The Lore Wain and Her Nephew Pt. 30

Cynthia soon found herself in the forest. The sun had just set and she couldn't see a thing. On top of that, her vision was still a bit limited so even if it were light out, it would of still been difficult to make things out. Starting to feel tired again, she sat down at a base of a tree and just stared up into the forest canopy. "What was... What am I doing?" She tried to gather her rambling thoughts. "I don't remember... the way they went..." Cy looked back the way she came. "I don't remember... how to go back..." Her eyes fluttered closed but she jerked them open again. "I have to find Bean. If not for him... for me and the others..." While she was trying to get onto her feet again, something was heard in the tree above her. When she squinted to see what it was, she only saw a small shadow sitting on a branch. Cynthia remarked in audible gibberish, still having to deal with the poison's effects on her mind. From what she could see, the head of the shadow tilted to the side, as if confused by her words. - Kinabrick and Alagatha arrived in Nala's orchard after sundown. Kinabrick asked Alagatha if it was the right place but she wasn't sure; she wasn't there when Celeste came to Green Hollows¹. Before there was any doubts, Janner opened the door to the cabin, having heard discussion outside. "Are you two with Celeste?" Janner asked, holding the front door open with a lantern in his hand. Kinabrick stepped forward and into the light, Alagatha joining him. "Yes. What has happened?" He asked, ready to get to the problem at hand. Janner looked inside at the fainted crew and then back at the two. "Come inside, quickly. We don't know if they'll be back..." Kinabrick didn't know what Janner meant by 'they' but he wasn't going to waste time asking questions. He entered the house with Alagatha behind him. Once the two were inside, Janner shut and bolted the door. His lantern light revealed the sleeping guests, who were laying on the floor with blankets over them. Kinabrick and Alagatha looked on them with shock. Kinabrick quickly noticed Nala propping the Lore Wain up with pillows not too far away. Celeste was in between being conscious and being unconscious. However, sitting up kept her from falling completely unconscious again. She was staring straight on into nothingness. Kinabrick quickly stepped over the others to get to Celeste. He kneeled down and looked at her. Nala looked at Kinabrick with concern and then Janner. Janner made a gesture to let his mother know it was alright that this fully armed man was with Celeste's crew. Nala relaxed and looked at Celeste with Kinabrick. "She just woke an hour or so ago... She keeps repeating the same word but I'm not sure what it means." Kinabrick looked at Nala and asked, "What is she saying?" "'Echo'." Nala replied. Kinabrick looked back at Celeste's face. "That's her nephew's name." "She must be concerned about him." Alagatha spoke up while kneeling beside Nibble. "Lore Wain, can you hear me?" Kinabrick asked Celeste with a strong tone in case she was hard of hearing. Celeste's eyes slowly shifted to Kinabrick and blinked in the same matter they moved. She said nothing. "Are you alright? Blink twice for me if you aren't." Kinabrick stated, seeing as Celeste seemed very out of it. She blinked twice in response and weakly remarked, "Echo..." Celeste's head slowly started to droop downward, like the weight of her head was too heavy for her in that moment. Kinabrick gently helped her lift her head again and looked her in the eyes. "Echo is fine. He's on the ship with Ramger and my soldiers." He said in the same tone as before, talking slowly for her. "Blink twice if you understand." Celeste once again blinked twice in response before she closed her eyes. Kinabrick could feel the weight of her head completely in his hands. He looked over at Nala. "It's best we have her lay down. She woke up just to make sure Echo was alright." Nala nodded and moved the pillows that had been propping Celeste up away. With Kinabrick's help, they helped her head lay comfortably on one of the pillows. Almost immediately after this, a murmur could be heard from one of the others. "It looks like ol' Clef is stirrin'..." Alagatha said while gently stroking poor Nibble's scaly head in her lap. Nala went over to Clef and looked him over. Clef's eyes slowly opened like the others did before but instead of staring into nothingness, he looked directly at Nala. Nala was a bit startled but regained her composure as she kneeled down beside him. Clef's eyebrows scrunched up at this action but he said nothing. He was trying to look past Nala. Kinabrick looked at Clef curiously and looked in the direction he was trying to look. "Ma'am, I think Clef here is trying to look at Celeste." Nala looked at Kinabrick and then back at Clef, as if verifying if it was true. Clef stared at Nala in a way that made her so uncomfortable that she had to move. To her, it looked hostile. Once Nala was out of the way, Clef gazed over at Celeste, who was now resting a few feet away. He blinked slowly, staring for a few moments. It was quiet as the four of them stared at the ex strander stare at their Lore Wain. That's when Nala noticed something from Clef in the middle of all this. He was crying. It was mostly an emotionless expression on his face... all except his eyes. His eyes were a little pink and the tears were collecting around his eyes mask, making the black fabric darker. Nala kneeled beside Clef but this time stays out of the way so he could still continue looking at Celeste. However, she made the mistake of leaning over to help take Clef's mask off. Clef suddenly grabbed her arm. - "Mother, please!" Zarabean pleaded with his mother. "Zarabean doesn't know what it will do to them! Zarabean has to leave before it's too late!" "Beanie bee, I can't!" His mother sobbed. "If I let you out, they will kick me out of the tribe to get eaten by a toothy cow!" She took in a big breath like a gasp, "I can't out run a squeeblin let alone a toothy cow!" She wheezed. Zarabean leaned his face through the bars. "Mother, Zarabean can bring you with him. You can be safe on the ship!" His mother shook her head, "And leave the land your father died on? No, honey... I can't..." She sniffled and wheezed again. He slumped over and leaned his forehead on the bars. "Maker, help them... Please..." He muttered in prayer before starting to quietly cry again. Zarabean's mother's ears perked to the Maker's name being used. She almost couldn't believe that her son had said it. "'The Maker', son??" "If Zarabean can't get out... The Maker is... their only hope..." Zarabean sank to his knees and covered his face with his hands.

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¹This is the order in which Celeste collected her crew: Clef, Zarabean, Nibble, and Alagatha.