Illnyea didn't know what to make of Kavil McCue as she sat cross-legged in front of him, blowing a lock of hair out of her face. Blood and mud stained his dark skin and coily hair, but it didn't seem to bother him as he pulled out a pouch and glanced in it, a slight frown on his face. She sat with her back facing the nearest brazier, so she cast his face in shadows as he was deep in thought.

The only things that Illnyea knew about him was that Kavil was a genius healer that had somehow become Priscilla's savior, and he had been traveling with Priscilla and Sulaiman long enough that he was willing to risk his life for the two of them.

This boy had entered the lives of two of the people Illnyea cared about most in the world and earned their trust, and Illnyea wanted to know just how he did that – neither Sulaiman or Priscilla were people prone to letting down their walls with strangers. Sulaiman had even allowed Kavil to touch him, which was huge because outside of a sparring session, Illnyea didn't think anyone besides her had done so.

"Give me whatever hand hurts the least," Kavil said, holding his palm upwards, "and I can get this examination started."

"Is it really that easy?" Illnyea asked, holding out her hand after only a brief hesitation. She twisted her hand so that the strange lightning scars weren't visible because she didn't want to call attention to them. Her mind tried to drift back to thoughts of her fractured savior, but Illnyea pushed it away so it didn't distract her.

Kavil's frown melted into a gentle smile, revealing a pair of dimples in his full cheeks.

"It is if you know what you're doing," Kavil said as a gentle white light began to surround their hands. "Of course, it's easier to heal when I'm touching the body part directly, but examinations only need skin contact. Okay, I'm getting started, so stay still for a bit please."

As Kavil's magic lapped at Illnyea's fingertips, she could feel her magic try to resist the foreign intrusion, not ready to allow itself to become unbalanced so soon after it had just become stabilized. Though it was unyielding and persistent, Kavil's magic was gentle, nothing like the overwhelming wave that had burst from the cannibal earlier.

Illnyea forced herself to relax and told her magic to stand down.

She may not know Kavil well, but he had her sister and her best friend's trust, so that would be good enough for Illnyea.

Her body felt strangely tingly as Illnyea tracked Kavil's magic working through her, though not unpleasantly so, like fizzing bubbles from the specialty drink served at Meadowyar's harvest festival at the booth from Chenor. There was also an odd feeling of familiarity, though Illnyea couldn't quite put her finger on why. Illnyea hadn't ever been hurt so badly she needed healing magic, so she chalked up the feeling to her still malfunctioning brain.

"When did you hurt your head?" Kavil asked. The smile was gone now, replaced by a serious expression as he stared at her.

"Uh," Illnyea said, furrowing her brows as she tried to recall. Time was still fuzzy in her mind, and though Illnyea was ashamed of the story, she knew that it'd be stupid to keep things from the healer just because of her own pride. (She stubbornly told herself that since the scars on her arm didn't hurt anymore, she didn't need to mention them.)

"I have no idea," Illnyea confessed. "I was thrown from my horse when she spooked when the cannibals attacked the caravan after traveling for a few days in the fens, and my hands were bound, so I hit the ground pretty hard. I haven't really been able to keep track of time since then."

Kavil's lips were pressed together unhappily but he reached out his hand to brush against her temples. "Sounds like that's where I should get started then. Close your eyes please."

She closed her eyes as instructed.

Illnyea didn't know what Kavil was doing in her brain as the fizzy feeling swirled around in there, but soon, the persistent headache that had plagued her relentlessly faded away like it had never existed.

She let out a sigh of relief, so, so glad to finally be able to exist without every other second bringing forth a new wave of pain.

"Are you alright?" Kavil asked, sounding worried.

Illnyea opened her eyes, smiling so wide it stretched her cheeks in a way that'd leave her sore, but she didn't care.

"It's been so long since my head stopped hurting," Illnyea said, "so thank you Mr. Genius Healer."

That earned her a full smile from Kavil and a chuckle as tension relaxed from his shoulders.

"You're welcome," Kavil said, "but there's still a lot of work to do, so I haven't earned that genius title just yet."

Kavil continued healing her, fixing up places Illnyea hadn't even realized hurt until they stopped hurting, but soon the only thing that remained to be healed was her shield arm, which throbbed dully when Illnyea remembered it existed.

Kavil was glaring at it like it offended him.

"I'd like to get the shield off first before I attempt to heal you, so I don't end up fusing the metal to your arm permanently," Kavil said, sounding regretful and frustrated in equal measures, "but I don't think that's going to happen until we get back to Adais' Lament. I can give you some painkillers until then."

"You've done plenty already," Illnyea said, "though I won't say no to the painkillers before I go to sleep." She felt so much lighter now that most of her pain was gone, like she had shed all her burdens and could fly free like a bird.

Kavil was good in Illnyea's book, she suddenly decided, and Illnyea was going to befriend him, no matter what it took. It seemed Kavil was going to be sticking around and it'd be far more fun traveling with friends than a stranger.

"I can't wait to get this stupid thing off my arm," Illnyea said, sighing at the thought as she leaned back on her good arm, "and finally take a bath. I swear I've grown a second skin made entirely of mud and my hair's going to be permanently dyed brown."

