"I need a table," Erilda said without looking away from her new patient. "It doesn't need to be anything fancy, but I need a place to put my tools."

Behind her, Erilda heard the scrambling of tiny footsteps, followed by the telltale screech of wooden furniture being dragged across wooden floors. Soon enough, Shay appeared by her elbow, lugging a small wooden table roughly waist-high.

"Is this okay?" the girl asked, gray eyes bright with worry.

Erilda nodded, sliding her medic bag off her shoulder and all but shoving it into the girl's arms. "Inside is a small, round, dark blue bottle with a silver cap. Take it out, open the cap, and pour some on the table. Then, get one of the rags and scrub the table well. I need the table to be as clean as possible."

Shay fumbled to follow her instructions. Erilda felt another presence by her other side. She looked up to see the young man, Nicky, staring at her. He raised his hand slightly, looking around before meeting her eyes again.

'What is he-'

"He wants to know what he can do to help," Shay said. With a cry of triumph, she pulled the requested bottle out of Erilda's canvas medical bag.

"Oh!" Erilda's eyebrows shot up. "Yes, of course! Young man, I need you to-"

Words died on her tongue once more. How did one give instructions to someone who could not hear them? She knew those without hearing could sometimes develop the ability to read lips, but had Shay mentioned if Nicky could do such a thing?

'Questions for later.'

For now, she locked eyes with Nicky in a meaningful way before turning and gripping Brandon around the back of one shoulder and one thigh and rocking him onto his side with his injury pointed upward. Then she looked at Nicky once more and nodded down to her hands.

After a brief pause -during which Nickyi's brow furrowed as he considered what Erilda was trying to instruct- the young man nodded thoughtfully and leaned forward to take Erilda's place, holding Brandon in an upward position.

"Done!" Shay declared, stepping back from the small table.

The pungent smell of the purification potion stinging at her nostrils, Erilda reclaimed her medical bag and set it down on the clean table. Silently, she extracted her other essential tools. First was her hair tie and cap -which she donned with practice efficiency- then there was the face mask that would both block any unpleasant odors of infection from bothering Erilda while also preventing her sweat or saliva from leaking down onto her patient, then was her clean pair of medical gloves, and finally her most prized possession: her bundle of medical tools.

"Wow," Shay whispered, watching with fascination as Erilda unrolled the bundle, revealing glistening pairs of scissors, scalpels, and other instruments.

"Wow, indeed," Erilda replied. "Shay, stay close—not hovering but within reach. You are going to be my assistant. If I need something from my bag, I will describe it to you, and you must get it for me as quickly as you can."

Shay nodded so enthusiastically that her hair bounced up and down, some strands escaping its tie.

Erilda nodded back, pulling on her medical gloves and splashing them with some of the purification potion. 'It's time to begin, then. A new challenge lays before me.'

From her selection of tools, Erilda selected a slender pair of scissors and carefully snipped away the discolored bandages that had been wound Brandon's waist. The bandage was adequate, yet it was clear that it had been a rushed, unskilled job, not helped by the wound being in an odd area.

As Shay had said, Brandon had been injured a little below the hip bone. His soft, cloth sleeping trousers needed to be pulled down to accommodate the bandages. More than that, it was clear Brandon's bandages weren't changed enough, and no one cleaned the wound as often as they should have been. Dark scabs, mostly dried blood, and white-yellow pus clung to the bandages as she pulled them away, revealing a long, gouged-out, and damaged section of flesh.

"Oh dear."

Shay's head snapped in Erilda's direction.

"What's wrong?!"

The Head Healer hesitated momentarily Before deciding that Shay deserved the truth. "... You see the unusual way the skin around the wound looks? That means it's dead, and I must remove it."

"Remove it? What does that mean?"

"It means I will cut all the dead flesh out from his body. If we're lucky, The deadness does not go very deeply."

"And if it does?"

Erilda bit her bottom lip; this wasn't going to be fun to explain. "If the deadness goes deeply, I must cut into muscle. And cutting into muscle, especially in the area of the hip, can impact mobility."

.

.

.

"Oh, Brandon…" Shay whispered. On Erilda's other side, Nicky swallowed hard, eyes going wide as he stared down at the wound on his friend's body.

