Walking out of the medical room, Eriane almost started when he saw Kiacyl sitting on a long cushioned bench, still waiting. The latter turned to look at him as Eriane entered the room, but he said nothing.
"Oh, Kiacyl!" Eriane exclaimed. "Have you been sitting here all this time? I'm so sorry! I'd completely forgotten about you. You must be famished. I'm just going to get something to eat. Would you like to come?"
Without waiting for a proper answer, Eriane turned and walked out of this next room and into the long hall of the ship. Had he not been so completely absorbed in his own thoughts, he might have noticed that Kiacyl did not follow him. Kiacyl had started to follow him but had paused at the entrance to the hallway out of the room. He looked back towards the medical room wherein lay Djaisiuk and hesitated. He had stood thus for a moment in apparent uncertainty, but Eriane had continued down the hall unconcerned. Finally, Kiacyl had sighed, turned back into the room, and seated himself again in the same place where he had been sitting for the last several hours.
Eriane, as has been mentioned, was entirely absorbed in his own thoughts and continued down the hall, looking neither left nor right, and probably seeing nothing at all. When he reached the small sitting room wherein most of the other boys were located, they all jumped up to greet him. Faquire alone walked quickly past him and into the next room.
"Eriane, how is he?" asked Sandy quickly. "Is he going to be alright?"
"How are you, rather?" asked Jade. "You look ready to collapse."
Eriane gave a short laugh. "I'm a little tired, yes," he said. "But I'll be alright. And Djaisiuk will too, Sandy."
"Were you able to fix him up then?" asked Cycil.
Eriane did not answer at first, but then said simply, "We'll see."
"Yes, we'll see in time," called Faquire, leaning out of the next room, "but for now you come in here and eat something. You should know better than to go for so long without food, especially after all of the stress that you've been under lately. If it was anything less urgent that you'd been doing, I'd have come and drug you away by force."
Eriane smiled and followed Faquire into the eating room of the ship where the latter was busily putting together a small meal for him.
"I've prepared something that should help to restore all of the energy that you've been expending in working too hard as well as to help begin cleaning all of that Vukasovian poison out of your system," said Faquire, grimacing at the end of the statement. "I expect us both to be very busy for the next few days, until everyone has fully recovered physically."
"Not all of the food was bad," called Jaeger teasingly. "Some of it was actually very tasty."
"As if that had anything to do with its health value," Faquire snapped back. "Don't try to talk to me about food. I hope that I never have to eat anything from another planet again, and I'm shocked that you have anything good to say about . . . about that food!"
"Faquire, he's only teasing," said Jade.
"You might just as well tease about eating dirt!" Faquire said forcefully. "There's nothing funny about Vukasovian food."
"You're not angry with me, are you Faquire?" asked Jaeger in a friendly manner, standing now at the door and looking into the room.
"No, of course not," said Faquire, his voice a bit less sharp now. "I'm disgusted, and I think that I might be sick, but I'm not angry with you." Now it was his turn to smile.
Jaeger returned the smile and turned again to leave the room. He returned to the chair on which he had been lounging, sitting at such an angle as to be able to see Eriane through the open door connecting the two rooms. Eriane had taken little note of the conversation beyond the beginning and sat now, slowly eating his meal, staring off into space all the while.
"Eriane, have you any idea why Djaisiuk brought along Kiacyl?" called Jade. "We were discussing it earlier, and it doesn't seem to make--"
"Oh, Kiacyl!" exclaimed Eriane, jumping to his feet. "I forgot about him. Again! Where is he?"
"He went back with you and Djaisiuk," said Jaeger, rising quickly to his feet also. "Do you mean to say that you don't know where he is?"
"No, no, I think that I know where he is," Eriane answered quickly. "That is to say, I know where he was. He was waiting in the next room to the medical room for all of the time that we were working on Djaisiuk. I'd forgotten about him until I came out to get something to eat. Oh, and I was supposed to find the other doctor, Cieru. I'd forgotten about that too!"
"The other doctor's busy now," said Faquire. "He's doing something with Christopher, but I imagine he'll be done soon."
"I was supposed to send him back to help Farion with Djaisiuk as soon as he was finished. Would you tell him, if you see him when he comes out?" asked Eriane.
