Tempname

Whenever Mikage happens to go into particularly dangerous situations, she always makes sure to inform the rest of her party about her location. Should things go south, it is better they at least know that she'd been walking into danger and if she becomes unavailable, that the worst might have happened. In this case, though, what happened might be worse than death, or at least it might feel like it.

She had sent out a call for help to Cyrus in the aftermath of fighting the goblins in the cave, below. A message punctuated by pain in her voice that is very uncommon for her. Now, she sits against the rocks, her eyes closed, head tipped back, looking for all the world like a corpse if it wasn't for the fact that her chest still rises and falls. There is blood from a deep gash on one leg and more that stains her shoulder. Her breathing is shallow, likely in some sort of stage of shock.

Normal people are not used to feeling full pain in virtual reality. Most people never experience anything close. Her health bar is in the red, which is likely concerning in and of itself, especially out here. Rama is sprawled across the girl, protectively, giving worried movements of his paws at her now and again.

On his way to meet Mikage half-way from where she was traveling, Cyrus had set out on his own. With that pained sound on the back of his mind constantly, he's been traveling the forests on the way to find any plants or trees with painkilling properties. But it seemed like his luck just wasn't there.

By the time she sees him approaching her, she may note he's practically jogging, or fast walking. Cyrus, who never seems to be in a hurry to go anywhere, doesn't take long to get to her. He doesn't throw any potions at her head - not spotting any monsters nearby. But she can see this deep look of concern on him. There's even mild circles near his eyes suggesting his reaction to her earlier message had not been good.

"I left Sassaral at a nearby village." He explains to her, trying to pull her attention to something that isn't her own pain. He then kneels in front of her, and pulls multiple vials from a traveler's bag at his hip. She can hear the clean cling-and-clang of the potions touching one another as he takes them out, and then finally hands her one. "Still tastes bad, I am afraid. But this is a higher level potion."

He then grabs another potion, as well as a small towel. "Grab my shoulder. And try not to bite your tongue." He then notes, as he begins to slowly empty the potion along her leg. Disinfecting it for now. There's a doctor-like seriousness on his expression, now that he's this close. But the rest of his bodylanguage betrays something far deeper than that. His tail is incredibly nervous and agitated, and there's a tremble in his body showing intense concern for her.

Rama's head moves to the sound of Cyrus's approach, a low growl sounding at first until the cat comes into view. Then, his ears fold back, giving Mikage another nudge. Even when Cyrus comes closer, the lynx refuses to move at first, obviously smart enough to know that something isn't right. So, the first words out of Mikage's mouth are a rough sounding, "Off, Rama."

The lynx complies, but he begins to pace nearby. Miki's eyes have a dull quality to them whens he opens them, looking at Cyrus. It's almost as if she's looking through him, the focus not quite there. "Guess what?" She manages, accepting the potion from him, her voice haggard. "I figured out why they have pain dampeners in the game." She winces, then chugs back the potion, making a familiar disgusted face. The problem is, her hands are trembling.

"Fucking cheating goblins." She mutters, doing as he says and grabbing onto his shoulder. When he pours the other potion over her leg she flat out stiffens up, her fingers digging against his jacket. The sound that follows is a stifled scream, which only seems to cause that same hand gripping him to shake more. When the treatment is over, her eyes partially roll back into her head. She's clearly at the edge of passing out, but manages to just slump forward against him, her breathing shallow.

"Pain is really hard to handle. It's why soldiers in battle often have combat drugs and pain killers on them. Even a single knife wound can put someone normal out of commission." Cyrus answers her. There's a slight wince from him as she digs her fingers into his jacket, but he doesn't make a pained sound. He instead checks her leg for wounds for a moment, before he begins to close her up for the time being. "Stay with me." He grunts firmly, using a firmer tone like he'd been taught to use - to ensure it would come through at the edge of consciousness.

He carefully binds the rest of her leg, before he lays his both hands on her shoulders and looks up at her. He can see how she's doing. And that would be terrible. "You're incredible to have made it this far." He tells her, before motioning for Rama, and petting over his head for a moment. "You've been a good guard." He tells the Lynx.

