Closed [Infirmary] Wearing the mask of strength (Iosha)

[Lavira]

Timestam: Summer 82, 513

Behold the beautiful lie:

A smile softened the teenagers face as she walked the warrens, nodding at her fellow Chiet and Avora, saying hello to the Dek she passed. She was dressed casually, having changed from her work gear to lounge-wear as she moved through the stone corridors towards the Infirmary. Her hair was up high, this time, the long ponytail that was usually kept in a braid left loose and simple as she passed her brethren. The Bay Eagle feather that was attached to the leather thong hung just behind her left ear, positioned to draw attention away from her blind side, to the lucid emerald orb that greeted each citizen in passing.

Each stride was steady, each word sure. She was a woman of confidence, who knew where she was going and afforded no distraction from her task as she walked. Her destination waited ahead, and within, the supplication of a need.

Behold the painful truth:

With her features straining for composure, Vira walked through the warrens with the sole purpose of reaching the Infirmary without crying. Today was a bad day. She'd managed to get through the last several days without too much of a problem, but today she could hold on no longer. The time with Kovac was proving helpful, when he was around, downright unbarable when he was not.

It was strange that the mongrel could provide a scratch to an itch she could not reach, solidifying in VIra her own vulnerability. Why couldn't she do this alone? Why did she need him or anyone to help her? The faces that she passed were hardly seen, though she smiled and she nodded and kept her gait cool and calm. Kovac was just a man, but since that night after leaving the dance club, could she call him more than a friend? He was so kind and understanding. He was trying to help her. But still she struggled.

Her mind went to the afternoon spent down on the Mud Flats with him, how much fun they'd had digging for clams, trapping animals, eating some of their catch. He was so much more at peace with himself. Why couldn't she be like that too? Why couldn't she just let go of those horrible three days, shrug away the agony of knowing what had happened. The pain was real, as real as the feel of the stone beneath her sandaled feet. That was why she came back to the infirmary. Maybe Iosha could help her.

The beautiful lie was the farce of contentment she wore as she approached the Infirmary. Addy worked here too, but the teenager didn't want to talk to her right now. Nothing against the Endal, she just wanted to see the healer who had been the cause of her salvation. Without Iosha's quick thinking and leadership, Vira would have surely died down there in that dark pit.

Entering the Infirmary was sometimes like entering a war zone. Injuries in Wind Reach were common: they worked with not just fire, but great heights, and giant birds. People got hurt, sometimes in the strangest ways. But Vira didn't care about these things as she entered, spotting Micquel near immediately and asking if Iosha was available to see her.

The old Avora nodded, but explained the Konti was with another patient at the moment. He offered to help her, remembering the young womans face from the two primary times she'd been in here (just before her fifteenth birthday, and again just a couple weeks or so ago). Both times, she'd spent a fair-share of time in the Infirmary recovering from some fairly serious injuries. And both times, the teenager had managed to make it through. But Vira wished only to see the Konti. Thankfully, Micquel understood and escorted her to one of the beds and saying he would alert Iosha of her summons.

Vira brushed the rogue locks that had slipped from the ponytail back behind her ear and waited, the hand returning to her lap while the other slipped to her right side and pressed. Her eyes closed and a low groan escaped the Chiets lips as the pain in her side inched upwards, the hollow where sinew had been literally ripped out during the fall rubbed with her palm in an effort to ease the constant ache that often spiked as the day wore on. She waited, eyes closed for now, for the healer to get to her, hoping it would not take long.

[Iosha]

