"Ella? You've been standing out in the hall for a while. Would you like to come in?"

Theris pulled the door open, and Eleanor entered, stepping around him to sit down in the singular armchair by the table. After a moment's deliberation, Theris closed the door, and turned to face her. She was staring intently at the table's surface, and she was shaking. "Are you cold?" he asked, and then, slightly louder, because she didn't respond, "Ella? Are you cold?"

Eleanor looked up, and nodded, her eyes fixing on a point a little over Theris' right shoulder. He went to his bed and took the quilt off of the blanket, carrying it over to her chair. She accepted it from him, and wrapped it around her shoulders. Her voice was quiet. "Thanks. Hey, should I be taking vitamins?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Vitamins," Eleanor repeated. "Lycoris told me I should be taking vitamins, as part of taking care of my health."

"Everyone ought to, if at all possible, but..."

"...but you don't think it's relevant to me," she finished for him, ducking her head down so her neck was also covered by the quilt.

"Quite. So, does that mean you've told Lycoris?"

"...no."

Eleanor shut her eyes, folding her hands on the table in front of her. Impulsively, Theris reached out and touched one of her hands. It was cold, uncomfortably so. "Were you just outside?" he asked, knowing even as he did that it wasn't the case. He'd passed her in the hallway when he'd returned to the inn himself, and she hadn't moved. As he thought, Ella shook her head no. "How come you're so cold?"

"It's winter," she mumbled. "I've been using magic to keep myself warm, but I can't do that all the time... it's tiring."

"Do you still have that stone I gave you? Show me." Theris wrapped his fingers around her hand, looking at her expectantly. Eleanor pushed the quilt aside to reach into her pocket with her free hand, pulling out a flat runestone. She held it rune-side down in her palm, and tapped the top lightly with her fingers.

To Theris' eyes, Eleanor's entire body became surrounded by a dull grey glow, tinged with numerous dim spots of color - mainly reds and blues, but some purple and orange as well.

Eleanor looked down at herself. "...are you seeing this?"

"I don't see the same thing as you," he reminded her. "It's different from person to person. But it doesn't look like there's been any improvement." On the contrary - it looked worse. "...I don't see any green now, either."

"Green?"

"I see it as colors."

"Oh..." Eleanor tapped the stone again. The light faded. She slipped her hand back into her pocket, starting to shiver once more, despite the heavy quilt around her. "Do you have any advice, Theris?"

What the hell was he supposed to say? Shaking his head, he said in a quiet voice, "Start taking your vitamins."

Eleanor smiled, but it was more like a grimace. She got up, mumbled a thank-you, and headed for the door.

"Ella. I'll... try to think of something."

"Mm. Good night, Theris."

"Wait-- do you want to stay in here? I'm not sure I should send you back out into the cold."

"We can't always get what we want," she said quietly, and left.

Theris sat down in the armchair. It took him a couple of minutes to realize that Eleanor had walked off with his quilt.