The healer's main tent was huge with several smaller tents that lined up into a single row of tents connecting together. What she found most appealing were the white roses climbing on the walls of the beige tents, covering the structure almost completely. She stopped in her tracks, falling in love with how full and voluptuous the white roses looked. It paled in comparison to the skinny roses that she was used to seeing in city flower shops.

Lei'la gripped her hand tighter and glanced to where she was staring at, "Do you like it?"

"Yes," she said under her breath "It looks so.. complete."

"Go on in, I'm sure Hell'ina would love to hear you appreciate her flowers." said Lei'la whose deep brown eyes were etched with enthusiasm.

"I wonder what she does to make them so big. Aren't you coming with me?"

She scrunched up her nose, "Her apprentices kind of gets weird. Besides, I have much work left to do. Come see me when you can. I'd love to talk more about you, behagthi. Nothing exciting ever comes to the sun tribe. It's all elders and eager students patiently learning from old scrolls. No one ever tries something new."

"Except for my sun prince." U'tu said, "He's something else."

Lei'la waved a two-finger salute next to her temple then took off on a run, moving at a blinding speed that River couldn't follow. It left a gust of wind in her wake, blowing past her face. She turned to glancing in all directions, wondering which way she went but she was too far gone. For a young girl her age, she moved incredibly fast in a flash. One minute she was here holding her hand, then in a flash she was gone.

She remembered that the warriors at the battle competition yesterday had moved in the same capacity too, but then, when they rode back to the village, they didn't move as fast to travel.

It must have been exhaustion from the games.

She hoped that was the case. Otherwise, it would have been embarrassing to have a bunch of warriors slow themselves down on account of her lacking strength.

"I hope you didn't slow down on my account" she turned to the boy who crossed his arms, leaning his back to the wall of the tent.

He shrugged "It was our pleasure."

Her cheeks heated "Right. I'm guessing you're also not coming with me inside?"

He gave a toothy grin, "You guessed right."

With a nervous sigh, she stepped in the healer's tent, ducking through the flapped entrance where she found four children much younger than U'tu were sitting on a table, reading scrolls.

"Hey there, good morning. Is the healer available?" she said, taking a quick look around inside. Each corner of the healer's tent had stacks of crafted boxes with bottle jars on top of it in different sizes. A glass chandelier hung in the middle and sunbeams coming from the windows reflected on its hanging glass. It made the entire space of the tent glow with rainbow luminescent spots of light.

The children swiveled to her, standing all at once and running to the center of the tent where a giant black coffin sat on the floor. They moved as she had seen Lei'la had moved. In a matter of seconds, they ate up large strides without looking like it took any effort, their capes flowing in midair.

She looked to the coffin where they had gathered and said "Sorry, my apologies. I didn't realize I was in the wrong tent."

Then, all four of them knocked at the same time on the closed coffin. The kind of knock kids were known to be annoying about. Fast-paced. Banging. Like a battering ram dropping with big echoed booms from their tiny surprisingly-effective fists.

She began edging back to the main entrance hoping not to disturb them when the coffin began creaking as it opened. An elder woman emerged from inside it looking pissed, and her gaze automatically zeroed in on River. Even from waking up, her hair fell down in an elegant wave of untangled silver strands and nothing about her, from her gray leather dress and wrinkled face had looked displaced which creeped out River more than her suddenly emerging from a coffin. The elder woman's back was straight, eyes clear, and her skin looked healthy as peach blossoms. Yet, the sound coming out of her mouth was rasped and scratchy, "Behagthi" she crooned, her eyes squinting.

River was beginning to hate that word. "Hey," she said lightly, trying to sound casual "I had a rather vigorous exercise yesterday and I was wondering if you had something to alleviate sore muscles?"

The old woman's eyes sought its way to the top of the ceiling and she screeched, "Beh heh heh!" The sound was like a goat and the other children seemed to harmonize along with it, humming throaty sounds. This was the wrong tent, she was sure of it.

River quickly decided she wanted no part of this so she ducked through the flapped entrance but before she could move outside, a huge clawed hand grabbed her by the shoulder pinning her down. The old woman had moved fast from the center of the room to holding her in a split second "Beeeh! Beeeeeeh! Beh heh heh" she screeched, her throaty cries were shrill, ringing out like a megaphone.

And yet the choir of children did nothing and continued to blanket the fierceness of the old woman's wild distressed sounds with their cool gentle humming, eyes closed, pulling their focus to an even rhythm of music notes without words. As if nothing was amiss.

The old woman's animalistic chanting kept on going as she tried to break free from her hold. Soon after, she felt a light pressure coming from the crown of her head, spilling down to her spine until its pressure reached to her toes. The sensation had a dizzying effect, pulling her in one fell swoop into unconsciousness.