Flagoon had a fever in the morning- but at least he'd woken up- quite confused as to where he was until Sylphiel entered. The Holy Tree said nothing as he watched his shrine maiden, eyes dull and emotionless, place her hand against his cheek, then her wrist to his forehead. Then, without a word, she turned and left the room. He shifted in bed, body aching and uncomfortably hot. Just as he'd said before, humans got sick too easily, and if he'd had a choice, he would have just stayed a tree, but there was nothing left of his old body. Phibrizzo had made sure of that.

Sylphiel returned a short time later with a tray. A bowl of something steaming, a spoon, and a familiar glass bottle were on said tray. Placing her burden on the night table, she helped Flagoon to sit up and tucked pillows behind him before she took the bottle off the tray and set it aside before placing the tray on his lap.

Taking a breath, Flagoon spoke, "You are angry," he stated, identifying the emotion he could feel feeding back to him from their link. He sighed, "I suppose he was right, I shouldn't have told you about him. Forgive me, my shrine maiden."

"Flagoon..." Sylphiel said softly, identifying the speaker by the lack of expression or emotion in his voice. "I can't tell you to leave, not while I'm your shrine maiden... your only shrine maiden. But... I won't speak to Him. Tell him that. I won't ever speak to him."

His eyes fell half-lidded and Flagoon sighed, "I would, if he hadn't already cut himself off from me. He was rather upset. Forgive me, but I could not understand why until quite some time after he stopped speaking to me. He... apparently wanted to ...hmm... Take things slow with you, and tell you sometime later, when you were more inclined to forgive him. He wished to make it up to you, though I don't believe he had any plans of how he would do that."

Lifting her eyes, Sylphiel's hands knotted in her lap, twisting the edge of the dark blue tunic she wore today. It was still raining outside, and bitterly cold, leaving the air slightly chill in the house despite her efforts to keep it warm. "So he isn't speaking to you?" she asked, just to make sure.

"No. He informed me last night that..." Flagoon cleared his throat and partially paraphrased, "I was to find my own fucking way out of that mess, because I was too damn slow witted to heed his advice." He looked towards Sylphiel once more, "He hasn't spoken since, and has shut himself away completely. I could force my way in, but there is no point in doing so. ...You came out into the storm after me." He lowered his eyes, actually blushing slightly. "I had not intended to cause you that much trouble."

Shaking her head, Sylphiel smoothed her shirt. "No, Flagoon... I shouldn't have thrown you out into a storm like that. I should have remembered that you were... were afraid of lightning."

Pursing his lips, Flagoon admitted, "Yes. And it was far more terrifying while occupying such a small body. I do not remember... what happened?"

"Eat," Sylphiel urged, reaching over to place the spoon in his hand. He held it clumsily, obviously completely out of his depth of abilities as he dropped it repeatedly. "A tree broke and fell on you. You were knocked out," she explained and took the spoon back from him and picked up the bowl, feeding him herself. "You weren't hurt much, but nearly drowned in a puddle."

He ate in silence for a long moment, then replied, "Lungs... inconvenient," Flagoon sighed, "Just as these emotions are; complicating perfectly simple situations."

Sylphiel's lips pressed together into a hard line, a hurt expression in her eyes. Flagoon looked towards her, then lifted a hand to touch her face. "Do not look at me like that," he stated. "I simply ... cannot understand these things. Being a tree is far simpler an existence, and I am not as you say 'outgoing' or 'curious'. This was necessary for my survival, however, I do not have to like it."

A sigh, and Sylphiel's expression relaxed, she lowered her eyes, then began feeding him again. "It would have been a lot harder to take care of you if... if you hadn't had... someone natively human, though I would have chosen someone a bit more human than Him."

Flagoon was prevented from replying before the bowl was empty, and Sylphiel set the tray and bowl aside and took up the bottle, shook it thoroughly, then carefully measured a spoonful of the chalky liquid. "This won't taste very pleasant," she warned needlessly, but Flagoon took it anyway, and swallowed the spoonful that followed as well, and merely gagged. "I don't suggest playing in the rain anymore," Sylphiel added, "It's not good for you."

