A thick smoke fills his lungs as Alo enters the room, the unmistakable scent of pure rosemint. When within the grotto rosemint is little more than a wild tobacco but once leaving the confines of that putrid carcass it becomes something altogether different. A substance that can alter the very fabric of one’s being, for some such as Alo it eases pain and promotes euphoria yet for others causes paranoia and gives visions of the damned.
As he passes through the house carrying Iris’ limp body he feels his pain from the day before begin to ease. “You’re sure you can help her? She’s so far gone I’m not even sure if you can help her, Liv.”
As they enter a small room at the back of the house Liv quickly clears a table and demands “Place her here and leave please, I need room. The venom has taken its toll on her so this will take some time. We will speak once I’m done.”
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Alo sits in front of a massive hookah and slowly packs in finely ground rosemint. The sound of a slow drip from the ceiling is all to be heard other than the occasional muffled cry from the adjacent room. He can’t help but wonder what will become of his companion he’s grown so fond of. With a flick of a match across the box, he lights the rosemint to clear his mind and slips into bliss while waiting for Liv to return.
Colorful visions of beautiful sprites go through his mind and he finds himself remembering a time in the grotto with Liv. A time long before they were married when they were still young and they stole her grandfather's wine and drank themselves into oblivion in an abandoned house. She was his first that night and she has been his only ever since, the love for her continues to grow even now several lifetimes later because to him she is the only one to bring true peace to his mind.
Alo’s dreams are interrupted by Liv’s hand gently touching his face, “She’ll live but I don’t know to what quality, her right leg was too far gone and had to be taken at the knee and the left is severely weakened.”
Taking her hand in his Alo kisses it “I love you. I can handle everything else that is needed, let’s go sleep. It’s been far too long since we shared the same bed.” With a nod, Liv grasps his hand and leads him to bed