Unraveled (Jing #14) & In Sickness, In Health (Jing #25)
Community: 50_themes
Characters: Jing + Kir (friendship category)
Fandom: King of Bandits Jing
Full list of themes can be found HERE. X-posted to 50_themes, kingofbandit and ankhutenshi
*
Title: Unraveled
Theme: #10 - Windows to the Soul
Notes: 1494 words, finished Feb 7/07
It has been raining steadily for about an hour now, but Jing hadn't moved from the granite ledge overlooking the manor below. The wind had also picked up, and although he'd taken shelter within the folds of the yellow jacket, Kir was still cold and soaked through. Yet his human companion remained unmoving, chin perched in one hand and his grey eyes trained on the unlit upper floor.
Kir wondered if Jing even noticed it was raining. "Hey," he said. "How long are we gonna be out here?"
"You can go back if you want, partner."
"That wasn't what I asked," the albatross muttered, "An' you know it. You're gonna get sick if you sit out here in the rain all night."
"I want to know where they keep that opal," Jing said, shaking his head slightly and casting drops of water at the bird. "If we're patient, it'll save us a lot of pointless looking later."
Kir heaved a sigh. He certainly wouldn't mind getting his talons on the Opal of Orancio, a priceless red stone that disappeared from record some 600 years previous, supposedly stolen from the emperor of Cinzano. But as he pointed out to the bandit, "Why are we lookin' for it here? I mean, this is a nice house, but it ain't hardly a palace."
"I don't think it was stolen."
"You... don't?" Kir was confused. "Whatcha mean? The emperor had it, an' then he didn't have it, what else could have happened?"
"I think he gave it away."
"Huh? To who?"
Jing pointed to the manor. "To the girl that lives here. Or rather, to this girl's great-great-something grandmother, who used to work in the emperor’s palace. However many greats there are to go back that far. And it's been passed down ever since."
Kir was slowly starting to get the picture. "An' maybe the emperor didn't want to tell anyone he was givin' family jewels to the maid, and said it got stolen instead!"
"Bingo," Jing answered with a smile. "I'd say the family's done pretty well for themselves, wouldn't you?"
The albatross ruffled his wings, scattering raindrops. "But Jing, Cinzano's not even on the map anymore. It's all just a bunch of ruins, has been for a long time, you said! Why now?"
"After the opal disappeared, the emperor of Cinzano became the figure of a tragic ruler, and the people rallied under him, some day in support and some say in pity. Either way, for the next hundred years, Cinzano was the most prosperous and peaceful region in all of Aquavitae, even more than Zaza. Even to this day, the emperor is thought of as a hero."
A single light on the upper floor flickered on, and Jing turned his attention back to the manor. A slender silhouette, backlit by the glow of a lamp, wound its way up the staircase. Although Kir's poor vision in the dark prevented him from seeing much detail, Jing looked quite satisfied with whatever he was observing, and after several minutes, the light went out and Jing got to his feet.
"Okay, partner," the thief said. "We can both go now. The safe isn't behind the picture, it's through it."
"Huh?"
Jing laughed. "Don't worry. We'll come back on a night when it's not raining."
The albatross harrumphed. "You don't make sense half the time. You're still going to get sick or somethin' from bein' out here all this time. I'm gonna get sick."
"Will not."
"We'll see..."
---
"So," Kir said with deceptive cheerfulness as the window shutters parted and Jing dropped lightly inside the hallway, the plush carpet muffling his boots. "What was that you said about not getting sick, sittin' out there in the rain?"
"Kir..."
"I'm just askin'..." He landed on his companion's shoulder; while it was dark and in a confined place, he generally trusted Jing's better night vision to guide them. "You know where we're going?"
Jing paused, muffling another sneeze, and growled out a curse. That surprised the albatross, because he'd rarely known Jing to use language such as that; he resisted the parental inclination of him to inquire just where Jing had picked that descriptive comparison up.
"Yes, Kir," Jing replied, sounding slightly grouchy and out of breath.
"Hey," the avian one shot back, "don't take your bein' under the weather out on me."
Jing's footsteps halted, and he sighed. "I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't, you're right. I just feel awful right now," his grin was wry and ghostly in the dark, "just like you said I would. Let's just get the Opal and get out of here."
