Author's Note: For this chapter, I mostly thought it'd be nice for a Hyzantian character to vent about their problems to another Hyzantian character specifically, since I think the only case of that in-game was Narve and Geela's side stories. Though it also has the added benefit of fleshing out Corentin's time at the Ministry of Medicine a little, plus pointing out that Medina logically wouldn't be the only person to at least have some issue with the whole Rosellan Thing.


Chapter Two: Magical Medicine

"You know, it's strange," Medina mused as she looked over her notes. "I never would've thought of half of this back at the Ministry…"

A few weeks had passed since their first meet-up. Once again, they were occupying a table in the corner of the encampment. While they hadn't ended up "teaching" each other in the obvious sense, they often ended up studying together. Every so often, one of them would pipe up with something potentially-interesting, and the other would eagerly jot it down for reference.

…Corentin had to admit he enjoyed doing things this way. He liked directly teaching or learning from others when it was something he was interested in, of course. But this way, he and Medina could help each other without interrupting each other—and being interrupted was one of his least favorite things. It was a very comfortable kind of help.

At any rate, Corentin nodded, absently twirling his pen between his fingers as he glanced over his notes. "Indeed! It's fascinating that I should come up with a few things to help the medical arts after leaving to focus on my arcane studies…"

It hadn't been meant as a jab—he'd said it matter-of-factly. Still, it was kind of ironic, in a way. In a good way, Corentin decided… He'd chosen to do this, and that was important.

Medina hummed in acknowledgement. A frown slowly creased her face as she stared at the medical book she was perusing. Corentin didn't catch it right away—he'd looked down to double-check a few formulas for his never-melting ice project. Maybe they could be useful here, too…

Soon, however, he noticed the conspicuous lack of page-flipping from Medina's side of the table. He glanced up, blinking curiously at her.

"…Is something wrong?"

"Not really." Medina sighed. "Well, nothing related to this, I guess. There's…just something I'm wondering about."

"Oh? And what might that be?"

Corentin was at a decent enough place to take a break… Besides, there was clearly something worrying her. The least he could do was hear Medina out, after how nice their little reading sessions had been.

Finally, Medina took a deep breath and spoke somewhat quickly, as if she was trying to rush it all out before she changed her mind.

"You know, back at the Ministry…were there ever any times where you had to…choose between helping two of your patients?"

Corentin had the sense that 'helping' was a deliberate downplay of what Medina meant. He frowned, raising an eyebrow. It was somewhat abrupt—but it was obviously something that ate at her.

"Well, I was always told to prioritize Hyzantians over Rosellan patients," he admitted. "But I was never put in a situation where it cost me any lives, if that's what you meant. I suppose in some ways, that makes me lucky."

Oh, no, his main issue had been something else altogether. That said, it was a rule Corentin had never especially liked. Perhaps he'd been a coward there, too—he'd never voiced his opinions on that to Minister Lyla, either.

Medina chewed her lip before replying. "It's just—I still don't understand how we could call ourselves medics and—and—"

"Ignore people who needed us?" Corentin suggested. When Medina nodded, he added, "It's not something I understood, either. But for what it's worth, we don't have to worry about making that choice anymore."

"I know, but…" Medina sighed again. "Sometimes I wonder if we could've fixed things if we'd stayed, you know? It probably sounds silly, but I do think about that sometimes."

They'd both left Hyzante because they couldn't change things—at least from their previous positions. Both of them knew that. Pointing it out probably would've been cruel, though (not to mention unhelpful).

"Well," Corentin finally said, "I suppose, depending on how things go, we may be in a better position to do that. Outside pressures and all. Besides, having the choice here is what matters, yes?"

Medina brightened up a bit. "Yeah, I am glad to have the freedom now, don't get me wrong! And you have a point there, too… Sorry for unloading on you like that."

"Oh, no, the frustration is something I understand all too well. Though perhaps getting back to work will help you," Corentin said wryly. "Not that I mind, but…"

"A distraction, yes! N-not that this is just a distraction," Medina corrected hastily. "You know what I mean… Er…may I copy some things from that book there?"

"Ah, yes, you were looking through it the other day," Corentin mused. He handed her the tome in question, adding, "The chapter on controlling spell temperatures, yes?"

Medina nodded and began flipping through pages. "Right! I figured if I could get the basic idea down, it'd help with pain relief for different amounts of time and such…"

That was one of the most basic but also most helpful uses of ice for medical purposes that Corentin had found so far. It didn't take too long to get the hang of, but he supposed some extra reference material was good for someone with little experience with ice magic… He smiled briefly before turning back to his own notes.

"I'm sure you will, so just ask if you need anything clarified."

Medina nodded eagerly, and they got back to their usual routine. The quieter studying was nice, Corentin thought, but he didn't mind unrelated topics sometimes… He knew how frustrating it was to not be able to speak your mind, after all.

Yes, he decided, Medina was a fine study partner—and he hoped for many more sessions in the future.