Stumble

                            By:

                         Fox Cutter

12/05/96:

"Fox, I have a question." Was the first thing that I heard
as I stepped inside the house, after a quick run home.

I shrugged. "What?"

Oria walked over to me, dressed in her usual casual clothing
of semi-lose sweets. He bare feet padding along the floor.
"Why exactly do you want an illegal weapons-system for the
ship."

I gave her a bit of a smile. "Oh that, well, it's simply
really. The estimates of the ships speed aren't exactly to
fast. So the chances are good that I'll end up in a
situation where I can't run away fast enough. So I want to
be able to at least out gun them."

"Fight or flight." She said, brushing a loose lock of hair
out of her eyes.

I nodded. "Other way around actually, but yes, that about
covers it."

She tisked a bit, rolling her eyes. She was about to say
something else when she stopped. "You have blood on your
hand."

I grimaced, and looked down. Sure enough, the back of right
hand had a smear of blood over it. "Again." I grumbled.

She twitched her ears a bit. "What do you mean, again?"

I blushed. "Well, this has started up over the last month, I
end up with bleeding on my hand, but no cut." I quickly
wiped the blood of on my pants, then present my hand to her.
"See."

She took it in her paws, and slowly looked over it. "How?"

I shrugged. "Wish I knew. It just seems to happen around
here, and back home."

Her ears perk up at this. "Oh really? Are you sure no place
else?"

I shook my head. "Nope. Just around when I get home, or come
from home."

A bit of a frown creased her muzzle. "Imitated after?"

"No. I've though of that."

She grabbed my arm. "I want to see for myself."

"Oriana--" I stared.

"No buts!" she said, and yanked me thorough the front door,
and the t-port curtain. As we came out the other side, she
keep on pulling me, marching me down the hall, until we came
to the fold the both of us generally used to go back to are
respective homes.

She pushed me forward a bit. "Open, or do I have do it
myself." She already had her portal controller out.

I stuck my tongue out at her. At the same time tweaking open
the fold in my mind. The fold burst open in front of us,
more energetic the usual.

She gave me a smile, then pulled both of us through. There
was the usual feeling of crossing the folds, then we where
standing in the computer room of my parents house, back on
Earth.

Oria paused for a second. "I though this was your room."

I shrugged. "Changed to the other one when I moved back from
California."

She nodded. "Your hand."

I held it out for her. "See, nothing."

She sighed. "Well, it was worth a shot."

I smirked. "Told you it had nothing to do with coming and
going from here." I opened the fold again. "Lets go before
someone sees comes home."

She nodded, and steeped back though. I followed just on her
tail. Once on the other side, she sighed again. "I'm a bit
worried Fox."

I raised an eyebrow. "You're worried?" I asked, giving my
hand a quick glance, just to be sure. No blood on it at all.

"Listen, you go see a doctor when you can, ok?"

I smiled. "I have an appointment in a few days."

"Good. Though I suspect that this may be some kind of
infection you've picked up."

I chuckled, and started headed back to the house. "When,
it's not like I've be gallivanting around the multi-verse of
late."

She shook her head a bit, smiling gently. "Well, maybe you
got it before you exile, and it's now kicking in. It might
even been some kind of fungus you've picked up that doesn't
like going through the folds. I've heard of that type of
infection that will cause spontaneous blood loose like
that."

I snickered, and held my hand back up for her. "Oria, if it
had anything to do with the folds, I would have this
bleeding any time I used the, and second I would be bleeding
now."

She blinked, then in a voice that was deadly serious, she
said. "You are."

I turned my hand over, and saw that once again had blood
smeared over the back. "I _know_ I didn't cut my self this
time."

"I saw it, it just sort of welled up, out of your skin.
Right around the hairs."

I paused, running my tongue against my teeth. "Oria..." I
muttered. "I have a very bad feeling about this."

She nodded. "So do I Fox, so do I."