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"Stelle, why is your face so red? You're flushed red like a ripe tomato!"
March said as she approaches Stelle who is idling with her phone in the parlor. The express finally has some time to catch a breath after constantly on edge from the chaos of Penacony's turn of events and the crew has been taking their time to a well-deserved break. Stelle didn't have any particular plan, so she decided to stay on board, and immersed herself in her phone game.
"Huh, what do you mean?"
March's remark stole her attention from her phone. She hadn’t noticed anything unusual, apart from feeling lightheaded and feeling a little warm. But then, she always has a higher temperature compared to others, probably caused by the Stellaron rooted deep within her body. It's just that today is more intense than usual.
"Your face, Stelle. It’s really red. Oh no, are you sick?"
Worriedly, March placed her bare hands on Stelle's forehead. Her concern only grew as she felt the heat radiating off Stelle’s skin.
"Oh, Aeons, Stelle. You're really burning up! Why don’t you take a rest in your room? You should have said something when you don't feel well. Pom-Pom has got a practical first aid kit including fever medicine, you know?"
She said worriedly, nagging her negligence to her health.
"I didn't think much of it. My body has always been hot, you know?" Stelle muttered.
"I know that Stelle. But this heat isn’t normal—even for you! Come on, back to your room Stelle!"
In the end, Stelle followed March's instruction and laid on her bed.
She's true, though
Now that March has pointed it out, she does feel off. Her breaths are shallow and rough, akin to when she's in an intense battle that involves high mobility. Her gaze too, seemed hazy and unfocused. She can't think clearly and felt like she could fall if someone snapped their fingers at her.
March is right, I'm sick
But what type of sickness is she catching? In the first place, Stelle has always had higher endurance towards illness. Heck, has she ever caught any disease at all during her voyage in the express? While she has human body features, sometimes Stelle can't help but wonder if she truly is human at all, being a Stellaron host and all. Or maybe, she is just human, but with certain traits which are stronger compared to regular humans.
Maybe it is the Stellaron
Stelle came to the conclusion that her irregular condition at the moment was caused by the Stellaron. After all, the Cancer of All Worlds is able to annihilate an entire planet on its own. What are the chances that the Stellaron nestling deep within her body won't cause Stelle's demise?
Shiver ran down her spine, thinking of the probable ending of her life due to the Stellaron.
"Oh, darn it. I can't sleep at all!"
Being restless of the heat, she was rolling around the bed to find the most comfortable position, only to feel sultry in every position. Stelle was clearly unamused of her current fever-like condition, and yet the grim possibilities that the Stellaron represented clearly didn't help at all. And for Aeons' sake, her condition is worsening by the minute.
"It's getting hotter and hotter."
Stelle sighed to herself, resigned on getting sleep at all.
Maybe I should take a bath?
Who knows, maybe dipping her body in the cold space water would help to reduce her body temperature back to normal. Or maybe she needs to ask the conductor to make warp jump to Jarilo VI and so she could roll around the snowbed to make her body colder. The latter seems to require too much effort, so Stelle settles on the idea of bathing in cold water.
"I really don't feel like taking a bath right now, but if it could help with my symptoms, I might settle for anything at all."
And so, she undressed herself and set the bath tub's temperature to a chilling point.
"Shit, it's hella cold!"
The foot she dips in the tub jolted out of the tub right after it made slight contact to the water. The temperature display of the tube shows 5 degrees Celsius. Stelle would never think of washing her body with such temperature, if it was not because of the heat.
" Sigh. Well, I don't have any other choices anyway. Here I come!"
And just like that, Stelle braced herself to the cold bath.
"45 minutes."
Stelle placed her hands on her forehead, and for Aeon's sake she could kill an entire army of monsters out of the rage.
"It is not. Going down. At all."
At that point, her fingertips are numb by the sheer cold. Hell, even her skin became wrinkled because of how long she was dipping in the cold water.
"Oh, fuck it! Fucking Stellaron! Fuck you whoever put a Stellaron in my body! Fuck you all!!!"
Chain of curses were said. Enraged by her outrageous situation, Stelle stood up quickly from her bathing position and practically jumped to get out of the tub immediately. It was then, she remembered what she witnessed in Natasha's clinic, when a kid is being treated by the ankle from being sprained.
"There, there. This is why you should be careful in the bathroom, dear. Take your step carefully, and don't jump around, alright?"
Ah, right.
You aren't supposed to jump when you are bathing.
And then just like that, Stelle's foot slipped when it hit the bathroom floor, and having her muzzy consciousness, she failed to save herself from the fall. Her ankle takes the falling weight of her body and her back dropped to the cold floor miserably.
