"We harvest those berries every year. I didn't think twice about it, but they are a little too early this season," the woman answered. "The children brought them in… I won't be surprised if they decided to eat some while picking them…" the woman told Rynn and Gideon. 

Gideon looked at the woman. "We once came across berries like these. They have a counterpart that ripens later in the springtime that are incredibly good and healthy…" he said thoughtfully. "Can you take us to where the berries grow? We'd need to check the plants to be sure," Gideon said. He knew where Rynn's head was at, and knew that she wasn't ready to be wrong by any stretch of the word. 

"Certainly. It isn't far from here," the woman said, and Gideon motioned for Rynn to come along. They followed the woman out across the water again before they went a short distance into the swamp to where dozens upon dozens of berry bushes were growing. Most of them were empty, but there were a couple of them that were already fruiting. 

Gideon walked up and took a good long look at one of the fruiting plants. "Yeah… this is it Rynn. Same stuff Erik ran afoul of…" he said. He looked at the woman. "These berries are what have caused the kids to get sick. They look and smell like the good fruit, but they are toxic. So, first thing you are going to want to do, is pull out all these bushes and burn them. Make sure you get the entire root or in a few years this will be a problem again," he told the woman. "Rynn let's go treat the kids," he said. 

They went back to the village and Gideon set about healing the children. About the fifth child in he began to get light headed again, and shaky. The loaf of bread really hadn't been enough. 

Rynn couldn't help but feel irritated at the whole situation, but she held her tongue.  Despite the differences between their worlds, there were still those who would fall for traps that the land set for them.  She followed Gideon and the villagers to the berry bushes, and surely enough, it was confirmed that these were indeed the cause of the ailment.  Good going, Gideon.

Now that they knew the cause, Gideon set to work on healing the children the moment he returned.  It was around the fifth child, though, that Rynn noticed Gideon's fatigue really start affecting him.  She sighed, Idiot.  Stop pushing yourself so hard.  

"As we're healing the children, could you please spare us a meal?" Rynn asked, putting on her smile and charm.  "It's the least you could do.  And make it quick, if you would…healing isn't an easy art, and it requires immense stamina."  She then turned to Gideon, and as he started to work on the sixth child, she leaned into his back, her hands trailing down his arms.  She gripped his hands, pressing her body against his, her lips inches away from his ear.  

"It's ok.  You don't have to take all of the burden."  Her words were soft spoken, and endearing.  She closed her eyes, and let the mana flow through her.  Her healing art was nowhere near the level of Gideon's, but it was enough to supplement his spell and ease his task.  "It's only a little more.  Can you handle it, or would you like me to take over?"  Of course, a single apple wasn't much to go on either, but she also hadn't utilized her wings, which was a massive draw on the energy reserves.  In fact…  

"No.  Nevermind.  You're done…I'll take over.  You go and rest.  I'll take care of it…"

"Oh, yes! I'll have the others help to get it done quickly!" the woman agreed and shuffled off with another mother of the sick children they were in the process of healing. They were eager to help now, wanting to show their thanks for all that these two strangers were doing for them. Gideon wiped a trickle of sweat from his forehead, and stiffened ever so slightly as Rynn pressed up against him and ran her hands down his arms. He let out a sigh of relief as she lent him her energy to finish the sixth healing, his fingers gripping hers. 

He could feel her breath on his cheek and ear. He resisted the urge to nuzzle her, since he was working. With her this close, it was impossible to hide his physical fatigue. "I'm alright," he lied, and he knew she could tell. Sure enough a second later she ordered him to stop. Frankly, he was too spent to argue and once the sixth child was successfully healed, he curled up on the floor of the hut and immediately shut his eyes. He was asleep in seconds, his large wings encompassing him like a downy cocoon. 

He wasn't sure how long he slept, but the smell of food was what made him get up. His need for sustenance outweighed his need for sleep. Friends at the Academy had called him a walking stomach, and it wasn't too far from the truth. He could really pack it away when he had the opportunity. Two sets of wings required a lot of energy, and energy required food. He sat up, and immediately regretted doing so as he felt the room spin. 

