Voodoo

Author: Seth
 
"Standing between Shadow and her bananas is like an extreme sport, only more dangerous."

The uniform grey walls of the Jericho passed by in an unacknowledged blur as Rai trudged along, hands in his pockets and the beat of jazz flowing through his ears. His face, stormy with some inner turmoil, twitched occasionally in an uncomfortable grimace. The scarred panthryan was so immersed in his personal worries that he didn't even notice the figure steadily catching up to him until a wary finger tapped him on the shoulder.

Startled, Rai spun around, electricity already crackling about his fingers before the blue haired face opposite him registered in his mind.

"Sorry Captain, I'm a bit… jumpy." Rai mumbled guiltily, the electricity dying in his palm.

Marten, who had retreated to a safe distance the moment he'd tapped Rai, nodded and crooked his finger towards a shadowy corner. "I need a word with you."

Nodding in return, the ex-royal soldier followed his commanding officer to the corner, popping his earbuds out en-route.

"Rai, listen," Marten started, "I understand that Shadow blew you cover all to hell during that last extraction, but don't you think you're being a little too… well, harsh on her?" The roujin finished, his words tinged with the faintest hint of embarrassment, his eyes flitting around as if afraid he was being overheard.

The golden eyed panthryan raised a silver eyebrow quizzically. This wasn't like Marten, not at all. Something odd was afoot.

Rai winced. Speaking of feet, his left one felt as if it had just been stabbed, and it wasn't the only part of his body that had been acting up lately. Maybe he'd pop by the infirmary later.

"Harsh?" The young man asked. "I'm honestly surprised that you didn't add your own punishments on top of mine." He rotated his left leg into the ground, trying grind out the piercing ache in his foot. "All you gave her was that speech on 'Unnecessarily putting lives in danger', and after that, nothing." He gave his foot an extra forceful jerk, trying at the same time to make it look covert.

Marten grimaced, surreptitiously rubbing his right forearm. "Yes, well, she was already beating herself up so much enough over it that I didn't see a point in driving the lesson home with a sledgehammer."

Rai's eyebrows drew together in a frown. If he needed any more proof that something was up, this was it. Marten rarely ever spared his subordinates his ire whenever they screwed up, preferring to strike when the metal was hot. If he made a lasting impression, then the lesson would stick all the better for it.

The silver headed man's frown deepened as his eyes were drawn to Marten's pained arm. Yes, something was definitely up, and he was going to find out exactly what it was just as soon as he made that trip to the med-wing.

"She's got the lesson; just… at the very least, don't make her go cold turkey, ok?" The Black Ops Captain shook his head irritably before moving off, leaving Rai alone once more.

Popping his earbuds securely back in place, the jaded soldier started making his way to the base hospital. He didn't care what marten said, he was putting his foot down, and he wasn't going to let up until he was given a damn good reason to. Rai winced, and then doubled his pace as another shooting pain rammed into him, his right shoulder this time.

Just what was wrong with him?

Meanwhile, in a small, spartan room.

"Hungry. Shadow is hungry. Shadow needs bananas. Shadow needs bananas now."

A lump of blankets sat upright, rocking back and forth erratically on a small cot squeezed into the far corner of the dark room.

"Shadow needs bananas but Rai won't let her. Rai said she can't have any an' he won't let her have any. It's his fault, it's Rai's fault that Shadow has no bananas."

A glint flashed through the gloom and a needle was withdrawn was withdrawn from a small, silver-haired puppet. The needle paused over another stuffed caricature, this one topped with a mop of blue braids, before plunging surgically into its right knee.

"Captain. Captain can order Rai. Captain can make Rai give Shadow bananas. Captain can help Shadow. Captain will help Shadow."

The needle slid smoothly out of the cloth, and glided over to the other doll.

"Shadow must have bananas."