Illness Survival of the Illest

[Willowwhip]

“Hih- hiitttshu! Tsshu!”

 

“Bless you. Are you alright, hun?”

 

Triona snorted viscous fluid back into her head and reached into her waist pocket for her dirty handkerchief. The poor dear had been sneezing all day. She’d already had to wash out her handkerchief before the trio had left camp. Once she’d clutched the handkerchief, the woman with hair like rippling flame closed her hands over her own.

 

The sniffling woman looked up in surprise to the gentle smile of her friend, Ardelis. Concerned eyes met her own. A chill autumn breeze passed between them sending a shiver down her spine. Color brushed her cheeks unrelated to the cold as she realized she was yet again holding hands with the woman she...

“Here, Allow me,” insisting fingers wormed their way into the snotty Dwarf’s hand. Triona released the handkerchief, and the flame haired witch replaced the soiled cloth with a clean one. While Triona blew her rebellious nose, with a flourish, Ardelis bowed and flicked the handkerchief. Small flames passed over it, and the tissue unfurled. The soil had been removed, the cloth had been pressed, and held the faint scent of charcoal. Although her audience was preoccupied, the Vistani Half-Elf was no less flamboyant in her movements. She stood up straight and folded the cleaned ‘kerchief, holding it out for her beloved cleric to accept.

When Triona finished cleaning her nose, she sniffled and sighed, “Yeah, I’m okay. There’s just this itch in my throat that keeps making me sneeze,” The smaller woman cleared her throat, and accepted the fresh cloth, passing over the soiled one, “I think it’s the seasons changing,” Triona wiped her nose, then smiled with appreciation at her friend, “Thanks for the hankie.”

 

“Of course,” Ardelis smiled kindly, taking the dirty cloth and theatrically casting Prestidigitation to simultaneously clean it and put on a show. A tiny flame bird erupted from her hand, then perched on top of the tissue. It rolled around, as though taking a bath, but actually cleaning the cloth. Then with its ‘beak’, it attempted to fold it into a quarter. Small gestures like this were one of the things the Dwarf loved about her sweet hearted sorceress. Triona giggled at the bird’s antics, causing a couple coughs to come tumbling out. Laughter was not allowed in autumn, apparently.

“Hey, we’re burning daylight you two,” their tall Elven companion known simply as Yarrow declared, folding her arms over her studded leather breastplate, “Let’s keep moving, if you’re quite finished.”

 

Ardelis stuck her tongue out at the curt Elf, but began to walk forward, passing the cloth to her sniffly party member. When taken, she placed a warm hand on the Dwarf’s back, rubbing her shoulders for a moment as they walked. Their beloved friend had been sneezing with increasing intensity for several hours now, and just a while ago, her nose started to run from all the activity. Yarrow had been distant, and shockingly cold toward their beset team-mate, which made Ardelis want to be all the more loving and warm-- but she was always warm. She had no other choice. The Half-Elf carried an ancient fire elemental within her. It had caused her great pain, but also enabled her to go on adventures with these two; enabled her to meet Triona.

 

Triona was a very special individual. Her warmth of spirit was only outmatched by her giving nature. Just a small ember when they met, Triona’s unconditional love and care for all things had fanned her brittle spark into a mighty flame. Yarrow’s jaded and cold nature had bloomed into something gentler under the tender ministrations of the cleric. That was nothing to say of Ardelis’ own, private feelings on the Dwarf. Her cherished Triona sniffed hard and rubbed the side of her bulbous, reddening nose. It appeared as she was losing the battle not to sneeze again.

God, she was beautiful, with her curly brown hair neatly braided and tied into a bun at the top of her neck. A few stray ringlets found their way out, but that was to be expected.

The Vistania was quite attractive herself. The flame that resided inside her had consumed most of her figure over the months they’d been hunting creatures for Head Office. They’d been meaning to take a siesta for some time, but the company needed potions, and those potions needed components. As the team designated for the collection of those components, they were responsible for them; and so the hunt continued. But if Triona was wrong about her health’s status and the Boss Man or Yarrow thought she was going to work anyways, they were sorely mistaken. Ardelis would fight anyone she had to; Triona would be cared for.

 

The group carried on like that for a while; Yarrow trudging ahead of the pack, Ardelis and Triona trailing side by side behind her. The Dwarf’s nose didn’t seem to be letting up, and her throat began to ache from the sinus drainage.

“kiiISSHuu!” The pair stopped to attend to their Dwarf, causing Yarrow to stop and turn around. Triona sneezed at the ground and pulled her second handkerchief out. It was slightly damp, but it would suffice. Making a little horn noise, she blew her nose into the soggy confines of the cloth. Triona sniffled and groaned. Coughing briefly, she put her hand to her aching head as though to alleviate the pain.  Ardelis took the handkerchiefs back with measured gentleness and placed her hand over the wads of snotty fabric. There was no theatricalism now. A small line of flame passed over both to cleanse, and Ardelis shook them out, never taking her eyes off the weary Dwarf.

“Honey…” Ardelis started, placing her hand along the back of Triona’s neck, her voice was soft and soothing, “Are you sure you’re okay? You don’t look well.”

“I don’t feel well,” The smaller woman thought while pinching the bridge of her nose and groaning. There was a building pressure behind her eyes, making them want to water.

“Yeah,” Triona sniffed and cleared her throat. Her voice had gotten gummed up due to the increased snot traffic, “I think I’m getting a little cold. I’ll be alright though, don’t worry.”
 

A calloused hand gently gripped the ill Dwarf’s chin, and tilted her head up. Yarrow stood before her with a piercing gaze. A chill rippled through her as she was scanned. The Elf’s frown deepened with the furrow of her brow. She tilted Triona’s head from side to side, then placed her palm on her forehead. Unsatisfied, she flipped her hand over, and brought it down along Triona’s cheek, then felt along her neck. The unfamiliar intimacy, paired with a particularly cool breeze caused her to tremble again.

When her inspection was over, Yarrow took her hand back, folding her arms, and Triona coughed sharply into her fist. Ardelis placed an arm around her crush’s shoulder and pulled her into the warmth of her cloak protectively, and comfortingly. Nothing was going to hurt her small friend. Not even her other friend. Especially not her other friend.

 

“You two, take a short rest here,” Yarrow commanded softly, “I’ll go scout ahead,” She reached out and grabbed Triona’s water flask and wiggled it to gauge the level of contents. There was a third left in the bottom. Yarrow unhooked it from Triona’s waist and handed it to her, “Drink the rest of this first.” Triona rubbed her dripping nose, then took the water and drank.

 

Ardelis surveyed her surroundings, looking for places to sit and allow Triona a good repose. She saw a more than suitable log not too far away. She rubbed the opposite shoulder of her sick beloved, “Come, there’s a fallen tree over here to rest on.”

Triona sneezed once into her now sodden handkerchief and allowed herself to be led to the log. It was coated partially in moss but the rot had not made it unsturdy yet. The ill Dwarf rubbed her eyes free of tears that sprung up from her overactive sinuses. Following Ardelis’ lead, she sat next to the sorceress and brought her head to rest against the woman’s chest. It was incredibly warm under the cloak. Looking down after the Vistania wrapped her other arm around her, Triona saw the runes that were connected to Ardelis’ flame abilities glowed faintly beneath their coverings.

 

“W...hy?” Triona asked, reaching out and taking Ardelis’ hand in her own, studying the rune as she had a few times before. The phoenix sorcerer allowed this, enjoying the feeling of Triona’s small fingers navigating the symbols of power on her palm.

 

With a hesitant, gossamer kiss to the top of her head, Ardelis answered, “You’ve already caught cold. I don’t want you to catch a chill with it. The autumn air bites without discrimination or favor.”

 

As though summoned by the mention, the wind shifted suddenly. As it blew, it cut right through Triona’s own cloak and cloth-armored raiment. She shivered and snuggled closer to the Elf that held her affections, “Good call.”
 

Meanwhile, the druid/ranger turned away and called to the sky, “BROMUS!” holding her arm out. A moment’s silence, then an answering caw came from the trees. An avian form swooped down lazily, landing on the perch Yarrow provided. The Elf scritched her lovely crow’s neck ruff, earning the coveted head tilt and trill of a bird friend.

“Hello, my darling,” Yarrow cooed, “Thank you for coming. I have a task for you this day.”

 

Turning back to her friends, she brought her arm to her shoulder, to indicate the bird should adjust it’s perch. The intelligent corvid hopped and fluttered to the new resting place. Yarrow moved to the log where the unwell Dwarf and firey Half-Elf resided. Triona sounded mid-sneeze, so she waited.

“H- hih...Hiiiih….HiixxTSSSH! HeTSsh!... Hi- HepTSSSH!!” Triona groaned from underneath the flashy cloak Ardelis wore.

“Bless you, dear,”
“-Bless,” The women said in arrhythmic unison. Yarrow cleared her throat and Triona pulled the cloak away from her face. Even though she’d only been gone one, maybe two minutes, the spirit of rest laid thickly on Triona’s face. Access to a heat source that loved you back would do that.

“Hand me your waterskins,” Yarrow ordered. Both women complied, but the action brought the larger cloak away from the Dwarf’s body. Sudden access to the cold made her cough suddenly. Yarrow jumped back a step startled as Triona went into a short fit. She fought the urge to rub her arms as her skin began to crawl. The Elf was not in the correct mindset for caretaking yet. Ardelis handed out her two skins and brought the cloak back around Triona’s shoulders, not even looking at Yarrow. She forced herself to take the water jugs normally, rather than snatching them, and waited patiently for Triona to do the same. Her arms crossed in defensive body language, with the jugs dangling from their belt loops, hanging from her fingers.

“Sorry,” she croaked, then cleared her throat and reiterated more clearly, “Sorry about that.”

 

Yarrow waved her free hand rather than speak, while Ardelis soothed the Dwarf. The hand not serving as an anchor reached up to smooth some hair away from Triona’s face, “Oh honey, it’s okay. You have nothing to be sorry for.” Triona was the type to impulsively apologize for every small thing, even when she was at 100%, If Yarrow were the type to be annoyed by that, the next few days would have been quite trying. However years of meeting and cooperating with new people, some with that trait, had taught her to be patient.

When Triona’s drowsy fingers finally undid the leather loop on her second waterskin, Yarrow braced herself and took hold of them both by their hooks, “Alright. Hold tight, I’m going to fill these up and start looking for our next campground.”

Triona’s brow furrowed, “Camp already?” she looked at the sky, “It’s barely noon.”

“We’ll keep going if you’re well enough, but I want a good spot if you’re not, and we have to hunker down,” Yarrow answered before Ardelis. The Half-Elf was left with her mouth hanging open, wanting to protest. Triona was unwell! They shouldn't have left camp in the first place. The moment she showed signs of a runny nose, they should have pinned her down and made her drink tea and...whatever else it was people did for their sick companions! The heat of her distress showed through in her power. The temperature inside the shared cloak rose a few degrees in a matter of seconds.

 

“Keep going?” Ardelis asked with incredulity, “She’s sick! She should be in bed!”

 

Yarrow leveled her icy stare at the phoenix sorceress, taking the brunt off of her mood swing. When Ardelis met her gaze, Yarrow continued, “She’s not too sick yet, and in case you hadn’t noticed, we’re in a forest, days of travel away from the nearest city I know of. Certainly no beds around here.”

“Yes, but--”

“Kar col’n teshuel ik fro thas var’aestar,” Yarrow chided, “Young one. Trust me, that’s something you don’t want.”

 

Ardelis frowned in concentration, trying to translate the words. Yarrow was teaching her the language of the Elves that would have been her birthright had her father been involved with her upbringing, but it was very tricky, “Uh…”

It seemed she didn’t quite understand. Yarrow sighed to herself, and turned around, “Just trust me, 'Dell. I’m not gonna let her hurt herself.” And with that she took to the trees.

 

Ardelis sighed. The conversation was over, and with that she turned her attention back to Triona. To compensate for the additional heat, the dwarf had opened up the cloak a crack until her little heater had cooled down. Now that Ardelis’ head was cool, so was her body. With that, Triona curled up against Ardelis’ chest with her ear directly over the sorceress’ heart.

 

“Are you alright?” Triona asked in a quiet tone, “You got kinda upset there for a minute.”

