Mika POV:
I woke up, feeling much better. I had a funny taste in my mouth and I vaguely remember someone giving me medicine. The pain in my body was gone and I didn't feel like I had a fever. I was trying to remember how I got back in this room but I couldn't remember anything. I remember waking up, hiding behind the door, and looking for the exit. The details were all fuzzy. I felt like I had an important dream, too.. I can't seem to remember anything.
I opened my eyes and saw Marshall asleep in the bed next to me. I smiled as I snuggled up against him. I don't remember Marshall getting in here.
"Marshall." I whispered.
"Mmmh?" He responded.
"Where are we?" I asked him
He groaned as he rolled over to face me, his gorgeous purple eyes were sparkling.
"A village on Pyochi mountain, full of arctic foxes. We are in the medical center." He said.
"What happened?"
"Ishi and I got banged up. You exploded and ran a fever."
Sometimes his simplicity infuriates me. I recalled being on the mountain.. the snow monster attacked… I felt weird… I remember seeing flames shoot out of my body.. Then the next thing I remember is waking up here.
"I exploded?" I asked.
"Yes with fire." He nodded sincerely.
"How are you and Ishi?" I asked.
"Ishi is okay. She wasn't too bad. I'm doing okay now." He answered.
At that moment, after a quick, light knock, a young man came in.
"I would say 'better', not okay." He said as he placed the tray he was carrying on the table in the room.
"I'm feeling okay, doc." Marshall answered as he sat up with a groan.
He had linen bandages wrapped around his chest and abdomen, and some around his upper arms too. Where the bandages didn't cover his skin, it looked black.
I gasped in shock, sitting up quickly, "Marshall!"
"It's not as bad as it looks." He said with a smile.
"It's exactly as bad as it looks." The doctor said scornfully. "The discoloration is from internal bleeding secondary to broken ribs. He also has a large wound on his right side from his lower chest, around the back of him, to the shoulder. Not to mention the minor defensive wounds on his arms and legs."
"Well, it doesn't feel as bad as it looks." Marshall said.
"That is thanks to the medication. Don't do anything stupid." The doctor said to him.
"Okay." Marshall agreed. We got up and headed over to the table to sit down with the doctor.
"Nice to finally see the Missus awake." He nodded at me, "I'm Doctor Karlos. Now, I'm going to change your dressings, Marshall. Miss Mika, please drink this bottle of medication." He said as he handed me a small glass bottle filled with dark blue liquid.
"Alright." I said, trying to down it all in one go.
I struggled to not throw it back up, medicine in this world is awful.
The doctor took off the blood stained linen wraps from Marshall's body. He cleaned the wounds with something that seemed similar to alcohol. Once he had cleaned the area of the yellowish ointments I was able to see the damage to Marshall's body.
The wounds were red and held together with stitches, they didn't seem to be infected or draining. In fact, they appeared to be partially healed already.
"How long has it been?" I asked as I observed the wounds and watched the doctor apply more ointments.
"3 days."
I was astonished. "How is he healing so fast?" I asked.
The doctor looked a little smug as he replied, "I invented this myself. It's a trade secret, so I can't tell you what's in it… But I might be willing to sell you some."
"Yes please!" That would be invaluable on our journey.
The doctor expertly wrapped Marshall back up and gave him a tonic as well.
"You know the drill." The doctor said as Marshall eyed the liquid.
"I know." Marshall said begrudgingly.
He kissed me then downed the glass. He then went and laid down and immediately fell asleep. I looked at the doctor curiously.
"The side effect is extreme drowsiness. However it's not a bad thing in his case. Keeps him out of trouble." He told me.
"I can't imagine Marshall causing trouble." I smiled in amusement. That was more of an Ishi thing.
"When it comes to you, causing trouble seems to be his forte." The doctor quipped .
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Did he not tell you?" He asked back.
"No…"
"Ah. Well, you see… you came down with Mana fever. It is caused by excess mana in the body, which causes fever and eventually… either explosion or implosion. Your mate and your friend," He emphasized the word friend in a strange way, "have worked out a plan in order to afford the medicine you will need."
"What causes the excess mana? Is there a way to get rid of it?" I asked.
"There has only been one recorded case, which resulted in death. So we don't know what exactly caused it. It was theorized that the patient's body was unable to contain the mana."
"How would that work?"
"Imagine that everyone is like one of these glass jars," He said, holding up Marshall's empty glass and my empty bottle. "Each person can safely contain so much before they become full. You might be able to contain more than someone else, however if the glass is already full, and more mana keeps getting shoved in, the glass will eventually break."
"Oh…" I replied.
