Horizon woke up to pawsteps. She blinked as she opened her eyes. What...?
Tiny stood in front of her. She had a strange dust on her pad and Horizon growled, untrusting. They had been trying to stop the infection, and Horizon didn't want that to happen.
"Let me help you, Horizon." Tiny mewed. "The vines won't help you. When they've consumed the entire island, they'll kill you like they did Thrush. You need to stop."
"I won't. You're lying." Horizon snarled. Tiny sighed. "Fine, then, we'll do this the hard way."
Before Horizon could react, Tiny has swiped her pad across Horizon's eyes, leaving dust particles. She didn't know the healer cat could be so fast!
Horizon rubbed at her eyes, irritated. After a few moments, the calm feeling that Horizon had managed to familiarize faded, and all her emotions came back at once.
She felt the vines tighten around her and let out a yelp of pain until Tiny rubbed the powder on them. The vines slowly withered and collapsed, revealing several scars on Horizon's pelt. Horizon was shocked, staring at them. Pain filled her, both mentally and physically. "No." She whimpered. "It...it's a dream, this is all a dream. Leaf...if's a dream.."
"I'm sorry, Horizon." Tiny dipped her head. "Being infected makes you do horrible things, I suppose.
Horizon still couldn't stop the urge, wanting to grow the vines, but it was a lot less and now she was able to fight against it again. Tears rolled down her cheeks. The calm feeling was gone, and it was filled with general numbness. She didn't feel calm, or sad, or angry, she just felt numb.
What about Crystal? Horizon let out a broken sniff. "I need some time." She murmured. "I...I need time."
"You do." Tiny agreed. "You'll still have some symptoms, I think, but they'll fade."
Horizon nodded and watched as she padded out of the den. She still felt numb, and Horizon was pretty sure she was going into shock.
