The next morning William woke up feeling significantly better than the day before. The breathing technique Seraphina had taught him was actually helping him feel better, and his essence pathways felt more stable.
He was in the common room doing light stretches when Seraphina arrived earlier than usual, carrying her usual bag of supplies.
"You're up early," William said while finishing a stretch.
"I have combat training later so I figured I'd come by now to check your progress." She set down the bag. "Shirt off, let me see how the bruising looks."
William removed his shirt and Seraphina unwrapped the bandages to examine his ribs. The bruising had faded from dark purple to a lighter blue-green color, which apparently meant it was healing properly.
"Much better," she said while probing the damaged areas. "The inflammation is down significantly. This ointment is as effective as I thought it would be."
She started applying fresh medicine to his ribs and William tried not to react to the stinging sensation. Seraphina's hands were careful and methodical as she worked.
"Hold still," she said when William shifted slightly. "I need to get this part properly or it won't heal right."
William held his breath while she applied pressure to a particularly tender spot. Without thinking, he reached out and grabbed her wrist to stop the pressure.
"That one hurts more," he said.
Seraphina looked at where his hand was holding her wrist and then met his eyes. "It hurts because that's where the damage is deepest. I need to treat it."
She didn't pull her hand away and William realized they were very close to each other, her hands on his bare chest and his hand on her wrist. The position was oddly intimate despite the medical context.
"Fine," William said while releasing her wrist. "Just warn me next time."
Seraphina continued applying the medicine with a slight smile. "You're getting soft. Last week you fought Liam until you went unconscious and now you complain about a little medicine."
"Last week I was too focused on not dying to notice pain," William countered. "This is different."
"Mm." Seraphina finished with the ointment and started wrapping fresh bandages around his torso. "Lean forward."
William leaned forward and Seraphina moved behind him to wrap the bandages properly. Her hands circled around his chest as she warped the bandage around him, and William found himself very aware of how close she was.
"You're tense," Seraphina observed. "Relax or the bandages won't sit right."
"Trying," William said while attempting to relax muscles that had apparently decided to ignore his brain's instructions.
Seraphina laughed softly and it was such an unexpected sound that William turned his head to look at her. She was smiling, a genuine expression that was rare on her usually serious face.
"What's funny?" he asked.
"You fight deadly opponents without hesitation but bandaging makes you nervous," she said while finishing the wrapping. "That's amusing."
"It's a different feeling," William defended himself. "Combat, I understand. This is—"
He was cut off when Seraphina playfully pushed him forward, making him lose balance slightly. William caught himself but turned around with mock annoyance.
"Really? I'm injured and you're pushing me around?"
"You seemed too tense. I was helping," Seraphina said with that rare smile still on her face.
William reached out and lightly flicked her forehead in retaliation. "That's not helping."
Seraphina's eyes widened slightly in surprise and then narrowed with competitive focus. "Did you just flick me?"
"Maybe," William said while backing away slightly, recognizing the look on her face. "I didn't even put effort into it."
"Effortless or not, that requires a response," Seraphina said while moving toward him with predatory grace.
What followed was less like a fight and more like playful grappling, with William trying to avoid Seraphina's attempts to pin him while she tried to get revenge for the forehead flick. They were both laughing and not taking it seriously when the door suddenly opened.
Lyanna stood in the doorway with books in her arms, and her expression went from neutral to frozen shock in an instant.
From her perspective, the scene probably looked incriminating. William shirtless with fresh bandages being applied, Seraphina behind him with her hands on his shoulders, both of them laughing and in what appeared to be an intimate position.
"I brought your class notes," Lyanna said in a voice that was carefully neutral but had an edge William hadn't heard before. "But I see you're... occupied."
"Lyanna, wait—" William started while standing up properly, but Seraphina's hands were still on his shoulders from their play-wrestling.
"No need to explain," Lyanna interrupted while setting the books on the table near the door with more force than necessary. "Your recovery seems to be going well. I'll leave you to it."
She turned and walked out before William could clarify what she'd actually walked in on, and the door closed with a sharp click that suggested she was angry.
The playful atmosphere evaporated immediately. William looked at Seraphina who had stepped back with a pitiful expression as though she understood exactly what had just happened.
