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The Next Morning.

Clay had assumed that it would be difficult to get to sleep, but once he had put his dead down, he practically passed out on the spot. Despite his deep, deep sleep, it didn't mean it wasn't undisturbed...

He wakes up in a start as the first signs of dawn are creeping over the landscape, vague thoughts of still being back in the temple, of working with Nithya on... something... dreams of deer.

It's all too vague, fading swiftly as he wakes up fully to the discomfort of having fallen asleep in his shirt and jacket, the sensation of an itch along his shoulders and back.

He takes a moment to gather his thoughts, slowly recalling the strangeness from the previous day, and sits up, looking down at his hands to see more fur, his fingers darkened, somewhat harder feeling, not fully hooves, but giving the illusion of them while still remaining hands. He swears, clambering to his pack to retrieve some winter gloves, rapidly putting his hands in them as if hiding them will make it untrue. It's the only thing he can think to do with this impossibility.

Nithya had assumed it would be easy to sleep, with all the exhaustion, but very quickly learned after mostly undressing for the sleeping back that the presence of... her tail... made it almost impossible to sleep on her back as she usual does.

What little she does manage to sleep are disturbed by very vivid images of archaeology as routine, just interrupted by adding deer to the images...

She wakes up with a groan, shifting from one side to the other before waking up enough to get up from the sleeping bag. "Ugh... I swear..."

She blinks upon hearing Clay swear. "...oh. Oh yeah. That." She feels her tail twitch under her and lets out a deep sigh. A new day to face potentially new impossibilities.

"Clay? I'm up."

Clay gives a long sigh, slumping slightly. "Yeah... me too. Are... are you okay? How are you feeling?"

Nithya sighs. "Sore. That new... the thing in my... okay, fuck it, let's call it what it is, MY TAIL... made it pretty hard to sleep as I used to. Though all the confused dreams did not help."

She gets up to sitting, for the moment refusing to even look over her body for fear of more uncomfortable discoveries.

Clay cringes hearing her declare it 'her tail'. "...Dreams... I had dreams too... I think. It all seems a bit jumbled now."

He sighs, looking down at his gloved hands, struggling with his thoughts, until he finally decides he can't hide this from Nithya, even if he's determined to hide it from himself. "...it got worse. It's grown over my hands now, the fur. I don't know if it's grown more than that, but I can feel that itch along my back. And I keep thinking about the Temple... it was definitely in my dreams, I know that much."

Nithya nods: "It was in mine too. Whatever... happened, there it's..." She taps at her forehead: "I think it stuck with us. Maybe we can still remember what it is that we missed."

She hesitates, then brings her feet up from the bag. She's felt them being odd for a few moments now. "Far as changes go..." She swallows, then takes her socks off, revealing her toenails gone dark and her toes being a bit squished together in a way they definitely should not be. "...okay, that's gross. B-but somehow it does not hurt..."

Clay pauses to think, taking inventory of himself. "Yeah... No pain, nothing hurts. Just... It's not right. It's still impossible, but... Maybe it is a curse."

He slowly removes one of his gloves to show his hand to Nithya, the fingers darkened but still distinct, unlike her toes.

Nithya looks at Clay's hand, then back to her feet. Her expression darkens. "Yeah... I don't believe in curses, but what else would you call this?"

She leans her chin on her hands and considers: "What do we do?"

Clay chuckles darkly, "...hell if I know. We... Keep going? At least far enough into civilization to get some Internet reception so we can research this? We can keep this stuff hidden once we get back to a town... And then... Uhh..." He shrugs with a forced smile, having really absolutely no clue what else to do.

Nithya nods slowly. "Sounds about as good as we can do. The other option is to stay out here and just wait, and I don't care to do that for any amount of reasons."

She looks at her deformed feet. "Assuming I can walk." She starts getting up, and to her surprise is able to find her balance in just a moment despite her feet not looking the same at all right now.

Clay glances back the way they came, back towards the temple, "Or to go back... But let's just cross that option out right now."

He turns, ready to help Nithya out if she stumbles, only to be taken by surprise that she manages to keep upright seemingly at ease... And the comment she made about the changes rewriting her behavior comes back to him, and he puts the glove back onto his hand, covering the changes again, "Just... Be careful. I don't like this. I really don't like this."

Nithya shakes her head. "I don't either." She considers, then moves to putting her socks and shoes back on, at least for now able to do that.

"But if you don't mind, I'll save crying over my fate to when we're back to at least a motel somewhere." Promise she is not certain she can keep, but any bravado is better than nothing against this sort of strangeness.

