Dust stuck to his palms. Saigid rubbed his hand against the ground, as if trying to scrape something invisible off his skin.
"It's itchy..." he whispered hoarsely. "My palms... they're itchy." Saigid said.
The three men had been picking their way through the forest for what felt like hours, with no sign of Yushai in sight.
Saigid paused as a strange itch prickled at his palms, and he grimaced, rubbing at them absently as irritation spiked through him. "Damnit, it feels like there's something stuck to my hands..." he muttered, his voice rough.
He glanced sidelong at Lyutich and Kakhach. "... You go, I'll be right there."
Voices. The rustling. The air humidity is high. And suddenly there was someone behind him, In front of him, Near him, underground.
The itch still wouldn't go away. His neck, arms, head, and even his eyes itch.
Saigid tensed at the sudden, overwhelming feeling of being watched—every instinct on edge as whispers and rustling sounded through the trees around him—something was nearby.
And then the itching increased, an intense and maddening irritation washing over him. He clenched his jaw, his fingers twitching as he scanned the area, eyes sharp and suspicious.
"Something's wrong," he muttered under his breath. "It's like... someone's here."
He feels a cold medicine vial against his cheek, Yushai holds it and hands it to him.
Saigid' gaze snaps up at the touch of the vial against his cheek, eyes falling on Yushai like a hawk. For a moment, he just stands there in surprise.
"...Where the hell did you come from?" he finally asks, the edge in his voice replaced by a mix of confusion and irritation. "I swear, you just appeared out of the damn—"
He cuts himself off, eyeing the vial in Yushai's hand with a frown. "...What's that?"
"Take medicine,"
Saigid stares at the vial for a long moment, then slowly raises an eyebrow at Yushai.
"Medicine?" he repeats skeptically. "You disappear without a trace, drag us all into the middle of nowhere, and now you're handing me medicine like it's completely normal—? What is in this?"
"Take" He said slowly and coldly.
Saigid' irritation spikes at Yushai's cold tone, but he can see something in the other man's eyes that makes him hesitate to argue further.
With a sharp exhale, he snatches the vial from Yushai's hand, unscrewing the cap with one quick motion.
"Fine," he mutters, his tone flat. "I'll take this damn medicine, since you're insisting."
Saigid woke up in a tent in a place with everyone. Yushai was standing at the entrance
Saigid groans, blinking back to consciousness as the world swims into focus. The first thing he registers is the rough canvas of a tent above him and the familiar ache of a headache pounding to life behind his temples.
His thoughts come slowly—a blurry tangle of confusion—and it takes him a moment to gather himself. He pushes himself into a sitting position, wincing at the lingering ache in his temples. As he glances around, his eyes catch Yushai standing at the entrance, and he curses quietly. "What did you give me...?"
"Aizorod - pills" Yushai replied calmly.
Saigid knows exactly what these pills are and that the doctors prescribed them for him. "so you really knew about my sedative? Hmm... I don't feel comfortable with this information," Saigid said.
Saigid narrows his eyes at Yushai, the realization sinking in with slow, simmering irritation.
"You knew about my prescription," he repeats carefully, voice low. "And you didn't mention it until now—when I'm waking up in a damn tent with no memory of how I got here."
He shifts slightly, the slight lingering dizziness making him clench his jaw to push through it. "I don't like people keeping secrets about me," he continues coldly. "Especially when it involves drugging me into unconsciousness."
Yushai was about to say something when Lyutich burst into the room.
"There, people decided to find out why the volcano had erupted. And the target is our warehouse!" In a huff, he explains, "And... Kakhach ran to the warehouse after this information"
Saigid' eyes widen in alarm as Lyutich's frantic words cut through the air. His confusion and irritation is quickly replaced by a sharp spike of worry.
"Kakhach did what now?" he snaps, pushing himself the rest of the way upright. "Did he seriously just run toward the goddamned warehouse by himself?"
He mutters a low curse, the headache all but forgotten in the sudden rush of adrenaline. "Idiot—he always has to be the hero—"
Saigid' jaw clenches as his phone begins to ring, the sound cutting through the tension of the room.
He glances briefly at the screen before answering it. "This better be important," he snaps as he accepts the call, pressing the phone to his ear.
"Hanchu."
"Listen, how fast is it really possible to get from the Fiti River to our warehouse on foot? Six or seven hours?" Hanchu asks
"Yes, He's already here.."
Lyutich says, "He left about twenty minutes ago. How did he get to the warehouse in such a short time?"
Saigid can't hold back a sharp, irritated exhale at Lyutich's words, the confirmation only heightening his tension.
"Twenty minutes..." he mutters, eyes narrowing. "It's impossible—it should take six hours to get to the warehouse on foot, at least. How the hell did he get there that fast?"
Kakhach's voice is heard coming from the phone. "my pet shouldn't be prostrate. And that's why I was in a hurry to see him."
The moment Kakhach's voice reaches him through the phone, Saigid' eyes widen, his mind suddenly racing as he tries to make sense of the man's words.
"Pet...?" he echoes quietly, his mind already starting to form a horrifying theory. "He's not talking about who I think he is..."
He cuts off the thought, instead focusing back on Kakhach's words. "Damn it, idiot. You rushed to the warehouse?"
"Yes"
"well, since everything is fine with us, let's figure out why the dormant volcano has awakened," says Lyutich
"Hm," Yushai said.
Saigid scowls at Yushai's chuckle, frustration and irritation flaring further.
"Is now a good time to be laughing?" he snaps, still gripping the phone tightly in his hand. "We've got a volcano waking up, a warehouse to check on, and Kakhach being a reckless fool. It'd be nice if we could focus for a minute—"
He cuts himself off sharply, his hand clenching tighter around the phone.
"...Wait a minute," he mutters, suddenly realizing something.
Realization suddenly clicks in his mind as a thought hits him, and his brows draw together in a sharp, calculating look.
"The volcano," he says quietly, his tone suddenly sharp and focused. "It's been dormant for gods knows how long, right? And now, all of a sudden it's awakening."
His eyes narrow. "That's not a coincidence. Something's causing it."