At the door to the study, Jing again had to stop and pick the lock. Kir suspected that it wasn't so much for keeping quiet as for keeping everything intact. Sometimes they left the scene of a heist in a spectacular chase, and sometimes no one even knew of their passing until much later. "So why are you stealin' this now?" Kir questioned idly, watching Jing's nimble fingers mapping out the lock's inner workings without a light. "I mean... with the emperor of Cinzano gone and all, it ain't worth as much as it used to be, right? Or is it worth more now?"
"Not quite that simple, partner," Jing said, and the door swung open with barely a creak. "Bingo!"
Kir had to chuckle silently at that.
"Even though this manor looks big and rich," the Bandit King said, slipping inside and closing the door behind him, "the family's been falling further and further into debt. Because they can't sell the Opal, things are going badly for them."
"Why can't they sell it?"
"Because they'd have to say either they stole it -- which would of course make them criminals," Jing grinned, "or admit that the emperor gave it to them, which would destroy the legend that's been built up around it for all these centuries."
The bird considered this, and commented, "So they can't really do either. What's the third option?" He glanced around the study, but could only make out the vague outline of a large tapestry on the wall, behind the desk. "And where's the Opal? In a safe?"
Jing walked up to the desk, and lit a small oil lamp there. Light blossomed across the tapestry, revealing a room very similar to the one they stood in. "In here."
"Behind the tapestry?"
"In the tapestry, partner."
Kir scanned the woven image, and finally spotted the rounded gem inside a glass case on the mantle. He looked at the mantle in the room where they stood, and there wasn't any case, and certainly no Opal. "Oy," he muttered, annoyed. "Did you sneeze out some of your brain back there? Just because there's a picture of it, don't mean it's really there! See?" He flew to the fireplace and perched on the edge. "Ain't nothing up here but dust!"
"Keep your voice down," Jing stuck out his tongue at the bird, then had to stop and sneeze yet again. Kir began to feel sorry for the sleeve of the yellow coat. "And watch..."
He flexed the fingers of his right hand, and then reached towards the hanging picture. Yet instead of encountering cloth, his hand went right through the surface. The tapestry changed -- now it showed the study, but with two additional figures, a young man in a blazing coat, and a black albatross on the mantle. The boy in the tapestry crossed the room to the mantle and took down the Opal, and put it in his pocket, and then returned to the position in which he'd originally appeared.
Jing pulled his hand back out of the tapestry as Kir stared. "W-what was that?"
"Living tapestry," the thief replied, backing away from the desk to regard it. The image had gone back to an empty study, with one exception -- the glass case was empty. Jing put his hand into his pocket, and pulled from it the Opal of Orancio, glowing a deep orange hue. Kir's eyes bugged out.
"J-j-jing! How'd you do that?"
"That's why I sat out there in the rain all night, partner," Jing smiled. From his pocket, he pulled a folded note and placed it on the desk.
"What's that?"
"Just a little something to get them back into financial good graces," the Bandit King smirked, slipping the Opal into his bag. "Something that will keep their secret safe, and not ruin the emperor’s legend either."
"How come you always think about stuff like that, Jing?" Kir questioned, as they left the study and climbed back out the window. "You're always tryin' to keep people happy, make sure they got a good thing out of it."
"Well," the young man said, pausing with his feet dangling over the edge. "Maybe... maybe I hope that some day, someone'll do the same for me."
The albatross didn't say so aloud, but he hoped so too.
---
Notes:
Orancio & Cinzano - Cinzano Orancio is an orange flavored vermouth. Usually served on the rocks, sometimes with soda or Sprite, but also used in cocktails. 14.8% (29 proof)
Title: In Sickness, In Health
Theme: #25 - Unsweetened Tea
Notes: 1262 words, finished Feb 7/07. Directly follows "Unraveled", above.
It was unusual for them to stay in a town so close to one they'd recently stolen from, but Kir had insisted and then gone ahead and found them a small inn out on the edge of Alebrije which hopefully would not draw too much attention. Jing hadn't protested; in fact, other than obediently handing over the correct amount of gold coins to pay for the room, he hadn't done much of anything except follow his companion's lead.
Although he'd originally teased Jing about getting sick from staying out in the rain, Kir now felt rather sorry for the youth. His grey eyes, normally bright with anticipation for their next heist, were lackluster. The albatross urged him into the bed and tucked the blankets around him.