Erilda cleared her throat. "There's no need to get ahead of ourselves, though. First things first, I need to purge as much of the infection from Brandon's body as possible. First by draining the wound itself, then by pulling out as much as I can from the rest of his system."

Nicky gave her a confused look, which Erilda ignored, in favor of speaking directly to Shay.

"I need you to find a bag or a bin for me to put the dirty washcloths in. What I'm about to do is dirty business. You may not want to watch it, but I need you to hand me clothes and other items. Do you think you can do it?"

"I know I can. I might throw up later. But Brandon has helped me when I was sick and gross, so I'm going to help him now."

'Such a mature little girl. Strange creature she may be, I am constantly impressed with her.'

"Alright, be prepared. You as well, Nicky. I'm going to open the wound to clean it out."

Erilda couldn't say if the young man understood her -he certainly couldn't hear her- she felt the need to say it anyway.

Grabbing a clean cloth, Erilda splashed some of the remaining purification potion onto it and used that to dab at Brandon's wound. She kept her touch gentle, yet even that was enough to elicit a series of loud grunts from Brandon. Tucking the cloth into her palm and swapping her scissors for a scalpel, Erilda summoned a small flame to her fingertip and passed it over the blade several times.

'I can only hope that you are so deep in the throes of fever and infection that you will not be overly aware of the pain you're about to experience. Under different circumstances, I would try to numb the pain. but we do not have the time, and you are not in a state to drink any painkiller.'

Erilda made the incision with a swift, sure hand. While her assistants gagged and cringed at the foul-smelling, milky discharge that began leaking from Brandon's freshly opened wound, the Head Healer remained impassive. She focused on her work, hands moving with practiced ease as they applied light pressure to remove as much of the discharge as possible and wipe it away. She was on her third cloth when the blood started wiping away without discharge intermingled.

" There," she said, "the first part is done."

"What now?" Shay asked. "Are you done? Do you stitch him up?"

"No," Erilda shook her head. "This was just the most concentrated area of the infection. It's moving throughout his whole body. I have to force as much of it as possible out before Brandon's body can start to recover. Now, though, it will have a clean exit point. Be warned, this is where it will get exceptionally unpleasant."

The twin looks of dismay on Shay, and Nicky's faces told her they already thought what had happened was unpleasant enough.

'I hope they can get through this next part without vomiting. Having two more patients is not what I need at the moment.'

Setting her narrow blade down, Erilda laid her hand on Brandon, closed her eyes, and let her Restoration Magic pulse through the young man's body. Searching… Searching… Searching… Erilda saw his organs, bones, the narrow threads of meat, blood, and muscle in her mind's eye. Most importantly, she saw tendrils of infection that wound through his body. It was most intense at the infection's epicenter -the wound on his hip- but it was reaching his toes, down his arm, and currently coiled at the base of his throat.

'A few more days and you would have been dead, my friend.'

Erilda placed her hand over the infection at Brandon's throat, reached out with her magic to grab it, and then slowly began pushing it downward and towards the opening at his hip. Slowly and steadily, Erilda manipulated the foulness till it was all gathered in his chest before picking up Brandon's left wrist and repeating the process on that arm and then the other. Then she put her hand on Brandon's stomach, where she had pooled the infection, and forced it outward of his freshly cleaned wound.

"Oh, that's so gross!" Shay whispered in a voice half disgusted and half in awe of what she saw. Erilda assumed that if she turned, she would see a look on Nicky's face that mirrored Shay's tone.

In a way, the Head Healer understood. Though it had been a long time since she had been a young novice, Erilda could remember the amazement of watching her instructor stitch together muscle and sinew with just a wave of the hand. Compared to that, the black, concentrated, infection-laced blood that dribbled from Brandon's wound wasn't anything that impressive. Still, as a pair that was only now getting to experience magic, it must have been something fascinating and otherworldly.

'Yes, Otherworldly… I suppose that is the best word for it.'

Erilda had no time for that fanciful thinking; however, healing was to be done. Once more, she wiped the foul blood away, again and again, completely soaking five clothes this time before the bleeding had subsided.

Tossing the fifth one into the small sack Shay held, Erilda let out a satisfied grunt. "Brandon is coming along well. I suspect this process can be difficult on the body because of blood loss, yet he's displayed minimal thrashing or distress."

