The Forgotten Zodiac

Karsenir just let out a weak grunt in response to Avis' plans. It all sounded pretty good, and he was dying to say thank you again for Avis' care, but he hardly had power for what little sound he had made just then. The meal went about the same as before, but Karsenir had an easier time initially swallowing the soup than he had at their last meal. 

Syn returned eventually, with the requested fruits and what appeared to be a snared rabbit. He took one look at the soup Avis was feeding Karsenir and let out a small sigh. "Soup for lunch, then. I'll make some special for your friend. I've been told that just a couple servings of my fresh Rabbit-Finch soup cures days of fatigue at a time. Your friend looks a bit more worn down than that, but so long as we keep feeding him and he keeps resting, he'll be alright."

"What's a finch?" Avis blinked up at him.

"It's a type of small bird, found in these areas. Now, I'm sure you're concerned about the people chasing you..."

"Who?" Avis blinked at him.

"I don't know who, you're the one who said it." Syn snorted.

"Oh. Right." Avis said, deciding to keep her mouth shut. Syn noticed this, and continued.

"I'll ask no questions. I don't need to know. My house is open for your use provided you don't open that door at night." He pointed towards the door he had been hiding behind. "And you don't show me any blood. Because I'll give it to you straight; when I see blood, it doesn't matter who it comes from. I'll want more. It never happens for animals, oddly enough, but people blood...just don't."

"I understand." Avis nodded. "Er...how safe are we here, exactly?"

"Perfectly safe. You managed to make it onto Fruit Island. A number of sinkholes and ravines opened up on this little slice of fruity heaven, and it was abandoned. That gorge you crossed to get here goes all the way around, full circle. Too wide to cross without a bridge, and most bridges don't last long because the gap expands and contracts with heat pockets that flush up from the gorge. So whoever was chasing you, so long as they didn't manage to follow you onto this island, you're as safe as you would be in Hallen's Hold."

"Oh. Okay. What's Hallen's Hold?"

Syn just sighed in exasperation, clearly tired of explaining.

Karsenir rested while Avis and Syn talked. He had to fight to keep himself paying attention to what they were saying, as his body was fighting his mind for the chance to sleep more. Sleep would make the digestion of the soup he had just been fed much more profitable energy-wise. Near the end of Syn's explanation Karsenir's body began to relax from it's tense position, his head falling on its side, facing Avis.

Avis smiled at him and pulled the blankets back over his body. Again, she didn't stray too far, though Syn encouraged her by asking if she would fetch a bottle of wine from the cellars. She did so (although she encountered a dastardly spider that met the underside of her shoe), watching as Syn drank from the bottle while preparing the rabbit soup. Avis decided not to ask any questions, and instead ate her breakfast in silence as she watched Karsenir sleep.

Karsenir slept, but not for a very long time. He woke again in about an hour, this time opening his eyes was not a problem. He could move his fingers a little too, but he was too weak to more his arms or the rest of his body. "A-Avis?" He said, looking up at her and smiling a little when he saw her. Oh how he had missed seeing her face. "H-How long... w-was I assssleep-p?"

"Only an hour," Avis answered, blinking down at him. "Are you ready for more food? I would go back to sleep, if I were you..." She suggested, frowning slightly out of concern.

"Want some wine?" Syn asked, pouring some of his bottle into a glass for Karsenir. "It's pretty good. The soup is almost ready, too, so you can eat in a few minutes."

"N-No..Thanks...A-Alergic..." He mumbled, closing his eyes again. "C-Can't-t s-sleeeep." He said, opening one eye to look at Avis. He sighed heavily, grumbling softly. "I-I w-would...I-If I-I...." He sighed again, as talking seemed to be quickly draining him, "C-Could..." he finished, letting out a heavy sigh and releasing a lot of tension from his body. He wasn't enitrely sure that he really would go back to sleep if he could, as he wasn't entirely trusting of this Syn character. Besides, if there was an accident and Avis' bandage came off, he wouldn't be able to try and stop whatever Syn would do.

