Disclaimer: I don't own Akatsuki no Yona/Yona of the Dawn.

Chapter 3

Warm.

That was the first thing Shin-Ah thought as he stirred into wakefulness. He was warm again, and he could feel blankets and furs tucked in around him. A piece of soft fluff was tickling his chin, but he realized that it was just Ao, who seemed to be laying on his chest with her tail resting on his neck.

Someone touched his forehead, delicate, cool fingers resting against his skin. The hand traveled to his cheek, a thumb running across his cheekbone.

His hand snapped out and caught the slender fingers that were touching him. It was more of a reflex than anything.

He opened his eyes, blinking in the dim candlelight, and saw a young woman leaning over him. He recognized the almond-shaped honey brown eyes, but now he could see the face those kind eyes belonged to.

The girl, Lien, had seafoam green hair that was feathery around her face and traveled into loose waves over her shoulders. Her face was heart-shaped, a little like Yona's, and there was an otherworldly beauty to her gentle, sweet features.

Those dark golden eyes of hers lit up as their gazes met. "Oh…wow…"

That was when he realized he was staring, plus he was still holding her hand, and on top of all that his mask was gone. He automatically released her, smacked his palms to his eyes, and rolled to his side, afraid of hurting her with a glance.

"Oops, sorry!" Lien said, "I forgot about the mask. Yoon took it off when we brought you here, and he said you'd probably want it, but..." He felt something silky being pressed into his hand. "Maybe you could wear that instead for now? It'd be more comfortable than the mask while you're sick, and you can still see through it."

It was a long strip of cloth, and when he opened his eyes, he saw that it was about the same shade of blue as his robe. Which, as it would happen, was gone at the moment. He was in a loose shirt and trousers, and he wondered where his robe had gone off to.

Sitting up, he tied the sheer cloth around his eyes, but that simple act seemed to take all the energy out of him. "Thank you."

Lien smiled at him. "You're welcome." She stood up, a graceful, quick action. He wondered for a moment if she danced in her troupe's performances. "I'll go get Yoon, he asked me to get him if you woke up. He went to go help with dinner."

She paused at the doorway to the room, her hand resting on the smooth wood. "You know, your eyes are really amazing. You shouldn't cover them." Before he could protest, she pushed aside the cloth that covered the doorway and was gone.

Shin-Ah laid back against the mat, his cursed eyes looking up the ceiling. Ao scurried from the perch she had temporarily taken on his shoulder to rest on his stomach, curling up in a little ball. Lien didn't understand. The others must not have told her about his power yet. When she knew what his eyes could do, she wouldn't be so quick to compliment them or even want to see them again. She would be properly afraid.

He was starting to nod off again when the cloth over the door flew back and Kija, Yona, and Yoon appeared.

"Shin-Ah!" Kija exclaimed, and suddenly he was kneeling by Shin-Ah's pallet and hugging Shin-Ah to him so tightly that Shin-Ah felt like he couldn't breathe. "Don't worry us like that."

Yona hugged him from the other side, pressing her forehead into his shoulder for a brief moment. "Agreed!"

Ao leapt back and forth between the visitors, unable to decide who to stay with.

He hadn't meant to worry anyone. He hadn't even realized that he was tired and exhausted and not feeling well until it was too late.

"Hey, don't crowd the patient," Yoon said. Leaning forward, his hands on his knees, he peered into Shin-Ah's face. "Nice blindfold. How are you feeling? I bet you're still weak, you silly beast. You had a fever for days."

"Even dragons can become ill," Kija scolded, "You have to take care of yourself."

"I'm sorry," Shin-Ah said, his cheeks growing red with embarrassment. The last thing he wanted was to be a burden on his friends.

"It's all right," Yona said. She smiled up at him and gave him another hug. "We're just glad you're feeling better."

"Jae-ha, Zeno and the Thunder Beast are happy, too, but they're busy doing chores," Kija said. His face fell. "They have a lot of chores for us to do."

"You're just not used to it, lazy dragon," Yoon said, "We do get to watch the rehearsals for free."

"You'll love it, Shin-Ah," Yona said, her hands resting on one of his, "They have shadow puppet shows and plays and the very best dancers."

Shin-Ah looked at each other his friends, feeling rather overwhelmed, and then settled his gaze on Yoon. "How long have I been asleep?"

"About four days," Yoon said, "You were really sick. Kija cried over you at least three times."

"It's a traumatic experience when you're concerned for one of your brothers," Kija retorted, "I'd do the same if it was you in Shin-Ah's place."

"Uh-huh, sure," Yoon said, his eyebrows raised skeptically. "I've been taking care of her, and that Lien girl you found has been helping, too, especially when they need me to cook." Yoon smirked a little. "They really appreciate my cooking around here."

"Is Lien a healer?" Shin-Ah asked.

Yona shook her head. "Not really. She's a dancer. She's been giving me some lessons."

At that, both Yoon and Kija glanced away, seeming far more interested in anything else besides addressing Yona's dancing ability. Shin-Ah had been right then, Lien's gracefulness came from dancing. That made sense to him. He hadn't seen many people dance, except in some of the villages they had visited, but she just…seemed like a dancer.

"You need more rest," Yoon said in his normal firm and stern tone that he took when someone was sick or injured, "You'll definitely live, but you need to sleep."

"Feel better, Shin-Ah," Yona said, leaning forward and giving him a quick kiss on the temple. Both Yoon and Kija stared for a moment, and then Kija stood up.

"Yes, get better quickly, Shin-Ah," he said.

Outside, someone started yelling. "White Snake! Where'd you go!?"

Kija's face fell and his hands balled into fists. "That's not my name!" He whirled out of the room, his white cloak swirling behind him.

Yona gave a little laugh. "The kids around here have taken to calling him White Snake after they heard Hak call him that. Kija's not pleased."

"He'll survive," Yoon said. He headed to the door with Yona following behind him. "Get some sleep, Shin-Ah."

When his friends were gone, Shin-Ah curled up on the pallet again, facing the doorway. In one of the other rooms, someone was singing softly, and he drifted off to the melody of the tune.