You With Us

12- Dizzing Sights

The sound of the doornob rattling and juggling as a key turned in the lock woke Izuku from his fitful sleep. He had woken several more times in the night, only for his upset stomach to force him back to the chamber pot to be sick yet again. There were lines of bright daylight that managed to slip between the window curtains to lay themselves out on the wooden floor boards. As Izuku blinked, tugging the quilt around him tightly, Mina burst into the room, Tsumika the tavern mistress standing behind her, a spare key in her hand.
"Izuku! Have you been asleep this whole time?" The healer asked, incredulous at first ... Until her nose wrinkled at the unfortunate smell of sick pervading the room. Tsumika excused herself as the pink haired girl marched over to the window and opened it, allowing fresh air to enter the room. She eyed Izuku, worried. At least, she eyed the small bit of him that she could see, tucked away as he was.
"Still feeling ill?" She asked, voice filled with concern as she walked over to the bed and placed a hand on his forehead.
In response, Izuku tried to burry himself completely in the covers, squinting at the sudden bright light in the room.
The female omega frowned. "You feel fine. What did you eat last night?"
The greenette croaked out a muffled "m-meat pie."
"Hmm, a very savory rich dish. Ever had anything like it before?" Izuku shook his head, eyes still scrunched close.
"Well, I hate to be the one to share this unfortunate news, but you went from being hungover to now getting food poisoning. Very likely eating something too rich for your body led to this. You need to slowly build up your pallet. Only eat simple meals at first. Bread, fruits, cheeses, cold meats, porridge. Nothing cooked together mind you. You should be in tip-top shape for your audience with the queen by the time I'm done with you. I'll brew up some chamomile, ginger root, mint willow bark, and garlic. Once you drink it you should feel much better. I'll return with the items shortly. I'll be able to purchase them from a nearby market.

"So we're near The Mills?" Izuku asked, aware enough to remember the market place he had passed through the day before.
"It would take me longer than I would like to get there and back. No. While The Mills are Aveandor's most famous markets, most districts keep a few merchant stalls running. However, everything I will need is in the apothecary's shop just inside The Embers. It's an easy enough trip. I should be back within half an hour."

With that, Mina had spun on her heels and was as gone before Izuku could even respond.

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Instead of sight seeing and exploring the city, Izuku spent the rest of the day sipping different concoctions brought to him by the kind healer. Mina stayed by Izuku's bedside. At one point, Miss Tsumika brought a brass tub into the room and two of her underlings had brought in pales of steaming water and a few nicely scented bars of soap. Mina had given Izuku privacy upon his bashful request, though she had offered to help him scrub down. His clothes had been whisked away by the Inn's staff to be laundered and he had been left with a simple robe to tye around himself. Once he had been refreshed, Mina had practically skipped back into the room and sat with him on the little bed. She'd made him yet another cup of tea and happily began chattering away about all of the different shops and vendors in the city that she adored and wanted to take him to.
Of course, there was so much information to take in, that most of it was lost on the hapless greenette. Izuku wasn't the best at retaining verbal instructions or descriptions anyway. He'd always been best at remembering things through doing and seeing. So he just smiled weakly and nodded as he hugged his tea close to him, sipping whenever Mina remembered to pause and remind him.
The teas were bitter, but they did seem to help settle the omega's stomach.
By evening, Izuku's eyelids were drooping and Mina took pitty on him. "I'll leave you to rest for now. But I'll be back in the morning. Then we can go shopping and get you something proper to wear for your audience with Queen Rei."
"C-can't we wait a f-few m-more days? I really th-think I would f-feel more confident m-meeting her next w-week." The omega hesitantly inquired.
But the healer stood, brushing her skirts free of folds. "I'm afraid it's not that simple. The queen only sees the city's newest omegas once a month, on the day of the new moon. If you choose to wait, it will be another month before you can have an audience. During that time, you cannot join an Omega House, begin any training, or be established within the Embers." Mina hesitated, watching Izuku closely as she spoke. "If you choose to wait, I'll relay your postponement to the Sisters who lead the Omhana- the Fully fledged Omegas of the Embers. You would stay here, and the Omhana Society would continue to pay the fees required for your keep. The choice is yours."