 

“I am now,” Ardelis thought.

She placed a hand against Triona’s head and held her against her body, “Yes, honey, I’m fine. Thank you for your concern.”

The Dwarf sniffed sharply and placed her arms around Ardelis to hold her in return, “Good.”

 

“No...not now,” Triona groaned, pressing her face against Ardelis as if to hide from the unpleasant sensation blooming once again in her throat and nostrils. The sorceress made a throaty noise of question.

“Hiiiih-- Hiih- HiixXTISHHhu!” she sneezed, turning her head, but still managing to sneeze on her admirer. It brought with it a sharp bout of coughing from an irritated throat, “Uuugh, Oh nooo!” Triona pulled the cloak over to reveal a moist streak from where her mess hit, “Uugh *snirrrf* I’b sorry, I sdeezed on you.”

Ardelis looked it over and tried to suppress her amusement. This cute, sweet little dwarf was working herself up over a little stray streak of snot. With a subtle urgency, Triona pulled the clean hankie she was saving and cleaned up the surface of the cloak so it would dry faster. It took every ounce of self control not to kiss her breathless right there. Gods bless this adorable creature.

“Sweetheart,” she laughed-- she couldn’t help it, “Honey it’s fine. Blow your nose.”

 

Triona blushed and pulled the hankie up to her nose and cleared it out.

 

“Hun, I know you couldn’t help it, and it’s not that big of a deal. Quit fretting over every little thing and just let yourself be sick. It’s okay,” Ardelis soothed, pulling her in for another cuddle session, she added silently, “I love you,” as she buried her face in Triona's hair.

----

 

Alright friends

It’s three in the morning and I can’t wait any longer I want this UP. CONSUME CONTENT.

I hope it’s sufficiently sneezy. I went back and added more sneezes. And also I am really sorry the beginning reads like a comic...and the middle...and the end. I’m falling back into the rhythm of writing and I’m a very visual thinker. It’s hard as hell to take the time to observe thoughts and feelings.

WHOOPS ALMOST FORGOT, what Yarrow said was Kar col / n' (prefix) teshuel ik (strength) from thas va / var (pl) aestar (romantic) / thiramen (soulmate) / quarlani'har (platonic)

“Do not take power from those you love”, she was telling her to let Triona make her own decisions, and her own mistakes, and then asked her to trust Yarrow not to let her hurt herself. It should become apparent pretty soon why she chose this path.

[M214186]

I hope you continue 

[Willowwhip]

Shall! Don’t worry ❤️

[Likesn]

A very interesting read. Also- Awesome title!

[Willowwhip]

 

8 hours ago, Likesn said:

A very interesting read. Also- Awesome title!

Thank you! I haven’t started physically writing the next piece yet due to lack of computer access but I hope to later today  

[EdanZather]

This was really really cute. Elves are wonderful, and elves plus dwarves are just great. 

[Willowwhip]

On 6/22/2019 at 4:41 PM, EdanZather said:

This was really really cute. Elves are wonderful, and elves plus dwarves are just great. 

I agree. I have 1000 feelings about these queer children of mine and I want to scream about them 24/7.

Elves with mixed genetics.

Half Elves where when people see them, they think of the human side not the elf side.

SLEEPY *clap* DWARF *clap* LESBIAN

Sick sleepy dwarf lesbian is deeply blessed content and by the end of this story I will have single handedly cured the depression of every single one of you I swear it.

Assuming I’m not chomping at the bit by the time I finish this second chapter, I will go back and edit this first chapter because my words got super clumsy. There are so many extra details that make it feel sort of ham fisted and it’s just because I love them so much, I’m sorry. I have a couple pages of the new chapter done. I’ll stop responding to each of these reviews until I have the chapter done as so not to tease with a new update. I figure that’s kind of like spam. Again, sorry.

 

[EdanZather]

LESBIAN DWARF ❤️ 

SO CUTE ❤️ 

BUT YES, MIXED GENETICS ELVES *CLAP CLAP CLAP* 

[Secret Sneezer]

Omg this is so cute! This kind of romance is my jam! And with fantasy, it makes it so much better! Keep up the good work! 😁

[Willowwhip]

 

Chapter 2

Several quick movements saw an Elf leaping, gripping the lowermost branch on a tree, and swinging herself up like she’d been doing it her whole life. Her avian counterpart took to the skies to await a sturdy perch. Yarrow might be a generation removed from the Ancient Enclave, but it was clear to anyone who’d met her-- who still knew what it was-- that the bloodline to her Wood Elf grandmother ran strong and true. After climbing the cottonwood tree, she sat on the uppermost sturdy branch and surveyed the surroundings. From where she was, Yarrow saw no clearings, nor obvious cave systems, but she could see where the river bent, and where the water came from. If they could get to where the water moved fastest, that would be best. The water would be sweeter there.

Bromus the crow cried loudly, then dove and back-winged to rest on her arm. Yarrow smiled and braced herself against the trunk so she could use her other arm. She gave him a few loving scritches and head pats.

“I want you to travel ahead down the long road,” The Elf started, “Report back to me right away if you see Bad Men. I want you to keep an eye out for good places to make a nest for tall birds like me. One of my hatchlings is sick. We’re far away from our own nest so we must find another one, or make another one. Look for earth-nests, or clearings near clean fast-water and food-- Or possibly an empty nest, with access to ground-water. Any of those will do, Dear One. Thank you.” Her crow familiar cawed, then took to the sky. Yarrow sighed, watching her beloved bird soar above the canopy. If only she could fly. She could search for these herself.

“Someday,” She whispered to herself, “Someday I’ll join you, my friend.”

Climbing down to a safe height, she began using the branches to propel herself toward the cleanest local source of water. Yarrow swung quickly, the closest she had ever come to flying. It would suffice, for now, and she found herself at the rapids soon enough. Using a bit of soap, she cleansed the outside and the inside of the water jugs as best as she could, along with her own utensils for herbalism. She would need those later. The Elf filled all their cups, and washed out some spare pieces of cloth. Using the ancient knowledge of the Enclave, Yarrow produced a handful of flame and laid the pieces out on the grass, drying and sterilizing everything. She put the herbalism kit away, tied the jugs around her waist, and contemplated how best to use the cloth. Ideally, she could tear off a bit for Triona to use as a tertiary handkerchief.

After a bit of inventory management, she determined she could not spare any cloth at this time. If her instincts were correct, and this illness of hers was about to get bad, and would require her direct care, she wanted a strip to go over her face. It might not prevent the spread of illness, but it made her feel safer, and a terrified nurse was not useful. Yarrow recalled her time training with her mother in the medicinal arts. If a medicine woman was too afraid to go in and get the job done, the job didn’t get done, and the patient died. She wouldn’t let that happen...not this time. Not again.

And if they got unlucky, she might need that cloth to secure… The thought was hard. But she needed to be ready for the possibility. If Bromus was unable to find suitable shelter, or if the weather turned inhospitable, Yarrow would have to steel herself and carry her infected teammate to safety. And she would need to secure her load, in order to travel any great distance, or for any length of time.

Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that.

Surely it wouldn’t come to that.

Being around her sick friend was hard enough. But being in physical contact with her? For an extended period of time? She wasn’t sure she had the strength to withstand it. But then again...how could she not?  

But these were all just speculations of a horrified mind. This was just a small cold, and Triona was a tough lass. They might need to slow their pace, but she would persist. She would endure. That was her whole deal, right? God of Endurance? That was the whole stupid reason she refused to heal herself the last time she got the sniffles. They’d been stationary at their base that time, though. It was different. She could hide back then.

Yarrow folded the cloth and closed her eyes, breathing out her anxieties.

“It’s fine. Everything is fine. The world is not ending, the sky is not falling,” She told herself, allowing herself a moment of peace, in harmony with nature. After worrying the edge of the cotton, she sighed once more, put it away, and headed back to the group.

Several minutes of travel found her at the log where she left the pair of would-be lovers. Ardelis cradled her ill companion against her chest with Triona’s head resting against her armpit. The latter’s mouth was slightly open to supplement her breathing. It appeared her sinuses were already becoming congested. Yarrow shuddered; her firey friend was a bolder woman than she. Maybe if she was younger, before she’d seen so much death at the hands of pestilence, her feelings would be different, but right now all she wanted to do was run away.

“Welcome back, my friend,” Ardelis greeted, bringing her hand up to wave, “How was your search?” 

Yarrow approached slowly, holding out Ardelis’ water flasks, “It was...fine,” she stated at last, “I was unable to find sufficient shelter on my own. I have Bromus searching ahead in my stead.”

Ardelis made a noise of confirmation in her throat, then looked down at the dozing Dwarf, “Yarrow I wanted to apologize--”

“Say no more,” Yarrow insisted, shaking the water flasks, “I understand. Take these.”

With a frown, she did as she was told, “It’s...I lost control of my temper for a moment,” Yarrow sighed as Ardelis continued, “It...wasn’t quite reasonable. I just…”

“‘Dell,” Yarrow stopped her, putting her bag on the ground and rummaging through it, “We’ve been travelling for a long time now. It’s been months since the slow season. We’ve been fighting strong enemies, meaning you’ve been burning up everything you have, and more, for months now,” 

It appeared that she found what she was looking for. A sprig of mistletoe was revealed, “Even if you didn’t have that temperamental thing inside you, your reaction to being denied expected rest is reasonable. The fact that it’s Triona who needed it?" she paused, scoffed, "I’m surprised we didn’t come to blows,” The Elf went over to a tree trunk, plucked a berry from the mistletoe, and mashed it between bark panels, “You must be absolutely exhausted.” 

A bright rosy tint fell over her cheeks, but she didn’t deny the implication, which made Yarrow smile to herself. She closed her eyes and began chanting in the language of druids, pricking her finger and drawing a glyph on the tree with streaks of her blood. Triona coughed a few times in her sleep and tucked herself in tighter to Ardelis’ form. 

When the spell finished, Yarrow stuck her finger in her mouth and waited for the spell to take effect. Moments later, a sprout emerged from the tree, followed by a cluster of leaves. Soon a bulbous mound of parasitic plant life sprouted from the tree with berries peppered all throughout it. Several grew past the normal size a mistletoe plant would proffer. There were twelve berries ranging in size from blackberries to crab apples by the end of the process along with several standard sized berries.

The Elf harvested a cutting of the normal mistletoe and tucked it into her bag, then took a handful of the biggest berries and put them in Ardelis’, or rather Triona’s, lap, “Here. Eat. There’s plenty.”

It wasn’t as nourishing as a proper meal, being a magical food item, but the Goodberry spell provided as many as sixteen berries that each would fill a normal person for a whole day with sustenance, and water. Unfortunately, due to the intense nature of Ardelis’ energy consumption, she needed more than one. 

“Thanks,” Ardelis said, taking the biggest, almost the size of a real apple, and biting into the white, waxy berry. It was like eating a half melted candle, but it would sustain her. 

Yarrow went back to the tree, ripping the mistletoe out and plucking off all the berries. She placed them in a small oiled pouch and tied it to the outside of her bag, where they belonged, but not before popping a small one in her mouth. Afterwards, she discarded the mistletoe and leaned against a tree across from Ardelis and Triona. She observed the young Dwarf’s resting breathing pattern.

The breathing didn’t appear to be too shallow, or wheezing, but there was a nasal quality to it. Their beloved cleric was beginning to get congested, which made sense with all the sneezing she’d been doing. Yarrow cringed inwardly as she noted the trail of mucus dampening Ardelis’ armpit. Triona seemed, perhaps a little flushed, but not so much as to cause concern. So very brave, that Vistania.

“How’s she doing?” Yarrow asked, voice softening and eyebrows knitting. Perhaps the Half-Elf had information she didn’t.

Ardelis looked down at the dwarf and brushed the bangs aside fondly while she pondered her answer, “I’m worried.”

A pregnant silence filled the air. Yarrow waited patiently for a time, then cleared her throat, “Yes? What worries you?”

“I don’t know,” Ardelis said, biting the inside of her lip, “She wasn’t like this last time. I don’t get sick and I wasn’t…” she paused, looking for a better way to approach, “when I was with my people...and in the circus…” there was pain there too, “I haven’t exactly had…” The Vistania couldn’t bring herself to say the painful truth; no one had wanted her around when they were vulnerable before. Not before meeting the two of them, “I don’t know what is normal.”