Looking at the rash on the young hunters legs, Iosha could tell from the woman's rash that she must have had contact with a toxin from a plant in the forest. The rash showed up on her skin in a series of red lines on both legs, and along some of the red lines, large puss filled blisters appeared on her legs too. The healer wasn't quite sure what plant would cause this type of rash, but she was sure her goddess could give her some divine insight into the rash if she her medical knowledge failed her. Iosha saw the Inarta woman's hand going down to scratch the rash, so the konti quickly grabbed her hand, shook her head, and said gently, “I know the rash itches, Saya, but the more you scratch the infected areas. Could heighten the chance of you making the rash worse.” The red hair woman with dark green eyes blushed with embarrassment and apologized softly. “Sorry Avora. It is just a habit now since I got back from my hunting trip.” Iosha let go of her hand and asked, “Your bryda should have protected your legs from exposure to plants, so I am going to assume. You walked through the forest with your legs exposed at one point. When you were in the woods, do you remember a time that your bare legs could be exposed to any plants?” Saya put a finger to her chin and said with a frown, “I needed to cross a stream in the morning because I didn't want to get my clothes wet, so I stripped down to my birth day suit and waded across the stream.” It was a sensible explanation for taking off her clothes, so Iosha nodded slowly and asked with a smile, “Can you tell me about the plants on the shoreline?” The Inarta woman nodded to her and said simply, “Well...the shoreline I took my clothes off was mostly tall grass, but on the other side of shore was a cluster of plants with three leafs.” The konti looked at her a moment, and she placed a hand on the woman's bare arm and said with a smile, “I will be right back, Saya. I need to consult one of my medical books for a moment.”

Leaving her patient, Iosha walked over to a small book case filled with all type of different medical books. The konti knew she could have asked for her goddess' help, but the konti wanted to be a doctor, so she didn't want to use her goddess for everything. Iosha knew if she did ask Rak'keli help all the time. She wouldn't grow as a doctor because it would be her goddess' knowledge that she would be using and not her own. As Iosha ran her finger across the bindings of the books, she started to noticed that many of the medical books on the book case were written in common, but a large majority were written in Nari, so she just skipped them for now. Eventually, she came to a book called Dangerous or Toxic Plants of Kalea. She pulled it out and noticed it was published in Lhavit. When she opened the book, she saw it was written in common with diagrams of the different types of plants. The konti flipped through the pages looking for three leaf plants. A she was still perusing plant book, she heard someone walking towards her. She flipped the page that contained a picture of a spiny plant and said without looking up, “Can I help you, Miquel?” Flipping another page, Iosha came to page with various a three leaf plant with one similarity, if they were touched with bare skin, they could all cause severe rash. Iosha started to read up on the plant, and she was interrupted by Maquel, “Lavira is requesting to see you, Iosha. I offered to help, but she seemed to insist on talking to you.”

Iosha looked up from her book and looked at the long haired Inarta teenager. As she looked at the young woman, the konti remembered saving her from a horrible fate earlier in the season. She was pretty badly mangled and filthy when they got her out of the waste canyon below the aeries. At times the konti didn’t know the woman would survive the ordeal, but she kept the fire of life burning inside her and made it through the horrible experience. Iosha looked at Miquel, put a hand on his shoulder, and said with a smile, “Thank you friend, I will tend to her after my patient.” Iosha went back to reading, and she took mental notes of the plant. All the plants similar to the most common rash producing plant called poison ivy and the oil the plant produces was the cause of rash, blisters, and hives. Iosha studied the plant for a little bit longer, so she could avoid it in the future in the forest. Taking the book with her, Iosha walked over to Saya, opened the book to her to show her the diagram, and asked with a smile, “Saya did you walk through this plant on the other side of the stream?” The hunter nodded and said, “Yes, the plant covered the whole shoreline. Did it cause my rash?” Iosha closed the book and said with a confident smile, “Yes, you were the victim of the infamous poison ivy plant, but with Rak'keli help, I should be able to get rid of it in no time.” Saya gave her a smile and pulled up the legs of the bryda. Iosha put her hands over the infected areas of the legs and started to say a prayer in Kontinese, “My Goddess, I identified the cause of Saya's rash, and the culprit is poison ivy. Could you please help me cure and purify her legs of this infliction?”

Iosha watched as the gnosis mark on her right arm starts to glow blue, and suddenly, both of Saya legs start to glow blue too. The konti watched as the parts with the rash, blisters, and hives were glowing much brighter than the rest of the woman's skin. When the light fades away, the skin was completely unblemished by the rash. Saya rolled down her pants legs, jumped off the table, and asked with a smile on her face, “Can I do anything special for you for ridding me of this curse?” Iosha stared at her for a moment and said with a laugh, “Just stay away from these plants in the future or wear your bryda whenever you walk through the underbrush, Saya?” The woman agreed with a nod an waved goodbye as she walked out of the Infirmary. With the plant book still under her arm, Iosha walked over to Lavira and said with a smile, “I heard you wanted to speak with me, Lavira. How can I help you today?”

