Chaos flowed around him in the form of magic and people, but he could have cared less. His mind was on one thing and that person was currently shut behind doors. The Advanced Maladies Research Center chairs were hard and definitely do nothing to comfort those who had to wait. That was the agonizing part Britt was left with. Nothing had been said to him since they arrived with a screaming Dyani a few hours prior. The wait left him with his thoughts and those were filled with worry and upset.

  There was a touch of magic against him, something familiar and comforting. Dyani's magic caressed his in a way that made him shiver. There was a brief flash of a kiss and the soft touch before the banging of doors startled him out of the memory. Delainey had joined them not long after but she had been permitted within as the woman was studying Dyani's magic. At the moment, Delainey was the only expert that could gather an understanding of how it worked within the survivor. Britt stood when the dark haired woman was followed with two others, both dressed in healers uniforms.

  "Delainey? How is she? What's going on?"

  The woman gestured for him to sit and they joined him. Britt tensed and felt the stirring of his magic at the unrest.

  "It's not good, Britt. We had to force her into a magical coma in order to give her body a chance to withstand the exponential core growth."

  "How?" He whispered.

  One of the two that had joined them spoke up, "Master Briggens, correct?"

  Britt nodded and gave them his full attention, knowing that he'd have some form of answer.

  "We understand that Miss Dyani's in a precarious state of magical fluctuation. Her core, in truth it's her entire body, is being flooded with magical energy. With her past history demonstrating resilience to magical influxes, we feel that it was best for her to be placed under the coma until such a time that her body has adjusted. This could mean a few things. First is that she never comes out of it, but we feel that this is a small chance considering how she lived through something more intense. Second, it could be that she remains within this state for the unforeseeable future. As with patients that are undergoing such bodily and magical stress, there is no predicting the timeframe."

  Britt laid his head on his hands, elbows digging into the tops of his thighs. A brush of soft skin on his had him looking up at Delainey. The woman was kneeling down in front of him. Her small hands took his larger hands into a gentle grip.

  "I will do my best to keep you updated on everything, Britt. She will pull through this. You've told me as such when we've spoken. Dyani is an extremely stubborn woman and nothing small like this will keep her from coming back to us."

  Britt gave her a smile, even if it was strained, and hoped that her words rang true. Delainey helped Britt from the chairs and guided him down a hall. Her hand was small against a metal disc on the wall, but when the doors swung open, Britt eyed it with curiosity.

  "It's a magical aura scanner, as well as an identification based upon your magical signature."

  "How does that work?" Britt asked.

  Delainey gave him a grin, "You push a bit of your magic into the scanner, where it test for various things. Potions and spells leave residues on the magic as well as your normal body functions like heart rate and temperature. It can tell the different between two magical signatures even at the minute level. It's one of the Center's pride pieces in the current technomagic inventions that are based around security."

  "How would someone in a permanent ward like Dyani have visitors?"

  They arrived at a station that was surrounded with nurses and doctors. In the room, there were doors that led to isolation chambers for those under strict watch. Delainey stepped behind the counter and typed on one of the computers. Britt listened to the conversation but most of them were discussing various patients rather than anyone that sounded similar to Dyani's case. He pushed away those conversations to the back of his mind and focused on Delainey. The woman had stepped to the side and yanked his hands to the top of the counter. Placing them down, she instructed him to remain still.

  "Let's get you registered, since you will be a frequent visitor?" The question was more of a statement but she did look at him for a confirmation. Britt gave a sharp nod and watched as the glass panel underneath his palms lit with multiple colors.

  "Right now it's scanning your fingerprints and your body's natural functions. In a moment you will feel a tingle as it takes a sample of your aura and your magical signature. If you hold just a moment it is almost finished."

  There wasn't even a moment to prepare when Britt felt the electric tingle shoot up his arms. Delainey gave him an apologetic smile and typed away at the computer. The lights turned off and the tingle faded away. The woman spent a few moments finishing up and then grinned at him.

