Raurlin holds a hand out to Naomi and she accepts it. He guides her in silence down the passageway leading to a set of stairs. His fingers feel cold against hers. Naomi tightens the hold and Raurlin glances at her briefly before they begin walking up the stairs side by side. Jackson's and Sarah's chatting grows louder. At the top of the stairs Naomi pulls her hand from Raurlin's and she follows closely behind him into the first room. Jackson is bending, squeezing a cloth out in a bucket of steaming water.

He straightens seeing Raurlin and Naomi. " Good morning you two. Sarah is just down the passage checking on the wolf pups."

Raurlin grins at him as he steps into the room. The room is considerably cleaner than it once was. The walls are wiped down and the wooden floor has been swept off the dust that once caked it. Raurlin walks to the window that overlooks the front of the hospital. "Things are taking shape nicely, Jax. Everything has been okay?"

"Without a single issue, Raur. It's just a slow process. We're tackling it in pairs a room at a time but it's cleaning now, then polishing then furnishing. It's not going to happen as quickly as we would like I'm afraid."

Raurlin clicks his tongue. "You lack faith. And the Gods are on our side. I'm certain of it."

Naomi rolls her eyes at her words. The talk of the Gods in all their splendour and yet she feels nothing of them. Ancient text has told her that many claimed to have experienced the direct feeling from the Gods through their being. She shivers as the cold runs down her spine. The air around her seems to drop in temperature and it sits heavy on the ground around her feet. The wind whistles down the corridor and it seems to drown out Raurlin and Jackson's voices.

Naomi strains to listen, words flow just beneath the current of the wind. She steps into the passageway. The wind pushes harder against her ankles and Naomi finds herself walking down the passageway, following the direction of the wind. She strains hard, trying to hear the words. They are incoherent but they are there. From the end of the passageway she spots movement twisting round the corner. Naomi picks up her pace.

Her brisk walk turns to a jog. Naomi twists the bend and jogs down the stairs following the movement and the incoherent words grow louder. Naomi rushes down the passageway that she and Raurlin had entered from. She continues down past the stairs to the end of the corridor where a door leading to outside is waiting open. Naomi slows to a stop as the words begin to register. It's what it has been. 'Harbinger' on a loop.

From outside the fox trots inside. Sitting down between Naomi and the door. His head tilts to one side. Naomi swallows down hard, thinking that the fox had died with the witch. Accepting that he was borne of her magic. But now the passageway sways around her. Naomi's heart pounds in her chest. Is she dreaming? Did she even wake up this morning?

"You're awake, harbinger," the fox tells her.

Naomi clenches down hard on her teeth. "Where have you been? Why are you here now?"

"I never left," the fox tells her. "I am here now to tell you..."

"Tell me what?" Naomi demands.

The fox stands at attention and Naomi steps closer to it. The fox seems to disappear into nothing.

"Naomi?" Sarah calls out from behind her. Naomi spins to find her best friend watching her with a deep frown. Naomi walks briskly over to her clutching onto her upper arms.

"You saw it, right? You saw the fox? He was right here." Naomi turns to the door that is now shut. Her breathing shallows and she walks forward grabbing the door handle and twisting. It remains solid in place. Naomi rattles the door then turns back to Sarah.

Sarah swallows down hard. Naomi exhales a shaky breath. "Please tell me you saw the fox, Sarah."

Sarah takes a step forward, shaking her head. "You just rushed down here, Naomi. I thought something was wrong that's why I followed after you. There was no fox...you were just frozen staring at the door." Sarah takes another careful step towards Naomi, holding a hand out. Naomi's trembling hand meets hers. Sarah tugs her into a hug and Naomi allows herself to be held.

Sarah runs a hand over her hair. "You're probably just exhausted, Naomi. Don't think too much on it. Come on, let's head upstairs."

Naomi remains silent and she nods her head. She walks behind Sarah, defeated, pulling her head to her chest. She glances over her shoulder and the door remains shut behind her. Naomi walks up the stairs, her legs shaking with each step. She sighs as she and Sarah walk into the room where Raurlin and Jackson are still talking. Raurlin beams brightly at Sarah and then Naomi. The bright smile turns to a sure frown.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yes," Naomi answers quickly with a quick glance at Sarah. "We were just taking a walk."

Raurlin looks from Naomi to Sarah and Sarah nods her head, confirming what Naomi has said. "Yes, just a little walk to catch up."

"We were just working on a way forward with everything," Jackson explains. "We will need to issue formal invites to the sympathisers. Stellan will have a network that we should be able to reach."

"But we can't bring in anyone until we have somewhat workable facilities here," Raurlin adds. "That being said, we do know that time is somewhat limited with Axel and his descent...we need to have something figured out for him sooner rather than later. I've decided that I want a room dedicated solely to him to be sorted out as a main priority. There is a room towards the end of the hall that is big enough. It already has a bathroom too."

"So we get the young wolves to start cleaning up in there," Naomi states, nodding her head. "I can find some places online where we can start putting orders in for beds and the like. We're likely going to need medical supplies too, right?"

Jackson nods his head. "But that's where the sympathisers will come in. Many of them will come from hospitals and hospices that already cater to our kind. They will be equipped with the supplies and anything else medically related that we will need. We need to get things done to a somewhat workable space before sending out those invitations."

