Gloria sighed softly. Night had fallen over the field she was laying in hours ago, yet she had a hard time falling asleep. She shivered, a chill finding a path down her spine. She thought about the cause for a moment. It wasn't from the cold grass she was laying on. Sure, the armor she wore left her midriff exposed, but that wasn't normally a problem. Considering some of the places she and her sister often slept during their cross-country travels, a grassy field was comparable to a room at a nice inn. Besides, the sheet that covered most of her body (the way it was spread out kept it from extending more than an inch or two below her knees) kept her warm enough to comfortably sleep. If she could, that was.
The slight breeze blowing through the area had nothing to do with the feeling, either. The lightly moving wind tickled at her exposed legs, which did send a chill through her. Again, this wasn't a typical issue. It felt better to Gloria than the rocks or dead grass that usually scratched at her. A little grass itchiness was much more welcome than waking up to cuts and scrapes from simply rolling over in her sleep.
No, the cold feeling came from below the sheet, off to her left. Her sister, Gwen, had shifted in her sleep. The younger sister had no problems adjusting to the conditions around them, though if Gloria were to be honest, that wasn't much of a surprise. The real surprise of the situation was how tightly Gwen had curled herself under the sheet. She reached over and uncovered Gwen just enough to expose her covered arm, then slightly rolled up the sleeve. She looked at the set of scars on the arm. They served as a reminder of the day Gwen had been cursed.
Ever since the attack in the Dreadlands in which Gwen was inflicted with Shadow Plague, she had seemingly become a different person. Sure, before then Gwen was what Gloria would've called a "stick in the mud," but other than the times where the two were either sparring or practicing medicine, Gloria was able to coax a laugh out of her every now and then.
Now? Now it was like Gwen would only when she was asleep. Just like she was now. Gloria watched the expression of her sister as she slumbered. During her waking hours, Gwen appeared to be in a constant state of pain and depression. The worst times were when she was on the edge of completely losing her slowly slipping sanity.
Gloria glanced at a medical bag that sat away from the sisters, just within arm's reach. There were times when Gwen had nightmares that may as well have been real. She would wake up screaming and clawing at anything around her. Sometimes, Gloria would be a victim to the nightmares. She'd quickly learned to keep the medical supplies within easy reach, just in case bandages and a flash of specialty medicine were needed in a hurry.
Right now, though, it didn't seem like any of it was necessary. Gloria smiled to herself slightly. The stress that came with traveling across a country with a partner that could lose herself to darkness at any second seemed worth every second when, even for as little as a moment, said partner could find peace. She reached her arm over and embraced her sister. The chill returned; a natural side effect of the Shadow Plague's infliction on Gwen was the natural cooling of her body and the turning of her skin to a sickly blue. That didn't bother her, though. She quickly adjusted to the cold, as she usually did, and pulled herself closer to her sister. Though not waking, Gwen reflexively curled in closer to the warmth.
Gloria closed her eyes and began to doze off. She'd take the risk of Gwen having another nightmare.
Someday, Gwen would find whatever it was she was looking for. Someday, Gloria would find a way to cure her sister.