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Post by leonyr on Mar 19, 2009 5:28:13 GMT -5
All of this was beyond Leo's experience and he wanted to shout with frustration and fear. Instead he carefully put his arms around Dyona to lift her onto Brynd's broad back. His mother held her steady whilst he climbed up behind her and then he put an arm around her waist. She was so thin, he realized. When had she gotten so thin? "I'll take her back now," he said to Narym. "We need to get her somewhere safe where she can't hurt herself."
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Caedyona
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Caedyona ~ Life and Truth
Posts: 174
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Post by Caedyona on Mar 19, 2009 7:06:49 GMT -5
Dyona felt Leonyr put his arms around her to lift her up, and felt her breath catch for just a moment. In a split second, she remembered everything, but it was gone before she could open her mouth to say anything. Instead, her whistling song faltered as she sat carefully abroad Brynd's back. Narym held her gently in place, and Caedyona sang to her as she did so, sending her thanks and love back. She didn't think it would be understood, but did so without holding back. Leo climbed up and once again wrapped his arms around her, but this time there was no flash of recognition, her song continued unfaltering, as she listened to the strange humans speak to each other.
Dyona searched the sky, her eyes flashing as she did so. To soar, higher than the clouds, once more. To bring the rain to the ground, on her tail, to feel her claws dig into her dinner...her hands instinctively clenched on Leo's arm wrapped tightly around her. It was so...other...and yet it was something that she knew vividly from her past experiences. It was both memory and thought. Her legs tightened slightly around the dragon's back as she leaned back into Leo's arms, a strangely human thing to do for a phoenix. In but a moment...they would be airborne...
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Post by narym on Mar 19, 2009 12:57:13 GMT -5
Narym fought back tears at Leo's distress. She could feel the fear and worry emanating from him and she saw unshed tears in his eyes. That a warrior would feel such pain showed her how much he loved Dyona. As she walked the few paces to Fallow, she listened to the strange song the elf sang. It was familiar and yet foreign at the same time. Yet it gave her hope. She watched silently as Brynd took off with his precious passengers and then she climbed onto Fallow to fly in their wake. She would get to the castle first and call on anyone available to help them. Lily was intuitive, maybe she could help. The air was warm and still. Usually she would enjoy this flying weather, but today she was too worried to appreciate it. Fallow overtook Brynd and they were soon circling the castle.
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Post by leonyr on Mar 19, 2009 14:02:09 GMT -5
Leo held Dyona closely. He could feel her thin body thru her clothes. Again he asked himself how had she gotten so thin? How could he not have noticed sooner? His heart ached for her. He couldn't bear this alienation and he had no idea how to contact her brother for help. He leaned forward and nuzzled her neck hoping the familiar gesture would strike a chord with her. Her hair smelled of lavendar and earth and he breathed in the scent of her. He tightened his hold and readied himself for the landing.
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Post by lilyrose on Mar 19, 2009 14:11:33 GMT -5
Lily waited anxiously in the courtyard. Narym had sent her a message in her mind and she had hurried out to wait for Narym and Leo to arrive. What was happening to Dyona? Narym's message had been vague but urgent. Where had the elf been all this time? Something dreadful must have happened to her to make Leo so worried. She saw the dragons circle the castle and waved. Trust Merlin and Kaden to be away at the moment, just when they were needed. And Cass was on walkabout with Cody and Seb. The castle was lonely at the moment and there was no one to call on. She just hoped that one vampire's help would be enough!
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Caedyona
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Caedyona ~ Life and Truth
Posts: 174
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Post by Caedyona on Mar 25, 2009 8:21:59 GMT -5
Dyona watched Fallow circle just across from Brynd in the sky, as she leaned back into Leonyr's embrace. She could feel his arms tucked tightly around her, and felt something trying to break through her confusion. She closed her eyes for a second, just letting the wind push into her and fill her with clean fresh air, and for a moment, she felt she was floating, just outside herself, watching everything around her. Her spirit self was shaking it's finger at her, it's ghostly words echoing in her ears, "You have to remember! You have to tell them!" She struggled to ask back, "Tell them what?" but the figure was already fading before she could form the words.
Her light blue eyes opened in time to see the ground coming up towards them, and Dyona felt herself brace for impact as her mind slowly cleared. Her whistling was no longer a direct song, it was bits and pieces of of the Phoenix's song, and as she looked back at Leo, it fell to silence. "Leo?? How did I get here?" She looked around cautiously, catching sight of Lily Rose watching from the ground, and started to wave to her but stopped as something unusual happened...
