Clarissa waits her turn at the planetary portal with her horse and wagon filled with healing herbs and spices, the tools of her trade. She was a Anuki Healer, though somewhat self-trained after the disappearance of her mother some ten years prior. Anuki healers not only healed with herbs but also had this innate ability from within to heal with just a touch.
She had been traveling the worlds for a while now, sharing her healing knowledge with other practitioners of the trade but also doing a bit of her own healing as well.
Before she started traveling, she was the primary healer of a pack of female shifters in the fortress where she grew up. It wasn't always that way, but when her mother disappeared ten years ago, she was the only one left with any kind of healing skill and knowledge. In the years since before she started traveling, the fortress had been attacked by nomadic shifter groups in the hope of being able to obtain access to the group of female shifters' success though they all failed when my longtime friend went a night out on the town and came back claiming that she had found her mate.
Shortly afterwards, he found our fortress and took on the leadership role along with his mate and made the fortress his home with his men. Though I am not a shifter, he treated me with respect and introduced me to his own healers who helped me get connected with other Anuki after hearing my story about my mother's disappearance. I have learned a lot since then.
My friend is now expecting her first child and has asked that I be the one to attend to the birth as my mother was there for her birth. I was deeply honored to receive the message from the local group of Belani shifters. For my friend is a Belani shifter and they can transmit messages telepathically from one to another and she knew I was nearby. I have a little over two months to make my way to the planet of Camasi. From where I am currently it should only take a few weeks, as long as I don't get sidetracked along the way too much.
"What planet do you wish to travel to?" The guard asks me as I pull up to the front of the line.
I give him the name of the planet that is in a long list of portals that I will need to travel through to reach Camasi. For each portal can only reach certain planets. After this one, I will need to travel for a day on that planet to reach the portal that I need.
"You are in luck, Healer." He says, recognizing the insignia painted on my wagon indicating that I am an Anuki healer. "There is another group heading through now that is also heading there. I will have you pull forward so that you can go all together."
I agree to that idea for it was not an uncommon practice ton group more than two or three groups together to save power on the portal. Especially if they were small groups.
I pull alongside the group and recognize that it is a group of Belani shifters. What are of the chances of that. We go through the portal and head our separate ways. Though it seemed that we were headed in the same direction, their group was much larger than my single wagon. I know that if I asked, they would probably allow me to join them for at least part of the journey, but that would definitely slow me down.
It was late already, so I found a spot to camp for the night. I got my steed unhooked from the wagon and set about making camp for the night. My steed, a Deluki, was a powerful carnivorous breed of horse that were very faithful to those they chose to help. He had been partnered with my mother before me before she disappeared and he chose me to be his partner after she never came back from a request from a nearby village on Camasi near the planet's second portal.
We had rumors, from the local villagers, that a shifter group was camped out nearby at the same time of her disappearance, but we couldn't verify if for some reason that she went with them.
Dekek, the Deluki, went off into the woods to probably hunt for some prey. I was not worried for there were a set of whistle patterns that he would respond to if I needed to come back before dawn. Other than that, he won't wonder far from my little wagon. In many ways he has been my protector while on the road. The Deluki were known on many worlds to be fierce protectors of their chosen partners and not many people would dare trifle with them. They were also incredibly intelligent.
I go about making my dinner and getting ready for bed. I walk to the nearby creek and refill my canteen for in the morning. When I get back to camp, I notice two people, warriors by the looks of them, near the wagon with looks of concern on their faces.
"Hello, gentlemen. How can I be of assistance?"
"We have need of your assistance, Healer. A woman in our camp has gone into labor with her second child and she is having some difficulty." The one nearest my wagon replies.
"Give me a minute to summon my steed." I say and whistle a set pattern for Dekek to return to me at once. Immediately I hear a thrashing from the nearby brush and turn to see Dekek come to be with a little bit of blood dripping down from his lip.
"I will hook up my steed to my wagon." I say as I am doing so. I also grab a satchel from the back that should have most of what I would need until the wagon could get to the camp. "If one of you could steer him to your camp while the other walks with me to my patient, that would be great."
"Of course, Healer. Anything you need." The one closest to the wagon hops onto the wagon seat and starts to steer Dekek in the direction that he needed to go. They would take longer to get there because of the wagon. The other warrior takes my elbow and begins to lead me to their camp at a fast pace.