To Rick, waking up to the sight of an ugly light green ceiling was, perhaps, what allowed him to stay grounded. There was no way an afterlife could have such an horrid sense of decor. And it just so happened that this mild sense of reality was, in the end, what kept him from immediately panicking. Despite the wakefulness of his thoughts, his body was numb. He could barely feel anything. He could barely move. In fact, he couldn’t move at all. Arms, legs, head, not even his fingers responded to his command, not even a twitch. All he could do was blink and shift his gaze around the featureless ugly green ceiling.

The momentary lack of panic was slowly receding, and Rick was now having doubts whether it was time to start internally screaming or not. Why couldn’t he move? Why couldn’t he speak? Why did his whole body feel numb and distant? The sense of detachment kept receding one inch at a time.

There was a beeping sound next to him. A machine? He couldn’t see it, but the device was definitely electronic, the beep insistent. And it was speeding up.

He heard a door open, there were steps approaching. “You’re awake.” The voice was soft and soothing, and with it came the sight of a face. The face was young and female, with pink hair and warm purple eyes. A green choker adorned her otherwise bare neck. “Sir, I’m going to put you back to sleep for a bit.”

Rick wanted to protest, to speak, to ask what was going on.

His body did not respond.

Darkness followed before he could even think of what to do.

It was as if he’d blinked. He opened his eyes again and saw the same green ceiling. A part of him knew he’d been unconscious up until a second prior, asleep for an indefinite amount of time. The sensation was weird but hard to miss, a soreness from not moving. Had it been hours? Days?

His whole body twitched and an aching pain wracked his every bone and muscle. Agony despite barely having moved. Groaning, he tried to shift position again, his body was one gigantic bruise. Tenderized. Rick’s voice faltered, throat dry and parched.

“Shh, please do not push yourself, sir.” It was the voice from before. It came with a soft caress of his wrist.

Rick closed his eyes. “Water.”

“Just one moment, sir.”

And as promised, relief washed down his throat. It was slightly sweet and cool. It hit all the right spots. Rick could only lay there and suckle on the trickle of fluid that was being carefully poured into his lips. The bottle was pulled out once Rick had taken his fill. A pair of warm hands pressed gingerly against his chest. An uncomfortable heat blossomed from the touch, spreading across his body and washing away the pain.

“Your body is still recovering, sir, please do not force yourself.” The woman leaned over and entered his field of vision again, giving him a determined look. “I was warned of how head-strong you could be, sir. I must insist that if you need anything, ask. I am here to help.”

“Who’s…” A hesitant pause. “Who survived?”

The pink-haired woman’s smile warmed ten times over. Her hand reached to reassuringly caress Rick’s shoulder. “In regard to the group you traveled with, Mister Tomas and Miss Catherine are the next room over, and Mister Gabriel at the other side of the corridor. They are all in perfectly healthy conditions.”

A wave of relief crashed through him. Rick nodded. “And… the others?”

“As far as I can tell, most everyone was brought back from the deep forest. Though I’ve heard your group had sent a second scouting team the Hunters have yet to find.”

Another quick nod. “We made it.”

“Yes, you did, sir.” The young woman’s smile dazzled, the warmth from her touch receded slowly. It left a tingling in its wake that almost tickled. “Now, I cannot heal you further right now. Your body is already close to saturation. But do not worry, you will make a full recovery.”

“Saturation?”

“A body can only take so much elemental energy before it starts breaking down. And humans have a lower tolerance for it.”

“Elemental… energy?”

“Ah.” She let out a small giggle, cheeks reddening slightly. “Your students told me you were a professor in chemistry. I’m unfortunately not very well versed in that kind of science.” She shifted a little, standing closer to the head of the bed. She moved her hand, so it’d be in Rick’s field of vision. It was wreathed in a soft, white, flickering light. “We have many uses for elemental energy. Mister Tomas called it ‘Magic’, but to us that is just an aspect only some maidens can use.”

The flickering glow vanished. She twisted her hand this way and that, showing off there were no tricks. There was little to be found, nothing out of the ordinary. Also, she’d painted her nails a light blue.

“That’s… a lot to take in.” Rick mumbled tiredly, frowning ever so slightly. “Can I sit up?”

The smile waned slightly. “I’m sorry, sir, not currently. I do expect you will be able to once I’ve properly finished healing your ribcage and spine.”

“… excuse… me?”

“Your body received a great deal of trauma, many of your bones still have fractures, and your organs are still… tender.”

A very long pause followed. Rick frowned, trying to move again, only managing another twitch. The gesture was immediately met by a slight look of concern from the nurse. Her hand moved to press against his chest. The warmth from earlier didn’t come, only a light tingling that ran from head to toes. “Please… don’t. If you move too much, it will worsen your condition, and I will have to put you back to sleep, sir.”

“I… that should have hurt? Right?”

“We dulled your pain receptors to avoid a potential shock to your system.” She nodded slightly. The concern wasn’t quite gone. “I returned part of your mobility since you’ve recovered consciousness. It’s best to allow your brain to reconnect at its own pace. Otherwise you would still be in an artificial coma.”

It went unspoken that she’d take his wakefulness away if he started being dumb about it. “It sounds like a lot,” His voice came out raspy and hoarse. The young man did his best to close his eyes and relax back on the bed. “How long have I been out?”

The young woman squirmed, scratching her chin and looking away. “Two days.”

For his part, Rick had almost jumped. “Two… days? Two?”

“There was a lot of work to do and your physiology is abnormally sensitive to elemental energy,” she replied defensively. “Fortunately there was nothing missing, so most of the effort was in putting things back together where they ought to be.” Her awkwardness was gone, the young woman winked, her hand moving to his forehead, and pulling back a loose strand of hair. “Some of my companions have given you the moniker of Humpy, sir.” There was a light blush on her cheeks as she quickly retrieved her hand from his face. “Fortunately we put you back together.”

“How… how did I even survive?”

“Miss Icary managed to keep your heart beating and brain oxygenated on the way back,” she said, nodding reassuringly. “She said you’d gotten the brunt of a Tigress attack because you protected Miss Ginny.” There was a little smile that was followed by a frown. “Though that was very brave, I must warn you, sir, you shouldn’t do that. We maidens are far tougher than we look.”

“Monica.”

The word left his lips and, quite suddenly, Rick felt as if he was just about ready to attempt jumping out of the bed and towards the nearest exit. His heart had started beating fast in his chest, his mind flashed with the image of Monica’s large panicked eyes, and his mind quickly followed the memory with darkness and pain. The young teacher shuddered.

“Where’s Monica?”

“The… Tigress? Sir?”

“White hair, tan skin, scars all over, yes.” He tried to nod, but his body ached in warning. He was pushing himself too far.

“I don’t know, sir.” The nurse frowned slightly. “The Hunters have probably caught her, if Ana’s mood is anything to go by.”

“I don’t…” Rick frowned, his heart feeling like he’d just come back from a marathon, aching inside his chest. “Can I talk to the Hunters? Whoever they are?”

“I… certainly, but not quite yet.” The nurse’s composure was quickly regained. Her hands moved to touch his chest once more. A slight scowl followed. “You will need a while before you can safely be moved out of the bed, sir.”

Begrudgingly, Rick nodded. Not like he had an alternative.