Liora's body hunched to the side, her head coming to rest on the doorframe, sliding down it until she was laying on her hip, hearing rapid beatings of Noah's feet against the floorboards as he rushed towards her. Practically sliding on his knees as he got closer to her.
"I feel so weak…" She mumbled.
"You shouldn't be up," Noah said reaching a hand out to place it on her shoulder.
Liora let out a soft huff, "this is my house… I get up when I feel like it…"
A sigh escaped Noah as he gently pulled Liora's arm over his neck, wrapping his other hand around her body, clenching her barely covered body. The blanket she had wrapped around her already coming loose until it just barely clung to her body.
"Not when your hurt, Liora. You need to recover. Let's get you back to bed," he tried to gently raise her from the ground, which held a bit of difficulty considering he could feel just how week her body was after all the blood she was likely still missing.
"I don't wanna go to beeeed…."
Noah froze mid rise hearing such a childish tone come from her.
"My back hurts and I feel so boooored…"
His head swivelled to face her, seeing her with teary eyes and a soft pout that puffed up her cheeks like a child not getting its way. It was a really cute sight on her more mature features, so much so it made Noah's heart skip a little beat and made him really want to pet her head.
"You're delirious Liora, you need some rest," he softly chuckled, pulling Liora onto her feet with his hand held tight over her hip to keep her stable.
"Nooooo…" She whined flutily struggling in his arms, "I wanna cook…" her stomach grumbled in unison with her words, "I'm hungry…"
"I'm working on it," Noah replied to her as she leaned her head onto his chest, likely not realizing exactly what it was she was doing in her addled state, "I'll bring you something soon, okay?"
"Nyeh!" she blabbed, "my house Harvy… I cook…"
'Harvy? Her husband?' Noah shook his head at her case of mistaken identity, not taking it to heart.
"Ah…" Liora mumbled out an exclamation, "no… Harvy died…" she shook her head, and turned to look up to Noah with a weak smile, "sorry Noah… I'm a bit… out of it, it seems." Liora's legs wobbled beneath her about to collapse from under her. But Noah, quick to notice this held her tighter opting that getting her up the stair was likely something he could do later once she got a more stable footing or fell asleep so he could carry her up.
"Here, sit down," Noah lead her towards the dining room table, pulling out a chair for him to lower her down onto just in time for her blanket to completely unfurl and come undone, falling down her body, hanging over the sides of the chair. Not that she noticed it at the moment as she just sat down in a slumped position, head hung back, slowly blinking with her legs just slightly open showing off the slight fuzz of her nethers.
'I've really got to get her in some clothes…' Noah's eye twitched as pulled up Liora's blanket folding it over her body to cover her back up before grabbing the other side and doing the same.
"How are you feeling?" he kept his voice low as he asked knelt down next to her.
"Like someone took a club to my head and dipped my arm in fire…" Liora lifted her un-strapped arm, lapping it over her eyes with a soft sigh. "my throat also hurts…"
Noah rose to his feet saying, "I'll get you some water then," quickly doing just that, handing the cup to Liora, testing if she at least had the faculties to drink herself.
"Thank you," Liora shakily took the cup from his hand, only splashing a little water over her blanketed body before steadying it with her other hand, flinching as a small jolt of pain from bending at her elbow. Stretching the skin of the fiery red indentation cut into it.
"Ow…" she whimpered releasing the cup to look down at her arm, opening and closing her hand with slow movements testing her own reflexes finding that she at least was still able to make a fist.
As she wandered over the brown leather strappings and shiny silver buckles. She soon came to a pause at the bright red mark peaking out in the gaps between the straps. Red and slightly inflamed almost undulating with fiery wrath. Just the sight of it was enough to cause her insurmountable fear, the cup she held jittering even more fiercely, spilling most its contents over her body.
"Don't look at it," Noah gently gripped her hand with both his. Spinning her arm so her palm faced down leaving only the straps visible to her. Placing his hand atop hers, he brought it down onto her lap.
