Bird of a Cage [BoW 4]

Chapter 12

It wasn't showering in front of complete stranger that made him shiver with rage. Showering with strangers in a locker room had stopped bothering him years a long ago. Working for an army almost guaranteed to be naked around people he hadn't met before though having one with a twisted and decayed leg was new.

Innofe had undressed him, had carried him into the shower, and now the man watched him while trying not to, watching for that moment of weakness. His dependence on the man acting like a peeping Tom sparked the humiliation. The man was a good carer; Taidra would acknowledge that. He wouldn't let him do it. He wouldn't let Innofe turn him into a toy to be cared for instead of a functioning human being.

Taidra couldn't be sure of this man's true intentions, but he had to trust this man.

He wiped more dirt off his arms, enjoying watching the greywater run clean as he worked more of the sweat, mud and whatever else had festered on him. Something unfolded in his mind, an idea, an urge to be more than the injured paranoid stranger.

"So, how did you end up being the one to take care of me?"

"I was studying to be a nurse before. Plus, I'm the only one free and able to do this," Innofe shrugged before offering a smirk and a wink. "I don't have any marks on my record."

"I know, I checked."

"When?" Innofe looked directly at him this time, eyebrows furrowed.

Taidra's lips twitched. "You haven't dealt with people with implants before, have you?" Innofe bristled at his tone. Taidra managed to stop himself laughing but didn't hide the amusement off his face. "The mainframe here is compatible with my AI. With my credentials, I have full access to the system." He tilted his head and offered a big beam. "They did warn you about this?"

"They warned me that you had an implant and would be able to use the system far easier than anyone else," Innofe eyebrows pinched together. "Not that you'd have access instantly."

"The system likes me," Taidra smiled over at Innofe, the picture of innocence. That wasn't quite accurate. The system didn't have an A.I of its own, letting his A.I take full control of it with ease. Since the warship, it'd been trapped in his implant, and the freedom to be in a proper system made it spin with glee. "It rated you as safe. That was enough for me for the night. I prefer to learn about people in person. Some things you can't tell by reading a report."

"True enough. People on paper and in real life are two very different things."

Innofe couldn't hide that he was unnerved by Taidra's declaration. Most people assumed that only scientists and engineers knew how to use computer systems. Taidra enjoyed that. When someone who looked normal could work magic with them, it boggled their minds. Taidra clicked, and the water in the shower stopped. Innofe's eyes widened.

"Tell me, Innofe. What's your job when you're not taking care of me?" Taidra asked, eyes dragging up and down the well-muscled man. "You have a strong build, and you carry yourself like a warrior, but you have no weapon on you, and no warrior would go anywhere without a weapon."

Even Taidra wore a dagger at most times. His cousins had bullied him into it after he got jumped once. He shouldn't have left in the room, but that was a calculated risk. Typically there was a name for a warrior who forgot his weapon: Dead.

Innofe glanced to his side where his belt was empty. 'Maybe I just forgot it?"

"You may know how to fight, but you are not a warrior by trade. What are you?"

"You sound oddly Dmar like for someone who was living on the Namya warship."

Taidra laughed. It wasn't bitter or safe but amused. "Lord Loror likes the concept, but it is not Loror who taught that to me." He paused for effect, trying not to shiver as a chill set in without the water surrounding him. He needed to look like a confident fighter, not a shivering pup. He needed Innofe's respect. "It was Inai and Tiew."

"I take it back. You are from that warship." Innofe said.

No one else would dare namedrop the High Priest by name. It was sacrilege. The standard Dmar grunt refused to as well. Who would dare call the Gods' representative with something as informal as his given name? Everyone on the warship who lived with him day to day and saw him before he'd had a coffee in the morning.

"They are human. Please don't tell me you are one of the ones who worships Inai's name like he is God himself and not a servant like the rest of us?"

People like that were the reason the war had begun. People who thought that the fact the High Priest could commute with the Gods of their people, that he was divine and therefore should be treated like a God. Inai hated it. The attention it brought made him feel ill. Loror used to bait him with it, dripping the title with poison and hate instead of the usual awe and love that people used.

"The High Priest's name is sacred, but he is human like the rest of us," the words shook with uncertain respect. "So it's true then? That the people on the warship called the High Priest by name?"

"Of course," Taidra smirked. "What else would we call him?"

Innofe didn't look like he knew how to respond to that. Taidra used the opportunity to put the fans on, effectively blow-drying his body as hot air blasted around him. Using a towel would be nicer. Innofe's face as the fans started up was worth the side effect of his hair being a mess. Taidra should cut it. Feno liked it a little longer; he said it made him look handsome. Taidra didn't want to try going bald. He didn't have the body type to pull it off but maybe something shorter.

The blowing stopped. "You never answered my question," Taidra crossed his legs and leaned back on the chair. There wasn't much power to be had here, but some were better than none.

"Your question?" The man wasn't paying any attention to him annoyingly; he was too busy studying the now off fans, shaken and off-balance at how deep into the system Taidra had wormed himself. "I'm a handyman. You name it; I do it. Someone has to keep this place running while the scientists do their work."

"They certainly can't be trusted too," Taidra laughed. "Now, I'd like to get dressed. As much as I prefer getting to know people in person than by paperwork, I normally prefer to have clothes on."

"Yes, sir," Innofe helped him over to a bench in the locker room. Taidra dressed himself with minimum fuss. Innofe interfered when he went to put his trousers on. He helped Taidra get them on and then rolled up the loose material to his knee, careful not to let through material brush against this tender skin. Steady hands wrapped a support bandage on the limb as gentle as he could, given it was designed to be tight around the wound. The double whammy of severe burns on top of half his leg muscles being missing was not pleasant. Taidra flinched at one particular tug but stopped any sounds of pain escaping him. Innofe rolled the trouser leg back down and smoothed the material. Bright eyes looked up at him, searching for something as he did up Taidra's boots.

"Thank you," Taidra said, confidence filled him as the uniform fit like a second skin. He could do this. "How long will you be helping me?"

"As long as you need. Which admittedly likely to be longer than we first thought, but it is fine," Innofe shrugged, "I don't mind. It sounds like you have some interesting stories."

Taidra laughed. "Hopefully, I can get Oira to make this chair automatic so I can move on my own accord until my leg is healed enough to walk away. I'm sure between Oira's skills and my implant, there is something to be done." His A.I spun again with the possibilities. It could move him to where problems were without waiting for his flesh to move. That was a concerning concept.

"How powerful is that implant?"

"Enough,"

"It's a shame they don't exist anymore." Innofe stood up and started moving the wheelchair.

"Perhaps," Taidra shifted and made himself comfortable. The war destroyed most of the technology which allowed their creation and allowed the implants to be fused with the human mind. With so many of the scientists dead now, murdered through the war, chances were they would not reemerge again for generations. That might be a good thing.