Nina didn't really have the ability to boast a good immune system...
...And chances are, she never would.
Nina was sick. Dreadfully sick. When Corrin received the news from the umpteenth mouth at breakfast, however, he rolled his eyes with a scoff; according to Gunter, Nina wasn't exactly the happiest of campers yesterday, and her work wasn't the sharpest. It wasn't odd for a sensible young man to suspect that a girl, who happened to be notorious for her sticky fingers, was playing a little game of hooky to get out her work. Then again, she was telling the truth when she said she was a bad cook, but... Well, Corrin chose not to pay that detail any mind, for he was more than certain he would find her hiding somewhere in the mess hall at breakfast to eat, then run back over to her tent to rehearse her performance for when he came by for verification.
...The only thing was, he didn't see her at all in the mess hall, and neither did anyone else. Shigure hadn't seen her. Gunter hadn't seen her. Percy hadn't seen her. Heck, even Niles hadn't seen her; these were odd details that had him raise a brow, then choose to give the room one last scan. Eventually, his searching led him to Soleil, who sat next to her mother on the women's side of the hall.
"What, Nina? She's sick, haven't you heard? She's been cooped in that stuffy tent of her's since last night. I'm probably going to bring her lunch later today, so I'll know how she's doing then."
Well, Soleil was Nina's frenemy. Chances were, the friend side of their relationship had the potential to make them partners in crime. After all, rumor had it they went to the bathhouse last night, likely to cook up some sort of plan while they had their privacy. As much as he wanted to, Corrin couldn't believe her, so he had no choice but to investigate the matter himself; become the Nohrian Inquisitor, as Selena often called him.
He departed from the mess hall that fine morning, stepping out into the early dew; it was too bad he wouldn't get to enjoy it for long, for he would soon find himself before a tent, just as uniform as the others. He knelt down then, prepared to brush away the entrance flap as he cleared his throat.
"Nina." he called. "It's Corrin. May I come in?"
When he received no answer, he took the opportunity to peek inside. Nina was there, as expected, sprawled out over her pallet. It was perhaps the only time he had seen her hair down, but on the flip side, it was also the first time he had seen it so terribly oily. Why, if anything, it looked like a matted rat's nest. Likewise applied to her entire bed; blankets bunched up on one side balanced the blankets bunched up on the other, and her face was buried in a pillow. Though it was slight, his eyes captured a slither of her cheek, cherry red.
Hmm. She did look pretty sick after all... But he couldn't just leave it at that. He had to be absolutely sure, otherwise he ran the risk of being played like a fiddle. Thus, he crawled his way inside, seating himself beside her laying form before giving her face a quick poke. That didn't seem to rouse her, so he resorted to more extreme measures: flicking a cheek, gradually growing more forceful. The fifth time evoked a groan from her lips, but her eyes didn't open; instead, she rolled over to smother her face completely.
"Nina." a mewl, muffled, answered from the pillow. "I need you to wake up." another sound was his response, except he couldn't figure out what sort of noise it was. Either way, it didn't stop him from placing his hands over her shoulders and lifting her up; he turned her over, then tried to sit her upwards, only to have her fall back down, having no structure. "Nina, if you're playing hooky, you know you'll be in big trouble."
At last, olive green eyes peered from behind her eye lids, gazing at him, glassy and dull... Perhaps empty, even.
"Hi, Corrin." she rasped. "Good morning."
"Hey. Rumor has it you're sick."
She looked up to the ceiling of her tent, then allowed her eyes to roll into the back of her head; for a good while, she remained frighteningly still.
"Mmm... Yeah..." she felt a hand set itself on her forehead, then her cheek again. Upon removing it, Corrin heaved a heavy sigh; perhaps it was a pinch over exaggerated, but it seemed that Nina was far too sick to even care.
"Seems like something's going around camp. Arthur just got over a cold a few days ago, now it looks like you've got it." he frowned. "Sorry to see that. Is there anything I can do for you?"
Though delayed, Nina did return to him with a slight nod.
"Yeah. Don't make me go to the smithy again. See? This is what happens when I go to the smithy; I tried to warn you, but you didn't listen to me."