Dejected from the fall and tingling pain on her ankle, she cursed at Aha that must be amused by her misfortunes.
Stelle managed to dry her body and put on a comfortable oversized shirt. She drags herself back to her bed, and all while feeling hot still.
Can't sleep. Stuck in the torturing cold bath for almost an hour. Accidentally fell and have a sprained ankle. And my body is still burning.
At that point, Stelle didn't know whether to cry or laugh. But one thing for certain, she feels like the most unfortunate person in the cosmos for the day. Stelle was considering asking Herta to put her on a forced sleep until she heard a knock on her door.
"Stelle? This is Dan Heng. Can I come in?"
She felt relieved when she heard his voice. Right, maybe a company would help.
"Come on in!"
"How's your condition? I passed by the Conductor earlier, he was frantically searching for you. I brought the medicine because he couldn't find you anywhere. Wait, are you crying?"
Unconscious of her relief, tears began to build in her eyes. Call it being dramatic, but seeing Dan Heng really eases her mind somehow. The young dragon's calm demeanor has always struck an impression on Stelle, and being one of her closest companions, Stelle certainly could trust her wellbeing to him.
"Ah, no. Stardust got in my eyes, I guess. It's nothing." Her hands silently wipes the tears in her eyes.
"...Is that so? Anyway, try to drink this after you eat. It might help with the fever."
Dan Heng made her way to her bedside and put a tray of food and medicine Pom Pom prepared.
"Yeah, thank yo-"
Before she finished her sentence, a cold hand made its way to her forehead.
"Hmmm, you certainly are burning. How are you feeling? Do you feel any other discomfort apart from the heat?"
Startled by the sudden closeness, Stelle couldn't help but to feel bashful.
"Ah, well, umm, not exactly, apart from feeling lightheaded." and a sprained ankle. She thought to herself, but was unable to make the confession because of how ridiculous the cause was.
"I see."
Dan Heng looked over Stelle’s face, trying to spot other symptoms that may be apparent to the eye. Her face was pale, and beads of sweat clung to her forehead. Stelle felt self-conscious to his intense gaze, as if he could see right through her.
“Um, Dan Heng.”
“Yeah?”
“Aren’t you a little too close?”
“Ah.”
Suddenly realizing the proximity they had, Dan Heng retreats quickly, shades of pink coloring his face.
“My bad, I was too focused on analyzing your condition.”
“That’s fine.”
They sit side by side on the bed, feeling sheepish by the close contact. They always had this attraction to one another, and yet it was so subtle that none of the two realized it.
“A- anyway, I will try to look up some clues to your symptoms in the data bank. Although, I doubt that the case of high-fever by being a Stellaron host would come up. But I’m sure we’ll find some clues.”
He stood up and was about to go back to his room. Stelle, who had just been delighted by the company after her chain of mishaps, felt like her position was endangered.
No, no, no! I can’t let my distraction go!
“Dan Heng, wait– damn it..!" She winced as her ankle gave out and stumbled forward, reaching to grab Dan Heng's sleeve but ended up falling in the process.
“Careful. You shouldn’t stand up quickly like that. Are you okay? Can you walk?”
Stelle felt like disappearing into the cosmos because of her frustration. Is this all she has for the mighty Galactic Baseballer who can’t even stand up properly?
"I-I'm fine, just a...just a sprain, nothing serious."
Stelle brushed it off with a white lie while grimacing to the pain on her ankle.
“You don’t look okay, though. Come on, I’ll help you get back on the bed.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Dan Heng gently wrapped his hands on Stelle's waist, careful of the steps so it wouldn’t cause more pain to her ankle.
“How did you get a sprain, anyway? It doesn't seem like something that just happens.”
“Oh, Dan Heng. You wouldn’t believe what just happened.”
As she fully laid back to her bed, Stelle suggested Dan Heng to sit by her bedside.
“Sit first, it’s gonna be long.”
“So, you tried to cool your body off by bathing in cold water which failed, and got a sprained ankle while trying to jump in the bathroom because you were frustrated by the situation. Is that correct?”
Stelle's face flushed red as Dan Heng accurately recounted the series of events leading to her situation. She looked away, a mixture of embarrassment and frustration on her face.
"Y-Yes, that's what happened."
She muttered, looking down like a dejected puppy. She was clearly annoyed at herself for being so clumsy.
A sigh escaped Dan Heng’s lips as he received the answer from Stelle, all while shaking his head.
“You really have a unique way to injure yourself, huh?”
“Well, it was incidental.”
Stelle’s face grew more scarlet, her gaze downcast, trying to avoid Dan Heng’s prying eyes. He smiled as he found it cute to see Stelle that flustered.
