Mara taught me how to put her weapon belt on, and helped me clean the rest of the blood off it so it wouldn’t attract monsters while I was in the dungeon. She was moving fine, smiling more than I had ever seen her smile, and even just being near her made me feel warm somehow.
“Mara… Are you really alright? I mean, when you fought the Ghoul it broke your leg in three places, and right after that you carried me around… and after that, you had to go monster hunting… How bad did the wolves hurt you when you came to find me?”
She rubbed my head. “Don’t worry about any of that, those were just scratches. I’m in top shape see.” She flexed her arms, showing off her biceps and large shoulders.
“Mara… seriously. I want to know.”
Her eyes stayed locked on mine, but I could tell they wanted to trail away. “None of that was your fault… You know that right?”
“I… I know… But still, can you please just tell me?”
She sighed, walking over to the bed and sitting down. “I may have cheated a bit…” She said with an ashamed look in her eye as she showed me her leg, sliding her pants down to her knees.
Her thigh was heavily bruised down her entire femur where the three breaks took place, but around it were three glowing circles and several thread-like needles. Her other leg was heavily bandaged from what I could assume were bite marks, and as she moved her shirt I could see her left shoulder was the same.
“When… I heard you ran away… I told Catherine to use magic to fix my leg. It’s still healing, but her magic lets me walk around… Although, I guess I really shouldn’t be. Only two of the twelve wolves managed to actually land a hit on me… But they were dire wolves so…”
I could tell it was hard for her to talk about her own injuries. She looked almost embarrassed, ashamed even, like she had let me down somehow. “So they got you good…” I muttered. ‘I guess not even she can withstand their claws… but like… 12? She fought 12 at the same time?’ The air felt heavy as we both paused. “But, you ARE fine right?”
She pulled her shirt back over her shoulder and hid her wounds under her clothes again, clearing her throat. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Still have all my fingers and my toes.”
My feet moved closer to her on their own. Part of me wanted to give her a hug, while the other part was holding me back, so in the end I just froze still.
She swept my hair behind my ear. “Do you have everything you need now?”
I cleared my throat as well, deciding to just stay where I was. “Y-yea. Now all that’s left is to wait for my bow to get finished.”
She smiled softly again. “That’s great, so you’re free then?”
I hesitated to answer. “Yeah…”
“Ok, then come here.” She pulled me over to a chair in the corner of the room and sat me down.
“What’s going on?”
“Eyes front.” She said with a smile.
My old habits kicked in and I defaulted to militarily following her words like orders, sitting up straight out of reflex. As my eyes focused through my jaw dropped. I was sitting right in front of a giant mirror. “Is that me?”
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My hair was burnt orange. It was still relatively dark, especially compared to Mara’s gold and white locks. Compared to the muddy color I was used to though, it was several shades lighter. It was my first time seeing it since Mara had washed it for me, and I wasn’t disappointed. I hesitated to call it beautiful since it was mine but it didn’t look bad anymore that was for sure, even if it was a bit messy.
“I told you you were beautiful.” The words passed right by me as I stared blankly at the mirror, raising my hand to my face to make sure.
‘Hard to believe I’m a ginger like Air.’ My hair wasn’t fiery red like the guys, or white like Mara and Lu. Instead, it was a dark burnt orange with a red tint. It was closer to red than brown, so it wasn’t like it was unbelievable that I had the same genes, but it was more comforting than I thought it would be to show a bit of true resemblance with the streak of white in my hair.
I grabbed the stand and gently wrapped it around my finger. It was on the same side that was cut short during my first real fight with the ghoule. It didn’t look that bad though. I wasn’t sure if it actually looked cool or not, but I thought it did. Pulling it out I compared it more closely to Mara’s. ‘It’s even whiter than hers, so that means it must look almost the same as Lu’s hair.’
She let out a sigh with a faint smile. “I know your eyes are pretty dazzling, being silver and all but try not to get lost in them.” She said jokingly, finally snapping me out of the strange trance I had put myself in.
