"I have magic," Bernon volunteered. "Even though neither of my parents did. I can shapeshift and control water and stuff. It's too bad I can't heal, honestly….it's what I'd rather do, sometimes."
Brandon nodded thoughtfully. "Well….that's interesting. Makes me wonder how many people out there have dormant magic without knowing it." He sat forward and pulled a battered sketchbook out of the front pocket of his backpack, flipping it open. "Mind if I make a note of that? I like to keep a record of things I learn while I'm roaming around out here."
"Sure, why not, it's not like it's secret information or anything." Tanrial focused her attention back on Bernon, finishing up the last of his wounds, "I think that's every one of your wounds, Bernon, anything else you need healing?"
"Not at the moment," Bernon said, sitting forward and stretching cautiously. "Thanks, Tanrial, I feel much better now. Is anyone but me hungry? I could use a square meal right now. Do you have food, Brandon?"
"Yeah," Brandon replied, jotting down something in his notebook. "Don't mind if I eat with you, I'm starving."
"Sure, I'll have something small, I guess, thanks Bernon." She leaned back, shuffling and sitting next to him.
Bernon nodded. "Pass us the dried bread, Mike?"
Mike reluctantly did so, still watching Brandon warily. Bernon gave him a look that said 'be polite' and passed some of the bread to Tanrial along with some water from their supplies.
Brandon, for his part, seemed completely unimpressed by Mike's distrust. He pulled an ancient Ziploc bag out of his backpack and started absently munching on the jerky within, still flipping through his notebook. "Out of curiosity, are there any downsides or risks connected to your magic, Tanrial? Any medical problems or stuff like that?"
(lmaooo 'ancient' XDD)
Tanrial took a bite of the bread, resting one hand against her knee, "Well, if you use it too often and too much, it can become quite straining and tiring. Imagine running at full sprint none stop for a day and then collapsing. Depending on the person it could take days to recover the strength and energy."
(lol yep XD)
Brandon wrote that down as well. "Interesting. Makes sense, I guess, otherwise you'd be disobeying natural law. Is it the same for you, Bernon?"
"Yeah. More for me, actually, since I have less control over my magic than Tanrial does." Bernon tilted his head. "Why do you ask?"
"Well….long story short, I'm studying up on magic-users in case I have to treat one for a health complication someday. See, I'm a doctor. And if I can't do my job for anyone who asks, I'm not going to make it very far. Make sense?"
(I'm off to bed, seeya!)
(Bye!)
Tanrial nodded, "Fair enough. Well, if you have any other questions feel free to ask away. I've been brought up around magic my whole life so I'm pretty well versed… I think, anyway."
"Thanks, I'll keep you in mind."
Mike seemed to finally take an interest in the conversation. "Hold on, you're a doctor? What kind of doctor exactly?"
"How many kinds are there these days?" Brandon responded dryly. "I worked in a hospital for thirty years before I lost my job and had to hit the road. I can show you my license and degree if you want—not that most people seem to care about credentials anymore. And before you ask, I am not looking for long-term work unless I say I am. I'm waiting to find a nice peaceful community before I settle down anywhere. Clear?" His tone suggested that he was usually in far more demand than he wanted to be, and his posture had become slightly distrustful again, as if he expected them to try and stop him from leaving.
"If you're looking for a 'nice, peaceful community' we know one not too far from here," Tanrial nodded to Brandon, "We've been staying for a while, they've been helping us with some things and they're all pretty welcoming and nice. You could tag along with us if you want." She suggested, shrugging.
Brandon considered the idea. "Details, please?"
Bernon pointed to the northwest. "It's not much farther, just over these hills. It's a little fishing village by the edge of the lake. We know the people, they're really nice and I'll bet they'd appreciate–"
"Meh." Brandon held up his hand to stop Bernon there. "Thanks, but I'm actually headed in the opposite direction. Besides, I was never cut out for a life by a lake. Do you have any idea how cold the winters get up there? I'm a California kid, so that isn't my idea of a good retirement destination."
Bernon looked slightly disappointed and sat back. "Well…..it's your call, I guess."
"Exactly." The old doctor went back to eating. "And don't you forget it."
Bernon eyed him with the beginnings of a frown, then glanced at Tanrial. I'm gonna try to make the rain stop soon, he said telepathically. Call me judgmental, but this guy doesn't seem very fun to be around.