"Looks like you were right after all, partner," Jing mumbled, his voice hoarse from coughing.
Kir shook his head, disregarding the admission. "Yeah, well... it happens from time to time. Don't worry about it. You'll be better in no time."
"Hope so," Jing sighed, closing his eyes and drawing the blanket under his chin.
---
Kir slept for an hour or so, waking in the dark room to the rustling of sheets and blankets and found that Jing had kicked off the blankets and sheets. The albatross could hear the faint rasp of his breathing; it was disconcerting in its unfamiliarity... Jing rarely got sick, and when he managed to catch something, it was usually mild and passed quickly. He laid a wing alongside his companion's face and was dismayed to feel heat there. He turned on the lights to reveal Jing's normally pale complexion flushed and beaded with perspiration.
"Aw, Jing," Kir fretted, "C'mon, you know how much I worry when you get sick..."
"Too hot," the young man coughed, trying to push away the covers that were no longer there.
"I know," the bird answered, flying to the water basin to dunk a cloth in the tepid water. He couldn't wring it out; wings and talons could only do so much. It dripped as he carried it back to the bed. "Here..."
Grey eyes opened and Jing gave him a sickly attempt at a smile. "Thanks... partner..."
Kir nodded tersely, but stayed close by as his companion drifted in and out of sleep. "I told you, you'd get sick if you sat out there all night in the rain," the albatross muttered, shaking his head in frustration. "You're human, after all..."
But that was part of the problem, Kir suspected. Being the Bandit King often led others into believing he was invincible, untouchable by anything... his enemies, the land, even the weather itself. To most people, the legendary thief wasn't even a person so much as a living myth.
Kir knew better.
Knew underneath the touchless exterior was a young man -- boy, even, for he often seemed so -- who liked chocolate and libraries and missed his mother more than anything in the world. Yet sometimes Kir wondered if Jing himself forgot his own limitations, forgot that he was still human, fell too deep into that persona and got lost in its comforting anonymity. Sometimes, even Kir could admit it had to be tempting.
The black albatross checked to find that Jing's skin had turned clammy and chilled. The damp cloth had grown cold by now, so Kir took it off, leaving it on the side table. "Jing?" he said quietly, but the only response he received was a faint shiver.
"First too hot," Kir grumbled, struggling to pull the tangled sheets back over his restless partner. "Now too cold..."
But the complaint was covering a deeper fear. Most of the time he was able to force it down, keep it buried under sarcasm and gruff fondness directed at his charge. But if anything serious ever happened to Jing, there was little that Kir could do to help him. If Jing broke a leg, he couldn't help him walk. How many times had some weapon been fired at the thief, and Kir simply not able to push him out of the way?
Kir pushed the thoughts away as Jing stirred, shivering under the covers. "... Kir?"
"I'm here, Jing," the albatross answered immediately. "Right here."
Reassured, the young man drifted off again.
---
Jing opened his eyes. His limbs felt heavy and his mind was fogged. For a moment, he couldn't remember where he was, seeing only an unfamiliar room. A faint panic seized him. "Kir?"
The bird shook himself awake at the end of the bed. It had been the only place that Jing's restless sleep hadn't disturbed, and Kir hadn't wanted to be rolled on top of. "I'm here," he said automatically, before he'd even had a chance to orient himself.
"Where am I?"
"In Alebrije, at an inn," Kir responded, hopping up to the pillow. He felt for Jing's temperature and then sighed, relieved. "Phew... your fever's come down..."
"Fever?" Jing seemed bewildered, trying to sit up.
Kir stopped him, settling the young man back down. "You've been sick, Jing... don't you remember? We've been here three days..."
Grey eyes showed genuine confusion at the statement, as Jing searched his memory. Faint snatches of images, broken and distorted by fever, drifted to mind. "I... I think so. You were taking care of me..."
"Yeah."
Jing smiled wearily. "You always take care of me."
Kir cleared his throat and pointed to a mug on the bedside table. "If you can sit up, there's some tea in there. It'll make you feel better, an' it'll calm your stomach. I couldn't get you to eat anything, so you're probably hungry..."
