Big city trip.

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Kara Lai looked back at her mother and father as they stood muttering softly. Her father then came up to her crouched down and touched her cheek. "We're going to go outside for a moment. The Healer will take care of you and when he is done, you come outside, we'll be waiting."

"Okay," she said softly, watching as he stood up and they both left. She turned her head, the, to look at the Healer. "My name is Kara Lai, what's yours?"

[hisdivineshadow]

The healer turned to busy himself with his work, preparing a mixture of lavender, bay leaves, and olive oil, crushing and mixing it all thoroughly with a mortar and pestle. In answer to her question, he merely grunted, "Shen." Once he was satisfied with the mixture, he dipped a cloth in it and turned toward Kara Lai.

"Your arm."

[Deleted]

She sighs and puts out her arm, lowering her eyes shyly. "So, um, are...are you always so sour?" she asked, her words spilling out in a whispered rush near the end. He eyes widened then and she let out a little squeak.

[hisdivineshadow]

He sighed and shook his head. "I'm not sour," Shen answered her, as he carefully began applying the mixture to her bruised forearm. "I just don't usually get along with people very well. It's why I live alone."

[Deleted]

"Isn't in lonely, though? To live alone. I'd think so."

She peered around him to look at what was in the room. "It's so dark in here, you should open some windows, let the air flow through. Simple things can cheer someone up!"

[hisdivineshadow]

He hesitated, looking around the room. "You think so? I suppose I never really thought about it." He shrugged off the idea. "In any case, I'm the only one who ever stays here any length of time. So I don't know that it really matters." He continued rubbing the oil across her bruised and slightly swollen wrist, carefully massaging it into the skin.

[Deleted]

Kara Lai took this as another opportunity to look around and finally came to the conclusion that there really wasn't much of anything, interesting or otherwise, in this room. "But," she continued half-heartedly. "If you made this place more welcoming, you would probably get more patients."

[hisdivineshadow]

"I make do," he said flatly. "People come to me when they need my help. If they are badly injured, they will come for treatment. If not, they won't. The appearance of my home is immaterial."

He nodded to one of several baskets of bloodied rags. "I've been rather busy today, you know. Many people were hurt far worse than you, so you should be grateful I'm spending time on you at all." He finished applying the salve and turned to collect bandages and thin wooden rods to create a splint.

[Deleted]

She looked up at him, hurt and then sighed, "Well, all right, Mister, but lonliness sometimes makes people do things they shouldn't, or maybe wouldn't do."

Taking her arm back, she flexed it and then waved it. "all right, guess I'll be going then."

[hisdivineshadow]

The healer winced slightly at the hurt look she shot him. "Kara Lai . . . I didn't mean it like that. I . . ." He sighed and shook his head. "Forgive me, I'm tired and it's making me crankier than usual. Here . . ." He went into a drawer and pulled out a chunk of crystallized honey, then handed it to her. "You deserve something, at least, for putting up with me."

[Deleted]

Taking it, she blinked and then gave a dazzling smile. "Thank you very much," coming up she gave him a hug and then spun around. "My parents and I don't live too far from, only a few miles! Maybe I'll come back and visit! So you wont be lonely?"

With another smile, she disappeared through the door.