“Arg!” Opening his eyes, mottled light poured in. He didn’t feel so good; what happened to feeling refreshed after sleep! He wanted the glade and forest back; this bed needed to take notes on real comfort.

Come to think of it, the sensation of that place was still partly with him. The one at fault, as with most things, was him; he just felt kak.

That pleasant sensation poured in through his left hand. It was attached to another hand and, fortunately, another body too.

Kay slept next to him; her hair was too damn long again; it trailed off the bed in successive ponytail crops making repeated bunches of curly blond hair. He wondered if it would make good rope. ‘Rapunzel’ merchandising perhaps? They could weave a whole souvenir product line with the speed it grew. Rilian would love it, which probably meant it was a bad idea.

Come to think of it; his hair was no better. Ascertaining it with his free right hand, confirmed that some Jesus shit going on with his weighty brown locks and a full beard. Gotta fix that, don’t wanna give people the wrong idea.

“So we’ve progressed to hand-holding?” He mumbled absently.

The elf did not stir.

“Welcome back, Kel,” said another sensual voice. It was not as adulated as the phrase’s semantics would indicate. The tone was, instead, quite reserved. He caught sight of Ril sitting on a stool beyond the ornate bedposts — definitely not his bed, or room. Jon was no stranger to waking up in foreign beds, nor being fuzzy on how he got there. Although, in this case, with the clear tubes sticking into his arm he was both disappointed and relieved: disappointed that funky times likely had not preceded, and relieved that he would probably not have to get partially dressed and leave hurriedly.

She came over to check his IV drip and the other machinery arrayed near the ornate bed.

“This is not the med bay.”

“No, Seph was kind enough to lend a room. Kay could not assist you within the Bunker.” Rilian flashed a soft smile the Life Mage’s way.

Seeing something that genuine on the Alpha’s face almost gave him a heart attack.

“She’s a persistent little girl. Observant, insightful, and she tests her suppositions; I wonder where she learned that from?”

“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Ril came close and kissed him before they locked foreheads. Her minty breath and pheromones were like sniffing salts. Now, he was awake! Ah fuck, everything feels terrible I don’t wanna be this conscious!

“She saved you, but only barely. Blood can drain rather quickly, especially from a neck wound like that.” She stroked a rough patch of skin on the left side of his neck.

“Another scar for your collection; I’m rather jealous, jealous, but grateful. The moniker of Life Mage was quite apt. Once she managed to channel into you, she stopped the bleeding completely. Held the blood back and wound closed by literal force of will.” Ril gazed thoughtfully at Kay and him clasping hands on the bed.

He felt the slim fingers squeeze his unconsciously; even as she peacefully dozed.

Ril continued, “I’m gonna call it ‘buffing’. You’ll agree with the name, I’m sure. A power to make all medical professionals, from multiple worlds, clamour hand over foot to get here. Your recruit made an incredible discovery; you should be proud.”

Some nagging pride did manage to worm its way past his cynicism, so he avoided its ramifications by changing the subject.

“I had the most epic trip, Ril! First, it was a dark void, not bad dark, just empty dark, you know? Then there was this forest all green and mossy and shit, till I came to this glade with a red button. And you know I fucken pushed that bliksemse button, did I ever!”

The Alpha smiled; it looked quite heartfelt, reaching up to her eyes.

She needed to stop with these authentic emotions soon, or Jon was going to relapse into a coma.

“I’m sure you did.” She pulled away and got more serious.

“How long has it been?” He coughed, damn his throat was dry.

“A month. You were almost brain dead. Even with Kay, there were... complications. It’s a good thing you requested a Sawbones when you did. Had I not been here… this story would have had a different ending.” She tilted her head quizzically and continued.

“You did well Kel; enough pieces were in play before you fell off the board. The negotiators from your world arrived last week. Seph has them wrapped around her little finger. You chose that silver sophist well.”

“I’ve said this repeatedly. I chose fuck all; they chose me.”

“That’s bullshit Kel, and you know it. You chose to help Kay, and then she chose to follow you. You chose to meet Seph and then she chose to ally with you. I chose to come down, and you could have rejected me. We both know it. The truth is, we chose each other. The inscrutable and haphazard webs of agency, cause, and effect ensnare us all. No one gets to opt out of its flawed, but inexorable, beauty while simultaneously existing. Its a packaged deal.”

Jon gave up with a shrug. “Can I at least get a coffee, while you wax lyrical?” Being bedridden, he could not physically run away from this conversation. Breastfeeding from her is far less uncomfortable.

Ril pressed on, “What makes you interesting is that you freely choose the mundane, seeing magnificence in it. Or you see the lofty and find the pedestrian. You accept whoever is before you, entirely and completely, then you transform them, and they willingly embrace it. How could they not when you love them so! You are beautiful!” Rilian held a cheek in her hand.

Drained as he was, she was making him blush, which was astounding given what they had already done in the bedroom.

“High praise from an Alpha.”

“Yes, it is Kel. That’s why—”

“Master?” All of a sudden lots of curly blond locks were in his face, and a vice lock around his chest prevented him from breathing.

“…air …need …air.” He tapped out, on the back of his assailant.

Releasing her grip, she substituted it with different torture. “You. Are. NOT.” She pounded his chest with each word, and he gasped with every forced deflation. "Allowed. To. DIE. For a long time still, do you hear me Jonathan Kelly of the Divers?!” She wagged a finger in his face.

Weakly he tried to answer. “Yes, ma’am?” He was not sure if the sacred phrase still sufficed.

“Good. As it is we are a month behind in classes, you have a lot of catching up to do.”

“Huh?”

“Did you expect me to teach myself?”

“Yes?” That was definitely the wrong answer. Her face became placid terror.

Ril was bemused. “I’m gonna leave you two.”

“No, wait, Ril! Save me! I promise good sex, I swear!”

“As if you’d slack! And we’re a month behind too. Back to the grind with you Gamma Boy; then you grind me later.” Ril left the room, and him to his fate: an absolute traitor.

“Well, well, Master. ‘Carp-pay-dee-em’ I believe is the saying; your butchered Elven sayings are terribly pronounced, by the way. I have a rather full tome of questions I seek answers to. Shall we start with Magic or Science?”

“Your Master needs sustenance and rest apprentice.”

“Ril fed you with a tube, not an hour earlier, and I can sense your state while we share my energy. Master’s needs are met; I am intimately aware of them after one month, I assure you.”

Mother-fucker, was she competing with Ril over the title for ‘best stalker’!

“Ah, shit!”

“Now, now Master I need your more erudite side, if you please. Hmm…” Kay sat up, she had lain fully clothed above the sheets, and she retrieved a notebook from the nightstand with accompanying pen.

Even as they broke contact, her connection with him remained. The kick it gave was incomparable to any performance stimulant he knew, calming and empowering all at once: the pure essence of Kay’s magic imbuing him directly.

“Let us start with magic, what might your insights be as to the benefits of sharing my power with you as we are?”

Where was a horny Alpha when you needed one!