You Owe Me Two

Chapter 6 - Lost In Blue

××Zypher××

"Hey Wild, you need to wake up."

Wild groaned in protest at my voice in her ear and tried to turn her small body around. It had been like this for a few days and she was steadily getting better at ignoring me in her sick, sleep state.

With a single finger, I shoved her slightly until she finally relented and opened her eyes. They were red around the edges simply due to the sickness the poison was causing.

"You need to take your medicine. Can you do that for me?" I asked softly while very carefully helping her prop herself against a giant pillow in comparison to her.

She slowly nodded her head and waited silently as I poured the sticky red liquid into the spoon. I set the spoon down on the nightstand table before looking at Wild once more.

Sometimes she would fall asleep while I was preparing the medicine and would require a second wake up call. Today was different, giving me hope that she was actually getting better. She looked drowsy but her eyes were still open and focused on me.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she mumbled, her voice sounding scratchy and painful.

"Call me when I can come back in." I picked up my bag as I left to enter the bathroom, giving her privacy to change into her other form and then back once she had successfully taken the medicine.

As I waited for her to finish, I fished the cup that matched the spoon from my bag and filled it full of water. I tested it myself before deeming it worthy enough for the little fairy.

After a mumble of words, I entered the room again and found a small Wild leaning against the pillows and the spoon empty.

"Good job," I praised. I almost thought I saw a smile stretch across her chapped lips.

I set the water cup carefully next to her on the bed and then allowed her to use my index finger to stabilize herself as she used her hands to bring water to her parched throat.

"We're gonna have to move again," I commented as I sat her back down. She nodded in understanding but I could already see her eyes closing. It didn't really matter if I told her; she wouldn't be awake for any of it.

I gathered up our items: the now emptied water cup, Wilds medicine, and my jacket. With everything secured on my person, I rounded back to the slumbering Wild. Careful hands picked her up and deposited her inside my jacket pocket, right next to my heart.

Stepping out of the hotel, I was probably too aware of the unwanted gaze of our following friend. The blue haired man from inside the apothecary's shop seems to have followed us. Though I couldn't be sure if it was simply coincidence or a scheme to abduct Wild.

He had yet to approach me in any way and there have been plenty of moments when my back was turned that he could have attacked, or tried to attack. Letting my guard down was simply not an option at this time.

I checked over my shoulder again, looking for the man in question and when I didn't spot him, sped up. Maybe I could lose him, take a path to a different town. It would surely ease my mind.

It wasn't hard to find the way out of town. It was very small and usually only used for a resting spot for tired travelers. My heart almost stopped when I spotted our follower at the exit gate.

He was all smiles and cheer, greeting each and every person that passed him by but when his gaze landed on me, it grew ever sharper. I kept my head down and continued walking.

At the gate, he stepped into my path. Purple eyes bore into my own.

"Word has gotten around that a companion of yours is ill."

It wasn't a question. It was a statement, a fact.

"I have no companion as you can see," I hissed. I gestured around myself mockingly and attempted to take another step forward. He moved into my way.

"I only wish to help." An innocent look captured his features but I could read his eyes. They weren't truthful.

"I don't recall asking for any."

"I believe I heard you say red and purple cuts? Something about poison and wild thorns." His grin grew with my frown and my anger shot into the sky. I should have killed him the second I realized he was following us.

"You are mistaken," I barked. Another futile step. I looked around, catching the eye of many people who would be witnesses if I took this man's life right now. There were too many of them.

"Am I? Do you know how wild thorn poison works? Changes the skin color around the area, fairly normal. It's only the toxins reacting to your blood," the man explained. My bored expression seemed to make him giddy.

"Fairies blood has a specialty to it that causes them to fade into dust after death making their blood much different than that of a regular wizards or vampire or any creature for that matter." It wasn't hard to see where he was going with his words and it would be better if they never left his mouth.

"I didn't come here for a history lesson," I growled, forcing my way past him and slamming our shoulders together as I did.

"Only fairies' blood makes wild thorn bush cuts turn red and purple!" He called from behind me.

I whirled around, ready to throw a physical punch and a verbal attack but he was gone. Not a single person around seemed phased, not a single one seemed interested in my existence. The only evidence of the blue follower being there were a set of footprints and my anger inducing memories.

I used magic to get further away from the town, still weary of the man's watchful gaze. Once in the cover of trees, I took a momentary break to simply check on Wild.

She was still peacefully asleep in my pocket. A breath I didn't know I was holding was released upon seeing her safe. I frowned at the feelings but instead of dwelling on them, fixed my jacket back into place and continued our journey to our next resting spot.

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Still super messy and unsure abt this
Basically rewrote this entire chapter so idk