Yarrow slowly nodded, reading between the lines. Yes, she knew all about truths too painful to speak aloud. And their assumed exclusion hadn’t been completely unwarranted. The phoenix sorceress was volatile at her most docile of times. When they’d all met, there were several occasions when simple statements brought her powers roaring to life like a vengeful ex-lover. She could only imagine what being that and being around that must have been like when she was growing up. 

Reluctantly, she tucked away her own feelings and knelt before the pair. Upon closer inspection, their Dwarven comrade sounded to be whistling faintly as she breathed. However, that was the only difference she noticed. It must have been something that happened.

“What’s different?” Yarrow whispered. She wasn’t really around Triona before because she wasn’t forced to be, so there was no reference to go by. She whipped up a couple tonics for her cough and runny nose last time, but that was because she could hear her from her hiding place. You could hear her through the whole house at that point, the walls were thin as parchment.

“Well…she’s so drowsy. You were gone, what, twenty, thirty minutes? She’s been dozing or asleep for nearly the whole time,” Ardelis started with an edge of fear in her voice. Yarrow hushed her and the golden-brown skinned woman continued quieter, “Sorry- last time I had to basically sit on her to get her to rest.” 

THAT, Yarrow remembered. The pair—or rather Ardelis— nearly burnt the house down because Triona was insistent on using those brief four days between missions for renovations to the base. The roof was leaky and she wanted to have it done before the cold season came in. Their second day home, though, Triona came down with the sniffles. The phoenix sorceress followed her around the house all day up in arms, accidentally lighting things on fire because Triona kept denying anything was wrong, and wouldn’t stop. Yarrow may have had a hand in her finally resting, due to a carefully worded letter explaining how Ardelis needed to rest, and couldn’t do so unless Triona was resting. The next day the pair were curled up separately in the lounge, chatting and reading.

Yarrow crossed her arms and sat back on her haunches. This was more than a woman crushing hard fretting over the object of her desire. Being a creature who communicated with the forces of the divine, even if it wasn’t her main power, knew the weight of a Vistani’s instincts, “Well, I’ve got Bromus out, looking for--”

Triona’s breath caught in her chest, and she started coughing, hard. She sat abruptly, trying to get whatever slid down the wrong pipe into the right one. Rubbing a glowing hand over the woman’s back, Ardelis shushed the ill Dwarf, hoping to soothe both patient and nurse. Yarrow took a hard look at the phoenix sorceress, and saw an overly emotional woman on the slippery downward slope of a meltdown. She needed help. She needed someone to take this off her shoulders, or at least, share the load. It was a position she was all too familiar with.

And with that, Yarrow found what she needed to bury the past, and stand in the present-- if only for a time. After a long, deep sigh, She rolled her weight forward onto her knees and put a hand on Triona’s shoulder.

“Easy, easy. Short breaths,” the Elf coached. She unhooked Triona’s waterskin from her belt and put it in the sick Dwarf’s hands uncorked, “Drink.”

Triona took hold of it and drank between forced expulsions of air, and quickly brought her fit under control. Once done, she sank back and hesitantly leaned against Ardelis’ chest. The latter woman brought her hand up and brushed the bangs out of the Dwarf’s eyes, then held her close, more for her own comfort than Triona’s. Yarrow doubted that she noticed or cared about the difference.

“Hey,” Yarrow started, thumb rubbing the collarbone of her friend, “How are you feeling now?”

Groaning in response, Triona felt around for something. Ardelis gasped a small ‘oh!’ and reached into her side pocket, pulling out a fresh handkerchief. She then placed it in Triona’s searching hand. Understanding what was about to happen, Yarrow pulled back, folded her arms, and looked at the trees. Lovely foliage they have here. Were those cottonwood?

“Thagks,” Triona muttered, covering her nose with it and blowing. And blowing. When she finally finished, she groaned again, rubbing the hollows of her eyes. Ardelis took the hankie back and cleansed it with her magic once more. 

The Dwarf sniffed and cleared her throat, priming herself to speak, “Don’t feel good.” Ardelis rested her head on top of Triona’s and rocked her a little, cooing softly. She closed her eyes and let herself be coddled, though a dark blush came to her cheeks.

Ardelis was next to speak. She picked up a bite sized berry and put it in Triona's hand, "Can you handle this, hun?"

Triona looked down and sighed, "Yeah..." She popped it in her mouth and grimaced as she ate the unappealing berry.

After a thoughtful pause on her end, Yarrow unfolded her arms and spoke to the sick woman again, “I’m sorry to hear you're feeling poorly. Can you tell me what’s wrong? What all is bothering you?” She squatted and placed her elbows on her knees, to be at a more appropriate level of sight. 

“Head hurts,” she responded, turning her head towards Ardelis’ chest as if to hide from the pain, “Throat hurts.” Triona cleared her throat again, sniffled, then cleared it yet again.

Yarrow tilted her head, bringing her dominant hand up to feel the sick woman’s forehead. Just a little warm, “Is that all?” Her words may have been condescending in another tone, but with this one, there was nothing but genuine concern.

“Everything else is pretty obvious, don’t ya think?” Triona asked, turning her head slightly to look at Yarrow’s reactions. The Elf ran her thumb over her temple in a gentle massaging motion.

“Yeah,” She replied softly, “Getting stuffy?”

“Yeah.”

“Where does your head hurt, Dear One?” Yarrow queried, mimicking her mother’s diction and tone.

Triona responded by bringing her hand to her forehead. Her fingers spread out over the very front of her forehead and trailed down below her eyes and over her nose.

“So...a sinus headache? Is it just under the skin?” Triona nodded carefully, coughing a couple times. Yarrow smiled slightly with a sympathetic look on her face, “And your chest? Is it tight?”

The Dwarf was thoughtful for a moment, “Not really.”

Yarrow suspected that wasn’t the case, but whether the answer was deliberately misleading or Triona couldn’t focus beneath her pounding head was up for debate. 

“Well,” Yarrow started, “I’ve sen--”

“Hang on,” Triona urged, interrupting. She was silent for a moment, then, “Hih-  Hiih--” Her hand felt around with urgency for a handkerchief. Ardelis was quick to hand her back the clean one she just used, “He’MPhssh! Hex’xxtCHhh!” She lurched forward, whining softly behind the handkerchief. That couldn’t be good for her headache.

The Elf suppressed a shudder, hearing the plethora of fluid expelled in those sneezes. The Vistania leaned forward as well to secretly press a kiss into Triona’s hair, “Bless you hun,” She whispered.

“Bless,” Yarrow contributed, “I’ve sent Bromus to--”

“HI’XNXUMPH! Hi’XsSHUmph!” Those last two sneezes shook their way out of her, seeming to take much of her strength. She curled back against Ardelis, whimpering in pain. She responded by more openly kissing Triona’s forehead and rubbing the uppermost side of her arm. Okay, Yarrow was beginning to see the Half-Elf’s point. Anything that could reduce their resilient Dwarf to this pitiful, moaning mess, was a threat to take seriously; fever or no. 

She waited patiently to be sure that Triona was done sneezing, “Bless you,” Yarrow started, “I’ve sent Bromus to scout for danger, nests-- I mean uh,” She blushed, “Abandoned residences or good places to make camp. It sounds like that’s what we’re gonna do."

“I can keep going,” Triona insisted, sitting up slowly and sniffling, “Really. I don’t wanna camp out on the road.” Her voice husky from too much traffic in her larynx, she coughed as soon as she finished speaking. Ardelis looked to Yarrow pleadingly, and the Elf nodded her head very slightly.

Yarrow folded her arms in a defensive authoritarian gesture and straightened her back, “We’re not going to. We’ll be camping away from the road when we do, but right now, we’re gonna keep resting until he comes back.”

Triona was quiet for a moment, processing this information. Her voice was smaller and less sure when she spoke again, “We should try to get furth--”

“We should stay put, until Bromus comes back,” Yarrow stated, deeper and louder than before, “He will know where to find us if we stay put,” This wasn’t entirely true. Bromus would be able to find them easily even if they were travelling, due to the height at which he flew and the bond he shared with Yarrow. She hoped this knowledge didn’t present itself to Triona’s tired mind, “You need to rest. You will feel better and be able to travel further if you keep resting.”

That wasn’t entirely true either. Triona seemed sicker now than when she began her break. The logic, however, was simple and easy to digest, “Don’t fight me on this, Young One.”

The Dwarf grumbled to herself, turning in towards Ardelis, “You’re not that much older than me,” Ardelis giggled and hugged her tighter. Triona was...too cute.

Yarrow heard it and snorted, “Yeah, only by about a hundred years. Go to sleep.”

She made a noise in defiance, but obeyed. The sick woman closed her eyes and found herself slipping away quickly. As soon as she settled and started trying to sleep, Yarrow began gathering little bits of firewood from the surrounding area. They weren’t camping here, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t do a little prep work. Kindling wasn’t necessary with her skill set, so Yarrow focused on getting small, dry logs she could fit into Triona’s bag of holding, gifted to the party by the company they served. Soon she had enough for a small fire that they would be able to cook over this evening. Food wasn’t strictly necessary, but it was good for Ardelis to eat something non-magical. She might be able to put some health back into her body, and it was never too early to start. And, if there was a fire going, there would be less reason for the Vistania to use that precious energy. However, it was safe to assume she would use it regardless. 

After she returned to the group, she saw Ardelis yawning, humming, and rocking her ill, sleeping love from side to side. A precious sight. One of them would be strong enough to declare their love for the other soon enough, and despite all of the Half-Elf’s charms and wiles, Yarrow was fairly certain the confessor would be Triona.

“Is she asleep?” Yarrow asked, waiting a short distance away from the couple. Ardelis nodded slowly, never stopping her side to side motion or her wordless tune, “Good. We need to talk.”

 

-----

I’m gonna keep writing today, but I have things to do and I wanted to put this out here because it’s a good pausing point and also roughly the same length as the previous chapter.

--
Replies that I haven’t responded to yet

@EdanZanther

Your replies made my day thank you SOOOO much ❤️ ❤️ And Fun facts, because I doubt they’re going to be addressed in this story

Yarrow (Aella Fend’qual) is ½ High Elf, ¼ Moon Elf, and ¼ Wood Elf. Her mother was the child of a Moon Elf male to a divination cast, and a Wood Elf female warrior

Ardelis Bell is Half Vistani, and ¼ High elf, ⅛ Moon Elf, and ⅛ Wood Elf. They don’t know it, but Yarrow is Ardelis’ aunt. 

@Secret Sneezer

I’m so glad you like it! ❤️ Ardelis is so aggressive but like...she can’t help it. And Triona secretly (not so secretly) really REALLY likes the attention. But it’s kinda shameful to her, she doesn’t feel like she should accept it. We’ll dive into that later though.

--

Thank you all for reading, May my labors please you. ❤️
 

[Willowwhip]

Oh man I just discovered I don't have the power to edit my post. Oh well. This will have to suffice. MOLPY

[Willowwhip]

Chapter 3

“Good. We need to talk.”

That statement had Ardelis falter in her motions, and she turned her head to Yarrow, “Uh...Okay? What is it?”

Yarrow took a deep breath, considering once again possible ways this nugget of criticism could be taken, and trying to find the best path forward, “You...need to be more in control, while this situation is happening,” She gestured to Triona, pausing for a second to let the words settle, “You were losing it when I came up earlier.”

Another long pause occurred, Yarrow daring Ardelis to contest her. The sorceress clung tighter to her ward, like a toy that could be taken away from her. It was just one of the ways in which she was still a child, “I was not!”

Another sigh; this one in irritation, “Ardelis-”

“I was in control,” She asserted, “I still am in control, See?” Ardelis waved her hand around, shutting down her heat output and turning off her glyphs, “No glow, no excess heat, no fire. I can turn it off when I want. It’s not a crime to have emotions.”

“That’s not--” Yarrow put her hand on her own cheek and supported her elbow, “That’s not what I meant.”

Ardelis jerked her head forward, as if to say “Then what ‘did’ you mean? What could you possibly have meant?”

