The springs beneath kept the floor warm, the air in here humid and thick from the steaming water. He didn't care for the moisture, but he was already damp. And at least he was warm and underground. Just as he'd managed when he first escaped. When he found Ziad, and the Kartaian hiding within. The hard stone grounded him. No soft sand. Unforgiving, relentless stone.

[i]Ruli?[/i]
He opened his eyes again, his cheek pressed against the floor of the chamber. Her shape moved, her approach cautious. She said something to him, but it jumbled in his ear. He couldn't understand. Not that it mattered. He closed his eyes again. Walking made it worse. Made his bones ache again. Made him tired. Gods, so tired. Ruli took a shuddering breath, listening as she spoke again. More of her words made sense this time, but not all of them. 
He understood she was apologizing. 

He smelled someone else, and shifted his head, peering through the fog. Barely visible was a smudge of fuchsia near the threshold. A female elf. A fighter. A mistress. "Go away." He snarled, still shivering uncontrollably. Ysaryn inhaled and left backed out, leaving Kire alone with him. His gaze shifted back to her. But to her, he wasn't sure what to stay. Vaguely, he recalled that they'd been fighting in something. Violent. He looked her over, looking for injury. He should tell her to go away, too. Tell her to leave him alone. But for some reason, the thought made him feel alone. 
Shaking, he extended an arm, spreading his fingers toward her. "Please?" He asked quietly. "I- ... I don't know w-whats real."