It was true. There had been moans of pain, fever-fueled shuttering, and the incoherent whispers of someone whose brain had steadily boiled over the past few days, yet Brandon had remained remarkably still for the treatment. If she didn't know any better, Erilda would say he'd even been cooperative.

Unfortunately, Erilda did know better: this meant she knew Brandon's body was simply so exhausted it couldn't bear to react, Let alone fight, what was happening to it.

'Expelling the infection is only the first part of this battle. More importantly, it's the only part of the battle I can do for him. Afterward, his fever will have to break independently, and his body will have to repair itself. We can all help with that, but…'

Click.

Erilda blinked at the strange sound, glancing around for its source before locking eyes with Nicky once more. The young man opened his mouth and clicked his tongue, revealing the origin of the sound, before nodding at Brandon in an obvious question.

"Oh, I…"

What was he asking?

"He wants to know if you're done helping Brandon or if there is more to do," Shay clarified.

"Ah, yes. Of course!" Erilda nodded, feeling foolish. Of course, that would be what Nicky was asking! "No, I need to do the same thing to his legs. And then I will have to cut away the dead flesh and stitch your brother up."

Shay's deep sigh said it all.

"Chin up. The hardest part is over now."

Her words were true. Owing to the limbs' nice, straight path, forcing infection out of the legs was easy enough. The left leg still took time, as it was the most infected area other than the hip. Yet, eight more blood-soaked clothes later, and the heaviest work was done.

"Ick!" Shay gagged, her face scrunched up as she looked down into the bag. "I'm going to burn this afterward."

"That is the best way to dispose of this kind of material. It helps prevent potentially spreading more sickness and keeps the smell of blood from drawing while beasts," Erilda agreed. Then she turned serious. "Now, Saoirse, I want you to close your eyes until I say otherwise."

"Huh? But-"

Erilda held up her hand to cut the child off. "No arguments. I'm about to begin cutting away the dead flesh, and that isn't something you need to see."

Shay stamped her foot, wincing as the action undoubtedly sent a sharp shock of pain through her newly healed leg. "I'm not a little kid!"

"And I am not treating you like a child. I am treating you as someone who is old enough and reasonable enough to understand that I would have my reasons for not wanting you to observe what I'm about to do. Additionally, I expect you to understand that if you do not follow my instruction, I will have to have you removed from the vicinity," Erilda said, voice on the edge of harshness. "If you are not an asset to my objective, Saoirse, then you are a hindrance. And I cannot have hindrances around while I'm treating your brother. Do you understand?"

Shay looked down and grumbled something under her breath.

"No, I need you to say, "Yes, I understand'," Erilda said.

Another grumble.

Click.

Eyes flicked to Nicky again, only for the young man to look sternly at Shay.

"Fiiiiiine," Shay sighed once more. She looked eyes with Erilda, pursed her lips, and said with perfect diction, "Yes, ma'am, I understand."

Erilda felt her lips twitch in amusement as Shay closed her eyes. Even when obeying, the girl had to put forth some defiance. 'No matter the world or the species, children never change.'

Having her hand around the puckered wound, Erilda sent out magic pulses to sense how deep the deadness went. What she sensed was… not good news.

'I doubt Brandon will ever be able to walk properly again. He will be able to walk, yet it is likely he will always have a limp,' Erilda thought somberly. She recalled what Shay had said only a few days ago: that she would be okay with a weekend leg because it meant she would match her brother. 'Time to see if she spoke the truth.'

For what it was worth, Erilda thought Shay had.

Swapping her tools again, the Head Healer placed the blade tip at the utmost point where the flesh had died away and began to cut. It wasn't pleasant work, nor was it particularly easy. Erilda Was strong—like all High Elves, she made it a point of pride to keep her body in perfect physical condition—but cutting through flesh was harder than many would think, especially when you wanted to do it in a precise fashion.

Erilda couldn't say how long it took her to cut away all that was needed; time seemed to slip away whenever she worked with a patient. She became so focused on the challenge before her that the rest of the world simply ceased to exist. Even the patient she was working on stopped being a person, instead morphing into a meaty puzzle to be solved.

When Erilda finally emerged from this highly focused state, Brandon had a line of sutures on his hip roughly the length of her hand and in the shape of a tilted crescent moon.

