Chương 35: “You Should See the Other Guy!”

Ch 35 "You Should See the Other Guy!"

Amber stirred a bit as her consciousness rose out of a deep sleep. Her eyes blearily batted open as she recognized the canvas walls around her that fluttered with the wind and let in just enough light to make the space glow. She was inside of one of the tents of the Lucky Tiger Caravan. It was bigger than her personal tent, though. A few people could stand inside this one. Lulu walked through the mouth of the tent with a tray of fresh bandages, a rag, a cup of water, and a kettle.

"Oh, Amber! I'm so glad you're awake." The blonde girl bounced over and set the tray down.

"Don't be so quick to get up! How are you feeling?"

"…not too bad!" Amber mumbled as she raised herself up on her elbows and gave a small smile. Her black hair reflected the type of night she had. She lifted the sheet and saw none of the bloody rags she had fallen asleep in, but instead a brown hemp gown. Her arms and legs were completely bandaged up, with the tinge of blood showing on a couple of spots. Déjà vu.

"Ah, I hope you don't mind. Nothing would wake you so I bandaged you up while you were asleep!" The blonde girl smiled.

"Here, drink some water as well."

"No, no! I appreciate it, thank you," Amber said, touching around her neck. It was full of bandages as well. She gulped down the water and felt her body thank her immediately.

"I came to change them, is that alright?"

"Sure." Amber sat up and slowly swung her legs over the edge of the… bed?

"What am I sitting on?"

"Ah, they're cargo boxes. A few of the guards put them together for you so that I could bandage you up!"

"Oh! Wow… how nice." Amber swung her legs in thought until Lulu grabbed one by the ankle and began to cut off the old bandages.

"You don't sound too happy about it?" Lulu tilted her head as she looked at the younger girl.

"It's… well… it's kind of hard to put into words…" Amber put on a smile.

"They all seem to care about you a lot." Lulu finished cutting and poured hot water from the kettle over a rag. She began to clean any sign of blood from Amber's leg.

"You're all they can talk about!" She laughed.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, first of all, I noticed they all call you 'Cabbage' or 'Little Cabbage.'" Lulu giggled.

"It's such a cute and affectionate name!"

"Well, I'm glad you see it that way." Amber grimaced as the blonde laughed. As far as she suspected, Lulu was the one who had leaked her prior profession as a cabbage farmer. She had a hard time holding it against the bubbly blonde girl who liked to talk. As her mother had once told her, a secret is not a secret if two people know about it.

"Anyway, some have been boasting all morning about how much money you made them." Lulu began to dry her leg off carefully and pulled a few jars of a mysterious substance out.

"The rest have been telling that tale of yours from the Sword & Wine Bar. In just one morning, I've heard the story seven times. Each time the fight grew closer and the opponent grew taller!" The girls both shared a good laugh.

"There's also a few tales flying around about what you did last night that locked the city down!" The blonde started the ointment and wrapping treatment of Amber's leg.

"Tell me, does this hurt at all?"

"No, I'm feeling great actually, just sore…" She flexed her joints a bit, remembering the pain in them from the night before. A night's rest had done her well.

"I definitely don't mind hiding these bruises, though." She looked at the skin of her legs disappearing as Lulu wrapped it with fresh bandages. It really was an unsightly shade of purple. She remembered the lashes and grip of demonic tendrils and tried to suppress a shudder.

"Well, you'll definitely want to hide your neck then," Lulu said. Amber was already sure it looked terrible. That tendril grab was one of the worst things in her life, and she had almost had her guts hanging out before. Lulu started working on the girl's other leg, which only had her calf wrap to be replaced.

"So what are they saying I did last night… after the Sword & Wine Bar?"

"Well," Lulu said, wringing out a rag.

"It mostly comes from the guards that Guren took with him to storm the city. Some of them said a demon was on the loose, and that you killed it! A few agreed that you took down a crime lord. Others are saying a serial killer was murdering people and that you stopped him! …So, can you tell me which is true?"