Tanrial looked from Brandon to Bernon with a slightly nod of her head, Honestly he's worse then Mike. Mike may be grumpy but he's not this level of grumpy.
Yeah, at least Mike keeps to himself when he's like this. Bernon turned back to their guest and made an effort to smile. "Well, I can understand if you feel unwilling to be pinned down. I bet people are always trying to get you to stick around, with your skillset."
"You have no idea, son." Brandon sat up and pointed his pencil at Bernon. "You're lucky I even mentioned I was a doctor in the first place. The amount of times I've had to leave a place in the middle of the night or even fight my way out….it's getting downright annoying. But these days, it's just part of the job." He eyed Tanrial. "Don't tell me you've never had anyone suddenly take an interest in you, once they know you can heal?"
"Nah it's happened, more recently then you would have thought," She shrugged, "We had a bit of trouble with some bandits, if they hadn't said they needed a medic then Mike and I would have been dead."
Brandon's expression turned more serious. "And then they let you go? That doesn't sound very in-character for a bunch of bandits."
"They didn't let us go," Mike said. "We only just managed to escape, and it's probably thanks to the weather that they're not hot on our heels right now. When it stops raining, I wouldn't advise sticking around for long."
"No kidding." Brandon glanced outside uneasily. "….You know, maybe it would actually be smarter for me to move out during the storm, hey? Might be able to avoid some unwanted attention that way, don't you think?"
Tanrial sighed, thinking about it for a moment, "I mean it's a fair comment. But you know, it would be better if we could see twenty meters in front of us rather then five but please, feel free to head out in the rain and trip over a log or something."
Brandon bridled slightly at her words, but didn't seem too fazed. "Yeah? You think an old geezer like me can't handle a little rain? I'd rather get soaked than snared by a bunch of cutthroats." Packing away his things, he got back to his feet and went to the entrance of the cave. "Looks like it's easing up already. You kids have fun with your fancy spells." He waved once, then trekked off into the mist.
(I gtg early tonight, seeya later ^^)
Tanrial snorted, “Sure, see you never.” She mumbled, watching him go before turning back to the other two, “Well, he was just a right old bundle of laughs, wasn’t he?”
(Okie dokie, seeya soon)
"I mean…..he didn't seem like he meant any harm," Bernon said in an attempt to be fair. "But yeah, he was pretty….abrasive, wasn't he?"
Mike went to look outside. "Well, he was right about one thing. The storm's starting to move on. We'd better do the same as soon as we're all ready and able to. Tanrial, did healing Bernon take much energy out of you, or are you still up for a hike?"
"Pft, I'll be fine, don't worry about me," Tanrial smiled, though it was obvious there was a hint of exhaustion behind it, "I'm always up for a hike."
"Same here," Bernon agreed, even though he was obviously doing a little fibbing as well. "We're pretty close to the village, right? I just want to get back there safely before anything else crazy happens."
Mike studied both of them dryly for a minute, then sighed and shook his head. "If you guys really think you're ready, then fine. Let's go. But if either of you need to rest again, we rest. Deal?"
Tanrial held her hands up in a surrender, “Fine, if you say so. Let’s just get back in one piece and try not to get captured by bandits again.”
The other two nodded firmly, and Mike ducked out of the cave to lead them uphill through the thinning mist.
The peak of the hill was only a few yards above them, as it turned out, and soon they were overlooking the far slope, as well as the vast lake beyond. As they walked, the rain slowly petered out, and the sun even managed to peek through the clouds once in a while. Mike didn't let them go back to the path until they were far from the cave, but once they did the going became much easier. Mike kept them at a slow pace, probably making sure that Bernon and Tanrial didn't wear themselves out too quickly, but they were still able to cover a lot of ground by mid-afternoon.
Eventually, Mike broke the silence. "How's everyone doing? Need to take a breather yet?"
Tanrial shook her head, through she did seem a little out of breath but refused to acknowledge it, "No, I'm all right, what about you Bernon?"
Bernon tried to grin but it looked more like a grimace. "Doing good! I could keep this up for….for….uh, how are you doing, Mike?"
Mike slowed to a halt with a snort. "You two clowns. Come on, let's just step off the path for a minute, it won't kill us. Tanrial, are you sure you're all right? You used up a lot of magic there, and we've had a long day. You can tell us if something's off, you know."
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