*Alice*

Alice drove the wagon through two clearings before stopping in the third.

"Violet, do you think we've put enough distance between us and whatever attacked Sky and Lulu?"

"It'll have to do," she replied. "I'm worried that the kids can't take any more punishment."

"That stupid monster probably buried itself in an avalanche," Kai called from the back.

Alice hopped out of the driver's seat and walked to the back of the wagon.

Vi followed her.

Kai bit his lip as he removed the monster's arm from his baby brother's leg.

Vi took the arm away from her husband.

"Lulu," Kai said.

Vi kissed her husband on the lips. "Lulu will be okay. I promise. She just used too much of her powers. She just needs to rest."

Alice spoke to her big brother in a firm but gentle voice. "Kai, Sky needs you to help us fix his leg up."

"I'm sorry if this hurts," Kai said in a whisper. "I need to see what's wrong with your leg, so we can fix it."

Alice held her unconscious baby brother's hand.

Kai examined their baby brother's leg with glowing hands. "I think it's broken..."

Vi rubbed her husband's back. "Just do what you can. We'll get through this somehow."

"Unfortunately, I can't entirely fix a broken bone. The pain should dull a little, though."

"If you could do that, wouldn't Mom have been able to fix her wrist before she got caught?"

Vi shook her head. "Her healing powers were actually knocked out for the five or six months it took for her wrist to fully heal."

"Yikes..." Alice put her head in her hands. "It's beyond me how Mom manage to hide her injury like she did."

"She had a secret way to manage her pain. Unfortunately, I don't know how it works. It would be handy right now."

Kai smiled when his baby brother relaxed slightly.

Vi was gentle as she took her brother-in-law's shoe and sock off.

"What should we use to fashion bandages for Sky?" Alice asked.

"I have some things we can use." Vi crawled over to her belongings and pulled out some ratty, old shirts.

Alice's jaw dropped. "Where did you get those from?"

"They were my brothers and sisters'. Hannah let me take them since they were too old to mend anymore."

Alice shook her head. "Well, that was convenient."

"Who cares?" Kai shouted.

Vi put her finger over her husband's lips. "Honey, you're going to wake the kids. They need to rest, so they can get better."

Vi carefully tore the cloth into strips.

"Let me help." Alice held Sky's leg, so Vi could focus on positioning the bandages.
Vi then used a substance that came out of her hands as a sort of glue to keep the bandages in place.

Alice put a pillow inside one of the old shirts before putting it underneath his leg. "That should help with swelling and keeping him comfortable."

Kai frowned as he squeezed his baby sister's hand. "When do you think Lulu will wake up?"

"She should wake up by tomorrow," Vi said. "Lulu will feel a lot better after a good night's rest."

"Vi, keep an eye on the kids." Kai edged toward the back of the wagon.

Vi put her hands on her hips. "And where do you think you're going?"

"Someone has to get firewood. We have sick children on our hands. We can't let them freeze to death."

Alice wanted to face palm. She understood what her big brother was getting at, but that was not the most eloquent way to get his point across.

Vi motioned for Alice get off the back of the wagon.

"Kai is shaken up, isn't he?" Alice asked.

"Our siblings are unconscious, and the baby of the family has a broken leg. I'd be shocked if Kai wasn't shaken by that."

"What if he starts acting like a goof in the morning?"

"It could be an act, but your brother has never been good at that sort of thing. Vi sighed. "People don't always respond to trauma in ways the people around them expect."

Alice raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean by that?"

"I have a brother who stopped talking for about two years after his parents died. Looking back, I'm sure it was a coping mechanism."

Was that the one she claimed was often sick? Had he gone through a similar trauma and had a backslide?

"Before our goof gets back, what should we do about guard duty?" Vi asked. "We can't have him pulling another all-nighter."

"I think you and I are going to have to take shifts. We can either do one long shift each or two shorter shifts."

"One shift each might be better. Otherwise, we might further risk disturbing the kids unnecessarily."

"Good point..."

She met Alice's gaze. "That said, if something looks like it might be trouble, you need to wake me."

"I know. I'm not Kai. We need to put their safety above all else."

Vi giggled. "Good thing he's not here to hear you say that. Although I don't disagree with what you're saying."

"What do you think we should do about moving on?" Alice asked.

