In one of the rooms of the Orange Mansion (as it was now being called since the Orange Team had won the Grand Tourney and achieved permanent mansion status), a pale faced Lam was lying on a bed, unconscious but alive. His entire frame was covered with a large blanket, and from time to time his brows furrowed like he was in pain.
Next to him was a weary looking Lily. Her beautiful face was stained with tears, and her eyes were heavy with exhaustion. There were dark circles hugging her eyes and her haggard looking hair suggested that she hadn't taken a shower for some time. Yet none of this bothered her. Her green eyes were fully placed on the figure lying on the bed. For right now, it was only her brother's health that concerned her. She was so focused on her brother that she didn't even notice the door open. Neither did she see the one who had just come in. Maybe it was because she was too tired to really sense anything. Or it could even be that she wasn't threatened by the new entry, hence her body didn't see the need to warn her. Either way, she definitely didn't notice that a person had come in.
Mane slowly walked to Lily's side and was only a footstep away from coming into her vision. His eyes were filled with worry when he looked at the unconscious Lam, and when he turned to look at the haggard and weary Lily the worry in his eyes intensified. He couldn't help but announce his presence to the woman he had slowly come to cherish as his dear friend.
"The healers say that he isn't in any real danger. His life signs are all okay, and he is healing excellently from his injuries. He just hasn't woken up yet. You cannot stay here all day. You need some rest."
Lily's body shook slightly when she heard Mane's voice, but she didn't turn to face him even though she wanted to. Her body just wouldn't listen to her. However, she still managed to muster a reply even though her tongue had been unused for a large majority of the last 36 hours.
"I am fine," she replied. Her voice was hoarse like one who was just speaking for the first time in many years, and it was nothing like the bubbly tune Mane was used to. Her voice sounded so tired and worn out that it was hard to believe that it belonged to her. Her reply and tone didn't please Mane, for a small frown made its way onto his face and pulled his lips downwards.
"Turn to me and say that first," Mane argued. Naturally Lily couldn't do this. She had been stuck in this position for so long that her entire body was stiff. She couldn't move even if she wanted to. Added to the fact that she was an Elemental, and not an Ancient or Barbarian, her body wasn't that strong and staying up as long as she did, in the position that she was in, was not a pleasant thing. Mane was one with very astute senses, so he naturally realised that she wasn't fine in any way.
"What are you doing?! Let me down!" Lily screamed as Mane hoisted her from her position – half lying on the bed and half sitting on her chair – into his arms. She blushed furiously as she struggled to escape his strong arms, yet with her severely exhausted and energy deficient body she couldn't muster up much of a resistance. What she was doing was akin to the struggles a rabbit puts up against a predator of vast physical superiority like a Lion. It was futile.
Naturally Mane didn't accede to her request. He ignored the furiously blushing Lily and walked out of the room with her in his hands. Lily's room was right next to Lam's so Mane didn't have to travel far to find it. Normally he wouldn't enter her room. In fact, he had not really been to her room, only Lam's. But now he had to go in there.
Mane got to her door in no time and proceeded to enter her room. He took a moment to observe the room for anything that didn't feel right. For though Number 3 told him that hers was the only Barbarian team that had been sent out on this mission, he wasn't fully settled with her answer. Whilst it was true that Number 3 may think that, Mane didn't think that the higher ups of the Barbarian Race would inform a team that would be liable to capture after completing their mission of more information about another team. So he had to be cautious. He quickly scanned the room with Trace, but didn't find anything out of the ordinary within a 500 meter radius. And with that realization, was some relief.
"Can you put me down now?" a feeble voice asked from within Mane's arms, bringing Mane's attention back to the room. Mane looked down and saw a red faced Lily clutching onto his shirt and staring at him pitifully. She was panting slightly. No doubt as a result of her needless struggles to get out of Mane's hold earlier. It was needless because she was an Elemental and was more like an ordinary human if she didn't resort to inner energy. Looking into her eyes that were still as stunning as he remembered them to be, Mane was lost for a while. However, he recovered himself soon and blushed in embarrassment. He coughed lightly and set Lily down onto her bed.
