We come in peace - Folician Chronicles 8

Epilogue - The healing continues

Ray wakes

When Ray woke it was a slow process and he was trying to remember what was going on. He remembered the deities showing up but after that it was somewhat of a blur. There were vague memories of people encouraging him to eat, shower, and change his robes if he was wearing them. Beyond that, there just wasn't anything he could really call a solid memory which made sense. Once he was awake enough he opened his eyes and looked up. He was laying on his back currently and when he opened his eyes he had to frown. He definitely wasn't on the ship right now. After looking at the ceiling for several minutes he finally realized he was back in the Temple medical section.

It took some time longer to realize why that was wrong. The last thing he remembered was being aboard the ship so why was he here? He finally looked to one side and found Gentle was sleeping next to him. On the other he could see Zantha. Both looked pale and strained which bothered him. Why were they looking that way? About then he noticed another Liraque in the room, "Who are you and how'd I get here?" He sounded very confused when he spoke to her.

Stream smiled at him, "I'm Liraque Bubbling Stream though I go by Stream. I'm a specialist Liraque and was called to the three of you. I've talked to Gentle and Zantha and both have accepted me as their Liraque. Will you accept me? What you experienced before the ship left Earth is going to impact on you for some time. I can explain why it's hitting you so hard." She leaned across Zantha and rested her hand on his chest. She didn't realize it but it was much like Flitter had.

"Um, hi? But how'd I get here? I remember being on the ship near Earth but don't remember coming here." He yawned before working his tongue around his mouth since it was dry and almost pasty feeling. Her hand was warm and brought back comforting memories of Flitter doing much the same. As with Flitter this woman had warm caring eyes.

Stream pulled a drinking tube over, "Take a sip and let it soak in before you drink any more. You were reacting so strongly to what was happening on Earth they decided the best thing to do was to put you in stasis. It allowed them to bring you back for help." She wasn't going to push the idea of her being his Liraque. She had asked and he would respond when he felt able to.

Ray was slowly sipping on the flavored water as he was listening to what she was saying. It was hard since his mind felt like it was packed in cotton. It was a struggle to try and remember anything after talking to Fury aboard the ship. Honestly it felt like his brain had shut down and that bothered him a great deal. The offer to be her Liraqua had been heard but there were so many things flowing through his brain he wasn't sure what to try and think about first. How long he lay there trying to organize his thoughts he wasn't sure.

Ray had been looking back at the ceiling as he was trying to remember before he realized she was still sitting there, "Sorry, trying to understand what happened. Everything is such a blur after the deities showed up. If you have something you need to take care of do that while I'm thinking." He didn't want to bother her or make her wait for his brain to start thinking again.

"This is why I'm here Ray, I can wait here all day for you to think and respond. It is one of the things I am very good at – patience. If you accept me as your Liraque I'll sit with you half the day until you can respond. I won't let you hide from your feelings and reactions but I will give you all the time in the world to figure out what you want to say and how. Our Goddess called me to help the three of you." She settled on the edge of the bed and briefly stroked Zantha's face before doing the same for him.

"I need the bathroom." When he sat up he felt rather stiff and achy. Even though he was doing his best not to wake the other two Gentle woke and sat up to give him a good hug. He returned it before urging her off the bed.