It had been a day and a half since Pransai had come back nearly dead. She was still asleep in her room upstairs, with Sinsa at her side. He had hardly left it in all that time, despite Casai and I's attempts to take over watching her for him. Both of us sat in the living room now, trying our best not to look sullen for the other. 

Sinsa had been confident that she would recover with time and rest. "She's exhuasted her mana b-before, though not this b-bad, so I know how long it will take her t-to recover."

Casai had her tail hugged around herself as she sat on the couch, trying to make progress on a sewing project, but having to backtrack constantly due to her state. The sound of her annoyed at herself every so often punctuated the otherwise quiet space.

I sat across from her, pretending to be reading through one of Sinsa's books, brow scrunched with concentration and worry. With the harvest over for the year, I had nothing to do but try to work through how to help the people who had taken me in and accepted me into their home. And it terrified me.

I didn't know how to help them, how to fix the issues that had built up over time, how to fix the ways that they relied to heavily on each other or not enough. I needed to figure out the best way to make them understand what the other was going through. It was easy to see from an outside perspective, but conveying that to them in a way that they would both understand was daunting. What if I got it wrong, or said the wrong thing, or made it worse somehow, or...

"Korey, are you okay?"

I hadn't realized I'd been clenching my fist on the armrest. I took a deep breath and smiled at Casai.

"Yeah, well as I can be, just trying to think through some things."

Her eyes narrowed at me as I quickly returned my attention to my book. She was too good at figuring people out, and I didn't need to stress her out more than she already was.

"Korey, don't feel pressu-"

A small sound like something falling rang out. Her ears both pricked to the stairs, and she went silent for a moment. I paused for half a breath, before she sprang up from her seat.

"Pransai woke up!"

She bolted for the stairs faster than I could set my book down. By the time I had stumbled out of my seat, she was already out of sight. I followed her shortly after, making my way to Pransai and Sinsa's room.

Casai was sprawled across her sister, hugging her tightly, softly calling "Idiot" into her fur over and over again. Sinsa had stood up quickly, causing his chair to fall back and crash against the ground. All six of his hands were clasped around Pransai's right paw, as he did his best to put on a smile. Pransai had her head propped up by a few pillows, one of her arms wrapped around her sister, and the other being held by Sinsa. As I walked into the room, her eyes met mine, slightly misty and full of guilt, but she nonetheless attempted a smile.

I made my way to the edge of the bed, mentally going through the small catalogue of spells I had. I'd already used more than enough healing magic on her, and none of the other spells I had been given would do much for her in her current state of exhaustion, but I wanted to do something to not feel impotent.

"How are you feeling?" At least I could be emotionally stable for her, as the rest of her family was, reasonably, unable to be right now. 

Pransai shifted, still keeping a hold of her sister who had fallen silent, and answered me. "Still tired, but much better than I was upon my return." She turned her focus back to Casai, and whispered, "I'm sorry for worrying you." to her.

Then she set her gaze on Sinsa, and her calm demeanor almost crumbled. "Sinsa... I am-".

"I'm so glad you're ok-kay." Sinsa interrupted her and moved closer to hug her.

She returned the hug with the hand that had been held by Sinsa a moment before, and after several moments, they finally released one another.

"Trully though, Sinsa, I am-".

"You don't have anything to apologize for, I shouldn't have yelled at you in that state." It was odd to see Sinsa being the one to trample over Pransai's words, though he did so now while doing the best to keep the hurt out of his eyes. They were a mess, both of them. 

Pransai went silent again, having no idea how to parse her current situation, and gazed around the room. We all sat in silence for an uncomfortable moment, before Pransai voice, as soft as a feather, broke the quiet. "I apologize, but... I am quite hungry."

Casai's head immediately whipped up from its resting position and locked eyes with Pransai. "What do you want?"

"I do not need anything more than what-"

"I know what she wants, Korey, come help me cook all of Pransai's favorite foods." She quickly extracted herself from her sister, and made her way downstairs.

"You need not...sorry Korey, and thank you." Pransai seemed more fragile right now then I had seen her in all the time I had been living here. A little over two months now.

