I like where this story is going! It might end up actually having a lot of healing stuff, but you'll know later.

Disclaimer: The usual. I don't own it, wish I did, yadayadayah, belongs to James Patterson.

Oh! Suggestions for her name, PLEASE! Pretty please, I beg.

Purple Vine

Chapter Five

We walked in the house together, I kept looking over at him next to me and smiling.

Then I realized he must have been a foot and a half taller than me. Which was another thought that floored me.

My mind started racing, thinking about what kind of faerie we were. A tall one, that's for sure. Because Iggy was huge.

Come to think of it, that made me pretty huge, too. I frowned, thinking.

Iggy sat on the couch, I sat in the chair across from him. He leaned towards me and started asking questions.

"Fang told me about you, do you have any idea what kind of faerie you are? Clues? How do you know I'm a faerie, and how do you know I'm your brother? Wouldn't I look different, too? What abilities do you have that are better than ours?? What abilities do I have? What can I have? What kind of magic do you do? And what can I do? Are we related by blood or marriage? Don't faeries have, like, really funny looking wings? No offense, but, right? Why are you here, all alone? In this house?? Where are we all going to sleep? Will there be enough room??"

I was amazed by how fast that all came out. He must have been thinking a lot today.

"Come on. I'll start putting groceries away, you can ask a question, then it's my turn. Ok?"

He nodded yes.

"How do you know we're related?" he asked a little nervously. Kind of like he didn't want to know.

I was a little nervous too.

"This."

I bit my finger, letting it bleed. I walked to him and traced my nail down his cheek, sharply, to make it swell at the birthmark tattoo.

He winced, the sharpness must hurt pretty bad.

He put his hand to it, feeling the vine.

"It's purple. And the leaves on it are green." I told him.

His blind eyes widened a little.

"What is it??" he asked, incredulous.

"It's a birthmark. It's kind of like a tattoo, but it's pretty pale. The shape means we're in the same clan. The coloring means we're family. And your blood smells almost exactly like mine. I didn't notice it until earlier, though. The blood thing. And you have a pretty thick glamour on your ears. They have pointy tips."

I turned back around and started unpacking the backpack.

"My question. Will you be okay with the whole faerie thing?" I asked, lightheartedly. I was trying to cover up the worry that he wouldn't like it and leave. I was a bit too much into my private party. You know, having a relative and all.

I turned around and saw that it was moat certainly not okay. He was clinging to the counter for support and looked as if he was just about ready to faint.

I ran to his side, fast as I could when I saw the blood spot on his shirt, small, but spreading. His hands were still on the faerie birthmark as I guided him to one of the chairs.

He sat down and I started pulling his shirt off to look at the bandage.

His head whipped around.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?? You're my sister, for god's sake!!" He yelled. Loudly.

"Calm down! You're bleeding again!" I yelled right back at him.

He settled down almost instantly, letting me pull his shirt off.

"Okay. You're gonna need to hold really still for this, k?"

He nodded yes and sat still as a statue.

I started removing the bloody bandage, slowly.

Once the whole thing was off, the huge gash in his side was free to leak blood.

I caught a bit in a glass, letting it drip. Once it was half full I set it on the counter.

I let out my claws and poked him with just the tips. "This'll hurt a bit, just sit still till I figure this out, alright?"

He nodded a bit, then went back to staring straight ahead. He winced again when I started gathering energy, letting through my claw tips and searching for what was wrong. I found none, so I tried his blood. It had traces of the magic in it, he seemed to be building up an immunity already.

Damn. I was hoping it wouldn't happen too soon, but if these bird kids were anything like me they'd have fast bodies. Everything is absorbed faster, especially magic.

Even I had to be careful because I was building an immunity to my own magic. If it was ever totally built up, my own body would eat my magic.

Ugh. I shuddered at the thought. It would be horrible.

I sheathed my claws and healed the holes with a touch more of magic.

"Sorry I had to do that. For real. But your body has already started to build up an immunity to my magic. We'll have to do this the hard way." I said with a grim set to my face. It was going to get bloody. And fast.

"What exactly will that mean?? Surgery!!" He asked, his face turning instantly to worry.

"Yes, but fast. You'll start bleeding if we don't. Bleeding really badly again."

"Will you be able to, you know, do it?!"

"Yes. Now sleep." I touched his eyes and put him to sleep.

"FANG!" I yelled. I just hoped they were near.

Footsteps thundered on the narrow stairs. Fang sped around the corner, followed by Max and the stunned girl, who was still stunned by the sight of me.

"What is it? An emer-" Fang stopped dead in his tracks as he saw the blood sluggishly leaking out of Iggy's side.

Max's face drained of blood, the stunned girl was too overwhelmed and turned around to cry some more. Fang rushed to Iggy's side and started to look at me, waiting for instructions.

"Pick him up. Max and I will start clearing the living room floor, you bring him in."

Fang nodded and started to move my brother, careful of the wound.

I grabbed Max's arm and dragged her down the hallway as fast as I could and started pushing furniture out of the way. She jumped in and started shoving too.

Before long, Fang was staggering in the doorway, struggling with Iggy's weight. The furniture was all moved so I rushed to get plastic tarp and lay it on the floor. I started pulling out needles and suture string, then noticed Fang looking at me with his head tilted.

I was sitting there a second before I realized they were both looking at me, waiting for more instructions.

Okay. I need to get used to this leader-ish thing.

"Max, you won't be able to handle this. Go talk to the other girl. Fang, help me move Iggy a bit."

He nodded as Max hurried out the door, scared. I heard her mutter something about nudge and cry, but shrugged it off.

I picked up my brother's shoulders, holding them high. Fang got his legs and we turned him around and to the left so Iggy was in the middle.

"Fang, I need you to hold him down again. No magic this time, but he'll still be in enormous pain. I don't have sedatives. If he comes to, talk to him, take his mind off it."

Fang nodded again, he must not be too into the talking thing.

I nodded back and started tying a knot in the thread, prepping the hook by cleaning it well.

I settled down to work on Iggy's side, gushing blood by now.