RP:Badger Kit Snot

Part of the Agitation Arc

Summary: Callamyre, Josleen, and Pilar discuss the recent events in Xalious, as well as an opportunity for Callamyre tutor Ansel in the healing arts. The pupil-to-be arrives just as Pilar's badger begins sneezing and coughing up black ooze. Callamyre dedicates herself to saving the moore creature, but can only put him in a suspended state until someone with more knowledge of his ailment can treat him. During her study, Callamyre discovers that the dark magic has attached itself to the badger's soul.

The Dancing Destrier

Josleen rushes into the tavern looking slightly panicked. She turns towards Callamyre’s table and glances across its surface quickly before locking eyes with the freckled stranger. “Have you seen a ring? Silver band with leaves engraved in it.” The woman looks pale and thin in an obviously sickly way. A turtleneck sweater dress half covers a piece of gauze adhered to the side of her neck. She crouches femininely, knees pressed together and bent to the side. Her hand grips the table for balance as she looks near Callamyre’s feet.

Pilar turned to look for the cause of the ruckus and saw the woman by the door with her massive quantity of books. She had barely begun to ponder the consequences of approaching when another woman appeared from outside. This woman didn't seem to be in very good shape. Even from across the room, Pilar could see that. She heard the woman's question, but the frantic way it was spoken made it hard for the foreigner to understand. Something about a ring? Pilar wished she could help, but was not the type to approach strangers. She'd been chastised enough for that sort of thing, so she stayed where she was, but listened, just in case.

Callamyre had only just begun to search through the books for one in particular when Josleen came into the tavern, immediately deserving of her attention. “What? A ring?” she started. “No, I am afraid I have not …” The vampire looked up from her books toward Josleen properly, her gaze lingering on the gauze that bound the stranger’s neck, before rising to her face. “Are you … are you quite alright, miss?” Rising from her chair, she pushed it back with a kick of her boot, thus giving Josleen more room to search if need be. “Do you need any help?” As of yet, the scholar had not paid much attention to Pilar except to consider the fact that another creature much like herself was in the room. Due to Josleen’s apparent state, much of her attention was on her.

Josleen remains oblivious to the presence of vampires. Callamyre and Pilar are just really, really, abnormally pretty. Duh. Not that Josleen has gotten a good look at Pilar. Her gaze searches the floor instead. “Oh gods… was it stolen?” Not likely. It was silver with no gems. Callamyre asks after her health and the bard’s nose wrinkles in confusion at first, then she remembers how she looks. The fatigue has been so constant she only notices it when it peaks these days. “Oh. Oh yes, I’m fine. I’m fine. Thank you. Old wound. I’m recovering.” Callamyre and Pilar may have noticed on their way into the The Dancing Destrier that the cobblestones in the square have been torn up and are currently being replaced by villagers, and a ten-foot wide by 3-foot deep crater near the square’s edge has recently been blasted into the earth. The books and Callamyre’s medical inquiry remind Josleen that the local clinic is expecting a visiting doctor soon, and she asks, “Oh, are you Dr. Alison Feeney? I’m Josleen. We exchanged letters. I work at the clinic.”

Pilar didn't completely believe Josleen's insistence that she was fine. She had only just noticed the gauze on her neck, and combined with her pallor, Pilar feared the poor woman might have had a run-in with a vampire. She was distracted by this thought by a light clinking sound. She turned and looked at her little badger kit and noticed that he was gnawing on something shiny. "Ai, no, escupe ese fuera!" she cried. When the badger ignored her, she knelt down and pulled the object from his mouth herself. It appeared to be a small ring. She looked back at Josleen. Wiping the ring down, she approached the woman. "Uh, um... excuse me. You are looking for something, yes? Is this it?"

Callamyre narrowed her hazel gaze at Josleen's insistence that she was alright, but it was the woman's own questions which earned her a softened expression once more. "What? No ... Oh, Josleen? Yes, we have spoken -- Doctor Callamyre na Trough--" After that correction, she straightened a bit more and looked toward the approaching Pilar. "Oh -- well, there you go, is that it?" The scientist turned her gaze over toward Pilar properly, giving the stranger a quick but thorough once-over before returning her attention to Josleen, awaiting the other's confirmation.

