2: The Physical

Kestral didn't want to put his son down so instead he just pulled the boy a little closer and gently rocked him humming a soft lullaby.

The door opened slowly and his brother poked his head into the room. Seeing his brother rocking his son his face softened. "Laural is impatient to meet her new son Kestral." He whispered.

"I know but she won't begrudge him this short nap. The child has been under so much stress that he wore himself out. Pull the covers back for me if you don't mind. I'll put him down for a nap then go see my wife and let her know why I didn't bring the boy down after his bath." Jeris did as he was asked and Kestral gently laid the boy down in the center of the bed. Pulling the covers up over the child he leaned down and once again kissed the boy on the forehead.

The two quietly left the room and once they were in the hall Kestral threw a tracking spell on the boy. He then removed the ward on the door so that the child could once again pass through the door. As the two went down the stairs Kestral looked back at his brother.

"I think you were correct when you said he might have some elf blood in him." Kestral sighed, "I hope you're wrong though, it'll make his healing that much more difficult."

"I know brother. I hope for Laural's and your sake that if he does it's at least a quarter blood you've claimed." Jeris said as the two entered the kitchen.

Laural turned at the sound of her brother by marriage's voice. Spotting her husband she tried to look behind the two men. When she didn't spot her son she turned questioning eyes on her husband. Raising one eyebrow she cocked her head to the side and looked at Kestral.

He gave a soft laugh at her look then answered the unspoken question. "I forced him to cry. He desperately needed an outlet for the fear he was under. The stress of the day and the relief of the crying sent him to sleep."

"So what were you two talking about when you came in?" She asked.

"Jeris looked to his brother and receiving permission he answered his sister by marriage. "We think he might have some elf blood in him."

Laural looked worried at that bit of information. "How much?"

Jeris shook his head, "No idea but the look of his eyes marks him. They have that elven slant and the color of them…Bright green, like jade"

Laural sucked in her breath. "Lish will be here in about two hours. How does the child need healing Kestral?"

Knowing that the answer would upset his lady Kestral folded her in his arms offering the support of his strength before he answered her. "Laural, he's been physically abused so badly that his body is scared and malnourished. He's been emotionally abused so and subjected to an evil presence long enough that his soul was in danger of being damaged." He sighed as he rubbed his weeping wife's back trying to calm her. "Someone was teaching the child corrupted magic and he has been in enough emotional pain the despair, sadness and grief cling to him like a second skin."

As he was talking to his wife Jeris was fixing a cup of calming herb tea to help sooth her. Kestral sat his wife at the table and his brother put the cup of tea in front of her.

Kestral reached out and grabbed his brothers are in gratitude for his help. "Jeris, show my wife the robins we took. I need to go outside and ward the property boundaries so our son cannot pass without one of us being with him." He smiled at his wife's watery grin. "I told you that he was a fighter love but he is also intelligent enough to understand that sometime he is outclassed and running is the better option. Well, till he learns that this is home and we will look after him he might try to escape from our care." His smile turned into a grin. "He already tried that with us once today when we took him."

Kestral left the house to walk the property boundaries so that he could set the wards that would restrict their son from running off as Jeris pulled the cage that contained the two robins they had taken before they had found his son from side space.

Kestral saw the healer Lish walking up the walk before he had finished his chore. He was about half way around the property and still had at least another hour of work to go before he was finished.

As soon as he was finished he ran into the house to find out from the healer what he though of their new son but when he entered the kitchen he found brother, wife and healer sitting at the table enjoying an afternoon tea.

Kestral sat down with the three adults and poured out a cup of tea for himself. After he had sweetened it the way he liked it he cradled the cup in his hands and turned to Lish. "Have you examined the boy yet?"

Lish shook his head. "Laural told me he was sleeping. I'm not in that big of a hurry so I can wait till he wakes up to look him over. So what can you tell me about him before I look him over?"

Kestral laughed low in his chest. "I can tell you that he just tested the wards."

Jeris and Laural both went to the windows and looked outside. When they didn't spot the boy both went to the front room and looked outside again. Yep, there he was walking parallel to the edge of the property with his hand in contact with the wards that Kestral had set to keep him close to home.

Harry woke up in the bedroom alone. He pushed the heavy blankets down and climbed off the bed. Cautiously he made his way to the window and once again looked outside wishing for his glasses. Not seeing anything moving he softly walked to the door and not really expecting to be able to he opened it. Listening carefully for the giants he left the room and tiptoed down the stairs. He heard several voices from one direction so instead of going that way he walked back through the living room he had been first brought to. Opening the front door he quickly glanced around and not spotting anyone he slipped out the door and quietly shut it behind himself.

