Exhaustion ended up being the issue at hand rather than pain. A trek through the desert was already hard on the body by default, and Aloe's delicate health only exacerbated the problem. Toughness allowed her to quite literally tough out the pain, but the same couldn't be said for the stress her body slowly gathered as she and Fikali traversed the sands of the Qiraji.
They stopped a lot of times, basically every time she could find a shade. Yet no amount of rest could fend off her tiredness. Recovery seemed like the perfect internal infusion to regain her breath, but much like Fatima had taught her weeks ago, the infusion only recovered more tangible aspects of her body and the stress would only grow. It does seem to have an effect on my stamina though… But much like vitality, exhaustion wasn't fully related to stamina. The human body was composed of many substances and resources, and some affected the whole in different and specific manners.
Her studies didn't specialize in such fields, and she was no physician.
The light dimmed with the passing of time. Whilst she should have been scared with the encroaching night, the truth was that the cooling temperatures made it easier for her to travel and push her body. It was only a matter of time when arrived at the oasis, and if they did before midnight – when the sun was furthest from the heavens – then there would be no issue at all.
Having topped vitality was the only thing that made it possible for her to keep pushing forward.
Perhaps not a sizeable increase, but it was undeniable she was stronger than before where it mattered. If she trusted something about her, it was her capacity to withstand abuse.
Much like her heart and thoughts, the sky was black. Unfortunately for the scribe, no stars shone within her as the heavens had. Nonetheless, nothing of that mattered as the faint silhouettes at the horizon became familiar.
"We are almost there," Aloe announced at her steed. She would have liked to be more enthusiastic, but she was one step from falling asleep.
"Wro!" Fikali didn't fare that much better. Oh yes, she was lively, but the human knew the monster could be and do much more if she wanted.
The dweller led her through the oasis, starving off the solid ground, and approached the shack she had for a house. She knew this wouldn't be easy before she set for the journey, but only the difficulty of the coming days became clear to her the moment she separated herself from Fikali. She couldn't stand, let alone walk, and yet she had many tasks at hand.
To not make Fikali suffer a rough night, Aloe unlatched the saddle whilst she sat on the steps of the shack's entrance. The leather contraption was heavy, and it took quite a few tugs to remove it from the dweller even when it was completely free.
Now, the hard part. Aloe had never been as conscious of her short stature as this very moment. Before her lay a door. A locked door. A locked door she had to open.
It shouldn't have been as hard as it had been, but the exhaustion was taking a toll on her body far greater than any other tax may have drained her pockets. She stood on her knees – a difficult endeavor, for as what her hips respected, it was no different than standing up – and supported her body on the doorframe. Still, she wobbled so much, that no matter how stretched her arms may be, she had difficulties reaching the lock. The spasmodic movements finally reached their zenith and the keys slipped from her hands, falling into the sand.
"Fucking fuck." Aloe swore uncreatively, a clear sign of mental exhaustion as only the dullest of mind wouldn't add flourish to their curses.
The woman dropped her body to the ground and grabbed the key, panting along the way. She tightened her grip on it, even when her instability grew, the key remained firm. The dweller grunted behind her, and she groaned noncommittally back. With a bit more effort, the human managed to open the unlocked door.
She flailed her arm at the door, swinging it wide open, and then the limb fell on the ground like a dead weight. Every movement was hard fought but she didn't stop once. The cultivator led the saddle inside the shack, even when she had to crawl with her other hand. She left all her luggage at her desk's feet and continued crawling forward.
No matter that her stomach was grumbling, no matter how much her body was dehydrated, no matter that she was still clothed, Aloe crawled into the bedroom and then onto the bed. Sleep came instantaneously.
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Sweat and dust weren't the most pleasing of smells, but that was what finally awoke Aloe. Not the heat or her dying body, but her corporal odors.
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"Ough…" The petite woman rolled on her bed as she groaned, only to fall on the ground with a muted thud. Her body was so heavy and had fallen so perfectly straight that she didn't even notice the fall until she opened her eyes. "Watah…" More groaning ensued.
Readying herself for the day was impossible in her current state, but the scribe managed to reach the saddle and gorged herself in stale water and tough jerky. It spoke in great length about her when those two items tasted like heavenly glory.
"Alright… alright…." Aloe lazily muttered with her back laying on the shack's wall. "I think I'll have to start doing something at some point by now, it's almost noon…" She groaned. "Okay… first task, bathroom."
