Part 4: Headaches

Wingul was a man who thrived on systems and plans. Even when faced with surviving on a deserted island, he approached the situation by prioritizing what he needed—the bare necessities of water, food, and shelter. Short rainstorms were frequent over the island, which provided a source of water but made spoiled food a concern. Building shelter early on was difficult in his state of constant recovery; how he had managed to survive exposed to the elements after such a dangerous battle was nothing short of miraculous.

As the days wore on and he slowly grew used to his new needs and surroundings, he went beyond his initial system of prioritization and set restrictions for himself. Attempting to use his booster—an absolute no; as much as he wanted to deny the reality of what had happened, activating his booster had almost killed him in the Temporal Crossroads. There was no one to inspect the booster or analyze his condition, even if he was the type to relent where his health was concerned.

He always had something important to do, be it for the revolution's war campaign, the affairs of the capital, or the betterment of Auj Oule. Everything was done to secure Gaius' dream (their shared dream) of a new Auj Oule, and that required all his energy. He could rest when he was dead.

x x x

It seemed like all he did now was rest.

Text messaging was not an effective distraction when one only had two contacts, even if Rowen proved to be a very quick replier at most hours of the day. There was very little that he wanted to discuss with the older man, especially across what felt like a casual communication system. Gaius' replies were much less frequent, almost painfully formal in wording even while lacking proper punctuation. It seemed much simpler to just wait until the evening, when Gaius was more likely to be free to talk.

Despite the fact that Gaius and Rowen were only a call away, they were physically across the great waters, having returned to Rieze Maxia to settle some matters of paperwork involving damages done by an Elympion company. While that alone would have taken them as far as Marksburg, there was also the rather complex affair of amending all of the paperwork that had officially declared him deceased.

He had pinched the bridge of his nose at the thought. While there was an apparently strong effort made to consolidate the various governmental files from both Rashugal and Auj Oule into a single consistent bookkeeping system, there was difficulty retrieving any files referring to his death. Gaius had returned to Kanbalar to oversee the process personally, wanting to know with certainty that all the necessary documents were gathered.

The updated paperwork would be needed to officially transfer him back to Rieze Maxia, as he was an unknown entity without proper identification in Elympios—and a dead man, according to current records in Auj Oule. Having the King of Rieze Maxia vouching for him was helpful indeed, as he did not have to worry about falling into debt with hospital bills, but even Gaius was not so foolish as to abuse his position and pull him across the border without the necessary papers.

Even if he was that foolish, Wingul would have stopped him. No doubt Rowen would as well.

The fact that Gaius had to go to such lengths for him gnawed at Wingul's pride, agitating him in a way that he had not felt in quite some time. Pride did not have much of a place in a survival situation, and the only things he could be indignant towards were the various animals he encountered and the capricious tropical storms. As a result, he spoke little when the topic came up and would end the calls in a bad mood.

Two days passed before Wingul's restlessness finally overflowed and he struggled out of his room to take a walk longer than the twenty or so steps it took to carry him to the bathroom and back. He felt that he had exhausted his bedridden entertainment, having finished Rowen's book twice and written in his notebook until his fine motor skills finally improved to the point where his hands no longer shook.

Now it was only a matter of walking around while fending off the headaches that occurred when he overexerted himself.

Headaches were nothing new to him; in becoming the first human test subject for boosters, he accepted the many side effects of having an artificial device implanted in his head. The initial debilitating pain and fatigue had faded into throbbing headaches after the first year, remaining consistent while he still felt tentative about his new power. But there was always another conflict on the horizon—another situation that he felt justified his use of the booster. Stopping marauders that harassed the smaller tribes. Settling property disputes between larger tribes. Staking claim to Shrade Island against Rashugal forces.

The headaches grew worse. Fighting Maxwell's group to the point of defeat only accelerated the strain on his mana lobe; if fighting and winning tired him out, fighting and losing left him completely spent—evident by the way he passed out in both Fezebel Marsh and the Temporal Crossroads. Almost losing complete control of his channeled mana after using his booster a second time had brought about excruciating pain.