"That looked bad," Seraphina said matter-of-factly.
"That looked very bad," William agreed while grabbing his shirt. "I should go explain."
"Explain what? That we were play-fighting while I was applying medicine?" Seraphina's expression was unreadable again but William could feel she was a little annoyed. "That won't sound less suspicious."
William knew she was right but he still felt like he needed to do something. Lyanna had clearly misinterpreted the situation and now she was angry, which was complicated by the curse making her more emotionally invested than normal friendship would warrant.
[Lyanna Stormweaver: 14%]
[Warning: Emotional distress detected in target]
[Curse influence amplifying negative emotions]
William dismissed the notification with frustration. The system was helpful for information but terrible at actual advice.
"I need to talk to her," William said while putting on his shirt carefully over the bandages. "I don't want things to go out of hand."
Seraphina nodded. "Probably smart. Though you should finish getting properly bandaged first or you'll undo the treatment."
She helped him finish wrapping his ribs properly and then started packing her supplies. "For what it's worth, I don't think she'll listen right now. People need time to calm down before they can hear explanations."
"Maybe," William said. "But I still have to try."
After Seraphina left, William grabbed the books Lyanna had brought and headed out to find her. He checked the library first since that's where she usually spent free time, but she wasn't there.
He tried the magical theory classroom and the meditation gardens without success. Finally he spotted her in one of the auxiliary courtyards, sitting on a bench with a book open but not actually reading it.
William approached carefully. "Can we talk?"
Lyanna didn't look up from her book. "I said there's no need to explain. Your personal activities are your own business."
"I really don't think you understood the situation," William said while sitting down on the opposite end of the bench. "Seraphina was helping with my medical treatment and we were just messing around while she finished the bandaging."
"Messing around," Lyanna repeated in a sarcastic tone. "How nice for you both."
William could feel the anger radiating from her even though her expression remained calm. Meanwhile the curse was definitely amplifying whatever jealousy she was feeling.
"I'm serious. There's nothing romantic happening between me and Seraphina," William said. "She's been helping me recover because she feels responsible for how hard I pushed during the tournament."
Lyanna finally looked at him and her eyes were colder than he'd ever seen them. "You don't owe me explanations about who you spend time with or what you do together. We're project partners and classmates, nothing more."
When William heard this he weakly let out a smile, 'She's right why am I even trying to resolve this situation? It's probably for the best that she misunderstands'.
But it didn't mean he wouldn't use her to his advantage.
"You're right," he said quietly. "But I value your friendship and I don't want you to think I was doing something inappropriate when you brought me class notes as a favor."
Lyanna was quiet for a long moment before her expression softened slightly. "I may have overreacted. Your recovery process is your own business and I shouldn't have assumed anything."
"You didn't overreact," William said. "The situation looked bad from your perspective and you had every right to be upset."
'Like hell she did'
They sat in awkward silence for a while before Lyanna spoke again.
"The class notes cover everything from the last three days. Professor Ashcroft expects the assignments to be completed by next week." She stood up. "I should go. I have research to do for our project."
She walked away before William could say anything else, and he sat there wondering how to fix a situation where the curse was making normal friendship complications exponentially worse.
[Lyanna Stormweaver: 15%]
[Warning: Emotional turbulence increasing curse influence]
[Target developing possessive tendencies]
[Recommendation: Minimize ambiguous situations with other affected targets]
William dismissed the notification and headed back to his dormitory. Kai was on the couch when he returned and gave him a knowing look.
"Lyanna came by earlier and she looked angry," his roommate observed. "What happened?"
William explained the situation and Kai actually set down his book to listen properly.
"So Lyanna walked in on you shirtless with Seraphina's hands on you, and now she's jealous because apparently you have some kind of irresistible charm making women surround you," Kai summarized. "Your life has become complicated."
"Like you're one to talk, all you do is sit around like some depressed side character," William said sarcastically while collapsing onto the couch.
Kai paused for a moment before chuckling, "Even so my life is much more safer than yours"
'As if, you'll be dying in two years'
William ignored the voice again as he laid on the couch taking a quick nap.
He spent the rest of the day trying to focus on cultivation practice and assignments.
----
[No promises but I'm cooking up a new years gift for y'all, keep up with the PS]