[Polaris]

Ika had never really understood fevers... Why did you shiver when you were so hot? Zen's hands were warm... This was a much better experience than storms normally were. It had been years since someone had been there to help him get through the pain and sickness. Six years to be exact... Little nine year old Ika, head on his father's lap as he trembled. They would sit by the fire of their tent and wait for it to pass. But those times were long gone, and Ika had had to curl up alone and fight off the fever by himself, endure the pain in his head for days after. He wasn't alone... It was nice...

[38]

[Polaris]

Zen wasn't sure if Ika was even awake anymore, and so tried to squirm as little as possible. He had to admit, now that he'd had time to think about it... wasn't it a little... odd? No. Anyone who came in- of course no one would- would just see a guy helping another guy out. Okay. it would look weird. In fact, it would look down right queer. Zen sighed, making his bangs flutter in the humid air.

{39}

[Polaris]

Finally, as the storm passed Ika calmed down. The fever remained strong, but his muscles relaxed and he soon drifted to sleep. His grip on Zen lessened and eventually he had retracted himself completely from the other man. He knew that once he woke up, he would be alone again... Once again left to heal his injured self. He was sure there was still a can of broth underneath the cot, and the fire was, as always, burning. He could manage, he always did...

{39}

[Polaris]

Zen, hearing Ika's breathing finally relax, gently pushed himself up off the bed. He felt... obligated, somehow, to make sure Ika was okay. And after all, that damned sword of his still needed to be shut up. And, it was raining outside. No one likes to walk in the rain. And his room was an awfully long ways away. ...There were a lot of ands. Nodding to himself, Zen resolved to stick around. Hmm. What could he do while Ika was asleep though? He felt akward, hanging around in someone else's house while they were asleep. Hmm. He could move all the metal back into place! And keep the fire lit... Oh, and since Ika had a fever he'd have to get some medicine for that once the rain let up.

{40}

[Polaris]

The worst part about fevers, Ika had learned, was when you slept nighmares haunted you. Ika was having an extremely bad one tonight... The square at night, never a sight Ika enjoyed. The crooks stalking in the black shadows. The nine year old sat there staring into the shadows where the screams were coming from, tears rolling down his face.
He reached his hand out, hoping to help.. But he just hit the wall of the tent! Did he really have to be there again?
He sat up quickly, his eyes red and looking around frantically. Ika stood up on his wobbly feet, not paying any attention to his surroundings and undid the metal claps of his heavy trenchcoat. It revealed a metal shirt underneath, pure metal that covered his chest, but had no sleeves. His pale limbs were shimmering with sweat and he felt like extiguishing the fire that had never gone out. His arms were actually almost muscular, for he was always carrying metal, and hammering swords, it only fit to be strong. Ika felt some sort of anger or sadness bubbling inside of him. "Why?" he mumbled, staring tranfixed into the fire. He closed his eyes, and staggered forwards, setting his hands on the plywood counter, and one fist struck it. The pain in his hand was nice, it took away the pain in his head... He did it again, but then stopped as his red stained eyes noticed that the board had almost broken. Was he alone? Ika didn't even know anymore...

{40}

[Polaris]

Zen looked up from the corner of tent- he'd drifted off. He watched Ika totter out of bed- he imagined he wanted something to drink or such. When he simply stood in front of the fire, then suddenly started hammering into the table, Zen got up and walked over. Taking Ika by the shoulders, he sternly commanded, "Stop that. Get back in bed." Poor Ika. Zen didn't have to worry about fevers- he'd never had one, but imagined it wasn't very nice. Some part of his mind registered that Ika seemed to have gone a little off his rocker at some point, and was probably still drifting in the wisps of a dream or recollection. Picking up the coat and folding it neatly, he hung it over the edge of the bed. "You're sick," he said, staring at Ika's vermilion tinged eyes, "And sick people need rest."

{41}

[Polaris]

"But I see it..." he whispered, his voice hoarse as if he had been yelling, "I don't want to..." He turned to Zen, his eyes slightly red, but the iris still gray and mysterious, "Have you lost someone? It's very sad if you have... Like a part of you is torn out, and everytime you think of them the wound bleeds. It is awful. I'm sorry if you have, I wish it upon no one, not even the theives and murderers who cause the pain themselves."

{41}

[Polaris]

"That's very sad Ika, now sit down! You're delirious." Ika was rambling now. Zen shook his head, and walked over to Ika. Getting right up in his face, Zen grabbed his pretty little nose. He had found that doing this generally made people shut up for a while. "I'm not going to deal with hysterics, and yes, I've lost people. That's very nice of you to sympathize with the people who killed whoever you lost. Right now, though, we are going to think about different things, and you are not going to cry." Letting go of his nose and pushing Ika into the bed, Zen took a position on the floor. He was being absolutely horrible to Ika, and he knew it, but it did not do well for one to think about unhappy subjects while sick. It did not help your health. "If you want to talk about this when you're a bit better I'll be here to listen but right now you are going to think about happy things like shaping metal. You like that right?"

{42}

[Polaris]

Ika was strong, as was metioned before, and he grabbed Zen's hand and moved it away from his face. "If I go to sleep all I see is blood," he said stubbornly, "So I'm not resting... And may I add, that you are not being nice?" He sat up and crossed both his arms and his legs. "Anyways, the metal is not my favorite thing right now... Their chimes sound much too loud right now, and I can barely tell what they're trying to say." Only then did he realize that Zen was still actually there, which was slightly sad... "What are you doing here anyways?"

{42}

[Polaris]

"I didn't say you needed to go to sleep I said you needed to rest." He crossed his arms too, slightly annoyed that Ika was not doing as told. "And I am not a nice person," he scowled, for effect, "But I am trying to help, and you aren't aiding in anyway." He didn't answer the last question. "Now, what, apart from using your ears, can you sense?"

{43}

[Polaris]

Ika rolled his eyes, "Heat, and lots of it. Now why are you here?" Having never really been in the presence of company before, he never noticed how different he was when he was sick... He didn't know what to think about that, whether it was good or bad.

{43}

[Polaris]

"Okay, that's a start. What about your other senses?" Zen had found that distracting someone while they were sick worked wonders. Holding up a finger, for he knew what Ika would ask again, he answered, "I am making sure you do not break your whole house into tiny pieces."

{44}

[Polaris]

"I've gone through many storms, and lived alone for six years, I don't think I'll break anything," he responded, choosing not to answer the first question. He leaned his head against the tent wall and sighed, wishing that he might be able to be so upfront when he wasn't out of his mind....

{44}

[Polaris]

Zen gave him a yeah-right-look-over-at-your-table look that plainly said he didn't believe Ika. "Doesn't matter what you think'll happen. It may or may not. Now, If you aren't going to rest your eyes you might as well use them. What do you see?" Zen leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand.

[45]

[Polaris]

Ika raised an eyebrow, and a small smile curved up his lips, "What do I see?" He normally wouldn't have taken this route to an answer, but why not continue his crazy trend? "I see an annoying man staring at me with his head resting in his chin. He seems to not want to tell me the real reason why he is staying in my little tent, and is instead attempting to distract me with stupid questions." He cocked his head to the side, "That is what I see. Any other questions?"
[45]