“I guess it’s not you if not surrounded by trouble. Just eat your meal first and focus on getting better.”
“That’s not… wrong…”
Stelle sighed, scorning over her misfortunes. Spotting her annoyance, Dan Heng patted her head gently in effort to offer some comfort.
“Don't worry about it too much. Eat the food first, it’s getting cold. I’ll stay beside you.”
Stelle was a little sheepish to him patting her head, but decided to brush it off anyway.
“Yessir.”
Stelle woke up feeling a little stiff.
I feel asleep?
Stelle is already familiar with the idea of waking up somewhere randomly, knowing that she often got teleported when she slept on her bed.
“Uh…”
But the stiff feeling certainly was not on her list. Did she suddenly move to some snake’s nest? Stelle felt like a long snake’s tail was gripping her whole body. But no, that wouldn’t make sense because when she opened her eyes, she could see the familiar ceiling of her room.
Then what is it? Oh-
Stelle forgot the entity that accompanied her to sleep.
Right, of course he could do that.
Long translucent cerulean tail wrapped around Stelle’s waist all the way to her arms. She’s practically using his tail as a bolster pillow, the tail’s end in front of her face. Stelle glanced around and found the owner of the tail leaning back to the headboard while crossing his arms, eyes closed shut with a steady breathing. Apparently, he took off his jacket and is now wearing his black turtleneck. He must have fallen asleep while accompanying her. Stelle stroked the tail softly, careful not to wake her company.
Sensation of the touch felt strangely soft, and had a similar feel to one of the snake’s. More importantly, the tail permeates coolness to her body, but different to the one of the cold bath, to the point it felt calming. Stelle checked her forehead and felt the heat almost gone.
My fever is out.
Is it because of the tail? Stelle knows that the Vidyadhara has a unique ability to heal, but she thought only certain people are able to do that, and Dan Heng memories of his past self are incomplete. Perhaps he could wield the healing ability to some extent, or maybe his tail’s ability to heal is just inherent.
“Mmm. Stelle, you’re awake?”
The black-haired let out husky voices, vocal cord strained while asleep. After he could open his eyes properly, he just noticed Stelle’s state, being wrapped around his draconic tail. Embarrassment washed over him as he realized that his usually hidden tail had emerged when he was unconscious.
“Uh, sorry. I didn’t mean to wrap my tail around you like that.”
His tail suddenly looked like rippled water and faded into nothingness, as if it wasn’t there in the first place. Curiosity quickly took over Stelle. She sat upright, eyes fixed to where the tail was just a moment ago.
“Your tail.”
“Y-yeah?”
“Why do you keep it hidden?”
“Because it is convenient.”
“Does it always appear when you sleep?”
“Uh, this is a little embarrassing. My tail tends to emerge when I’m not completely in control, like when I’m asleep or unwell.”
He explained, face still flushed because of the embarrassment.
“Can you show me your tail again?”
Of course she would ask that. Dan Heng thought to himself, slightly reluctant to the idea. Normally, he would have rejected the request, yet the sparkle that painted Stelle’s eyes due to her curiosity disarmed him. With a sigh, Dan Heng complied with her request.
“Fine, but just for a moment, alright?” he said, trying to maintain some semblance of composure.
An optical illusion rippled through the air once more, making her surroundings seem like water. The thick, reptilian tail appeared on her bed once more. Stelle gingerly brought her hand to the skin, carefully caressing the scales.
“It’s so soft. And cool.”
Stelle found the tail mesmerizing. Her hands moved gently across the tail’s tip and stroked the fur on the top. Dan Heng felt his face grow hotter as her hands inched higher along the tail, his composure slipping.
“That’s enough,” he said abruptly.
With a splash-like motion, the tail she was marveling at faded again.
“Anyway, how’s your fever? Feel any better?”
Dan Heng astutely changed the topic, cold back of hand pressed to her forehead.
“You’re back to normal now. That’s good. In any case, I'll be back to my room. If you need anything else, you know where to find me.”
“...Sure.”
Dan Heng stood and moved towards the door that connects to the next car.
“Dan Heng.”
“Yeah?”
His footsteps halted as she called out. He turned back to find her smiling ear-to-ear—an expression that’s a little unusual for her usual demeanor.
“Thanks.”
“Not a problem.”
He shut the door behind him, his face flushed red to the tips of his ears. The lingering warmth of their brief contact lingered as he retreated to his room, his heart racing quietly. Meanwhile, Stelle lay back in her bed, the weight of the day fading as sleep embraced her at last, a peaceful smile gracing her lips.