"I'm good, I'm good," he said, laying back down to get the room to stop spinning. He looked at Rynn. "How's it going?" he asked groggily as the mothers of the sick children began bringing in bowls of porridge, in season greens and fruits, and bread. He tried to sit up again and one of the mothers, recognizing the fatigue, helped him sit before she pushed a bowl of porridge into his hands. 

"Here, eat, please!" she encouraged. Gideon, again, didn't need to be told twice as he began bolting down the porridge, completely foregoing the use of a spoon and swallowing it in gulps.

As Gideon moved to the side, Rynn started on the seventh child.  Good.  Rest.  I'll take care of everything.  The healing process was much slower with Rynn heading it, due to her lack of experience and restricted mana flow, however it still didn't take more then half an hour for her two finish healing the children.  By that time, they had put out a spread of foods in the room.  The first bowls went to the children which Rynn could understand.

Gideon started to move, which turned Rynn's focus to him.  He tried to get up quickly, and Rynn let out a sharp 'tsk' sound, shaking her head.  "Don't move to quickly, idi-"  She paused.  "I'm…I'm fine, Gideon.  A little tired, but fine."  She smiled at him, and with the aid of one of the mothers, helping him up.  A bowl of porridge was pushed into his hands, which he immediately downed.

"You're so sloppy," Rynn said with a a mix of amusement and disgust.  "Here…"  She handed him a rag.  "Make sure to clean yourself up…"

"Here, for you as well." One of the woman pushed a bowl into her hands as well.  With a grateful smile, Rynn scarfed hers down as well, though not nearly as fast as her partner.  By the time she finished her first bowl, Gideon had already moved on to his second.  

"Slow down," she said with a glare.  "You'll eat them out of stock at the rate you're going…"

"I'll clean up when I'm done," Gideon replied almost sharply. He didn't feel like cleaning up when he was just going to get messy again. "I won't eat them out of everything," he added defensively as he tore into a loaf of bread. With his energy level stabilizing, he was beginning to feel a lot better. He looked at Rynn and slowed down eating, even taking time to clean the porridge he had sloppily spilled on his coat and shirt. He looked up at the women who had provided the food. 

"Thank you. Thank you so much for the food," he said gratefully. Now that he had food in his stomach, he felt energy returning to him with vigor. "All right. I've got the energy I need now," he said as he stood up. He stretched, and pocketed another bread loaf before he asked the mother to show him to the next sick children. 

"I have an idea, and Rynn if you feel up to it, you can help," he said. "Can you bring the last five together in one place? I think I may be able to do a mass healing now that I've had something to eat. With Rynn's assistance we should be able to help them all in one fell swoop," he suggested. 

As Rynn and the women gathered the rest of the children, she couldn't help but still hold concern for Gideon.  She genuinely hoped that this wouldn't put too much strain on him.  After all, he had carried most of the burden since they had crash landed here.  I'm sorry.  I'll make it up to you somehow.  She tried to catch his gaze, to see where his head was, but was unable to by the time they were prepared to heal the children.

"Okay, Gideon.  We're ready," Rynn said, holding out her hand.  "We're ready if you are."  

I'm so sorry, Gideon, for making you front all of this.  I know that I'm standing by you…but I hope that you'll stay within my reach.  I don't know if I could have ever made it this far without you.  So please…just a little longer, and I'll find a way to repay you for everything…

With the five remaining children situated around him, Gideon took Rynn's hand and squeezed it reassuringly before he took his place sitting on the floor in the center of the circle. He pulled Rynn down beside him. "Put your hands on my shoulders," he instructed her softly. "Just provide a little mana that I can siphon if I start running low again. It will help me keep from going too fast," he explained to her. He sat criss-cross on the floor and lightly rested the palms of his hands on the floor. He exhaled slowly and took a deep breath before a bead of light began to manifest at his heart. 

Slowly this ball of light grew to envelop him and Rynn before it stretched out to bathe the five children in the warmth of the healing magic. Lines stretched out across the floor to each individual child, as the flow of energy left Gideon and passed to them. 

