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It wasn’t unheard of to hear about a rumour flaring up every now and then in Piramida or even Cliffwatch Camp. In fact, it was actually quite common to hear a fellow lightkeeper start, for lack of better term, gossiping about one they might have learnt from a passing traveller while out patrolling the lands looking for any sign of the Wild Hunt. Most of the rumours had never really amounted to anything though; and there were even ones related to Flins himself, that he’d never really regarded with more than a simple smile, never letting on to whether or not those particular rumours were true or not.
Was he a vampire, werewolf, lost spirit or even an undercover Abyssal creature? Flins had heard it all.
Though the rumours about himself had never really interested him, he did find himself far more interested in rumours that didn’t relate much at all to any of the lightkeepers or the Wild Hunt. There’d been one once of Nefer visiting the Frostmoon Scions without seeming to have an ulterior motive, which according to the one who had spread the rumour, didn’t seem to match her character. Then, one had popped up after that blonde Traveller had left Cliffwatch with a kind of smug smile on their face after having an audience with Illuga, wondering about what had exactly happened back there. And, Flins had had to admit that’d he’d been quite curious as to the matter too, only he had then recalled a conversation that’d he’d had with them once, about a housekeeper and his boss, and then a further conversation about quarreling roommates, which had brought a similar smile to Flins’ own face.
It was slight intriguing that humans could miss such obvious cues like that, and it had appeared that the Traveller had shared that sentiment, though they’d appeared to be human in every single way that Flins could’ve thought of.
Still though, the fact that specific smile seemed to appear whenever the Traveller was talking about someone else’s romantic pursuits, and made the whole rumour about Illuga all that more intriguing. The Traveller smiling that smug smile after an audience with Illuga? And that they only seemed to do that after witnessing someone else’s pursuits? Something that the Traveller didn’t exactly seem all that interested in themself? Flins found it more interesting than was probably appropriate.
Was the young master in love? Is that why the Traveller had been smirking so much? It certainly seemed so, but as for who it could’ve been, Flins didn’t have a clue. But it really didn’t bother him, for if Illuga was going to keep quiet about it, then Flins would do his best to heed his wishes.
And he did.
Flins had simply decided to forget about that rumour even existing, partly out of respect for Illuga, but also partly because though it did interest him, something about that rumour even being in his head, made him feel oddly hurt. It wasn’t quite ‘heartbreak’ but the feeling was similar. It couldn’t have been heartbreak anyways, as he and Illuga were not more than comrades. Anything more that could have been there was merely written off in playful teasing, with Illuga reciprocating, but not before his cheeks had flushed a light pink, scrunching his nose, seemingly against his will.
Flins would be lying if he said it wasn’t adorable.
Still, that particular rumour had lasted far longer than Flins would’ve liked, and seeing how it had affected Illuga whenever he’d heard it, somehow made the lantern on Flins’ hip suddenly grow hot. Be it out of guilt, or out of something else, still, it had been painful to notice.
And call him dramatic, but Illuga had almost seemed to die a little more inside whenever the rumour would surface, his eyes dulling a little more every time.
Illuga had always had an exhausted look to him, but in that moment, he’d seemed almost deprived. Deprived in a way where he looked like he could’ve passed out at any minute.
All because of a rumour, that was destined to die within a few days.
A cacophony of hushed voices suddenly snapped Flins back to the present, and he turned his head in its direction, only to see a tightly crowded group of lightkeepers all huddled around something on the floor. One of them was poking at whatever it was with a makeshift tong, like it was a venomous snake. They were whispering among themselves, in a language, that while Flins could understand it, was far too breathily said for him to make any meaning of it. Now suddenly curious, Flins silently made his way over to the crowd, his height giving him a vantage point over some of the shorter lightkeepers, only to find that the thing being poked so gingerly was nothing more than a lifeless, innocent petal. Fairly long, and pink fading into blue, though the pink of the petal was marred by some sort of rust colour, which wasn’t normal for the petals of such a plant. It was specifically a petal from a Frostlamp, an oddly shaped flower that grew in abundance around the old lighthouse graveyard. Flins would recognize it anywhere. It was hardly venomous or even poisonous, so the fact that the Ratniks were acting so oddly around it, was some cause for concern.