Faquire nodded in the affirmative, and Jaeger stepped forward.
"What about Kiacyl?" he asked. "Where is he, and what is he doing?"
"He's probably just sitting there, waiting," answered Eriane. "He sat there quietly all through the time that we were working, and he was still there when I came out. I told him that he could come with me to get something to eat, as I imagined that he must be very hungry by now, but apparently he didn't follow. I should go and see if he's alright."
Faquire and Jaeger interjected at the same time.
"No you don't!" exclaimed Faquire. "You sit right there and finish your meal. Someone else will go and check on him."
"I'll go, Eriane," offered Jaeger. "I wouldn't mind a chance to talk with him anyway." He started to turn away, then turned back and looked at Faquire. "Do you think that I ought to bring a meal with me in case he doesn't want to come out here? As Eriane said, he's probably very hungry by now."
"Yes," sighed Faquire. "I suppose that even the Vukasovians need to eat. I'll fix something and bring it in to you if you're not back soon."
Jaeger left, and Eriane looked up at Faquire reproachfully as the latter moved about preparing another meal.
"Faquire, you really shouldn't speak about him like that," said Eriane. "He's a human being, just like you or me."
"He's a Vukasovian," Faquire replied coldly. "And I've little reason to have any sympathy for one of them for a while."
"Faquire, you don't even know him!"
"And I don't want to either! Why is he even here? What reason can he possibly have for coming back with us to Komislava? Does he not hate our race in the same way that the rest of his people do?"
"No, I don't think that he does," replied Eriane gently. "I think that he considers us to be below himself, but I don't think that he hates us. Haven't the other boys told you about him?"
Faquire shook his head, looking still half-angry as he continued to work and not looking at Eriane as he spoke. "No, I didn't want to hear about it," he said. "They started to talk about him, and I left to come in here to fix the evening meal. It seems that I'm the only one who's never spoken with him, though we certainly spent enough time in each other's company in Djaisiuk's workroom!"
"He came to see you twice before that, but it was while you were unconscious from that strange drug," said Eriane.
Faquire shuddered visibly at the reminder. "I'd really rather forget that incident entirely, if I can," he said. Turning to face Eriane, he continued, "With memories like that, how can you possibly expect me to hold any feelings for him or his people but contempt and disgust?"
Eriane didn't answer immediately. "That's probably a question better suited for Wysire," he said. "But I will say this, at least: he's not his people, though he is one of them. You can't hold him responsible for their actions."
Faquire shook his head again and turned back to his work. "I still don't understand why he's even here," he said. "But, so long as he is, I'll see to it that he's fed properly. He'll go home healthier than he came, if I have anything to do with it. I'll not have them say that there's anything wrong with our food."
"Or it's preparers?" asked Eriane with a smile, but Faquire only frowned at this remark.
"I'm not seeking my own glory," he said sharply. "I'm trying to stand up for our people and means."
Eriane looked at him with a concerned expression. "Faquire, you really need to talk to Wysire," he said softly.
"I know that!" snapped Faquire. He stopped for a moment and closed his eyes, leaning forward on the counter at which he was working. He then raised his head and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Eriane," he said at last. "I know that I still hold a lot of anger toward those people and that it's spilling out into everything else that I say. I know that I need to work through it, but it'll take a lot of time to do that. I'm trying hard to just keep functioning as normal for now."
Faquire finished preparing the meal in silence, then lifted the covered dish to carry it out of the room. "Once we're home, things will be easier," he said.
"Yes," agreed Eriane quietly. "They will."
* * * * * * *
Jaeger had gone to the "medical waiting room," as it was affectionately called by the non-medical members of the crew, and had found Kiacyl still sitting in the same place in which he had been left. Kiacyl glanced up at Jaeger as he entered, but did not move otherwise.
"Hello," said Jaeger, leaning against the doorway.
Kiacyl didn't reply, but instead lowered his eyes again to stare wearily at the floor. Jaeger cocked his head to one side.
"Don't tell me that Djaisiuk is starting to wear off on you," he said with half a smile.
Kiacyl looked up again with a distinctively Vukasovian sneer of derision, a look that had never crossed Djaisiuk's face. Having thus expressed his opinion of Jaeger's comment, Kiacyl again looked down, still without having said anything.
