[color=forestgreen]"Don't worry. It took me a while, too."[/color] Tiki laughed. If she was honest, she expected Phann to ignore her and go with her own plan, so to have her listen was a surprise. Having someone from her class with her gave Tiki a pleasant feeling, one that was foreign to her. She happily began following Phann, but she felt a bit of guilt. It was likely that Phann had no idea who she was due to her name. Surely, it must feel weird having a stranger fall on you and then start following you around, right? Definitely not comforting, at the very least. Thinking that she shouldn't focus on things like that right now, she forced those thoughts out of her mind. She'll deal with it at a later time.

While walking, Tiki's mind went back to when she was chasing butterflies. Several questions appeared in her mind, like what exactly mana was and how else she could use it. Why was it so natural for her? Something she's never done before, with a feeling she's never felt. If she practiced more, how much of it could she use? How fast? Were there other types of magic, besides the wind she used earlier? Surely, there had to be, but perhaps it would be dangerous if she started experimenting right now. For one, Phann was right in front of her. Two, she didn't know how safe mana was. If using magic exhausted her so quickly before, then it could probably do something even worse. Tiki shuddered at the thought. She didn't want to risk dying for a second time, as absurd as that situation might've sounded.

Immediately after that thought, there was a flash of bright light, and the tingling sensation in her feet turned from a welcome feeling to a hostile one. It started from her lower body, then spread throughout in the blink of an eye. Tiki coughed mildly, but it escalated into a fit that left her exhausted. She felt like her airways were being blocked. Her breathing quickened to try and get more air, but it only helped to make the pain even worse. She managed to keep walking throughout the feeling, but it was unignorable once her entire body felt like she had sat on it for too long. Everything was numb, but at the same time hypersensitive. Tiki fell to the ground. She was surprised when she managed to look up and see Phann unphased by it. Tiki thought it was only affecting her, which made her somehow feel even worse. Like it was all in her head. 

Regardless of if it truly was the mana or just her brain tricking her, she couldn't focus. Only when the pain faded to a dull throb for a split-second did Tiki realize that Phann was by her side, tugging on her arm. She tried telling the other elf that she couldn't move, but any attempts to speak were halted by a cough. When one started to come out, it was more of a squeak than any actual words. Tiki did the deepest breath she could muster (which wasn't even as good as a normal one) and looked up. Seeing a panicked look on Phann's face, she became saddened on top of the horrible feeling of every part of her body, inside and out, being bitten by insects. If Tiki didn't start to move soon, Phann would be stuck here with her. Something told her that if they stayed here, they would end up dead. She tried speaking again, to tell Phann to move on without her. Nothing came out.

Disappointed in herself, Tiki tried to ignore her pain as well as she could. She stood up, her legs shaking. It took too much focus to stand up. She knew that she could only do one thing at a time. If she took her mind off of walking, she would fall. She couldn't talk, turn her head, or do anything else, really. She relied on her subconscious to control her breathing and hertbeat as well as they could. Tiki began walking ahead, moving in the direction Phann was before. Whenever her mind faltered, even just a little from hearing sounds, she stumbled. She kept getting back up. She could only hope that her lack of response didn't offend Phann.

[@TheMushroomLord]