It had been only two days that they'd stayed in Alamar, but Dante found it oddly difficult to return to life on the ship – good things were easy to get used to. He'd known from the beginning that it wouldn't last, of course. That Master Korlys had allowed them to stay at the same inn and eat with the others didn't mean they were anything more than mere apprentices. Besides, it was most likely because the old crew wasn't trustworthy and had to be locked in the hold, and they couldn't stay on the ship alone. That didn't make the hardtack soaked in ale any more tasty. It wasn't that he was ungrateful – the last two days had been the best days of his life. His forearm was full of bruises from how many times he had pinched himself to make sure it wasn't a dream. Now they were back to reality. And it sucked.

"At least we're not scrubbing the deck," he muttered in his native language.

They were sitting out on the railing, legs dangling off the side of the ship, as they ate their hardtack and ale. "Yeah," Anastasio replied, not thinking much about it. He was watching the waves rush past the hull in a sort of hypnotized way. It was pretty to watch the sun sparkling off the droplets of water – like glittering diamonds. Suddenly, Anastasio realized he had leaned too far forward and was falling! He screamed and reached out to grab the railing, but only succeeded in grabbing Dante's ankle, pulling the other apprentice with him down into the cold ocean water.

For a moment, he panicked, not being able to figure out which way was up. Anastasio was on the verge of taking a reflexive gulp of air when his head broke the surface of the water. He could dimly hear someone yelling, "Man overboard on the starboard side!" but it sounded far away. The apprentice couldn't believe how far the ship seemed to have gone in what could only have been seconds. They had been under full sail, but the teen hadn't realized how fast that really was. "Dante!" he yelled, looking for his friend's blond head to pop from below the surface.

"I'm here," a breathless voice said from behind him. "Brasca! I hope they come for us!"

Anastasio turned around, relieved. "There you are! I think someone must know, because I heard them yelling."

It had to be true, because the ship had started to turn. "Let's s-swim t-there." Dante's teeth started chattering. Moving might warm them up a little. Who knew water in the ocean was this much colder than on the beach?

Anastasio's teeth were chattering too hard to reply, but if he could, he'd agree. It was only just beginning to get cold on land, but here in the water, it felt frigid. His fingers and toes were already turning numb. He started following Dante as best he could. The Freedom's Shadow was turning around, but a ship under full sail didn't turn that quickly, and their swimming towards it wasn't doing much good. Plus he was getting tired, so he stopped.

"Why waste our time? Might as well just wait here, maybe try to float to conserve energy." He didn't know about Dante, but he was already tired.

"M-maybe." They were coming back; that was what mattered.

oOo

By the time the lifeboats reached them, they had been floating in the sea so long, Anastasio expected to grow fins. Even if he wanted to move or swim, he did not think he would be able to anymore. His limbs refused to move. Dante looked just as miserable as he felt – a drowsy, drowning rat with pale blue lips.

While one of the sailors manned the oars, two more jumped into the water, one grabbing him, the other grabbing Dante. They were passed to the men still on the lifeboat as if they were life-sized dolls, which at that point, Anastasio was starting to feel like; his limbs were wooden and lifeless.

As soon as the cold sea air hit him, he started shivering uncontrollably. The boys were sat together and wrapped up in blankets, a sailor sitting near each of them to help warm them up. Anastasio suddenly felt sleepy.

"Don't worry, mate. We'll get you all fixed up in no time," someone said, and Anastasio wondered vaguely if the sailor was talking to him.

After some span of time – Anastasio couldn't tell how long; it seemed that he kept drifting off for some reason – he heard a thumping sound and felt the boat rising. He looked up. His eyes were burning from the salt in the water, but through the haze he could see people looking over the edge of the ship down at them. He couldn't tell who they were, however. Never mind, it didn't matter now. At least they were safe.

oOo

"How are they?" a voice that sounded like Ser Mario asked. Dante was surprised to hear genuine concern in his voice. He kept his eyes closed, too tired and weak to answer the questions that would inevitably follow after they woke up.

"They suffered severe hypothermia," Claudio replied. "Hopefully, they will not develop pneumonia, but I have to wait until they wake up to confirm that."

