"LARISHAZZA!" we heard Nin roar from his room, a loud bang followed soon after. I sighed and then another did. I couldn't handle this anymore... His obsession with my sister was making it hard to focus on other stuff.
Every night since the incident, there was that same anguished roar. Each time it was the same nightmare from what I have heard. We've tried talking to him about it. Omb even came forth and said he managed to get him to calm down.
But I was having trouble believing that as Nin was always on edge. It was as if this nightmare kept resetting his worries and paranoia. None of us could help him and it was clear everyone was breaking down. Vadei, Einervaene and Liadanann were all hesitant to speak to him...
I couldn't even just ask Omb for help. He was secluding himself more with that hobby of his. I may have not been alone, but it felt like it. To say nothing about my attempts to speak to Dad.
Mom tried her hardest to intercede, but, he was determined to find a saviour. Thankfully, in a strange way, work started to slow him down. He may have held a lot of sway, but that only removed the burden for so long. So I just had to make the most of it.
I tried speaking to the Worm Rider some more, but even he brought it back to Nin. He tried to present a case for me to even go to Dad to get him to help him... Smiling Jhurack was clearly interested in him so that was our way to beating him. Or so he argued.
And, I argued back that Nin was too weak to beat him. I argued the same points as everyone else, that Larishazza would miss him dearly. I know I could count on the Worm Rider to honour my word. But, I could not muster the strength to tell him not to make that same case again and again...
I was desperate to see my sister safe and sound. I wanted to see her again in something that wasn't a hospital. I wanted to hear her laugh and smile again... I wanted my sister back!
So, perhaps it was now, as I started to cry on this dark night that I found myself convinced. Even if it upset her, what was her life compared to his? Nin was someone who would not be missed. She could always make new friends...
Our lives would be easier for it too. That rash decision of hers from last year could finally be swept aside. Yet, I could not compel myself to act so harshly. She would never forgive me if I let her friend die...
She would not forgive me for letting our friend die...
Yet, all this worrying and frustration made me tired. So I got up and went upstairs to my room. At least, until I went past Nin's door. I just stared at it confused.
Was it me that was crying in frustration or him? So, seeking an answer to that, I opened the door. I looked down at his sobbing form then looked at a mirror. Both of us were...
"Gods damn you all..." Nin cursed under his breath as he tried to wipe the tears away. He hated us for not trying to help Larishazza. I was offended by the idea of it. Yet, could it be true?
He was the only one to do anything when this all started. He tried to look before his mistakes cost him the supposed right to. I told Dad about it, sure. But even now, I stayed away from doing anything.
'Let others handle it' was how I was going about this. But it was clear that others could not handle this. A mighty, formerly indomitable Rider of Worms lost to this man. And Nin here might be able to...
He just might...
"What do you want?" Nin asked me aggressively after he had managed to stop the tears.
"Do you really care for my sister that much...?" I asked him. Nervously, I clutched my hands behind my back as he snapped his gaze.
"What kind of question is that?" he asks back as he moves closer and towers over me.
"I... I'm sorry..." I say before leaving the room. Closing the door behind me before I went off to my room. I sighed and pondered what I had just done. What was even the point of that...?
I went nowhere with it and did nothing but stare and think...
However, once I got into my room, I found myself staring at the worm. Its long, wide body could easily swallow many things whole. Especially men which it made a point of doing when they were untamed... But, when trained, they were renowned for the depth and complexity of what they could do.
"Worm, open wide." I tell it softly after opening my window. And, the animal did so. It even reacted to the sadness I displayed with some buffoonery. I did smile at it, but it quickly vanished.
Then, after some time, it closed its mouth and looked at me carefully. It was an odd kind of pressure that its gaze drove into me. Almost as if I was watching its rider walk by. His great power was shared to some extent...
"Worm... My... Larishazza's friend is in a room a few windows down... Can you go there, please?"