"Hey."

Aley started awake when Xinn jiggled her in his arms. "What? What?" She snorted, jerking her head up. Her head connected with his nose as he had been leaning his face over hers. They both groaned.

"Sorry," she hissed, rubbing her head. "Sorry, I... I wasn't ready."

Xinn wriggled his nose—looking incredibly unserious for once. "My apologies for startling you. I only wanted to let you know that we're back." He nodded at the building in front of him. "This is the healer's. I'm taking you to get the thorn out of your foot while my men put together other room arrangements for you."

Aley glanced over his shoulder. His entourage was already gone, hopefully doing what he said and getting her a better place to live seeing as she was probably going to be here a while. How long will I be expected to be here? Until they can get Rocki back of course, but will we have to stay after that? How long will it take to end a war? Does it involve actual work or will it just happen when we're reunited?

"Krye," Xinn called, looking around the building when they stepped inside.

Aley wrinkled her forehead, turning the command over in her head for a moment. "Why?"

Someone gasped. "Aban avar!"

A sariun that seemed to be waiting in a chair jumped to his feet, harsh sounding words in a foreign language tumbling from his tongue.

Aley almost jumped out of her skin when Xinn literally growled at him, showing his sharp teeth. "Show some respect. Do you know who I am?"

The other glared at him, baring his own teeth as he snapped something back.

Xinn drew himself up, eyes bearing darkly down at the male. "I am General ArikSeirXinn. I have won countless battles and destroyed even more enemies. I am trusted by the council as their advisor on war and head of the investigation to obtain the savioresses. It is not your place to question me regarding anything, much less what is obviously a sensitive mission—understood?"

As soon as his name was out of his mouth, the male paled and dropped to his knees, trembling a little until Xinn finished. His language suddenly switched over to English as he stammered out an apology. "I-I... forgive, my disrespect, general. I was merely startled at the sight of... please forgive me."

Another sariun stepped into the room, pausing when he noticed the situation. He was followed by a female who looked shook at the scene in front of her.

"Krye," Xinn said. Aley felt his shoulders drop slightly. "Good. I have someone who needs your attention."

The shorter male eyed Aley with a mixture of nervousness and distain but nodded. "Of course, general. Please." He stepped back and gestured to the room he had exited. The female by his side scurried away with a murmur of thanks towards him. She kept her eyes cast down and away from Xinn as he passed her.

Before stepping through the doorway, Xinn looked back at the sariun on his knees. "I will not tolerate disrespect again," he hissed.

"Of course, general. My apologies, sir."

Xinn, and consequently, Aley, stepped into the other room before she could see the other sariun stand. She wondered if he would remain on his knees for a time, shaken by the ordeal, or if he would jump up and turn tail.

A familiar face was mixing something in the corner of the room. Tavl, if Aley recalled correctly. The assistant healer watched as Xinn set Aley down on the table, but didn't say anything.

"Care to make an explanation?" Krye said, raising an eyebrow at Xinn.

Aley cringled a little, waiting for another tongue-lashing. It seemed that sariun did not take disrespect lightly.

But Xinn only nodded gravely. "This is Aley, one of the savioresses—perhaps Tavl has told you about her." His eyes flickered briefly towards the female. "She got a verrot thorn in her foot while exploring the forest. She also started a fight with a qirwa, so I would appreciate if you would also inspect her for any other damage."

"It didn't even touch me," Aley protested, barely paying attention to Krye, who had tilted his head to the side to expose his neck respectfully. "Besides, I didn't pick a fight with it. I just woke up and it was angry at me."

"You were housed in its den."

"How was I supposed to know that?"

"Couldn't you smell its scent all over the den?"

"I mean, it smelled weird, but most caves do. I didn't know it was a den."

"If you had stayed with someone instead of exploring the forest, you wouldn't have run into that problem."

Aley scoffed, but before she could continue their argument, Krye butted in. "Savioress, if you would allow me to see the injury?"

She propped her heel up on the table, keeping her eyes away from it. She really didn't need to see how bad it was again.

The healer inspected her foot for a few moments. "The thorn will obviously need removed and then the wound cleaned. I'll be able to determine recovery time and side effects after that."

Aley nodded. "Please, just get that thing out of me." She shuddered, remembering how deep it had gone in.

"I think it would be best if you laid on your stomach," said Krye, twirling his finger. She flipped over, resting her chin on her arms. "Thank you. Tavl, if you would prepare the materials for cleaning?"

"Yes sir." Tavl put down her other job and started rooting around in the cupboards.

Xinn crouched down at the top of the table, so he was eye level with Aley. "This will hurt."

She grimaced. "I know. It's been a while since I've had to take a thorn out of my foot though. Not really my favorite activity."

