Heaven's Light [Caro]

[Ain_Soph_Aur]

What is happening to me? Why do I feel like I want to...
August 8th 2010
---------------------

A long time passed from the time they left Costa Del Sol. In no time flat he continued his self appointed mission across many worlds in search of places with abnormal darkness and attempt to investigate it(even if he didn't know how). Though nothing came of his travels, he had soon grown accustomed to traveling with his cute new companion Caroline. Her cooking along with a beautiful smile often brightened even the longest darkest of days, and even though his capacity for emotion had not changed there was a silent acceptance throughout. Along with Caroline now traveling with him full-time, changes started to occur on the ship that Ain didn't expect or probably just didn't want to think of.

The Gummi ship, The Graceful Light moved through the darkest of space between worlds at high speeds. Regardless of the speed it was going, no one inside was effected and everything stood still. Inside was quiet and peaceful. Surprisingly much more clean from deck to the common area. The normally bare white walls now had pictures on them, one picture was of Ain and Caroline in their bathing suits on the beach for the second day and another was of Ain trying his best to cook pancakes without knowledge of the picture being taken- his hair was much much shorter in the pictures due to a haircut you could only assume. A few other picture were on the wall as well and served to give life to the ships few empty halls. The coffee table also had the camera they had used on it. The book shelf in the Common Area included with the Dance and Swordsmanship books were books about cooking and cleaning. It was a wonder if Ain ever read them.

Twenty days have passed and soon they would wake for yet another day.

----

Ain tossed a bit in his sleep before finally his eyes opened, the large bed that had been cleanly made just yesterday was now a mess again. His eyes gazed upward at the ceiling trying to recall the dream that caused him to flip around so violently in his sleep to mess up such a big bed as his. The thought faded after a few moments and he laid there still. The sheets barely covering his nude body as he relaxed silently in the morning hours, he didn't really want to get up just yet. His eyes closed slowly and he again drifted off into sleep for a while longer longer. After another hour of sleep he returned from dreamland and quickly jumped from his bed. Swiftly he put on his clean black pants before doing anything else.

"August eighth." he stated the date of the current day from memory. Time had sure flown by and now here he was nearly a month later. "Still nothing has come from traveling."

The thought of Caroline momentary popped in his mind.

His hand pulled up to his brow where his hair would have been. Now however his hair was much shorter and his bangs didn't even reach his eyebrows. This was all thanks to Caroline who seen fit to FORCE a haircut on him out of the blue and now he could see clearly in front of him without pushing his bangs out of the way. That didn't stop him from occasionally reaching up to move the hair that just wasn't there however due to habit. During these days he feels a lot lighter and slightly more open.

Moving to the dance floor, he started to stretch for the work that needed to be done for the new day. The injuries he had sustained against Jericho and Nadia long healed, he moved more easier and much more flexibly(no more bandages). After taking his time to stretch he walked over to his dresser and grabbed his gauntlet from the top of it to strap on. A weapon should always be equipped just in case of emergency was a rule he rarely broke. He then threw on his old jacket that was patched up nicely and zipped it to his neckline- pulling out his half Yin-yang necklace in the process to place it in front of him neatly.

He wondered if Caroline was up yet and If she was going to cook something good for breakfast. He was starting to feel pretty hungry.

Everything seemed fine. It was JUST another day to Ain but that just wasn't the case. As if from no where at all, Ain felt terrible. His breathing grew heavy, each huff reflected badly on his body and he started to feel dizzy. Trying to ignore it, he started walking across the room. His vision showed double of everything around him. As much as he tried to focus, everything just seemed to get worse. Reaching the door after a bout 2 minutes of hobbling, he grabbed for the door handle and missed. Falling into the door his hard breathes continued. Finally getting his hand on the door knob he managed to open it only to immediately lose consciousness a second after and fell into the hallway with a thud.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Well, this was a rude awakening.
--

There was one thing about Caroline that hadn't changed in the past twenty days: she still liked to sleep. She lazed in her bed, half-asleep but knowing she needed to get up and make breakfast. She was pondering something... a dream she'd had. It had been a peculiar dream where she had been sitting in the clearing of a dark forest, walking in circles and carrying a lamb in her arms. She wondered for a moment if it had meant anything but then she told herself that was silly. It was only dream after all.