“A petal of a Frostlamp?” He repeated out loud, announcing his presence. “And here I was thinking we’d encountered a snake, that’d we’d have to inform the young master of.” He let out a little chuckle as the group scattered away out of surprise. “I can assure you, it isn’t venomous, or poisonous. It’s just like every other harmless plant you know.” He bent down and began to pick up the petal by the blue part-
“Sir Flins, wait!” Yelled one of the younger lightkeepers, and Flins turned his head to prevent his ear flicking out of instinct. The lightkeeper regarded him with a somewhat terrified look.
“Hm?” Flins hummed as he finished picking up the petal, not really understanding what was making her so terrified.
“What are you doing?! There’s blood on there!” Flins blinked somewhat disinterested, and looked back at the petal. Blood, was that what was causing the rust colour on the petal? It made sense, and even in that case, he wasn’t holding it on the bloody side anyways. So in either case, he wouldn’t be affected.
And in the case this was human blood, it would have affected him even less, but he couldn’t let onto that possibility. Though whether or not it was human blood still had to be figured out. Instead, he turned around.
“Don’t worry miss,” Flins said easily, picking himself off of the floor. “I’m being perfectly careful, I wouldn’t want to needlessly harm myself and leave you all without a comrade so soon after the last one. Plus, it’s just a little blood, so whatever was bleeding probably wouldn’t have even caused you distress.” As the lightkeeper stumbled her way back into the crowd, Flins brought the petal up to his face again. “Though the fact that there is blood brings up a lot of mystery. Plus, we’re miles away from where Frostlamps grow… any bleeding animal likely to make their way here would’ve likely lost the petal a long time ago, so why…”
Flins suddenly felt a cold sensation run down his spine.
There was a potential ‘why’ but the likelihood was so far out of left field that a multitude of different things could explain it before that
Plus, he hadn’t seen it in centuries, let alone seen it affect humans… the most likely case would be it being something else.
But in the case it was, if the possibility was even possible, then why Frostlamps? Usually the flower would be significant, but in this case, why Frostlamps? Why a flower that grew in abundance at the graveyard? There were a few on Hiisi Island too, but that was even further than the lighthouse. Flins shook his head, he should keep his mind clear and figure this out without jumping to conclusions. It was only one petal, and there didn’t appear to be any others in the immediate area. At the current moment, this was only a freak incident, and nothing to be concerned about.
Though, he was so curious about, in the slim possibility it was, who was the culprit?
“The blood is too slight to have been from a bleeding animal,” agreed an older lightkeeper. “I’d think that even if by some miracle the petal survived all this way it would be bloodier.”
Not if it came from the lungs, Flins’ instincts screamed at him.
“There is the possibility that a delivery of of Frostlamps could have been passed by a wounded animal,” said a deep voice to the side of him and Flins turned his head to find Illuga had now joined the small gathering, only his complexion seemed more ashen than what Flins was used to, and the bags under his eyes seemed much worse than they had been previously. He wasn’t sure why, but Illuga’s gaze seemed to be almost piercing him. It wasn’t out of anger, but as for the actual reason, Flins didn’t really know.
“I don’t think a delivery of Frostlamps would just be exposed to the open air,” argued another lightkeeper, crossing his arms over his chest. Flins looked at him.
“You never know, it could have been knocked and the lid fell off,” he said with an amused smile. “Those crates aren’t infallible. Plus, it’s all we really have to go on right now, so unless you have your own theory?” The lightkeeper opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it again. Illuga then seemed to choose that moment to sway and hold his head. Immediately, every lightkeeper in the vicinity stood to attention at the mere thought that something might be wrong. Illuga, however, only really smiled.
“I’m fine, don’t worry. I just had to track down a sighting of the Wild Hunt last night, and I’m exhausted.” Flins smiled despite himself.
“You look good for being half-asleep,” he commented. “You should try the tousled hair more often, young master.” Illuga rolled his eyes but he swallowed harshly, his next words coming out oddly choked.
“…thanks,” he said, somewhat curtly, though whether that was because he was actually being curt, or due to his odd tone, was unclear. “I… should get going,” he added, oddly breathy. “I’m… already half asleep, it won’t be good if…” he swallowed “I fight the Wild Hunt like this.” The other lightkeepers nodded amongst themselves, meanwhile Flins followed Illuga.
