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Collei was awoken from her sleep by a sound coming from the kitchen.
She dragged her eyes awake, and looked over at bedside to find the sleeping bag on the floor was empty. A yawn escapes her as she gets off from the bed and makes her way to the kitchen, making sure to readjust the bandages on her arms. The stacks of books and unfinished assignments lay abandoned on her desk.
Living with Eleazar is a pain.
It caused everyone to doubt her and ostracise her for what she's living with. As a result, she never had friends during her childhood. Her Eleazar got progressively worse throughout the years, and it was only thanks to a miracle trial medicine (that her parents actually agreed to unlike all the other times) that she managed to fight off its effects for a while and get into the Akademiya's Amurta Darshan. Her condition will not stop her from doing some good in the world, and she'll make sure those who suffered like her will get a much better life.
Her determination and tenacity got the attention of Cyno, a Spantamad student who found it to be admirable of her, as well as one of the only ones willing to be friends with her. They quickly formed a tight friendship, and Collei was no longer alone during her Akademiya days like she expected to.
Cyno helps her with her assignments when her Eleazar got too much and makes sure she takes care of herself. Despite how irritating he can be with his damn jokes, he was a good friend to Collei, and she has yet to find a way to repay him for all the help he provided over the years.
There were two others who decided to befriend Collei. A Kshahrewar student and a Haravatat student who appeared to be good friends with each other despite their polar opposite personalities. Collei wondered if she and Cyno were similar in that regard.
She soon makes it to the kitchen, her hand going over to the lantern a Kshahrewar researcher made and pressed the button the bottom, the lantern igniting a small flame inside the glass. She grabbed the handle and lifted it up, the orange glow illuminating her surroundings.
"Cyno? It's late, are you okay?"
Collei walked further into the kitchen, hearing short, quick breathing as she got closer to the source. Worry fills her mind. Cyno never sounded like that since they met.
When she finally made it to where Cyno is, she sees that he was curled in a metal position on the floor, back against the counter. His long messy hair looking even more unkempt from earlier, and various medical tools Collei had rented for an upcoming project was strewn across the floor.
Cyno's breaths were becoming more laboured. She swore she can hear a whimper from him.
As she knelt down to get a better look at him, she can see that his eyes were dilated, fearful.
Collei wasn't sure what to do. She never saw him like this, nor did she had much experience with psychology and human mentality, only bits and pieces. She didn't know what she can do.
But she wasn't going to sit here and watch her friend be like this for much longer.
She swallowed, recalling some advice Kaveh gave her a while back as she places the lantern down and begins to talk as she clears up the medical equipment scattered on the floor.
"Cyno? Cyno, can you hear me?" Collei began, her stress and fear beginning to rise when she saw that Cyno wasn't showing any signs of recognising her. "I-It's me, Collei. Remember? S-Sometimes you call me Lei, you said it's a nice nickname for me even though I hate it."
His head was beginning to rise. Slowly, but it was a start.
"A-and remember when we first met? You saw me passed out in the House of Daena, and my bandages were loose that day and you saw the dark scales on my hands. You took me back to my room and took care of me...even though we don't know each other well at the time."
At that time, Collei didn't know why he didn't take her to Bimarstan. When asked, he said it's because they were closed for the day, but she could tell it was something much more than that, but didn't pry. They were strangers at the time, it would be rude to ask.
She was hoping that whatever she pieced together in her mind wasn't true.
"You've spent so much time looking out for me, helping me with everything. You were willing to be friends with a girl who might die young, and for that...I would always thank you for that."
Collei spent the next few minutes coaxing Cyno back into reality, even as she grew tired, even when the thought of her unfinished assignments would get her into trouble with her professors, she didn't care.
After several long minutes, Cyno's eyes focused on her, recognition burning in them. Collei smiled gently at him.
"Are you okay now?"
"I...I should be, yes." Cyno responded, his voice raspy and full of sorrow. He turned his head to the floor, and immediately withdrew it back, burying his face into his arms.
"It's okay, they're gone now." Collei assured, risking laying a comforting hand on his shoulder. He didn't seem to react to it, but he isn't bothered by it. "Do you-"
She shook her head at the thought almost immediately. It wasn't her place to know, despite wanting to. She should be taking care of him, not pressure him after what he had went through just now.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked."
"It's fine. You deserve to know..." Cyno takes in a shuddering breath. "...can we talk about it in the morning?"
"Sure, fine by me." Collei stood up and offered a hand down at him. "Let's go back to my room."
Cyno takes it and stands up with her help.
They made their way back to her room soon enough. Collei crawled onto her bed and Cyno did the same with his sleeping bag. Looking down from the bed, Collei can see that he seems to be doing a lot better than before.
She's so grateful for that.
"I've got your back." She whispered, flashing him a bright smile. "Just like you had mine."
Cyno's tired eyes looked at her, and he returned it with a small smile before he drifted off to sleep.