Chapter 14: Now You See Him

Tonight's Keen hunt seemed to be taking forever. Partially because I just wanted the night to be over.

The Leaf-fall Festival was tomorrow night!

The other Big reason things were dragging was that Beadie's nephew, Timmy, was subbing in for Snipe. Timmy wore armor a bit like Rat, but it was much larger, didn't come with a helmet, and could shoot sawblades.

Stomping around outside the Keen cave, Timmy blasted out as many of his saws as he could, and that would be fine if Timmy was a good shot.

He wasn't.

Timmy's blades went everywhere. For my own protection, I had been forced to retreat deeper into the cave towards Murdoch.

Poor Rat didn't have that luxury.

Timmy let loose another volley of sawblades. Some of them found Keen. More found Rat's armor and bounced off.

Rat stopped tinkering and snapped for the umpteenth time, "Watch it! I can't work if you—"

"Silence!" Murdoch shouted from behind me, "Thou might be willing to waste thy time with thy perverse coquetry. Mine is far more precious!"

"What! I'm not…I'm just trying to do my job," Rat complained, "It's Timmy who…"

Timmy just stuck out his tongue.

"Ready the bomb, Rattletrap, or prepare for a true test of the strength of thy armor!" Murdoch threatened.

"Alright. Alright," Rat grumbled, before crying out, "The trap is sprung! Take cover!"

Thank Selemene!

Just like every other time, Rat stomped outside and after a moment of drawing the Keen in, I started to run after him.

But then just as I cleared the cave, Timmy shouted, "Spin blade, spin!" and shot two more saws at odd angles. One of them hit a Keen near the entrance who had been gunning for Beadie. The other ricocheted off Rat's armor, onto the cave walls, and then whizzed right toward Rat's bomb.

My eyes widened.

Murdoch was still—

BOOM!

I fell back on my butt as the cave collapsed.

Ow!

I didn't stay on the ground.

Everyone was shouting. I ran to the now-destroyed cave entrance.

Even Murdoch didn't deserve to die like a Keen. He was an expert cave explorer. There was still a chance.

My hands clawed at the rocks and muddy blood. If he was alive, Murdoch was losing air fast.

I needed to dig faster!

Goddess

Grant me—

"Enough!" a familiar angry voice bellowed clearly into the din.

I turned and saw…

Murdoch?

But how?

I looked between the pile of rubble soaked in gooey greenish Keen blood that blocked the cave entrance and Murdoch. The inexplicably alive man was as scowlly and spotless as usual. Even his long flowy eye scarf was clean.

Also, as usual, Murdoch didn't care about my confusion. He strode right up to Timmy and jabbed a finger at his metal chest. "I hath tolerated much on this night for I too stood to benefit from this farse, but it ends here."

"Doc, please," Beadie began. "Timmy was only—"

"Do not try to mollify me, Beatrix!" Murdoch roared at her. "Were I still a mere mortal man, thy kin would hath killed me, and worse, his folly was less than a hair's breadth from destroying our plans. Dost thou deny it?"

Beadie said nothing.

I wish she would. I had questions.

Murdoch leaned into Timmy. Even though Timmy was technically taller in his suit, Murdoch still seemed bigger. "Heed mine words, Timbersaw: Learn to control thy blades. If I hear of anyone suffering from thy incompetence again, thou can sayest fare thee well to becoming a new champion of this monastery, for I will make certain that thy carcass is put to use as part of the tithe this year!"

I stood up.

I knew from experience that being almost killed by a comrade was not fun, but personal feelings did not justify slandering the goddess's name.

Selemene did not condone casual human sacrifice!

Every one of her star children deserved a chance to grow their light in their lifetime.

I tried to approach Murdoch to teach him this important lesson as he said his rude farewell to the group. However, by the time I reached Timmy, Murdoch had pushed past him and disappeared into the woods once again.

Argh!

That man made no sense and he acted like we were the foolish ones!

I turned back to everyone else and gestured at the spot where Murdoch had vanished and then the cave. I had almost asked the goddess for help saving his life and he had implied Selemene feasted on human souls!

Disgraceful!

Nobody attempted to respond to me and I was too angry to push it.

For a long while, nobody said anything and we gathered up all the Keen corpses in silence.

When we nearly finished, Timmy apologized.

He shouldn't have been so reckless, but Murdoch was a revisionist jerk and it seemed like Timmy really did feel bad about that last shot. His nose and eyes were pink and his voice was wet from tears.