She snuggled back down into her clean, white sheets and smiled a little to herself. I wonder where we'll go today. Or what we'll do... hmm... maybe I can just sleep for a little while longer. I hope he doesn't mind if I'm not up to make breakfast yet, she thought as she began to doze back off.

However, her procrastinating was interrupted. She heard a dull thump from somewhere in the ship and she couldn't place the sound. She sat up in bed, and her face changed from lazy happiness to concern. When she didn't hear anything else, she got really scared and climbed out of bed. She didn't bother to get dressed, just stepping out into the hall in her nightgown and bare feet. Her hair was still sticking up on one side from the pillow. The fact she hadn't bothered to pretty herself up before leaving the room was a testament to just how unsettled she was.

"Ain?[/color]" she called out into the dark hallway. The lights hadn't been turned on yet. No answer. Not good. She wrung her hands, pulling them into her chest and took a hesitant step a little farther into the hallway. Her eyes were getting used to the dark, but she couldn't help but jump and squeal when her foot brushed against something.

She looked down. Oh, good, it wasn't a mouse... wait, this wasn't good at all! She would have rather it been a mouse. "Ahh! Good heavens, Ain, are you alright?[/color]" she said, getting down on her knees. She had almost stepped on him, but her foot had only brushed his shoulder. She reached out and touched his back. Please don't be dead, she thought.

[Ain_Soph_Aur]

Am I forgetting something?

Time had stopped in a closed space. Darkness was all around and a all consuming dark mist that passed often. The ground felt like a rough earth that was nothing like he knew, his eyes remained closed for the time being. Getting up without opening his eyes he walked down a stone path, someone was there behind him. The voice of the person behind him echoed. "Why do you close your eyes? Is it that you don't want to see the truth?" he spoke, his voice that of a child. "The more you close yourself off, the more you will hurt yourself and everyone around you. Open your eyes and accept everything."

Ain listened with interest for a moment then continued walking down the stone trail, the child behind him didn't follow. It suddenly grew cold. "You are making a mistake. It doesn't matter though, if you continue to use THAT power without understanding it you will die. Stupid halfer." he harshly stated, his maturity obviously greater then his age or was it something else. "Crap. The girl found you...... I advise you to... OH TOO LATE."

The memory of his dream soon faded away...

Ain took a moment to figure out where he was as he woke up. His eyes opened but they were still quite blurry and a large amount of pain was going through his body. Though it hurt he tried his best to stick it out. He tried not to move but he knew Caroline was there so he made a effort."I feel terrible Caroline." he stated as he rolled on to his side. "What happened, did I trip or something? My memory is fuzzy."

[Oathkeeper Emi]

I hope whatever you have isn't catching. I'm quite fragile, you know.
--

"Well, I don't really know what happened. I just heard a sound and came out here to check on things and I found you on the ground,[/color]" Caroline explained. She trailed off and pressed the back of her hand to Ain's face. "Good lord. You're burning up.[/color]"

She was reminded of her sickness before- she had actually been sick two more times besides that time in Notre Dame in the twenty days since they had started traveling together- but this didn't seem quite the same. Unfortunately, she couldn't physically force Ain to rest like he could her. She couldn't literally pick him up and move him.

"You must be sick,[/color]" she said, stating the quite obvious. "You need to get back to bed but you'll have to help me out. Can you get up and walk?[/color]"

Now, Caroline knew her own body and chronic sicknesses better than pretty much everyone else. She knew when she needed a doctor and when she didn't need one. But she didn't want to take any chances with Ain's health since she didn't know what he was sick with. For all she knew, this could just be the beginning of a very serious, very contagious illness. So, for that reason, she decided that they should probably find a doctor.

