okay."

Cane left the living room and took a left, then a right, followed by another left. This path led him to a wooden door with a sphinx carved on it. Cane knocked and slowly pushed the door open. He was more than a little shocked to see Ethan trying to sit up in bed.

"Hey, man."

Ethan looked over to see the blond standing in the doorway. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. A slight wave of panic and confusion washed over him. He didn't know why he couldn't speak or why his shoulders were hurting so badly. Cane noticed Ethan's look and quickly rushed over to the bed.

"It's alright. You screamed your throat bloody yesterday. Do you remember?"

Ethan threw him a dirty look.

"I'll take that as a no. Ten--Aletta took you to the Kunshu Shrine and you went Neiku for the first time. You screamed your throat out because of the pain. Your shoulders are also gonna be a little sore because of your wings coming in. Remember now?"

The Mexican concentrated on trying to get his scattered thoughts together and slowly things began to fall into place. Everything from the conversation on the way there, his nervousness, their argument, her reaction to his words, and his turning. It all came back to him in a great wave. Especially the image of Aletta slitting her wrists and the blood that came from her nose.

"Before you even think about giving me another dirty look, she's fine," Cane said quickly. "The self-recovery healed her wrists and I healed the ruptured vein in her head."

Ethan looked up at Cane, confused.

"She was trying to help you get through the pain and she overdid it. Don't worry. I made sure that Aletta was all right. Now get back to sleep. You need to get all your strength back so you can get back to rolling in the hay," Cane said as he ducked Ethan's weak swing. "Just kidding. Get some sleep, Prince. She'll be here in a bit to keep you company."

Ethan only nodded and slid back under the covers. Cane adjusted the covers and made sure that he was tucked in. Getting up, he lighted a few Egyptian musk-scented candles and turned out the overhead light. After making sure that Ethan would be comfortable, he went back into the living room. Aletta lowered her mug to look at him. He sat down on the couch across from her in the easy chair.

"He was awake when I went in there. I had to explain to him what happened. He won't be able to speak for a while, though."

"Is that all?" Aletta asked, raising an eyebrow and taking another sip.

"Ethan was worried 'bout you. I told him that you were fine and I healed you and he calmed down. Oh, and I also said that you would be in there a little while if you were feeling up to it."

"Can I go now?"

Cane shrugged. "I guess it wouldn't hurt anything. I think that he's asleep right now, though. That transformation really hit him hard. I don't think that I've even seen that much blood come from a change like that before."

Aletta smirked. "Then you should have seen mine."

"I don't think I've even seen that much blood from one place on a body. Not even from you, and that's really saying something."

"Funny. Can you take care of my mug for me? I'm going to go stay with Ethan."

"No problem."

"By the way, where are the others? It's too quiet for them to not be here."

Cane couldn't help but smile. "Khris had to do some shopping in the Mortal Plain for some food and a couple other things. They should be back in a couple more turns."

"How did you get out of it?"

The smile turned into a smirk. "Someone needed to be here just in case something went wrong and a healer was needed."

Aletta shook her head and smiled. "Aren't you the sly one? I just hope they don't end up driving each other crazy."