“Leena.”

She curled up tighter.

“Hey, Leena.”

She felt something warm touch her exposed shoulder, and she breathed out in a sigh, a weary one as if her deep sleep was interrupted.

“Leena. Look.”

She opened an eye, squinting at the bright light of a flame that hit her; then she rolled her face down into the leaves, deeper.

“Get up. Follow.” She turned her head up again, feeling a warmth on her face. Her eyes blinked rapidly, trying to take in the fiery light in the midst of the dark of the forest night.

Standing before her was a being made of fire. It was vaguely human-like with long flickering limbs and a head. The core of it was a white hot light and it faded outward to yellow licks of flame. Leena had to shade her eyes to look upon it. The being was touching her shoulder still, with a long arm-like tendril, and she felt an energy pour into her.

She pushed herself up and stood, brushing her palms on her pants. The flame being backed away.

“Follow,” the being said, the voice sounding calm, soothing, and deep. She stumbled a bit, trying to fight the stiffness of her limbs. It was so slow. Everything was so slow.

She walked as the being drifted away from her.

“W-what are you?” she whispered, her voice cracking from thirst and unuse.

“Friend.”

“Friend?”

“Sorry,” it replied.

“Are you Bo?” she asked, feeling tears behind her eyes.

“Not Bo.”

“Why sorry?”

“Not here.”

“Not here? You’re here now,” Leena replied as she touched a tree to pull herself.

“Quiet,” it said, a bit softer, almost gently. She pressed her lips together, feeling one of her cracked lips start bleeding. She licked it away.

As it was leading her, she noticed the fire start to fade away, shrinking until the being was more like a ball of fire. The white hotness started to fade into oranges and yellows until it was a merely candlelight.

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It stopped leading her.

“Stay with Bo,” came the voice, soft and barely audible, almost foggy. Then the flame winked out.

The sun was starting to peek out on the horizon, casting shadows on the trees. Instead of the pinks, oranges, and reds of a sunrise, the sky met the sun with a dull gray. Leena felt like meeting the sun in much the same way.

Footsteps. Her heart rate rose, and she looked around anxiously. Weapons? Place to hide?

“Leena! Leena! Leena!” She whipped her head around to see Bo dashing at her. She held her hands up in defense as he wrapped his arms around her.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m such an idiot. I’m sorry…” he blurted out, words running from his mouth like fire, a fountain of apologies flowing and spilling on her ears.

She squirmed a bit to pry herself from him.

He let go, falling on his knees. He grabbed both of her hands, holding them close to him.

“I’m so sorry, Leena. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” His face was dirty and bloodied. Streaks ran down his face like lines in mud, revealing some skin beneath. His fingernails were dirty, like top hats on his crusted fingers. His hair was patted down with sweat; the saltwater fell in droplets on the shoulders of his coat leaving dark, circular imprints.

His eyes were wide, pleading. His lips trembled with his words, his breath still steadying after a full sprint.

“Leena, I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I’m sorry I did that. Please let me explain. I’ll talk now, Leena. I’m sorry.”

Leena just felt tired.

“Here,” he said, standing up. He pulled out a bit of ice from his pack, offering it to her.

“Please, take some. I have some food. Let’s sit for a bit, okay? Let’s just sit for a while. We have some time. We can do that.” She took the bit of ice in her fingers, feeling nothing, and popped it into her mouth. He sat down, pulling out the light orb to let it float around them in the morning dawn. He handed her some strange orange lump.

It smelled old like a boot. She gagged a bit, dropping her hand to her side as she watched him pull a few more things out of his satchel.

A book. A pen. His extra shirt, which he laid down and motioned for her to sit upon it. Another piece of the strange orange lump, presumably for them to share.

She stood there, watching him in his strange anxiety, and she felt empty.

“Leena, please, sit. Sit down, okay? It’s alright. We’ll be okay. It’s okay.”

She sat.

His lips quivered, and he held his face in his hands.

“Oh, Leena. I thought you were gone,” he said, muffled from facing downwards, “I shouldn’t have done that. I’m so sorry for leaving you. I’m sorry I put the hex on you to make you sleep. I’m sorry you got captured by the goblins, and I’m so sorry for not telling you anything. I just…I didn’t want to worry you. I didn’t want you to…I just…I thought I could deal with it. I really thought I would be okay with the darkness, but now…I’m not. I’m not okay. And I’m sorry I let it get this bad.”

He breathed shakily in and out.

A moment of silence as he cleared his throat and looked back at her.

“Oh, shit, here, take it. Take this, but…only for a little bit,” he said as he took his talisman, enclosing it within her fingers.

She felt the warmth of the talisman in her fingers, the warmth spreading gently through her arms, as if she was asleep and now suddenly was awake.

“Oh?” she said, feeling a calm energy return, banishing the darkness that had invaded her. She sensed it leave, fading into the background as the warmth went through her whole body. Ah, Bo was here and talking to her. Was she even listening to him?

“What?” she asked, staring at her hands. She looked at Bo.

He smiled weakly at her.

“That’s the darkness. That’s what’s spreading.”