The Forest Deep
Part 6
Yavan stepped into the dark hut and glanced towards the girl, one eyebrow raised inquisitively. For one short albeit awkward moment, she merely blinked shyly back at him. Yavan’s lips parted with a slightly forced smile.
“How is he doing?” he asked, hoping to help the unforthcoming girl along.
“Oh!” she gasped, drawing herself up in surprise. “Oh, yes, um, he’s all right at the moment. Well, I mean he’s sleeping. Oh, b-but he taken a fever, so auntie’s gone out to get som’ herbs. They’re more potent when they’re fresh, see.”
Yavan nodded slowly as he attempted to contain a wave of exasperation. He tended to want to trust the healer and if she had left her niece here, awkward as she may be, it must have been with good reason. Still, brushing away a biting remark that was likely the product of fatigue-induced annoyance, he turned to his pupil who lay immobile, with eyes closed and compresses on his forehead and neck. “Did Medah mention what the cause might be?” he ventured.
Several seconds of silence followed his query, leading him to turn back to her once more. She seemed lost in thought as she stared in Joren’s direction. Suddenly, she realized she was being observed and started.
“I, uhm, well, I…” She blinked rapidly, and the time she took to remember his question tested Yavan’s patience but again, he contained his displeasure. “Oh! Oh, auntie thinks it be from the wound on ‘is leg. It’s become quite swollen and warm, see.”