The youth then carefully begins to put his arms under Mikage's legs and her back, and with remarkable strength, begins to lift her up. "I'm carrying you the rest of the way." He decides. "Because I need you to keep your weight off of your leg. And I can't properly treat you out here." Cyrus explains to her. He understands very well that this may end up being rough for her. Someone with weaker muscles in the real world might have memories of people picking her up before. The youth looking at her, giving her a chance to reject the offer before lifting her all the way.

"No. Fucking. Kidding." Mikage replies in a couple of short breaths. The girl did have a tendency to swear like a sailor when she was upset, scared, or in pain. There's no venom to it, though, just a faint whimper as he binds her leg, "Still here." For all the medical proceedures she's gone through in the real world, none of them have been anywhere close to this painful.

Rama doesn't seem quite settled, even with the words of praise. He begins to circle around the two of them, then gives a low 'mow' of concern. Luckily, he doesn't try to get in the way at all.

There is no protest when Cyrus moves to lift her up, though there is a sound of pain and a gritting of her teeth, which shows the faint fangs that set her appart slightly from a normal human. It isn't the first time she's been lifted up, though certainly the first time since being trapped in Elder Tale Online. Still, she does her best to keep her injured leg extended and her shoulder from moving around too much.

"Think they got hold of another... enigma piece." She manages to get out, perhaps trying to distract herself from the situation. "They dipped their weapons in ... a cauldron. Something in it that... changes the game." Miki tries to explain.

"These Enigma pieces are cropping up more and more often lately. That can't be by coincidence. I figured, maybe they were there to help the Adventurers cheat. But now the Monsters are using them to cheat." Cyrus remarks to Mikage as he tugs her closer to his chest so she can lean a bit better against him and his arms. Some of the potions on his chest end up kind of 'laying' on top of her belly and chest. Luckily, none of them press against her sides.

"Come on Rama." Not that the cat would ever leave Mikage behind. "Let's go." He tells the Lynx as he begins to walk back south towards the town he'd left Sassaral at. "This reminds me of that time some kid decided to bring a knife to our school - infringing on our teritory." Cyrus tries to distract her with stories of himself. "Punk kid managed to slice the back of my arm pretty bad. I think that's the first time I truly learned the nature of pain. At the time, I was still hopped up on adrenaline, so I didn't even notice it at first. But the moment that crashed... ooph."

He shakes his head a bit, probably giving Mikage insight into his past she didn't have before. "I'm afraid we'd have to visit the Doctor in order to get something akin to painkillers. Or I need to be lucky enough to spot some proper herbs on the way back. I'd say - keep an eye out. But I'm not sure you are trained in that skill." He remarks as he firmly keeps walking - taking a slightly other route in order to get a chance at discovering some new herbs on the way.

"I don't know... if we'll ever understand the reason half... the things happen in this game." Mikage replies, the girl leaning her head against Cyrus' shoulder as he begins to walk. It is painful, but the healing potion and some of the treatment has dampened it a bit. "We found them... in the hands of goblins... to begin with." She explains. "So they've... had longer to mess with them... than we have."

Rama shifts from following the pair to scouting out in front, perhaps because neither of them are in a state to really keep a watchful eye on their surroundings. His nose twitches as he makes sure to give warnings of straying off too far into certain sections of the wilderness.

Miki's eyes drift shut as she listens to the story, "Must have been... a rough school." She murmurs, trying to imagine a place where that sort of violence was common. She knew that Cyrus wasn't always the studious alchemist, and that he had been likely the sort of person they would have warned her to avoid in the real world. "Still, sounds... like you were pretty badass."

The concept of having to go to a physician has her shaking her head, "The Goblin Slayer... he said this should wear off. Eventually." She may just not be fond of doctors due to her own real life experiences. "Lander. Silver Hunter. Obsessed with goblins." She explains, since this may be the first time Cyrus has heard the name.

"If there's a reason behind all of this, I'm sure we'll figure it out eventually, down the line." Cyrus answers Mikage. She might notice his eyes constantly scanning the ground. Looking for places to plant his feet so that he doesn't shock her body too much, or goes stumbling. Only when he has time and scouted out a solid path, does he let his gaze wander either to her, or the various bushes and trees nearby.