Sighing once more, she went over to the log and sat next to Ardelis on the side that put Triona further away from her, “Just, listen. Alright?” 

The half-elf took a deep breath. For a moment, the tension was so thick you could cut it, “Okay. Sorry.”

“You know that my mother was an apothecarian, right?” Ardelis nodded her confirmation. The topic had come up before, “Did I tell you that she ran a Healer’s House as well? While I was growing up?” 

She squinted, “Mmm...I'm guessing that is...different?” Obviously it was different or they would not be discussing this.

“Yes. When I say Apothecary, I just mean a place where people buy potions and various tonics,” Yarrow explained, “A Healer’s House is usually a place where people go to get their ails cured, treated, or otherwise explained to them. My mother ran both, and brewed the potions. She taught me how to brew those potions and tonics as well.”

The Elf looked straight forward, as if talking to the air, and took a deep breath, “We...were the only place where a person could get that kind of treatment for miles and miles around. People would travel from all over for her opinion on their ills,” she stated, “Or at least, they started to, after the plague hit.”

Ardelis suppressed a sigh. She could tell Yarrow was gearing up for a long bout of winding, rambling exposition that barely made sense and she wasn’t really in the mood. This was important to her, though, and there would probably be a point in there somewhere. Ugh, old people. There was a silence between them as Yarrow struggled with some deep pain. The Elf looked to Triona and watched her breathe for a moment.    

“I was...very young. Perhaps as old as you. I don’t really remember anymore...How old are you? Fift-- No no,” Yarrow started, “I forget the conversion...thirty?” Ardelis’ ears twitched.

“Almost thirty,” She replied dryly. Yarrow shook her head.

“Alright, so I was barely older than you are now. When, uh…” She looked away, “When the plague hit.”

Ardelis tilted her head, humoring her statement, “You are of course referring to the great plague, that happened--” 

“No no,” Yarrow said, “No, earlier, uh, it was more local, I suppose. It spread through--” She shook her head suddenly, “It doesn’t matter,” Her voice was solid for the first time since declaring the need to talk, “There was a sickness, a lot of people got sick, a lot of people came to my house because there was no one else to take care of them, and my mom--” The Elf looked to the ground again, “She took care of them all. My brother and I helped as much as we could. We even took on our own patients. But it wasn’t enough. A lot of people died. People I loved.” Another pause, “I watched my best friend die.” 

A long silence, “I’m sorry to hear that,” Ardelis responded finally, “But--”

“I watched him die…because... I couldn’t focus on the task at hand,” Yarrow stated finally turning to look at Ardelis again, “Mom was too busy to help me. And I was losing it, like you were and because I lost it, I lost him,” She placed her hand over Ardelis’ knee, “That’s...not going to happen again, because I know better now. But I need your help. And I need you to keep it together. For the both of us. Please.” Her tone pleading in a way that both lifted Ardelis’ heart and cut into it, how could the Vistania refuse? "I'm not strong enough to hold us both together."

“I’ll...I’ll try,” she responded, finally, “I make no promises, but together, I’m sure we’ll get through this. We will get Triona through this. No matter how bad it gets,” Ardelis took the Elf’s hand, “We’re in this together.” 

Yarrow smiled weakly at her beloved friends and sent a silent prayer of thanks to the powers that brought them together. Then she wrapped her free hand around Ardelis’ shoulders and pulled her into a hug, “Yeah. Together.”As all things should be.

The hug stretched on beyond the time either party was particularly comfortable with. Yarrow clapped Ardelis’ back and stood up relatively abruptly, “Well, I better get back to work.”

The Vistania tilted her head in genuine curiosity, “What work are you referring to?” 

“I’m about to prepare a medicinal brew for Triona,” she replied, “I won’t start a fire yet but I can at least prepare the ingredients.”

“Oh,” With nothing to do but wait, and Ardelis still feeling self conscious suddenly of her ‘newfound’ importance in the group, she found herself worrying the hem of her cloak, “Is...there anything I can do to help?”

Yarrow shook her head and gestured with her thumb “You’re already doing it. Keep her warm and off the ground and comfortable. That’s plenty.”

“Mmm.” Ardelis made herself relax and looked down at the sleeping Dwarven beauty swaddled in her cloak. Her snoring was more pronounced now; fully stuffed up. The nose she adored was an irritated pink color and shone with a polish only excessive exfoliation caused. Triona’s full cheeks held a similar hue to her nose, freckles popping out of the pale skin underneath.

Poor baby. Ardelis’ heart lurched as she felt a shiver ripple through her beloved. The Half Elf brushed her bangs away from her face. The action caused Triona’s breath to hitch and for her to jerk slightly in her sleep. At first, Ardelis thought she was going to sneeze. In preparation, she pulled out a handkerchief, but Triona snorted and coughed herself awake instead.

Blearily, she opened her eyes, “A’delis?” 

“Shhhh,” she soothed, putting a hand to her cheek, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. Go back to sleep.”

The Dwarf blinked, processing this information, then smiled faintly. Reassured, she closed her eyes and went back to sleep. Or at least, she tried. Her reddened nose twitched, and Triona’s arm started to move beneath the cloak, trying to find the exit.

“I have it, hon, don’t worry,” Ardelis said, with an affectionate and deeply amused smile creeping up on her face. She knew the reaction this was going to garner, and was enjoying it already. The Vistania propped her love up against her shoulder, then put the handkerchief over Triona’s nose and cupped it gently. The Dwarf’s face flushed a deep scarlet and her arm became slightly more frantic. 

“N’do, I-- Hiih,” It was no use, she wasn’t going to be free in time, “hiiiiih,” Triona’s eyes watered with the effort to restrain her sneeze without the use of her hands, “HixxIchUh!” The sneeze scraped her throat, and she coughed, but another one came, “Koug, kouTxxiSSCH, Hih-xTiiCH, Kough, kough,” She groaned in pain and humiliation. It almost made Ardelis feel bad. Almost. The Vistania pinched the bridge of Triona’s nose and wiped the mess beneath the handkerchief away. 

That could have been the end of it, but no. Then, Ardelis folded the handkerchief to expose a dry side and covered Triona’s nose again, “Blow~”

Triona's soul left her body to escape the humiliation of this moment.

“N’do-ho-ho-hooo,” Triona whined, tears pricking at her eyes as she futilely struggled against the confines of the cloak. She quickly realized the reason she couldn’t escape was due to Ardelis holding the fabric closed, “Let mbe go-ho-hoh.”

“Oh god she’s too cute. She’s so cute. Oh my god I love her. I love her so much,” “No-ho-ho,” Ardelis replied, mocking her, “If you’re going to not-heal yourself, then you’re going to let me take care of you,” 

She puffed out her lips, “Or is that too great a burden to bear?” A rip off of one of the staples of Triona’s prayers.

The sickly girl coughed, “I can’dt, I’td wouldn’dt be true,” More coughs escaped her mouth, “It wouldn’dt be true cobbing fromb me, and bad thi’gs habben when you lie to God.”

“Well then” Ardelis started, “If you can bear that burden, can you not bear this one as well?” She paused, “Or is letting someone help you just too hard?”

Triona gave Ardelis a hard side glare, but drew her breath in, and blew her nose into Ardelis’ hand, punctuated with coughing and furious blushing.

The Half Elf's ears and cheeks lit up with this action. A loving and amused smile was glued to her face, “She actually did it! Oh my god! I could die right now and be just fine with it. Oh my god,” Ardelis took a shortened breath, trying to hide her own embarrassment and pleasure. She nudged Triona closer using her shoulder and elbow, then kissed the top of her head, “Thank you, love.” 

Awkward silence immortalized this moment in their ever shortening lives before Triona broke it, “Can I habe mby armb back?”

“Oh! Yes, of course,” Ardelis said, scarlet deepening over her ears and cheeks. She relinquished the hold she had over Triona and allowed her access to her own limbs.

“Thangs,” Triona muttered, metaphorical feathers having been thoroughly ruffled. She blew her nose more thoroughly, coughing a few times in the process. When she was finished, she noted that Ardelis was looking away, still blushing. Her support had completely withdrawn. The Dwarf couldn’t help the painful thoughts that invaded her mind. Had she disgusted the Vistania? Was she turning away from her? Was she going to leave? As quickly as they came, Triona chased the thoughts away, but they left shallow wounds on her heart. Wiping a couple of tears not entirely caused by her sickness, she put her hand on Ardelis’ knee. "Please" she reached into the void wordlessly. Only an emotion.

The Half-Elf turned back to face Triona, “Hmm? Oh, are you finished?” she asked, reaching out to receive the soiled napkin. 

“Yeah-” She cut off, bringing her hand to her mouth to cough. Ardelis knitted her brows and began to rub the ill Dwarf’s back.

“Oh honey…” she started, taking the handkerchief. It sounded to her like it was moving into her chest, “I’m sorry you’re feeling so poorly—and— I’m sorry for teasing you. I didn’t...I took it too far. I’m sorry,” What Ardelis was thinking tumbled out of her like dropped pastries, “I mean...I meant what I said about taking care of you, I just—”

Relief flooded Triona as her silent prayer was answered. She returned the favor by resting her head against Dell’s arm. There were no hard feelings.  A deep shiver ran through the ill Dwarf’s body as the autumn wind blew past. The sorceress brought the besieged arm and cloak around to shelter her from the cold inside and outside. A happy blush covered Triona's already flushed cheeks, and she scooted closer to her secret love, resting her head on the side of Ardelis’ breast.

“Where’s Yarrow?” Triona managed between a couple dry coughs, pulling out her flask of water and drinking a bit. It did precious little to help her aching throat, as she’d been hoping. 

Ardelis actually looked up for the first time in a while, surveying the area as opposed to staring into open air, “Hmm, I’m not sure. She was just here...I’m sure she’ll be back soon.”

“Mmm,” Triona mumbled something and then tucked herself in tighter against Ardelis. As much as she hated the spotlight, there was something appealing to her about the way Ardelis treated her. She had never been looked after when sick before, often sequestered in a room either by force or choice. She had no idea what 'taking care' of a person would traditionally entail. But she trusted this person with her life and with her heart... Yes; she would shoulder this burden, and she would do it with a smile.

—

Yarrow watched the scene unfold from the treetops. The energy between the two had been...too much to endure. When Ardelis began pestering, Yarrow gathered her supplies and more or less ran away. She laid before her several whole pieces of herbs such as ginger, basil, and her namesake, yarrow, and set about chopping them fine enough to put into a strip of cloth and brew a tea from, or mix into a stew as seasoning. In the coming days she was planning on forcing as much of this stuff down Triona’s throat as possible.

After nearly a half hour of chopping, she finished and found herself with naught to do but wait. She didn’t want to head back to the others yet, so she laid back in a sunny patch of grass and waited.

“KAKRAW!” Bromus cried from the air, circling overhead. Yarrow opened her eyes and raised her arm to be a perch. The bird gently dove and back-winged just in time to land at the ideal pressure on her arm.

“Hello again. What news do you offer?” She asked, bringing her arm down to rest against her abdomen. He spoke to her through the mental link they shared.

“No Bad Men spotted. Open-Nests are far away. Many wing beats. One Empty-Nest deep in the forest, but it’s ground is scary for Tall Birds. Good New-Nest spot is near. Fast water is near. But we should not roost there. Storm comes soon,” Bromus tilted his head, “Hatchlings must be kept safe from storm winds, yes?” 

The Elf scratched the neck of her avian companion, “She will be safe. This Tall Bird can build a sturdy nest, one even the most picky of birds would appreciate. Once I send you off, please lead us to the good nesting spot.” A crowing of acquiescence ripped its way through the air. Quickly getting to her feet, Yarrow passed Bromus to her shoulder and strode back to her friends. 

Yarrow came back to find Ardelis in a new position, with her back against an adjacent tree. She cradled Triona with her other arm, and dozed along with the sick Dwarf. The Elf’s face shifted to a true frown, rather than the resting look of displeasure she typically wore. Brow knitted together firmly, Yarrow approached the pair of resting adventurers. Had Ardelis fallen ill in the time she was gone, or was she just sleepy from the affections shared? She wouldn’t rest out on the open road while protecting Triona, would she? Not without Yarrow in sight, right? Then why was she asleep? 