"Is there some reason that you're staying in here?" continued Jaeger unperturbed. "You're more than welcome to join all of us out there in the main room. We're just relaxing at the moment, and I'm sure that you must be hungry."
Kiacyl seemed to consider for a moment, then glanced towards the door of the medical room wherein the older doctor was still working on Djaisiuk.
"Oh, he's under an anesthetic," said Jaeger. "He won't be waking up for quite a while yet. Are you waiting for him?"
Kiacyl turned away, still not looking at Jaeger.
"Is there some reason why you suddenly won't talk to me?" asked Jaeger.
Kiacyl looked up at him again for a moment, and a look of minor frustration crossed his face. This was quickly hidden, however, and he lowered his eyes again.
Jaeger stepped into the room and sat down beside Kiacyl. The latter didn't look at him.
"You're tired, aren't you?" asked Jaeger softly.
Kiacyl nodded.
"And hungry?"
Half a nod and a slight shrug were the only answer.
"And bored?"
Kiacyl turned his head to look at Jaeger, annoyance showing plainly in his features.
"Jaeger, what is your point in all of this?" he asked in a voice that was as plainly annoyed as was his expression.
"I just want you talk to me," answered Jaeger.
"Why?" asked Kiacyl, still obviously irritated.
Jaeger shrugged. "I don't know, really," he said. "But it seems like there's something wrong. I know that when I have a problem, it often helps to talk about it with someone."
"And you're offering to be that 'someone'?" asked Kiacyl in a voice that dripped with sarcasm.
"If you want me to be," Jaeger nodded.
"I don't," Kiacyl answered immediately. "I don't need you."
Jaeger held his gaze for a moment. "Do you need Djaisiuk?" he asked.
Kiacyl hesitated, then pursed his lips and looked down again. He didn't answer.
"Does this have anything to do with why Kandryl came to talk to Djaisiuk just after our people arrived?" asked Jaeger.
Kiacyl shrugged. "It might," he said. "What did he say?"
"They didn't want me to hear," answered Jaeger. "I could tell that it was something that meant a lot to Kandryl by his urgency and the tones of his voice, but I really didn't catch the words. He did offer to kill me though, so that they could speak alone."
Kiacyl smiled briefly at the thought, but the smile was one of Vukasovian pleasure, that is to say, the enjoyment that comes of observing sufferings in others. Jaeger stiffened slightly.
"That amuses you?" he asked.
Kiacyl turned again to look at him. "Yes," he said with a touch of defiance in his voice and manner. "Yes, it does. I'm not a Komislavian; I find different things amusing than you do."
Jaeger nodded. "Why are you here, Kiacyl?" he asked abruptly.
Kiacyl looked at him carefully for a moment, then turned again to look at the opposite wall, holding his head high this time in obvious defiance rather than dropping it down in apparent weariness. Before Jaeger could speak again, a footstep was heard in the hall, followed almost immediately by Faquire's entrance. His eyes met Kiacyl's, and for a very brief moment Jaeger saw a look of mutual contempt and disgust pass between them. Then Faquire stepped forward and handed the covered meal dish to Jaeger. This done, he turned and left the room without a word.
"Well, here's the solution to one of your problems," said Jaeger, offering the meal dish to Kiacyl. "Faquire has fixed you a meal."
Kiacyl looked at him incredulously. "And you'd expect me to eat something that he prepared?" he asked. "I think that he'd like to poison me."
Jaeger chuckled. "I wouldn't be surprised if he would like to do so, but I'd bet my own life on the fact that he would never actually do it. If you like, I'll eat some of each of the foods that he's given you just to prove it, although he wouldn't like that at all. He generally provides just the right portions, and he wouldn't like me messing that up."
Kiacyl still eyed the dish suspiciously.
"Come on, you're hungry, aren't you?" asked Jaeger. "It's perfectly safe, I assure you. You're with Komislavians now!"
At last, Kiacyl shrugged and turned away. "You can leave it when you leave, if you want," he said indifferently.
Jaeger looked at him curiously. "Are you saying that you don't want it now, or that you want me to leave?"
"Both."
Jaeger was quiet for a moment.
"Kiacyl why don't you come out and join us?" he asked. "The others would enjoy talking with you, and you can meet the other three of our group now."