He wasn’t exactly sure why, whether it be curiousity or something else, but the lantern on his hip was burning with an emotion he couldn’t decipher.
He hung back, letting Illuga lead, while also keeping himself in the shadows. Just so he could hop into the lantern if anything should go awry, and leave Illuga none the wiser. It was cruel, in a way, but something was off with him and Flins couldn’t really shake the burning sensation of his lamp. Illuga paused by the door and placed one of his hands onto it before proceeding to collapse as if his legs couldn’t hold him anymore. He started breathing harshly and raggedly, as if he was being suffocated, and suddenly, he started coughing. Violently. The raw and hard barks of a cough echoed off of the scrap metal, though the actual view of the floor below Illuga was too obscured for Flins to see anything too damning. It simply appeared as if Illuga had acquired a bad cough.
But this was no ordinary cough
This cough was eerily familiar, it was almost haunting.
Intrigue turned into horror, the warm fire of his lantern becoming ice cold.
The disease usually only seen in faefolk, now affecting a human in every way.
A faeborne disease? On a human?
It had to be a fluke. It had to be a mistake.
It was only one event, but Flins had all but realized the horrifying reality.
He didn’t even need to see the petals, but he knew they were there, hidden from view like the universe had tried to spare him the reality. Though the reality, was far too damning for Flins to even thank the universe for its attempt
A human had contracted Hanahaki, a disease Flins had once believed to only afflict the faekind, and it was the most horrifying yet intriguing thing he could’ve stumbled upon.
Despite the horrifying reality of the disease, Flins also found himself somewhat curious as to how a human could have even caught it in the first place. It wasn’t something you could ‘catch’ in the first place, the disease functioned more like a slow-acting venom, symptoms starting out small, in Hanahaki’s case being coughing up flower petals, before gradually worsening if not given the ‘anti-venom’, until it ended up claiming the victim’s life in the process. In Hanahaki cases, from what he recalled, this ‘anti-venom’ was actually not all that hard to acquire. Find the Hanahaki victim’s beloved and take things from there. Though that did bring up the question…
Flins may not have needed to see Illuga’s petals to diagnose him with it, but he would need to find the petals to have a lead on a possible cure he could find. Plus, he would have to inform the others too, just so they wouldn’t be made so scared by a simple bloody petal. Speaking of, had the Frostlamp petal from earlier been connected to this new case of Hanahaki? Had Illuga been lying about being tired, just so he could get away from the crowd and cough in peace?
That probably would’ve been the best solution, now that Flins thought about it. If he hadn’t seen a case of Hanahaki in centuries, then it was likely that his fellow lightkeepers were unaware that such a disease existed. They wouldn’t know what to do if Illuga suddenly started expelling the flowers from his lungs, and Flins wasn’t even a doctor, though he knew he was probably the most knowledgeable on the disease, even if it meant having to lie.
Plus, if the petal was connected, then he still had time.
There being petals meant that the disease hadn’t progressed into truly deadly territory, he still had time to find Illuga’s cure. If it had been a full flower, then Illuga’s fate had been sealed.
By that point, even if the cure had been found, the damage would have been too great, and Illuga would’ve died either way.
And somehow, that possibility hurt more than any previous dead comrade he’d been close with. It hurt more than if it had been Lauma, Nefer, the Traveller or the rest.
The soft slam of Illuga’s door snapped him back to the present, and Flins silently waltzed over to where Illuga had been kneeling in front of the door, but there were no petals to speak of. It seemed that whatever had been there, Illuga had picked them up and discarded them, likely not wanting to cause anyone stress. Which was mildly irritating but not surprising. He did tend to have that tendency sometimes. However, Flins just turned and walked back in the direction he and Illuga had came, glancing over his shoulder once, only to notice Illuga’s door slightly ajar, before it was quickly slammed shut again.
Somehow though, he still felt those piercing eyes on his back.
“How is he?” Came the voice of Nikita as Flins arrived back where the commotion with the petal had happened. Flins blinked at him, though he smiled.
“He’s perfectly alright,” he answered, and though the lie was weak, Nikita seemed to buy it as he started beaming. “It truly seems like he was just tired,” Flins added. “He practically collapsed at his front door. Don’t worry though, I helped him inside.”
