The next two weeks of travel were the hardest part of the trek so far, and they made little headway. The mountains, valleys, and canyons did offer more protection, as they had thought they would, but they were far out of the way and extended the trip by several days. Thankfully, the group was keeping pace, and no one had fallen behind; however, the longer than anticipated travel across the desert was taking its toll on the non-troll members of the group. Trolls didn't need excessive amounts water, and while Jim did not need as much water anymore, he couldn't go forever without it. Merlin's magic was enough to get him through the worst of it; he was run-down, but otherwise fine. Claire, on the other hand, was not faring nearly as well, especially in the last day.
"What can I do?" Jim begged his mate, holding her hair out of her face as she heaved up what little contents were in her stomach onto the dusty ground. He pressed his hand to her forehead and let out a distressed whine. Her skin was dry and hot, and he knew that she must have been severely dehydrated. "Claire..."
Claire merely heaved again, retching so hard that her whole body convulsed in on itself. When nothing came up, despite her convulsions, Jim's heart pounded fiercely with terror.
"Yer a wizard!" Jim heard NotEnrique growling behind him, and he glanced back briefly to see Merlin glaring down at the little troll. "Can't ya cast a spell or somethin'?!"
"I am, indeed, a wizard, little imp," Merlin replied, his voice dismissive. Jim had to swallow against the growl building in his chest. "I am not a healer."
"Surely, there must be something you can do, Merlin?" Blinky's voice questioned in concern. Claire heaved again and Jim leaned into her, nuzzling her neck in worry. "The poor girl cannot go on like this."
"She needs water," Merlin replied calmly.
"She can't keep it down!" Jim growled over his shoulder. The old man may have had his moments of compassion, but they were few and far between.
"Then she needs something to ease her nausea first," was the bored response.
"You gotta a spell or potion or somethin' for that?"
"I told you: I am not a healer!"
"My boy," Blinky came to Jim's side, placing one of his hands on his head, between his horns, and another hand gently rubbed Claire's back as she continued to retch. Jim looked up at his father, scared. "Perhaps you should call your mother and ask for her expertise?"
Jim glanced away, toward Claire's red face, and he let out a shaky sigh. He leant down to nuzzle her neck in worry again. "Claire...? I don't know what else to do."
Claire gasped for breath, turning her head to offer him a weak nuzzle in return. "O-okay."
Jim pressed his lips to her burning forehead before standing. NotEnrique took his place, holding Claire's hair back for her and Blinky rubbed her back soothingly. Jim looked up, gauging the position of the setting sun. With an anxious growl, he scaled the walls of the canyon that they were in, staying in the shade. He couldn't make it to the top because of the sun, but he managed to get close enough that his phone could pick up a decent signal. Heart pounding, Jim settled himself down on a thin ledge and attempted to find his mother's contact button. His hands were shaking so bad that it took him three tries before he managed it.
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon..." he mumbled into the receiver, looking down over his pack in the valley below as the phone rang. His eyes found Claire off to the side, still on her hands and knees, heaving. "Pick up, Mom..."
"Ah, Young Atlas! How is the grand exodus going?"
"Is Mom there?" Jim asked, not bothering with formalities.