"I suppose the Goblins had longer with it. And based on what you are saying - this isn't the first time Goblins have been found with whatever this is." He remarks, keeping to that topic for a bit. "Goblin Slayer... a Silver hunter. I wonder how many quests he's completed to get that kind of ranking." He bites his bottom lip, trying to just picture it. "Pretty impressive - but... that sure is an awful name." Doesn't look like he's heard of Orcbolg before.

He then spots something, and begins to approach a tree. He carefully begins to lay down Mikage on a patch off miss, and then takes a knife out of his inventory - letting is reconstitute in his hand - and begins to scratch off some of the moss. "Perfect." He notes, and asks; "Think you can take the bandage off? I'll rebandage you as soon as I clean this moss a bit." The youth notes. "I never really paid it mind, that some of the plants had 'painkiller' properties." He explains.

While he works, cleaning out the moss and running some healing waters along it, he continues to talk. "Heh, I sure used to think I was a badass. It was a stupid school rivalry between three schools in the district - way out there. I wouldn't say it was a rough school. But it sure wasn't a city-school. I kind-of was the leader of the boys back when. I didn't think of myself as a delinquent, more of a peacekeeper. Protecting the little ones, you know?"

"Oh, I'm sure all of this... is someone's idea of a sick game." Mikage had been there, along with so many others, the first night when the phantom image appeared in the sky. There was enough hints, even then, to suggest someone had taken the game too far. Not enough information to really deduce anything about what is actually happening to them, though.

"I... turned mine over to the Mage's Tower." It had seemed like a smart idea at the time, but it did mean that they had little chance of actually exploring what it could do, themselvs. "I can... tell you which quest had it, though. You might be able to get one..." She suggests, uncertain just how many of these strange things actually exist in the world.

"He was... stronger than us. By a long shot. Stupid name or not." When set down, Miki uses her good arm to lightly reposition herself, leaning a little on Rama as he comes to take a place at her side. "Yeah. I can manage." Taking off a bandage isn't the hard part, so she manages to take care of that while Cyrus works on the moss. "Whomever he was, he knew a lot more than we did, it seemed."

A bit of sweat beads on her forehead as she watches him work. "I... can see that. It's like you." She laughs, though the sound is a bit off, perhaps a result of the pain. "Surprised you... didn't take a tank class."

"Yeah. Except, I question that this is a 'game' to them. Perhaps more like one giant experiment. But to what point? I don't think anyone is /that/ bored of a psychologist that they'd risk their jobs on this." Cyrus answers her as he finishes cleaning the moss, and starts using a new bandage to bind it against Mikage's leg. It stings for a moment, before it begins to abate the pain in a very direct way. Unlike medicine in the real world, some things worked immediately. It does make her leg tingle funny though. More like a topical anesthetic than a 'pain killer'. Works wonders for her situation though.

"I suppose I could try to pick one up if there is a quest for it." He remarks. "I'd ask to come along, but I remember you talking about it last time. It's a Goblin one, isn't it?" He asks, giving her a look. He imagines she'd rather avoid Goblins for a while.

As the topic shifts back to the Goblin Slayer, he finishes putting the bandage on her, and kneels on one leg in front of her. "How's that?" He asks. "I suppose a Goblin Slayer would know a lot about Goblins." He then notes, while taking a small piece of cloth and some water, and then offers it to her. "Here, use this to clean some of the sweat off of your face. It'll probably feel nice." He notes. "As for why I didn't pick Tank... well... I actually used to play a tanky monk. I made Cyrus after I stopped going to the Tower and joined Grandeur. It's why I still know some of the Sword Arte combinations."

"You're... assuming that it's a psychologist and not... a psychopath." Mikage quips back with her short phrases, her breathing still relatively shallow. "Whomever is involved... I'm sure they're twirling their moustache like... a proper villian." It helps to think of it that way, because she doesn't want to imagine the sort of person who might view this as somehow justified. It's also a far cry from many people in the New World Alliance, who view all of this as some sort of 'gift' in many ways.