I went over to give Timmy a pat on the back. It was hard being new.

To my surprise, Rat joined in on comforting the newbie warrior, giving Timmy's metal hand a pat with his own and saying, "No one could have predicted how wild that shot was going to get."

"Snipe could of," Timmy grumbled.

"No way! Not even Snipe," Rat persisted. "Right, Beadie?"

"Huh?" Beadie looked up. She had been deep in thought. "Yeah, Rat's right, lad. That saw had a mind of its own, it did. Now more training is a fine idea, but don't let Doc scare you. If our old crabbit were truly mad, you'd be dead."

Rat and I glared at Beadie.

She was not helping!

Beadie coughed and tried again, "What I mean to say is…I'll talk to Doc once he's cooled off, so don't worry about him no more. In fact, why don't you and Rat, head back? I'm going to be a spell, so y'all will have to get on without me. Try not to knock each other off your moths, you hear?"

"It was one time," Timmy whined, sounding more like himself.

"It was four times!" Rat snapped, his sympathy gone.

While the two of them launched themselves into an argument, Beadie pulled me aside and asked, "HP, could you stay back and help me fish? There's something I need to discuss with you."

She wanted to talk?

I hesitated. For all the wrong reasons, we had finished tonight's hunt early and I was done with most of my preparations for the Leaf-fall Festival. Besides creating 47 more prayer scars, I had no other major chores. I couldn't even visit Mirana tonight. The deacon had told me he required complete privacy to enact the final stage of the Moon Fae's healing.

Still, I was tired, hungry, muddy, and grumpy from the Murdoch stuff. Talking was the last thing I wanted to do right now. If I had my way, I would get back to my tent and eat until I was too full to move and then sleep the rest of the night away.

"Please, HP," Beadie pressed. "I just need a wee bit of your time."

I raised an eyebrow at her.

"An hour at most," she promised, "honest."

It would probably be two. Beadie could talk and talk and talk once she got going.

I sighed. Seeing to Selemene's subjects was part of my job and Beadie was my friend. I liked her. Plus, she looked after Sagan for me.

"Thanks, HP," Beadie said, sensing my change of heart.

I nodded. It was probably the right thing to do.

I called Sagan to me and said hello to my favorite Lunar Tigri as Rat and Timmy took off. Once those two were bickering dots in the sky, Beadie, her Felmoth Pinkie, Sagan, and I started out towards the river.

It was amazing how much the forest had changed since I had first arrived. People had been hard at work with their leaf gathering. The once colorful landscape looked like a balding head with the leafless trees acting as hair. All the empty space made it very easy to find the river.

Sagan, Pinkie, and I settled in while Beadie went up to the water's edge. She pulled out a horn from her belt, stuck it into the water, and blew. Big bubbles formed as she made the silent call to Mortimer who was probably further upstream.

It would be nice to see the pale blue water drake again. He looked like an oversized lizard with large eyes and gills that flared out like Nova's mane.

So cute!

Beadie put her horn away and walked over to me. "Scoot over, will you?" she asked us.

I nudged Pinkie who refused to stop cuddling me until Sagan gave them a warning growl.

Pinkie knew better than to argue with Sagan. The Felmoth reluctantly moved.

Beadie sat between them and me. Then she began, "So, it's Rat that I want to talk about."

I looked over at Beadie properly. Was something wrong?

"Oh! Nothing bad," she said, seeing my face. "He just really seems to like you."

I really liked Rat too. He was an honest and gentle person and it was cute to see him get excited about stuff. He had been so happy to show me his glasswork clocks, armor sets, and all his different types of bombs when I visited his coastal workshop earlier this week. I still couldn't believe how deep some of his bomb-testing holes went! Rat was also a pretty good guesser. I always loved that in a person. When he was in a good mood, I could usually get most of my point across. I had even gotten him to agree to show me the old flying machine workshop after the Leaf-fall Festival, so hopefully, he would finally tell me more about Gyro and Tink then.

Beadie continued, "I've never seen him open up to another person so quick and that's counting my husband. Rat's always been a bit shy, but after his family died in that Keen attack, well…the lad's been holed up in that armor of his ever since."

Oh…

"So, I was wondering, if you might be willing to take Rat to bed for the Leaf-fall Festival."

What?

