"…..!"
"…!"
Yeaowch! God! Damn!
"…!"
Cter's ears!
"….!"
And the window!
"….! …!"
And the glasses they hadn't any time to drink from!
"…!"
And Bonny's glasses too!
The ringing in Cter's ears was some of the loudest she had ever heard!
Just after the absolute loudest she had ever heard!
She wasn't prepared for Bonny to remember the sounds of the ocean too! She thought it would just be the form of the conch! Both the shape and the magic amplified his voice to something that had to have been heard even in Hjearta!
There were shards of glass everywhere! All over Bonny, his chair, and his desk! All over Kurant and Cter too, with drenched stains of wine on their robes to boot!
Singe her soul!
Was she bleeding?
Yeah, yeah she was. Kurant too. Both were dazed as well. Dr. Sallus was stumbling. It looked like they had all been hit over the head with a sledgehammer.
Heavy steps hurried down the corridor. Cter could not hear them, but she felt the vibrations in the floor. She turned around just as a human burst open the door. "….! …! …..afe!" he screamed. He cupped both his hand over his mouth and inhaled until the buttons on his suit almost burst. "They! Are! Safe!" he shouted again with his forced words taking a hefty toll on his throat.
Bonny did not hear it though. "What!"
With her left hand still pushing against her ear Kurant swept the air in front of her in an arc to spell the word 'Safe' with magic. The shine it cast on her face amplified her pained expression.
Suffering equal amounts of pain Bonny both nodded in thanks while also throwing his hand harshly for the man to go get help. "Magic!" he shouted after the man, although to him he said it quietly. It had the man's right foot lingering in the doorway flinch before rounding into the corridor.
Magic though? Kurant knew healing, didn't she? Couldn't she just have healed the three partially deaf monsters? An incredibly uncomfortable slosh of noise flooded through both Cter's ears as she turned her head over to Kurant. As the slosh came to a partially gulping standstill Cter's face bent into something it had never been in before. Halfway between about to spew and too baffled at the sensation to be able to spew.
Kurant only pointed at her knee though with a palm stained with blood. She looked at it for a worrying second before returning it to her ear again.
Only for her knee? Makes sense. Cter would've preferred that it was more general with the situation she was in, but deep beneath the pain and uncomfortable sloshing she understood why Kurant would focus on her healing magic only affecting her knee. With what she told about its history…
Deep, deep, very deep down. The ringing itself was overbearing, and the dizziness that was amplified by the sloshing too was just the worst.
Was this what Cter got for joking about Manny going blind?
Thankfully no, as it did not take long before the man returned with a handful of monsters in tow. After some quick, yet still very well explained, instructions about the damage the monsters hurried over to Kurant, Cter, and Bonny respectively. Equally respectively too. The monsters treated Kurant and Cter exactly as how Bonny was treated. Both in terms of respect and healing.
The jester monster from before smiled at Cter as she bent her head and curly horns around with her cross-eyes thinned with reassurance. Gently, the monster angled Cter's head from side to side, taking mental note on which angle hurt the most. "…? … ….. ….enough?" the monster asked her colleagues, who nodded with thin conviction. "..ought so."
"Need more magic?" Cter hazarded through clenched teeth and narrowed eyes. "Give me your arm."
The jester handed Cter her left arm.
"Other."
Then her right arm. which Cter grabbed onto a bit harder than she meant to. It was a bit of a pain on top of the pain for Cter to figure out something to bend into something positive and cooperative with the jester. The common denominator between the two was Manny, so Cter had to first hint at Manny's aura to then hook onto the jester's emotions about human magic and mages to then finally connect the brief encounter Cter had with the monster to her running in to tell Bonny about the second Monster Mage.
"Finally," Cter grunted through an exasperated whistle between her teeth which had the jester a bit worried. However Cter did not let that worry go through, and instead amplified the jester's want to help. She raised the proficiency which the jester thought and felt that she could deliver and made it blossom. The other two medical monsters stopped to look at the turquoise jester who had begun to fluster more green to her teal, rubber-like skin.