The landscape was a blur of vibrant colors that Harry guessed were flowers and the air sweetly perfumed by those flowers. Harry made his way down the path to the gate that he remembered being carried through several hours ago. If his luck held he would be gone before the giants knew he was missing. Of course getting away was only the first small step of his escape. He had to find his way to someplace he knew or someone who could help him get back home.

Once he reached the gate he encountered the same invisible foam wall that had stopped him before. Damn, now what? Walking parallel to the chest high stone wall Harry kept one hand outstretched so that he could feel if there was a break in the foam wall. He made his way along the front of the property and when the wall turned to the left he did too. In this manor he worked his way to the backyard. Still no break in his prison. He located the back gate and passed that. A few yards further he came across a bubbling stream.

This wasn't working at all. Sitting down on a large rock beside the stream he dangled his feet in the water and thought about everything that had happened to him today after he had gone for his walk. First kidnapped by giants, then stripped and his wand broken. His glasses taken from him and forced to take a bath. Now that was really unexpected, why did they make him take a bath?

One thing he had to admit though, no one had hurt him. Sure he had been scared silly but they didn't hurt him at all. As a matter of fact all things considered the two that had taken him had been very gentle with him. He wished he could talk to them and find out what it was that they wanted with him. It might make his life a little bit easier or if not that then he would at least understand what was going on a little bit.

Harry's stomach rumbled and he was reminded that he had only eaten a piece of toast this morning for breakfast before he left home. 'I wonder if they plan on feeding me.' He thought to himself. Oh well, might as well go back to the house because I for sure am not doing any good out here.

Harry got back to his feet and made his way back to the house. He had planned on going back in the same door he had come out of but he had the feeling that he was being watched so sneaking back in would be pointless. As if to prove him right the back door was opened and the woman was standing there as if waiting for him to come in. He paused for a few seconds and argued with himself about it then sighed and walked back into the house. This door led to a kitchen.

Kestral and Lish joined the two in watching the boy. "Do you want me to go get him for you?" Kestral asked Lish

He shook his head no, "Let's wait for a bit and see if he comes back inside on his own. Now, you were going to tell me what you know about the boy."

Kestral sighed and looked sad. "His body is far to thin for his height, he has a lot of scars across his back side and although not as many he does have some on his front. He has an aura of blackness or evil around him and although I can tell that it doesn't originate with him I can't tell where it comes from or why it stays with him. He is dangerously depressed; the negative emotions that emanate from him are frightening in their intensity." He glanced over at his brother before he continued. His eyes; the shape and color as well as the shape of his face indicate some elf blood but of course that could be a coincidence."

At this last Lish sucked in his breath. "I hope he doesn't unless he is enough of an elf to have inherited some of the better qualities instead of just the bad ones." It was a fair worry. Every healer knew that the first inherited trait of elven blood tended to mess up human imunities.

Laural had been making up a plate with a sandwich, some sliced fruit and a glass of milk as the healer and her husband talked. When she was finished she put the plate and milk back in the refrigerator. Once back at the table she stood behind her husband and rested her hands on his shoulders before asking the healer, "At what percentage does the elven part begin to produce some of the benefits instead of just the problems? And what exactly are the problems associated with having a small percent of elven blood in a human anyhow?"

Lish smiled at the question. "Well, no one really knows when the benefits start to show up although 25 elven is considered the standard. Sometimes it's a bit higher or a bit lower but it is usually around 25 and the disadvantages of having less than that 25 is a lowered ability to heal. Elves just don't get sick because of a heightened immunity system so their bodies never evolved the need for inner healing. A part elf will be handicapped in that they are hard to heal because that is the first trait of elven physiology that is passed on to the human."

Laural had been looking out the window as she talked to the healer. She smiled as a soft look crossed her face. "He's coming inside now." She went over to the refrigerator and took out the plate and glass of milk and put them on the counter then she opened the back door to admit the child.

It took a few minutes for him to gather enough courage to come in but he finally did. Lish smiled at the sight of the small child dressed in an over large tunic and nothing else. On Kestral the shirt would have come to his hips. On the child it hung to well past his knees.

The boy's eyes darted around the room before they settled on Laural. She smiled at the boy and handed him the glass of milk. His stomach grumbled loud enough for everyone in the room to hear it and the boy's face reddened. He said something to Laural before he sniffed the content of the glass. Taking a small sip of the milk he was apparently satisfied that the content was not harmful to himself and he drank deeply from the cup. Laural picked up the plate that she had prepared for the boy and with her empty hand she gently directed the child to the table to eat his late lunch.

The child felt very self-conscious as he climbed up onto the tall chair and ate the food that was placed in front of him. Truth be told he also felt very intimidated and vulnerable. These people were bloody giants after all and the largest one of them had snapped his wand before he kidnapped him. His wand, the one tool that he had counted on to protect himself was now gone and that placed him square at the mercy of these people and he had no idea what they wanted from him. Although he had not been hurt by them yet that didn't rule out the possibility that he would be sometime in the future.

