Redemption Ch. 01

Natalie sniffled and rubbed her nose with the back of her wrist, suddenly remembering the Kleenexes and wishing she had some with her. His touch was not trembling, and would actually be rather enjoyable if she did not know that the contact was making him absolutely miserable. Reaching one hand back to hold her the opening closed, she sniffled once more. "I dig ids begus I'b disdragded by so bady oder digs," she managed through the stuffiness, thinking about Casen and the Hierarchy and her own struggles against herself. Yes, she had been very distracted as of late, and had not spent the proper amount of time in meditation to prevent just this sort of occurrence. "Dag yu," she added.

Smiling warmly, he nodded his head, moving again to where he could be used to stabilize herself should she feel the need, but again had his back to her so as to be appropriate. His nervousness had indeed died down, suppressed enough now that he might even be able to bring it completely under control... maybe... soon. "Any time," he replied. His voice, almost completely free of shaking, carried the same warm tone, rich with truthfulness.

She seeped up the warmth from his voice and knew that he was not merely saying it as others would, but that he truly meant it. She shivered again, not from the chill or from her head cold, but from the realization that he actually cared. Knowing he had turned around, even though her vision was still somewhat obscured by her watery eyes, she released the opening of her dress and slid it down her body, letting it fall to the floor in a wet pile of fabric. She did likewise with her underclothes, then quickly dressed herself in the warm things before the cold air of the room chilled her even more. Once she had done this, she bent down and gathered her wet things up in her arms, then stood there somewhat uncertainly, before a series of wet sneezes took her over. "Heh-isshhoo!! Hepchoo!! Hekisshh!! Ishhh!!"

Justin considered reaching over and grabbing the box of Kleenex off of the nightstand, and did, holding it down and behind himself as he was still not entirely sure what state of dress, or undress, as it may be, she was in, and cared not to find out in a potentially embarrassing manner. He managed to locate the general position of where her head was from the sound of the sneezes, even giving minor effort and trying to track the imagined arc of her body so as to ensure not to hit her with the tissues as he offered them. "You going to be ok?"

She blinked back the wateriness and saw the faint outline of the tissue box, taking it from him. "Dag yu," she said through her sniffles, holding the box in one hand and taking several tissues from it with her other. "Ib clohd dow," she explained, letting him know that he could turn around without fear. Bringing the tissues to her nose, she rubbed fiercely and sniffled more, the wet clothes still draped over her arm. She spotted an empty chair and arranged the clothes on it, spreading them out so they would dry faster. Setting the box of Kleenex on the nearby dresser, she sighed almost imperceptibly and felt a wave of weakness wash over her before three wet sneezes escaped from her soft lips. "Ihhh… ihhtishhoo!! Huptishhh!! Heh… heh-issshhoo!!" she sneezed, too exhausted to bother covering her mouth though a part of her knew she was spraying her germs around.

Justin murmured a blessing to her, then gave a soft sigh, wrapping an arm easily around her waist and leading her to the bed, gently forcing her to sit to ensure that if all else failed, she would not fall to the floor if she blacked out. His arm supported Natalie just enough that if she wanted, she could lay down unhindered, but close so as to catch her should she fall. Surprisingly, any nervousness had either been consciously suppressed or was gone, but either way his manner showed none. With a warm smile, he used his other hand to pull back the sheets before gesturing. "It's warmer in the bed... better for colds."

Hearing his sigh, Natalie felt completely awful for inconveniencing him like that, knowing that he was probably very upset at having to touch her. On the verge of tears for causing him so much discomfort, she blinked and laid down, a chill creeping over her body as she sniffled repeatedly, finally causing her sinuses to un-stuff. "I'm sorry," she began, her voice quavering. "I didn't… I mean… I know you don't… It's just that…." She was unable to finish any of the sentences and could only lay there, feeling like a horrible person for doing this to him. The tickle continued to irritate her cute nose and she rubbed two fingers across the tip in a valiant attempt to quell the sneezy feeling.

He smiled softly and pulled surprisingly soft, but heavy (and therefore warm) covers over her. "It's alright, really. Don't worry about it." For once, despite the closeness, his voice actually had a confident tone to it, reassuring and pleasant. "You're right, I don't feel particularly comfortable being close to people, but that doesn't mean a thing. You're sick, and you need to lie down. That's all that matters. You don't honestly think that I could dislike someone for needing help, do you?" He tilted his head slightly, his eyes quietly questioning.