"Not really," Jing said, propping himself up against the pillows and taking the cup. He brought it to his lips and took a sip, then tried to push it away with a fierce grimace. "It's bitter!"
"It's unsweetened," Kir corrected, pushing it right back, "seein' how you ain't a kid anymore, I didn't figure I needed to put sugar in your medicine to make you take it."
The statement seemed to strike Jing oddly, and for a moment, he merely stared at the albatross in silence. Then he lowered his gaze and meekly took a second sip, and then a third. When the cup was empty, he put it back on the table and said, "Guess I should have listened to you when you said I'd get sick..."
"You said that once already, but you probably don't remember."
"Oh..." Jing seemed at a loss for conversation. "Thank you, partner."
Kir simply nodded. "I'm glad you're feelin' better. I was worried..." Jing opened his mouth to apologize (he didn't get a single word out, but Kir knew him well enough to know what to expect) so the bird cut him off before he had a chance. "An' no, you can make it up to me by getting some actual sleep, since all you've done is toss and turn for three days."
Mirth crinkled the corners of Jing's mouth, and he nodded. He wasn't about to deny that, despite three days bed rest, he still felt exhausted. Kir settled into his usual place with an equally weary sigh; he hadn't gotten much rest either.
"You're not allowed to get sick again for a while," Kir muttered, nestling closer. "Gonna turn my feathers grey from stress, you know. Next time, I can lounge in bed and you can be nursemaid."
"Okay," Jing agreed complacently, because he saw the grouchy order as something else entirely. "That's fair."
And Kir, who knew Jing would understand, let the subject drop.
---
Notes:
Alebrije Ingredients: Ice, 1/2 oz Vodka (Absolut), 1/2 oz Rum (Bacardi), 1/2 oz Amaretto, 1/2 oz Gin, 1/2 oz white Tequila, 2 oz Orange juice, 2 oz Pineapple juice, 1 splash Grenadine. Mixing instructions: First mix some orange juice and pinapple juice in equal parts, and color it with some grenadine (as sweet as you want). This is "conga mix". Fill the glass with ice, add the five licours and mix them, fill the glass with some conga mix and enjoy. Notes: It is a sweet drink that is originally from Acapulco, actually from a club with that name.
Characters: Jing + Kir (friendship category)
Fandom: King of Bandits Jing
Full list of themes can be found HERE. X-posted to 50_themes, kingofbandit and ankhutenshi
*
Title: Unraveled
Theme: #10 - Windows to the Soul
Notes: 1494 words, finished Feb 7/07
It has been raining steadily for about an hour now, but Jing hadn't moved from the granite ledge overlooking the manor below. The wind had also picked up, and although he'd taken shelter within the folds of the yellow jacket, Kir was still cold and soaked through. Yet his human companion remained unmoving, chin perched in one hand and his grey eyes trained on the unlit upper floor.
Kir wondered if Jing even noticed it was raining. "Hey," he said. "How long are we gonna be out here?"
"You can go back if you want, partner."
"That wasn't what I asked," the albatross muttered, "An' you know it. You're gonna get sick if you sit out here in the rain all night."
"I want to know where they keep that opal," Jing said, shaking his head slightly and casting drops of water at the bird. "If we're patient, it'll save us a lot of pointless looking later."
Kir heaved a sigh. He certainly wouldn't mind getting his talons on the Opal of Orancio, a priceless red stone that disappeared from record some 600 years previous, supposedly stolen from the emperor of Cinzano. But as he pointed out to the bandit, "Why are we lookin' for it here? I mean, this is a nice house, but it ain't hardly a palace."
"I don't think it was stolen."
"You... don't?" Kir was confused. "Whatcha mean? The emperor had it, an' then he didn't have it, what else could have happened?"
"I think he gave it away."
"Huh? To who?"
Jing pointed to the manor. "To the girl that lives here. Or rather, to this girl's great-great-something grandmother, who used to work in the emperor’s palace. However many greats there are to go back that far. And it's been passed down ever since."
Kir was slowly starting to get the picture. "An' maybe the emperor didn't want to tell anyone he was givin' family jewels to the maid, and said it got stolen instead!"
"Bingo," Jing answered with a smile. "I'd say the family's done pretty well for themselves, wouldn't you?"
