Page 31 of The Lost Art of Finding Where You Belong

Perian couldn’t help but laugh even as he conceded, “To be fair, the burn was during a planned activity, and they were supposed to be trying to capture me. It got a little out of hand, but this felt… different.”

“It’s a privilege to be chosen to train with the Warriors here at the castle, tobecomea Warrior. If someone is too small-minded to see that training other members of the castle in defense is an extension of our duty and in fact only makes us stronger, then I don’t think they belong here.” Bennan shrugged. “It takes all sorts to make up the world, and I don’t love every single person I work with, but there should be a certain level of base decent behavior, and I don’t think he was adhering to it.”

Perian swallowed and said with a little difficulty, “Thanks.”

Bennan smiled at him.

They arrived at the doctor’s. Perian had kind of been hoping Nisal wouldn’t be there, but they very much were.

“What happened?” they demanded, looking instantly alarmed.

“Accident in the training yard,” Perian said.

“Fomadin attacked him,” Bennan corrected.

“Hey,” he protested.

Bennan shot him a look. “Trying to say that’s not what happened? Who are you trying to protect?”

Perian frowned. “No one, I guess. I just… don’t want this to cause any more trouble than it already has.”

Bennan squeezed his good arm gently. “The trouble was not caused by you. And sometimes it’s essential that people face the consequences of their actions, or they never learn.”

Perian was pretty sure some people never learned regardless, but he supposed you still needed to confront them. If this had happened to one of Perian’s friends, he would probably be first in line to call out the person who had done it.

By this point, the doctor had him sitting down, removed the towel, and ripped Perian’s sleeve completely. He supposed that between the cut from the knife and the bloodstain, it might have been a lost cause, but he was going through shirts in a more permanent way than he’d expected while visiting the city.

“Oh, Nisal, with your magical skills of acquiring all.”

They looked amused, which almost covered the concern in their eyes. “Yes?”

“Could you acquire me some pen, ink, and paper? I think I’d better send for more shirts, or I’m going to have to start walking around shirtless soon.”

Bennan said, “Oh, Nisal, on behalf of all those who have no objection to looking at him while he is half naked, do you think you couldnotfind the pen, ink, and paper?”

Nisal and Perian both burst into laughter and were scolded by the doctor.

“I am trying to tend to an injury. If you cannot behave, get out of my work room!”

Bennan looked comically cowed and waved on the way out, since he didn’t seem to want to risk further increasing the doctor’s ire.

“I’m on it,” Nisal said.

And then it was just Perian and the doctor, who was now cleaning the wound.

Perian kept trying to look at it, which meant moving his arm. The doctor shot him an exasperated look.

“Sorry, sorry,” Perian said, subsiding and trying to hold himself verystill.

“Tonic first,” the doctor said, “and then it’s going to need stitches.”

“What?” Perian said, surprised. “Why?” He tried to peer at it again. “It’s not that big, is it?”

“It’s not that small, either. And the tip of the knife hit bone.”

“Wow,” he said, trying really hard not to move his arm again so he could see better.

The doctor looked amused. “It’s a good thing you’re not squeamish. I know several Warriors who would have already fainted by now.”

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