“Asta—”

“Asta, wake up.” A soft spoken voice called out to her.

“Just… five more minutes, Cel…” She groaned, having not slept well the night before. Or the night before that. As she began to sink deeper back into her pillow, a sharp stinging pain suddenly snapped her eyelids open.

“Ow! Cel, what did I say about not using fire magic to wake me up?” She cried, rubbing her forehead.

“Look at the time, Asta. You are way behind schedule—”

“Would it kill you for me to sleep in just a couple of minutes more? Why can’t you just… care less every now and then?!” Her voice boomed, much louder than she anticipated. Cel stood next to her bed in silence .A wave of guilt quickly overtook Asta’s body,

“O-oh god… I’m really sorry, Cel. I didn’t mean to shout. It’s just that my conditions are getting worse, and I barely managed to sleep last night. I’m—not in the best of moods.”

“Your parents trusted me with managing your schedule so you would get better.”

“That is why I’m here to help, Asta.” The voice said with emotionless, but understanding patience. It was simple, but effective when those words reached Asta’s ears. The memories of all the terrible things she felt last night began to fade away into distant nothingness, as she felt Cel’s arms wrap around her body. Despite being in possession of fire magic, her skin felt cold on Asta’s thin pajamas; a strange quirk that Asta gradually got accustomed to after being burnt and then frozen several times.

“Thanks, Cel. Thank you for having the patience to deal with me.” Asta replied, and hugged her unconventionally cold body back.

Without missing a beat, Cel continued with listing down things Asta needed to do on her schedule. Most of it was mundane things that Asta already knew how to do, such as brushing her teeth, getting dressed, and taking her medications. She has complained about this before, but she was met with the same cookie cutter response every time.

“Your parents trusted me with managing your schedule so you would get better.”

“Yes, yes, I got it.” She rolled her eyes as she popped two colourless pills in her mouth. The taste was awful, but she knew Cel’s burns would be worse. Scrunching her nose, she swallowed her pills, nearly gagging in the process as her throat desperately fought against the intrusion. After holding back a very needed cough with all her strength, she felt the suffocating feeling finally disappear from within her esophagus.

“Are we ready to depart?” Cel watched as Asta gradually caught her breath.

“Y-yeah, cough, sure, Cel. Let’s go.”

As Asta waited for Cel to unlock her doors, a streak of sunlight from pierced into her dimly lit room. The kind of sunlight that shows you how much dust there is in the air — the kind that doesn’t warm your hand when you touch it. She wished the doors would open faster next time.

“Follow me, Asta. Please don’t go wandering into the forest.”