Side-Story – Interludes: Volume Two – CH.104.5 – Renn – To Be Thanked

I witnessed it.

All of it.

Yet I still didn't believe it.

Leaning against the wall, since I felt light-headed, I watched with awe as Nebl was tended to.

He had been placed in his bed. Vim was currently working on his leg, with a pair of metal pronged tweezers and a knife. I wasn't really sure what Vim was cutting and removing from Nebl's leg, but every so often I heard a clink sound as Vim dropped pieces of whatever he was taking from Nebl's leg into a metal pot.

Drandle wasn't in the room at the moment, but I heard him downstairs. He was preparing some kind of oil solvent for Vim. Lellip was standing behind Vim, grabbing lightly at his shoulder and shirt apprehensively as she watched him work on her grandfather. Her mother, Pram, was curled up on a chair nearby. She had fallen asleep, or rather in my opinion straight up passed out, a little after everything calmed down. Vim had asked us to take her to her room, but she had woken and complained when Drandle and I had tried to carry her out of here. So it was decided to just let her be.

The tension from the moment was gone, mostly. My heart was no longer fluttering, my skin wasn't covered in a layer of sweat anymore and… well…

Glancing down at my hand, I gulped at the sight of my clean palm.

It being clean wasn't weird, of course. But it was when I considered how dirty it had been moments ago. I had been forced to take a bath, to clean up, a short time ago after everything had calmed down. They had worried my dirtiness, from working in the mine with Vim, could have risked Nebl's health. I wasn't entirely sure what my dirtiness, my layer of dirt from the mine, could do to a man who had been stuck in that same mine for weeks but I hadn't argued.

Plus if I could help aid in his recovery by simply taking a bath… then of course I'd do it. Without question.

"It's bleeding again, Vim," Lellip whispered. Her voice drew my attention away from my hand and I looked back over at them. Vim simply nodded in response, but it didn't seem to cause him to change his method. He simply kept on picking at Nebl's leg with the metal tweezers.

Were they rock pieces maybe…? Bone shards? I was afraid to ask, to distract him, and also afraid to draw near.

Not because I felt my presence itself would be a distraction… Vim was a calm man. Stoic. Even during moments of great tension he didn't flinch or hesitate. At least, not once I'd ever seen. But… well…

Gulping again as I watched Lellip flinch as Vim plucked another piece from Nebl's leg, then promptly drop it in the pot nearby, I couldn't help but smile.

How absolutely adorable. How lovely. How fantastically amazing.

I had no words to describe this scene. This moment. This… event.

How could I? We had gone to the mine. Vim had gone to see how his friend died… and then… what? What did I call this…?

Was this a miracle…? Was this what that book, that bible, I'd read back at the Cathedral meant…? Was this what faith was? Or was this more than that? Something different…? What could one call this if not a miracle? What were the odds…? And even more so, what were the chances it'd happen in this way here and now?

Considering most of my experiences with such emotional moments were… dreadful, like finding Nory on the floor of our house passed out. Or Amber covered in blood. Or the Sleepy Artist quiet and cold… This was a stark difference. A night and day kind of difference, that almost made me feel as if I was asleep. As if I was dreaming. As if none of this was real.

My eyes began to water, again, and I quietly went to rub them clean. I didn't feel any real shame in crying, but I didn't wish to. The crying part was over. Pram had cried. Lellip had wept. I'd joined them… and now that they were done being so emotional, I felt like I shouldn't return to it. After all, how could I cry more than they? He was their family, not mine. Their sorrow, their joy, was so much greater than mine could possibly be… so my being still so affected by it was… strange, wasn't it?

Not that anyone had said anything, or seemed offended, but I couldn't help but feel conscious of it. To them I was basically just an acquaintance. Maybe a friend, at best. Yet I was more emotional over Nebl's survival than they…? That made no sense, did it?

Though maybe it was better to be emotional than not. Vim hadn't even flinched, after all.

