A few knocks came at the door.  

[color=steelblue] "Fuck off!" [/color] Dalious shouted.  

The door creaked open anyway.  In came an aged man, near to be in his eighties, white of hair and beard.  He moved slowly into the room, while dragging a long pole along side him.  At the top of the pole, there was a large red sheet covering something square shaped.  When the old man reached the bed, he let the pole stand on its own as he sat next to Dalious.  

"Well, you're already speaking more than normal," the man said with a half smile.  "And walking again, I hear?"

[color=steelblue] "I'm in my prime, Doc," [/color] Dalious tried to say with a straight face, but as he tried to laugh his sore ribs pierced him with pain.  

"I still don't understand why you don't just let the healers use their magic.  All this pain and misery, for what?  We know you're a tough guy, we won the war remember?"  As the rosy cheeked mister spoke, he began to unveil a gauze from around Dalious' face.  Just as the pirate was about to reply, the man grabbed his jaw and started moving it in various ways.  

[color=steelblue] "Awh!  Dammit old man!"[/color] Dalious spat.  

"How does it feel?"  

Dalious swatted the man's hand away from his face, then began moving his jaw himself.  He looked the healer in the face and gave him a nod of approval.  

"Well Dalious, you have healed to your fullest.  You'll still be sore for awhile longer, try not to stress your body and continue to regain your strength.  But this you already know, don't you?  Yet still, you remain in this dark room.  So again I ask, why do you refuse magic healing?  Your scar there at your shoulder, looks like Diane's work I do believe."

[color=steelblue] "I was unconscious for that one," [/color] Dalious replied, looking at it as if for the first time.  [color=steelblue] "It's nothing against magic, I needed to heal.  Body and mind, the right way." [/color]  Every single night since the battle, he had nightmares.  Every night, a new face he had killed would seemingly haunt him.  As his body slowly healed from its wounds, so did his mind.  He stopped apologizing for his past and found himself accepting what was and what will be.  It took a long time, but he needed to go through it on his own.  [color=steelblue] "I've defeated my demons." [/color]

"Good!  Gooood!" the healer spoke, he bounced up from the bed and to his feet as if he were in his twenties.  "If you haven't noticed, there is a party going on.  You, being the young man you are, should go out there.  Get some sun.  Have some fun."  

[color=steelblue] "Actually, as soon as I'm able, I'll be on my own way," [/color] Dalious said.  [color=steelblue] "I've served my oath to the King.  I told him I would fight for him and I did.  There's nothing left for me here.  Do me a favor and give them all my best?" [/color]

"What did you fight for, if you would just leave it all behind?"

[color=steelblue] "I told you, mate.  I fought to fulfill my oath.  Plan was also to get rich along the way, but fuck it, I've got a cool sword and that's fine by me." [/color]

"You claim to have fought for honor.  An oath.  A code.  Such is not the pirate way, last I checked.  So I ask again, what did you fight for?"

[color=steelblue] "The divine's hell are you getting at?" [/color]

"Maybe you don't see it, but I do," the healer moved over to one of the windows and opened the blinds.  A ray of light struck the pirate in the eyes, blinding him momentarily.  Dalious shot a hand up to cover the light, while giving him the finger.  "You fought for them."  Outside was a view of a busy courtyard and a whole lot of red.  "They fought for you.  You all fought, for one another.  As one!" 

[color=steelblue] "I fought because I said I would, and I'm a man of my word," [/color] Dalious said.  He turned away from the window entirely and started putting on his clothes overtop of the bandages and gauze.  [color=steelblue] "Now, I'm a free agent." [/color]

"Be that as it may, the tavern's giving out free ale all night."

[color=steelblue] "Alright, you talked me into it.  Lets go." [/color]

The healer gave off a slight chuckle, then headed for the door as he spoke.  "Keep your sense of humor, above all else.  It's worth more than you know." Just as he was about to leave, something moved the red fabric at the top of the pole he had brought in.  "Ah, I almost forgot!  I also tend to the orphans here, and some of them came across a few of these..."

He pulled back the red sheet to unveil a small cage at the top of the pole, within it was a small parrot.  It was about the size of an open palm, with a body color of sage green, and with yellow and red at the ends of its feathers.

"Hellooo," the small bird squawked.

Dalious sighed.  [color=steelblue] "You really shouldn't have..." [/color]

"Isn't he great?" the healer seemed to bounce with joy.  "Well, you're a...pirate and all."

[color=steelblue] "More of a cliché, but thank you."[/color]

"Well, then I'll be off.  Do think it over, at least."  The healer made his exit as Dalious just simply stared at the bird.

[color=steelblue] "The fuck am I to do with a bird?" [/color] he spoke to himself.  

"Hellooo."

A pain in his back nearly made him topple over, so he instead decided to lay back down.  

"Hellooo."

[color=steelblue] "Fuck off!" [/color]

"Fuck off!"