"I don't think... I'll be able to avoid goblins." She admits, as much as she might like to. The moss does seem to help, though. There is an obvious relaxation as the worst of that pain ebbs. Her shoulder wound isn't nearly as deep, since the arrow had to go through layers of armor first. "But... it might be best to see if the others want to try and pick up that quest, again."

With him asking after her pain, the Were Fang gives a nod, "Better." She takes the cloth and wipes off the sweat and grime from her face, which helps a bit in making her look a bit more presentable and less like death warmed over. "You mentioned being a raider." She takes a deep breath, then shifts herself slightly, taking some pressure off of her shoulder. "I used to be the scout for my guild, but we never set foot in the tower." Her lips lightly press together, "I wonder what Scale Emblem will find when they get up there. Is it still bugged out?" She wonders.

"I'm sure." He answers her, before pulling some of his hair under his nose, and using his other hand to twirl it. "Mu-ha-ha-ha-ha, I have all these people under my control. Syeee tyem suffah! Muu-ha-ha-ha." Each 'ha' a seperate word, rather than rolling from ha into ha. "Ugh." The man shakes his head. "I rather just look at the positives of this world, rather than thinking about who caused this all, and why."

The youth then leans back a bit, on the balls of his feet, and lets out a sigh. "Yeah, probably not avoiding Goblins. They're everywhere. Especially here in the Eastal Free League." He admits, before scooping her back up and lifting her up once more.

"We'll see what the others feel like later. For right now, let's get to town." A small village nearby called Frontier.

When she mentions the last floor that the raiders went to, he tries to dismiss the topic by remarking; "Let's hope not. Silver Sword crashed against that wall, and lost." He points out.

Cyrus' attempt at playing the villian actually does bring a laugh to her lips. It's a sound that seems to come more readily now that the harshest edge of the pain has worn off. "I can't really imagine you as a villian. You're too... fluffy." She gives an absentminded and playful swat at his tail, understanding all too well why someone might not want to delve too far into the reasons behind the creation of this new world.

Looking on the positive side has always been something that she clings to, as well. "Like being able to run, and fight, and live..." And not think that everyone is judging you the moment they see you due to a disability. Cyrus likely would realize where her mind was going with that. "Still... plan on taking advantage of everything I can in this world, as long as it lasts."

There is a softer sound when she is hefted up again, but she gives no verbal protest. "Reasons I avoid the tower." Miki smirks, though there is still an edge of pain written across her forehead. The Goblin Slayer had said this would wear off, but it seems to be taking its sweet time. "So you decided to go from tank to full support?" She asks, to get her mind off of things. "Then again, you're probably the tankiest in our party, even now."

"I'm sure I could be a perfectly good villain if I wanted to be. I've got all of these eeeevil potions after all." Cyrus remarks, as those potions jingle-jangle along with his body. He then shakes his head a bit.

"Aye, all those things. And I plan to take advantage as well." He then adds while he continues to step through towards the town. Progress is a bit slow, what with the whole walking thing. But it's not the worst thing.

The issue will no doubt fade soon. "Yeah, I went to full support in order to help people while exploring the dungeons. Let's just say that when you see your entire party dying around you, because the enemy is able to ignore the tanks... you learn to appreciate your healers real fast." He notes.

"You don't have a villainous bone in your body." Mikage simply doesn't believe he could be capable of it. In other circumstances, she could see him being quite fearsome, but it isn't the same thing. She lightly pushes one of the bottles out of the way, only for it to dangle back against her stomach.

By the time they get closer to the town, some of the pain does seem to have dampened slightly. The effect going away slowly over time. Still, until it has gone away completely, she isn't about to complain about not having to walk on the injured leg.

"Can't say I ever experienced something like that. The most dire situations I've seen have been the Waves of Calamity." While they have not exactly been normal by any means, they weren't glitched or remarkably unfair like people have described the encounters on the tenth floor of the tower. "You make a good healer, though. I'd have been dead a couple of times over if it wasn't for you." She admits.

As they get closer, a few of the Landers look their way. One of them approaching to offer to bring them to the village doctor. "Thank you." Cyrus answers, and allows himself to be guided.

