Vwyx and Sryine each lost track of how often they drifted in and out of consciousness after that. Consciousness seemed more than evasive to them, leaving them terribly uncertain exactly how much time had passed.

The time that passed was little more than a dream to them, leaving memories as fleeting as the consciousness thus deprived. As such, neither of them remembered being brought back to the mansion, nor the extensive care provided in their recovery. They both had family that remained considerably worried by the fire accident at the observatory, but came to understand that the village alone wasn’t properly prepared to deal with such serious burns. There were some worries about how long recovery was taking, but there was little anyone could do about such concerns.

Vwyx was the first to recover, though she didn’t feel like braving the word beyond her sick bed. She still somehow felt miserable and weak, even though her own reviews showed no visual injuries. When Mrs. Ymheqxhya showed up to tend to her patients, she found Vwyx actually conscious for once. She set some of her supplies aside and went to investigate further. Nodding her acceptance of Vwyx progress, she made sure Vwyx remained comfortable and did not try to push herself. Vwyx however was totally someone interested in pushing herself. Vwyx got up, only for the world to spin around her in turn. Mrs. Ymheqxhya got her to lay back down, Vwyx resolving that things beyond her control were denying her an escape from her bed. It didn’t matter, she would just get a bit more sleep, and be fully recharged soon after.

Some time later, Sryine was the next to wake up. The sudden noise from Sryine’s bed stirred Vwyx from her slumber again too. Vwyx was still feeling weak, but not quite as bad. Sryine started to get up from her bed. “I wouldn’t, the dizzy spell is going to hit you something fierce.” Vwyx’s warning came a bit late, Sryine abandoning her movement only after the world took her head by storm. Vwyx gave an empathetic smirk, still recalling when that was her. She still had no idea how long ago it was, but she at least could remember that incident. She still wasn’t certain about much else, she could remember the flame and the escape.. But nothing after that. Actually, there was one thought beyond that which haunted her, Khyzae’s fallen form. Vwyx went pale at the thought, that was not a gentle memory to suddenly recover. After having waited for its turn beyond the recovery her body otherwise asked for, nausea finally won out, leaving Vwyx to make a mess beside her bed.

Mrs. Ymheqxhya came running at the sudden sound, visibly alarmed. “What’s wrong, what happened?” “Dark memories, nightmares I’ll probably never forget. Khyzae…” Mrs. Ymheqxhya gave Vwyx an empathetic hug, both of them in tears in the resurgence of memory. Sryine was still having problems grasping at thoughts, but was cluing in on the emotions. Sadness, despair. Even without the memories returning to her, Sryine wept silently in her sheets, sleep taking her once again. Vwyx noticed Sryine had fallen back into slumber, silently wishing that when Sryine reaches her own level of recovery, that it might be a bit more forgiving.

“How long do we expect Sryine to be as well as I am? I want to see how much I can help out before she also recovers.” “Hopefully nothing more than a day or two, but it could be a few more than that. You yourself woke in a similar state not more than three days ago.” “Wait, three days? I thought we were only resting for a few days altogether. Exactly how long have we been out?” “Well.. it has certainly been much longer than just a few days. The azure leaves on the trees had come and gone already, with new leaves waiting to appear when the last of the cold leaves us.” “A year?! That’s almost a year! You have to be joking! There is no way…” Vwyx paused in her struggle to stand, glancing out the window beyond Mrs. Ymheqxhya. From here, she could see the woods nearby, the trees completely devoid of leaves, the blue tones of spring not even forming on their branches anymore.

Mrs. Ymheqxhya was speaking truthfully, it was almost as if time had gone backwards. Vwyx could only wish it was that simple, that she had the chance to retry from her past failure. Nothing was that simple, instead of going back in time, she had found herself awakened almost a year in the future. There was nothing more she could do, her one chance at trying to make a difference in her life.. was gone. She would simply need to recover and then to return to her dull life of endless carpentry. As she pondered such thoughts, her head suddenly surged with a sudden rush of pain. Grasping at her head in agony, she resolved that for now she would have to take more time to get better. If it’s been almost a year already, what would be another day or two.

Back safely in bed, Mrs. Ymheqxhya let the two girls rest some more. Vwyx wasn’t feeling quite as tired anymore, just weakened and very dizzy. She resolved to at least take it easy, but didn’t slip back into any real form of slumber. Being awake made time slip by much slower, leaving her in a state of boredom. She determined that, if she had been in bed for almost a year, some of the strain in her body might have been from lack of use. Still laying in bed, Vwyx did some simple exercises, to attempt to recover proper function of her body. When such exercises wore her down, she simply stopped and relaxed enough to try something else. After a while of this, she found Mrs. Ymheqxhya returning with some funny tablets. She tended to Sryine first with the tablets, making sure that Sryine consumed them properly before turning to Vwyx.