“You kids are adorable, y’know that right?” Nikita responded seemingly completely oblivious to the deceitful tone in Flins’ voice. Flins smiled however.
“I hardly think we count as kids, sir,” he said casually. “We’ve been going on Wild Hunt hunts for a while now.” Nikita laughed at him.
“With how you two act, you might as well be!” Flins raised an eyebrow.
“So, complimenting how decorated your son is is now considered juvenile?” Flins said with a chuckle. “Though, now that I have your attention, I fear there’s something I have to tell you.” Nikita suddenly lost the bright smile and looked at Flins, his gaze serious.
“I’m listening. Is there Wild Hunt activity in the mountains? Grasslands? Marshlands?”
“I fear this may be worse than Wild Hunt activity,” Flins said solemnly and Nikita blinked. Without another word, Flins led him to a quieter corner of Piramida and then looked at him. “I have reason to believe we might have a Hanahaki case in our ranks.”
“‘Hanahaki’?” Nikita repeated, a sort of mystified tone in his voice.
“I don’t know a lot, just yet, but the signs are there,” he said. “What I’m requesting is that you refrain from sending them on missions until I can get more information. I’m sure that you don’t want to send someone in such a weak state. That’d only be sending them to their death.” Nikita’s eyes seemed to flash for a second.
“But who-?”
“I’m requesting all of them, because I don’t know for certain. But, I do think that you should refrain from sending your son anywhere for a while. I’ve never seen him this exhausted before, and I don’t think it’s healthy, so just refrain from sending him anywhere.” Nikita’s eyes narrowed for a split second, his gaze accusing, but then he grew confused.
“What is Hanahaki?” Flins tried not to flinch.
“It’s an ancient disease,” he said. “Flowers grow in the lungs of the victim if they perceive that their love is unrequited. Though it tends to be somewhat… judgmental.. in that it can be that only one person of the pair gets it and the other doesn’t even if their thoughts are the same. In… books I’ve read, it’s said that it only affects those that are fae, but I have reason to believe that it’s affecting a human. Specifically, one of us.” Nikita blinked and his eyes grew wide.
“You don’t know-“
“I cannot help you further, and all I want you to do is be mindful of them, whoever they are, and inform the others so they don’t create a scene if a random petal shows up again.”
“But you-“
“I’ll be taking my leave, I have to find out more information.”
Though Flins didn’t actually see Illuga for the next few days, despite the blanket ban on patrolling, and even Nikita had thrown him a few concerned looks, though for what reason, he couldn’t decipher. Perhaps Nikita thought that it was Flins who had the Hanahaki, despite being present the entire time and never coughing once. Even the rumours that had popped up after Nikita told them about the Hanahaki case, hadn’t changed anything. It was only mere speculation as to who could have the disease, nothing substantial as to where Illuga was, and Flins was quickly starting to feel concern that he was lost in the wilderness somewhere completely brought down by his Hanahaki, which was likely impossible, but even Flins had begun to notice his absence, and he was sure that the others could see it too. His lantern burnt with guilt, guilt that he couldn’t put a cause to, and his usually calm demeanor was very quickly starting slip away. He’d be pacing without looking like he was pacing, mind clearly elsewhere, and impatiently tapping his foot if he stood still too long.
His upset mental state had gotten so bad that he’d now resorted to waiting outside of Illuga’s house whilst in his lantern, spying under the guise of being a mere household object, in the hopes that Illuga would come by, and he’d finally get to see the petals that Illuga would cough up. Not to put his mind at ease, so that he at least had a lead, so he could find the cure. The reality of Illuga’s potential death was affecting him in a way that he was unused to. It made the lantern sear him on his hip, it made the fire surrounding him feel like it was burning his skin.
It was just petals.
He still had time.
Flins peaked through the glass as the purple-blue flames surrounded him. Illuga’s lantern was resting on the mail box and Aedon was resting above it like he’d been summoned, though Illuga was otherwise nowhere in sight. But he’d been here, at least recently, so that was something. Transforming into a gaseous form, Flins lifted his head out of the lantern and took a look around. Soon enough, Illuga’s gray hair could be seen around the bend, and Flins dipped back into the lantern, just as Illuga made his first appearance in days, not wearing his jacket. Hm, had the Hanahaki given him a fever? That wasn’t good… or perhaps he had just been hot, there was always that possibility. Illuga, however, then shivered. So perhaps he’d taken it off for an another reason, that would make sense, Flins supposed.
