@blackseariddle
For the most part, living with Ridley was amenable. The other siren was a bit too excitable and a bit too obsessed with social media for Val's taste, but for the most part she was agreeable. Even helpful, from time to time.
And because they lived together, Val was the first to notice that something was wrong with Ridley. They were both in the kitchen, Ridley at the table watching one of her Tik Toks while Val attempted to cook soup based on Elistra's instructions. And then, from behind Val, a sneeze.
Val whirled around, staring at Ridley in wide-eyed shock. She had definitely just sneezed. Val had been reading quite a bit about virus transmission in human books and on the Internet since learning about the sickness in the seas. What she'd learned was that it could be in the water, in the air, on a surfaces — nothing was safe. She yanked her shirt up over her nose.
"Ridley. Are you feeling sick."