The Quiet After the Storm

The sun beaming through my windows tells me it's time to get up. I try to roll over but it feels like my body refuses to move. The only thing I seem to be able to do is breathe right now. I listen to the sounds around me as I try and focus on myself again. A few wild birds are chirping outside. I think I hear a few people working. Maybe that's what that is. I can't tell. With a deep breath, I release one ping out to see what's around me. It almost feels like my muscles are going to tear as I do but I get a good glimpse at everything, including the fox in my cabin, sitting in my chair, reading a book.

With what I can muster I speak out to her, "Anne? Is that you?" The book quickly closed as he heard them stand up. They took a fast walking pace as they came around the bed. It was Anne. She was in her usual work clothes. Her face looked almost shocked. "Red, you're awake?" She seemed surprised. I give a smile and a "Yea" before I close my eyes for a second.

Anne and Madam Odette are standing over me. When did she get here? Was she already here? I don't remember falling back asleep but I remember closing my eyes for a bit. They both look relieved to see me opening my eyes. Madam Odette is the one who stands up first. She looks around the room for a quick second before turning to Anne, "I want you to stay here with him. I'll have someone bring food. Just let me know if his condition worsens." Anne bows before responding, "Yes, Madam Odette."

Madam Odette's gaze turns to me, "You, don't push yourself. Get better. Then we can talk." Before I can say anything, if I could say anything, she leaves me with Anne alone in my cabin. I don't think I could stand up if I wanted to. I can barely keep my eyes open. Anne still seems determined to keep a watchful eye on me. She may need to be. I don't feel like I would be able to take care of myself.

Hours pass in what feels like seconds as I close my eyes and the clock changes. It only feels like a small blink but it's hours. Anne continues to sit in the chair but her position and sometimes the book changes. Has she just been sitting there reading the entire time? I'm sure she's been keeping an eye on me as well. I go to blink again. My eyes open to Anne over me with her paw on my forehead. I'm caught off guard so my body jerks in response. Every muscle tried to jump with me and the ones that did cried out from it.

Anne seems taken aback by it herself. She almost fell back as she stepped back from the shock. "Sir Red, I apologize. I didn't mean to wake you." The adrenaline is keeping me up at this point. I'm able to blink and not lose time. My heart feels like it's going to burst through my chest. I manage to mutter out "You're fine" before everything fades back out again.

The sun beams into my face waking me up. It feels like I haven't moved in days. My body feels stiff as I'm not able to get up. Mostly get up anyway. I'm able to sit with my feet hanging off the bed but the floor seems so far away even with my toes touching it. Looking over to the chair, Anne has herself perched up sleeping soundly. I don't want to wake her but I may need her help. Just a little bit of weight on my toes feels odd. No time like the present though. I shift my weight forward slowly getting it to the base of my feet. I stand up keeping my body straight trying to feel how it wants to lean. I can feel it teetering and I try to adjust but in the wrong direction. The hardwood floor lives up to the hard part. My shoulder slams into it rolling me onto my back. I expected pain but I guess I'm beyond that now and just numb.

The loud sound of a body hitting the floor was sure enough to jar Anne awake. She noticed the fox on the ground looking up at her. I've never seen her panic before. There's a first for everything and this is one of those. She comes running over quickly getting down next to me, "Sir Red! What are you doing?!" For her size, she is rather strong. She gets me up to where I'm sitting on the floor leaning against the bed where she can look and see if I'm hurt.

There's some tinge when she moves my arms but otherwise, I cannot feel a thing right now. Everything is just nothing which may explain a lot as to why I leaned the wrong way. She keeps making sure I'm not hurt but I feel fine. Again, mostly. "Anne, calm down. I'm fine. Just a little weak." I'm able to move my leg closer to where I can begin to get myself back up. Anne goes to help but the extra input may throw me off again. I wave her off politely using the bed to assist.

