The Paradisaea and the Vultur

15

There is a slight chill permeating through the room that is barely staved off by the sunlight creeping in from the window and the thick comforter wrapped around his shoulders. Kaveh's hand twitches as he feels the temperature settle between his fingertips. If he had a little more strength, he might have pulled his arm underneath the blanket to protect himself from the cold, but as it stands, he is using the majority of his strength to push his eyelids open. He forces himself to do it slowly to protect himself from the aforementioned sunlight. It is bright even if it isn't particularly hot, and it sharply contrasts with the darkness dwelling inside Kaveh's mind from his ventures into the realm of eternity.

When his eyes are firmly open, he takes in the sight of the ceiling high above his head. Although he knows he can search for patterns in the shadows to entertain himself, he glances away from it as soon as he hears motion in the room. A smile twitches across his exhausted face when he recognizes the shoulder-length black hair of his friend, a pair of long fox ears bending slightly to match the focus on Tighnari's face. Tighnari is fiddling with something Kaveh cannot see, but he glances over at Kaveh, perhaps feeling the attention on him. There is a moment of silence as they stare at each other. Kaveh's smile grows a little bigger, forcing himself to whisper, "Tell it to me straight, doc, am I going to live?"

"Not if you have anything to do with it," Tighnari huffs, using the same tone he uses when Cyno makes a pun. Tighnari walks over to stand beside the bed. He picks something up from the nightstand, and Kaveh feels a damp, cool rag settling onto his forehead. Tighnari steps away from Kaveh to grab whatever he was fiddling with before. While Kaveh doesn't know what Tighnari was doing exactly, the byproduct of his actions was a glass with a green-tinted clear liquid. Tighnari pushes one hand between Kaveh's head and the pillow to lift the architect's head. Tighnari puts the glass to Kaveh's lip. The architect is about to argue that he can drink by himself. Tighnari only narrows his eyes. "Drink."

An order given, an order received. Kaveh starts sipping on the drink, letting it trickle through his parched throat. It burns as it goes down, but the pain brings Kaveh further into the present moment. The blur at the edges of his vision dissipates, and he can fully see the room around him. It is relatively small, but it's homely. There are all the natural accommodations necessary for a bedroom, plus extra medical supplies Tighnari no doubt brought into the room to personalize it. The style and quality of the objects lead Kaveh to conclude they are in the Sanctuary of Surasthana. While he doesn't believe he's ever been to this particular room, he's been to several like it over the years.

When the drink is halfway gone, Tighnari pulls the glass away. Kaveh frowns. Tighnari's expression is neutral, but he gently places Kaveh's head back onto the pillow. He sets the glass down on the nightstand, exchanging it for a medical apparatus. Kaveh hisses at the cold temperature of the room as Tighnari pulls down the blanket. He puts the metal resonator of the stethoscope against Kaveh's chest. The disk is colder than the room, and Kaveh knows that his heartbeat must jump from the feeling of it. Fortunately, his body heat warms the metal quickly, so Tighnari doesn't need to listen for long to write down the information on a piece of paper that he pointedly does not let Kaveh get a glimpse at.

"What did you think they were going to do to you, Kaveh?" Tighnari asks. No matter how neutral his face looks, his voice is tight, conveying just enough emotion for Kaveh to discern that he's upset without knowing which more specific term to use. Kaveh figures that Tighnari is angry, but there might be more to it because Tighnari has never been shy about showing how angry he is.

"I thought they would ship me off to Gurabad. If I knew they were going to throw me in that damned dungeon, I would have run away all by myself," Kaveh answers. He tries to keep his voice firm, but it's weak and he knows that Tighnari knows it. Kaveh knows that he doesn't look like a symbol of strength. His hands are trembling, and he wouldn't be surprised to learn that his entire body is. He would like to blame it on the cold of the room, but Tighnari wouldn't accept that even if it were the complete truth.