EA Chapter 25 - Family Ties

The infirmary was just a short distance from the training arena. A pragmatic choice, given how easily a training session could lead to some kind of violent accident. It was led by a contingent of veteran Clerics on rotating shifts, using their considerable mysticism to mend any injuries brought their way. But each shift was further reinforced by a small gathering of unpowered medical assistants, adept at alchemy and tending injuries.

The woman tending to Kiharu was a stooping beastkin crone with shaggy grey hair, and a rash of ebony scales on her neck. She had been quick to get to work, using healing qi to mend the worst of Kiharu’s bruises and cuts.

“You’re fortunate,” Ginhe said, inspecting Kiharu with her sharp, slitted pupils. “For all the damn racket you two were making out there, you had no broken bones, and no internal damage from what I can see.”

“Yay,” Kiharu wheezed, sinking into the cot she’d been lain in. The bruises on her face had faded a bit, but it was still a roadmap of purple bumps. Her right eye was only barely open.

Ginhe hissed through her fanged teeth. “Brawlers. Always making such a mess for me and my staff. I do so loathe their part of the tournament. My qi has soothed the worst of your pain, stemmed your bleeding, but I cannot fully repair the damage inflicted. That falls, largely, to you. Rest and meditate over the coming week, use your qi to mend yourself.”

“Dang,” Kiharu said, staring up at the woman. “You can’t just... wave your hands and fully fix me?”

“That would take a lot more energy, and I need to be conservative. There’s bound to be more injured for me to tend to. Besides, using your own qi had benefits. It’ll reinforce your body and make you stronger if it’s done under your own power.”

Kiharu exhaled through her nose, sinking back into he cot. “Lucky me,” she said.

Luna nodded to the older woman. “Thank you. We were a little worried about her.” Well, the other Hawks were. Luna had had no doubts that Kiharu would be fine.

“You’ve done amazing work, Lady Ginhe,” Syri said, stiffly bowing to her.

The snake-skinned woman grunted and turned back to her medicine cabinet, a great rosewood monstrosity laden with a myriad of labelled mason jars. Luna took a mental note of them, in case she needed alchemy resources in a pinch. “I’ll give your friend a few pellets of ashen gum. It’ll dull the pain you feel and increase your natural rate of healing. One per day. Overdo it and you’ll shit a brick.”

“I don’t even wanna know how that works,” Kiharu said, taking the small jar of pellets offered to her.

“No. You really don’t. The joys of the tract,” Ginhe said, trailing into a hissing laugh. She strode from the room, leaving the Hawks alone.

“You were amazing,” Romula said, beaming at the taller girl.

“Yeah. Seeing you go all out like that, it was crazy!” Rema added.

Kiharu shrugged. “Not all out. We’re not s’pposed to kill each other, after all. But... whatever. Wasn’t good enough, either way. Still lost. Stupid. Got cocky...” She frowned deeper, a look Luna had never seen on her before. She looked a bit like a scolded puppy, her ears flat against her head.

An awkward silence filled the room, the other Hawks sharing uneasy glances. “Are you...okay?” Syri eventually asked.

“Ah... yeah, I will be. It’s just...” She glanced away from the group, hiding her face from them. “I dunno. Seeing you guys win your fights, it... inspired me. Probably sounds stupid. But I wanted to... wanted to do good by you. Win my fight too.” Her voice was softer than normal, and Luna heard a faint quiver in it.

Sighing, Luna placed a hand on Kiharu’s shoulder. The beastkin didn’t stir, beyond a very faint tensing of her muscles. “You fought well. But the main thing to take from this is an important lesson. You got cocky.”

“Luna,” Syri urgently hissed.

“Kiharu isn’t a child, Syri, and she’s not someone to be handled like a porcelain doll,” Luna said firmly. “Failure is a good teacher, Kiharu. So learn, get stronger, and challenge Gravide again. And next time, you win.”

