Luthiel ran.
Her feet carried her through the village streets without direction, weaving between repair crews and wandering civilians, her red-streaked hair streaming behind her. The conversation in the park replayed on a loop she couldn't silence, Grub's voice cutting through the memory with surgical precision.
Just stop hiding things from me.
Inside her head, three voices collided.
We did the right thing. El's monotone surfaced first, steady and unbending. We must not disobey Master. Even for Scribe.
Lu's gentle warmth followed, quieter than usual. I know. I know we can't tell him. But did you see his face? He looked so frustrated. I don't want Mister Grub to be angry with us.
But, maybe— Thi's voice cracked through the others, then faltered. Maybe we should have told him.
El's response was immediate. There is no 'but'. I understand your rebellious nature better than anyone, but Master's word is absolute. She gave us a direct order. We do not break those.
Thi ground her teeth so hard Luthiel's jaw ached. Yes but... I don't know. He deserves to know. He's done nothing but help us and we keep hiding things from him.
Lu spoke up gently. I don't want Mister Grub mad at us either, Thi. But Master is more important. She had a reason for telling us to keep quiet.
SHUT UP, I KNOW!
The outburst echoed through her shared consciousness and both other aspects recoiled. Thi's fury was rarely directed inward with this much force or uncertainty. Something about Grub's words had cracked through armor that village insults and Guardian cruelty had failed to dent.
She scowled harder as her legs carried them through the village. Past the fountain andt the food carts. Past the inn where the two boys were probably heading right now.
I just need to see Master, Thi thought, her internal voice rougher than usual. I need to make sure she's alright. That's all.
Lu and El quieted in agreement. Whatever their differences, Morrigan was the one subject where all three aspects converged without debate.
Until Lu added softly, I can't believe Thi is doing something as sweet as checking on Master. Even if it's only because she couldn't handle the tension back there.
I HATE YOU!
Lu giggled through the tears still running down their shared cheek.
Thi reached the medical building and slammed the door open hard enough to rattle the hinges. Several staff members glanced up from their work. Most of their faces carried the familiar cocktail of discomfort and thinly veiled disgust that followed Luthiel through every public space in the village.
One nurse, younger than the rest with kind eyes and ink-stained fingers, approached without hesitation.
"You're here for the Chief, right?"
Luthiel nodded sharply.
The nurse led her through a corridor and into the back treatment room. When the door opened, the smell of medicinal herbs hit Luthiel first. The odor was sharp, bitter, and layered thick enough to taste.
Morrigan lay in the center of the room on a wide cot. Several staff members surrounded her, some grinding herbs in stone mortars, others maintaining a constant low glow from their palms as they worked to keep the poison's spread in check. The old kappa's breathing was labored, each inhale a visible effort that made her chest rise unevenly. Her normally green skin had paled to a sickly grey, and her face carried a strained tightness even in unconsciousness.
She looked small. That was the worst part. Despite her puny stature, Morrigan had never looked small before.
Luthiel pulled a chair to the bedside and sat down without asking permission.
One of the senior doctors turned and glared. "What are you doing here? Get out this instant. This is a restricted—"
Thi's crimson eyes fixed on him with a fury so concentrated it could have peeled paint. The doctor's mouth snapped shut. He turned back to his work without finishing the sentence.
Luthiel turned her attention down at Morrigan's face. The lines around her beak were deeper than she remembered. The flower crown had been removed and without it, the old kappa's head seemed bare and vulnerable. The basin of water still sat atop her skull, maintained by the doctors who understood its importance even if they didn't fully understand why.
Thi reached out and caressed Morrigan's cheek with one mitten-like hand.
In the back of her mind, Lu was sobbing. Full, heaving wails that shook through her consciousness with the force of a dam breaking.
Oh Master... Oh Master, please be okay... please please please...
El remained quiet. Her silence carried its own weight.
Thi thought bitterly, Dammit, El. If you were in control right now, you could ease even a fraction of her suffering.
I wish I could heal it all, El replied, her flat voice carrying a hairline crack. But I don't have full control over the switch, and I am far too weak. We all are.
