The Second Archon War: Sapientia Oromasdis 4 (Patreon)

Sapientia Oromasdis 4: Back to Basics

Brought to you by my patreon Korean Writer

Beta’d and edited by Dr_Feelgood, The Grand Cogitator, October Daye, and Philosophysics

The sunlight greeted Nahida once more, and she smiled as her eyes opened. She sat up in bed, stretching and enjoying the light on her skin. She did, of course, conduct a sort of photosynthesis, but mostly she just liked having a window, something she’d not really had in the Sanctuary. After taking a few moments, she gently shook Qiqi awake. “Good morning, Qiqi.”

“Good morning,” the little girl responded sleepily. Nahida was a little surprised; that was the first time in the seven days she’d known Qiqi that she’d gotten an actual response first thing in the morning. Perhaps their nightly dreams together were helping. Nahida had taken Qiqi through all sorts of dreamscapes, from nighttime visits to Sumeru City to leaping between bouncy stars in the sky, to of course, tea time in the meadow of flowers.

Despite the positive start, Qiqi still needed help remembering how to put on her clothes, though she did help just a little bit more than normal. Nahida could sense that the hold the Demon had on Qiqi’s soul was lessening slightly. Why was that? Perhaps the dreams were helping? Was the demon retreating because of Nahida? It was worth further study, though really if Nahida really wanted to know she’d need at least a dozen parahumans, an equal number of regular people as a control group, and a team of Vahumana researchers.

Human experimentation, even the gentle sort, always made her feel queasy, so she tucked that away in the recess of her mind. Shortly after that, she brought Qiqi over to the prayer room, where Dr. Bashir was already laying out the mats.

“Good morning girls,” He said, smiling at them.

“Daddy,” Qiqi said, a faint smile on her lips. “Good.”

“Good morning,” Nahida echoed. She didn’t call Bashir father, and he didn’t ask her to. It felt too odd to call someone who was her junior, father, even if, well…he was starting to feel like that. Nahida had always known she really could trust some grown-ups, she’d just never met one she actually felt she could before Bashir. Even her kindest caretakers had been reporting on her to the sages, which had felt like a betrayal.

After prayers was breakfast, which Nahida helped cook, Bashir coaching her. She didn’t need nearly as much guidance as he gave but it felt…comforting. It was clear an adult probably shouldn’t trust a child they thought was five years old around boiling water or a hot oven unsupervised, but Bashir was gentle.

Qiqi, for her part, sat at the table, glassy-eyed as she sucked on a small sippy cup full of coconut milk, a new obsession of hers. Farasha had brought it, though she hadn’t been around much in the last few days. From what Nahida had gleaned from Bashir’s thoughts, it was best not to dwell too much on what Farasha did when she disappeared. It usually involved something rather nasty.

“I have rounds at the hospital today,” Bashir informed Nahida. “I’ll be taking you both with me. Normally Mrs. Rasab would watch you, but I’d like to do a more thorough examination of you, Nahida, and a check-up on Qiqi while we’re at it.”

“Are you looking for this Corona Pollentia?” Nahida inquired. “I’ve heard you mention it.”

“Yes, among other things. Most parahumans have altered biology compared to your average person. Some vision holders show signs as well, though it seems much more limited, such as changes in eye or hair color.”

“Elemental Attunement,” Nahida agreed, thinking back to various papers she’d read. “As the Mind reflects the Vision, so the Body must reflect the Mind.”

“That’s…a fascinating way of putting it,” Bashir mused. “But yes, my theory does run something along those lines.”

“Really? What is it?!” Nahida asked eagerly. A real scholar doing research, and she could be an actual part of it? She’d left hints and notes to students before in the Akasha, or spoken to them in, well, not their dreams, but while they slept. But that had been largely one way, and Greater Lord Rukkhadevata had gotten all the credit anyway. Not that Nahida minded that overly much, it just… would have just been nice for someone to believe she wasn’t a worthless Archon for once.

