'I don't think I've ever met such a vibrant person before... Until now that is.'
With a smile, Dinah answered, "You know what, sure, why not. I'd gladly join." Dinah shook the exuberant hand of the Goddess of Cures whose smile actually brightened even more.
"Excellent. Simply excellent." Panacea took back her hand, but she left it hovering. "Ummm, can I, you know?", she asked while looking at Conner and back at her with pleading eyes.
"Yes, you can hold him.", Dinah agreed while she playfully rolled her eyes.
"Ahh ahh gahh.", Conner exclaimed excitedly.
Dinah gently handed her baby bird to Panacea, and with obvious practiced and experienced hands, she was rocking Conner back and forth and continued feeding him the bottle of milk. After a few minutes, Conner looked like he was done.
Panacea gave Dinah back the bottle and she quickly stored it back into her bag. Panacea was gently burping Conner, and afterwards, she gently dabbed and wiped off his face with the sleeve of her sundress.
"Thanks for that.", Dinah told her gratefully.
"Don't mention it, Ms. Songbird. You have a very well behaved son."
Panacea gently rocked him back and forth, and then as if by magic, her son slumbered once more.
"You're very good at that.", Dinah commented with obvious praise. 'I'm both impressed and jealous.'
"Nah, I just finished the feeding and burping. You sang to him and began the feeding yourself. You're a very good mom. I can tell.", Panacea rebuttaled with a shake of her head. "And besides, I've had practice taking care of 2 dozen kids. Experience helps. Trust me, Songbird."
Hearing that shocked her and Panacea saw the shock on her face before she could school her features.
Panacea winked at her playfully and then said, "Don't try to school your features on me now. We're bonding here Songbird, so don't. I helped raise 24 kids, so don't you think you can escape from my experienced eyes."
*Sigh* "Ha, that's true.", Dinah agreed. She leaned back on the bench and took out two sandwiches. She offered one to Panacea, who gladly took it happily.
The two ate in comfortable silence for awhile, until Dinah asked, "24...? You helped raise 24 kids. That's very inspiring and all, but if you don't mind me asking, why? You seem to have that whole motherly vibe going on and I can see it and feel it, but there's got to be a reason."
Panacea nodded her head in agreement. The question seemed like something she was asked a lot and it showed in her reaction. She had a very relaxed expression on her face, as she looked at Conner's sleeping face.
"Do you know why I descended?", she asked Dinah in reply. "Don't worry, I'll tell you. I descended because the Heavens to us Gods and Goddesses, is a truly boring place. To us, a millennia is kind of like the blink of an eye. But it felt like I wasn't helping at all. What kind of Goddess whose domains are both Cures and Universal Medicine, can't help the sick and injured. I'm not the most famous or well-known Goddess out there. I'm probably in the low 100's amongst the divine that has domains related to healing. I barely had any Priests or Priestesses, Shamans, Holy men, or Healers that pray for my blessing. It was a very sad fact for me to take and it was like a slap to the face."
Panacea paused for a few moments, and laughed to herself gently. "16 years ago, I decided that to hell with that. So, I told Ouranos my reasoning, and he put me on the list. It felt like a very long wait, but it was worth it. And after a year, I find myself in Orario, and I got to work. I help out at the orphanage I now own, I've raised 24 amazing kids, and I'm teaching them the art of healing, medicine, and mixing. I raised these kids because I saw something in them that called out to me. They needed me and I was happy to help. I wanted to make a change in people's lives. And here I am, doing what I set out to do."
Panacea eyed her up and down, and then locked eyes with her. "Don't be afraid to ask me anything. Got it?"
Dinah nodded with an answering smile. "Yeah, I've got it."
"Good. Good.", Panacea smiled at Dinah with an excited gleam in her green eyes. "We'll head to our new home in a bit. I think you'll like it. We can talk more there."
With a sweeping gaze, and with her eyes pointing to a few figures in the park, Dinah got the hidden message. 'Talking too much and out in the open would attract too much unwanted attention.'
"I'm looking forward to it.", she smiled back. 'This Panacea sure does remind me a lot about mom. Her vibrant personality can't help but pull you in.'
——————————————————————————————
{After 30 minutes or so...}
Dinah, Panacea, and Conner; now back in Dinah's arms, find themselves walking the streets of Orario in the fading light. They spent a comfortable time enjoying the tranquil park together and talking about this and that. Dinah learned a lot about which shops are the best to get certain things at, the best market place to get fresh produce with the best deals, the best linen, cloth, and leather workers, and so on.
Panacea learned that Dinah is a very doting mother and felt that they both have a connection. The Goddess doesn't know why, but she feels that Dinah is someone special. It's not just about her amazing fashion sense, and her confident aura; which helps her pull off a leather jacket. 'Although, it does help. It's been a long time since I've seen anyone that's able to actually pull off a leather jacket as nonchalantly as she does.', Panacea thought to herself in fond reminiscence.
Within moments, they now find themselves in front of a 5 story house; the size of a small manor, with a small front yard; about 40 meters squared, a wooden fence surrounding the pleasantly quaint exterior, and a creaky wooden gate attached to the aforementioned fence.
The grassy front yard had a single tree, a single swing set, and there were a few random bits and pieces of wood and metal strewn about. The house looked old, but in a very tasteful way. It had the sort of age where you can tell that it's a very reliable building with strong foundations. It was a brick and wooden building with a sort of dutch gable type wooden roof with a few missing stone roof panellings in certain areas. The primarily gray and red building had a few paintings in a few places that gave it a more artistic look to it.
All in all, to Dinah, it looked like a well taken care of home.