The doctor's chambers are simple, and homely. But there's a few common books on a bookshelf, suggesting that he's at least well read. Even if this town is well out of the way. The Sylph male offers for Cyrus to place Mikage on a simple chair so he can investigate.

"Ah, an encounter with the Goblins I see." The blonde male Sylph remarks. "And I see you've put on an anaesthetic on it already. Good. The pain will fade soon. But let's get you something to make sure this doesn't get infected."

While they wait for the doctor to do his thing, Cyrus continues to speak to Mikage. "I should see if I can find a way to /properly/ make a good healer. Instead of just knowing how to use magic." He notes. "But I appreciate the compliment." He runs a hand along one of his feline ears in response, showing a slight bit of bashfulness.

One he quickly hides behind more talking; "The tenth floor guardian was... something else. Bugged, as far as I could tell."

Regardless of if it is a real world doctor, or one of the healers in the game, they always made Mikage feel a bit anxious. She gives a silent nod to the Sylph, but doesn't seem all that interested in making conversation. It's possible that in the real world, she didn't tend to have a lot to say about her own medical care.

Rama clings to her side, nudging against her hand, as if he were trying to ease her emotions. So, for the most part, she sits still and lightly scratches at his head and ears, trying to let that distract her from the situation.

Cyrus offers something else to seize her attention on, though, "Maybe you can find someone who would be able to teach you the skills for that kind of healing?" She suggests, not really knowing that much on how to unlock new abilities within the game. Shifting, she elevates her leg a bit. "I think the effect is fading, now. It isn't... quite as bad as before."

The fact that she seems to be able to talk normally is sign of that, perhaps. "Probably not the first, or last bugged thing we'll encounter in the game." In fact, strange occurrences seemed to be happening more often since the Apocalypse. "If... you have any ideas on how we could get you more training, I'd be glad to try to help?" She asks, expecting he might know a bit more than she does.

"I'll have to look into it. I believe training into other skills used to come from the Landers." He glances at the doctor, as he applies antibiotics under the boss, and then removes it in favor of clean proper bandages - having noticed her saying the effect is fading. "The moss' effects should remain long enough that the pain will fade. Just apply some healing magic when the pain is all gone to close up the wound." The Doctor suggests.

Cyrus thanks the man for his time, and it isn't long after that he brings Mikage's arm around his shoulder and has her walk out with him, seeing if she can walk a bit. If needed, he'll carry her to the inn.

"Let's go see Sassaral and get some food in you. We'll look at what to do next after that."

There is a moment where Mikage's mouth opens as if she were going to correct the Lander doctor on his misunderstanding, but it is probably not the best idea to try to tell him that a group of goblins had discovered a way to amplify the pain experienced by Adventurers. No, in fact, letting that be known to the general public sounds like a very bad idea. Then again, it may only be a matter of time until such things come out...

"Yes, right." She offers the doctor a weak sort of smile. "I'm sure that Cyrus can patch me up the rest of the way." The Ranger leans against Cyrus as they walk, and there is still a bit of a limp to her step, but it doesn't seem as debilitating as before. "Thanks." She offers to him.

"If training with the Landers is what you need to do, then it might be worth the time investment." She explains as they head towards the inn. "I have no idea what sort of things I would want to train into. And honestly, it's a little intimidating if it ends up being anything like the crazy moods people have fallen into lately."

"Aye, I keep hearing about those. I figure that if we start doing anything along those lines, let's just make sure at least one of us isn't doing that. That way, we know we can support one-another and be safe." Cyrus expresses to Mikage as he slowly walks her to the inn. He figures that walking on her own two feet may feel pretty good, even if she has to limp right now.

He glances behind to make sure Rama is following, before looking to the Inn, ignoring the man in silver-gray armor as he passes by. That ruined red plume no doubt recognizable to Mikage. He seems to be walking past with that Priestess she'd seen there, who appears to be trying to talk his ear off. And getting some grunts and silence in return for her efforts.

"I think Sassaral may have started making too much food again though. When she heard you got hurt, she was besides herself." Cyrus explains to Mikage.