“I’m sure it would just bore you, it’s rather technical,” Bashir said, giving Nahida a rather paternal smile.

“No, no! I am very interested to hear what you think. It’s connected to me, after all,” Nahida pulled out the false Vision she kept on the silver chain Farasha had given her from around her neck, displaying it to emphasize her point.

“Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to discuss it with you,” Bashir agreed, his eyes sparkling with the true delight of a man talking about his passion. “You see, my theory is that Visions and Parahumans are entirely different, and work on completely different principles. What those are, I am unaware, but ignoring the obvious difference that Vision Holders need their totem, it’s the psychology.”

“Their minds operate differently?” Nahida asked, frowning and putting her finger to her lips as she concentrated. Yes, that would make sense: Visions were mortal ambition given physical form, while these Parahumans seemed to be the result of a Demon latching on to a mortal's soul.

“Yes, Parahumans have several obvious psychological characteristics,” Bashir said, nodding to Qiqi. “First, is the fact that universally, they Trigger when exposed to extreme trauma.”

“Trigger? I’ve not heard that phrase before, can you describe it?” Nahida inquired, excited at the new knowledge.

“Hmm,” Bashir tapped a finger on the table, frowning at Qiqi, who was gnawing on a bit of bread, crumbs and bits of fruit covering the bib she wore at meals. “Well, even if you do understand, it would be good for you to know, Qiqi.”

“No bread?” Qiqi asked, blinking at Bashir and lowering her food.

“Yes, bread. Qiqi is a good girl,” Bashir assured her, and Qiqi went right back to eating. “Well, as you can see, Qiqi has a severe developmental delay, brought on by a combination of a lack of nurturing when she was very young, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I…do know the details of her circumstances, but I am afraid I won’t share them now.”

The impressions that flashed through Bashir’s mind, an examination of various injuries, an emaciated little girl with sunken eyes, autopsies of frozen corpses…Nahida shuddered and sniffled, fighting back tears.

“If this is too much-”

“No,” Nahida said quietly. “I…I have seen what she fears. In her dreams.”

Bashir blinked at that, then got out a notepad from his shirt pocket. “Dreams?”

“Yes. Dendro is…well, it’s the element of life, and the most spiritual of the Seven Elements,” Nahida said, trying to search her mind for what would be safe to share. “And it-”

“Seven? There are seven?” Bashir asked, clearly astonished. “What makes you say that? You’re the only Dendro Vision Holder I know of in person, though I have gotten reports from my colleagues in other nations who have encountered them as well in the past few days. But the only other Visions I know of are Electro and Anemo.”

“That’s odd, how could the world be balanced with only three elements?” Nahida muttered, tugging her lip in thought. She looked up. “How many Archons do you know of?”

“Well, many, if you refer to the Angels of Allah,” Bashir asked, clearly confused by the sudden turn of the conversation.

“No no, like…like the Raiden Shogun,” Nahida clarified, using the same name as had been in Lightning Princess Ami for the girl’s mother. It was clearly a fanciful tale, as Nahida had never heard of Beezlebul ever adopting a mortal, or even associating with another god after she slew Orobashi.

“Oh! Well, she has called herself the Electro Archon, yes. But the only other being granted that title is Barbados by the infidels in Germany,” Bashir answered, still obviously mystified.

“Barbatos,” Nahida corrected absently. “Unless it’s a different…how does the Anemo Archon appear? What titles does he claim?”

“As a drunk lout, unless the tales are greatly distorted. Here, let me see…” Bashir rose and hurried over to his office, where his computer was. Nahida hurriedly followed, jumping up on the chair to get a good view as Bashir turned the machine on. After a few moments of waiting, he manipulated it until a video played, of people singing during a battle, the Anemo Archon doing battle with a Demon in the sky.

“He’s called the Angel of Freedom, though some blasphemers name him a god,” Bashir said as the video played. “Among other things, though he’s not been seen since he performed at Eurovision.”

