"It all started when I was about Toran's age. I was young, training as a guard for the kingdom."
"Wait- how old are you? I thought you were Toran's age."
Xicro smiled softly. "No, you flatter me though. I'm 32 years old."
Althea's eyes widened in surprise, but she nodded, wanting him to continue his story.
"Radica was a lady of the court back then, and Toran was just a child. He liked to talk to me while I stood watch. I saw Radica pass one day, and she just smiled to me and continued walking." Xicro stopped for a minute, his voice breaking with emotion. "I was shocked. I had never seen anyone that confident before. I watched her pass me every day- it was the highlight of my day. I couldn't talk to her though, I was too shy. Toran was the one who helped me with that." Xicro chuckled at the memory. "Even though he was only 8 years old, he was already matured past his years. He introduced me to her, and we soon fell in love. But soon the event came that changed the kingdom."
The humans had already been attacking our eastern humanus kingdom for a while, but by this time the front lines had weakened and the humans came to attack the Tora kingdom's capitol. When we were attacked, the king was wounded in battle and I was charged with leading Toran away from battle. He's never had a good sense of direction, and I had to make sure he didn't get lost while we fled. I saw Radica fighting, and was amazed to see how well she could handle herself in a fight. She came with us, and I brought Toran to my home by the library, several miles away. We were afraid he would be killed if we brought him back right away, so we kept him there for a few days, telling him stories. Eventually we brought him back, but those few days were enjoyable."
"I knew you two seemed close." Althea smiled.
"Close enough to be brothers." Xicro nodded.
"So then you and Radica moved in together after things calmed down?"
"Correct. We wanted to get married. However, it seemed to me something about our relationship felt… wrong."
"Wrong?" Althea asked, confused.
"Yes. Radica was a radiant lynx, but I felt no physical attraction toward her. It baffled her. I could not explain why, either."
"Oh." Althea said knowingly, glancing back at him over her shoulder.
"There are people like that in your world?"
"Yeah, I had a friend just like you. It's not a big deal to me what your sexual preference is, you're still you." She said softly, with a smile.
"That's exactly what Radica said. The marriage was called off, of course, but we stayed good friends."
"But Toran and Radica didn't really recognize each other when we went to her house."
"Toran was very young- he only met Radica for a few days. Toran is also a very proud humanus. He might have felt uncomfortable not seeing her for years, and so relied on etiquette to get him through the situation."
Althea nodded. "What was Toran like when he was little?" she asked with a smile.
"He was pretty isolated. He grew up as the only child in the castle. He was expected to be king at any moment, so everyone treated him like an adult rather than a child. He didn't really have a proper childhood."
Althea looked away, sad to hear that Toran's childhood had been so difficult. Was that why he was so uptight all the time?
Another knock on the closed door made Althea jump in surprise, and sigh in discontent. She had wanted to ask Xicro more about Toran's childhood.
"If Althea's awake, then I can heal her back again." Naru said through the door.
"That's not a bad idea. I think Toran and I have washed your back very thoroughly." Xicro said, setting the cloth in the bowl of water as he shifted away from her.
"Alright Naru, you can come in." Althea called out, and Naru opened the door, closing it behind him. He turned and saw Althea's bare back and the blanket around her bare chest and stood rigid, his eyes wide.
"D-did I interrupt something? I-I'm sorry!" he said, and started to open the door again. Xicro laughed and stood, supporting Althea until she turned so she could sit up on her own.
"Calm down boy, it's not like she's completely naked. Get over here." Xicro held Althea's shoulder softly for support as Naru gulped uneasily and walked stiffly toward Althea. He looked at the spot Xicro had been sitting and looked to Althea, his cheeks turning slightly pink through his blue down feathers.
"How should I sit there?" He muttered.
"Unfurl your tail for a bit, sit, and let it go down again. That way you won't squish it." Althea suggested. Naru nodded and let his tail raise against his back, nearly knocking Xicro off his feet from the extra space it took up. He sat in the space, sitting cross legged so that his talons wouldn't scrape against Althea's back. He let his tail go down again, the feathers draping past the mattress and onto the wooden floor behind the bed. Xicro smiled slightly and watched Naru's wide eyes at the burns in front of him.
"You've got some work to do- just be careful. Don't touch the burns." Xicro said, and walked out of the room with an amused expression.
"I see he's feeling much better. Did you have a talk with him?" Naru glanced back at Xicro before holding his hands over Althea's shoulders, a golden glow forming around his hands as he started his healing.
"Yeah, he just needed someone to talk to, I think. He still has to heal from her death, but I think he'll be okay." Althea sighed at the relief on her shoulders the healing brought, the soreness and heat suddenly fading.
Naru nodded, concentrating on a particularly deep burn over her shoulder blade. Why did humans always seem to aim for that area? He clenched his teeth in anger at the man who had done this to Althea, but said nothing.
"So what were you talking to Sox about? I heard you were chatting for quite a while." Althea said, hating the silence that people started when they saw her burns.
"Ah, he was holding a bit of a grudge against humans from his experience in the dungeon. I explained to him that not all humans are evil by nature, and that like humanus, you need to know them before judging them." Naru smiled and shook his head as a few of his blue and green feathered hair got in his eyes as he continued working.
Althea nodded in agreement, smiling back at the abnormal humanoid behind her. Just a few days ago she probably would have screamed when she saw him- just like she had when she first saw Toran, but now she was finally getting used to the idea of animal humanoids like the humanus.
"I would think you'd be more angry at humans." Althea said, remembering how Naru's wings had been ripped off, leaving only jagged bone and a few brown feathers.
Naru sighed deeply and slouched, shaking his head. "No, there are only some humans who are evil like that." He looked up in confusion as Althea giggled, arching her back. "What's wrong?"
"Your hair." Althea giggled again as Naru's feather hair ran against her shoulders.
Naru grinned and shook his head so that the feathers on his head ran along her shoulders, making her laugh. He chuckled and leaned back again, continuing to heal her back, running his palms over the worse of her burns on her shoulder blades.
"So Naru, since I'm asking everyone, how old are you?" Althea smiled after calming down.
"Ah, I'm not exactly sure." Naru said thoughtfully. "I was in that dungeon for a long while, and I'm not sure how much time passed by."
"Oh. Well, do you have a guess?"
"I'd say probably 19 or 20. Why?" Naru leaned forward again to see her face.
"You're my age then." Althea smiled.
Naru smiled back, knowing that she couldn't see his expression now that he had leaned back again. He took his palms away from the area of her burns and sighed. His head was starting to throb, and that was always the first sign that he was using too much energy.
"I'm going to have to stop for today. Does it feel any better?" Naru leaned back, careful not to squish his tail feathers.
"Much better, thanks Naru." Althea said, sighing as she flexed her shoulders and her back only ached slightly.
"No problem. Get some sleep now, and we'll talk later. I need rest too." Naru stood up, stretching his arms, unfurling his tail and shaking it to rustle the debris from his feathers.
Althea nodded and watched Naru as he stood and walked out. She wrapped the blanket tighter around herself, thankful that her burns were healed enough for her to comfortably lie on her side. She sighed happily and fell into a deep sleep.