After crying into her sister's chest for what felt like a long time, Zee eventually began to calm down. The worry was still there, still twisting inside her chest, but it was no longer consuming her entirely like before. Her breathing steadied little by little until she finally pulled back enough to look up at Mae properly.
"I-is everyone else safe?" she asked quietly. "Did you all make it back here okay?"
She needed to know what happened after she lost consciousness.
Mae grimaced slightly at the question before answering. "Well... no one you would feel bad for." She leaned back a little before continuing, "The fire sorceress, Amara, got shot in the back with a necrotic bullet. The necromancer managed to stop it from spreading somehow, so she stayed alive long enough to get brought here." Mae shrugged lightly. "She's in the Healing Springs right now recovering. Though I guess I didn't really need to specify that part."
Part of Mae had been curious whether Zee would care or not.
But judging from the immediate look on her face, the answer became obvious very quickly.
"Oh. Only her?" Zee said without hesitation. "You're right, I don't feel bad for her." Her expression hardened slightly despite the tears still lingering in her eyes. "She's a murderer who tried to kill me, Larkin, and Xain multiple times and has been hunting us this entire time." She looked down briefly. "If anything, she got what she deserved."
The words were cold.
But considering who Amara was and what she had done, there was very little sympathy to be found.
Mae let out a quiet chuckle before reaching up and patting Zee gently on the head. "Good girl," she said softly. "You shouldn't waste your sympathy on someone like her."
Then her gaze shifted across the room toward the other bed.
Toward the unmoving figure still lying there completely unresponsive.
"There is one more person suffering though," Mae said after a moment. "The Fiend. Or..." Her eyes slowly shifted back toward Zee with a more pointed expression. "Should I say Nerissa?"
Zee's eyes widened instantly.
The broken mask.
Everything that happened afterward.
"I... she... I mean he... um..." Zee stumbled over her own words immediately, panic and uncertainty colliding together.
Mae simply shook her head slowly.
"There's no point trying to keep up whatever lie you two were maintaining anymore," she said calmly while crossing her arms. "So come on. Tell me." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "How do you know The Fiend? And what exactly were the two of you trying to do?"
Zee looked away for several seconds before taking a slow breath to steady herself.
Then she asked quietly, "Can we go by his side first?"
Mae stared at her silently for a few moments after hearing that.
Then she gave a small nod.
"His, huh?" she remarked softly. "Alright." She uncrossed her arms. "Yes. We can go by his side."
Mae helped her twin carefully off the bed, keeping an arm around her to steady her weakened legs before slowly guiding her across the medical room. Together they made their way to the opposite side, where Nori still lay motionless in bed exactly as he had before.
He did not react to their approach at all.
His eyes remained fixed blankly toward the ceiling, unfocused and distant, as though he was seeing something far away from the room around him.
"He's been like this ever since Xain left," Mae explained quietly as they stopped beside the bed. "We haven't been able to get a reaction out of him at all."
Zee looked down at him silently for a moment before slowly reaching out and lightly tapping his face, trying to get any response from him whatsoever.
Nothing happened.
Not even the slightest shift in his eyes.
Something in Zee's expression tightened at that.
"Something tells me you know exactly why this happened," Mae said as her gaze shifted toward Zee's hand lingering near his face. "It's obvious he's connected to Xain somehow." She crossed her arms loosely. "Xain mentioned that 'Nerissa' reminded him of someone." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Can I assume The Fiend actually is that person rather than simply resembling them?"
Zee let out a small breath before slowly nodding.
"Yes," she admitted quietly. "And his name is... Nori."
She turned her gaze back toward him, sadness immediately returning to her expression.
"He's Xain's childhood friend." As she spoke, her hand started drifting toward Nori's hair, clearly intending to reveal his ears before Mae interrupted her.
"You don't need to show me," Mae said calmly. "I already know he's a half-elf."
Zee stopped mid-motion before lowering her hand again.
"Xain means a lot to him," she continued softly. "So after he..." Her voice faltered slightly. "After he turned into that Beast... and Annie nearly kicked me..." She swallowed before continuing. "He was acting so unlike himself. He didn't even look at Nori." Her eyes lowered toward the bed. "I can understand why he ended up like this."
Mae gave a slow nod at that explanation before tilting her head slightly.
"So," she asked, "what are you going to do now?"
Zee turned toward her immediately, determination suddenly appearing through the sadness.
"I'm going to find him, of course," she answered without hesitation. "Then I'll talk to him and make him come to his senses." Her hands clenched slightly at her sides. "I know he'll listen eventually. I know Annie will... let go of him or whatever she's doing." Her expression softened after that. "Then he'll go back to normal. He'll be himself again." A faint hopeful smile appeared despite everything. "He'll be Xain."
Mae let out a quiet sigh.
"That," she said slowly, "is exactly the answer I expected from you." Her tone almost sounded fond for a moment before her expression shifted into something more serious. "That's such a Zee answer."
At first it sounded like a compliment.
Then Mae continued.
"And that's exactly why you are not going after him." Her eyes locked onto Zee's directly. "I will."
"...Huh?"