Paragon

Hisui Incursion [18]

PARAGON

Hisui Incursion Arc [18]

Chapter 70 : Mortal Danger

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Sabrina awoke to the snapping of fire and its warmth on her frozen fingertips. As her eyelids fluttered open, she tried to unblur her vision. All she saw now was an indistinct wash of white and gray, with orange in the middle. She moved her arms to stabilize herself and stand.

That was when she realized something was missing. A weight in her lap that should have been there.

"Yura!" Sabrina choked out, seizing forward.

"Whoa!"

Something strong caught her arms and forced her back down. The sudden shock of realizing Yura was missing seemed to have sped up the restoration of her sight and she blinked rapidly as she tried to focus on who had grabbed her. Soon, Akari's dark clothes and hair came into view, her eyes wide with concern.

"Just calm down, Yura's right here." Akari stepped aside.

Yura lay beside the fire asleep. Some sort of blanket covered her and Sabrina could only barely see her face peeking out of one side. She breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed seeing the little girl's chest rise and fall with each breath.

"She has a fever," Akari said plainly. "She should be fine, she just needs rest."

Sabrina started to get up again, but Akari pushed her back.

"You had a fever too when I found you. You're doing better than her but you're still not one hundred percent. Please, just rest for now."

Sabrina kept her gaze trained at Yura, but she let Akari coax her back.

"We found some berries you can have. And there's snow if you're thirsty."

Akari pittered around the fire and Sabrina felt a bit nauseous as she watched her move. She held out a gloved hand and Sabrina saw a few shriveled berries in her palm. But now that Akari was right in front of her, Sabrina could see her well for the first time since she awoke. She raised her hand to the girl's face.

"Your face...," Sabrina croaked.

Akari's cheeks, rosy from the cold, also sported a discolored splotch of bruises. A host of scratches also adorned her forehead, the deepest ones crusted in dried black blood.

"O-Oh, this." Akari looked away in embarrassment and touched her face. "Don't worry about this. There were a couple pokémon attacks last night. Some Sneasel and then a Dusclops. But don't worry, we were able to fight them off! And without waking you up too!" Akari pumped a proud fist.

Sabrina was about to ask who the we she kept referring to was, but it soon became obvious as Cranidos meandered back into their camp clutching a bunch of sticks and twigs in his mouth. He emptied them out into the campfire, the flame flared, devouring their new fuel hungrily.

"Ooh, thanks Cranidos!" Akari said, jogging over to pat his head.

As Sabrina watched Akari dote on her pokémon, her gaze drifted down to her hands. They were still gloved, but now she realized something else was missing. A spurt of anxiety lanced through her system as she saw her left wrist, once again bare of its limiter.

Not again.

"Where...?" Sabrina said, fumbling around.

Akari glanced at her curiously.