"I will keep that in mind," Flagoon replied, blandly as ever. He hadn't gotten the weak joke.

Sighing, Sylphiel gave up and stood, collecting the things she'd brought with her back onto the tray. "I will come if you need me," she told him and left the room, leaving the door open so that the heat from the fireplace downstairs could get into his room. Flagoon sighed as well and slid back down into the bed, his hair grimy and uncomfortable, but he was far too tired to get up and go take a bath. Besides, stairs... were a lot more difficult to navigate than they looked and Flagoon doubted he could fine-tune his balance the way his human host could.

Unfortunately, Flagoon had to admit that he needed to do something about that little situation. His human did indeed have the ability to stay in that corner forever, and was quite inclined to do so, even if Flagoon could still feel the backwash from his human's emotions, and they were quite uncomfortable.

However, Flagoon had no current idea of how to draw his human out of that hole he'd dug and buried himself in. Flagoon needed his human! Otherwise the Holy Tree could not properly function in this world, which he must be able to do to complete his task. Perhaps he would ask Sylphiel for advice... except, she had already told him that she would not speak to Flagoon's human. Thus, was the tree back at square one and beginning to realize that perhaps he had made a grave mistake when he chose to ignore his human's advice. Let this be a lesson, then, Flagoon decided. Next time his human said not to say something, he would remain quiet, if there ever was a next time.

Closing his eyes, Flagoon felt as if he were sinking into slowly rocking waves, the world had been wavering in his vision in time with the perceived motion. Was this supposed to happen? Flagoon didn't know, but the chance to ask his shrine maiden was taken from him as all thoughts slipped into the darkness of sleep.

Rain was still pattering on the windows at midday and Sylphiel was forced to hang the wash in the kitchen to dry, Lina and Gourry still borrowing clothes for the day. Lina looked adorable in one of Sylphiel's older dresses, and the shrine maiden refrained from telling Lina that the last time she'd worn it was when she was twelve. Lina liked the dress, and so Sylphiel made a gift of it. Gourry didn't fit Eruk's clothes any better than Flagoon did, but at least the pants weren't quite as short on him, but that was made up by the fact that his shoulders were much wider and threatened to split the seams of the sleeves.

Lina and Gourry were in the living room, the swordsman lounging on the floor and the sorceress sprawled on the couch. As for Sylphiel... she just cleaned up the mud from the night before, and washed dishes, and did laundry, and dusted. She worked hard at keeping her mind too occupied to think, because whenever she gave herself a moment to do so, Sylphiel's thoughts returned to what Flagoon had said.

However, she eventually found an end to the housework and cursed herself for being so cleanly that there was very little to do to put the place back to rights. Coming into the living room, Sylphiel sat down on the end of the couch near Lina's bare feet, staring at the fire blankly while her mind wandered.

So... Rezo wasn't talking to Flagoon. Rezo had abandoned Flagoon to handle an unfamiliar form all on his own. Sylphiel's lips pulled down at the corners. Rezo was throwing a hissyfit, that was what he was doing, pouting in a corner when he didn't get his way... except Flagoon was incapable of understanding the difficulties in any interaction between herself and Rezo... and...Rezo had been right in that she would have gladly gone on, not knowing that he existed, in effect unconditionally giving her Flagoon back. Admittedly, this would have gone a long way towards helping her forgive him, but now she knew he was there, lurking somewhere behind those expressionless eyes, even if he refused to take part in his own existence, a gift from Flagoon that he was simply throwing away.

She stood again, Gourry shifting, waking from his doze on the fur throw rug on the floor in front of the fireplace. Turning, Sylphiel went back into the kitchen to make tea, then sat at the table and put her head in her hands.

Yet... how could he accept that gift if he knew that she'd hate him for doing so, just as she hated him for not taking it? Her jaw clenched and she closed her eyes tightly. Was it even right for him to care about her feelings so much anyway? Or did he feel that he owed her that sort of consideration?

