Page 11 of Cozy Prisons
“Yes,” Falkilm said, switching his rumble of agreement to a purr. “My tests found nothing of interest. Your cortisol levels were high, but that could be a reaction to being examined. I’ve noticed some humans find being in the medical building stressful. Other than that, everything was within normal ranges.”
He kept talking about hormones, kidneys, liver functions, and electrolytes, but she didn’t take in any of it. Thankfully Daxus asked a few questions, giving her time to recover from her shock.
“Stop,” she ordered, holding up a hand when her mind was fully functioning again.
“Yes?” Falkilm said. He and Daxus gave her their full attention, purring loudly.
“Don’t ever,” she started, then sucked in a breath and started again. “Don’t ever tell a human that you have bad news after you’ve examined them if there is nothing wrong with them!”
“But it was bad news because I don’t have any diagnosis,” Falkilm insisted. “That’s—”
Nataly cut her hand diagonally with a sharp motion. “No! Someone might think your bad news is about their health. Don’t ever do that again.”
Falkilm jerked back. “I didn’t realize.” He sounded a loud rumble of worry. “Did I cause you fear?”
Nataly ignored the question. “Your results aren’t surprising. I told you there wasn’t anything wrong with me.”
Falkilm sounded a negative rumble. “Something caused you to faint, and it’s imperative I figure it out. I’d like you to visit me tomorrow after first meal. If you have any duties, I can talk to Palathum about having someone else take your place.”
To her surprise, Daxus spoke up. “When Nataly is ready, she’ll visit you again. Right now she needs rest, not badgering.”
Nataly blinked. Had Daxus really said that? No one was going to force her to spend more time in the medical building if she didn’t want to? This was a miracle!
They were still holding hands, so she squeezed and he squeezed back.
“Falkilm, you came!” Kamie said, skipping over from where she’d been playing. Despite being an adult, Kamie refused to walk anywhere. She usually skipped or danced from one place to another.
Looking over, Nataly noticed everyone was sitting or standing next to their instruments talking and drinking. Nothing was being packed up so they were probably on a break, not finished for the night.
“I hadn’t planned to, but I needed to speak to Nataly,” Falkilm said, edging away from Kamie. Nataly watched with fascination as Kiran put himself right behind Falkilm so the healer bumped into him. “Oh, Kiran! I didn’t know you were there. I’m sorry.”
Kamie and Kiran flanked Falkilm. Nataly stifled a laugh at the way Falkilm looked like he was being stalked by the two humans.
“We hoped you were here to see us,” Kiran said.
“You spend all your time in the medical building,” Kamie said. “That can’t be good for you. We found a small pond with a bright green-and-gold fish in it. You should let us show you.”
“I, uh, that sounds, um interesting?” Falkilm said, his gaze jumping back and forth between Kamie and Kiran.
“Very interesting,” Kiran agreed. “We could hike out to the pond with lunch and a blanket. We could all lie on the blanket together, shoulder to shoulder.”
“If we got cold, we could snuggle against you,” Kamie said, reaching out to touch Falkilm’s upper arm. “Talins radiate heat. You could keep us warm.”
Falkilm’s eyes were wide and his mouth was open, but no sound came out. He looked down at where Kamie’s hand wasresting on his bicep. Nataly thought the healer looked like he was torn between panic and desire.
It appeared the panic won.
“I have an appointment to speak to Palathum,” he said abruptly, then turned and almost ran out of the building.
Far from looking upset, Kamie and Kiran linked arms and smirked.
“You guys are a little evil,” Nataly said.
“Not evil,” Kamie argued. “Determined.”
Kiran nodded his head. “We tried to be subtle at first, but Talins don’t get subtle. So now Falkilm gets our flirting on full blast.”
“Was that flirting?” Nataly asked. “Because it looked more like a kind of hunting.”
