I wound up sitting in one of the private rooms explaining the whole history of my injuries and how it was really fine. It didn't seem like I was going to get out of it though… So before I knew it I was unfastening my armor so that she could examine the bruising herself.
"That's strange. Pieta told me about how a beautiful girl ended up coming in with a similar wound. You said you're lung collapsed and she just ripped the fluid out with magic?"
"Oh, yeah that was probably me." 'Beautiful girl though? Maybe it wasn't.'
She started laughing, which honestly made me a bit embarrassed. 'Yeah, probably wasn't me. Who else would come in with wounds from blunt trauma though?'
When she saw the cloth over my chest as I finished taking off my jerkin she froze stiff. For good measure, I took off my helmet too, so she could examine my head, but she seemed a bit… Preoccupied, probably coming to grips with the fact that I was a girl. "Is it… really that surprising?"
"I'm… Sorry… I shouldn't have laughed. It's just that, I'm a dwarf I er… so… You know I'm not used to–"
'Yeah… That tracks…' I let out a sigh. "You're saying you're surprised I'm a girl since my chest is so small." I stretched my stiff shoulders. Starting to think about how I hadn't had my armor off in a while, considering I slept in it. I felt much lighter but still just as stiff and tired. 'I shouldn't have drank so much.'
"That's, well… Sorry…"
"Just forget it… And for the record, even if you are small and skinny for a dwarf… It's not like anyone would ever confuse you for a human… Or a man."
She chuckled, seeming to get more relaxed as I started to only feel more uncomfortable. "That's true, but dwarves are really superficial. The reason we have bigger chests is because we have an organ you don't that ferments the milk, so girls that are small aren't just seen as less attractive, but as unfit to have kids…"
I finally let my eyes fall directly to her chest, despite how awkward it felt. Under the apprentice robes, she wore a full body cloth that covered her skin, wearing more layers that gave her a very modest appearance. Even despite all of that one thing was obvious. "I mean, I don't know about biology but… They ARE bigger than mine…" 'If I really was a guy I bet I wouldn't have to talk about stuff like this…'
After grabbing several herbs and medicines she turned back to me and tilted her head. "I guess, but do yours even work?"
I felt a rush of chills as I suddenly started to feel naked, grabbing a shirt from my storage and covering myself. "H-how am I supposed to know?" I grumbled. "Can we just… Get to the part where you tell me I'm fine…"
She turned around and began examining the wound, soaking a fresh set of bandages in a similar tonic to what Pieta had used on me earlier. "Well… You're not acting like an undead."
"Well… Uhm… I'm not one, so–"
"Then why do you look like one!" She shouted, chopping my head with a firm hand. I didn't want to hurt her pride as a dwarf even more… But she hit like a girl.
I chuckled. "Guess I wasn't the beautiful girl your friend helped after all…" 'Still, calling me a zombie… That's a bit harsh, isn't it? I mean… I know I'm kinda skinny right now but I have gotten a lot of weight back…'
She gasped. "Nonono I didn't mean it like that! It's just… It looks so bad. You must have done a lot more than just break a few ribs."
It felt like she was trying to be serious, but was just too ditzy to do it right. It was almost endearing in a strange sort of way. "Is it that bad? Bending over to look hurts, so I've been avoiding it."
She rolled her eyes as she pulled out a large mirror. She wasn't wrong. My entire side was black and blue from my hip to my chest. It almost did look like the skin of an undead creature, only growing worse after a night's sleep, at least in appearance.
Her face turned serious again. "I'm going to start the examination."
She lifted her hands out and I felt magic gather around them, but I grabbed them before she could use her magic. She froze, opening her eyes and turning red as we stared at each other.
"You shouldn't be using magic again so soon…"
Once again her serious face vanished in an instant, and she started muttering like a squeaky mouse, so quiet I almost couldn't even hear it. "U-uhm I should be fine… So I think, this will be ok… I can handle this much at least so don't worry please…"
I let go of her hand. 'I mean, there's no point in turning her down.' "If you're sure then I guess it's fine."
Mana deficiency… It was something I had plenty of experience with being forever a low-tier mage. It was something painful enough I would rather forget about it. 'I wonder if she's recovering faster because she's already tier 3 or higher.'
Her hands started to glow before I felt a surge of magic power shoot through me and then return to her.
She groaned with an annoyed tone. "You bruised your liver… And your spleen, and a kidney… Your right hip has some pulled ligaments in it, likely from a temporary dislocation. The bones in your face are bruised, but I don't think any of them broke, so that's good… By this point, most of the damage had been taken care of, but it's almost like your body was just being held together by magic…"
I pulled my shirt back, gently cracking my neck. "Yeah, that's a pretty good way of putting it."
"Are you even listening to me? Why would you put yourself through a fight that would do that?"
'I know already…' I looked her in the eyes. "So, I'm fine right? Just throw the bandage on. I have something else I need to talk to you about."
She groaned as she poked my hip, making me flinch so bad from the pain I almost thought I tore something. "No, you're not fine! You're lucky you're even alive!"
"But… I am alive, so it's fine." I groaned.
She groaned back even louder, stomping the ground. "You're worse than my father!" Letting out a long sigh she finally calmed down. "Are you sure you're really a girl? I've never met a girl so stubborn…" Her eyes slowly scanned over my body in a way that made me feel even more uncomfortable. Had she been a man I definitely would have slapped her.
"I'm… Not going to prove it to you… If that's what you're suggesting…"
"Whatever, just take your pants off."
'I think I prefer the troll…' I chuckled nervously as I felt another chill "Look you're cute and all but–"
Her face showed just how unamused she was at my attempted joke. "So I can treat your hip. You've been running on it even though it hurts because you're an idiot."
'How does she even know that?' "It's really not that–"
She rolled her eyes with an angry growl.
'What's with her?' "This is free right…" She suddenly smiled again and nodded. Her entire demeanor shifted in an instant. "And you'll help me afterward?" She nodded again. "Fa– Fine… Do what you want…" Without another complaint, I started following her directions to the letter, and before I knew it we were done. She did stop to count every wrap after tying them off… Redoing it because the number wasn't even… But that honestly didn't make it take too much longer.
While the whole situation was a bit uncomfortable, the wrap provided more than enough support for my leg, fixing all of the issues and dull pain from standing or walking. Given everything else that was wrong, I hardly even noticed until it was gone. 'It feels good as new, maybe better with the added support.' I pulled my pants back on over the wrap, which made them fit snugly against the one leg, but that only further enhanced the feeling that it was protected. "Right, thank's with this I bet I could get back to hunting and–"
"NO!" She flicked me again, making me freeze completely still while I was locking my belt.
My voice suddenly became even quieter than hers was a few minutes ago. "O-oh ok… Sorry ma'am"
"Hmph. No more hunting for at least 3 days. And don't use your recovery magic on the wounds either. They need to heal with time and movement before you just fast-track it."
I reached down and grabbed my leg, slowly moving it in circles. "I guess that makes sense."
"Now, what did you need help with." She asked, finally starting to come out of her serious mode, her face relaxing again.
After everything that had happened, I almost forgot, but after being reminded I couldn't help but let my head fall to the side with a sigh. "Are you ready for kind of a long story…"