361 Washed Up Demi

Olpi clutched her stomach. 'I feel like I'm going to throw up,' she thought as she hobbled away from the others, nearly tripping over the winding, curving roots. She wouldn't get up if she fell into the snow. She didn't have the strength.

"Keep your head up!" Frey screamed at Elero. Olpi lifted her gaze from the whirling ground as if he was yelling at her. She needed to walk, to move. Anywhere would do. Anywhere meant a small clearing deeper in the white forest.

Celsius's smile flashed in her mind. She grimaced not because of him, because of herself. She wanted to follow him so she could take a portion of that smile. 'Maybe I should leave.'

"And then what?" She threw up her arms and asked aloud. Glancing over her shoulder, no one seemed to hear her. "What are we going to do outside the academy, huh Olpi? Now you're talking to yourself." The nausea burned away by her outburst, leaving her breathing hard. She stretched her arms to the sky. "That felt good."