"Imagine your edges flowing in and out," Teige said, "like waves, yea?"

Yoshi finally opened one eye to peek at Teige, and found that his edges actually were alight in green flame that seemed to build without much effort. His eyes closed, he continued softly, "When you breathe in, become more solid...when you breathe out, become less solid. Let yourself stay a little less solid each time..."

Yoshi gave a very quiet sigh, looking at her own hands, which were still completely unchanged.

Rain was falling on the tomato leaves. A snail plodded along the wooden edge of the garden bed.

"...Three leaves of hefna--yes, that one--" Helly agreed, as Liya used a knife to cut a palmate leaf as large as her hand from a bush. "Grind these together with the other dry ingredients. This is leq, it is the base for most pain-relieving salves. Now combine with the wet ingredients, and simmer over a medium heat until it thickens into a paste."

Ne oversaw as Liya ground up the contents of a bowl with a mortar, and then placed a coppery pot on the surface of a ceramic tablet. The designs on the tablet lit when Liya touched a certain spot, generating a ring of low, bright blue flames around the pot's base. The two of them stood in a shady patch of grass, at a stone table that was much too low for Helly but just the right height for Liya.

"Stir it clockwise every so often," Helly suggested. "As you do, allow the glass rod to draw some of your magic down into the mixture. Exactly," ne added, as Liya gave the clear liquid in the pot a good stirring, using the glass rod in her bare hand. The nerves along her arm lit, and the same sort of light seemed to bounce down through the rod in her hand, and ripple across the surface of the contents of the pot. "Rub this on your arms the next time you are sore from working the forge, and the magic you've left in will activate."

Liya stood back a bit, wiping her forehead but looking satisfied. At her shoulder, Helly continued, "Every good healer should know how to brew some basic medicines. The less magic you expend on healing, the better--save it for injuries that medicines won't fix."