Thi puffed out her chest in her mind, DON'T LUMP ME IN WITH YOU TWO! I'm strong as all hell!
El looked at her, her expression perfectly flat. Sure you are.
Thi's hackles rose and a fresh argument was already forming behind her teeth until something stopped her cold.
The limp hand resting in her palm squeezed.
Luthiel froze. Her crimson eyes dropped to their intertwined fingers. Morrigan's clawed grip was feeble, barely more than a twitch, but it was unmistakable.
Her gaze shot to Morrigan's face. The old kappa's eyelids fluttered. Then slowly, with the effort of someone lifting a boulder with their lashes, they opened halfway.
Cloudy brown eyes stared up at the ceiling for a moment, unfocused. Then they drifted sideways and found Luthiel.
"Doctors!" Luthiel was on her feet instantly. "DOCTORS! SHE'S AWAKE!"
The room erupted. Staff members rushed to the bedside, hands glowing, instruments clattering. The head doctor pushed through the cluster and leaned over Morrigan, checking her pulse, her breathing, the wound on her back. Excited chatter filled the room as the news spread beyond the door and into the hallway.
The Chief was conscious. Upon hearing that, cheers echoed from the corridor.
The head doctor began barking rapid instructions, directing his team to intensify their healing rotations and prepare stronger herbal compounds. Energy that had been flagging through hours of thankless vigil suddenly surged back into the staff.
Then Morrigan spoke.
Her voice was a wreck. Hoarse, cracked, barely above a whisper. But the words carried the unmistakable authority.
"I….would like to….speak to my daughter…..please leave."
The room went silent.
Several doctors exchanged alarmed glances. A few directed pointed looks at Luthiel, their expressions making clear what they thought of the Chief spending her precious conscious moments on the village pariah.
The head doctor stepped forward, his professional concern overriding his deference. "But Great Sage, you need constant care. We can't leave you unattended. You are far, far from being well."
Morrigan's cloudy eyes narrowed. She coughed, spraying flecks of blood onto her chin, then spoke with a rasp that somehow managed to drip with contempt.
"What the fuck….are you dipshits….talking about?….I ain't gonna….fucking die…because you're not hawking me….for five…fucking…minutes."
The doctors blinked.
However, the head physician merely laughed.
"...Welcome back, Chief." He bowed. "As you wish."
He whistled once, sharp and commanding, and the staff began filing out in an orderly procession. Instruments were set down. Glowing palms were withdrawn. The room emptied chair by chair until only Morrigan and Luthiel remained.
The head doctor paused at the threshold and turned back. "We will return in ten minutes. No later. You must be cared for, Great Chief."
Morrigan rolled her eyes with a weakness that made even that simple gesture look exhausting.
Morrigan lazily waved him away.
"Yeah..."
"...yeah..."
"...now piss off."
Another cough rattled through her frame before the door clicked shut.
The moment they were alone, Thi's composure shattered. Luthiel threw herself onto Morrigan's chest and buried her face against the old kappa's robe. Tears soaked through the fabric as every aspect lost their composure simultaneously. Even El, steady, unshakeable El, permitted a single thought to surface through the chaos.
I am glad Master is okay.
"I'm so happy you're okay, Master," Thi choked out between sobs. Her voice cracked on every other word, stripped of its usual bravado. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you. I really don't."
Morrigan's clawed hand found the top of Luthiel's head and rested there. The touch was feather-light, the strength behind it barely sufficient to hold its own weight. But it was warm.
"Gods, I feel weak," Morrigan rasped. "But Luthiel... I'm glad I got to see you when I woke up."
Luthiel pulled back enough to look at her Master's face through blurry, tear-filled eyes.
"Was…that boy who saved me…one of Grub's pals?"
Luthiel nodded and wiped her nose with the back of her mitten hand. "Yes. His name is Wrighty. He's a fucking Musclehead, honestly." She sniffled hard. "But he's pretty nice."
Morrigan studied her through half-lidded eyes. "Another Sky-Fallen, huh? So…it really is true….The Great Baba's prediction truly came to pass…..And fate continues moving."