It's a struggle but I get it to where I can lean myself up and stand. One step forward and I'm back to being mobile. I have to take it slow though. One step at a time. Set, shift, and keep moving from one foot to the next. It's different thinking about how to walk step by step. Foot down, shift weight, lift the foot and move forward, and repeat. One step at a time with a little assistance and I somehow managed to make it to the steps with Anne. They already looking

intimidating.

One deep breath before I begin. They're shallow steps but each still feels like I'm trying to climb a mountain. Anne gives me a hand while the badgers get to the door. Once inside I see one of Madam Odette's helpers run off into her office with a quick knock. Only a few seconds later and she comes out with a concerned look on her face immediately looking toward me. I try to smile. She almost bowls a few people out of the way trying to get to me.

Without warning, she begins grabbing my face, looking me over. She pulls my eyelid open taking a deep look. I have no idea what she was looking for but she didn't seem to find anything concerning other than me being up when I should still be resting. She does a very good job of keeping her composure with others around her. She remains in control right until they help me sit down in her office. Once that door closed she lost her composure turning into an almost babbling fool, "Red, how are you feeling? Are you ok? Do you feel strange in any way?" She just shotgunned questions left and right faster than I could even process them.

I finally had to stop her by holding my paws up to her, "Stop! Calm yourself." The sudden change seemed to work. She took her seat in her chair covering her eyes while rubbing her muzzle. I was able to lean back in my chair as well. She still seems pretty worked up about this. I'm not sure I'll be able to ease her tension. It's clear something is on her mind. It's impossible to miss. The best guess is that it has to do with what happened with the fire and myself.

She still seems absent. "Madam Odette." It was enough to bring her back to the table. Her eyes showed shock for a split second before returning to her naturally in-control state. Still leaning back, she put her arms on the table giving herself a more relaxed demeanor. She finally seems to be in control of herself again. "Madam Odette, you wanted to see me?"

She's fighting back a lot of emotion. I can see it. I've been around her long enough that I'm beginning to be able to read her better. Her voice is still choppy though. There are a few things she cannot hide. "Red, I am indebted to you."

Already, this was a change. Her face keeps changing between worry, relief, sadness, and happiness. She's been thinking about this for as long as I was asleep. Thinking of that now, was I out for just a night? It feels like it's only been a short while for me but my body keeps telling me that it hasn't moved in what feels like days. Is that from the mass expulsion of magic that I did? I can't tell.

Madam Odette snaps me back from my questioning to continue, "You saved my home. You saved my people. You saved their homes with minimal damage to the ones that were affected. I just don't know how to thank you." Is that what she was worried about? I did what she considers a service and she feels she needs to thank me for it? I can see where she's coming from but it's entirely unnecessary. She continues, "I have a lot of questions for you, Red. Starting with how I can repay you. I can't fathom something of equal value."

I'm a little stunned. I've never really seen her bow down before someone. She's always been the top person in charge. Always the one in control yet here I am, with her in the palm of my paw. I could ask for the world and she would willingly hand it over. There's only one thing I could ask for in this situation. Her ears perk up as I inhale thinking about how to respond. I can see she's on the edge of her seat but trying to keep a cool and collected cover. "Madam Odette, since you are offering, I want to ask that you not think too much of it."

She's stunned. She doesn't know what to do. I can feel my face lighten as I smile, "I live here too. I work beside these people every day. Everyone would have helped if it was my area that was on fire so I'm not worried about it. I don't need anything. I don't want anything. I think the only thing I could ask for would be some time for my body to recover. My muscles still ache and everything is a bit blurry." Without missing a beat she picks up, "I'll make sure that Anne keeps tending to you until you're back to 100%."

I think that might even be too much. Anne has her job that she has to do. I can't be her only priority. It feels weird that Madam Odette is bending over backward for me like this. I'm not going to say no though. She wants to make sure I'm taken care of. She wants to pay me back for saving her home and her people. Saying no would do more damage to her than just accepting it and giving her some peace of mind. I nod in agreement. Right now, it's not about what I want.

"Red!" She snapped back to her usual self pretty quickly after that. "How did you pull that much magic?" That's a whole new topic to start on. I wonder what caused this derailment. Her face started getting intense looking for an answer. "Red, I want to know. Not a lot of people can make it rain that steady for two days straight."