“Angel,” Nahida said, mulling over the word. “A messenger from the Heavens, lacking free will.”

She’d found Bashir’s copy of the Quran and read it cover to cover, something that had both delighted and pained him, but he’d encouraged her to ask questions about it. He’d answered the ones she had, though she was still mulling over most of them internally.

“Yes, that would contradict him being called the Angel of Freedom, wouldn’t it?” Bashir asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.

“Djinn would be a more appropriate name, though he is not lying if he says he is a god,” Nahida said. Bashir gave her a horrified look, and she hastily clarified, “Not Allah, the Creator Deity, but a lesser being with divine power.”

“Dangerous words. Many would call you a heretic for that,” Bashir sighed. “Be careful where and to whom you say that. But…hmm. Djinn. I had dismissed those as mostly superstition myself, but…”

“I assure you, the djinn are very real,” Nahida said, thinking of the Aranara she’d found in the garden. It had been delightful to play with it, even Qiqi smiling at being called “Cold Nara” though the Aranara had refused to let her touch it. The Demon seemed to frighten it, which Nahida didn’t blame the little forest spirit for.

“Why, have you met one?” Bashir asked, his tone slightly teasing.

Nahida decided she’d said too much, and blushed, shrugging. “Well, perhaps only in a child’s mind.” That was true enough, as few adults could see the Aranara. Not even most Dendro Allogenes could manage it. Some of their dreams were lost when they grew up, a process that terrified and intrigued Nahida, though she did wonder if she ever would experience the loss herself.

“Hmm, the eyes of a child are a wonderful thing,” Bashir mused, switching off the computer and heading back to check on Qiqi. She had made an even bigger mess, which Bashir tidied up. Nahida had thought the conversation was over as they prepared to leave, until he turned to her and asked, “So, what do you think the other elements are?”

“What do you consider the natural elements to be?” Nahida asked in response, wary of saying too much and alienating this kind man.

“Oh, there’s,

There's antimony, arsenic, aluminum, selenium

And hydrogen and oxygen and nitrogen and rhenium

At first the song confused Nahida, but then she laughed and clapped her hands as Bashir finished it. It was in English, but she understood it easily enough, even if it wasn’t Bashir’s soul’s native tongue. When he finished, he bowed.

“Those are the elements I’m more familiar with now, though there are the classical ones to consider. Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water,” Bashir said with a smile.

“Geo, Anemo,  Pyro, and Hydro,” Nahida agreed. “I would consider those the fundamental elements.”

“One more,” Bashir mused, looking thoughtful. He suddenly blanched and gave Nahida a pained look. “If Dendro is the element of life…is Morte the Element of Death?”

“The Abyss,” Nahida said with a shudder at the very thought. “No. That is not one of the true Elements.”

“Oh? Then what is it?” Bashir asked, curious. “You did say there were seven. Hmm, I wouldn’t have thought of Electro as a classical element…Metal?”

“Metal?” Nahida asked, blinking in confusion. There were so many different kinds of metals, but all of them were governed by Geo, saved for crystallized elements.

“No? Hmm, perhaps Force, known as Kenesis?” Bashir guessed, which prompted a giggle from Nahida. “Not that either, I see. Well, what is it?”

Nahida considered telling as they stepped out the door and over to Bashir’s car but decided it would be more fun not to. Instead, she laughed and skipped again.

“That’s not fair!” Bashir chuckled, leading Qiqi along by the hand. He made half a dozen more guesses as he got her strapped in, Spirit, Wood, Darkness, Light, Body, and so on, each making Nahida laugh more and more.

“You are a very silly little girl,” Bashir told her, checking to make sure she’d done up her car seat properly. He tickled her and smiled as he said it, which made Nahida laugh again, and then went up to the front to drive.

“What do you think the elements are, Qiqi?” Nahida asked as Bashir started the car.

Qiqi actually looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, “Cocogoat.”