[Lavira]

Vira sat upon the cot with eyes closed and both hands now pressed upon her throbbing side. The teens jaw was tightly clenched and her nostrils flared as she sat as straight as she could. The pain was escalating as nerves beneath the skin fired ceaselessly, burning rapidly towards agonizing as she tried to silently force it back into a manageable level. It would not be encouraged down, though and by the time Iosha came into the little alcove Vira had been placed in, the Chiet was silently weeping.

The tears dripped from the corners of her tightly shut eyes and the teens teeth were bared in displeasure as she fought not to whimper or moan or otherwise make noises of distress that might disturb more needing patients. The problem was, the nesting attendant could not differentiate whether the pain was real or simply in her mind. It had taken her some months after she lost sight in her right eye to accept that the pain there was simply psychosomatic. But her side was different. It had been primarily superficial damage (that still hurt like Hai) that surrounded her eye that day; her side had lost a good deal of flesh and muscle from the fall, the taint of the atmosphere in the chasm making the injury that much more unpleasant. At least the healers had seen to her legs and no limp or scar had been obtained from that (not that the setting process hadn't been stressful).

When Iosha spoke, it took all of her will for Vira to just open her eyes and look at the pretty figure by the curtain. She tried to smile, to wear that face of confidence and steadiness, but it was as transparent as a window. There was no hiding the pain now and Vira abandoned the forced smile, her features dissentigrating into a grimace and plea. "It's a bad day, ma'am." The teen said through grit teeth, as polite as she could manage right then with hands still pressing into the puckered scar on her side. "Is there anything you can do to kill the pain some? I can't even focus enough to haul the food up from the stores. Had to send some Dek to do it. Please, Avora..." Pleading with the Konti, not unlike she had in that little canyon as the first day ascended into the second, and then the third before they were able to get out of there.

Her thoughts went to Kovac, then, remembering the first night out she'd had since being released from the infirmary. How awful it had started out as in the darkness of the Inclement, the reverberating boom of the drums that sounded too much like thunder in her ears; like the thunder in the chasm when the storm fell upon them and they were forced to wait even longer to try and get out. By then, Vira was almost too weak to do more than lean on the Konti; too tired from fighting to keep hold of consciousness and not drown in the excruciating throb in her legs even when Iosha tried to help. She'd been miserable then; but now, freed of that daylight nightmare, the younger woman struggled with dreams that would not recede, haunting her sleep each night.

"Please, Iosha...I can hardly walk for how it hurts."

[Iosha]

Iosha listened to Lavira explain her health problems, and she could only just stay silent till the young woman was done talking. Iosha knew Lavira was lucky to be alive with her injuries from the fall, but the Konti frowned and gave the foolish young woman a disproving look when she mentioned moving bags of feed in her condition. She knew everyone in Wind Reach needed to pull their weight otherwise they don't eat, but she knew the injuries could take a season or two to fully recover. Iosha knew the woman wasn't just suffering physical pain from the fall. The konti figured the Inarta teen was suffering deep emotional trauma from almost dieing in raw sewage too. However, Iosha needed to make sure the woman was emotionally stable enough to take a painkillers because the konti was uncomfortable on putting her on pain killers because she knew a lot of pain killers could led to addiction and abuse. Iosha knew the Inarta's took cavalier attitude towards drug use, but during her time in the city, she treated many Inarta for substance abuse, and she didn't want this promising young woman to go down that dark path either. However, Iosha was a healer of Rak' Keli so she needed to look out for the health and well being of her patient too. Iosha said hesitantly, “There are many drugs I can use as painkillers, but they can be dangerous if they are misused, Lavira. I will proscribe a drug for your pain when the examination is complete.”