“It’s highly unlikely she’s sick. She can’t get sick, right? She’s made of fire...she...it’s unlikely, It’s highly unlikely. Unlikely. UnLIKELY,” The words became a mantra in her mind, holding her sanity in tact.

As she approached, Ardelis opened her eyes and looked up, “Oh, hello Bromus!” she greeted, “It’s good to see you again.” The bird trilled, adjusting his footing on Yarrow’s shoulder. The Elf approached the pair of sleepy lesbians.

“Are you okay? You were…” Yarrow trailed off.

Ardelis quirked her eyebrow, then smiled as she understood, “Oh, yes I’m fine. I just had my eyes closed a moment.”

“Alright, good,” Yarrow sighed, “You will tell me if you start to feel off, though, right?”

The Vistania drew her lips flat and closed her eyes, “I always feel off, but yes, I know what you mean. And I will.” She drew in a truncated breath and sighed, looking down at her hands and rubbing the area around the rune.

“Ah, yes, Sorry,” Yarrow said, feeling awkward. It was easy to forget the constant pain her friend was in when it was of a low level or she wasn’t using her magic. It wasn’t something Triona forgot though. She suddenly missed not having to track Ardelis’ physical well-being consciously. With the cleric out of commission, more consideration would need to be made to accomodate the Vistania’s condition.

“Bromus has an idea of where to go now,” Yarrow stated rather plainly, “We need to head out now, because there’s a storm on the way. The shelter will need to be erected and reinforced in time.”

Ardelis’ eyebrows drew upward and her ears drooped, “About that...I really don’t think Triona should be...she’s…” Yarrow mimicked Ardelis’ expression as the pair looked down at the Dwarf snoring heavily. The hollows of her eyes seemed to have sunken and her skin appeared far more pale than when Yarrow left her previously. Placing a gentle hand over the woman’s forehead, Yarrow grimaced as though pained. Fever had set in. The Elf stroked the sick woman’s cheek with her thumb and pushed the bangs straight up against her scalp. They did not stay, not soaked enough to obey fully, but moistened enough from sweat that they settled away from the face for a time.

“She’s getting sick so fast,” Yarrow observed, triggering a deep seed of terror, “No, silence. Focus on the task at hand.” “You’re right,” She answered, standing and sheltering her eyes as though sight was the cause of the problems and they would disappear if she couldn’t see them, “She’s in no condition to walk. But that’s alright. I planned for this.”

The druidic ranger spoke as she stretched, “The two of you can ride on my back. I just need you to get her up there and support her. You think you can do that?”

Ardelis nodded and sat Triona up the rest of the way, “‘Ona, honey, ‘Ona it’s time to wake up, we have to go,” The ill Dwarf whimpered in response, and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. While she waited for Triona to awaken, Ardelis responded, “Yes. I can do this. I’ll seat her in front of me so she can rest while we ride.”

“Sounds good,” Yarrow said. She finished limbering up, and then with a mighty forward stretch, her body began to expand. Her clothes disappeared and were replaced with brown hairs. Soon, her form changed and she was no longer humanoid. Instead, a powerful chestnut colored horse took her place. Its mane was a dark brown with white streaked through it along with white fur around her hooves; a remnant from her humanoid form. 

Whinnying loudly and rearing up, Yarrow did a short canter around the clearing to acclimate to the new body. Shifting forms was still relatively new to her, and changing to a different size was difficult. When finished, she came up to the pair of adventurers and snuffled them. Ardelis smelled of soot and fire. This was expected, as was the scent of infection from Triona. When she sniffed at the Dwarf’s head, she pulled back and exhaled sharply through her large nostrils. Afterward, she sat on her legs, lowering herself for ease of passengers boarding.

“Okay hun,” Ardelis coaxed, putting her hand against the small of Triona’s back, “It’s time. Get on the horse, love.”

“Okhiih-- heEXXSHHHU!” She sneezed with no warning, spraying gooey snot all over Yarrow. The horse immediately got to her feet, whinnying in primal terror. She shook her head, snorting and trotting in circles away from the poor sick Dwarf. A string of greenish yellow gunk hung from her afflicted nose.

“Awwhh, hon~ey,” Ardelis cooed sympathetically, coming closer to Triona, “You’re just having a time, aren’t you? Here,” she offered one of the interchanging clean handkerchiefs to her beloved. 

Triona couldn’t even respond, she was working up another sneeze, “Ah- hiI’mb so-ha- HiekkxxISHHU!” The Dwarf went into a short fit of dry, wheezy coughing. She took the handkerchief and cleaned the mess off her face. Ardelis was quick to supply her with a water flask to ease her blossoming cough. 

After her fit of coughing calmed down, and Triona blew her nose, Yarrow appeared to have regained her composure. Either that or resigned herself to her fate. There would likely be a lot more of that before the end of this trip. The only thing for it was to buckle down, and buckle in.

---

Will post a tiny bit again as sort of an inbetween chapters thing, because I can't write it tonight but I am going to die of exposure to radiation if I don't throw this out here now.

[Willowwhip]

Chapter 3.5

A cool hand over her forehead roused the sick Dwarf from sleep. Fear gripped at her heart and caused her to shiver and tense up initially. Then she felt the unnatural warmth from Ardelis, and the gentle caress of Yarrow’s thumb over her cheek, and remembered she was safe. Triona’s friends-- her family was here. She blearily opened her eyes as they began to speak over her, but closed them again quickly. Waking up was too much effort and she’d surely be sent back to sleep again. Their voices hovered at the edge of her awareness.

“She’s in no condition to walk. But that’s alright, I planned for this.”

Of course she did. Yarrow was the one who planned. She fixed problems before they became manifest. And if a problem dared manifest itself in her vicinity, she found a way around it, or through it. Always.

“The two of you can ride on my back. I just need you to get her up there and support her. You think you can do that?”

Confusion now. They were going to get a piggyback ride from her? That was odd. But everything seemed a little odd in this half-dreaming state. She tried to imagine how that would work, but nothing made sense.

“‘Ona, honey,” a familiar musical voice crooned to her. There was another kind hand on her cheek, but this one she recognized as Ardelis’, “‘Ona, it’s time to wake up. We have to go.”

She whimpered and pressed her face against the warm hand, hoping it was a figment of her imagination. Triona knew that was untrue, however, as the warm surface she laid upon readjusted itself; Ardelis’ body.

“Yes, I can do this,” Ardelis’ voice assured, “I’ll seat her in front of me so she can rest while we ride.” Just hearing her speak soothed her and made Triona begin to slip from the realm of the waking.

“Get up now, or they’ll leave you behind,” A cruel voice swirled up from deep in her subconscious, “You can rest when you’re dead. Get up now.”

Obeying her cruel inner monologue, she slowly rubbed the sleep from her eyes, feeling worse than when she’d laid down last. Wasn’t sleep supposed to make you feel better? Her whole body throbbed in time with her heart, pain centralized on her forehead and spreading out from there like rivers from a waterfall. It coiled like lakes in her joints and ponds of pain sprouted up along patches of her bones. 

Nausea gripped her stomach and pulled on it like an anchor. But still, Triona would persevere. She must. They had to leave. Was it not safe here? Was that why they had to leave? She rubbed her temples, trying to push the last bit of dreamland out of her head. Sniffling and coughing, the Dwarf finally opened her eyes as a loud whinny resounded through the air.

“Oh,” Triona thought, “That makes sense.” She observed the graceful, form of her friend Yarrow in the shape of a horse. Wild and free, just like the Elf. Never one to take an opportunity for granted, Yarrow trotted over to the pair and took a short amount of time to inspect them. There was always the chance her horse form could detect what the humanoid could not. Triona raised her hand to pet the snout of her friend. After a brief moment of communion, the horse snorted, backed away, and bent down for ease of access. A very thoughtful gesture, considering how weak and pained her body felt.

“Okay, hun, It’s time,” Ardelis coaxed, placing a hand on her back, “Get on the horse, love.” A shiver not entirely from cold or illness shot through her at the second pet name given.

“Okhiih-- heEXXSHHHU!” Triona had no time to prepare for that sneeze. It tore out of her, leaving her nose more irritated. Embarrassed, she brought her hands up to her nose to cover the sight, and found a yucky stream of goo attached to something deep in her skull. Yarrow in her horse form became riled and practically leapt away in a panic. The Dwarf turned to Ardelis, praying to Ilmater that she had not seen that.

Of course she had. Of course she had. Her eyes were upturned with sympathy and concern as she moved closer to hold the Dwarf. She withdrew a clean handkerchief in a motion that had to be firmly cemented into her muscle memory by now. Ardelis cooed and soothed, trying to express sympathy and care in the only way she knew how; with flowery words, gestures, and physical contact. To a certain extent, it did, but right now it only served to make her blood hot with further humiliation, drawing attention to the rebellion her body was enjoying. 

Ears and cheeks flushed bright red, she tried to stammer out an apology, “Ah- hiI’mb so-ha- HiekkxxISHHU!” This sneeze however scraped at her increasingly aching chest. After the sneeze, she entered a dry, wheezing fit of coughing that left her clinging to Ardelis for support. The Half-Elf as always, held her close to her chest and saw her through the fit, whispering soothing words of comfort. As she cleaned the mess off her face with the handkerchief offered previously, Ardelis unhooked her own water flask and pressed it into Triona’s hands. Already weary, she took it without comment or complaint, drinking down her throat’s irritation. This would be a long trip home.

----

Hello yes, sorry. My writing style of 3rd person omniscent is kind of hard to encapsulate everything that I want to share, without taking 10000 years, so here is a tiny inbetween chapters rehashing of Triona's perspective on the final scene of chapter 3.
 

I personally really like when the sickfics focus on the sickee's perspective, but I haven't done that a lot for this story yet because Triona's symptoms haven't been severe enough yet to warrant a special perspective and I've been focusing on fleshing out the other two characters in-universe. This should be everything you need to know about them though, so we'll get into the Meat and Potatoes soon. 

Coming Soon:

Badass Druid Magic
Love Confessions
Vulnerability

Next time on SickieballZ

I hope you're all enjoying this as much as I am. If you have requests or advice, please let me know in the comments below. ❤️ Stay cozy my friends.

(P.S. I also intend to draw my precious children tomorrow??? So I might upload that to the art subforum tomorrow)

[M214186]

Love it

[Rock And Roll Boy]

I love it too!

[Willowwhip]

---

Chapter 4

Once Yarrow settled and knelt before the pair again, Ardelis helped Triona onto the shapeshifted horse, then hopped on as well. Leaning forward with hands burrowed in the long mane of this majestic creature, and with Bromus soaring through the air, the party was off. Yarrow began to gallop with purpose down the long road. Triona sat in front of Ardelis, being protected from the bite of the autumn air by her warm body.

The jostling did absolutely nothing for Triona’s sinus headache though. Her fists tightened and tugged the hair of Yarrow’s horse form. Each movement had Triona gritting her teeth to brace herself against the pain. Eventually she could no longer endure this punishment. Fully laying against Yarrow’s back, she began to cry silently as she tried to stabilize her head. It only increased the pressure. She thought her skull would burst from the torture. Once the hot moisture could be felt against Yarrow’s skin and quiet sobs reached her ears, she whinnied and slowed her pace to a halt. With hooves no longer beating the path, Ardelis could take note of the state of her ward.

“Honey, are you crying?” she soothed, bringing her hand up to cup Triona’s cheek. Her thumb interrupted the tear tracks, but they just kept coming, “Hey, hey, what’s the matter?” Ardelis struggled to find a way to comfort her while remaining seated. All she wanted to do was curl up with her in a soft warm bed and kiss the sick Dwarf over and over again. Unfortunately, the sorceress had to settle for cupping Triona’s face in one hand and rubbing her back with the other.

Feeling embarrassed that she was once again inconveniencing the party with something she could not control, Triona trembled with pain and emotion, “M-M’by head…” She hiccuped and sniveled. Her cheeks burned beneath the Vistania’s touch and gaze. 

Ardelis clicked her tongue, “Oh, poor dear. I didn’t even think of your headache. I’m sorry,” She leaned forward, almost kissing the woman’s forehead, but tilted her own head at the last second to rest it against Triona’s, “You must be in agony. Yarrow, can we go at a slower pace?” The woman inside the horse considered how to acknowledge and assent to this plan, then slowly nodded her head without moving her neck. The shape-shifted Elf began to move and a slow, careful pace.