"It might depend on how they're doing." She sighed. "I'd prefer if we could find Sky a safe place to recover. If we find civilization, we should stay there for at least two weeks if we can."

"Is there anything else Kai could try to do?"

Vi shook her head. "Hannah's friend mentioned that there wasn't. If the injury isn't cared for properly after the step Kai took, it won't heal correctly."

"Yikes..."

"Yeah, she sounded exasperated by the whole situation."

Alice took a breath. "I don't blame her."

***

Alice climbed onto the back of the wagon. Sky's breathing was shaky and his face was flushed.

"Violet? Could you please give me a hand?"

Vi furrowed her eyebrows. "What's the matter?" She gasped when she saw Sky before putting the back of her hand on his forehead. "He's burning up."

She used a large leaf to scoop up some snow. She then gently put some of it on his forehead.

"Do you have any fever cream?"

Vi furrowed her eyebrows. "Uh... I'm not sure..." She wiped away some of the melting snow. "I don't know if this snow should be melting so quickly."

Alice sighed. "If only Lulu was awake, I'm sure she could get his fever under control."

"There's no use crying over melted snow. We'll just have to manage until my husband gets back." Vi muttered under her breath, but Alice couldn't understand what she was saying.

Kai soon came back with a giant heap of firewood.

Vi sighed in relief when she saw her husband. "Oh, thank Kayleigh, you're back."

Kai furrowed his eyebrows. "What's wrong?"

"Sky has a fever," Alice called from the back of the wagon. "Vi and I haven't been able to get it under control."

"Don't jump." Vi glared at her husband. "Your baby brother feels crummy as it is."

Kai then carefully crawled into the back of the wagon. "You'll be alright, Sky. Your big bro is gonna take good care of you."

Vi pulled out a washcloth and handed it to her husband.

Alice's jaw dropped. "And where exactly were you keeping that?"

"Where I was keeping the other goodies Hannah gave me before I left."

Kai placed his glowing hand on his baby brother's forehead. "Cursed Morderu. I've never seen such a bad fever. How did it get this bad before we could catch it?"

"If I had to guess, it's the stress of what happened and or a trauma response to his leg being broken."

"That can happen?"

"I've seen my brothers develop fevers after being under too much stress for too long."

"Are we really going to let them go to bed without dinner?"

Alice folded her arms. "Kai, I don't think it's in Sky or Lulu's best interest to try to wake them right now. They need as much rest as they can get. We'll just have to get a good meal into them when they wake."

Vi took the firewood from her husband. "Your sister is right. We should get a fire going and have some dinner before bed. We can't care for Sky or Lulu if we neglect ourselves."

Alice used the firewood Vi set on the ground to start the fire. "You really should take a seat, Kai."

"And why should I do that?"

"You got sucked into the excitement, too. You should take a moment to relax."

"Why should I when I'm going on guard duty soon?"

Vi pushed her husband to sit on the wagon. "You are not. You are in no condition to do such a thing."

"I feel fine."

"You don't sound fine," Alice said.

Vi handed Kai a nearby branch. "Why don't you make us a pretty picture in the snow while we wait for Allie to make dinner?"

Kai grumbled as he took the branch.

Once their dinner was ready, Alice handed Kai the first bowl. "Enjoy."

The trio sat in silence as they ate dinner.

"Thank you for dinner, Allie," Kai said.

"Of course, big bro." Alice smiled. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

Vi then took her husband by the hand. "Come with me." She led him onto the back of the wagon. "Sit down."

Kai crossed his arms. "Violet, I am not a child. I do not need to go to bed."

Vi crouched down and wrapped her arms around his neck. She said nothing. She did however give off a faint aroma of lavender.

Kai yawned as his eyes fell shut. His heavy head fell onto Vi's shoulder.

"Sweet dreams, honey." Vi kissed her husband's forehead.

Alice set out a pillow so Vi could lay her brother down. "Why don't I take the first shift? Cuddle with your husband. That might make him feel better."

"Thank you, Alice." Vi draped a blanket over her husband. "Please wake me if you start feeling sleepy."

"I will. Just get some rest, alright?"

Vi got a pillow and blanket before she cuddled up with her husband.

Alice adjusted Vi's blanket before she got off the back of the wagon to do her guard duty.

***

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~Shino out!