“So, do you think you might be well enough for real food, or do you still need more nutritional tablets?” Mrs. Ymheqxhya’s question explained how the two of them hadn’t starved after a year of slumber. Clearly, the two of them had been in good hands during their recovery. Vwyx tried to stand up again, far more interested in the idea of real food, but found herself still too weak to go very far. Mrs. Ymheqxhya fortunately seemed to understand the dilemma, and ensured that some food was instead brought to her. Vwyx was keenly aware just how much she owed this family at this point, she just had no idea how she might possibly pay back the pile of debt glaring over her. Left to her own devices, Vwyx continued her own recovery regime through the day and into the next.

By the second day, Vwyx woke up to the sudden sound of retching. She looked across the room, noticing the mess Sryine had made beside her bed. Vwyx could tell already that the memories had finally rushed back to her elven companion as well, the thoughts returning tears to her own eyes again. Still, as the one who had recovered quicker, it was her responsibility to pave the way forward. Vwyx struggled out of bed, her subtle weakness not being as keenly present in her physical abilities any longer, even if her head was still itself very dizzy. She crossed the room and approached Sryine’s bed from the unspoiled side, offering a hug. Sryine cried into the offered shoulder as Mrs. Ymheqxhya once again showed up.

“Welcome back, Sryine. You did good, I’ve only been really awake like you are for two days now. Keep at it, you’ll be on your feet again in no time. Now, before you also ask, yes it has really been almost a year now. Also, just the same, I wasn’t quick to accept that either. Everything that has happened… It’s all been too much.” Vwyx took her opportunity to quickly go over all the questions she herself wanted at Sryine’s point. Sryine nodded, not even needing the window to prove Vwyx’s claim. The mutual circumstances just made the shared empathy so much easier to pick up on. In much the same way, Sryine was pondering the extent and consequences of her own failures. Her future suddenly looked bleak, her only avenue of escape now gone. It was like her future had lost all value, her dreams forever nothing but dreams. As a sharp pain beset her head, Vwyx helped Sryine lay back down again.

Vwyx was feeling like she was listening to an echo of her own struggles, keenly aware of where Sryine was in the process. The next step was endless rest stuck in a bed of boredom. While she knew Sryine would find value in exercise, she was also keenly aware of another solution for the taller bookworm. Vwyx carefully made her way to the library and searched across the shelves. She honestly had no idea what she was looking for, but wanted something that might say some interesting stuff. She had been paying attention, Sryine liked books about some weird stuff, but some of that stuff included instrumentation, something Vwyx herself could understand appreciating. She eventually found a small book on the creation of music boxes, reminding her of the failures waiting for her back home. Still, with luck, maybe such a book would do Sryine some good. Vwyx returned to the room they were using to recover within.

“Make sure you take some opportunity to do your exercises, they will get you on your feet faster. But if you get bored, here’s something to help you occupy the time.” Vwyx set the book down on Sryines bed. Reading only the cover, Sryine’s thoughts instantly drifted to the illusions she would be returning to back at home, the same ones devoid of any interesting elements such as sound. Still, it was a book she had never read before, she could only appreciate the heart-felt consideration for her own interests. Sryine opened the book and started reading over the contents, losing herself in its pages. Vwyx felt like she had at least accomplished something of some small measure of success. She would need to figure out what else she could find to occupy herself with.

After another three days, Sryine had recovered enough to also get out of bed. She set aside the book that had helped her through the last three days, having only just completed it. That was rather slow progress for her, but given her condition it was only to be expected. She had been responsible enough to have focused on her recovery over her reading, just as she felt was expected of her. Over the past three days, she had found Vwyx had been almost exclusively absent, showing up occasionally to make sure she was doing okay, often with meals. Vwyx would otherwise show up when tired for the night. When asked about what was going on, Vwyx would tell Sryine only that she was making herself useful. It was a thought that made Sryine envious, being allowed to be useful after all of this time. Sryine too believed she owed the family here so much and more for everything they had offered, a gift that had been all but wasted upon her.

Sryine tested her stability out of bed. She still felt weak somehow, but her body endured and she managed to fend off being dizzy. Gauging her success, she started making her way out of the room. Perfect, now she could find a way to help out as well. Out in the hallway, she found Vwyx rushing past with a box. Vwyx was however wearing an unfamiliar outfit, not even the regular attire from most of the village. Instead of the regular green and brown style that was almost a uniform for the village, Vwyx was wearing some dyed leathers consisting of a chestnut vest over a carmine blouse and mahogany pants. Such red tones were not common in the village, let alone the leather material used for them, it was obvious the whole thing was imported. Meanwhile, Sryine was still in a plain white nightgown, the silk-like material clearly also imported but not nearly as suitable for wandering around.

“Ah, great! You’re up and about too. Hold on, I’ll be right back to give you a hand, wait here.” Vwyx caught Sryine taking account of their attire, but rushed off without expressing anything about it. Sryine waited patiently, otherwise wondering what that was about. Moving stuff around, at least it seemed Vwyx was making herself useful in a way. Sryine’s envy returned to her, though she wasn’t sure she could keep up with Vwyx at this point with such matters. Vwyx was recovering much faster than she was, and once she was at her prime she would be lifting things like that giant bookshelf again. Sryine would have to find her own way to help out, of course.

