Garden of the Lion and the Dove

Chapter 14

Hakuno opened her eyes to a rocky ceiling. Her body ached like it had been trampled by horses-no oxen was probably the better analogy.

Summoning a bit of healing magic, she was surprised to note that it felt like she was scraping at the bottom of a clay pot for grain. However, she was able to scrape together enough power to dull the pain, so she could sit up without her body protesting too much.

It was then she noticed her dress was ragged, barely hanging on by a few threads. Angry purple and black bruises of various sizes adorned her exposed skin. Leaves that smelled faintly of mixed herbs were wrapped around her appendages as well as her shoulders and torso.

Seeing the extent of her injuries brought back the memories of the bandit chase through the forest in vivid detail.

She clutched her aching head and pushed away from the memories. That did not matter. Right now she needed to figure out what had happened after she had fallen unconscious. She had thought she had seen something jump down from the trees but she was not sure if that was her being delirious or that actually happened.

Not much she could do on that end so she focused on examining the cave around her. It was not that big, she could see the entrance from her bed of soft leaves and it was only a few steps wide. The cave walls had small nooks and crannies that seemed to hold berries and herbs along with other small objects she could not identify from her position. Next to her "bed" was a bundle of soaked moss.

Realizing how parched she was, she picked it up and sniffed. It did not smell odd. Based on the dressing of her wounds and the dull ache of her stomach wanting food, it did not seem like her rescuer wanted to kill her. She squeezed the moss over her dry mouth and reveled in the sweet, clear water that flowed down her throat. She remembered a few times having spring water like this when the caravan had passed through forests, but this water was even better than that!

She froze as she caught something move from the corner of her eye in the direction of the cave entrance. Did something just duck out of sight?

"Hello?" she called. She did not know if her legs could manage her weight at the moment so she stayed put. "Are you the one that rescued me?"

She blinked in surprise as a person peered into the cave.

A naked person.

Her surprise quickly turned to confusion. She did not know what was more concerning, the fact that the person had long green hair, naked, and appeared to not have any identification of their sex, or that they were walking on all fours like an animal. An ur-sal? A fistful of herbs were in their mouth and their green eyes watched her curiously.

Well, this was different.

The wild person dropped the pile of herbs next to Hakuno and fled to the entrance of the cave. She recognized the herbs as medicinal plants, the ones that were wrapped around her body.

"Thank you."

The ur-sal just blinked once before running away from the cave.

She knew there was magic in the world but this felt like something else entirely. She sorted through the herbs and was grateful to find some willow bark, which she began chewing to help dull the pain and focus her mind. In the back of her mind, she worried about her magic as it had never felt this weak before. Did she lose it for good? Did the Gods take her gift away from her?

She broke out of her spiraling negative thoughts as the ur-sal returned and dropped a pile of berries by her side before scrambling back to the entrance of the cave. They sat on their haunches like a wolf and looked at her expectantly.