But no one had complained over that either, had they?

I turned a little to watch Drandle walk into the room. He did so quietly, without a glance to me, as he walked over to the bed and his daughter. He handed Lellip a glass jar, one that had a brown looking liquid in it, and then turned to watch Vim and his work.

"Looks good," Drandle simply said.

Vim nodded as he plucked another piece. "Yes. He'll not need long to walk again. As long as it heals well," Vim said.

Not only did I relax upon hearing such a thing, so did Lellip. She sighed in relief as she pulled the glass jar closer to herself, as if to hug it in relief.

"Has he woken since?" Drandle asked quietly.

"No. He snored a bit earlier though," Lellip answered.

I smiled and nodded at that. Yes, I had jumped at the sound as had others. It had been a rather gruff noise, like a dog's growl almost. To know it was how the man snored was rather funny, not to mention relieving.

He had passed out as Vim brought him here, after I'd run off to let everyone know beforehand. I had come back before Vim, as to let everyone know what had happened and to help them prepare for his arrival… and to all of our surprise Nebl had woken up upon being brought into the house. He had woken up, glanced around, said a few words and then passed out again. The sight of him alone had made Lellip and Pram cry, but it had been that moment of lucidity that had broken them. Pram had even fallen to her knees, nearly passing out from the emotions it had brought her.

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Glancing at Pram, still sleeping on the chair nearby, I couldn't help but smile at her. The poor woman had tear-stains on her face still. She must have cried in her sleep recently, they hadn't been there before she had sat down.

What power love had. Had I ever cried in my sleep like that? For pain, or sorrow, sure… but happiness? Joy?

I probably would tonight once I finally got some sleep.

"Okay… I think that's good, for now. Lellip can I have the sewing stuff?" Vim then asked.

"Ah!" Lellip jumped into movement. She stepped away, to a table nearby and swapped the jar of stuff her father had given her for a plate. One with needles and thread upon it. With her stepping out of the way I got a glimpse at Nebl's lower body, and the leg Vim had been working on. It looked… rather clean, surprisingly. He had a lot of hair on his legs, far more than normal people did, and although he had a huge open wound on his lower leg it didn't look too bad. I didn't see any blood or bones, at least.

Vim took the plate from her with a nod, then went to work. I stepped away from the wall, quietly, and snuck up behind Lellip. I peered over her shoulder, ignoring Drandle's glance as I did, and watched Vim ready a very sharp needle and thread.

He was… going to sew up the wound.

I'd of course seen such things before… but never to this degree. And particularly not with such skill. Within moments Vim had most of the wound sealed shut, and done in a way that it almost looked… fake, somehow. Was that really how it was sewn up? It was as if he was patching a tear in a sleeve or something…

"Here," Lellip procured the jar again and handed it to Vim once he put aside the needle and thread. Vim opened the jar and went to putting some of its contents onto the wound, where he'd just sewn up.

The stuff stunk. It was obviously some kind of ointment for the wound, but it looked… thick. Too thick, even.

It didn't take long for Vim to finish, then with a nod he handed the jar back to Lellip and went to wiping his hands on a cloth. He was done.

"Now time. Time and care," Drandle said as he patted Vim on the shoulder and then turned and left.

I watched the man leave for a moment, wondering why he seemed so… odd, but decided it was just the way he was.

Lellip sniffed as she put the lid back onto the jar. "Stuff stinks," she whispered as she went to put it on the table nearby.

As she did Vim turned towards me. I stood up a bit straighter as he handed me the plate from earlier, the one that had the needles and stuff on it. I took it from him, carefully, and went to put it next to the jar Lellip had just put down.

The plate had a bit of blood on it, which made me wonder how it had gotten there. Vim's hands, maybe? The needle didn't look bloody at all, and I had not seen any spurt or spray while he'd worked…

"I'll keep an eye on them, Vim."

