The door closed behind her with a gentle click, and once outside, Elder Mati stood in the hallway for a breath too long.
Then the quiet pressed in.
She stared at the empty corridor. Then down at her hands. Then back at the door.
"...What in the four dragons am I doing," she muttered.
Her cheeks, still warm, didn't seem to agree with her sudden bout of sternness. She reached up and pinched them, hard.
"He's seventeen. Se-ven-teen," she hissed, pacing like a spirit beast in a cage. "Barely legal. And he's wounded heavily to top it off."
She stopped and pointed a sharp, accusing finger at no one in particular. "I'm ninety-eight. Ninety-eight! That's a gap you can bury kingdoms in!"
She turned around in a huff and stormed down the corridor leaving behind only the faint scent of herbal soap and embarrassment.
In the meantime, inside the room:
Shan Yifeng stirred in his bed, wincing immediately as pain lanced through his ribs.