"Luthiel squeezed Morrigan's hand gently. "Yes. But I'm so happy he came and saved you, Master. I am indebted to him beyond measure."She scratched her cheek awkwardly. "And despite how fucking stupid he is sometimes... I think we can be good friends."
Something shifted in Morrigan's expression. A warmth that the poison and the pain couldn't fully suppress.
"Really?" Her cracked voice carried genuine happiness. "I'm glad to hear that. Truly, I am."
Luthiel managed a smile before Morrigan erupted into a violent coughing fit that bent her forward and left fresh blood on her lips. Thi's smile vanished instantly. She grabbed a cup of water from the bedside table and carefully tilted it against Morrigan's beak, one hand supporting the back of her Master's head.
Morrigan drank slowly, then sighed and sank back into the pillow.
"I don't know how long I'm going to be this fucking useless for. It irritates the shit outta me." Her cloudy eyes drifted toward Luthiel with a conspiratorial glint. "Hey….Got any booze?"
A laugh escaped Luthiel despite everything. "Master, you know you can't be drinking right now."
Morrigan grumbled something profane under her breath as Luthiel gently patted her head, smoothing the space around the basin. The old kappa accepted the affection with a grudging silence.
For a moment, the room was quiet. Just the sound of labored breathing and the distant murmur of the medical staff beyond the door.
Then Morrigan spoke again, her voice softer now.
"Do you enjoy being around the Sky-Fallen boy?"
"...Which one?"
"The one...you keep calling Bug."
Luthiel flinched. Color crept up her neck and into her cheeks.
"Pfft." Thi crossed her arms and looked away. "I guess Bug is okay. I think. He isn't too bad or anything." She huffed loudly. "He's tolerable. At best."
Morrigan chuckled, a weak sound that dissolved into a wheeze. "Oh, Thi. Always putting up a facade."
Luthiel looked down at the floor.
"...He's...interesting."
"He makes me think, and he doesn't look at me like everyone else."
She scratched the back of her neck. "Most people don't even pretend."
"They all either hate me..."
"...or they're afraid of me."
"But Bug..."
She smiled faintly.
"...He just talks to me and asks annoying questions."
"A lot."
"But..."
"I don't think he sees me as..." She searched for the word. "...a thing."
The old kappa sighed, her eyes tracing the cracks in the ceiling.
"I'm glad you like him. That makes me very happy to know."
Luthiel's gaze dropped to her lap. Her mitten hands fidgeted against the fabric of her frilly blue dress.
After another small cough, Morrigan looked back at Luthiel. "...Something's bothering you."
"He wants to know why everyone hates me," she said quietly. "Why I am so different from everyone else. He pushed me about it today."
Morrigan's eyes locked closely on her. "Did you tell him?"
Luthiel shook her head firmly. "Of course not, Master. I would never disobey you."
From the back of her mind, Lu's voice floated up with insufferable sweetness. You were about to, though.
Thi's face contorted. SHUT—
Morrigan laughed. The sound was fragile but genuine, and it interrupted whatever internal explosion was building.
"I'm assuming….Lu said something to annoy you?"
Luthiel turned her attention back to her Master with wide eyes. "You are great at reading me, Master."
"Of course I am." Morrigan's cracked lips curled upward with quite pride. "Every mother is."
The word settled between them with a meaning that made Luthiel's chest ache. Mother. Morrigan used it so easily, so naturally, as if it were simply a fact of the world. Water was wet. The sky was above. Morrigan was her mother.
Luthiel didn't deserve that word. She knew it with a certainty that lived deeper than any of her three aspects could reach. Whatever kindness Morrigan showed her, whatever patience the old kappa extended, Luthiel would never truly earn the title that came attached. Not after everything. Not after what she was. She was nothing but a burden Morrigan chose to carry.
Morrigan watched her face carefully. Even poisoned, even barely conscious, the Great Sage's ability to read the girl sitting beside her remained sharper than any blade.
"Luthiel."
The doll girl looked up.
Morrigan's cloudy brown eyes held hers with a steadiness that should have been impossible given how weak the rest of her was.
"What do you want?"