Lotus

Chapter 7

After another few minutes of wandering, we finally found the healing center. The moment I walked into the cave, I knew it was the place for me. Everything had a slight green glow to it, and I looked up to see a blanket of leaves instead of a rocky ceiling. It filtered the light and air through, but kept everything else out. Interesting. It's just like the canopies we use in the rainforest.

I looked around the rest of the cave, seeing racks of bottles and boxes and a large, yellowing diagram of a MudWing on the wall. I moved quickly over to one of the racks, sifting through the bottles. Ginkgo biloba, Echinacea angustifolia, Centella asiatica. I smiled to myself. They have a pretty good collection here. I wonder if they'll let me use any of it. I moved to another shelf, looking through its contents as well.

"Pretty cool stuff they've got here," Kosan said, coming up behind me. I jumped slightly, but otherwise took no notice of him. I picked up a small scroll and opened it up . Inside were instructions for basic tinctures to heal minor surface wounds. I closed the scroll, set it back down, and looked over at Gemini and Kosan.

Kosan was picking up bottles, taking a moment to glance at them and setting them back down. Gemini was just watching, not looking particularly interested in looking at plants. I chuckled a little to myself, then walked over to them.

As I got closer, I saw Kosan pick up another bottle. This one had a few dark pink flowers in it. I couldn't quite put my finger on what species the flower was, so I tried to get a better look at it. I finally remembered its name just as Kosan was moving to take the stopper out of the top.

Thinking quickly, I plucked the bottle out of his talons, then pushed down on the stopper, making it more secure. "That's a flower you don't want to mess with," I said. He just looked confused, and I sighed. "Letalis oleander, one of the deadliest plants on Pyrrhia. If you eat a single petal of it, you'll be dead within the hour." I placed the bottle gently back on the shelf.

"Why do they have it here, then?" Gemini asked. "Especially with some dragons." He glanced at Kosan. "Who might 'accidentally' eat some of it."

"What do you mean 'some dragons'?!" Kosan looked at him.

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all."

I cut in before it got any further. "It actually makes a rather effective cough syrup when boiled with a couple of other plants."

Kosan opened his mouth to reply when a NightWing muttering furiously walked in. She didn't seem to notice any of us, more focused on the large cut on her fore-leg. "Stupid SeaWings." She made her way across the room to a small basin filled with water, stuck her wounded limb in, and let out a huge sigh of relief. A few seconds passed by with no one making a sound. Then, without turning to look, she addressed us. "So, what are you three doing here?"

I guess she did notice us after all. My nerves started silently chittering at that, not liking that she didn't even need to look at us to know we were here.

Kosan answered for us, after another beat of silence went by. "We were just looking around."

"I see," the NightWing said, finally turning her head towards us. She looked us up and down, a small scowl playing across her face. "Do any of you know where Marmoset is? I was told he would be able to help me with this." She motioned slightly to her submerged wound.

The three of us shook our heads. I opened my mouth to say something then hesitated. My nerves started jittering more ferociously than before when she turned her attention to me, with a look on her face that seemed to tell me to keep talking. I swallowed hard, and continued. "Um, well, I could help you...i-if you want." She shot me an inquiring look. "My father is one of the most praised healers in the rainforest, and he's taught me pretty much everything he knows, so…"

She seemed to consider it, looking me up and down. She didn't say anything though, so I started kicking myself mentally, imagining all the ways she would somehow find that offer offensive and then get mad at me and then--

"Alright," she said, her voice slicing through my thoughts. She pulled her leg out of the water, laying it on a small counter. "Show me what you've got."

After a moment of hesitation, I grabbed a small cloth and moved over to her. With the cloth, I dried the wound then set it aside, getting a better look at the cut. It seemed pretty shallow, with only a little blood, so I didn't think it needed any stitching. I walked over to one of the shelves and grabbed a few of the bottles I had seen earlier. I brought them over to a small grinding stone, took out their stoppers, and gently placed a few leaves from each of them onto the stone. After I added a few drops of another vial, I ground all of it into a thick, green paste. Scooping it up, I brought it back over to where the NightWing was standing, and started smearing it over her wound. She hissed in pain, fidgeting a bit, but sighed in relief when the paste started working. I grabbed another cloth and wrapped it around the wound.

"The swelling will go down in about an hour, and the wound should close up in about half a day or so. Don't take the bandage off until then, and don't do anything that could damage it further. You don't want it to leave a scar." Without another word, I went back to where I made the paste and started to clean up. I glanced back over to the NightWing.

She seemed surprised by what I had done, though I had no idea why. She flexed her talons, looking at where her wound was hidden under the bandages. Without looking up, she muttered a quick thanks, and wandered out of the healing center.