"They suffered what?" the thief asked, his voice tinged with a hint of irritation.

"Frostbite," the healer sighed. "And they might get lung fever, but I have to wait and see when they wake up."

"Do you know what happened? Why did they fall?"

"I do not know," Claudio said; he sounded exasperated, as if this wasn't the first time he was answering these questions. "You will also have to wait. In your room. I do not recall telling you it was okay to get up and walk. Undo my healing one more time and I will let you bleed to death."

The thief muttered something under his breath – probably a curse, from what Dante knew of him – but apparently decided to obey, because he heard the door open and close.

"You can stop pretending to be asleep now," the healer said.

Dante's stomach turned to ice, and he couldn't catch his breath. "Scusami," he whispered, "I wasn't trying to eavesdrop-" He was interrupted by a strong fit of coughing.

"It's fine," the healer said, kindly. He put an ear to the boy's chest and listened. "Breathe deeply," he ordered.

Dante tried, but was stopped by another fit of coughing. The healer pulled away. He put a hand on Dante's brow and frowned.

"High temperature," he muttered. "Just as I suspected." He got up. "I'm going to prepare a tincture; it won't take long. Don't try to get out of bed. If you can, try to sleep."

Dante nodded, afraid that if he tried to speak, he'd start coughing again.

oOo

Anastasio woke up to find himself in his own bed, but he was burning up. Realizing he had blankets on top of him, he pushed them off, only to start shivering moments later when the cool air hit his sweaty skin. This is miserable, he thought.

Dante, who was lying next to him, pulled the covers back up. "Hey, you look like shit."

Anastasio tried to laugh but ended up coughing instead. When he finally stopped, he said, "So do you."

"Hopefully, that'll teach you two not to jump into the sea from the ship in the middle of the ocean," Anastasio heard Claudio say from his left. The healer helped him to sit up and handed him a cup of warm tea. "Drink this," he said, keeping a hand on the cup to help steady it.

If Anastasio's face hadn't already been flushed with fever, his embarrassment at the healer's joke would have done it. He knew Claudio was only teasing, but... this was all his fault. How would he be able to face Master Korlys when he found out they fell in because he was daydreaming? All the trouble he caused forcing the ship to turn around and come back for them, and now they were sick for who knew how long and the ship had no deckhands. Master Korlys would be furious. He shivered at the thought, but forced himself to drink what was in the cup. It tasted flat and metallic, and he wished he didn't have to drink it, but he had caused enough trouble already.

His stomach didn't want to keep it, however. He opened his mouth to thank Ser Claudio and vomited all over the healer instead. When he was done, he was hit with a coughing fit. By the time he had gotten himself under control, he had tears in his eyes from the pain in his chest. Anastasio hung his head miserably. "Mi dispiace," he said hoarsely.

"It's fine," the healer said gently, his voice full of concern. He cast a spell over him that felt like a cool blanket around him. "I need to go clean myself," he said, "but I'll be right back."

Anastasio turned to Dante, who was looking a little green around the gills himself. "Oh man, I am in so much trouble," he said sadly. "Master Korlys will beat me for sure."

"We're both in trouble," Dante agreed. "I should've been able to grab you, or at least call for help. Instead I let you drag me down like an idiot civilian kid."

"Well, it was not your fault. You did not have a chance to hold on to anything, and-" Anastasio was interrupted by another coughing fit, and by the time it passed, he didn't have the strength to finish the sentence and just lay back down instead, exhausted.

"You slipping and falling also wasn't your fault," Dante pointed out. "But that never mattered to allenatores and masters."

"It would not have happened if I had been paying attention, and not daydreaming," Anastasio said miserably.

", they'd say we should've been paying attention and reacted quicker," Dante agreed gloomily. He paused, trying to fight off another annoying fit of coughing but failing miserably. "But, Master Korlys forgave all our previous mistakes," he continued hoarsely, "and let them pass without any real punishment before."