"Welcome to the Panacea Familia's home. And it'll be your new home too. I'll take you to my office and we can talk there. Most of the others are out at work and the few that are here are cleaning, prepping for dinner, and the others are teaching the younger kids about medicine and proper patient care."
Panacea lead Dinah and Conner to her office on the 1st floor while she quickly pointed out the different rooms and their uses as they passed by. "I hope you don't mind the mess. This place is a fixer upper, but she's looking good so far, especially after my slow start."
Dinah waved off her concerns and told Panacea straight up and bluntly that, "Don't apologize. I like it. It's very quaint, homely, and colorful. The people make the home and this home has personality."
That answer made Panacea's smile wider and her eyes moisten a bit in happiness.
They finally made their way into Panacea's office and she held the door open for the duo. "Take a seat at one of the couches and we'll talk from there."
The moment she stepped into the office, she could smell the aroma of books, ink, and paper. It was a very homely office with a desk at the back with a chair facing the entrance of the room. Two couches were facing each other, with a coffee table in the center, and the walls had rows and rows of bookshelves with all sorts of books, scrolls, and other paraphernalia that gave the room a pleasant atmosphere. There weren't any windows, but there was an ancient steel chandelier; with glowing crystals embedded in them, which provided the room with light.
The two wooden couches had soft, red leather, seats with three couch throw pillows each. Dinah sat down on one of the couches and she gently laid Conner down with his head resting on a pillow. She gently ran her hands across Conner's blond locks while she waited for Panacea.
Panacea closed her office door softly and she locked it with both a brass key and a dead bolt. She then made her way to the other couch and sat down to relax. They met each other's eyes for a few moments, before Panacea opened her mouth to start her pitch.
"I'm glad that you decided to agree to join my Familia. Before I give you my Falna, I'll tell you some of what I've been doing, what everyone in the Familia's been doing, and where we stand amongst the others. I want you to understand the ramifications of your choice. Bare in mind that this will get heavy, but I've got a good feeling about you."
Dinah stayed silent, but she smiled at Panacea in both gratitude and encouragement. 'It takes a great strength of character for Panacea to tell me this. I'll try my best to not disappoint her.'
"I've descended 15 years ago, you know this. You probably suspected that the 24 kids that I'm in charge of are all part of my Familia, which is true. If and when you join, then you'll be the oldest member of the Familia. When it comes to ranking, we're currently ranked as I; which is the lowest rank. Almost everyone in the Familia are primarily healers. I've taught each and every one of them in how to take care of people of all races with minor to severe wounds. Almost all of my older children work in the Medical Ward above Babel Tower alongside the Guild. I'll tell you what that is later, but basically, almost everyone in the Familia are non-combatants."
Dinah didn't lose her smile throughout the explanation, so it helped Panacea keep her peace of mind and calm facade.
"I don't really mind my children not diving into the dungeon, but things have been getting more difficult lately. I don't want them to perish. I hate the thought of any one of them getting hurt in that damn dungeon, but I would've let them if they wanted to. I would've begged on my hands and knees for the best equipment for all of them, but thankfully, or unfortunately if you think about it, not a single one of them wants to venture into those monster infested floors."
*Sigh* "All these kids are all orphans and their parents were all Adventurers... Being an Adventurer is both a rewarding and a very dangerous profession. They don't have any family left to speak of, and the Familia that their parents belonged to wanted nothing to do with them. It's sad and it's unfair, but that's one of the first things I learned when I descended. Life might be unfair, but that doesn't mean that we can't change our own fate."
Panacea got off of her couch, made her way around the coffee table, and she kneeled down in front of Dinah. She held the blond mother's hands in her own and looked into her eyes with a passionate gaze and a fire in her eyes.
"I implore you, Dinah, please join my Familia. Please help me make my Familia strong. Please help us prosper. I want a big and happy family. We may be small, but we can become big. I have a lot of kids and they may smile, laugh, and play, but it feels like their just going through the motions. Besides the 24 children, no one has wanted or asked to join my Familia. Some don't have the qualities I'm looking for while the others don't want the responsibility of helping a "poor & destitute" Familia. A few have written as off as cowards, jokes, or fools. I don't want my children being made fun of anymore. So please, Dinah, will you help me!?"
"Panacea, I will happily join you.", she told the kind Goddess with a smile and misty eyes. "I respect you for wanting to better our Familia. I'll help you as much as I can and to the very best of my ability. I've been known as a very good judge of character, and I know with all of my being that you haven't lied to me once in all the time we've interacted. I know it must've been hard for you to tell me these things, so before I receive your Falna, I'd like to tell you about my life and what lead Conner and I here.", she then motioned for Panacea to get up and sit next to her.
Panacea sat down and scooted closer to Dinah with a happy and pleased expression on her face. Panacea still held onto Dinah's hands, but she didn't really mind. "What I'm about to tell you might sound unbelievable, but it's all true."
"I doubt it's that unbelievable. I've been around for a long time. I think I can handle what ever information that you're about to drop on me.", after proudly proclaiming those words, Panacea gave Dinah a smile filled with pride while she puffed out her sizable bust.
'Oh have I got a shock for you.', the young mother thought to herself with a slowly forming frown. 'I can tell that I'll be crying by the end of this.'
Panacea saw the slow change in her Songbird's expression and she didn't like it. She tightened her grip on the young woman's hands to help give her some strength. "Conner and I are here for you. I'll listen and I won't judge. Please, lean on me."
*Sigh* Dinah gave Panacea a grateful smile before she started her story.
"My full name is Dinah Laurel Lance. But I also have another name. It's a name I inherited from my mother and I've completely earned and made it my own a long time ago. I was known as the Black Canary, and I'm not native to this world..."