Triona’s initial reaction was to feel slighted at being denied the forehead kisses that flowed so freely earlier. Then felt ashamed to have become accustomed to that generous allotment of affection. She didn’t deserve it, didn’t earn it. What Ardelis was willing to offer was completely up to her. The Dwarf turned her head and buried it into Yarrow’s neck. She felt horrible and the intrusive thoughts were not helping. A few more tears escaped. She wanted to hide from everything and everyone.

The Vistania petted Triona’s head, then gave the back of it a kiss. Receiving a kiss at this point in time further increased the guilt and repulsion she felt with herself, but another part of her was glad for it, and she nurtured that feeling of emotional warmth. A hot hand rubbed her neck and back, releasing tension she wasn’t aware she had.

“Thagks guys,” She whispered, feeling rue well up in her once again, bringing more tears to her eyes. She scrubbed them away, furious with her body for betraying her once again, “I’b sorry for all this.”

“It’s no trouble. All I ask is you rest and try to get well quickly,” Ardelis assured, taking a break to stretch her arms and hands out. Even that small bit was beginning to cause her pain at this time. She would push through it. For Triona. She contemplated how to ease the Dwarf’s pain even further, and found her hands brushing over the braided crown that had become quite tousled at this point. Little purpose to the hairstyle when they weren’t going to be travelling much further, and likely would not encounter any combat.

“Love, would you like me to undo your hair?” the Half Elf asked, placing a warm hand on Triona’s shoulder, “Do you think that would help your head?” She typically wore her hair up to be out of her face in a fight, but that shouldn’t be necessary now. If they encountered combat at this point, Ardelis made a silent vow to use every trick she had to keep Triona from fighting and out of danger. The idea of someone threatening her normally capable Dwarf when she was this vulnerable, had her blood boiling with no outlet.

“Keep it together,” She chided herself, “There’s no danger yet, no reason to become upset.”

Triona sniffed once more and thought about it. Would unpinning her hair help? Perhaps, “If you wadt,” she coughed hot sickly breath down Yarrow’s neck. It made the horse shiver in discomfort, but she kept on trotting. The sooner they got to the good nest spot, the sooner she could disentangle herself from the ill Dwarf. The Elf hastened herself just a little.

“I do,” Ardelis replied, a caress with the back of her hand going down Triona’s cheek. A pang of sympathy surged through her as she took in the Dwarf’s countenance. Even now, her eyes and nose dripped. She used her nimble fingers to probe the loosening bun, finding the pins that held it in place. Once that was done, she found the bit of string Triona used to hold the shape of it all and untied it. The Vistania placed both pins and string in a spare pocket, then began to work at the braids. They weren’t terribly complex, but they were certainly more work than Ardelis would ever put in. She preferred to leave her hair floating behind her. That wouldn’t work for Triona, though. Not only was that not in the woman’s style, but her hair was more stringy than Ardelis’. It popped up and frizzed at the slightest bit of humidity, and it would very much displease the Dwarf. Seeing her glorious, curled locks unfurled in her hands filled the woman with joy. Not one to let an opportunity such as this go to waste, she groped around in her knapsack for her hair brush and began to sort out the tangles.

Triona moaned as she felt the bristles of the brush scrape at her scalp. She had not been expecting to be brushed, nor for her reaction to be audible, and she blushed furiously. Perhaps Ardelis hadn’t heard?

But Ardelis was perfectly attuned to the young Dwarf. Of course she heard it. With a hand against the fluffy hair, she knelt down to look at Triona’s face, “Was that a good ‘mmm’ or a bad ‘mmm’?”

“Good,” Triona mumbled, rubbing her itchy nose and reaching for a handkerchief. She remembered that Ardelis was holding on to all of them for cleaning purposes and raised her hand to tap the Vistania’s knee, “I deed a hagkie.”

With a loving smile, she reached into another pocket and pulled out both of the clean hankies, “Here, hun.” Ardelis stroked her sickly Dwarf’s head, then brought the soothing hand down to her back. As Triona liberated her nose, the sorceress sighed. Another sympathetic pain struck her. She couldn’t wait to lay her sweet girl down and get her all tucked in to...whatever they constructed to keep the chill at bay. 

Yarrow couldn’t wait either, but for different reasons. Bromus stopped soaring ahead and instead began squawking from a tree. The horse stopped and turned her head to look at the corvid. It flew deeper into the forest.

“Finally,” Yarrow thought, “We must be getting close.” She turned and began heading into the forest. The relief she felt was short lived as she felt Triona sneeze while laying against her back. The Dwarf did not cover the sneeze properly, and some spray made it out of the handkerchief. She thought she was prepared for that sensation, but she was not. It took all of her self control to just shake her head and whinny. She stamped her feet in a tantrum. Triona curled her arm around the horse’s neck.

In a moment of quick thinking, Ardelis laid against Triona, gripping Yarrow’s mane high on the neck from underneath the vulnerable woman’s arms, effectively pinning her in place so she wouldn’t slip. She felt herself let out a growl.

“HEY!” the sorceress yelled, “RELAX. What in the nine hells happened?” Yarrow continued shimmying in discomfort but settled down after a short time. Unable to respond, she snorted indignantly and kept moving. Soon. So very soon.

Seeing the mess on her wrist, Triona sighed, “I’b sorry. I thigk it was mbe,” Feeling secure in Ardelis’ embrace, she brought the arm away from Yarrow’s neck and put the handkerchief into her other hand, setting about cleaning up the mess she made. Sure enough, small flecks of greenish yellow fluid were present on Yarrow’s skin. Feeling terrible, she nuzzled the horse with the clean side of her head, “I’b sorry Yarrow.”

Ardelis gritted her teeth, feeling another angry mood swing coming on. For gods sakes, it was just a sneeze! A sneeze! Triona was sick, and they were riding her, what did she expect? She breathed it out. She knew Yarrow couldn’t help it, anymore than Triona could prevent herself from sneezing. And to be fair, it was likely an uncomfortable sensation in addition to a bad surprise. Just breathe.

Feeling the heat rise behind her, Triona looked back and saw an unnaturally focused expression on Ardelis’ face. She recognized that look, “Dell,” she coughed when she tried to continue, “Dell, are you okay?” The Dwarf placed her hand over the protective woman’s own, “Ease ub. You’re bulling her hair.”

The intense woman looked down at the sick creature that held her heart, and felt a softness come over her. Feverish, struggling with a cough and stuffed yet runny nose, and this angel was still preoccupied with Ardelis’ emotional well-being, and Yarrow’s physical comfort. Feeling the elemental inside her settle and her skin begin to cool, she sighed and loosened her grip, “Yes, sorry, I’m alright. How are you, hun? How are you feeling?”

Triona turned forward again and rested her warm cheek on Yarrow’s neck, sighing and coughing, “I’b okay. I’ll be okay.”

Ardelis forced herself to cool the rest of the way down. All this heat could not be good for her. Finally relaxed, she brought a hand up to stroke Triona’s head and rub her back.

“I’m sure we’ll be at camp soon,” she assured Triona, “We’ll set up a little bed for you, and you can sleep this horrible sickness off. Okay? And I’ll be right there the whole time, and anything you want you can have,” Ardelis brought the hand up to the ill Dwarf’s neck and started to rub it, “I’ll rub your back just like this, and we’ll make tea, and whatever else it is people do to cure illness.”

A cool wind blew through the trees and sent a violent tremor through Triona’s body. Her stomach twisted and she suddenly felt vertigo hit her, despite laying down. Once more she buried her face in Yarrow’s mane and tried to ride out the chills it triggered, “S-soun’s good.”

Sympathetic pain shot through Yarrow, spurring her onward. For all their sakes, she hoped this spot was as advantageous as Bromus implied. She wasn’t sure how much more of Triona’s suffering she could take; emotionally or mentally. The Half Elf was sure to feel the same way, if not worse.

Ardelis hushed the sick Dwarf and added just a touch of heat to her hand, trying to keep her precious cargo warm and ease her discomfort, “Rest now, hun.”

It seemed like they traveled in this manner for far too long; Yarrow cantering, Triona occasionally sneezing and/or coughing, Ardelis doing her best to soothe and support the Dwarf, but eventually hey heard the soft sound of water running over rocks. Berry bushes sprouted up around them heavy with overripe and late burgeoning fruits. A doe and her faun drank from the river. Upon seeing the party, they fled, loping away. Yarrow trotted over to a good spot for the party to rest and laid down for the others’ safety. The journey was over. Thank the gods.

Ardelis got off first, then assisted Triona in climbing down. The pair were stiff from the ride. The Dwarf had additional weakness and needed to be steadied. They maneuvered to the ground as quickly as possible. It didn’t seem fast enough for Yarrow. Before Triona was fully off and steady, the Elf’s form snapped back to the correct shape like a broken rubber band. Crouched on the ground, she rolled onto her back and groaned, stretching out.

“Ughhh,” Yarrow moaned, “That was horrible. Shape shifting is hard.” No further explanation was given. After a moment of rest, the Elf grunted, rolled to a sitting position, and went to the river. She dunked her head under and let the water pour over her. 

Ardelis gave her a side glare. It was hard enough to get Triona to allow her to help without Yarrow making a huge fuss over every little thing. With an apologetic look on the Elf’s behalf, she untied her cloak and draped it over Triona’s shoulders.

“Here, love,” she crooned, “Let’s sit. Let me see your bag.”

Triona obeyed the coaxing hands that pulled her to sit beside the Half-Elf. Her head still spun from the unfamiliar and building pressure, as well as the dramatic change in height. The Dwarf put a hand to her head and another one over her stomach as it churned angrily. She groaned, weary, “Della, I— I don’ feel good.”

Sparing a moment before rooting around in Triona’s bag, she pulled the Dwarf in for a tender hug, “I know honey, I know. We’re going to set you up and you’ll feel better in no time, okay?” Ardelis rubbed her back and then let her go, “Hang in there. I’m going to set up your bed right now.”

“Tha’gks,” The sick woman moaned in response and curled up on the ground, one arm under her head, the other on her stomach. The earth beneath her siphoned away her heat, and though she quivered from the temperature shift, it was oddly comforting and helped relieve the sickness in her abdomen.

Ardelis rifled through the specialized, company-assigned bag of holding, shoulder deep. She noted the potion ingredients had been claimed. A thick envelope would be waiting at their little slice of heaven they called home in no time. This wasn’t the time, however, to dwell on such things. She found the portion of the bag that signified the party’s supplies. After brushing past a decent sized bundle of firewood, Ardelis located the bedding, and started to pull it out.

Three fur lined bedrolls, four thick winter blankets (two usually reserved for herself), and five pillows. Yarrow preferred not to sleep with one, and Triona graciously allowed her to use hers on nights where the pain was particularly annoying. In order to not bother the others, Ardelis quickly invested in a couple spare pillows. Triona still offered hers and it was incredibly sweet, but tonight, they all belonged to the Dwarf. What she would not use, Ardelis could make use of. 

“Alright,” she announced, spreading first her own bedroll out, then Triona’s, “Okay, hun, get in.”

Triona looked over at the soft pile of furs and cotton cloth lying on the ground. She shivered, but was reluctant to move. This spot was nice. Beneath her, the ground siphoned off her body heat like a leech… but a healing leech. In this moment, she felt she understood Yarrow a little better. The earth...nurtured them all.

“Honey?” Ardelis prompted, turning her head slightly to get a better view of the Dwarf, “Triona?”

The mention of her name snapped her out of her drowsy, floating reverie. She hummed, turned, and focused on Ardelis. The Half Elf shook the blankets in response, to remind her what she ought to be doing. 

Triona blinked rapidly clearing her sight, rubbed her eyes, “Oh,” and crawled over to the ‘bed’. She curled up similar to before, on her other side, trembling as a mixture of nausea, light-headedness, chill, and heat passed over her. 

“Thagk you,” she whispered as she closed her eyes. She scrubbed away an itch at her nose. The blanket descended over her, and Triona felt Ardelis’ hands under her. A split second of panic, before she realized the sorceress was tucking her blanket in.

