I don't know how much time has passed, but I slowly regain my senses. Kilira is once more on my chest, nudging my head as she mewls pitifully.
"Easy, kitten. She'll be okay, but for now I need you to move," says the voice, and Kilira is forcibly lifted from my chest. I feel her claws hook into my robe, and then be gently removed as she begins to howl.
"I'm not taking you far, kitten, I know better than that. But I need to get where you are," says the voice that I'm beginning to remember belongs to my caretaker. I feel the weight of Kilira as she's placed on my feet. Her howls subside to an agitated mew.
Something is placed against my chest for a moment, then something else is placed around my arm. I feel pressure on my arm, tight but not uncomfortable, then the pressure eases. This is accompanied by more of the infernal beeping.
Make the beeping stop? I just want to sleep.
I hear the sound of a door opening, and two pairs of footsteps enter the room.
"How's our patient?" asks a new voice.
I hear my caretaker turn away and approach the newcomers. Kilira takes the opportunity to crawl back onto my chest.
"I'm not sure, Lisa," says my caretaker. Though his voice is quiet, I can still hear him over the hum and beeping of the machinery. "Medically, I can find nothing wrong with her. But she speaks of some place I've never heard of, Jochia or something like that. I'm afraid there may be some mental damage that is beyond my abilities to help..."
Mental damage? Why do they speak of mental damage? I know who I am, I know who I've been. All I don't know is where I am. I send a cautious query to Kilira, who responds with compassion and affirmation. Our Bond is still present, and if there were something wrong with me, she'd know it.
The third set of footsteps moves away from my caretaker and the one he called Lisa. The third individual approaches me while my caretaker and Lisa step out in the hallway to talk. Their voices drift away into the white noise around me.
"You are awake."
It's not a question. Something about the voice strikes me of great knowledge and power.
"No," I answer. I debate keeping my eyes closed, perhaps by doing so I can keep all this strangeness at bay. But Kilira is agitated, I can feel it across our Bond. So I open my eyes.
The figure that stands over me looks quite normal, in the visual spectrum. But there is something about him that enhances my earlier impressions. Here is someone with great power. By blurring my vision, I can see the aura of magic that coalesces about him.
"Good. Then come with me." The figure turns away from me, expecting me to obey.
I blink and purse my lips, sending a mental query to Kilira. She hisses in response.
"I don't think the doctor would like that..." I say.
The figure pauses, then turns. I can't tell anything from his schooled expression. "There is nothing more the doctor can do for you. But I can help you." He folds his arms before him, his hands getting lost in the folds of his robe. At least he dresses properly.
"Mmm-hmm. And what do you know that he doesn't...?"
With patience that is forced, the figure responds, "I know you are not from this world, Tigra Swipe. And not being from here can be very confusing. You will continue to ask him questions which he can not answer, and he will attempt to treat an ailment that doesn't exist. The results would be... regrettable."
Slowly, I ease myself into a sitting position, eyeing this person dubiously as I shift Kilira to my lap.
"How do you know this?" I ask suspiciously. It seems unreal, this concept of other worlds. And yet, it seems to fit. It would answer why all the things around me are unfamiliar, and why my caretaker hasn't ever heard of the Grand Lord Malakashki or my home of Jochia.
"I make it my business to know. I am a master of the Arcane, and a student of the multi-verse. Though I don't know where your world is, nor how to reach it at this point in time, I felt when you were brought to this world. I have been watching, waiting for you to awaken, so I could intervene when you were ready to leave. That time has come. Now, come with me."
Again, he turns, and walks to the door. There he turns back to me and watches expectantly. As I hesitate, he adds, "I will not return again. You can either come with me, or take your chances with the doctor, and his misguided attempts at healing you."
I pause, and finally ask, "Who *are* you?"
The stranger quirks a brow, as though surprised I even have to ask. He nods his head and circles his hand in an elaborate bow, and answers simply, "I am Tolarin." Then he turns and walks out the door, leaving me sitting on the bed in the medical center watching after him.
I look to Kilira, debating. Though I can't explain it, my headache has weakened and I feel stronger already. Perhaps it is the magical aura around this 'Tolarin', as my prowess at battle does feed off of magical energies. All I know is I feel better after a brief encounter with him than I do with all of this alien, beeping 'machinery'.
After a look around the room, and another glance at Kilira, I make my decision. Strange, he may be, but Tolarin is at least somewhat familiar to me. And his story could fit. If I believed in other worlds. Instinct tells me that I won't get any answers by staying here.
~Come on, Kilira. Let's go with him,~ I send, struggling to my feet and ripping all the wires and other medical paraphernalia off of me. Kilira leaps to my shoulder and sinks her claws into the pads designed for that very purpose.
Looking around, I finally find my sword resting against the wall. I stumble over to it, and belt it to my side. Just having it there once again makes me feel better.
By this time, the machinery is putting off a high pitched wail that hurts my ears, and my caretaker and Lisa come back into the room. I expect them to try to stop me, but instead my caretaker calmly walks over to the machinery and hits a button. The beeping stops, thank Lorath.
My caretaker looks at me with regret, but it is Lisa who speaks. "So, you're going to go with Tolarin?"
Apparently, my mysterious benefactor is known to them, and my departure isn't unexpected. I nod.
"He seems to know something about me. Perhaps between us, we can find answers. Like why you've never heard of the Grand Lord Malakashki or Jochia, and why this 'Paragon City' is unknown to me."
I move toward the door, and am surprised when Lisa steps aside.
"Very well, but be careful. Good luck to you."
I pause, and nod my thanks to Lisa and my caretaker. Only after I've stepped out the door and to Tolarin's side do I realize I never learned my caretaker's name.
((Comments welcome, by the way))
