Eleri
With S’samph gone to speak to Pyo, Eleri found herself aimless without something to do. She was used to spending her mornings seeing patients in the clinic and then making her rounds through Laurus for some of the patients who needed home care. She’d told S’samph she was going to relax and not worry about patients for the morning, but she could at least catch up on some charts. Eleri dressed hastily in one of the few real outfits she owned, and for the first time regretted the fate of the blue dress. It would be nice to spend a quiet morning wearing something beautiful and impractical. In the kitchen, she lingered over her steaming mug of reconstituted caffeine paste. Bitterness aside, it went down easily. She hadn’t done much sleeping the night before.
If she had too many lazy mornings like this, she’d have to take up a hobby or something to fill the time. It would have to be something outrageous and frivolous, like collecting albums of old Earth music or traveling to Earth to learn how to scuba dive as only the wealthy on Gaia had done. It had been so long since she’d had a free moment that she couldn’t even begin to consider what types of activities might catch her interest. She allowed herself the luxury of a homemade pancake with some ywes berries using the leftover buckwheat flour from her cooking adventures with S’kasia. After she finished eating, she couldn’t shake the feeling of being unproductive, so she cleaned up and made a mental list of the administrative tasks she needed to complete.
While she input information in the database, the clinic filled with her soft voice as she hummed a song one of her pediatric patients had taught her when she worked in the children’s ward. Eleri had just finished compiling her notes on one of the females who was expecting a pup any day now when the clinic door chimed, announcing an entrant. Her shoulders stiffened despite the lack of an active threat. Ever since the attack, she’d been jumpy any time someone entered the clinic without an appointment.
Eleri settled her nerves as she turned to acknowledge the patient, only to see Myla entering the clinic. The stiffness in Eleri’s shoulders returned.The kyrot female fanned her wings, once, twice, and then settled them against her shoulder blades as she stared down Eleri.
“I was told I owe you an apology.” Myla’s voice was shrill as she maintained aggressive eye contact. Eleri averted her gaze back toward her chart, not wanting to incite further conflict than was already present. Her stomach clenched in anticipation of the argument to come. “But I won’t give you one.”
“Then what are you here for?” Eleri turned away from her interface to face Myla directly.
Myla made a soft noise as she fluttered her wings coyly and reached into a bag on her hip. “Here.” She produced a datapad with something that looked like a contract on the screen. Eleri sucked air between her teeth.
“I’m not going to mate your brother if that’s what this is about.”
“I’m not an idiot. Mating him won’t save him at this point. Read before you start making such ridiculous claims.” She shoved the datapad closer, and Eleri picked it up to start reading, grateful for her improved literacy in Universal. At first glance, it looked like an IA-standard format contract, but as she delved further into the details of what she’d be asked to do, she felt a sourness rise in the back of her throat. Eleri read it again, not sure she was understanding the details correctly. Some of the words were still difficult for her to decipher. But after a thorough second scan, she was certain what Myla wanted from her.
“You’re trying to pay me to leave Laurus.”
“You’ll like Brasnia Prime. They have some of the best medical centers in this quadrant. I’m sure you can learn much more there than in a backwater place like Laurus.” Myla’s wings folded. “Don’t be a fool, Eleri. This is a better opportunity than you could ever dream of without my help. I’ll buy out the rest of your IA contract. You’ll be free to live whatever life you wish.”
Eleri had to stop herself from dropping the datapad into the waste atomizer. Anger. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt such pure, unadulterated anger. Perhaps it was after the episode with Rhys that had left her peppered in bruises and finally made her submit her application to the IA colonial program. She dug her fingers hard into the sides of the datapad as she turned back to Myla. Now was the time to make herself as clear as possible. No apologizing. No half-truths wrapped up in calming words—Myla wasn’t a patient. Just get to the point like S’samph and S’kasia. She steeled herselfand made purposeful eye contact.
