At first he had thought the spores had induced hallucinations in him, as he had believed he was looking as a floating purple gown fluttering toward him, but as it got closer he made out legs, a head, arms...it was a girl, perhaps only a few years older than Dust.
"O-oh my goodness…! Visit...visitors…?" She stammered, blinking down at him with large green eyes. Her pelt was very dull colored, shades of ashy grays and wooden browns, not unlike the tree bark around them. She had been well blended into her environment, save for her dress giving her away. She wore her dark brown hair back in a loose braid, and her long rabbit ears were loosely woven into the braid going down her back. Beads hung off both of her wrists and her neck.
Dust blinked, sighing silently in relief that they at least managed to find someone, even if there didn't appear to be a village nearby or anything of the sort. The fox forced himself back into a sitting up position, still keeping his arm around Fidget's body, "Y-yes...do you...live nearby by any chance…?"
The girl blinked and nodded, straightening her back and dusting off the front of her dress, despite it not having anything on it, "Yes, I do, in fact. Erm where did you…? Oh no, nevermind. You came in through the entrance with the rancor blossoms. The only entrance, actually…" she muttered, half to herself. She was rather odd in demeanor, she was constantly twitching her hands or pulling at her dress, and her eyes seemed a mite too big and a bit on the shiny side. Her voice was high-pitched and a bit tremulous, and she spoke rather quickly as well. She may have looked older than Dust, but she seemed to act closer to that of an anxious younger child.
The girl cleared her throat, and held out her hand to Dust, "Oh...I nearly forgot. M-my name is Tawny." Dust accepted her hand and she pulled him to his feet with a surprising burst of strength. The fox stumbled a bit upon regaining his feet, and Tawny quickly slipped to his side, providing her support without being asked.
"I-I'm Dust…" Dust introduced himself, trying not to lean on Tawny despite her willingness to help. He managed to hold himself steady for a moment, and gestured at Fidget's body in his arms, "...and this is Fidget."
Tawny brought a hand to her mouth as she eyed Fidget, "Oh, a n-nimbat! It's been...so long. Oh my, what happened to the poor thing?" The rabbit looked at Dust expectantly, but slapped her forehead before he could reply, "oh, stupid question, that's a stupid question, I'm sorry. I know where you came in from. It's the only entrance into this place, and it's got those dumb plants growing around it. Of course, of course." Her large eyes blinked, and she fixed her shining green eyes on Dust, "and this means you need my help! Yes, it does...and yes I'll help you too, no worries, free of charge too!"
"W-wait...slow down." Dust sighed, holding up a hand, "We just got a little lost trying to find Aurora Village, we don't mean to bother you like this…" he trailed off when he noticed that Tawny appeared to be staring at him with confusion,
"Aurora...Village? I've never heard of such a place. Not once. Oh well. And you're not bothering me at all, no! I'll gladly help you two out!" Tawny exclaimed, once again shuffling herself next to Dust, ready to be used as a support as she began guiding him along, "It's no trouble, really. I know sometimes we get travellers that stumble into our little niche from time to time, and they often get blasted by those darned rancor blossoms too, so I guess maybe that's why I've started taking to hanging around on the outskirts of the village like this. What do you know?"
"Wait...village? There's a village nearby?" Dust asked, limping beside her the best he could. Much to his chagrin, he soon found the weight of his afflicted body being supported by the rabbit girl,
"Yes! And it's coming into view soon! It's my village of Briarheart, a gem in this murky woodland!" Tawny proclaimed with whimsy, as they cut through trees and past clusters of dark toadstools.
After not much time at all, buildings loomed up in the distance. It seemed to have rolled in out of nowhere, a small and tight knit-looking village. The houses were stout, snug, and short, made of wood and sitting atop stone foundations, sitting in clusters with each other. Pools of water dotted the area and a few had small bridges laid over them for quicker navigation between buildings. Dim lights that came from some of the windows flickered like candles occasionally. A circular stone path sat in the middle of the house cluster, leading on a single trail and disappearing into the gloomy distance. It was nearly silent save for the sound of water and crickets.
