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Adencia nodded knowingly, “Understandable. Curse . . . the word doesn’t really have a true meaning does it? There are so many different things to call a curse and so many ways to define it – and the definition depends entirely on the person.”

“Or the person’s state of being.” Isarelle said thoughtfully, “Each of us has been bewitched in a cruel way . . . we consider this cursed. By my definition, our state of being would be a curse because I have known nothing else but this curse for so long.”

“Like I said,” Adencia replied in a forlorn tone, “It depends on the person. I have known many other curses besides that of which I was bewitched with.”

Isarelle frowned slightly as she saw Adencia’s mood change. This conversation was getting a bit too personal. She decided it would be best to stop it.

“It’s getting late.” She said, “We all need to get some rest. We should finish the conversation at a later time. Goodnight.”

Adencia leaned against the trunk of a tree and closed her eyes, Ekko resting in a branch above her with his head tucked near his wing. She had removed her sword, and quiver but kept her dagger in an easily accessable area. The events of the day weren't enough to tire her so she would have liked to stay awake but there was no knowing what the night would bring so resting was the best choice.

Isarelle pulled a blanket from one of Meena's saddle bags and lay atop it, gazing at the latticed tree branches above their heads. A slight breeze passed through the air bit it wasn't chilling so she was comfortable. One last stray thought passed through her mind and she fell asleep.

((Next time I post it's going to be the 'morning' post so if your going to get something in do it now.))

A loud crack of thunder rumbled overhead, waking Garren in his light slumber. He opened his eyes to see the thick lattice of branches overhead and a little droplet come down every-once-in-a-while in an area a distance from their camp. I wasn’t raining yet but who knew how long that would last.

Sitting up, Garren looked around. He saw that everyone was still slumbering. It was a bit early still to start up again so he would let them sleep. The fire was down to a few smoldering embers – someone had kept it alive for most the night . . . but who? Looking around again he noticed someone missing this time. Where had Adencia gone?

Garren heard a splash and he looked to the river to see Adencia crawling to the shore, coughing and spitting up water. She stopped but was only far enough to get her top half on dry land, her feet still in the shallows of the shore. Running up to her quietly so as not to wake anyone up he knelt by her.

“Adencia!” he exclaimed, “What happened, how did you . . . what?”

“A fish,” she shivered, breathing heavily, “I . . . turned into . . . a fish.” She laughed in hysterics and continued on shaking, “Otch, I can’t remember the last time I did that. It’s been a while . . . and I was a much smaller fish!”

Garren lifted her up out of the water – she was cold as ice.

“Oh jeezum, you’re so cold. You’re going to get pneumonia – or hypothermia – or both!” he said, still keeping his voice low. He hurried over to where the little fire had been and set her down, covering her with a blanket. After rebuilding the fire he pulled Meena over to the quivering elf so she could rest on the horse’s warm body.

“Th-thank god th-there w-w-was a l-lake.” Adencia stammered.

Cerdik awoke yet again, but it didn't bother him. He shivered a little and rolled over. He couldn't seem to fall asleep, however. He looked up toward the sky. The clouds were a light gray. The sun must be nearing the horizon. He sat up and stretched his arms. He saw then that he wasn't the only one awake. Adencia and Garren were both up and huddled nearby, Adencia quaking beneath the blanket thrown about her shoulders. Slowly, he reached for his satchel and slung it over his shoulders. Then he crawled over to the fire, sitting at Adencia's side opposite Garren. "W-what has b-befffallen your fffate?" he asked in a shaky, quiet voice. The morning chill still permeated his thin clothing, but he did a good job of ignoring it while he began his interrogation.

Cerdik listened quietly. He was quite curious as to what exactly she had become, and was about to ask when Garren began speaking to himself. No, he was speaking to Isarelle, but he seemed as if he spoke to himself. Cerdik knew that if he reached out with his mind, he could probably catch the conversation as he had once done before, while still in the mansion. However, he felt now that it would be an invasion of their privacy. So he waited for Garren to present the question to him. When asked, Cerdik smiled warmly and nodded. He was in need of some warmth as well. "There ever be ways to solve a predicament, no matter its form."

He slipped the satchel from his shoulders and scooted closer to Adencia, feeling a tad nervous now. He must have been blushing, because Cerdik felt his face to be a tad warmer as he reached toward Adencia with a shaky hand. "I beg many apologies," he murmured before laying his hand upon Adencia's clavicle. He felt very awkward having his hand so close to a woman's chest, but did his best to keep those thoughts from his mind. He placed his other hand out in front of him, and summoned his book. It came to rest on his outstretched hand, and flipped slowly to the page he need. He closed the book and cast it away to his satchel once more.

Then he began the simple spell, one hand resting on Adencia's clavicle, and the other held toward the weak fire. He began murmuring under his breath. At first, nothing occurred. Then, without warning, a tongue of flame flicked out toward Cerdik's hand. Then another. A few seconds later, a small portion of the flames seemed to become encased within an invisible orb that slowly floated to the young mage's palm. The palm of his glove began to glow red-hot as the flames seemed to merge with Cerdik. He felt the heat flow through his body, sending a slight shiver down his spine. Then it exitted his body, and entered Adencia's slowly spreading out. Cerdik pulled his hand away and sat back, smiling again. "That is all."

Cerdik shivered and cringed slightly as a large hand, relatively speaking, was laid on his shoulder. He tilted his head back to look up at Garren. He looked down and nodded. "A riverbed of thanks," he murmured, staring at the dirt. He was a little embarassed, and more than a little uncomfortable. He didn't comment on it, though. He merely waited for Garren to take away his hand. Then, slowly, Cerdik reached out to the fire again, extracted a small orb of flame, and pressed it to his chest. The sudden warmth sent a shiver through his body, but the wave of heat that followed was comforting. With a soft smile, he nodded again to Garren. "Yes, yes. I will undertake her care." He glanced briefly at Adencia, still smiling, and then down to his satchel. If the sun were within sight, he would attempt to create a better light for himself to read by. It was possible to do so without the sun, but it was far easier to extract magic from nature than to artificially create it by one's one will power. That was a lesson Cerdik had learned on his own, and was proud of such a discovery, however small.

Garren nodded to Thorn as he mentioned the firewood. They still needed a fire to make breakfast so it would be good for him to go out and get some. Garren would have offered his help but he’d be busy waking everyone and packing up everything. Glancing over to make sure Cerdik and Adencia were okay he continued on.

Though she had warmed up quite a bit, Adencia was still quite wet. A slight chill breathed through the cloth of the blanket on top of her so she hugged it tighter around her. Ekko had awoken by this time. The speckled hawk flew to her shoulder and pulled at her wet hair curiously.

Too tired to stroke him, she wiggled her shoulder to get him to move. Feeling miffed, Ekko went from the elf’s shoulder to Cerdik’s. He nuzzled the boy’s cheek with his head in an attempt to make her jealous. Adencia rolled her eyes and laid her head down on Meena to sleep. Ekko continued to nuzzle Cerdik because his cheek was soft and warm, a nice comfort on this dreary day.