"Of course, no problem." As I left the room, I took one last glance behind me. Both Sinsa and Pransai were avoiding each others gaze, though Sinsa had once again taken a hold of her hand with all of his as he sat there next to the bed. I hoped that some time alone might allow them to talk with each other.

I wasn't going to hold my breath though.

***

***

"Now keep the heat on that for another few minutes."

"Okay."

"And then add this spice here."

"About this much?"

"Perfect."

Casai helped put the finishing touch on the dish she had been making, and helped me start plating it for the four of us. Dough wrapped around a small cut of Peryton meat, topped with a spice called Frinta that was unfamiliar to me. I hadn't tasted it yet, but it smelled delicious.

"Now the next dish is..." Casai had already started rummaging through the cupboards, scrounging for ingredients.

"Damn, looks like we're out of flour... OH, I'm sure Myphra will have plenty, I'll grab some from her, be back in a moment!" Casai always moved fast when there was work to be done, which made it all the more surprising how she could enjoy such a tedious task like sewing all the time.

"Bring those to Sinsa and Pransai, then I can show you the next dish!" She yelled over her shoulder as the door shut behind her.

I took a deep breath. I hadn't heard much noise from upstairs, but maybe they had made some kind of progress working through their issues. 

Either way, I couldn't very well avoid the room because I was uncomfortable; I'd made a promise. I grabbed two of the dishes and made way upstairs.

I found them in an almost identical position to the one I'd left them in. God they were impossible. The intercommunication skills of rocks would dwarf these two's abilities.

"Hey, the first of Casai's food is ready, she just left to grab something she needed." 

I made my way to Sinsa and Pransai, handing each a plate as I sat down.

"Thank you Korey." She said taking a plate and setting it down on her lap, still horizontal in bed.

"Th-thanks." Sinsa grabbed the plate and immediately set it to the side on the nightstand next to him, keeping his gaze fixed on Pransai.

Pransai saw the action, and opened her mouth, then closed it with a worried expression. She looked to her own food for a moment, and then spoke softly. "Sinsa, you really should eat. You must have been watching me for... too long."

He shook his head "Don't worry about me, you need to eat. Your health is th-the most important thing right now."

Pransai still hesitated, looking more worried now after hearing that. 

"My health is my fault, you need not put off eating for my sake."

"I'll b-be fine."

Pransai's voice still held onto that shaky quality as she leaned forward, as though she was afraid of pushing Sinsa "But..."

"I'll do whatever it takes t-t0 convince you I'll be fine, so p-please, stop killing yourself for me!!!"

Pransai sagged backward, tears forming in her eyes. Sinsa's eyes quickly followed suit, as he made to leave the room in a hurry of shame and embarrassment.

That wouldn't be good for either of them. 

"Sinsa, stop." I stood from my chair and put myself in hist way.

His steps faltered, and he stood in front of me, face glistening with self-reproach.

"Sit back down, we need to deal with this." I did my best to keep my voice firm but not harsh. I wasn't sure if I'd succeeded, but Sinsa at least listened and slumped back into his seat.

It was scary to try and actually insert myself into this, and I wasn't sure I could do a good job. But I'd promised.

"First, both of you need to eat this, Casai poured her heart and soul into it." Neither was in a state where they wanted to argue with me, and they would both be swayed by that framing.

After a moment, they each took a bite of their food. For several awkward moments, we each sat there, Sinsa and Pransai both eating with their eyes downcast. After each had gotten some food in them, I spoke up once again.

"Now you-" I said looking at Sinsa "-need to apologize for being so focused on Pransai that you're neglecting yourself, and you-" I turned my gaze to Pransai "need to aplogize for refusing to eat when you can't hardly even move." 

They glanced up from trying to avoid each other, and looked at one another. They were both immediately compelled to do so by the others hurting expression.

"I am sorry for everything and-"

"I'm so sorry Pransai for-"

Their words came out in a jumbled mess, both talking over each other for a moment as they attempted to apologize. They paused for a moment, and then Pransai spoke in a less frantic voice.

"I am sorry, not thinking about how you felt seeing me not eat in my state."

"I am sorry t-too, I'm sure I look q-quite disheveled right now, so it was fair to assume, though I promise I have eaten since yesterday." Sinsa let out a half hearted smile, trying to break the tension.