"Pela had one recently, so did Jazz." Mikage explains as they walk. "Jazz lead us to that weird island with the robot." Which he had likely heard about from Mikage at some point already. "Pela... I think was communing with the plant-gods." She shrugs, which causes her to wince from the injury that still remains on her shoulder.

As they head into the inn, her eyes do pass the familiar faces of some of those she had helped rescue. It's enough that Cyrus would probably notice the way her head arches in their direction, though she makes no attempt to speak to them. As they pass, she explains, "They were down in the cave, those ones." She doesn't elaborate further, since she has little information about them.

"I'll be fine." She confirms, "But I'm sorry to have made her worry. Then again... I'm not one to say no to good food."

"Yeah, you told me about the robot." He answers Mikage, nodding his head. "Some of the designers of Elder Tale Online clearly had some... curious tastes." He shakes his head a bit at that. "I suppose it satisfies some part of the demographics." He lets out a sigh. "And Pela was... communing with the plant gods. That sure is a phrase." He takes her into the inn, and helps sit her down. Luckily, there's no upstairs to this particular in. Just a series of rooms at the back of it.

"I spotted them passing, curious folk." Cyrus notes, explaining he basically used the Inspect functionally and had picked up on their name. "No need to say sorry for making people worry. People worry because they care." He tells Mikage, making sure she's seated comfortably at the table as he sits down as well.

This village is small and well enough out of the way that it sees less Adventurers. As such, most supplies here are hand-made. It's nice. "We'll just wait for Sassy to show up with like, a pound of jerky and some flowers she demands you eat... and all will be well."

"I don't know." Mikage replies with a soft shake of her head as she eases down into the chair. Taking weight off her leg seems to be a relief, but she doesn't appear to be in anywhere near as much pain as previously. There does seem to be a time limit on whatever sort of curse the goblin weapons had on them. "The robot seemed to be very confused on even basic things like the date in the game." She leans a little foreward, resting her weight on her good arm while the other curls around her waist. "Like it was almost as out of place as we are."

She doesn't seem to think of it the same way that Cyrus does, not in terms of someone's strange appetites. "To be honest, she reminded me a bit of an Angel. Like... from Angelic Layer. The same sort of connection nodes hanging down." Of course, Mikage would find a similarity there, rather than something like pervy anime or manga.

She hesitates then, looking across at him. "You were worried, too." It's not as if she was so out of it that she didn't pick up on that fact. "I feel like an asshole sometimes, because I go out and face these things on my own. You know you're always welcome to join me... but I wouldn't want to drag Sassaral into danger that I know she's not ready for."

"We can't always be around one-another. This is a world where we have a certain freedom. I'm sure I'm bound to get into trouble myself at some point." He answers, smiling at her with a soft kind of ease to him. "You are right though, I was indeed worried." His smile turns a bit pained; "I'd never heard you in such pain before. I thought things were even worse than they were." In other words, he thought she was dying on him. "I'm glad I found you still alive and 'merely' in pain." He makes sure to halt at that 'merely' to express that he understand very well this is not a 'merely' kind of thing.

He leans on the table a bit aside and nods again. "I think I remember seeing those. They were some kind of... antennae that would get energy from the table, right?" He asks her. "I think that's roughly how it worked." They were certainly not fully wireless. "Don't know about dates and the like though. Sounds like a mess. But if it's out of place, seems like it belongs in this world along with all of us lost souls."

"We're supposed to be a party." Mikage counters, "Most of the time, I feel like I end up doing a lot of adventuring on my own." There is some hint of something there in her eyes, sadness perhaps. Prior to the Apocalypse, she had pretty much spent all of her time with her guild, though they hadn't been particularly close. She didn't really know any of them outside the game. Here, with no one else to talk to or interact with, it felt different. It felt lonely when she struck out on her own, rather than like some kind of grand adventure.

"I... guess I shouldn't worry about it." And there she goes, reclusing into herself. Despite traveling with Cyrus and Sassaral, Miki did have this tendency to keep her distance sometimes. Force of habit, perhaps, from a world where she couldn't really trust anyone other than her father.

