Dorian laughed at the prince's opinion of that fine sterile establishment, and he petted Anat's nose. "Very good. If you will allow me, then, just --" He showed Zahi his hands, delicately poised for delicate work, prepared with a length of gauze, and he very carefully removed the tape and then the needle from the prince's brown arm. He'd learned a little bit from the nurses of the first war (during his week-long stay with a head injury and a fondness for one of the white-aproned assistants), and he made a show of stopping up the wound and wrapping it firmly. "There," he announced when it was all finished, and took a step back to allow the patient room to swing his feet to the floor.

He offered a hand to Zahi, should he like a bit of support in his journey to an upright position. He did not offer the advice on the tip of his tongue -- to take care for the stitches and to avoid wide sudden movements -- in assumption that someone as well-traveled and knowledgable as the prince of the sands would know enough to take care of a wound freshly sewn.

"We will go back to the Peregrine," he assured Zahi. "There you may rest, and eat, in perfect solitude if you wish. But I'm still very curious about your mission, Your Highness, if you wouldn't mind telling it to me, when you're well enough to do so. Here's a wheelchair, if you want!" There was one sitting in the corner, and Dorian swung it around and showed it hopefully to Zahi, gesturing that it was a fine throne to sit in, shouldn't he mind being pushed about. It was better than being hovered over by a flurry of nurses.

On the way back through the halls -- however Zahi preferred to be transported, by foot or horse or chair -- Dorian smiled cheerfully and waved to every nurse and patient that happened by, successful in his endeavor to rescue a man of royalty. "I should like to see your lands, if you'll allow," he piped. "I've never been there, but I'm severely curious. Ah, here, the children are keeping our door. [i]Has the door been protected?[/i]" he called in Japanese staccato, and he was answered with a chorus of "[i]Yes![/i]"

"[i]Good![/i]" Dorian grinned. "[i]Now, I promised you all a secret password, didn't I? Listen carefully![/i]" He crouched a bit and lowered his voice, so the children all leaned forward in rapt anticipation. "[i]Whenever you are lonely -- whenever you feel like the world is against you -- just say[/i] Alumm Khalasira! [i]All together now.[/i]" The chorus went up: "Alumm Khalarsira." "[i]Excellent. Do you feel a little warmth in your chest? That is a door of courage and strength being opened inside you. It is an ancient password, a key to the lock of your own power. Use it wisely, and never forget it. Now hush, before the nurses come![/i]" And all the children flung back to their pillows, whispering secrets, while Dorian led the sand prince and his steed back through the door in the wall.