Morgana felt Jack place an arm around her back, an she laid her head on his shoulder, too tired to care about if it would be awkward later. She listened to him say that if the spiders had somehow hurt her, then they should try and fight them off. If she wasnât so thoroughly exhausted, she probably wouldâve laughed at the idea that they could ever stand a chance against so many spiders. She did manage a tired grin at him, silently appreciating the concern either way.
When he mentioned thinking sheâd used magic or telepathy, she shook her head, though stayed quiet as she listened to what he said about the Tongue of Saiping, as well as how heâd met a group of giant spiders in the past. Spiders who, from what she could assume of the ones theyâd met before, we much more malicious in their intentions.Â
Feeling him scoot closer to her, she snuggled into his side gently, both for warmth and, for some strange reasonâŠshe felt maybe he needed her right now as well. The ordeal in the other room could not have been easy for him.
When he finally said that if the spiders had hurt her, he needed to know, she let out a long, slow sigh, and shook her head.
âThey didnât hurt me Jack, I promise you they didnât.â she said, and looked at him, taking his hand in hers.
âIâm so sorry that you went through an ordeal like that with spidersâŠI totally get why they freak you out so bad now, if they said theyâd destroy the world and eat you alive.â she said, and shook her head, âThatâs justâŠterrifying.â she said, and squeezed his hand gently.
âThese spiders thoughâŠthey have no interest in harming us.â she said, then paused for a moment.
âYou probably want to know how I know that, donât you? And itâs not magic, and I dunno if Iâd really call it telepathy either.â she said, and dug in her bag, pulling out the bottle containing two of the large red pills.
âI got a whole story to explain how I can do thatâŠbut the fact I am almost out of these if what the whole âspeaking to animalsâ thing hinges on, really.â she said, placing the bottle on the cave floor beside them.
The bottle was blue in color, and made of plastic, and there was a very long list on the back of ingredients, most of them stuff most people would have no clue what they were.
âItâs a multivitaminâŠbut with added stuff in it.â she said, looking at Jack.
â Selective hormone suppressants, pheromone blockers, and other stuff I am not even totally sure of the purpose it servesâ she said, looking at the bottle again.
âMy dadâs company custom made themâŠand Iâm the only person that ever needs themâŠat least, as far as I, or anyone else knows.â she said, looking at Jack.
âI bet that brings up even more questionsâŠbut I feel like I could fall asleep.â she said, and curled up against Jack, wrapping her arms around one of his.
âCould we rest for just a little while, please? I promise, the spiders will stay away from youâŠâ she said, turning away and covering her mouth as she let out a long yawn, before smiling at Jack.
âI told them they frighten you.â she said, a small, tired laugh escaping her as she closed her eyes.
âThey didnât see it though.â she murmured, obviously quickly falling asleep.
He TRIED to believe her about the spiders...that they didnât hurt her. But then why was she so drained? She still hadnât explained it. And the bottle of pills made things even more confusing. All he could conclude was that interacting with the spiders had definitely hurt her, in SOME way, whether that was intentional of the spiders or not. Morgana had been FINE before they entered the spidersâ lair.
And if she insisted that magic wasnât involved, how could they possibly communicate?
âMorgana...the vitamin. What does that DO, exactly?â Jack felt warm, steady breath near his cheek. Damn. She was already asleep.Â
With a sigh, Jack tried to relax so that she wouldnât be startled awake. He let his body lean naturally into hers, and it felt...NICE to share his warmth with her. But his mind was still unsettled; he couldnât stand seeing her this weak. If she didnât wake up soon, he would force her to talk to him again and see if there was anything he could do.
The pill bottle still lay near his feet. Carefully, Jack lifted it with his free arm and squinted at the long list of ingredients. Frankly, he was insulted after skimming the list. How could he have never heard of a bunch of these? Must be new, man-made chemical compounds. Except, after a second look, Jack realized that the ones he DID recognize were most commonly used with animals, and from the list of the top ingredients, there were suppressants that would, again, mostly only work for animal hormones. A thick, stupefied frown bunched on Jackâs face. Red eyes re-read the ingredients, over and over. This made no sense.
As he nearly drove himself crazy trying to figure it out, he became exhausted and the bottle dropped from his gloved hand. Mouth slightly ajar, Jack passed out against Morgana and slept.
