Travel-Snack

I was mesmerized, partially due to my altered state.

"I was afraid of this..."

"Yes. It seems we have spooked the poor fellow."

"At least we have his undivided attention, shall we make the most of it?"

"You're quite right. But we must leave the current premises."

"Indeed. It seems our dear lady friend is also aware of our presence."

And for the first time since I had entered the room, her focus wasn't on me. She was alternating between the black and white figures. 

Her eyes had changed, no longer seductive almonds, they were now big, hungry, and if I didn't know better, feral, like one would see in the wild, on a panther about to pounce its prey.

I found myself shivering from this realisation.

"Surprise surprise... our friend has finally glimpsed his companion's true nature."

"Perhaps he will now listen to us."

My hand released the glass, which was two sips away from being empty.

"Well done! Now excuse yourself from the table and leave this place."

I got up and made up some excuse about feeling sick. Which was a half-truth anyway.

"This is going to be more complicated than we thought."

"Quite. He seems to be a bit intoxicated."

"I would say a lot, but at least it's an effective shield against that woman's tricks."

"It seems he didn't even notice her attempts, or should I say pleas, to make him stay."

"On the other hand, he can barely notice the ground in front of him."

"And yet he managed to open the carriage door and enter the bathroom."

"WOULD YOU BOTH JUST SHUT UP??"

Silence.

"About time you addressed us directly."

"We now you are feeling queasy. Just remember to breathe and focus on a fixed point."

"And there is no need to shout, we can hear you just fine. In fact you don't need to talk at all... but we shall leave that for later."

The faucet proved to be a good focusing point, and I could feel my stomach starting to settle, very slowly.

"Good. Keep at it."

"You are too kind to him. He drank of his own accord."

"Yes, but he did not know what it was he was drinking."

"All the more reason not to be nice to him. If his mind was his own, he would have been able to resist that woman's charms. But no, he was too busy feeling sorry for himself since this trip started."

"And with good reason! The poor thing has been through a lot, with no one to support him."

"Rubbish! All he had was support. Every ear was a sympathetic one."

"Not true... no one truly understood him, or managed to give valid advice."

"That's a little presumptuous of your part..."

"Perhaps... but it is also true. We should have appeared to him sooner. Maybe all this could have been avoided."

"You know as well as I do that this could not be avoided. He was meant to be here, at this place and time."

"Indeed... but we digress. Our time is short, and he needs to know."

"Know what? What on earth have you two been talking about?"

Opening my mouth had been a big mistake where my stomach took the opportunity to show its discomfort.

"Patience is a virtue, and you shall see yours rewarded in time."

"There is however, somethings you must be made aware of..."

"... the sooner the better. So shall we begin?"