“Coming right up!”
The man sighed, catching his breath, while Naptunie ran to talk to another of the men, a younger one this time. He shook his head.
“Ah, she’s a real beauty! I hope she doesn’t lose too much of her curves when she grows up!”
“Her c-curves?” said Cessilia, a bit surprised.
The man nodded.
“Ha... All the women in our family tend to be like that! They are all cute and well-rounded as children, and they lose it all when they grow up! I wish our cute little Nana would stay this adorable forever! Ha... Yes, coming, coming!”
Cessilia watched him go, a bit surprised. Thinking back, all the Dorosef adult women they had seen were quite slim and fit, while the younger girls were all round... Wasn’t it the exact opposite of their male family members, then? Cessilia chuckled. That was one interesting tribe...
“Cessi! Come help too!” exclaimed Tessa from the other side, grunting.
The whole group was indeed busy raising the large wooden pillars. They had been brought with carts, but they were a pain to put up, the wet wood adding to its weight. It took three strong people to raise each, and they had to act fast. Cessilia ran to help next to Tessandra and three other people, who were trying to get one of the largest ones up. After a bit of effort, they finally managed to raise it.
“...Ah!”
The sharp pain inside of her hand felt like something small had stabbed her, probably a splinter of wood. Cessilia looked at her palm, trying to find the cut. Something shined briefly.
“Cessilia!”
She raised her head, seeing Ashen run to her, alerted by her sharp cry of pain. She hadn’t realized she had been so loud, or he was near enough to hear. Looking worried, he took the log off her hands and grabbed her wrist to check for an injury.
“Are you hurt?”
“N-no...”
There wasn’t even a cut or a drop of blood, and she felt a bit embarrassed. She had been surprised by the sudden sharp pain, but she hadn’t meant to cry out like that... She looked around, hoping no one else had noticed, but they were too busy. She glanced at the injury again.
“...Are you sure you’re fine?” Ashen insisted, taking her hand to glance at it.
“Yeah, I... I th-thought I saw something. I must have b-been wrong. I’m fine, I p-promise. Let’s k-keep helping.”
“Alright.”
Ashen briefly kissed her, ignoring all the stares aimed toward them, and rushed to help raise the next pillar. Meanwhile, Cessilia glanced at her hand again. For a second, she would have sworn she had seen something there...
“Cessi!”
“C-coming!”
Chapter 17
Forgetting about her hand, Cessilia went to help again. With so many volunteers to help erect the new tents, it only took a matter of minutes before a good fifth of the queue was now shielded from the rain. Moreover, the large tent made to treat medical emergencies was ready too, and they had brought out tables and chairs. The ground wasn’t dry yet, but the water was now down to ground level or almost, and they could walk around normally again without water to their ankles. Cessilia’s and Tessandra’s shoes had even been given to some people who didn’t have any, since their scales covered their soles at the smallest scratch. They had grown up pretty much barefoot, anyway; this was nothing. Plus, they were both too busy to bother. Soon enough, the first patients arrived under the medical tent, and Cessilia, along with some of the Hashat Family doctors that had arrived, began tending to the worst cases, while Tessa went back outside to help organize everything and keep order.
Cessilia was a bit glad to be helpful with something she was extremely knowledgeable about; having been one of her mother’s best students, she was fully confident in her medical skills. Not only that, but she soon realized the other doctors present were regularly seeking her advice as well, and even taking notes on some of the medicines she explained, or how she manipulated the patients with twisted muscles. It wasn’t until Tessandra came back to update her on the situation outside and Nana insisted they both eat something that she and Ishira agreed to take a short break.
“We still need more medicine,” said Ishira, who had come by and grabbed a beignet while they were under the tent, “but I think we will be fine.”
“D-do you have news from your c-cousin?”
“They should arrive any minute now with more supplies, and perhaps take the more urgent patients we can’t handle here away.”
“And give you a break! The rain is calming down a bit,” noted Tessandra, her mouth full. “At this rate, it won’t stop until later tomorrow morning. ...I don’t want to be pessimistic, but the wind has changed.”
“It will be fine,” said Sabael, gently wiping a piece of food from her cheek.
A little silence followed his cute gesture, Cessilia, Nana, and Ishira were all stunned and embarrassed by the couple. Sabael’s boldness was so unexpected. As she noticed this, Tessandra glanced at them and suddenly turned red, hurriedly pushing his hand away.
“D-d-d-don’t do that!”
She stepped away from him, as if he was some dangerous, unpredictable beast, almost hiding behind Cessilia, who exchanged an amused glance with Sabael. She wasn’t sure what had happened between them, but it seemed like the young soldier was getting closer to taming the beast...
“Sabael, c-could you ask more Royal Soldiers t-to help us d-deal with the crowd, and request more b-buildings to host those who need p-places to sleep? It might just be t-temporary, but...”
“We’re already on it, my lady,” said Sabael, his eyes still going to Tessa. “The soldiers have volunteered their barracks here to offer beds and temporary housing for the families who haven’t found one. We also have more shop owners who donated, and even some of the restaurants. If the rain doesn’t get worse, I think everyone will be fine until tomorrow morning.”
“G-good, then. T-Tessa?”
Her cousin sent her a warning glare, clearly knowing what Cessilia was about to do. The Princess ignored her, a smile on her lips.
“C-can you g-go with Sabael and make sure the families g-get priority?”
“Cessi...” she growled.