"Rest assured; you're not going anywhere today." he started to rise then, prepared to depart. "I'll have Midori bring you some medicine, does that sound agreeable?"
"Mmm... Yeah..."
It was pretty obvious that Nina was sick when everything that inspired her seemed to suddenly become worthless. It was that bad. Not too long after Corrin had left, she heard voices passing by her little tent, and they were noises that should have been music to her ears: laughter. Not just any laughter; it was the laughter of two young men chatting each other up like all was well with the world. She knew that getting up to go look would require... Well, getting up, which, at the moment, felt like quite the chore. Her passion had been sapped out of her, leaving her as nothing but a dry shell just waiting for revival.
The possibility of revival came with Midori, who was the next person to crawl into her tent; in doing so, she lugged a heavy trunk behind her, eventually pulling it up to her side.
"Hello, hello, dear patient of mine; the doctor is in." Nina was too exhausted to respond and far too fixed on trying to get the constant chills to subside. "Ooh, yikes, too sick to talk; sounds like a nasty sickness you got there."
Nina sniffled.
"Mmm... Yeah..."
"Put your worries to rest then; I'm sure I've got just the remedy." and with that said, she popped open the trunk and proceeded to dig. With all the variety of noises going on inside, it was anybody's guess as to what she kept in there, but it wasn't anybody's will to see if their guesses were true. Had Nina not been so terribly immobilized, she and her prying eyes wouldn't have hesitated to take a peek for the sake of quenching that undying curiosity of hers... But it was obvious what she did instead, and for some reason, she was perfectly fine with it.
After a while of pushing things aside, Mirdori at last fished out a small glass jar; inside was a suspicious looking plant. Then again, any plant one couldn't identify appeared suspicious to a certain degree. Sure, for the most part, it looked normal, but there was something about the shape of the leaves... They just weren't something she could trust.
Midori seemed to trust them, however, so it didn't matter what Nina thought.
"Okay, this is a powerful, powerful herb, so I'm only going to give you a little; I'm only giving you a little because weird things happen if you take too much."
"...What's it called?"
"Mmm... Not quite sure, but I've seen it in action, and I have to say, I was very impressed by its performance." she gave her a grin as she pried off the lid. "And trust me, not a whole lotta things impress me when it comes to medicine. Your cure is as good as guaranteed!" she reached inside then, fishing out one small stem; initially, Nina figured that was her dose, but she was proven wrong when Mirdori proceeded to rip it into tiny shreds, one of which she carefully selected, then brought to her mouth. "Open wide! Aaaaand chew."
It would be lying if Nina said she thought the herb tasted good; if anything, she thought it tasted awful. It reminded her of milk almost, a taste that made it to her list of hate, and when that taste went away, it magically transformed into a leaf of cabbage. The strength of it made her gag, then hack until her face had become even more red.
"This is-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, there; hold your horses. I know it doesn't taste good, but trust me, you'll be glad you took it. A minute of a bad taste is better than a day of misery, isn't it?"
"I don't know."
"Okay, okay; just to let you be aware, there's something about this herb you need to know. The side effects aren't many, but they're definite, so be on the look out for them."
Nina's eyes widened.
"S-Side effects?" she echoed, terrified.
"Oh, don't be a worry wart about it; they aren't that big of a deal. You might see a few things that aren't there and maybe have the tendency to do stuff you normally wouldn't do, but it doesn't last long enough to have you doing something you'd regret. Don't worry." as she began packing back up, Nina combatted the pain her muscles, fighting to bring herself up.
"Wait a minute, what's going to happen?"
"I told you; you have nothing to worry about!" Midori began dragging her trunk out of the tent then. "Just remember: if you see a flying man, don't follow him!"
And she was gone.
Up next to visit Nina was, surprisingly, her father, who brought breakfast along with him. As surprising as such an event was, that wasn't the only surprising thing that befell upon that day; the second unusual event occurred when Niles brushed aside the flap, peeking his head inside.
"Nina." he rung. "Hope you're decent."
And he'd find Nina laying there on her pallet, and her hand shot up into the air to wave at him.
"Hey, daddy!" she chirped.
Niles couldn't help it; he felt a brow raise quickly, and he almost hesitated to crawl inside.