"Well, that is true. But this caused a lot more trouble than anything else..." Anastasio left the thought unfinished, because he didn't want to take it to the obvious conclusion. Plus, he was too damned tired, anyway.

oOo

Korlys walked into the apprentices' room, and quietly shut the door behind him. He'd just come from speaking with the crew members about whether or not they had found anything lacking in the ship or their supplies, and had stopped to have a word with the blacksmith and carpenter about a special project he had in mind. He'd meant to check up on Mario before continuing his rounds, but Anastasio's and Dante's conversation had caught his attention as he was passing by.

He sat down on one of the chairs beside the little table in their room. "How are you boys feeling?"

"Good afternoon ser," Dante said – mostly to gain some time. What should he say? Saying he felt fine would be a blatant lie, offending Master Korlys' intelligence, but describing his ailments felt too awkward. "Exhausted," he finally said.

Anastasio was too frightened to say anything more than, "Fine, ser."

Korlys sighed softly. "I will not punish you for mistakes, boys. Do not worry about that. Just concentrate on getting better, ?" He could not think of anything else to say. It was obvious they were frightened of him. It was probably best to just stay away and let them heal instead of upsetting them more. Korlys stood up. "I am sure Claudio will take good care of you," he said, then walked out, quietly shutting the door behind him.

Dante sighed in relief and smiled. When Master Korlys came in, and it became clear he'd overheard what they were talking about, he'd almost stopped breathing for a moment. But Master Korlys didn't punish them. Again. "See?" He turned to Anastasio. "I told you he'd forgive us. Master Korlys is awesome!"

Anastasio laughed weakly, amazed at his good luck. ", I suppose you were right."

oOo

Attrei put down the recorder and scratched Rask, who was curled up in his lap, behind her ears. Everyone else except Claudio and Korlys was bedridden – and they were both busy. As much as he loved playing, he couldn't do it all day – even Rask had fallen asleep. If there were something he could do… read, or learn, or… He bit his lip, thinking. There was something he'd been wanting to do, but he'd need someone's help. Mario'd told him not to trust the sailors, but those were hired by the Crows. Surely there was nothing wrong with these men. But who should he ask?

He looked around, and noticed the captain looking out through his spyglass or whatever it was called. Bracing himself, he wheeled himself over to the man.

"Excuse me, Ser Captain?" he asked shyly. "May I ask you for a favour?"

The captain lowered his spyglass and turned to look at him. "What do you need, son?"

"I'd like to study a new spell, and I need a seagull for that. Would you help me catch one?"

Jack chuckled. "I doubt I'm that fast, kid, and I move pretty fast."

Attrei nodded; he'd expected that. "I would cast a sleep spell over it first, of course," he explained. "But then I need someone to catch it and bring it to me before it wakes up. Even when I could walk, I wasn't good at climbing."

The captain looked around the ship, then waved to the first mate. "Hey Hawkins." When the man trotted over, he said, "The kid's gonna put a seagull to sleep. Get one of the men to fetch it for him when he does."

The first mate burst out laughing, but when he saw the captain didn't join in, quickly got himself under control. "Aye, aye, cap'n," he said, and waved one of his men over.

"Thank you." Attrei smiled at the man. He looked around, and pointed at a bird sitting on a lower yardarm of the main mast. "How about that one? I'll make it fall asleep. Please be careful when you bring it, I do not wish to harm the bird."

When the sailor nodded, he gently put Rask down and closed his eyes, focusing – this was a bird, not a man, and he didn't want to overdo it… "Done," he said, once he cast the spell. "It should be asleep for twenty minutes or so."

While the sailor fetched the bird, Captain Jack turned back to Attrei. "What do you plan to use to keep the bird in? Do you have a cage? Or do you only need twenty minutes with it?"

"No, I… didn't think of that," Attrei admitted miserably. Thank the Maker Mario was in bed; he could almost hear him saying, 'You never think'. "I don't suppose you have any cages?" He looked up at the captain.

Instead of replying, Jack turned to the first mate. "You think there's any chicken coops in the hold?"

The first mate turned to the sailor just returning with a sleeping bird in his hands. "Go check with the cook to see if he has any empty chicken coops."

The sailor handed the seagull to Attrei, then obediently trotted off to check. He returned a few minutes later with an empty cage, which he handed to Attrei.

