Whitefish River Consequences

@Saoirse
Vagueee. I shall reply to the group one soon,, I promise.

The last few days have been difficult. He knew there were chances of this occurring, yet he had been so... foolish to agree to them splitting. Shigetoshi wants nothing more than Essie to feel free, and he hates that she likely feels akin to a caged bird under his protection... it is such a complex mess, and now they must suffer the consequences—Essie the most.

The den the Kaistleoki wolves graciously allowed them to have is starting to feel suffocating to him, too. A noise pulls him from his thoughts.

Essie? The piebald steward lifts his head. She is starting to stir, but he wonders if it is just movement from a dream again.

Fever brings out many things lying dormant in her mind, but there are few she is yet ready to face, and when she wakes it is with the dreams swimming to the back of her mind, lurking until she can face them again. Saoirse is more lucid than she has been in days, but that doesn't stop her from seeing Shige and then not seeing him; rather, seeing...something else in him that has never appeared before.

She blinks at him, vaguely aware of his voice, and tries to lift her head, the world spinning around her. A sudden throb in her chest has her slumping down again, a low whine escaping her throat.

Shige...? Where... are we, but she cannot finish the question before her voice gives out, rough from disuse, and she does her best to lick her chops with a mouth dryer than a desert.

Not another dream.

Shigetoshi rises to his feet, drawing nearer. There is not much room within the cramped den, but he gave her space to rest—to not feel suffocated. Alas, he cannot stay away here, not when she finally begins to awaken. He sits, his head leaned down, a gentle nose brushes her ear.

“Essie,” he whispers. “We are in a kingdom, one of the ones I visited before to investigate. It is…” ‘All I could do…’ The piebald steward is no medic. He has basic knowledge as is required of him, but extensive care is beyond him.

Everything is warm. She blinks and forgets Shige is there, sees him all over again. Shige... There is relief thick in her voice. Saoirse thought she would never see him again; the sight of him lifts a weight from her chest. She tries to lift her head and nuzzle back as his nose brushes her ear, but she can't quite manage.

It takes more effort to understand as he speaks, staring at him for a long, uncomprehending moment. All she really understands is kingdom, he brought them to a kingdom--they were...they were avoiding that, weren't they? There was a reason to. It wasn't...safe. They were in danger. Her face fell from dopey confusion to horror, and she began struggling to rise, muttering all the while. "No...no, no, no, Shige, no, no...