"Rest up now. You are going to need a lot of sleep to recover your strength." Mane quickly stated and tried to get out of the room. His panicked countenance was delight to one person in the room – the one person that no one else but Mane could see.
"Look at the mighty Mane, panicking like a scared little mouse and trying to run away. Hahaha! What a beautiful sight! Hahaha!" Hildegarde as usual was quick to jump onto the teasing train. For the past few hours things had been pretty tense with her Tested, so she was more than happy to tease him when the chance provided itself.
"It wouldn't kill you to keep quiet for once you know. I would still know that you're alive if you are silent." Mane countered with his back to Lily as he reached for the door.
"I know. But I refuse to be silent." Hildegarde bit back, almost causing Mane to cough blood in frustration.
"I want to go with you," the silent Lily suddenly said, and Mane who was reaching for the door handle froze. His hand remained midair, like a general stopped in his march. Slowly he turned his head to face the tired Lily, and observed her for a few seconds.
"She's serious," Mane thought to himself. He sighed and pulled his hand back to his side. Then he walked over to Lily's bed, dragging her bedroom chair along with him, and sat down.
"I don't want you to come with me. It is safer for you here." Mane finally stated when he was seated. He looked Lily in the eye to convey just how serious he was, but his words didn't dissuade the Elemental Princess who reiterated her desire.
"I want to go with you."
"What about Lam? Do you want him to wake up and not see you here?" Mane argued, and his words finally elicited a reaction from Lily. The beautiful Elemental shook a little hearing Mane's words, and some panic flashed past those enchanting green eyes. But soon, that panic was no more. She lifted her head calmly and said,
"The probability of that happening is low."
Mane's eyelids twitched upon hearing her words. He thought that would be enough to persuade her but it apparently wasn't. And while what she said wasn't false, he wished that it were.
"I know that you are worried for me. But if Ivor is right and that flower is our best bet at waking Lam up, then I want to go searching for it with you." Lily said seeing that Mane was silent.
Ivor told them of a plant, a plant called Revival Grass. According to Ivor it was a plant that could forcefully wake a person up. It was mostly used by the resourceful to forcefully open the eyes of a dying relative and have them leave behind a will or last words. But the plant was so rare and precious that it was difficult to find. There was one reliable place where it could be found however – the Dark Valley. It was a dangerous part of the planet, but Mane reckoned that based on the standards of this world he would be fine.
"You should let her come with us. That way you would be able to keep an eye on her. If you leave her here she may wallow in pain, misery and depression. And if the anxiety of waiting doesn't kill her, stress would." Hildegarde stated, making her first intelligent contribution since the very recent interaction between Godling and Elemental began. Her words were wise, and Mane couldn't find the fault in them.
"You have to promise me that you would take good care of yourself from now onwards. Promise me." Mane insisted before giving Lily his word.
"I promise," Lily was quick to reply, her voice no longer hoarse after speaking with Mane.
"We would leave tomorrow. So now sleep." Mane gently tucked Lily into her bed and said. The young Elemental nodded her head and closed her eyes. She drifted off to sleep not long after.
"She must have been exhausted. She fell asleep almost immediately!" Hildegarde remarked.
"Yeah," Mane sighed. He felt a bit guilty that he had been moving in and out of the house and had left her alone for most of the day. If he was here, maybe she wouldn't have been stuck in her brother's room.
He smiled seeing her sleeping face and then left the room. Since he said that they would leave tomorrow he had to get some things ready. His weapons were good ones and he didn't need to prepare anything on that end. The weapons here were the ones he got from Black Hand and co. The heavy swords that had been gifted to him by The Citadel were very good, and Mane was pleased with them. They were Pseudo High Grade swords, and the best he had seen in this world so far. His focus was elsewhere. What he needed to do know was to prep the horses for the journey and pack a few essential items. For the basic essentials that he needed, he just had to inform Tucker, and the man would fetch them for him. So that wasn't his main concern. Now, all that was left was the horses. So naturally, Mane's destination was the stables.