The boy beamed at him. "Thank you so much!" He gently stroked the bird's head, then carefully placed it inside. "Don't worry, little one, it's only for a couple of days, then you can go back to your friends." He turned to the captain again. "Thank you, Ser Captain!"

"No problem, son."

oOo

The ship drew up to Amaranthine's docks with a soft bump. Korlys and Claudio watched from the deck as some of the sailors, under the first mate's direction, leaped nimbly to the dock, and their mates started throwing out the lines to be tied up. It was early in the evening, and although they had only been on the ship for a little over forty-eight hours, the Antivans were ready for dry land again.

Korlys turned to Claudio. "I can have one of the sailors help with the boys, but neither Mario nor Attrei can walk. We should discuss it with them – I do not think Mario would take kindly to a sailor carrying him to the inn."

The mage just smirked, and the two of them made their way to where Mario lay. From the sound of it, Attrei was also there, and was trying to interest Mario in a game of cards.

"Nah, that game is stupid. If you wanted to play Wicked Grace, now that would be different," Mario was saying.

"You only say that because you can't win," Attrei pointed out with a little pout. "Not without cheating, anyway. Even Claudio is a better player… but, if you don't want to play, okay. Shall I play a bit on my recorder?"

"Hmph... give it here. I deal." Mario snatched the pack of cards from Attrei's hands. "Don't cry when you lose ten – zero."

Although the door was open a crack, Korlys tapped on it first before walking in. "Are you two playing 'Go Fish'?" he teased.

"The ultimate game of strategy, yes," Attrei said with a wide grin.

Before Mario could take offense, Korlys got to the point. "Now that we have docked, we should get everyone settled into an inn before evening, I think. Since neither of you can walk, we need to decide how to get you and the boys there."

"I'd offer to take him on my lap, but I think he'd prefer you to carry him in your arms," Attrei teased.

"No more carrying. I'll walk on my own," he declared. "Just to the nearest inn," he added quickly, when he saw Claudio was opening his mouth to react. "A few steps. And I'll rest afterwards."

"Out of the question," Claudio snapped.

"Maybe Mario should take the wheelchair and carry Attrei in sparrow form... Claudio will have to let the kitten ride on his shoulder again to be safe, though," Korlys said.

"Ginger," Mario said. "Fine with me. But you must take the monster pup with you, too."

"Don't call her a monster," Attrei protested. "And she's smart enough to walk on her own."

Rask gave an emphatic "Ruff!"

Korlys smirked. "What, not Fluffy? Then you could be Fluffy and Pouncy."

Mario grabbed a pillow and threw it at Korlys, who easily batted it away. "Shut. Up. And it's Pounce."

"What is 'pounce'?" Claudio demanded. "A safeword?"

"A safeword?" Attrei asked, surprised. "You mean for sex?"

Korlys, who had been about to try to diffuse the situation by deflecting Claudio's question, instead turned to Attrei in surprise. "You know that term?"

"There were a few apprentices who were into BDSM in the Tower. I just didn't think you – but that's none of my business, of course," he said. "Sorry."

Before it could occur to Korlys that delving into Attrei's sex life was probably a place none of them really wanted to go, he asked, "Wait, you blush at the idea of going to a whorehouse but you are okay with BDSM?"

"I'm not okay with it!" Attrei blushed. "I mean, I am – if other people do it," he explained lamely, as he realized Korlys might get offended at that. "I just… don't want to do it myself… but as I said, if you like it, it's none of my business…"

"If he likes what?" Mario cut in. He looked from a blushing Attrei to Claudio, who was choking on laughter. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"I will explain later, caro," Korlys said, before turning to Claudio. "The Circle must be a much more interesting place than I ever imagined."

"Well, there are a lot of young people confined in one place with not much to do… So we get inventive." He straightened his back. "Half of the things Antivan whores are admired for, they learned from us."

"Wow," Korlys said thoughtfully, his imagination now full of horny mages doing kinky things to each other.

