Fantasy Vs Reality | The Withering

24: Flattery

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Kay sat in her room in complete silence for a few hours. Storm had gone to check on Coal about two hours ago, leaving her alone. Storm said she'd be back to check in on Kay, to let her know what happened and how the rest of the team was recovering. So Kay just stayed, waiting. She didn't care if it had been two hours, she was enjoying solitude.

She had taken a nap while she waited. She was lying on her bed, when the door to her chamber was knocked on. She propped herself up on her elbows, flicking her ears in the direction of the door. "Come in." she called.

She expected to see Storm enter the room, but to her surprise it was Orion. 

Kay sat up and moved to the end of her bed. Orion grabbed a chair and limped over to her. He had a crutch in his right arm and his right paw was firmly wrapped. He sat down and looked at her, sighing.

"I suppose I owe you an apology." Orion said.

Kay shook her head, "No, I should've listened to you before you left. If I hadn't gone with you-"

"I wouldn't be here right now." Orion interrupted, "That's why I owe you. If you had not come along, I don't think any of us would've made it out of there."

Kay blushed, flattered by the words. Did she really do something that heroic? It felt like she only did what she thought was right. She didn't reply, and looked away. She didn't know how to react.

"Marcus is awake now." Orion added a moment later.

Kay looked back at him with wide, curious eyes, "How is he?"

"We've been talking and..." Orion took a breath, "What you did is something we won't be forgetting anytime soon. We had talked about dropping you off at the port to be shipped back to the Neon Empire's home world but..." The arctic wolf thought about what he was going to say next.

"Well, the captain has requested that you join the crew. We want to give you a proper welcome and... celebration." Orion bowed his head slightly, "The crew is in your debt for helping rescue the captain and his team."

Kay couldn't help but smile, "I... don't know what to say. I only did what I thought was the right thing..."

"That's the point. We've also decided that... if you joined, it would be best to add you into the Mission Specialists group as well. For planetary exploration when necessary, seeing as you've proven... more than useful." Orion said quietly, "Word has already spread throughout the ship of what you and Storm both did, and it's not going to be quiet for a while." He chuckled slightly.

Kay had never heard him laugh before. It was heartwarming to know the icy, seemingly coldhearted pilot of the crew had some positive feelings in him. "Am I allowed to go see the patients?" Kay asked.

Orion nodded, "I need to head back to the Bridge and check in with Shin to see how quickly we can get out of this shitty sector and avoid... other problems."

The wolf left the room, leaving Kay alone again. She got up once she was sure Orion was gone and moved the chair back to the small table in the middle of her room. After that she approached her door, opened it and headed for the Med Bay.

She furrowed her brow in concentration, trying to remember how she got there before, and with a bit of luck, she finally made it. She was slightly relieved there were no weird visions this time. Perhaps it was because she finally remembered she was once human? Despite the fact she didn't really remember much else?

Kay shook her head and opened the door to the Med Bay. She looked in to see Lynx bustling around busily, grabbing files, a few small boxes, and strange looking, dark vials. She pushed past Kay and left the Med Bay in a hurry, not even realizing she had bumped into the small, brown feline. 

Slightly disgruntled from the very tall feline bumping into her, Kay walked up to the desk and gazed around. Seeing a small bell on the counter, she tapped the top of it. It released a sweet little tune, and within a few moments a female cheetah in a suit came out. Kay had never seen her before.

The cheetah had a smile on her face. The tip of her brown hair was died lightning yellow. She looked very similar to that Jengo fellow, except he had more red hair. Kay smiled slightly, looking up to her, "I erm, don't remember seeing you before?"

The cheetah lady chuckled slightly, "It's alright dear, I don't get out much. I've been busy trying to give therapy to the various crew members on the ship." She leaned over the counter, holding out a bony hand, "I'm Jengo's little sister, Zuri. Nice to finally meet you, Kay." 

Little sister? Zuri was easily several inches taller than Jengo. Kay gave Zuri a more genuine smile, taking her hand and shaking it, "Nice to meet you as well. From what you said I'm assuming your a sort of... counselor?"

"Psychiatrist to be more precise." Zuri replied, her face bright. She was a happy fellow wasn't she? "But enough about our greeting, I'm assuming you're not here to get any injuries taken care of?" the cheetah tilted her head to the side.

Kay shook her head, "No I was just here earlier. I want to see how the others are doing."

Zuri nodded, "Ah yes. Then that means it was you and Storm who saved the rescue team from imminent death! We are proud of your deeds, considering you haven't even been here for a week yet!"

It hasn't even been a week!? It felt like Kay had been there for at least two weeks... or even a month. 

Scratching her head, Kay followed Zuri into the back where the rest of the team was, and left Kay in the room with Jacob. The poor red panda was running around busily, tending to the patients. He looked tired. Marcus and Coal were awake, chatting with each other. 

Ember and the squirrel were still out of it. The squirrel was now sleeping, and Ember seemed to be tossing and turning slightly, restless with a pained expression on her face.

Kay looked to Coal and Marcus, who were next to each other, and she decided to approach them first. She came up to them waving, and she plastered a smile on her face, "Hey! How are you two holding up?"

"There she is!" Marcus exclaimed, his voice was hoarse and rough. He had a bandage on his head, "How's our new little hero doing herself?"

"Flattered and speechless to be perfectly honest." Kay looked away again, she didn't really like people complimenting her so much. She just didn't know what to say!

"Hardly a scratch on her." Coal remarked, his voice was nearly completely gone, but his eyes said he was happy to see her, "I guess we all owe you and Storm our lives yeah?" He seemed to finally be coming around. 

Kay shook her head, "If Orion hadn't coached me how to drive the craft I don't think I would've brought us out of there alive." 

Marcus' eyes widened, "Wait you drove the craft!?" He sat up, scooting back to lean up against the back of the bed, "Orion conveniently left that detail out of our last conversation..."

Kay was about to speak again, but Marcus continued rambling on, "Well, as soon as we are able to free ourselves from this mighty dungeon of healing hands and cranky pandas, I guess we are going to be adding you as a permanent member to the crew! What do you say?"