Chapter Text
Janai woke up with a start. Someone had touched her, there was someone in her bed. Who was in-the human. Right, right. The human that Janai was definitely not feeling feelings for.
Janai sat up, turning. She had eventually moved to lay on the unoccupied side of the mattress beside Amaya.
(You slept with her, an immature voice in her head chuckled.)
Kazi had curled up on the long, low couch and was dozing peacefully, a small pile of books on the floor at their side.
Amaya however, was not sleeping peacefully. She was trying to sit up, touching the bandage across her face, feeling around with her hands.
Janai reached out to grasp one of her questing hands. Amaya stilled, turning towards Janai, palm upturned. Janai realized suddenly that Amaya was likely expecting Kazi to begin signing into her palm. She could wake the scholar, but…
Janai wracked her brain, desperately trying to recall the hand shapes that Kazi had taught her before going to sleep. Hesitantly, she spelled out, “P-A-I-N” hoping that the question translated. The “N” was a bit of a struggle with only 4 fingers, but she figured that Amaya had managed to understand Kazi and was smart enough to know that the elf would not have meant to say “PAIT.”
Amaya made a waffling gesture with her hand: some pain, but not bad. Then her lip quirked up, and she pulled her hands out of Janai’s grasp to salute the elf.
Ah. Clearly one night of practice was not enough to fool the human general into thinking Janai was anyone other than herself.
Amaya pointed at the mask on her eyes, then held her hand out to Janai. Janai slowly signed “S-A-L-V-E.” And then, “C-L-O-S-E-D” and moved her hand up Amaya’s arm to her face, gently taking a hold of the cotton strips. After a beat, she slowly pulled them away from the human’s face. As requested, Amaya kept her eyes closed.
Cupping the human's chin in one hand, Janai gently wiped off the excess salve with one of the strips of cotton. The tenderness of this gesture was not lost on her. Something about Amaya's demeanor gave Janai the impression that the human was having similar thoughts.
If Janai's hand lingered slightly longer than necessary, well, no one was the wiser.
Satisfied with her work, Janai took Amaya's hand and signed "O-P-E-N."
Slowly, apprehensively, Amaya blinked her eyes. They were red-rimmed and puffy, but looked much better than yesterday.
Amaya let out a breath so loud she nearly startled Janai. She nodded, shoulders relaxing, and closed her eyes again, then began signing something that Janai didn't recognize. Before Janai could wake Kazi, Amaya switched her signing and slowly finger-spelled. Janai copied Amaya's letters, trying to remember her late night alphabet lessons.
"B-L-U-R-R-Y" Amaya spelled again, before repeating her signs from earlier. That was good. Blurry meant that she could see.
Amaya opened her eyes again, squinting at Janai. She smirked and waved at the elf. Janai chuckled and shook her head. This human was incorrigible, unstoppable.
(Fucking attractive, her mind said.)
Trying to prevent her thoughts from going down that particular path, Janai stood and picked up a glass of water, handing it to the rapidly improving patient.
Amaya finished off the water in one go and held the cup back out to Janai. The elf took the cup, turning to refill it. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Kazi sitting awkwardly on the couch.
Kazi had evidently woken up at some point between Janai's clumsy attempts at signing and her transparent excuse for touching Amaya's face. She wasn't sure how much Kazi had witnessed, but based on how intensely they looked as if they would very much like to sink into the floor, Janai guessed they had seen an incriminating amount of vulnerability.
"Hey," Kazi squeaked anxiously. "Did you want me to stay or go or-or some other option that I haven't thought of?"
Before Janai could respond, Amaya leaned forward, peeking around her to grin at Kazi.
"Oh!" Kazi exclaimed, awkwardness immediately forgotten in their excitement about Amaya's recovery. "How are your eyes?" they signed, voicing for Janai's benefit.
"She said her vision is blurry, so you may have to move closer," Janai interjected.
Kazi quickly moved closer to the bed and repeated themself. Amaya replied and the two began to rapidly sign back and forth.
Janai left them to their conversation, gathering up the remains of her bedroom-turned-hospital first-aid. She disposed of them in her bathroom, returning to her bed chamber with a sachet of dried leaves and bark.
"She says that she is still feeling unwell and feverish, but that her eyes feel much better," relayed Kazi, signing along.
"And the pain?" queried Janai.
"It is manageable, but not pleasant," Kazi replied, pausing before continuing, clearly hesitant. "She uh, she asked about her uh, her accommodations moving forward and I did not know how to respond."
Yes, Janai. Please explain to your prisoner why she is in your bedroom (in your bed). And at what point will you arbitrarily decide to send her back to her prison despite literally caressing her face earlier?
Feeling her cheeks flush, Janai shoved the sachet into Kazi's hands. "Use this to make tea for the pain," she blurted. "You are welcome to stay as long as you want. Amay- the human can stay until her vision has sufficiently returned and she is no longer ill. I am going to find us breakfast."
Not waiting for a response, Janai swiftly strode out of her room, soundly closing the door behind her.
She took a moment in the hallway, breathing deeply. Get your shit together she scolded herself, before heading off to find breakfast.
Royal breakfast for a royal prisoner. (Prisoner? What prisoner? She slept beside you. In your bed.)
She almost hear Khessa laughing at her.