Glass or Diamond: Fairy's Wish

Episode 39: The Oasis of Dark Secrets

The Demon Ash plague is a terrifying curse of a disease consuming a small section of the great forest... for now. Though its spread seems to be concentrated to a relatively small area, it seems to be extremely infectious, having brought the legendary hero, Murtoa of Lakia, low with but a mere scratch to his skin from an infected wolf.

Left to fester, the disease seems to cause an intense increase in aggression in the infected subject, as well as remove all of its pesky vulnerabilities from being alive. Even light and void magic prove ineffective against the fully-infected creatures, and only dismembering them could stop them in their tracks. Due to the failures of magic to effect the monsters, it indicates they aren't ethereal monsters, such as undead or phantoms. However, they also are immune to a fairy's wish, supposedly, meaning that the plague is the most unstoppable ailment anyone has ever encountered.

Granted, Lykha, the young fairy, has an extremely limited experience base to compare to.

Regardless, she's prepared to do just about anything to recover her first non-fairy friend, including, in her emotional reaction, spend her wish before she was stopped by the villagers of the nearby village. She regrets losing so much control of herself, as it's strictly forbidden for her to ever use her wish, and she would feel nothing but regret if she used it, even for Murtoa. She hopes he would understand, since he also tried to stop her from using her wish.

Presently, Lykha is watching with slight embarrassment and disgust as Maerin mixes vials of biocide capable of killing the infectious material propagating the plague itself. She thinks, unable to verify without proper equipment, that the infectious material is some kind of mold or fungal spore that's causing the plague. Unfortunately, the infection already has a grip on Murtoa, and Maerin is skeptical that it's safe for him to ingest the concoction.

And, Lykha is prepared to die before she allows him to try.

Thankfully, they have time -hopefully, six more days-, and there is an oasis in the middle of the infected area that seems to have been spared being massively contaminated by spores of the plague. Lykha has strong hope that there is a reason the oasis exists; something that won't require her to do something embarrassing.

The younger fairy asks her senior, "You're sure this will work?"

Maerin hiccups, nodding as she caps one of the vials she prepared. "It'll keep any *hic* ugh, any of those monsters from thinkin' twice about nibblin' on mah wings and toes." She laughs a little deliriously, but no less manages to continue her work.

I wonder if something was in the water. Maerin seems to have caught the crazy.

The inebriated fairy has to rest her forehead on the vial stand she has nearby, taking a breather from becoming dizzy. She does her best to balance herself and keep working. She starts unscrewing her flask's lid, and Lykha sighs. She hovers over to Maerin, urging, "Come, now, Maerin. I think you've had enough."

Suddenly, the older fairy sniffles, and Lykha looks down at her senior. Maerin is deteriorating into tears, and Lykha quickly drops to her knees, hugging Maerin. "Shhh, it's okay..."

"No it's not... I... I thought for once..." She sniffles, adding, "I thought for once... I wouldn't be... I could be..."

"Shhh," Lykha pets Maerin's head. She has a pretty good idea what specifically is eating at Maerin, as it's the same reason she so quickly snapped back to drinking.

The mature fairy whimpers, "I thought I could... finally be... proud again..."

"You can, Maerin. You should be immensely proud. You're so brave and smart, even when you don't have to be. You work hard..."