Though it did feel sort of scandalous to see the young master without his jacket.
Though it was now more than obvious how thin the Hanahaki had made Illuga. While he’d never been all that bulky, now, the most of Illuga’s bulk were his pronounced muscles, which were often hidden by the jacket. Anything other that looked almost eaten away, to the point he looked malnourished. It was quite a horrifying sight.
Hanahaki was known for making the afflicted waste away, but it somehow looked worse here.
Illuga glanced around, eyes moving around from the mailbox, to his lantern, to Aedon and back, almost like his mind was elsewhere. Then, his eyes glanced at Flins’ lantern and his eyes flashed in recognition. He moved over and picked it up, Flins trying to remain still to not cause any suspicion. “Flins must’ve left his lantern here,” Illuga commented. “I’ve never known him to be so forgetful, I almost wonder if he’s the one those Hanahaki rumours are talking about.” Illuga let out a sort of sad chuckle as he gazed at the lantern. “But, who am I really kidding? That Traveller was right after all…” Illuga removed one of his hands and dug into his pocket, opening it to reveal…
Frostlamp Flower petals.
Bloodied, but still the petals.
Flins tried to not let his surprised jump rock the lantern in Illuga’s hand.
“I think I’ll miss him most of all,” Illuga continued, once gazing at the lantern. “I only wish… Flins, I know you can’t hear me right now, I’m literally just talking to your lantern, but I wish you could’ve been honest with me. I know, alright? I don’t know why you feel you have to hide it from everyone. Especially from me. I don’t know if you’re upholding some ancient rule of your kind, but I just wish you felt comfortable enough to at least tell me on your own terms. And perhaps you’ll never get the chance to now. I would have liked to know, and not just speculate, but if that’s the way it has to be then I can’t really say I have regrets regarding that.”
“There’s a cure, I’ll find you a cure,” Flins said beside himself and Illuga blinked.
“Flins?”
Flins went quiet.
“Okay, so either this is getting to me, or your lantern just spoke,” Illuga commented, acting like this was perfectly normal. He stroked a finger on the glass, and for Flins, it felt like Illuga was directly stroking his cheek. “You really are a man of many tricks, aren’t you?” He commented quietly.
“I wouldn’t go as far as to say that,” Flins responded, before immediately shutting up again, causing Illuga to raise an eyebrow.
“Okay, the lantern definitely spoke that time! Flins, are you in there?”
Flins was quiet.
“Okay then, keep your secrets, lantern,” Illuga conceded. “But, I really am going to miss him. He can be annoying, but it’s endearing sometimes. Flins, I-… I know you can’t hear me. At least, I don’t think you can hear me, but I really am going to miss you. It hurts to see that you aren’t comfortable with telling me the truth, but I do understand. I just wish we could’ve-“ Illuga suddenly was cut off by a coughing fit, causing him to fall forward and drop Flins’ lantern on the floor. Flins, surprised by this, jumped from the lantern and landed some inches away, but Illuga didn’t seem to see the transformation. Then, using the guise that he’d just appeared right at that moment, he turned around.
“Illuga!” Flins yelled, rushing over to where Illuga had fallen on the floor. “Are you alright?” Illuga looked up at him, and blinked.
“Sir Flins?” He asked, before lifting himself off of the ground, brushing the petals away, though Flins was already well aware of them. Flins gazed at him.
“I saw you fall,” Flins said, though it was the truth, this was partly a lie. “Are you okay?” Illuga nodded and smiled at him.
“Yeah, I’m fine, don’t worry about me.” Illuga attempted to stand, but he swayed back and forth until Flins took his hand to steady him, and Illuga’s cheeks flushed ever so slightly pink. “Thank you, but I don’t need help.” Flins shook his head.
“You’ve needed help, I… only really realized now,” Flins replied, lying, though Illuga narrowed his eyes. “Are you feeling okay? You appear to be unwell, and being unwell isn’t a good thing to be in our line of work.” Illuga narrowed his eyes further.
