Nazli's meals had become a little larger every few days, even if she couldn't quite finish them, and as a result of being bedridden for over a week she had begun to put on weight again. It wasn't a noticable difference — only about a pound at a time — but slowly her cheeks began to fill back in, and the tuck of her belly lessened.
Visits from Senmut, Tavina, and the occasional
fellahin remained commonplace to the point that Nazli found herself holding on to her waking hours for longer and longer periods, as well. She wanted to hear about the events of the day, whether they seemed interesting or mundane to the storyteller of the moment.
Finally, when this particular day had begun to wind down and she'd been brought her dinner, Nazli thought she would take a walk. Her mind was buzzing with names that had no faces, as there were many changes to Akashingo during her vanishing; she also felt the familiar stirrings of wanderlust urging her to move, which was a good sign.
So, she sought the hallway first, and crept carefully along the corridor, using the wall for support when it was necessary, and shooing away the lingering
fellahin who came to her aid, determined to make it as far as the next level down within the mesa. The air was stuffy in the hall and she had to take breaks, but by the time Nazli came to a proper rest she was situated outside of
@Tavina's workspace.
Despite being out of breath, Nazli poked her nose around the corner of the doorway and murmured,
Guess -- who?
slowly nazli recovered, and word came that she was to join tavina as sesh. the raven woman was rather glad of this, and without hardly considering a moment longer, began to lay in a smaller store of things and tools with which nazli could work.
it was on one such errand, dividing chamomile flowers into two piles, that the girl weakly came to the door. a small scattering of dried petals rose in a puff as tavina rushed to help nazli, to support her into the room.
"come now, sit. oh, it's so good to see you. but drink this, dear, it's a bracing tea of nettles," tavina prattled, now offering a small cup of liquid.
She came to a settled position by a plinth of stone, upon which Tavina laid out the tea. Smiling, tasting the familiar bitterness of medicine, Nazli didn't immediately say anything. She didn't have the energy really; but also, it felt good to be fussed over while awake and cognizant, for a change. How badly the new sesh had missed the older woman --!
It would be some time before her lessons, and beyond that her usefulness could be realized. Thankfully much of what Tavina did in her day-to-day was familiar to Nazli from a very young age; she seemed to be destined for this line of work one way or another.
Finally she downed the last of the tea and cleared her throat.
Thank you,
she murmured, feeling a little bit more awake.
I... I missed you, and home. And... All of this.
But you, so much. It went without saying, but Nazli felt the compulsion to tell Tavina outright, so there could be no uncertainty.
"i missed you too," tavina said earnestly, chancing a light, brief hug around the thin shoulders. there was nothing to say of the girl's absence. she was home and they could begin anew.
"do you have any idea of how you'd like to specialize?" the sesh asked, bustling about to prepare a cup for herself and lay out several types of pansy she had discovered. her own tea would be forgotten until cold.
anything to avoid speaking of —
Nazli was fixated on the flowers as Tavina laid them out, as a spark of recognition to an earlier interest returned to her. She had forgotten about her old interest in the bees of the meadow and their cultivation, but the flowers were pretty little things, and reminded her of something close to that.
I'm not sure,
she admitted, sniffing over one of the nearer pansies.
I suppose it all depends on how much... energy, I have, when I'm better.
A small sigh. What do you need help with the most?
That's what Nazli had always been good at; filling the gap, doing as she was told. Going off on her own for that seemingly endless stint had only winnowed her down and broken her spirit - she wasn't likely to make any choices for herself for a long while. Not when they ended in disaster.
"i need to lay in herbs for childbirth. children. those sorts of things." tavina spoke lightly, for this subject was still tender for herself. she assumed it was still so for nazli.
when the tea had steeped long enough in a stone basin of warm water, she brought a cupped leaf of it to the new sesh and smiled broadly. "this can be your space, you know. there's room for us both, but more than that, there's space for you to have your own storage and workstation."
hope? joy?
The slow nod she gave as she listened made the room fuzzy for a moment, but Nazli said nothing of this, and when the queasy feeling abated she could put more focus on the conversation. She did not want to cause any undue worry, not after the great scare Tavina must have experienced upon seeing her first stagger in off the dunes those weeks ago.
Nazli took the tea happily. It helped to steady her.
I could... send someone to Fairspell,
she remarked. There are many things growing there that we don't get here. Maybe some of it would be useful? And... it would mean less work for us.
She fondly thought of her gardening attempts, and the bees, and loosed a sigh that dredged deep in to her belly. It would be a long time before Nazli could venture that far herself.
As for a workplace, Nazli smiled - thin, worn, but happy and amenable to the idea.
send someone. "yes, indeed. there's a woman, eset, who has an eye for a plant's properties. if you described what you needed, i'm certain it could be gotten for you."
pleased as she was to see nazli up and participating, she knew also that the girl needed rest. "why don't we meet for breakfast tomorrow?" she suggested, lightly indicating that the new sesh should return to her bed. "i can walk with you. i need to visit the mazoi anyway."
I would like that,
she answered. Her smile briefly fluctuated to be wider, her eyes twinkling, until she realized how tired she was, and then it seemed to dissolve in to another sigh.
I think I need a rest, now.
It had taken more out of Nazli than she'd expected, walking the length of the hall to get here. Even though she now lay prone and relaxed with tea in her belly (or maybe because of the tea and its medicinal properties) she was suitably tuckered out.
Could I... rest here? Would that impose too much? I could go back to my room --
she turned her head towards the door, and the bones of her neck seemed especially obvious at that angle.
"no imposition at all, nazli," tavina said, guilty at the look of that thinned clavicle.
swiftly, aptly, she made up the patients'-pallet and covered the young sesh with a light covering. "i will be just over here. rest."
hovering close; almost maternal; tavina went back to her work with heart both lighter and more weighed down.