Sharp gasps shot in and out of the jester as she tried to get to terms with what Cter had given to her. "I made your magic stronger," Cter explained as gently as she could, which wasn't gentle at all due to her pain. "Please heal me," she spurted out through one impatient growl. "Quick!"
The jester monster hesitated for a second which felt extremely long to Cter's hyper-aware state of pain. After the long second had passed though the jester put both her palms onto Cter's ears. A warm glow poured into Cter like two viscous fingers which first scraped out the blood. The feeling had Cter's entire body quiver as the chill down her spine reverberated like a hammer onto an anvil. It blackened before her eyes for a moment.
"...ow is this?"
It was…
Weird.
"I–" Cter said but quickly regretted it. She did not feel any more pain, but there was something very, very different with how she heard things. With her own palms she covered and uncovered her ears, but strangely how it sounded was inverse to how it normally would. Covered gave her more hearing than uncovered!
"Monster Mage," the man addressed to Cter's hunched-over form with shoulders bent inwards. "Grab your nose and blow."
Grab her nose and…
While the majority of Cter's doubt came from how strange the man's voice was to her newly healed ears, she also could not fathom why or how that would help.
"I'm a doctor," the man added after seeing that Cter did not do as he told her to. "Please, it'll work."
With pause both before and after Cter grabbed her nose, she did as the doctor ordered. She inhaled through her mouth and out her–
With an almost dramatic stumble Cter took a startled step behind her to catch her balance. Her ears popped like corks out a juggled bottles of ale, and it sounded like the opposite of something that should help. "Singe my soul!" she coughed in reflex.
And heard as normal.
With religious reverence shining like the sun through the glass-less window, Cter covered and uncovered her ears again like it was a child's game. It sounded like normal.
"Wow..."
Some wettened cotton tissues were offered over Cter's shoulder by the human doctor, "Here," which she took to dab at her ears, cheek, and throat to get rid of the blood. She watched as the doctor then followed the jester monster to take care of Kurant next. That freed up Kurant's monster to help additionally with Bonny.
It was not long until the three were healed again and cleaned up as best as they could be. Kurant also had to grip her nose and blow through it which had her also flinch the same way Cter did. She shook the last discomfort off her head and scraped away the last of the stuck blood from her ear which she wiped off on her pink-stained cotton tissues.
"How are you feeling, Doctor Sallus?" inquired the human doctor while brushing away the glass from Bonny's chair. "Have a seat."
The monsters motioned for Cter and Kurant to sit down as well. After Kurant's monster, an orange-freckled fish monster striped with darker blue than the rest of her scales donned, had cleaned off the rest of the blood which had seeped down onto Kurant's shoulders, he turned his head and purple hair over to Cter. "Anything else that is discomforting you, Monster Mage?" the fish monster asked with a set of uneven teeth worse than Idyll's, yet still with the same thoughtful smile as they came together. Cter was well used to that. "Some water, perhaps?"
"Pray speak quietly," said Bonny with his finger up to his ear, "every sound you make is exquisite agony to me." Nothing that another round of healing magic couldn't fix though.
But about that water. "I'd like some water, yes."
"I'll have some too," Kurant added as the fish monster turned back to her. "Thank you."
The three monster nurses left the room, and as soon as they thought they were out of range of Cter's newly restored hearing they began to excitingly murmur about the jester's magic and what Cter did. Fair enough, felt Cter about it. They were allowed to be excited about it since they helped her heal her ears.
That sounded better in Cter's head before she formulated the thought fully.
"Like I said before the canisters are safe, Dr. Sallus. Two contingencies, one magical and one physical prevented them from leaking. The shelf however will be in need of replacement, as will...um...everything else that was glass besides the canisters." The human doctor peeked painfully through the empty window with his eyes stopping at where the intricately glazed glass had been just a minute or so before. "Everything..."
"The window to the observation stage?" pried Bonny with a finger squeaking in one ear.
"Broken."
"The lecture lamps?"
"Broken."
"The wine?"
"Spilled."
"Any windows left in the house?"
"None. From what I could glean the blast...whatever it was, reached the other buildings."
"The canisters?"
