Previously, on A viper-lizard's tales : Mai and the others enter the healer's house in order for Azula to get treated. The man reveals, however, that he cannot cure her illness, because it is born of an internal conflict manifesting as an imbalance in her chi. Overwhelmed by the events of the day and her prejudice over the healer's origins, Mai draws a knife and demands that he heal Azula anyway, before realizing her mistake and leaving without another word.
A. N. : Oof, so. I was sick on the original day this chapter was supposed to be posted, and then I had a whole bunch of deadlines. And this is a complete monster of a chapter (in Viper-lizard standards) that required more editing than usual to be decent. Basically, sorry for the wait, but it was completely unavoidable. Hope this behemoth makes up for it though. (Also fun fact, this is the last chapter of my 10th notebook !)
Qin lets Lady Mai leave.
In her state, it is better that she cools off outside, that she takes both fresh air and time on her own. He would help her calm down, but given Lady Ty Lee's reaction to the last time… it is probably best to refrain for now.
As for what set her off in the first place, Qin doesn't have a clue. He supposes the stress of today's events would get to anyone's head, even one as restrained as Lady Mai.
Feeling helpless to do anything for Lady Azula might have been the trigger, but taking it out on the healer was unwarranted.
Speaking of, the man has lowered his hands and is now taking deeps breaths. Qin would expect him to shake a bit, from stress or fear and the weight of his age combined, but he remains stable, keeping an eye on Lady Ty Lee and on the entrance, all while regaining his composure.
Nerves of steel. He reminds Qin of the dental surgeon working for the Dai Li back in Ba Sing Se. Perhaps he used to be more than a simple village healer in his youth, but who can say for sure ?
Lady Ty Lee bites her bottom lip in discomfort, shifts her weight from one foot to the other. The way her eyes dart to the outside tells Qin that she wants to follow Lady Mai, probably to give her some sort of emotional support, but – her gaze turns to stone whenever it lands on Qin.
She does not want to leave him alone with Lady Azula, not even with the healer in the same room.
In the end, she makes up her mind, leaving the house in turn, but not before reminding Qin of what she told him earlier.
Not that Qin was planning on doing anything that could accidentally hinder the healing process, or that his techniques are of much use on unconscious people in the first place.
He sighs.
The healer, who has returned to watching over Lady Azula now that he isn't being held at knifepoint or threatened by fists anymore, eyes Qin with a tired yet curious gaze. He looks down at Lady Azula. Lets out a low hum.
Given the state Lady Azula is in, he says, she'll likely have to spend one of more nights here, where he can make sure she doesn't get worse. If Qin wants to stay as well, he is welcome to, but – I'll have to ask that your girls stay at the village inn instead.
Qin nods. He understands.
Which reminds him – since he is currently posing as the Ladies' guardian of sorts, he should take responsibility for what happened, at least in part.
He presents his apologies for Lady Mai's – Mai, he calls her to the healer's face, the lack of a title scraping against his tongue uncomfortably – behavior. Explains that she has just gone through a series of awful experiences, and though it is no justification for her actions, she surely holds no ill will towards the healer. This will not happen again, Qin promises.
The healer seems taken aback by the words, and Qin cannot help but wonder if he somehow went overboard in some way – he tried his best to make the apology less formal than one he would have presented to Long Feng if an Agent of Lake Laogai had misstepped, to suit the current context better, but perhaps his interpersonal skills are slightly rusty.
Instead of picking up on whatever seemed to bother him, however, the healer asks Qin to fetch some water – points to a jar in the back and the bucket next to it, before getting up himself and heading toward some drawer. Qin winces at the sound of his creaking knees.
Following the instructions, Qin pours some water in the bucket – about half, the healer says while handing him square rags. It is easy to figure out what is expected of him next – he goes back to Lady Azula's side, puts one of the humid cloths on her forehead, watches in concern as steam starts to rise after only a few minutes. Firebenders run hot, he noticed that, but he cannot imagine this temperature to be a minor increase.
Change them when they begin to steam.
Qin nods, switching the rag on Lady Azula's forehead for a fresh one. He understands now why he was handed that many in the first place. It is reassuring, however, that the healer seems to know this condition quite well, even if he cannot cure it.
Which leads Qin to wonder what use the concoction he sees the healer prepare could have. It seems to be the same bowl he was holding when they arrived. A different patient's cure, maybe ?
The healer answers Qin's silent question with dreamless sleep, his head inclined to point to the medicine in his hands. Qin nods. Passiflora ? – he asks in return.
Among others.
It is silent for some time, Qin focusing on keeping Lady Azula's head at a reasonable temperature while the healer finishes up his other work. Then –
Earth Kingdom ?
