To Fix What's Broken

     “Of course. Oh, don’t look so sad, come on. This is our day off, remember? Where’s our first stop again? The newly opened grilled meat place? Or was it…”

     * * *

     Abiyah groaned softly as they staggered to their front door, stifling a yawn. After glancing longingly at their sofa and a book open on top of a cushion, they slid the small window open to peer at whoever was on their doorstep.

     They wrinkled their nose and grimaced when they shook away the last of the sleep from their system, and then got a good look at the Red Techo clad in white robes and light armour staring back at them with weary yellow eyes.

     “What do you want?” they barked.

     “Sorry to bother you, Abiyah, but please...can you let me and my friends in?” The Techo stepped away so the Aisha could see the so-called “friends” – a Green Eyrie and a White Blumaroo supporting a half-conscious Blue Acara.

     At first, Abiyah glared at all of them through the window, before snapping it shut and throwing the door open in a wide, abrupt arc.

     “Nice of you to drop in, Velm,” they said acidly. “After, oh, how many years…”

     Velm pinched the bridge of his nose and gestured with his staff to the limp Acara. “Can we not? At least, not now. Mipsy needs help…”

     “I thought you were a big, strong cleric now, taking on the world and whatever. Can’t you handle it yourself?”

     “You know not everything can be healed with a wave of a staff.”

     “So find an inn. Or the nearest healer’s tent.”

     “The inn is full, Abiyah, you know that’s the first place I’d go. Not…here.” The last word had such a bitter, grating tone that the Eyrie and Blumaroo traded a bemused, awkward expression which miraculously went unnoticed. “Look, at least do it for Mipsy. She got bitten by a large Rattlecobrall, and that was after a herd of Sand Walkers…”

     Abiyah snarled and waved toward the general direction of their couch. “Fine! Place her on the couch, just…move my book off it. And what about…” They squinted at Velm’s other two comrades. “I suppose you want me to fix up a guest room for you lot? Lend me nice clean sheets and blankets? Then let you into my kitchen? Oh, just like old times, when you’d go wandering about and I’d – “

     “Thank you, Abiyah,” Velm answered, cutting them off. “Rohane, Talinia, place Mipsy on the couch, and make sure Abiyah’s precious book doesn’t get squashed.”

     When the Desert Aisha had stomped up the stairs, and their muttering faded into silence, Rohane and Talinia gently lifted Mipsy onto the couch, while Velm swept the book away and placed the cushion behind the Acara’s head.

     “Um, Velm, are you sure it’s okay for us to…” The Eyrie’s voice trailed off.

     “We don’t have much of a choice,” said Velm, whispering a spell under his breath that almost sounded like a soft, sad song. A softly glittering mist settled over Mipsy, whose breathing slowed into a deep sleep.

     “What happened with you and Abiyah? I thought you said you and they were…”

     “It’s a long story, Rohane.”

     Rohane shrugged as he looked at the armchair next to the couch, tapping his sword hilt. “I think we have time, if you want to talk about it.”

     * * *

     Abiyah and Velm lay side by side on a mat spread out on the sand, bundled in blankets and gazing up at the starry night sky over the silhouette of the temple of King Coltzan I.

     The Desert Aisha turned to look at him. “What are you going to do after you’re inducted as a full cleric?”

     “Me? Hmm…that’s a good question. I’ve lived with the Order of King Coltzan I since I was young, but I might…leave the temple.”

     “Leave?”

     “Oh, uh…I mean, leave, to maybe settle down somewhere else. Find a place in need of a healer, that sort of thing.”

     At first, they were silent, the sound of a gentle breeze in their ears. Abiyah found Velm’s hand and gripped it tightly.

     “Remember when I said I might be moving back into my parents’ old house one day, two days away from here?”

     Velm nodded. “Yeah, I remember that.”

     Abiyah smiled, now holding both of Velm’s hands, the stars all but forgotten. They blushed and whispered, “Maybe…well, it’s a big enough place, and this might be a silly idea, but…what if, the two of us…”

     * * *

     “I broke my promise to Abiyah,” said Velm, his voice a bleak monotone as he bandaged up Mipsy’s right arm and right leg. “When Master Yamanu’s lead on a cure for that plague turned out to be a dead end, something came over me. I couldn’t…I couldn’t let his research end there. I couldn’t bear to see someone else die from the same plague that killed my family and my village. I told Abiyah I couldn’t stay with them like they wanted. We fought, and I said – no, shouted a lot of things I wish I could take back, and we no longer spoke to each other after that.”

     Talinia glanced up from where she had adjusted Mipsy’s cushion. “And then, when you became an official cleric…”

     “I left, without telling them. And never looked back.”

     “Did you write to them?” Rohane asked while sitting cross-legged on the floor and examining his sword and dagger.

     “I…” Velm let out a rough breath. “I wanted to. But I thought hearing from me was the last thing Abiyah wanted. So I didn’t. They didn’t write back to me either, so I figured we were done, in more ways than one.” He sat down next to the couch after draping a blanket over the Blue Acara and held his head in his hand. “I never thought our paths would cross again.”

     The Green Eyrie sat next to him, closing her eyes in thought before turning to look at him.

     “You would’ve been okay with never seeing them again?”

     “Huh? Of course not, but…” His voice trailed off when he felt Talinia place a gentle hand on his shoulder. A ghost of a melancholy smile flitted across her face.

     “Maybe,” she said slowly, “this is your chance to talk to Abiyah. Apologise, clear things up.”

     Velm opened and closed his mouth. “Apologise? Talk? You heard them, they don’t really want to talk to me.”

     “Do they? I’m sure they have something to say, too.”

     “Yeah, that I stink.”

     Rohane raised his eyebrows. “No, you don’t. Even if we’ve been camping out for weeks.”

