After a few unsucessful attempts, Ruddiger was finally able to pop out of the cell. He rolled on the corridor, feeling like all his organs had been squeezed to death. He got back up with what could be an annoyed mumble. He walked up to Camalia's door and proceed to repeat the struggle. Once he was in the cell, he glanced to the girl but it was like she didn't even notice he was there, even if he did made atrocious noises. She was trembling and whining softly. He couldn't see well in the darkness but Ruddiger swore she was crying. He didn't think it was because of her guitare. Nor the argument with Varian. It was... something else. Something worse.

-Uh, Ruddiger, you were supposed to take the guitare WITH you.

The pet didn't pay attention to the alchemist and looked up to the table, distinguishing the shine of the keys. He jumped and catched them before opening both of the cells. Varian was frozen and speechless, looking down at Ruddiger that was proudly showing both of the doors open. The alchemist snapped out of it and grabbed the guitare before running to Camalia. She still acted like she couldn't see nor hear them. From upclose, the girl's state was worse than what he thought. She was whimpering, trembling and crying, her eyes squeezed shut, as if she was fighting something inside.

-C-Camalia ?

He tried to gently land a comforting hand on her shoulder, but as soon as it brushed her, she brutally backed out. She acted like a scared animal, and it broke Varian's heart to see her like this.

-H-hey, it's okay, it's me, it's Varian. Your... uhm... Your jail roommate.

She seemed to calm down, even if just slightly. She stayed suspicious but relaxed a little bit. As what could be another wave of pain hit her, she tensed again and hissed in pain. A bit lost about what was happening but still worried, Varian instinctively catched her hand and squeezed it in his.

-It's okay, I'm here, it's okay, everything is okay. Calm down.

The girl tried to pull her hand out, scared of what it might be. But the alchemist hold it tight, not tight enough to hurt her, just the right amount. He looked at her in the eyes, trying to understand what was wrong. All he could see was anger, sadness and fear. He didn't know why. But she was terrified. He didn't let go of her hand when he leaned on the bed to be more comfortable. He didn't let go when he put the guitare near her. He didn't let go when he hummed quietly. He didn't let go when she calmed down and fell asleep. He didn't let go when the warm darkness of sleep took him.

He didn't let go.

He never will.

The next morning, Camalia woked up strangely numb and confused. She tried to sit on the bed to maybe understand what happened, but something stopped her. Her arm was heavier than usual. She looked beside the bed to see Varian calmly sleeping, her hand in his. Ruddiger was also asleep on his lap. She glanced over to the cell only to see both of the door were wide open, and the lantern in the other cell slowly dying. She gasped at that sight. Oh good lord. If Cap saw this, he would explode. The guitare girl turned to the window. Yeah, it was early morning. They still had a few hours before being killed by the chief of the guards. Technically. She tried to get up again, but even if the alchemist was still sleeping, he had a strong grip. Guess it meant she won't go anywhere before he open his eyes. She sighed and fell back on the bed. Her head bumped on something and let out a cry of pain before looking at what she should throw on the wall. It was her guitare, carefully put on the side of the bed. But... last thing she remember, she stormed off Varian's cell and she forgot her guitare...

Suddenly she understood. She had a crisis. The snakes striked again. But... the alchemist was there, so how... She thought about it and the answer seemed clear. He couldn't stop it because he triggered it. Of course. Usually, she remembered her crisis. They were painful and horrible, but she remembered them. The fact that she just blacked out on this one meant that the snakes were terrifically strong this time around. But soon, the real, the big crisis was going to be there. Soon the circle would be round and she will put her plan in action. But if a minor crisis putted her in that state, well...

In any way it was bad news. Really bad one. Varian seemed to have been able to calm her down this time, but... what if for this year's crisis... it went wrong. What if it didn't go like the other years ? What if this time the snakes could hurt him too ? What if they could kill him ? What if...

The alchemist moved. He yawned and looked up to see that his friend was awake as well. He jumped on his feet, a big smile on his face.

-Camalia ! Are you ok ? Because one thing for sure, you were NOT okay last night. You... you really scared me. What happened to you ?

The music mage laughed nervously, avoiding Varian's eyes.

-I, uh... I don't know. May have been a-a panic attack. Yeah. Yep. Definitely a panic attack. Looked a lot like one, uh ?

Camalia was a terrible liar. And Varian wasn't stupid. But... she may be in shock, and didn't want to talk about it because... it might trigger another... "panic attack". It's not like she would hide anything from him. They said no more secrets. For everyone safety. He took a deep breath and smiled at her.

-Yeah, it probably is. Did you know panic attacks can happen while you're asleep ? I think it's what happened. Plus, a proper diet always help, and since you didn't ate that day, probably didn't do any good. But the important thing is that you're okay now.

The guitare girl snorted as her friend was being the typical nerd he always is. They smiled to eachothers and an angel passed before the prison's door open and a gasp was heard in the corridor. Loud steps were heading in their direction, and they both looked at the doors wide opened. Looks like it was shouting time.

Cap finally arrived at the cell, his face so red it looked like it was going to explode. Stan and Pete were by his side. The chief glanced over at Varian, relief to see the demon was still there. The turned his angry face toward Camalia and started yelling. How he couldn't believe she did it again even when he left her another chance. How she thought she was being so sneaky. How, again, Varian was a very dangerous criminal and wasn't supposed to be freed, and how she was so irresponsible. How she kept acting like-

-I had a crisis.

This snapped Captain out of his anger. Behind him, Stan and Pete hold tight on their weapons, their eyes widening and taking an unconscious step back. The alchemist looked at everyone's reaction and his heart tighten. He was the only one that didn't know what was going on. When he should have been the first. Cap looked disoriented and opened his mouth to speak but Camalia cut him.

-He helped me, and as you can see, he's still here.

-But wasn't your crisis supposed to be-

-Yes. I know. Something... trigerred one.

Camalia was glaring at him. She was standing her ground, and held his look with strength and determination. She made sure he didn't say too much. She could handle this. The man was smart, and he could read between the lines. Captain sighed, made sure she will lock the raccoon and the demon again, and left. To the great relief of Stan and Pete, that really just wanted to leave since she spoke about the... dark times.

Varian could see that the three guards were scared of something, of those "crisis" she had, like the one the night before. He clunched his fist, opened his mouth, ready to speak his mind...

-Well, that sure was a bunch of sburbens. He said lightly.

The sudden change of tone in the room unsettled Camalia and she just giggled nervously.

-What ?

-You know, sburbens. Oh, right... you might not know what they are. It's a plant. Very curative. Although it does sound like a curse word, heh. But it's a plant. Definitely a plant.

The music mage started laughing, and soon the alchemist joined her. They laughed and laughed, laughing the pressure, the fear, the danger out. They laughed at their problems and laughed at the situation. They laughed until they couldn't anymore. But even then, they both had a big smile, lying on the ground and calming down. The sunset made it's way through the window and suddely everything was fine. It was warm and comfortable, and they were fine.

Right there, right now, with the right person.

They were just fine.