Since the birth of her cubs, Nyesha's health had been steadily getting worse and worse. Somehow, her body had rallied and made it through the pregnancy with almost no complications from the plague she suffered.. but now she had finally gotten worse than she had ever been before getting pregnant. She was starting to understand what she had done to herself, putting that kind of stress on her already weak body- though she never wanted to admit it, especially to mother.
She was out and about, sort of. She was hanging around in some shade not far from her mothers' den, intent on getting out but losing focus before getting anywhere near where she hoped to get. Nyesha was glad her family was so supportive, it was better she didn't attempt this while the boys were around.
Wheezing, she wasn't quite ready to make another effort to get back on the move so she settled down to rest.
Eione was worried about her friend, she had been for a while.. and that was why she made a point of visiting as frequently as possible now. She had been hanging around the healers more lately, trying to learn more and more about what to expect with the plague, though hearing it wasn't quite the same as seeing it in a loved one. Her mother was diseased, of course, but she wasn't declining the way Nyesha was. It was different.
She was on her way to Nyesha's den when she, surprisingly, spotted her friend sitting in the shade, looking terrible.
"Nyesha," she called out, picking up the pace and putting on a smile, "You're out of the den today!"
Nyesha didn't have the energy (or the breath) to be startled, she looked up tiredly when she heard her name and smiled when she saw her friend headed her way. Eione looked as well as ever, and as cheerful. She liked when she came to visit.
"Afternoon, Eione," she said as cheerfully as she could manage, "I decided to go for a walk but I guess I didn't go very far."
Too many words, even Nyesha could hear herself struggling, but she wasn't letting it stop her- she would just have to catch her breath before saying anything else.
Her smile changed when Nyesha spoke but she was very careful not to look too outwardly concerned. Her voice didn't sound right, she obviously couldn't breathe very well today- why would she go out and about like that? This wasn't like when she tried to go out when she was dizzy.
"I guess not," she said, glancing around to where Nyesha's family resided, "But it sounds like you did good anyway. How are you feeling?"
"Fine."
It was a reflex and she immediately regretted saying it. Everybody gave her the same look when she said she was feeling fine, her mothers, her siblings, Eione right now.. the boys didn't, bless their innocence.. but nobody seemed interested in letting her downplay it anymore.
"Not good," she rasped, making a face at Eione, "But I had to get out."
It was hard staying in the den, especially now that the cubs were more active. Some days all Nyesha really needed to do was get up and she would feel better.. but today, it turned out, wasn't really one of those days.
Eione did indeed give Nyesha a look when she claimed to be feeling fine. She tried not to but it was too obvious today- in fact, this was one of the first times the princess had worries Nyesha was starting to move into the advanced stages of the plague. You could hear the phlegm, it didn't sound so easy to overcome now.
"Well, you're out," she said, trying to put a smile back on now that Nyesha was being more truthful, "Did you want some company? Where are the boys at today?"
"Jani took them," she said with a sigh, letting herself lay back down on the ground now that she had an excuse- she hadn't failed at an outing, she had company.
"I- I'm not very much fun," she said, almost choking on her confession. When she had come to realize what she had done to herself, she realized what she had done to her family and it was far more painful than knowing she had made herself more sick. Her family was stuck taking care of her and her cubs didn't really have much of a mother.
Eione was surprised when suddenly Nyesha looked like she was going to cry (probably not good if you already seemed to be having trouble breathing).. this must be why she was determined to get out and about.
"Don't be silly, Ny," she said, smiling sadly and moving closer to sit down by her friend, "You're all kinds of fun, today just isn't a good day." She'd seen the little family. Nyesha couldn't exactly get up and chase them around or anything but they all loved each other.
"No," she murmured, shaking her head carefully. She wasn't looking for pity or reassurance, at least she didn't think so- she was being realistic for once. It was just lucky her health didn't stop them from going out and having fun on their own.. though their short attention spans might be to blame for that.
"It's hard to be a mother like this," she said, looking down at her paws.
"I know."
There wasn't a good way to respond to that, Eione didn't have any personal experience to draw from that would make her any kinds of reassuring even if she tried. Everybody here suffered from the plague, even if you were immune, you inevitably had family or friends who were sick.. and life went on, but that didn't mean it was easy. And Nyesha was so young and had such a young family, Eione wasn't sure how common it was to be this bad at their age.
After a long pause, Eione spoke up quietly.
"Do you want me to go get you a healer?" she asked, "Maybe they'll be able to help and we can see if we can find Jani and the boys- or you'll be better when they get back."
Nyesha didn't argue when silence fell between them, lost in thought about her health and how it was affecting her family. If they were lucky, she decided, she would die soon. It had to be easier to move on from her death than to spend time worrying about her.
Eione's suggestion of getting a healer surprised her, she hadn't really seen much of the healers-- had she been this bad before this?? She couldn't really remember, but maybe her mind was just too foggy right now. Maybe they would have some way to help her.
"Maybe," she said, coughing.
Well, she was willing to entertain the idea of help so that was a good thing at the least. In the mean time, Eione would be happy to keep her company. So she put on a smile and lay down so she was level with her friend.
"OK, you just tell me when and I'll get one," she said.
She knew she wasn't very much fun as a friend right now, either, but Eione was good at not making her feel so bad about it. Maybe it was just part of being princess, she was supposed to be good at this, right? Or maybe it was part of being heiress, even if she wasn't anymore.
"Tell me about your day," she said, looking over.
"It hasn't been a very exciting day," she said, shaking her head but smiling at Nyesha. She would find something to talk about and Nyesha would listen quietly, that was often how it went. Eione was OK with that, she was even good at it. Most of the time.
"You should hear what Lutum did yesterday, though," she said brightly. Her brother wasn't as close a friend and she was but Nyesha knew who he was and, even if she had to exaggerate a little bit, she'd find a story to tell.
Hopefully it wouldn't get back to him, though..
Fin!