"I've met them. They don't like me. And the feeling is mutual."
"You really just want me to leave you alone?"
"Yes," replied Kiacyl without hesitation.
Jaeger was quiet again for a moment, then he stood to his feet and walked to the door.
"If you decide that you would like to come and sit with us, we'll be near the end of this hall for a little while yet," said Jaeger, turning back for a moment. "You're still welcome. You'll hear the voices, if you come before we all go to bed." And with that, he turned and left the room.
* * * * * * *
When Eriane entered the room a short while later with Cieru, he found Kiacyl stretched out on the bench, fast asleep, with an empty meal tray on the floor beside him. The other doctor started to question Eriane about Kiacyl, but Eriane quietly suggested that they not wake him. Once inside the emergency medical room, the two helped Farion to finish the work on Djaisiuk's arm. Cieru then said that he would begin work on Djaisiuk's lungs. He suggested, then insisted, that Farion go and get some food and that Eriane go and get some sleep. His work had been much lighter, he said, and he had eaten, so he would able to work for a while longer. Farion might come back after he'd eaten, but Eriane ought to go to bed now. Eriane and Farion each agreed, one more hesitantly than the other, and together they left the medical room.
Kiacyl was still sleeping quietly, so Eriane silently took the empty meal dish, and he and the other doctor went out, closing the door behind them so as not to wake him.
"Will it be safe to leave him there?" asked Farion. "If he wakes in the night, what would prevent him from harming your friend?"
"He wouldn't," said Eriane, shaking his head. "But you could always seal the door to the medical room when you and Cieru finish, if you wanted, just to make sure."
"You're very trusting," said Farion. "He's a Vukasovian, isn't he?"
"Yes, but I do still trust him," replied Eriane. "I wouldn't trust him in everything, but I do believe that he wouldn't hurt Djaisiuk."
Farion seemed satisfied with this.
"Alright then," he said. "I trust your judgement in this matter; you know him, and I don't."
Eriane smiled. "Well, I'm off to bed," he said. "I suppose that I'll see you in the morning."
Farion laughed softly. "I imagine that you'll be up long before me," he said. "As I said, we're on different time schedules. But yes, I'll see you sometime tomorrow. Goodnight."
"Oh, Kiacyl!" Eriane exclaimed. "Have you been sitting here all this time? I'm so sorry! I'd completely forgotten about you. You must be famished. I'm just going to get something to eat. Would you like to come?"
Without waiting for a proper answer, Eriane turned and walked out of this next room and into the long hall of the ship. Had he not been so completely absorbed in his own thoughts, he might have noticed that Kiacyl did not follow him. Kiacyl had started to follow him but had paused at the entrance to the hallway out of the room. He looked back towards the medical room wherein lay Djaisiuk and hesitated. He had stood thus for a moment in apparent uncertainty, but Eriane had continued down the hall unconcerned. Finally, Kiacyl had sighed, turned back into the room, and seated himself again in the same place where he had been sitting for the last several hours.
Eriane, as has been mentioned, was entirely absorbed in his own thoughts and continued down the hall, looking neither left nor right, and probably seeing nothing at all. When he reached the small sitting room wherein most of the other boys were located, they all jumped up to greet him. Faquire alone walked quickly past him and into the next room.
"Eriane, how is he?" asked Sandy quickly. "Is he going to be alright?"
"How are you, rather?" asked Jade. "You look ready to collapse."
Eriane gave a short laugh. "I'm a little tired, yes," he said. "But I'll be alright. And Djaisiuk will too, Sandy."
"Were you able to fix him up then?" asked Cycil.
Eriane did not answer at first, but then said simply, "We'll see."
"Yes, we'll see in time," called Faquire, leaning out of the next room, "but for now you come in here and eat something. You should know better than to go for so long without food, especially after all of the stress that you've been under lately. If it was anything less urgent that you'd been doing, I'd have come and drug you away by force."
Eriane smiled and followed Faquire into the eating room of the ship where the latter was busily putting together a small meal for him.
"I've prepared something that should help to restore all of the energy that you've been expending in working too hard as well as to help begin cleaning all of that Vukasovian poison out of your system," said Faquire, grimacing at the end of the statement. "I expect us both to be very busy for the next few days, until everyone has fully recovered physically."
