A month had passed as Kaia's foot healed. She had been cooped up in the room she and Turbine stayed in for most of the time. Peyote occasionally dropped by to take her on very short walks while Turbine was away. She started to like Peyote more as they got to know each other. He was a very talented man who could play the guitar well. He told her of his rich culture in Mexico and taught her a few words from his language. Turbine had done the same to make her his friend, by talking to her and explaining his background. She felt bad for Peyote. He had no friends, only her. She and Turbine were the only ones he talked to, the rest of the time he was a lone wolf. Kaia decided she would help him make more friends.

"It's about time to get that thing taken off, right?" Peyote asked as he walked her home.

"Yeah, I think it has been a month." Kaia looked down at her cast as she used her crutches. "Turbine is probably planning to take me later, but I'm sure you can come with us." She smiled up at him as he opened the wooden door for her.

It was dark inside the small adobe house that the Patches had let shamans stay in. All over the village were small houses in which the teams lived together in, like dorms in colleges.

"Anyone home?" Peyote called out as he closed the door behind him.

"He should be home by now." Kaia said worriedly as she came through the room on her crutches.

Suddenly, the curtains were drawn and the light flooded in, piercing the darkness as demons jumped out shouting, "Happy Birthday Kaia!"

Kaia almost fell back on her crutches by surprise but Peyote backed her up. He chuckled under his bandana.

"It's my birthday?" Kaia asked, confused.

Turbine, Bill, Blocken, the Boz, Basil, Zang-Ching and the physician from the clinic came into the light wearing pointy, colorful hats and throwing confetti. Kaia clapped happily when the surprise wore off as Turbine lit the candles on the cake. The cake was a white rectangle cake decorated with red frosting and red roses surrounding, "Happy Birthday Kaia." Peyote helped her into a chair and took her crutches.

"Make a wish." Turbine whispered to Kaia in her ear.

Kaia closed her eyes with a smile and blew out the candles.

"What did you wish for?" Peyote asked her.

"Can't tell you or it won't come true." Kaia grinned.

"The doctor will take your cast off now." Turbine told Kaia as he cut the cake.

The Patch doctor got down on his knees in front of Kaia and took a tribal knife to her cast. Everyone watched intently, even Turbine who had put down the cake knife. The doctor sliced the cast down both side and began to slip it off Kaia's foot.

"She should try to walk without the crutches as much as she can to get used to walking again. In the meantime, let's have some cake!" The doctor exclaimed.

Turbine passed out cake and sat down himself on the arm of the chair that Kaia sat in. She smiled up at him, frosting dabbed around her mouth. He laughed and wiped her mouth with a napkin. "Happy Birthday Kaia." He said again, pulling something from his robes. He sat it in her lap and went over to talk to Bill and Zang-Ching.

"What's that?" Peyote asked her, peering into her lap.

"I don't know." Kaia said as she observed the beautifully wrapped box. The wrapping paper was the deepest red, her favorite color.

"Aren't you going to open it?" He pestered her.

"Yeah." Kaia snapped as she smiled at the wrapping. She carefully pulled off the wrapping and lifted the lid off the box to find a red satin ribbon and a note.

"Ha." Peyote said disappointingly, as if expecting something more. "Well, what's the note say?" He crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Kaia read the note, ignoring Peyote's complaints about the present. She caught Turbine watching her as she read it, he was really nervous. Kaia smiled as she took the ribbon and tied her hair up into a ponytail with a bow. She put the note safely in her bag and smiled in Turbine's direction.

"What did it say?" Peyote asked again.

"The doctor said you can start training soon." Blocken said as he leapt up onto the coffee table beside the cake and casually crossed one leg over the other. His shoes were long sticks with bumps like legoes. Kaia thought they must be awkward to wear. Blocken grinned through his mask at her.

"That will be great. I'm looking forward to it." Kaia smiled at him, ignoring Peyote's question. "Peyote, have you met Blocken?"

"Uh, not really." He stuttered.

Kaia began to introduce Peyote to the others in the room. The Boz seemed to like him real well, all three of them being musicians and on the same team. They sat and talked about guitars while Kaia limped off to talk to Turbine.

As she came up to him, he stood up from the chair and offered her his seat. She declined, smiling.

"About the note..." She started but he cut in.

"If you say no, that's alright. I can wait." He quickly said.

"It's just so sudden and with the tournament coming up..." Her voice trailed off.

"That's what I thought." Turbine said sadly as he ran his hand through his hair. "I can wait forever for you to decide."

"I've already decided Turbine." Kaia smiled. "It's just not time yet."

He swallowed hard and nodded as he held her hand. She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and let go, walking towards Bill to talk to him about everything except Turbine and the note. Turbine watched her as she left, smiling to himself about the thought of Kaia in a beautiful white gown and veil, holding a bouquet of red roses.

"I hope she'll wear white for just one day." He sighed.

To be continued in Chapter 13!