Reddix frowned and reached up his fingers to feel the cool metal collar still encircling his throat. “What do you mean you tried?”
“Exactly what I said—I tried.” Nina looked truly troubled now. “But, Reddix, it wouldn’t come off. No matter what I did, it wouldn’t come off.”
* * * * *
He frowned at her, and Nina wondered if he really understood. She tried to explain that she’d tried everything—even cutting the collar off—but nothing had worked. It had resisted all attempts to be removed, and when she’d taken a pair of pliers to the damn thing, it had actually shocked her—delivering such a stinging, painful jolt she was forced to abandon the attempt.
“It’s really creepy,” she told Reddix. “I wish we’d never put it on you.”
“Well, it’s on now,” he said grimly. “And we can’t—”
Just then the light grass fiber door swung open, and the alien Nina had begun to know as “Healing One” came in. He was small—no bigger than a child, which conveyed his great age since these people shrank as they grew older—and covered in short grayish fur. His three eyes were a faded purple and seemed to have a kindly, patient expression in them whenever he looked at her.
“Greetings,” he sent to Nina, using feelings of warm welcome and calmness to form the words in her brain.
Beside her on the low bed, Reddix winced, a look of pain crossing his chiseled features. “Shit,” she heard him mutter as he put a hand to his temple.
“Hello, Healing One,” she answered aloud, trying as much as she could to put herself between Reddix and the alien. She didn’t know if she could block the flow of emotions from the healer to the big Kindred, but she was determined to try. “My…friend is awake. But he is still in some pain.” She was doing her best to send emotion/thought signals to match her words, but she wasn’t sure how to explain Reddix’s RTS to the alien healer. It seemed to defy description—at least with the limited vocabulary she’d been able to amass in the past few days.
“Must examine him,” Healing One sent back with pictures of his gray tentacles sliding gently over Reddix’s face and body.
“No!” Reddix sat back in bed. “This is bad enough. If it touches me—”
“You can’t touch him,” Nina tried to send thought messages—images of Healing One touching Reddix with a big red X through them. “It might hurt him. He’s…sensitive.”
“Sen…si…tive?” Healing One sent feelings of confusion and uncertainty.
Nina felt a surge of frustration. How could she convey what needed to be said? How could she make the alien healer understand?
“Must examine,” Healing One sent more firmly. “A matter of honor.”
“He’s saying he has to look at you. I think it’s some kind of doctor code thing or something,” Nina said.
“Yeah, I can fucking tell. It’s like he’s yelling it in my ear ‘til I’m half deaf,” Reddix growled.
Nina glanced at him anxiously, worried that his nose would start to bleed again.
“Are you okay?”
He frowned. “I won’t be if he touches me. Unless…”
“What?” she asked, still watching him apprehensively for signs of overload.
“Touch me.” Reddix held out a hand to her.
“Touch you? No!” She shied away from his offered hand. “You told me not to. You said touching makes your RTS worse.”
“Fuck what I said,” he snarled, then sighed. “I’m sorry, the, uh, healer alien’s emotions are so loud it’s really hard to think. Look, I could be wrong about this, but I want to try something. So touch me, Nina—take my hand. Please.” He held out his hand again, more insistently this time.
“Well, if you’re sure…” Hesitantly Nina took the offered hand. It was as warm as she had imagined it would be and so much larger than hers she felt like a child holding hands with a grownup.
Reddix’s silver eyes widened as his long fingers closed over hers. “Goddess,” he muttered hoarsely. “It’s not just a period of numbness—it’s you.”
“It’s me what?” Nina asked, still worried.
“You—you’re blocking his emotions.” He gestured at Healing One who was standing quietly to one side of the bed, waiting courteously for them to finish their conversation. “Not only can I not feel your feelings—I can’t feel anyone else’s either when I’m touching you.”
“Really? You’re sure I’m the reason? But how can that be?” Nina felt bewildered but cautiously hopeful.