The albatross ruffled his wings, scattering raindrops. "But Jing, Cinzano's not even on the map anymore. It's all just a bunch of ruins, has been for a long time, you said! Why now?"
"After the opal disappeared, the emperor of Cinzano became the figure of a tragic ruler, and the people rallied under him, some day in support and some say in pity. Either way, for the next hundred years, Cinzano was the most prosperous and peaceful region in all of Aquavitae, even more than Zaza. Even to this day, the emperor is thought of as a hero."
A single light on the upper floor flickered on, and Jing turned his attention back to the manor. A slender silhouette, backlit by the glow of a lamp, wound its way up the staircase. Although Kir's poor vision in the dark prevented him from seeing much detail, Jing looked quite satisfied with whatever he was observing, and after several minutes, the light went out and Jing got to his feet.
"Okay, partner," the thief said. "We can both go now. The safe isn't behind the picture, it's through it."
"Huh?"
Jing laughed. "Don't worry. We'll come back on a night when it's not raining."
The albatross harrumphed. "You don't make sense half the time. You're still going to get sick or somethin' from bein' out here all this time. I'm gonna get sick."
"Will not."
"We'll see..."
---
"So," Kir said with deceptive cheerfulness as the window shutters parted and Jing dropped lightly inside the hallway, the plush carpet muffling his boots. "What was that you said about not getting sick, sittin' out there in the rain?"
"Kir..."
"I'm just askin'..." He landed on his companion's shoulder; while it was dark and in a confined place, he generally trusted Jing's better night vision to guide them. "You know where we're going?"
Jing paused, muffling another sneeze, and growled out a curse. That surprised the albatross, because he'd rarely known Jing to use language such as that; he resisted the parental inclination of him to inquire just where Jing had picked that descriptive comparison up.
"Yes, Kir," Jing replied, sounding slightly grouchy and out of breath.
"Hey," the avian one shot back, "don't take your bein' under the weather out on me."
Jing's footsteps halted, and he sighed. "I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't, you're right. I just feel awful right now," his grin was wry and ghostly in the dark, "just like you said I would. Let's just get the Opal and get out of here."
At the door to the study, Jing again had to stop and pick the lock. Kir suspected that it wasn't so much for keeping quiet as for keeping everything intact. Sometimes they left the scene of a heist in a spectacular chase, and sometimes no one even knew of their passing until much later. "So why are you stealin' this now?" Kir questioned idly, watching Jing's nimble fingers mapping out the lock's inner workings without a light. "I mean... with the emperor of Cinzano gone and all, it ain't worth as much as it used to be, right? Or is it worth more now?"
"Not quite that simple, partner," Jing said, and the door swung open with barely a creak. "Bingo!"
Kir had to chuckle silently at that.
"Even though this manor looks big and rich," the Bandit King said, slipping inside and closing the door behind him, "the family's been falling further and further into debt. Because they can't sell the Opal, things are going badly for them."
"Why can't they sell it?"
"Because they'd have to say either they stole it -- which would of course make them criminals," Jing grinned, "or admit that the emperor gave it to them, which would destroy the legend that's been built up around it for all these centuries."
The bird considered this, and commented, "So they can't really do either. What's the third option?" He glanced around the study, but could only make out the vague outline of a large tapestry on the wall, behind the desk. "And where's the Opal? In a safe?"
Jing walked up to the desk, and lit a small oil lamp there. Light blossomed across the tapestry, revealing a room very similar to the one they stood in. "In here."
"Behind the tapestry?"
"In the tapestry, partner."
Kir scanned the woven image, and finally spotted the rounded gem inside a glass case on the mantle. He looked at the mantle in the room where they stood, and there wasn't any case, and certainly no Opal. "Oy," he muttered, annoyed. "Did you sneeze out some of your brain back there? Just because there's a picture of it, don't mean it's really there! See?" He flew to the fireplace and perched on the edge. "Ain't nothing up here but dust!"
"Keep your voice down," Jing stuck out his tongue at the bird, then had to stop and sneeze yet again. Kir began to feel sorry for the sleeve of the yellow coat. "And watch..."
He flexed the fingers of his right hand, and then reached towards the hanging picture. Yet instead of encountering cloth, his hand went right through the surface. The tapestry changed -- now it showed the study, but with two additional figures, a young man in a blazing coat, and a black albatross on the mantle. The boy in the tapestry crossed the room to the mantle and took down the Opal, and put it in his pocket, and then returned to the position in which he'd originally appeared.
