This can’t be happening!I arrived home only a moment ago, and now my little sister lies crumpled on the ground!

  “Talia!!! Talia, please, say something!”

  Yet despite my plea, her eyes remain shut, and all I receive in return is a groan and bored breathing as I flutter around her.

  No, no, no!She can’t be ill!Cause if she is…I didn’t mean to do this!

  Argh!I can’t even move her into the house as my little sister is now many times rger than I.Even if I could, I’m terrified of the possibility that no one will be able to help her.Gah, what do I do!?!

  “Miep! Talia!”

  Mirroring my panic, Nibi is flying about, also trying to get Talia to respond.Yet her efforts are useless.The same as my own frightened filing…

  Okay, calm down, Akari.I don’t know what the problem is.It’s possible that her issue is easily cured, but she needs to see a healer.And I’m going to need help to move her.

  “Nibi! Go find Mum and bring her here, now!”

  “Yes!”

  As she darts towards the house, I hastily inspect Talia for any kind of injury, making certain to disperse my protective shell before doing so.However, as I feared, I find none, other than a few scrapes from her colpse.As she finished her fall half facing upwards, I fly to her face and nd on her forehead, kneeling and putting my hand against her to feel for a fever.

  She’s burning up!At least, she feels much hotter than when she carried me this morning.It’s not as if I can compare her warmth to my own directly, as we likely aren’t the same anymore.

  Worryingly, even without delving into her essence, I can also feel her life force is in turmoil.Instead of the usual sensation of nature essence quietly masking others beneath it, there’s something else roiling within.Without reaching further than I would deem safe, I can’t identify the energy, but instead of meshing nicely, it seems to be pushing and fighting against her natural life force.

  Shit!I don’t know what a sick person’s energy typically feels like, but I’m fairly certain there isn’t normally a magical war going on inside them.This isn’t good at all.Attempting to heal her by pushing in more magic may only harm her further.

  Then Nibi speeds round the corner of the house, followed by Mum who has a perplexed look on her face.

  “Talia, did you tell-”

  Upon seeing her lying here, Mum’s confused tone swiftly changes to a scream of worry.

  “Talia!”

  As she rushes over, I hear running from the house, and a moment ter, Garen also enters the garden in response to her shout, apparently having been visiting.Mum immediately kneels and pulls Talia into her arms, attempting to get a reply from her all the while, to no avail.

  Flying up to Mum’s face, I ensure that her attention is on me before shouting.As well as a fairy can shout, that is.

  “We need to get her to Mrs. Narissa immediately! There’s something wrong with her life force!”

  “Akari!? Did you see what happened to her!? This…does this have to do with the reason you went to the fairies?”

  I wish I didn’t have to tell her this news.Yet I can’t hide it from her.Not with Talia as she is.

  “I-I’m afraid so.”

  At my words, the color drains from her face, nearly matching my own pale features.But we don’t have time to waste.

  “Mum! We need to go!”

  I try to snap her from her daze, but I don’t believe she’s hearing me.Thus, I fly to Garen, who is concernedly kneeling directly beside her.

  “Garen, could you please carry Talia to the healing hut as quickly as you can? I’ll follow with Mum as soon as possible.”

  “Yes, of course.”

  As he gently takes Talia into his arms, pulling her from Mum’s now x grasp, I notice another problem.Minor in comparison to what else is occurring, but still worrying.With the sunset almost entirely gone and the gloom increasing, I have to actively keep it from entering me.So while it seems Nibi is preparing to follow Talia as Garen carries her, she’s also glowing a brilliant blue.We must both appear to be bright firebugs at this moment, so even hiding under Mum’s hair won’t be enough to traverse the vilge without being seen.

  With Talia now firmly held in front of him, Garen begins sprinting down to the road, but I take hold of Nibi’s hand before she can follow.The sight of Sis being carried away snaps Mum from her daze, and she jumps to her feat with a cry.Yet before she can give chase, I fly in front of her face once more.Thankfully, either my light or my nearness is enough for her to pause.

  “Mum! Empty Talia’s sack so we can come along!”

  “Akari!? I need to go with Talia!”

  “Yes, but Nibi and I are too bright to hide well, so you need to carry us!”

  I never would have thought I’d ask someone to put me inside a sack, but I refuse to be far from my sister right this moment.And while it’s probable that if I simply stop holding the gloom at bay my bright light would diminish, I doubt Nibi would be willing to do so, and now is certainly not the time to have my wings filled with that terrible essence.So if this is the only way for me to follow, then so be it.

  It’s only a matter of moments before Talia’s collection of crops is scattered on the ground, and I dart inside the open sack, pulling Nibi with me.Then the opening goes dark and I’m rocked by a swaying and bouncing motion, Mum likely sprinting after my sister.However, with the two of us at the bottom of the sack, Nibi and I are constantly thrown against one another in the dark.In an attempt to correct this, I pull her close and grasp onto her tightly, allowing us to avoid painfully colliding with each new quake.

  For a time, all I hear is swift footsteps as well as the occasional surprised cry from people I assume we’re rushing past, but before long, we suddenly come to a halt.With the sounds of a lifted tch and a door opening, we begin moving once more, when suddenly, the now familiar strain of my magic immunity fres in my chest, only to promptly fade after a mere instant.However, before I can determine what my ability’s reaction may have been in response to, I hear Mum cry out.

  “Narissa!!!”

  To which the alchemist immediately replies.

  “Is that Talia? What happened to her?”