As she tied off and snipped the final suture made from the silk of frostbite spider webbing, Erilda took a step back and let out a long, low breath. "It's done."

Shay's eyes shot open (without permission, Erilda almost mentioned). "You're finished? Brandon's all better?"

"Yes… And no." Before she could respond, Erilda turned to Nicky. "Can you- Oh, damnit. I keep forgetting that-"

Nicky rolled his dark eyes. Smiling slightly, he gently lowered Brandon into a comfortable position on the count. Standing back up, he pointed to himself, gave an exaggerated nod, pressed his hands together before opening them halfway, and touched his lips with one hand before making the talking gesture.

"..."

Shay darted to stand at Nicky's side, looking up at Erilda while clutching her medical bag. "Nicky is saying that he can read lips. And you didn't answer my questions all the way. Please."

"One moment, I would like to finish… talking with Nicky," Erilda said. Turning back to the young man, she asked, "My apologies. Could you repeat what you just… said? More slowly, if you don't mind?"

Nicky's eyebrows raised, either in surprise or confusion. Still, after a moment, he nodded.

He pointed to himself-

'That one is obvious enough. Pointing to oneself typically means 'me.' But 'me' and 'I' are both self-identifiers.'

-then nodded exaggeratedly-

'Nodding typically means yes. Yet 'yes' and 'can' are both generally statements of affirmation. so that does make sense in this context.'

-which was followed by the folding and unfolding of the hands-

'I am truly a fool! That's a book. The action is supposed to mimic opening a book. What do you do with the book? You read it!'

-Nicky touched his lips-

'No secret meaning there.'

-before finally making the talking gesture with one hand.

'Of course! Even I know that that gesture means talking. It's only common sense that making it after touching one's lips meant that he's trying to convey that he can understand what I'm saying by watching the movements of my lips.'

Erilda generally did not care for those who made her feel like a fool. Today, though, she smiled graciously. "Thank you for taking the time to educate me. Do you have other gestures with established meanings to you?"

Nicky nodded. Yes.

"And do others know them?"

Another nod was made before pointing at Shay and Brandon.

"And Miss Cross, too," Shay piped up. "She knows some."

Later on, Erilda wanted to question the pair further about the form of communication they had established. For now, there was still work to be done.

"I need you to lift Brandon's chest and then tilt his head back with his mouth open. I have some medicine I need him to drink. Then, we need to get some fluids into him. Between the fever and the bloodletting, his body is dehydrated and weak. Water is good, but fruit juice will be better. My associates and I have brought some in the wagon."

Nicky gave a third and final nod before edging around her to do as requested. Shay was practically vibrating when she looked up at Erilda.

"I can go get the juice! After he drinks that and your medicine, will Brandon be okay?"

'No hiding it any longer.'

"I believe so, but I cannot say for certain," Erilda said slowly. "His body has been through a great hardship. I've given it all the aid I can; the rest of the battle is up to Brandon. He is young, though, and healthy enough before this. Those are good points in his favor. So long as his fever breaks by tomorrow, there is no reason to assume he won't recover."

Whatever fear about reactions Erilda might have had was swiftly proven false as Shay seemed only to hear what she perceived as good news because with a quick grin and shoving Erilda's medical bag back at her, the girl was darting out the door.

Erilda shook her head and went to join Nicky and her patient. Rifling around in her bag, Erilda pulled out a health potion and a cure diseases potion. Popping the cork of the health potion, she brought it to Brandon's lips.

'This is the last help I can give you. Do not disappoint that little girl with weakness.'

Brandon let out a series of small coughs as the thick, sticky, sweet liquid of the health potion started to flow down his throat. Some dribbled out of the corners of his mouth, leading Erilda to pause until regular breathing had resumed. Massaging the sides of his throat lightly with her other hand, she continued pouring. When it was empty, Erilda grabbed the second potion and did the same.

When it was empty, she turned back to Nicky. "You can put them down now. We'll have to lift him again when she returns, but this is it for now."

After a moment, she added. "After that is gone, we need to send Shay to bed. She's had a trying time lately, and whether she knows it or not, her body needs rest."

Erilda had never seen a more enthusiastic thumbs-up in her life. Looking down at her patient's sleeping face, the healer thought she could already see his color improving.

'Now we say wait.'