The story so far:

----Aija, Zuri, and Ze are three friends, who were working at the Pristine School at Innermost. Aija gets involved with the Ytai first, leading Zuri and Ze to them as well. Zuri falls in love with Nala (Lalana), who is Ytai, and works with Thieron. Aija and Ze are captured by Thieron, of H'eon, when they were at the Hospital - Aija was at the Hospital with Kuna of R'ies and Zuri to stop a Harvest; Ze was there to visit his sick student Xan. Thieron has bound Aija to himself, and Nala has bound Ze to herself. Luka works for Thieron(Ah'n), along with Lalana (Nala).

----Goldstar is uncomfortable with Vincent staying with him, in Pristine Four. Vincent has a way of making him feel weirded out concerning his feelings. While on the other hand, Iyler keeps distancing herself because she doesn't know who Goldstar really is.

----Aija and Ze go along with the three Ytai. It's a Harvest, but Thieron doesn't inform them since Aija would hinder them. When Nala and Luka go away, Thieron shows them the sea -which has swallowed the land. A sea-savage pulls Aija into the sea when she is standing too close to the water on the walkway. 

----Aija faints after Thieron saves her from the sea-savages, just as she remembers that a sea-savage bit her.

✽✽✽

****28.3 - Nala****

Harvesting the Àvo soul had been easy. 

The man had tried to run, resulting in running far from Ze, and the bond was stinging at her wrist. 

"Are you alright?" Luka asked her, securing the In'ealk. 

She was clutching her wrist. "Let's go. Soon..." 

They walked back towards the car. "How far did we run?" Nala groaned. 

"Not too far." Luka consoled her. 

Her Scroll vibrated. It was Thieron. 

"Nè?" Yes? 

"Nala, where are you two?" he sounded distressed. Thieron never seemed distressed unless it was something major. 

"Not too far..." she repeated Luka's words. "Is everything alright?" 

"Hurry back! Run! Now!" 

Thieron cut the call; Nala stared at her Scroll. He sounded greatly upset. 

"What's wrong?" Luka asked her.

 "Something's terribly wrong," she said, fearing what might have happened. "Thieron sounded scared." 

"Thieron? Scared?" 

"Run." 

Nala and Luka ran to the car; halfway there, her wrist stopped hurting. Ze was still with them, then. What had happened? What had made Thieron so anxious, that he hadn't even bothered to ask if they had Harvested the soul? 

They reached the car to find Thieron pacing outside it, tensed. 

"Get in the car!" he yelled as he caught sight of them. 

"What's wrong?" she asked. 

"Questions later," he growled and got into the back seat. "Nala drive. To Ba' diur's." 

Nala and Luka got into the car her at the wheel and Luka beside her. She started the car and made a U-turn. As Nala looked back, to make the turn, she saw Aija unconscious in the back seat. Thieron was cradling her against himself. She didn't need any more incentive; something was wrong with Aija. She sped down the empty roads, driving to Ba' diur's place. 

"What happened?" Luka asked Thieron, turning around. 

"Sea Savages," Thieron answered. 

"Zuh'tih!" Luka cursed. 

Nala looked at him wide-eyed. Luka rarely cursed out loud; in front of them, at least. She'd heard him do it on particularly, rare occasions. 

She was more surprised by Thieron, though. He looked scared out of his mind; it was so unlike him. But they needed Aija. Losing her this way would make things a mess. Aija was a very powerful soul; they needed to Harvest her almost at the end. She couldn't die this way. It would get Thieron in trouble with his uncle Ivar. 

Ze was quiet. She had seen him holding Aija's hand in his. He must be terrified.

What would happen when the day came to take Aija's soul, and Ze was left behind with them? How would he take it? 

"How much farther?" Thieron asked. 

They had to get to Ba' diur's place soon. Aija in all probability had hours left, before the poison spread through her body. That was the difference between land Savages and water Savages - water Savages released poison into its victims' bodies. It was a slow death. 

"It'll take at least another two and a half hours," Nala answered. 

"Go faster." was all he said. She was going as fast as the car allowed. 

She hoped Ba' diur had the necessary antidote – he was known to collect strange things and make weirder things. If he didn't, Aija was as good as dead already. 

Nala liked Aija, though she knew Aija's fate. Aija had kept her promise of not talking about Zuri. In fact, she made it seem as if they hadn't met before. Nala was grateful for that. If Thieron found out for sure how Nala felt about Zuri, he'd kill Zuri. Liking Aija enough to not kill her was probably punishment for having fallen in love with a human. 

Nala missed Zuri. She felt bad that Zuri had seen her taking her best friend. She knew how close Zuri and Aija were. It hurt her, but she had no choice. She loved Zuri, but her loyalty was first to Thieron. 