“R-right, sorry,” I said quickly before fully comprehending the past few things she had said. When I retraced them and finally realized, it was too embarrassing to keep my eyes up, much less looking at either of our reflections.
“Ok.” She cheered, clapping her hands together with a wide grin. “I’m going to do your hair,” Before I knew it she was getting to work with a comb
“Is that really necessary?” I still remember how sore my scalp was after Finlo tied it up for me, and I was already used to fighting with it the way it was.
She smiled even brighter. “Of course… For… The magic circulation… and stuff.”
I felt a smile start to cross my face too, suddenly not minding the idea so much. “Yeah ok, sure.”
She chuckled as her eyes laser-focused on her new mission. Even if I was a bit hesitant at first, my hair was so soft that it didn’t hurt at all, even though it had been days since she washed it. ‘I guess that’s just the difference between 14 years of dirt and a couple days of dirt.’
Seconds had passed, but she had already put in several braids through my hair, pulling back and covering the hair that had been cut short, braiding it together with several lines that went down from my neck to my hips.
“One braid from the temple, over the ear, and down the full length of the hair. We call it the warriors braid. It symbolizes strength, perseverance, and a silent prayer for victory.”
I watched carefully as her expert fingers continued to move through my hair in perfect swift motions. ‘Just how many times has she practiced doing this?’
“One braid beside it from your neck to the end of your hair for each family member you fight with. That’s a prayer to keep them safe.”
“Three braids, side by side, starting behind the right ear on the right side. Then braid them together past the neck. This means that you are unbreakable, and it’s a prayer that you will never be broken…”
Her eyes started to look sad as she focused even harder, and I began to get the feeling that she wasn’t just “Doing my hair.” She hid it well… But if I didn’t know any better, I would have said she looked like she was about to cry, which was a pretty drastic and sudden change, to say the least. I didn’t understand the significance of what she was doing, but I could feel it.
“Two interlocking braids starting just above the ears and joining together behind the head to show that have cheated death more than once, and a prayer that you will do it again if you have to.”
With each knot she tied and braid she weaved, I felt as though I could almost feel her energy entering my body, giving me strength.
“Finally… Seven little braids, put together with unbraided hair in a ponytail above the bump on the skull. A prayer for you to be wise, show courage, have integrity, live with discipline, be resilient, remain faithful, and never give up. Brought together, they symbolize…”
She paused just as she finished as if she had lost the ability to speak. Then, clearing her throat, she just skipped over part of it. “It’s a silent prayer that you’ll come home safe so that you can give this back to me…”
Through the mirror, I could see a long beautiful hair tie. It was made from the gold thread the color of her hair tips, along it were silver chimes resembling bear totems, and at the center, a full moon that glistened with a pale white glow.
She slowly swallowed, giving me a moment to see it before she intricately wound it into my hair, tying the seven smaller braids together.
With a deep breath, she grabbed my shoulders, staring into my eyes through the mirror. “So, what do you think?”
I took my eyes off her, finally looking at myself again. ‘It looks cool.’ I stopped myself from saying that though, it felt like it would somehow ruin the moment. She still looked like she was about to cry, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was missing something.
I lifted a hand up to hers and turned to look at her directly. “Honestly… It’s still a little hard to believe it’s me.”
She laughed, finally starting to look a bit less sad. “Not in a bad way though right?”
I shook my head, enjoying the strange feeling of how my hair shook differently. “No way. It’s awesome…” I reached my hand up to the ornament she had given me. It somehow perfectly reflected both of us at the same time. “I’ll make sure to bring this back don’t worry. I won't lose it.” ‘It’s kind of crazy though… That she would give me a moon ornament.’
She raised her eyebrows as if asking if I had seriously missed what she was trying to say, but then let out another laugh, squeezing my shoulders tightly and making me squirm. “You better not, you hear me.”
Her grip quickly loosened and she hugged me from behind. “Just come home safe ok?”
‘Bring it back…’ Suddenly her words clicked. I still felt like I was missing most of the significance of what she just did, but that was the moment I at least started to understand.