Xiara alone remained watching over Xopil.  Silent and still as a statue, she waited.  Hours turned into days.

Xopil groaned as he rolled in the bed.  His face had regained color, but he hadn't awoken yet.  Xiara continued vigilantly watching him.  This brings back memories... back when all I could do was watch him.  And yet... in some ways it's no different now.

Xiara clenched her fist, the first she's moved in almost a week.  She rose from the chair she was sitting on.  All her joints cracked from stiffness.

"Getting old?" Lexi asked from the doorway.

"I'm still in my prime." Xiara boasted, "I've been sitting too long is all."

"You have the patience of a saint." Lexi commented.

"You think so?" Xiara asked while stretching.

"6 days, 12 hours and 19 minutes you've been watching over him." Lexi stated.

"That's nothing honestly."  Xiara retorted, "When I was first brought into being, all I could do was watch him.  And watch him I did, for several thousand years."

"Fair enough I suppose, still, that could be praiseworthy." Lexi replied.

"Uhnnn." Xopil rolled over in his sleep.

"There's an improvement at last." Xiara bent over to touch her toes, "He's coming out of it."

"Just what kind of gift knocks a person out for almost a week?" Lexi asked.

"Nothing simple... he's probably undergone a huge change, and if I had to guess, his true self didn't want to experience the pain, so he knocked himself out to not have the memory." Xiara explained, "He's not a benevolent being, unless it comes to himself."

"Awfully selfish huh?" Lexi inquired.

"You have no idea," Xiara replied and after a pause, "sometimes I... find myself hoping this Xopil stays."

"That's possible?" Lexi asked.

"How to say this... it's not completely impossible, just a very... extremely... low chance of happening." Xiara answered.

"That's disappointing," Lexi dropped the topic, "will you be joining us to eat later?"

"I could do with a meal," Xiara replied as she enveloped herself in a spacial bubble and hit herself with a blast of water magic, instantly cleaning herself; she followed up with a blast of air to dry off.  When she was done, she repeated the process on Xopil.

Lexi was a little jealous.  "I wish I could wash like that when I'm in a rush."

"I bet Calypso would too."  Xiara laughed, thinking about how cats usually have an aversion to water.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Water doesn't bother her at all though." Lexi mused as she left the room.  "She does spend more time than anyone else in the outdoor bath."

"Now what to do about you..." Xiara asked as she looked over Xopil.  Her gaze stayed on his mouth when she noticed his lips were moving.  "He's talking in his sleep?  Or having a conversation with himself?"

Either way, it was not a conversation she was privy to.  There was no sound, and she wasn't capable of reading lips.  She took one final look at him, and she left the room as her stomach growled.

In the kitchen, all the women busied themselves preparing the meal.  Xiara added herself to the mix, adding an extra pair of hands into the preparations.  She couldn't help but make a comment, "There's enough here to feed a small army."

"Lexi mentioned you were going to eat with us today, and given that it's been nearly a week since you last ate, we took that into consideration." Felicyta explained while cutting vegetables.

"Thanks I think?" Xiara replied taking a second look at the large supply of raw ingredients.

"Xopil should be up soon too?" Calypso asked as she skinned, deboned, and prepared some freshly caught wild game.

"Even I have no way of knowing that." Xiara replied, while taking the deboned meat and busied herself by slicing it into filets, "I'm just hoping it's soon."

"Too much hinges on him." Felicyta said scornfully.

"I can't deny that."  replied Xiara, "But... it's not like there's anyone else in a position even close to his."

The girls finished preparing the meal in silence.  Each coping with fate in their own way.  Before long, the aroma of a delicious meal filled the inn.  The women gathered around, working together to set the table.  A myriad of dishes laid bare on display.  They sat down and started tearing into the meal.

"Something smells good." Xopil leaned heavliy on the door frame as he smirked watching them all.

"Well don't just stand there, come join us." Xiara shocked them all by not rushing up to help him, and instead kept filling her plate.

"That hungry are you?" Xopil said as he left the archway.  He took several steps into the room and collapsed.

"I am." Xiara responded between mouthfuls as she ate.

"I see." Xopil replied as he made a pitiful figure by inching closer to the table.

"Are you all right?  Should you be up?" asked Winter.  Beda meanwhile had abandoned her chair and was on her way to aid Xopil.

"Yeah, I'll live." Xopil replied as he continued his effort. "I'm just glad I didn't miss this meal."

"...So what you're saying is your stomach woke you up?" Xiara asked, casting a cold glare at him.

"Not just that," Xopil tried defending himself.

"What else then?" continued Xiara.

"I... didn't feel tired anymore?  What makes you wake up when you get up?" Xopil asked.

"..." Xiara didn't reply, she just continued eating at her own pace.

It's a bit hard to believe she's the same person who just watched him sleep for nearly 7 days straight.  Felicyta mused as she watched silently.

"What's with the hardass attitude?" Calypso asked, "You just watched over him for nearly 7 days without food or sleep yourself."

"..." Xiara glared at Calypso.

Obviously she didn't want him to know.  Silly cat.  Winter thought.

"So you're tired and hungry.  No wonder you're cranky." Xopil chuckled lightly.

"Yes that's it." Xiara snapped.

"How are you feeling?" Beda asked as she supported Xopil, "Aside from weak of course."

"I have a massive headache and my body feels like someone dropped a rock on top of me and then after, built a house on top of the rock." Xopil replied.

"Sounds painful." stated Calypso.

"It's not a walk in the park." Xopil replied.  "It is strange though."

"What's that?" asked Xiara.

"You know how it feels to struggle with something, but you have someone just come along and clear up all the confusion you're experiencing by explaining how something works?" Xopil asked, then stated, "I've been going about mastering magic all wrong.  I had a revelation in my sleep, or more like some of my memory locks just opened up."

"But that doesn't explain the pain I'm in." Xopil continued.

"Actually, it does." Xiara stated, "Your body isn't strong enough to handle those memories, nor the power of using magic properly.  So you're going through a transition phase as your body adjusts."