They had apologized, each for the thing that was actually wrong. And, they were both looking at each other again. Progress.

"You each have done so much for me, and I know it is not my place to butt in, but I can't let you two continue like this."

Sinsa's brow furrowed as Pransai asked "Like what?"

"Each of you is hurting the other, in the ways that you act, and I'm certain neither of you want to be. So let's fix that."

I shifted to face Pransai, and made sure that I was speaking directly to her and she was listening.

"Pransai, if you need a selfless reason to stop pushing yourself, do it for Sinsa. Because he hurts to see you struggle, hurts to see your eyes droop with fatigue, hurts because he loves you. We all feel that hurt, because we all care about you. And we want you to be around, and happy, and okay. Please."

She cast her gaze down, taking in the words before returning her gaze to me with something like fear "But the work must still be done. I have to do everything I can to keep us each safe. I must."

"I won't deny that the work needs to be done. But everyone of us is more than willing to share that burden. If you were carrying all the burden that your family couldn't, now I can too. I can work, I can find ways to make use of my mana for the house, and when the winter is over, I can even learn how to hunt. I can do whatever it takes to shoulder enough of the burden so that you don't have to break under it. But you have to be willing to pace yourself, and rest, and allow others to take some of the work for you."

Pransai seemed to have taken the message to heart, as she leaned back slightly and a look of something like hope was in her expression. I didn't focus too much on that as I shifted my focus toward Sinsa and locked eyes with him.

"Sinsa, you said you would do anything to convince Pransai you'll be okay, right? Then you need to put forward real effort to keep bettering yourself. You spend so much time alone here, and I know it can be scary and uncomfortable to talk to people, truly. I struggle to work up the nerve to be outgoing every time I talk to someone new; I still haven't met most of the town because I'm afraid of saying the wrong thing, or coming across negatively. I also struggle with remembering to take care of myself every day." I reached out and grabbed two of his hands as I saw trepidation growing on his face. "So let's do both together, We can talk to all the people we don't know, and help remind each other to take care of ourselves. And slowly, day by day, I'm sure we can get better at the things we struggle with if we're helping each other." I finished and did my best to give him as encouraging of a smile as I could.

Sinsa's face was still wrought with a mix of emotions, but their was also something that I had come to recognize from times I would find him hunched over his desk trying to work out some new spell. Determination.

"Can we agree to try that?" I asked them.

Pransai gave me a solemn expression and Sinsa nodded his head as they spoke in unison "Yes."

I was relieved, and emotionally drained from even that short interaction, but smiled nonetheless."Perfect, I'm going to help Casai with the rest of the food, and you can talk with each other." Now that it was out in the open, I was sure they could make progress. Because they loved each other, and because I was sure they could each do better in those ways, for themselves and for each other.

I made my way to the door and had to catch Casai from falling in as I opened it. She had her fluffy ear pressed up against the wood, and hadn't managed to scuttle away from the door in time to avoid discovery.

Pransai and Sinsa were focused on one another, as they had already started pouring out apologies to each other behind me, and didn't notice us as I set Casai upright, closed the door, and raised eyebrow at her.

"Shut up!" She whisper yelled at me.

I raised my hands smiling, "I didn't say anything."

I started making my way downstairs "Alright, ready to show me how to make the rest of your brilliant dishes."

"Yeah" she was quiet behind me as we took the stairs back down to the kitchen.

"And thank you."

***

***

I was incredibly sleepy and full after spending so much time apologizing to Sinsa and promising to do better, and after stuffing myself with my sisters cooking. Despite that, I felt lighter than I had in a long time. I did not feel guilty sleeping next to Sinsa right now, holding him without feeling like I was keeping something from him. 

I still regretted what it had taken to come to that point for me. But the feeling of being completely open with the person I loved made it worth it.

I went over the events of the day, and realized how much I appreciated the push I had been given. Korey need not have stepped in like he had, but I could not thank him enough for doing so.

As I continued to ponder those events, and all that had occurred since Korey had arrived, a thought blossomed. I turned to Sinsa, and at the same moment he turned to me, apparently also still awake.

For the second time today, we were in unison with our words.

"I think I like Korey."