Actually a fairly important chapter, weirdly enough. I still don't own Chrono Trigger. I do own Raulewn, though I have no clue where she came from... Also, spot the meme references and win a cookie!
Lyn was woken early in the morning. For a moment, she couldn't figure out why Esaku was waking her up so early, or where Luke was. Thinking about it as she stood, she remembered the strange leg-less Mazoku from last night, the Sorcerer that Esaku had left Luke with. Then she remembered that they were going to the front, and all the fear and uncertainty from last night returned.
The band marched to a port town. Lyn wasn't sure if it was the same one they had landed in three days ago or not. It looked similar, but that didn't really mean much. From there, they crossed the ocean again, with Esaku spending most of his time drumming as much of his language into Lyn's head as was possible in the four days the journey took. He chose mostly words from the medical field. When she asked why, he explained that she was not going to be on the front line. Lyn would be left behind in the last post before the front, helping to heal the injured and temporarily under the command of the lead medic. Esaku gave her a yellow band to wear around her arm, saying that it showed she was his. He also gave her a small pack of papers, telling her to keep them on her at all times.
While grateful that she would not be in the fighting, Lyn was still afraid. She was going to be left in a strange place, surrounded by beings who all viewed her as below them, and who spoke a different language. She hoped the Lady would bless the intensive lessons she was being given.
They had to land on boats, the ship staying out in deeper water. From the beach where they had landed, it was only a short march to the fort. Now Lyn followed her Master through the wooden hallways, looking for the head of the infirmary.
It didn't take long for Esaku to reach his destination. He spoke to a being that looked rather like a darker furred version of the Diablos, a Grimalkin, she thought it was called. She could only catch one word out of ten that they exchanged, but it ended in her being given a blue and black band to wear.
"Those are the colors of a healer-mage," Esaku explained as Lyn tied the cloth onto her arm. "It was decided that your 'tech' was close enough to our magic for this case. Serve well, and when we're home, you'll be rewarded." With a final nod towards the Grimalkin, Esaku walked away, leaving Lyn alone.
Looking at the Human girl for a moment, the dark-furred feline sighed, then motioned for her to follow him. He led her to a door, than called an Imp over. Looking into the room, Lyn quickly realized this was the main healing area, currently almost empty. The Grimalkin told the black-robed Imp something, and the green Mazoku nodded.
"Come," the Imp said to Lyn, in her own language. "Battle start soon, then we busy. Today, I watch you, next day, you know what you doing."
Lyn was still working out what the creature meant when he stopped. In this corner of the infirmary, the various Mazoku all wore some form of blue and black clothing. Did the black mean healer, then, while the blue was for the mages? Lyn held her hands to prevent picking at herself, and mostly looked at the ground. She wondered just who had decided that her tech merited her inclusion with the magic-users. She'd never even seen magic. She'd only heard stories, and never stories that the Mazoku's magic could be used to heal.
Some of the mages were speaking to the Imp. After a few glances towards her, Lyn realized that they were as skeptical of her inclusion among them as she was. They didn't think she'd be of any use. At that moment, she decided to prove them wrong.
It was a while before Lyn got her chance. She wasn't sure how long she'd been standing there, pretending to ignore the obvious scorn in the healer-mage's voices. With a sudden bang, the doors were opened and slaves started carrying in wounded Mazoku.
Lyn quickly learned there was a system to the healing. First, the black robed healers would check the new arrivals. About half were given what Lyn soon realized were tonics, and most of those soon left. Maybe half of those left were bandaged by the mundane healers, while the rest, usually those injured the most gravely, were left to the healer-mages. But even then there was a system; the mages would wait until there were maybe half a dozen injured around them, and then heal them all in one burst.
Once Lyn caught on to the system, she realized what part she was supposed to play in it. Her job was to heal the Mazoku who were little more than a breath away from death. She didn't need to heal them fully; that was the job of the true mages. She just kept them alive until one of the mages included them in one of their spells.
Lyn was too busy working to notice the looks she garnered. Much to the healer-mage's surprise, she was actually being useful, soon anticipating who would need her help next. Her strange tech wasn't nearly as strong as the spells they cast, but it was faster, and already had made the difference in at least three cases.
