There were days when Mabel worked for hours on end. She hadn’t had one of those for quite some time, but as soon as she had heard about what had happened down at the river, she knew it was going to be one of those days. Gathering all the supplies she could, Mabel headed out with her team, casting Alice an apprehensive look; this would be the first mass catastrophe the young healer would be working. Mabel wanted to reassure her, but there was neither time nor precedent for such placating words. It would be a hard day. They would win some, and they would lose some, and that would be that.
Silently wishing her colleague good luck, Mabel stepped into the triage hall and rolled up her sleeves. After rolls of gauze, thousands of diagnostic charms cast, quick calculations and reassurances to her patients, the healer could already feel the fatigue settle in. She battled with feeling thankful that they had to stay in the triage area for the time being, until she got to her last patient - a mother, severely wounded and in a frantic state looking for her child. Mabel tried to calm her down and give her some potion, but she could see there wasn’t much that would get the other woman to sit still. And as Mabel cast all the diagnostic charms and determined her unfit to go back out, her heart nearly fractured at the desperate wail the mother let out. Seizing Mabel by the wrist, she begged for her to find her daughter and gave her the description of what her child had last been seen in. A pink dress with blue ribbons in her hair. Brown hair. 4 years old. Mabel couldn’t just stay here and sit on that knowledge. So after a moment’s hesitation, she nodded, told the mother she would do everything she could to find her child, gathered up her satchel of healing supplies, and slipped out of the room.
Outside was chaos. People were still screaming, and the buildings looked as if they’d had chunks ripped out of them. Spells were cast occasionally to protect people from falling debris, but not everyone was safe. Hurrying quickly, Mabel made her way through the surrounding streets keeping an eye out for a flash of blue ribbons and a pink dress. Brown hair. Four years old. Instead of finding the girl, she caught a glimpse of someone in the crowd and her heart dropped. Dory. No. “Dory!” Even as she screamed, the roar of a dragon tore through the air. But she had to get to him, and make sure he was alright. He would bleed out and die helping someone with no regard for his own safety, she just knew it. Then what would she do? Except as soon as she had seen him, he’d vanished. Desperately looking around, Mabel felt a sob rise in her chest. She was too late in realizing a dragon was headed straight for her, its jaws bared and its chest igniting.
Before she could act, someone tackled her. And then Dory was shouting at her, his expression twisted in fury as he stared down at her. Even though he looked positively terrifying, Mabel thanked the Lord he was alright. “I can’t, I’m searching for a lost child!” She explained, looking behind him and tugging him into a nearby alley. “Her mother’s back at triage, she was going to go back out and look for her if I didn’t come out here.”
Silently wishing her colleague good luck, Mabel stepped into the triage hall and rolled up her sleeves. After rolls of gauze, thousands of diagnostic charms cast, quick calculations and reassurances to her patients, the healer could already feel the fatigue settle in. She battled with feeling thankful that they had to stay in the triage area for the time being, until she got to her last patient - a mother, severely wounded and in a frantic state looking for her child. Mabel tried to calm her down and give her some potion, but she could see there wasn’t much that would get the other woman to sit still. And as Mabel cast all the diagnostic charms and determined her unfit to go back out, her heart nearly fractured at the desperate wail the mother let out. Seizing Mabel by the wrist, she begged for her to find her daughter and gave her the description of what her child had last been seen in. A pink dress with blue ribbons in her hair. Brown hair. 4 years old. Mabel couldn’t just stay here and sit on that knowledge. So after a moment’s hesitation, she nodded, told the mother she would do everything she could to find her child, gathered up her satchel of healing supplies, and slipped out of the room.
Outside was chaos. People were still screaming, and the buildings looked as if they’d had chunks ripped out of them. Spells were cast occasionally to protect people from falling debris, but not everyone was safe. Hurrying quickly, Mabel made her way through the surrounding streets keeping an eye out for a flash of blue ribbons and a pink dress. Brown hair. Four years old. Instead of finding the girl, she caught a glimpse of someone in the crowd and her heart dropped. Dory. No. “Dory!” Even as she screamed, the roar of a dragon tore through the air. But she had to get to him, and make sure he was alright. He would bleed out and die helping someone with no regard for his own safety, she just knew it. Then what would she do? Except as soon as she had seen him, he’d vanished. Desperately looking around, Mabel felt a sob rise in her chest. She was too late in realizing a dragon was headed straight for her, its jaws bared and its chest igniting.
Before she could act, someone tackled her. And then Dory was shouting at her, his expression twisted in fury as he stared down at her. Even though he looked positively terrifying, Mabel thanked the Lord he was alright. “I can’t, I’m searching for a lost child!” She explained, looking behind him and tugging him into a nearby alley. “Her mother’s back at triage, she was going to go back out and look for her if I didn’t come out here.”
![[Image: QFB5GZw.jpeg]](https://i.imgur.com/QFB5GZw.jpeg)