12.Jul.18, 02:41 AM
You wouldn't think it, but it was odd to be so thoroughly taken care of.
Okay, the Healer visit hadn't been a breeze. Deep wounds like that had their consequences. It wasn't as if the Healer was all that happy to be stitching together her flesh at an ungodly hour of the night. And perhaps the lack of numbing agent came off as a bit vindictive, but what room did Onari have to complain? She would be put back together, she would be well looked after, and all through the benevolence of a single stranger.
The Healer had been clear. She'd walk with assistance -- a cane, a ragged old thing whittled from a branch, by the look of it -- and she couldn't exert. For the most part, she had to rest. No heavy lifting. If her wound reopened, she'd have to be seen immediately. There were herbs she'd have to eat with her meals in order to avoid infection. Everything was laid out. Precise. And Dessa agreed to it all, as if she hadn't minded the responsibility. Came with the territory, didn't it?
Rest. She had to rest. And yet?
She didn't sleep a wink. She refused to complain about it, either. Not when Nlani had found herself sleeping soundly, and with a full stomach, no less. A mother couldn't ask for more, right?
Of course not. Even as the morning drug itself sluggishly through the window, with that child still sleeping soundly, perhaps more soundly than she ever had in her entire life, she refused to complain. The soreness in her leg made it difficult to pull herself from bed, but she managed. It hadn't been a thought in her head to wake Nlani up. Let the girl sleep in. She'd had a long day. A long night. A long everything, really.
Onari's cane announced her arrival downstairs before her voice ever could. That, or her heavy foot thuds down the steps. It wasn't a graceful trip. But all the same, Dessa's voice floated toward her, familiar. Good morning, dear, as Onari had come down these steps a million times before. As if this were routine.
"Something like that," Onari grunted, her free arm grasping the wall as she stared out into the room. "I hope you weren't up too late. I didn't expect the Healer having to stay that long."
Okay, the Healer visit hadn't been a breeze. Deep wounds like that had their consequences. It wasn't as if the Healer was all that happy to be stitching together her flesh at an ungodly hour of the night. And perhaps the lack of numbing agent came off as a bit vindictive, but what room did Onari have to complain? She would be put back together, she would be well looked after, and all through the benevolence of a single stranger.
The Healer had been clear. She'd walk with assistance -- a cane, a ragged old thing whittled from a branch, by the look of it -- and she couldn't exert. For the most part, she had to rest. No heavy lifting. If her wound reopened, she'd have to be seen immediately. There were herbs she'd have to eat with her meals in order to avoid infection. Everything was laid out. Precise. And Dessa agreed to it all, as if she hadn't minded the responsibility. Came with the territory, didn't it?
Rest. She had to rest. And yet?
She didn't sleep a wink. She refused to complain about it, either. Not when Nlani had found herself sleeping soundly, and with a full stomach, no less. A mother couldn't ask for more, right?
Of course not. Even as the morning drug itself sluggishly through the window, with that child still sleeping soundly, perhaps more soundly than she ever had in her entire life, she refused to complain. The soreness in her leg made it difficult to pull herself from bed, but she managed. It hadn't been a thought in her head to wake Nlani up. Let the girl sleep in. She'd had a long day. A long night. A long everything, really.
Onari's cane announced her arrival downstairs before her voice ever could. That, or her heavy foot thuds down the steps. It wasn't a graceful trip. But all the same, Dessa's voice floated toward her, familiar. Good morning, dear, as Onari had come down these steps a million times before. As if this were routine.
"Something like that," Onari grunted, her free arm grasping the wall as she stared out into the room. "I hope you weren't up too late. I didn't expect the Healer having to stay that long."