"I've only been in the fens for a day and a half," Kavil said, his smile crinkling his eyes charmingly, "but I couldn't agree more. I went to a Grazdan hot spring with Sulaiman and I can't stop daydreaming about soaking in the water again."

Illnyea blinked in surprise.

Sulaiman had visited Grazda? He didn't like traveling, claiming it was, 'Overly costly and tiring for no substantial gain.' That was Sulaiman speak for 'I hate people looking at me,' so Illnyea had never pushed him too hard, limiting their excursions to towns nearby Meadowyar.

Ilnyea had only been gone for like a month, had Sulaiman changed so much since then?

"When did you do that?" Illnyea asked, leaning forward in interest.

"We stopped by there on our way back to Meadowyar last week," Kavil said. "It was on our way, and Priscilla insisted we try it out before we left."

Illnyea glanced towards where Priscilla and Sulaiman were handing out food to the former prisoners, the two of them moving in surprising sync. Sulaiman hadn't even liked acknowledging that Illnyea had a sister before she left, and Priscilla rarely talked to anyone she didn't have to.

It seemed the three of them had quite the adventure, Illnyea thought, for the two of them to change that much.

Illnyea bit lip and looked at Kavil hesitantly, who was also looking at the pair with a fond expression.

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"Will you tell me about Grazda later?" Illnyea asked, drawing Kavil's attention back to her. "And about how you ended up being Priscilla's savior?"

Kavil smiled easily, Illnyea noted, like it was second-nature for his face to twist into a happy expression. It was a nice smile and Illnyea could see how it had charmed the Sulaiman and Priscilla.

"I will and you can tell me about some of the adventures you've gotten up to," Kavil promised, patting Illnyea's knee. "But for now, though, I should probably get started on healing Priscilla – I swear that she and Sulaiman are some of the worst patients I've ever had to deal with."

"They are some of the most stubborn people I know," Illnyea chuckled.

Kavil sighed in mock despair as he stood, though it was undercut by the smile that refused to leave.

He reached out a hand to pull Illnyea to her feet and she took it gladly. Kavil's grip was steady, though his hands had far fewer callouses than hers. Not a swordsman then, perhaps just a healer and an archer.

"Priscilla!" Illnyea called, causing her sister's head to immediately snap towards her. But the tension that had filled Priscilla's body relaxed when she met Illnyea's eyes. Something warm settled within Illnyea at that reaction, making her smile grow even wider.

"It's your turn," Illnyea said, tilting her head towards Kavil, whose smile had gained an undercurrent of steel, promising to drag Priscilla over here if she didn't get her happy butt moving.

Priscilla sighed so heavily Illnyea could see it from the way her shoulders slumped before reluctantly walking over.

…

"You were walking around with two pairs of broken ribs, bending over and lifting things like you were fine," Kavil hissed disbelievingly as he pressed his hands against Priscilla's stomach, which had been freed from her armor at Kavil's request. "You're lucky you didn't puncture a lung or, or stab your liver! You are a terrible patient, Priscilla, even worse than Sulaiman! At least he had the sense to get healed before trying to help others."

Priscilla resented her new position on Kavil's list but she didn't have any comebacks because it was, unfortunately, true.

"The Raven chick hit me in the bicep with a dart," Priscilla said, wanting to confess before he found out later and the lecture became even worse, "and it made me go numb where it struck. It hasn't spread that far, though I can't really feel my fingers or shoulder."

Kavil closed his eyes, briefly leaning his head upon Priscilla's shoulder as he muttered, "Sweet Gaelea, grant me patience."

Then Kavil straightened, momentarily pausing the soothing healing to rummage through his herb pouch.

"Open up," Kavil said, bringing out a small blue flower and holding it in front of Priscilla's mouth. She hesitated before opening her mouth obligingly and Kavil shoved it in, fingers brushing against her lips. Priscilla chewed it unhappily as it left a bitter floral taste on her tongue.

"That's a general antidote," Kavil said as he tucked away the bag, "as I don't think I'll have much magic left over after I fix up your ribs when I don't know what type of poison it is."

"I know where the dart landed," Priscilla said. "I can go find it for you to study later."

Kavil paused as he rested his hand against her stomach, staring at the ground next to them like it was fascinating.

"Alright," Kavil said, just before Priscilla broke the silence that had descended upon them. Kavil suddenly looked up, his expression fiercely determined. "But before you do anything else, I'm healing your ribs and you are going to be quiet so you don't jostle them out of place."

Priscilla allowed Kavil a few minutes of focused healing before promptly disregarding his warning.

"You had a real good shot out with the crossbow earlier," Priscilla said. "Even if the newt hadn't stepped in, we probably would have had her with that alone."

Kavil glanced at Priscilla in disapproval as he shushed her.

Priscilla smiled, feeling good as Kavil's magic soothed parts of her soul he probably didn't even realize was sore from the near magical overload. It was like putting aloe vera over sunburnt skin, so very cool and relaxing in a way that made Priscilla's eyelids heavy.

She let Kavil have another minute of quiet before the antsy energy returned to combat the sleepiness.

