"Alaire, are you alright? You have a nosebleed." He says in a worried tone, which is poorly hidden behind a neutral facade that he tries to maintain to hide his real concern.
Reaching my left hand up to my nose, I notice a warm liquid dripping onto my it. I look at it, and I see the blood. My eyes widen slightly upon seeing the crimson liquid dripping on and running down my hand.
While I wipe the blood with my hand, I try to figure out why I suddenly got a nosebleed. 'It's odd. I felt perfectly fine the whole day, so why now?'
"Ho!" Merle urges both horses to a stop, catching my horse's reins and tugging on them slightly, before reaching out to check up on me. His rather cold hand touches my face, and I lift my gaze to look up at him.
"Weird. I can't sense anything wrong with your body." He retreats his hand back, giving me another thoughtful look.
'And what does that mean?' My face scrunches up in confusion before Merle continues speaking, crossing his arms in the process.
"It's true that you have a slight temperature, but it's nothing life-threatening. Say, how do you feel?" He asks as he tries to figure out what could've caused my nosebleed.
"Uh... Like usual." I give him a vague answer, and that earns me an irritated groan from Merle, who doesn't seem too pleased.
"What an enlightening answer. I don't know how you usually feel, idiot. Give me a better description." This makes me glare at him a bit for his obvious sarcasm, but I just let it go.
"I'm fine." I grumble as my nosebleed finally stops. I wipe away the remnants of the nlood and pat my horse a bit. 'Tsk. The blood is everywhere...' I wipe it off the saddle as well, trying to clean up the mess that I made.
"We should take a break," Merle suggests, and I agree. The way is still long, after all. The sun is setting, so it wouldn't be too bad to get some rest before continuing our journey towards the nearest village.
I look at the sky, which is now painted in hues of orange and yellow. The clouds are illuminated by the setting sun, so they also have an orange-like colour, fading into something between pink and purple. The sky on the other side is already dark, with the first stars showing up, keeping the clouds company.
Some birds fly above, making their way into their nests to sleep and protect their young. The cheeps and rattles of the birds make a nice background sound as they settle down to go into slumber.
"A rest is indeed a good idea!" Hewie chirps a bit and finds herself a comfortable spot to rest in while Merle ties our horses to a tree before giving them some water.
"I'm gonna hit the hay now." I inform him and lie down under a tree, somewhat tired yet still full of energy. A lot of things bother me even while resting. Like why I'm here. Who Hewie is, or how my grandma is doing.
Ellirith is a mystery as well. I don't understand why she would reveal such important information to me, a literal stranger. Perhaps she has a plan, perhaps she simply did it for her entertainment. I can't figure her out no matter how much I try.
Also, there's this thing about me having magical powers despite not originating from Elarion. It's truly unsettling.
Everything is weird. And it gives me a bad feeling... The world fades into darkness as I fall into a deep slumber under the tree, watched over by Merle, our two horses, and Hewie, who isn't asleep despite being the first one to find a resting spot.