Beadie kept going. "Now, you can't let the armor fool you. Rat's mighty tidy underneath all that metal. I swear on Mortimer's gills he's a real looker. The lad just needs some guidance to get out of his shell. It would mean a lot if that guidance came from you."

Normally, this was the point when I explained that I wasn't interested in men, or at least…most men.

Beadie did not wait for that explanation. She was already making assumptions. "Still not sold on it, eh? Already have someone else in mind? Well, let me tell you some things here and now. Snipe won't be available on the festival night, so you…"

I shook my head and waved my arms vigorously at that idea. Snipe was short, grumpy, and he had that giant beard.

No thank you!

"Wait, you don't want Snipe either? Huh. I half-wondered if you'd heard the rumors and wanted a piece of Snipe's precision bedmanship. It is an experience I'll tell you that!" She wiggled her eyebrows.

Again. No thank you! Snipe really wasn't my type.

"I suppose you must like them young then. Don't tell me. I got it! You've been keeping quiet 'cause it's my own kin you're after. Timmy's the one, ain't he?"

I raised an eyebrow. Was she trying to mess with me now?

"Still, no, huh? He was a numptie and a half tonight, I admit, but consider me right ramfeezled. I know my folks up, down, left, and right and you didn't pick Freya and Millie to be your handmaidens 'cause of their looks. That's for certain."

I frowned at Beadie. Freya and Millie were nice and very enthusiastic healers.

"I don't mean those lassies any disrespect now. It's no secret that there ain't a lot of good options at the moment. I already named the bonniest menfolk except…Oh! Has anyone told you that Doc doesn't fancy women?"

I had gathered.

"Damn shame for the rest of us, but what can you do? And I'm sure you've noticed all of our most strapping stoaters are acting as nurses to your companion right now. What's his name…Dirk? David? Devon? No…it's uh…Davion! That's it! Hmm-mm! Davion the Dragon Knight. And I can't blame them. Shoo, if I was 15 years younger…"

I didn't hear what Beadie would do if she was 15 years younger because I wasn't paying attention to her anymore. The older woman's monologue washed over me as the person I'd been avoiding thinking about for over a week filled my thoughts.

Ten days ago…

A nurse woke me up in the middle of the day to inform me that Davion wanted to talk to me. I hadn't seen the Dragon Knight since the last Dark Moon. Deacon Ish'kafel had been clear that any sort of contact between me and my companions would disrupt our healing process. That was part of why Mirana stayed in her jar whenever I visited her. It was to help us recover properly.

For one of Davion's nurses to be here at this odd hour looking scared and making this odder request, something had to be wrong, so when she asked me to come quickly, I didn't walk.

I ran.

I got to Davion's tent first. To accommodate the Dragon Knight's size, the tent had no furniture besides a bed mat that took up most of the floor space. Davion lay there, surrounded by his nurses. One was acting as his pillow. Two more were clinging to his large arms. Three were covering his middle and another two were acting as leg warmers. With all those warm bodies, the Dragon Knight should have been nice and cozy.

He wasn't.

Davion had lost weight. He was sweaty and sallow-skinned. His face was all sharp lines and shadows and he just looked so alone, even with all his bed partners.

I edged closer. I really wanted to reach out and smooth the deep crease between Davion's eyebrows, but his healing process…

"Rosemary?" It was a croak. Davion's mouth slid into one of his forced smiles and his eyes opened.

I moved so that he could see me. Then I waved.

"I look like shit, don't I?"

I should have lied. The nice nurses around him did, but I couldn't.

Davion chuckled which turned into a cough that caused him to jerk up in his bed and displace some of his nurses.

Alarm went through me. I started forward, searching the tent for its water jug.

I found the jug right before a nurse around Davion's arm grabbed it and brought it to his lips.

Davion, now sitting up with nurses hanging on his neck and arms with more pooling around his legs, drank a swallow. Then he turned his head away from the jug and offered a quick, "Thanks," to the arm nurse before his eyes returned to me. "I need a favor," he said. "Could you ask these girls to leave us be for a bit?"

The nurses protested.

"I only need a few minutes," Davion said to me, not them. "Please Rosemary, what I have to say is private."

Every moment I lingered I made things worse for him. Arguing wouldn't help, so I nodded and pointed to the nurses and then the exit.

The nurses left reluctantly until only the one with the largest butt and smallest mouth remained. "Ten minutes and no more. I mean it, Davion," she said in a prim voice.