“That’s it!” Bashir cried as he pulled out into the street. “It’s coconuts! How could I not have seen this!?”

“Coconuts would be Dendro!” Nahida protested.

“Hmm, I think I have a couple of nuts in this van,” Bashir laughed, which made Nahida giggle too.

They were all the way at the hospital, Bashir helping Qiqi get out of her car seat, when Nahida said, “Cryo.”

“Hmmm?” Bashir looked up as he lifted Qiqi out of her car seat.

“The seventh Element. Cryo: the element of Ice and Cold, they of the twin paths and resolute spirit,” Nahida explained, quoting from an ancient text she’d read long ago.

“Ice? That doesn’t make any sense. Ice is merely frozen water. You already said hydro was one,” Bashir said, rolling his eyes. “You are very silly.”

“But I’m not! It is Cryo!” Nahida protested.

“Well, are you secretly hiding a Cryo Vision, Qiqi?” Bashir asked, helping both girls down out of the van. Nahida could have floated or jumped by herself, but it did feel nice to have a grown-up help her down.

“Cold?” Qiqi asked, looking frightened.

“No, she’s a parahuman,” Nahida said with a shake of her head. “I don’t fully understand what that means, but any Vision Holder with a little training could tell you Qiqi can’t manipulate Elemental Energy.”

“Elemental Energy…I’ve read papers on that, but…it’s so hard to quantify,” Bashir murmured. He looked to Nahida with keen interest. “Can you manipulate it?”

“Yes, but, um, maybe only in private?” Nahida said, looking around furtively. There were other people walking about in the parking lot, most of them other medical staff by their looks but still…

“Ah, wise of you,” Bashir agreed, patting Nahida on her head. “I have a very smart little radish, it seems.”

Grinning, Nahida skipped along at Bashir’s side. So what if she was 505 years old? It was nice to have silly nicknames and get head pats from a man who was nearly her father.

Inside, Bashir was greeted by name by the other staff members, with many of them saying hello to Qiqi and introducing themselves to Nahida as well. Many female nurses also batted their eyes at Bashir, but as usual, he ignored them, strictly speaking to them as professionals. Nahida noted that a majority of the male doctors spoke down to the nurses, but Bashir was one of the handful that didn’t, and she respected him all the more for it.

“You’ve got the docket of your regulars, and a few new ones today, Doctor,” an older female nurse with smile lines around her eyes and kindly wrinkles on her cheeks said, handing Bashir a clipboard.

He paged through it, nodding to himself. “I’ll see them. I’ve got a list of exams I want you to give Nahida and Qiqi. Keep them together; Nahida is new, and Qiqi does much better when she’s around.”

“Of course, Doctor,” the nurse agreed, then leaned over, putting her hands on her knees to smile at Nahida and Qiqi. “I’m Nurse Hana, it’s nice to meet you, Nahida. Doctor Bashir has some patients to see while we do so. If you’re good, I have a lollipop for you.”

“Cocogoat lollipop?” Qiqi asked, perking up at the thought.

“I’ve never had a lollipop,” Nahida admitted.

“Oh, bless your heart,” Hana said, giving Nahida a pained smile, and then she stood, glowering at nothing. “It doesn’t have to be health food all the time,” she said to apparently the air, though Nahida guessed she was addressing Bashir. “It does a little girl good to have some sweets from time to time.”

“Cocogoat!” Qiqi agreed enthusiastically.

“Um, he let us have cake for breakfast on my birthday,” Nahida admitted.

Bashir groaned, hiding his face behind his clipboard as Hana rounded on him, nostrils flaring. She harrumphed and turned back to the empty air again. “Well. Some people are too tender-hearted. A little sugar is fine, but cake for breakfast?! Someone might stunt your growth! It was that young hellion Farasha, wasn’t it?!”

“It was her birthday, Hana. She’d never had cake before. And Qiqi actually asked for it,” Bashir said, his tone pleading as he lowered the clipboard.