"Well, I just focu…"

Wait a second. What did she say? "Madam Odette, did you say two days?"

"Yes. It was a heavy storm that put out the fire then petered off to light rain for almost two whole days."

"How long was I asleep?"

"Only hours at a time. You would wake up and eat then go back to sleep."

I was functioning in a dazed state! I don't remember any of it. "Madam Odette, how long has it been since the fire?" It's starting to get across to her that I don't remember anything or much of anything. "Oh, dear. It's been a week. Seven days since the fire."

I fall back into the seat. I can feel my jaw hanging open. I was in a dazed state yet I managed to function for a week that I don't remember. There's a loud bang that brings me back to Madam Odette's office. She's leaning forward on her desk with her paw open and flat against the table, "Welcome back."

"Uh, yea. Good to be back."

"What's on your mind now?"

"I don't remember most of last week. I remember waking up a couple of times but not eating."

"That's not too uncommon with severe fatigue." She leaned back in her seat, "You must have pushed yourself to knock yourself out that hard for that long. How did you do it? I'm curious."

How did I do that again? I close my eyes thinking back. I focused and brought together the needed parts which were… "Three parts aqua, five parts aer, two parts aura, two parts solum, all bonded together to make clouds and rain. And amplified with a potentia and precantatio booster to increase size and quantity." It may have been more complicated than that. I don't remember much other than everything around me voiding to white noise before my body went numb. Maybe that's what did it. I did push myself too hard so it took its toll on me.

I can see a sense of worry on her face. If she's worried then what should I be feeling? I'm almost to the point of internal panic at this whole ordeal. Something also feels off. I release a quick ping to look around the area. Someone is standing in front of the door with their back to it. They're blocking the doorway to not let anyone in. There are a few people in the hallway that look like they're working but they're a little too close to the door. I can't tell who they are. The rest of the house seems normal. The garden is bustling as it usually is. Everything within my reach seems to be fine. Then why is something nagging at me?

Madam Odette grabs my attention again, "What was that?"

"What was what?"

"That… thing you just did. What was that?"

Did she feel that? Can she sense magic that well? I stutter out the start of an answer, "I-I-I, well that's…" Should I tell her I've been using that radar ping skill and that's how I caught the fire? What is she going to do if I tell her? What will she do if I don't? I have no way out of this. She'll know if I don't tell her anyway. "It's similar to a sonar or radar ping. It sends out a light wave of magic that bounces back creating a sense of where things are when they are hit by it."

I put my head down waiting for the backlash. Something like this is borderline privacy invasion. I came here to learn magic and I've been using it as I see fit versus what I was supposed to be learning. When given free rein I've been abusing Madam Odette's hospitality. Then I go spying on everyone. Something soft touches my chin lifting my head. Madam Odette forces me to look at her, "Is that how you found the fire?"

"It was. I sent out a ping and it didn't look right so I went to investigate."

"Red…"

Here it comes. I'm ready for it.

"You are a godsend."

"Wait, what?"

"You just keep surpassing any expectation I have of you." She leans back onto her desk, "I don't know if it's because you're a bright kid or that you do have the power of the nine-tailed fox but the fact that you can quickly grasp and apply some of the most simple tasks into these highly advanced combinations is just astounding. Most magic theory is a concept that can be applied to others but people spend years looking for how to make it work. You pick up a book and a week later you almost master it."

It's strange when she praises me. When I first came here, I was a blundering idiot constantly being kicked around. "Madam Odette, this may sound rude, but may I please retire for the day? I'm still really worn out."

"Yes. I'll have Anne help you back. Rest well, Red. I'll have a new plan for you soon."

A tactical retreat is the best option. I am worn out to the point where I may just pass out in the chair. I take my leave giving Madam Odette her proper respect as I leave the room. Anne is waiting for me to help hobble me back to my cabin. A few people watch and I hear them mumbling and whispering about me. I can't tell what it is but I hope it's positive.