Bird of a Flock (Bow 2) - Chapter 14: Chapter 14

"Was that really necessary?" Ryraso grumbled as he was dragged into the high healer's clinic by his elbow. The considerably older k'nairi had basically kidnapped him from the corridor with a grip that did not go with the man's age. Like Guardian Fl'ex, Po'lar was in his third century and starting to tire. Not so much though that he couldn't pull a human where he wanted him to be.
"With how High Priest Ton'enth was looking at you, yes," the head healer said firmly. "I am the one who has rights to you, not that brat," he commented with an air of importance. The man had been the official head of the healer's guild for longer than Tai'ray had been alive. At least two of his three centuries had been served in the palace and the man was a mess of contradictions, a mix of old ideas and new. That being said, he liked using humans as healers and had supported Ryraso many times during his tenure.
"The High Priest always looks at me angrily but I see your point. I am not looking forward to whatever conversation he has decided we need to have," Ryraso admitted, rubbing where the healer's talons had dug into his skin once he was released. He was going to have to get some arm guards to wear again.
"Indeed. Do you still drink Jasmine tea?" Po'lar said politely while herding Ryraso into his office, ignoring several medics who were staring at him. He shut the door calmly and patted Ryraso's shoulder. "I left some brewing for your arrival."
"Yes, please. That would be lovely," Ryraso nodded with a slight smile, slightly warmed by the fact the man remembered. The link could reveal many things about a person depending on how well you could use it but minor nuances were harder to read. Unless it was a like or a dislike that was so firmly in your character that everyone knew, the link would not reveal such things.
"While your journey was not willing, was it a least pleasant?" Po'lar asked as he poured two cups. "Sit down," he added, glancing over at Ryraso who was still standing up.
"For the most, part" Ryraso nodded, slowly sinking into a soft chair. He almost moaned at the sensation. The warship had been more functional than comfortable and Navat was still very much a palace. "We travelled fast which is never the most comfortable of experiences," he hummed, shifting into the plush chair, enjoying the feeling.
"Not the way the Royals travel," Po'lar laughed, passed the cup of tea carefully and sitting in a chair next to Ryraso instead of behind his desk. He exhaled and took a deep sip of the tea, looking at it idly for a moment. Ryraso waited patiently for Po'lar to gather his thoughts. "The order felt what you did in Tayawge," he admitted softly. Healing wings was no small task. "How are you feeling after that?"
"Better now," Ryraso nodded. "I had a cold when I woke up the next day but it passes quickly. I," Ryraso paused, trying to think of the correct words to use. The significance of what he had done was not lost on him. The spell he had used was only supposed to stop further damage and relieve the pain. It shouldn't have healed the man's wings so they were whole again. Yet, it had and Ryraso wasn't sure how to feel about that. "I have been nervous at the idea of attempting more healing spells," Ryraso finally admitted. It wasn't unheard of for someone's ability to do magic to disappear after such things.
"You're worried you will be like Kalia," Po'lar nodded. "I would be too except you are special in ways Kalia was not," he said matter-of-factly.
"I am being courted by the Winglord," Ryraso acknowledged.
"The magic works differently for people close to the gods. As the goddess's champion, Tai'ray's influence will affect such things," Po'lar agreed, swirling his tea idly. "I would not worry too much about your ability to heal and instead what this will mean for the priesthood. They spent a lot of time and effort keeping you from the Goddess' reach and now you have used her powers without being fully bonded to Tai'ray." He smirked conspiratorially at Ryraso, "That will have put smoke up their behinds."
"Fully bonded or not, the link seems to have decided that we are," Ryraso muttered taking a long sip of tea. It was easy for Po'lar to be amused, he was the head of the healers. Ryraso was the one who was going to have to deal with them. "I'm not sure if it's Tai'ray or the link but the Royals often seem to be listening in. Sometimes I can hear them too."
Po'lar looked at him amused, "Likely a bit of both. The Winglord knows how he treated you before was a mistake and he doesn't want to do it a second time. If he does mess up, you may find people getting more involved this time."
