Gray awoke with a pounding headache and hurting with every breath. Em was pressing something cold and damp to her forehead. She felt dead.
"Watareshoudoin?" she mumbled.
Em was looking very clear sighted and worried. Little fairies danced around her ears.
"You're going to have to climb down." Em said slowly, enunciating her words. Gray's head was ringing.
"Whatsknoinon?" Gray tried again.
"Improper adult," Em said, to get her attention. "List-en to me-e. You ha-ve to cli-mb do-own."
Gray nodded but stopped because it hurt. Em pushed her so she was sitting up. She scooted toward the rope ladder dangling off Baltizara's side, but stopped because it hurt.
"Come on," Em pushed. "You have to go down."
She tried to respond but stopped because it hurt.
Em sighed and heaved Gray's legs in front of her, over the edge of the box. The side dug into Gray's thighs. "One foot in front of the other. Down the rungs. Come on, let's go."
Gray's breathing was coming in starts and stops as she stared at the ground far far below. Was it just her eyes betraying her or was there a harsh river below Baltizara's feet. With alligators. No, Baltizara was a boat and they were rocking back and forth, back and forth.
"Put your wait on the rungs. Please." Em begged.
Gray looked at the rope beneath her fingertips and leaned forward.
"Baltizara!" Em shouted.
With surprising speed, the turtle whipped her head around, curling her neck around her body and caught Gray before she could really begin to fall.
Gray patted Baltizara's smooth, scaly head as she lowered her to the ground.
The ground was, in fact, grounded and not at all a harsh river with alligators. Gray tried to stay upright as she waited for Em, but the ground kept moving.
She focused on the ground beneath her feet, following a trail of dandelions. They were such weird plants, with reedy stems and thin little seeds, all fluffed up in the wind. They reminded Gray of the white fuzziness that was her mind when she tried to remember anything before the avalanche...
"Gray!" Em's voice jerked her back to reality. She glanced over her shoulder to see Em gesturing wildly at her. "Come back! Those things are dangerous!"
Gray stumbled back to the little girl's side, almost falling over in the process. Em slid under her arm, trying to hold her weight.
"Why-arethedendes... the dandes... the dande-lions... dangerous?" Gray asked.
"They can- wipe- your memory," Em gasped, trying to hold up the bigger girl.
Gray laughed, though she wasn't really sure what was funny. "Well I'll be alrighty-right then, for me." she giggled, tapping a finger against her forehead. "All clean up here. I already wiped it once. Mmmhmm, yes I did, yes I did..."
"Just- focus, please." Em, said as they rounded a boulder. Gray squinted at the little house perched on the cliff in front of them. Or maybe it was a big house on a little cliff. Gray couldn't tell anymore.
They made it to the door- barely -and Gray crumpled down onto the grass. Her mind was still on dandelions. She thought she saw a rock move, but it was just Baltizara, settling against the boulder.
Em knocked and the door opened. Gray heard voices, fabric, bangling-jangling bracelets and then she was inside the cliff house and she was falling, falling as her eyelids dropped.
[End]
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