Her left hand rose up from where it lay gently on Leo's forearm, and her eyes unintentionally followed it. She waved quickly, right then left, and paused as she realized that it's image was blurred in her sight. Little trailers of hand and light seemed to trail just behind where her hand had been, making it seem as though for a second she'd had two, no three hands. Maybe more, but she didn't want to think about that. Her right hand came up to her forehead, as her eyes flickered closed, and if she'd looked, those same little light tremors would have been present every time she moved. Her eyes closed, right hand gently covering her eyes and her left hand once again clutching Leo's arm, she shook her head delicately, before speaking, "I don't understand...how did we get in the air?" She was waiting for his response when she remembered what she was supposed to tell them, "The Well! The Well!" It was more a gasp than a cry, "Oh, dear stars, Leo! The Well has been poisoned." She almost fell off of Brynd as the landed, even though his landing was flawless, the slight jar from landing coupled with her memory was just too much. She could feel darkness seeping in through the corners of her eyes, and could see the tunnel before her...if she let herself, she'd faint. Slow deep breaths kept her on the brink of that edge, she hadn't fainted, but all the sounds around her took on a tinny quality, as though everyone was so much further away than what they should be, and her grip on Leo's arm had turned bloodless white as she struggled to stay concious, and coherent...
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Post by leonyr on Mar 25, 2009 13:08:59 GMT -5
Leo was startled from his frightened thoughts as Dyona spoke his name. His tightened his hold on her and felt a thrill as she put her hand on his arm. Then he realized that she was struggling with something and called Brynd to land quickly. He caught her deftly, echoing " The well? Poisoned? Dyona don't faint now, keep your eyes on me. Focus." He held her up and gripped her arms as tightly as he could without hurting her. "Focus on me a ghra."
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Post by lilyrose on Mar 25, 2009 13:13:12 GMT -5
Not being an expert on dragons, she wasn't certain, but Lily thought that Brynd landed a bit quicker than was intended. She ran swiftly to Leo's side. "Dyona?" she said breathlessly. " Are you alright? Leo, she's so pale!" She reached out to her friend. "She's frozen, let's get her inside quickly!"
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Post by narym on Mar 25, 2009 13:18:34 GMT -5
Narym slipped from Fallow's back and ran to join her son and friends. "Leo, how is she?" She put her arms around the elfs shoulders awkwardly, Dyona was a few inches taller than she was. "Gods, she's shaking! Leo pick her up and we'll take her to the infirmary!" She ran inside the castle, wishing the other occupants were around. She reached the infirmary, switched on the lights and hurried to make a bed ready.
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Post by leonyr on Mar 25, 2009 13:22:24 GMT -5
Leo ran behind his mother, holding Dyona in his arms. "Stay with me my love," he said with an anguished voice. "Focus. We'll soon have you warm and comfortable and then you can tell us what's happened." She was too light. He would rather struggle to hold her than feel her this frail. "I love you," he whispered over and over until he reached the infirmary, Lily close on his heels.
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Caedyona
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Caedyona ~ Life and Truth
Posts: 174
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Post by Caedyona on Mar 27, 2009 0:18:20 GMT -5
Dyona could hear the fear in her friends voices, and she struggled to stay on her feet and to keep her eyes open as they neared her. The smile that was intended to be reassuring, instead wasn't, and she stumbled as she tried to stand steadily beside Brynd. Before she knew what was happening, Leo had already picked her up and was headed towards the castle, Lily Rose trotting along beside them. Her eyes started to slide closed and though she tried to fight it, it felt as though leaded weights were attatched to her lashes. She was running out of time, and it was so important. She took a slow deep breath, as she started to speak, "The Well. I don't know how they did it. But it's poisoned. The Well of Magic. It's in the grove. Our trees, they'll be the first to feel the effects...but more. It will spread. It will...it will..." Flashes of light and color flickered behind her eyes as she struggled to stay herself for a few more moments, "Change the nature." Her hand grabbed Leo's shirt, breaking an overgrown fingernail in the process as she struggled to lean towards Leo and Lily, to see them, her eyes flashed open as she continued, "Do you understand? It will change the nature of magic. Her eyes caught sight of Fallow and Brynd peeking through the closing door that they had entered, and she shuddered so hard she could feel Leo struggle to hold on to her, "Don't fly them. I don't know...their magic is in their blood...I don't know how they did it, Leo." She fell back into his arms, almost exhausted beyond her ability to be coherent, and had a sudden thought.
