“I’ll have to double check when the stars come out, but when I plotted it… It looked to be maybe a week… or two, or three. It’s hard to be sure,” Rigel explained, staring at the cloudy sky as if he could see the stars ahead of time. A wave of nausea came over him, and he stopped in his tracks then found himself on his hands and knees hurling up bile.
"Rigel!" Enyln was at his side in seconds, "a-are you okay? Do you need water? Is there anything I can do?" She was worried about him- scared he wouldn't make it to Paradis. Scared that he wouldn't make it at all.
“I- I’m fine-“ He interrupted himself as he hurled up more bile. It’s fine, I just need to get Enyln to Paradis, nothing to worry about and- Rigel hurled again, but there wasn’t anything to hurl up this time. He looked shakily at Enyln, and despite how everything about him said otherwise, he said, “I’m fine, I think.”
"No." Enyln shook her head, "you need to rest. I'll-I'll go find a river near by and get you some water." She didn't want to leave him but she had too. Enyln knew he was going to be dehidraded soon if not already, and that he'd need water.
Rigel didn’t have the energy to argue, he instead sat away from the bile and puke and closed his eyes, mumbling quietly, “Don’t forget about Paradis.” Just get to Paradis… Rigel couldn’t let himself die before then. He couldn’t let himself become immobile and stop like this. Just a short break…
Enyln reluctantly left him in search of a near by steam or something. They seemed to be near a small town so she made the short walk there and hopped it wasn't to destroyed.
Most houses and building seemed to be just barely standing. Others where completely destroyed. Finding one that was mostly in tacket Enyln went in, in search of an unopened water bottle.
Rigel was in the mist of coughing when he heard a twig snap. His head jerked up to view Vincent, not a few feet away, frowning at him, “You haven’t made much progess since I last saw you, and you had a horse. I mean honestly, brother, you can do better.”
Rigel mirrored his brother’s frown, “What do you want already? I’m dying, I thought you were satisfied.” Vincent let out a laugh, ooze flicking out of his mouth onto Rigel’s face.
“I just like to know what you’re up to, brother. I wanted to make sure you were on track for Paradis still,” Vincent replied, already turning on his heel.
“Why?” Rigel demanded, but his brother didn’t reply as he walked into the night. But something walked up in Vincent’s place. Meria. The horse approached cautiously, but something about the whole situation seemed off. Why was his brother helping him now?
Enyln had found a can of food and a canteen that they'd be able to use for water. when they found water that is. but the juices of the caned food would do for now.
"Hey-" Enyln stopped short at the sight of the horse being back. "When- what? How?"
“I- Um, she just walked up,” Rigel lied, staring up at the horse. It would be better not to worry her… “I guess we got really lucky, I-“ Rigel started coughing furiously again, and the sick feeling washed over him again and his guts tried to hurl themselves up yet another time.
"Wow. Guess you're lucky-" Enyln stopped short, "hey um drink this," she pried the lid off of the can and handed him the can.
Rigel reluctantly took the can, muttering, “I don’t feel very hungry, I think it’d be a waste.” He wrapped his arms around himself, chills starting to come over him as he stared at the canned food.
"You need to keep your strength up." Enyln wanted to reassure him some how, but she didn't know how. She knew how it worked. How it slowly killed you.
Rigel reluctantly ate the entire can, only coughing a little in between. He glanced at Meria when he finished, “You should probably ride in the front this time.” Because frankly, Rigel didn’t feel okay enough to be able to hold onto a horse.
"Right." Enyln smiled a joked slightly, "guess you'll have to hold on to my rock hard abs now."
Rigel laughed deeply, then finally forced himself to stand up despite the world spinning slightly. He leaned onto the horse, who looked slight perturbed. Rigel held one hand to Enyln and asked, “Want me to help you up?” Frankly, Rigel felt like he would be the one needing help up, but he tried to ignore the fact. Tried to pretend he wasn’t becoming a weight being dragged around.
"I think I can manage." Enyln smiled and pulled herself up nest she could. It looked awkward her pulling herself up sideways then wiggling to sit better, "need help?" She asked laughing at herself slightly.
“I don’t think so…” Rigel said, and prayed that he wouldn’t fall off as he hoisted himself up. He felt sloppy and sluggish, and suddenly the world was tilting and he would fell if his arm didn’t hook around Enyln’s waist the last moment. He immediately let go after he righted himself, turning red, “Sorry…”
Enyln felt her face go red hot, "no its alright. As long as you don't fall." She mumbled sheepishly. "Plus, you're really out of it of it right now." She shrugged slightly with a laugh, "now! How do I get Meria going?" Her knowledge of horses where still slightly limited.
“You, um, use your heel. Kick her in the sides, but make sure to hold on tightly to her neck,” Rigel explain, trying to get into the best position where he wouldn’t fall without needing to wrap his arms around Enyln. He coughed again, and to his shame he almost fell off again.
"Hold on!" Enyln grinned. kicking the horse in the side a bit to hard and sending it galping. Enyln gripped the mane of the horse and leaned forward a bit, "this is awesome!"
Rigel was glued to Enyln’s waist as soon as Meria started off, a quick wave of nausea washing over him, but he swallowed it and his grip tightened around Vash’s waist a little as he mumbled, “Turn left a little bit, tug lightly on the left side of her mane.”
Enyln tugged slightly to get Meria to turn, "whi knew riding a horse could be this much fun." Enyln let out a laugh of satisfaction then quickly remembered the shape Rigel was in. She pulled back slightly to get Meria to slow down and apologized, "sorry. You alright back there?"
“I’m fine,” Rigel mumbled, but his grip tightened around Enyln’s waist as he coughed over his shoulder. A shudder went through him, another wave of nausea attacking. He tensed, squishing his eyes shut and forced it to pass, holding in the contents of his stomach.
"Are you sure?" Enyln pulled the horse to a slow trot. "We could take a brake if you need?" She looked over her shoulder at him, worry etched into her face.
“We’ve barely moved, I’ll be fine,” Rigel promised, and took a deep breath, closing his eyes, “Do you mind if I lean on you?” He felt tired, but they couldn’t afford to stop. Not while Vincent was close by, Rigel couldn’t take that chance.