Tawny led them over toward one of the larger houses, pushing open the dark wooden door and leading them inside. The inside of the house looked cozy, though it only had two other smaller chambers branching off from the main room. The room they were in had three small, white beds against the far wall, spaced out from each other. Between them, against the walls, were shelves of bottles and jars filled with miscellaneous solutions and items, and on each top shelf sat a potted plant. The middle bed had a small table full of tools next to it, and a chair on either side. Closer to the front door there was a larger table and chair with more bottles,-most of them with plant-like objects inside-stacks of paper, and pencils of varying lengths. Two large bookshelves sat against the walls opposite from each other, right next to the entrances of the other chambers.
"Lucky for you, huh? I'm the village doctor and apothecary!" Tawny beamed, kicking the door shut behind them with an unintentionally loud slam, "why don't you go put your things down, I'll be right back." She stepped away from Dust, hesitating a moment to make sure he was steady, and whisked herself into one of the other chambers.
Dust half walked, half stumbled to the beds on the far side of the room, dizziness making the room spin unbearably. He set Fidget down gently in the middle bed, taking a seat in the chair next to it and lowering his head tiredly. He allowed himself to sigh in relief upon being lucky enough to find a shelter, and a doctor on top of that. Though he found it rather strange that he never knew of this village beforehand, and that girl Tawny in turn didn't know of Aurora Village, especially since the supposed distance between the two wasn't so far.
Perhaps she just doesn't get out much or something? Dust wondered, absently wiping perspiration off his forehead. Before he could get deeper into his speculation, Tawny returned. The earth-colored rabbit strode over to the shelves near them, flicking her eyes down at Fidget as she shifted and took a few bottles from their places, setting them on the desk next to the bed Fidget was lying in.
"Anyways, to business!" Tawny announced, clearing her throat and straightening her back. A stern look settled into her gaze as it travelled over Dust and Fidget, "now then, can you guess how long you were standing in the rancor blossom spores?" her voice had surprisingly snapped to a more professional, less giddy-sounding tone. Dust blinked, scratching his arm,
"Uh...not very long. I saw Fidget get caught in it first, and got us out of it as quickly as I could," he paused for another coughing fit, "not more than a few seconds."
"Oh, that's good." Tawny hummed, opening some of the bottles and putting samples of their contents into an empty container that had been sitting on the desk prior, "this might sound surprising, but a lot of people don't realize they're caught in the spores and get out before it sticks to them. If you'd lingered in the mist much longer, it would have condensed and stuck to your fur and clothes, which would make it even worse to deal with."
"Good for us, then…" Dust said quietly, gazing down at Fidget. The little nimbat was still unconscious, unmoving save for a rising and falling of her chest, "will Fidget be okay, though?"
The rabbit frowned, mostly in thought, and leaned over the nimbat, "Well, with all the times I had to treat patients with rancor blossom spores in the past, I can say it's hardly something to worry about, so long as it got treatment right away." Tawny's gaze softened a bit as Fidget's body was wracked with another coughing spell, "though you should know my patients were not nimbats nor as small as them."
Dust's ears drooped with worry, "Is there any chance she…?"
Tawny turned back to her bottles, pouring a viscous substance into the container, "Maybe. If it hasn't been too long then she might pull through." She pulled a few leaves out of a jar and sprinkled them in, "I can't be certain though." At Dust's worried frown, she offered a small grin, "I don't think you were too late."
Silence settled between them, interrupted occasionally by Dust and Fidget's coughing. Tawny finished what she was preparing, and leaned over the nimbat's body again. With one hand, she gently sat her up and held a small cup with the medicine she had made up to Fidget's mouth with the other. Dust watched in tense silence as Tawny dosed her, keeping her upright for a few seconds to let the medicine trickle down her throat, before laying her back down again. The rabbit turned and handed a second dose of the medicine to Dust, "Take the whole thing, it'll stop the coughing and lower the fever, but it will probably put you to sleep for several hours."