"All right," Attrei said, eager to stop this conversation. "Claudio, could you please hold Fluffy – sorry, Ginger," he corrected himself quickly, as the Antivans roared with laughter, although he couldn't resist a smirk. "We should go."

oOo

"All right." Claudio got up and stretched his back. It had only taken a couple hours to find an inn and get settled in. "I will come and check on you again in half an hour, but my room is right next door. If you need something, shout. If you are lucky, I might hear you and decide not to ignore you."

"Thank you, ser," Dante rasped, already determined not to call for the healer unless Anastasio was dying. He knew Claudio was only joking about ignoring them, but… that was what made him suspicious, to be honest.

Furrowing his brow, he took another sip of the steaming tincture the healer had ordered them to drink, then put the mug on a night stand. "Did anyone ever care for you like this?" he asked as he turned to Anastasio.

Anastasio shrugged a little, suddenly uncomfortable. "I guess so... well, it was not exactly the same..." he said, as he looked down at his hands resting on top of the covers on his lap. "My brother tried to take care of me after our mom died... but, you know... he couldn't..." He shrugged again as if it was no big deal, looking away towards the door, as if perhaps hoping someone would walk in and interrupt the conversation. "He was only a few years older than me."

Dante nodded in understanding. "So he sold you to the Crows."

Eyes wide, Anastasio's head whipped around. "NO!" he blurted, triggering a coughing fit that made his throat burn and his eyes water. He reached for his mug and sipped a little, although not much. He remembered with shame how he had vomited all over Claudio the last time he'd tried to drink it, and now was sipping the bare minimum amount of liquid that he could. He felt as if he was sitting right next to a roaring fire wearing a heavy coat, but every time he took off the covers, he started shivering with cold. He wished Claudio would come back and put that cooling spell on him again.

"No," he said in a much lower voice when he could finally speak. "It was nothing like that. He would leave me alone at night – he had joined a thieves guild and they were teaching him to steal. Lot of good it did..." he muttered at the end.

"Why?" Dante asked, intrigued by the hint of bitterness that crept into Anastasio's voice. "Did they catch him and hang him?"

Anastasio shook his head. "No, but it never helped, we still had no food..." It was on the tip of his tongue to say that his brother brought back less than what he could scrounge from a garbage dump, but caught himself just in time, horrified at the thought that Dante would know that about him. "Anyway, he was gone when some guys came by and kidnapped me. They sold me and a bunch of other kids to the Crows. And that was that."

"Well, your brother was still an apprentice, no? Although... if Ser Mario is supposed to be one of the best thieves, it would not have helped even if he were a guildmaster." Dante laughed, which started another coughing fit. With a disgusted grimace, he spat the phlegm into his handkerchief and reached for the mug again. After a sip, he felt it was safe to open his mouth again. "At least he did not sell you," he said. "And he cared for you. It did not do much good, but he tried. That's more than my family ever did for me."

Interested – and glad the topic was moving away from his past – Anastasio replied, "Really? What did they do to you?"

"They sold me," Dante said, shrugging as if it didn't matter. As if he didn't hate them for it anymore. "Me and my twin. Guido. Remember him? He did not survive the first year."

"," Anastasio said with a nod. He remembered, although the details were fuzzy. Guido had been whipped for some reason or another, and the wounds were allowed to get infected. The Crows didn't waste healing on new recruits; you either lived or you died. Guido had died. But it was pointless to dwell on it, and not like Dante to bring it up, either. "What made you ask?"

"Well, what do you make of all this?" Dante said. "Even if Ser Korlys is the most benevolent Crow master I have ever seen… don't you think this is too much? Not only did he not punish us, he took us to the inn to be more comfortable, and Ser Claudio is at our beck and call… I do not know. It just does not feel right."

Unable to stand the heat, even though he knew what would happen, Anastasio kicked his covers off and enjoyed a brief second of blessed relief before the cool air rose goosebumps on his sweat-dampened skin. With a groan, he tried only pulling a sheet on and leaving the covers off. He sighed. "Well, I do not think it is because they care... Well, Ser Claudio cares, but healers are paid to. And Ser Attrei cares, but he cares about everyone, yes? It is not that we are so special." He shrugged, pulling one leg out from underneath the sheet and leaving one in... that was about as close as he could get to being comfortable, it seemed. "We are of no use to them sick, ? And besides, they could not leave us on the ship alone." He wiped his brow, then looked at Dante. "Surely you do not think there is anything more to it, do you?"

