Lunchtime

[Lazey Winde]

Tegau tapped on the door before opening it.

"Ertzel?" She said softly so as not to frighten the old woman, "It's time to eat."

[Muffin Puffin]

Ertzel struggled to a sitting position and rubbed her eyes. "Thank you, my darling. I'll be right down."

[Lazey Winde]

"Do you need help?" Tegau asked.

[Muffin Puffin]

Ertzel cursed her old bones as she managed to sit on the edge of the bed. "Could you bring me my walking stick, darling?"

[Lazey Winde]

Tegau fetched the old healer's cane and offered it to her.

[Muffin Puffin]

"Thank you darling." Ertzel wrapped her gnarled fingers around the handle and heaved herself from the bed. She slowly made her way to the door, indicating for Tegau to go out first.

[Lazey Winde]

Tegau led the way, heading for the kitchen.

[Muffin Puffin]

Ertzel slowly made her way after her.

[Lazey Winde]

Tegau helped Ertzel to her seat, then began serving the meal, soup and bread from the morning.

"I guess Difyr is still with Aislyn." Tegau said, explaining the young healer's absence.

[Muffin Puffin]

"I do hope Aislyn starts doing better. But then most expectant mothers don't have to deal with the likes of what she's gone through." She broke off a piece of her bread and set it by her bowl. "Would you like to say afternoon prayers?"

[Lazey Winde]

Tegau had already taken a few bites of bread.. She blushed and set it down.

"Uh, ok... Thank you for the food. Amen."

[Muffin Puffin]

Ertzel smiled at Tegau, then dipped her chunk of bread into her soup.

[Lazey Winde]

Tegau ate quietly. When she finished she took two trays from the cupboard.

"How're the patients eating?" She asked.

[Muffin Puffin]

"They should both be well enough to eat. I am going to look in on them later."

[Lazey Winde]

Tegau nodded and began putting portions of bread, soup and milk on the trays.

"Have you gotten any friends or relatives for either of them yet?"

[Muffin Puffin]

Ertzel shook her head sadly. "No, there's been no word from the guard yet."

[Lazey Winde]

Tegau frowned. The poor women. She picked up one of the trays.

[Muffin Puffin]

"Perhaps I will go down to the barracks and find out if there's been any word." She hoisted herself to her feet with a groan.

[Lazey Winde]

"Would it be safe?" Tegau asked anxiously.

[Muffin Puffin]

"Safe enough for me, I would wager. Why would anyone want to attack a uesless old lady?"

[Lazey Winde]

"You're not useless." Tegau argued.

[Muffin Puffin]

"I feel useless. And I'm quite certain these men think old ladies are useless."

[Lazey Winde]

"You've helped a lot of people, and you're teaching Difyr to be a healer, and you took good care of me." Tegau said.

[Muffin Puffin]

"I know my darling. But I miss being able to be hands on, to still be able to help people."

[Lazey Winde]

"You still help." Tegau said.

[Muffin Puffin]

"Not as much as I used to. Not as much as I like."

[Lazey Winde]

Tegau frowned and offered Ertzel the tray. "Want to feed one of the patients?"

[Muffin Puffin]

Ertzel looked woefully at her cane and sighed. "I would love to, if you wouldn't mind carrying the tray for me." She felt old beyond her years.

[Lazey Winde]

Tegau nodded. "I don't think you've seen Xo yet."

[Lazey Winde]

Tegau opened the door to the room where Xo was being kept, she gave Ertzel time to enter before closing the door behind her.

Xo may have slept, but she could not have gotten much rest, there were dark circles under her eyes.

"Is this food? Don't bother. I'm ready to leave." She swung her feet to the floor. She rallied her strength to rise.

[Muffin Puffin]

"No, I don't believe I have. Tell me about Xo."

[Lazey Winde]

"Well, here is Xo." Tegau said and put the tray on the table.

[Muffin Puffin]

Ertzel shuffled forward and sat down on the chair next to the bed. "How are you feeling, Xo?" she inquired softly as she held out the cup of tea.