When the rush stopped, Lyn almost didn't notice. She had fallen into a rhythm, still had energy left, and there were still injured around her. Exactly as she had in the Magic Cave, Lyn moved towards those who were still hurt.
This time it was the Imp who stopped her. "Leave them. You job done."
A Grimalkin, different from the one who had brought her here, stepped in front of Lyn. It took the Human a few moments to realize this Grimalkin was female. She wore a black shirt and blue skirt over her purple-blue fur; a healer-mage, then. "You understand me?" she asked harshly, using the Mazoku language.
"A- a little," Lyn answered uncertainly, suddenly realizing she didn't know the honorific for females.
The Grimalkin's eyes narrowed, and she drawled, "Madam…."
"M-madam," Lyn repeated quickly, hoping the feline would accept that.
The mage thought for a moment, then nodded, appeased. "Come, I'll take you to dinner. You," she looked at the Imp, "Can go now. We won't hurt her."
With a shrug, the Imp walked away, seemingly pleased that his job was finished early. Lyn was once again left alone with someone she didn't know, and she found out she was tired after all. "Ah… thank you, er… madam."
"How long have you lived with us? It can't have been long, the way you speak is terrible," the Grimalkin asked, obviously unconcerned with the fact that Lyn was having trouble understanding her. As she spoke, she took the girl out of the infirmary, more or less following the other mages, who also seemed to be going to dinner.
Lyn was fairly sure she understood the question, but she didn't think she had the words to answer it. "Ah… ten and four days, madam."
"Two weeks," the Mazoku correct absently. Entering a mess hall, she took Lyn to one of the stewpots, pointing out a symbol on the pot. "After working, mages eat from here. That includes you, while you're wearing our colors." Filling two bowls, the Grimalkin shoved one at Lyn, then went to sit at a table already filled with healers. "Well, come on, sit down!"
Still unsure of her reception, Lyn did as she was told, wedging herself onto the bench next to the seemingly friendly Grimalkin. The blue Sorcerer on her other side looked at her curiously before going back to his meal.
"So, Raulewn, picked up a stray?" a Freelancer down the table asked, a distinctly derisive tone in his voice.
"Piss off," the Grimalkin answered cheerfully. "In case you didn't notice, this girl saved that Hench you almost let die!"
"Oh, well, yes, she saved a Hench…."
"Shut up, Ohimero," the Sorcerer next to Lyn growled. "You know how much trouble we'd be in if the Hench weren't holding our lines."
The Freelancer snorted. "Oh, fine, I'll give you that. But that still doesn't answer why Raulewn brought a slave to sit at our table and eat with us."
Raulewn ran a hand down Lyn's hair, almost causing the Human to choke on her stew. The Grimalkin ignored Lyn's reaction and answered Ohimero, smiling. "Nobody else seems to be complaining."
Lyn looked at Raulewn, trying to figure out what was going on. "Am I …trouble, madam?" she asked.
"No, you're fine, dear. Ohimero is trouble. Eat your stew, then you'll feel better," Raulewn soothed, petting the girl more.
"Heh, and you're pretending that you only brought her here because she was useful," the Freelancer sniggered, looking innocent when Raulewn glared at him.
While Lyn wished the Grimalkin would stop petting her, she was pretty sure that now wasn't the time or place to voice her wishes. Silently, she ate the rest of her meal while the Mazoku talked among themselves. Pretty soon the bowl was empty, and Lyn had to admit, the cook was good. She even felt like she could use her tech a lot more, and she hadn't even slept yet. Though if Raulewn kept petting her like that, she might end up going to sleep right here at the table….
"Your pet is drooling on the table," the Sorcerer remarked, sliding from his seat.
Raulewn blinked down at Lyn. "Hey girl, come on. Guess I'd better show you where you can sleep."
Half asleep, Lyn followed Raulewn down wooden halls. When the Grimalkin pointed out an empty bed, Lyn practically fell into it. She was asleep before she could even thank the Grimalkin.
I have given up. I have asked, begged, threatened, and bribed. You clearly don't care. I give up.