Long Ways to Go Part XIII

It was a fast flight to Petra’s village.  Grandfathers and Grandmothers were looking out for us.  We didn’t see any Enemies and no problems.  Weell, aside from the matter of my eyesight.  Uncle’s talking and whispering with Petra and Raven didn’t bring us one bit nearer to knowing what was happening.  I did talk until I was almost purple, telling them everything that had happened to me, what I did, where I went.  Worse than Mom when she wants to know why I did or didn’t do something.
Oh.  One other thing.  I could understand the dragons.  I couldn’t talk to them but I could understand what they were saying.  Petra greeted this news with a sigh of relief.  He’d been wondering how I knew to do some things.  He was beginning to think I was clairvoyant or some such thing.  Uncle and I hid our laughter.  I was able to use some part of my mind to understand other languages.  I hadn’t told them about listening to the other animals and birds.
We headed for the kitchens upon our arrival.  We were hungry and tired.  Besides, I didn’t feel like hanging around too many of the people right away.  My eyes.  They’d changed.  Uncle, well, he and Petra had gotten used to my eyes.  Raven still watched me with a distrust that bordered on fear.  So I sorta knew what to expect.  And why I hid in the kitchen.
Yeah, I can see you’re all thinking that I should have known better.  Most of the village traipsed through the kitchen during our meal.  Some stopped to talk with Petra and Raven.  Most gawked at me and Uncle, mostly me.  At least I had something to occupy myself when everyone was getting their fill of my unique situation.  In case you’re wondering, our eyes can see different things from most people, like colored light, far distance.  Well, getting off track here again.
We walked over to the Healer’s Circle.  By this time, the crowd was thinning out a bit.  I imagined they were home discussing me.  It was different from a Hunt.  Eyes were on me and me alone.  I wanted to hide behind Uncle.  Good thing he wouldn’t go for it.  I had a lot of explaining to do.  I thought my throat would be sore for days after I was finished.  Took most of the night to tell them everything they wanted to know.  In the end, it was because I’d touched the Mother’s Blood without Protection.  And it was like Uncle said:  it had changed me somehow.
I began a different sort of training with Petra and Raven when I woke up.  My eyesight was closest to theirs.  And other changes, no one knew.  It didn’t take long to see once I’d accepted my eyesight.  The hard part was accepting people’s attitudes.  I was strange, even among these strange people.
Uncle was determined to get home.  He spent a lot of time with the few Magicians in the village.  Turns out there was a couple in hiding who’d worked with this sort of events.  We’d have to go to them.  It was safer for the People.  The Enemy was searching for anyone who had knowledge of the Mother’s Blood.