"Come on,[/color]" she insisted, pulling on his arm. "My bed is closer. Can you at least make it in there?[/color]"

She didn't mention her plan just yet, knowing he would more than likely refused any kind of medical care. She would have to tell a little lie, but it would be worth it if it made him feel better.

[Ain_Soph_Aur]

Wait, did she say that she is taking me to her room?

"I will try." he stated quietly as Caroline pulled on his arm to urge him on. It was apparent that he had to rely on Caroline again, the thought of what would have happened if he was alone crossing his mind.

His body was feeling terrible, yet he managed to stand abelt not very well. It must have been true that he was sick was some kind of illness from who knows where. With each step towards Caroline there was a heavy breath and shock of pain throughout every part of his body. It almost felt like his body was shutting down but he wouldn't tell Caroline that as he did not want to worry her further. His dark eyes flickered from open to close as he tried to look at Caroline, finally settling on closing his left eye and half closing the right.

Lucky for him his hair was short as he didn't have the strength in him to keep it out of his line of sight.

"I just need to rest." he lied as he allowed Caroline to pull him along. It didn't matter where he was going because he couldn't really tell that much. "Lead the way, Caroline."

Ain didn't know how sick he was but one thing was for sure. This wasn't the first time he felt like this. For the last few weeks he had felt like he was going to pass out, especially after meeting Caroline but before then as well. The thought that maybe he was dieing crossed his mind more then once as he walked down the hallway with Caroline. For the rest of the way he said nothing, the sound of his breathing was the only thing that could be heard in the quiet ship.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Caroline, by herself.
--

There was no hiding her worry. It was written all over her face, apparent in the lines that had formed on her brow and at the corners of her mouth. She helped Ain along to her room as best as she could, but there wasn't much she could do in the event he fainted again. In fact, if he fell on her, she would probably be crushed and then where would they be?

Once they had safely made it to her little bedroom, she insisted he at least sit on her unmade bed. "Excuse the mess. I haven't had the chance to clean up yet,[/color]" she said, apologetically. She tucked a bit of hair behind her ear and looked around the room. In all honesty, it was cleaner than it had been before. She was staying in the previously awful guest room, which she had made livable with Ain's help. She cleaned and he killed all the spiders that made her run from the room screaming. She had to admit though, she still got a little paranoid and found herself scanning the walls and bed sheets to make sure there were no more spiders.

Caroline had made the room her home. Her few possessions were placed out: her lipstick, hairbrush, and her knitting. She had done some work, cleaning houses and such, on the various worlds they visited to make some munny to keep food on the table... and also to keep herself entertained. She had bought several skeins of yarn and the appropriate needles and knit herself a blanket for the bed. "To make it more homey," she had explained as she spread the blanket on her bed. She was in the middle of knitting a cardigan for herself for when the weather got colder but now there were other things on her mind.

"Stay in bed,[/color]" she commanded. "Don't you dare try to get up now, you hear me? I'll be right back.[/color]"

She left the room before he had a chance to protest and made her way, still in her nightgown, to the computer control room. She was still pretty clumsy with it, but Ain had taught her most of the basics of using the navigation system. She was fairly sure she could get them to the closest world so that they could find a doctor. She pressed a few buttons, typing awkwardly with two fingers, and looked up at the screen.

"Oh, this place,[/color]" she said. Absently, the blond tucked hair behind her other ear and tapped a few more buttons. "The one with the pretty church. Notre Dame.[/color]"

Something made Caroline shudder when she said the name aloud. Perhaps it was the memories of their last visit to that world. What that man had done to her. She still had nightmares, every single night. Vivid, bloody nightmares and visions of her family and friends, all dead and dismembered but carrying on with their lives without knowing they were dead. It was the same dream every time and seemed so real to her that often times she woke in tears, on the verge of screaming and about ready to run out the door. She hadn't told Ain yet, as she didn't want to make herself anymore of a burden on him than she already felt she was.

She remembered something else from their last trip, and she looked down at her hands. She still hadn't found the source of her momentary strength then, during those battles. It scared her, though, right down to her core- especially when she thought about what Becky would say to her.

