A Lar by any other name

Chapter 9 – FORGET WHAT YOU KNOW AND LOOK TO WHAT YOU MIGHT KNOW SOMEDAY

“Is she going to be okay?” Becca leaned in so that she was hovering over the bed, nearly nose to nose with Aria. Den wasn’t worried about shooing her away. If the unwanted attention woke Aria up, he’d be happier than just watching her sleep all day. It seemed unnatural to watch her lay so still. Even her sleep in the jeep on their trip yesterday had been more disturbed than this.

“She’ll be fine,” he repeated. They had both had this exchange numerous times but Den didn’t mind answering her question again. Everyone else he had forced out of the room because they were too pessimistic about her health or were merely gawking. He didn’t like either. Becca was always restful to have around. She normally had a passel of cats circling her legs but they weren’t allowed into the house when Blake was around. Her inside pet was a rolly polly hedgehog she’d had with her when she’d shown up on the front doorstep, her suitcase at her feet. The little thing wasn’t allowed outside in case it took off and played havoc with the local ecosystem. It didn’t seem to mind, sleeping in a tiny box up in her room when Becca was outside with the other animals on the farm.

“And she didn’t know she was one of us?” Becca rolled the small animal from hand to hand without paying any real attention to it.

“No. Not everyone finds a family like ours right away.”

“It’s no fun being rogue.”

He had to wonder how much she knew of being rogue. It was hard, because of her size and unlined face, not to think of her as a little girl. Still, she didn’t strike him as the sort of person who might be able to handle life out on her own. He’d done it for years but that had always been his choice and he’d known each time what to expect.

“No, it isn’t very fun at all. Being out in the open most of the time. No real place to sleep. Trying to stay away from people who might hurt you just because you seem helpless.” Becca held the hedgehog up and kissed his little nose as she continued, “At least I had Jaeger. We’ve had each other for almost forever.”

After his musings on what she might have seen or done in her time out as a rogue, her monologue came as a surprise. “I guess I never thought about it like that. Whenever I go rogue, I do it to stay away from people. I head for the mountains and live off the land.”

“Too many big animals up in the mountains. They have very strange thoughts and most of them think of me as a snack and not as a potential friend. I much prefer zoos. It’s a pity they’re fenced in but it does make their thoughts easier to understand.”

Den smiled at her. “Some time you and me will have to go camping up in the hills. There’s a pack of wolves that doesn’t trust people much but I think you’d get a kick out of them. And I’ll be there to keep you safe so they won’t think twice about eating you.”

She clapped her hands together. “Yes! That sounds wonderful. I’ve never been camping before. Will we have s’mores, do you think? Yes, let’s have s’mores. And roasted hot dogs.” Her accent got stronger as she got more excited over the idea and suddenly she sounded as if she’d just stepped out of a pub in the middle of Dublin. “I think Jaeger would like that, too. Can you talk to Con and see if he’ll allow him out of the house. I promise to watch him very closely. He doesn’t like sagebrush so I doubt he’ll decide to run away and join a badger den.”

He promised he would ty only because her expression was so hopeful. She looked like a little girl in that moment and he wished he had the guts to ask her about her true age. After his embarrassing gaffe last night with Area, he didn’t think he was going to risk it.

Not for the first time, Becca seemed to read his mind. “She’s so pretty. I wish my hair looked like that. Do you think, when I get bigger, I could have curls like those?”

“I don’t know. How old do you think she is?”

A strange look crossed Becca’s face. “Quite young, really. She never knew any different and so she tried to grow like everyone around her. I knew a boy like that once. He was an old man before he needed to be just because he thought that was normal. It’s quite horrible, from what I hear.”

“She told me her parents were killed in a fire when she was young.”

“Do you think the leeches got to her? Destroyed her memory of who she truly is?”

“That’s exactly what I think.” He paused as Aria began to show signs of waking up. Even though her eyelids were closed, her eyes were moving rapidly. “Maybe you can help me find out what she remembers of who she is. She thought I was uncouth to ask her age so I’m no help.”

Her laugh was like a flutter of flowers in a breeze. “That would have been funny to watch her give you a hard time. I’m sorry I missed it. Maybe you can do it again and we can all laugh along.”

