Project Starfae

~ Chapter 13 ~

Third Person, Following Elora

Shaylie prayed that neither Wylie or Tiergan would come out to find her, actually, she really hoped none of the gnomes were nearby either. She didn't cry often, and she hated when she did but she couldn't help but feel so helpless.

She grabbed the empty bottle of Youth that the Councillor had left and threw it, letting the shards sprinkle onto the ground carelessly.

A few of the starfaes fluttered closer to her, some even perching on her shoulders and head, as she buried her face into her hands and collapsed onto the ground.

She didn't know how long she stayed that way, but the moon was well up in the sky by the time she wiped off her tears and stood up straight. Sophie needed her.

Shaylie crept into the house quietly, Tiergan was either sleeping or doing work in his studies at this hour and she didn't want to bother him.

When she reached her room she grabbed her school bag, dumped the contents on her desk and instead filled it with the few medical elixirs she had and the supplies she used when nursing a sick or injured starfae. She was about to leave when she remembered that Sophie had mentioned riding Silveny. Her eyes darted to the small jar of liquid star nectar on her shelf that she usually saved for the starfaes. It had healing and rejuvenating properties that worked only on Ancient species, a trait both her birds and the alicorn shared.

Shaylie hesitated, the liquid star nectar was an expensive and rare ingredient and Silveny was about the size of at least two thousand starfaes put together. Her supply would be depleted should Silveny need the star nectar. But...they would lose their last chance to reset the timeline of extinction for the alicorns if Silveny were to die. She grabbed the jar and stuffed it into her bag before darting out towards the front door.

...

Shaylie had only waited about an hour with the Ruewens, when Sophie, Keefe, and Silveny all suddenly fell out of the sky.

Elwin was then promptly called and Silveny quickly sedated. Seeing that Sophie and Keefe were already quickly surrounded by worried adults, Shaylie started tending to the winged unicorn first.

There were several gashes and bruises marring the glittery alicorn's coat. But the worst was the broken wing—which almost caused Shaylie to hurl the few contents left in her stomach.

She stared at it, biting her lip in hesitation. She had set many broken wings into place while caring for some especially reckless starfaes. However, those birds were miniscule in comparison to Silveny.

Nonetheless, she was sure Edaline knew how to set the wing and the alicorn was currently asleep, so she would tend to the more minor injuries for now.

Shaylie tuned out the sounds around her and concentrated on the glittery horse. Assessing the damage, she poked and prodded gently at some of the cuts and bruises. Taking one last look over the ugly wounds, she pulled out the supplies she needed and doused her hands in a cleaning solution.

Quickly, she began her work after drying her hands on a clean cloth. She mixed different solutions and ointments together into poultices and salves before smearing them over the various minor cuts and bruises. She applied bandages and gauze in a rush so the medicines she applied would stay sticky, allowing for them to be held in by the bandages and absorbed better.

After most the minor injuries had been taken care of, Shaylie popped open a squirt bottle and poured in some water, the cleaning solution she had used earlier, some antimicrobial paste, and antibiotic powder. She firmly closed the lid and shook the bottle until she was sure the paste and powders had properly dissolved with the cleaning solution.