The blond gnawed on her lip and typed out the command for auto-pilot. Their course was set for Notre Dame and they would arrive there in about an hour. In the mean time, she needed to do what she could to help Ain.

She tiptoed back down the hall, wringing her hands nervously. He really had been burning up pretty badly, and seemed to be in a considerate amount of pain. She hoped it wasn't contagious.

She poked her curly-haired head into the bedroom. "How you holdin' up?[/color]"

[Ain_Soph_Aur]

I shouldn't worry Caroline...

Ain was a bit taken back by entering Caroline's room despite not being fully aware of his surroundings. His body soon rested comfortably on her bed and knew exactly where he was, though he had not been inside Caroline's room since he helped clean it. For a bit he sat down on the edge of the bed and held his side during the spouts of pain. "Maybe you should have just brought me to my own room." he mumbled under his hard breathes, probably not loud enough for Caroline to even hear. As he started to get up, he inside stayed on the bed due to what she had said to him.

"Alright."

She had left him alone now, and he just allowed himself to fall back on her bed. His breathes hard at first as he laid there, they soon started to lighten and the pain that he felt all over disappeared. While he still hurt, he thought that the worst must have passed even if he was wrong. For a few minutes he laid there and tried to catch his breath. His eyes opened wider and looked upwards at ceiling to glimpse a spider crawling across and he thought he killed them all. Deciding to ignore it he noticed that Caroline had returned and pulled himself up still holding his side. "I seem to be doing better, though I can't explain the pain." he stated quietly as he stared at her. "Nor can I explain why I passed out. No need to worry."

Though he tried to make it sound like he was fine, the truth was he just wasn't sure. He had not told Caroline that he was feeling weird for the past couple weeks, even some pains that are similar but decided against it. He kind of wished he could hide under his long hair, sadly that luxury was gone. He didn't know what else to say so he just sat there quietly and stared at her.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

I don't know how to tell you this but...
--

Caroline came fully into the room now, crossing her arms over her chest. "Don't you dare tell me not to worry,[/color]" she said, and pouted a little. "I'm a grown woman, I'll worry about what I want. And furthermore, you are not okay. You are burning up with a fever and look at you...! You can't even hardly breathe.[/color]"

She stopped for a moment, trying to tell him how she was about to force him to see a doctor. "Don't be mad at me now, but I've set the ship to stop at the closest world so you can see a doctor. I don't want to take any chances, this seems awfully serious.[/color]"

She held up a hand to silence any protests. She was putting her foot down this time. Turning, she picked up her dress, boots, hairbrush and lipstick and said "I'm going to go get dressed. I'll be back in a minute, if you can handle it by yourself.[/color]"

He can handle it, she told herself and walked out of the room, still worried. She got dressed quickly- so quickly, in fact, that she buttoned her dress wrong the first time and had to do it again. "Oh, shoot,[/color]" she sighed as she redid the buttons.

By the time she finally was dressed, a few minutes had passed and she rushed back just to make sure Ain hadn't fainted again or something worse.

[Ain_Soph_Aur]

This is the first time being sick. What would a doctor even do to help?

Ain blinked slightly at Caroline and put his arms by his side on the bed. For some reason he felt like he couldn't reject anything she was saying. His breathing slowed even more but he still felt hard both inside his body and outside to his burning forehead. He just couldn't believe that he was getting sick. In all the years people around him would catch colds and illnesses, he alone was always the one to keep a perfectly healthy body. He was strong in mind and body, so that was normal to him.

"A doctor." he stated to himself as Caroline left again with her clothes to go change. She didn't even stay to hear his protests but logically he knew that she was right.

He knew that he shouldn't just stay in bed and pushed himself off the bed to stand up while Caroline was gone. Planning to go do some work around the ship like usual. The idea of being a sick little boy that needed tending to just didn't sit well with him. A sharp pain hit him like a electrical shock through his body to his feet and closed his eyes in response. When he opened them again he saw that Caroline was already back and looked at her emotionlessly as a drip of sweat rolled down his cheek. He wasn't exactly sure if she saw him in shock from the pain but decided to forget it.

