"It's alright!" said Lucille, addressing Ayota and the other dryads.
"But you are bleeding!" protested Ayota. The others supported her with nods and murmurs of their own.
Lucille let out a chuckle. "Trust me, it's alright. Besides, I can regenerate. Did you forget that?"
Ayota did not look convinced. "That doesn't stop the pain."
Lucille let out another chuckle. "Pain isn't as bad as it's made out to be."
Ayota and others looked at their mistress with concern. They were probably wondering if she had hit her head and lost it or something.
In their confusion, Byron pulled out of Meliae and stood up. He reached for an egg in the basket Ayota had brought with her back from the hot springs. It was now lying on the ground where she had placed it so she could go and tend to Lucille.