Jing pulled his hand back out of the tapestry as Kir stared. "W-what was that?"
"Living tapestry," the thief replied, backing away from the desk to regard it. The image had gone back to an empty study, with one exception -- the glass case was empty. Jing put his hand into his pocket, and pulled from it the Opal of Orancio, glowing a deep orange hue. Kir's eyes bugged out.
"J-j-jing! How'd you do that?"
"That's why I sat out there in the rain all night, partner," Jing smiled. From his pocket, he pulled a folded note and placed it on the desk.
"What's that?"
"Just a little something to get them back into financial good graces," the Bandit King smirked, slipping the Opal into his bag. "Something that will keep their secret safe, and not ruin the emperor’s legend either."
"How come you always think about stuff like that, Jing?" Kir questioned, as they left the study and climbed back out the window. "You're always tryin' to keep people happy, make sure they got a good thing out of it."
"Well," the young man said, pausing with his feet dangling over the edge. "Maybe... maybe I hope that some day, someone'll do the same for me."
The albatross didn't say so aloud, but he hoped so too.
---
Notes:
Orancio & Cinzano - Cinzano Orancio is an orange flavored vermouth. Usually served on the rocks, sometimes with soda or Sprite, but also used in cocktails. 14.8% (29 proof)
Title: In Sickness, In Health
Theme: #25 - Unsweetened Tea
Notes: 1262 words, finished Feb 7/07. Directly follows "Unraveled", above.
It was unusual for them to stay in a town so close to one they'd recently stolen from, but Kir had insisted and then gone ahead and found them a small inn out on the edge of Alebrije which hopefully would not draw too much attention. Jing hadn't protested; in fact, other than obediently handing over the correct amount of gold coins to pay for the room, he hadn't done much of anything except follow his companion's lead.
Although he'd originally teased Jing about getting sick from staying out in the rain, Kir now felt rather sorry for the youth. His grey eyes, normally bright with anticipation for their next heist, were lackluster. The albatross urged him into the bed and tucked the blankets around him.
"Looks like you were right after all, partner," Jing mumbled, his voice hoarse from coughing.
Kir shook his head, disregarding the admission. "Yeah, well... it happens from time to time. Don't worry about it. You'll be better in no time."
"Hope so," Jing sighed, closing his eyes and drawing the blanket under his chin.
---
Kir slept for an hour or so, waking in the dark room to the rustling of sheets and blankets and found that Jing had kicked off the blankets and sheets. The albatross could hear the faint rasp of his breathing; it was disconcerting in its unfamiliarity... Jing rarely got sick, and when he managed to catch something, it was usually mild and passed quickly. He laid a wing alongside his companion's face and was dismayed to feel heat there. He turned on the lights to reveal Jing's normally pale complexion flushed and beaded with perspiration.
"Aw, Jing," Kir fretted, "C'mon, you know how much I worry when you get sick..."
"Too hot," the young man coughed, trying to push away the covers that were no longer there.
"I know," the bird answered, flying to the water basin to dunk a cloth in the tepid water. He couldn't wring it out; wings and talons could only do so much. It dripped as he carried it back to the bed. "Here..."
Grey eyes opened and Jing gave him a sickly attempt at a smile. "Thanks... partner..."
Kir nodded tersely, but stayed close by as his companion drifted in and out of sleep. "I told you, you'd get sick if you sat out there all night in the rain," the albatross muttered, shaking his head in frustration. "You're human, after all..."
But that was part of the problem, Kir suspected. Being the Bandit King often led others into believing he was invincible, untouchable by anything... his enemies, the land, even the weather itself. To most people, the legendary thief wasn't even a person so much as a living myth.
Kir knew better.
Knew underneath the touchless exterior was a young man -- boy, even, for he often seemed so -- who liked chocolate and libraries and missed his mother more than anything in the world. Yet sometimes Kir wondered if Jing himself forgot his own limitations, forgot that he was still human, fell too deep into that persona and got lost in its comforting anonymity. Sometimes, even Kir could admit it had to be tempting.