"I will be fine. I don't need a doctor." he stated as he took a deep breath and stared down at her. His stance on not accepting outside help was firm and he just didn't want to involve other people with his problems. Adjusting his jacket, he intended to get back to work. "I need to do a few things."

[Oathkeeper Emi]

I hate being like this but he'll never listen to me...
--

Caroline frowned disapprovingly at him. "That's a lie straight from the pits of hell,[/color]" she said bluntly, and pointed. "Now, sit down before I knock you out, boy.[/color]"

She walked over to the only chair in the room and primly sat down, picking up her knitting needles when she had. "We'll be there in about 45 minutes, and so there's no getting out of it. Please try to cooperate with this. I'm really worried there is something seriously wrong and I just... don't want to take any chances.[/color]"

The knitting needles clicked together rapidly. She was nervous and taking out her worry on the cardigan, speed knitting. In her haste, she kept dropping stitches and had to start a few rows over. Even though he was sitting right there, she needed something to concentrate on so that she didn't worry herself into a fit. So, she knitted but stayed in the room... just in case.

It wasn't long before they made it to Notre Dame though, and she set the needles aside. The cardigan was nearly done, but she couldn't wear it get. She gathered a few things and dropped them into her satchel, and slung it over her shoulder. She held out a hand to Ain. "Do you need some help?[/color]"

[Ain_Soph_Aur]

I'm a bit hungry, I should have ate something.

After some thought about what Caroline had said to keep him from getting up, he simply nodded and took a seat back on the bed. The next 45 minutes was really quiet except for his breathing and the quiet knitting, unlike Caroline who had something to do he had nothing to do and he felt like he shouldn't touch anything. A normal guy might have felt nervous in this situation, but he wasn't a normal guy. Without very much movement, he simply watched her knit with interest and took note of her worry that was carrying over in it. His dark eyes blinking very few times as he sat there the ship soon arrived on schedule.

Just like before it must have landed in the graveyard that was due west of the giant church known as Notre Dame, it must have been since his ship had set it as a landing point on their very last visit. It was many days before that they had to make a daring escape from the clutches of Jericho and Nadia. He wasn't so sure he wanted to be here to go see a doctor since they could be out there in his weakened state, even though he didn't know if Caroline could fight or not- she was the only one he could rely on.

Ain turned his head to Caroline after the long wait. It had been so quiet and almost awkward to stay awake in the room for soo long. His body still felt weak but he didn't feel the pain that plagued him for the past hour. Grabbing Caroline's hand firmly in his grasp, he pulled himself up and stood next to her. His expression much of the same.

"I'm lucky to have you around. I will cooperate." he stated quietly knowing passively that this was probably the best action to take. He just didn't know how he felt about a total stranger diagnosing him. "We should get going to THIS doctor of yours."

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Making an executive decision on account of you being all wobbly-legged.
--

Caroline didn't exactly know where the doctor was, but thankfully, such a question was one of the things in her French vocabulary. It was one of those things she learned just to get it out of the way and never thought she would have to ask.

They traipsed through the graveyard and back into the town. It was a lot sunnier today than it had been on their last trip there, and the streets were already full of people doing their morning business. Caroline kept a close eye on her travelling companion, just to be sure he was doing all right... otherwise she would have to ask one of these strange men on the street to help her drag him along until they could find a doctor.

Before they made it much further and got hopelessly lost, Caroline found someone who didn't scare the bajeebers out of her and asked, in French, where they could find a doctor. The merchant, selling some kind of trinkets, watches maybe, replied in rabid French that Caroline barely caught. The hand gestures, directing them on down the street, was enough to get her on her way. Walking with a lot more confidence than she felt, the blond lead Ain right up to the doctor's place. There was a sign, plainly stating what sort of an establishment this was. Caroline took a moment to slowly read the sign, making sure she hadn't misinterpreted what the watch seller had explained to her. As far as she could tell, this was the place to be.

