It has been eight days since Kira and I have started living at the hideout. We have been having a lot of fun. Sometimes, we even get Tiir to join us in our games. On the eighth night, however, things are different. I wake up in the middle of the night. I find that my stomach is rolling with nausea. I look around. Everyone is still asleep. I groan as I stumble to my feet. I walk with an unsteady gait to Tiir's bed. I gently shake him awake. "Kiro! What's wrong?" Tiir asks.

"I…I don't…feel well," I whimper.

Tiir leans towards me and places a hand on my forehead. "You have a fever. Come with me," Tiir helps me back on my bed. "Get some more sleep. I'll be right back."

As he turns to leave, I reach up and grab his sleeve. "Don't go," I whisper.

"Alright. Then, I'll wake Lafra up. He could get the things that I need," Tiir turns to where Lafra is sleeping. I don't hear what is said as I fall back to sleep.

When I wake up, I find that Tiir is sitting next to me again. "How are you feeling?" Tiir asks. He wipes my face with a wet washcloth.

"Not that great," I answer in a sarcastic tone.

"Lafra just left for town to get some medicine," Tiir tells me.

"Gross," I whine.

"It'll help you feel better," Tiir tries to persuade me.

"I know, but still, gross," I continue. Pain runs through me. I grip the sheets, waiting for the agony to pass. Tiir sees my obvious discomfort. He holds me close to him, hoping to ease my pain by comforting me. It doesn't work. In fact, my pain grows worse. My stomach twists into knots. With the sudden lurch, I begin vomiting…on Tiir. He seems surprised. However, Tiir doesn't show disgust. When I finish vomiting, Tiir wipes the chunks from my face. "I…I'm sorry. I…" I start to speak, embarrassed by what had happened.

"It's alright," Tiir assures me. I close my eyes and fall back to sleep.

A few hours later, I wake up to a gentle shake. Tiir is there, waiting for me to wake fully. He has a small bottle in his hand. "Lafra brought the medicine," Tiir explains as he pours a spoonful. Tiir feeds it to me.

I pull faces at the disgusting stuff. "Yuck. Is there a reason that medicine always tastes this bad? Is that stuff meant to torture naughty children with?" I ask.

Tiir laughs. "No, but you do need it."

"If you try this to punish me with, I swear I'll never do another naughty thing again," I promise. I close my eyes and fall asleep again.