Liora's lips trembled as trickles of tears ran down her cheeks, staining her blanket with dark splotches of salted waters. "why?" her words fell out softly, lacking any heart to them.
Noah's lips parted turning his gaze up to meet her brick reds. Expression soon softening to a smile. "You already asked that. My answer hasn't changed." He chuckled, "no matter how much you don't believe it yourself. I think you deserve something better. Now no more of that self-pity. I've got to figure out how to cook." He sighed, giving Liora's hand one last pat before backing away towards the kitchen counters. Digging into the drawer where Liora mentioned something about a plate he could use for cooking.
"I-I can cook! You don't need to-"
"Zip. It." Noah hissed at her, silencing her in just a faint second. "You're not fit to hold a knife, let alone be anywhere near a fire. Your just going to get yourself hurt even more." A huff came out of him as he finally found a single granite looking slab in the bottommost drawer. Finding it surprisingly light for what looked to be a good two centimetres of pure stone with a single, lighter coloured circle at the centre of it.
Noah hummed as he looked over the slab once he'd placed it down on the counter. For all intents and purposes it resembled a portable electric stove top, if not a little larger. 'This is not technology of a medieval world,' he'd noticed it with the faucet, but there was something about this world, the blending of modern appliances into medieval manners that just hinted at something other being at play.
"Now… how do I turn this on?" He mumbled looking over the top of the plate for any signs or designs of notches or switches he could prod to activate whatever heating element the slab held.
Soon finding that on the right hand side there was what looked like a metal switch dug into the depths of the stone. 'this it?' he thought bringing his finger over the switch feeling it give way to follow his finger with numerous clicking sounds, only stopping once it could no long move any farther.
"Is it on now?" he questioned himself holding his palm over the plate to feel if heat was beginning to rise from it. Lo and behold he could feel it, the sizzling heat stroking against his hand, threatening to burn his flesh and ruin his love life. "that was fast…" he mumbled quickly pulling his hand back just as the rising heat stroked his eyes, threatening to dry them out.
Turning the contraption off as a safety precaution for both him and the house, Noah began to search for a pan he could fill up with water and place atop the pale grey indentation of the slab.
"There's some broth in the onnaire…" Liora commented tiredly from the side. Wandering her gaze over the room soon falling onto a large grey branch laced with beautiful pink and white blossoms leaning against the doorway to the kitchen.
'Onnaire?' Noah paused looking across the table, soon falling onto the refrigeration box, 'does she mean this?' he moved towards it, glancing inside searching past the various cold ingredients for anything he may consider broth. Finding not long after a finger sized rectangle folded into a dark piece of cloth that looked to have been hastily shut from how crumpled the fabric looked.
"Is this it?" Noah asked turning back to Liora only to find her absent from her seat, hobbling towards the doorway, reaching out to stroke her hands across the bark of the branch he'd brought in.
Noah nearly dropped the block to rush to Liora to catch her incase she fell again, but stopped himself when he saw Liora pick up the branch, spinning it around in her hands, curiously inspecting it, soon pinching one of the blossoms off to hold it up to the light of the sun beaming in through the window. Marvelling at the translucent gleam it exuded, seeming to sparkle in the light.
"I've never seen them this vibrant before," she beamed out a soft, melancholic smile. "at least one thing on this farm is thriving…" she leaned the branch against the wall. Feeling a sudden onslaught of dizziness leading to her stumbling and pressing her head against the wall to give her some grounding.
"You're really intent on getting yourself in trouble, aren't you," Noah chuckled wrapping a hand around Liora's waist, pulling her close to him while gently holding her arm to help return her back to the seat.
When he returned her to her seat and returned himself to his cooking he could just faintly hear behind him, "I'm only good at getting in trouble…"
Noah's knife halted just a millimetre into a carrot at hearing that derisible sentence. The weight it held for Liora. The emotions of helplessness of despair. She needed a crutch, something to hold her up.
'I'm speeding up my plans…' tomorrow he'd make his first trek into the forest. No more hesitating. He was going to find that one piece of treasure that could save this farm no matter what.