Iosha closed the curtain and said with her arms crossed, “Honestly, I understand the pressures of your society to be self sufficient, but you need to understand that the body takes time to heal. Especially with the serious injury to your side. You lost a lot of tissue sliding down the hill, and it will take time to regenerate.” Iosha blew a stray piece of white hair from her face and said plainly, “Also, the healing process is going to hurt till your fully recovered.” Iosha let out a deep breath and said bluntly, “Lavira, you are seriously injured, so you need to rest and take it easy till you fully recover. I want you to continue to use the Deks for the majority of the heavy duties at your job till you are a hundred percent because otherwise, you can make your injuries worse or permanent, and in our society, it is the fastest way to join the dek caste yourself.” The konti knew it was harsh to say to a already scared teenager, but it was the reality of Wind Reach, and being a Inarta herself, Lavira should know first hand the dangers of being infirm in their world. The konti laid a webbed hand on her shoulder and said softly, “I am not going to lie to you Lavira when your side fully heals. You will have a nasty scar on the side of your body, and you might not have all the mobility you had before the injury, but I know you personally you have a strong survival skill, and you will adapt to your new body.”

Iosha rested a hand on the right side of her forehead and said a soft prayer to Rak'Keli in Kontinese, “Please my Goddess ease the pain and suffering in her head, so Lavira can focus on the tasks in her life.” A soft blue glow emanates from the gnosis mark on the konti's white arm and the blue glow surrounds the entire head of the teenager. Iosha smiled warmly at the girl and asked softly, “Does your head feel slightly clearer now? Now put your arms up in the air, so I can unwrap your bandages.” When the woman put her arms up, Iosha started to unwrap the cloth bandage from her sides and ribs, and she saw a large red scar with bruising all around it. Keah removed the stitches about a mouth ago, but the konti remembered when they were finished stitching her up. The young woman looked like a patch worked doll along the right side of her body. Iosha said softly, “Please take off your vanti, so I can get a better look at your side and back, Lavira.” As Iosha waited for Lavira to undress, Iosha decided to ask a few questions about her mental health, “It is good you are still going to work, but I wanted to ask you a series of questions.” Iosha tied back her hair with a piece of twine and asked, “Lavira, are you having difficultly concentrating, remembering details, or making decisions?” The Iosha remembered the weeks after her daughter was sold. She suffered through a long bout of depression that lasted for two years. She just wanted to make sure Lavira wasn't suffering from depression either.

[Lavira]

"I know, Iosha. I've tried to avoid them, but you've no idea..." The young woman cringed, arching away from the ravaged side and biting her tongue to keep from hollering. She'd done so well so far, today was just a really, really bad day.

"I know the Deks can do some of the jobs, but they are simply not allowed to do others. If I were to go asking for leniency from the Valintar, I could lose my place. I can still work, Iosha, but I've been incapacitated long enough. I can't risk it now, please understand." The Konti had been in Inartan society long enough to know the structure and importance of title in this city. She herself had even said as much regarding the infirm. If she let her job slack to the lower caste, she was no better than them. Vira already fought to maintain her place against her visual disability, striving to prove that just because she was impaired didn't mean she couldn't work as hard as any of the upper caste, if not more.

As the healer went on about needing to recover longer and how her side was probably never going to fully heal, the teen closed her eyes and turned her head away. Then the hand came to rest upon her head and the healer said her prayer, summoning Rak'keli's essence to ease some of her suffering. Though her head did not clear as much as she would have liked, Vira could not deny that it did help some as the strain in her side ebbed slightly. The chiet released an audible sigh and slumped some only to breathe deeply a few times as she sat there. Raising her arms overhead as instructed, she replied, "A little, healer." A short response.

When instructed to remove her top, the woman obeyed, arching forward to undo the knot of material in the back (careful to remove the leather thong with bay eagle feather first) and then simply lay the vinati on her thighs, hands folded over it. Vira was not an unattractive woman, really. Her face may have been marred on one side, but the angular features and light dusting of freckles gave her a bird-like charm. Her body was comely and well shaped for an Inartan, a rarity in the race given the tendency towards in-breeding, with no discernible natural deformities. She was modest of bust and long of leg, an eye-catcher, or she might have been. Not now, though (at least, that's what she kept telling herself).

Sitting straight with hands over her top, she answered the healer haltingly at first. "Er, yes, some. I push through it, though. I don't wanna be a burden; I can still work, today's just a bad day, ma'am." Then, slowly, eyes on the others feet and the tightness at their corners evidence of the thoughts rolling through her mind. "Well...I'm still having nightmares, Iosha. They've gotten worse since leaving the infirmary. Avora Kovac has been trying to help, and I keep meaning to go down to the Dreaming Lady, but I'm afraid going there might make them worse or something. But I don't know if it'd make a difference anyways. Better or worse, it's always the same..."