"I do not know what to think anymore," Dante admitted. Things were happening too fast. Whenever he thought he finally got it, that he knew what was expected of him now, something new and more confusing happened. "I guess we cannot do anything about it anyway," he grumbled, too tired to worry about it.

Anastasio didn't want to talk anymore, anyway. Every time he breathed, there was a deep pain in his chest, and he was tired. He looked at his mug, which was still almost full. He debated trying to sip a little more, then decided against it and laid his head back on his pillow, curling up on his side to face Dante. "My chest hurts," he said miserably. "I wonder when Ser Claudio will come back."

"Me too," Dante agreed. "My throat is killing me." But he'd still rather die of coughing than look like a sissy who couldn't endure half an hour without the healer.

Dante's gaze unexpectedly drifted up over Anastasio's right shoulder. He turned to look, curious to see what had drawn his friend's attention. On the windowsill sat a small sparrow. "Ser Attrei?" Anastasio rasped, then coughed.

The sparrow flew in and landed on his bed, where it turned into the mage. "Hi," he said, beaming. "I just thought of checking on you." It wasn't necessary to ask how they felt: their hair damp with sweat, flushed faces and exhausted expressions made it more than obvious. He cast the healing spell, smiling when they sighed in relief. "Anything else I can do for you?"

Anastasio glanced uncertainly at Dante. Should he ask for anything? He'd already been a big enough bother. "Perhaps, if it is not too much trouble, you could use your sleep spell?" he asked meekly.

"That's no trouble at all," Attrei assured him. "A couple of hours of sleep will do you good, I think. And I'll have something nice for you when you wake up."

"What?" Dante asked, before he could stop himself. But as always, Attrei didn't look annoyed at all.

"That's a surprise," he said with a wink. "Now, go to sleep."

Dante smiled, but before he could thank the mage, his eyes closed and the next moment he was asleep.

oOo

Mario wheeled away from the boys' room. Originally, he'd wanted to check on them, too. Having to lay in bed all day was no fun; they had to be bored out of their minds… Then he heard Anastasio saying how his brother tried to take care of him after their mother died, and stopped to listen instead.

When Anastasio said his brother's joining the thieves guild was for nothing, he almost banged in and yelled at him to go and try it himself if he thought he could survive for more than one month. But he restrained himself – in a wheelchair, it wouldn't have much of a dramatic effect anyway. Besides, it wasn't Anastasio's fault. How could he know what it was like, and the plight of others always seems not as bad as one's own.

Still… When he imagined the little thief – how old could he have been at that time? Eight? Nine? Maybe ten. What a shock it had to have been when he returned from the job and his little brother was gone. How desperate he must've been, searching for Anastasio in all the places they used to go together, asking people if they'd seen him. And then someone finally told him the Crows took him.

What did the boy do? What would he do? If this were Cory? He'd never give up on him, that was for sure. He'd keep trying to get him out of there… But these were the Crows. What could a little kid do against the all-mighty guild of assassins?

It didn't matter. He knew he'd never forgive himself. And judging from the bitterness in Anastasio's voice, he hadn't forgiven his brother either.

Does Cory blame me for leaving him now?

oOo

Claudio entered the boys' room to find them both sleeping. Good; they needed a lot of sleep. Anastasio had thrown his covers off again. And hadn't drank much of the tincture. Silly child – how was his fever supposed to stop if he didn't take the medicine?

He cast a spell over the mug to warm it again, then sat down next to the boy.

"Anastasio," he said gently. "It is time to take your medicine."

There was no reaction. Claudio rolled his eyes. Who was Anastasio trying to fool? No Crow apprentice would ever sleep this soundly.

"Come now, do not pretend you are asleep. I know it is bitter, but it will help you feel better."

Still no reaction. Odd. "Anastasio?" Claudio put the hand on the boy's forehead. The boy didn't move. Nor did Dante. Claudio would've expected him to wake up by now, curious what the fuss was about… What was going on here?

