"Hmm."

The glow of Ti'pahn's hand brightened as he curved his warm palm more tightly against the side of her head. She took the deepest of breaths, thought of the best way to go about this, and ignored all the staring eyes. Russe, one of the lower ranked healers, and the two officers who brought the missive from Suraryl stood watching at the end of her bed. The two officers were eager to see her gone in order to fulfill the completion of their task and be on their way home, and Russe, though kinder in his more recent visits to her room of curtains, appeared just as ready to send her on her way. Herself and Ti'pahn, however, plotted against them. Her new friend desired to give her as much time as possible at the healing ward, which is why he flashed the briefest of winks when the time was right. She curled and heaved as if struck by a boulder to her stomach, and all but Russe took a step backward as her mock sounds continued. A nauseated patient earlier in the morning provided a good study of appropriate retching noises. She held her breath to flush her face, recalled the disgusting smells from that earlier patient, and only let up when Ti'pahn placed a hand on her back to signal for her not to overdo it.

"She is especially susceptible to the magical infusion sickness, which is halting her progress. I'd say she could still be released today, yet she needs a little more time. A few hours. Perhaps closer to dinner." Ti'pahn spoke with an impressive mix of worry, confidence, and pleading.

"She didn't have this problem yesterday." the officer on the left with copper colored hair pointed out.

"It was while she was unconscious that you saw the work being performed. We did not understand her susceptibility then for the obvious reason of her being too far under due to her injury."

"I apologize for the inconvenience my assistant has placed upon you," Russe addressed the officer, "Yet he is accurate in his work. Our healing ward needs to maintain its duty to the Justiciar by doing all we can for our patients, and I don't believe he'll be pleased if we release a patient only to have her drop minutes after she is sent out. If Ti'pahn says it will be just a few more hours, then a few more hours is all it will take. I implore you to grant us that much more of your patience."

"Have your kitchen workers cook us actual fresh fish today. Not those slimy creatures we had yesterday. We'll be dining in your office." the other officer, the one with short, buzzed brown hair and a long, rugged face, demanded.

"Of course. I'll have them prepare your meal right away." Russe acquiesced without hesitation.

The copper haired officer nodded while his companion grunted stiffly. However, they stepped outside of the room as Ti'pahn offered her a meaningless whiff of his handy pouch of medicinal spices. The other healer trailed their heels with Russe prepped to follow, but not before leaving the two of them with a strange mixed stare of disapproval and pride. She barely dared to breathe, and Ti'pahn said nothing until the soft 'click' signaled the closing of the door.

"He knew we were faking, didn't he?" she whispered impossibly quiet.

"Completely. That he caught it though is the reason why he's the head healer and those officers come grumbling to us each time they get a bruise." Ti'pahn grinned mischievously.

"I'm glad he didn't tattle on us."

"I'm telling you, he's kinder than he seems. Besides, he kept his mouth shut for his benefit as well. If he called us out on our lie, they would punish him for employing such a liar just as much as they would punish us."

"Your Justiciar is as terrifying as he is useful."

Her hand brushed the worn leather book on top of her small stack on the side table. The Justiciar. Darshal's god. Concerned with rules, laws, and punishing those who broke them, she understood that the act she and Ti'pahn just put on could have gotten them in serious trouble. Lying to officers from the capital to halt the enforcement a royal order...according to the book of laws underneath the tale of the Justiciar that would put them in jail as many days as the current king had years on his life.

"I would not say he is mine. I much prefer the gentler word of The Holy Whisper, but as you either worship The Justiciar or no gods at all in this country, I'll stick to worshipping none." Ti'pahn spoke bitterly.

"I get the feeling from all you've said that you would have been much happier having been born in the north." she teased with a friendly smile.

"I did not mind Darshal. Then Lu'mata had to tempt the king with supplies and money to support his latent thirst for total power. Our army attacking and stealing land from Ki'mon, our own ally, was bad enough. Now this ridiculous war with Mescaria...no matter how much Lu'mata sends Darshal it will never be enough. The fighting will go on for years, Lu'mata will give up on their plan to control more through us, and we can only hope Mescaria is kind enough to know the people wanted nothing of the insane grab for dominance."

Ti'pahn laughed as she double-checked the world map in the third book down.