"I saw that you helped take out Beowulf too," Priscilla said, pride curling within her. "I bet he never even saw you coming." She was a little disappointed she didn't get to punch Beowulf, but Priscilla delighted in the irony of Kavil, the man that Beowulf deemed useless, being the one who brought down the Wolf in the end.

Kavil's glance was more of a glare this time.

"What part of not talking do you not understand?" Kavil asked, clearly exasperated.

"Everything," Priscilla said easily. "I mean, we've got to celebrate being alive after all the shit we went through and I'm choosing to celebrate by babbling to my savior, is that really so bad?"

Priscilla batted her eyelashes up at Kavil, who looked like he was trying his best to be unimpressed, but she saw how the corner of his mouth twitched upwards. That was good as permission to keep being her charming self, and so Priscilla kept up a steady stream of chatter, commenting on everything – from how big the newt had been, to the way their strategy against The Starving One worked so perfectly, to wondering if they could catch a Carnifex Crab to roast on the way back. If Kavil really needed her quiet, Priscilla was sure he'd stop her, but all he did was roll his eyes and try to keep a straight face.

"Illnyea is the only good patient out of all of you," Kavil said, throwing his hands up in the air after five more minutes of Priscilla's babbling.

Priscilla opened her mouth to object before thinking, yeah, that tracks.

"Does that mean I'm all good, doc?" Priscilla asked. Her ribs didn't hurt anymore, which was a good sign, but she wanted to double check before doing anything that might make Kavil scold her.

"I need to have another session in the morning to strengthen the bones but you're good enough to sleep and walk around," Kavil said. He eyed Priscilla suspiciously. "Don't you dare think about doing anything more strenuous than that, everything's still fragile and if you fall wrong, it'll undo all my hard work."

"Aye-aye," Priscilla said, saluting Kavil. "I will make sure to not lose fights against gravity."

Kavil's sternness held out only for a moment later before he sighed with a reluctant half-smile, like he didn't know what to do with Priscilla. She gave him a wicked smile, reaching out to lace her fingers with his.

"Since my savior insists I can't do anything," Priscilla said, pulling him closer as she started to stand, "he ought to come with me and act as my hands and feet as there's more work to be done."

Kavil shook his head, but he shifted so they stood together, using each other's weight as a counterbalance.

"I suppose I walked into that one," Kavil said, his smile growing rueful but he didn't let go of her hand.

"Don't worry, you don't have to do all the work," Priscilla said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "I'm sure I can find some way to be useful despite all your restrictions, or I can just bully Sulaiman into helping if all else fails."

Kavil let out a huff of laughter as they made their way to where the former prisoners were resting. Priscilla and Sulaiman had pulled out what food they had stored earlier, which had been roughly a week's worth of dried food for three people plus a few extra rations for when they found Illnyea, and now he and Illnyea were now distributing food and water as equitably as they could.

Priscilla served as Kavil's faithful helper as he went one by one to each of the villagers because it gave her something to do that felt useful. He would kneel down to their level, offer his name and his hand while he asked for permission to touch them. Some were clearly wary, but no one actually denied him. Kavil briefly examined their bodies with magic before asking a few questions about their various injuries. After that, he fished herbs out of his pouch to give them, or asked Priscilla to fetch clean water and bandages. Luckily, they had packed extra water skins for Kavil's magic, so they had plenty to use for wounds as well as hydration.

Kavil took care to ask each of the prisoners their names and kept up a gentle flow of conversation as he tended to their wounds, his voice soothing and his genuineness breaking through even the iciest of exteriors.

In the moments of quiet in between one villager and the next, Priscilla had little to do but study Kavil's profile as he took a moment to breathe. His round, copper eyes were closed for a brief respite, blocking out the fire light from the braziers.

Though Kavil tried to hide it, Priscilla could tell he was exhausted.

It was in the way Kavil's shoulders slumped a little deeper every time he thought no one was looking and in the subtle exhalation of breath that left him before he pasted on another smile and introduced himself. Kavil had just healed several severe injuries with his magic back to back, exhausting it to the point that he was now rationing his reserves for brief examinations, and the strenuous healing had occurred after a long, tense day that started with a rude awakening from a pack of vicious birds and continued to be filled with fighting, healing the scrapes from said fighting, and threats of death before culminating in Kavil killing someone for the first time. The adrenaline was probably long gone, leaving a body and mind that had been pushed to the limits and then some.

Kavil hadn't complained once, which was admirable, but what else was Priscilla good for if she didn't ensure her friend didn't burn out.

"You two finished giving everyone food, Sulaiman?" Priscilla asked as Sulaiman set his pack down nearby, Illnyea a few steps behind. Kavil looked up, blinking a few times as he realized he had closed his eyes longer than he thought he had.

Sulaiman wiped sweat from his forehead but nodded.

"Then come help us with patching everyone up," Priscilla said, gesturing with her head towards the villagers who still needed help. "Many hands make light work, and you've been working on learning first aid, so you'll be more helpful than me."

Sulaiman glanced at Kavil, who had straightened in a way to imply he hadn't about to fall asleep sitting up, and then asked, "Where should I start?"

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