Anaera looked as sheepish as someone wearing armor could. “Gomen nasai! Before Orpheus woke me up, saying it was time to go, I was sleeping.”

“You’ve been sleeping this whole time?” Susanne asked.

“Well, I woke up to let Mercy out, but that’s about it.”

“And look at the result of that!” Susanne indicated the prone form of Mercy.”

“Well, what follower of the Marquis de Sade got her? Ugh… Ouch…” Anaera mumbled as she crouched down and looked at Mercy’s wounds. The blonde girl shuddered where she huddled unconscious on the soft grass.

“Celly went way beyond loony this time! That b____!”

“Then, I suppose I should heal her.”

Orpheus twitched his nose and spoke, “That tree over there should do.”

“Hai,” Anaera agreed. She glanced over at Meredith and commented, “Sorry, no time to get to know you better at the moment.” She picked Mercy up and carried her over to the tree. She placed one hand on the tree and the other on the battered blonde’s head. She closed her eyes, and reached to the life energies of the tree. She felt them, strong and constant – they would work wonders on Mercy. Anaera suppressed a frown at the thought of killing the tree… Better a tree than someone else. Then, she pulled. She delighted in the flow of vitality, up one arm, down the other. Human energies were painful, but plant energies were joyful.

Susanne watched in amazement with Meredith as Mercy’s wounds closed and her bruises faded to nothing. Anaera must have done this the last time, but she hadn’t actually seen it. It was breathtaking. The two other girls were limned with a verdant glow. Then, their auras sparkled together with it, creating a spectacular show. She almost didn’t notice the tree shriveling away behind them. She was almost too distracted to hear the gasp behind her – almost.

She turned around. “Uh, George. Hi! Thought I’d drop by again… Hope you don’t mind that I brought some trustworthy, good, friends…” Susanne trailed off. Looks like she had MORE explaining to do!