Exill peeked into the Clinic, tousled hair framing his boyish face as he confirmed Luna wasn’t around. It was still morning, and she usually did her shopping for dinner ingredients around this time. He sighed and carefully slid into the treatment room where Old Savta was organizing herbs on her workbench. She raised her eyebrow when she saw his dishevelled state.
“Back so soon, child?”
“I need a favour; can you treat my arms?” he asked hurriedly.
Savta lowered her spectacles and peeled back the bandages to see two deep puncture wounds on the underside of his forearms. She tutted while inspecting the shallow gouges on the other side. “Perhaps this will finally teach you to avoid the Labyrinth.” Savta said, as she let go of his arm and turned back to her task of organizing the herbs.
Exill understood. She had no intention of healing him. Gritting his teeth, he left, cursing the sly old woman. However all was not lost. Just a couple days were needed for it to heal, and Luna wouldn’t be any wiser. He cleaned himself as best he could and changed into a fresh set of clothes. Luna came in shortly after tying the knot of his clinic apron.
“You’re back!” She exclaimed, shooting him with one of her brightest smiles.
“In one piece!” He nervously replied, as she came up close to inspect him. A small scratch on his jaw caught her eye and she promptly healed it with magic.
“Be more careful okay? I saw that scratch, but I’m glad you are back in one piece.” She picked up her dinner ingredients and went upstairs, her good mood evident.
‘I might actually be able to pull this off…’ Exill thought while preparing the surgery implements for the day. Whilst he was doing this, a sudden ruckus could be heard from the main entrance. He peeked out to see two street urchins dragging in a boy who had been severely beaten with a mangled hand.
“Old Savta, please help! Tommy was caught stealin’ and he got a right beatin!” one of the urchins shouted. Savta rushed out of her room and the two of them inspected the boy. His face was bruised, and blood was gushing from his mouth. The hand had been crushed and fingers were bent in unnatural angles.
“Who did this!?” Savta asked, outraged then healed the cuts in the boy’s mouth.
“It was the baker down at old street, he been warnin’ there’ll be a reckonin’ and Tommy was just passin’ by.”
Savta just shook her head at the injustice as she got back up, her knees creaking. “I’ve done all I can Master Exill, I leave the rest to you… try and save as many fingers as you can.”
Exill nodded and carried the boy to his surgery room. He took out his scalpel, channelling mana into the paralyze enchantment and lightly nicked the boy’s wrist to provide some relief. He inspected the hand and cursed the fact that there were no X-rays in this world. Some of the outer digits looked and felt fine… but he could feel the splintered bones in the boy’s palm. It would need to be opened up to see which fingers could be saved.
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“Haah! What happened, I heard shouting?” Luna rushed in to find the boy in poor shape on the patient table.
“He was accused of stealing and the baker crushed his hand. I think I can save the thumb at least.” Exill muttered bitterly. With the assistance of Luna, he carefully peeled the back of the boy’s hand and shuddered. There were too many bone fragments.
“Here, can you see the index finger? If I hold these three bone fragments together could you set it?” Luna gulped, but focused her healing magic to a singular point and carefully melded the fractures, “Thank you, that’s enough. I’m afraid the rest will have to go.”
Exill cut away the rest of the fingers and a large portion of the palm, leaving the boy with just a thumb and index finger. He sighed while scrubbing his hand, cuffs wet and stained because he couldn’t roll up the sleeves lest Luna notice his injury.
Luna applied the finishing touches and discharged the boy with a bag of food and medicine. Her gaze was painful as she bid him goodbye.
“May the Spirit assist you in a quick recovery…” she whispered.
***
For dinner, Exill was treated to roasted vegetables and potatoes glazed in honey for dessert. Old Savta gave a meaningful gaze towards his wounded forearm, but otherwise didn’t say a word. She had seen the work he had done to save they boy’s hand and was willing to give him some rope. She was curious how long the deceit would last.
“Thank you, that was a delightful meal.” Exill excused himself and brought the plates to the kitchen. He quickly did the dishes, paranoid that Luna would notice he wasn’t rolling up his sleeves and retreated to the attic before the two women had even finished their meal. Old Savta noticed the suspicious look in her granddaughter’s eye and inwardly laughed, knowing the Witchdoctor’s end was drawing near.
Upstairs, Exill removed his wet shirt to dry on the rafters. The bandages were then peeled to apply fresh poultice, causing him to wince in pain. Then, there was nothing else but to turn in early for the night. He was secretly glad Old Savta had forbid Luna from entering the attic because it made it easier to conceal his wound.
Sometime after the lamp had been turned off, his heart sank when he heard footsteps on the ladder.
“What are you doing here?” he hissed at the dim silhouette.
“I-I’m here to see you dummy…” Luna’s voice waivered in uncertainty.
“You need to go back before Savta catches you!” he hissed back, afraid that his lie would be discovered.
Meanwhile, Luna had thought Exill would be happy to see her and was disappointed in his reaction. This turned to wariness as she remembered him rushing upstairs after dinner.
“Exill, what are you hiding from me?” she demanded.
“Nothing! I’m topless and you need to leave.”
Luna was about to turn away when her woman’s intuition tingled, causing her to raise the wand to illuminate the attic, blinding Exill in the process. “I knew it! You got hurt!” she hissed, vindicated and angry. Her wand was extinguished and she lit Exill’s lamp, exposing all his lies under its warm glow. He had turned meek, prepared for the ‘I told you so’s that were coming.
Instead, he was surprised to find her anger focused on the wound as she gently peeled away the bandages and cast healing magic. “You don’t need to heal it all the way.” he suggested, wary of provoking her further.
“Don’t you dare speak to me” she spat angrily back.
Luna was angry Exill had got hurt. Moreover, she was angry that her friend felt he couldn’t come to her for treatment. The punctures and grazes on his forearm were mended shut and she started looking around for more wounds on his body, only to find it was covered in scars.
Exill shivered when her fingers grazed his chest. They were suddenly aware how intimate they were and blushed as one, hearts pounding together. “You need to tell me if you get hurt okay? Otherwise I’ll end up even more furious.” Luna tried to maintain an even tone as her fingers hovered over his chest.
Exill nodded in response, unable to trust his voice. Luna hesitated, before turning away from his bare form and back down the ladder.
“Good night” she whispered back.