“Yes, I’m fine. There’s no need to be concerned about me, Sir Flins,” he said in a soft tone. Flins glanced over the lantern, and found that it cooled to a comfortable warmth, as if he was somewhat comforted by Illuga’s words, but he wasn’t, not when he knew everything already, and if him keeping the reality of him being a fae was his secret, then it was certainly fair that Illuga had kept the secret of knowing from him. Illuga tried to stand again, though Flins kept him in place.
“While I don’t doubt that you’re fine, Young Master Illuga, there’s still a high likelihood that you might have hit your head, and although you may feel fine now, the moment you stand, things could very quickly turn awry,” Flins said, not letting on that he knew anything. It wasn’t the right time to confront Illuga anyways, when he’d been in the lantern the entire time. The lantern was undamaged, but Flins still felt bruised as if he’d done the fall in person. However that was nothing compared to what Illuga had been going through, and so he forgot about his own injuries for the time being. “Let me help you, in the very least, since I’m here already,” Flins said offering him his hand, and when he helped Illuga to his feet, his hand lingered on Illuga’s for perhaps a moment too long.
Though if it meant anything, neither of them said anything.
There were much bigger fish to fry in any case. And the flowers seemed to be giving Illuga’s lungs a break anyways.
“Why are you here?” Illuga asked curiously, as he steadied himself on the mailbox. He’d really been in no danger of hitting his head on the ground, Flins knew that, it was more likely the Hanahaki making him weak, but he couldn’t let on that he knew. Not yet, anyways.
“I was just passing by this area and heard a commotion as a neared here, only to find my lantern and you on the floor,” Flins half-lied, though Illuga only really narrowed his eyes. “And then, I jumped into action so to speak.”
“I really am fine, Sir Flins, I…” Illuga suddenly held his head. “You shouldn’t worry about me so much.” Flins tilted his head.
“You disappear for a few days, and all the sudden I find you on the floor? Is worrying about you really so bad in that case?”
“I… disappeared..? I’ve… been here the whole time?” Illuga asked, confused, but his speech was getting more and more drawn out, like he was about to pass out, and Flins suddenly grabbed him by the arm, though Illuga didn’t seem to protest. Flins walked them inside Illuga’s home and then laid him on the bed. “…What?”
“You looked like you were about to pass out, and I’ve simply moved you here so you’re safe. Please don’t think that I’m babying you, but you really seem like you need at least some sleep, so do try to get some.” Illuga gave him a look, but he almost seemed like he would’ve agreed in either way.
“And you? Where are you going in such a hurry?” Illuga asked, his tone accusatory, though it was dampened by drowsiness. Flins glanced at him.
“Oh nowhere special,” Flins responded a bit too quickly, not out of fear or anxiety, but out of determination. Every hour he spent stalling was another hour of time lost. Illuga was on a timer if he couldn’t find the culprit, which meant that him, by extension, was on a timer. “I do have other duties to do. The starshyna may have banned patrolling,” at my request, “but that doesn’t mean that our other duties have to go abandoned. I’ll be taking my leave now, sleep well!” With that, he left Illuga’s house and immediately returned to the floor, searching for the petals that Illuga had scrunched away earlier. If anyone were to pass by, they may have been confused, but Flins didn’t have time to worry about that right now.
He wasn’t quite sure what was causing this urgency, Illuga was still only coughing up petals, he still had time, but somehow his body didn’t seem to believe that.
He was acting as if Illuga’s potential death was mere days away when it could have been months or even years before Hanahaki actually took him.
Flins dug his hands under a loose part of the scrap metal, not even noticing the sound of the door opening, far too focused on the task at hand to realize. He could feel the eyes on his back, but they didn’t even register. Eventually his fingers ran over the soft petals and he grabbed at one, pulling it free from the scrap metal, and then gazing at the squished petal in his fingers with an unreadable expression. It was a fresh petal, freshly coughed from Illuga’s mouth, pink, and blue, and covered in blood, and though it had been wet earlier, it was now dry and crinkled. And it was definitely a Frostlamp, as the petal was practically identical to first one he’d ever found. Flins stood up, the petal still in his fingers. And he then started walking off.
“I knew it,” said a voice behind him, not exactly sounding surprised, or even upset. It was a completely neutral statement, a confirmation of something long thought. “He knows. He’s known the entire time. This is the oddest I’ve ever seen him act, and now I know the reason. ‘Having other duties’ my ass. Flins, why can’t you just be honest with me? Couldn’t we work this out?”