She went on to describe the dream to her, recounting it in surprising detail and underlining the frequency as such.

Falling. It always started that way, the cry of an Eagle, the rip of cloth, and then she was falling and falling. She could always see the ground rushing to meet her, but she never quite hit it. Several times in the dream, she would sense a hand reach out for her from above, even grab her wrist and stop the plummet. But as she looked up to who had grabbed her, she saw that it was Garren. His face was excited at first, but quickly changed to one of disappointment and disgust before releasing her wrist. She would resume falling, then, screaming and reaching up towards him as he receded into the distance overhead. Sometimes there would be laughter heard, as if the Akalak that had been dating the young woman at the start of the Summer season was taunting her as he left her to fall and die. For that was what happened. As the dream neared its conclusion, Vira would always find herself rotating to look towards the coming ground before BAM!!!

"And then I wake, drenched and shaking. Tulaj is screeching at me then. Kovac said I screamed at one point, that he couldn't wake me..." The young woman shuddered. "Loss of concentration? Some, details? A lot. Decision making, it really depends on the situation. I'm just exhausted when I'm not hurting. The nightmares keep me from getting any sleep and with my job, I'm up before dawn and down several hours after."

[Iosha]

Iosha tried not to watch the young woman get undressed, but she turned her attention back to her when she struggled to get her top off. Iosha could tell the woman was attractive, and if it was any other day. The konti would have asked her to dance in the Inclement Weather, but the woman was clearly in a lot of pain, so dancing was definitely out. Iosha was starting to understand the Inarta society all to well, and she noticed the gingers had a tendency to turn a blind eye to helpless or infirm. It was a sickening part of her father's society, but she learned to become numb to the injustices of the Wind Reach. She knew Lavira was trying to keep her station in the aeries, but she knew with her back the way it was. She wouldn't be able to do one hundred percent of her job till fully heals. Iosha frowned when Lavira called her ma'am because the title made her sound like a old woman with fifty birds in her apartment. Iosha knew the young woman was being polite, but it made the konti sound like the crazy bird woman. The konti didn't believe her at all that it was just a bad day since she notice a common trait among most Inarta that they were stubborn people full of feather-brained pride. It was a flaw that drove the konti crazy, but she knew these people were nothing without their pride in the end.

Walking around the back of young woman, Iosha noticed the young woman opened a few of the wounds on her back that she will need stitches again. She sighed sadly to herself and murmured to herself in kontinese, “My poor wounded bird. Why do you keep doing this to yourself...?” Iosha listened to the woman tell her that Kovac wanted to go to a dreamer for consoling, and she just shook her head wondering why people put such stock into interpreting dreams. Iosha noticed dreams were unreliable and confused the problem more than they would solve the problem. However, the Konti had feelings for the feather-brained archer, so she didn't want write off his suggestion all together. Iosha just crossed her arms and listened to the woman tell her dream. As she told her dream, the konti noticed the wound was slightly dripping blood, so she picked up a clean towel, placed a hand on her shoulder, and pressed the towel firmly to her back to stop the bleeding. Still holding the towel to her back, Iosha listened to Lavira dream and noticed the falling off the cliff symbolized the turmoil in her life. Iosha remembered the Akalak and remembered the concern on his face in the aeries before the Endal took him away. Was the Alakak in the aeries named Garren? Iosha started to wonder if she was the Alakak's chosen mate, and she could understand the pain the young woman felt when he never showed up to save her from the ravine. When Lavira finished telling her dream, Iosha took the towel from her back and said softly, “I might have found some of the source of your physical discomfort. You must have opened one your wounds during a strenuous activity. I will stitch it up for you, but you need to learn your limits, Lavira.”

