"Put me do already!" Ariana shouted as she pounded against Lobo"s back. "Why are you being so mean? I"m just taking you to the bathhouse?" Lobo replied. "Just put me down please!" Ariana cried. Lobo couldn"t help but comply and placed Ariana back on the ground. Ariana slumped and the colour from her face drained. "Whoa are you okay?" Lobo asked as he held Ariana in his arms. "No. I feel sick." Ariana said, her eyes were spinning and she slightly gagged. She had never liked being thrown over someone"s shoulder and treated like a sack of potatoes, the sensation was next to awful. With and empty stomach, lack of sleep and speed that Lobo ran at made her feel sick. "Look the bathhouse is right there. You can rest inside." Lobo said as he pointed behind Ariana.
She looked back and saw that Edlyn was rushing towards her. "Edlyn." Ariana called out as she turned away from Lobo and reached out towards Edlyn.
"What happened?" Edlyn asked in a panic. She caught Ariana and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I feel sick." Ariana said pitifully. Edlyn shot Lobo a murderous glare causing Lobo to raise his hands in defense as he broke out in a cold sweat. "I stole her from Cayden. If she feels sick he might have done something to her." Lobo quickly said but Edlyn didn"t believe him and just continued to glare. "If you were going to get so upset maybe you shouldn"t have left." Lobo said as he averted his gaze. Edlyn"s glare intensified.
"Edlyn can we go sit down." Ariana asked.
Edlyn clicked her tongue and turned away. She quickly helped Ariana into the bathhouse leaving both Xander and Lobo behind.
.....
Ariana sighed as she stepped into the bath. Edlyn watched her face as the colour returned to her face. "This is nice. I should have gone out last night and done this. Then maybe I would have slept." Ariana said as she completely relaxed. She laid the back of her head on the edge in of the bath and looked straight up. "What happened to you?" Edlyn asked. Ariana moved her head to the side and looked at Edlyn lazily. "Nothing good...."
"What does that thing want with me? What have I done to make it think I would ever want to be with it? Even if it"s been watching me wouldn"t it know that I love you? I wouldn"t want anything to happen to you." Edlyn said bitterly as he face twisted with anger. "I love you too but no matter what you say that creature now regards me as food." Ariana said quietly but her words shocked Edlyn to the core. "If I stick with you maybe he"ll leave you alone. I don"t want you to be food to anyone." Edlyn said in a hushed voice.
"I don"t think it matters. He"s not drinking my blood or eating my flesh. He"s just draining my magic. My concern is now that he has had a taste of my magic what is to stop him from attacking other students? What if his obsession with you makes him change from love to hunger? And if I try to kill it will that mean I"m killing the person he"s attached too? What if it"s a student that people look up too? The damage would be unimaginable and I"m not going to risk someone else"s life." Ariana explained.
"What are you going to do then?" Edlyn asked. "Strike a deal with it." Ariana replied. "Can you? Is that more dangerous then what you did last night? What if the eyes that you felt on you last night were actually his?" Edlyn asked as panic started to rise. "It"s okay." Ariana said calmly. She then reached out and pinched Edlyn"s nose. "You are worrying over nothing." Ariana said with a light laugh.
"No, you don"t worry enough. I just want you to look at everything before you rush head first. Mirela told you the same thing before, think before you act!" Edlyn said bitterly as she pulled away from Ariana"s grip. "And I will. I want to see how much information I can gather but there are some other things that have come up too." Ariana said as she sunk lower into the bath. "The taboo thing?" Edlyn asked.
Ariana dunk her head under the water and blew out bubbles for a while. She came back up dramatically and gasped for air. "Not just that, I don"t know what my mom and dad"s relationship is, I have no idea what"s going on with Cayden, I still have to try and get in contact with Otis to try and get close to Gautam and one more thing that I have no idea how to even approach. Honestly all this mystery is killing me and I don"t know if I can do it alone."
"Who says you have to do it alone. You have me and some other friends that are willing to help you find answers." Edlyn said with a bright smile but the smile didn"t help alleviate the weight on Ariana"s shoulders. "Oh come on. Smile. See I know it"s in you." Edlyn said as she placed her index fingers on the corners of Ariana"s lips and pointed them upwards. However the smile didn"t reach Ariana"s eyes instead it reflected worry.
"Whatever your going through and will stand by your side and help you." Edlyn said as removed her fingers. She then moved right beside Ariana. She laid her head in her shoulder and just waited.
Ariana sighed and laid her cheek on Edlyn head, she contemplated how she would explain the worst of her worries. When she finally opened her mouth they heard voice coming from the shower room. "Sorry Edlyn will talk more later." Ariana said. Edlyn sighed before she got up. "I am worried about you." Edlyn said pitifully. Ariana grabbed Edlyn"s hand, holding her back. "Ariana?" Edlyn said as she looked at her friend. Ariana raised her hands and signed what she was holding back.
Edlyn"s eyes grew wide in shock. Her whole body trembled then her legs buckled and gave way. She landed back into the bath with a giant splash. Other girls started to walk in and saw that Eldyn scrambled up from the bath. They gave her a weird look but Edlyn smiled and waved. The girls shrugged and walked further in to the bath. Edlyn turned to Ariana and brought up her own hands. "Are you sure?!" She signed but Ariana just stared. "Ariana?!" Edlyn signed.