Jenna was crazy. She’d been crazy for years at this point, and insanity suited her better than most. There was a purpose and design to her demented actions and ramblings. She was as good, if not better, at curing diseases than most witches and alchemists; the only problem, however, was that her methods weren’t always the most pleasant sounds.
Even now, as she checked the heroes in their rooms, she was more upset than worried for their ailing bodies. Insanity looked good on, so why was such an old friend of hers trying to force itself into new bodies? Was she not enough? Was there something wrong with the situation itself? Breaking into laughter at her demented thoughts in the middle of the treatment, she yelled and screamed at the imaginary being that was on the cusp of betraying her.
"What are you doing? I said you’ll be fine! Just let me handle this, idiots!" She yelled, right as her ear was pushed against Raven’s chest.
Nobody knew what she was going on about, and their confusion only grew as she rushed over to her makeshift alchemy station in the far corner of the room.
"I wanna visit where they went too, but I don’t wanna see Nerva; she sounds scary." Talking to herself, she sprinkled some of this and some of that from across her table into a glass container. Turning on the magic stove with a touch, she moved a hand in front of her mouth and began coughing up ice with her mand over ice and water. "What was I talking about?"
Holding the ice in her hand, she looked back at the sick group. Her eyebrows were raised with worry the very next moment.
"Oh yeah! The sickness!" Shifting back to the front, she crushed the ice into the glass container to cool the ingredients so that they could simmer on for longer without getting burned. "I need everyone’s hair! Give me hair! The potion needs hair, or it will explode in your stomachs!"
"Explode?!" Maria yelped, baffled by how quickly her potion could turn into a bomb.
With narrowed eyes, Jenna glared at her.
"Yeah! How else will the frog spirit know that it’s in the right stomach? HUH?! I NEED THEIR HAIR! THE SPIRIT NEEDS TO KNOW!"
’What the fuck is she talking about?’ Was the lone thought burning in everyone’s feverish head.
"I like her, ehehe~," Natura whispered, sitting on the same table Jenna was working on.
"A human at the cusp of insanity held by a mere thread," Umbra smirked, fascinated by the girl.
The others were just as intrigued, though their minds were occupied by the tray of ice cream sitting in the middle of their tiny fairy circle. A taste of freedom with the flavor of berries, chocolate, and vanilla. All of it was just as sweet as they had imagined.
"Fiera! Stop burning the ice cream!" Blizzteria plained, blowing freezing air on the tray to keep the ice cream mound from melting.
"How do you expect me to eat then?!" Fiera shot right back, waving her flaming hand at the mother of blizzards.
"Can you little people shut up?" Looming over them, Jenna pushed the tray further away from her.
The fairies rushed with a sense of horror claiming their hearts. Flying in front of the sliding tray, they all made an effort to prevent it from falling to the floor. Their small bodies looked frail, but the mothers were nearly as strong as they were before. However, not taking their strength into account, they ended up flipping the tray over in their attempt to push it back.
"HAAAA!!" Crying and plaints could be heard from their side as Jenna finally finished the first batch of her potions. Nobody expected the mothers to be such big babies, but like any other fae, being childish at times of peace was just part of their nature.
Ignoring them for now, the group was given their first dose of medicine. Instantly, they felt the headache subside, but the sinking feeling remained along with the visions of horrors all around them.
"How the hell did you figure out what to do?" Sitting upright at last, Raven turned to the alchemist for some answers. Already having turned around, Jenna was walking back to her counter when she responded with a shrug.
"I use the same potion when my head feels like it’s going to explode; I thought it would help you guys as well. Seems like it did." Hearing her explanation, everyone’s heart sank quite a bit.
’Poor woman.’ Thought the hero. After all, one day was enough to nearly drive him mad, so having to deal with such nightmares all the time wasn’t something he would wish on anyone else.
"Let me brew one more medicine; it will help you feel well again," Jenna added, her head and hands already busy with her alchemy practice.
With her assurance, Raven turned his attention elsewhere. Nodding at Maria, he beckoned her closer. And with her lips close enough to whisper, she told him about the possible plications with Viola’s pregnancy as well as how the rest of the women were doing. Every single one of those women needed him. He had to be a present father, but at the time, the journey to the end of the world was just as important.
"I’ll head to the nursing room before heading off to Athenia." Feeling the weight of his parental responsibilities, Raven decided that it was best to deal with it now rather than push them any further. A few days at most he had before their group had to move further up ahead, and whatever they might find might once more hinder them on their journey.
In the meantime, Nerva’s retaliation was another cause for some major concern. She’d been awfully quiet for someone who could upend this world, and Raven especially did not expect her to let this whole rescue ordeal blow over.
"Erika. Once we’re done here, I want you to set up those security runes in every city and every island. Even when we’re gone, I want our likeness to be present on the ground–if nothing else, the clones will delay the enemy and possibly boost the morale of the defending soldiers." With his first order given after the rescue, it was time for him to get back into a general’s headspace.
But before that, there were some women he had to fort with his presence and also learn more about the new abilities he’d earned through the fae mothers they had rescued.
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