“Doctor Calla-?” Josleen turns when Pilar calls on her attention, and she makes the motions as if to squeal in delight, but no sound escapes her throat save for a pathetic whistle-hiss. She’s still too weak to depend on her voice reliably, and it fails her often. “Yes, yes it is. Oh I could hug you.” But she won’t because hugging strangers is weird. She takes the ring and slips it on her too-thin finger. Blame her unhealthy weight loss for the ring’s disappearance in the first place. “Must have slipped right off. It was my grandmother’s. Thank you.” She takes a step back to open the social circle to include Pilar now, should the woman wish to stay. To Callamyre she says, “I’m glad you made it. Things here have worsened, and I have a more personal proposal to run by you as well.” Pause. “When you have the time. I don’t want to impose on your work.” She nods to the books indicatively.

Pilar dipped her head cordially. "You are welcome." She remained staring at the ground, awkwardly standing there. She had been considering asking Callamyre if she was a mage of some sort, but now thought it wasn't the best time. Now that she was closer, however, she took the time to examine the women a little more closely. Josleen was beautiful, to be sure, and her beauty was only slightly tempered by her ill health. Callamyre was rather lovely as well, with long legs and the cutest freckles. Pilar sighed softly.

Callamyre took a half-step back as well, giving room to Pilar as she turned her attention back to Josleen. "Have they?" the woman began. "Oh, that is most unsettling. You will have to fill me in -- I have been in Frostmaw, and things are not going so well there either." The woman paused, thoughtful and a bit introspective a moment, before she nodded. "Yes, well, -- wait, no, you needn't wait." She waved a hand over the table of books, most of which she'd taken from the local libraries along with a few containing her own notes; each of them seemed somehow linked to necromatic magicks, although Calla was not herself a tinkerer of the dark arts. "I am here at your disposal, Josleen," the brunette went on to say with a half-smile. "Impose away." It was only after leaving the invitation open to Josleen that Calla turned her hazel-gold eyes in Pilar's direction once more. "Would you both like to join me?" Her table could more than accommodate the three of them, and she began to corral the books into a haphazard pile on her end of the table. "I would be delighted to have some company."

Josleen smiles at Callamyre’s graciousness and takes a seat at the table. “I have a specialist in the dark arts aiding me as well. Her name is Lady Larewen Dragana, a noble woman from Vailkrin. With your expertise and hers, I am sure we’ll get to the bottom of this.” When Callamyre invites Pilar to join them, the bard hesitates. The investigation has made her quite paranoid and suspicious. Who’s friend? Who’s foe? “Excuse me for being forward,” she says to Pilar, “but who are you? The topic is not too sensitive, but sensitive enough that my hand is forced so rudely to ask.”

Pilar was a little taken aback by the mention of Larewen, and again by the inquiry into her name. "S-sorry... I am called Pilar. Nice to meet you." She curtsied respectfully before taking a seat. "And, I am sorry, but did you say you know Larewen Dragana? Have you seen her?" Her benefactor had been missing for some time, and Pilar was starting to worry. "She is my... what is the word? She lets me live in her house."

Callamyre didn't know this Lady Dragana, but when Pilar spoke up, the scholar took note of the different associations the two women had with the absent third. "I see," she began, thoughtful and quiet. "I have not had the pleasure of meeting her, but I look forward to sharing what I learn with her ..." However, contrary to her vampirism, she would not be traveling to Vailkrin anytime soon to meet with this mysterious woman. To Pilar, she grinned another fangless grin. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Pilar." The woman took her seat once the others were in their own respective chairs, rearranging her books and the still-untouched glass of water. Turning to Josleen, the scholar queried, "What is this other business you spoke of?"

Josleen smiles cordially at Pilar’s mutual acquaintance with Larewen, though the smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes now that she knows Pilar is a vampire. Ding, ding, ding. Detective Josleen is a bit lax on spotting physical evidence, but great at deduction. “I haven’t seen Lady Dragana in weeks and was beginning to wonder what has delayed her arrival in Xalious. I do hope she is well.” Callamyre starts with the low-hanging fruit first, which Josleen appreciates. How many times has she recapped the strange events in Xalious? It’s getting difficult to keep the facts and chronology straight. “Ah, yes, it’s for a—” She hesitates then says, “friend” with suggestive undertones that make clear the mystery person is more than a friend. The bard pauses to order a glass of water from a passing waitress, who lingers to take Pilar’s order as well. Josleen continues. “He’s a healer, was an apprentice to Eleenin in Frostmaw until recently. He’s looking for a new instructor. Have you any experience teaching?”

