𝚂𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝙰𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 [𝚐.𝚒 𝚟𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚡 𝚐𝚗!𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛]

XL

Sunlight hit your eyelids, rousing you from your uncomfortable sleep. Eyes fluttering open you were blinded by the light, snapping them shut as you groaned, suddenly aware of the aches in your body.

Slowly shifting to wakefulness, you noticed the bandages wrapped around your arms and legs, and you yourself changed into a pair of light brown pants that fell to the middle of your shins and a loose white tunic.

All at once you realized, you were not at home, in clothes that were not your own, with injuries patched up. So where the hell were you?

You shoot up from the bed with a gasp, a terrible idea as your world immediately tilts on its axis, sending you into an uncomfortable state of disorientation. You flopped back down, groaning, moving your hand to cup your head as it spun.

Shuffling from your left puts you on edge, especially since your eyes still hadn't set straight and the bed felt like it was moving under you.

A touch to your shoulder causes you to jerk, and in turn makes your head spin even more, to the point where tears crawl to the corner of your eyes purely from how uncomfortable you were.

"Stop moving." A voice from the left. Strict. Surely recognizable if you didn't feel so inebriated. Gloved hands held your shoulders and brought you to a better position on your back. "You hit your head really hard when you fell. You're probably suffering an intense amount of vertigo right now."

"Thanks Doc. I couldn't tell." You grumbled petulantly, but whined pathetically when their adjustments brought a sudden wave of nausea. "Oh fuck."

You heard the person behind you huff, whether with annoyance at your attitude or mirth at your situation, you couldn't tell. "Keep still. Vertigo often goes away on its own, but if it persists for longer than I expect it to, I'll give you some medication."

"I'm sure if you didn't, you'd be breaking some kind of medical code."

"Please be quiet." The person sounded exasperated already and you couldn't stop the twitch of your lips. "Try to sleep. You might wake up feeling better."

"Sure thing, Doc."

It took you far too long to float in an excruciating circle of tilting and spinning, feeling like the bed was simultaneously far away and too close, to get to sleep. Every time you moved a centimeter, it felt like your head had fallen out of place, being swirled around in an unending Gravitron.

Eventually, you did fall asleep, hands and eyes both clenched shut.

-

The second time you woke up, the dizziness was still present but manageable, having the same effect as a headache you wouldn't bother taking Tylenol for. Your eyes had cleared as well, no longer sensitive to the blinding sun or squeezed tightly shut in a desperate attempt the control the vertigo.

You noticed the shades of green, hanging from the ceiling in pretty cloths, embroidered with small gems and little stitched animals. The wood of the hut, you supposed, was smooth but still held a comforting, earth scent. Nothing too strong or flowery to upset a sensitive nose, but enough that it made the circular hut feel lived in.

The rest of the walls and furniture were covered in papers. You couldn't quite make out the details, but if the plant samples around the messy desk were anything to go by, this person was an academic. A botanist perhaps?

Wait. Green portal, trees, doctor, plant samples, academic... were you in Sumeru? With Tighnari??

Scrambling from the bed, saying a silent prayer when you didn't feel like keeling over, you rushed to the only window in the hut, peeking from behind the thick curtains that were most likely meant to keep the heavy sun out.