Hana went from scowling to beaming at Bashir. “Well. I always said you were a fine young man. You know, my husband was saying we should have you over for dinner. Have you ever had Jasmine’s Falafel? It’s quite delicious.”

“I’m sure Mushtaq will invite me over whenever you tell him to, but I’m afraid I have to decline,” Bashir said with a chuckle. He smiled at Nahida and Qiqi and said, “I know you’ll both behave for Nurse Hana now. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Daddy bye-bye?” Qiqi asked, and Hana let out a soft gasp, putting a hand to her mouth as her eyes misted over.

“Only for a little while, Qiqi. Daddy will be back soon,” Bashir assured her, then strode off to tend to his duties.

“Daddy…” Qiqi said mournfully, sniffing as tears, then frost rimed her eyes.

“He’ll be back soon,” Nahida said gently, taking Qiqi’s hand and surreptitiously prying away the demon’s hold on her.

Qiqi relaxed, and Nahida squeezed her hand. The demon had definitely been playing with Qiqi’s mind somehow. What Bashir had said earlier came back to Nahida, and she frowned in thought.

It’s the psychology.

“Don’t worry dears, your daddy will be back soon,” Hana said, drying her eyes with the hem of her hijab. Then she was all business then, escorting Nahida and Qiqi to some fascinating machines. The underlying principles were awe inspiring: they used various forms of light to see inside of the body! One was called an X-ray, a machine Bashir had at the office, the other was a Magnetic Resolution Imager! Then there was the device called an Ultra Sound that used sound itself to see, like a bat! Nahida filed all that away, studying the machines so she could replicate the designs in her dreams later.

There were, of course, blood tests, but the hard part came when Nahida was told to go in a special potty to collect a urine sample.

“Um, I-I don’t think I can,” Nahida stammered to Hana.

“We can wait a little while. Here, drink some water,” Hana urged her. “Or you can have a juice or milk if you’d prefer.”

“I-it’s not that, I just-”

“If you’re shy, don’t worry. I have two daughters and two sons, and six grandchildren. I’ve helped more little girls in the bathroom over the years than you can count,” Hana joked.

For want of something better to do, Nahida had once counted all the prime numbers up to a billion, so she rather doubted that, even if it was just an expression.

Eventually, she was put in the potty by herself at her insistence, though Hana had been ready to sit there with her. Out of options, Nahida ended up having to synthesize urine and squirting it out of her finger. She hoped she got it right, because she hadn’t exactly closely studied the substance before. It was, however, rather hilarious that she could make a peepee gun with her hand.

“The first tree to ever go pee,” Nahida giggled, gazing at the small pool in the toilet. “I wonder what the sages would think of that?”

After that, she washed her hands very carefully. What she’d made was entirely sterile of course; the only microbes that grew in Nahida’s gut did so with her express consent, but still, that stuff was very icky.

After that, Hana took the girls to the hospital garden, where they were given lollipops, which Nahida turned out to absolutely adore. They were hardened sugar with a little flavoring, and Qiqi even got a coconut one. Nahida picked a “blue raspberry” flavor, which was especially funny because raspberries were neither berries nor blue.

As they sat on a bench by a tinkling fountain, Nahida closed her eyes, feeling all the plants around her. Some of them seemed to be native to these lands, but most of them had been imported from far off lands. They had been cared for tenderly by human hands, and most of them seemed to be growing, save for one: a bush close to the fountain, a scraggly little thing that despite the best efforts of the gardeners, hadn’t managed to thrive.

Hopping off the bench with her lollipop in her mouth, Nahida went over to crouch by the bush, examining it.

“Don’t touch that one, Nahida,” Hana told her. “It’s oleander; it’s poisonous.”