"Not all of the food was bad," called Jaeger teasingly. "Some of it was actually very tasty."
"As if that had anything to do with its health value," Faquire snapped back. "Don't try to talk to me about food. I hope that I never have to eat anything from another planet again, and I'm shocked that you have anything good to say about . . . about that food!"
"Faquire, he's only teasing," said Jade.
"You might just as well tease about eating dirt!" Faquire said forcefully. "There's nothing funny about Vukasovian food."
"You're not angry with me, are you Faquire?" asked Jaeger in a friendly manner, standing now at the door and looking into the room.
"No, of course not," said Faquire, his voice a bit less sharp now. "I'm disgusted, and I think that I might be sick, but I'm not angry with you." Now it was his turn to smile.
Jaeger returned the smile and turned again to leave the room. He returned to the chair on which he had been lounging, sitting at such an angle as to be able to see Eriane through the open door connecting the two rooms. Eriane had taken little note of the conversation beyond the beginning and sat now, slowly eating his meal, staring off into space all the while.
"Eriane, have you any idea why Djaisiuk brought along Kiacyl?" called Jade. "We were discussing it earlier, and it doesn't seem to make--"
"Oh, Kiacyl!" exclaimed Eriane, jumping to his feet. "I forgot about him. Again! Where is he?"
"He went back with you and Djaisiuk," said Jaeger, rising quickly to his feet also. "Do you mean to say that you don't know where he is?"
"No, no, I think that I know where he is," Eriane answered quickly. "That is to say, I know where he was. He was waiting in the next room to the medical room for all of the time that we were working on Djaisiuk. I'd forgotten about him until I came out to get something to eat. Oh, and I was supposed to find the other doctor, Cieru. I'd forgotten about that too!"
"The other doctor's busy now," said Faquire. "He's doing something with Christopher, but I imagine he'll be done soon."
"I was supposed to send him back to help Farion with Djaisiuk as soon as he was finished. Would you tell him, if you see him when he comes out?" asked Eriane.
Faquire nodded in the affirmative, and Jaeger stepped forward.
"What about Kiacyl?" he asked. "Where is he, and what is he doing?"
"He's probably just sitting there, waiting," answered Eriane. "He sat there quietly all through the time that we were working, and he was still there when I came out. I told him that he could come with me to get something to eat, as I imagined that he must be very hungry by now, but apparently he didn't follow. I should go and see if he's alright."
Faquire and Jaeger interjected at the same time.
"No you don't!" exclaimed Faquire. "You sit right there and finish your meal. Someone else will go and check on him."
"I'll go, Eriane," offered Jaeger. "I wouldn't mind a chance to talk with him anyway." He started to turn away, then turned back and looked at Faquire. "Do you think that I ought to bring a meal with me in case he doesn't want to come out here? As Eriane said, he's probably very hungry by now."
"Yes," sighed Faquire. "I suppose that even the Vukasovians need to eat. I'll fix something and bring it in to you if you're not back soon."
Jaeger left, and Eriane looked up at Faquire reproachfully as the latter moved about preparing another meal.
"Faquire, you really shouldn't speak about him like that," said Eriane. "He's a human being, just like you or me."
"He's a Vukasovian," Faquire replied coldly. "And I've little reason to have any sympathy for one of them for a while."
"Faquire, you don't even know him!"
"And I don't want to either! Why is he even here? What reason can he possibly have for coming back with us to Komislava? Does he not hate our race in the same way that the rest of his people do?"
"No, I don't think that he does," replied Eriane gently. "I think that he considers us to be below himself, but I don't think that he hates us. Haven't the other boys told you about him?"
Faquire shook his head, looking still half-angry as he continued to work and not looking at Eriane as he spoke. "No, I didn't want to hear about it," he said. "They started to talk about him, and I left to come in here to fix the evening meal. It seems that I'm the only one who's never spoken with him, though we certainly spent enough time in each other's company in Djaisiuk's workroom!"
"He came to see you twice before that, but it was while you were unconscious from that strange drug," said Eriane.
Faquire shuddered visibly at the reminder. "I'd really rather forget that incident entirely, if I can," he said. Turning to face Eriane, he continued, "With memories like that, how can you possibly expect me to hold any feelings for him or his people but contempt and disgust?"
