The Phoenix: Born Of Ash

Chapter Fourteen

Underhill watched her as she considered her options, "Yeah sure but I have a couple people I want to see first." then she looked down for a second and then back up, her face strained, "Can I ask you a question?" her voice broke slightly as she remembered the fight she had with Carder and the odd experience she'd had.

"Of course." he said, sitting down beside her on the stretcher.

Allaria rubbed her temple, trying to find the words, "During my fight with Carder... everything seemed to just slow down." she tried to say but couldn't, the words coming and going, lost in the air.

"Carder told me when you were unconscious; told me you fought better than any man he'd ever seen," he laid a hand on her shoulder, "powerful emotions can be powerful motivators... it makes us see things differently." He put his hands back in his lap, folding them neatly, "I wouldn't afford it further thought."

Allaria looked up at him, her eyes lost and he could see the layers of fear behind them, "Ok." she muttered.

He rubbed her back gently, "Take the crystals and go to sleep. I've been working on that recipe on and off for years and your mother delivered the last piece to the puzzle a couple weeks ago. Just take it and go to bed. I promise everything will be clear in the morning; the sun sheds light on all after all."

A smile crept across her lips, "Yeah but I literally just got up," she chuckled.

Underhill smiled, "Then just take a nap."

"Thanks Doc... for everything." she said and kissed him gently on the cheek before heading out of the tent.

As she left the tent her brother patted her on the back and followed Underhill's evil eye into his lair. Allaria could hear the yelling as she walked away. If her head wasn't still throbbing it might have made her smile a little just to see him taken down a peg but she had bigger fish to fry.

But before she could address all of that she wanted to go see her other brother Nathaniel at the smithy. As Allaria made her way through the barracks, she noticed all the eyes on her which made her skin itchy. Rather than show her discomfort, she showed her strength and blazed on.

The clinking sounds of metal hammers meeting steal filled the air with its cacophony as she approached the smithy. The smithy always had a distinct odor to it of smoke and iron, along with the ashen smell of a roaring fire fueled by small mountains of charcoal.

As she approached she made a distinct effort not to alert Nathaniel. A cringe rolled through her stomach as she remembered the last time she startled him when he was working and he brought his hammer down on his thumb.

Nathaniel stood tall and sturdy, his strength clearly defined in his tree trunk arms. Under the wooden enclosure, he tended to his fire, stoking it with a poker. Thick leather gloves covered his strong, sausage like fingers and plate size hands.

He removed his gloves with a practiced motion and wiped his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand. The action smeared ash and dirt over his furrowed brow but it added to his rustic charm. He looked across his workstation and spotted Allaria.

His eyes almost seemed to glow as he spotted his twin sister, "Little sister!" he called out and laid his gloves down on a nearby table and untied his large leather apron.

Allaria waited until she had closed the distance between them and chuckled, "Little sister?"

Nathaniel shrugged and bit into an apple he had in his lunch box next to his apron and gloves, "Every second counts." he snickered with his mouth full, although the sight didn't bother Allaria; she had grown up with boys after all.