The black albatross checked to find that Jing's skin had turned clammy and chilled. The damp cloth had grown cold by now, so Kir took it off, leaving it on the side table. "Jing?" he said quietly, but the only response he received was a faint shiver.
"First too hot," Kir grumbled, struggling to pull the tangled sheets back over his restless partner. "Now too cold..."
But the complaint was covering a deeper fear. Most of the time he was able to force it down, keep it buried under sarcasm and gruff fondness directed at his charge. But if anything serious ever happened to Jing, there was little that Kir could do to help him. If Jing broke a leg, he couldn't help him walk. How many times had some weapon been fired at the thief, and Kir simply not able to push him out of the way?
Kir pushed the thoughts away as Jing stirred, shivering under the covers. "... Kir?"
"I'm here, Jing," the albatross answered immediately. "Right here."
Reassured, the young man drifted off again.
---
Jing opened his eyes. His limbs felt heavy and his mind was fogged. For a moment, he couldn't remember where he was, seeing only an unfamiliar room. A faint panic seized him. "Kir?"
The bird shook himself awake at the end of the bed. It had been the only place that Jing's restless sleep hadn't disturbed, and Kir hadn't wanted to be rolled on top of. "I'm here," he said automatically, before he'd even had a chance to orient himself.
"Where am I?"
"In Alebrije, at an inn," Kir responded, hopping up to the pillow. He felt for Jing's temperature and then sighed, relieved. "Phew... your fever's come down..."
"Fever?" Jing seemed bewildered, trying to sit up.
Kir stopped him, settling the young man back down. "You've been sick, Jing... don't you remember? We've been here three days..."
Grey eyes showed genuine confusion at the statement, as Jing searched his memory. Faint snatches of images, broken and distorted by fever, drifted to mind. "I... I think so. You were taking care of me..."
"Yeah."
Jing smiled wearily. "You always take care of me."
Kir cleared his throat and pointed to a mug on the bedside table. "If you can sit up, there's some tea in there. It'll make you feel better, an' it'll calm your stomach. I couldn't get you to eat anything, so you're probably hungry..."
"Not really," Jing said, propping himself up against the pillows and taking the cup. He brought it to his lips and took a sip, then tried to push it away with a fierce grimace. "It's bitter!"
"It's unsweetened," Kir corrected, pushing it right back, "seein' how you ain't a kid anymore, I didn't figure I needed to put sugar in your medicine to make you take it."
The statement seemed to strike Jing oddly, and for a moment, he merely stared at the albatross in silence. Then he lowered his gaze and meekly took a second sip, and then a third. When the cup was empty, he put it back on the table and said, "Guess I should have listened to you when you said I'd get sick..."
"You said that once already, but you probably don't remember."
"Oh..." Jing seemed at a loss for conversation. "Thank you, partner."
Kir simply nodded. "I'm glad you're feelin' better. I was worried..." Jing opened his mouth to apologize (he didn't get a single word out, but Kir knew him well enough to know what to expect) so the bird cut him off before he had a chance. "An' no, you can make it up to me by getting some actual sleep, since all you've done is toss and turn for three days."
Mirth crinkled the corners of Jing's mouth, and he nodded. He wasn't about to deny that, despite three days bed rest, he still felt exhausted. Kir settled into his usual place with an equally weary sigh; he hadn't gotten much rest either.
"You're not allowed to get sick again for a while," Kir muttered, nestling closer. "Gonna turn my feathers grey from stress, you know. Next time, I can lounge in bed and you can be nursemaid."
"Okay," Jing agreed complacently, because he saw the grouchy order as something else entirely. "That's fair."
And Kir, who knew Jing would understand, let the subject drop.
---
Notes:
Alebrije Ingredients: Ice, 1/2 oz Vodka (Absolut), 1/2 oz Rum (Bacardi), 1/2 oz Amaretto, 1/2 oz Gin, 1/2 oz white Tequila, 2 oz Orange juice, 2 oz Pineapple juice, 1 splash Grenadine. Mixing instructions: First mix some orange juice and pinapple juice in equal parts, and color it with some grenadine (as sweet as you want). This is "conga mix". Fill the glass with ice, add the five licours and mix them, fill the glass with some conga mix and enjoy. Notes: It is a sweet drink that is originally from Acapulco, actually from a club with that name.