Flins heard none of it.
Instead, he found himself on Hiisi Island, examining one of the local Frostlamps. This wouldn’t have helped in any case, since the petal had been ‘homegrown’, so to speak, but the type of flower that the afflicted coughed up usually meant something. Perhaps the flower would have been associated with the person, or perhaps it was simply their favourite, there were many things that went into the type of flower. Perhaps they even matched the eye colour or hair colour! Or perhaps they were from the very place that the flower grew in, but Hiisi Island had seemingly proved useless seeing as most of the Scions appeared to be celibate in some way, much more concerned with the animals or praying to the goddesses in the moon. And while celibacy didn’t necessarily mean that they weren’t Illuga’s beloved, if they happened to be, then finding the cure would prove much more difficult to acquire, so Flins secretly hoped that it wouldn’t be one of them, though he’d didn’t exactly have a lot of options.
“Oh it’s you,” said a soft, welcoming voice, and Flins looked up, just to see Lauma returning to a humanoid form. Her pale blue antlers were shining in the moonlight and making them appear much larger than they usually were. “I was wondering why the animals all the sudden seemed on edge, only to find it’s you. Welcome, though, you haven’t visited in a while.” Lauma paused as a bird landed on her shoulder and tweeted something into her ear, and then her soft smile seemed to grow in size. “The animals tell me you’re here for…” she paused again as the bird tweeted something again. “…romantic advice? My, I wouldn’t have expected that of you. You’ve always seemed to have that under control.”
“Well, I wouldn’t call it advice that I’m requesting. And, I apologize for encroaching on your land, Ms Lauma,” he said in response, though Lauma’s eyes only grew curious. “Though, I fear that what I’m here for is romantic in a way.” Lauma’s smile grew soft, though her eyes were slightly teasing.
“It wouldn’t have to do with… a certain squad leader, now would it?” She asked quietly, and Flins surprisingly froze at how accurate that was. Had the animals already told her all that? “No… but I hear from Nefer that he practically waxes poetic about you whenever he’s in Nasha Town,” Lauma added as if she’d read his thoughts. “I hadn’t exactly been aware that someone could be so similar to you in that case,” she said with a small chuckle.
“Well, yes, it does involve him, but not quite as happily as you appear to think it is,” Flins said darkly. Lauma blinked at him and then tilted her head ever so slightly, the bird flying off. Flins brought forth the scrunched petal and Lauma frowned.
“Hanahaki disease?” She said quietly, and it was Flins’ turn to blink.
“You know?” Lauma nodded quietly.
“It doesn’t show up often here, but I have seen it before. You cough up flowers, yes? Even the strongest of potions couldn’t cure it,” she murmured, almost subconsciously clenching her fists. “It really seems like the only cure is reciprocation.” She looked at him. “So, the squad leader has Hanahaki?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re upset because it’s not you?” She asked quietly, now focusing on the spirit deer that formed beside her. Flins blinked and looked at her.
“What? No, I don’t know who his beloved is,” Flins admitted. Lauma blinked slightly before she smiled secretly, though on her, the smile almost seemed out of character.
“Oh. I see,” she said, smiling. “Though I must ask, if that’s your problem, then why are you here? There’s nothing that could help you here, except if you want to stare at the plant for much longer.”
“That’s why I’m here, the flower. Usually the flower holds significance in this. Though no one I’ve seen really seems to fit what I believe to be Illuga’s type. Plus, not many of the people here even seem interested in romance, no offense.” Lauma smiled, turning her gaze to the moon.
“None taken. But, hm, the flower has significance?” She looked at the petal again. “A Frostlamp…” she looked at Flins. “Forgive me for what I’m about to say, as it may seem obtuse, but… have you ever considered looking closer to home?” She said cryptically, and Flins looked at her.
“What do you mean?”
“I recall seeing a lot of these plants when I visited the graveyard once, they grow in abundance there, like they favour the place, and I also know you frequent that place as well. The lighthouse isn’t all that far away from Piramida-“
“You can see it from Illuga’s balcony,” Flins added and Lauma only smiled.