He grabbed the mug and smelled the tincture, then took a small sip. It was still the same concoction he'd given them. In all his career, he'd never observed it to cause a deep sleep.

"Boys!" he gently slapped their cheeks. "Wake up!"

Korlys walked by the open door just in time to see Claudio slapping the boys. The assassin paused, considering the situation. The healer seemed a bit flustered, something he hadn't seen in a very long time.

He took a few cautious steps inside. "Is everything all right?" Korlys asked, ready to back out and mind his own business if Claudio said to; he was the healer, after all. He surely knew what he was doing, despite his agitation.

Claudio ran his hands through his hair. "No," he admitted. "Something weird is going on… I cannot wake them up."

"Is it the fever?" Korlys knew that if the fever was high enough – especially in a child – it would cause a coma and then death. "Perhaps you should put them in cold water to lower their temperatures?"

"They do have fevers, but not that high. Half an hour ago I gave them medicine and they were both fine, awake and communicative. Then I come back to find them like this!"

"They were fine until you gave them medicine?" Korlys smirked as Claudio glared at his implied criticism. If looks could kill, the assassin would be in agony right now. He decided not to ask if the healer was sure he'd gotten it right and not accidentally made a new poison instead.

"It is mint tincture," the healer said dryly. "And Anastasio did not even drink it. That is how I found out something was wrong; I wanted to wake him up to take more of it."

Korlys thought for a moment. "Try slapping them harder." The assassin paused at Claudio's disappointed look, surprised. He had thought any idea of Claudio's that he could be a good man had died that day in Nico's torture chambers, as the healer had waited outside for him to finish punishing Tirano.

"The only thing I can think of that causes people to be unable to awaken would be Attrei's spell," Korlys explained. "And he told me that the only thing that can wake someone from it is an attack. If that is what is causing this, you will have to hit them hard enough to be considered an attack."

"Attrei's sleep spell?" Claudio looked at the sleeping boys. "He was not in our room, now that I think about it. I assumed he was playing with his pup."

"Oh he might have been. But that is the only other thing besides coma that I can think of. Could you fix a coma?" If anyone could, it would be Claudio; many of Nico's victims would have experienced it.

"Of course I can fix it," the healer declared indignantly. He had done it in the past a few times and he did have the medication to be injected… But he'd have to react quickly. Especially since he couldn't know how long they had been like this. A few more minutes, and it could be too late. And the effects of the injection were none too pleasant. He didn't want to add to the kids' misery if it truly was just a sleep spell.

He glanced at Korlys, half-expecting him to be smirking, but the assassin looked genuinely concerned. That decided it. Taking a deep breath, he turned to Anastasio and slapped him hard on his cheek.

oOo

Anastasio woke up to the sight of Claudio looming over him. He scooted away from the healer until his back hit the wall, eyes wide, and flung his arms over his head to protect himself. In rapid-fire Antivan he said, "I'll get up right away, ser! I'm sorry for my laziness! It won't happen again ser, I swear!"

Claudio pulled the boy into a hug. "It is okay," he said, rubbing Anastasio's back. "You did not do anything wrong. I was not punishing you."

What was going on here? Anastasio could see Master Korlys standing near the door, but he didn't look angry. Anastasio was seized with conflicting emotions. Part of him wanted to lean into the hug – it was the first one he'd received since he had been sold to the Crows – but part of him was still back in Antiva, being punished for not getting out of bed sooner. Bit by bit his body relaxed, and he laid his head on Claudio's shoulder. Tentatively, he put his arms around the healer's neck, and when the man did not pull away, he started sobbing, overwhelmed with emotion.

Surprised and touched, Claudio held the boy, rubbing his back and making little soothing sounds until he calmed down a bit. "You had us worried for a moment. We could not wake you up."

Us? He looked towards the door again, but Master Korlys had vanished. Anastasio wiped his tears away, embarrassed. ", Ser Attrei visited us earlier. He put his spell on us to help us sleep."

"That is all right. I just wish he had thought of telling me about it. I almost gave you an injection to wake you up from a coma. Thank the Maker Korlys realized it might be Attrei's spell."

