Cairo

Chapter 2: Rumors

When Cane woke up, he was lying on a couch in a white brick room with only a small table, another couch, and a mirror hanging on one of the walls. There was a chilly draft in the room that made him shiver due to lack of shirt. He placed a hand on his bandaged chest, wincing as a small amount of pain shot through him. Getting up was even harder, though once he started walking around, the pain was easier to deal with. The mirror was parallel to the couch he was lying on and cane couldn't resist the temptation to get at least a glance. He frowned when he saw his appearance. His face and arms had small black cuts on them from the explosion, and his back and legs were scratched even worse from falling and being shoved so much. 

The door suddenly swung open causing Cane to jump and pain to shot through his body. Cairo walked into the room with an ice pack in one hand, setting it on the table next to the couch Cane was resting on without a word. He made his way to the other couch and flopped down on it, throwing his hands behind this head and closing this eyes. A woman in an apron walked into the room next as Cane had just turned back to the mirror to examine himself again. She smiled as he slightly blushed when he realized she was watching him. 

"Glad to see you're up already," she said, extending out one of her hands that Cane shook. "I about had a heart attack when the boy over there brought you here-you were both so hurt! I just can't believe you three made it out alive of the Crimson City calamity. A lot of people died in it. I had family back there, haven't heard a word from them." 

"I'm sorry..." Cane's eyebrows furrowed together as he tried to keep up with the fast paced woman who was already pressing the cold pack Cairo brought against his forehead. "Can I ask: where am I?" 

She blinked twice before her mouth opened in an o-shape. Readjusting the ice pack on his forehead, she gestured for him to take it before taking a couple steps back. "That outta help with the headache. I've passed out a couple of times myself and got teeerrible headaches. Anyway! That boy over there brought you here, passed out cold and all. You were both bleeding and when I heard you just got back from Crimson City, I thought one of you were definitely going to die!" She pressed her fingers against her lips as she looked to the door, her voice hushed, speaking to no one in particular. "That girl didn't look the least bit phased and wasn't even hurt." 

"She's a Kleptos," Cairo mumbled, his body wiggling until he found a comfortable spot, his eyes not making any move to open. "Something like that wouldn't hurt her."

"A Kleptos?" the woman asked. 

Cairo nodded his head, a deep yawn escaping his mouth. "A Kleptos is a card spirit, or rather, a spirit trapped in a card. They have domains of what kind of power they control-some control whole elements, some parts of elements; some control knowledge of a certain subject, some parts of that knowledge. There was a legend that passed down to Kleptos users, Pyrrohs, about a time when Kleptos ruled the lands. They fought so much for power that the gods grew angry and trapped them into cards, entwining their souls to the cards themselves, to be used as tools for the rest of their lives. It's part of the Old Myths, but no one knows if it's true or not. We only know that there's such a thing as Kleptos who are in fact trapped inside a card." 

"That sounds sketchy." 

"So does this place, but you don't see me complaining." 

"We usually don't let anyone from the Government come in this place," she snapped. "You're lucky, boy, don't go pressing your luck! Theonly reason you're here is because you both were badly hurt and I thought one of you might die, but if you're fine, you can get out of my clinic, you Government dog."

Getting a scowl from the woman Cairo didn't see because his eyes were still closed, she turned around and walked out of the room. A few moments later, Aerie walked into the room with a banana, closing the door softly behind her. She stretched the banana out to Cane who shook his head.