"Danna, do you think we can find them?" Sev asked, his voice full of hope and piety.
"I'm sure we will, Sephy. We'll find them," Deanna answered. She believed it; she could feel it was real, but nothing like hope—a bitter taste on her tongue.
As the afternoon quickly turned into evening, she let her thoughts wander to a dark and lonely future where they snuggled together for warmth; or, more accurately, they huddled together so she could keep Sev warm. Using her vitality to generate enough heat to keep him warm was good practice, one she would need anyway, once he was reunited with his loved ones and she would have to find somewhere else to start over.
Maybe she should get married? She still felt like she was too young and too wild. She has reached the right age, older than many new wives, but... what should she do with a man around? The only person she is close to is her father. There wasn't even a boy of her age in the tribe. She has no skills whatsoever in managing a household, even a humble one. She can only make bread and bake fish. She never knitted or sewed, or, well, what was a woman supposed to do? She spent too much time training with her father. Whenever she is with the women, the food is already prepared, the clothes are made or mended, the nets are tied, the fish are washed...
All she knew was to keep an eye on the children and not let them play "jump into the fire." "Who would want a wife like that?"
Maybe this is the wrong way to think about it. No, of course you're going the wrong way. "I come with the most generous dowry," she told the expressionless, shirtless man wearing a necklace and bracelet who came to propose. I know the secret arts of the great old men and I will teach them to our children. Look, I'm going to break this tree in half...
She just had to find them a home before she found out Seif had a family and she could start teaching him. He would be as powerful as her father. This sweet boy has a strong heart and a quiet heart, and his eyes never stop looking until they understand. He is special.
By God, he was warm! Even in the early night chill, she found herself sweating, which had never happened during the day. She must have been lost in fantasy and valued warmth too much, because they were toasty hot under the blanket.
She looked down at Sev and saw that he was making a face, his eyes wide open and his fists clenched tightly in front of his chest. The blow brought her back to full consciousness. "Seffy! What's wrong? Are you okay?"
She patted the blanket a few times, trying to get some air out and cool her down, but Sev barely responded. His skin was as healthy as ever, but he felt so hot that he wasn't sweating; just her. She kept the blankets on the whole way, hoping to cool him down as he might have a sudden fever.
Startled, he jumped out of her arms and dashed through the snow toward a tree. He stopped there, jumping from one foot to the other, waving his arms in agony. At first, she thought he needed to make water and had been holding it for too long, but then he turned around and squatted down, and she sighed.
He produces no soil; only a whimper of pain. He stood up, opened his mouth, and leaned against the tree with his hands, as if he was about to vomit, and all the worries Deanna had forgotten came back to him. "Seff! What's wrong!" she shouted, trying not to sound desperate.
She stood up and rushed towards him, but seeing him spinning and twitching, she made the situation worse by not helping him up. "What's going on, Sev? Tell me!"
"Something can't come out!" Sev shouted, almost wailing in despair. His legs and back stiffened, and he stared at the sky, trying to make himself cough. It flicked its tail with a force she had never seen before, as fast as a whistle. His face was twisted in pain.
Then she felt the energy drain away from him, just a little. It was a strange essence, not like hers and her father's. Unlike anyone else; she could barely tell it was there. It's like catching a glimpse of a color the eye never expected to see, whispering on the edge of perception. Is it some kind of elven power? Did the wolf scar accidentally leave some kind of strange magic in his body?
She tried to pull his energy right out, sucking it away with her will. Nothing happened. She gathered her thoughts and tried again, but nothing happened. It's impossible - she once killed a deer by sucking its blood directly. Her father beat her hard for trying, but she did it anyway.
She had to let it flow - that was all she could do. She suppressed her panic and tried to imagine what the passage would look like. Spirit, guide me, please guide me. Father, I need you.
She dropped to her knees and grabbed Seph's shoulders. "Where is it? Where is it inside you?"
"Ev 'ywheww!" he gasped. Tears were streaming down his face, but he couldn't muster enough breath to wail. He became very stiff.
She quickly carried him to the nearest blanket and let him lie on it. He wanted to curl up into a ball and she had to force him to stretch. He groaned in pain.
Calm down, Deanna. Calm down, Deanna. She pressed her thumb on Sev's lower abdomen, and Sev gasped in pain and trembled all over. She rubbed it and pulled her thumb away, and the spots turned a bright purple on his blue skin, so lifelike that they almost seemed to glow.
