Gifted Pelt

Chapter 42

Astrila trails her fingers over the slashes the Ludeag left behind on her face. The pain is dull now, and venom no longer trickles out. It's only been three days since her injury, and she's already healed so much. She can feel it swirling inside the wound though, feel the venom trying to escape into her veins. Tonraq pokes her in the side.

"Pay attention!"

Astrila flushes. "Sorry."

"You need to be paying attention, Astrila. You can't learn the language without paying attention. I thought applying it to your healer training would aid you, but it seems not to be doing so."

Her head hangs at his disappointment. "I'm sorry, I'm just distracted."

He raises an eyebrow and speaks in Scottish Gaelic this time, his words slow and clear. "Why are you distracted?"

Astrila tries her best to respond with the new language, but it takes her some time to puzzle out the words, even with the speed at which she is picking up the language.

"I'm just . . . thinking."

"About what?"

She truly struggles to find the words this time. "It feels like I'm-"

Her magic whispers into her mind then, trying to help her find the word. "Missing something?"

Astrila nods. "It feels like I'm missing something."

"How do you know?"

"It is . . . nagging at the back of my mind."

He nods and returns to English, causing her to sag in relief. The attempt at only speaking in Scottish Gaelic was hurting her head, she doesn't quite know enough of the vocabulary yet to be comfortable speaking in the language. He gives her a small frown.

"Did your magic help you?"

Astrila flushes. Was she not supposed to get help? "Yes. Is that bad?"

"Not at all. Your magic inherently knows the language, the problem is that your conscious mind does not. If your magic will help you, let it teach you. You will likely learn faster that way."

Astrila nods. "Back to the lesson now?"

"Yes. What is this used for?"

He pulls a small bundle of dried leaves from the basket beside him. Astrila frowns at it.

"Bearberry leaves?" Tonraq nods. "Boil and drink it to treat stomach aches."

He holds up something else, a chunk of seal fat. "What about this?"

Astrila grins. This one is easy. "Raw seal fat is used to treat snowblindness and earaches if dripped onto the affected area or to treat a sore throat if chewed. Boiled seal fat can be used to ease breathing and lessen a cough."

Tonraq gives her an approving smile. "Let's switch to something else. How do you treat joint pain?"

"Heat a stone and hold it against the afflicted part, wrapped to prevent burns."

"Nosebleeds?"

"Place snow on the back of the neck."

"Good. That's enough for today. Go have fun with Kōri, make sure to dress your wounds, and have your magic help you with Scottish Gaelic."

Astrila smiles. "Yes Tonraq."

She darts out the door, only for him to yell after her. "Don't run, Astrila!"

She giggles and slows her footsteps to a swift walk. Kōri peels off of the iglu wall as she steps outside. He smiles indulgently at her as he takes swift steps towards her, which is quite an accomplishment when he is so bad at moving in snow. You'd think he'd never done it before with how often he sinks through.

"How'd it go?"

"The healer training went well, but . . ."

"Not so much with the language part of your lessons?"

Her smile quirks up in gratitude. "Yes, that's it. I may be picking it up quickly, but I was distracted. I understand how things are structured, but I'm still not getting all the vocabulary."

"That's alright, Astrila. You've only been learning for three days."

"Thank you Kōri."

"You're welcome. But you are learning fast, because you are more connected to your magic so have more access to that inherent knowledge." Astrila sighs and her smile falls into a frustrated frown. "Why did that make you upset?"

Astrila wants to glare at him for bringing it up, but she can't. He didn't mean to hurt her feelings and he didn't know that would upset her. So she can't be angry at him, no matter how much she might want to be.

"I just want my own talents, Kōri. Not the talents of my magic, my talents."

He gives her a tight hug, carefully trying not to touch her still-healing wounds. "Those talents may be in part because of your magic, Astrila, but your magic is part of you, it still is you. So those talents are yours and yours alone."

She smiles up at him and he kisses her forehead. "When did you get so wise?"

He parrots her words from days past back to her. "I've always been wise. I just don't say wise things often so that you pay attention when I say them."

Her laugh is bright and full of silvery starlight. "That's my line, Kōri!"

He shrugs and smirks. "You never said I couldn't use it."

She laughs again and nudges his side with her shoulder.
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What do you think of the medicinal techniques and uses mentioned here? What do you think of Kōri's words? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~ Goddess of Fate, signing out.