Not Feeling Well

Having stumbled about in public a little might have hurt her pride, but by the time Mai had got her back home, she didn't look too good at all. Lygawa was almost as unbalanced as if she'd retracted her tail totally again, but clearly it was visible once inside, though it too seemed very floppy, as it dragged along loosely behind her.

So the silvery girl was popped straight into bed, where she curled up between her pillows and was brought some food and drink.

By the next morning though, she complained of multiple symptoms - just the same as if she'd caught a common cold.

"I feel terrible..."

"It can't be all that bad... you're still complaining like usual."

Lygawa just lay there without reaction, while looking rather run down for having only just woken up properly.

"I'm dying...!"

"Don't say that, it's just a tiny virus..."

"Virus?"

Mai gave a simplified explanation.

"A bunch of tiny... organisms that have got inside you, and are causing a bit of mayhem... making you feel ill."

"Dragons don't get sick, unless we're really weak or hurt... and I am not."

Lygawa wobbled as she went to get up from her bed.

"Stay there."

Mai put a halt to her willingness to show she was not hindered at all, but putting her hand on the dragon-girls forehead, gave Mai some pause.

She's hot! She usually feels so cool, but she really is rather warm...!

The silver dragon then went on to not even emerge once from her bed at all, for the rest of the day, and as time went on, she didn't improve either, so by the afternoon she didn't feel like eating anything, only managing some water, before falling asleep with exhaustion.

Having her own restless sleep, Mai woke in the morning to find her companions state still hadn't gotten better at all, as she felt feverish, even for a human, and required a little drying off from all the sweat she'd already shed.

After again turning down all food, Mai knew it was very serious, so immediately consulted the other resident dragon in town.

"Nullawhy, do dragons get sick often?"

She rushed to her, outside between their houses.

"Not at all... why do you ask?"

She obviously wasn't expecting a question like that the moment she was sighted.

"Lygawa has been... well she has a high temperature, a little cough and is drained of all her energy..."

The red dragon didn't look like she liked the sound of that.

"... and she's been unable to walk properly for the past few days..."

"That is very serious! Why didn't you seek my help earlier?"

She hastily shot past Mai and went for their shared house.

"I just guessed she'd get over it like most people do..."

Mai followed the other reptile back into her house.

"Do you think it was from something she ate?"

"I'd say not - my guess is it was from... Garsis."

Neither stopped till they lay eyes on the others condition, while Nullawhy silently kept her distance, staying by the doorway.

"But this is really bad right? Will she get better on her own?"

Mai tended to Lygawa gain, who softly panted and dripped with sweat again.

"We dragons are very resilient, so a sickness will not often bother us, however..."

Nullawhy turned away.

"...some bad sicknesses can fell even the strongest of our kind."

Nullawhy returned downstairs and pondered hard, while Mai then explained all her previous attempts to help out the smaller dragon.

"I think we should find a natural medicine for our kind. What we need are Gittelsfoot, it's a wild flower..."

"Strange... I had a dream about picking flowers..."

Mai thought aloud, bringing Nullawhy's attention snapping back to her.

"What colour?"

"White... uh, big petals..."

"- with little purple flecks?"

The red reptile hurriedly, and more importantly, finished Mai's description correctly.

So that wasn't just a random dream then...

"Those are exactly what we need! Those flowers hold a combination of minerals that greatly help dragons with injury or fight off a stubborn illness..."

Mai's worried face gave Nullawhy pause.

"But I have no clue where that place was, or when..."

"Think hard, do you remember any significant landmarks..."

Mai knew dreams often came and went so quickly and rarely stuck in the mind of the dreamer after they'd been conjured, but for Lygawa's sake, she tried her best.

"I think I was on a steep slope... but that's all I've got..."

She strained her mind, but the image had already been so fleeting.

"Steep, was there tree cover?"

"No!"

"Then I'd say we need to go toward the little mountains, up the valley a way..."

At least with a direction, Mai flapped into action, grabbing her coat, while looking for her shoes and something to carry the vital flowers back in.

"Right, okay, I'll take my basket, if you can..."

The red dragon looked odd now, paler perhaps, standing still beside the table with a peculiar expression.

"Looks like I won't be able to help... though..."

Nullawhy stumbled, but caught the nearest chairs back to keep up on her shaky feet.

Oh no, not her too!

Mai grabbed her gently, noting that her whole body shook slightly and her face was wet with sweat, and knew she wasn't going anywhere.

"Come with me, you need to rest too."

She held onto Nullawhy firmly and helped her walk, not receiving any kind of protest from the prideful dragon.

Helping her up the stairs, she let the other reptile flop onto her bed.

"Now stay here, I can't risk anything happening while I'm out."

Mai didn't want to take in the state of the other one, but couldn't help it; as Lygawa looked at pain to even simply draw breath now, seemingly even more blushed with her savage fever than only moments earlier.

She's not getting better, at all...

Mai had no time left to waste.

With only her basket in hand, Mai dashed promptly to the stables, where thankfully she grabbed an already saddled horse from its owner, Pat - who saw her urgency and gladly relinquished the animal to her.

Mai rode off with as much speed as she could manage, toward the higher slopes of the valley, while keeping an eye out for any white flowers along the way up the hills.

Please let my hunches guide me now...