Xio was tired of laying in the cot with the other hurt citizens of Norumbega. It'd been days already since she woke up, with a ffew bandages around her, and feeling sore. But by now, besides one around her head, she felt quite well, and *definetly* well enough to feel restless. This meant of course she had snuck out of the room, and was now exploring the ruins of the city.

Mira stepped away from the winged stranger, rubbing her eyes. There were too many civilians to keep track of these days. Now there were strangers, too. Civilians...oh CRAP. She dropped her paws to her side. Xio! She was...oh crap, that kid had better not be up yet she broke into a dash for the makeshift infirmiry.

Xio had a wide smile on her face as she walked along the top of a narrow, crumbled wall of what was once a house, looking around her, humming. Her long, fluffy tail bobbed up and down as she made her way along the wall, not particularly looking at her footing, but seeming to have pretty good balance. The destruction she saw of her hometown from this vantage point was horrible, but she was much too content to be up and about to let it bother her too much.

Mira almost missed her sister. She'd actually passed her when she caught a bit of movement out of the corner of her eye and spun around. "XIO!" Her voice was clear and commanding, a benefit of her training as a soldier. "Get back in bed!" It was a slightly ridiculous statement, bed was a bit far to just hop into. Mira didn't attend to that. Xio wasn't supposed to be up at ALL.

Xio had caught sight of her sister before the older had, and was waving by the time Mira had called out to her. Her smile changed to a pout as she looked at Mira, sitting on the ledge, tail hanging down behind her. "Aww, no fun! I'm *fine*" She whined.

Fun isn't as important as getting healthy!" Mira scolded, scowling up at her mischievous sister. She really didn't want this to descend into a chase, she'd never catch up to Xio and she knew it. "Besides, you're lucky to have a bed, a lot of hurt pets don't have one!"

Xio considered this, "But I feel healthy enough, why not let the others use my bed?" She said, as she stood up on her hind legs to look around, distracted by a flicker of movement in the distance. As she did though, part of the crumbled wall gave out under her weight, and she blinked as she toppled backwards, away from Mira with a sudden "Eeep!" of surprise.

Mira reacted instantaneously, vaulting up up the wall in time to see her sister fall down the other side.

Xio had swished her tail to turn around, and fell on her feet, rather heavily, but she stood at once, a wave of nausea hitting her then, and she crouched down on the floor wincing, one hand going up to her bandaged head.

Mira landed heavily in the sand behind her, crouched, with one hand touching the sand. "That's EXACTLY why you shouldn't be up!" She tried to nab her sibling to sling her over her shoulder.

Xio looked up in time to see her sister try to grab her, and she jumped away, moaning as she did, the jump not agreeing with her head. She plopped down to a sitting position. "It'll go away on it's own." She whined stubbornly.

Not if you keep hopping around like a Quiggle it won't," Mira admonished. She was doing her best to be patient with the little runt, but she was being difficult. Even stubborn soldiers knew when to lie down and give up...but then, Xio was a kid. Kids weren't xactly bursting with sensisbility. "Okay, fine. We'll compromise. You go back to bed, and I'll give you a treat?"

Xio looked interested, tail twitching, "What kind of treat?" She asked.

Mira put one hand to her chin and struck a pose, pretending to think very hard about this. "How about....candied ginger?" She gave Xio a sly look.

Xio's ears flickered, that sounded good. But would mean going back to that cot... she squirmed as she thought, then saw a beetle walking in front of her, and her concentration vanished, as she watched it, crouching down to see where it was headed.

Mira sighed and rolled her eyes, dropping the pose. She wondered how their mother had done it. SHE hadn't been like this as a child! Totally misinterpereting the action, she spoke up, "You can take the beetle with you."

Wouldn't want to bother it, seems to be on an important errand." She said seriously as she crawled behind the beetle, that was scurrying away from the predator. Tail twitching high behind her, she blinked, "Take it where?"

Back to the INFIRMIRY," Mira said firmly, ducking down to scoop up her sibling. Enough was enough!

Xio let out a squeak as her sister picked her up, tail lashing out to swat her in surprise. "But I feel fiiiine!" She said in a high-pitched voice.

Like hell you do," Mira replied slinging her sibling over her shoulder like a baby in need of being burped. "You're going back to bed if I ahve to TIE YOU DOWN." There was an ominous note that suggested she was indeed not above lashing Xiotail to the bed.

Xio had been struggling, but she went still as she heard her. Sighing, she cupped her chin in her hand, elbow against her sister's back. "You're no fun..." She said with a sigh. Ah well, she thought to herself, as long as she *didn't* get tied down, she could slip away once her sister left.

Good," Mira told her. "I'm not supposed to be fun." She was smiling faintly. She didn't mind Xio like she minded most kids. Probably because she was kin. "I'm your sister." Her long tail twitched behind her as she walked. She rounded the side of the wall and reentered Norumbega's proper.

Xio had a pout on her face, but she grinned slightly at her sister's comment. She had to admit it was good to have a sister again. What with Mira being military, she never saw her before the battle happened. She doodled with her finger on Mira's back, "No need to be *that* unfun, just because you're my sister... and you still owe me the candied ginger."

Nuh-uh," Mira grinned. She could feel Xio doodling. Did she never stop moving? "You didn't come when I asked you to!" Her swishing tail gave away her amusement. "Where would you get your...unfun if it weren;t for me, hmmm?"

Adults." Came the sour reply. "And I woulda! I just got distracted!" She wasn't quite sure what had distracted her at the time, and convineintly didn't remember whining about not going either. Her tail twitched, waving back and forth.

Uh-huh, suuuuure." Mira remembered that taunt from when she was little. Easiest way to irritate another kid. She spotted the infirmiry and hung left. "And I'm King Coltzan!"

Xio's ears twitched, looking up, and trying to twist to look at Mira's face. "REALLY???" She said in an awed voice.

No, silly," Mira cuffed Xiotail lightly on the head. "King Coltzan is dead. Do I look dead to you?" She grinned.

Xio winced a bit more than she should at the cuff, as she turned back to look at Mira's tail. "oh... right... true..."

Mira winced inwardly. Death was not a good subject to bring up in a city like this, especially now. He ruffled her sister's headfur lightly as she pushed open the temporary cloth door to the medical centre. "We have a runaway," she joked to one of the healers, who smiled at her and Xio.

Xio sighed dramatically, "I wanted some fresh air!" She defended herself, looking at the cots and other injured norumbegans. "Besides, I still think I'm fine."

Despite falling off a wall?" Mira slipped the small bag of sweets into her sister's paw. "Do I have to put you to be myself, or can you find it yourself?" She grinned, as though to suggest she couldn't.

Xio's face lit up as the candy was handed, and she grinned at Mira, "I can find it!" She said, turning and scampering to her bed, sitting on it and opening the bag to eat.

Mira laughed and resisted the urge to smother her sister in a huge hug. She was adorable sometimes. It'd be unprofessional, though. "I've got some things to do, i'll come back later, okay?" She paused. "And maybe I'll tell you a story when I do." She winked.

Xio nodded happily, as she munched on the ginger, "Kaay!" Her tail swished behind her, then finally wrapped around her.

Mira patted her sibling on the head one more time before turning and leaving the infirmiry. She'd better find Urba, ask about those two hurt strangers...

Xio grinned at her sister, as she left, finished the candied ginger, and finally plopped down on the bed. She winced. The throbbing in her head had gotten worse, specially after her fall, and now it had grown to a bothersome pain. She clsoed her eyes, deciding to try and sleep it off, all thoughts of slipping out again forgotten.

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