Behind His Weary Eyes (Novella) ✔️

8 ✙ Warm Breaths & Lilac Wounds

Everything.

The word rang through the compact home. Asa put a hand over her mouth. What in the stars did she say? An airy laugh escaped from Renvir's lips. The cloud around him laced his throat with a golden hue.

"That may take longer than I have. How about we start with something more specific?" the Celest said. He tried to take a sip of his kei but began laughing instead.

"What's so funny?"

"You just..." the Celest said, stifling a chuckle, "are nothing like what I expected."

You are not what I expected either, she thought. As Renvir paused, the medic's cheeks heated, realizing she may have projected the thought. She glanced at the file, hoping to change the subject.

"Could you give me a summary of your symptoms?"

"It varies from day to day." He cast his eyes downward and fidgeted with his cup. "Some days, it is my skin, some days it is my muscles, but it is mostly my stomach and chest that act up."

"Act up?"

He nodded.

"My skin will become warm and flush in areas like a rash. Then it will itch. If it lasts a while, the top layers begin peeling. My chest aches. Occasionally it tightens, restricting my breathing."

Asa scribbled notes on a blank sheet of parchment.

"You mentioned your stomach and muscles as well. What do you experience with them?"

"With my muscles, they tend to twitch and spasm. Tingle if I stay in one position too long."

"And your stomach?"

Renvir shifted in his seat and scratched the base of his neck. He didn't make eye contact when he spoke this time. Asa tapped the end of her pencil on the table.

"It is often upset, especially after eating raw meat. So I," Renvir paused, "Vomit it back up. Sometimes even cooked meat."

Strange, raw meat was a Celest diet staple. While she knew their hunters used tools now, legend had it that his species hunted with their claws and teeth when the Two first created them. Repressing her unease, the female continued.

"How black is the smoke that comes up?"

Renvir stayed silent. Asa sighed. She had been accustomed to everything from hatchling spit ups to full-on hurling. And the Celest's vomit looked much prettier than any other species she had tended. After a moment of silence, she broke the silence.

"You don't have to be embarrassed. Many beings experience these things at least a few times in their lives, if not more."

Her voice steadied to a professional rhythm. The usual distance she kept between her and her patients returned. With a deep breath, the medic reminded herself to keep it there. Yet the tightening of Renvir's posture distracted her. Asa gripped her pencil tighter.

"Dark gray, almost black. With specs of purple."

"Specs of purple?"

"Blood."

The medic froze. She didn't expect that.

"How often do you see blood?"

"It has been more frequently the past month. Nothing this week, but around twice last week."

She pressed her lips together into a thin line. Renvir had severe symptoms throughout multiple body systems. It didn't make sense. Most beings had two chronic illnesses at most, not three to four. But that wasn't what made her stomach tie itself into a tight, swollen knot.