The temple gardens were sunny and warm, not at all like the mountain passes they had been travelling through for days. It was still almost summer-like here, and flowers bloomed along the walkways. Tsuga and Petro sat on a low wall that separated a paved path from a grassy sward dotted with willow trees. Somewhere in a shady glen near the temple precinct a group of small girls were reciting their lessons, and their high voices carried over on the wind. Tsuga looked anxiously towards the main temple structure, scowling. Petro sighed, looking up through the leaves of the willow tree to the blue sky. He then looked over at the girl beside him, and helpfully, said, “It’ll be alright, you know.”
“No, I don’t know that. How could I know that? She looked dead, Petro!”
“Don’t be ridiculous. She was unconscious and injured, but she wasn't dead. You know, for a girl in this line of work, you haven’t seen many dead guys, have you?”
Tsuga replied by elbowing Petro in the gut, hard. He doubled over in pain, clutching his abdomen in his arms. Weakly, he said, “For goodness’ sake, girl, it wasn’t an insult!”
Tsuga turned away, looking coldly out at the sunny garden, and not at him.
Petro panted a few more times, then managed to return to a fairly relaxed sitting position, though his belly still ached. He reasoned that now his belly felt the same as the rest of his body. Whether it was the flying, or the transformation, or just carrying Salix on his back that long, Petro ached all over.
“Do you really think she’ll be okay?” Tsuga asked, still not turning to face him.
Petro nodded. “Of course I do. That salve of yours is like magic.”
“It is magic. At least, I think it is,” Tsuga responded quietly. “The chant definitely is. But it isn't like the salve was applied quickly.”
“Even without the chant that salve seems amazing. And I'm sure your temple physicians have vats of the stuff. She’ll be fine. It’s a good thing we all moved so quickly and got her here.”
Tsuga looked down, “I didn’t move quickly. I didn’t move quickly at all. If you and Marcus had not been there. . . .”
“Tsuga, you needed help, but you did fine.”
“No, I didn’t! I was trained to act in those sorts of situations, that’s what senior Salix has been teaching me, and I failed her.”
“You didn’t. We got her here. She’s okay. She won’t – she won’t be angry, Tsuga.”
Tsuga did not look at Petro. She looked down at her own hands, fingers knotted together and then loosened and placed miserably in her lap. But, when Petro put an arm around her shoulders, she did not shrug it off.
“I can never save anyone I love,” she muttered, softly. “Never have been able to.”
“You lost a senior Flora before?”
“No,” Tsuga shook her head, “Something – someone else.”