Korins eyes popped open as she let out a shallow gasp. Her vision swam and her head throbbed while her surroundings came into focus. The first thing she noticed was her father who sat above her, peering down at her with teary eyes.
"Hey kiddo." A small smile of relief formed on his worry ridden face.
Korin blinked away the last of the fog in her vision. "Oh hey dad." She attempted to sit up and her brain painfully pulsed in her skull. "Urgh." It made her stomach lurch. The skin and flesh of her head felt strangely numb while her brain beat in its cage.
A large hand gently pushed her back down. "Take it easy Korin."
The second thing she noticed was Mikhail hovering over her, parallel to her father. His hand lightly rubbed the shoulder he had pushed her back down by. Anxiety also marred his face but so did scratches, a cut lip, and a bruise that was blossoming around his eye. Even beaten up, his charm shone through in his catty shaped eyes, knitted brows, and the hesitant tilt of his lips. It ignited an odd sense of pity in Korin.
Korin attempted to sit up once more. "Mikhail, what happened to you- ah, ow, ow." Her head swam and once again Mikhail guided her back down.
"Just stay there kid." Samhir instructed, moving a bit of hair from her face. "Idoni is on her way to heal you up."
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
According to Mikhail, Korin had been shoved by one of the men and had hit her head on a rock. Mikhail, who Etan had sent to check on the uncharacteristically late woman, had come just in time to witness this and had gotten into a fight with the men.
Amongst the fabricated fable and half truths, Mikhail left out how the guards had tried to blame Korin for her own assault. He had been rather angry with how their obvious bias of the girl was altering their perception of the situation. His demon agreed, expressing a desire to tear into the stomachs of the guards. It was quickly becoming obsessed with the puzzle that was Korin and Mikhail found himself reigning in the beast more and more. Consequentially suffering more pokes and stabs to the lining of his soul.
The two men had been barely alive and it took a little vial of crystalized mind control and a lot of begging to the demon to heal them. After a heated debate and a fair amount of compromise, did the beast finally relent to Mikhail's desires. If Korin were to be caught having done such damage to the men, even if they were vile and deserving, the village would surely lead a witch hunt against the woman that they already held in disdain. The way the guards had treated her even after Mikhail had doctored the situation told him that his suspicions were true. Some of the people seemed to eagerly await a reason to persecute her. Rid themselves of her presence.
It was only when her father rushed onto the scene and began yelling at the guards did they reluctantly accept that Korin was a victim in the situation. Samhir seethed while the guards hauled away the perpetrators, who would only remember what Mikhail intended them to recall thanks to the crushed pearly powder.
Three days passed and Mikhail was irritated to find out that the guards had simply exiled the two convoy goers from the village. Surely they had deserved a little worse. His displeasure was only skin deep as the demon rejoiced that the men were free for him to hunt. It paraded and paced about him, evil intent and violent thought set on relay. Mikhail was amused. At the end of the day a demon was a demon and their proclivities often swung towards the aggressive side of things. He did not intend to allow it to hunt the men down. If it came back later that they had been butchered it would only go to harm Korin. But he didn't tell the demon that.
He was on his way to meet Korin and knew the demon would quickly forget its vile plans in favor of fawning over her, obsessed with the oddity. Korin was intriguing to Mikhail as well but he felt like there was something the demon was not letting on about. Secrets that drove its obsession that it wouldn't share. An important part of the cards and the prophecies he suspected.
Ms. Menia and Samhir had planned a luncheon to discuss what to do about making the moutain staircases more accessible. A table and a series of mismatched chairs had been dragged into a small grassy knoll between Ms. Menias and Idonis houses. Mikhail could see Korin quietly seated by herself, a bandage wrapped around her head. Samhir and Ms. Menia stood off to the side assessing the hill, Samhir explaining the contents of a piece of paper they were crowded over.
A tall and lanky Aasai witch of Seval, with dark skin and deep bronze hair flowing in an abundance of long thin braids, approached the table. A tray of chilled refreshments and small dishes held in her hands. Mikhail had learned that this was Idoni, the little witch, Talis' (who he'd spotted on a few occasions but had avoided for the time being) older sister. She served as the local medicine woman and the owner of the apothecary Korin had directed him to. She'd been present the night of the incident but he had yet to introduce himself.
