Light and the Night Sky

Iridessa

Daphne stepped around the fae that towered over her and knelt beside the female fae. “Your name?”

“Iridessa, what do they call you besides the silly name?” Iridessa had a sly smile, but amusement crossed her weary brown eyes.

“Daphne.” She took this moment to look over Iridessa, her body was muscular but not overwhelmingly so. It was still pale, and slightly clammy to the touch. There was evidence of damage from fighting on the skin that was visible but now was not the time to ask about that. “May I?” She motioned toward the woman’s arm.

“Yes.” Iridessa tensed unconsciously but allowed her to examine her.

Daphne looked gently reached forward and grabbed the fae by the hand and rotated it her palm up. Breathing deep she pushed a little of her energy into the fae’s arm, watching as a little tendril of darkness leached out of her skin. There were likely other layers that clung to the woman’s lines of energy like Hecate said. Following the cord of darkness, she was able to trace it back to the lungs.

If she looked closely, she could see the words that she did not yet understand, though vowed to study every chance that she could.

Most of the damage had been patched but it was a temporary fix if the rest of the darkness was not removed. After Iridessa was cleared of it, and the worst of the damage fixed she would likely quickly heal on her own.

Following another thread, she traced it up to Iridessa’s temple. It likely was the center of the darkness and if she was able to clear that the rest of the darkness would have nothing to spawn from. Focusing her eyes, Daphne realized she had likely been staring at her face with an intense look for far too long. A terrible habit of hers when she hyper focused on something. “Do you dream of… darkness?” She paused a moment to search for the word.

Iridessa’s eyes hardened before she nodded slightly.

Slowly, Daphne reached forward and tapped on the spot that was thick with darkness, whispering words that she wished she understood. “The center of the burn is here. End that, end the burn.” She shifted on her knees, allowing the fae time to take in the information before continuing the next step. It would be at least three more days until she would be healed, not that Daphne could adequately explain that with her limited language.

Did she know enough of the language now to get the rest safely? Tomorrow. She would ask tomorrow.

“How do you end the burn?” Iridessa cautiously asked.

Crap. How do explain that in simple words? Rocking on her toes, Daphne chewed on her bottom lip for a moment before she stood. She walked over to the small table and grabbed one of the glass cup and vase full of water. It was always in the same place, so it reminded her of a science experiment with a balloon and water.

“I will put light in you. It will hurt the burn. Not you.” She used the simplest terms she could. Holding up the cup as she spoke. “Your body is the cup. Your… uh” Realizing she didn’t know the name for soul too late, she reached forward and touched her chest with an open hand. “You are the water.”

Daphne poured the water into the cup and put a hand on the outside of the cup. With a gentle push of energy, she let a little light, heat, go to the cup. It was the same thing she would be doing to her body but without harming the fae. The cup slowly began to steam. She turned off the energy and touched the outside of the cup with her other hand. It was warm but not damaged. Pointing at the steam she spoke. “The burn.”

Iridessa stared at her, then the cup and the steam. Daphne watched as she turned over everything in her mind, slowly Iridessa reached forward and touched the cup. She then looked at her with curious eyes. “You.. push the burn out with your light?” She asked in an unsure tone.

It was close enough that a smile cracked her serious focus. “Yes! And more but I do not have the words yet.”

Slowly, Iridessa nodded. “Very well.” With a motion of her hand, she gave permission for Daphne to continue with treatment.

Turning to set down the glass, she was met with the curious amber eyes of Lirael. He grabbed the cup from her and smiled slightly. She had not heard anyone enter, let alone be so close to her. How long had he been watching from afar? He spoke in a soft voice, gently coaxed her to continue. “Please, continue. I cannot resist my curiosity.”

Nodding slowly, Daphne turned back to Iridessa. Tucking a lock of sandy red hair behind her ear, she bowed her head and focused on her work. She began on Iridessa’s wrist, slowly pushing and pulling. Each time she dislodged a thread of darkness; it would fade away into nothing. Whatever this was, it acted like it was alive, when disengaged from its host it died.

For at least an hour, Daphne continued this process. She would have continued but Daphne noticed the effect the treatment was having on Iridessa; she was leaning against the wall covered in sweat. The fae breathed quickly, and was now covered in a red hew. This was likely the burn trying to fight back, with the severity of her case it would likely be a hard fight to get the final foothold out.

Tracing over Iridessa’s central energy points, making sure they were protected, Daphne pulled out her energy slowly before sitting back. She had a surprising amount of energy left over, at least compared to yesterday. “For today, we are done.” The fae’s eyes snapped open, clearly confused with the human. Before she could panic, Daphne grabbed her hand. “Iridessa. You are sick. It takes time. So, food and water.” She emphasized the last part hoping she understands that what Daphne really needed was for Iridessa to have more strength.

Resigning, she nodded. “Yes.”