Iosha walked back to her tray full off supplies and grabbed her spindle of thread and curved needle. As she threaded the eye of the needle, Iosha said without looking at her, “Kovac has a kind heart, and I know he wants to do his best for you..” Iosha smiled softly to herself when she thought of her ornery friend and continued in a soft voice as she cut about a foot of thread with a scissors, “and if you still want to go to a Dreamer to interpret your dreams. I will bring you down there myself, but I think you know deep down in your heart that the dream symbolizes the turmoil in your life caused by the Akalak abandoning you.” Iosha wondered if Garren was her first love, and she was curious if she slept with him too. It would be surprise that a young woman from a isolated city like Wind Reach would fall for a exotic foreigner. Especially if the the foreigner was a konti or akalak. Iosha heard her grandmother tell her stories of her grandfather from Riverfall, and the stories would always end up with her grandmother blushing and acting like love struck little girl. Iosha tied the string ends together, so they were even and walked around to her back. Iosha asked softly with no emotion in her voice, so she wouldn't sound like she was judging her, “This is my first time interpreting dreams, so please tell me if I am completely wrong. Also, was the Akalak named Garren your first love, and the first man you were intimate with?”

[Lavira]

Sitting still now was a challenge as Iosha went on silently stitching up the tears in her healing side. It made her ribs ache and she yearned to bend away, but she refused. In that, the girl was strong and brave, Iosha surely remembered that. The sheer relief of seeing Iosha in the cave as alive as she was (sort of) and most definitely not a ghost. The agony of setting the bones in her leg and then the horror of trying to get back out of the ravine was minimal compared to the relief of simply being rescued.

"Kovac has more than a kind heart, healer. He understands the situation I am in. He's an underdog, too, like me. I mean, really, have you ever seen an impaired Chiet? Or Avora? Let alone an Endal, hah!" Her eyes closed and her hands tightened over her bryda as she spoke. "They only ever see the weakness, never the strength. But...but Kovac sees me." She trailed off, not wanting to burden Iosha with those thoughts.

When the healer asked if she still wanted to go see a dreamer, the woman was confused, turning to look at Iosha with a frown of bewilderment. "Dreamer? What? I don't know any dreamer interpreters in Wind Reach. Did you mean The Dreaming Lady? It's a spa on the same level as the Inclement. They specialize in uhm...alluring incense and things. They're a good place to relax at, but they're a little too personal for my tastes." As Iosha finished up, Vira redonned her Vinati and secured the feather in its place once more, her hands folding in her lap afterwards.

She had not ignored the reminder of the Akalak, she simply chose not to speak out on it, only turning her gaze away to look at the floor and scrunch some of her bryda between her fingers. The young woman hated to think of that morning by the stream, beneath the falls. She didn't want to be reminded of it anymore, ever again. But then, the healer pressed her for information, or so that's what it felt like. The Chiet tried to look even further away, her eyes tightly clenched and her knuckles white.

"He was not my first love. The petcher seduced me while I was drunk." She paused, then amended that. "No, hung over, not drunk. He was helping me sweat it out and then..." Her shoulders rose and fell. "It wasn't fair of him to do that and was wrong of me to allow it. I try not to judge others their appearance, no matter how strange it is, and I didn't judge him. I mean, really, who am I to judge, Iosha. Look at my face." She gave a derisive laugh.

"No ma'am, he was definitely not my first love. An insulting crush who I thought liked me more than just for a good petch, you know? It's nice to be liked...to be loved..." She was tearing up again and really didn't mean to dump on the Konti like this, but, well, Iosha had asked. Shifting to look again at the healer, Vira went on.

"You know the worst thing about that embarrassment?" She snorted. "The absolutely worst thing? The bastard had the nerve to say the P word to me as if it should be the first thing I think about when...ehm...you know. I want children some day, yes, but...but not like that, and certainly not from him. He didn't even come back, Iosha. Not even to say goodbye, let alone to see if I was still alive. Petch, I hope he got eaten by a bear." It was the first time she'd thought about that part of the morning since it happened, Vira having pushed it so far from her mind that she had convinced herself it was impossible, as if she could tell herself I will not be pregnant and it would be true. "I feel like some Dek a rider thought would make a fine piece for their eel. I just want to forget about him, Iosha, really. If I could...I'd be happier, I know it. Kovac's really trying to help, but...." She trailed into silence now, discouraged and disheartened.

