The gigantic, furry paw caressed her porcelain skin. The pandaren frowned, brushing away a strand of unkempt, raven hair with a gentleness that belied his size. “How long did you say she was captive?” The monk asked in a near whisper.
Terenus sucked in a breath, hesitating to answer for a moment. How long had it been? She hadn’t even told him or Darvyn that she had been going, so it was difficult to say. He could only shake his head and mutter, “Too long.” Too long…
Finding Naliru of the Red Crane had been a small miracle unto itself. Healing one such as Anashae Dawnbringer with the Light held its own complications - And ones that she usually opted to suffer through, rather than find a more specialized physician. They had stumbled upon the young monk in the Ghostlands, at a waystation on their return from Blackwind.
His patient was but a child - a young boy who had been mauled by a feral dragonhawk, an occurrence far more common than anyone would like to admit. Something about the gentle giant, besides his size, had caught Terenus’ attention right away. The lad’s injuries were grievous, but Naliru had simply smiled and waved the surgeons away. “He is far too young to wear such scars. Let him earn them as a warrior, when he comes of age.” The pandaren set a hand on his belly and let forth a rumbling chuckle. “Badges of honor to show off to a pretty young maiden… But not from an accident.”
When the elves had given him ample room, he reached over his shoulder and grabbed one of two massive casks that were secured there, the liquid inside sloshing about merrily as he hefted it and set it down beside him. Two paws dipped into the liquid, taking a small cupful in between them, and tossing it into the air over the boy. Rather than falling and drenching him, the fluid lingered in midair and became a thin mist. Almost immediately, the child’s pained whimpering ceased, and the Pandaren chuckled once more. “Breathe, my young friend, and contemplate tranquility.”
The monk rubbed his paws together, thoroughly soaking them in the mist, and then held them aloft over the child’s prone form. “Live and grow, little one… Live and grow.” No sooner had he spoken the words than the mists began to coalesce around his paws before streaming down into the gashes that the beast’s beak had rent in his patient’s flesh. As the wounds were steeped with the healing mists, slowly, but surely, the wounds began to close. Before long, naught was left but new, pink skin where the boy had been savaged.
Naliru’s smile widened, and the monk seemed truly satisfied with his handiwork. With a wave of the hand, the mists settled down over the boy. “He’ll feel no pain while he recovers.” He explained to the child’s tearful parents. “And here…” A paw reached upward once more to retrieve the smaller of the two casks, which he handed to the boy’s father. “This is an herbal tea - A special blend I’ve devised. It will promote growth and help him to be still while his wounds heal in full.” And with that, he stooped retrieved the other cask, hoisting it over his shoulder and turning to leave.
Terenus had been standing and watching, awestruck as the child’s injuries seemed to simply vanish. “Please.” He called out to the monk before he could depart. “Help my friend.”
Author’s Note: Naliru of the Red Crane is one of two main raiding characters that I play on Emerald Dream (A). Although his character ingame is Alliance, he knows nothing of the red or the blue, only of easing the hurts of life. I’ve wanted to get into RP with him for a little while, but never had a great medium until now, and he’ll probably figure a little bit more prominently in a couple of my stories in the future. I hope you guys liked this first little look at Naliru, the Pandaren Mistweaver. <3
