Hearing her coughing uncontrollably beside him, Darius awoke in an instant. "Ro..." he whispered. Seeing her brow covered with sweat, he knew at once that his worst fear had come true---she had caught a draft from the elements. Letting out a mournful roar, his voice echoed throughout the surrounding area.
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Able to get proper rest during the night, Calista's body was able to start to properly mend. Due to her natural ability to heal faster her ankle was more or less healed although she still had to be careful not to place too much pressure on her left foot just yet or risk re-injuring it for a third time. As the morning broke and the sun started its journey across the sky, Darius' alarming roar woke the young woman with a start. "Gareth...something is wrong," Calista whispered as the mage awoke just as quickly next to her. Freeing herself from Gareth's arms, Calista moved so quickly that she practically fell out of the bed as she got tangled in the blanket and sheets.
"Easy there, love," Gareth remarked with a slight chuckle as he watched her.
"Did you not hear the cry? It sounded so mournful..." Calista yelled, her voice shrill as she raced out of the room, not caring if she re-injured her ankle again.
"Calista---your ankle!" Gareth called after the woman as he grabbed his cloak. "And take your cloak, you will freeze in just that dress!" he shouted after her but she had already left the room. Sighing to himself, Gareth grabbed her cloak as well and followed her outside.
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Making her way outside as fast as she could, Calista scanned the surrounding area for Darius. Finally spotting him under a tree, she ran up to where he sat, trying to warm Rosalina with his body. She could feel a slight pain traveling up from her ankle again, but she ignored it and pushed forward.
"What is it?" Calista asked a bit breathlessly as she winced slightly in pain.
"It's Rosalina..." Darius whispered to her, tears in his animal eyes. "I fear she is violently ill..."

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AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina started a new coughing fit, she coughed so hard and so much, though she was yet awake, her chest mucsles hurt from the force, and she couldn't take a breath before coughing again.

_________________
Where do you go when your running away,
The cost of stopping is too great to pay.
~Amanda (saw this written in a washroom stall at a movie theater)

Kneeling beside Rosalina Calista lightly placed her hand on her forehead and gritted her teeth, realizing immediately that the woman had a high fever. Shivering from the cold, Calista did not look Darius in the eyes as she bit her lip as if trying to decide what to do.
"Can you help her?" Darius asked Calista in his deep voice.
"I don't know. I will try though," she said softly, her voice shaking from cold and not fear. Coming out moments later, Gareth threw Calista's cloak around her shoulders, his sharp eyes catching her slight shivering. "Next time, mind me when I tell you to do something," he whispered in her ear. Even though she was cold, Calista removed the cloak and wrapped it around Rosalina, thinking that she needed it more.
Sighing to himself, Gareth merely shook his head. Even though he admired her caring spirit, he could not help but be frustrated with Calista all the same. He did not want her to become ill as well. Taking off his own cloak, he draped it over her shoulders.
"What about-?" she started to ask but Gareth put a finger to her lips to silence her.
"I'll be all right. You need it more than I do," Gareth whispered to her.
"Thank you," Calista whispered as she wrapped Gareth's cloak around her tighter. "We need to get Rosalina inside," she whispered.
Nodding, Gareth gently picked the woman up and headed back into the house where he laid her down on the guest bed.
"Let's go," Calista told Darius without looking at him. "And don't worry about father," she muttered, clearly unhappy at the entire situation as she walked angrily into the house with Darius following behind her.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina shivered as she struggled to breath before she coughed again.

_________________
Where do you go when your running away,
The cost of stopping is too great to pay.
~Amanda (saw this written in a washroom stall at a movie theater)

Grabbing a pot, Gareth set it down in the room before drawing water from the well and starting a fire in the fireplace. "Her cold is much more severe this time," Gareth remarked sadly. "I am going to need to fetch two herbs to cure her," he said softly.
Hearing his words, Calista knew instantly on what two herbs he was referring too. "But one of them is leagues away!" Calista exclaimed. "What if you don't get back in time?" she whispered.
"I will do my best," Gareth remarked. "Try to keep her stable until I get back."
"Wait," Calista told the mage softly. "Please find my father, while I bring in some herbs for her cough. I have an idea," she whispered.
Nodding at her Gareth left to find Daniel while Calista gathered the herbs from her room. Quickly crushing them she poured some of the water in a pot before tossing in the leaves and stirring the broth with a ladle. When she was finished, she walked over to the bed and gently raised Rosalina's head. "Rosalina, try and drink this," Calista whispered to the woman soothingly. "It will help to ease your cough."

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina barley woke. She moaned, her eyes glazed, she was completly unware of what was going on. As soon as the drink came to her lips, Rosalina drank, finishing the cup in a coughing fit that shook her whole body.

_________________
Where do you go when your running away,
The cost of stopping is too great to pay.
~Amanda (saw this written in a washroom stall at a movie theater)

Biting her lip at Rosalina's steady decline, Calista made her way back to her room and brought in her remaining herbs to help her cold. After grabbing another pot, she then poured in some more of the water before crushing the herbs and warming it over the fire.
------------------------------------------------------------
"What on earth is he doing here?" Daniel thundered as he came into the guestroom.
"Enough father!" Calista yelled back. "He stays inside. Rosalina is going to need all the help she can get."
"What's your idea?" Gareth asked her, praying it wasn't going to be what he was thinking.
"We split up," Calista said softly. "It will be faster if we two search. Father will have to care for Rosalina while we are away."
"Absolutely not. Blizzards in the region can come without warning. It's too dangerous."
"And Rosalina is deathly ill because of our doing. I will not sit by and just watch her get worse!"
Meanwhile, as the two argued, Darius just walked over to the bed and rested his great head upon it, wishing he could help her somehow.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina shivered as she burned with fever. Her breathing was ragged, and one could hear the phlem building in her chest. And when she coughed, it made it even harder for her to breath.