[Iosha]

Iosha smiled slightly when she heard her speak fondly of Kovac. She didn't know anything about their relationship, but the way, the teenager spoke of him. She figured the ornery man was able find a special place in the girls heart. Regardless, the disfigured young woman with his help was starting to see that she had more to offer her city than she originally thought. The konti just sat there and listened to Lavira poor out her soul to her. When the girl trailed off, she laid a webbed hand on her shoulder and said softly, “You should call him, Kovi. I kind of gave it to him as a pet name, but I think he won't mind hearing it from you.” She removed her hand and finished threading the needle. She raised an eyebrow and laughed silently to herself at the clear mistake of thinking that she was seeking a someone marked by Nysel. She remembered passing the Dreaming Lady from time to time, but she always thought it was a place for interpreting dreams. It was shame that she was leaving in the Fall because she would have loved to visit it. However, Lavira was her last patient of the day, so maybe she could convince her to join her. Iosha bent down next to the open wound to get a better look at it and said softly, “The Dreaming Lady sounds like a interesting place, Lavira. It would be a shame to not experience it before I head to Lhavit in a couple of days, so when I am done with you, I think I might spend a couple bells there. You can come if you like, but I understand if you wouldn't want too? By the way, brace yourself Lavira this is going to hurt.”

Iosha held the needle in her hand and said a short prayer in Kontinese to Rak'Keli to sterilize the needle. When the soft blue glow enveloped the needle and string and faded away, Iosha stuck the needle into the edge of the laceration where the tissue was already numb from the injury. Iosha gently pierced the rounded needle up through the bottom of the other side of the cut. When the needle is completely through the skin, Iosha slowly pulled the string through the skin till it completely stopped. When the needle and the string was completely through, Iosha stuck her needle into the skin slightly diagonally from the first stitch. Once again, the konti pierced the needle up through the bottom of the other side of the cut. When she pierced the needle through the skin and pulled the needle and string completely through the skin, the two loose pieces of skin closed tightly together. Iosha smiled at her handy work and continued the stitching process until the wound was completely closed. She tried to do the stitches as quickly and gently as possible to ease the suffering from her patient, but it was still a slow process. When she was completely finished, she tied off the last knot and cut off the remaining string with a pair of scissors. Iosha put a hand over the wound and said a simple prayer to cleanse the stitched up wound of any germs or impurities. Iosha put the needle on the tray next to her, and she looked up when Lavira started to talk about the Akalak.

As Lavira started to talk about the man who took advantage of her, Iosha grabbed the roll of gauze and her scissors and cut off about a foot of it. Iosha started to fold gauze up, and she narrowed her eyes when Lavira told her that he took advantage of her when he was trying to help her. It reminded her of the day Berial offered to take her to Syliras, but he took her to Ravok instead where she was sold into slavery by him. Iosha was a fool for taking up his “kind”gesture, and she was a idiot for spenting those cold nights in his tent. It was a mistake that ended up ruining both the lives of herself and her daughter, N'osha. As Iosha just sat there in silence listening to young woman talk about her experience with this petcher, Iosha placed the folded square gauze over the wound, stood up from her seat, put one end of the roll of gauze on the square gauze padding, and starting to tightly wrapped the woman's abdomen till the cuts on her back and side were completely covered by the bandage. When Iosha was finished, she walked to the other side of the table, took both Lavira's hands in her own hands, and asked softly, hoping that the expression on her face show that she cared about the young woman’s problems, “but..what Lavira? Honestly, you should talk about your feelings otherwise they will eat you up inside.” Iosha bit her lip, looked away for a few ticks, and said without looking at her, “Also I understand how you feel completely because eight years ago, I was to taken advantage by a man.”

[Lavira]

"Kovi?" She laughed a little, then winced when the tip pierced her skin. "I dunno, I like the sound of Kovac, really. It feels real, to me. I'm not really one for pet names, anyways." Hearing that Iosha would be leaving Wind Reach was a great aggrievance, Vira found and she turned her head to look sadly at the woman.

"So soon?" The teen replied somewhat dejectedly. "But you've done such amazing work here, Iosha." She was too afraid to admit she was unsure about the other healers too, afraid of the judgement she might receive for coming here when the nightmares grew too much to bare or the pain for that matter.