Pilar excused the waitress without ordering anything. As she sat and listened to the conversation, she felt something nudge her foot. She looked down to see her little badger kit vying for her attention. She scooted her chair out a little and lifted the critter onto her lap. She stroked his soft fur affectionately. The little badger sneezed and a bit of dark mucus came out. Pilar grimaced and wiped it away with a napkin from the table.

Callamyre was attentive but quiet as Josleen addressed Pilar, each earning her hazel gaze in turn. When the former addressed -her- instead, her lips twitched in a faint smile at her words. "Ah, I see, well, as a matter of fact, I have taught at a university level, but ... not necessarily in the healing arts." She smiled more fully, and went on to clarify, "I taught sciences, biology ... zoology ... I suppose I could apply those to helping pass on what I have learned about basic surgery and ... uh." She cleared her throat with an apologetic smile. "Autopsies, if ... this friend of yours is interested." Beat. "May I ask who this is?" Before she heard a reply, Pilar's furry friend earned a curious glance, and her lips curled warmly. "Aw, what a curious little creature." She had seen badgers before, but never a domesticated one, much less a kit. Josleen was given her attention once more, though, and the science waited patiently for a response.

Josleen smirks at the badger kit. Strange pet, but perhaps there’s stranger out there. Her attention returns to Callamyre promptly; Josleen likes animals but was never the type to lose her cool over them. “I believe you’ve met once some time ago in Cenril. Ansel.” She smiles at the name and gauges Callamyre’s reaction for anything peculiar or nuanced. She idly scratches the border of the gauze on her neck. The adhesive itches terribly. “He took care of this.” Meaning the wound.

Pilar 's gaze went once more to Josleen's throat, and she almost asked the origin of the injury. However, she felt that it wasn't her place. And besides, what good would it have done? What, was she going to apologize on behalf of vampires everywhere if it was a bite? She instead pondered the source of her little buddy's sneeze. Was he getting sick, or was it simply dust? There certainly was plenty of that by these old books.

Callamyre | Recognition came immediately to the vampire, and she nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, yes, yes, I recall." She nodded again. "I trust he is, uh ... doing better than last I saw him." The woman paused, then, contemplating the arrangement, and yet again, she nodded. "I would be happy to tutor him. I am in need of an assistant anyway." Beat. "Yes, he will do quite nicely ... so long as he does not make a habit out of needing stitches himself." She gave Josleen a knowing smile. "May I take a look?" Callamyre paused, then, as her gaze settled on the woman's gauzework. "I mean, that is to say ... if it is alright with you."

Josleen nods and leans in towards Callamyre to give her access of her neck. “I was stabbed by a dagger,” she explains, unwittingly satisfying Pilar’s curiosity as well. The wound is clean and healing slowly, but neatly. Some sort of magical stitch fused the flesh together. “The stitching magic is not Ansel’s, but another doctor he summoned. He has some ability to stitch by magic, but needs to develop that skill further, I believe. You’d have to ask him for the details.” She Pilar warily to see if the wound inspires a predatory interest. The bard remains oblivious to Callamyre’s nature.

Pilar cringed at the sight of the wound, being a squeamish sort. She looked at Josleen with sympathy. "Oh, how awful... Who would do such a terrible thing?" If she noticed Josleen's suspicions, she didn't react to them.

Callamyre, it would seem, was the one to reveal herself, even if she had not planned to; the sight of that wound brought a faint golden glimmer to her gaze, but she blinked it away with a curious frown. "I see," she murmured, leaning toward Josleen to better view the wound. "Do you recall the doctor's name?" The magickal stitchwork intrigued her, and she gave the wound another once-over before leaning back into her chair once more. "When was this?" Pilar's questions mirrored her own thoughts, and she glanced briefly toward the fledgeling before returning her hazel-gold gaze to Josleen.

Josleen is looking at Pilar when Callamyre’s eyes glow golden, and thus remains oblivious to the good doctor’s vampirism. She answers Pilar. “An assassin was sent after me. Fermin.” Then to Callamyre she explains, “I believe related to the events that have been occurring here. The attempt took place perhaps 10 days ago?” The wound looks about a week old. This magical healing isn’t spectacular by any stretch. “I don’t know the doctor’s name. You’d have to ask Ansel.”