He chuckled slightly. "I doubt it's anyone's. Will you need something to hold onto?"

"Nope." She wrapped her hands around her forearms. "I've got it covered."

"As long as you don't scream too loudly, you'll be all set." He smirked.

"I'm not going to scream," she objected. "I'm an adult for crying out loud."

He shrugged. "That's not what it seemed like when you fell asleep in my arms on the way here."

Her eyebrows shot up. "You're awful rude all of a sudden."

"Just trying to keep you entertained."

"Are you ready?" Krye asked after a moment of prodding around the injury.

Aley dug her fingers into her arms. "Whenever you are."

She gave a high-pitched grunt when he ripped the thorn out, eyes tearing up from the throbbing pain. She buried her face in her arms, slightly embarrassed that Xinn was there to bear witness.

The doctor cleaned the injury, murmuring his intents to her before carrying them out so she was never caught off guard. The cleansing process burned, but her parents had always said that meant the treatment was working, so she clenched her teeth and kept quiet. Her foot was wrapped, and then she was able to sit up again as Krye gave her instructions to take care of her sore spot.

"Thank you," she said, raising her eyes to the ceiling as she swiped away tears from underneath them. "I appreciate your help."

"Of course, savioress. If you ever need anything, do not hesitate to call." Krye tilted his head respectfully. Tavl had left some time ago after providing the cleansing materials—probably finding another patient to care for.

Xinn offered his arm for her to lean on as she stood, but she shook her head, hobbling out of the room on her own. When they stepped out of the building, they were stopped by Caif, who had been leaning against the wall.

"How are you feeling, savioress?" he asked politely.

"Not sure if I feel any better than when I went in, but at least I can walk," she said with a shrug.

He smiled. "That's good news at least. We have everything prepared for you. You'll be staying in the spare apartment by the heads and high-ranking military leaders. It's usually reserved for those who travel in from other villages, but we thought it would be fitting housing for our savioress."

Aley nodded slowly. "Great. Can, uh, can we go there now? I would really like to just sit somewhere comfortable. Maybe have something to eat?"

"Of course. I'll fetch a meal for you." Caif showed his neck respectfully, then hurried off.

"Let's get you to a bed," said Xinn. "A real bed, not a qirwa's den." He snickered when she smacked his arm.

"Jerk," she muttered, limping along beside him. "Hey, what was that guy in the waiting room angry about?"

Gold sun fell on his skin through the trees, brightening his gray skin with its glow. "He wanted to know why I was bringing what he thought was a valicaran into our healer's—although he didn't use the kindest words."

"Oh." Aley scratched her cheek. "So he didn't know that I'm..."

"A savioress?"

She rolled her eyes. "A supposed savioress."

"No, we have made very few aware of that fact."

"Why?"

"Multiple reasons."

She waited, but he kept stoic silence. "So... you're not going to tell me?"

His demeanor seemed more business-like now. "I wouldn't want to concern a savioress with such things."

Aley huffed, irritated by his sudden switch from friendly to professional, but she didn't push. If he's not going to tell me, I'm certainly not going to beg for answers. He's a bit of a weirdo, but I suppose if he sticks to his word about providing better accommodations for me then he's not so bad.

They walked along in silence until they arrived at a collection of homes. Some were in the trees, others on the ground, and all were spaced well apart, so no one was crammed together. Xinn led her to the smallest house, a grounded hut ringed with bushes of pink flowers.

"Here you are," he said, tapping on the door before opening it. "As promised, a new home."

It was a sweet place with a small kitchen and living space, as well as a wall that likely separated the rest of the hut from the bedroom. The furniture was made of light, oaky wood, and the minimal decorations were brightly colored, giving the place a cottage feel to it.

Jirn, Kers, and Rohk were chatting in the kitchen, leaning casually against various surfaces. But when Xinn and Aley stepped in, they quieted down and straightened up.

"Everything is prepared," Jirn said with a nod to the two of them. "Rohk and I made sure the place was acceptably clean and guarded, and Kers was able to find new clothes for the savioress as well as other domestic items he thought would be useful."

New clothes? Sounds heavenly. Aley cracked her thumb knuckles as she realized just how much she wanted to get out of her current clothing. "This is great. Thank you."

"Of course," Jirn said.

"Is there anything you require?" Xinn asked, tilting his head down a bit to catch her eyes. "Anything more we can do for you?"

Her eyes landed on the door she prayed led to a bedroom or bathroom. "Shower. I need a shower." She limped across the room and flung the door open. Inside was a bed, table, and rack with clothes hung on it, but no other door that would have brought her to a bathroom. "Ah, fudge."