((Is that a hint? xD))

"Allergic to wine?!" Syn exclaimed. "Sorry to hear that. Regular apple juice, then. I have some of that prepared since this morning." He handed the cup to Avis, who set it aside and helped Karsenir sit up before helping him drink it, again by spoon-feeding it to him. "You're lucky, though. That girl is quite the humble one, taking on medial tasks like feeding you and watching you sleep. Either that, or she's in love with you or something."

"I am not," Avis snorted at him. "I'm helping Karsenir because he helped me. He's a friend, and even if he wasn't, I'm not cruel. I wouldn't just up and leave him."

"Because you won't stand a chance on your own." Syn said, rather bluntly, leaving Avis to blush and turn away.

"How do you know? I could be stronger than you think, you know. I know how to fight." Avis snapped, though still blushing.

"It's pretty obvious by the way you hold yourself. Slouching, nervous-looking most of the time...and don't think I didn't hear that screech of yours from the cellar. Let me guess...spider?" Syn chortled as Avis turned all the redder. "It's fine. You support him, he supports you, it's simple enough to see. Cover each others weaknesses. I don't know how long you two have been together, but it's working so far, right?"

((Is what a something?))

Karsenir didn't move as Syn talked, though he began to turn green again when he talked about Avis, and then continued talking to Avis about the situation she and Karsenir were in. The apple juice was very good, and sleep again began tugging at his consciousness, and he reluctantly gave in, as he knew it would help him be able to protect Avis in the long run.

((Are you hinting that I should make the bandages slip and have Syn attack? o3o))

Syn continued to explain why it was okay for Avis to be so defenseless. "For that matter, you're a woman. They don't fight much anyways. Even if you are human, it's very common to see women working at home, not out on adventures. In fact, you're the first woman I've seen to venture out this far for anything. The fruit here is very desired for its rich tastes, but only men come here. They take some fruit and leave; I keep an eye on them, of course. If they take too much...they're visited by the...'Fruit Spirit' in the middle of the night. It, eh...scares them off, in most cases. If they're not scared off, they're killed." Syn said carefully.

"So...you frighten and kill people if they take too much?" Avis frowned.

"No," Syn corrected her. "The Fruit Spirit does."

Avis just stared at him.

"...that sounds stupid, doesn't it?" Syn scratched the back of his neck. "I never really prepared a good story...ech, I've said too much. Just shut up and go back to tending to your friend there."

Avis sighed when she realized that Karsenir was asleep again. She shifted him back into a proper sleeping position, going back to curling her knees up to her chest and just watching things. Syn was definitely...strange. Hospitable, but hostile at the same time. Rude, but also kind. Avis thought about their host for awhile before thinking about the fruit. It was true; the fruits here were unlike anything Avis had ever tasted before. It was amazing. But she clearly hadn't been fooled by the 'fruit spirit' nonsense. But that left the questions of why Syn would frighten people away or even kill them for taking fruit...

((No. Not at all. I just needed something to lengthen my post.))

Karsenir's green face faded quickly once he was asleep, and he slept until his body processed the fruit juice, then he woke again. His physical condition was no better than it was the last time he woke up after a nap, but his energy to open his eyes and speak was restored, with a little more than before. "H-Hi." Karsenir said breathily, looking up at Avis.

Avis was dozing off when Karsenir woke up again. She jerked and looked down at him, giving a sleepy smile. It was almost sunset now, and Syn was hurriedly eating the last of his supper. He dumped his dishes in the washing bucket and fled into his room, slamming the door before the sky even turned red. "Don't come in here," He said commandingly. "No matter what you hear, no matter what I say. I'm not in control for a little while after...so...yeah. Just watch your friend and look away."

Karsenir gave a small smile to Avis in return. Hesitant to ask Avis for anything after all she had already done, especially when he saw how tired she was, he let his smile fade slightly. Suddenly his stomach growled noisily and he lightly bit his lip. He hardly noticed Syn at all as he vaguely told them what was going to happen, as he was nervous about Avis needing to feed him again. "K-kay..." Karsenir managed to mutter after Syn disappeared. He closed his eyes and tried to relax to conserve energy. Maybe he would have a chance to talk with Avis.