_________________
Where do you go when your running away,
The cost of stopping is too great to pay.
~Amanda (saw this written in a washroom stall at a movie theater)

"You won't be able to get back in time if you have to go for both," Calista told Gareth quietly as she continued to mix the second herbal drink. "Father give this to Rosalina," the young woman remarked as she poured the second broth in another cup. Taking the vessel from her, Daniel walked over to the bed and placed the cup at Rosalina's lips, saying nothing as he did so.
Sighing to himself, Gareth knew that he was just wasting valuable time over this pointless squabble.
"All right, go after the Taitanium. It's closer," Gareth remarked. "And take your cloak," he added a bit sternly.
Picking up the mage's cloak that had fallen on the ground while she was working, Calista handed the article to him. "And you had better take yours," she said softly.
Nodding, Gareth allowed his gaze to linger upon her for a second longer, not wanting their parting to end on an argument. "I love you," he whispered to her.
"I love you too," Calista whispered back as she gave him a small smile.
"Be safe," he added as he lightly caressed her cheek.
"Likewise," Calista remarked quietly as the mage left. Grabbing some blankets, Calista gently wrapped Rosalina in them before grabbing her cloak and leaving the room.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina drank the broth. Once it was gone she coughed again, bringing up phlem that was tinted with blood.

_________________
Where do you go when your running away,
The cost of stopping is too great to pay.
~Amanda (saw this written in a washroom stall at a movie theater)

Seeing the phlegm tinted with blood caused Darius' heart to race. Yet in his animal form, he could do little to help her. "Hold on, love," he whispered to her. "Gareth and Calista are going to bring you help." Turning his beastly eyes upon Daniel, Darius could only glare at the old man. "I hope you are satisfied," he growled. "Rosalina could be dying because of your foolishness," he snarled baring his teeth.
------------------------------------------------------------
Mounting Bella, Calista raced to the deep woods just beyond the village---the closest home of the Taitanium. Once she arrived, she dismounted from the sleek mare and kneeling on the ground began to harvest the root of the Taitanium plant.
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Meanwhile, Gareth flew off in the opposite direction as swiftly as the wind would allow him, having to cover a great distance to get the root of the Algarian plant.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina coughed some more, but it wasn't as bad. But each cough made it harder for her to breath as the phlem that didn't come out stayed in her throat.

_________________
Where do you go when your running away,
The cost of stopping is too great to pay.
~Amanda (saw this written in a washroom stall at a movie theater)

Gazing at Rosalina in concern, Darius did not know what to do. He didn't know which herbal potion to give her to clear the phlegm from her throat and in his animal form, he really couldn't do much to help her. Never before did he recall feeling as powerless as he did now. Hurry back, he thought, wishing he could will Gareth and Calista to return.
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Grabbing several roots, Calista rose to her feet and started to walk toward her mare when a loud growling sound came from somewhere behind them. Started, Bella let out a whinny of alarm before bolting through the wooded path.
"Bella, wait!" Calista cried, but it was no use. The mare was already gone. Shivering as a cold breeze picked up, Calista wrapped her cloak about her all the tighter and she glanced around her nervously as the foreboding trees that encompassed her on all sides. "Oh Gareth..." she whispered with tears in her eyes. "I wish I listened to you..." she murmured as she took one tentative step forward and began the long lonely walk back to her home.
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Flying on the wind, Gareth could feel the chill in the air deepened. Be safe, Calista, he thought to himself, an inexplicable sense of dread coming over him.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina coughed harder. Her phlem carried more blood. But the coughing wasn't enoug. She stared gasping, trying to breath. The phlem had coated her throat, and block her air. She couldn't breath.

_________________
Where do you go when your running away,
The cost of stopping is too great to pay.
~Amanda (saw this written in a washroom stall at a movie theater)

Seeing Rosalina struggle to breath caused Darius to grow all the more frantic. "She's choking!" he cried out to Daniel. "Can't you help her dislodge the phlegm?" he questioned.
"How?" Daniel asked.
"You're hopeless," Darius growled, mentally cursing both Daniel and Gareth---one for forcing him outside and the other for trapping him in this form.
------------------------------------------------------------
The cold winds started increase in their intensity and the temperatures continued to drop until Calista found herself trapped in a whirlwind of white. Shivering violently, Calista wrapped her cloak around her tighter and lowered her head to shield her face from the raging winds and peltering snow.
"Gareth!" she cried out instinctively though he was nowhere near her. "Help!" she screamed though her voice was enveloped in the swirling wind. Placing one foot hesitantly in front of the other, she continued to stumble forward, seeing nothing in front of her but swirling white flecks as she struggled to maintain her balance against the raging frigid winds.
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Finally coming upon the plant dozens of leagues away and in another region from their home, Gareth knelt down and quickly harvested several roots, relieved that so far there had been no sign of a blizzard. Calista should have returned by now, he thought to himself as he rose to his feet and flew back home on the wind. Once I return, the broth can be prepared, he told himself, hoping that everything would be all right.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina tried to breath, her eyes were open, but didn't see, as she started turning red, then purple.

_________________
Where do you go when your running away,
The cost of stopping is too great to pay.
~Amanda (saw this written in a washroom stall at a movie theater)