"'Merely'." Mikage repeats with a shake of her head, "Trust me, it felt like I was dying. With the way things are going, I have a feeling it won't be the last time." Once word gets out, it seems like only a matter of time before someone figures out a way of weaponizing this.

Her hand moves up to rub at the spot that still shows a puncture wound and bloodstain on her chestpiece. "I doubt there's any real connection, there. Just a similarity, maybe." It's possible that her boss had something to do with Elder Tale Online, with the way that his own development through Piffle Corp was being used, but... she had a hard time connecting those things.

"Maybe." There were a lot of questions that Mikage has, and very few answers. "We were going to look into possibly going down to the Undine settlements. The robot seems to need some kind of crystal from them, but I've never gone before. So it should be interesting."

"I understand." Cyrus answers her and sits down with her. "Shouldn't be hard to go on some more adventures together." He adds, seemingly not too worried about the difficulties around such matter. "Especially if things are getting this dangerous." He adds.

"And yes - the merely was a joke. I understand that you were in a lot of pain." He tells her, with a worried voice. "Just trying to ease some tension- hmm?" He youth accepts a mug of water as it's passed around, and takes some time to drink and listen to her.

"Going underwater hmm? I suppose Snow Leopards are pretty decent at swimming. I mean, I'm not - but cats are. And I've got some Bubble spells that can help." He points out.

Mikage's eyes are looking elsewhere when he finally comes around to saying that he understands. Her gaze flicks back to him, though only briefly. The girl often gets uncomfortable when it comes to asking for things from others, especially things like companionship. "Mmm." She makes a soft sound of acknowledgement, "I don't imagine things are going to get easier, though I hope that the unexpected mechanics-changing things are kept to a minimum." Her brows furrow slightly.

For the moment, she doesn't really pay any attention to the water, and instead she seems to just be trying to sit as still as possible. That's not too unusual for her, as she often sits still as a statue, though it seems likely to be done to minimuze any jostling to the injuries until they can heal a bit more.

"I'm okay at swimming. Did a bit for PT back in the real world, since it's good for building muscles with minimal strain." For someone with neuro-muscular issues, she likely had water-based therapy a fair bit. "But there's a huge difference between swimming in real life, and being under water." She seems to consider the thought, even as Rama nudges his head into her knee. "Rama won't be able to come with me, but that's probably good. He's better on dry land, anyways. But I've got access to the bubble spell, myself."

His head tilts just a little to the side when she gives that brief look, and then reaches a hand over and touches her arm for a moment. "Hey." He comments. "I'm here for you. I'm not going anywhere." He keeps his hand there, though he does have to bend forward a bit to do so.

He doesn't say more than that. For now, he believes that's the best thing he can say, and more importantly, the most earnest thing he can say. Looking at her with those feline eyes of his.

The feeling of that touch on her arm draws Mikage's look back to Cyrus. The girl doesn't avoid physical contact, but she also doesn't actively seek it out as much as others might. It's likely just a response to the fact that people tended to keep their distance from her, so she simply reacts as if she doesn't need that sort of contact.

There is a moment where she really seems to be searching his eyes, as if trying to see just how honest he actually is being in that moment. "Promise?" She finally asks, though the word is a bit soft, almost like a plea. It's clear she really does want to believe him, but her own experiences with people have lead to some of those doubts.

The earnest Cait Sith keeps his hand on her. Even if she reacts as if she doesn't need the touch, it almost seems like Cyrus himself /does/. "I promise." He answers, with an honest warmth in his eyes. Normally, he might just smile it off when he feels awkward about something. But he's looking her right in the eyes and cants his head while saying so. "I'm your healer, your party member, and your friend, Mikage. I'm going to stick by you, through thick and thin. As long as you'll have me."

Mikage isn't the best at maintaining eye-contact, but she does let her gaze linger on him long enough to acknowledge the sincerity behind his words. "Okay." She bows her head ever so slightly, a few strands of white hair playing across her forehead in the process. "I'm not used to having people I can really trust, you know that." Other than her father, everyone else in her life had eventually left or betrayed her.