  “I don’t know!! I found her colpsed in our garden only a few minutes ago! She won’t wake up!”

  “Garen, come y her on this cot. Fiona, I need you to calm down, okay? Can you tell me if you noticed anything wrong with her earlier today?”

  “No, nothing! Well, she didn’t eat much, I suppose. But she’s been her cheerful self for the entire day! Even helped me with my chores without compint. Yet some time after she went outside to gather some of her crops, I found her like this!”

  “Alright, there’s no need to panic. She may just have a fever. Pce your things in the corner whilst I take a look at her.”

  A moment ter, I feel the sack settle on firm ground and hear Mum’s footsteps moving away.

  “Hmm…that’s… Fiona, has Talia been pying in the meadow within the st week?”

  “Yes, she has. Why do you ask?”

  “Because she’s showing signs of excess magic. See here? Her fingers are unnaturally smooth because the tiny ridges have melted together. Also, it looks like, yes, specks of gold in the whites of her eyes. Was she out of your sight for a time?”

  “Well, yes.”

  “Then I suspect she may have discovered a sizeable cluster of honeyblooms. Even after I’ve warned her many times not to eat them. It seems she’s finally found enough to have a reaction.”

  A golden flower with a light brown center, honeyblooms can be found in the nearby fields, albeit rarely.Considering they’re quite sweet to the taste, all the children in this vilge are warned not to eat them, as it’s possible, albeit unlikely, that they’ll make one ill if too many are consumed.According to Mrs. Narissa, it’s due to the magic within them, causing them to be more dangerous for little ones.Yet I would often find Talia snacking on one when we went outside, though they never harmed her before now.Worryingly, considering the knowledge I obtained recently, I fear they’re not likely to be the true cause of her illness.

  “So it isn’t corruption then?”

  Apparently, Mum shares my concerns.However, for a time, there is no reply.Then, with a confused tone, comes a question in response.

  “No, of course not. Why would you even ask that?”

  “I just thought…”

  “Ah, I see. Fiona, just because a corrupted bear travelled here from some magic-den pce, doesn’t mean your daughter is afflicted by the same.”

  “Oh…But-”

  “But, nothing. There’s no way a person can simply become corrupted, and Talia is showing none of the symptoms. So why don’t you let me focus on what is actually wrong with her, okay?”

  “O-okay.”

  Wouldn’t it be better if Mum were just to tell her the truth?That I suspect my magic has harmed my sister.I understand why she doesn’t want to say anything about me, but still…At least Narissa is giving me hope that I’m wrong about what’s happening to Talia.

  “Now, Talia is evidencing a case of magic oversaturation. Exactly how long ago was she in the meadow?”

  “Um, the st time we were in the fields was the day before yesterday.”

  “So long ago? Then she’ll have already ingested any flowers by this time. I need to know more…”

  Following her words comes the sounds of liquids being poured and the tinkling of gss fsks.She must be mixing one of her potions or tinctures.Gah, I wish that I could see what she’s doing, but I don’t want to be discovered.Although, perhaps I could peer out?We’re indoors, so the gloom shouldn’t be as oppressive.I don’t feel the need to actively keep it at bay here, so I shouldn’t be glowing.

  Slowly, I move away from the bottom of the sack.It’s lying nearly ft on the ground, but it hasn’t settled entirely, so I merely have to walk while slightly crouched.There is the opening!

  “Miep!”

  Nibi just darted past me!She’s going to fly out!

  “Nibi, wait!”

  “Miep? Talia!”

  Thankfully, she stopped when I called, directly before the opening.

  “I know, but Mrs. Narissa will try to help her, so we need to wait here. Yet I think we can watch if you do your best not to be discovered.”

  “Yes!”

  Together, we crawl towards the gap where candlelight is flickering through and carefully peer outside.

  As I expected, we’re in a front corner of the vilge’s healing hut, of which the rear divided portion, accessed through the door in the back wall, also doubles as the alchemist’s workshop.Several rows of cots are orderly id out, but none of them are currently occupied, save the one in which Talia lies.Mr. Loka must have returned home already, though that isn’t terribly far as their house is the neighboring building.Directly beyond the cots is a long counter covered in an assortment of different gss fsks, herbs, and various alchemical equipment, with many other ingredients, potions, and tinctures on the shelves lining the wall behind it.Stirring the contents of one of her small, but expensive, clear fsks, a middle aged woman stands beside the counter, her focus entirely on the liquid within it.This, of course, is Mrs. Narissa, with neck length hair of the same blonde color as one of her daughters, and deep grey eyes matching that of the other.Speaking of whom, I don’t see Maline or Lucia, so I assume them to be with their Pa.As for Mum and Garen, they’re both standing next to Talia’s cot.

  Apparently finished with her task, Narissa picks up the fsk as well as a small bit of wool and carries them over to Talia.With the three of them blocking my vision, I can’t see what she’s doing there, but soon she returns to the counter, now stirring the wool inside the fsk.I don’t know what she intends to do with it, but thankfully, Garen asks for me.

  “What is that for?”

  “One cannot carelessly drive magic from a person. You would likely do far more harm than good. This ought to tell me roughly how much she’s taken in. If my assumption is correct, and she simply found a few more flowers than were healthy for her, it may even be best to merely let her sleep. I’d rather not attempt to purge magic from her if it’s unnece…ssary…what?”

  Stopping in the middle of her expnation, she stares at the fsk for a few moments, then speaks a few confused words.

  “But t-that’s not possible.”