The Clinic

"Her condition seems to be stable. She simply depleted too much mana and requires time to rest.. You may all rest here as well while you wait for her to wake." The healer said calmly.

The healer was a dryad. She had long green hair with pink flowers and soft pink eyes. Her long skirt was made from plants. However the top she wore was green with a golden trim. It was a short top that left her stomach completely exposed. Though healing magic was a rarity, dryads were natural experts in the life of nature and lived out long lives.

"Thank you for the help." Daryl said to her as they all stood behind him. Nobody had the will to step forward because of how upset he had gotten over Zoe's collapse. After getting her checked by a healer he had finally calmed down.

"I will bring her some medicine she can drink when she wakes up.. For now I must attend to the other patients that are coming in." She smiled softly and gave their group a look over.

Many patients were flooding any available clinics in the area. They were just outside the area that had been destroyed by the battle. No matter how many healers available in the Kingdom of Cista there was the kingdom was still swamped with more injured that could be dealt with easily. Anyone who had knowledge in healing even if they did not work directly as a healer were being called out to aid the wounded. Naturally many of them went to aid with greed for rewards on their mind while there were just as many who aided purely because they could not handle the sight of the people in pain. As a dryad, the healer they had found naturally could not ignore someone in need of help.

The healer slowly rose to her feet and began to head towards the door. When her eyes swept back in Vorbuk's direction curiously. She could sense that he was not human but he was standing tall in the form of one. Over her lifetime she had seen many companions that could shift for their masters. It felt strange to see one traveling with a group while not being bound to one of them.

Vorbuk was not sure why the dryad had suddenly looked at him in such a strange manner. Their eye contact was only brief before the girl left the room. A slight tug at his sleeve pulled Vorbuk from his thoughts. Beside him Isis was holding onto his sleeve with a hesitant look on her face.

"What is it?" Vorbuk asked the princess quietly.

"I just wanted to tell you that I will be leaving now." She whispered to him while smiling. It was obvious that her smile was covering the fact that she did not really want to go.

Why is she bringing this up now when she clearly doesn't want to leave? He thought to himself. Frustration began to take him over the more he thought about it. They were finally getting along and she was trying to leave suddenly.

Grabbing Isis by the wrist he pulled her out the room without a word. He could hear the others behind him reacting in a confused manner. Isis did not know how to react to her being pulled along by him. It was not until they were in a room without anyone else around to hear them that he released his grip.

"Tsk.. You don't really want to leave so why are you bringing that up right now?" He blurted out the question that bothered him.

"What do you mean?" Princess Isis felt frozen. Unable to move as she stared straight into Vorbuk's red eyes.

BAM!

Vorbuk's clenched fist struck the wall hard right above Isis as he leaned in closer to her. Confusion and fear were on her face and yet there was still something bothering him. He didn't trust this girl in the beginning but even when things got hard she never left. She had remained with their group through the battle and even followed them to make sure Zoe was safe. The thing that bothered him the most, however, was that since the moment they met he'd had a weird feeling like he was drawn to her.

"You don't really want to leave, right?" He muttered under his breath just loud enough for her to hear the question.

Flinching at his words only verified it for Vorbuk that he was right. She was planning to leave while not wanting to. After all, she had been alone until she saved him. Other then returning to her home there was no other place for her to go. Kingdom of Theapan was still looking for her to bring her back. Running out of options, she would only be able to hide on her own for a short time. Eventually they would catch her and bring her back by force. If she wasn't killed on the run.

"We are going to Theapan after we take some time to recover.. You can come with us." His words caused her face to lower for a moment before glancing back up with him with a forced smile.

"... I will think about it for a few days." She replied after a moment. A faint flush was on her face as her heart raced from the awkward position she was in.

He smells like rain.. its cool and refreshing.. A-Ah! The princess suddenly felt her face flush even deeper when she realized her mind had wandered off. Covering her face quickly with her hand she hoped Vorbuk would not notice.

There was a pause in her reply that made him feel a sense of worry. Unwilling to push her further he let it go. It was her own life to live and he could not force her to join their group. At the most he could offer her the choice and let her decide for herself which path she wanted to take. His journey was also not a safe one so unless she was willing to fight she would not be fit to stay even if she did.

"Alright, take your time. Everyone is probably getting rest already after everything that happened.. You should as well." Vorbuk sighed as he spoke and left the room to return to the others.

Isis stood there against the wall for a while deep within her thoughts. Many things were on her mind. The offer to join their group was indeed something that made her feel warm. In her chest she could feel her heart pounding hard at the fact that he had offered her such an opportunity. Feeling flushed as slid down to the floor.

No.. I can't.. Vorbuk.. I don't deserve to be with your group right now. She thought to herself before turning her gaze to the door that he had just left from.

"... But a bit more shouldn't hurt." Princess Isis smiled as she thought about the short time she would have left before telling him she would have to refuse his offer. Her place right now was not meant to be a battle field. In her mind she had already decided to leave Cista before the others do.