As quickly as she could, she sent bursts of images to the dragons, hoping they would understand, The Well near the Grove where the elven trees grew, and how to get there, if they had to. The last time she'd seen it, she'd gone to commune with her tree, to dance the dance of falling leaves, and had seen the strangeness, the animals which weren't right anymore. Half pig half wolven things which strutted around and tried to eat themselves. The trees, their leaves falling, but no new growth to replace them as what should be. The phoenix, it's fire burning it, as it should, but not to ashes, leaving a weeping bird where the proud phoenix should have been. The color of the water, not clear, bright, sunlit, but instead murky, green, things floating and swimming in it which were neither dream nor nightmare, but some combination of the two. And the kindred she'd seen, the brownies no longer the mischievous creatures they had always been, but instead a warped image of their own specific beauty. Her entire body shuddered with the effort that she used to send those pictures to the dragons, but she didn't know how much time she had. Almost suddenly, she felt empty, felt her reserves of herself fluttering away, and relaxed into Leo's embrace.
Her voice was almost unheard, nothing but a soft whisper before a dream takes over, as she was carried closer to the infirmary, "I love you, Leo. I don't know how to fix it. Maybe...maybe the crystal of the sprites..." Felt the image form in her mind, but didn't have the energy to send it to the dragons, felt it fade away from her as everything began to blur again. "My name is Caedyona...My name is Cae...Dolona...no...not right. My name is Cae...Baasadie...Baaaa sadie." Her voice changed subtley as her memory of who she was fell away from her. "Baaa..." She looked around, wondering how she'd gotten into the building, suddenly afraid of being carried upside down, and away from her flock. Where was her flock? "Baaa?" She was shivering, but couldn't understand why, if she was supposed to be covered in wool. Sheep were almost always covered in wool, and almost never inside castles. And this was very wrong. Suddenly struggling against Leo's arms, she felt her eyes go wide with fear. The only time sheep went inside castles...they didn't come out. "Baaa!" And who were these strange people around her? Where there dragons too? Was she to be fed to the dragons? Her fear increased as she continued to take stock of where she was...
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Post by fallow on Mar 27, 2009 9:51:17 GMT -5
Did you get all of that? Fallow asked Brynd in astonishment. Do you feel anything like the elf maiden described? The blue dragon stretched his wings to their full width and flapped them. He felt alright, but that didn't mean he was.
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Post by leonyr on Mar 27, 2009 10:00:25 GMT -5
"Dyona!" Leo almost sobbed her name. He tried to keep all that she had said in his mind, but it was so garbled. Brynd was talking to him at the same time. He thought he would go mad. Now she was struggling in his arms, making a noise like a sheep. The magic well poisoned? It will change the nature of magic? How? They had to get Dyona back to her true self so that she could explain. But if her Tree was already affected then so was she by connection. Well, his mother was the best Mystic Warrior he knew. If they both tried together then surely.......................? He managed to get Dyona into the infirmary. Narym was readying a bed for her and he was daunted by the worry in her eyes. He looked at her anxiously. "Mother, I need to tell you what she said. We must help her, only she can explain what's happening!"
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Post by narym on Mar 27, 2009 10:11:52 GMT -5
"I know what she said," Narym answered her son. "Fallow told me. I don't know what to make of it all. We need a mind connection Leo." She saw the conflicting emotions run across his face. Mind connections were a last resort for Mystic Healers because they were invasive. But she had no idea how else they could reach the elf. "Lily, if Leo and I both try to connect with Dyona, I will need you to keep vigilant. If there is any sign of trouble, you must sever our connection straight away." She smiled lightly at Lily's worried look. "Don't worry, you will know if there is any trouble!" She looked at her friend. Leo was trying to get her to lie down on the bed, but she was struggling and making animal noises. She lay a hand on Dyona's head. "Hush now mavourneen, hush now."
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Post by leonyr on Mar 27, 2009 10:31:09 GMT -5
"Wouldn't we be better off trying to get to the Well? If we can cure the poison, then we'd have a better chance that Dyona will recover by herself." Leo was grasping at straws, but this seemed the best option. He had connected with Dyona before, when she took him to see her Tree. But this time it would be more invasive and his mother would be with him. It could send her past the point of no return. He looked down at the elf he loved. "Dyona my love, what should we do?" he whispered.
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