week 4 - witch's lair curfew

[divineth]

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[heartofcorundum]

[Someone is here and unfortunately in mandatory gay baby jail on one of the chairs, considering the state of him. But he has since been properly Healer Lamped and bandaged up and is now stuck staring up at the ceiling with his one good eye.]

And the cycle continues, eh.

[fetteredwings]

[Just putting her lamp next to him and lighting it. Thancred can spend the night with more healing.]

[heartofcorundum]

[Well he can spot Urianger having to do charades with her at the door, so he foregos the quip, a little bow of his head before he pantomimes something to write with. Thank the Twelve he's ambidextrous.]

[fetteredwings]

[he can have her notepad. She'll kneel down to make it easier. Tilting her head in question.]

[heartofcorundum]

[It'll take him a second with only one hand to work with, but:

"I will save my jests about the poor door for another time.

Why did you choose this room?"]

[fetteredwings]

[ Nala has to consider it for a moment before:

'It was better than the others in the area']

[heartofcorundum]

[Ah.

He pauses, looking strangely distant.

...

"The doll room neighboring leaves far too much to be desired, doesn't it?"]

[fetteredwings]

[hmmm.

'i hate the smell.'

Adding

'it stinks'.]

[heartofcorundum]

["Of what?"

"Or would you rather not recall it?"]

[fetteredwings]

[ Nala contemplates for a moment.

'I just know there are scents I like and scents I don't. For example, you, Urianger and Y'sholta have a good scent. That place doesn't']

[heartofcorundum]

["Well, I will accept the compliment gladly."

"I wouldn't put it past that place, though. I don't care for the reminders left behind.

Perhaps Victor would know more of why it must stay like that."]

[fetteredwings]

[ 'Maybe he'll know why it stinks of the dead'

But no. Good people have a certain scent. Nala knows this.]

[heartofcorundum]

[Another pause.

"I think he might, yes."]

[divineth]

[Someone should be in bed, to be completely honest. But after reaching a compromise, Urianger brought Thancred over here to meet with Y'shtola, provided he sit and rest. So the uncomfortable desk chair has been furnished with some blankets and pillows, and a small ottoman found in one of the dusty corners has been moved to let him put his feet up.

Urianger adjusts the blanket atop Thancred before sitting down beside him.]

So it doth. No rest for the weary, as ever...

[heartofcorundum]

[A long-suffering sigh, too dramatic to be serious as he shifts his weight to accomodate for the addition.]

And here I'd meant to use this time to share things of import, not put myself to rest. [Except that was never gonna happen one without the other when he knew both of his fellow Scions would be here. But he craves levity right now. Anything.] I'd be thoroughly embarrassed to go dozing off in front of poor Sorawo for a second time.

[divineth]

So sayeth the man who would not suffer to let me leave the bed whilst I recovered from mine own injuries. Thou wilt allow me to care for thee how I may, I prithee.

[Sure, his injuries made it a lot harder to move around, but still. Thancred lost an arm and an eye. That's even worse.

But with that, he does lighten up enough to smile at Thancred.]

It doth bring me great relief to see thee so attentive.

[heartofcorundum]

[Ah, touche. There's a slight rueful tintnto his smile back.]

In no small part to Nala and Nozomi's efforts, as well as Yugamu and Victor. Really, all I feel now is tantamount to exhaustion. [His arm aches something awful, sure, but there wasn't much he could do about that anymore.]

To think I was just joking of missing my eye covering only a week or two ago... perhaps I should stop while I'm ahead.

[divineth]

Full glad am I for them. All of them.

[They're also the reason why he recovered so quickly from his incident in England.

That part about Thancred's eye, though... Urianger sighs. Talk about manifesting destiny in all the wrong ways...]

Pray, see that thou dost. I would prefer thee to retain the rest of thy body where it is.

[He holds his gaze on the gaudy new eye patch, reflecting on times past.]

Ne'er did I expect thee to lose that eye again...and with such permanence.

[heartofcorundum]

Considering that I do very much still like my body, then I will have to agree.

[Mmm. But he tips his gaze back up towards the ceiling again.]

I'd accepted the loss when I realized it was necessary. Something I knew I've lived without before.

But what I thought was acceptable didn't matter.

[divineth]

[Didn't matter...? Thancred doesn't want to just sit here and rest, so Urianger presses on that.]

What...led to all of this loss? I recall hearing of you all paying a price. What happened?

[heartofcorundum]

[Y'shtola is asking for similar, and he would rather both hear. If Sorawo interjects, all the better. rip nala So he waits until he has both their attentions properly, before he starts.]

Mm. A trial, is what I was told.

It must have been sometime this morning we were snatched up. Stuck in a room of nothing but white as far as one could see, looping in on itself no matter what way one walked. Only three doors stood there, with plaques like that at the museum.

Three doors, and the six of us. Two to a door was the only way to open them, and we had no other way forward.

Entering gave no problem. Progressing, however? It required a price.

[divineth]

...Aye. I remember thy disappearance well.

[So much for their lazy little morning.

But he goes on to listen from there, brow furrowed.]

And how was the price determined?

[heartofcorundum]

Call it a gut feeling of sorts, whenever we tried to leave our close quarters. Any further door entered, we either had to leave something behind, bring something with us, or take something from someone else.

"Something", we learned, had to be a part of ourselves. Our body. Our memories. Our wishes. We had none of our items, and in the case of Anaxagoras and I, we came across very little to take of material value in our surroundings.

We also knew, inherently, that each price offered would compound. And that, no matter what, there was no turning back.

[divineth]

[...

He lowers his gaze.]

I cannot begin to imagine how such inherent feelings must have felt in the moment.

How many doors didst thou encounter?

[Was it just Thancred's eye and arm lost...?]

[heartofcorundum]

For a blessing, our path only led us through two.

My first I offered the sense of sight, hoping it would only blind me. But my eye was taken fully instead.

The second, I offered only a finger from my left hand. I lost three. [And yet that is the arm that is now fully missing.]

I know not what Anaxagoras offered for the second door. But the first...

[...]

We found a child, within the first room. Their name was Finis.

Anaxagoras wished to take them as equivalent for his price, and it was accepted.