Eriane didn't answer immediately. "That's probably a question better suited for Wysire," he said. "But I will say this, at least: he's not his people, though he is one of them. You can't hold him responsible for their actions."
Faquire shook his head again and turned back to his work. "I still don't understand why he's even here," he said. "But, so long as he is, I'll see to it that he's fed properly. He'll go home healthier than he came, if I have anything to do with it. I'll not have them say that there's anything wrong with our food."
"Or it's preparers?" asked Eriane with a smile, but Faquire only frowned at this remark.
"I'm not seeking my own glory," he said sharply. "I'm trying to stand up for our people and means."
Eriane looked at him with a concerned expression. "Faquire, you really need to talk to Wysire," he said softly.
"I know that!" snapped Faquire. He stopped for a moment and closed his eyes, leaning forward on the counter at which he was working. He then raised his head and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Eriane," he said at last. "I know that I still hold a lot of anger toward those people and that it's spilling out into everything else that I say. I know that I need to work through it, but it'll take a lot of time to do that. I'm trying hard to just keep functioning as normal for now."
Faquire finished preparing the meal in silence, then lifted the covered dish to carry it out of the room. "Once we're home, things will be easier," he said.
"Yes," agreed Eriane quietly. "They will."
* * * * * * *
Jaeger had gone to the "medical waiting room," as it was affectionately called by the non-medical members of the crew, and had found Kiacyl still sitting in the same place in which he had been left. Kiacyl glanced up at Jaeger as he entered, but did not move otherwise.
"Hello," said Jaeger, leaning against the doorway.
Kiacyl didn't reply, but instead lowered his eyes again to stare wearily at the floor. Jaeger cocked his head to one side.
"Don't tell me that Djaisiuk is starting to wear off on you," he said with half a smile.
Kiacyl looked up again with a distinctively Vukasovian sneer of derision, a look that had never crossed Djaisiuk's face. Having thus expressed his opinion of Jaeger's comment, Kiacyl again looked down, still without having said anything.
"Is there some reason that you're staying in here?" continued Jaeger unperturbed. "You're more than welcome to join all of us out there in the main room. We're just relaxing at the moment, and I'm sure that you must be hungry."
Kiacyl seemed to consider for a moment, then glanced towards the door of the medical room wherein the older doctor was still working on Djaisiuk.
"Oh, he's under an anesthetic," said Jaeger. "He won't be waking up for quite a while yet. Are you waiting for him?"
Kiacyl turned away, still not looking at Jaeger.
"Is there some reason why you suddenly won't talk to me?" asked Jaeger.
Kiacyl looked up at him again for a moment, and a look of minor frustration crossed his face. This was quickly hidden, however, and he lowered his eyes again.
Jaeger stepped into the room and sat down beside Kiacyl. The latter didn't look at him.
"You're tired, aren't you?" asked Jaeger softly.
Kiacyl nodded.
"And hungry?"
Half a nod and a slight shrug were the only answer.
"And bored?"
Kiacyl turned his head to look at Jaeger, annoyance showing plainly in his features.
"Jaeger, what is your point in all of this?" he asked in a voice that was as plainly annoyed as was his expression.
"I just want you talk to me," answered Jaeger.
"Why?" asked Kiacyl, still obviously irritated.
Jaeger shrugged. "I don't know, really," he said. "But it seems like there's something wrong. I know that when I have a problem, it often helps to talk about it with someone."
"And you're offering to be that 'someone'?" asked Kiacyl in a voice that dripped with sarcasm.
"If you want me to be," Jaeger nodded.
"I don't," Kiacyl answered immediately. "I don't need you."
Jaeger held his gaze for a moment. "Do you need Djaisiuk?" he asked.
Kiacyl hesitated, then pursed his lips and looked down again. He didn't answer.
"Does this have anything to do with why Kandryl came to talk to Djaisiuk just after our people arrived?" asked Jaeger.
Kiacyl shrugged. "It might," he said. "What did he say?"
"They didn't want me to hear," answered Jaeger. "I could tell that it was something that meant a lot to Kandryl by his urgency and the tones of his voice, but I really didn't catch the words. He did offer to kill me though, so that they could speak alone."