The more he thought the less hungry he became till his appetite was completely gone. He set down the half eaten sandwich and pushed the plate a little away from him before looking up at the adults around him. All four of them had been watching him eat and once he pushed the half full plate away the one he had not seen before frowned at him. The boy never even noticed when he started to tremble at that frown because the one that had made him take a bath reached across the table and tapped it in front of him with two fingers to get his attention.

Once the boy was looking at him Kestral tapped his own chest and said "Elhan" He repeated the exercise once more and the confused look left the boy's face. A quick grin flashed across the boy's face before he tapped his own chest and said the word "Harry."

The woman put her hand on his shoulder causing him to turn toward her. She smiled at him and gently tapped his chest and repeated Harry, she then pointed across the table to the giant sitting there and repeated the word Elhan then she tapped her own chest and said the word Mella

Harry nodded to show he understood what they were saying. He now knew the names of the woman and the tallest giant. Mella and Elhan.. The two giants smiled. Their son now knew how to say Mother and Father. The other giant that had helped with his kidnapping got his attention and tapped his chest and said Laou Jeris. Harry nodded at him also. He turned to the new giant and pointed at him then shrugged. Although no words had been spoken everyone understood that Harry was asking for his name also. Lish smiled at the boy before tapping his chest and repeating his name. "Lish"

Somehow knowing the names of the giants calmed the boy to the point that his appetite returned. He once more pulled the plate in front of him and finished the sandwich and the sliced pieces of fruit as the adults talked quietly around him. Once all of the food was gone his mother took the plate and glass to the sink and washed them out.

Laou Jeris got to his feet and said something to Mella before leaving the house. Elhan got up and walked around the table and pulled Harry's chair out then helped him down to the floor as if he couldn't get down on his own. Lish also stood and Elhan and Lish gently guided him out of the room.

The calm that Harry had developed after learning everyone's names was rapidly vanishing as the two giants took him back upstairs and to the room he had been put in at first. After he was in the room Elhan sat down on the bed and positioned him in front of him between his spread legs facing away from the bed. Harry watched Lish close the door then walked over.

Lish crouched down in front of Harry and gently cupped his chin. Turning his face first to the left and then to the right he studied to boy's features before he brushed his hair back from his forehead and ran the pad of his thumb across the lightning bolt shaped scar. Standing once again he backed away from Harry talking a mile a minute to Elhan. Once he was out of touching range he raised his hands and a ball of what looked like fog formed in the space in-between his hands. His eyes settled back on the boy and Harry in a blind panic decided that now would be a good time to run tried to bolt but Elhan snapped an arm around his chest and held him in place for what was to happen.

What happened was the ball grew to the size of a basketball then drifted over to Harry who had pushed himself back into the chest of Elhan trying to avoid contact with it. His efforts were fruitless as the ball impacted with his face and then melted into his body. His strength left him and he slumped bonelessly in Elhan's arms.

Elhan picked him up and lay him down on the bed. Lish came and stood over him and passed glowing hands down his body. A feeling of warmth accompanied the hands as they moved but his strength did not return. After he had finished running his hands across the front of his body Elhan turned him over onto his stomach and the process was repeated on his backside. Lish said something and Elhan lifted the boy and raised the tunic till it was bunched under his arms. Lish then traced several of the scars on his back and butt with a gentle finger before Elhan pulled the tunic back down again. Harry was returned to his back once more and Lish grabbed his right foot and began to rub it as he manually flexed the ankle and knee of that leg. He then raised his right hand and rolled then squeezed each joint in his fingers.

When he was finished doing that he spoke to Elhan for a few moments before Elhan scooped Harry up in his arms and the three went back downstairs again.

Kestral was very upset as he cuddled his son close to his chest he thought about what healer Lish had told him. Lish wanted to put the child in the hospital because he said that the boy was suffering from 'Failure to Thrive Syndrom' and had been for most of his life. He had a weakened heart, low neutrophils cell count, his calcium count in his bones and teeth was low and his lungs were underdeveloped. His brain activity was not where it should be and he was showing the first signs of joint disease. His ocular nerves were so damaged that he was slowly going blind. All together if not treated his son would be an invalid by the time he was 35 and dead by the time he was 50. At least the news wasn't all bad, his son could be treated and returned to good health and the black aura that clung to him was caused by a partially deflected curse that had opened a conduit to the caster. It could be severed.

Kestral sat down on the couch with his son and Lish went to the kitchen to get Laural. He wanted both parents together when he explained the treatment plan he was devising for Harry.