“I won’t eat it,” Nahida promised, touching the wilted leaves. It wasn’t the heat; the oleander seemed to do just fine with that, but rather the clay content of the soil. The gardeners had treated the plant with fertilizer, but the patch of oleander wasn’t sandy enough for it, and had stunted its growth. Gently, Nahida reached down into the earth and altered the soil composition, just a little. She also gave the bush an infusion of dendro, and instantly it looked much better.

“Nahida? What did you do?” Hana asked, hurrying over to hover over her nervously.

“Not much, I just helped it a little, that’s all,” Nahida said, smiling up at Hana.

“Well, be careful, child. We wouldn’t want anyone to see you doing…whatever that was,” Hana urged, looking worried while she said it.

“There seems to be a great deal of superstition regarding Vision Holders and Parahumans,” Nahida said with a sigh. She looked up at Hana, sensing her nervousness and concern. “What do you think about Qiqi and me?”

“I think you’re both just little girls, and you shouldn’t be blamed for what you can’t control,” Hana said, confirming what Nahida had suspected. While Hana was a kind person who seemed to want to help Qiqi and Nahida, she thought they were cursed somehow. An accurate assessment in the case of Qiqi, and, well, perhaps in Nahida’s case as well. Visions, however, were not curses, but blessings.

Still, Nahida didn’t want to argue with Hana, so she took Qiqi and they sat by the fountain as they finished their candy. After a while, a younger nurse came to Hana, urgently requesting her help with some belligerent patient.

“Her husband won’t let the doctor help her, and you’re always the best with these cases,” the younger nurse whispered.

“Yes, yes,” Hana sighed, looking weary. She turned to Nahida and Qiqi. “Stay in the garden, girls, Umiya will watch you. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Qiqi didn’t even appear to notice the directive, simply staring at the fountain with her usual vacant gaze, but Nahida nodded and assured Hana they wouldn’t leave. The younger nurse sat down on the bench, groaning and taking off her shoes to rub at her feet. Nahida sent a few tendrils of dendro, so faint they wouldn’t be visible, and Umiya sighed in relief as the pain was soothed away.

Not long after, a boy in a wheelchair with his mother wheeled into the garden. He looked to be about nine, and his cheeks were pale and clammy, a cap on his head to hide his lack of hair. His mother looked haggard and worn and pushed him over to a bench by the fountain to sit.

“It will be alright, Rasab,” the mother said tiredly. “The doctors say you’re doing very well.”

“I don’t want to come to chemo anymore,” the boy whimpered, slumped in his wheelchair. “It hurts.”

“I know,” his mother said, her voice raw with pain as she took her son’s hand and squeezed gently. “I know.”

Nahida inched closer to the boy, feeling trapped. She didn’t know what disease was afflicting him, and simply shooting dendro into someone wasn’t wise. True, she could heal almost any wound, but diseases were far trickier. If they were caused by a bacteria or fungus, then the Dendro infusion was just as likely to help them as a person’s body, inflaming the infection. She did hate to see someone in pain though, especially a young child.

After a few moments, the boy’s mother noticed Nahida, and gave her a smile. “Hello, what’s your name? I’m Sana, this is Rasab.”

“I’m Nahida,” she said, motioning to herself. “This is Qiqi.”

“Hello, Qiqi,” Qiqi said, not turning to look from the fountain.

Sana looked concerned, but Nahida gave her a shy smile. “Um, Qiqi’s illness makes her forget things.”

“I see,” Sana said, looking pained. She turned to Rasab. “Say hello.”

“Hello,” Rasab said, giving Nahida a tired smile. “Do you have leukemia too?”

“I don’t think so,” said, not certain what that was. She felt impressions of painful procedures, hair falling out, and lots of cleaning. It seemed similar to various diseases she’d heard of before, though she wasn’t entirely certain which.

“Don’t get it, it sucks,” Rasab said with more than a hint of bitterness.

“Yes,” Nahida agreed. She reached out a hand to Rasab, and after a moment, he took it, smiling shyly.