Kiacyl smiled briefly at the thought, but the smile was one of Vukasovian pleasure, that is to say, the enjoyment that comes of observing sufferings in others. Jaeger stiffened slightly.
"That amuses you?" he asked.
Kiacyl turned again to look at him. "Yes," he said with a touch of defiance in his voice and manner. "Yes, it does. I'm not a Komislavian; I find different things amusing than you do."
Jaeger nodded. "Why are you here, Kiacyl?" he asked abruptly.
Kiacyl looked at him carefully for a moment, then turned again to look at the opposite wall, holding his head high this time in obvious defiance rather than dropping it down in apparent weariness. Before Jaeger could speak again, a footstep was heard in the hall, followed almost immediately by Faquire's entrance. His eyes met Kiacyl's, and for a very brief moment Jaeger saw a look of mutual contempt and disgust pass between them. Then Faquire stepped forward and handed the covered meal dish to Jaeger. This done, he turned and left the room without a word.
"Well, here's the solution to one of your problems," said Jaeger, offering the meal dish to Kiacyl. "Faquire has fixed you a meal."
Kiacyl looked at him incredulously. "And you'd expect me to eat something that he prepared?" he asked. "I think that he'd like to poison me."
Jaeger chuckled. "I wouldn't be surprised if he would like to do so, but I'd bet my own life on the fact that he would never actually do it. If you like, I'll eat some of each of the foods that he's given you just to prove it, although he wouldn't like that at all. He generally provides just the right portions, and he wouldn't like me messing that up."
Kiacyl still eyed the dish suspiciously.
"Come on, you're hungry, aren't you?" asked Jaeger. "It's perfectly safe, I assure you. You're with Komislavians now!"
At last, Kiacyl shrugged and turned away. "You can leave it when you leave, if you want," he said indifferently.
Jaeger looked at him curiously. "Are you saying that you don't want it now, or that you want me to leave?"
"Both."
Jaeger was quiet for a moment.
"Kiacyl why don't you come out and join us?" he asked. "The others would enjoy talking with you, and you can meet the other three of our group now."
"I've met them. They don't like me. And the feeling is mutual."
"You really just want me to leave you alone?"
"Yes," replied Kiacyl without hesitation.
Jaeger was quiet again for a moment, then he stood to his feet and walked to the door.
"If you decide that you would like to come and sit with us, we'll be near the end of this hall for a little while yet," said Jaeger, turning back for a moment. "You're still welcome. You'll hear the voices, if you come before we all go to bed." And with that, he turned and left the room.
* * * * * * *
When Eriane entered the room a short while later with Cieru, he found Kiacyl stretched out on the bench, fast asleep, with an empty meal tray on the floor beside him. The other doctor started to question Eriane about Kiacyl, but Eriane quietly suggested that they not wake him. Once inside the emergency medical room, the two helped Farion to finish the work on Djaisiuk's arm. Cieru then said that he would begin work on Djaisiuk's lungs. He suggested, then insisted, that Farion go and get some food and that Eriane go and get some sleep. His work had been much lighter, he said, and he had eaten, so he would able to work for a while longer. Farion might come back after he'd eaten, but Eriane ought to go to bed now. Eriane and Farion each agreed, one more hesitantly than the other, and together they left the medical room.
Kiacyl was still sleeping quietly, so Eriane silently took the empty meal dish, and he and the other doctor went out, closing the door behind them so as not to wake him.
"Will it be safe to leave him there?" asked Farion. "If he wakes in the night, what would prevent him from harming your friend?"
"He wouldn't," said Eriane, shaking his head. "But you could always seal the door to the medical room when you and Cieru finish, if you wanted, just to make sure."
"You're very trusting," said Farion. "He's a Vukasovian, isn't he?"
"Yes, but I do still trust him," replied Eriane. "I wouldn't trust him in everything, but I do believe that he wouldn't hurt Djaisiuk."
Farion seemed satisfied with this.
"Alright then," he said. "I trust your judgement in this matter; you know him, and I don't."
Eriane smiled. "Well, I'm off to bed," he said. "I suppose that I'll see you in the morning."
Farion laughed softly. "I imagine that you'll be up long before me," he said. "As I said, we're on different time schedules. But yes, I'll see you sometime tomorrow. Goodnight."
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