"Well…" Amber began to respond as the blonde paused her work, leaning forward with interest.

"I guess that all of them are true!"

"What?? All of them?" Lulu dropped her roll of bandages in shock.

"Yeah… kind of!" Amber said innocently.

"You're up!" A voice came from the mouth of the tent as Wing entered.

"I thought you were—" Wing moved to hug the girl as she stuffed his face with a hand.

"Not when you're drunk, but not when you're sober either!" Amber said.

"Please, let me finish wrapping her!" The blonde girl started pushing the boy out of the tent.

"But I—" The boy was thrust from the tent before he could say anything. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"That boy has been asking about you all morning!" Lulu said, turning back to her work. She began to move onto Amber's arm.

"Let him wait! He's the one who signed me up to fight." Amber rolled her eyes.

"Well… he believed in me, I guess." She looked down at the ground. She couldn't say that about many people before she had joined the caravan.

"Well, from what I've heard, you did excellently at the fight! I guess it's no big deal for Misty Hollow's savior!" Lulu laughed.

"Savior…?" Amber grimaced a bit.

"I thought maybe you had heard, Lulu…" The words felt difficult to say, but she was determined to tell her friend the truth.

"Those men only came to Misty Hollow because… they were looking for me. Old Daisy, Old Coi, the others, they were hurt because of me!" She felt a blockage in her throat as she felt her eyes grow a bit wetter.

"Oh, don't you do that!" The blonde stood up and grabbed both of her cheeks, pointing the younger girl's face at her own.

"Bandits kill people. And they were bandits before you. They would have hurt more people eventually. And you stopped them!"

"Yeah… I suppose…" Amber was grateful for the words, and her heart felt a bit lighter. Lulu went back to her work as she continued wrapping in silence. The black-haired girl observed the blonde expertly finishing up the new wrap on her arm.

"Lulu," Amber spoke after a while.

"You're very good at this."

"Oh, I've been doing it for a long time." Lulu smiled.

"When I was younger, my dad would get so angry at me. I would always bring home sick animals and treat them."

"What made you do that?" Amber asked.

"Well, I hated seeing them sick or hurt. A lot of them died. Nearly all of them, actually… but I don't regret trying. And now, I'm on the road to being an alchemist! Where I can save all kinds of lives!" Lulu's smile lit up in a way that surprised Amber.

"You're incredible!" Amber said, smiling with her eyes.

"I know you're going to be a top-class alchemist!" I can only help people lose their lives. Lulu is really amazing in comparison, Amber thought to herself.

"Thank you!" The blonde smiled back.

"Now only your neck is left." She quickly and expertly cut the old neck bandages off of Amber's neck and started cleaning the area.

"Ah! By the way! Where are my things?" Amber suddenly recollected the bags of winnings she had on her, as well as her equipment.

"Well, your clothes are a mess. They're quite torn even if they weren't thick with blood," Lulu said as she stood behind the black-haired girl, putting dabs of ointment around the angry purple collar of bruises on her neck.

"The rest of your things are right here in that bag." Amber sighed in relief at her things being okay. She definitely needed the money now for some clothes.

"Ah, poor Amber, this bruise looks even worse than last night." Lulu ran her fingers over the darkened bruises as if they hurt her as well.

"I'm great! You should see the other guy!" They shared a laugh together, though Lulu's still had a hint of worry.

"Just make sure you're taking care of yourself," the blonde said.

"Of course!" Amber smiled as Lulu finished wrapping her neck.

"How is that? Is anything too tight?"

"No, it's perfect! Thank you so much!" Amber moved her neck and limbs a bit to find her mobility level was very comfortable.

"What are friends for?" Lulu smiled.

"I brought a spare outfit of mine for you. It may be a bit bigger than your size, but it's better than these medical gowns the caravan had." She brought out a stack of clothes and put it atop the makeshift bed.

"Anything is incredible right now. On our next stop I'll take you shopping for a new outfit!" Amber said with excitement. She had never gone clothes shopping with a friend before, or clothes shopping at all.