"Safe, like I said. They were the first ones I checked."
"The Retro Encabulator?"
"Not invented yet."
"I see."
It was clear that Dr. Sallus was still a bit dazed. Cter had to disconnect her connection with him almost instantly so it was no wonder he felt a bit disorientated from having a new magic ripped away from him as his ears exploded.
"What happened, I do must ask?" the human doctor said with a less-than-subtle glance over to Cter and Kurant. "Aren't Monster Mages supposed to have control over their immense magic?" Kurant did not humor that question with an answer, instead she folded her arms and leaned her weight on one hip while challenging the doctor's accusatory furrow with a raised eyebrow. The doctor shook his head dismissively while muttering a poison-slicked growl. "The greatest mages in the world..."
"That's quite enough," Dr. Sallus spoke up with his finger-free ear folding behind him so that his folded forehead was clearly visible to the human. "It was my fault this happened, not the Monster Mages. Let us not throw sand into the pie mix now. It is not the first time this has happened," he voiced as a reminder to the human doctor who begrudgingly looked away and incidentally confirmed Bonny's statement. "Nor will this be the last time this happens, which is why we have the contingencies in place. The canisters survived. It's fine. We're safe." Dr. Sallus swept an end to the conversation with his free hand. "Send word for the glaziers about replacing my window as well as all the other in the house. Also inform the apprentices to bring back more beakers and instruments to replace that which was broken."
The human kept his eyes on Cter for a handful of seconds, summoning a snap of the bunny monster's fingers.
"Sarbor?"
Cter was the first one to blink from the snap.
Sarbor?!
That human was Sarbor?
No, surely. That would just be…
No, it is surely. His mustache…
"Sarbor Fech?" Cter flicked off her surprised tongue. She took a step forward which had the human doctor craning his head back both from the surprised surprise that the Monster Mage knew his full name as well as just the heavy step forward itself. "Human brother to Idyll Fech?"
"Idyll..." Sarbor spoke softly through his large and bushy mustache which swayed gently as the soft exhale flicked at the black and overhanging hairs. She must've had a slight concussion to miss how it was sprouting under his gentle nose like an evil shrubbery from a fairy tale while still looking respectful and well-maintained when he first burst into the office. Cter did not get a lot more time to admire it though as the human turned his head back to Dr. Sallus with a bow. "I'll make the arrangements as you wish, doctor."
His long steps quickly moved him out of Cter's reach which she scrambled for after him, almost getting caught up in her own mantle. "Wait!" But he didn't. "She wants to see you, Sarbor! She's a chef for the Monster King and Monster Queen." The words only hastened the long steps crunching over the spread-out shards of glass, and before Cter could catch her breath Sarbor was already around the corner. "She wants to cook you a meal so that you'll forget!"
The steps that still crunched from the pieces of glass stuck in Sarbor's shoes stopped with as much haste as they'd escaped the shimmering office with.
"You're her friend?" came a dampened question without a visible face to say it. "She asked you to find me?"
"She did," Cter answered without moving to look around the wall which Sarbor was standing behind. In fact she looked to where she heard him to be through the wall. "We've been friends for a while now and I..." Her sleeved fist balled hard at her side. "I owe her to bring you to her. She misses you like only a little sister can. It is a promise I made to her."
"Promises?" Sarbor scoffed. "From a human mage?"
No.
"I'm not a human mage. I am a Monster Mage," Cter said with full conviction behind her correction. "I won't be the same as the corvian and his friend."
A startled crunch echoed from behind the wall. "How...how do you know?" The voice was just as startled. "D-Did Idyll tell you?"
Cter's fist opened up as it felt too weak to keep balled up. "More than she's ever told anyone."
There was a quiet pause as thick as the wall separating Cter and Sarbor. Even outside the shattered window there was quiet, as if the whole world paused to hear what Sarbor would say. The pressure Cter felt as well. She knew the weight on Sarbor's shoulders. Idyll knew so Cter did as well.
