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Tera shook her head again. Strong? Mayhaps when it came to things that involved physical means, but not this. Never this. "Please," she whispered, pleading. "Not now."

"Mmm..." A noncommittal sound, as Tera had no idea as to when. Right now, it was enough that Trio was here. Couldn't Trio see that? Though normally taller than Trio, she curled easily into the other woman's embrace, like a small child.

Feeling that the battle had been won, at least for now, Tera relaxed a bit, waiting for sleep to overtake her fatigued body. As these things were wont to happen, however, before she could begin to drift off, a gentle knock came from the door.

"Miss Tera?" Rith inquired from outside. "Your meal is growing cold."

Tera stiffened, knowing that Trio wouldn't turn him away. Especially not if he had food.

There was a moment's pause, as if the Juu outside were trying to place Trio's voice, before the doorhandle, one of those lever-type ones that made it easy for those without opposable thumbs to operate, lowered and the door swung open. To his credit, Rith registered little surprise as he entered the room, a tray balanced neatly on one hand, the other swinging the door back closed.

Tera turned her head into Trio's shoulder, burying her face against the other woman's neck. Already the scent of vegetable soup was wafting over, and her stomach lurched at the smell.

When he realized that this wasn't simply a pair of friends enjoying a moment alone, Rith sighed to himself. Then he set his shoulders, smiled gently, and finished the walk to the bed. "Your favorite, dear. Just the way I know you enjoy it." The tray was lowered a bit, so that Trio could see the bowl of soup, small biscuits lightly buttered, a tall glass of orange juice, and a few sprigs of lavender in a tiny bud vase.

"Most assuredly, Miss Trio." Bowing his head in greeting to her as he spoke, Rith sat down on the edge of the bed nearest to Tera, then lay the tray down beside him. While he didn't know if this new developement would be better than the state she had been in before, when she had spent most of her time locked away in her room, Rith had a feeling that it had to be somewhat higher on the list than whatever had possessed her these last few weeks.

"Not hungry," Tera muttered against Trio's neck.

Though not as quick of hearing as Miz, Rith didn't miss that. Laying a gentle hand on Tera's shoulder, he squeezed reassuringly. "Just a touch of soup. A bit of biscuit."

If there was any one way to guarantee she'd eat, it was that. Tera opened her mouth just enough to lean forward and take the smallest of bites from the biscuit, then chewed slowly, even though the buttery baked good practically melted upon contact with her tongue.

Rith smiled in relief, seeing Tera's jaw moving beneath the fall of her hair that shielded her face from his view. He patted his pockets down, before finally finding what he needed on his left and coming out with a paper-wrapped straw. Though they were usually used for those who had trouble holding glasses, Rith figured it would help Trio get some fluids into Tera, so he neatly unwrapped it and tucked it into the glass.

To his credit, Rith seemed not to have noticed the noises Trio's abdomen was emitting. After he had examined the tray for a moment, he made a tiny face to himself, then patted Tera's side. "I'll be back in just a moment, sweets. I've left something in the kitchen."

Tera barely noticed as he stood, concentrating instead on nibbling at the biscuit. While it was rather moist, there came a point where her mouth ended up terribly dry, and it became a little difficult to swallow. At that point Tera stopped eating, coughing lightly.

Once the straw was placed to her lips, Tera sipped just as slowly at the juice as she had nibbled at the biscuit. There was a moment when she stopped drinking, giving her stomach a chance to settle, shivering lightly. The juice, fresh squeezed, was still rather cold, and it numbed as it went down.