“I am not going to relocate so I’m conveniently unavailable when the IA comes to get my statement on Minio’s actions. I’ll stay here and take my first round of certifying. After which point, I’ll be an official junior healer for Laurus and Indras.” She made a point to speak the names of the towns with particular emphasis. Nothing could make her relocate. Even an opportunity to serve at the top medical facility on Brasnia Prime under the best physicians wasn’t an incentive to make her leave behind the life she’d started building here.
Myla’s wings unfurled, bringing wind to the still room. “You selfish human. You really have no idea what’s at stake here. My entire karst’s reputation will not recover from this. If we have a criminal addict in the family, it will leave a permanent stain on our entire line. Not to mention what it will do to my poor brother. He’s suffered enough already.”
The stiffness in Eleri’s shoulders turned to burning. She’d heard words like this before. Eerie in the similarity to what her mother had said to her before she left for Laurus. This time, she’d speak her mind rather than apologizing.
“He won’t get better if you keep enabling him.” Eleri set the datapad on the nearest counter surface, worried she really was going to hurl it across the room. “He won’t get better until he decides he wants to.Ifhe decides he wants to.”
Myla’s wings beat once and then snapped hard against her back. “What do you know? Did you read that in one of your fancy databases? I don’t know what it will take, but I intend to ensure you aren’t licensed as a healer here. Do you understand me? This is my town. If you don’t sign my contract, you’ll spend the rest of your days in Laurus as an outcast homemaker.”
Eleri frowned but wasn’t going to let the idle threats back her into a corner. The irony wasn’t lost on her. Myla had no connection to the IA licensing board. She could make any claims she wanted, even if they meant nothing.
“I lived with an iridescence addict for years. My younger brother almost killed me multiple times. I’m sorry, but I don’t have very much sympathy for enablers.” Eleri lifted her chin. “I won’t sign your contract, Myla. Let your brother feel the consequences of his actions. If he doesn’t, he might never decide to stop. I’m not going to roll over so he can hurt another person in the next place you send him.”
Myla’s wings snapped back together as she snatched her datapad back from the table. By the look in her eyes, it was clear she wasn’t finished. “If you stay in this town, I’ll make your life a misery.”
“You won’t.” Eleri shook her head. “I have people who support me here now. No one is going to allow you to torment me.”
“Who? Your mate?” Myla burst into a chorus of shrieky laughter. “After everything he put you through, you’ve still agreed to stay with him. I may be an enabler, but at least I have more sense than you’ll ever have.”
“If you don’t have anything medical you need my help with, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
“I know you don’t have any credits, Eleri. Sign the contract, and I’ll make sure you’re well compensated for your trouble. My brother barely scratched you. If anything, you’re coming out with a much better bargain here. Sign the contract, get your credits, and I’ll see to it Minio goes elsewhere to receive treatment.”
Eleri shook her head. Now didn’t seem like the appropriate time to correct Myla’s misconceptions about her financial situation. “The treatment won’t be successful unless he wants it for himself. And I know I’m not the only one he’s hurt with his behaviors. Leave. S’samph is coming back soon, and I’m sure you don’t want to be here when he returns.”
“I’m not frightened of your mate.”
“You don’t have to be. He’s not threatening you, but he won’t stand by while you harass me.” Eleri clasped her hands together behind her back, wondering why she’d ever been cowed by such a female. “Maybe you and Minio should go to Brasnia Prime. I’ve heard they have the top rehabilitation facilities there for iridescence addicts. I’m sure I can get you a referral.” She kept her tone neutral, although the implication was clear enough.
“I’m going to protect my brother. You do understand that? No one is going to believe a backwater species like you.”
“No one has to believe me.” Eleri shrugged. “There are video feeds in the clinic that sync directly into an IA database. I will be turning them over to the IA agent when they arrive. Protect your brother if you want, but know he’ll keep taking and taking from you until there’s nothing left.” Eleri pressed a button on her datapad. "It's well past sun high. I have afternoon appointments soon. I’ll need you to leave, so I can lock up.”