“There you are,” Ardelis sighed, pleased to have finally completed one of her pressing goals, “You’re welcome, It’s my pleasure.” The Vistania settled down on the furs beside her friend, beset by illness. Her abdomen mere inches from the Dwarf’s back, and laying on her side. Ardelis ran a hand over the shoulder of the Dwarf, attempting to soothe her, “Would you like to go back to sleep now?”

In addition to the chills wracking her, the positioning of her would-be lover had her alight in ways she hadn’t expected, nor wanted at this time, “I’b not sure I can.” Not to mention this nagging tickle building in her nose. She rubbed the bottom of her offending nostril with her knuckle, trying to make it go away. It persisted.

Clicking her tongue, Ardelis sat back up and crossed her legs, “Of course,” she sighed sympathetically, “You’ve been half-asleep this whole time, but now that you’re where you’re supposed to sleep, you can’t do it,” chuckling, she stroked Triona’s hair, “My poor girl.”

Triona curled up further, blushing so hard she thought her head was going to melt. Unfortunately, or perhaps more fortunately, her breath caught in her throat and she entered a short coughing fit. At least that would explain her physical reaction. The Dwarf’s nose began leaking aggressively. Something was knocked loose, or perhaps it felt slighted that another body part would dare demand attention. Either way, it had her pulling up the half damp handkerchief and blowing her increasingly irritated nose and groaning. A warm hand felt her forehead.

It belonged to Ardelis, surprisingly enough. She pulled it away moments later, face frowning in confusion. 

“I don’t... know why I just did that,” she huffed, bitterly, “I don’t…” The Half Elf trailed off with a sigh. What Triona didn’t need right now, was Ardelis feeling sorry for herself.

The Dwarf turned over, and stared at her with glassy eyes. Silence; she was waiting, ready to listen. Ardelis could never resist pouring out her soul to those beautiful, patient eyes. She shrugged and looked away, “I can’t tell the difference. You feel cool to me. Even when I’m calm, I’m still too warm to tell if you’re running a fever,” she paused, “It was pointless to try.” Emotion swelled within her, pushing at the edge of her self control.

Gently, Triona took the woman’s hand, and placed it between her cheek and the bedroll. She rested against it for a moment, sniffed, and opened her eyes again, “I like your hadds,” 

Closing her eyes again, she wiped away more snot on her hankie and nuzzled against Ardelis’ hand, “They’re warb add they’re ki'd. No ode else has hadds like these. They’re special.”

Tears sprung into the sorceress’ eyes as she drank in the words of the unwell Dwarf. They carefully danced around the underlying message, no need to address it out loud. The tenderness with which Triona handled her was clear enough an indicator that she knew how Ardelis was feeling, and rebuked it. These hands destroyed, they harmed, they couldn’t do things that normal hands could; but they were still good hands, and by extension, herself. 

It was like this every time with her.

And every time, she fell a little deeper in love.

She breathed in to respond, but found herself lacking for words. That was when the ground began to shake. Quickly withdrawing her hand, Ardelis looked up quickly, scanning for the cause. She saw nothing from this vantage point. She twisted her hips, straddling the ground on her knees. Summoning the elemental within her, the sorceress prepared to launch a full onslaught against he who dared threaten them in this tender moment. 

---

While the pair engaged in their bizarre courtship ritual, Yarrow had gotten to work in ‘setting up camp’. What Ardelis expected that to entail differed very much so from what Yarrow executed. One person might think a couple tents, a fire pit, and an alarm spell was satisfactory. Normally, it was. However, on this night, with anxiety coursing through her, a sick friend, and a friend with volatile emotions, Yarrow saw fit to bring out what she would define as the “Heavy Weaponry”. 

With a silent prayer to her mother for forgiveness and understanding, she knelt before the river’s edge. The Elf pulled a cushioned cube out of her personal storage. It was a simple wooden box, a commoner might use to store valuable jewelry, perhaps wedding bands. In this situation, what it held was far more precious than any gem or metal. Instead it held a mixture of seeds, somewhat ordinary in appearance to an outside observer. She selected one, clasped the box, and carefully tucked it away to its previous location.

Praying this time to her goddesses, Yarrow kissed the seed and held it in her hands in the water. As the nut absorbed water, she could feel it stir. The Elf quickly went to the center of where they were to make camp and placed the seed in a hole she made previously. After it was planted, she reached into the land with her spirit as well as her hands and pulled energy out from the ground. With her hands still buried in the dirt, she entwined this harvest into the local plant life. Fronds rippled with power, trees quivered with life, and then They spoke.

“Daughter,” They whispered, “How may we serve you? Are you hungry?”

Bending over and whispering to the grass, she responded, “Not right now. For now I need protection.”

A wave of something like warmth, something like ferocity and care passed through the psychic link she established with the local fauna, “You will come to no harm here.”

“My companion is afflicted with a blight-- of the mammalian nature. Not only do we need your protection, but we need your shelter, your nourishment, your care, so that she may recover,” Yarrow explained.

“Then how considerate of you to have brought a Seed of Sanctuary,” They responded, “None among us have seen such a...Tool, but the Forest remembers. We shall lend our aid. Bring forth your daughter.”

“Thank you.”

“You are always welcome.”

Yarrow reached deeper into the earth, pulling more energy out and tying it to the special seed. There was no movement, or sound for a time. The Elf was starting to worry she ruined everything when the ground shook suddenly. A feeling of connectivity alit her senses as a tiny little sprout came up. She felt a heat wave as Ardelis turned and focused a protective rage on her. Ah, she probably should have warned of what she was doing.

“What was that?” the sorceress yelled; her voice slightly distorted, eyes blazing, and hands enveloped in flame.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s just me!” Yarrow responded, bending down again to speak to the burgeoning tree.

“Mother,” It whispered, in a small but melodious voice, “Does the war still rage?”*

Ardelis growled something at her, but she had shut the woman out to focus on this small connection that would grow to shelter them all, “Daughter, the war ever rages.”

“Pray tell what you require of me, Mother?” The little green shoot asked, stretching its limbs and beginning the growth process.

Yarrow withdrew her hands from the soil and folded them in her lap, “I need a sanctum. We aren’t too far from the main road, so defensive measures are necessary,” As she spoke, the sapling continued to grow, twisting into a wooden spiral like a unicorn horn. Yarrow reached out her hand, amazed. She’d practiced with her mother, but this was the first time she’d ever actually performed this sacred ritual, “My...companion is unwell. She needs a nest, a place of comfort with soft things and warmth to recover,” The tree grew tall and sprouted limbs, long and hanging low, “We need shelter from the elements, and we need a way to obtain resources. We need to make a fire for medicinal brews and the cooking of meat,” Yarrow thought for a moment, “This should be all I require.”

The long branches reached for her, tangled around her limbs, “Then let me drink of you, and taste of your kin, and you shall know you are safe. No harm will come to you here.”

She nodded her consent, and felt the vine-like branches dig into her flesh. The Old Ways were filled with blood-letting, her mother had warned, but they were not of ill intent, so long as your own intent was pure.

“...Do you have a name?” The Elf asked, mystified. Her mother had also said that great seeds were born with names, and it was polite to ask for it when dealing with them.

“I am Vengeance,” she responded, pulling her tendrils back. The ground shook, and roots burst forth, crawling along the surface. Ardelis screeched and lobbed a ball of fire at it. She’d been watching cautiously, simmering and ready to defend. Yarrow would not or could not respond to her, deep in what looked to be prayer or reverence. This, however, seemed threatening. Roots reached up her legs and bit into her.

Triona sat up quickly, head spinning and heart pounding. The ground was attacking them! Her sluggish, clumsy limbs reached out for her mace and--

“Stop!, Just relax!” Yarrow called, running over to the pair, kneeling at the damaged roots, “Stop, this is me. Just relax.”

“It’s biting me!” Ardelis yelled, placing her hands on Yarrow’s shoulders and trying to bend down. The Elf was whispering something in a language neither of them recognized, petting the roots.

Triona tried to wriggle out of the tangle of furs, but when she moved, she felt a root snake around her arm.

“I know, I know,” Yarrow said, looking up and putting her hands on Ardelis’, “It’s okay. Just let it do it’s thing.” She turned to Triona, “It’s okay. Just let it draw your blood, just a little! And then it will go away. Trust me.”

The Dwarf was confused and a little afraid. She couldn’t reach her weaponry, but Yarrow was certain everything would be alright, and the roots were already abating from her beloved sorceress. She would trust their leader. The root that coiled around her arm sprouted a thorn that dug into her wrist. It was uncomfortable, but shortly after it got a taste of her blood, it loosened its grip and retracted. 

Ardelis let out a wave of heat that would make most people shrivel, but the Elf stood firm, “What the hell, Yarrow? What was that?”

“I’m sorry,” the Elf replied, face remorseful, “I should have said something. I expect us to be here for a little while, so I thought I would set up a more sturdy campsite.”

The Half-Elf turned her hand upward and shook her head, “What are you even talking about?”

“The spell-- well, the seed I planted, it’s not done growing. Just give her a minute,” Yarrow answered quickly, “I planted a seed my mother gave me for emergency use only. It’s called a Seed of Sanctuary. We can’t use them all the time because if too many people--er. I guess it’s not a big deal anymore, but it makes my mom nervous--”

“Yarrow,” Triona interjected, “Relags. What’s--”

The ground shook yet again as thorny roots shot up, clinging to the surrounding trees and braiding together to form a wall all around the clearing. Joy filled the Elf as she gazed upon the majesty of nature. Triona and Ardelis were slightly less enthused, but not quite as panicked due to Yarrow’s rambling explanation.

Ardelis moved to sit on her knees beside Triona and pulled her close, protectively, as she watched the rapid and somewhat intimidating plant growth, “This is your doing, yes?”

The pair of shocked humanoids looked at the cause of this, and saw pride and delight on her face, “This is my daughter.”

“She’s gone crazy,” Ardelis said, looking to Triona and shaking her head, “She’s gone all the way insane.”

The Dwarf hugged her spooked Half Elf closer to offer comfort, “I think it’s okay,” she sniffed, “Look.” Pointing at where the thorny vines grew over trees, there were large roses in various shades of pink, white, and red. Yarrow went back to the tree and stroked the trunk fondly. The bark was oddly smooth, like it’d been sanded down and waxed. The ‘roof’ of this grown enclosure had rays of sunlight filtering through, keeping the space from complete darkness. Small clusters of phosphorescent fungi appeared along the base of the tree and the edges of the walls. 

Another quivering from the earth occurred and three distinct, enclosed, ovular pods appeared, formed from the same smooth wood of the trunk of the tree. The peculiar rose vines sprouted up around the base of each pod, grew over the top and inside like an ivy, and bloomed. Flower petals rained down inside each of these pods, but the flowers kept growing back, until the petals spilled over the lip of the opening and onto the ground outside. Two of the pods were about the same size, small and cozy. Perfect for curling up and trancing. One of them, however, was more than twice that size. Yarrow walked over to it, and looked inside, whistling to express amazement.

“Do they meet your approval, Mother?” Vengeance asked, her voice coming from all around her. Soft and tender, but deep. 

Yarrow stroked the edge of the pod, “Is it possible to remove the thorns from these pods?”

The razor sharp thorns retracted into the vines exposed to the surface as though they were never there, “Is this what you desired?”

“Perfect. You’ve done well, Vengeance,” Yarrow replied, “But how do I get out? How will we obtain food and water?”

“Allow me to taste you once you need to leave,” Vengeance responded, “You will be allowed to pass freely.” The branches of the central tree grew heavy with various berries from the forest, mainly the ones they saw at the river’s edge.

“Thank you,” Yarrow responded, slipping out of Druidic. She repeated herself in the secret tongue, and the forest grew silent. She felt safe. She felt good. Did the others feel like this?
She hoped so. This was sure to get Triona on a fast path to recovery.

“--Kiissshu!” Speak of the devil…

The Elf turned back to her companions to see Triona wiping snot off her nose with her wrist. Ardelis held her hand over the handkerchiefs, cleansing them with her flame powers. She sat cross legged, slightly hunched and sniffling. The Half Elf had her legs swept to the side away from the Dwarf. Yarrow approached, watching the couple interact. Ardelis handed her the handkerchiefs, putting her weight on a free hand and putting herself a little bit closer to Triona.