She knocked on the door, politely and stepped back, waiting for some to come to the door. She was good at this- calling on people, that is, knocking on doors to visit. Nobody answered the door though. Caroline was already frowning and worried, so she just stepped up and knocked a little louder. Still no answer.

A neighbor from the next building stuck her head out the window and told them the doctor wasn't in yet. "When will he be back?[/color]" Caroline asked her, in the native language of course. The woman shrugged, and disappeared back into the house... only to reappear at the open door a minute later. "Is someone sick, or hurt, seriously?[/color]" she asked.

Caroline glanced up at Ain and said "He is... even if he won't admit it.[/color]"

"Is it contagious?"
"He has a fever, but I haven't been feeling sick at all and I get sick easily. I don't think it's catching, then.[/color]"
"Come inside, then, and wait for the doctor here. No use in standing in the street if he's sick."

She stepped aside to let them through and Caroline looked at Ain, again. It was if she was looking for... approval. She didn't know if this was the right thing to do. But she didn't think he was in any shape to be waiting in the sun, on the street. She also didn't know if they would be lucky enough to have someone else offer such a kindness to them.

And so she jerked her head towards the door. "After you.[/color]"

[Ain_Soph_Aur]

I think I'm feeling better but I should still see a doctor about this.

Ain managed to keep up the pace with Caroline and walk along side her. Regardless of how he felt, he knew something was wrong with him. Whether a doctor could do anything was yet to be seen, but something told him that the doctor would not be able to help in this case. As Caroline spoke with the man in French, he wondered if he should have a lesson on how to speak such a language, but perhaps that was for another time. His steps finally getting heavier, they arrived at where the watch seller directed them. He slouched a little as he stood next to Caroline, and stared blankly at the doctor's house.

"Finally."

At this point he was feeling much better. It must have been the fresh air and exercise. Though he was quick to heal injuries and such, so maybe he also was quick to that as well. Regardless he could not deny that he was hurting and barely standing not that long ago like his own body was being torn apart.

Since he was little he always felt that couldn't trust people. No matter how kind or how beautiful, there always is bad intentions hidden in their hearts and minds. Rather then dealing with it, he had chosen to avoid people when entirely possible. Though he had strayed from that ideal when he started living with Caroline, a person that he had grown to trust, deep down everyone else was still not to be trusted. He did not know why that he felt this way, but most of the time he was right.

"Wait. Instead of coming in. Do you happen to know where we could find the doctor now?" he stated quietly as took a deep breath and turned his head towards the street. "I much rather get this over with as soon as possible."

[Oathkeeper Emi]

...well, if you're sure.
--

Caroline chewed on her lip for a moment. Well, now they were in a pickle. She didn't want to be rude to this woman and leave, but if Ain thought it was best... then again, she really didn't want him to push himself, even if he was feeling better.

She cinched the strap of her satchel a little tighter, and turned to the neighbor woman. "Do you know where we could find the doctor? It's urgent.[/color]" she asked her. The woman shrugged again. Obviously she didn't care either way what they did, which made Caroline feel a little bit better if they did decide to move on.

"If he's not in his office, I don't know where he is," she told them. Caroline looked to Ain. "If you think we need to go look for him, we can do that. I really think we should go in though. Please don't push yourself.[/color]"

She had to admit though, when it came right down to hit, he knew himself better than she knew him. She trusted him, too, so if he thought it was best to go search for the doctor, she would follow him.

[Ain_Soph_Aur]

Just for a little while.

Ain looked at Caroline after she spoke and reluctantly decided to listen to her. He knew it wasn't a good idea to go running around town when he was sick, yet going inside a strangers house didn't seem like the best plan either. For now he would listen to Caroline, at least until he felt one hundred percent. "Alright, I will go inside and rest." he stated quietly to Caroline as he started walking inside the house. Admittedly he was still quite drained and could use a bit of rest.

Inside he was led to a couch by the girl of the household and sat down to catch his breath. It was kind of awkward but he closed his eyes and tried to relax. "I'm going to stay here for a while." he stated finally coming to terms with the limitations of his own body. "What will you do?"