Pilar bit her lip. An assassin? What could have been going on that this nice lady had an assassin sent after her? Before she could ask, her badger started coughing. She leaned down to inspect him. "Are you alright, mi... Oh..." She noticed a bit of black ooze dribbling from the kit's nose. "Ugh, qué asco..."

Callamyre frowned sharply. "An assassin?" Beat. "Fermin, you say? Oh dear ... oh dear oh dear ..." The wheels in the scientist's brain starting whirring to life as she considered all she knew of the recent goings-on, and as she did, that frown grew even more sharp. "Yes, I will have to speak with Ansel ..." The woman sighed, pensive, and looked down at her books and notes, but any train of thought she had was interrupted by the kit's coughing fit. "Huh?" Calla lifted her gaze once more, this time to look curiously toward the badger, her senses immediately picking up the presence of that black ooze. "Oh, my dear ... your badger ... Is he alright?"

Josleen mirrors Callamyre’s frown. The more she talks about the assassination attempt the more she’s reminded of its horrors. She sips her water nervously and tries to think of something else. The badger kit’s nose mercifully takes the attention off her near death experience. Eyes narrow at the ooze and the bard leans into Pilar for a better look at the kit. “Don’t touch that. It’s corrosive. Well, it wasn’t on first contact, but burnt me on second exposure. It’s not stable, and I can’t predict what would happen if you touch it.” She rubs at her collarbone in an anxious tic. “This is not good for your pet, miss. But I am not sure what you can do for him.”

Pilar looked up at Josleen with wide, sad eyes. "What is this... this... What is wrong with him?" How did she know so much about this ooze? Did it have something to do with these "events" that had been alluded to? She had only just found the little kit, but the thought of losing him broke her heart. She held the little critter close.

Ansel wanders in the Destrier, he was very protective of Josleen after the attack that had been sent. The man was away so she could do her business, yet now he was back to fetch the woman. Well, if she wanted to go. She wore the pants – well, sometimes. Ansel was waiting at her hands and feet for her. The man spies the woman from his peripheral vision, moving over to almost rest a hand on her shoulder, but refrains due to strangers. His hand twitches and he smoothly acts as if he is running his hand through his hair. Eyes flick to Pilar, to the almost familiar Callamyre and then to the badger kit that had oozing out the nose. His face twists before he speaks from behind Josleen. “Hello, Josleen,” he nods firmly as if he was just a friend. He hated that he had to play this role, but it must do.

Callamyre was keenly observant, and as Ansel opportunely wandered in, she passed a knowing -- and completely understanding -- gaze toward Josleen, before focusing once more on the badger kit. "Oh dear," she breathed again, rising from her chair. As she did so, she sent a curious glance toward Ansel again, although this time she was a bit more scrutinizing of him if he was to become her pupil. She nodded to the wolf, and moved around the table to where Pilar sits. Crouching down beside her, she wanted to be level with the kit, her hazel eyes with with intrigue. "Has he been doing this for long? What has he come in contact with recently?" Although she heeded Josleen's warnings of the ooze itself, she reached forward tentatively -- but not with the intention of touching the creature, or the suspicious ooze. Instead, those sensitive to magick would sense her attempting to perceive its origins, touching it magickally rather than physically. Looking up at Pilar, she added, gentler, "Does he have a name?"

Josleen shrugs helplessly at Pilar’s question. “I’m only have a theory, and no way to prove it, but… I believe the black ooze is magical decay from dark magic spells that haven’t been properly cast or completed.” Josleen eyes the way Pilar hugs the badger closer and adopts a firmer tone. “Like I said, it burnt me once, and I’ve seen it burn others.” One of those others arrives now! Things burning on Ansel: his ears. “Hey, ba-b, bansel. Ansel.” Smoooooooth. She smiles up at him, and the softness in her stare gives them away. She’s been bad playing the part of ‘the friend’ since the assassination attempt. She fatigues easy, her mind clouds, and, frankly, the way Ansel has behaved since then has her honeymooning hardcore. “We were just talking about you. You remember Callamyre. This is Pilar. Join us?” The empty seat is across from Josleen. Callamyre’s magical scan may reveal a failed summoning spell, just as Josleen says “I believe the were trying to summon something.” The bard has been doing her homework. Callamyre would further discover something else, of course, that Josleen could not discover. And here’s where this arc gets cool: ad libbing. Anything Callamyre invents about the magic right now will become canon in the arc. Larewen ad-libbed ancient dark magic, the villains are necromancers reviving The Order of the Shade. Hudson ad-libbed the summoning spell, intended creature still unknown. Linn ad-libbed the magical decay element of the ooze. Your turn, Calla!

