Love sick

Ningal woke up 5 minutes later. She stood up while holding her forehead having forgotten what had happened. As soon as she saw Sheyken her memories started coming back. She looked at his back and immediately tensed up, frightened to her wit's end. She took a step back but her legs gave up on her. She fell down, hitting the floor with her buttocks, and immediately with all her might went to the other side of the room.

'What in the All-Mother is that thing. Do not tell me he has been living with that thing on his back all this time, and why did he faint. Ahhhh..... Who is this kid?. Too many things about him are not right. I should chuck him out of my house. I have too many things to worry about for someone to add a mountain on top of it.'

She thought still trying to get as far away from him even though the wall was stopping her flight.

'Calm down Ningal, calm down. It's my little assassin we talking about. He is a good boy, even though he tries to talk like a man now and then trying to charm me. Kids will be kids. He was trying to show me his back before he fainted. That means he trusts me enough to show me his secret. He did show me his Camorphiare after all. I should be checking if he is fine rather than thinking of throwing him out.'

Ningal made up her mind and after a minute or two still in turmoil over getting close to him, even though she had made up her mind to help him, she finally mustered up the courage to stand up. She closed her eyes and step by step started walking to Sheyken. With her hands over her eyes, after taking some steps she would pip to see if she was close enough. When she reached him she turned him over still with her eyes closed, only to open them when he was lying on his back. She took the mana crystal on the table and picked him up like a baby. Not wanting to waste time since he did fall headfirst on the floor, she quickly took him to her basement.

The basement had runes all over the walls and floor that were lit up constantly. She put him in the middle of the room. She looked at him and noticed that he was not hurt anywhere, only sleeping like a baby.

'Why did he faint all of a sudden? He seems fine but something must be wrong. Was it because he wanted to show me what was on his back?' That can't be it. He has been leaving with that thing for who knows how long for sure. Unless it is hostile to him?'

When she was thinking that, Sheyken slowly opened his eyes with great difficulty. He smiled from what he saw and lifted his right hand to touch Ningal's cheek, brushing it gently.

"Teneb...."

He went to sleep again not able to finish his sentence while his hand fell down. Ningal caught it and did not know what to make of his actions. She put his hand down gently and felt his forehead, noticing that his temperature was normal. She looked at the far right side of the room and saw that everything was normal too.

'Why is he like this? He called me by a name that I could not make sense of. Does he think I am his mother or.....?'

Ningal went into deep thought. She set down next to him in a meditating position and closed her eyes.

'Numinima, You were the best White Witch I ever knew. You taught me so much. Even though he looks fine, something is wrong with him, I can feel it. Help me help him.'

She thereafter freed her mind of any thought but that of Sheyken.

'Sheyken what could have happened for you to faint. Flosbris?.... No, She would not risk starting a war with me. She knows I am like his guardian for now. The villagers are benefiting from his hunts, so let me rule them out. The thing on his back could be the reason, but let me put it aside for now. The food? it does not look like he fainted but is asleep. Most children like to go to sleep after eating so much. Am I overthinking his situation?.'

She thought. Calmly putting two and two together to make sure she did not miss anything.

'That action. The way he caressed my cheek. That is how Numinima would caress Vitula's cheek when she was bedridden after giving birth. A touch that shows love for someone. So, why would he do that? Did he mistake me for his mother?.... Unless... The meal? the Greosen.....? He is a good-looking kid after all, and this world is full of unsightly people even from a young age. For now, I have nothing else to go on. Numinima said I should always start with my gut feeling and then eliminate the course one by one. Doing a diagnostic to find out if it is what I think it is will not leave any lasting effect after all.'

She stood up and went to the corner of the room witch was full of portions and herbs, together with organs of the beats Sheyken has hunted. She took a knife resembling a surgical knife and a portion that looked milky.

She then put the portion next to Sheyken and with the knife draw symbols on his face and upper body resembling musical notes. She called not finish her work as when she was carving them on his stomach the ones she had started with had already started to heal.

"Does he have a Blessing of healing?"

She said looking at the slowly healing carvings on his face.

"Sorry little assassin, I will have to cut a little dipper for this to work then."

She said carving where it had started healing again. If Sheyken was awake he would be in deep pain at that point. When she was finished she poured the portion on each carving and it stuck on them without any dripping to the floor. Putting the container down, she started humming while moving her left hand a centimeter above his body, moving it to every part she had carved the symbols on.

The potion on the symbols carved on his body started vibrating. Moving her hand while her hamming started getting more and more louder, she suddenly stopped when it was about to become high pitch. Looking at the portion on the carvings, only one carving did not have it. It was a carving on his belly, right beneath his belly button, where his core would be if he ever developed one. Surprised at this development, she moved her hand to that symbol. Starting to hum a different tone, reminiscent of that of a war dram, the potion on the other symbols moved to the one that was rejecting the potion and the carvings healed instantly.

As the potion was now babbling where it was touching the symbol, her humming became more intense as it was rejecting the potion. It started to turn black like darkness itself. The darkness turned to a small black devil-like looking creature. As it was about to finish its form, the portion also transformed to a bird, resembling a falcon. Before the potion could finish its transformation, the devil-like creature threw a projectile that looked like a spear that impaled the bird on its chest. It then jumped on its back, biting its neck and swallowing the pieces it had bit off. The bird screamed in pain.

Seeing something she had never in her life thought she would see, Ningal knew she had to do something, otherwise the devil-like creature would even be more powerful if it devoured the bird. With no cards to play, and the creature proving to be powerful than she thought, she took the knife and cut off her pinky.

Her humming grew more intense, and with her war spirit in every hum she made, the bird shook off the devil creature and then jumped up to the air, catching and swallowing her pinky in the process. The spear in its chest disappeared and the wounds it had healed while its legs and wings turned to fire. It flew around her hand healing the wound then dove straight for the creature. Leading on top of it on Sheyken stomach, it could not get up as half of its body was under the bird's foot. The bird then bit the creatures head, pulling it like it was pulling a worm out the ground. It tired it off and swallowed it, thereafter it swallowed the rest of the creatures body. Feeling satisfied, it looked at Ningal with intelligent-like eyes and nodded. She stopped her humming and it turned back to a milky potion and went in the carved symbol.

Ningal was sweating bullets at that point and almost out of breath. She looked at Sheyken who was still sleeping peacefully and again did not know what to make of him.

"Kid, I know you cute, but who the hell likes you so much to put a love curse on you? You are lucky it was still hibernating waiting for something, otherwise, at my level, I think I would have needed to sacrifice my life in order to get rid of it."

She said looking at her missing finger.

"I will never be able to get or grow back my finger ever again. You better be worth it playboy."

She said, relieved and satisfied to have saved someone from a lifetime of torment.