As Laura looked around, the field had transformed.Hair, eyes , skin in shades ranging from chestnut to honey ; the ocassional dark headed survivor darted between the tents, laughter slipping through like sunlight through the broken clouds. Men, women, even children - all moving with shared intent. Grief and hope , side by side.
Elyra caught up to her, carrying two steaming cups. " Everything seems to be under control now" she said offering one. " Take this. Don't make yourself one of the patients we'll have to monitor for low-glucose ". Laura huffed a tired laugh, accepting the drink. "Yeah... thanks." Elyra added "Honestly, in all these years, I've never seen people come together like this. Not for a single, united reason. Never thought I'd live to see a day like this ". Laura sipped slowly. The warmth seeped into her fingers, her chest. She looked into the cup "Coffee?"
"Courtesy of the Guild" Elyra said, already halfway through her own. " Nothing better than caffeine to take the edge of collapsing adrenaline". Laura smiled faintly, a flicker of her usual spirit returning, "Let's find someplace quiter. We should'nt be a hassle here, standing in the middle "
" You just took the words out of my mouth Lau" Elyra followed with no protest. Just two souls walking away from wreckage, toward a moment of a peace- well earned, and long overdue. Soon, they reached a small clearing shaded by tall, old trees. The branches arched above them, letting in only a few streaks of soft light. The ground was covered in fallen leaves, and the air was cool and still. A fallen log rested at the edge of the clearing, just enough for two. Laura sat first, Elyra beside her. Moments passed as they reached the bottom of their cusps.
Elyra leaned back and said " I'm planning to help them out anyway. Someone's gotta make sure they don't rip open those stiches doing something stupid- like carrying boxes they shouldn't even be looking at." She stood up, streching a little." Turns out, I'm pretty good at heavy lifting " she said with a grin. "And I won't lie - I love the attentiomn that comes with it "
Laura chuckled. " That's so you. Don't overwork yourself, okay ? "
" I also know you'd like sometime to clear your head, wouldn't you?" Elyra teased , her eyes glinting "Just don't wander off, okay ?" she then held out her empty cup. "Now hand me that". Laura handed over the cup, "I'll be right here Elyra" and watched Elyra walking away.
Laura exhaled and glanced up at the sky through the gaps in the branches. The breeze was soft, almost thoughtful. "Alright, Laura" she muttered, rubbing her temples. " Let's get this sorted " Her voice faded into the hush of the grove, but her thoughts only grew louder. She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a crumpled scrap of paper and a half-worn pen. Resting the page on her knee, she bagan to scribble- listing injury patterns, counts, treatments - delays. One by one, she turned memories into data: something didn't add up - the unnatural shapes of the wounds, the time they took to close, the strange resistance to healing magic.
The scratching of pen against paper slowed. Laura leaned back aginst the log, eyes glazed over her notes. "Am I just tired..... or actually losing it ?" she whispered. Medicine alone was brutal - sleepless nights, endless cases , the pressure to be perfect, But now? She wasn't just training in medicine now stepping into something rare. Healing magic the world had nearly forgotten - unknow been much more than known. And it scared people. Most doctors don't believe it, most schools didn't teach it. Except one.
Prof Cyril's deparment - the only licenced program in the entire province. Even there, out of every ten students, maybe one could truly tap into it. The rest ? Washed out. Or cracked under the weight of balancing hospital-grade medicine with something that vague. Laura swallowed hard. " Maybe I'm just tired" she muttered.
Laura spoke out loud to herself "I need to find Prof Cyril to talk about this.....mmmmm maybe not here, not now but once we returned to the Academy."
And if her instincts were right .. he'd already seen it too.
She sighed and folded the paper, tucking it into her coat pocket. Then stood up, brushing off some stubborn leaf bits clinging to her like regrets and started walking - nowhere in particular to cool off. Naturally, fate had other plans. She wasn't five minutes in before she walked headfirst into a low hanging branch. WHACK!
"Perfect" she groaned, stumbling back and clutching her forehead. " Yeah, I really needed a contusion right about now". Then she let it all out.
"AaaaaaaaaaaaaHHHHHHH!!!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs and stomped the ground like a toddler in a trauma seminar. Surprisingly, it worked. The frustration drained from her like steam escaping a cracked valve. Her breath slowed, vision cleared.
And then-
She saw it-
Half buried in the dirt, just beneath a curl of moss, something caught the light.
Not a coin. Thicker, Heavier - an emblem carved ?
She knelt, fingers brushing it - carved into surface was a regal lion, its mane a corona of flame, its crown etched with sigils that shimmered faintly. A crest? It felt ancient. Meant to be found. Or....maybe waiting.
Suddenly it pulsed- warm like a heartbeat.
Her fingers closed around it.
It was warm-almost alive. And then -
The air shifted. Thicker. Heavier. Like stepping underwater
The world fell into silence. No wind. No rustle. No distant campfire chatter.
Just her and.....