The two came into the room and Laural sat down next to Kestral. He handed the boy to his wife knowing that she would want him in her arms when she understood how sick he was. He knew it because he already wanted to take the boy back himself.

Laural looked down at the child with concern as she cuddled him closer. "Why is he so limp Lish? He's not unconscious."

"Don't worry about that, it's just the results of the adficio. It takes away their strength and will to fight. You've seen them used on your other children. I just used a slightly stronger one on him because he was so afraid of what was going on." He explained to the woman.

Lish then explained to the two of them exactly what his exam had disclosed about the boy's health and what he felt was the necessary treatment to bring him to good health. "I need to do what is called a restart on him. Basically what that will do is push the linier years back till the body and age match. Once that's done we can treat each health issue individually till it is resolved. Harry is in linear years 15 years, 11 months old. Once the restart is finished he will be in linear years 9 years, 8 months old. The process is painful, very painful but we don't have any choice if you want him to live a normal life."

"How long will he be in the hospital?" Laural asked.

"The restart will take about two weeks and after that he will be in and out of the hospital for the better part of the next year having treatments done to correct the damage."

Laural started rocking back and forth as a tear fell onto Harry's face and mixed with the one that the child had cried. Kestral felt like his heart was bleeding watching two of the most important people in his life in so much emotional pain. He reached over with the pad of his thumb and brushed the tears away from both of them.

He raised his pain filled face and asked. "When do you want us to bring him in?"

"In the morning about 10:00. I'll assemble a team of curse breakers to deal with the conduit and then I'll want to do another physical but this time more in dept. I also want to get another healer involved. A second opinion is always welcome. I can bring in a language specialist to talk to your son and explain to him what is going on. That will help him deal with his fears so he doesn't fight us so much." Lish smiled at the two. The first real smile any of them had since he started to explain to them what was wrong with Harry. "He's almost half elf and not just any common elf either. He's got Grey elven blood in him."

It was at this time that Harry regained enough control over his body to make a small mewing sound and twitch. All of the adults instantly centered their attention on the child. Laural sat him up and supported his head so it wouldn't flop forward. Kestral began to rub his shoulders and Lish put his hands on his head and forced a small amount of energy through them and into the boy. Harry started to struggle weakly in his mother's arms trying to escape from her. She started rocking him and whispering comforting words to him keeping her voice low and soothing and despite his best efforts he couldn't help but to respond as he sagged against her just like he had done with his father after the forced bath. God, he hated being so weak.

Laou Jeris opened the front door and came in with four large packages in his arms. "Finished with the physical?" he asked. Lish nodded. "Good, you can tell me what you found later. Right now I want to see if my nephew likes the clothes I got him. I'll bet he'll be more comfortable with some underclothes on. I also got him some pants, shirts, slippers, pajamas and some soft shoe."

"Although I would love to stick around and admire the fruits of your shopping expedition I have a very busy day ahead of me tomorrow. Goodbye all." And Lish left.

He dumped all four packages on the couch beside Laural and Harry then he picked up the first one and handed it to the boy. Harry was still very weak from having the adficio spell put on him so he could not really hold the large package. Laou Jeris seeing the problem helped him open the package and pulled out three pair of pants. Harry looked at them and smiled. They must be for him because none of the adults here could wear them. The other three packages were opened in short order and the content displayed to the child. He nodded approval as each item was shown to him. Soon the boy was surrounded by a small but complete wardrobe. At that thought he grinned, small the wardrobe might be but it was better than his aunt and uncle had ever given him and more complete too.

Kestral grabbed a pair of boxers, socks, a black shirt and the matching black pants as well as the soft shoes and belt then he helped Harry to stand. The sight resembled a child just learning how to walk with his parents help as the boy's legs trembled and shook. Kestral held each hand and walked him into the small half bath located off the kitchen and there he helped the child to dress.

Once he was dressed Kestral helped his son back into the living room where Laural was explaining to Jeris what was wrong with Harry and what they had to do to bring him to good health. Although Jeris was upset he controlled himself enough so that he did now cry. Instead he hugged his nephew when the two returned.

"You made some good choices in his clothes." Laural said as she looked her son over.

"I had them all spelled for size before I left the shops." He gave Laural an impish grin. "I also sent a message to Tallen about stopping by tomorrow. I know you don't like off the rack stuff so I figured you would want him to come over so you could plan a tailor made wardrobe for Harry."

Kestral had found a pictorial on the shelves on native animals. He sat down with his son and started teaching him the names of the creatures he was apt to run across now that he lived here instead of Earth.

Laural went to the kitchen and started dinner for her family and Jeris went outside to jog.

All in all the family looked like almost any other family if you could ignore the tense look around the faces of the three adults as they all dealt with the concern and fear they had for one small boy.