[Lazey Winde]

"SS, DD." Xo muttered and shoved Ertzel's arm away. "I don't want tea, I'm not staying here."

Tegau slipped out of the room and back to the kitchen to get Juel her tray.

[Muffin Puffin]

Ertzel sat the cup back down on the bed table. "If you want to leave here, you need to regain your strength. In order to do that, you need to eat and rest."

[Lazey Winde]

"I have enough debt without laying around here that long." Xo said bitterly.

[Muffin Puffin]

"You do not have to worry about being indebted to us, Xo. We're here to help."

[Lazey Winde]

"I can't afford to miss work." Xo said. "My boss will be mad enough at me already."

[Muffin Puffin]

"You'll miss even more work if you do not heal properly."

[Lazey Winde]

"I don't have to do too much, they're easy enough to please." Xo stood up. She told herself she only had to walk a few blocks. "I'll send the slip back by tonight."

[Muffin Puffin]

Ertzel frowned, but she didn't have the strength to keep a patient here against their will. "All right. But if you begin to feel worse, don't hesitate to come back. I do wish you would eat first though."

[Lazey Winde]

Xo walked stiffly towards the door, but with every step she felt dizzier and sicker to her stomach. Soon she caught herself reaching for the wall to steady herself.

"I don't need to walk for my job." She said aloud.

[Muffin Puffin]

Ertzel said nothing for a moment. "You don't have to be walking to feel weak, to need to heal."

[Lazey Winde]

"I'm not that badly hurt." Xo argued, though she leaned against the wall.

[Muffin Puffin]

Ertzel gave her a skeptical gaze. "Maybe not. But your body and mind have suffered a trauma."

[Lazey Winde]

"They just got too rough and didn't pay." Xo said as if to make light of it.

[Muffin Puffin]

"A trauma is a trauma, no matter how it happened."

[Lazey Winde]

"You don't know what you're talking about old woman." Xo said and looked to the door.

[Muffin Puffin]

"Maybe, maybe not. But these old eyes has seen a lot. More than you have seen."

[Lazey Winde]

"I've seen more than you could have." Xo said, sitting stiffly on the floor with her back to the wall.

[Muffin Puffin]

"Oh I don't know. I've seen the plague. Twice. The faces of the suffering that I could not save. People who's lives were destroyed for no good reason. Men and children slaughtered, leaving behing unconsolable survivors. Victims who can't recover from whatever trauma they suffer."

[Lazey Winde]

"If I can't recover then it doesn't matter whether I stay or not then." Xo said.

[Muffin Puffin]

"I did not say you could not recover. I said I have seen those who could not."

On Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 11:17 PM, Lazey Winde <lazey...@gmail.com> wrote:

"If I can't recover then it doesn't matter whether I stay or not then." Xo said.

--
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[Lazey Winde]

"There's no recovering." Xo said glumly. "Even before last night I was already ruined and no good for anything but... working there. Best I can hope for is to pay off the debt so I can move to another village and start over."

[Muffin Puffin]

"Nonsense." Ertzel studied her. "How much do you owe?"

[Lazey Winde]

"Even if I had the money I am contracted for at least one more year of work." Xo said, looking at her knees.

[Muffin Puffin]

"Contracts can be bought out," Ertzel said thoughtfully.

[Lazey Winde]

Xo shook her head. "She doesn't like to let us go early."

[Muffin Puffin]

"I bet if the money were right. After all, this sounds like the type of person that lets money do the talking."

[Lazey Winde]

Xo shook her head. Her boss seemed to grow off an evil besides just money. She didn't know how to explain her, and doubted this old woman could ever understand.

[Muffin Puffin]

"At least eat before you go," Ertzel said.

[Lazey Winde]

"I'm not hungry." Xo rarely had much of an appetite these days. Now it was gone completely.

[Muffin Puffin]

Ertzel frowned but said nothing.

[Lazey Winde]

Xo stood up unsteadily and made her way for the door again.

[Muffin Puffin]

Ertzel sat quietly, watching her.

[Lazey Winde]

Xo fell out the door as it opened beneath her weight.

[Muffin Puffin]

"Tegau!" Ertzel cried out.