Natalie sighed and snuggled under the covers, allowing a single teardrop to slip from her eye. She noted the tone of his voice and took slight comfort in it, still not entirely sure that she had not just damaged him or upset him greatly. "I'm fine," she insisted. "You don't have to stay here and deal with me," she added, knowing that every fiber of her being wanted him to stay, but knowing he would want to leave, to get away from the germs, but especially to get away from the closeness. "I'm not that sick," she continued weakly, though she immediately contradicted herself by coughing a bit.

He raised an eyebrow and sat on the edge of the bed, his compassionate blue eyes meeting hers easily. "Of course you aren't. If you were, you wouldn't have made it up here, nor been able to stand long enough to change." He gave a soft laugh and shook his head. "On the other hand, you aren't exactly well. You might have made it up here, but you didn't look to be having an easy time of it. As for me staying here or not… well, that's entirely up to you. If you feel you need to sleep, I'll go. I wouldn't want to keep you up. But I wouldn't mind staying, if you prefer it."

Sighing, she looked up at him, almost losing herself in the warmth of his gaze. Her head still felt very foggy and achy, and her nose was red and now chapped for the use of the Kleenexes. "I'm not that sleepy, but you can go if you want. I wouldn't want you to stay around me very long; you might get sick, and then I'd feel even worse." Snuggling a bit more under the covers, she felt a few strands of hair fall across her cheek but was too weak to move a hand from the covers to tuck them back behind her ear. Her eyes searched his before she looked away, sniffling, then sighed again.

He laughed. "Don't worry about me getting sick. My immune system is almost impenetrable. I get sick maybe once every year, if that… usually once every two. And unlike you, I'm only human… sorta… kinda…." He trailed off, unsure of what he was, then shook his head to rid himself of stray thoughts. "At any rate, my well-being has little if anything to do with you being sick. If I were to get sick soon, it would be because I've been sleeping outside in the wilderness for the last two weeks with a hammock and a wool blanket."

She sniffled a bit more and nodded quietly. "Okay, then. You won't get sick. Still though, you shouldn't be sleeping outside with only a wool blanket." Biting her lip, she hoped she had not offended him, but also knew that it was not good for his health. Weakly dragging her hand out from under the covers, she tucked the strands of hair behind her ear and shivered a bit, then thought about his words and decided not to ask about the human issue, as it might be a touchy one, and was certainly not her favorite topic, either.

Justin shrugged and gave a confident smile. "I've made it this far without problem." He shifted his weight and felt the wound on his leg crack slightly as he winced in response. "Well, mostly. I've yet to find anything I couldn't handle. The cold really is the least of my problems right now. It's been over a month now, and I still haven't found any answers as to what in the blue hell is happening to me, or why, or who's behind it." He trailed off again as a sneezy look crossed her expression. Natalie brought both hands to her face and cupped them over her nose and mouth before sneezing wetly into them. "Ehh… ihh-tisshhh!! Heh, ehhh… ehhkisshhoo!! Shooo!! Ep-tishhh!!"

"Bless you, Natalie," Justin whispered, bending down to kiss her forehead with his warm lips. "I wish I could stay and take care of you, but unfortunately, I've got to leave. The wolves will be getting up and I'd rather not fight with them for territory." He smirked softly at his poor attempt at humor and ran his fingers through the mop of hair on his head.

Wincing at his comment about the wolves, Natalie sighed softly. "Alright, then. Justin. Please, take care." She immediately wished she could retract those words, not wanting to sound like a badgering mother or someone who was trying to be controlling. Hoping he took them for what they were, words of friendship because she cared, she slipped back under the covers and extended one hand to touch his, risking the physical contact because she wanted to show him that she did actually care.

Justin smirked softly, and took her hand for a moment, meeting her eyes with his. "You too. I'll be back to check on you tomorrow… you'd better be better by then," he teased, then gave one last smile, before exiting the room quietly.