"The glass is a metaphor for your body. Hence, the explosion or implosion parts." He said, making sure he was completely clear. "The fever is the first symptom, it is your body utilizing the mana to produce heat and give off the excess energy."
"How does the medicine help?" I asked him.
"The bushberry medicine is primarily made from the bushberries found on the top of the mountain. They have a special quality; they block mana absorption… similar to how an anti-venom works. Mana is much more difficult to neutralize or control, therefore the medication must be taken regularly to maintain it's effects." He explained.
"And is this medicine the only solution? Will I have to take it forever?"
"For this treatment, yes."
I don't feel like he is telling me all the details for some reason, his answer was very… politician-like.
"Uh-huh." I said skeptically.
He cleared his throat and gathered his things. "You have been in bed for a while now, if you want to stretch your legs, your friend Ishi is around here somewhere." He said as he scurried out the door with his supplies.
I looked over at Marshall passed out in the bed and decided that I should check on Ishi.
I walked down the hall and saw the door to one of the other rooms was open. Ishi was inside, sitting across the table from a young girl I feel like I've seen before. I lightly knocked on the doorframe before stepping inside.
"Hey, Ishi." I said in greeting.
They both looked at me.
"You are finally awake - it's about time." Ishi snorted in disdain.
I noticed her tail flicking happily despite her words. I've learned that Ishi tries to hide her feelings with harsh words or tones, but her tail always tells the truth.
I smiled and approached, completely unbothered. The girl sitting at the table looked at Ishi curiously. She was probably wondering why she would greet me so harshly. My smile deepened at the thought.
"How are you? Did you get hurt too?" I asked her.
"Nothing unmanageable." She said, before looking at the girl across the table as if she was suddenly intruding.
The girl smiled at me and stood up, she put her hand on her chest and bowed regally.
"Nice to meet you, Beatus Mika. I am Kori, an arctic fox who hails from this village." She said.
"Oh." I bowed back, thinking that this was their typical greeting. "I am Mika. Nice to meet you."
The girl was slightly taller than me, with thick, Snow White hair that reached her hips. She had the bulk of her hair in a thick braid with a few small accent braids that started by her temples and blended into the larger braid. She had large, almond shaped eyes - like me. Hers were a pretty sky blue which sparkled with curiosity and mischief. Her skin was almost as white as her hair, which made her eyes and peach colored lips stand out. Her physique was well balanced for her height.
She was wearing a vintage style winter coat-dress: It had a large fur collar, fur trimmed shawl, and fur trimming on the sleeves and bottom of the dress. The waist was scrunched in with a leather belt that had a purse attached. From the belt also hung two balls of fur, for decoration i imagine. The sides of the dress were cross stitched with leather to hold the front and back together. Under the dress she wore dark brown-black leggings which were lined with thick fur at the bottom, creating a faux boot look while still allowing the pads of her feet to feel the ground.
"I told you she wouldn't understand your weird-ass greeting." Ishi told her with huff.
Behind the girl, Ishi sat in her chair watching the whole thing with her long legs crossed elegantly and her one arm leaning on the table. Her blonde hair was framing her face and torso, cascading down her back. She had braided the front sides of her hair which were pulled back to join with the top of her hair (which was in a bun) while the bottom half fell in lose waves around her. The bun was held together with a leather tie that had animal bones dangling from it. She had some new clothes on. She was still wearing the pants and boots I made her, but over top she wore a long fur loincloth and belt. She had a leather long sleeve top on, which laced up in the front. Around her shoulders was a fur cloak, and she had on fur trimmed bracers. She made everything look good.
"Huh?" I asked, looking between them.
The girl named Kori giggled. "You are a Beati, you don't bow to anyone but royalty." She said.
"What's a Beati?" I asked her, glancing at Ishi's amused face.
"You are a Beati. A 'blessed one.' Someone chosen by the gods? Any of this sound familiar?" She listed all the names I've heard it called in a sarcastic tone. She gave off annoying younger sister vibes.
"I didn't know there was a name for it." I said thoughtfully. I wanted to add that we don't know if I am a Beati or not, but decided to keep that to myself.
"I didn't either until our Majin told us. He came from the capital so he knows a lot of stuff like that." She said.
"You have a Majin here?" I asked.
Ishi looked just as intrigued.
"Yeah. They sent him to help solve the Chuti problem." She said proudly.
"That's nice of them." I replied.
"Yep." She said before turning back to Ishi. "Let me know what you want to do about that. I have to get to work now, I'll check in on you again tomorrow." She smiled sweetly at Ishi before leaving.
Ishi smiled back as she left.
For some reason, I immediately disliked this girl.