Niala held on with all her might as they travelled through the evening and night at breakneck speed, the trees flying past them as blurs. She did her best not to think about what would happen if David tripped.

  Her arms and legs were cramping up, her face stung from the night's air assaulting it, and she kept wishing they'd arrive at their destination already!

  And in the back of her mind, behind the fright and bewilderment, she was trying to figure out what David was. He wasn't a golem or a mannequin; he showed too many emotions for that. He wasn't a hallucination or an apparition, seeing as how she was gripping him right now. Seriously! What kind of person was able to outpace a horse at full gallop!?

  Please get there, please get there, please get there, please ge-

  “We're here,” David croaked as he slowed down to a jog and his glow faded, before he stopped entirely.

  Niala opened her eyes and blinked, looking around.

  David's voice was strained. “You can get off now.”

  “...my legs are cramped up.” Niala timidly replied.

  David looked over his shoulder, then down at her legs, and sighed. He spotted a large boulder and made his way there, backing up and allowing Niala to let go and sit down.

  She let out a small whimper as she sat on the boulder and began moving her legs, massaging them as best she could, as she strove to unbend them properly.

  She sent him a reproachful glare. “Seriously, that was impressive and all, but you're probably the most uncomfortable ride ever.”

  He tilted his head. “I'll try to find a saddle next time.“

  She looked up, realized what she'd just said, and instantly looked back down to hide her blush. “Ah! I mean! What even was that? Are you a secret experiment or something? Nobody can move like that!”

  He shook his head slowly. “Please, don't pry. Keep it a secret like you said. It'd be a whole lot of problems for me otherwise.”

  Her ears flopped down in disappointment. “I understand...”

  She tested out her legs, bending and unbending them a few times. The pain had been replaced with utter discomfort. Wincing, she stood up from the boulder.

  “I think I'm ok. What now? We're kind of in the middle of nowhere...” She said as she looked around, noticing that they weren't in sight of any building.

  “I know, we'll go the rest of the way at, huh, normal speed.” He replied. “Can you run by yourself?”

  She blinked and looked down at her legs, then up at him. “I... guess?”

  “Good,” he nodded, and started jogging onward.

  “Wait! Let me get up to speed first!” She started after him, feeling the pins and needles in her legs coming back with a vengeance.

  “Aaaah! This sucks! Waaaait! You're too faaaasst!!!”

  But David was already running ahead.

  Half a bell later, Niala was again on David's back, trying to catch her breath as they trotted through the outlying farms and buildings just outside Bellharbour's north gates, which were by now in clear sight ahead.

  “Seriously, you need to work on your cardio,” David said.

  “I... run... just fine... It's your... legs that... are... too long.” Niala replied between gulps of air.

  He hummed. “You lasted a whole 5 minutes. That's not too bad.”

  She slapped his shoulder. “I could last a lot longer if you'd just set a reasonable pace!”

  He glanced at her over his shoulder. “...Do you want to rephrase that?”

  She blinked, thought back on what she said, and blushed as she punched his back. “It's your fault!”

  “Ow. How are your words my fault?” He argued back.

  “Because your legs are too long!”

  “What are you talking about!?”

  She puffed her cheeks and glared at the back of his head before slumping against his back, arms resting on his shoulder.

  “Aah, forget it...”

  It was probably the middle of the night when they arrived at the gate. David let Niala down and walked up to the lone guard who had observed them as they'd approached.

  “Well met. I need entry.”

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  The guard eyed him, gripping his pole-arm, squinting. “Gate's closed for the night. Come back at fifth bell.”

  David slid a hand inside his collar and pulled out a plaque held by a leather strap, taking it off and handing it to the guard.

  “David Wayman, Free Courier. I need entry; it's a matter of life and death. I'll pay the special entry fee.” He glanced at Niala, who was looking at him wide-eyed. “Plus one.”

  The guard took hold of the offered plaque, taking a step back and inspecting it. He eyed both nighttime travellers.

  “Wait here, I need to go validate the plaque.” The guard said as he walked to and entered the side door next to the main gate.

  Niala walked up to David and whispered. “You're a Free Courier? I thought it was weird that you had cargo-cloths. I guess being able to outrun a horse is pretty useful too!”

  David's features hardened as he turned to look at her. “Please don't even talk about that. If my nephew's life hadn't been on the line, I would have never even shown you.”

  Her ears flattened as she slightly recoiled. “Oh... oh, huh, alright, I'm sorry, I won't do it again...” She finished as she lowered her head to look at the ground.

  He sighed. “Look, I think you're a good person, and I don't think you have any ill intentions about the whole topic, but it would be seriously troublesome if some people heard about it.”

  Her ears perked up a little as she turned her eyes up to him. “Alright, I understand. I'm sorry, I'll be good.”

  He smiled just as the guard came back out the side door, grabbing both of their attention.

  “Alright, I've validated the plaque. Welcome to Bellharbour Free Courier Wayman.” The guard said as he handed the plaque back to David. “Off-bell entry fee is 5 large bits per person.”

  David paid the man, who then allowed them through the side door.

  Once inside, he turned to Niala. “Do you... Need a carry again?”

  She squinted at him. “If you run at a reasonable pace, I can keep up.”

  He nodded and started jogging to his brother's house. Niala followed suit, her face quickly reddening from the exertion but not saying a word, focusing instead on her quickening breathing.

  Last stretch here, Samuel. Please hang on a few more minutes. David thought out to his nephew as he ran.