Qin raises his head in surprise. The healer has moved to dividing up the powdered medicine into small paper squares, and seems so absorbed by his task that Qin could almost believe he imagined the earlier question – at least until the low voice of the man makes itself heard once more. He doesn't care either way, he says, although he must admit he is curious about what could lead two, possibly three, combat-trained Fire Nation girls to travel with a foreigner they don't trust, but all that matters to him is his patient.
And there are… many things Qin ought to worry about here, but he trusts in his own ability to damage control later, one way or another. What interests him right now is the way the healer reached his conclusions.
Part of this curiosity is of course born from utility – he needs to avoid these sorts of questions in the future, for Lady Azula and the others' safety – but most of it stems from a simple desire to understand.
He offers an exchange. The healer's reasoning for his own circumstances.
Qin doesn't plan on being fully honest, of course, just enough to satisfy the healer's curiosity without necessarily getting into unfortunate details. And depending on the way things turn out, he will simply need to ask the healer to forget what he learned.
He smiles amenably as the healer considers the proposition.
The cloth on Lady Azula's forehead begins to steam. Qin changes it.
Sure, the healer finally says. It will pass time.
More silence, only broken by the sound of folded paper. Qin is starting to think the healer doesn't enjoy talking all that much. Then – how long have you been in the Fire Nation ?
A question Qin can answer honestly. Good. About a month, he says, wondering where this will lead.
The healer nods. It makes sense, then, that Qin would treat him as an equal.
Qin frowns. Thinks back to what happened, to the way Lady Mai simply appeared to assume the healer was lying about his inability to cure Lady Azula, to the healer's calm reaction in spite of his fear, to his surprise at Qin's apology.
Perhaps the issue was not the level of formality, but rather the fact that he apologized at all.
This man is used to being seen as lesser. It is, to him and to, it would seem, the rest of the Fire Nation, normal.
The cloth steams. Qin changes it.
He has seen such things before, of course, in the interactions of Inner Ring nobles and Lower Ring refugees who had the misfortune of crossing their paths. In the looks directed at bastards, especially those of mixed blood. He's seen it in the shunning of marked criminals as well, and that makes him wonder.
He had assumed the man's tattoos to be more akin to The Boulder's brand of stage arrogance than to a thief's branding. Fire Nation customs are quite different from the ones Qin knows, after all, and the rolling waves and giant fish on the healer's left arm hardly look like part of a standardized procedure. Perhaps he was wrong.
The healer shakes his head when Qin asks about his criminal record.
Tattoos are a practice of his people, he says, nothing to do with crime – although islanders do like to call them pirates.
His tone makes it clear that he finds the term quite insulting. As such, Qin asks him what his people – whatever the word means to him – call themselves.
Sea Walkers.
The name takes Qin aback. Sea ? Water Tribe, perhaps ? But the man looks nothing like them… How curious.
However, the healer explains then that his people are Fire Nation, descendants of islanders who took to sea-faring centuries ago. Before the War, they would spend their entire lives at sea, only touching the ground to repair or build their ships anew.
Qin thinks of the sandbenders of the Si Wong Desert, and how foreign they feel to the rest of the Earth Kingdom, in spite of their common ground, so to speak. Tries to picture how the Inner Ring would react to the presence of one such person in its midst.
He supposes it makes sense, then.
He nods. Makes an internal note to think more of what would be considered normal behavior for any potential future encounter with Sea Walkers.
For now though, he will continue to treat his host with respect. Starting with keeping his word – in reasonable terms, of course.
Qin changes the cloth.
He explains that the – girls, he says, not Ladies, no matter how wrong the term feels – that they left home, out of necessity and out of a wish for freedom, and that he accompanies them to keep them safe and help them to the best of his ability. He was a servant, he adds when the healer questions his motives – not technically a lie, albeit an understatement – and decided to remain loyal to them.
The healer's eyes wander to the entrance. He lets out another one of his low hums, which Qin supposes means the discussion is now over.
Did they ask you to help ?
Or maybe it wasn't. Qin looks down at Lady Azula, changes the cloth once more. He wasn't called, that much is true, but he doubts there is any argument that his presence is beneficial.
Maybe, the healer says. He adds, almost chidingly – there is a reason healers wait for people to come to them for help, rather than the opposite, and that is trust. If the patient doesn't trust their healer, they could resist the treatment, or refuse to take the prescribed medication.
If Qin truly wishes to help, the healer concludes, he should talk with his girls. Listen to their wishes.
Apologizing never hurts either.
Qin nearly tells the man that he has nothing to apologize for, but – if the issue is one of trust, of consent… Then perhaps he has let his habits from Lake Laogai get in the way of decency.
A discussion seems to be in order.