Dust shrugged and did as instructed, flattening his ears at the taste. It wasn't necessarily bitter like most medicine was, but it had a very strange taste. Like peppermint and tree bark.
"You can have that bed next to you. There isn't much left I can do for your friend at the moment but to let her sleep and let the medicine take effect. If something happens you can come and get me. I'll be up for a bit." Tawny said, pulling the blankets over Fidget's body.
"Thank you Tawny, I appreciate your help." Dust said, shifting over to the left side bed and leaning Ahrah against the wall next to it.
"I'm a doctor, Dust! I can't just say no to people! But it really is no problem." She nodded and began to turn to leave. However, she paused and turned to him, a bit too serious all of a sudden, "right...before I go I oughta tell you some...house rules I have."
Dust blinked as Tawny seemed to hesitate, as if she were briefly mulling something over, "Well...first of all, you cannot leave the house at night. Not to walk and not for fresh air, you have to wait until daytime."
Dust nodded, though confused. He wondered if this was just a rule for precautionary reasons.
Tawny cleared her throat, her green eyes travelling to the window that perched above the center bed, "no opening windows at night either. In fact...er...don't even look out of them at night. And don't go through any papers I have laying on the desk or in books or anything, please." She bobbed her head, looking a bit unsettled, but quickly shook it off, "...and...that should be it. Just come get me or call if you need anything. Goodnight!" With that, the rabbit bounded into the other chamber, presumably her bedroom.
Dust slipped off his satgat and laid it on the space next to him, blinking after Tawny. He could understand her request not to go rifling through her things, as it was naturally both rude and invasive, but couldn't quite place why she would forbid anyone to open...or even just glance out the windows at night. Perhaps it's a superstition? The fox thought, reclining back onto the mattress and closing his eyes as the vertigo persisted. But then again, if it was such a big deal, why not hang curtains over the window to cover it with?
He opened his eyes a slight, giving a sideways glance to the window. He couldn't see much from his angle besides fragments of the night sky. He wondered if Tawny just had a paranoia of the darkness.
"Dust…"
Dust pricked his ears as Ahrah spoke up from where it was leaned against the wall, "Yes Ahrah?"
"This is very strange but...that interference I mentioned earlier…" The sword paused, "I feel it is coming from...this area."
"This village is interfering with you?"
"I believe so...though I can't fathom why. It's strange but...I don't believe things are...normal...here in this village."
"I suppose. I'd never heard of this place before even though it was apparently in The Glade." Dust remarked.
"Nor have I." Ahrah said softly, "...perhaps we will learn more about this village tomorrow, after some rest. You and Fidget need it desperately."
"I know." Dust murmured, yawning as he felt the first tugs of the medicine's drowsy side effect.
"Perhaps Fidget will be awake tomorrow as well. She may be small but she has grown stronger since accompanying you, Dust."
"I hope so…" The fox said softly. He turned his head to look over at Fidget's body, still motionless aside from her breathing. He yawned, "You'll be okay, Fidget. You can get through this…"
Within minutes, the room fell silent as Dust was pulled into a deep sleep.
…
Tawny herself hadn't fallen asleep yet, thumbing through a rather beaten book and scribbling furiously into it. After awhile of doing nothing but this, she urged herself to set down what she was doing and check on her patients to make sure they were where they were supposed to be. She knew in the past her warnings had unintentionally sparked foolish curiosity in some newcomers she had entertained in the past, and hoped this would not be the case this time
Tentatively she poked her head out of her room, silently sighing with relief as she spotted them both still heavily asleep.
The rabbit felt a twinge of guilt, however. She hadn't started slipping sleeping herbs into her medicines until the last few times she had newcomers sick from the rancor spores. She had done it enough times to assure it caused no other bad effects aside from a acute drowsiness, but it still felt vaguely awful each time.
Tawny flicked a glance at the window. It was late but not too late, so of course she wouldn't expect to see Them out and about just yet. She moaned nervously under her breath in spite of herself, withdrawing back into her bedroom.
She wordlessly picked up her book and continued to write.