The stitching made the girl continue to wince but she otherwise took it all like a trooper and when the healer finished at last, she straightened more comfortably, kneading the flesh around the healing wound with attentive fingers. Iosha's verbal prodding, however, made her uneasy and the Chiet looked away, slow to reveal what was in her heart here. She chose to respond to the latter first.

"He didn't take advantage of me in that sense, Iosha..." Vira did look sympathetic towards the healer and the insight of someone abusing the pretty Konti in such a way. "I was coherent enough to allow it to happen and blind to the reality of it. In all liklihood he was being a scoundrel behind my back after that morning. He wanted me to be true to him and that's all I wanted in return." Slowly, the woman warmed back to the topic of Kovac.

"But Kovac hasn't been like Garren was. He has been so very compassionate throughout this. I'm just so afraid he's going to see how badly I'm struggling right now, though. Like I told you, I barely sleep as it is now, and when I do, it's for no more than an hour or two before I'm waking screaming and drenched again. I was sure Kovac would run horrified from me when I nearly yanked his hair out that night after our date. I was so ashamed that he would see me in that state...and I'm so afraid that it will prove too much for him as it is nearly too much for me."

"A large part of me wants to push to be with him...create what I want with him...love him and be loved by him...but I am so terrified that he could not bare the shame of it...to lie with that ugly Chiet girl who can barely hide from the reality of what happened to her...He sees who I really am; so why can't I stop falling?"

Her voice had grown softer during that last little bit until it was no more than a strained whisper, her hands folding in her lap and her gaze lowered to her knees as if to mollify her misery by turning her sights from view.

[Iosha]

Still holding her hands, Iosha listened to her sympathetic as she continued her story with the Akalak. The longer she told her story. The konti felt a kindred to her because she was infatuated with the con-man with Berial, and the bastard sold her into slavery. When Lavira started to speak about Kovac, and her situation with her near death experience. It seemed like the young woman was holding herself back because of her fear of death and her appearance. The konti could tell the young woman was struggling with her self-worth. When Lavira mention that she wanted to push her love on her friend, Iosha frowned slightly because she knew being in love herself that love can't be forced on another person. It needed to grow naturally between the two people. Also She knew with Kovac complicated love life and his past relationships. When it came to love, Kovac treated everyone like friends even if they wanted more from him. However, the way the teenager talked about him made it sound like Kovac was her first love and not the Akalak named Garren. When she started talking about her appearance, Iosha took back her hands, shook her head and said bluntly, “I am going to be honest Lavira. If you have slept with him, I doubt Kovac cares little about your appearance. Besides, appearance isn't everything in relationships, Lavira especially when you are talking about love. If he taken a interest in you. He must care about whole person and not just the packaging on the outside.” The Konti smirked and laughed slightly remembering the many times. She flirted with the charming half breed over the her archery lessons, “Besides, he is a handsome, charming, and passionate young man. He must have found something he liked in you if you speak so fondly of him.”

Iosha remembered the time that they went camping together at the beach. She was told by him the heartbreak brought upon him by the women who care about him. She knew that if Lavira forced her feelings on him that she might not get his heart completely. It is sad, but Kovac was adamant on the fact that he didn't want to be in love with anyone. He wanted to love everyone equally; however, in doing so he might eventually end hurting some one or everyone unintentionally. She tuck her hair behind her ears and said gently, “Lavira if you want to be with him, you need to learn to accept him and his out look on love. I suggest you let the feelings grow naturally between the two of you. The bond between the two of you with grow naturally and stronger with time.” Iosha took a step back, crossed her arms, looked off trying to figure out what to say, and said simply, “, and you need to learn how to love yourself too. Whenever, you talk about a relationship with him. You keep degrading yourself that you are not worth his time because you are not pretty enough or not strong enough to be with him.” Iosha's violet eyes stared her straight in the eyes and said bluntly, “The only reason you are falling in your dream is because you were the one who jumped off the cliff in the first place...” Iosha said with a reassuring smile, “You need to learn to fly, Lavira, and I am sure you will achieve everything you want in life.” The konti knew her words were vague and symbolic, but part of the healing process was finding your own meaning for your life. Lavira seemed to define herself by other peoples' opinions of her and the konti knew it was no way to live her life. Being in love with Kovac herself, she wanted to make sure he is happy before she left his life forever.