Hajin lay among the flowers while the spirit kept both palms beside his shoulders, easing the strain his medicine left.
"Your new arrival asked a great deal of you," she said, watching him test his fingers against the grass, "and a body needs time after its mana comes back, Master."
He flexed the hand again and winced when the gentler current found pathways that no longer needed filling.
"Hey, I learned from a fantastic instructor," he wheezed, letting the hand flop back onto the grass.
"She refused to explain a single damn thing until I finished paying the whole bill."
The spirit gave the joke a small smile and moved her hand clear of the tender joint.
"You could not stop midway, I understand that," she murmured, "but I would prefer fewer choices which end with you barely standing."
"Yeah, yeah, me too, believe me."
"The conversion drained me dry, a vial put it back, and now my insides want a formal apology."
