Eliona's War 2: Veiled Healer

Chapter 82

Time Elapsed: 00:22:14

It was a good day in Eliona.

The sun shone brightly, the air felt cool and fresh, and for the first time in a long while, Severance was relaxed.

He sat on the edge of a fountain, watching some pigeon-like birds pecking at the base of a nearby tree. With how they bobbled their heads when they walked, they reminded him a lot of chickens.

He wondered if they tasted good. Maybe if he caught one and brought it to Mouna, she could make chicken soup out of them. Or the equivalent of it, at least.

"Whoa!"

The sudden exclamation startled Severance, and he jumped to his feet, looking wildly around for the threat.

But it was only Dhin, standing beside the fountain. He might have just shouted in alarm, but he was the very picture of calm.

"What the heck, Dhin?!" Severance glared at the other man. "You scared me!"

Dhin just shrugged. "What? I just saw something really strange. I couldn't help it."

That sounded like a giant load of crap, and Severance said so.

"Aw, don't be like that, Twiggy. If you had seen it, you'd be surprised, too!"

"Really. What did you see?" Severance resigned himself to playing along. It was the easiest way to get Dhin to shut up.

"It was really amazing," Dhin exclaimed. "There you were, watching the birds, and get this, you were smiling. I didn't think you had it in you."

Expressionless, Severance punched Dhin in the shoulder. Or he tried to, because Dhin caught it in one hand. As usual, it quickly devolved into an ungainly scuffle, during which one tried to get the upper hand over the other.

An older lady passing by frowned at them, then just shook her head, as if disappointed in their behavior.

Eventually, Severance managed to get Dhin into a headlock, though he was about 90% certain Dhin had let him. He didn't care either way. A fake victory was still a victory nonetheless. He'd take it.

"You're an idiot," he said, before letting go. His point had been made.

Dhin dusted himself off, not even bothered in the slightest.

"Hey, I'm just saying things like I see it. What's gotten into you anyway? You're not your usual grumpy self."

"I'm not grumpy."

"Sure, whatever you say."

Severance gave the irritating clansman a flat look. "I'm not."

"All right." Dhin raised his hands placatingly but the smug little look on his face said otherwise. "I'm just wondering if I should be worried. That's all."

It wasn't that Severance was entirely annoyed with the clansman, but rather, he was somewhat embarrassed. He hadn't been acting all that different, had he?

After the long talk earlier this morning with Mrs Beakor and Tripp, he did feel like things were a little less overwhelming, but it still hadn't changed the grim tasks that lay before him. He was a member of the Veiled and when they needed him, he'd answer. That was why he jumped back in the game instead of taking Tripp's suggestion to wait until they talked with Jake and Chad.

"Where is that guy, anyway?" Eager to change the subject, Severance turned in a slow circle, as if expecting to see someone approaching any moment now. "He was supposed to meet us right away."