Perspectives

Chapter 55

Even the satisfaction of having seen Rothgard getting dragged off in handcuffs wasn't enough to distract Piper from the sharp pain shooting through her chest. She was forced to take frequent small sips of air to prevent her lungs from expanding too much and putting extra strain on her injured ribs.

It didn't help that she was currently being carried on a giant hand, though to be fair, the ride was far less bumpy than it could have been. Piper had to give Kalen credit, he was being incredibly gentle for once. It was strange how different it felt being in Kalen's hand now than ever before. It was like a switch had been flipped, changing him from careless asshole mode to actually considerate person mode. 

Piper sat against the wall Kalen's chest provided, legs stretched out in front of her. She could feel the thumping of the massive heart behind her, something she likely would have found obnoxious in the past but now somehow found strangely comforting. 

The hallways of the Rothgard Mansion passed by in a blur. Piper was far too busy trying to control her breathing to pay attention to the scenery. She could hear loud voices, though they were in the distance and Piper could only hope they stayed that way. 

After a painful couple of minutes Kalen finally came to a stop. Piper lifted her gaze from her lap to see the transporter machine in front of them. Her fingers tightened unconsciously around her injury, recalling how uncomfortable transporting was. The last thing she wanted was the additional side effects from that on top of everything else. 

A shadow fell over Piper suddenly. Ignoring the pain the movement caused, she tilted back to look up and see Kalen's looming face staring down at her. "Are you doing alright?" He asked softly, concern tinging his gray eyes. 

In any other situation Piper would have thrown back a sarcastic remark, however seeing as talking was something she wanted to avoid as much as possible at the moment, she opted for a grim nod instead. 

Kalen returned the nod, "Just hold tight." Kalen lifted his gaze back up, leaving Piper with a great view of the underside of his jaw. She slumped back down as Kalen began inputting something on the transporter's holographic screen. Once he was finished, his free hand lifted up in front of Piper, resting atop the thumb of the hand she sat on. 

No longer able to see anything in front of her past the wall of flesh, Piper looked up to see the ceiling of the transporter come into view as Kalen stepped forward. Bathed in a blue glow, Piper shut her eyes tightly as she braced herself. "Clear for transport." Kalen's voice hummed through her body. 

"Transporting to Bradford Manor in Callow of the Caris District." The automated voice of the transporter declared. 

Piper's vision went black, followed by the all-over tingling sensation she had grown unfortunately familiar with. For that brief moment of transportation, the presence of Kalen's hand disappeared from beneath her, and she actually found herself missing it, despite how hard she had struggled to get away from it--away from him, in the past.

All at once Piper's vision and sensation returned to her, along with the pain of course. And while she was experiencing the post-transportation nausea she had grown accustomed to, it seemed less intense than it had been in the past. Piper wondered if it was possible her body was actually getting used to the process. 

When Kalen stepped out of the transporter unit he pulled his hand out from in front of Piper, allowing her an obscured view of the massive hallway they now stood in. Piper was filled with a sense of nostalgic joy at seeing the familiar sight of the interior of Braford Manor. Despite the fact that it had been only a couple days since she had last been there, it felt so much longer after everything that had happened since. 

The sound of thudding giant footsteps approached from the end of the hall. "Lord Rothgard--" Devon stopped dead when he saw Kalen standing there, Piper in hand. His eyes went wide, his mouth agape as he stared at them. "I-I thought--when IRIS said someone from the Rothgard Mansion was requesting transport permission--"

"There's no time for explanations right now, Piper is hurt." Kalen cut Devon off, taking a step closer to the older man. 

At Kalen's words, Devon seemed to instantly collect himself. Swiftly but carefully, he lowered into a crouch in front of Kalen so that his face was held just in front of where Piper sat. "What's the problem?" Devon asked in a low whisper. 

Before Piper could conjure up the steel to actually speak, Kalen had interjected from above. "She said it was her ribs." He explained.

Devon gave a nod of understanding before straightening back up to his full height. "Take her into the kitchen, on the counter." He ordered Kalen firmly. 

Without hesitation Kalen took off for the staircase that would lead down into the kitchen, maintaining his careful gait as he did so. When Devon didn't follow Piper assumed he was going to get the supplies he had used to treat the scratch on her arm before. 

As soon as the kitchen came into view Piper's eyes shot towards the table in the corner. The plates of half eaten food that sat there were left forgotten as Celia shoved back her chair and jumped to her feet. "Piper!" She exclaimed, her expression a combination of shock and relief. It took her only a brief moment to notice Piper's state. Once the realization dawned on her, her face paled. "You're hurt." She breathed.

Piper tried to provide Celia with a reassuring smile, though she had a feeling it hadn't been convincing judging by the way Celia's eyebrows pulled together in concern. 

"Devon's on his way." Kalen told Celia shortly before turning his gaze down to Piper. "I need to set you down on the counter." He said, an apologetic note in the whisper. 

Would it not have been agonizing to do so, Piper would have released a long sigh then. Considering how much pain she was in when just sitting there, Piper could only imagine how bad it would be once she had to actually move. 

"You're going to have to sit forward so I can lift you to the counter." Kalen explained, though Piper already knew exactly what she would have to do. 

Gritting her teeth, Piper slowly shifted her weight off of the giant chest behind her. Ignoring the harsh jolts of pain each movement caused, Piper scooted forward until she was in the center dip of Kalen's palm. 

Piper took a moment to close her eyes against the pain, when she reopened them Kalen's thumb was bent towards her. She gave a grateful smile as she slung her arms over the digit, marveling at the feeling of the smooth thumbnail under her palms. 

"Hold on tight." Kalen instructed softly before the hand beneath Piper slowly began to make its way towards the island counter-top below.

Once Kalen's hand was hovering just above the counter, Piper lightly batted away the thumb she had been holding onto. "What are you--" Kalen started but Piper stopped him with a dismissive wave. She began to scoot forward once again, this time until she was at the edge of Kalen's palm, her legs dangling over the edge. Seeming to catch on to what Piper was doing, Kalen carefully dropped his hand a small bit lower so that Piper's feet were touching the counter-top. 

Piper adjusted the grip she had on her injured ribs before removing her weight from Kalen's hands and standing up. Though she could feel Kalen's hand back up slightly, she could tell he was keeping it close by, probably in the case that she suddenly toppled over or something. Instead of toppling over however, Piper fell into a sit, legs folded with her free hand propping her up. 

A shiver ran through Piper as the cold of the stone counter-top spread through her. She was immediately missing the natural warmth Kalen's hand had provided. 

Piper refocused her glazed vision as Kalen moved around the island so that he was in front of Piper. "Devon's going to get you fixed up." Kalen promised, worry still evident in his voice. 

Celia stepped up beside Kalen and nodded in agreement with Kalen's statement, "Devon may not be a doctor, but I can assure you that he is the best person to provide a human with care on Amasis." 

Wincing through the pain, Piper gave a weak smile and nodded.