Chapter Text
It's an unusual silent night in Nasha Town when Nefer feels a slight itch, as if an eyelash had stuck to her cornea, unwilling to get off. By all means, she is supposed to be asleep right now, after their confrontation with Rerir, she is so physically exhausted she fears her bed won't allow her to get up once the sun rises.
Obviously, Nefer is very much awake. The atmosphere surrounding her is still, the streets outside her window quiet. There's an unsettling feeling taking root in her chest, growing like a little seedling. The room is dark and silent. Jahoda had gone home many hours ago, so that's to be expected, but even Ashru is unusually well-behaved. Nefer can't exactly see him in the pitch darkness of her room, so she isn't even sure if the pet cat is in the room to begin with.
Come to think of it, Nefer always keeps her curtains open at night, allowing the moon's gentle rays to offer a blue ish glimmer to her bland room. Nefer wills her body to turn around on the bed, the exertion making itself present in the ways her muscle ache and her back cracks audibly. There is no way she left her blinds closed-
Where is the window!?
As she's staring at what could only be described as a plain wall, she can faintly make out some wavy shadows, indicative of the material making up the curtains. Right around their midpoint, there is a brighter shorter line. It's a greyish blue, blurry and not nearly as luminous as needed to make out the colour of the blinds.
The window is in its right place...I'm the one who cannot see it.
Nefer doesn't panic. It's not something she's capable of. Panicking would require her to award way more emotion to a, frankly, minor situation. Of course she was beyond grateful to the Moonchanter for healing her eyes, for giving her eyesight back, but she didn't delude herself with thinking that it was a permanent fix.
Nefer lies a lot. It's in her job description, it's what puts bread on her table and what buys Jahoda clothes when the snowstorms start. She is not a pathological liar by any definition, she doesn't even enjoy it. It is something she must do to keep her livelihood, something she learned very young. However, lying doesn't take you far if you're unable to keep track of your lies, keep them consistent and reduce any uncertainty possible. And Nefer is very logical, she knows when to embellish a story and when to speak closer to the truth. Truth may hurt, but not for Nefer. There are not many truths left that would manage to lay a mark on her.
Nevertheless, this truth is a bit uncomfortable, Nefer will have to admit. Not only did she not expect her vision to give out a mere 12 hours after regaining it, but the thought of it being temporary didn't cross her mind once.
When the silvery blood, dripping fresh from Lauma's hand, touched her eyebrow bone, a comfortable warmth spread throughout her whole body. She could see colours and shadows reappearing behind her closed eyelids, and a sense of safety engulfed her in a gentle embrace, much to the style of Lauma herself, that one single time they hugged. It was late at night, after a full day of planning ahead, trying to guess Rerir's intentions and his plan of action. Nefer had just agreed to use her gift to peer into his memories, when Lauma sent her a look across the room. Nefer didn't catch it initially, but she didn't need to. When everyone was preparing to depart, yawning while folding parchment paper maps and dusty books, Lauma came close to Nefer and whispered in her steady, gentle voice "Thank you for doing all of this". Nothing more, nothing less. She then put her hands around Nefer's neck, inviting her inwards, to which Nefer went. Lauma's horns lightly pressed against the skin underneath her ear, and Nefer had to supress a shiver. It's late. She wrapped her arms around her waist, trying, and failing, to ignore the press of Lauma's chest against hers. The hug didn't even last that long and yet-
Irrelevant. I'll have to ask Jahoda to come with me to Hiisi Island tomorrow.
Nefer didn't panic, and she didn't overthink. She would go to Hiisi Island, meet Lauma and ask to be healed once more. It was a straightforward plan, with very little preparations required. However, one thought still lingered in Nefer's mind as she tried to catch at least a few hours of sleep. Will Lauma agree?
Of course she will, that Moonchanter is allergic to not helping the others around her.
Will she agree to help...me?