When Crow woke up the next day, he yawned and rolled onto his back, reaching his arms over his head in a long stretch. He didn’t feel quite as terrible as he normally did when he rose this time. Aside from the ache in his wounded leg and a kink in his right shoulder—he guessed he had probably slept on it funny—he actually felt somewhat decent for once. His heartbeat quickened in excitement as he remembered the new medicine Hazel had given him the night before. Had she finally found something that worked?

Eager to test it out, he moved to sit up. However, he immediately regretted the decision when a sharp burst of dizziness forced him to squeeze his eyes shut. Clutching his head in one hand, he breathed slowly until it passed. It appeared that, even if the medicine had had some effect on him, it wasn’t healing him that quickly. He still couldn’t move very much without tiring himself out. Regardless, he was ecstatic to think that his slight improvement had been caused by the herbalist’s new remedy.

“This is the first time I’ve seen you sit up in a couple days,” Hazel’s voice caught his attention as she walked over from the other side of the camp. The red-haired woman grinned at him, “I take it you’re feeling better?”

“A bit,” Crow nodded, looking up at her as she sat down beside him. “What time is it?”

“Early evening,” she answered, smoothing out her dress over her crossed legs. “But even if you start to get better, I wouldn’t expect that to change anytime soon. You need a lot of rest to recover from this.”

“I’ll take what I can get,” he shrugged absently, flexing his hand as he observed the reaction of his muscles. It wasn’t much, but he could tell that his reflexes were slightly faster than before.

“How exactly are you feeling better?” Hazel asked, pulling out her journal and quill. “I need to make some notes, so I can keep refining your medicine.”

“Let’s see,” Crow glanced up at the cave ceiling in thought. “I woke up feeling more well-rested, and I don’t feel as tired as I usually do right now—at least, I don’t feel tired mentally. I still doubt I’d be able to stand up on my own.”

“Care to try?”

“I don’t think so,” he shook his head. “At least, not today. Just sitting up by myself was almost enough to take me down again.”

“Alright,” the herbalist scribbled down a few more notes and then closed her book. “I’m glad this medicine seems to be affecting you, because I’ve already got another batch ready for you tonight.” Reaching into her bag once more, she withdrew the container and handed it to him. “Let’s just hope it keeps working.”

“Hear hear,” Crow raised the jar to his lips and drained it of its contents. Once he had finished, he wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Gods, you actually kept your word yesterday, didn’t you?”

“Of course,” Hazel winked at him mischievously. “You didn’t think I would actually let you get away with that attitude of yours, did you?”

“Lesson learned,” he coughed. “That was rancid.”

“I’m pleased you think so,” Hazel smirked.

Crow rolled his eyes and then met her gaze again as another thought came to him, “By the way, do you mind switching out my bandages again? The ones I’m wearing now have been on for a few days, and they’ve started to chafe.”

“Sure,” she retrieved a roll of fresh bandages from her bag. Working efficiently, she switched out the old wrapping on his leg for a new one. Once she was done, she put away her supplies and stood up to rejoin the others at the fire for dinner. Before she could leave, the thief spoke up again.

“One more thing,” he started.

“You’re expecting quite a few favors from me today, hmm?” Hazel quirked a brow at him.

“I would do these things for myself, but, you know,” Crow gestured to his own body in reference to the illness. “Anyway, could you help me up? I want to eat with you and the others, since I haven’t been able to in so long.”

“I guess,” she shrugged and offered him a hand to stand up.

“Thanks,” he said as he took her hand and rose unsteadily to his feet. Once he was up, he moved quickly to lean an open palm against the wall for support. Using the wall to stay upright, he followed Hazel over to the fireplace to enjoy a social dinner with his companions before he would go to bed that night.