Hiei felt a surge of alertness in the midst of sleeping. He felt the sudden and unexpected connection to the girl's and her mind. He looked into it, seeing she was sitting above him, seeing her... wind serpent... had been sent into himself to help fight off the... bone infection... deep within his hips and leg. It was all so surreal. He flipped his way through her mind, seeing what there was to see. He started with her miraculous survival of the nightlock poison and ended with watching her in time tell Jiro off for his view on those who were mixed race.

He took his time looking and reexamining different aspects of what had happened to her since the first time the procurer tried to kill her. She was half angelic, that was how she survived both the doxy venom and nightlock. It also meant something expected; the keeper was a fallen angel, living in and among those humans down south. He wondered now at how that could have happened, who could have placed the curse on him so he could never reveal it, and what that all meant now for them.

He almost felt his own discomfort at the surprise the elvish wolf healer had discovered about him. His ears had been docked, hiding his own elvish origin. He had never known that before, so finding it here was unsettling. Whoever had done that had done it without him realizing it.

He tried to reach into her own mind to speak with her that way, but found he could not, what with being unconscious and all. He had to sleep by and watch as she forced herself to stay awake by his side so her wind serpent could help the antibiotics the wolf healer had given him fought off the infection within him. He saw through her eyes the wolf healer given him simple drinks of both medicine and broth, getting him to drink them carefully while unconscious. He saw the wolf healer doting over her, ordering servants to fetch her strong coffee and something to eat, coaxing her to consume what was served her, keeping visitors away from her she did not wish to see, including the king. The wolf healer did let the fox and the stranger into her rooms though.

The girl gasped, smiling at the sight of the two of them strolling in. "Kurama. Yasha," she breathed. The stranger had an excited air, but the fox had a downtrodden one. She saw the fox had an armful of books in his hands while the stranger had a bag with the top tied securely in tow.

"Well, hello again to you, too," the stranger told her flirtatiously. "And to you, Asa. It's been far too long. Seems like he's in good hands of a capable healer," he added to her. "Sorry we arrived so late, I ran into my sister and then someone," he nodded over to the fox, "let mention to her he wanted to see the library, so she took us there insistently and got us the stack of books he has over there about anything that could help with destroying the cape of no return. And then of course we accidentally left the cape with the king's guard. Thankfully Rinku came running to us to give it here." He held up the bag that he had, which must have held the cape. The very thought of that cape sent frightened shivers down the girl's spine.

The fox simply nodded over to her. He set the books he was holding down on her short table near the fire place. He stepped over to them, studying Hiei solemnly. "He looks better," he commented.

The wolf healer spoke up, "bar the bone infection he's got, I was able to heal up the injuries he suffered from his travels and the dark crone." She shuddered at the mention of the dark crone.

"I do believe the dark crone that he was given to was the same dark crone that harvested the fallen angel that Nanashi found," the fox explained. "The angel had been sent after her to destroy the cape of no return and she used it against him. Then in turn, Sakyo bought it off of her in return for getting to take from Hiei and one of his men."

The girl blinked tired at all of this, remembering, "I still have to destroy that cape. I promised the wind serpent I would in its former master's place."

The wolf healer told her calmly, "you don't have to worry about that right now. Take care of your friend first."

Hiei saw in the girl's mind that she had more than just friendship on her mind. Even though it was muddled up in her mind with the wind mage she had been with as well. She hummed tiredly under her breath.

"That's why I have the books," the fox said. "In one of them, or more perhaps, there has to be some mention of the cape of no return and how to destroy it." To the wolf healer, he asked, "is there anything more we can do to help you with Hiei?"

The wolf healer merely shook her head. "I've got medicine to give him every four hours and she's got her wind serpent working on him. I've been giving him broth as well along with the medicine. Something easy and gentle on his stomach so he can digest it all."

The fox turned his gaze back over to the stranger then. He smirked knowingly. The stranger sighed, looking disgruntled. "Fine, pass me a book then, will you." The fox handed him one and he plopped down on the girl's couch by the fire place. He began flipping the pages at the front of the book with loud flicks of the paper.

"What is it?" the girl asked, curious why the fox seemed almost pleased and the stranger almost annoyed.

The fox smiled over to her. "I told him if we can't find a way to help with Hiei, then he'd have to help me read up about the the cape of no return and how to destroy it."

If Hiei had been conscious, he would have laughed aloud at that. The stranger detested reading for long stretches of time. He would rather be out fighting, exploring, and what ever else he rather do than sit and read.

"I can help," the girl volunteered. "Just pass me a book."

The stranger handed her one from the stack. The wolf healer protested, "my dear, you need to concentrate on helping him more than you need to be reading."

The girl pursed her lips, holding the book closely in her lap with her left hand. "I can do both," she answered. "Besides, I was the one tasked with destroying it." She looked over at the bag the stranger had brought in. The very sight of it scared her.

The wolf healer sighed over her. "Indeed," she breathed out. "So long as you don't tax yourself too much, sweetness."

She leafed through the book, more pretending to read then anything else. Hiei read through her eyes, understanding her desire to help.