Makzin stood up, unknotting his leather belt and pulling off his light armor, then quickly stripping out of the wrinkled under-tunic in favor of a clean, white, tight-fitting tanktop. "I'm gonna go check up on Naida and Ryle..." he said as he looked over at the cavio, who'd nearly fallen back to sleep, head limp on the side of the bunk. "Tirrell, you gonna stay up here?"
A mouse-ear flicked as the rodent made no move to get up from the comfortable niche he�d made in the blankets of the top bunk. "Uh-huh."
"Right�" and Makzin said with a half-smirk as he turned and headed back out onto the upper hallway�s balcony. Beyond the stairs, the hall continued from the balcony into dimness towards his parents� and his sister�s rooms; the dark and quiet at the end of the hall told him that his father had already gone to bed. This was no surprise, given how far away Kaye lived; tomorrow's travel would require his father to be as rested as possible.
Makzin, sighing in resignation, went back down the stairs and took a right, heading down the foyer to the door imbedded under the stairs. As he descended briefly into the basement, Calley watched him from the couches of the living room as he passed, going downstairs to visit Naida, the avesaur, and Ryle, another of his maow companions, in the spacious, well-furnished basement. He walked down the creaking yet sturdy steps and took a left into the room under the foyer and living room; he waved across the room to the tarri, Ryle, who was sitting amidst the many cushions of a futon in the corner, enjoying his usual evening tea in private, his long fox-like ears folded back slightly in contentment as candlelight danced around him. The human felt an emotion of sleepy greetings push at his awareness, and he nodded back to the psychic maow to acknowledge Ryle�s greetings.
Makzin left Ryle to his tea and padded quietly across to the far southern room, from which a steady trickle of water could be heard. He pushed back a heavy curtain and walked into a cool mist.
A brook had been directed to flow through this end of the house, splashing down in a small waterfall into a large stonework basin before flowing back out again and across the front yard. The pool was of natural stone, and skylights lined the far wall where the sun could warm the waters in the day. Vines wound up the walls, angling their broad leaves towards the windows and adding a splash of green against the grey stones. The room was awash in the wavering highlights of moonlight reflected on the rippling water.
Naida was lounging in the pool, stretched out, her small wings invisible under the moonlit water. She looked up as Makzin walked in, smiling gently.
�Hey Naida,� Makzin greeted softly, looking up to the sliver of moon visible through the slanted windows. �You okay�?�
The avesaur nodded gracefully. �Mia made certain I rested this evening. She made me dumplings,� the avesaur smiled.
Makzin smiled wryly. �All Mom gave me when I got home was a baby-sitting assignment. Hey� I�m sorry about summoning you out there. I didn�t want to, but��
Naida shook her smooth blue head, �No, I�m just glad that I could help� I don�t want you to get hurt� and that bayyo� well, he�s confused. He�s hurt��
�I saw,� Makzin nodded. He lowered his voice some, �Zane and I saw he had stitches. Dr. Lake couldn�t tell how old they were, since they weren�t of the disintegrating kind, but they looked worn and dirty. They were from well before he ever started causing us problems. Thing is, he doesn�t seem to be healing� his immune system�s shot� we think he has some sort of disease. I just hope that it isn�t contagious.�
�Is he going to be okay? Can we� heal him? Make him better again?� she asked concernedly, watched the boy with wide, sympathetic eyes.
Makzin bit his lip, looking away. �I� I don�t know. Dr. Lake needs time to study him, and he�s being anything but helpful�� he trailed off, then looked back to the avesaur once more. �Don�t worry, Naida. We�ll figure it out. Thank you though, for your help� we wouldn�t have been able to help him at all if you hadn�t been there to stop him.�
Naida�s black eyes drooped sullenly, staring into the rippling water. �I didn�t want to hurt him� but I suppose we had to. To protect everyone� and to� protect him from himself��
The young ranger nodded, half-turning back to the curtain, putting a hand on the cool stone of the wall. �Yeah, and we�re going to figure it out. Everything�s going to be okay now. Thank you, Naida� good night��
The avesaur nodded to him as he left, �Good night, child��
* * * * *
As Makzin came back up the stairs from the basement, he tried to avoid his sibling, but with an ecstatic expression she was waiting for him. "I can't wait to go out and travel like you! Meet maow and make friends and stuff! Canni buy a crystal in Talston tomorrow? Maybe Daddy will enchant it for me..."
"Who said you were going?" Makzin replied sourly, continuing past her. It was yet another conversation to fight up the stairs through.
"Momma and Dad are going to Kaye's house tomorrow, so you have to take me," and she stuck out her tongue, which was still green from her popsicle.
"I'm a ranger, not a babysitter."
Calley glowered a moment. "I'm not a baby... that's why they're not taking me!"
"It's a shower for normal babies, not purple-haired, green-tongued monsters with bunny slippers. You don't have enough money to get an enchanted gem," he added.
"No, DAD can enchant it. I want a purple one."
"Dad doesn't enchant for free, you know how hard it is," Makzin had reached the stairs, and once again, as he ascended, Calley stopped at the bottom, looking up at him.
"What do you have to do in Talston tomorrow?" she asked, a rare hint of seriousness in her tone. She was likely remembering the maow Makzin had brought in that day.
"Business."
She somehow grew quieter. "About the bayyo?"
Makzin stopped, looking back for a moment. After a pause, he nodded, then started back up the stairs.
As he crossed the balcony, he glanced down at her without stopping. "Pack a swimsuit; we might get to the beach."
"YAY!" Calley exclaimed, bouncing back to the living room.
* * * * *
