Chapter 7
Something was going on with Druig, and Makkari was getting quite worried.
It hadn't been much at first, just him looking tired, and maybe a bit paler than usual. Occasionally wincing when they were surrounded by a lot of people. Just a quick passing movement, nothing too long, small enough for most people to miss it, but enough for her to notice. Something was up with him, and usually he told her, usually they had no secrets with each other.
But this time, for whatever the reason, when she asked if he was fine, he would just smile softly and say something in the lines of "yeah, I'm fine, just a bit tired, don't worry about it" with his pretty eyes and the nice natural way in which he signed and it felt so genuine, so real. She was convinced that actually he was fine. (Although why would he be tired? They were Eternal warriors, none of the others had been getting tired like that. It was odd. Makkari knew that she had more stamina than the rest of the others, probably relating to her speed, but it still felt too much)
Some time after when they called to a deviant attack he appeared looking even worse, with dark shadows under his eyes and way too pale.
Did you get any sleep last night?
She knew that of all of them, he was the one who had the most nightmares, and that sometimes he decided to not sleep altogether, or try and use his ability on himself, which didn't always work. And she knew that for there to be visible signs on one's face, then it couldn't be a small thing. Something to brush off, that would disappear in a day. So for those dark shadows to be there...
I'm fine. And we have a mission to complete, you know this. We can talk after.
They didn't talk afterwards. They were all a bit hyper from the battle, he seemed better and Makkari decided to go give herself a world tour to burn off the extra energy. But still it was in the back of her mind, him, and how tired he looked. So much so, that she went to Ajak with it.
Ajak, don't you think that Druig is looking a bit too pale lately?
That's just his skin, dear.
Makkari rolled his eyes. She'd been let's say working with him (looking at him) for thousands of years, she knew exactly what shade of pale he was. But for some reason, the thought of telling Ajak that, just the thought, made her blush.
He seems so tired, lately, you don't think he could be getting something? This planet does have a lot of microbiology, bacteria, viruses, parasites...
He seems fine to me. But it's nice of you to worry, dear.
Makkari smiled, but didn't feel satisfied at all. Something was happening to Druig and no one but her seemed to about it. Not even himself, pretending everything was fine. But the more time passed, the more she was convinced that something was happening, and wanted to know why he was not telling her.
Maybe Ajak was right, maybe she was worrying too much. Druig did sometimes get into some bad moods, maybe it was just that and she was reading too much into it.
But then the unthinkable happened: he stopped eating.
And yes, they could go for quite without eating without feeling any effects, but the thing was, Druig loved to eat. He liked to try out new things, and he like to eat the very many things he enjoyed of those he'd tried. When he was bored, he ate. When he was depressed, he ate. Sometimes he just ate to pass the time, because it was enjoyable, easy to do and didn't interfere with their very sacred and untouchable mission.
Makkari had often teased him about it, sometimes played games like hiding his snacks, or putting chili powder in candy, stuff like that. You could always get to Druig using food, because he loved food, as plain and simple as that. And there was nothing wrong with it - what was wrong was that she hadn't seen him eat in four days, and she'd been looking. Now she had to say something.
Druig, you're really pale. Are you sure you're not coming down with something? Do you feel too warm or too cold?
She felt his forehead, and it did feel a bit too warm, but nothing that wouldn't happen to them after a day scouting under the sun. And none of them got sick or pale because of that. That couldn't be what was creating all of this, right? There was some underlying cause and she was going to find it.
*
She couldn't find anything that was wrong, and the rest of them, including Druig himself, were telling her that she was worrying about nothing, that there was nothing wrong. To keep going. That it was normal after so much that he lost his appetite for a bit, that a little bout of insomnia or skin that was a bit too warm was something to be expected. To stop worrying.
And yet, she didn't want to stop worrying! She wanted the others to worry as well, to worry with her and not accept this as normal. Something serious was going to happen to Druig, something that maybe could have been prevented if they'd looked after him better when he started getting sick wouldn't have happened.
Unfortunately, it did.
They were fighting some deviants when Druig just stopped, blinked way too many times and then his eyes rolled up in his head and he fell on the floor, letting the deviant in front of him attack. Makkari was fast, but not fast enough to avoid all damage - there were teeth marks on his stomach from the deviant (she sliced its head in two, furious) and if she hadn't had super speed he would have been ripped in two, she was sure.
She took him to a hidden basement nearby, where no one would be able to find them, and where there was a bed and some supplies. She knew the others would tell her that she should have immediately gone back, that the mission was important yadda yadda yadda but Druig was unconscious and she needed to protect him and also clean and bandage his wound from where the deviant got him.
He had definitely lost weight, she noticed as she cleaning and bandaging the wound. Why wouldn't he talk to her? Why was it being so complicated?
After she finished cleaning and bandaging she put a little blanket on top of him and she just decided to lie down next to him, to be there when he woke up. Druig was one of her favourite people in the world, and she hated to see him unwell, to think that if she hadn't been keeping an eye he could have been killed.
It was scary, and it was an awful thought. She knew that the risk that some of them died violently was there, but... not him. He should stay with her forever.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he opened those blue eyes of his and looked at her.
What happened?
You collapsed, in battle. A deviant got you in the stomach, I cleaned it up as best as I could.
He closed his eyes, and then nodded.
Thank you.
Druig, what’s wrong? You're clearly unwell, and you could have died today if I hadn't been close by. You know you can talk to me, what's the problem?
His eyes were shining. Too too bright.
I am the problem. The people... the powerlessness.... it hurts me to see them, you know, it hurts me to feel all that they feel and sometimes I find it hard to keep going. Sometimes it piles up, and becomes pain of your own.
And so he hadn't said anything because since it was something he'd created, in a way, by feeling too much, it was probably something he could put a stop to, by blocking those feelings, ignoring everyone. But he'd never wanted to ignore people, he wanted to help. And time went slowly when you were hurting and yes, every day piled up.
Her darling Druig, too caring for his own good.
How do you feel about the cold? she asked.
It can be...refreshing. Why do you ask?
You and me, could spend a few years in Siberia. I know a place in the middle of nowhere. You can rest from everyone and I can catch up on some reading?
What about the others? The mission from the Celestials?
There's eight of them, they can handle themselves. she caressed his hair, happy to be understanding now
I want to nurse you back to health, okay? I want to be there until you're all good and after. We can just tell the others there's some signs of ancient deviants on the ice or something, that we're investigating and that I'll get them if we need them.
So very clandestine. I knew there was more to why I liked other than looks.
I want you to be okay, Druig. I want you to eat and sleep at peace, I want you to be as happy as possible. And I'll do whatever I have to.
Beautiful Makkari you're way too kind to me.
Not too kind. Just the right amount. Now get some rest, I'll prepare everything.
Sometimes, even the most fearsome eternal warriors need a bit of rest, too.
And sometimes, ignoring the mission the biggest forces there are have given you to keep the balance in the universe is the right thing, if it'll let you look after someone you care about.