"And we can be certain that they will come?" Sarah directs at Jackson who nods his head. "Yes we can be certain. Many of them will already know how to accommodate for the illness."

"What happens," Naomi cuts in, staring blankly ahead of her, "when one of us, one of our kind, dies?"

The room falls silent. Raurlin takes a step closer to Naomi, a deep frown tugging at his eyebrows. "My aeturnum...why would you ask such a thing?"

Naomi's eyes snap from the distance to him. Raurlin pauses. A pulse pushes behind Naomi's eyes and the sensation tells her that her eyes have pooled red, but she cannot help it. Her body is far too tired to attempt to stop it. Moreso, she rationalises, this is her most natural state.

"You told me that when those afflicted descend into madness they have to be put down in most circumstances. And Stellan will be travelling to arrange a proper burial for Caro's family. What is the process? What do we need to know?"

"This is a conversation that can be had at home," Raurlin urges firmly. Naomi glares at him, the pulsating behind her eyes growing stronger. She squeezes her eyes shut momentarily, shaking her head.

"Why can't you just tell me now? Is it some great big secret Raurlin?"

"Bad luck to talk about death to talk in hospitals," Jackson explains.

Naomi turns her glare to him. She is unsure of the anger she is feeling. It's origin, it's point. But it is there and it is bubbling from within her spewing straight out of her. "Superstition is just that, Jax."

Sarah walks towards her and places her hand along Naomi's lower back. Naomi faces her and as she does, Sarah's other hand comes down on her forehead and Naomi feels her body grow limp. She is still there, simmering under the surface but she is slowly falling into herself. She can hear the voices of those around her but they slowly merge into a deep silence. Everything goes black.

Raurlin scoops Naomi into his arms quickly with a look of pure shock directed at Sarah. Sarah exhales a long breath. She shakes her head as she wipes the palm of her head. "I'm sorry," she directs at Raurlin. "I had to. I don't know what was coming over her but that was aggressive, Raur. Downstairs...there was an incident."

"You can put her in my car," Jackson tells Raurlin walking to the door. Raurlin walks out after him and Sarah follows closely behind him. They walk in silence downstairs and out of the back door where Jackson is parked. He strides forward, opening the back door. Raurlin leans in, gently lowering Naomi onto the back seat.

The air in the car is icy and as if reading Raurlin's mind Jackson walks around to the driver door and swings it open. "Let me heat up the car a bit." Raurlin remains standing at the door looking down at his aeturnum. Her lips are already turning a deep blue. The tip of her nose is blushed pink. Her hair is cascading around her neck and off the seat. Her body is completely still and the only thing confirming that she is not frozen solid is her chest steadily rising and falling. The car begins to warm up and Raurlin reluctantly steps away from her, shutting the door.

Jackson shuts the driver's door, leaving the car running. He walks around the car, standing in the gap between Raurlin and Sarah. Raurlin's anger is as tangible as Sarah's fear.

"I'm sorry Raur-"

"- what did you do to my aeturnum?"

"Think of it as a supernatural anaesthetic. She'll be out for a while, getting the sleep she desperately needs."

"You could have just trapped her in a nightmare."

Sarah shakes her head. "Her mind is completely still. She will come to, not knowing how long she has been out."

Raurlin paces away from Sarah tilting his head to the sky and releasing a loud breath. "You don't know that!" He sucks in a breath, lowering his voice and repeating "you don't know that. Everything about what's going on with her is off. I don't think we should be treating this like a normal case, using traditional practices. We don't know enough-"

"- Jax," Sarah cuts in, "perhaps you could confirm for Raurlin that she is okay?"

Jackson looks to Raurlin for permission and Raurlin nods his head reluctantly. He follows behind Jackon who walks to the opposite side of the car. Raurlin watches on as he pulls the door open. Warmth falls out of the car and the colour is returned to Naomi's lips. Jackson wipes his palms on his pants and he looks at Raurlin again.

"Just do it," Raurlin insists in a harsh whisper.

Jackson holds his palms against Naomi's temples and he closes his eyes gently, his head falling back. His breathing deepens and his eyelids begin to flutter slowly then rapidly. His body begins to tremble and Raurlin steps away from the car, stepping towards the back of the car.

"Leave him," Sarah calls out from behind Raurlin. "He's fine. Just watch."

Raurlin tightens his hands into fists and he looks at Sarah then nods. He walks back to where he was standing, at Naomi's feet. Jackson's eyes fall open and he pulls his hands away with a deep inhale. His breath returns in splutters. Raurlin looks to him desperately for information, his eyes wide and his heart sitting squarely in his throat.

"She's fine," Jackson confirms, "it's just darkness. It's as if she is asleep in her mind. I saw her, a version of her, the her in her mind, just floating but her body was relaxed. She was just asleep."

Raurlin nods again then gently closes the door. He turns to face Sarah, ashamed at his anger towards her running through him. "I'm sorry I-"

Sarah holds a hand up shaking her head. "It's okay. I put her out without warning but she's my best friend too. I did what I felt was best given the situation. The turns off and Jackson walks round the car. He drops against the car next to Raurlin, folding his arms across his chest.

"Sarah, what happened downstairs?"