"I know," Davion replied. There was a pause as he squinted at her.

"It's Bonnie," she said, giving him a flat disapproving look that reminded me of Mirana.

"Right," Davion said, shooting her a fake smile. "Bonnie. I'll see you then."

Bonnie sniffed and sashayed her round butt out of the tent.

We were alone at last.

Davion motioned for me to come closer to the bed mat.

I sat down beside it but tried to keep a safe distance.

"You don't like sick people, do you?" he said.

I shook my head. I didn't deal with sick people enough to know how I felt about them.

"It's alright. I don't like them either."

He didn't?

But he had been so good about treating my foot. Would he think I was a sick person? Some people thought they could catch my muteness.

Davion interrupted my thoughts with his next question, "Rosemary, are you planning to leave this town?"

I nodded. I still had to save my goddess's lotuses, so once we were all fully recovered, it would be time to move on.

"Good. When you do, I need you to go to the nearest Dragon Knight outpost and give them that," he gestured at a folded piece of parchment on the floor. "Let them know it's urgent. Can you do that for me?"

Yes, I could do that. I gave him another nod and pocketed the parchment.

"Thank you," Davion began. "You'll be doing the world a favor."

Flatterer. He could deliver this letter himself. Davion was just being nice and he confirmed it by saying, "That letter is the most important thing, but there's more."

Of course, there was.

"Rosemary, I know you have a lot of sway around here," he said carefully.

I tensed.

"And I'm not going to ask questions you can't answer," he put in. "I don't need to know. I just need another favor. A personal one." His eyes bored into mine, serious.

I nodded again. I was ready.

Then he said, "I want you to take me back to the forest."

Never mind.

I was shaking my head even before he added, "and leave me there."

And he still wasn't done. "I promise once you get to the Dragon Knights, they will be able to provide you with a reward for helping me. I'll write out another letter. I got a lot of things in storage that are worth a lot of money." He went on to explain the weapons, armor, jewels, and other things he wanted me to have.

It did not matter.

Eventually, he ran out of words and we just looked at each other.

Davion tried to take my hand.

I pulled away before he could.

The expression was gone in a blink, but I still caught the look of hurt flash across his features.

I bit my lip. I did not like any of this, but we needed to keep our distance to get better. Us touching just wasn't good for him…or me.

"Rosemary," he pressed on. "You can see it too. I know you can. I've been off ever since we landed in Turstarkuri. Even before then, I wasn't…right. These people keep saying I'll recover and that it's all part of the healing process, but the treatments aren't working. Every blood-letting is…I…" He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he looked me in the eye and declared, "Rosemary, I'm not going to get better."

No.

Of course, he would get better. Davion just didn't understand. The treatments were not always fun, but they did work. It was only a matter of time before he started to get better like me. All he needed was more rest, cuddling, leeches, prayer, injections, some light copulation, and maybe more food too. He was a big man. He should at least finish his meals and his most recent tray still had food on it.

"No one else believes me. Please…" Davion lifted his hand to stop me from shaking my head.

So cold!

I recoiled on instinct.

Davion's hand and head dropped before I could try to explain.

"You don't get it," he growled softly, "None of you get it. I can't stay here. I can't die like this. I just…can't!" Davion slammed his fist on the bed mat and something inside me broke.

I reached out and touched his cold clammy cheek. My thumb hooked under his rugged chin and I lifted his face toward mine.

The pain I could see there sliced through me.

Davion.

He blinked hard and this time, he tried to turn away, so my other hand came up and I looked deep into his shiny golden eyes.

"Rosemary."

Davion.

I pressed my forehead to his willing him to understand.

Everything was going to be alright.

"Damnit." Davion's face warmed to something that wasn't icy. "I'm sorry. I—"

"So, you should be," a new voice creaked out.

I wanted to ignore it, but then it said, "High Pri—" and I whirled around and flung out a hand to stop that sentence only to find Deacon Ish'kafel standing at the entrance of the tent with Davion's nurses behind him.

"Shit," Davion grumbled. He wasn't happy.

Well, neither was I. I marched up to the deacon and started gesturing around this sad barren sick room. First at the well-meaning inadequate nurses surrounding the deacon and then at Davion's leftover food dish with most of a fish still on it.

Davion was a picky eater. He did not like fish.

