The forest was thinning, a sign they were getting closer to the coast. Closer to Corvailles. This brought up a certain issue, though, that had somehow escaped all of their minds—even Liora's.
This issue, naturally, is that of her curse. The Siaryn's—or Siarath's, really—curse. As the trees gradually started blocking less and less light, the girl was becoming increasingly more uncomfortable.
No one even realized the problem until the girl was on the verge of collapse, bubbling rashes appearing all around her body. She hadn't even mentioned her worsening condition until it incapacitated her, to the surprise of the others.
"Why didn't you say something, you idiot!?" Linnie asked.
"I didn't wanna bother anyone, dummmmmy."
"She's really out of it. I'd hoped taking her out of the sun would allow it to heal, but..." Aliza said, scratching her head in confusion.
"The girl needs blood," Alwyn said, as if it were obvious. Which, it kind of was. "Alright, Linnie, hold out your arm."
"What? Why me!? You do it!"
"Hell no. You won't even feel it, so why do you care?"
"It's my blood, I don't need a reason to keep it to myself!"
"Ugh, just do it before she turns into dust. Aliza can't do it because her blood's tainted, and I can't do it because of... something magic."
"Something magic? Well what is it, then?"
"You wouldn't understand even if I explained it to you."
'What a load of bullshit... dammit! Whatever, I've already kind of done it once. I guess I don't mind—oh, what am I so damn scared for!?'
Again, that primal, instinctual fear burned inside him as he looked at her exposed fangs. Nonetheless, he swallowed his unease and held his arm out above her mouth.
The girl's nose twitched, and her eyes opened slowly. She looked at Linnie with curiosity, surprised at the offer. Though, she wasn't quite as surprised as he was.
'Why am I doing this, again?' he thought, gritting his teeth.
"Well, go on then. We don't have all day—hey, what're you doing!?"
Liora grabbed his arm with a newfound vigor, but instead of biting it, she pulled him down onto her. At the same time, she gently pushed Aliza away, much to her shock. Alwyn put his hand on her shoulder, though, to tell her it was okay.
Aliza didn't like that, and promptly swatted away his grip.
Linnie struggled, almost wrestling with the burning hot girl. It was to no avail, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Suddenly, his heart started pounding. It wasn't fear, anymore, but a sensation... completely unknown to him.
Aliza gasped in amusement. Alwyn had a similar reaction, if not a little more mean-spirited.
"Wait—stop! No—!"
The girl brought her fangs down on the boy's neck, not dissimilar to how he'd recently treated a poor rabbit. He was the rabbit, this time. The poor, frightened meal.
Even in fights he'd lost, he always made sure to act his role as predator. It wasn't his fault if another, bigger, predator attacked him. But here, he wasn't a predator at all.
And he hated how it felt. It was a foreign concept to him—being the powerless prey. And he couldn't do anything about it.
He felt the blood drain from his veins. Strangely, and presumably because it carried no pain, it actually felt sort of... pleasant.
In fact, it wasn't long before Linnie had stopped struggling at all.
Lady, however, the dutiful and loyal 'familiar,' was hissing and jumping and making a big fuss at the scene. The poor cat might've genuinely thought the boy was dying. It sure looked like it.
"Tch, are you done yet?" Linnie spat, pushing away from her.
Liora wiped her mouth of blood. She was quite the messy drinker, it seemed. It was the same as when Linnie had met her.
She gasped with contentment, like you might after having a big meal. The festering rashes quickly disappeared—leaving no trace they were ever there in the first place.
"Sorry about that, Linnie! I kind of lost control of myself," she giggled cheerfully.
'Well, at least she's not all dead-looking anymore.'
"But how're we gonna keep moving now?" Linnie asked, looking to Alwyn and Aliza. "Won't this just keep happening?"
"Don't worry, it's an easy fix. I just hadn't thought about it in the first place—that's really my fault, Liora, forgive me," Alwyn said. There wasn't any real emotion behind the apology, but the girl appreciated it.
Weirdly, the wizard seemed more distracted as of late, hence the foolish mistake. There was no way he hadn't thought about the curse when he first learned she was a Siaryn. Yet, he forgot completely.
"Well? What's the solution? I just wanna get to the damned city already, I can't handle another week camping," Linnie groaned.
"Heh, same, dude." Aliza laughed, ruffling his hair, much to his displeasure.
"It's just direct sunlight you've gotta avoid, right? You'll be a little uncomfortable until we get your robes, but my hat should make enough shade to cover you. Here," he said, giving her his hat.
Only temporarily, of course.
But Liora was elated. She put it on immediately, squirming in delight. The girl had become a fan of the strange wizard hats since she first saw Alwyn wearing one. When she pulled down on the hat, though, her head completely disappeared.
"Hey!" her muffled voice sounded. "What happened!? Why can't I see!?"
Both Alwyn and Aliza burst into immature, unhelpful laughter. Somehow, it was left to Linnie to help her.
He walked over, suppressing a laugh, and yanked the hat by its floppy tip, freeing her head from the enchanted inside. In truth, Alwyn had once let Linnie try the hat on, and he'd made the same mistake. That didn't mean he wouldn't treat Liora like an idiot for it, though.
"The inside is enchanted, so you can store stuff. I feel like I already told you this, though!?"
"I didn't realize people could go inside... that's awesome!" She paused, then said, "Wait, couldn't someone just relax inside while it was on your head? Let's do it! Linnie, carry me around! I'm feeling tired!"
"Hell no! Leave me alone, I already gave you my blood! If anyone should be resting, it's me!"
"Pleaaasee?"
"No!"
"I wouldn't have allowed it anyway, idiots. I don't want either of you messing with my stuff in there. It's organized perfectly! And some of it's very important!" Alwyn interjected.
Linnie narrowed his eyes in suspicion. He'd accidentally seen some definitely... interesting things inside. Most certainly not important, that was for sure.
And they continued on their way!