  Luke was at his son's bedside, having relieved his wife a few bells ago. They'd been at his side non-stop for the past 3 days, drip-feeding him whatever anti-venom and fortifiers they could get their hands on, and yet... and yet Samuel's breathing was so shallow and strained that he could barely hear it. His skin was pale and cold like a blanket of snow, with icy blue veins like a myriad of small rivers.

  He held his limp hand within his own, praying and wishing. Even through the denial of it all, in the back of his mind, he could see the end approaching. He feared his son wouldn't live past sunrise.

  He sat there, time forgotten, wrestling with his emotions, when a clamour snapped him out of his ruminations. He slowly stood up, unsure what he'd just heard, so focused he was that-

  *BANG BANG BANG*

  The door! At this time?! He eyed his son before quickly making his way to the front, unlatching the bolt, and cracking it open, only to see his adopted brother, David, with his usual stern face. Hope flared in his throat.

  “David, did you... ?” He couldn't finish the sentence, somehow afraid even saying the words would render it false.

  “Maybe.”

  Luke's face crunched up. “Maybe? What do you mean, maybe!? Can you save Samuel or not? Why even show up if you don't have a way!”

  David stared at his brother, not saying a word.

  Luke glared back, rage building up within, reaching a boiling point, and then crashing down just as fast as it had erupted. “I... I'm sorry, David, I don't know what to do with myself. I... please, tell me you can do something?”

  David nodded. “We're going to try. That's why I brought her with me,” he said, pointing back to the catkin behind him, who was trying to catch her breath.

  “...who?” Luke asked.

  “Niala, she's an alchemist. She's the one who brewed the anti-venom. Let us in now, we need to get to it.”

  “Ooh, oh of course, please!” He quickly stammered out as he opened the door to let the two travellers in, eyeing the catkin woman as she stumbled forward, giving him a little smile and hand wave as she passed by, between two lungfuls of air.

  They reassembled in the kitchen, David taking the anti-venom flask out of the pouch he'd stored it in, handing it to Niala, who in turn peered at it in front of the ceiling lamp.

  Martha, Luke's wife, walked in from another door, night shawl over her shoulders, sleep still in her eyes. She saw David and the catkin woman as she approached her husband.

  “Luke, did David find it? Who is that woman?”

  Luke put an arm over his wife's shoulders and dragged her close. “He says maybe, and that's who brewed the potion, but... she doesn't seem too confident.”

  Niala glanced at them and back to the flask. “That's because I'm not. The potion wasn't stable when I finished the brew, and it's gotten worse, though not as bad as I feared. I can make it work, but I need some salt, boiling water, vinegar, and ginger. Do you have all that?” She turned as she asked the Waymans.

  Martha flinched as she realized she was being asked a question. “Oh, yes, yes, I think we have all that. Luke, go start a kettle of water while I gather the rest!”

  As husband and wife busied themselves, David approached Niala, an unspoken question in his eyes.

  “... it'll be fine. The potion started settling, but only a little. I'll make a quick dissolver, but the kid will have to drink it right after, before it starts actually breaking down the anti-venom.” She explained as she set the flask on the table and went to search for a cup and a spoon.

  Before long, under the sustained stares of the Waymans, Niala was mixing everything together. Observing the solution one last time and seeing it return to near-homogeneity, she turned to everyone assembled and nodded. “It's now or never.”

  Luke started off like a horse at the races and rushed to Samuel's bedroom, opening the door and letting everyone inside.

  Niala, flask in hand, approached the sleeping boy and glanced at David.

  “Raise him up so he doesn't choke when I make him drink.”

  Nodding, David ever so gently raised the boy's head and torso to a semi-sitting position, as Niala carefully opened his mouth and let the anti-venom drip into his mouth. She continued for a few minutes, each time waiting to make sure the boy wasn't choking. Eventually, with everyone holding their breath, the last few drops left the flask. She nodded to David, who slowly lowered the boy back onto his bed and stepped back.

  Luke spoke, his voice strangled. “Is it done? Will Samuel be ok?”

  Niala bent down to listen to Samuel's breathing and put two fingers to his neck to feel his pulse, before turning to face the boy's parents.

  “I think so. From what David told me, you've been feeding him a host of anti-venoms, which should have weakened the kwiller's venom. With the actual anti-venom in him now, his system should be able to recover. Although...”

  She looked at Samuel, then back to his parents. “I think his recovery might take a while. He shows signs of potion poisoning. Which I understand!” She urged to say, ears pointed up. “You did everything you could, and it's not... It's dangerous, but it's manageable.” She said, assuaging the Waymans' concerns.

  “Just make sure you don't give him anything more until he feels better, and he needs to drink a lot of water once he's awake, to flush his system. At least a full bucket every day, until he can walk by himself.”

  And then, she yawned, before blushing.

  “Ah! I'm sorry, it's just been...” She yawned again. “A lot of stress, and a very long day.” She explained, just before she noticed David trying to hide a yawn of his own behind a hand.

  Luke and Martha looked to each other. Martha spoke. “Of course, dear. Luke, get David and his friend-”

  “Niala,” David interrupted.

  “... and his friend Niala some bedding. I'll watch over Samuel in the meantime.” Martha finished, reassuring her fretting husband.

  Luke stared at his son some more, unable to tear his gaze away, before nodding and leading David and Niala out of the room and into their guest bedroom, furnishing both with extra pillows and sheets before quickly returning to his son's side.

  David offered Niala the bed, which she accepted immediately, while he set himself down on the floor. They were both out within minutes.

  Hodge?

  night shift gate guard?!

  what?