More than she'd ever told anyone…
"Tell her..." Sarbor began with a gulp and a hefty quaver to his voice. "Tell her..." As soon as he repeated himself Cter could hear that there wasn't anything else he would be capable of saying at the moment. His aura was that of a normal human's. Just a slight pressure in the air without anything to discern from it. While Cter could not read any emotion from Sarbor she could tell that he could stand there behind that wall for the rest of time and still not be able to say anything more.
It would just be cruel to push him for more, but Cter's allegiance laid more with Idyll than it did her brother, so... "Can you at least write her a letter for me to take with me back to her?"
There was a pause.
"Yes."
"I am going to read it as well."
Then there was another pause.
"Why?"
"Because she is my friend and you are not."
It really was as simple as that. Cter made her promise for her friend, and if Sarbor was gonna act distraught about seeing his little sister again after effectively abandoning her then Cter would make sure the letter he would write was to be proper if it was to be a substitute instead of listening to Cter's pleads.
"I'll have it done by dinner."
"Thank you, Sarbor."
A heel briefly stepped into the frame of the opened door before regretting it. "Is she in good health?"
"She is."
"Thank you...Cter."
"She'll be in better health if you visit her."
That was the last Cter said on the matter. The crunching walk began anew immediately after and faded down the corridor's depth. From having stood up without thinking, Cter sat herself down again with a shake to her head. While she did not have a good idea beforehand of how she would actually go about meeting Idyll's brother she knew what transpired between her and Sarbor was not how she wanted it to go.
"Sarbor Fech is one of my most talented apprentices, however his opinion about human mages is not what I would describe as glowing. The circumstances surrounding my reasons to take him in as an apprentice both gave him a resolve rivaling my own when it comes to the field of medicine, but as a ballast his opinions about human mages weighs just as heavy. He chooses to stay clear when we have human mage visitors. Even when I mention that we are being visited by two Monster Mages he still shrugs disinterestedly."
Cter was all-too familiar as to why.
"I know that he's been getting a lot of envious looks from the other apprentices about being so vehement against human mages yet always he seems to be the one that is here when those make a visit. Many times I have been asked why he is not sent out to let one of the apprentices who do appreciate human mages stay." Bonny sighed as he brushed off the last broken glass shard off his desk. "And the truth is that him working here is worth more than human mages getting a warm welcome. His shunning back has him focused more on his work, and that should really be evidence enough of how much I value him as an apprentice."
"Is this when you reveal that he was the one that came up with the design for my brace?" Kurant joked to try and lighten up the mood. How much is did was not easily discerned. The joke failed, that much was clear, but how much it did was like trying to discern the difference in height between two clouds. "So anyways, despite, well..." She motioned with an open-palmed wave at the smashed window. "Despite this, and in fact of this, actually, we have now demonstrated that it is possible to change your magic, Dr. Sallus. When we go about changing your magic permanently in the future we will of course do it under a more controlled and planned environment so that we don't have a repeat of today. We do thank you and your staff for their quick and effective healing. Don't we, Cter?"
Cter nodded. "I now see why your clinic is so well-regarded, Dr. Sallus." Her ears had never felt better. "Do extend my thanks to your staff as well, please."
Even to Sarbor too. While he was not really a friend of Cter's at the moment she wasn't about to make an enemy of him. She'd make an effort to get a better introduction with him later. However at the time she had a mission, and while the creeping emptiness from not having a monster's soul at the side of her own had been subdued with Manny it became creeping back to her as her body calmed down from its emergency mode after being healed of her injuries.
"So with that out of the way," Bonny said with some exasperation to his voice which forced his neck to turn behind him and frown forlorn at the broken window. "How about some lunch? I am sure the both of you are very hungry about now. Even with healing magic one still needs to replenish energy. Bleeding monsters more so than others, right?"
"Xoff stew served with a nice sprinkle of glass?"
Bonny dragged a quick smile at Kurant's quip which then mellowed out even quicker. With a leading motion of his hand he rounded his desk with the two Monster Mages joining in his tow. "You jest, Monster Mage, but I'm afraid that the shells on the eggs might have been cracked because of the shock wave. I hope you can eat them regardless."
Oh no and stuff, Cter felt to her very core.
What horrible fate and such.