She reaches her other hand up, lightly laying it over Cyrus' fingers, her touch warm. "I appreciate it. I guess I just feel lonely sometimes. Wading in with big groups of people that I barely know and no one I'm sure would actually watch my back." She admits. Sure there were people amongst the Alliance who she might believe are trustworthy, but often times she found herself in battles with few allies to call on.

"I'm going to fall one day, and I wonder if anyone other than you and Sassaral would actually care." Her brows furrow. "Maybe a few others..." She admits.

"I do." He answers her, as his eyes slowly lid a bit and glance down at her own hand - touching against his fingers. It seems to draw a small smile to his face. He's being remarkably quiet. Sure, he's nothing like Uta and the like. But he's still normally more talkative in moments like this. Instead, he slides the side of one of his fingers along hers.

"Just stick with me if you feel lonely amongst the crowds. I'm usually not too far behind." He expresses to her. "It doesn't help in the moment. But I'm but a chimlink, or a few steps away." He explains.

"As for caring - I'm sure others would care. I don't know the others as well as you do. I admit, I move in different circles sometimes. But I'm sure you are making a mark on other peoples' radar."

In most other circumstances, Mikage tends to be a more positive person, but people respond to pain in different ways. She had come out of the goblin cave alone, meaning that the injuries hadn't drawn any concern from others in the party. "Maybe the others had their own injuries to deal with. Things got pretty rough down there."

She takes a deep breath, then finally takes a sip of the water that had been set down earlier. "Guess I'm just feeling a bit off. There's too much happening these days, and I'm not sure where we should focus on first. Goblins, undead, enigma pieces, fey moods, strange robots..." And that is likely not even the tip of the iceburg.

"I probably need to get used to asking for help more often, too." Her hand lingers on his, though, but her eyes look away. Instead, it's Rama who bumps his head into Cyrus' leg this time.

"Focus on the things you can focus on. Let the others handle the rest." Cyrus expresses. "It's easy to get overwhelmed by the world around you. See what can wait, like the robot. Focus on the things you can affect. And then go with that." The Cait Sith suggests to her. "If you try to do too many things at the same time, nothing gets done after all." Which is perhaps all to easy for someone like him to say.

There's a nod from him as she mentions asking people for help more often. "Asking for help isn't easy. Especially on our society." He expresses. He doesn't look at her directly, so she doesn't feel too awkward, and keeps his hand on a little longer, before Rama bumps his leg. He then draws back and reaches it down to pet Rama. "Hehe, Rama to the rescue." He teases Mikage.

There are words of wisdom that Cyrus gives her, and it's likely the first time she's ever really had to consider something like this. In the real world, everything always felt as if she was limited in what she had been able to do, or influence. Here, however, it felt as if there was so much to do and experience and it was hard to not fall into a fear of missing out situation.

"You're right." She sighs, "Guess I'm just afraid of missing out on something. I don't know how much longer we have in here. Days, weeks, months... years? I don't want to go back to the real world and feel like I missed a chance to have a real life." It's an odd way to look at things, but knowing the challenges she has in the world outside, it's no surprise that she might feel like this is her one chance at something close to normal.

Then, as Rama seems to come between them, she smirks. "Maybe I'll just leave it to Rama, then. Everyone seems to like him." She rolls her eyes with amusement.

Cyrus smiles, "Can't say I own those words. I have a tendency to chase a few too many things myself from time to time. My dad used to tell me that though. They're good words." He explains to Mikage, while shrugging his shoulders a little. "Who knows how long it will be. At this point, it's best to just keep going and live life in a way you'll be happy with. You have a real life here. Just tell me if there's something I can do to make it even better." Cyrus says.

He continues to rub Rama behind the ears, and chuckles. "Everyone likes a cat. And I like Rama too. But Rama isn't you, Miki." He notes. "Except when you are hungry. Then you both kind of give Sassaral the same look." He teases.

"And right now, we're both pretty hungry." Mikage replies, taking the lesson to heart for the time being. There would be chance enough to follow up on it later. "Rama... go find Sassaral, will you?" She asks of the lynx, who seems more than happy to race off into the inn, searching for the wayward wolf.