A cool summer breeze drifted through the half-open window, sending the pale cotton curtains dancing and ruffling the sheets of the only bed in the room. Stirring in the half-light, Nauleth slowly awakened to a terrible burning, aching sensation crawling over what felt like the entire left side of his body. His mouth was dry and the distinct taste of something terrible, metallic, and burnt hung in the back of his throat.

He groaned.

Someone was holding his right hand and they were sniffling, but they faltered in their breathing when the boy moved.

It took considerable effort to open his eyes, and only the right one seemed willing to comply completely. His head refused to lean, but his eyes slowly focused on the darkened face of his sister, Nadia. Her auburn hair was disheveled, her eyes puffy and red, her cheeks moist, as if she may actually have had some reason to be concerned for his well-being. As soon as she met his eyes, however, her whole body stiffened and she let go of his hand, her face hardening into an indignant expression,

"You are the worst brother, ever. I hate you." Her bottom lip quivered as if she was going to cry again, but her words were honest and cold.

"What ..." Talking felt like his brain was moving in slow motion, and moving his mouth sent a fresh wave of something fiery across the left side of his face, "What's going on?" He remembered the flash of surprise on Siduri's face, the blur of the crowd, and the wave of something terrible and angry and –

"It was backlash, you idiot. In front of everyone. Everyone." Hissed the girl at his bedside, sniffling and wiping her eyes with her palms, "You made the mona so clocking mad that you went and got yourself knocked unconscious. Paralyzed even." She glared at him, then leaned close, gripping the bed sheets and whispering, "I heard the doctors talking in the hall. They even said you've got some kind of damage to your nerves. The mona hurt you back!"

The girl whimpered a little out of unbidden concern, then scowled at her weakness, sucking it all back in with another snotty sniffle. Hatefully, her face gleaming with pre-teen social horror, Nadia snarled after regaining her composure, "I hope it hurts real bad. I'm never going to have any friends ever again because of the fool you've gone and made of yourself. They're all going to remind me I'm Naul's sister until I graduate."

"Naddie, I –"

"Don't you Naddie me, kenserface. And don't ask me where mum is, either. She's not coming to comfort you. What would the neighbors say? It's not like they don't already talk enough about you behind da's back." Nadia stood, her eyes shining in the scant light of dawn through the windows, "I'm only here because Nicias was too afraid to come. They-they told me I had no choice but to watch you while they decided on how best to ... help you."

Nauleth closed his eyes again, trying not to get angry as it seemed like the faintest stirrings of frustration only fueled his physical discomfort. He managed a whisper, only half his face wincing, "But they can help me, right? This ... isn't permanent?"

The girl sighed, not wanting to cry again. She did love him, even if he was a terribly mean brother more often than he was ever a decent brother. He'd been kind to her when it suited him, and he'd even protected her from other bullies besides himself on occasion. Pity crept back slowly into Nadia's voice, "Yes and no. I mean, I'm not sure, Naul. I ... I wasn't listening. I was too mad at you. And scared."

There. She admitted it. She was terrified.

"The doctor said that it would take a lot of magic to make it better, but he sounded pretty confident that they could ... fix ... whatever you did to yourself."

The boy exhaled slowly, trying to comprehend the apparent magnitude of the situation, but it only made his brain hurt like the rest of him, "How much trouble am I in? Did they tell you?"

The young girl's eyes lit up and her face seemed to brighten, "No, they didn't tell me. But ... maybe they'll expel you."

Naul managed to twist his face into a pained mask of defiance, hiding the sudden wave of panic that buzzed in the base of his aching skull, "You don't mean that, Nadia."

Surely not.

She giggled, shrugging, "Maybe ..." With a sigh, she looked to the door to the small room in the Infirmary. She could hear voices getting closer. The young girl sat back down with a strangely distant grin, "I guess you'll just have to wait for them to tell you ... Whatever they say, know this ... Once they let me go back to the dorm, I am never talking to you again. Ever."