While pondering her own thoughts, Sryine was interrupted by the dramatic return of Vwyx, carrying yet another box. Vwyx brought the box into the room and set it down in the middle. Opening the lid revealed a vast selection of different outfits. Sryine had a moment of conflict, realizing that wearing something strange wouldn’t be taken well by the village, but cut the idea short. Certainly, Vwyx was perfectly aware of that, her current outfit looked like she didn’t even belong in the village. Sryine contemplated the idea, she didn’t want to belong here either. She sorted through the clothes until she pulled out an azure blouse, around her own size. Just like the leaves of spring, wanting to be set free. For her, it was perfect. She dove through the collection in search of things to go with it, opting for a similar style to Vwyx. She found a pair of navy pants, but still wanted a suitable vest to go with it. Eventually she settled on a sapphire choice for a vest, with an onyx stitch to it. She had found that Vwyx had an ochre pattern blended into it as well, but she could not see it previously due to the box Vwyx was carrying.

It only dawned on her in that moment what Vwyx truly looked like. Vwyx’s style made her appear to be a walking candle, a flame flickering in the wind. The thought alone started making Sryine go pale in fear, recalling everything burning as it had before. But the flame back then, it was no ordinary flame, it wasn’t even red. Sryine looked upon her arm, still able to imagine it burning in the flame, losing all color and fading to white. Her arm was much more normal at this point, but even she felt she was changed by the experience, that the whole experience had left an imprint on her own existence. It was as if Vwyx was just acknowledging the whole thing, and moving forward with it. It was an example she could only aspire to, if the memories of such flame did not instill her with unrelenting fear.

Vwyx carried the rest of the box away in order to give her an opportunity to get changed, and possibly to resume whatever else had her otherwise occupied. Sryine got changed and took an opportunity to bring order and cleanliness to the room they had been occupying. The room was surprisingly well tended, but clearly their increase in activity had diminished how much attention the room had received. At least the floor was clean, Sryine could only imagine how disgusting that could have been. Their pale-colored bedding however.. the increase of activity had taken its toll on their sleeping accommodations. She even found Vwyx’s nightgown discarded by her bed, clearly in need of a wash as well as her own. Instead of looking elsewhere for something to do, Sryine decided to start with what was right in front of her.

Collecting all of the laundry, Sryine made her way into the hallway. It only dawned at her in that moment that she neither knew where laundry was done here, nor did she know where anyone was so that she could ask. Sryine stopped stiff in the hallway, and closed her eyes. Listening carefully, she took into account all of the nearby sounds. Two sets of footsteps, the faint cutting of a knife, the shifting of plates on a wooden table. Her stomach grumbled at the sounds, lending the impression that it was almost time for a meal. So Vwyx had been helping out with getting food ready, not bad. Sryine made her way towards the same room and peeked a head in.

“So.. uh.. I kinda noticed we’re in need of getting some laundry done. Where should I bring all of this?” “Oh, just keep going to the end of the hall, and go up the stairs to your left. Just leave all of that on the floor there for now, it’s almost time for lunch.” Sryine followed Mrs. Ymheqxhya’s directions, finding the laundry room at the top of the stairs. Setting everything down, she returned to the dining room, taking account of the three plates set at the table. The number didn’t make sense to Sryine, she was prepared to accept the original five had fallen to four, but why was another plate missing?

Mrs. Ymheqxhya set three bowls of soup out with the plates as Vwyx distributed out the sandwiches she had been putting together. Mrs. Ymheqxhya then poured the rest of the soup into another container, one typically used for travellers to transport water of variable temperatures. It had a woven wooden exterior, though Sryine wasn’t certain what kind of material was used internally. Meanwhile, Vwyx put some extra sandwiches into a small basket. Sryine was generally confused why there might have been extras being prepared, but clearly there was a lot about the current situation she still had left to learn. Meanwhile, the three of them sat down to eat. Sryine had a world of questions, but no energy to express them, her mind a clutter of thoughts she couldn’t figure out how to express. Vwyx just ate in solemn silence, having tired herself out from all the work. Lunch then ended without any actual conversation, even as everyone worked together to clean up.

“Now that you both have a bit of extra energy, maybe we should finally bring my husband his share.” “Yeah, where is your husband anyway?” “He’s.. he’s locked himself away in the laboratory, devoted mindlessly to his work. He’s been like that ever since.. that night. Getting him to eat is a chore in and of itself. Since you were both part of everything that night, and you’re both up, maybe it’s time to share with you what he’s been so busy working on.” Mrs. Ymheqxhya picked up the food that had been set aside and led the way, Sryine still at a loss for what was really going on. Vwyx had learned that Mr. Ymheqxhya had been so withdrawn, though even she had not been exposed to his efforts. Over the last three days, she’s instead devoted her time to helping Mrs. Ymheqxhya in her husband’s absence, so that everything didn’t just fall to Mrs. Ymheqxhya to take care of.

The three of them made their way towards the laboratory, having no idea what to expect of the mad professor after almost a year of devoted insanity. Whatever it might be, both girls hoped there would be an opportunity for them to help out in some small way.