The Cruel, The Unfair, and Terrible Timing

"It will be okay, Jess. I've got you now, and you're safe with me," Joss said in comfort as he moved silver hair from her face.

"Where did Veltar go? Doesn't he know how to heal wounds?" the male twin asked frantically.

"Calm down, Joss. He's getting some ingredients - he needs time to gather and grind them," Lara tried to intervene, but the cold stare she received from the male twin was enough for her to shut her mouth and look away.

"Where is Jyriah?" Joss continued and looked around for the support of his mate, but did not see his face.

"He went with Veltar. They're both gathering what they need. He said he didn't want to waste any time," Ajax answered for Lara who looked a little bit hurt by the look she had been given, being that all she was trying to do was help.

"...I...okay..." Joss replied and shook his head as though trying to sort his thoughts. He was in a complete mess, and no one could blame him. He had just watched his mate's sister die in the very same cave, and now he was terrified he was about to endure the same pain. It was already hard enough to bare Jyriah's - but his own would more than likely destroy him.

"Joss...Joss..stop..it's..okay," Jess said as though a great fever were causing her to be delirious.

"Shhh, don't waste your energy," Joss said with a wavering smile.

"Tell...tell..Syrana.. Syri..is...safe.. She's...okay.." she replied, ignoring his advice.

Lara, Ajax, and Joss just sucked in a breath and went silent.

Jess was no fool - she knew what that meant, and she also felt incredibly guilty. She had wished for Syrana to die, but she didn't really mean it. She just had a deep affection for that child, and she only wanted what was best for her.

"...ah...I'm sorry..." she followed up with a hard intake of breath.

"Don't be - you did everything right, Jessie. You kept her safe, and you kept her happy. If you really want to honor Syrana - then you need to live. That little one doesn't need to mourn your death on top of all of this. I need you to live, okay?" Joss insisted.

"Joss...It..hurts, but...I'm...too stubborn...to die.." she answered with a pained laugh.

"Alright, alright, just stop talking, please."

"Don't...don't tell me... what..to..do.." Jessie retorted with a glare. As she had said, she was in pain - she wasn't dying. It probably looked like she was dying with all the blood from her slashed throat, but she had been able to stay very calm through the entire ordeal, and was able to focus enough to heal what she could.

Now, she was too loopy to concentrate, and was acting a bit juvenile.

"Jessie," Joss began with a condescending tone.

"Joss," she retorted with a mocking sound.

Lara couldn't help but snicker - but the moment the scratch in her throat sounded, she instantly regretted it and turned around to avoid Joss' gaze.

"Could you not?" he sneered.

"Hey, don't talk to her like that. You need to maybe stop feeding off of Jyriah's sadness right now, and take in deep breaths. You're not acting like yourself, Joss. You're losing it just a little," Ajax tried to insert himself gently and put his hands up as he gently stood in front of Lara.

"I..I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." Joss sounded embarrassed and gave in easily. Ajax was right, he had still been trying to support Jyriah's emotions, but now it was too chaotic to handle.

"Deep breaths...big...brother..." Jess said with a grin and lazily hit him on his knee with a weak smack.

"Okay, I'm okay..." he assured her and took her advice. He took in deep, big breaths to calm himself.

"I..am..not..going to..die.. I..just hurt..." Jessie said with a little finality and offered him a thumbs up.

"If you don't stop talking, I'm going to cover your mouth," Joss replied with a voice that had cooled down tremendously.

Veltar and Jyriah arrived just as the cave had filled with silence and resolve. Both had hands stained with greens and browns, and they made a bee-line to Metas' desk that had been pushed into the farthest corner to accommodate more bodies.

"Everyone, get out - I need space, and there are far too many of you," Veltar said in a hurry as he dumped ingredients onto the flat surface and started to put different stems and flora into his used mortar and pestle so he could get to work as fast as possible.

"Jyriah - water. Everyone else - out" he followed up as his peripheral vision noted that no one had moved.

"I'm not leaving my sister," Joss argued back.

"Yes you are - I need the damn space. Get out," Veltar insisted with a barked order.

"Joss, just go..." Jessie urged and pointed to the cave entrance. "I'm going to be okay, okay?"

Joss stared at her for a second, but finally relented and left the area with Ajax and Lara while Jyriah collected water into the bowl Veltar had handed him. Once it was filled, he put it on the desk's top and left.

"One moment. This will take just a minute, I'm sorry for the wait" the alchemist said without looking at his patient. He was too concerned on getting the consistency of the paste he was making just right.

"No..problem..I'm not...dying...just.. hurting.." Jessie replied and waved her hand. She wasn't being sarcastic, but she wasn't sure if he could tell.

"Ah. High pain tolerance. Very good attribute to have when we work in textiles, yes?" he tried to keep conversation with her to distract her brain from the calamity of the situation.

"Yeah...long time...no see..." Jessie replied with a pained squeeze to her words.

"Indeed. I remember your parents sent you often to buy dyes. Are my parents well, do you know?" he asked in hopes to also get some answers of his own.

"They are...actually. They have a..really nice...memorial...at the shop...for you.." she answered as casually as possible even though her throat and chest were throbbing.

"I can't wait to surprise them, then" Veltar said with a weak smile as he rotated his arm rapidly, still not happy with the texture his medicine was at.

"Me too...that..sounds....really great...nnghn.." Jess tilted her head back and squeezed her eyes shut to push the pain away.

"Almost done, hang in there" he coached gingerly.

"No, no - it's...it's fine...all fine.." she insisted as she played as cool as possible.

"You are quite lovely to say so, but I know you're in pain" he insisted, and once he was finally happy with the green and brown paste in the mortar, he quickly made his way to her side. He dipped his hands into the remaining water that was left in the bowl, and rinsed his hands the best he could.

Then, he immediately used his pointer and middle finger to scoop a healthy dose up and smear it on her open wounds.

This should have been an easy task - one topical, one or two moments to watch the reaction and endure he used the proper ingredients, and one positive reaction in seeing her healing process.

Instead, the moment his fingers swiped across her flesh they both felt an instant connection, a spark between them that signaled they had finally found one another - a moonlight mate for Veltar, and Jess's first brush with the one meant for her.

This felt cruel, unfair - and like it couldn't have happened at a worse time.