Hold Me When I'm Here

Bitter Medicine

[A/N: A sandstorm strikes forcing the group to seek shelter in some old ruins in the desert. Ajax's starting to show some troubling signs of getting worse. Also enjoy some OST to go with this chapter. Once I start writing Sumeru Arc for ChiLumi I will be using a lot of music from shows like FMA, Fairy Tail, and Magi as some examples. This has to do with Sumeru being an arid nation with jungle but also takes heavy themes of knowledge and from the Middle Eastern side of the real world.]

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"Hurry, this way!"

Quickly small group rushed into the safety and shelter underground of the old ruins they had been so fortunate to stumble across. Close at their heels the howling winds had stirred up a huge racing cloud of dust and sand. Lumine and Aloy had to race back behind them to grab Ajax and supported him inside to safety. Just barely managing to get out in the nick of time as the coughed from the dust irritating their lungs.

"T-That was way too close."huffed Lumine.

"Just what the hell was that? It was almost like the blizzards back in Snezhnaya."coughed Ajax as he leaned against a wall with faded Sumeru hieroglyphs carved into it. Stripes of faded teals and earthy tones just barely noticeable in the darkness as Aloy lit up some torches with some flint she had stored away in her pouch. It had been the dawn of the next day on their journey. They had spent all night on the move, stopping only when they had no choice to lest they all collapsed from exhaustion. Ajax though was now starting to really struggle to see straight as he hid his eyes and allowed himself to slide down to the cold stone, sandy floor. 

"That was a sandstorm. They often strike without warning like that and are a pain in the ass to try and get through if you're unlucky to get trapped in it."Aloy explained with a sigh. "I'm afraid until it blows over we are stuck here."

"Seriously!?"the trio yelped in dismay. 

Lumine had seen sandstorms before in her travels with her brother. They were very dangerous and could easily bury you alive or worse. They probably to Ajax made the frigid storms back home seem tame. Ajax though had curled up to hide his face in his knees as he began to cough and wheeze. His body was trembling and poking out from his sleeve she could see something very troubling. Lumine hurried over to his side just before he began to slump over breathing heavily. He had once more gotten even more pale and drenched in sweat. "Ajax!"

Aloy and Paimon hurried over to where Lumine held him close desperately trying to get his attention. But he looked to be in far too much agony to respond as he looked through half lidded hazy eyes. Aloy while worried remained composed and forced open his shirt to reveal the ominous vine-like rash. Like a snake it had been creeping and slithering to make its way across his body and had now reached his left shoulder and part of his back. Seeing this Lumine and Paimon were terrified for it meant the poison was getting worse and spreading. The way he was shivering and his shaky breaths was making Paimon panic quite loudly.

"Shut up, Paimon! You are not helping the situation right now."snapped Aloy as she finished examining their comrade. Once more she ran a scan and hissed quickly starting to dig through her belongings as Paimon shut her mouth and hid behind Lumine. Aloy could get very scary when upset.

"L-Lu...Lumi...it hurts..."game his raspy, choking gasp as Aloy came back to their sides.

"I know Ajax, I know but you gotta fight it. You're not gonna let this kick your ass are yeah?"Lumine urged taking his hand as his head rested against her shoulder. She could literally feel him burning up. His fever must have gotten higher with that knowledge combined with Aloy's reaction as she started making some kind of concoction with her herbs into some kind of tonic. Mixing it with what seemed to be vodka or some other alcoholic drink and poured it into a bottle. Aloy then hurried back handed the odd liquid to Lumine as Ajax looked in a confused daze before letting out a mix between a cough and a whimper. 

"What is this?"Lumine asked quickly.

"No time for that, Lumine. Just get him to take it right now!"Aloy urged sharply. She was not making any compromises right now. Not with a fever spiking like this. Lumine though understood and with Aloy's help managed to snap him out of his haze. 

"Ajax, look at me. I know it hurts but we need to take this."Lumine pleaded.

"Saying it 'hurts' is...is an...understatement, Ojou-chan."he wheezed. He felt like got ran over by a one of those darn ruin robots. That's how bad everything ached and how his head had graduated to feeling like it would split open. 

"Just take it, I promise it'll help."Lumine once more pleaded as Ajax managed to sit back up. Though he was shaking from his agony and the effort as he sat beside her slouched over.

"Careful, Lumi...you're making...a -a lot of promises..."he huffed.

"Just take it you stubborn adrenaline idiot!"Lumine finally snapped, tears in her eyes.

Ajax was surprised by her out burst but the tears were what did him in. With another shaking breath he grabbed the bottle with an unsteady hand and chugged it down. He instantly wanted to gag and spit it out but the girls wouldn't permit it. So down the gullet it went until not even a drop remained. "Ugh...what in the Abyss was that Celestia forsaken brew!?"he choked out in disgust.

"It may taste terrible but it's going to help your fever and that headache. Rost used to give it to me all the time growing up. Though I had to...improvise a little, this world doesn't have all the same herbs mine did."Aloy explained.

"Hn...whatever it was it should be outlawed!"groaned Ajax as he he started to sway a bit. It took a moment but he realized that medicine had defiantly used some kind of wine or whatever. Not just any either, this was the stuff his mother liked. He wasn't able to resist as he felt the effects of the medicine kick in as Lumine gently forced him to lie down as she covered his eyes with her hand. "I don't feel so hot....so tired..."

"Get some sleep, we'll be stuck here because of the storm anyways."she soothed bending down to kiss his cheek. Whatever the medicine Aloy made did to him Lumine noticed it had worked fast and hard. He looked maybe even a tiny bit drunk on top of it all. Normally such a scene would have made her laugh but she was more concerned about him right now.

"Hm...fine...."pouted Ajax. However some mischief took hold and he moved so his head was on her lap again. This was becoming his favorite way to relax and it was his spot, nobody else's to have. Best of all Lumine hadn't protested at all lately when he tried. It did not take long for him to actually fall deep into slumber, eased into it by Lumine's gentle hand stroking his hair. Lumine though just hoped the sandstorm would not last too long. From experience there were cases that sandstorms could last anywhere from hours to weeks. Thankfully some higher entity must have shown pity on the small group for the storm only last a few short hours. 

However by the time it did when Ajax woke up, the girls had to support and guide him along as the scorching sun began to set giving rise to Sumeru's frigid arid nights. But they had to keep pressing on, they were in for yet another night with little to no sleep. Along the way they made a brief stop at spotting a familiar sight of a statue of the seven, allowing the chains on Lumine's power to break even further. Lumine had acquired the power over Dendro but her partner was growing weaker. They still had another day's journey before they made it to the capital and the academia. But Lumine hoped and prayed to whomever or whatever would hear her silent wish, that Ajax would not loose the most important battle he has faced yet.

To Be Continued...