Nala hated that Ba' diur didn't own a Scroll. There was no way of contacting him beforehand. It would have made things easier. 

****

It felt it had been an insanely long drive before they finally reached Ba' diur's place. 

Luka was out before she parked the car in front of his house. He rang the doorbell and banged on the door. It was indeed late at night. 

Thieron carried Aija out of the car and to the door, which was opened by someone she hadn't seen before. He looked like he was in his early thirties. He was wearing sweat pants and a tee and looked like he'd been buried deep in sleep. 

"Thieron?" the man was genuinely surprised. He looked half-asleep, even standing. 

"I don't care what you're doing here. Just help." Thieron stated. 

The man let them in and asked what had happened. Thieron explained in as much detail as time permitted, and the man left to wake Ba' diur up for he didn't know if there was an antidote in the house. 

Ze sat on the couch by Aija, refusing to move. 

"Her breathing is shallow," Thieron noted. 

Nala noted that Aija's deep-purple aura was already a light flicker. She was on the brink of death. 

Thieron bent over to her right leg and tore her jeans where it had bled, exposing the bite. It was a deep one. The poison had already spread beyond her right knee, maybe even further, creating a web-like pattern as it made its way up — a purple web against her skin. 

Her thick hair was still damp from having fallen into the sea. She looked pale as she struggled to breathe. Thieron removed her shoes and socks. There were purple webbed-lines all across her right foot. 

The man returned with Ba' diur behind him, a shot in one hand and a wooden box in the other. "Move," Ba' diur told Ze in CommLang. 

Ze looked reluctant, but he moved. He still stood close to Aija as Ba' diur inspected the extent to which the poison had spread. 

"It has been a long time." Ba' diur informed them, lifting Aija's shirt as he also chanted, "In-Kwan". Ze tensed, but soon it turned into shock as they saw purple lines webbed across her stomach all the way up to her chest. "Her aura's but a flicker. I'm not sure how this will go." 

Ba' diur opened the wooden box; there were several small identical glass containers filled with a shiny silvery-green liquid. He took out three containers and closed the box. Ba' diur filled the shot with the antidote, and it swirled about the glass holder shimmering in the light. The Ytai inserted the long thick needle of the shot deep into the wound and injected the antidote. 

It looked painful. 

"How long for it to work?" Thieron asked, looking at Aija's pale face. 

Ba' diur sighed. "A long time; it's spread extensively. All we can do now is wait." 

"We can shift her to the room upstairs." the other man offered. "You all must get some rest too." 

Thieron nodded. The man led them upstairs to one of the rooms, and Thieron laid Aija down and covered her with a blanket. Ze stayed right next to her, unmoving. 

"Do you need something, kid?" the man asked Ze. He only shook his head as he sat beside Aija. 

"You three," he told them in Ytèan. "Come," 

They followed him back downstairs. Thieron looked back at Aija once before joining them. 

Ba' diur was in the kitchen, there was a pot with something steaming on the stove. 

"You cut your hair." the man told Thieron, who just shrugged. "For a moment, I didn't recognize you." 

"She's going to be okay?" Thieron asked. 

The man studied Thieron a moment before saying, "I cannot guarantee it." 

Thieron ran his fingers through his hair, and Nala thought that if he still had his long hair, he would have let it down and re-tied it in this exact moment. 

"So this is Luka and Nala." the man stated, looking at them. 

Luka narrowed his eyes at the man. Nala was too tired to be worried. She sat at the table, grabbed her hair, and tied it up into a bun. 

"Yes," Thieron agreed. 

"I'm Var-Inu," the man introduced himself with a smile. 

Nala stared at the man. This – this man was Var-Inu? This sweatpants, t-shirt wearing, young Ytai was Var-Inu? 

She had imagined an old man with greying hair, not this young person standing in front of them. He had black hair with strands of purple intertwined and eyes a shade of blue, which almost seemed purple. 

Luka was staring at the man just as she was – he must have imagined him differently as well. 

Ba' diur offered them each a steaming cup of tea and took one upstairs – for Ze. 

There were Ytai like Ba' diur and Var-Inu, who lived on Earth. They helped Ytai – no matter who they were. They kept away from humans, but never harmed them. They led their own lives, not interfering with anyone – Ytai or human and helped both if necessary. 

Nala wondered how it was to be like them, not taking sides. Ba' diur returned, took his own cup of tea, and sat at the table with the rest of them. 

"How did it happen?" he asked. 

"It was meant to be a distraction," Thieron explained. "She kept interfering with the Harvests, releasing the Harvested souls. I was to keep them distracted by the sea, while these two Harvested the soul. I should've realized it; she was standing too close to the edge." 

