"Feh. No thanks, I have enough headaches as it is!" Flarish said, his loud voice carrying through the building as I slowed a bit. Rounding the corner, I tried not to stand out as I walked into the room and joined the doctors and Vim in the living room behind our offices. They were in the middle of an important discussion, about a new location in the Society, and I didn't want to impose.

Vim glanced at me, but only for a moment. He was sitting at the table we all ate at, with Flarish and his wife. Like always the protector looked… tired. Though he showed no obvious exhaustion, at least physically, he did seem a tad sluggish compared to how I remembered him. He was leaning back in his chair, arm hanging over the back of it as if he was uncomfortable.

It was no surprise to see him so. The Society had not only grown tremendously lately… it was starting to get involved in the inner workings of the world. Politics and wars were starting to knock on our doors, and Vim was the one everyone expected to do the answering. There were of course people who acted as protectors, like him. Most larger locations had at least one person who was strong, typically a predator… a few even had monarchs. But when it came time for actual action, it was Vim they expected to do the deed. I felt exhausted being one of three doctors here, a town of less than five hundred, and he was the only protector for every location in the Society… not just one. I wasn't sure how he did it, honestly.

"Nerve and his family will be moving there, so they'll have plenty of doctors," Vim said simply.

That was news to me. I wonder if that meant one of his children would remain where they are now, or if the village they were all living in was going to be dismantled.

"How is Nerve? Is his wife still not speaking to him?" Chloe asked.

I smirked at that, since I knew that question hadn't just been genuine but on purpose. She and Flarish were having a small fight right now, since she wanted to have children. Or rather, another one. I hadn't known until recently that they already had several children, though I had no idea where they were. Probably elsewhere in the Society, being doctors and surgeons for other locations.

"They seemed fine? If they were fighting I didn't notice," Vim said with a shrug.

Who was dumb enough to fight in front of the protector anyway? Even Lilly the owl of discord was meek around him.

"Still, it's good to hear the Society is doing so well! To hear so many families are expanding, doing so much is so good to hear… really, it is!" Chloe said as she cupped her cheek, as if relieved.

I tried not to let my thoughts show on my face as Vim frowned at her, then glanced at me. I didn't move a muscle as Flarish sighed and stood from his seat. "I'll go introduce myself to the new members, at least. Will you need anything from us, Vim, before you leave?" he asked.

Vim's frown shifted a little, since he obviously noticed the odd tension between him and his wife. Vim didn't let it show past that though, as he shook his head. "Nope. There's a couple of them who had gotten hurt before I arrived, I've checked them but you might want to keep an eye on them as they heal up," he said.

"As I said. Enough headaches already," Flarish said with a huff as he stepped away, leaving the room… and eventually the building itself.

Chloe sighed at her husband as she leaned forward a bit, to rest on the table. "He's being prickly Vim, don't mind him."

"Flarish isn't prickly, he's just tired of idiots," Vim said.

"Oh? Calling me an idiot are you?" Chloe asked, a tiny smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth.

Vim didn't miss a beat. "I was speaking about him, Chloe. I saw him looking in the mirror earlier, shaking his head and sighing," he said.

I couldn't help it, I laughed at that. "I don't think he's ever looked in a mirror!" I said, unable to contain myself.

Chloe too giggled as she nodded. "You're as gentle as ever, Vim. No… I've been trying to convince him to have another child. He's not too keen on the idea," she told him the truth.

Vim only nodded. "Children are scary, so I don't blame him. I was sent to find Celine's daughter not too long ago, without being told who she was. Imagine how that went," he said.

Now that was interesting! "Celine has a daughter?" I asked. I didn't even realize saints could have children! I thought they had to remain pure…

"Not her actual daughter, Tosh. Her adopted one," Chloe explained, likely knowing exactly what I had found so odd about it.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Vim nodded. "A handful that one. How has this one been treating you?" he asked with a point to me.

"Tosh has been lovely. Flarish won't shut up about how good he is at listening, and obeying orders. Though that might be why it's time for him to go," Chloe said, speaking as if I wasn't even in the room.

"Wait what?" I asked as I stepped closer to the table.

Chloe didn't even look at me as she gestured lightly my way. "I think he sees Tosh as a young lad. I mean, Tosh is young still, but he's not a boy anymore. Half the time when not working he's sneaking off and mingling with the young ladies all day," she teased me.