“Hih,” her eyes closed and mouth opened in a pre-sneeze expression, “hiiKIISSshhh, PFFRRRRR!” She was able to catch that one, continuing the momentum and blowing her nose. When she finished, Triona sighed and laid back against Ardelis, groaning softly.

“Bless you,” Yarrow said, taking a knee in front of the sick Dwarf, “How are you feeling?”

Triona cleared her throat before responding, “Bad.”

Nodding, the Elf raised her palm to her unwell friend’s forehead, “Yeah, I imagine," She turned her hand over to confirm her assessment, "You’re running a bit of a fever, Sweet One,” 

The Dwarf seemed to wilt at those words, as though she could have denied weakness until that was said aloud. Ardelis brought her legs around, shifting her weight so she could use her other hand and still support her beloved. Yarrow’s hand lingered, smoothing hair away from her face. After a second she slid her hand down to Triona’s shoulder, “Have you had anything to drink recently?”

She didn’t respond, just reached down for her water jug and took a long swig. The Elf offered a small smile of approval and patted her bicep, “Come on kid. Let’s get you settled in your nest, and I’ll make you some tea and stuff.” 

Standing, she took hold of the bicep earlier tapped and helped the sickly woman to her feet. Yarrow held out a hand for Ardelis, who took it and pulled herself up as well. She tried not to make noise, but couldn’t help a small grunt of effort and pain. Sighing, the Half-Elf turned around, picking up the bedrolls. Yarrow leaned down, picking up what was left on the ground, and then started tugging the bedrolls out of Ardelis’ hands. 

“Hey!” she protested, “I’ve got it!”

“No,” Yarrow replied, signalling the large pod and lowering her voice, “Get Triona to the nest and grab the pillows. I don’t trust her on her feet.”

With a frown, Triona wedged her way between the two to gather pillows, “I’b right here.” Her body betrayed her, however. The pressure from infection, combined with her feverish light head made her lose her balance. The Dwarf stumbled to the side before bracing herself with her hand on the ground. Ardelis and Yarrow both started forward to catch her, but she stabilized on her own. The Half Elf continued, putting a newly freed hand on her back, “Hun--”

“I’b fide, I’b alright,” she croaked. Yarrow turned on her heel and began marching to the nest. Ardelis turned her head and frowned at her back, but returned to Triona’s side and picked up as many pillows as she could before the Dwarf got dizzy again. Triona didn’t think she had enough so she reached out to pick up one of the unused blankets, finding herself staggering again, needing to hold on to the arm Ardelis offered.

“Sweetheart,” she started, “Let’s just--”

“I can carry mbore,” the Dwarf protested, “I cad help.” Her voice held an edge of a whine. 

Taking a quick breath, Ardelis decided to address this immediately, “Triona, what is this? What’s wrong? Why are you doing this?” Silence as she watched Yarrow come back, then another sigh, “Did I do something? Did I make you uncomfortable?”

“No!” Triona responded quickly, “No, it’s just..." Her face fell, "I just dod’t wadt to be...troublesobe.”

She shook her head, disbelieving, “This...is not a problem, ‘Ona. You are not a problem. Seriously. Please just-- just let me take care of you.”

“Us,” Yarrow corrected, putting the rest of the blankets over Triona’s shoulders, “Let us take care of you.” After pulling the blanket to fully swaddle the beset cleric, the Elf scooped her up, and trotted towards the large nest. The pair of bedrolls laid spread out over the chamber, creating quite a lovely cushion.

Triona felt battered from external forces and from within when Yarrow decided to take her into her arms. She squeaked a small protest, but it died before it became a rebellion. Why was she fighting this? Wasn’t this what she wanted? Tears from before came pricking her eyes again.

“They’re just trying to be kind. They don’t know what they’re promising. They will grow tired of you and leave you behind,” her intrusive thoughts insisted, “But won’t struggling make them get tired faster? Yes. They are destined to grow tired of you regardless. They will become less and less interested in you and all you can do is watch. There is nothing you can do. You are worthless, only usable as long as you function.”

The Dwarf buried her head into the pillows she still held, and wept. Instinctively, her body curled against Yarrow, seeking some comfort. The irresistible craving to be comforted only increased the shame she felt at her current state.

Yarrow furrowed her brows and adjusted her arms so Triona was closer to her chest and more upright than a classic double armed carry. Ardelis came up beside her, pillows half forgotten in her sudden concern, “What’s happening? What’s wrong with her? Why is she crying? Is she hurt?” She placed a free hand over the back of her head, unsure of how to help.

Yarrow gritted her teeth and kept walking, “I don’t know. That’s a question for her, but I think it’s emotional. It sounds emotional,” She whispered, pressing Triona closer to her. She sighed, “It’s probably the fever getting the best of her. Let’s just get her laid down and then you can pester her.”

Ardelis scoffed, “I don’t pester. Do I?”

The Elf simply smirked in response.

---

I dunno guys, does she pester? (She does)

(*) This was blatantly ripped off from elsewhere but I really like it, and demand it exist in this story. Required content. The war ever rages.

I’m really sorry about how long this one is. 13 pages! Nearly double the size I normally post! I kept trying to get to the end, that being getting Triona all tucked into her proper nest and snoozing, but more narrative kept pressing on me, holding me against my will. The story has become too powerful, I am simply a conduit for its evil, queer machinations.

Replies:
 

On 7/4/2019 at 12:34 AM, M214186 said:

Love it

Thank you!

On 7/5/2019 at 5:42 PM, Rock And Roll Boy said:

I love it too!

Thanks so much you guys. These reviews really make my day bright. I hope this chapter pleases! I worked really hard on it. Bless you all and to all a good night.

[Willowwhip]

Oh God, I don’t like this last scene. And I finally understand why I don’t like it I was really iffy on it last night and I should not of posted this until I had had a chance to revise it. Oof I don’t like it

 

there will be another update and in that update I will rewrite the last scene. I’m sorry folks. I Have a separate document on Google Docs that has all the snippets of seems that I wanted to write but didn’t quite fit in the story and that’s where that last scene should’ve gone

[M214186]

Good

[Willowwhip]

Revised ending to Chapter 4

--

“Us,” Yarrow corrected, putting the rest of the blankets over Triona’s shoulders, “Let us take care of you,” The Elf lightly slapped Triona’s back, “Alright get to bed.” The sick young lady groaned, but Yarrow paid no mind, commandeering all the pillows and smooshing them all into her right arm.

Smile creeping up on her face, Yarrow slapped Triona’s back impishly, as though impatient, “Come onnnnnn,”

“I’b goi’g,” Triona griped, “Don’d hid be.”

She turned her slaps to gentle shoves, “I- will- not- stop- until- you- are- in- bed,” Yarrow replied, pushing her between every word.

Finally realizing the shift between serious/anxious Yarrow and playful/aggressive Yarrow, Triona dug her heels into the ground and leaned back, whining, “Ndooooo.” She coughed as the extended note aggravated her throat. 

Yarrow smiled brightly, and in a playful tone, she chided, “That’s it--” The Elf coiled her free arm around the Dwarf’s waist and hoisted her up, “You’re going to bed, missy.” She strode over to the nest with purpose. Ardelis jogged to catch up, giggling. Bad times, averted. For now.

At first, Triona’s protests were just a playful little shriek of “No!”, and some light kicking; a game they must have played several dozen times. But things changed a few seconds in. She started to feel breathless, with her weight all resting on her diaphragm. She couldn’t get enough air. The kicking became more urgent and targeted.

“Yarrow,” She wheezed, body trying to cough but unable to, “Let be go.” 

“No can do, kiddo. You’re my prisoner now,” The druid joked back, unaware of the situation.

“I cad’t breathe,” she rasped, “I cad’t breathe!”

The joking stopped, and Yarrow all but dropped the sick Dwarf. Luckily, she was able to land on her feet and grabbed a hold of her friends for stability, “Oh...I’m….I’m sorry,” she replied softly, bending down and placing her hand on Triona’s shoulder, “I’m...gonna go put these down.”

Triona nodded her consent and leaned against Ardelis, trying to catch her breath and let the pressure in her head die down. The Vistania wrapped her arm around the shoulders of her good friend and bent down to place a kiss on the top of Triona’s head, “Are you okay, honey?”

Wordlessly, the Dwarf nodded, and Ardelis moved her arm to place her hand against the small of Triona’s back, “Alright, let’s get you settled, then.” 

 

The pair moved in tandem towards the largest of the pods, which made Triona blush once she got there and saw it all set up, “This...ode is bide?” Of course it was. She sniffled and rubbed her leaky nose, “I dodn’t ndeed all this.”

“You let me decide what you need,” Ardelis responded, testily, “If it were up to you, you’d sleep on the cold ground without a blanket, you masochist.”

“I would dot!” she whined, pressing her face into the Half Elf’s side in embarrassment. She mumbled something into her chest.

“Hmm?” the sorceress asked, putting a hand on the back of Triona’s head.

Triona lifted her head to speak as clearly as she could, as stuffed up as she was, “I said ab nod a basochist.”

Ardelis was tickled from head to toe, with her adorable little sick Dwarf crush pressed against her, half pouting. Gods, she was so...cute. She could see them, perhaps five years from now, curled up in a hammock on some distant shore, dozing in the sunshine.  The Vistania tilted Triona’s head up, and ran her thumb across the cleric’s soft, slightly inflamed lips, “Yes, Dear.”

The Dwarf’s face flushed hot at the gesture. A tickle presented itself deep in her nostril as Ardelis’ brushed her lips. Across the way, Yarrow cleared her throat loudly and gestured to the pod. Ardelis blushed at this, and tapped Triona’s cheek, “Let’s get you settled.” 

Nuzzling her hand, Triona pulled away and closed the distance between the pod and themselves. Yarrow held the blankets up so the sick woman wouldn’t have to struggle against their weight. Ardelis supported Triona as she crawled in and got comfortable. Once inside, the Dwarf rubbed her nose to try to alleviate the itch. Mission success.

Yarrow passed the grip on the blankets over to Ardelis when Triona was in, “I’m gonna get started on that tonic. Keep her company. Do your thing,”

“Aye, Aye, captain,” Ardelis replied, smirking and tucking the Dwarf in to bed.
 

---

Yeah I realized that even if Yarrow was feeling more comfortable due to being inside the sanctuary, she wouldn't have picked Triona up at that point. And even if she DID pick Triona up, she would have set her down as soon as she started crying. 

[Snapdragon]

I love this! Triona and Ardelis are so cute, I love when a usually strong and reliable character gets sick and needs to be taken care of! And Ardelis' enthusiasm for taking care of her crush even when she hasn't a clue what to do is so sweet. 💖

I also love Yarrow a lot! Honestly I think she might be my favourite. The way she insists on taking care of the others in her own way, even while she's dealing with her own trauma around sickness, is just delightful to read. Also her druid magic is super cool, I especially liked the scene where she summons the sanctuary seed.

...I may have a little crush on Yarrow. 😅

[Willowwhip]

Yarrow is asexual but she would appreciate your companionship.

 

Thank you very much for the kind words! I would normally wait until the next chapter to respond but I just wanted to take a second to let you (all)know that this story is NOT dead, IM just dead. In a big depression hole, crawling my way out. I took an extra day off work and updates should come again soon. 

 

I also didn't like any of what I have written most recently so I need to go back and add those to the written snippet burial ground and try again.

[Rock And Roll Boy]

3 hours ago, Willowwhip said:

Yarrow is asexual but she would appreciate your companionship.

 

Thank you very much for the kind words! I would normally wait until the next chapter to respond but I just wanted to take a second to let you (all)know that this story is NOT dead, IM just dead. In a big depression hole, crawling my way out. I took an extra day off work and updates should come again soon. 

 

I also didn't like any of what I have written most recently so I need to go back and add those to the written snippet burial ground and try again.

*Hugs softly*

[Snapdragon]

@Willowwhip aw, I know that depression feel. Don't feel bad if you take some extra time to take care of yourself, updating regularly isn't nearly as important as your health! <3

[Willowwhip]

I would have posted them here but I didn't want it to be lost in the main story, so here are the deleted scenes/alternate timelines of what this story could have been