***

Justin entered the tavern slowly and awkwardly, his weight leaning heavily on the four-foot long stick he always held. The effort of carrying his rucksack and his bundle of sticks on his back showed quite plainly on his face as he moved over to the couch near the fireplace. He wasted no time in dropping his gear on the floor and collapsing loudly onto the cushions, his forehead gleaming with sweat and his cheeks flushed. He seemed to be breathing louder, with more difficulty, his eyes barely able to stay open as he lay on his back and attempted to make the room stop spinning.

Descending the stairway from the hallway that housed the rooms, Natalie rested her fingertips on the rail and sniffled wetly, still recovering from her cold though she had already checked out of the bedroom. Her normally uncontrollable mass of curls was now braided in a single plait down the center of her back, obscuring the two dozen buttons of her dress. Her eyes were red-rimmed, but they had a determined look in them, as though she was not a victim, but a survivor. The folds of her skirts swished almost noiselessly as she made her way further in, scanning the inhabitants for anyone she might know. Her eyes fell upon Justin and she bit down on her lower lip, a wave of concern washing over her. Afraid he had passed out or was in some sort of serious danger, she approached the couch and knelt on the floor beside him.

He breathed slowly, heavily, as he turned his head from his horizontal position to look at Natalie, though his eyes made it seem as though he was not really seeing anything, but simply staring off into the distance. His voice was slow, and sounded immensely controlled, the harsher tones being somewhat slurred. "Hey, Natalie," he whispered, managing a weak smile, though he obviously looked far from happy as he tried simply to keep conscious. "Told you I'd come see you today." Oddly enough, the way his carefully controlled words formed "m's" made them sound more like "b's," through his somewhat wet sounding breathing. This close, she could see that almost his entire face was flushed, particularly his nose. Raising himself slightly, he moved his head quickly to avoid hitting her with his loud, hacking cough.

Bending over his form, Natalie's face was etched with worry. Lowering her voice to just barely above a whisper, she placed one hand on his forehead to feel for his temperature, before speaking. "Justin," she murmured quietly, noticing that he was hot to the touch and his nose seemed rather irritated. Realizing instantly what had happened, she winced and shook her head softly, bringing a hand to rub at her tickly nose. "I'm so, so sorry. I thought you said…" she trailed off, deciding not to remind him of his insistence that he did not get sick. "How long have you been feeling badly?" she asked, her voice laced with genuine concern and her dark eyes flickering with a sort of motherly attention which she promptly tried to hide.

He shook his head, trying not to let Natalie feel his burning hot skin. "I'b ok," he began, giving up the attempt to control his voice, as it took enough effort to simply breathe. "I'b been worse. I'f known I bas gedding sick for a couble days now. You're right; it's doo cold oudside." Again, he gave that weak smile, before bursting into coughs that sounded like they were tearing flesh from his throat with each one, muffled by the arm of the same sweatshirt he was wearing the day before.

Natalie listened to him quietly and removed her hand from his burning forehead, knowing he abhorred her touch. Hearing the change in his voice from a controlled normalcy to a stuffy wet-sound, she felt another wave of guilt wash over her body. If only she had told him to go away, if only she had not gotten so near to him, not allowed him to help her. She mentally cursed her weakness and rubbed a hand across her nose, still feeling a bit ill, herself, though nothing like how he seemed. "No, you're not okay," she contradicted him, then paused. "Even if you… yuh…. Ehh…. Ehh-isshooo!! Hep-tisshhoo!! Ihh… ihhkisshh!!" she began, then interrupted herself with three soft but wet sneezes into the crook of her arm. "Even if you have been worse, you sound bad enough now, and I knew it was too cold there," she finished, her tone firm but gentle, as she listened to the wetness of his breathing with a sigh.

He blinked back the tears that came to his eyes from the loud, dry, hacking before closing them entirely. He was still overly irritated by the odd coldness in the room, despite the fact that he felt like (and was) sweating profusely. "Don'd feel bad; you didn'd do abything wrong," he insisted, shivering slightly, before leaning his weight onto one arm to try to rummage through his bag in search of his blanket, though his eyes were still mostly closed.

