Servitude: The Hydrangea Chapters

Chp 10: The Expedition for Remains

For a being that cannot sleep, time was a difficult thing to trace. It only constantly moves, determined by the position of the sun. But when lingering beneath the ground, it was almost unbearable. Marlina decided to remain in the room Tessa had left her in for the night, due to not wanting to worry anyone if they were to check the room and find her gone. There was also that uncertainty if it was still nighttime and may encounter Aurea, and risk more of her body crumbling away. On top of pondering over everything that had happened yesterday, she was also attempting to figure out how to restore her form. It was frustrating that she had no clue how to do so. Is there even a way? If there was none, if what was left of her was all she had, what would become of her if all of her was gone? 

Closing her eyes, she'd take several moments to recollect herself. "They might have a way... Hopefully." Sitting up from the bed, she would hear the rattle of the seed in her foot as she shifted. Lifting and turning her leg, she'd let the seed fall from one of her gaps onto the bed. Sitting cross-legged on the bed, she would stare at the seed for minutes, like waiting for it to answer this dilemma. But as always, nothing. "Of all the things that could have been told, why didn't you tell me how to survive like this? In this strange body?" Still nothing. 

In her time alone, before a storm uprooted it, the flower didn't seem to have much purpose. The only thing it did was bloom when she touched it, allowing her to climb into its center. The first time she'd done this, it closed over her and sank her to unconsciousness. That could be described as the only time that Marlina has 'slept' if being in a state of utter nothingness was what sleep was like for others. She attempted to fight this occurrence multiple times but to no avail. Eventually, it would open and she'd awaken once more at various intervals. The first couple of times was to see if the voice would speak again, but never again. When she described the flower to Urushians, they gave the same expressions as Elek and Tessa. Despite it seeming to have little use, she wasn't against attempting to see if regrowing the flower would help with her physical form. 

Marlina would then hear footsteps outside the door, followed by a knock. She pushed the seed back into her leg, then stood from the bed. After a moment, the door opened, and Elek slowly peeked into the room. He was surprised and unnerved to see Marlina standing there, odder when Marlina would bow to him in greeting. Even more so with her current physical condition, especially her absent hands. "Good morning, Sir Elek."

Opening the door fully, Elek steps into the room. From the goggles resting on his head to the pair of sheathed knives at his lower back, he might have intended to head out into the wastes. However, Marlina had to admit that his attire bore color, as one wouldn't expect when traveling the desert. A loose-fitting tunic of a vibrant teal, a leather brace across his waist with straps that looped over his shoulder, and long gauntlets reaching to the cuffs of the tunic. The leather pants were bulky at his legs, his boots reached below his knees. The blades at his back had a curved shape and an odd handle designed for a more controlled grip when handling them. Marlina did recognize Tessa's red knitted scarf, unsure why Elek had it.  "Good morning Marlina. Were you... standing in that spot all night?" That might have been too direct of a question. But if she stood there the entire night, that would be a common trait of a construct. Place itself in some state of stasis until it's needed. 

"I was lying in bed. I had just stood up when you knocked so that I may greet you properly."

Now this raises more questions. He distinctly remembered her mentioning yesterday about not wasting a bed on her, that she didn't require rest. "Did you sleep at all?"

Marlina shakes her head. "I don't require sleep. But I didn't want to wander and worry you or Miss Tessa. Is it morning? It's troublesome to tell the time down here."

It was getting harder and harder for Elek to see this woman like Tessa did. She had stayed up most of the night trying to figure out how to restore Marlina's hollow body. Unfortunately, all she had were Urushian medical books that didn't delve into life forms like Marlina. Regardless, she spent hours seeing if there was a possibility. Elek had to coax her to bed so she wasn't up all night and was quiet when leaving their room so she could keep sleeping. If Marlina was a person like Tessa believes, would any normal person be so willing to stay in a small room, lying awake the entire time, just waiting for the morning? Come to think of it, it sounds a bit like incarceration. "Pardon if there was a misunderstanding. You could have left the room if you wanted. We'd be more concerned if you went back into the wastes, even if the hekoska won't return for a while." With her now worsened condition, she may end up staying here until they discover how to heal her. She did insist that she earn her keep in any way she could for rescuing her. "With that being said, I wanted to propose you accompany me to retrace your steps and gather those remains you spoke about yesterday. That is if you can remember where you had made their graves."

With a glint in her eye, she had almost forgotten about them. Yesterday, when Elek mentioned what he does with the skeletons, it lingered in her thoughts. Her immediate thought was to go and retrieve them as soon as possible. But it seems everything that had happened had the thought slip her mind. "I would be more than happy to help. I used what I had found nearby to mark them. When shall we leave? I am ready at any time."

Certainly eager. It was comforting that she seemed enamored by the service he provides, which wasn't common. Most find it morbid, plenty find it strange. Despite that, the gratitude given when remains are returned to their rightful home is quite gratifying. "I must gather some supplies, tied to my next few questions. Do you eat or drink? Do you think that you will be hurt by the desert heat in your condition? And how long were you in the desert before we found you?"

Marlina answers the first question with a shake of her head. The second she had to ponder for a moment. "It is difficult to say. Last night when my petals were dying, it was because of Aurea's cold. Yet I've been in cold places and snow before, and nothing had happened then. I was out in the desert for 5 days and 4 nights continuously, and I saw no signs of damage. Not until I was swallowed. I'm not sure if I will be damaged by it now due to my condition, so perhaps... Shall I stay behind and not risk it?" From the look on her face, it was clear she was quite disappointed with the idea of staying behind. Seems this current predicament with her form was just as infuriating to her as it was to them. Though she was more knowledgable about how her body worked than them, it seemed she was learning as she went just like they were. While Elek pondered this, Marlina would wait for his answer, hoping that he had some idea to allow her to come with.

"To keep us from overheating while in the wastes, we usually take a block of Aurea's ice into our sleds. It's usually contained in a crate, but its chill radiates enough to make traveling tolerable longer than if we didn't have it. The heat of the wastes should prevent the ice from harming you, and vice versa. Perhaps if we covered you in a cloak and closely monitored you, just in case?"

Marlina's eyes lit up, eager to go. "I had gone a strictly straight path through the desert so I would not be lost, so as long as we keep to that path as much as possible, finding those skeletons should be relatively easy."