And now the headaches were almost constant. The Elympion doctors were still inspecting the booster as best they could without invasive surgery, comparing the primitive device to old models of spyrix in order to understand the strain it was producing. But implanting a device directly to the brain was apparently a rare procedure even in Elympios, and they were still learning the anatomy of Rieze Maxians with their addition of a mana lobe.

A nurse took one look at him as he slowly walked through the hall and ushered him to the nurses' station for a proper robe; since he usually went no further than his own room, a hospital gown had sufficed. He caught sight of his reflection in one of the security mirrors, grimacing at his washed out appearance in the standard issue clothing.

An audible gasp from somewhere behind him caught his attention as he reached up to fix his hair, and he slowly turned his head to face a vaguely familiar brunette.

"Wingul?" Those green eyes continued to widen in growing confusion, to the point where her brows seemed to disappear underneath the brim of her cap. Flabbergasted, she looked around, as if someone nearby could confirm that she wasn't dreaming.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Caught with his hand still raised, Wingul tucked a lock of his long hair behind one ear and scrutinized the girl. He had a niggling suspicion as to her identity, but kept the thought to himself.

The girl stood there with her mouth agape for a moment, then took a deep breath and stepped forward, as if steeling herself for some big revelation. "I'm Leia. Leia Rolando. I was traveling with Milla and Jude and everyone else. Does that— Er, does that ring any bells?"

Ah. That's right. She was the odd one out of the group—the one who he had not known in some function when Maxwell's group first arrived in Kanbalar. That earnest, anxious note in her voice came as a surprise, considering the circumstances of their last meeting. "I remember you." He gave no further acknowledgment, eyes straying towards the double doors that marked the exit for the hospital wing as he thought about how far he could actually wander away from his room.

Verbal confirmation seemed to embolden Leia, as she took another step forward with her hands clenched into apprehensive fists. "Does Gai— ah, Erston know you're here?"

Leia bit her lower lip when the only response she received was a blank stare, and she flailed internally over what she was supposed to do now. Fortunately, Wingul decided to reply, folding his arms as his eyes again strayed to take in other parts of the hospital. "His Highness knows I am here, though I hardly see how that's any of your business."

Silently, Wingul had to commend the girl for not cringing and cowering at his reply; he was not making conversation easy by any means. "That's…" Leia sighed and brought up one hand, cupping her chin while a disappointed frown made its way to her face. "That's so cold. I just wanted to be sure that Erston knows you're alive."

"It's still none of your business." With a dismissive flick of his wrist, Wingul turned his attention back to the nurses' station and cleared his throat to get an older woman's attention. "Is there anywhere that I can go for some fresh air?"

"There is a terrace just beyond this wing's entrance." The woman pointed to the double doors that Wingul had noticed earlier. "But we require that patients be escorted if they go out there." She ticked off a number of reasons, from hospital policy to the dangers of a terrace being four stories up.

He wasn't given a chance to grouse over the restriction, as he saw a hand shoot up just within his peripheral vision. "I can escort him!" Leia chirped, having set aside her earlier feelings to instead embrace cheerfulness again. "I used to be a nurse, so I'd say I'm pretty qualified if he keels over or something."

Despite the disapproving stare Wingul aimed at the girl's head, Leia proceeded to write her name on a clipboard to formally declare that she was going to be escorting him for … however long it took before he could convince her to leave. Leia smiled proudly and spun on her heels to look at Wingul, reaching up to pinch the brim of her cap.

"Okay then. Let's get going!"

Wingul lingered by the station as Leia walked past him, his body language entirely closed off. Things had quickly gone down a route he was not enthusiastic about traveling; if he went with the girl, he would undoubtedly face a barrage of questions that he had little desire to answer. Did he really want to add to his current headache?

On the other hand, he could in turn ask a number of questions about the current state of the world—other details beyond politics and peace efforts. He also had to admit that he had nothing better to do with his day.

…And then there was that whole "Erston" business…

Repressing a sigh, he let his arms fall to his sides and slowly followed after Leia.

Notes
These parts seem to be steadily growing longer. Haha. I guess that's what happens when what was initially a oneshot takes on a life of its own.

Next part, Wingul and Leia talk, and possibly other characters show up.