The Great War Prologue (3): Sweetleaf
Candy fit for every being
“Look at them up there, all high and mighty,” Yumi spits. Her soft, pointed ears atop her head twitch in irritation, as if swatting away an insect.
Jae simply stands and stares at the two figures lounging on one of the castle’s many balconies. They’re only figures of purple and black, but it’s enough to assume who it may be.
“That could be the king or his son,” Jae warns her friend.
“I don’t care,” Yumi replies. “They’re pretty much one in the same.”
“Yumi!”
Yumi puts her hands on her hips and turns away from the castle. “Whatever. I’m done staring. Let’s get back to work.”
Jae sighs and shakes her head. She loves Yumi, she really does. For a Feni, she’s a wonderful healer - her green dress is all but proof - who certainly belongs by the sides of the sick and injured. But her opinions on the castle folk can be a little much at times.
Jae is also a healer, wearing a similar skirt and shirt to Yumi’s dress, and her ruby red hair tied up in a hairband she wove together with her mother. She comes from a long line of healers, on both her parent’s sides. She doesn’t mind the job, at least for right now. She only deals with mild colds and small cuts and scrapes at the moment. She’s not strong enough yet for any other injuries. Soon, though…
“C’mon, Jae!” Yumi grabs Jae’s wrist and gives it a firm tug. “Beings don’t heal themselves.”
“Okay…” Jae mutters under her breath, turning away from the castle as well. She follows Yumi through the flap of the white tent that is the infirmary of Eros. The town doesn’t have enough space for a proper infirmary building, as most of the land around the town is used for crops that sustain their way of living, and a tent can span both flat and sloped land.
The inside of the tent is full of small cots, wooden stools, bookshelves full of medicinal herbs, and even rugs to cushion the roughness of the ground as they walk around. Despite half the infirmary being on a small incline and half on flat ground, the healers make the limited space work while still keeping it feeling cozy at the same time.
The cycle is slow this time, thankfully. They’ve only had four minor cases until now, all of them quickly healed and sent on their way. Other healers also dressed in various green robes and outfits mill about, talking as they clean and organize.
Jae scans the space quickly. “Looks like my parents went home for the cycle.”
“Or maybe they’re just out for lunch,” Yumi chuckles next to her.
“Or that,” Jae nods with a small grin.
“Oh! Some being brought some sweetleafs!”
Yumi hurries towards the back of the infirmary, to a plate that rests on a small table. It’s a communal table for small snacks and treats for both healers and patients. Jae stays standing where she is, watching a very happy Yumi pick up a small handful of the sugary green leafs.
“Want some, Jae?” her friend calls.
Jae shakes her head, her arms wrapping around her stomach. “Not now.”
Yumi just shrugs and shoves the handful she holds into her mouth.
In truth, she does want one. Except that the last time she had one it made her stomach upset. They’re delicious, but she needs a break from snacking on them for at least a couple cycles. Just to reset.
Yumi comes back up to her, her cheeks puffed out and smiling, as if she won some sort of reward.
“Enjoying yourself?” Jae asks with a light chuckle.
Yumi raises a hand to cover her mouth as she says simply, “Want more.”
Jae can’t help but roll her eyes. Leave it to Yumi to want more.
“We can go see if there’s extra,” she offers. Usually if a being cooks sweetleafs, they leave some out for others to snack on as well. And when one being cooks sweetleafs, the others tend to do the same as well. If they’re not too late, there should still be plenty left out for the children.
“If we’re not needed,” Yumi replies eagerly.
“You know, your mother has a tail.”
Yumi lets out a snort as she eyes passing shops and homes. “My pa doesn’t. Not all Feni are the same.”
“How come?” Jae asks, tilting her head.
“Something to do with mixing of Feni and wizard blood over the centuries. I don’t remember.”
“Guess you’re more wizard than Feni, then, huh?”
Yumi shrugs, not paying Jae much mind.
Jae takes a quick look around herself, attempting to find any leftover sweetleafs for Yumi. All she sees are empty platters sitting alone in the open windows instead.
“Looks like everything’s been eaten already,” she comments.
Yumi lets out an annoyed sigh, her ears drooping ever so slightly in defeat. “Then they need to make more!”
Jae folds her arms and looks around again. This time not for sweetleafs, but for her parents. She’s not seen them yet, and her stomach is beginning to twist itself into uneasy knots.
“I think I want to go home,” she mutters.
“So soon?” Yumi asks.
“I want to see if my parents are there.”
“Oh. Well, maybe they got called away to a different village, too.”
“They’d tell me that, though.”
“Maybe they’re still eating?”
“Wouldn’t they be back at the infirmary by now?”
Yumi pats Jae’s shoulder firmly. “You’re too concerned about them, Jae. They’re adults! And healers. They can take care of themselves.”
“I know…” Jae shakes Yumi off her. “I just want to check real quick. Then I’ll come back to the infirmary.”
“Want me to go with you?”
“No, I’ll be fine,” Jae assures her with a thin smile. Yumi just stares back at her with a concerned frown, hands on her hips. “I shouldn’t be gone long.”
“If you say so,” she says. “Just be quick about it, okay?”
Jae nods. “Yeah.”
Yumi attempts a smile, but it ends up as a strange twitch at the corners of her mouth. Maybe she’s thinking about joining Jae one way or the other. But she knows she’ll be fine with or without Yumi. Eros is about as safe as a small village can possibly get.
With that, Jae turns away from her friend.
Please be home…
Her home is on the far side of Eros, which isn’t much of a walk but still one that makes her dislike walking to and from the infirmary every cycle. It only has a main living room where they cooked and ate as well, and two side rooms, one for her and one for her parents. And there’s nothing that will make her love her home less.
As she approaches the front door, she can smell a sweet fragrance drift from a nearby window. Some being is certainly inside cooking.
She opens the door slowly, just enough to where she can pop her head through the crack. In the middle of the main room is the cooking pot, which is held over a small fire pit underneath it on stubby legs.
Jae almost sighs as she sees her mother standing over the pot with a content smile on her face, a small table next to her with a plate and knife.
“Mother?” she pipes up. Her mother, startled, instantly looks towards the front door with her eyes wide with surprise.
“Jae,” she breathes a sigh of relief upon seeing her daughter, “don’t scare me like that!”
Jae can’t help but smile sheepishly. “Sorry, mother.” She steps into her home and gently closes the door behind her. “I was wondering where you and father were.”
“Well, I thought we could cook up a little surprise for you, flower,” her mother replies, smiling back at her. “Jae, you know we would have told you if anything important came up.”
“I know, but…” she trails off.
“It’s fine, Jae,” her mother reassures her. She takes a stick that rests inside the cooking pot and taps it against the black metal. “Well, since you’re here, how about you come help me finish these sweetleafs.”
“Where’s father?”
“He was going to help me,” her mother chuckles, “but he’s caring for Nan next door. The dear pulled her back again.”
Jae just slowly nods back at her mother. Nan is pretty old and nearly due to Fade soon. She should probably go say hi to Nan again one of these cycles.
“Now, are you going to stand there and watch or come help me?” her mother laughs once more.
“Oh!” escapes Jae’s mouth. She probably should help her mother cook. And after they’re done, maybe she can nibble on one of the sweetleafs. It’s not going to do her that much harm, will it?