Apprentice No More|Aegestrom, Maelstrom

[Kender Bard]

Angel looked down at the table where she was preparing medicines for some of her more chronic-needs patients. With a frown, she carefully set the work aside and got up. "Seafoam?" she called out.

[Northen Light36]

Seafoam was in the smaller workroom next door, preparing some more general use medicines such as willowbark tea for headaches and some burn lotion for the little kitchen assistant who'd stumbled and set her hand on a hot pot while helping prepare breakfast that morning. "Just a minute, Angel," he called back, sealing the last jar of burn cream, labeling it carefully and then washing his hands before making his way in to see Angel. "Do you need me for something, Angel?" he asked.

[Kender Bard]

"It's a gorgeous day out," Angel noted. "Why don't you and I take a little break and go for a walk together? There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about and I think it would be more poignant if we discussed it in the sunshine."

[Northen Light36]

Seafoam swallowed hard and fought not to show the sudden nervousness that assulted him at her words. There was nothing he'd done that Angel could be annoyed with, and anyway, he'd never known Angel to draw things out. If he'd screwed up somewhere, he'd already know about.

But the trace of paranoia left from his orphan days, when 'I need to talk to you' never meant anything good, was making its self known once more and a knot of dread formed in his stomach.

"All right, Angel," he agreed.

[Kender Bard]

Angel smiled and led the way, strolling out of the palace and into Shadow's garden. She wanted a modicum of privacy, and it was large enough to stroll around in.

"How long have you been studying healing, Seafoam?" she asked her companion. "You were already fairly knowledgeable when you came to me."

[Northen Light36]

Seafoam paused, thinking back. How long had it been? He had to have been about ten or eleven when Sparkle had found him, hidden in her personal store room, engrossed in one of the books there. That had been about six months after his mother died, Seafoam guessed - that period of time was somewhat blurred by a fog of loneliness and misery - which would put it at about a month after his 11th birthday.

"Since I was about 11," he told Angel. "Why?"

[Kender Bard]

Angel smiled a little. "That makes... Six or so years of continuous studying. And yet, we all refer to you as my apprentice. It's a little odd and unnecessary I feel." She stopped and looked at him, a mixture of pride and pleasure on her face. "That's why I'm releasing you as my apprentice. From here forth, Seafoam, you are a full healer in your own right."

[Northen Light36]

Seafoam looked stunned and stopped dead, looking at Angel in surprise. He'd been a healer apprentice for so long that he'd almost forgotten that would ever change. It was a little unsettling, but at the same time, a flush of pleasure and success was racing through him.

And there was a vague sense of safety in the idea of being a full Healer. That was something no one could ever take away from him now. Seafoam slowly began to smile as the knowledge sank in. He was a Healer. He'd achived his dream.

"Thank you Angel," he murmured. "I, I don't know what else to say. But... Thank you." He gave her a warm smile, his eyes bright with a complete and utter happiness that rarely showed in the young man.

[Kender Bard]

Angel returned his smile, turning to pull him into a tender hug. "You can go off and start your own practice, if you wish. But I'd be happy if you stayed with me. It's so useful having another pair of hands, and this way I can service more of the townsfolk without worrying that I'll be absent during a crises at the palace."

[Northen Light36]

"Assuming Shadow doesn't mind, and I can't see that he would," Seafoam began after a moment of considering his options, "I'd like to keep working with you, Angel." He shrugged slightly and added, "My friends are all here in the Manor anyway." Smiling, he returned the hug.

[Kender Bard]

Angel let out a small sigh of relief; she knew the young could be restless. She'd worried he'd want to leave. Young healers were known to go where they felt they were needed most.

But Angel needed him too.

"Then from now on, we are peers," she murmured and let go of him. "And on that note, I want your opinion on something. The Queen and King most certainly feel blessed to be preparing for a second child. But I have not yet informed them of just how many other women, young and old, are going through the same. You've seen some of them yourself, I'm sure, coming to me to verify what they already know is true. What do you think is the cause of this sudden... outbreak?"

It was a heartless word, given the context, but Angel wasn't sure what else to use.

[Northen Light36]

"I'm not sure," Seafoam replied. "The weather has been unusually mild and the change came on so quickly. I wonder if maybe that had some effect on the supply of babybane, though I can't imagine why..."

[Kender Bard]

"Most people might wave such speculation off," Angel sighed. "But it's important to know. If it was something from the weather, we need to know in advance the effects, so that people will be better warned."

She stopped and looked skyward. "I've heard of a couple girls now who died from babybane poisoning..."