"Whoa. It's been a while since I heard you call me that. Drink your happy juice this morning?"
"Nope! Midori brought her cool box of maaaaaagic."
Ever so slowly, the man eased closer to her; with time, he eventually ended up beside her, but no matter how close he was, he never really felt close to her. Nina seemed to be in a completely different world, not in her little tent in the midst of an astral plane. Her pupils were wide and large, larger than what Niles would call normal, and she bore the stupidest smirk on her lips, all cocky-like.
"Is that so?" he echoed hesitantly, then took the moment to hand her a knapsack containing a pair of biscuits; when it took forever for her to reach out and receive it from him, he gave up and decided to set it on her belly. "I brought you leftovers from the mess hall."
The sight made her chuckle.
"I don't believe you, daddy; bringing me breakfast... You've never done that for me before. Hehe. Geez, I'm flattered."
"Good to hear..." Niles leaned closer, observing her face. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Never been better. Hehe." she reached up and set her hand on the back of his head, applying what pressure her weakened state could muster. "You know... When you have your head over mine like that... Hehe... It feels like you're trying to be my Prince Charming. Come here." and she started to press harder. Strangely enough, the force was a force Niles actually struggled to resist, and that wasn't a good thing; he was being pushed down towards a puckered pair of lips.
"N-Nina?" his single eye widened, and he started to struggle. Ultimately, though, she somehow overpowered him. To his relief, his lips didn't clash with hers as he theorized it would; no, she shoved him over to the side just a smidgen, then planted a sloppy kiss on his cheek. The moment she parted from him, she was howling in a fit of laughter, covering her eyes with an arm.
"Ha ha ha! You thought I was going to kiss you on the lips! Ha! I don't know who on this forsaken earth would want to do that!"
Frowning, Niles quickly pulled back from her and began wiping the kiss off his cheek.
"Your mother's done worse." he replied.
"Ha ha ha! Well she's a weirdo anyways, so who's surprised here?" she slapped a hand on his thigh before slowing her breath, ending her episode with a curt sigh. She then gazed absently at the ceiling, smirking oddly. The sight was enough to have Niles cross his arms and furrow his brows.
"Okay. Something's wrong with you."
"Nuh uh."
"I'm not about to argue with you the same way you do with that friend of yours. Start by telling me what it is you're high on. You didn't get into those bushes in the woods outside the castle, did you?"
"How about..." he sat herself up, turned her back to him, then leaned against his front; her head rested deeper against his chest as she nestled herself into comfort. "...You spend some time with me?"
"Yep. Something's definitely wrong."
"Hey hey, daddy, do you remember when you used to come visit me in the Deeprealms? When it was night time, after my hair was dry from a bath, you'd sit on my bed and braid my hair. Remember? Remember? I miss it when you used to do that. So? Why don't you braid my hair for me? Hmm?"
Niles' eye squinted, and his gaze wandered awkwardly to the side.
"I don't know... You're not really in the appropriate state of mind, it looks like..."
"Oh come oooooooon, daddy. Pleeeeeeeease?"
"Maybe some other time; when whatever you're on's worn off sounds ideal."
"But I'm not on anything."
"Don't argue with me, Nina."
"Fine."
Niles rolled his eyes, gently set her back down on her pallet, then slowly started to back out of the tent; the entire time, he feared what may happen should he take his eyes off of her.
"Rest for a while, Nina; I'll come check on you every now and then. Stay here, got that? You're in no shape to be wandering around camp."
Well, only a an idiot would think that was going to happen.
And thus, most likely because she was told not to, Nina found herself wandering around camp, all with a dazed look in her eyes and a goofy smile spread across her lips. Nobody paid much mind to her like usual, and, likewise, she didn't pay much mind to them either. Her sauntering emerged aimless, having no place to go, so she decided to visit the first building she saw; that building, chosen at random, would be the accessory shop. That was precisely where she skipped her merry way towards.
The shop's doors, once calm and unsuspecting, suddenly burst open, vomiting inside a limp girl. The noise was enough to disrupt the peace of the shopkeeper, a small mage, Nyx, who was once engrossed in a novel; with her stern eyes, she looked up, unprepared to give her customer a humble greeting.
