Colossians 3:5

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

Joshua sighed in relief as White-Bird, the Sorrows' shaman, wound the last of the bandages over his face, blocking out the last stings of the fresh air on his wounds. His own breath warmed the gauze over his nose and mouth. His burns had slowly become less painful, since Penelope had given him the ointment treatment, so that he could almost – almost – bear removing his bandages when the time came. Simply applying the paste cooled his skin, and he could already see where the angry red rashes were fading away to pink and white.

"Finished," White-Bird stated in the Sorrows' language, leaning back on his heels.

The Burning Man rolled his shoulders, stretching beneath the bandages. "Thank you, White-Bird." He paused. "Let me know if you need anything at all."

"No need, na'ne," the shaman dismissed, standing. "It was my pleasure." He paused before turning to leave. "Peace be with you."

Joshua's shoulders sagged as White-Bird left the cave and he sighed again, holding his chin in his hand. His mind had been a jumble of thoughts for almost a week straight now and he couldn't discover the cause. Or at least, that's what he told himself. The truth was that his thoughts weren't so tumultuous until a certain freckled courier had arrived in Angel Cave.

There was a sudden commotion outside of the cave and he straightened, standing. He walked to the entrance of the cave, watching as a crowd of Sorrows and Dead Horses rushed to the riverside. He grabbed one by the arm, looking at them questioningly.

"What's going on?" he asked sharply.

"Waking Cloud was seen carrying the owslander," the Dead Horse stalker replied, her eyes sliding towards the river.

Joshua sucked in a sharp breath. "Is she hurt?" he said, his voice urgent. The Dead Horse shrugged and Joshua released her, turning to watch the riverside.

Waking Cloud struggled to carry the shaking outsider, her feet making heavy splashes as she walked. Daniel ran out to meet her, examining Penelope's thin form in her arms.

Joshua hurried to them, his eyebrows pulled together in worry. "What happened?" he snapped at Waking Cloud. Daniel raised an eyebrow at him as Joshua took the courier from the Sorrows woman.

"We had just collapsed the cave with the yao guai, and she just started shaking and…collapsed," she explained explained, looking a little panicked.

Daniel suddenly reached over and pulled up one of Penelope's eyelids, examining the eye. "Contracted pupils," he muttered. "She's going through a Med-X withdrawal."

"An addiction?" Joshua said in surprise.

"I warned her about it when she talked about how much pain she was in. I think I didn't realize quite how much Med-X she had been taking," the New Canaanite explained. He sighed. "This will put us back on evacuating Zion until we can get her fixed."

"Forget the evacuation. She is far more important than that right now," Joshua heard himself say, clutching the shaking body in his arms. A little moan suddenly escaped her, one hand reaching up to clutch his vest with weak fingers.

"J-Joshua?"

He looked down at the courier. Sweat beaded her forehead and made her tank top cling to her body. He turned and walked towards the cave, still holding her.

"I'm here."

Her eyes opened blearily, bloodshot and contracted. "G-good." She suddenly paused, her face blanching heavily. "I'm g-going to p-puke."

She turned her head away from him and threw up, the vomit dribbling across his arm and over her cheek. He laid her down on his bedroll, wiping her pale face with a bandaged hand.

Daniel, followed be Waking Cloud, was right behind him, holding a plastic bag filled with some kind of substance. Inserting a connected needle into the crook of Penelope's arm, he hung the bag on a rock and gave it a small squeeze.

"We need to make sure she's getting enough food and water. Especially water. Hopefully this IV will make sure she's getting enough fluids, and we can put some chems in there to ease a bit of the suffering." He hesitated. "I'm sure she didn't mean to use Med-X in such a way…"

"Daniel," Joshua said sharply, not taking his eyes away from Penelope's strained face. The other man looked at him in some irritation. "Leave her be. She will not come to any harm now."

Daniel opened his mouth to say something before shutting it again and giving Joshua a small nod. He turned on his heel and walked out of the cave. Waking Cloud watched him leave before turning back to Joshua, concern on her face.

"Is she going to be all right?" she asked, worry creasing her eyebrows. Joshua looked up at the Sorrows woman.

"It will be hard for her, but she will be fine. Eventually." He pushed damp tendrils of hair away from Penelope's face as she shivered. "It will just take some time."

Waking Cloud hesitated before kneeling beside the Burning Man. "She is remarkable, for a Tsagasee." She lifted a bowl of water to the courier's mouth, letting it run over her chin. "She has honesty, and honor. Very important for a warrior."

Joshua gave Waking Cloud a searching gaze. "Thank you, Waking Cloud, for your help," he said finally. "I will watch her now."

The Sorrows woman dipped her head in acknowledgement before standing and walking away. He lifted his blanket and covered her with it gently, watching as her shivers slowed to almost a stop.

Her eyes opened again. In a haze of pain and sweat, she looked at him with dulled green eyes that she could barely hold open.

"D-don't leave m-me," she begged hoarsely. "P-please."

He looked at her with a mixed expression before laying his hand on her forehead and stroking it gently. Her muscles relaxed a little and a small sigh escaped her lips.

"I won't," he murmured.

. . .

She lifted the carved wooden spoon to her mouth with a slightly shaking hand, gulping down the gecko stew with some difficulty.

"Th-thank you," she murmured, placing the spoon in the empty bowl with a small clatter as she shook a little. Joshua nodded, sitting beside her as he cleaned his pistol.

"You should be more careful of the chems you take, but I can understand trying to cure the pain," he remarked, wiping down the barrel with a swatch of cloth.

Penelope's face burned brightly. "I know," she mumbled, looking down at the bowl. Her fingers curled around the spoon tightly as her face contorted in anger. "I should h-have known better – I've seen it happen too many times to count." Her eyes suddenly softened into shame and she sighed, touching her forehead. "How c-could I be so stupid?"

Joshua paused in cleaning the pistol, putting it down to look at Penelope. "It doesn't matter," he said finally. "You're better now, that's what does matter."

Penelope gripped the blanket lying in her lap and sighed, her shoulders sagging. She shook her head and looked up at Joshua. "How are your b-burns?"

"They are far better," he replied, "all in thanks to you, Penelope." His eyes searched her face for a moment before he began speaking. "I rather hate how I keep finding you always half unconscious."

"B-believe me, it's not how I want for you to see me. I'm no damsel in d-distress. Or," she said a little blackly, "at least I th-thought I wasn't."

"Believe me, I can see that you don't need my assistance," the Burned Man remarked. His gauze wrappings creased as he smiled at her. "All the same, it's…nice to feel useful." He leaned over and touched her chin, lifting it to look at her. She stiffened for a moment, her eyes round as he looked down at her. "I would appreciate it if you were a bit more careful here in Zion. It may not have the same dangers as the Mojave, but in some ways it is even more dangerous."

She looked up at him, her heart fluttering. "I…I will."

He removed his hand and nodded. "Good."

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to the gauze where she expected his mouth to be. There was a brief sensation of the thick material, coarsely woven, brushing against her lips before Joshua jerked away, his blue eyes wide and startlingly bright, like sunshine on ice, as he looked down at her. Penelope covered her mouth with her fingers, her cheeks aflame.

"I'm sorry," she managed to gasp out. Joshua didn't say anything, only rising to his feet quickly and exiting the room with long strides. She watched him until he was gone from her gaze, leaving only the echo of his footsteps against the packed dirt.

As soon as he was outside the cave and out of Penelope's view, he stopped and leaned against the canyon wall. He raised a hand and touched his trembling fingers to his mouth. The feeling of her lips managed to burn through the gauze and he groaned.

This couldn't happen.