"Oh no, don't feel like you owe me! I'm happy to help out." Lulu smiled with kindness.

"Lulu! I won a lot of money last night. A lot. I'm buying my friend clothes and alchemy ingredients to celebrate! And something delicious!" Amber gave a wide grin, thinking about the fun time she would have with her winnings. It was hundreds of times more than the most money she had seen in her life.

"Well, if it's what you want to do, I'm there for my friend!" Lulu laughed out.

"I do really need a break from my alchemical studies. I want to shovel in as much as I can, but my mind might leave me if I don't take a break soon!"

"It's a plan then!" Amber smiled.

"Oh, here, I did manage to get some extra fabrics we can tie these clothes up with. It should make it easier for your martial arts as well." Lulu brought some dark green lengths of cloth out.

"Where did you get these?" Amber asked thoughtfully.

"The guards had them! I was asking about a uniform for you, but… they told me they don't make them that small." Lulu gave a small sheepish smile.

"Well, these are great for me! I don't want to dress like Wing, anyway," Amber said, pulling on a pair of black pants under her hemp medical gown. They were indeed a bit baggy, but Lulu tied some of the dark green cloth around the ankles. Lulu left her to her privacy so she could finish changing. Amber traded her medical gown for her torso protective chainmail, her hidden knives, and a new light green top with lotus designs across it.

There were no sleeves on it and showed a bit of the chainmail at the top of the neck cut. The shirt was a bit baggy but it came with a dark green sash to tie around her waist, where she also placed her precious bags of gold, two small knife holsters, and hung her Lucky Tiger token. Lastly she slid on her black fabric shoes that were still in good condition despite the night and pulled her wraps over the top of them. A bit of blood remained on the soles, but there were no visible problems.

Within the small tent she snapped a few punches and whipped a couple of light high kicks as the short ends of her sash streamed behind her motions. The new outfit passed the martial arts comfort test for sure! More importantly, her leg joints felt much better than the prior night. She could walk without much discomfort now, at least. Amber looked at the bloody pile of her last outfit and pressed her hands together with a slight bow. She was sad to part with the garments, as they were handmade by Old Daisy.

The first person to ever show her kindness apart from her parents. The moment of silence passed by in quiet gratitude.

"Little tiger, are you there?" Amber whispered to her shadow. A silky black coat and set of yellow-gold eyes arose from her shadow as the little house cat sized feline hopped onto the makeshift bed and looked at the girl. It revealed a mouth full of deadly fangs as it yawned sleepily.

"I'm so glad to see you!" Amber hugged him tightly. His fur was luxuriously soft and she could feel the deep vibrations of his purrs through his chest.

"Do you like my new outfit?" She gave the tiger a little spin to see her outfit, much freer and more playfully than she felt like being around people. The tiger began to purr and rubbed itself against Amber's hand as she reached out to pet him.

"I'll take that as a yes!" she smiled.

"Let's get some breakfast! I'll try to get you some meat. How does that sound?" The little cub purred in response.

"Great! Then, we can see about giving you a name. It's my job since you decided to stay with me!" Amber smiled as the feline dropped to the floor and rubbed itself against her legs.

"Back in my shadow for now. Let's not get more poachers on our tails!" The tiger dutifully sank into the floor once again where the girl's shadow lay. She looked down at herself, admiring her outfit, but also noticing how much exposed bandage was visible. All of her arms, neck, knuckles, and a small bit of chest under the chainmail. She sighed, knowing that exposing the fiendishly purple colors underneath would attract even more attention.

Amber had a bit of the dark green fabric left and she fastened it around her wrists and upper forearms. It covered a bit more of the bandages, at least. While she appreciated everyone's interest in her, she felt dizzy at the thought of another crowd around her. The Sword & Wine Bar's arena had felt okay, it was a bit detached from the sea of people. But, up close, the only types of crowds she had experience with were angry villagers or bandits.

Breakfast couldn't wait, however, and she opened the canvas flap and stepped out into the campground.