Although a tad embarrassed for my activities to be so blatantly called out like that, I didn't blush when Vim glanced at me with a smirk. I did however feel a tad hotter after he teased me about it. "So your reason for wanting to become a doctor worked out as you planned, huh?"

"Vim!" I groaned.

Chloe laughed at me. "So please, Vim. If there's another location that could use someone like him, consider whisking him away there for me. Maybe with Tosh gone Flarish will get in the mood. And don't bring back an apprentice for awhile, just in case too," Chloe said.

Gosh! I was being tossed aside for such a stupid reason!

Vim frowned as he tilted his head and pondered a moment. "Doctors are always needed, in a way. But as it stands right this moment I can't think of any singular location that needs one post haste…" he said.

"Are we even sure I'm capable enough yet…?" I asked, still trying to comprehend how my entire future was being debated all of a sudden. Weren't we just talking about another location? The saint and her daughter? Chloe and Flarish's personal matters? Now we were talking about sending me to a new place? Talk about whiplash!

"Oh please, Tosh is more than capable. Flarish won't shut up about how well the lad is doing, he'd be fine on his own now," Chloe said.

Chloe was a kind person, usually saying such things often, but hearing her say so here and now to the protector of all people was… very humbling.

"Hm… and you Tosh? What're your thoughts on the matter?" Vim asked with a glance at me.

I stood up a little straighter. "If… If they think I'm ready, then sure, I guess…? I don't know if I really am or not but…"

"Of leaving, I meant. Would you be okay with that? You've been here for some time now, haven't you?" Vim asked, specifying.

"Oh. Right…" I frowned at that and wondered if I would be. I'd been here a little over ten years now… would I be comfortable with leaving? For a small moment I thought of the friends I'd made, particularly a couple of the women…

"He's thinking of his little trysts, look at that face," Chloe teased.

Unable to say anything in defense, I simply grumbled and shrugged. "I'd be okay with it. I've not settled down, if that's what you're asking Vim. Though if I lingered here much longer I might end up doing so," I said. Whether I wanted to or not, considering circumstances…

"Hm… Well I can swing back this way and take you with me to Telmik, if you want. They'd know where you could go, or give you options at least. Say in a few months?" Vim suggested.

I nodded, feeling a little… lightheaded, as I realized I'd just changed my fate.

In a few months I'd leave here. To head elsewhere, and set forth on a new path. A new life.

It was understandable, and expected I suppose. It always had been. I had been raised and taught to be a surgeon. That meant I didn't just help people, it also meant I was supposed to look at the world in a certain perspective. The same way that made Flarish grouchy, and Chloe a little flippant. I was supposed to assess the world, and my place in it, as I would a patient's injury.

And doing so meant it was time for me to go.

Three doctors for such a village wasn't outright overkill… but it was too much. Especially when you considered Flarish and Chloe should both have new apprentices, which would inflate that number further soon. Or well, their children in this case.

That meant it was time I moved on. My skills and knowledge weren't honestly needed here, not with Flarish and Chloe here. So to be better put to use, it was time I moved elsewhere… maybe even took an apprentice myself.

It was a daunting realization, one I'd not even considered before now, but it was something that had always been known in the back of my mind. I knew coming here that such a future was to come, even if eventually. But for it to happen here and now…?

Wonder where I'll end up…?

"Good. Now that is settled, I'd like to make you lunch before you leave, unless you're going to turn me down again," Chloe said as she stood from her seat.

Vim sighed, in a way that told me he did indeed plan and want to turn her down… but Chloe left the room in a hurry, before he could actually say so.

The protector stood from his chair as well, a little slowly… as if he had stiff legs. I tried not to stare, since I wasn't sure if the exhaustion and wear I was seeing was real or not. Did he even feel pain…? I once saw him tear off one of his own arms, one that had been dangling by just a few strands of flesh, and he hadn't even winced. It was hard to believe a little muscle strain was something he even registered…

"Well done, Tosh. Not many can earn that old grouch's approval, you're one of few now," Vim said as he patted me on the shoulder.

I smiled a little sheepishly. "Hard to believe, I've not heard it from him yet myself."

He smirked a bit. "Never will. Just the kind of man he is. I'm uh… going to try and go get out of lunch, wish me luck," he said gently as he left the room as well, likely as to head to the kitchen and attempt the impossible.

"Good luck, Protector."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.