Stars Of Memory

Chapter 12

"It's a what?"

"A healing stone. They are extremely rare, and can cure almost any ailment from diseases to broken bones. Depending on the severity of the problem, it may take longer, but they speed up the natural healing process of all injuries if nothing else. The fjiene must really like you."

"I wonder why?"

"Who knows? Now stop dwelling on it and come inside to rest. We are going to head back in the morning."

Jīvitaya turns the levik to head back inside, but she halts when she sees Kysanden sprawled out on the couch. She giggles, and sends the levik over to him. She reaches out to grab his shoulders and gently shakes him. He groans sleepily, and opens his eyes to look at her groggily.

"What is it Jīa?"

"First of all, you should probably eat before you sleep, and second, it would probably be more comfortable for you to sleep in a bed, not a couch. Couches aren't very comfortable when you wake up in the morning after sleeping in one all night, trust me. I've fallen asleep on the couch reading books far too many times to count."

"Fine. Do we have any food?"

Rebexi pipes up. "I can make some chiantori."

Kysanden smiles at her gratefully, and she smiles back before walking into the galley. While Rebexi begins to cook, Jīvitaya eases off of the levik to sit on the couch beside Kysanden, still clutching the healing stone in her hand. Kysanden nods to it.

"What is that?"

Jīvitaya uncurls her fingers to reveal the rosy stone. "Rebexi says that it is a healing stone. The fjiene gave it to me."

"Hmmm."

His eyes began to drift close, but Rebexi returns before they can fully shut, saving him from the pain of being woken once more. She is carrying two bowls, steam rising up from them in spirals. She hands one to Kysanden and one to Jīvitaya before heading back to the kitchen. Jīvitaya looks down at the contents of the pool. It looks almost like a chowder, but with a thicker consistency. Jīvitaya lifts the spoon to her lips and almost moans at the flavors hitting her tongue. The chiantori tastes like a creamy, buttery, sweet smoked salmon, with chunks of golden potatoes sitting in it.

"Rebexi, this is delicious!"

Rebexi smiles warmly. "Thank you Jīvitaya."

They continue with their meal, Jīvitaya savoring every bite. All too soon, the bowl is empty, Jīvitaya having scraped every last morsel from the bottom of it. Before Jīvitaya can grab all their dishes, Rebexi does so, carrying them over to the galley sink to be washed. Kysanden stands slowly, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He yawns.

"Good night Jīa, good night Rebexi."

Rebexi and Jīvitaya chorus back. "Good night."

Jīvitaya transfers herself back to the levik and moves into the kitchen, grabbing a towel to help with the dishes. Rebexi looks down at her.

"You don't have to help, Jīvitaya."

"I know, but I want to do so. You already cooked, and shouldn't have to do all the work."

"Thank you."

Jīvitaya smiles softly at her. "You're welcome."

They lapse into silence, only interrupted by the quiet clink of the dishes. Jīvitaya finishes drying the last dish and sets it in its cupboard.

"I'm probably going to go to bed in a moment, I feel like I'm about to pass out with exhaustion."

Rebexi laughs. "Don't do that! Trust me, it's not fun."

"I don't doubt it." She looks out the window. "The stars look beautiful here."

"Would you like me to show you our constellations before you go to bed?"

"Yes, please. That would be wonderful."

Jīvitaya follows Rebexi out to the deck and situates herself at the railing. Rebexi points at one of the star clusters, shaped like a hand holding a staff.

"That is Nhian, who raised our lands from the sea." She points in the opposite direction, to a cluster like broad wings. "That one over there is Riora, the guardian of the skies." She points to a final one. "The last of our main constellations at this time of the year is Sieralondi, the Fjiene Queen and protector of our seas." The cluster does, in fact, look like the body of a fjiene.

"They are beautiful. Are any of your constellations constant?"

"Only Isingar, the guide. It always points to the heart of the land, where we have built our capital."

"Where is it?"

Rebexi points to the skies on the other side of the boat, where a star cluster shaped like a diamond sits, with a single, bright star at its center.

"I think that one might be my favorite, Rebexi."

She laughs. "I'm not surprised, it's everyone's favorite." Jīvitaya yawns loudly, and Rebexi laughs again. "Go to sleep Jīvitaya. You look like you need it."

Jīvitaya grumbles, "Thanks." However, she smiles at the comment.

She turns the levik around and heads back inside, heading down the hall to her tiny room. She parks the levik beside the bed and pulls herself out of the levik and onto the bed, wincing as the venom courses through her arms. Once on the bed, she picks the healing stone up off of the levik's seat, and the pain instantly fades away. She slides the bedding back and crawls beneath it, sighing at the pleasant warmth enveloping her.

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Hey guys! I've got to admit it, most, if not all, of the food in this story is my own tastes. Chia Tori is based off of a really good salmon chowder I had once. A lot of the food is food cooked by my family.

Now, what do you think of the constellations? And the Chiantori of course, I want to know what you think of that.

I have some gifts for you!

I have some artwork of Jīvitaya for you! It's thanks to my friend Lorraine that I have this, because I cannot draw people to save my life. In order to draw the artwork out, I'm going to give you a little snippet from the artwork page per chapter, so there will be a lot of drawings of Jīvitaya for a while. This time I'll give you two, because one of them doesn't actually have her in it. So, without further ado, here she is!

I'm sorry the pictures are a tiny bit blurry, it's the consequences of zooming in.

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.