“So, you're going to live at the school?”
“Um… no.” Tor didn't show anything externally and couldn't really. It was a side effect of the work he'd done, being so deep for so long. Finally he remembered to speak. It took effort.
“Checking in there, then getting with Smythe. I… don't think… I… Well, I promised I'd help.” Saying that he didn't think he'd be able to work building for a while might not go over so well, he realized. As it was Trice was still quietly sobbing.
After a while he spun to look at her. After all, she didn't cry softly, did she? It was odd…
Like something in her had broken.
“Trice is coming with me. Ali and Karina too. Traveling for a bit. Get Trice assigned to the investigation.” It came out as an order.
To the King.
Tor was actually trying to beg, but it just didn't sound like it at all, did it? Gods. Well, hopefully he'd survive the beating to come for insolence.
Rich patted his back again. It hurt, even if not the thrashing he deserved.
“Done. Hear that Patricia? You are, for the duration of this investigation, attached to Smythe of Westend. Both of you need to report to him first thing in the morning. Arrange the rest of your schedule around that.”
They continued walking slowly, floating that way in his case.
Ali was easy to find, she and Karina were sitting in the main dining room of the guest house, maps and papers laid out all over the table, calling things out to Denno, who worked scrubbing the floor with a brush. He actually noticed them first, and looked up with a grin. It was “Greg”, but Tor got it, without checking his field even.
“Little brother! So good to see you. Finished your project then?” He stood up and dropped the brow bristled brush in the sudsy wooden bucket.
“Yep. Sorry it took so long everyone. I blame laziness and intractable slowness in my working skills.”
“Tor!” Ali said it first and ran to him, she stopped in front of him and looked to be about to hug him, but stopped.
“Oh… What… do you need? Food? Water? I…” She didn't wait, turning to Denno.
“Run to the kitchen and get food for him please? Water…” They had a pitcher on the table, and a nice glass with ice in it was handed to him moments later. She brought the whole thing though, cool enough for beads of condensation to start forming on the outside of the glass as he finished the water. She gave him two more, one right after the other. It tasted incredible.
Sweet, even if it was just pure water.
Then he realized that he hadn't checked it for poison. It was a slow realization and he didn't worry about it overly, since it had already probably been checked six times before it got set on the Princesses work table and twice more by the people sitting there. Tor automatically started his own check, just reaching out to the water with his mind.
And passed out.
Ah.
It was the only thing he could think when he came back, being shaken ever so gently by a tense looking wife as everyone else stood around with fear in their eyes. Except Trice who sobbed gently in the back. At first Tor didn't get it, but then looked down to see that his shirt front was covered with blood.
Nose bleed? He touched his face to make sure.
Yep.
Oops.
He blinked and accepted the cloth that Richard handed to him, one that was white and probably wouldn't be used for anything else now, no matter how well they cleaned it. It led him to start into an idea about how to clean fabrics without water. It was basically just like the earth moving equipment, only it would have to include oils and bits of biological material too… He'd even had the idea before, so…
Tor sighed and forced himself to smile, even if he didn't really have the energy.
“I… Hey, could someone takes notes for me?” Tor started speaking about the idea to the room, and without pause, Rich sat down, grabbed a pen and paper and started writing.
It was embarrassing, but he did have nice penmanship, a far nicer hand than Tor really.
When he finished the bleeding had stopped, letting him take the fabric from his face.
“Ah, well… Um.” He didn't know what to say to anyone. They all just watched him, not being useful at all. No one even tried to cover the silence, waiting for him to speak.
Jerks.
He was obviously in distress. The least they could do was help him out with some kind of face saving cover story, right? Tor smiled at that, a genuine if tired thing and winked at Ali, since she, out of the whole room, deserved the truth. But he didn't think Trice could handle it…
That was a lie.
She was strong, even after having been locked in a room by her own hand for months. It was more that Tor didn't want to risk her having an emotional reaction to what he had to say. That was cowardly though.
Darn this being a grown-up anyway, he thought, looking around.
“OK. Well, I…” How did he explain it? He wanted to shake his head and let them all guess, but soldiered on. It had to be done, it was kind of important.
Even he could see that.
Rolph stepped in, looking half freaked and ready to cry himself.
“Tor?”
“Oh… Yeah, so um, I pushed a little harder making that device for Trice than was wise, so I need to back off and act like a real person for a while, instead of a building machine. This,” he gestured at his face, indicating the bleeding that had pretty much stopped, at least for now.
“This was due to me trying to check the water for poison directly, so, you know, that's kind of telling…”
At first everyone just looked at him blankly, not speaking or even shifting too much. Except Trice who started sobbing harder.
“Oh, hush Trice. It isn't that big of a deal, I just need to not doing any building for a while again.” Because, if he did, he'd die. That was all.
They got it.
Well, Ali didn't, but Karina explained it to her pretty well.
“He pushed himself nearly to death. If he does even one more thing right now, anything… I think he'll just die. Can,” She took a breath so long and slow that for a minute it didn't seem like she'd say anything more.
“Will… you survive this? Can you recover?” Her voice sounded dark, gloomier than he'd heard it in months even.
Tor snorted, a far more credible one this time, no nearly choking to death or anything, so an improvement already.
“Yeah. It's like… just pretend I'm sick or something for a bit. No vigorous building or field work for a while and, you know, kind of keep the Tor beatings down for a time. I'll be fine. I just totally mismanaged this build, that was all. I needed to sit my butt down and plan, working slowly on it over a longer time, let it grow organically, not plunge in and play hero.” He shrugged, a motion that seemed weak and pathetic even to him.
“What can I say, I want Trice to like me.” He grinned.
Trice started to punch him.
It was a thing she did.
Bully.
Tor smiled at her sweetly.
“Um, seriously though love, do that and I may actually die right now. Even with a shield on.” That probably wasn't true. Not covered like he was, but…
Yeah, it was a real point. Everyone acted scared for a bit, that or gloomy. Except Ali, who started barking orders like a general.
“Let's get you cleaned and into bed then. Here. Um, Alphonse? Get us a room please. Kari, get one for Trice. King Richard, if you'd help me get them settled? We need them cleaned and in bed. Now.”
Everyone just did what she said.
It was cute.
Tor was led to his regular room there, which no one was staying in anyway, and Trice was just a few down the hall. The tub in the bathing chamber of his room was mostly filled and the water heated to warm. Richard had to help him in, which was embarrassing, but needed. He really couldn't manage it on his own.
The water stung the sores on his backside and legs horribly, but Tor didn't let it show as Ali and the King slowly washed the non-broken parts of his skin. They didn't use soap at first, but Ali finally did, making the wounds in the water burn. It wasn't even real lye soap either, just the lavender goop they used at the palace.