The Music of Life ~ FIN

   The stars were always brighter away from Izumo. The farther one went down the paths out of the city, the more brilliantly the stars shone. And if one got far enough away and laid down in the grass, they'd feel like they were right in front of a sea filled with them. Cas had been in the grass for a long time trying to drown her worries in the star's light. Something about the night sky brought her comfort, it made her feel at home. The hour had grown late and she felt it was time to go back to her physical home. The sounds of her bones popping as she slowly stood broke the peace of the scene. 

   "Come on chica, you're barely twenty..." Cas mumbled to herself in a pained voice. The grass and dirt was brushed away and she carefully stepped her way back to the main trail towards Izumo. It was easy to get lost out there, both literally and metaphorically speaking. The silence brought on a seemingly undisturbable peace and the hours seemed to fly by out there. With the peace the night brought, it also brought the darkness that made trials almost impossible to find if not for the moon. There had been, what sounded like, muffled yelling coming from the city. Fear started to rise up again. Had there been another murder? Her step quickened and she nearly tripped over someone once she reached the city's edge. There on the ground was a woman who looked to be bleeding heavily from her waist. 

   It almost made her laugh. This would make two injured people she would patch up because who was she fooling, there was no way she would just leave the woman to bleed out and die like that. The woman looked to be unconscious, and her home wasn't too far away. Cas brought one of the woman's arms around her shoulders and lifted her up. The woman was taller than Cas, so her feet dug into the ground and marked their path. She hoped and prayed that the commotion wasn't caused by the woman, and that people wouldn't get curious about the two lines leading straight to the shop.

The Madame

   Once the two had returned to the shop, the woman was placed on the floor while Cas set about gathering what was needed. Water was placed over the fire to begin boiling for the poultice. The wound was deep and continued to bleed, even after Cas had cleaned away the blood. She was worried that the woman was wake up any minute and begin thrashing. That concern effected her suturing. It wasn't bad, but it could've been better. Of course for being done in only the limited light of the lantern and with one eye, it wasn't so bad. Blood droplets still formed and it wasn't until the water began boiling did it stop. She had debated once or twice retrying, but there was still the risk of the woman waking up. Maybe whenever she woke up. Bandages, a small bowl, and a jar containing course powder was collected.

   The panic was beginning to fade away and Cas calmed herself as she stirred the powder and the water together in the bowl. After checking to make sure the wound was closed the poultice was applied, then the bandages were wrapped. There was a moment while she tied the bandages that she entertained switching professions, or get a little training. If patching people up was going to become a common occurrence she should at least learn how to suture properly. A tonic was given to the woman and pillows were placed carefully underneath her. There was no telling how long she would be out, and sleeping on the floor led to a painful wakening.

   The supplies were picked up and put away, the work area was cleaned. That left Cas with nothing to do but wait for the woman to regain consciousness. If she ever did. She debated carrying her up to the spare room, but if something were to happen she would need to be close to her supplies. So Cas grabbed a book and made herself some tea before sitting down on the floor next to the woman. Not five pages in did the woman begin coughing and moving. The book and cup was moved out of hitting range.

   "You came to it a lot quicker than I had anticipated. How do you feel? Oh please don't move around so much, you might hurt yourself."

The Madame

   "You don't have to thank me. I just wanted to help." Cas shifted uncomfortably at the expression then grabbed her cup. "Can you sit up? I'm sure you're thirsty and that tonic I gave you was probably really bitter."

   She wanted to ask what had happened. She wanted to ask if there were people after her; if the people she heard yelling were looking for her or if they were her companions. There was a lot she wanted to ask, but bombarding the woman with questions so soon after coming to it wasn't the best thing to do. Let her rest, give her time, then ask. Cas looked at the woman. She had on armor, so maybe she was on a mission? She was very pretty. Almost too pretty. Maybe she was a spy. These observations proved to only create more questions than answers.

   "What's your name?"

The Madame

   "You can call me Cas. It's a pleasure to meet you Fife, despite the circumstances." Cas smiled and placed the cup back next to the book. "I'm glad I found you when you did. You weren't looking too well."

   That could be an understatement. Fife had been losing blood quickly, and the fact that she was unconscious wasn't a good sign either. Her body was probably going into shock from the loss. That could happen, right? A body can pass out from blood loss, that sounds about right. 

   "Speaking of, How do you feel now? I can try to make an elixir if the pain is really bad and, if you don't mind me asking, how did this happen?"

The Madame

   "I see. You don't have to say anymore, I understand." And while she was left a little uneasy with that answer, she would leave it at that. If Cas was being honest, she couldn't remember the last time she made an elixir. Or, at least once that could help with pain. She had made plenty of sedative and hypnotic elixirs, sure, but nothing for this type of situation. The coughing and the pained noises Fife made shocked her back into the present. There wouldn't be any time to look through the books for the right elixir. Unless... The bottom drawer was flung open and a group of little bottles were placed against the farthest corner. She had seen Izzy make this a while ago from a pretty flower and it's bulb. Izzy had said it was for extreme pain and cough stopper, but it had the tendency to make the recipient sleepy. Cas wondered if it would be a good thing to give Fife. It was better than nothing, she decided, and walked back to the woman.

   "This'll help with the pain. It'll make you a little sleepy after it get into your system, but it should do the trick." She took her seat on the floor and opened the bottle. "Do you need help with this or can you do it?"

The Madame

   "You really don't have to apologize. I understand that somethings need to be kept secret." Cas offered a supportive smile before doing as she was told and pouring the syrup into Fife's mouth. If the smell was anything to go by, the syrup wasn't going to go down easy. She hoped that, no matter how hard it was to force down, it started down and didn't come back up. The cup of tea was close by just in case the woman might need something to chase the taste away. Once the bottle was emptied it was closed and held tightly in one hand, the other gently patting Fife's shoulder.

   "I have something here for you to drink if you need it. It's mint tea. It's really good for digestion and reducing inflammation. I've heard it's also a good pain reliever, but I'm not too sure. It's relaxes the body and mind and boosts the immune system. It's also really yummy. This is actually one of my guardians' favorite teas. Not because of the benefits, but because it tastes so good." Cas babbled nervously. She didn't know how Fife would react to the elixir or if she would be able to hold it down. If asked she would say that the spew of words was to keep the woman from focusing on the liquid's taste, but that was an obvious lie. The words had kept tumbling out before she could stop herself. 

The Madame

   "Of course and that's good, I think. I've been told the strongest remedies work the quickest." A nervous laugh bubbled out as the cup was placed in Fife's hand. She wasn't positive the tea in combination with the elixir would have the best taste at first, but the mint was strong and was sure to overpower the bitter medicine after a few gulps. The bottle was placed where the cup once sat and Cas relaxed.

   "Yes ma'am, right on the nose. We use the plants here to heal everything from the physical to the mental to the emotional. Or we try to, at least. We can't always guarantee what we give will work. Everyone is different, and everyone takes to our cures differently." And as much as Cas didn't want to consider it, believing in the herb's properties also played a hand in how a person takes to it. 


The Madame