A ghost told me to meet you

Rudy finally decided they were all out.  He looked at Fern and saw her own strain for some other reason entirely.  His brow furrowed but then his head lowered, snapping up grass in his mouth, chewing it, and swallowing.  The need to put something down his throat to try and erase the feeling after them crawling in there.

“Fine,” Rudy didn’t like whatever was going on, shocked and startled by it but this wouldn’t kill him.  His gaze rested on her again to puzzle out what was her strain from.  “What's wrong with you?” Rudy would be stopping for freshwater as soon as possible.  There was water nearby but it was a tease, ocean water heading inward.  Then again, water with salt might not be great for drinking but it might be what she needed?  “Want to get in the water?  It might help?”  It depends what was wrong but if some irritation on her skin was causing the horrible itch then water might be the solution.

At her scream out Rudy tensed for a moment of surprise before sighing, “It’s alright,” he assured Fern softly, “Whatever it is, choking me on fireflies won’t kill me and I’m guessing what's wrong with you is more extreme discomfort over dangerous?  Let's go back to the hallows, get out of this patch of land.  Unless you want that bath first?”

“I don’t think it's something sentient anyway,” the boy added after a moment, “What could do stuff like this?  I don’t know what it is but what sort of creature could make these things happen? The earth is just doing strange things, at least that’s my guess. I can tell you about Resin on the way back.”

Rudyard Carpathius