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4: Descending the Peak

The four recalled their journey: bitter cold wind and ice, it seemed, still tore at their flesh as they neared the Academy. The mountain peak was a world of bleak cold, except for the joy of anyone who found the Daybreak Shoot.

"We found it," Amarsi said through her still-chattering teeth. "Good work, men."

"You just love being the boss," Theral managed to chuckle as he removed his coat in the warm sun.

When the four entered the Academy doors, the first thing to come at them was Atakiru, puffing like she'd run all the way from the infirmary - which, in fact, she had.

"It's Cayssi... she's barely breathing... and we can't wake her up. Did you get the shoot?"

They held up the twenty-so plants they had picked (in case, of course, their other classmates contracted the Delerium as well). Atakiru sighed in relief and began running back, with the mountaineers in tow.

Miatiwa was the first to jump up when they arrived, out of breath. "I've been studying," she said, blinking her now baggy eyes. "Thanks to Cakatu's book, I've found the whole formula for the cure."

Kicou stood up with his snobbish air. "I've taken Chemistry this term. I'll make sure nothing goes wrong," he accented the last word while Miatiwa stuck her tongue out at him.

Siowa decided to come as well, still as bubbly as ever (and, Theral noticed, more so than when he'd left). She surprisingly dragged Perru, the worst pessimist of all, and explained hastily that he'd been in Chemistry classes as well.

Miatiwa and Kicou were already preparing the antidote when the other two reached them in the chemistry lab. "Careful now, just two drops," Kicou instructed to the frazzled-looking Miatiwa who bared her teeth at him.

"This'll never work," grumbled Perru as he snatched a couple of bottles from the shelf - one with silver powder inside and the other with a pale pink liquid.

"Perru," Miatiwa said through gritted teeth, "shut up."

"Mix the other ingredients precisely, and before we add the nectar. Perru, you got the wrong substance, we need Xanthite."

"Kicou, this is Xanthite. The bottle's discoloured." Siowa said as she uncorked it and measured it out for the five vials that were sitting on the desks.

Kicou looked defeated as he began to measure the other substance, while Miatiwa prepared the shoots for nectar extractions. "Almost done, guys?" she asked through her teeth.

"Just about. Where's the Ashrinite we need, Perru?" Siowa called in her still singsong voice.

"Here," he said, handing her a bottle of blinding white powder, which she took and added exactly five tiny granules of it to each vial. The substances were mixing now, and the colour of the product was almost glowing white.

"Is this right?" Siowa asked, shielding her eyes.

"Yes. It says, 'Cure should now be glowing white. Add nectar, put in cork immediately and shake'."

"I wonder why you put the cork in so quickly?" Siowa asked as she began to add the nectar to the first small vial from a flower that Miatiwa handed her. She did, as the instructions told her, cork the container. Siowa began to shake it quite hard, and fast.

A brilliant flash of light filled the room, causing every one of them to blink several times with widened eyes.

"I think it worked," Siowa squeaked, smiling widely.

Miatiwa remembered something. "Get that one to Cayssi," she urged. "Go, Kicou! We may be too late already!"

Kicou snatched the bottle and rushed off, his lab coat flapping behind him.

"Smart move, Mia," Siowa laughed. "Now we won't have to listen to him gabbing."

Mia smiled, but it was short-lived as Siowa added the second nectar drops to the next potion. This time, Miatiwa and Perru covered their eyes, but the blinding flash still penetrated the darkness.

"I hope it works this well on the others," Siowa mumbled as she quickly shook the next bottle.

Five minutes and three brilliant flashes later, the cures were in Perru's hands and running down the long corridors of Cassime Academy. When they burst into the infirmary, they were met with the soothing sight of Cayssi, awake and clear-eyed as she had been before the whole incident.

"I feel... much better," she sighed as she flopped back onto her pillow.

"Uh... was that supposed to happen?" asked Theral, pointing to Cayssi's limp form.

"Yep," Miatiwa said. "The side effect of the cure is that the drinker will fall asleep and be very tired for about a day or two. Once that wears off, she'll be ready to go."

"That's a relief," Perru muttered and handed the bottles to Alia and Atakiru.

Now the other three potion-mixers saw the actual effects of the cure on the ailing. As each feline anthro drank it, there was a quick flash of light and a dark shadow seemed to lift from them. Their eyes became clear again and they would sit up and say the same thing Cayssi had - "I feel much better" and then fall into a deep sleep.

"That was freaky," Amarsi said, twisting her face in something that looked like disgust but wasn't.

Alia yawned. "You know, I feel quite tired myself. Perhaps we should all rest."

"Tomorrow we can have a party!" Theral exclaimed, a bit quieter than usual.

"In your dreams," Siowa joked.

"If we can even stand up," added Perru who was quickly shoved by Amarsi and Miatiwa.

They all agreed that after the doubt and fear of the past few days, rest was all they wanted.