You're sweating, pacing, weaving back and forth. This dungeon of a place is your prison now, the cave walls seeming smaller and smaller every time you turn a new corner. The bag on your shoulder is nearly empty. Circuta gathered so many plants, as many as it seemed her petite mouth could hold, but even she had known. Sorry, she had whispered as she gave them to you, seeming to know that the quantity would not be enough. How long will you all have to be down here? You shiver as you think of the time that has passed already, and how much more time there is to come.

A quick peak into your bag reveals that there are maybe ten vines left. You've taken to rationing yourself to have a vine every morning, or what you guess to be the morning. Time seems to pass strangely down in the caves, the only light the pulsing glow of the central lava. Still ten vines. That's twenty days. If you stick to your plan. Which, admittedly, hasn't always happened. It was only twice, just little slips, but you had to have them. If you had ever thought of detoxing, of trying to wean yourself off the influence of the plants, you're sure now that you never would be able to. You don't have the strength.

Suddenly, in front of you, a floating vine appears. One of your locoweed variety. It doesn't take long for your ears to fall back, for your blood to boil. You bellow, roar even, lunging towards the thing, mouth open. She taunts you, your little companion, but the severity of your frustration causes the image she has formed in to to waver and then fade. Still, you lung. Teeth open, eyes wide, you plunge forward. Your boggart is lucky she's invisible. She escapes your wrath unharmed. Still, you wonder why she sticks around at all. You've done nothing nice to her. She's like an insistent blob that won't go away. An insistent blob that you hate with every, tiny fiber of your being.

Interesting, then, that your lunge should bring you into a new room of the cave, one you haven't seen before. The sound of the water falling down is loud, but not uncomfortable. You don't wait. The place seems empty for now- a welcome peace from the hustle and bustle of the main cavern. You fall into the waters, settling easily into a laying position, letting the sweat that covered your body foul the crystaline fluid. You don't care. The cold shock is enough- enough to wake you up so that you might have a few moments reprieve from your detox. It's time you'll need. You don't think this is going to get any easier.

Oxy