"Hmph. Rest, then, you half-dead menace," the old woman finally muttered under her breath. Without barking another threat or throwing another insult, she turned on her heel, pushed the heavy curtain aside, and went off to rest her own aching bones.
Left alone in the quiet room, Ren couldn't help the small, genuine smile that curved his lips. Moving with quiet care so as not to disturb Heena, he melted a bit of candle wax to seal the corks of the two porcelain vials just as she had instructed, washed the stone mortar and the ceramic still, and slipped out into the dusk-lit courtyard to fan the charcoal stove and brew her evening medication.
By the time full night fell over the East Market, a thick, peaceful silence had settled over the clinic.