Sylphiel shoved her fingers into her hair, pulling her evenly trimmed bangs in frustration as she came to the conclusion she knew she'd come to eventually. She had no choice in it. She would have to talk to him. There was simply no choice. If she wanted answers to her questions only he could give them to her, and once she had those answers she could make a better decision on what to do about him.

Her tea kettle whistled and Sylphiel got to her feet and made two cups of tea, taking the first for herself and the second in hand as she went upstairs to confront the terror of her nightmares. Flagoon opened his eyes, expression befuddled and muzzy from sleep. He yawned at her. "...I still feel terrible," he complained. "How long does this last?"

"It depends," Sylphiel replied, "On how healthy you were before you got sick, as well as how well you're cared for." She set the cups of tea down to help him sit up and gave him the second warm cup as she perched on the edge of the bed, facing him.

Gratefully, he wrapped his hands around the cup and sipped from it. This was a task he could do on his own at least. Flagoon did not reply to her words, feeling that there was no need to. Sylphiel took a breath, and let it out, then sipped her tea to collect her courage and finally spoke again. "I need to talk to him."

Flagoon actually pulled his lips into a smile, though it was faint, it was definitely a triumphant smile. "Patience wins again," he muttered to himself and set his cup in his lap, closing his eyes. And he sat like that... and minutes turned into a half hour and Sylphiel had finished her tea and Flagoon's had grown cold. She plucked the cup from his fingers and set it on the table, about to give up and just go back downstairs. Rezo was probably being stubborn.

Opening his eyes at last, Flagoon stared back at Sylphiel. "He will not come out," he reported, sounding miffed, "I have found a way in to him, but I cannot pull him out. He thinks such terrible things," Flagoon shivered.

Staring silently at Flagoon, Sylphiel tried to decide whether she was elated that she didn't have to face Rezo now, or if she was angry at him for being childish. Unable to choose one or the other, Sylphiel asked instead, "What sort of things?"

"He thinks of death. He wishes that I had not brought him back. He ...wishes to be gone from this world, completely, all trace of himself gone." Flagoon lifted a hand, placing it on his heart, "He thinks these things so strongly that I hurt, here. My shrine maiden, I am confused. Why does he feel this way? Why does he think himself unworthy of living? He calls himself terrible things and says he is useless and breaks everything he touches." Pausing, Flagoon glanced away, "I do not know this feeling, I will send it to you so that you can name it for me?"

Trembling, Sylphiel nodded, dreading what she would be receiving. At first, she felt nothing, but slowly, the ache built in strength until it overwhelmed her completely. Tears streamed down her face as she clutched her own heart. Oh this feeling. She knew it far too well. Just telling Flagoon that it was called "loneliness" seemed like a misnomer. Flagoon lifted his hands, wiping at her face in confusion and the feeling abruptly disappeared, but left a hollow echo in her soul. "Forgive me, but I only gave you half the strength of this feeling... Was it too much?"

"Oh Flagoon..." Sylphiel whispered and leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and burying her face against his chest, sobbing softly. Confused, but realizing that he had somehow caused his shrine maiden to become upset, Flagoon simply sat there and let her cry on him, as she had done more than a few times before- except that had been when he was a tree. "Flagoon," she whispered, "That... feeling is what I felt when I lost my home, my family... and you. That's despair and loneliness."

This answer was not very enlightening to Flagoon. So now the tree could identify the feeling, but Sylphiel's reasons for feeling it were quite different from his human's. Weren't they? However, he kept his peace, deciding that he would learn more by listening to his human covertly then by asking Sylphiel. Slowly collecting herself, Sylphiel wiped her face and offered Flagoon his tea, even if it was cold, at least it still tasted okay cold, unlike coffee. Flagoon drank the tea, pleased with the taste, and returned the cup to her. "I will sleep more," he told her and she assisted him in settling back down into the bed. Closing his eyes, the tree listened as Sylphiel left, taking the dirty dishes with her.

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