Zami slept for three days after that. They'd laid him on the floor of Mythene's chambers, so that he wouldn't be underfoot in the kitchen. She had refused to leave his side the entire time, ever vigilant and ready to heal him as needed. As she sat on the floor beside where he was lain, her fingers eternally wringing, she stared down at him and she thought.
She thought about how peaceful he looked. Like the grave. If not for the sound of him breathing softly, and the gentle rise and fall of his chest, she might've panicked. Worried that their healing efforts hadn't worked. That he'd still been lost. She wasn't sure she could've handled that very well.
She also thought about Daras occasionally, and how to best flay him. But thoughts of Desana always gave her pause. She didn't deserve to suffer simply because her brother was an insufferable fool. After all, she knew better than any what the loss of a brother felt like.
And so then her thoughts would turn to Enerion.
His eyes, especially. The way they'd looked on that day. On the day he'd died. The day she'd killed him. Her head lowered as she remembered. The sound of him squealing and screeching in pain would haunt her to the grave. He was gone, lost to feral madness. There was nothing of her dear little brother when she struck the final blow. But then, in that last moment, as he cried out as his life faded… he was there. In his eyes. She saw it. And he saw her. He knew her.
Covering her face with her hands, Mythene rubbed away the sadness, shoving it deeper under her skin. Then she lowered her hands and looked down at Zami. He was sleeping peacefully. She hoped he was having a good dream. He really deserved one. It seemed like he could never catch a break. Ever since she'd become his teacher, they had stumbled into trouble after trouble. The Emerald Coven, those other trolls in Stranglethorn, now this…
Smiling softly, she was glad he got the chance to rest these last few days. Better circumstances would've been appreciated, but it was what it was. Leaning over towards him, Mythene tucked a loose hair behind his ear. Her hand trailed down along his dreadlocks curiously. She'd always wondered what they felt like. She paused as her hand hit something and she glanced down, seeing her fingers caught on the little wooden trinket-a fetish, he'd called it.
She peered down, taking it in her fingers, and examined the Zandali characters engraved into the surface. Zami had told her what it said once before. Mercy. She perked an eyebrow as she thought about it. Mercy? He didn't need to pray he might become merciful. He was just, and justice was not always merciful when it need not be. She scoffed lightly and set the fetish down gently. Maybe, she thought, it wasn't even a prayer to obtain mercy. But rather to receive it.
Suddenly, Zami shifted below her and Mythene leaned back slightly, hoping she hadn't woken him. Sighing gently in relief when he didn't wake, she brought her hand down to his bare chest, tracing gently over the scar that had formed over his heart. It would be a permanent reminder of Daras' treachery, she thought bitterly. And a reminder of how she felt about the idea of Zami dying.
Removing her hand, Mythene reached down and picked up the blanket, which had fallen away as he shifted in his sleep. Pulling it back up, she gently covered him with it and sat back.
"Sleep well, Zami," She whispered, leaning forward and planting a soft kiss on his cheek.
Mythene sat with him for a few minutes longer, before the growls of her stomach became intolerable. Almost to the point that she feared they might wake him. She supposed she was rather hungry, being that she hadn't left his side once in the last three days. Glancing at him warily, she concluded that she could take a moment to eat something quickly. Then she would be right back by his side. She stood up silently, brushing a little of the dust from her clothes, and went to the door.
"I will be right back," She said softly as she opened the door.
Mythene made her way to the kitchen, pausing in the archway. Jazax was working on some device at his little engineering table, brow furrowed. It appeared he was working on some kind of tiny, headless robotic goblin. Mythene perked an eyebrow but moved past him, to the pantry cupboard. As she began to look around for some dried snack, Jazax cleared his throat. Curiously, she glanced over at him.
"Uhh, how is he?" He asked quietly, pushing up his goggles.
"He's still sleeping," Mythene answered, turning back to the cupboard, "But he seems to be completely healed."
"Good, good…" Jazax nodded, lightly rapping his tools against the table.
"Um, I suppose I should thank you," Mythene mumbled, glancing briefly over her shoulder.
"Huh? For what?" Jazax perked an eyebrow.
"For helping to heal him," Mythene said as she examined a sealed pack of jerky, wondering how old it was.
"Oh, yeah, y'know," Jazax shrugged, beginning to screw in a bolt at the robot's neck, "If I can help, I'm gonna, y'know? I ain't just gonna let my buddy die… not like last time."
Mythene nodded back wordlessly, deciding against risking the jerky. As she reached for a small pouch of fruit, she glanced at Jazax again.
"Is that why you became a priest?" She asked quietly, "To heal?"
"Not exactly," He shrugged, pausing to connect a pair of wires, "It's, uh, kinda complicated."
"Ah… Well, that's why I wanted to be a priestess," Mythene mumbled, turning back to the cupboard.
"Oh yeah?" Jazax perked an eyebrow, "Why don'tcha become one, then?"
"I'm a druid," Mythene frowned.
"So?" Jazax shrugged again, "I mean, you'd be great for it. You'd prolly do a heck of a better job at all the priestly stuff than I can."
"Most likely," Mythene agreed, smirking slightly as Jazax scowled flatly at her.
"Hey, you ain't supposed to agree with me there," He sniffed, feigning offense.
"Well, you shouldn't admit it freely, then," She quipped back, settling on taking a pack of crackers from the cupboard.
"Lesson learned," Jazax chuckled, "Remind me never to share any secrets with you, eh?"
Mythene shook her head in amusement, taking the crackers and heading back to her chambers. After she stepped inside, she shut the door and approached Zami's side.
"I'm back, thero'shan," She said quietly, sitting down beside him.
As she began to nibble on the crackers, her gaze moved out the open window, towards the full moon. She smiled softly, before looking back at Zami. And then she began to think again.