"Haven't you considered the feelings of the door?" she grumbled, bookmarking her novel and slamming it shut. "Be happy I'm still willing to give you business." Nina, seeming to not have heard a word the woman said, stopped at the counter, then slammed her elbows on its surface; from there, she propped her chin upon her fist, giving Nyx a studious observation. Regardless, Nyx wasn't impressed. "Are you going to buy something or what?"
"Mmm... Yeah. Don't you know you're supposed to give your customer time to think? That's what Corrin told me when I took my first shift here, and boy was it weeeeeeird."
"I'm not here to hold conversations with you, child."
"Have I told you about that one time I was working here? Hehe. I was all alone, hadn't had a customer in hours, so I took the liberty of stuffing a few pieces of merchandise in my bag. That town full of poor people back in the Deeprealms would have been ecstatic over those things, hmm?"
Nyx leaned forward, giving her a cold stare.
"May I take that as a confession to robbery?"
"Mmhm."
"Thank you. I'll be sure to let Corrin know."
"Hehe. Suuuuuuuuuuuure thing, but he'll probably make me work in that sweaty forge again. That's fine. I'm just going to run away anyways." she finally became silenced then, but only because she was captivated by Nyx's head piece: a metal crown decorated by sharp thorns. Strangely enough, Nina had the bravery to reach out and take it from her head. With it in her hands, she observed it closely, eventually cracking another smile. "Ooh, nice hat."
"That isn't a hat, fool." Nyx snatched it back before she could put it on. "It is what is called a sorcerer's circlet, something only worn by those who practice with tomes. We sell them anyways, since I suppose there is no longer such a thing that is sacred anymore. Because I hold the tradition with high reverence, I do not sell any to those I know do not meet the requirements. You are included in that group."
"Hey, hey, now; I can do all that magic mumbo-jumbo you're going about. Hehe. I can shoot a shining bow like nobody's business."
"Magic weapons do not count."
"Sure they do."
"I stand by my statement."
"Do too."
Nyx heaved a sigh, then opened her book once more, returning to where her placeholder rested; in doing so, she grumbled angrily.
"I'm not going to lower myself to your childish level. I've seen that look you have in your eyes before in others; you're under the influence of something, so I won't hold anything against you personally. Until you return to your proper state of mind, I want you out of my shop."
"But I have money."
"You can't bribe me." she replied, beginning to read. "Whatever you have to offer is probably stolen anyways. Depart."
So Nina left, bound to wander off and bother other people.
This next encounter would be brief; she found Laslow in the midst of her mindlessness. He seemed to be having a shallow conversation with Keaton, and shallow conversations just so happened to be one of the only types of socialization Nina could engage in. Seeing an opportunity so ripe, she couldn't resist prancing up to the two.
"Hi, Mister Laslow."
Laslow smiled.
"Ah, here's a lass with a good head on her shoulders." he turned to Keaton then. "I'm sure she can tell you; wouldn't you say that I am a gentleman?" he motioned to reenforce Nina's attention. "This man here has the nerve to disagree."
Nina paused, squinting her eyes; she looked at Laslow, then she looked at Keaton.
Laslow.
Keaton.
Laslow.
Keaton.
The cogs in her head started to turn ever so slowly, but with time, they picked up on speed. At last, she shrugged, then started circle them.
"Eh. I'm not feeling it. You two don't have a good enough chemistry; you're just simply not meant to be."
Laslow also paused, gazing at her strangely.
"Erm... Excuse me?"
"You and Keaton." she answered, prepared to find something better to do. "You guys just don't have what it takes to be a thing. Sorry." and she wandered off, only escaping with one lazy comment: "By the way, you're a great dancer. I'm a total fan."
Left behind, Laslow and Keaton watched her stride elsewhere, branded by the faces of confusion. After a while, Keaton finally turned to the other, raising half of his lip.
"Dancing?" he echoed, peering at Laslow's face; he had turned redder than blood.
"I-I have no idea what she's talking about." he too went away, going his own direction alone.
Up next was Percy's tent, which she admittedly went out of her way to get to. Under normal circumstances, she would have gave the entrance flap a quick kick or two for the sake of giving inhabitants privacy, but today happened to not be under normal circumstances. As a result, she plunged right in inside like she owned the place.
