Hajin sat on the clinic cot while Vella checked his channels and counted the days he still owed to recovery.
Fragrant steam drifted from a ceramic teapot on the side table, filling the room with the earthy aroma of steeped restorative herbs.
Hajin sat on the edge of the bed, slowly fastening the buttons of his clean traveling coat.
As he reached for his belt, he flexed his spiritual core, feeling the faint, dormant hum of his seventh physical Ring.
Before the golden hoop could fully ignite around his wrist, a wooden ladle slapped sharply against the back of his hand.
"Stop that right now, young man!" Vella scolded, planting her hands on her hips with a fierce, motherly glare.
"Your meridians are cracked like dry riverbeds, and you want to test a sixteen-fold multiplier?"
"I was only checking the baseline resonance," he muttered, rubbing the stinging redness on his knuckles.
"You will check nothing until next week," she replied firmly, handing him a bowl of steaming medicine.