Everyone was quiet as Thieron spoke. Nala knew at once that he was blaming himself. 

"What are you doing here?" Thieron asked Var-Inu. Var-Inu shrugged. 

"Meeting a friend." 

Thieron narrowed his eyes at the two' friends.' 

"I received your message," Var-Inu told Thieron. "Those are specific items. It'll take time. And, I'm out of Izemirn." 

Thieron nodded. 

"You are leaving after the Ker'zan?" 

Thieron nodded again. 

"I can get it by then." 

"Sure," 

"I'll check on Aija," said Luka, who had been quiet all this time and left. Thieron stared at him as he climbed the stairs two at a time. 

"What do you plan for the girl?" Ba' diur asked. 

Thieron remained quiet, now looking at his cup of tea. 

Nala answered. "Her soul." 

****

Ba' diur offered them beds to take rest. Luka went to sleep. Thieron and Nala checked upon Aija. She was burning with fever – and so was Thieron, by how sick and tired he looked. Aija's aura was still faint. 

They stayed with her a while, Ze was asleep next to Aija, her hand in his. 

Thieron was shivering as they sat by the bed, and Nala asked him to go sleep. He'd seemed hesitant, but he'd left after his shivering became unbearable. 

Aija was shivering, and sweat trickled down her neck, her breathing raspy. 

How deep did the Uil' dran go for Thieron to have Aija's fever and shivering? She looked at her bond on her wrist and then at Ze. Was she as connected with Ze as Thieron and Aija were? 

Nala checked Aija's leg, the purple web across her leg was slightly lighter than before, but the ones on her stomach were still as dark. The antidote was slow. 

Nala sat on a chair beside the bed, looking at Aija. Var-Inu came in with a bowl of cold water and a towel. He soaked the towel in the water and placed it on Aija's forehead. 

"Humans in the Open do this," he told Nala. "It must help with the fever." 

Nala nodded. She didn't know about it, but Var-Inu must be aware of it. 

"You must sleep. I'll stay with Aija." Var-Inu offered. 

"I'm not sleepy." 

He smiled at her. "Let me know if you need anything. I'll be downstairs." 

She nodded, and he left. 

She looked at Aija fighting for life. 

Nala almost didn't want to kill Aija. But, it was ultimately Thieron's decision. And he would go through with it. She knew he had saved Aija only because he needed her soul later on. 

It was painful to look at her. Every time, it reminded her of Zuri; her beautiful mid-night skin, her striking blue-green eyes, her copper curls, her fierceness, the pure joy in her smile. 

Nala had never imagined in all her years that she would fall for a human. She had never fallen in love before. She had met women whom she had seen as beautiful and fascinating. But no one she had met was like Zuri. Zuri had taken her by surprise. She was fierce; confident. Yet, she could be shy in her presence. 

Would she have a chance, if Aija hadn't been her best friend? It was an enormous if. 

Nala couldn't bring herself to betray Thieron – Ah'n. He had saved her, made her his partner. They knew each other since they were children; he would do anything to protect her. There was a time when all they'd had was each other. He trusted her more than he trusted Luka – Luka himself must know it by now. 

Aija whimpered, and Ze woke up, suddenly alert. 

His eyes fell on Aija, then on Nala. 

"It's alright," she said. 

"How could you even say that?" he whispered angrily. 

"I'm sorry," 

He looked taken aback by her apology. He turned to Aija and put a hand on her neck and then on his neck. His expression wasn't good; she possibly still had a fever. Ze took the hand cloth on her forehead, found the water bowl on the side table and he dipped the towel into it. He wrung the towel, dispelling the excess water, and put it back on Aija's forehead. 

"You should leave," he told her. 

"I can stay. You get back to sleep."

"Please," his voice was curt. "Leave." 

Nala looked at him once and then nodded. She left and found Thieron curled upon a bed in a room down the hall, shivering. He was burning up as well. Nala searched for a blanket in the wardrobe in the room and found a thick one. She put it over Thieron to ease the cold. But, the cold was the cold Aija was feeling. No blanket would help Thieron. But still, she couldn't just leave him uncovered. 

She found Var-Inu downstairs at the table. He was watching the news on his Scroll. 

Why can't Ba' diur own one? She thought. 

"How is she?" he asked without looking at her. 

"I think she is in pain." 

"Sit," he told her, and she did, opposite him. 

He put the Scroll down and looked at her; studying her. 

"Of course she is in pain." his voice was gentle. "The poison hurts. You brought her just in time to save her life. A small delay, and I don't think we would have had hope." 

"Is hope all we have now?" 