"Heeeeey, Percy."
Percy, originally minding his own business, gave way to a squeak and a jump as he turned around. When he found her, however, he relaxed a bit, then heaved a sigh; a hand went to his chest, hoping to slow its furious beating.
"Geez, Nina; you sure are sneaky. I didn't even hear you come in!"
"Hehe. Maybe you're just hard at hearing."
"Ha! You could be right, but you are a thief after all. Isn't it essential to be sneaky?"
"Hehe. Yeah."
Percy turned around, crossing his legs Indian style as he looked at her with a smile; his curious eyes widened excitedly.
"So what can I do for you?"
"Mmm... Nothing much, really; I just came to talk, y'know?"
"That's great! I've been meaning to talk to you sometime and all, but I heard you got the same thing Pop had a while ago, so I decided not to bother you. It's good to see you uh..." he trailed off, indefinite, once he finally received a better look at her face; it was dangerously red, and her pupils seemed rather... Unnatural. It was enough to have him frown and furrow his brows. "Hey, are you okay? You look like you're still sick..." he lifted his hand, then set it on her cheek; he quickly retracted it once he felt its heat, concern written in his face. "Holy smokes! You're burning up! It doesn't look like you've gotten better at all, so what're you doing out? You should be back at your tent!"
Nina chuckled again, then reached over to a small table, where she removed a small trinket; it was a piece of metal shaped into a wyvern with features strikingly similar to Ace. She tossed it up, then caught it, all with a particularly satisfied look in her eyes.
"Nice thing you got here." she murmured. "How much is it worth? I'm sure if I took it, it could fetch enough money to feed someone who needs food... Maybe someone like Finn. Oh! Finn I'm sorry!"
Percy quickly retrieved the trinket from her hands, replacing it on his table before drawing closer.
"It's priceless- to me at least; Mom and Pop gave it to me for my birthday a few years ago." he felt a brow anchor. "Say, Nina? Are you okay? Who's Finn?"
One could only imagine the surprise which was he when tears welled in the girl's eyes; she sniffled before throwing herself on his small body, bursting into a fit of wails.
"Finny! I'm so sorry! Can you hear me Finny? I'm sorry I couldn't make it in time! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
"Nina!" he struggled beneath her weight, but managed to keep her upright. Even so, she hunched over, continuing to bawl. "What's gotten into you?"
"I didn't have any food, Percy; it didn't have any money, I didn't have any food, I didn't have any blankets...! It's all my fault!" she tore away from him, then snatched the trinket again before hightailing it away, leaving only dust in her wake. She was fast, so the idea of chasing her was intimidating. Regardless, Percy went after her, tripping as he tried to scramble out of his tent.
"Nina! Nina, wait! What's wrong?"
The camp would be surprised to see a crowd was beginning to form, and this particular crowd was growing larger and larger. Initially, upon first glance, the typical on-looker would smile and assume there was a party going on... But the moment one drew near, they would immediately be greeted by the punch of a negative air. Angry faces surrounded one another, their arms crossed as they grumbled back and forth.
"Yes; the girl just walked into my tent and took some of my most treasured pieces of jewelry and heirlooms, even though it was broad daylight. Has she lost her mind?" one, a frustrated Camilla, said in the midst of the chatter.
"She took one of my favorite treasures; it was the hilt of a broken sword, and it was just the perfect size and shape... And the jagged blade broken off at the end of it! It was to die for! I'm going to tear her to pieces when I see her again, I don't care if we were friends."
"And my linchpin! She took it right from my suit and somehow ran off before I could catch her. As much as I hate to admit it, the girl is ridiculously fast..."
"She took my necklace."
"My boots."
"My ring."
"My satchel... Again."
Amongst the chatter, Percy weaved through the crowd, trying to snatch attention, but his voice would be drowned out by the collective mutters of others. He shouted, but it wasn't enough, so he pushed his lungs to shout the loudest he could. When that didn't work, he finally resorted to his last option: his imitation of the call of a wyvern.
...Needless to say, that got everyone to be quiet.
"G-Guys! Something's wrong with Nina..."