Pilar 's eyes were starting to grow wet, now. "D-Darmani... He is called Darmani..." She cursed herself for being such a crybaby and wiped the tears away. "Th-this started only today, now. He... he ate worms, tried to eat Doña Josleen's ring..." She couldn't think of anything else that he might have touched. She looked at Josleen. "Magical... decay?" She'd never heard of such a thing. Little Darmani sneezed again, splattering Pilar's hand with ooze. This was the second time she'd come into contact with it, the first being when she initially wiped the ooze away. As such, the gunk burned. Pilar yelped and shook her hand, away from the others at the table, of course. The gunk stuck to her hand, so she grabbed a napkin to wipe it off.

Ansel raises his brows amusingly at Josleen’s failed attempt at being “smooth”. He is not worried, it’s her life, and he was just following orders so he can remain in it with her. The man looks at Callamyre. “Right, hello,” he is a little uncomfortable, due to the situation that they met in, and who knew if she remembered him and his hand lingers on the back of his neck idly. As for Pilar, he sends a nod her way. “Aye, pleasure,” before moving attention to the badger. “That looks like that black ooze we discovered before,” he squints as he begins to come around and sit down with the group, across from the woman. Then again, it seems that Josleen had already mentioned something, so the man would now just lean back, fold his arms, and listen carefully.

Callamyre 's hazel gaze shifted from Josleen to Pilar, to Ansel, and then back to Pilar. "Darmani, is it?" Once again, Josleen snared her attention, and the woman's hazels briefly turned more gold; she swallowed, blinking, and frowned even sharper than before. "Magickal ... oh no--" Suddenly, she felt far too aware of what was going on, and misplaced guilt weighed on her shoulders; she had been trying to prevent that very thing with her own experiments on a pair of iron wristbands. Focusing once more on the ooze, her lashes fluttered, and she exhaled slowly. "Summon ... something, yes, dark, uh ... Could this be?" Beat. "Wait -- A brooch? Krice--" The woman's voice became thick at the name, but she quickly moved past it. "He has ... the most extraordinary artifact that just ... well, -oozes- with dark energies." The box containing said brooch was left up in the room she was renting, and obviously not on her person to be able to show to Josleen. "He said it was ... the same symbol you had found previously ... " The badger's repeated sneezes earned the creature a frown, but it was Pilar who earned a sharper rendition. "Oh, darling, your hand!" Without further ado, she reached to her hip-pouch, and pulled out a small vial, wielding it with one hand while reaching for the fledgeling's hand with the other. "Here, let me take that from you."

Josleen blinks at being addressed as a Doña. She blinks a second time at Pilar’s tears. Oh dear. Losing a pet must be rough. Josleen wouldn’t know first hand aside from the odd goldfish. “Krice found the symbol! He told me it looked familiar to him.Lady Dragana identified it for me as well as belonging to an ancient necromantic sect called The Order of the Shade.” Josleen and homework get along well. “However, she has never come across one of the artifacts. You say Krice has one?” Then Pilar burns her hand, and Josleen twitches as if to leap to action (not that she’s looking particularly hale and heroic), but then remembers Callamyre has more skill here and sits back. She makes eye contact with Ansel and nods her head sideways to Callamyre. She and the wolf know each other well enough to have a crude, unspoken language between them. With that simple gesture he should (hopefully) know that Josleen wants him to pay close attention to Callamyre’s style to see if it jives with what he wants to learn, in line with what they discussed when contemplating Callamyre as potential tutor.

Pilar allowed Callamyre take the tainted napkin. She could not take her eyes off her poor Darmani. The little badger looked up at her, eyes glazed over. Pilar rubbed under his chin. She had no idea what anyone was even talking about, anymore, except that it sounded like there was no cure. She looked between the other three people, almost desperate, and asked, "There is... nothing? Nothing I can do?" She looked back down at the badger. Something had shifted in the little animal. A low growl could be heard in his throat. "D-Darmani?"