Descending the large staircase, he watched as Idoni set the drinks in front of Korin and called to Samhir and the old retired medicine woman.
Korin thanked Idoni, her expression back to usual. Yet Mikhail had failed to rid his mind of the hopeless and painful way her face had contorted. How the sockets of her eyes were nothing but voids only expelling a twisted despair. How her tears had washed lines into her bloody face and how her hollow and raspy voice had echoed inside his head. How the demon had leapt forward, cautionary and on edge, yet ready to embrace whatever it was, arms wide open savoring the power that leaked from her. He had seen her in a vulnerable moment and the demon had basked in it.
He noted how to sensed his approach, the way she seemed to sense anyone who approached. Always on high alert. Korins attention snapped to him and she politely waved her hand. "Good afternoon, Mikhail."
He felt guilty because she didn't know. She was clueless to what he had seen or what she had done. He quelled his stomach before it could twist and charmingly smiled at the strange woman. "Hey, Korin!" he called brightly, catching the attention of the others around her. He held up a paper sack. "I brought some desserts from the bakery."
Ms. Menia and Samhir, already familiar with the newcomer, simply waved before focusing back on the paperwork. Samhir had drawn up a few different proposals and blueprints for an automated gondola to transport goods and people up the mountain as per Korins request. Over the week he'd thrown himself into the project after his daughter's accident. To most he looked like a doting father who was acting at Korins behest, who suggested the simple gondola, and for the benefit of the village. But Korin knew her father and Mikhail was also quickly learning that Samhir had a way of sacrificing himself. Using his knowledge and labor in an attempt to appease his fellow community members. Ones that had been on edge with him and his family for years now.
Whatever his reason, the council had decided to allocate him a small fund for material to construct a simple gondola to at least carry Ms. Menia to the more accessible path above. If it was something useful and effective enough, they may provide more funds and labor into developing a network of them.
Mikhail placed the bag of treats on the table and Introduced himself to Idoni with an outstretched hand. "Hello. I'm Mikhail. We didn't get a chance to properly meet the other night."
"Ah, it's nice to meet you as well. My name is Idoni. I'm Talis' sister and I run the apothecary." Idoni was tall and could be considered imposing with a hard glass gaze and a firm grip. She shook Mikhail's hand as she studied him, her hazel eyes almost lighting from the inside.
Mikhail put forth his most alluring smile. Witches were highly perceptive and their powers varied greatly from one to the next. Those who served as medicine women often had abilities to see deeper than skin level. Attuned to root out internal diseases and ailments, some could also discern who was and wasn't human. Mikhail did well to hide his true nature but he did not know just how powerful Idoni was.
She scrutinized him for a moment more before turning towards Korin. "I brought some more salve. Let's get that bandage off so I can see your progress."
"Alright." Korin nodded, beginning to unwind the wrap that had covered a large gash on the back of her head. Rolling the bandages and removing the gauze, the large cut was revealed, hair meticulously pinned away from its edges. It was still red and angry and raw and swollen, with twelve stitches pinning its borders. It would definitely leave a scar.
Mikhail bit his lip. He would have healed it himself but he had needed the wound to support the story he fabricated.
With the dressings cleared away, Idoni assessed the damage. It had been very large, and truthfully, the healer was a little surprised that Korin was alive. It had healed significantly with her first and second treatment yet still looked hellish and jagged.
She used a small spoon to scoop up some of the light blue healing salve and gently applied it to the cut. Setting aside the paste and the spoon, her hands hovered over the back of Korins head. Idoni twitched and spread her fingers, slow and smooth. Her skin rippled and vibrated, hummed in a melodious ring as the tell tale pale light of Aasai healing magic began to glow around her.
Korin sighed as the warm energies caressed her scalp. She could feel as the cut began to heal, muscle and epidermis knitting itself further closed, new skin swallowing stitches designed to dissolve.
After a short while, Idoni dropped her hands and wiped a little sweat from her brow. "Phew. That'll do for now." The cut was less gory and Idoni finally felt a little relief. Puffy silver scaring looked much better than exposed flesh. She took some fresh banages and gently concealed the remaining wound. "One more session and you'll be right as rain."
"Thank you." Her head felt significantly better and the headache she had suffered for the last few days finally eased a bit.