“Ah, there’s the squirt I know and love. That’s not likely. Go away now. She’s waking up and I want to bring her up to speed slowly. Your menagerie might scare her away.”

Becca stuck out her tongue but did as she was told as if she really was a younger sister. She made the illusion seem real even when she could have chided him for his disrespect. It wasn’t until he started to see his family through new eyes that he even noticed how they acted like a typical family or didn’t. He had spent the last eight hours trying to figure out how Aria would see the family.

The room was quiet as she left. Den almost missed her presence but he didn’t want to introduce everyone to Aria before she understood what she was getting into by coming here. Because of the threat some outsiders held to this way of life, only a certain few were allowed in on some of the things he wanted to share with her. That she was one of them helped. But even then not everyone with a birthright was automatically made one of the family.

“You going to wake up?” he asked as her eyelids cracked open just the slightest bit. “You’re sleeping the day away.”

“Where am I?” She sounded lost but he couldn’t blame her. Grace had administered a healing jolt this morning that would have made anyone’s body forget just to get past the pain that healing sometimes caused. “I’m so thirsty.”

He brought her a cup of water and then spent several embarrassing minutes trying to figure out how to get her situated so that she didn’t spill it down the front of her. No matter how careful he was with her, she still got most of it down her front. This weird habit she had of spilling her water was beginning to irritate him. Did she know she was doing it? Maybe it was a twitch that made her spill whenever she got near water. He would have to remember to chide her about it before they ever went to a nice restaurant.

“Is that enough? Do you want more?”

She was looking around as if checking out the exits in case she needed to make a break for it. The pupils of her eyes almost took over the deep brown of her irises, giving her the look of someone taking drugs. It would have concerned but he knew Greg had given her some potent pain pills before leaving his office. They were sure to still be in her system along with whatever overflow Grace’s healing power might have had.

“Where am I?” Aria was more forceful with her question this time, snagging his glance and holding it as if she was afraid he’d duck his head and dare to lie to her.

“Do you remember me telling you I was bringing you to the farm I live at? You’re there. We got in early this morning and… well, there was some trouble getting from the truck to the house itself and you’ve probably worn yourself out.”

There were a few tendrils of hair stuck to her cheek and she pushed at them stubbornly with her hand. “Why is it so hot? I feel like I’m burning up.”

“You were wet and I figured you might have caught a chill. I can see about dampening the fire down some.” Her eyes widened as he mentioned the word ‘fire’ and he wondered what she remembered. “I’ll take off one of the blankets.”

When she realized how many blankets were bundled around her, she began to fight against them as if she could rip them away with just her hands. He tried to help but mostly just got slapped for all his efforts. Finally, he sat back and let her flounder around. The panic seemed a bit more frenzied than he would have imagined for a few blankets but then she might have been claustrophobic and didn’t like the idea of being wrapped up.

“I think I want to leave,” she finally said in a small voice. Her face was flushed but he would need to feel her skin to see if it was fever or from her sudden exertion. It bothered him that she was shrinking away from him as if he was one of the numerous people that had hurt her over the last twenty four hours.

“Hey, whatever you want. I’ll take you wherever you want to go. Just like I promised.” When she tried to get up, he put a hand on her shoulder and pressed her back toward the fold out bed Alma had produced. “When you’re better. Not before.”

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. I know both Greg and Grace have worked on you but I still say you aren’t fine yet. Soon, but not now. Just lay back and try to concentrate on getting better.” Until she’d started to struggle, he’d had every intention of letting her up. That was when he’d assumed she would bounce up with a grateful smile and the same easy manner she’d had yesterday. This was not the same girl he remembered sagging against him yesterday in Greg’s office or sleepily smiling at him while they drove through the night. This was the girl that had walked out of the gas station rest room with a chip on her shoulder.

“I remember Greg. Who’s Grace?”

He chose his words carefully. If he scared her now, he might never be able to make her understand what had happened or who she really was. “You were unconscious by the time I got you into the house. Grace healed you.”

“Why did she have to heal me? I thought Greg fixed me up?”