Somehow seeming to sense his intent, Natalie shook her head slightly. "I do feel bad," she insisted. "I never meant to get you sick." Her voice trembled a bit, but she willed herself to stay strong. Crying would not help anything, nor would it make him feel better. "You don't look good at all," she continued, knowing she was being less than tactful, but also knowing that he would most likely not care. Reaching into his bag and finding his blanket for him, she held it, pondering quietly. "You need to rest somewhere, and here is definitely not the place," she observed, using the tip of her index finger to massage her tickly nose.

Justin frowned slightly, his face wrinkling up for a moment as he held his breath, body quieting and keeping motionless for a few seconds as he seemed to suppress something. He then opened his eyes and took the blanket carefully, trying to wrap it tightly around him but barely managing to drape it over himself before collapsing again. "I'b ok. You didn'd get me sick, I bromise," he maintained, giving her a slight scowl, though, at the mention of going somewhere else. Again, he tried to rise and failed. "I'b ok here, really. I jusd need to lay dowb for a day or so."

She watched him silently for a moment, wondering if the suppression was a sneeze or perhaps another series of those awful-sounding coughs. Secretly hoping it was the former rather than the latter, Natalie bit down on her lip and forced herself to pay attention to the present. Feeling him take the blanket from her, she placed one hand on her hip and shook her head as he tried unsuccessfully to cover himself. "No." Her voice was ever firm, though still slightly stuffy, a testament to her lingering cold. "You are not okay. You are sick, and it is my fault. I already feel bad enough for exposing you to this dreadful cold," she began, pausing to sniffle discretely. "I would never forgive myself if I didn't help you the way you helped me," she continued, again placing a hand on his forehead in the hope that he had cooled down.

Shaking his head, Justin did not try to get up this time before speaking, his nasal voice sounding almost demanding, though it was out of habit and not for an actual reason. "Doh!! I'b… I'b ok, and you DID'T gib me dis cold, Dadalie. I habn't been eating broberly, I'b been sleebing outside for weeks, and I'b been fighting and gedding hurt lots," he explained, sniffling slightly, quietly, before rubbing a bit of runniness from his nose. He again went to work on draping the blanket, this time managing to get it over his body, though not as tightly as he would prefer.

She moved back just a fraction at the tone of his voice, though it was not quite so upsetting as it might be had the sniffles and stuffiness not softened the insistence. Doing a bit of sniffling herself, she decided he was probably right about the conditions leading to his cold. "You shouldn't have been sleeping outside like that," she began, then sighed and dropped it, knowing that it was too late now, and it was not her job to berate him. Not everyone had a place to sleep, she remembered guiltily, suddenly recalling her prep class before her mission here on earth as a Goddess, First Class. "Regardless," she continued, rubbing at her nose, "You need to rest, and here is not the place." She eyed the other inhabitants of the tavern somewhat uncertainly, then slipped a hand in her pocket to finger the abundance of gold coins that she had still not used for this mission.

Justin frowned again at the sound of coins being moved and shook his head vehemently. "No, you don'd hab to spend boney on me. I dold you, I'll be fine," he croaked, trying to laugh slightly, but failing. He shuddered and suppressed something again, more visibly this time. His nose twitched slightly though, and he closed his eyes, looking like he was drifting off to sleep, though it was more like blacking out than anything.

Again shaking her head at his words, Natalie spoke softly but firmly. "You're not fine, and you won't be fine unless you get somewhere warmer and better for you," she asserted, eyeing him quietly as he shuddered slightly. She wondered if he was suppressing the harsh coughs that seemed to plague him earlier; they did sound rather painful. A voice in her head suggested that the shudders might be stifled sneezes and the thought was almost enough to elicit a moan, though she quickly brought her attention back to the present. Rather alarmed as Justin closed his eyes, she began to speak once more. "No, no. Don't slip away. I'm going to get a room." Walking towards the bar even as she finished her sentence, she conferred with the tender quietly and returned quickly with a room key. "Justin?" she asked almost rhetorically.

He sighed quietly, having temporarily fought off the void of his mind. "I told you, I'b fine here." While he continually tried to convince Natalie of this, it seemed more and more like he was trying to convince himself instead. His body took on an almost constant shiver, the sweat on his forehead forming into beads and sitting there, his hair damp and messy. "So cold. By do dey keep it so cold in here?" he murmured. Despite his obvious chill, he was still burning up, having not dropped a single degree from earlier.