No, they're glowing. They were indeed glowing, faintly but clearly.
"The huwts! Dinah!" Sev wailed. He was shaking with nervousness, the heat pouring from him growing stronger.
The spots she pressed faded too quickly. His body fought against it, closing the passage to prevent it from being overwhelmed. They must be open and flowing, otherwise they will destroy or weaken him, like a fever, if it is too much.
"Sev, we have to do this! This is too bad! Just be strong, okay? Or you'll never see your parents again! Wolf Scar just saved your life, remember? So you have to be strong!" she insisted. She pushed the bottom of the groove open again, and again he squirmed pitifully, whimpering.
This time she didn't stop. She went to the next one, and the next one, working on his abdomen, but she quickly realized something was wrong. The acupuncture points that were supposed to keep the meridians flowing were doing nothing. They caused no pain, no reaction. Or has she forgotten where they all are? It's been a while...
She tried to remember, to empty her brain, to fight the panic and fill it with knowledge. It didn't work; it was still blank. Seph looked at her with despair. They shone silver, like cats in the dark, and shed tears. This was beyond her comprehension. Her father could have done that, but he was dead. She needs more time, more practice.
In the name of the gods, she didn't want to see him die or become crippled. not now. After so much happened. She wiped the tears of excitement from her eyes, then took his hand and said, "Sev, you have to try to breathe it out! Take a deep breath, as deep as you can, and try to breathe it out. Again and again." . You can do it! Come on, Sephy. Take a deep breath!”
"This huwts!" he screamed.
"I know! Take a deep breath! The bigger, the better!"
"Dina!" he wailed. His cry broke her heart.
"Try it!"
She watched the veins in his head swell and saw his pulse; his heart was beating so fast she could barely count it. He sniffed and a stream of blood dripped from his nose. She tried her best to feel what was going on inside him, to detect the strange energy burning inside him. She felt heat on her skin, but only the faintest whisper against her sharper senses. If it weren't for the other effects she saw before her, she might have thought it was her imagination.
He took a hasty breath, but managed to take a deep breath. He puffed out his belly, stretched his elbows out to his sides, pursed his lips, and blew like a candle. His little lungs emptied too quickly. He closed his eyes and whimpered in pain.
"Slow down, Seffy. You have to do it slower. Imagine you have so many weird things being blown out every time. It will follow your thoughts, but you have to focus. Come on. Please. Please do it Just do it,” she said. Her voice was trembling, and she knew she was about to lose her composure. She didn't dare cry. She didn't dare.
Sev took another breath, slower this time, puffing out his chest and belly. He held back and raised his eyes to look at her.
She met his gaze calmly. Reassuringly. She nodded.
A bright red light appeared in his right eye, and he howled, covering his eyes with both hands. He was kicking and rolling wildly, screaming and gasping for air. "It's coming out of my eye!" he finally shouted.
"Seff!" Deanna shouted in horror. Her mind was filled with blindness and lightning. "Seff!"
She tried to pull his hands away from his eyes, but he twisted and struggled and screamed, a piercing sound that hurt her ears. She fought back harder. She pushed him to the ground, sat on his lap, and took one small hand away, just in time to see blood squeezing out from between the fingers of the other hand.
"Seff!" She screamed again and pulled his hand away with all her strength. Half of his face was covered with blood and his eyes were shining red. She gasped and said; "It's gone! There's nothing there." Leave only a big hole, no eyelids, and no...
No, that's wrong. Seph jerked violently, and some blood dripped down, exposing his eyelashes. She pressed his arms to her chest and carefully wiped the blood from his eyes. He kept screaming, his voice harsher and more desperate; but she could feel his eyes. It's still there.
Was he hurt? Was magic bursting from his body, ripping his skin? She wiped away the growing blood, but found no wounds underneath to explain what had happened.
"Sev, open your eyes. Look at me!" she said firmly. She didn't know if it was wise to do so; she still couldn't think.
He shook his head and clenched his hands tighter. She took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and put her thumb under his eyebrow. Blood made his skin sticky. She hugged him tightly and forced his eyes open.
Sev's eyelids opened, and a dazzling light shot out of his eyes and shot straight into the sky. He missed her head, but he didn't look at her. The boy looked up at the sky. A pure light, brighter than any lantern, emerged from his open right eye and stretched high into the sky before disappearing into the darkness.
They both looked up at it in wonder. Although the light disappeared every time he blinked, it never faded or weakened