Grateful, but suddenly exhausted as the adrenaline rush subsided, Anastasio leaned back against the wall into a half-sitting position. He looked over at Dante. "Do you want to wake Dante as well? If so, can I do it? That way he will be more angry than afraid." He looked back at the healer.

Claudio let out a surprised laugh. "Well, now that I know it is not a coma and he is not in danger of dying, I say we might let him sleep. Unless you feel it is only fair he gets a slap, too. In that case, go ahead. I will not tell him, I promise."

Anastasio laughed at that but shook his head. He could tell his eyes were still puffy and red from that embarrassing display of emotion, and he'd die if Dante ever found out. Plus, it would be a mean trick to play. "No, let him sleep." He sniffed, congested, and reached out for a reasonably clean handkerchief and blew his nose. The memory of snot-nosed little crybaby recruits being brought into the common sleeping area popped into his head and he was suddenly ashamed. He took a deep breath, winced in pain, and then started coughing again.

"That reminds me." Claudio took the mug and handed it to Anastasio. "Drink. You know, if you would have finished it in the first place, like Dante did, I would not have needed to wake you up, would not have gotten scared you were dying, and would not have had to slap you to see if you were alive," he pointed out. "Also, I brought you clean pajamas. Change, drink the medicine, and go back to sleep."

It seemed he couldn't stop causing trouble no matter how hard he tried! "Yes, ser," Anastasio replied meekly. He drank the potion to the last drop, grimly determined not to throw up. "Grazie for the clean clothes, ser."

He waited until the healer left before changing, then crawled back to bed, grateful that Dante had not awakened through this whole ordeal! Hopefully, he would never hear of it. Anastasio closed his eyes, and was sleeping peacefully again a few minutes later.

oOo

Korlys opened the door to his and Mario's room, relieved to get away from the drama playing out in the kids' room. He was glad to see Mario was awake, and surprised to find him sitting in the wheelchair. "How are you feeling? I had a bit of time before my next appointment, so I thought I would drop by and check on you."

Mario reached for Korlys, pulling him down for a brief kiss. "Bored," he said when they finished, forcing himself to sound casual. "I was thinking of testing how fast this thing can go – a short race down the street and back, maybe. But I'm a bit worried it would fall apart. What do you think?"

"I thought Claudio told you to rest?" Korlys asked in a mock-scolding tone. "I do not think racing wheelchairs qualifies." He sat down on a chair next to the other elf and gave him a searching look. "Tsk, Mario. Why do you try to hide things from me? I can see something happened to upset you. Will you not tell me about it?" If Mario wanted to keep it to himself, of course, Korlys would respect that... but he hoped Mario would confide in him.

"I'm not trying to hide anything, but you have enough on your plate as it is, without my whining. It's nothing much, really. Just something I overheard the brats saying. They were talking about their past, and… Did you know Anastasio had an older brother in the thieves guild? He joined so he could take care of Anastasio, but it didn't work out too well. Anastasio wasn't the least impressed. Didn't do any good, he said." He laughed softly. "I guess it never does. And I was just wondering what Cory thinks of me now. If he hates me for leaving him behind without a word…"

Empty platitudes or truth? Korlys went with evasion instead. "No, I did not know that. I know nothing about either of their pasts," he confessed. "I suppose that would account for his attitude towards thieving, however." He paused in thought. "At least you can take comfort in the thought that Cory is not likely to become a thief. I know you are concerned that he find a more respectable profession."

Mario laughed in surprise. "Guess that's true. If this doesn't discourage him from becoming a good-for-nothing thieving scum like me, nothing will. There's a silver lining to everything."

"Hey, that is my lover you are putting down," Korlys growled. "I will not tolerate such disrespect!"

"You can punish me for it later," Mario said, with a twinkle in his eye. He kissed Korlys again, then playfully pushed him away. "But business first!"

Korlys stood. "Okay, I will go and take care of business, and when I get back, we can get down to business," he said with a wink. The assassin swaggered out of the room with a cocky grin on his face, already looking forward to this evening.


AN:

Okay, so we posted a little early this month because of the upcoming holidays, but we'll be back on schedule next month.

As always, thanks to our awesome betas, Bloodsong 13T and Suilven for all their help and suggestions. :)