Going to the bathroom in the oasis had never been pleasant and being unable to walk made it worse. Still, she was used to the awful latrine and also to being incapable of the most basic of activities. As soon as she opened the door to the outside harsh world, Fikali met her. The dweller was not saddled, but for small walks, it wasn't needed. Taking advantage of the shack's steps, Aloe laid on Fikali's back and commanded her to carry her to the latrine.
She only noticed how close was her bladder to bursting when the dweller's back repeatedly bumped against her stomach.
What happened on the latrine had been a mess, but she was well aware that the true mess would be whenever she cleaned it. If she ever did.
"Okay… Fikali…" The human said between pants as she lay on top of the monster. "I need you… to carry me to the greenhouse. O-kay?"
"Hro." The dweller grunted in understanding.
"Hehe, good girl." Aloe petted the sides of Fikali's head, which prompted another grunt from her, albeit one of elation now.
Beneath the mask of playfulness, Aloe felt like she was going to collapse at any moment now. She had barely woken up, but she could no longer keep with her body. I think I overestimated my capabilities coming here. The human body was amazing as she found herself with a migraine even though she was simply exhausted.
"Here, girl." She threw Fikali a pistachio once she dismounted at the greenhouse's entrance.
"Wrooooo!" The dweller bellyflopped so hard that she nearly jumped a full meter up to the sky.
Aloe snickered at the monster's antics. If she were ever to drown in a cesspit of misery, she knew Fikali would be there to pick her up.
With the weight of the world and her life on her hands, Aloe unlatched and opened the greenhouse's door. Unlike the soft sand of the desert or the sandstone floor of the shack, the greenhouse's cobblestone floor obliterated her kneecaps and elbows as she crawled forward. The smaller the pebbles were, the more painful the movement was. Her eyes tunnel-visioned on her objective, the corners of her vision dimming and ignoring everything else. What was of importance right now wasn't the greenhouse itself.
"Mmm…" She bit her lips and toughed up the scratches against her body. The problem wasn't the skin contact, but rather how some pebbles pressed against her bones.
Panting through the greenhouse, Aloe reached her destination.
"Well," she chuckled, "at least I guess I won't need to bite my fingers this time." She laughed at her self-made wounds because otherwise, the alternative wouldn't be beautiful.
The cultivator slid into the parterre, not caring about her clothing as it was already as dirty as it could get. Aloe caressed the plant slowly as she anticipated the power overflowing it.
The Blossomflame before her was incomparable to the one she had at Sadina. It was bright red, and even without being prompted was already brimming with embers.
Fire bloomed, that was what the Blossomflame was.
"Come on, your little sister managed to alleviate my pain. I know you can do more. So much more." She whispered at the warm flower. "Give me the salvation I need."
Her body burned as loudly as the evolved plant. It wasn't only the blood gushing free from her scratches, but the aches deep inside of her too.
Warmth was hard to come by. The desert only provided scorching deadly heat, not the tender and life-granting warmth. So it was easy for Aloe to recognize that the fire gathering in front of her wasn't an act of destruction, but creation. Of life and rebirth.
"Ah~" Aloe gasped as the flames grew to sizes never seen before. "Yes…" She let the fire envelop her, to crawl up her arms without resistance. This was what she was waiting for.
Then the Blossomflame exploded, spurting waves of incandescent might, and swallowed her whole.
Flames became everything Aloe could see. Flames became everything Aloe could touch.
Flames became her whole world.
But no fire took over her. The embers, the flames, the smoke… it all embraced her in a warm hug. She couldn't know why this time the Blossomflame had covered her whole body instead of only the wounded sections, or how it was able to do so in the first place, yet neither she cared.
For she was comfortable.
The petite cultivator writhed on the ground, uncaring of dirt soiling her. It was not an act of pain, but pleasure, not dissimilar to stretching one's body and popping bones and muscles into place.
"Mmm~" She moaned with her mouth closed, unsure of what would happen if that fire got inside of her.
Though at the same time, she knew it really didn't matter as she felt the warmth of the Blossomflame all around her, even in her very core.
In the mixture of pleasure, in the tender scratches of the evolved plant, the itches finally came. She had been expecting them, every time she had been healed by the fire flowers she had been assaulted by that powerful discomfort, yet nothing could have prepared her for the magnitude of it.
"Aaaah!" Aloe screamed as her whole body convulsed in maddening itches, her back tensing up and arching from the overwhelming sensations.
Consciousness threatened to slip from her grasp, and fire pushed inside of her body from her opened mouth. Aloe bit the fire, but nothing happened to it, continuing to thrash unaffected by her efforts.
Warmth. Light. Redness. And finally…
Darkness.