Ryraso groaned and closed his eyes. "I guessed as much," he muttered dryly, not sure how felt about that. "I..." he trailed off, considering his words carefully. "If it wasn't for the fact I got Eyeri caught up in all this, it would be so much easier just to be obedient and get it over with," he said sounding tired. He was here now. He was never going to make it back to the Namya frontline.
"Eyeri, being your foster son and apprentice," Po'lar said with a touch of disapproval.
"I could hardly write to ask for permission," Ryraso said dryly, knowing just what Po'lar was disapproving off. "I was originally just teaching him to be a medic but he showed continuous signs of healing magic," he added in explanation.  After getting a pass from the k'nairi medical circle, taking on students of your own was expressly forbidden without written consent. The pass could be nullified if a person disobeyed the order. The k'nairi taught the skills to be used, not taught.
"He's very young," Po'lar said softly. Ryraso had been considered very young at 18, most people were in their twenties.
"I have not taught him much magic. No more than I knew at his age. I've mostly been focusing on the medic skills," Ryraso admitted. "The magic was partly to see if he could use it and partly to keep him feeling useful. Only so much  medic skills can do to help sometimes."
"No doubts there," Po'lar nodded. "Must have been hard for him on the front lines. What are you hoping for, now he is here?" he asked with a touch of practicality entering his voice.
"I haven't really thought it over properly. Originally I was hoping to escape and get Eyeri back to his brothers and when that no longer was a possibility, well. I have had other things on my mind," Ryraso admitted. Before when it was just him, it made sense for Eyeri to learn from just him but Navat was big and had a good supply of healers. Few healers were taught by just one teacher. "Eyeri is too young for the programme, if it even still exists?" he said hesitantly.
"In some form, it does," Po'lar allowed slowly with a touch of unhappiness in his voice. "D'mar medics come hoping to be worthy. Sometimes there are a few. We train the younger generation as well. Still, most of the teaching is medic skills, same as yourself. Skills to survive a battle not heal ailments," he said with a sense of wistfulness.
"In war, our job becomes very focused," Ryraso agreed sadly.
"Indeed. As for your little one... Eyeri may be too young but he is here. With your permission and that of the Winglord and the boy, I would enrol him in the apprentice scheme. It will be a slower teaching method to the programme but at his age, it would suit him better," Po'lar said offered.
"Forgive me but you will have to remind me what the apprentice scheme is," Ryraso said with a slight blush on his cheeks. He hadn't paid much attention to how the natives of Navat learned to heal, even while living there. As an outsider, he wasn't permitted to help teach even with the pass. While on programme there hadn't been much time to worry about what other people were doing to become a healer, only what he had to do.
"Of course. He would spend three months at a different clinic learning different skills from each. You would remain his primary teacher and he would still spend a few days a week wherever you are working but the rest of the week would be at the other clinic. After completing two years, he would take the same test you did. If he fails he would take the same test again after a year of further training," Po'lar explained calmly. "We are kinder to those who reside here and while Eyeri is not technically from Navat, he won't be able to leave by the Winglord's declarations for a long time either. I think it would be best in his case to let him on the scheme."
"Yes," Ryraso nodded slowly, what little he did know about the system returning to him. It sounded like a good way to get Eyeri's knowledge a bit more rounded out than he had managed it. "It would be very kind of you. However, assuming Eyeri is interested, would it be possible to hold back a few weeks until he is more settled. He has some traumatic events coming up," he said softly.
"The brand," Po'lar nodded. "It will certainly hurt him, but traumatic seems a little over the top Ryraso," he said calmly.
"There are circumstances which give him cause to fear it more than the average person," Ryraso said gently, not wanting to just tell everyone about Eyeri's past but understanding Po'lar wasn't going to understand why it would be traumatic.
"I'm sure it won't be that..." Po'lar trailed off as he saw Ryraso's expression. The healer frowned but nodded. "If it comes to that, well, of course, delay the start," he said kindly. "But hopefully it will not come to that, after all, teenage boys are more reliant than people give them credit," he offered.