Somewhere in the darkness shines a little light on a blue horizon

Osprey felt bad for spoiling the fun for Charon and she sensed his disappointment too, even though he didn't say anything and showed polite concern for her well-being. The pain came and went in waves, it was dull and unpleasant, she had to clench her teeth to keep herself from whining and showing any more weakness than she already had. Eventually it lessened, but, when she tried to get up, it striked again. Bloody hell... she thought, lying down.

Then she looked up at Charon and gave an apologetic smile: "I am so sorry. I haven't been... "on top of things" lately so to say." It was true - these past few weeks had been an endless row of unexplained and seemingly unrelated symptoms showing up. "Would you mind staying a while - I promise I will be on my feet in a moment or two," she said, not wanting to disappoint him any more than she already had. "You have had quite a lot of adventures - did you find your brother in the end? And what... do you think the monster really was?" she asked, attempting to steer the conversation back to, where it had stopped.