Clay manages a laugh, "Do you want to cry in the hotel bath, or in the bed? Cause I'll probably be doing it wherever you aren't."

Nithya lets out a dry chuckle: "As long as it's not on all fours by the end of this week, I'll take it." Certainly feeling a bit of dark humor in her right now, but whatever it takes to get going again.

Clay hums, flexing his fingers in the gloves. "I can still use my hands just fine..." He sets his jaw in determination as he starts to pack up his sleeping bag. "I won't let this... Whatever this is, win."

Nithya smiles: "That's the spirit." She starts packing up as well. "We have a long way of travel ahead of us, regardless. Should we get going, since we need to forage anyway before we have much to eat?"

Clay nods, "I think that urge to go as far as we can that you had yesterday is hitting me today. I just... I want to go." He sighs, but continues packing up their campsite. "Covering more distance can't be bad."

Nithya considers for a second. "Yesterday I just wanted to... be away from that place. Now I don't feel it that much, but... well, we can't stay out here anyway." She continues packing up, putting her backpack to the side once she's dressed up and packed up, and moves her attention to the tent. "Whatever is making either the weather warm or us feeling like it is, can't last forever."

Clay nods as he quietly works, trying not to think of the weird sensations in his hands through the gloves, or the uncomfortable feeling of his clothing on his arms and back. He's extremely on edge by all of this, and pouring all that nervous energy and fear into productivity, "It can't last forever... Yeah."

Nithya sighs softly as she works. "There has to be some explanation to this. Maybe in the tablet, maybe in the stuff we have forgotten... somewhere. But for now, I don't think we can do much about this... curse."

Clay perks up, having a wave of relief wash over him, at least for the moment, "Ah! The tablet! Right! Maybe it'll have some kind of answer on how to undo this... Or... Or at least tell us what's happening... Those days we can't remember, those I'm less sure about..." He shivers involuntarily.

Nithya nods as she finishes packing up the tent, having done that so many times it doesn't exactly take a lot of time or concentration. "I don't know. But... I guess, try to look at the bright side? We are up here, just the two of us, enjoying nature to its' fullest. Whatever else, it's beautiful out here. And if I ignore the why of it, not being cold is actually a perk I can live with."

Clay laughs again, sounding a bit more upbeat, "I'm trying, hoo boy am I trying. The bright side... Well, you do make some good points... Still a bit too warm for me..." He looks down at his gloves and jacket... But resolves not to take them off. "Nothing to be done about that. The hike is still good, and the sightseeing is gorgeous, and I've got my best friend with me. I couldn't ask for a more perfect day for this. So I won't let... I won't let anything else ruin that for now."

Nithya smiles, even though her smile is a bit tinged by the ongoing stress and worry. "It's not all doom and gloom. It never is with us, and I like it that way."

Clay grins back, "You're right, but you always are. ... I'm gonna block this out of my mind and just try to enjoy the hike today. As best I can. We've been in... Okay maybe not weirder trouble... But probably worse? And we've gotten through it."

Nithya smirks: "That we have. After all, what could stop us?`" She pauses. "Don't answer that. Let's go."

Clay starts to say something, then stops himself, having jinxed this trip quite enough. He simply gives Nithya a thumbs up. "Right. All set here. Let's go."

Nithya swings her backpack to her back and starts walking. "Whatever is ahead of us, we can deal with it."

Clay nods, following close besides her, "Where would I be without you? Well... besides stranded somewhere in Roop Kund after breaking an ankle."

Nithya hums: "Possibly still looking for the translation key for that thirteenth-century text, in the Basrah library."

Clay grins, "Or still trying to figure out the directions to the West Hall on Campus... remind me again why you stuck with someone like me?"

Nithya glances behind her at Clay and starts counting with her fingers: "You don't judge me, you want my company for my intellect and wit and not because of what the curve of my ass looks like, you've saved my life multiple times, few times more if you count saving me from a life of drudgery in some bureaucracy, you're brilliant company on a trek like this... you know, from the top of my head."

She gives Clay a pretty warm and genuine smile.

Clay blushes a bit, meaning it more as a joke than a legitimate ask, "Y-you ah, forgot my sense of humor." He shakes his head, "But that's all true too... I mean, about you. You're smart, and strong, and you've saved me just as many times. Thanks... that... that does make me feel better about this. Knowing I'm in it with you."

Nithya winks: "Wherever this current... crazy... leads, we're in this together." Her mood is noticeably better, even if it's just because she's forcing it to be.

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