"Lu'mata is the largest northern country on the continent of Dvagna, the one south of Emtaphala, where us southerners here originate."

"How am I supposed to learn if you keep telling me everything before I can confirm my own knowledge?" she continued to tease.

"My apologies," Ti'pahn mock bowed, "I only tell you now because I must depart. Russe will grow even more irate than he already is if I am not the one there to bear the brunt of the officers' complaints."

"And the next time I see you?" she prompted in worry.

"The next time you see me I will be bringing you lunch and your provisional paperwork for citizenship. They will want me to take care of that before your release. It is the time after that when I must walk you out the door." Ti'pahn explained solemnly.

"Don't wear that look. I owe you everything. Perhaps it will be that I am utterly useless when on my own, but until that becomes truth I will have the confidence that you see in me."

Her companion smiled as his eyes turned misty, and he grandly embraced her.

"Get some rest or do a bit more reading. I'll be back in a short while."

One more quick squeeze and a ruffling of the child's hair later, Ti'pahn walked off. She picked up the book about spirits, those who used to be human but gave up the majority of their years in exchange for massive amounts of power, before picking up the child instead. He'd sat there quietly watching everything curiously, and she'd rather a moment with him in their temporary peace than with faded words on a page.

"How are you feeling about this? Think we'll be fine?"

A wide smile took over his face as his arms flapped in excitement. Despite nerves and dread pinching every inch of her body, she dared to hope in the impossible. She wasn't afraid to work hard. If grueling manual labor was what she had to do to survive, that would simply have to be how things went. Ti'pahn suspected someone had actually been in the middle of kidnapping her and the child given the strange circumstances in which he found them. A missing persons report had to turn up sooner rather than later. Then she would know where they belonged.

"I think so too."

Holding him closer, he snuggled intently against her shoulder and neck as he was prone to do. She allowed her last words to sink into her core to bolster her shaky faith before shuffling deeper into her sheets. The old man had fallen asleep not too long ago. It wouldn't be long before his snoring dominated the room, so if she wanted rest she would have to steal it now. Sleep, thankfully, didn't prove difficult to find. Her head did still ache even though the healers, save Ti'pahn, would count her healthy enough to depart. In deep dreams and a gentle, cool darkness she floated until a moment later Ti'pahn guided her back to the world of color and sound. The slow fading of the sun from its high peak signaled it'd been a full hour.

"My apologies, Russe made me go to the market to get the fish," he explained, setting down her own plate of plain rice, weakly sauced beef, and a slice of bread while the child woke from his own slumber with a gaping yawn, "I managed to grab you a better meal today. And, of course, I also have these."

In her lap he softly placed two sturdy yet small folding leather holders.

"These are our paperwork?" she questioned, picking up the first.

"Yes. Until your true identities and origins come to light, these will give you permission to live, work, and what-have-you in Darshal provided your actions stay within the confines of the law. Should your proper home be somewhere other than here, the retainment of any property or legal bindings you've accrued will be discussed at that time. However, for right now...why don't you open them to see the names?"

Hesitating briefly, her lightly shaking fingers flipped the flap to reveal the identification she held was hers. Her eyes took in the words, her mind struggled for a moment, and she slowly opened and read the other.

"Lydie Dvanda. Kenth Dvanda." she spoke quietly.

"I will admit, it was somewhat nerve-wracking...you telling me to choose for you," Ti'pahn smiled a timid smile, "I thought about it quite a lot. Lydie...she was the sister I didn't get to have. She came too early and didn't live more than a minute. Mother named her even though they told her not to. She'd be about your age if she'd made it. Kenth, he was a good friend of mine who died in the assault on Ki'mon. Dvanda is a common surname. It is also used for those with unknown origins or identities. I-If there's something you don't like, there's plenty of time for me to change them. Just tell me. I won't be insulted. I-"

"They're beautiful, Ti'pahn," she ceased his steadily intensifying rambling with a kind look, "I'm honored you picked such dear names, and I feel more real than I did a moment ago. We'll try to serve them well. Thank you."

"You're welcome," he beamed sheepishly before holding out his hand for her to shake with a twinkle in his eye, "And may I just say, it is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Lydie Dvanda."

She giggled, taking his hand.

"The pleasure's mine, Mr. Ti'pahn Arden."