“Rasab, germs,” his mother said tiredly, and gave Nahida a pained smile. “He has to be very careful. He really should be wearing his mask, but…”

“I hate the mask,” Rasab whined, but he dropped Nahida’s hand, his mother squirting a mixture of alcohol onto it and rubbing vigorously.

It had been enough though. Nahida now understood this to be cancer of the blood. It was a good thing she hadn’t just infused Rasab with Dendro: that would have caused the cancer to grow explosively. The treatment he was getting was horribly ravaging to his body, a cocktail of poisons that were targeted to hopefully weaken and kill the cancer faster than they killed Rasab. What to do though…

There was a tinkling sound, and Rasab suddenly gasped, his eyes lighting up as he sat up in his chair. “Mom! A djinn!”

From behind the oleander Nahida had helped, a pair of beady black eyes peered out, an oleander flower growing on the mushroom-like head of the aranara.

“Allah preserve us,” Sana gasped, clutching at a charm. From what Nahida could tell, it was infused with a very weak magic, or perhaps, a kind of magic she didn’t fully understand. Mostly it seemed to be filled with dreams and wishes to protect against evil. Such charms could be effective against minor spirits, but an aranara was by its very nature a being of pure goodness, and thus wouldn’t be repelled.

“It’s OK, I like to play with them too! This kind of djinn is called aranara,” Nahida said, bending over. “It’s ok, you can come play!”

“Big nara is watching,” the aranara said in its tinkling voice. Unlike the ones back home, these aranara spoke in Arabic, which Nahida guessed was because they grew from the soul of this land, where Arabic was the native tongue.

“She can’t see you,” Nahida said sadly. “She’s lost her dreams.”

“Mom? You can’t see the djinn? The aranara?” Rasab asked, craning his neck.

“No,” Sana said slowly, peering into the bushes. “Is it a mouse?”

There was a buzzing, and the aranara lifted off into the air as its flower’s petals opened and spun. It hovered a few centimeters off the ground, buzzing past Qiqi, who looked up, smiling at the aranana even as it shied away from her.

“Cold nara…”

“She won’t hurt you, she’s a good nara too,” Nahida promised as the little aranara buzzed up to fly in front of Rasab.

“It’s so wonderful,” Rasab said, stretching out one hand that trembled with the effort.

“Oh! Little nara is sick,” the aranara said. It landed on Rasab’s lap, causing the little boy to laugh in delight, a little color coming back to his face.

“Can you watch over him?” Nahida asked the aranara. “I think if I talk to Doctor Bashir we could come up with a treatment plan.”

“Help little nara feel better?” the aranara asked, reaching up stubby little arms to touch Rasab’s face.

“You…you could help me get better?” Rasab asked.

The aranara nodded vigorously. “Yes! This one is Araqi. Araqi will teach little nara a song.”

Then, the aranara flew up to land on Rasab’s head, and began to trill in the aranara’s language. It sang of sunshine and flowers, of cool rain, and hot sunny days to grow on. Rasab clapped and laughed, and soon he and Nahida sang along, making up their own words to go with the song.

At first, Sana was concerned about this, but finally decided that this was just children playing pretend, simply grateful that her son was laughing and singing instead of crying in pain. After ten minutes or so, she stood. “It’s time to go home, Rasab. Come. Say goodbye to your new friend.”

“Araqi will watch out for sick nara,” the little spirit promised Nahida.

“It’s OK mom, the djinn will come home with us.” He turned to Araqi, frowning. “We don’t have a garden though, just some potted plants.”

“Araqi will help little nara plant a garden. Silly little nara: if little nara wants to be healthy, little nara needs a garden!”

With a buzz, it fluttered into the air to follow along as Sana stood to push Rasab from the garden.

“Goodbye, Nahida. Thank you for helping my Rasab smile again,” she said, giving Nahida’s hand a grateful squeeze.

“You’re welcome. I hope you both dream of healing,” Nahida said with a smile.