Mikhail sat next to Korin and began to take out the desserts, arranging them amongst Idonis beverages of condensating herbal teas. "I brought some of Etans new experiments." There were a couple varieties of thumbprint cookies, some crispy golden cakes, and aromatic fruit tarts. Etan heard of their little lunch and had sent Mikhail with plenty of each as well as directions to report back everyone's critique. He pushed a fruit tart towards Korin. "I really like this one, you should try it first."
The tart was made up of a small golden crust that held a thick custard topped with ruby red raspberries. Korin took a generous bite. The custard was pleasantly sour and lemony, the berries were juicy and sweet while a crispy crushed cliff grain butter crust rounded out the dessert. She would have to give Etan a compliment later and suggest it for one of their specials. "It's very good." She said after swallowing down her large bite.
Mikhail smiled, pushing one of the herbal teas in front of her to wash down his offering.
Samhir watched the two from the side as Mikhail smiled at his daughter, encouraging her to try the different treats then having her drink after every dessert. All week the young man had checked on her multiple times a day. He had brought her books, puzzles, various snacks and drinks, making sure that she was entertained and eating every meal.
From Samhirs point of view Mikhail seemed to be rather infatuated with his daughter. He felt a surge of pride knowing that Korin had attracted the affections of such a handsome man. It seemed fitting, in the way that opposites attract; that the level headed and persistently stoic Korin would attract the attention of the very outgoing and friendly Mikhail.
Unlike an overprotective father, Samhir watched on, happy that his little girl was receiving positive attention for once… Of course if the boy ever hurt his precious daughter he'd break his legs. But those were thoughts and promises he didn't feel he had to pursue at the moment.
"How is everything at the bakery?" With the convoy in town, Korin was sure it was busy.
"It's been pretty hectic but we're managing." Mikhail admitted truthfully.
"Ah, I see. I'm sure I can return tomorrow." She patted her head which was feeling better.
Mikhail shook his head. "No, it's fine. My aunt has been helping out." Mikhail's eyebrows bounced as he smirked in amusement. Amelia had wanted the 'full Ipanish experience' as she put it and the bakery had been giving her a run for her money. It was always amusing to watch his rowdy aunt be humbled. He'd been throwing 'I-told-you-so's' at her all week. "You should just take it easy and focus on healing right now." Mikhail pushed forward another cookie. This one was embedded with almonds and sliced dates. "I actually wanted to see if you would like to go look at some of the vendors with me?"
Korin cocked her head to the side. "I thought you just said I should be focused on healing."
It was getting easier for Mikhail to understand her subtle body language. She was teasing him. "Shopping is a very leisurely and relaxing activity. I've even heard that it can be quite therapeutic and healing." Mikhail lifted his chin to the air and peered down at his companion. His words had earned a slight laugh from Idoni. After a moment he softly added, "Only if you're up to it, though."
She nibbled at the cookie, not as pleased as she was with the tart. It was good but it was lacking in something. She would have to notify Etan. "Very well." She nodded, placing the cookie down. "We should invite Talis too." Korin felt as if she was making leaps and bounds in her ability to socialize due to Mikhail's persistence and presence. Maybe it was because he treated her like she was normal. She had grown so used to how everyone always avoided her that the feeling of inclusivity, though uncomfortable, was becoming addicting.
"That is a good idea." Mikhail actually didn't like the idea at all. He didn't hate it, but he had hoped to have her attention for himself.
Korin turned to Idoni, who had taken up a seat and was also sampling the desserts. "Miss Idoni, will Talis be joining us today?" She spoke formally, something she did with most everyone beside a few select individuals.
"I told her that we were all having tea today but she seemed preoccupied with her studies." Talis was training to become a healer like her sister. "I'll extend your invitation. Just give me a few moments." Idoni, rose up, quickly stuffing the rest of a snack into her mouth and grabbing the salve that left too long in the heat would damage its healing benefits. With long and graceful strides she soon disappeared down the small path to her home.
Korin relaxed into her seat and Mikhail pushed a piece of cake towards her. "Now try this one."
It was creamy and crumbled in her mouth, moist with goodness and rich on the tip of her tongue but light in the back of her throat. Peaches had been crushed and blended in with the batter so well that their flesh went unnoticed. Their summery sweetness coated her tongue and teeth leaving behind a pleasant and potent peachy aftertaste. A heavy competitor to the fruit tart. She ate one more of each.