She trails her finger along the scratch in her neck, the rough line of a scab. The wound may have healed quickly, but only until it was no longer at risk to her life. Now it seems she will heal like she normally does, slowly.

"He did try to kill me. Loki held a knife to my throat."

"Would you like to see one of our healers?"

Hika exchanges a glance with Jaak. "I'm sure it couldn't hurt."

Freya turns to the rest of the group. Her twin steps forward and motions to Hika. "Come with me."

Hika glances back at Jaak and he touches her arm, whispering to her in a low voice. "Do you need me to go with you?"

She responds back in the same quiet tone. "No, I think I'll be alright. Although I don't know what to do with the icefire."

Jaak shrugs. "Should we try to separate it?"

"We can try."

Hika shifts the flame so that Jaak can hold half of it yet have the ball still be one cohesive mass and pauses, watching him. His chin dips in a miniscule nod and she begins to pull on the singular fire element in the fire, absorbing it inside of her. Jaak does the same with the frost and the icefire slowly separates into a ball of fire and a ball of ice with a blue line running between them.

Then the two elements pull apart from each other and Hika pulls the flame inside of her. When she looks up, it feels like time slips back into existence, only a few heartbeats passing in the time it took to separate the flame. Freya's sister beckons again and Hika follows, fiddling with a tiny pinprick of a star in the palm of her hand.

A lick of cold curls against her neck and Hika can see a snowflake dancing beside her from the corner of her eye. A smile tugs at her lip as the snowflake sidles closer and touches her cheek before flicking away from her. The hall Freya's sister leads Hika into is warmly lit, enough so that she no longer feels like she wants a star for light.

Sconces are scattered along the hallway, lighting the tapestries draping the wall. The woman stops before a room and motions for Hika to step inside. Hika can feel her star flare with her nerves and pulls its light back, tightening her fist around it for a heartbeat and then relaxing her grip.

The room is clean and bright, containing not much more than a low table, two stools, and a countertop with cabinets beneath it. One of the stools is taken by a woman in a spotless white garment, who slides off her stool at the sight of Hika. Her strawberry-blonde hair is tied back in a loose braid that hangs down her back. She smiles warmly at Hika.

"Do you need something?"

Hika shifts on her feet, unsure of how to answer. Before she can figure out what to say, Freya's sister chimes in.

"She was attacked by Loki and was injured. She thought it was a good idea for her wound to get checked out."

The other woman dips her head. "Of course. Come in. And you-" She points to Freya's sister. "You can wait outside while I see to my new patient."

Freya's twin laughs and steps out of the room. The doorway shimmers after a moment and the woman smiles at Hika.

"We have privacy now. How about we start with names. I am Eir, the Goddess of Healing."

Hika smiles. "My name is Hi'ilani, I'm from the Hawaiian pantheon."

"Are you a youngling?"

Hika nods. "I'll gain my immortality in a few months."

"That's lovely. How did you get injured?"

Hika grimaces. "Loki held a knife to my throat."

Eir pauses, her eyes widening. She raises a hand to Hika's neck but pauses, her fingers fluttering. "May I?"

"Please."

Eir tilts Hika's chin up and gently prods the surface of the scratch. "This doesn't look that bad, you seem to be healing quite well. How recent was the attack?"

"Earlier this night."

Hika blinks, finally realizing how long she's been awake. The nights are long right now regardless, polar winter has very little sunlight, but it's very late. She has to bite back a yawn now that her body is recognizing the lack of sleep. Eir frowns.

"How deep was the wound, or is this as it was?"

"Does something feel off?"

"The way the skin sinks in along this scratch, it indicates a deeper wound than what I see."

Hika sighs. "The wound was deep enough for blood to spill over my hands and pool in the snow. Jaak sealed the wound shut for a while with a layer of ice and when he removed it to replace the ice with a real bandage, it was this scratch. I somehow healed most of the wound faster than I normally heal. Do you know what that means?"

Eir frowns thoughtfully. "It could indicate that you have a gift with healing, perhaps. What are your normal powers? The ones you are more used to."

"Fire and starlight. Those are my powers."

"Starlight is quite a rare gift. I don't think I've met anyone who has power over it. Or even heard of it, for that matter. Perhaps your starlight has to do with this healing gift, perhaps not. I don't know."

"Thank you anyways."

Eir smiles. "It was my pleasure. Now, shall we return to Frigg and go to the main hall? I would like to see Jaak."

Hika laughs and nods.

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Iwakālua kūmūiwa = twenty-nine, when counting

Why do you think Hika healed so quickly? What do you think of Eir? What's going to happen next? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~ Goddess of Fate, signing out