The faint hint of a smile crossed Merida’s face as she listened to the man’s answer. Although she was no Konti, lacking the gift of reading emotions and thoughts, she sensed that he was still undecided and could relate to that. Many, many times she had stood at a crossroads in her life and tried to find out where to turn to. The result was the present Merida, a human living with Konti, a healer outside the Order.
“This will most likely be no problem”, she said thoughtfully.
“It’s fine if you work with the healers, get to know the Order before you make a decision. It’s wise.”Then she wandered off, using her hands to feel her way along the walls and exit the room. In fact she had developed a complex system of moving her feet and hands to move forward without stumbling or tripping over unfamiliar obstacles, and she always practiced. Of course, the inner struggle of the visitor was lost to her white eyes.
About five chimes later she returned with the ‘healer in charge’ she had promised to get for him. The Konti was dressed in the Opal Order robes, naturally, and quite tall for one of her kind. Her eyes shone with the deep green of a forest lake and her features revealed the kind of intelligence that kept her calm in most, if not all, situations. While Merida got seated behind the counter once again, the Konti greeted Serrif with a relaxed bow and smiled.
“Well, well, well... You want to work, heal others?” Suddenly she shook her head in theatrical sadness.
“Ts, first of all you must heal yourself. What’s wrong with you, what about that stiff posture? Tell me. Fill me in on the details your body leaves out.” Strange enough, she was still smiling, obviously amused by the new visitor.
And a strange one she was, jumping to conclusions and forgetting to introduce herself. What use were names, anyway? She observed and she spoke bluntly. In fact she had a reputation for just that.
For the time being, however, she was both listening to his explanation and leading him through a nearby door, down a long corridor and through another door to the left. If Serrif was stubborn enough to endure the short walk, he’d find himself under the sky once again. They were standing at the edge of the herbal garden. Spring caused many flowers to bloom with fresh color and their scent mingled with the watery breeze coming from Silver Lake. Precisely, that had been the intention of the Konti, to let him relax and recover.