Not long after, Hana returned, and they went to Bashir’s office, where there were some books and toys for Qiqi. Nahida eschewed the children’s novels and the television to Hana’s shock, instead picking up Bashir’s medical textbooks and reading up on treatments for leukemia. It was after dark by the time Bashir came to get them again, looking exhausted from the long day.

“Ah, there you are. Were you girls good?” he asked.

“They were little angels,” Hana assured them. She gave Nahida a smile. “Though that one is too smart for her own good. Careful, little one. You’ll end up a nurse like me and have to listen to doctors order you about all day.”

“Maybe I’ll become a doctor,” Nahida said, closing her book to put it back on the shelf. The pained looks that Bashir and Hana gave her let her know that had been the wrong thing to say.

“Allah willing,” Bashir said tiredly. “Come, let’s get some dinner and go home. The hospital cafeteria has some good choices.”

“Cocogoat?” Qiqi asked, looking up from where she’d attached herself like a limpet to Bashir’s leg the moment he’d appeared.

“Perhaps!” Bashir agreed, and Nahida followed him down to the cafeteria. They did, in fact, have coconut cookies, to Qiqi’s delight.

That night, as Bashir tucked them in, Nahida asked, “Doctor Bashir, could we work on a treatment plan for leukemia using Dendro?”

Bashir paused at that, frowning down at Nahida. “For leukemia? Where did you…”

“Rasab, do you know him? His mother is Sana,” Nahida explained.

“No, I don’t typically work in pediatrics unless a parahuman is involved,” Bashir admitted. He knelt by the bed, his dark eyes peering into Nahida’s. “Nahida…you must understand: in Iraq, it is very dangerous for Parahumans to use their powers. Or Vision Holders. Even on sick little boys. I know you want to help, but…”

“But why?” Nahida asked, tears coming into her eyes. “I don’t think I could just cure him, but I could help!”

Bashir was silent for a long time, playing with the edge of the blanket in his fingers as Qiqi stared at him, sucking on her thumb, and Nahida’s heart rose into her throat. At last, Bashir said, “I have heard of Vision Holders working in hospitals, especially Anemo ones, though also Electro on occasion. Perhaps…well. Perhaps we can work something out. We must be very careful though. Parahumans are treated better here than Syria or Saudi Arabia, but, well…many still mistrust them. Especially because…”

“Because of Farasha,” Nahida said quietly.

“Farasha?” Qiqi asked, taking her thumb out of her mouth. “See Qiqi?”

“Soon, my heart,” Bashir said gently, putting a hand on Qiqi’s and giving it a squeeze. He turned back to Nahida, his expression troubled. “How much do you know? What did you see last week?”

“She stinks of Death, and her butterflies…” Nahida shivered involuntarily.

“No butterflies,” Qiqi whimpered, trying to hide under her blanket.

“No butterflies,” Bashir agreed gently, smoothing hair from Qiqi’s forehead. She calmed, and he continued, “Farasha is, in some ways, a great hero to this nation. She has saved so many like you and Qiqi, and protected us from Iran’s armies. But in others…”

“It’s like having a beast living next to you. A silly beast, with ribbons in its mane, but with terrible claws. You know the beast is kindly, but it’s wounded, and when it roars…”

“Wounded?” Bashir asked, immediately worried. “Farasha was hurt?”

“Yes, but no,” Nahida said, struggling to think of how to verbalize what she thought. “It’s her…mind. Like Qiqi. You can’t see her wounds.”

“Ah,” Bashir relaxed and nodded. “Yes. Exactly like that.”

“You mentioned the psychology of parahumans. Are they all…?” Nahida couldn’t finish the sentence.

Bashir stood, turning out the light. “Farasha cares for you, Nahida. She’d never hurt you. Neither would Qiqi. Good night.”

Then, his heart bleeding, Bashir left to be alone in his room. Nahida hugged Qiqi, and fear filled her heart.

The Demons. They all had demons. What calamity had befallen this world, that so many demons plagued it?