I turned away from the plate and table, and found Vim and Lellip staring at each other. He was still sitting before the bed, and had a small frown on his face. "Sure?" he asked.

Lellip softly nodded with a smile. One that made it clear she had no intention of changing her mind.

Vim simply nodded and slowly stood. He gathered up a few of the rags he'd used, some stained with blood, and then grabbed the metal pot too. He gently nodded down at Lellip once done and then glanced at me. I felt my ears go stiff, wondering if he was looking at me for a real reason. Was he telling me to leave…? Asking me to do something? Does he want me to grab something, to help him carry that stuff or…?

"He should be fine. But make sure he doesn't roll over onto the leg for now, just in case," Vim said as he stepped away, leaving the room.

"Right…!" Lellip nodded dutifully as she went to sit in the stool Vim had just vacated. She sat with purpose as she did, as if taking over a heavy duty.

For a small moment I felt forgotten as Vim left and Lellip went to focusing on her grandfather. He had a small blanket covering his body, but not his legs… she reached over to adjust it a little after a moment.

Hm…

Glancing around, I wondered if maybe I should leave too. Nebl was tended to now, so he just… needed time, right? Sleep? Rest? Did he really need multiple eyes watching him do so? Felt kind of weird to do it, to be honest…

"Thanks, Renn."

I blinked and stood up straighter as I turned to face Lellip. She had not looked my way, she was still staring at her grandfather. She had a soft smile on her face, and looked… content. Happy. Not a tear in sight.

"I…" I wasn't sure what to say. After all I'd not done anything. Vim had not needed me. He could have dug Nebl out just as well without me, had he been alone. And although I had come early to forewarn them of his arrival, it wasn't as if that would have made much a difference either. It had only taken a handful of minutes for us to prepare this room for Nebl.

"Really… thank you…" Lellip whispered again, and did so this time with a small sniff. She reached up to wipe at her eyes but I didn't see any tears leak from them as she did.

Slowly nodding… I decided to just accept her heartfelt thanks.

But…

Glancing behind us, to the door… I quietly searched my memories.

I did so quickly. I only had to look back on a few hours, after all.

And as I did my emotions returned. The rush of finding Nebl alive. Seeing his arm pop out of that hole, and grabbing Vim. The look on the man's face as he realized he was saved. The peace in his eyes upon seeing his family, and the mighty sigh he had released as he fell back into sleep after being laid into bed. Pram's scream of utter relief, Lellip's cry and Drandle's soft curse to a god long forgotten in shock at the sight.

I thought of Vim's quiet assurance. How not once did he leave. How he kept everyone together, focusing on Nebl's well-being as much as Pram's or the rest of us. He had focused on Pram when she had passed out with as much seriousness, if not more, than he had upon finding Nebl.

Throughout the whole ordeal… there was one constant. And that constant was Vim.

Yet…

Stepping back, I decided to go lean against the wall again. There was another chair in here, one not occupied… but I didn't want to take it. Just in case Vim or Drandle wanted to come back in and sit again.

Instead I just leaned against the wall… watching Lellip as she watched Nebl.

She'd thanked me.

And had seemingly meant it.

Yet… wasn't there someone else to thank…?

Someone more important? More worthy of that gratitude…?

"Thank goodness…" Lellip whispered again as she lowered her head ever so gently. I couldn't tell if she had started to pray or something, but it sure looked like she was.

Feeling slightly awkward as Lellip started to cry again, I decided to leave. Even if I didn't really want to, I also didn't want to stand there and watch the poor girl weep. Even if in joy, it was… rude, I think.

Leaving the room, I found myself a tad sadder than before. Even though I shouldn't be. I should still be utterly amazed and full of uncontrollable joy and awe. Yet instead…

Heading downstairs, I tried to reason my weird thoughts and feelings. I tried to understand them… and better yet…

I tried to forgive the people who I wanted to love; even though not a one of them had thanked the man I loved the most.

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