"Are you hungry again?" Avis said quietly when she heard his stomach growl. She smiled as she pushed Karsenir back into a sitting-up position, yet again. "We saved some of that soup for you. Most of it, actually. I didn't want to eat much of it when Syn made it specially for you. It's really delicious, too." She stoked the fire, getting the flames up again. By the time the soup was hot, the sun had reached the horizon and the sky was bathed in the final light of day. Avis was quick to serve up a bowl, returning to Karsenir's side to feed him.

A cold shiver ran down her spine, and she couldn't help but turn her head a little at the voice that came from Syn's room. It was cold and rasping, and sounded a little...dead. That, and the words he said... "Want to play, girly? It'll be fun..." The door rattled a bit, but it had been locked or something. "It won't hurt much, and then you never hurt again!"

Avis continued feeding Karsnenir, though she was trembling slightly now. "Come on now, open the door. That's all it takes. We only have to meet eyes, and then you'll be like me~! I could use some...company."

Karsenir sighed lightly when Avis sat him up to eat again and started to reheat the soup for him. He watched Avis when she started to feed him, smiling just a little, but the moment he heard Syn, or whatever it was in his room, he frowned deeply, glaring at the door. When he noticed Avis' slight trembling, he closed his eyes again, trying to relax, then he slowly inched his strange hand towards hers, hoping he could comfort her some.

Avis finished feeding Karsenir quickly before pushing him back down to where he could sleep. She threw the blankets over Karsenir, and laid down herself. Syn went on. "You're not going to be getting much sleep tonight. Ohh, I smell the blood...old, but it is blood and I want it. Open the door!" It rattled again, and that was the last straw for Avis. She wound up curling up right next to Karsenir, shaking terribly as Syn continued to taunt and tease and demand that the door be opened. Avis was looking a little green, herself. By the time Syn stopped, Avis looked like she had seen a ghost, and had her face buried in Karsenir's shirt.

"That's right..." Syn said quietly, his voice finally normal again. "You're human. It's been so long, I forgot...sorry, Avis. Humans are extremely susceptible to that..."

Karsenir was very ill at ease when Syn continued to talk at Avis. If he hadn't been so worn out he would've definately done something to shut Syn up, but it was probably best that he couldn't. Anything Karsenir could have said or done likely would have only made things worse. When Avis finished feeding him the soup Karsenir stuggled hard to keep from falling asleep. He was not going to let Avis listen to Syn with a mostly dead body at her side. He did let himself relax as much as he could without giving into sleep so he could muster up the control of at least one arm. He finally managed to lift his arm closest to Avis around her shoulders, again, hoping to comfort her some while Syn spoke on and on.
"...S-Syn...Shut up." Karsenir growled softly, unable to speak beyond that as the rest of his strength was poured into holding Avis close.

"I would have told her to leave the building for a little while if I had remembered!" Syn snapped at him. "I'll explain tomorrow. She saw some things, though, I don't think she'll be sleeping much tonight..." Avis sobbed once or twice, holding onto Karsenir desperately. Syn fell silent after that. Avis hadn't really seen much, but...it was enough to cause fairly serious mental damage if she saw enough of it. Syn hadn't even been trying, but still...

"I'll explain in the morning," Syn said again, then stopped talking.

((I guess you'd have to be entirely human to see stuffs?))

Karsenir laid still with Avis at his side. He was miserable. Not only was Avis still so terribly off, but his body was starting to ache at the position he had put it in, holding onto Avis. If what Syn was saying was true, which Karsenir could only assume it was, there was no possible way that Karsenir would allow himself to sleep if Avis would be so upset all night. He wanted so desperately to make Avis feel better, and he was angry at himself for not being able to. It was his fault that he hadn't eaten anything. He could have grabbed a few berries for himself before they left. If he had allowed himself to sleep some during the past couple days before their escape, he would have been fine now. But, of course, it was too late now, and he could only do what he could do. He struggled, but he managed to hold onto Avis, doing his best to comfort her the only way that he could.

((No, if Syn tried, Karsenir would see things too. But humans are more susceptible to it thanks to the way their brains/eyes work.))

Syn had underestimated how tired Avis had been. Eventually, she did indeed fall asleep, though it was more like passing out. Her hand was kept tight on Karsenir's shirt, though she was relaxed. She still looked a little pale and very frail in Karsenir's large arms, but she was asleep, which allowed Karsenir to sleep, too.