  "All done. When you arrive next time, all you have to do is go to the panel and come to this station. You won't have to wait for someone to let you in. Makes it easier, doesn't it?"

  Britt took in a deep breath and just wished that he could see her. There was too much and he was starting to feel the strain of his magic wanting to lash out. Everything was louder and more annoying than normal.

  "Let me get you to Dyani's room."

  Britt could have thanked her in that moment and from the knowing smile, Delainey knew just what he was feeling. They walked over to another room and Delainey placed Britt's hand on another disc panel. It was cool to the touch and the tingle from before returned. It was lighter this time and barely noticeable. The door to the room slid to the side.

  As they stepped into the room, they noticed how small it was. Britt gave her a questioning glance and Delainey rolled her eyes.

  "You either worry too much or are too curious for you own good."

  Before he could give an answer, the room was lit with a soft blue glow that then had a light mist come from the ceiling. The opposite door from the one they came through slid open and Britt tried to control his urge to push Delainey to the side to get to Dyani. The woman who he had grown so attached to was laying peacefully on a bed. All around her were different screens, ones that looked like the same technology that the Dysc used for mapping. Sitting in a chair, Britt reached out to take her hand. It was slightly cool to the touch and his heart lurched. Guilt slammed into him and Britt bowed his head over the hand clasped between his.

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  "I'm so sorry, Dyani." He whispered.

  A hand gripped his shoulder and Britt refused to look up at the other woman. All he could think of was about what the Goddess had told him and how their interaction had led to something more than he would have ever guessed could happen. Some part of him wondered if he should have known, as only Dyani would have frequent contact with the Goddess. That was her sort of luck. There was another part of him that felt guilt over the fact that he let things move into a more intimate moment and that led to her current state. With a sigh, Britt's head only picked up when the door slid open.

  This time, it was a woman that had on a different uniform from some of the others that Delainey had brought with her. Delainey shook hands with her and gave a bright smile.

  "Britt, I would like to introduce you to the resident Doctor. Dr. Baine is Head of the Long Term Maladies Research ward."

  "Master Briggens, I have heard about what happened. Would you be able to tell me a bit more so that I can have your point of view?"

  Britt felt his heart race and for a second his eyes glanced to Delainey. The Doctor gave a genial smile to Delainey and guided her to the door.

  "I'm sure you've heard this part already, dear. I think that you need to go rest. You've been such a big help with giving us information that you've gathered in regards to Dyani."

  Delainey's shoulder's sagged and she nodded, "You're right. Thank you, Dr. Baine. I appreciate that you will be the one handling this."

  "Any time, dear. Go get some rest and I will see you tomorrow," the woman patted her on the arm and they watched as the tired Delainey walked from the room.

  When the door were shut, the red headed Doctor walked over to another panel and pushed a few buttons. Britt sat up in alarm as various wards and shields went up around the room. The older woman, though most likely still in her prime ages for a magical human, sat down in a chair on the other side of Dyani. She held a tablet in her hand, eyes roaming the pages as she flipped through them with a single swipe. Britt sat back and waited, knowing that the question was coming.

  "The story that we were given was that she was doing work and then collapsed in pain. Would you like to tell me the real story? Thankfully, Delainey seemed to know about some of the functionality of Dyani's magic. It was enough for us to know that we could sedate Miss Dyani and place her under a magical coma."

  Britt sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. The chair across from him rolled around so that the older woman was right next to him. She placed a hand on his arm and he looked over at her with slight fear and desperation in his gaze.

  "Whatever you tell me, it will remain under the confidentiality oath I took."

  He shook his head, "That's not quite good enough, Doctor. There's much more at stake than just the confidentiality."

  The woman frowned and took back her hand to scroll through the documents on the tablet.

  "I know that she was the survivor of the backlashed ritual this past solstice, correct?"

  Britt nodded, not saying anything else. He didn't have to as she continued on.

  "She should have been brought here rather than some school healing ward. There are many tests that should have been done."

  "That's the problem. She is wanted for experiments and studies."