“All I’m trying to say is that Illuga’s beloved, may be closer than you think,” Lauma ended her statement. And it was then that a squirrel ran up her arm and chattered something into her ear. “Oh, and it appears he’s looking for you, so I suggest you return.” Flins looked at her and sighed.
“Then I should get going, thank you Lauma, and sorry again for the intrusion.”
“There’s no need to apologize,” she replied. “May the Moonlight shine her rays down upon you as you return.” Lauma turned around. “And may every go alright for your beloved, Flins.”
Flins returned to Piramida a few hours later practically panting as if he’d run the entire way, and he stopped in the middle of the gathering area, where Illuga was standing, and staring at him, tapping his foot. Flins walked over, and Illuga looked up at him. “We have to talk. Alone.” Illuga grabbed his hand and then led him away, all the way back to Illuga’s house where Illuga practically forced him to sit at the table. “Care to explain to me why you never told me you had figured it out?” Illuga practically snapped, and Flins blinked.
“What-“
“This,” Illuga said, chucking out a box full of flower petals, and Flins sighed, looking away.
“It was the nature of the disease itself,” he said. “And, well seeing as you already have it figured out, I’ll just go and admit it now: I’d only seen the disease on fellow faekind, never a human, and that was both horrifying and intriguing to me.” Illuga’s eyes suddenly lit up.
“So you WERE in the lantern, I knew it!” Flins gave him an embarrassed smile.
“Yes, I heard all of it.”
“And you heard me admit all that… thank Gods I hadn’t said the other thing.”
“The ‘other thing’?” Flins asked, curiously, but Illuga just waved his hands dismissively.
“Ignore that. Though, I do want to know why you’ve been acting so strange all the sudden? Weirdly brief with me when the lantern thing happened. And for some of it, I chalked it up to you hiding that you knew, but your behaviour was still so odd that I have to ask.” Flins grew embarrassed suddenly and he looked away.
“You see, I’ve been looking for the cure.”
“The ‘cure’? There’s a cure? First time I’m hearing of it.”
“This is the first time you’re hearing of it period. Anyways, besides the point. Yes, the cure. The very person who caused that in the first place. If they reciprocate, it cures the Hanahaki. I’ve been trying to find them. Without your permission, mind you, but still trying to find them.” Illuga actually started laughing, genuinely laughing.
“How do you expect to find someone if you don’t even know who they are?” Illuga said, dumbfounded. “Sure, there are clues, but unless I told you outright, you’d be clueless.”
“The specific flower. The flower matters when it comes to Hanahaki, yours is a Frostlamp, which I feel is significant in a way that I can’t describe,” Flins explained, and Illuga’s expression grew soft. “I knew you probably wouldn’t tell me, so I took measures into my own hands. And so far, I’ve found no cure, so I have failed on that front.”
“Why do you care so much?” Illuga said suddenly, though it wasn’t accusatory, it actually sounded amused. Flins shifted slightly in his seat, feeling oddly antsy. “Why are you going to such lengths? Why is this so… urgent to you that it makes you seem so out of character?”
“The thought of losing you hurts me in way that feels so much worse than had it been anyone else. As for the urgency, I can’t quite explain that, I guess that’s just how my body reacted to such an odd feeling, and it resulted in this episode of being out of character.” Illuga’s eyes widened slightly, and it almost seemed like he was about to cough again, but it never came, his shoulders relaxing almost as quickly as they tensed.
“It appears that the ‘cure’ had some of his own ‘figuring out feelings’ to do,” Illuga’s joked, and Flins blinked at him.
“Me?”
“It’s you,” Illuga confirmed, his cheeks flushing pink. “You’re my ‘cure’. Though, it’s a little unbelievable that you would have been completely oblivious to that. Aren’t the fae known for their observation skills?” Flins blinked at him.
“Maybe when it comes to prey, but…”
“Well, luckily we aren’t prey then,” Illuga said with a smile. Flins looked at him.
“Well, how are you feeling?” He asked and Illuga smiled.
“I’m… okay,” he said, “but I’d be better if you kissed me.” He chuckled a little after this.
“Is that an order?” Flins asked amused and Illuga smiled amusedly and nodded his head.
“Sure, why not?”
“Then who am I if I reject an order?” Flins chuckled, before kneeling so he was Illuga’s height, and then kissing him gently.