And he needed a better explanation of his illness so he wouldn't be so confused and upset about the process! He deserved colorful tent decorations to make up for the lack of furniture, a fluffier bed mat, nurses who were more buxom and warm and…and!

Food that wasn't fish!

The deacon pulled me towards him. "High Priestess," he whispered into my ear. "Your concern does you credit, but we ought to discuss this outside."

I glanced back at Davion. A twinkle had re-entered his eyes. Good.

I pounded a fist on my chest and nodded at him.

A promise.

"Think about what I said," Davion replied, serious again.

Before I could answer, Deacon Ish'kafel cut in, "She may think on it when she is able. Come, High—"

I shot him a look.

"Come," was all he repeated, gesturing for me to leave.

With one more look and a small wave at Davion, I reluctantly did just that.

Once we were outside and the rest of the nurses had re-entered Davion's tent, the deacon walked me a few more paces away and began, "I do wish you had not gone in there, High Priestess. Just spending those few minutes together would have set his already lengthy recovery back several days and with the prolonged physical contact on top of that…It might mean a few more weeks."

Weeks!?

Just then I heard a muffled groan coming from behind me. I turned, but the tent flaps were closed.

"You see, High Priestess," the deacon said, putting his long-fingered hands on my shoulders. He turned me back to him. "He is suffering the ill-effects already. I know you can feel it too. You are fatigued."

I…

"It upsets me that you both are so compromised and I am truly sorry that one of the nurses bothered you while your companion is still so erratic and weak. I realize that in his current state, your companion may have said some disturbing things."

Davion definitely had. I wasn't going to forget that look on his face or him slamming the bed mat with his fist anytime soon.

"But you must stay strong and remember Selemene's words to you," the deacon insisted.

I did remember, but…

"Do you doubt Selemene's judgement?"

Of course not. I couldn't doubt Selemene.

"Then trust her words. Trust me, High Priestess, the melancholia and paranoia that are part of his and your unfortunate condition should be ignored. I assure you despite whatever claims he might have made, your companion's health is progressing. High Priestess, I swear upon Selemene herself that I am providing you both the help you so justly deserve. Your well-meaning intentions and your suggestions for less fish, more wall hangings, a thicker bed mat, different nurses, and…"

And an explanation! I wanted him to give Davion a better idea of why he was so sick. I pointed to the deacon and then the tent.

"Ah yes. Your wish for more…discussion between me and your companion and the rest of it has been dutifully noted I promise you, but you have a part to play as well. You must do your best to follow Selemene's will. Dispose of your doubt and heed my words now. You cannot visit your companion before he is ready to receive you. Both of you must fight all distressing thoughts and find inner peace and happiness to fully heal. That is what is required of you. Do you understand?"

I understood.

"Do you truly?" he pressed.

I pulled my head up to look at him. Then I nodded.

"Good," Deacon Ish'kafel smiled his odd smile. "I am relieved. For the good of this monastery, what you and your companion need most is another sacred treatment and lots of rest." He turned me until we were facing in the direction of my tent and continued, "It is far too bright out for a loyal warrior of Selemene to be awake, High Priestess. Thus, Bonnie will guide you back."

The nurse with the prim mouth and sexy bottom appeared at my other side like a summoned Lunar Tigri. She tugged my arm and said, "Come, High Priestess. Let me guide you."

I turned back to the deacon and Davion's tent.

Deacon Ish'kafel's smile widened and he said, "Sweetest dreams to you, High Priestess. Cast out your ill thoughts and remember Selemene. All will be as it should be."

A/N: Hi all,

I spent a lot of time tweaking this arc and chapter, so I am happy to finally be publishing again. I have to admit there are many reasons this chapter is coming out when it is, but I complained in my Sue's Curse author's note already. The only things that I have to add is first, thank you so much to my friend who helped me replace my stolen Marci earrings (Yes, I have Marci earrings. Marci is the best!). It really meant a lot to me. And second, one Big reason I held off on publishing is the site was broken for most of this fall. My poor (now-complete) 5-shot She-hulk fic barely got notifications, let alone recorded view counts or reviews...and all sorts of odd bugs have been going on. I am so happy that this month this site seems to have righted itself (especially considering the site tends to break on the New Year). I'm hoping to publish more chapters this month while everything is working. And I'm sure you are at least a bit curious about this Leaf-fall festival.

Next time, we'll get to attend this anticipated event and dive deeper into this story's DMO lore among other things.

See you then!