By Midnight Blood

Chapter Seven: The Cal Effect

Liridia
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"Stop, shit! Ow! Stop stop stop, that hurts!" I wailed, clutching the bedding in the infirmary with tightly shut eyes as the healer gingerly touched my ribs, which replied with a stab of pain that shot up my throat.

"Language." The boy uttered, intently watching my ribs and then my face. I wheezed out a laugh at the comment and he raised a delicate eyebrow. "What?" He asked, examining my face and placing his two thumbs either side of the bridge of my broken nose.

"Aren't you going to ask what did this?" I question, trying not to cry with the pain in my ribs and face.

"Seen worse. But I'm mildly curious, now that you ask." He mutters gently, standing with his thumbs still either side of my nose. His light hair was cut short, but his blue eyes were sharp and defined. They were the colour of a perfect summer's sky, and I couldn't help but envy them.

"D. Said one thing I probably shouldn't have, and he lost his damn mind." I complain, taking a deep breath and wincing, causing more pain to shoot up my face. I cursed colourfully in reaction, and the healer made an unimpressed face.

"Sorry." I utter, my cheeks heating when he turns back around to grab something on a trolley. He walks back to stand in front of me and places his fingers back at the bridge of my nose.

"I'm Liri- Ow!, shit!, oh Hells and Heavens!" I exclaim, eyes watering with the pain of my nose being shoved back into position. I mutter a string of curses and let one tear slide out of my eye. He wiped the tear off my face with a cold finger and went back to examining my nose for a moment.

"You were saying?" He asked, lifting my shirt up to look at my ribs and making me gulp. His cold fingers feather and prod my side until I hiss and he nods, biting his bottom lip.

"Oh uhm, I'm Liridia. That was what I was saying, you know, before you shoved my nose back and, uhm, interrupted." I continued, growing flustered when he weaved his fingers over the wound, his hand glowing white. Is he like me? Does he see white like how I see purple?

I was about to ask him when my rib snapped back into position and I let out a howl as my ribs heated up. I watched his fingers in the corners of my vision but looked away when his eyes flicked up to meet mine for a split second.

"What is that?" I breathed, attentively watching his hands alight with white glimmering light.

"Magic. It's categorised by colours. Mine's healing magic, obviously." He stated, looking down at his hands for a moment before meeting my intrigued gaze. I nod, not wanting to seem like I don't know what he's talking about.

"What are the other types?" I asked, wincing as I feel the remainders of my broken rib slotting back into place.

"White is healing, red is... agri-control I think. There's green for a specialty in soul manipulation and blue for weather, maybe... Apparently there's always been these two rivals, Gold and Violet, but I don't always believ-"

"Violet?" I cut in, my breath hitching and my interest piqued at the singular word.

"Don't ask me. I know nothing about them. Zero. None." He stopped me before I can ask more. My mind ticks over in contemplation of what was plaguing me. I don't even know if it was magic.

"Right." I quickly covered, wanting to keep my... whatever it was a secret until I at least knew what it was.

I looked away, holding my breath as he finished with my ribs and placed two fingers in between my brows. Warmth seeped down into my nose and I sighed in contempt.