“He figured out where you were hurt and gave you something for the pain. Grace’s work should have taken away all your pain.”

She began to pat down her torso, confused when she didn’t find any tender spots. “How?”

“I’m not sure exactly. It’s different than what Greg does, though. He figures out where you hurt and makes assessments on the best way to help you based on his findings.” It sounded as impressive coming out of his mouth as it did when Greg said it. He’d heard it often enough that he could easily recall the right verbage. “Grace just… goes in blindly and fixes whatever she finds.”

“She’s like you? With a compulsion to help people?”

Den had never thought of it like that. “Well, she doesn’t get a pull to heal people so it’s not really like what I do. But it’s similar. I think she’d rather help people than let them suffer.”

“And who gave her permission to help me?”

“What?”

Her eyes were clearing and he liked the loathing he saw there even less than the weird drugged look. “If she doesn’t need to help people, why did she do it? Who told her she could do her little walk through of my body? It sounds like it must have been pretty invasive. What if I wanted her to stay out?”

“What are you talking about, Aria? She did this to help you.”

“Don’t call me that.” Her teeth were suddenly clenched together he could hardly make out her words. All the color drained from her cheeks. “Don’t ever call me that again.”

He got from his chair and walked over to the fire. To give himself time, he got out the poker and began to prod the largest log. All the movement made the fire blaze up higher than it had been, making the room hotter than it had been a moment ago. He really didn’t care if it bothered her or not.

“Why was there a fire?”

“I told you, I was worried you-“

“No, not right now. The fire last night. I remember one but… not why I walked through it.”

“You didn’t walk through a fire.” Den leaned a hip against the wall and concentrated on not looking at her. The harder he tried, the more he wanted to look over at her and see if her. She changed in his memory. Sometimes she was the hard-edged girl from the gas station; sometimes the soft-spoken girl who marveled at the countryside. “You were near one but you didn’t walk through one.”

“It felt like it,” she mumbled and he glanced over at her. Remembering his decision to ignore her, he looked quickly away but not before seeing utter confusion on her face.

“Do you remember the talk we about the leeches?”

“Yes. I vaguely remember something about leeches and legless cows.”

“That was what you called them. We call them leeches. They were attacking the house last night when we arrived. I was ready to wait out the assault and figured you had fallen asleep but you had the door opened and were halfway up the drive before I could stop you. Even then, it was tough. You were still able to do… whatever it was that you ended up doing to those things. I’m… still not sure what it was.”

“I don’t think I understand. I fought the leeches?”

“No, I wouldn’t call it fighting. You,” he blew out a breath and tried to reenact the scene in his head. “You made this sort of fine mist that blew toward them and they evaporated.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“It doesn’t matter what you believe. I wasn’t the only one who saw it. I’m afraid you did pulled this little stunt in front of a good majority of the family. They’ll corroborate my story.” It was hard to be so harsh with her but Den wasn’t sure what exactly had happened in the last thirty minutes. He’d gone from thinking things were the best they’d ever been to being accused of lying by a girl he realized he didn’t really know. “Better yet, you should ask them about everything else. I don’t think I can do this anymore.”

It was cowardly but Den couldn’t stay in the same room with her anymore. As he closed the door behind him, he realized that he couldn’t face his family, either. He’d been a mother chicken, shooing them out of the room earlier. They would be expecting… well, they would be expecting what he had been expecting. A rather funny and beautiful girl with a quick wit even when she was tired and a penchant for finding trouble. He wasn’t sure who that girl in the room behind him was.

Before he could think about a place to escape, he heard a shrill beep coming from a variety of different places around the house. The alarm sounded from the pagers several of the men in the household wore and was an instant alert for everyone, not just the ones who needed to get in their trucks and head down to the station. Many times, the threat wasn’t as innocuous as it seemed to the others in the fire department. The leeches didn’t like their hold on the area being challenged and often used small disturbances to gain a foothold.

Xander raced by him, the keys to the old Ford in his hand. “You coming, Den?”

Without giving a thought to the girl he was leaving behind to fend for herself, Den nodded and started running a step behind. “Of course. It’s not like I’ll be able to miss it if it’s close. Might as well get in all the action.”