Slowly, Kiharu turned and offered Luna a faint smirk. “Yeah. I might just do that. She won’t get lucky a second time. But you-” she jammed a finger toward the shorter girl, “are gonna train with me.”

Luna smirked. “Naturally,” she replied. Not that she was elated at the prospect.

Syri pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. “You truly are odd, Kiharu. But it is nice to see you smiling.”

Luna strode from the room, leaving her teammates to chat. They only had a little bit of time left before the Paladin brackets began, and they had to hope Syri could take another win for the squad. Well, she seemed confident when it came to her opponent.

She took a step outside the infirmary, a chilly breeze rushing over her. The sun was starting to set by now, bathing the path outside in hues of orange and yellow.

The young Arcanist exhaled through her nose.

“Looks like your dog couldn’t cut it,” a voice smugly said, only a few paces from her.

Luna turned slowly, and found herself staring at Aryn Oathsworn. The prince watched her with a mocking sneer on his handsome face.

“Lost by a slim margin. Which I imagine bothers you to no end, deep down.” A smile blossomed across her face, sweet and adorable. It was sharply contrasted by her eyes, which shone with malevolence. “Your own person nearly got knocked out cold in the first round by someone from the ‘loser’ squad. Oh yes, I heard how excited the crowd got. They were rooting for Kiharu.”

“Delude yourself if that makes you happy,” Aryn said. His sneer didn’t fade, but she saw the cords of his neck faintly twitch. “People like you should know your place, Hick. And I would have thought seeing your Brawler lose would show you that you have no chance against me. Evidently not. But, it’s not too late to surrender. Spare yourself some embarrassment and a few bruises.”

Luna chuckled without humour. “You’ll be getting worse than bruises, prince. Count on it.” Of course, she was not expecting an easy fight. She was confident in her abilities, but she had seen enough of Aryn in training to know what he could do. In terms of raw power, he was a beast.

Alas, he was a beast squaring up against a monster.

“I’m sure you think yourselves clever with that weight trick. But it won’t help you in the long run, not against me. So I’ll warn you once, and only once. Back down, Hick, or you’re getting hurt.”

“Then I’ll be magnanimous and extend the same offer to you. You can surrender in advance and save yourself a thrashing.” She knew he would not accept, of course, but she was glad of that. It gave her an excuse to break the little bastard’s arm.

“Idiot,” he gruffly said, before turning and stomping back toward the platforms.

Luna smirked. Princes, from her experience tended to be an unremarkable bunch when it came to adversaries. Full of ambition that grossly outweighed whatever meagre intellect they had. Some were decent fighters, some tried to indulge in scholarly pursuits and developed some level of magical or tactical knowledge.

But they were always so eager to prove themselves, cocksure and arrogant beyond words. That made them easy to outmanoeuvre, and even easier to crush in a direct fight. She had killed so many princes in her old life, often leading a ‘valiant’ defence on the route to their capitals. He made a point to carry their corpses on a lance, a warning to the king and queen of whatever nation he was seeking to conquer.

“Antagonising him really isn’t wise.”

This voice came from Luna’s other side, making her roll her eyes in exasperation. “Is there some competition going on, for people to try and ambush me?” She turned, slowly, and found herself looking at Kane. He offered her a faint smile.

“Sorry about your friend losing. But she gave a damned good fight.”

Luna shrugged. What else was there to say on that matter at this point?

“What’s it to you if I rile up that fool?” she asked, lifting a brow at him.

Kane chuckled, sounding a touch more nervous than Luna was used to, and proceeded to lean against the outer wall of the infirmary. “It’s... well, I perhaps shouldn’t say, beyond letting you know it’s a bad idea.”

Luna gave him a withering glare. “I don’t appreciate having my time wasted, Kane. Tell me.”

“Ah...” Kane’s smile took on a sadder edge, and he cast his eyes to the cobblestone path. “I know how Aryn is, that he has a harsh temper. That challenging him might well make him sadistic. I know all this because...” He sighed, seeming to struggle to get the words out, “... because he’s my half-brother.”