Submission (#877) Approved

     She tried to calm herself down, focusing on her other senses to bring her mind away from her memories. Sheets... they meant that she was in a bed, her paws searched some more, feeling the crisp fabrics that she was now wearing. Smells of fragrant, fresh air with unfamiliar floral notes came to her as she took another deep breath to quell her speeding heart. She could feel her shoulder aching and half of her face felt like it was on fire, an icy cold fire. Rynn reached up a paw to her cheek and felt the bandage across her eyes. That would explain why her vision was only blackness. Again she took a deep breath, trying to ground herself into this new location. The floating islands of Kyendi had smelt crisp and clear, this place smelled heavy of blossoms and other flora. She brought her paw down to run along the sheets once more as she tuned into her hearing. Birds was the first notes, a clear babble of a fountain, or stream, close by joined them in the background. The whole place seemed brighter, a gentle hum of noise that cocooned her and banished away the darker, shadowed thoughts. The drone of bees came to her senses next, she imagined them flitting between the colourful flowers. Rynn licked her lips and had a sudden craving for sugared honeycomb.

 

     A burst of noise startled her as the sounds of pawsteps came close, a door opened, and a gentle humming filled the air. "Ok my dear, lets see how you are coming along. Looks like you took a nasty fall, yes now, just a fall, we will get you back to right as rain my dear." The calm voice came closer, pawsetps ceasing as they reached where she lay. "Ok love, just going to take a look-see, don't worry, I'll be gentle. I'm just going to raise your arm for a moment, make sure it isn't broken." As the voice spoke, Rynn felt her arm raise, the same side that had the cold burning shoulder. A hiss fell from her lips as the pain flared before it was dulled by some magical force. "There, there, that should help a little. Now, lets see that eye of yours." She felt material lift from her face as the disembodied voice continued to explain everything they were doing. "Hmmm, still a little swollen but nothing too bad... No, don't try to open them," they added as Rynn attempted to open her eyes and see the owner of the voice, "I'll be covering them back up in a moment but don't worry, you are healing fine." Rynn thought she heard a small waver in the voice for a moment but put it down to being so lethargic. "You were very lucky you were, found so quickly. They are here to see you if you'd like? No need to say anything, you can just nod or shake your... well maybe not that. How about palm up if you would like to meet them, palm down if you'd prefer to sleep."

 

     Amirynth realized she didn't want to be alone. She raised her paw off the bed and twisted it so that her palm was up. She heard the Elnin's skirts rustle, much like the leaves outside, as they made their way back out of the room to call out to another. This new being must have been just outside because it was only moments later that Rynn heard a new voice answer, heavy pawsteps come towards her, and someone sitting on the edge of the bed she lay on. 

 

     "Well heya there! Glad t' see ya up an' about... Well, mebby not about, but ya up at least!" The bright, cheerful voice flowed over her like sunlight after a cloudy morning. "An' ah be glad t' see ya in t' light it was quite dark in t' forest weren't it?" The voice paused for a moment before adding reflectivity, "Not that ya be seein' much right now. How's ya eye feelin' by t' way?"

 

     Rynn was taken aback by the sudden barrage of speech that rushed over her. She held her breath for a moment as her mind switched gears from the time before to the present. "Oh umm... I... They... they are d-d-doing fine I g-g-guess." The cold fire she had woken up with was dulled to a minor throb for a moment which she was grateful for. "Where am I?" The faenin clutched at the sheet again as she wondered what the owner of this interesting voice looked like. "I'm not in K-k-kyendi anymore am I?" She tried to sit up to be polite but the ebbing pain in her head threatened to come back so she gave up for the moment and sank back into the soft pillows.

 

     "Oh! Ya be in Faerendell! Ah got t' carriage t' bring ya here 'cause they have some of the best healers. They will get ya back on ya feet in no time!" The voice bounced a few time on the edge of the bed before hopping off and Rynn heard what sounded like curtains fly open. "I can wait t' show ya around. T' gardens here are some of the best. Even just outside there be flowers farther than t' eye can see." Amirynth heard the intake of breath before the voice continued. "By t' spirits! Now that not be something ya be seein'everyday!" Unprompted they continued. "T'ere is colours fallin' out of t' sky. Kinda like t' fallin' stars but without t' twinkly part o' them. I can't t'ink of any time when I've heard this happenin' before. I wonder if it has t' do with there not bein' any Starfall this year." The voice continued to narrate what they saw out of the window. "Imagine what a fallin' star looks like an' then make it dimmer, as if it be almost at t' end of it's existence. Then brighten it up wit' some colour. I can see blues, purples, reds an' oranges. T' yellows almost sparkle like gold an' t' greens look kinda like this kinda glowin' moss I grow at home. I took it from  Silveil an' I'm kinda surprised it's doing so well." The voice continued to describe the falling lights, how they seemed to poof against the ground in a light sparkle of glitter, and how they illuminated the darkening sky and the flowers they fell into. After returning to the bed they described the Faerie Shrouds, explaining how these blossoms hung down like garlands and they were fun to pick and use as trains that flowed behind you, or how they could be used to decorate cloaks. The fragrant, colourful blossoms were also often used as decoration in the home, filling the rooms with a soft fragrance. "Here, ya can feel these. They are fresh from this morning."

 

     Rynn felt something cool drop into her paw and reflexively curled around it. Bringing it up to her face she realized it must be the Faerie Shrouds that her new friend(?) was telling her about. Gently feeling the delicate petals between her fingers she counted each blossom on the stalk, there was more than she expected and each was smaller than the last with the smallest being at the tip of the stem. It was then that she realized the floral smell from earlier must have been these blossoms. "They are b-b-beautiful. What colours are they?" She wanted to know more as she felt her memories from before slip away to be shelved later.

 

     "These are pale blues an' purples but my favorites are t' darker indigo's. Most of t' trees around here though are covered in pinks of all shades." The owner of the voice sat back down on the edge of the bed and kicked their feet back and forth as they spoke. "Grand ol' trees just covered in pink blossoms all over t' place. It be even prettier in t' autumn when t' petals start fallin' everywhere." Rynn suddenly felt a paw on hers. "Maybe when ya better I can take ya t' see t' biggest tree in t' region. It's huuuuge!! You could probably fit a whole city in t'ere if ya tried!" The paw moved and Rynn got the feeling that the other voice was gesturing wildly as they spoke. 

 

     "M-m-maybe, that would b-b-be nice..." Rynn felt the wave of exhaustion flow over her but tried to push it away. She handed back the fairy shroud and let her paw drop to the sheets once more. "Later though..."

 

     "Sounds like a plan!" The voice felt like it was jumping for joy and then the bed made a springing sound as the owner of said voice actually jumped around. "I'm gonna let ya get some rest but if ya wanna chat some more later ya can always ask t' nurse t' get me. I'm not too far away!" The pawsteps made their way across the room and Rynn heard the door open and then close back up. She was left in silence with only the birds and babbling brook to keep her company.

 

     Her last thought before she drifted back off to sleep was, Oh dear, I never got their name...