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She coughed and gasped, and her fingers clutched Elphaba's shoulders, digging into the skin. Distantly, she heard the soothing murmurs in her ear, felt the hands sliding over her back. She shivered.
"El-Elphie?"
"Yes, my sweet?"
She shivered again, this time from the other girl's low voice. She was confused, as she always was when in her roommate's presence. She pulled back slightly, then her eyes widened and she gasped. "Elphie!"
The green girl's face, arms and chest were covered with welts, the skin bubbled slightly, angry red.
"Oh, Elphie... what... what happened?" She raised a hand, then drew back when a sharp breath hissed through Elphaba's teeth at the contact. "Elphie... is it me?" She hated how small her voice sounded, but the thought of Elphaba being caused pain by her made her feel small, so she supposed it was fitting.
"The water."
She gasped and looked down at herself. She was soaking wet, she already knew that. When Fiyero had pulled her out of the river, she had immediately lunged for Elphaba, and the other girl comforted her as she cried and coughed, the near-drowning fresh in her mind. "Elphie... why didn't you tell me?"
The green girl looked uncomfortable. "You were... upset," she finally answered.
"Not too upset." She dried her hand on the grass, then cupped Elphaba's cheek, studying the pale white of her fingers against the vibrant green of Elphaba's cheek. "Never too upset," she whispered. "I don't ever want to hurt you."
Their eyes met, intense, and she felt... something... change, within her. "Elphie..."
"Miss Galinda, are you all right?"
Elphaba's head immediately ducked, and she tore her gaze away to look up at Boq. "Of course," she said with a bright, false smile. Slowly, regretfully, she pulled away from the other girl. "Of course I'm all right."
She followed the Munchkin back to where the others were gathered, glancing over her shoulder as she did, and watching Elphaba arrange her dress so it could be dried by the sun.
"We're both all right," she murmured to herself.