"Darn right there is!" agreed a distant voice. "She's runnin' around stealing stuff quicker than a greedy pack rat!"
"Indeed, Percy." an obviously upset Xander emerged from the crowd, looking down at the boy. "You're friends with her, are you not? Where has she run off to?"
Percy cowered beneath the might of the man, shrugging timidly.
"I-I don't know; she made off with something of mine too... I think I was the first victim of this little spree of hers.. She was acting really weird. Well, weirder than normal, at least."
"So you don't know where she is?"
"No."
That was all it took to have the angry chatter rise once again, all of which were craving for the sight of a certain young thief. They wouldn't find her, though; she was elsewhere, in a certain private quarters, setting down her sack of loot before going to rummage through the room- Corrin's room to be more exact. She first went to the bookshelf, gathering whatever appealed to her like a squirrel preparing for winter, and made constant trips back to her bag to deposit them. At the fourth trip to the bookshelf, where she began to search through the top floor, a hand gripped her shoulder.
"Nina." a voice grumbled. If she were in her own mind, she would have cared; she didn't, though, and continued with her work. As a result, the grip became even more stern. "Nina, turn around and look at me."
She obeyed for a change, meeting the fuming expression of Corrin. Little surprise was on her face, but that didn't mean it was undecorated... In fact, it was soaking wet, drenched by tears.
"Wh-What do you need?" she asked sadly.
"I hope you have a good reason why you're in my room putting all my stuff in a bag."
She sniffled.
"Yeah." she nodded. "I need money."
"Why?"
"For Finn. Finn's hungry. If I don't get any money, he won't make it through the winter, so I need to get something I can sell."
Corrin's frown deepened, and he eased closer, observing her face with prejudice. With his eyes remaining cold, his lips eased open.
"Who's Finn?" he inquired sternly; it was a question that left no choice but to answer, which Nina quickly did.
"He's a little boy that lives in the poor village."
"What poor village?"
"The one next to my house. Finn doesn't have any family, so he needs someone to take care of him. He's such a sweet little boy- he doesn't deserve to starve." she turned around then, starting to go back to her own business before her shoulder was gripped again. Corrin heaved a heavy sigh.
"Where are you, Nina?"
She didn't turn around.
"Father explained it as a pocket in the astral plane or something; he called it a Deeprealm, so I guess I'll call it that too since I don't have any better names." she sniffled again, hinting at an unclear nose. "I have to hurry, so I can't talk. Winter's almost here."
"It's spring." Corrin turned her around despite her resistance. "And you're not in the Deeprealms."
"Y-Yes I am."
"Nina." he growled sternly. "If you're playing some sort of game with me, this isn't funny."
"I-I'm not playing any g-games." another sniffle. "F-Finn said he wanted to play a game when I got back to town anyways, so I don't have the time." she wrestled out of his grasp, then began to slowly make her way back to her sack, unaware of the fact that he followed her. She kept on in her own little world as she took her bag and slung it over her shoulder, and off she went, aiming for the door.
"Where are you headed next?"
"I'm going to the market." she replied as she reached out for the handle; she turned it without any issues, but stumbled in her walk out. Corrin was able to catch her back, steadied her, then set her free to continue walking. Regardless, he kept on after her, even when she didn't bother trying to flee from his presence. "Someone'll buy all this junk; hopefully by then I'll have enough to give him a nice, warm meal." she began huffing as she made her way across the vast lawn of the castle, and her footsteps grew heavier. Concerned, Corrin weaved his way to her side.
"You don't look well." he murmured. "Quite obviously, you're still sick."
"Sick or not..." she breathed deeply. "...I need to get Finn some food. I can always rest later."
"Nina. You're delusional."
"No I'm... Not." she stopped to gasp for air, her body trembling. "I'm perfectly fine. Perfectly. Fine. Fine. Fine. Perfectly..." and she collapsed then and there, laying motionlessly on the sweet green grass. Having seen the entire event unfold, Corrin watched suspiciously, waiting for her to pounce right back up and give way to a hearty laugh. He was sure she was pulling his leg, very sure... But as more time went on, that sureness began to dissipate, replaced with worry.
He knelt beside her, trying to shake her awake. No matter how hard he tried, though, she was just as motionless as before.
