Callie's Heroes

PART IV - ROOM AT THE INN?

The knock on the door startled everyone, and Vanis rose to answer it. He opened it to a female Fairy, wearing a blue robe with red trim. Her wings spouted out through a slit in the back of her robe and the late-afternoon sun danced off the surface of her wings, reflecting a rainbow of colors and untold strange patterns. “May I help you?”

“Good afternoon. I am Master Healer Tasi. I am in charge of the camp infirmary and the multitude of Healers we have on staff. I apologize for disturbing you.”

“No apology needed,” Vanis said. “What may we do for you?”

”Earlier today, your Ogre friend was involved in an altercation at the intake line. A Pixie was terribly injured and then the Ogre punished the offending Dwarf.”

“Yes, that was Tazrok. Is the Dwarf ok? It appears they are in the same training group, and Tazrok gave the impression all was well between the two of them now. Would you like me to fetch him for you?”

“There is no need. The Dwarf is fine. His injuries were easily healed and he was released not long after we saw to him.

“Tazrok isn’t in some sort of trouble, is he?”

“Not at all.” The Healer said. “At least not with me.”

“Is something wrong?” Lena asked, coming to the door and joining Vanis.

“Hello,” Tasi said, giving a quick nod to Lena before continuing. “I am here regarding the Pixie.”

“Oh no, is she hurt badly? It looked painful.” Lena asked, a worried tone suddenly in her voice.

Tasi paused a moment before answering. “She was hurt horrendously,” the Fairy, sneered, looking over her shoulder towards where the intake lines were. “Thankfully, the injury is not permanent, and I was able to heal the immediate damage. But her full recovery will be prolonged due to the nature of the injury, and she will be in pain for some time.”

“The poor thing,” Vanis said.

“I know,” Lena agreed. “Is there something we can do for her?”

“Maybe,” Tasi said. “The housing quartermaster indicated you still have an open bunk remaining in your bunkhouse, and I wanted to speak with your group before assigning her to it.”

“Of course,” Lena quickly said. “Why would it be a problem?”

Tasi held up a hand. “She is able to return to training, but may be in need of assistance for some time. Things such as dressing, for example, and possibly carrying items. I did not want to presume you would be willing to take this on. In a situation like this, I would try to house her with other winged Fae as they understand the injury better. Unfortunately, the only bunkhouses with available bunks also have Dwarves in them, and given what happened …” Tasi trailed off.

“I can see why that wouldn't be the best arrangement,” Vanis said, finishing the sentence.

“I don’t see why this would be a problem. We’re happy to help however we can,” Lena said. “Where is she now?”

“Lena, we should discuss…” Vanis started.

“No! We’ll help. We’ll make it work, Vanis.”

“Of course,” Vanis said with an acknowledging nod.

“She is still at the infirmary, but was just completing her orientation with her trainer, Trainer Olin. I came here after meeting with the Quartermaster regarding her housing.”

“Is she the only one in his training group?”

“No. She was unable to attend with the rest of her group as she was still waking from the Sleep spell I put on her while we repaired her wing. Trainer Olin agreed to meet with her in person after he met the rest of his group. I will send her as soon as I return.”

Lena furrowed her brow. “Does she need to visit the showers and get her clothing measurements?”

“No, we addressed that at the infirmary, so I’ll have her clothing delivered tomorrow along with yours. She may not be able to wear her training armor for a few days, though.”

“We’ll be ready for her,” Vanis said.

“One last thing,” Tasi said, “She is very quiet and fiercely independent, and seems to have no friends. She comes across as … angry maybe is a good word, or maybe intense is another. I believe it stems from a lifetime of being shunned and ridiculed due to her speech impediment. She may be reluctant to accept help. Don’t let her refuse if she needs it, as it will only slow her recovery. I’ll be sending her with a mild pain elixir to drink in the mornings. She won’t want to, so please be sure she does for at least for three days. If she refuses, or refuses your assistance, let me know.”

“Any other treatment we need to know about?”

“Only that I told her to use the baths at least once a day; twice if she has the time. The hot waters will help with her pain and to heal the residual bruising. But she may need assistance.”

“We have two females and a Lizardkin in our house now, so I’m sure we can aid her with that as well.”

“Very well, and thank you,” Tasi said. “I will send her as soon as I am able. I will also come by later when it is time to join with your Symbiotes, as I want to handle hers personally.”

“Let her know we look forward to meeting her,” Lena said as Tasi left to walk back to the healing tent.

“This could get complicated, Lena,” Vanis said with a stern, worried tone. “We will need to bring her into our confidence, and if she’s not willing…”

“Vanis, hush. We’ll figure it out, but I’m not going to subject her to living with such young Dwarves, especially after what happened earlier today.”

“What was that about?” Callie asked as Vanis and Lena re-entered the room. “Nothing’s wrong, is it?”

“A … complication,” Vanis said. “We are getting another roommate.”

“We are? Who?”

“The blue-haired Pixie. She’s been recovering with the Healers, so didn’t get a house assignment,” Lena said. “It was either here, or a housing with Dwarves.”

“No! Blue Pixie stay here. Not live with Dwarves.” Tazrok said instantly with an air of absoluteness.

“Yes, Tazrok. She is going to. But we now need to decide what to do about Callie’s secret,” Vanis said. “We don’t know her, and we don’t know if she can be trusted.”

“There’s not a lot we can do until we meet her,” Lena said.

Callie cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention. “I think we’re overthinking this. Unless anyone gets a serious vibe against it, we’re just going to tell her and ask her to keep it confidential. If she’s going to be living with us, she’s going to notice I’m a little off, if not a lot, and we all need to talk through what happened in detail. We can’t just kick her out while we do that. Plus, we’re already planning to go to someone in charge in a few days, if we can find someone we think we can trust, so we’re not asking her to keep a forever secret. Either she will or she won’t and we’ll deal with it.”

Everyone was silent as they pondered Callie’s words. She had made a simple, pragmatic point. There really wasn’t another choice. But this also made them all the more aware that they were keeping a secret from people in charge that had a reasonable right to know.

“What else did they tell you?” Callie asked Vanis.

“She primarily wanted to make sure it was acceptable for the Pixie to stay here,” Vanis said. “She also filled us in on her injury, which it sounds as if it was serious. The Healers addressed the physical damage, but she’s going to be in pain for quite some time, until the bruising fades. She’ll need our assistance with some everyday things for a while.”

“Of course, we’re happy to help, aren’t we?” Lena said in an odd, maternal tone, and gave everyone the eye while her hands rested on her hips. “If one of us was injured, we would want assistance, too.““

‘Miss Lena, of course we will do what we can,” Xin said.

Lena gave a sharp nod. “Good. Everyone be nice. The Healer said she has a speech impediment, so be prepared.”

“It sounded like she might stutter,” Callie said. “If that’s the case, just try not to get frustrated with her. This is already scary enough for her without her roommates being impatient. Nobody makes fun of her, even behind her back. Got it?”

Everyone nodded.

“Vanis,” Callie continued, “did the Healer say what class she is?”

“No, and I didn’t think to ask. Most Pixies end up as some variation of the Wizard or Healer class, though. We’ll have to find out, I suppose.”