     “Thanks for the vote of confidence, I guess. Anyway, Talinia…” The Red Techo slumped against the couch. “I don’t even know where to start. Do I say I’m sorry for leaving them, or not writing back, or showing up unannounced with two friends and a third friend who’s in bad shape?”

     * * *

     When Velm stepped into the kitchen, he found Abiyah focused on crushing a mixture out of herbs and potions with a mortar and pestle, their back to him. He grasped his staff so tightly he was certain his knuckles paled, and took a deep breath.

     It’s awkward enough between the two of us. Can’t get any more awkward than this.

     “Abiyah.”

     The Aisha whipped around, frowning.

     “What?”

     Velm unclipped a pouch from his sash and tossed it onto the counter.

     “Vervain, wild radish, Cheops leaves, various cactus needles and stems. I never asked you to open up your herb stash for me. I can make my own potions.”

     “We both came from the Order of King Coltzan I. Did you expect me to stand around doing nothing while there was someone injured under my roof? Besides, thanks to you, I can’t sleep anymore. Might as well do something productive.”

     “I said I was sorry,” the Red Techo mumbled. He winced when he saw Abiyah’s extra ears twitch.

     “Did you? Were you, really?”

     “I did!” Velm cried, banging his staff against the floor. “I’m sorry I woke you up! And…and…” He gritted his teeth, his yellow eyes flicking away abruptly. “I’m sorry for…for…”

     Abiyah picked up the pouch and flung it back at him. He dropped his staff to try to catch the pouch, only to fumble.

     “For telling me I didn’t have to open up my herb stores for you after I opened them up?”

     “Fine, that too!” said Velm angrily as he bent down to pick up the pouch and the staff. “But also…also…” He blinked back tears. “I’m sorry I left.”

     “What?” Abiyah stared at him.

     “I said I’m sorry I left!”

     “You’re…oh, now you’re sorry?”

     Holding up a hand, Velm grumbled, “At least let me finish apologising! I’m sorry I left the Order without saying goodbye. I’m sorry I suddenly turned around and…and broke my promise that we’d settle down together. I just…you know what happened to my family, you can’t blame me for wanting to do something, even if I can’t bring them back.” The Red Techo sighed and propped his staff up against the counter to wipe his eyes. “I still remember your face, that day I told you I wanted to leave. And it haunts me, every single day I’m on the road. I wanted to visit, I wanted to write, but…ah, I guess I was too proud, too afraid that you still wouldn’t speak to me.”

     The air seemed to rush back into their space with a loud silence that was interrupted by Abiyah dropping their pestle back into the mortar, which emitted a small greenish-brown cloud of spices and herbs. They glared deeply at Velm as though the latter had done something far, far worse.

     Then the Desert Aisha leaned against the counter, their face in their hands, as they began to sob softly.

     “Abiyah, I’m really sorry. I was bracing myself for when you wouldn’t let us in, but you opened your door for us. Even if we woke you up. Even if now, we’re crashing at your place. Look, we’ll just pay you before we leave…”

     “Forget it.” Abiyah waved a hand. “You don’t have to pay me. This is what the Order of King Coltzan I is about. And…and I’m sorry, too.”

     “For what?”

     “For not keeping in touch, for stomping away after our last fight years ago, for…Honestly, I was tempted to turn you away. But if I did, I would probably be kicking myself.”

     Velm slowly, tentatively took one step toward them. “I’d be kicking myself, too. It’s what I deserve, really.”

     “Oh, shut up,” said Abiyah, shoving his shoulder lightly. “I said I was sorry, didn’t I? But if you’re still beating yourself up over it, give me a hand. That’s your friend who’s hurt, isn’t it?”

     “Heh, yeah. Of course, I’ll lend you a hand. In fact, give me the pestle.”

     For a few minutes, the two of them worked in silence. After the mixture was pounded finely, Velm started boiling a pot of water, while Abiyah opened their cupboards for some Cheops Plants and vegetables.

     “Hey, Velm?”

     “What is it?”

     Abiyah stared at the onions and garlic in their hands before setting them down on a chopping board. “I’m glad…we finally got to talk, but…”

     “But what?”

     “I used to imagine the two of us under the same roof, reaching out to our neighbours, creating healing potions, taking in injured travellers. But now…it feels weird. Like, it’s wrong to imagine that now.”

     “Oh.” Velm tipped the herbs into the boiling water, waving the steam away. “I guess it can’t be helped. It’s been too long since we met our separate ways. At least…” He tried to smile, tried to relax. “At least we’re here now, aren’t we? Even if we could’ve met some other way again, that doesn’t involve my friends getting hurt.”

     “Mmm, I guess. Just don’t forget to write this time.”

     * * *

     “Honestly, yelling was sort of cathartic. It felt like we were finally unloading all that emotional baggage.”

     “You sounded like you were throwing your emotional baggage at each other, Velm,” said Rohane as Velm poured them cups of Tchea Tea.

     “Still cathartic,” said Abiyah, shrugging as they helped themselves to some Cheops Soup. “Though, it still feels…awkward, sitting at the same table as this bozo again.”

     “Do you want tea or not? I just said sorry to you, and you pay me back by calling me a bozo?”

     Talinia passed the Meat and Fruit Kebabs, chuckling softly. “Well, you have time to catch up while Mipsy is recovering.”

     “Huh? What’d I miss?”

     All of them craned their necks toward the couch where the Blue Acara’s eyes had fluttered open, and she gaped at the spread on the table, and her friends sitting with a Desert Aisha. She looked around.

     “Why does it feel like something happened while I was out?”

     “It’s a long story,” said Velm, shooting Abiyah a knowing glance. “But I think we have the time.”

     The End.