Var-Inu smiled. "Sometimes hope is all we need. Don't worry, she's strong. And I assume it's why you want her in the first place." 

Nala nodded slowly. "I believe we saved her, just so that we can kill her; later." 

"Ba' diur and I only save lives, for all lives are precious. We can't stop fate." 

"Fate?" 

"I know Ytai don't have religion any more or believe in fate. But, fate is true, even if religion isn't. I've seen things. You were destined to meet Thieron, just as you were destined to meet the human girl, you're so in love with." 

Nala blinked, feeling herself blush. "How?" 

Var-Inu smiled like he knew a lot of secrets. "I know things, Lalana. Everything takes its own course. What you do with it is up to you. After you meet the person you were meant to meet; will you let them go? Will you stay?" 

"Will I meet her again?" 

"Who knows?" he asked. "Breakfast?" 

Light was slowly eating away the darkness. She felt hungry; she said yes to his offer. 

****

Aija whimpered softly. Her fever had gone down, and her breathing had settled. Her aura was slightly stronger than before. 

Var-Inu had forcefully taken Ze down for lunch. Thieron had woken up late and stayed with Aija for a long time and had just left. He'd looked much better, and his fever had gone with Aija's. 

Nala sat on the chair beside the bed, waiting for Aija to wake. The purple webbed-lines of poison had vanished on her leg. They were faint on her stomach. Ba' diur had declared her out of significant danger. She only had to wake within a day of being given the antidote. 

The deep cut, where the water Savage had bitten her at the ankle, was almost healed. But, the mark would remain. 

Aija let out a soft moan and moved. Nala tensed as Aija slowly opened her eyes. 

"Aija?" Nala whispered, not wanting to startle her. 

Aija looked at her. She seemed a little out of focus, but the worst part was over. She had woken up before the day ended. 

"How do you feel?" 

"Like I crashed into a wall of stone," Aija whispered, scowling. 

"It'll get better," Nala assured her. 

Aija tried to sit up and failed Nala helped her up. 

"Do you need anything?" 

"I need to go home," Aija whispered, not having the strength to look or sound angry. 

Nala didn't reply. She didn't know what to say. 

"First, bathroom," Aija said. 

Nala helped her out of bed and waited for Aija to return as she limped to the bathroom. 

When she came, Nala asked, "Food? Water?" 

"Home," she said decisively. Nala sighed. 

"I thought you'd take my soul, not save me." 

"I'm sorry for disappointing you." Thieron's voice came from the door. 

Nala had heard his hurried footsteps on the stairs. He looked tired, even though the fever had gone. His hair was messy, and he looked like he'd fought through the night too.

 Aija smiled, amused. "Where's Ze?" 

"Downstairs. He stayed with you the whole night." Nala told her. "He held your hand all night." 

"Fine, fine..." Thieron said, dismissing it with a wave of his hand and asked Aija, "How do you feel?" 

"Making sure I'm alright so that you can kill me later when the time is right?" Aija asked him. 

"If you want to put it that way, then, yes," he replied, annoyed. 

"I've had better days," Aija mumbled. 

"True," Thieron agreed. 

"What happened to my pants?" Aija asked, lifting her right leg and brandishing the jeans that was torn up to her knee. 

"Well," Thieron said, "your life was more important than your pants. We needed to know how far the poison had spread. Or did you want me to save your pants instead?" 

Aija scowled at him, and Nala felt like she was intruding in their space. 

"Good to know you're alive." Thieron said and added, "I'm glad I have the opportunity to kill you, still. It would have been sad to lose you to a water Savage." 

Aija scoffed again. Thieron left, leaving the two girls by themselves. 

"Thanks," Nala whispered once she was sure Thieron had gone back down, "for not telling about Zuri and me." 

"It's for Zuri. Not you." 

Nala nodded. 

"Did you befriend Zuri to get to me?" 

Nala was shocked. "I swear on the Gods and Spirits, no!" It was the truth. "I...I met Zuri before I even knew you were her friend; I met her at Apper town, way before I saw you." 

"You Harvest human souls, Nala. How could you do that to Zuri? Make her feel that you liked her." 

"Zuri took me by surprise," Nala confessed. "I didn't plan this. I met her and I felt something in my heart for her. I didn't think I would capture her friend one day. I wanted Zuri. I do love her." 

Aija's eyes searched hers. "Would you do it again, knowing what it has come to?" 

Nala took in a deep breath. "I wouldn't want to hurt her, but, yes. I would go to her knowing all this; for I still cherish the time I spent with her. She made me feel alive like I was worth her love. For what it's worth, Aija, I still love Zuri. I always will."

✽✽✽