  Doctor Baine clucked her tongue and waggled a finger, "I am not those research droids for the government, Master Briggens. I am here solely because I care for Dyani and her health. There are many factors that happen with a backlash, especially one of that magnitude. No one survives that unless they are touched by the Goddess herself. So you understand what I am saying? Or will you need an oath from me?"

  As much as he wanted to take her word for it, Britt couldn't help but to feel that the oath was needed. After it was all said and done, Britt knew that Delainey had been put under a simple oath and there was no way that he could tighten it without Dyani's help. He wouldn't take that risk with another person have too loose of an oath that permitted them to talk. He could only hope that Delainey was just as interested in Dyani as the girl was with Delainey.

  One oath and a slightly irritated Doctor later, Britt sighed in relief. He could speak freely for once. No half truths or outright lies. Just the straight truth of what happened and all that he knows.

  "I've been with Dyani since she stepped into the magical world. This means that we've spent countless amount of hours, weeks, and months together in close quarters."

  "You are a teacher," she stated. It was not harsh or judging, but one that held understanding. Britt nodded. "You two were interested in each other and something happened, didn't it?"

  "We had been dancing around each other for awhile, but two weeks prior she had been dosed with the Lust potion. Our magic mingled and I was affected to a smaller degree."

  "Mutual attraction, that potion is illegal to use." The red head stated. Her fingers were typing over the screen fast. Britt raised an eyebrow and she motioned to it, "I am creating a sealed file only accessible to me. I am logging any extra details or things that you mention that I was unaware of. Please continue. You have no judgement here."

  "It took about two weeks, until this evening, for her to finally be within the same room with me. We had gotten distracted and one thing led to another."

  "Did you..." She trailed off.

  Britt shook his head, "No. There was nothing of that. Only touch outside and with my hands."

  The woman frowned and continued to jot down notes, mumbling to herself, "But that would not explain this."

  "In truth, it does." Britt winced at the sharp look. "I had not realized that when we were touching that me helping her to an orgasm would affect the two of us."

  There was a moment where the words lingered in the air and the Doctor just stared at him Britt pinched the bridge of his nose and looked away with a bright flush. "I believe that when I had used my fingers to help her achieve orgasm that, in fact, I essentially was a part of The First."

  The tablet dropped to the ground as the Doctor lost ahold of it, "The First?"

  "I had not believed it either, but it makes sense. It would be the only reason that she would be experiencing a core growth afterwards."

  "We never would have guess this, not with her age."

  "If you remember, she was not magical before. Only after the ritual was she magical. Then, she was thrust into this community with barely a welcome. There's not been a time where she had been able to do anything of that manner."

  Doctor Baine picked up the tablet from where it had dropped to the floor. Her fingers where moving over the device at a rapid pace.

  "This could change everything. I appreciate that you told me. Is there anything else that you experienced?"

  Britt hummed and thought about what he could tell her. "Our magics mixed together. I don't know why or how, but they have. Even now, I can tell you what state she is in. Otherwise, there is not much else that I know of."

  "I see," she sighed. Snapping the tablet shut, Doctor Baine stood and held out a hand. "I wish to say that I am sorry for all of this and that you are caught between it all. On the other hand, I am thankful that you were there to provide me this information. It changes the outlook and I feel that she will come through this. I will warn you, Britt. Who she was before this may not be the same woman that comes out of it. There is no telling how The First can affect a fully matured adult, especially one with her past. I will keep this classified as it was consensual and you technically are not her teacher, more of a mentor. It's a grey line, but it is one that I will stick with. Please take all the time you need and let us know if you need anything while you are visiting."

  Britt stood and shook her hand, thanking the woman that would hold more than one secret within that tablet. It was the best that he could ask for in the moment. When she left the room, Britt stared down at the prone body. Dyani's markings were visible for the first time outside of the ritual. In a way, he was glad that the glamours were removed. There was a beauty to the markings that he loved. Even if it meant that she would have to be watched for unusual magic. What a mess he had gotten the both of them into.