One at a time, the children began to stir as the white magic purged the poison from their bodies. Sweat began to bead on Gideon's forehead and he carefully began drawing mana through Rynn as his own energy levels began to get low again. It wasn't near as bad as before though, and after maybe ten minutes of continuous magical flow the final child woke up and began asking for her mother. A smile painted Gideon's face, and the magic faded back into a tiny bead that retreated back into his body. He sighed in relief and wiped the sweat from his forehead and sat up, and looked up at Rynn with a smile. 

"And that's that…" he said as he grabbed her hand and squeezed again. "I'm starving again," he said with a bit of a laugh as he went to stand again. "Let's get these kids some breakfast. They definitely need it," he chuckled. 

Three more bowls of porridge and a loaf of bread later, Gideon was full, and the children were laughing and running around the docks again, while several of the women burned the offending berry bushes. 

The first mother who had approached them walked up to Gideon and Rynn again, wiping her muddy hands on her apron. 

"Thank you, so much. We were worried we were going to have to send someone away for a cleric. It's a long way and we weren't sure the children would have been able to make it," she said. "We owe you a lot."

Rynn did as she was asked, placing her hands on his shoulders.  The entire process went smoothly, with Gideon drawing from her reserves only a little, but it was enough to cause her minor fatigue.  Look at you…saving the day again, you saint…  When it ended, Rynn helped Gideon up, giving him a genuine smile when he stated that he was hungry again.  "Of course you are, id-…"  She stopped herself.

Rynn watched as her partner downed another three bowls of the porridge, as well as a full loaf of their bread.  The draconian herself only had a single serving more before thanking the women for their food.  When Gideon finally finished, she started to pull him to the side to thank him, but was interrupted by the first mother.  Her praise was definitely appreciated, and it showed in her motions.

"No, it's fine.  You don't owe us anything," Rynn tried to say.  "Really…the food was more than enough."  

"No, I insist that we do indeed owe you," the mother pushed.

"Well…actually…"  She looked to Gideon.  "If you had a spare map.  Or at least can give us some directions, that would help.  Are you fine with that as well, Gideon?"

"Yeah," Gideon agreed. "A map would do us a lot of good. We aren't familiar with this land at all," he explained. The woman nodded. 
"This is a fishing village, so we should have one we can give you," she said with a nod. "If you are going to be traveling, we'll also pack you some rations for the road. It is really the least we can do for you," she insisted. 

"You are really too kind. It is greatly appreciated ma'am," Gideon said giving her a slight bow. She smiled and nodded and hurried off to find the map and to pack them food for the next day or so. He looked at Rynn. "You know, despite our crash landing, this certainly could have gone a lot worse," he said. "I mean, I definitely wasn't expecting to be put to work so quickly upon arrival," he said with a slight laugh. "But, all in all, it seems that luck is on our side here," he said as he took Rynn's hand. "I think it's a sign of things to come," he told her as he squeezed her hand. 

"Thank you so much," Rynn said along with Gideon. As the mother hurried off, Rynn and Gideon were finally left alone.

"Yeah.  Things definitely could have been worse.  But you should well know, the Alzrahi's have a family curse.  Wherever we go, you can be sure there will be something wrong, and we'll have to fix it.  It's almost as bad as those stories Father used to…"  She paused.  "You know," she said as Gideon squeezed her hand.  "I don't think I've had the chance to properly thank you for everything these past few days."  And you more than deserve it…  

"Gideon, if it weren't for you….I doubt I would even be here alive."  She leaned in closer to him.  "You asked if I wanted things to be different, but you should at least know, the one thing that I want to…I mean, I just would like us to…"  Rynn moved in closer, her heart beating rapidly.  "I just…for once…wouldn't mind…"

"Here we are!" a sudden voice said, starling Rynn and causing her to jump back.  "The map and the provisions for you," the woman said as she waltzed back into the room.  

Rynn's face turned a beet red, and she took another step back.  "Oh yes!  T-thank you!"

"Are you sure you're fit to travel, dear?" the mother asked.  "Is it possible that you caught something trying to help us?"

"N-no!  I'm fine!  I promise!" Rynn replied sheepishly.