Ansel throws his glance at Callamyre once Josleen nods her head to do so. The man then begins to be patient as Callamyre begins to talk about the artifact with the strange symbol and dark entities. At the sneeze Ansel shifts slightly as Calla reaches forward to the napkin to see what she was doing, but as the badger begins to growl. “Eh…” He rises up slightly. “Do you think the ooze is affecting the critter?” He looks automatically to Callamyre.

Callamyre took the napkin, and carefully tucked it away in the vial, the vial then going back into her hip-pouch. Her gaze was sharply fixed on the growling creature. "Most peculiar ..." The first-hand effects of the ooze were intriguing, and she leaned forward cautiously. "You know," she said to no one in particularly, " ... I have been studying ways to extract magick from an item ... I ... I wonder ..." She looked up at Pilar, "May I?" Callamyre began to pull her gloves on, both literally and metaphorically, to better expose her hand to the creature, and the creature to the magick that she innate possessed. "I ... I would like to try and see if I can ... withdraw the ooze from him." Calla frowned, "I cannot guarantee its success ... or that it will not damage your friend ... but with your permission, I would like to try."

Josleen recognizes the fascinated scientist tone in Callamyre’s voice. It’s one her father often employs and a signal that things are about to get long-winded and geeky. As Callamyre tries to extract the ooze, with some amount of trial and error perhaps, the bard is fading quickly. The issue of saving the badger and dressing Pilar’s burn take center stage. The business of the Xalious calamities will need to be continued later. “I’ll leave you to it, Dr. na Trough. I’m struggling to stay present. Not yet fully recovered, I suppose.” She’s been out of bed for over six hours today, the most since the attack. She gathers her things — a man’s coat and her still-too-big purse — and stands. “Now that I know you’re in town I’ll call on you soon and we can go over everything.” She seems to wait for Ansel to stand before saying, “Best of luck to Darmani, Pilar. Take care of that burn. I hope we meet again. Until later, doctor.”

Pilar nodded to Callamyre. "Yes, you can try... Please..." As the doctor drew nearer, though, Darmani decided he was having none of it. He snapped at Callamyre's hands and growled. Pilar held the squirming kit as best she could. "Hush, Darmani!"

When Josleen moves, Ansel stands fully and walks around the table to her. The man wants to steady her, and his hand reaches for her again, his hand inching near her back, but he halts awkwardly. Alright, something was obviously going on between the two, but who cared? The man would then nod to the doctor silently and then gazing back at Pilar to send her a departing nod as well. “And I as well, besides, I’m walking in the same direction, and well, no one should be walking alone, aye?” He sighs before adding, “Have a nice evening.” He would then move towards the door, opening it so Josleen could exit out first.

Callamyre understood perhaps too well the situation Ansel and Josleen found themselves in, being in a similar, cautiously-secretive situation. She did give voice to her suspicions about them, however, out of respect and understanding. "Alright," she said to Josleen, "I hope that you take care of yourself." She looked pointedly at Ansel, then back to Josleen again. "It was very nice to finally meet you." Pilar had her full attention now after she nodded in good-bye to the duo, and although Darmani was resistant to their apparent plan, the doctor was eternally patient. "Alright, then ..., if that is the way you want to be ..." Trailing off, Callamyre fixed her hazel-gold stare on the creature, and reached forward with both hands, using a mixture of her empathy to calm him as well as her vampiric gift of hypnotism to mildly sedate him. "There, there," she cooed. "Ssh, it's alright, little one." Quickly, before the magick wore off, she thrust her hands toward the badger kit, her gaze narrowing and a frown of concentration spreading across her lips. The woman's eyes became brighter, seeming to possess their own source of light now as she searched within the creature's slight frame for the source of the ooze. Her breathing quickened. She grunted. "C'mon," the woman growled. "Where are you ..." The creature jerked within her arms, attempting to escape the sudden pain that wracked its body. "Aha! Pilar, hold him steady now!"

Pilar held onto the creature with all of her vampiric strength. He thrashed around as Callamyre worked and started shrieking loudly, drawing stares from the staff and the other patrons. The badger whipped his head around and his sharp teeth found Pilar's burned hand. The vampire cried out in pain, and the badger squirmed from her grasp and landed on the floor. It made a break for the door but, not willing to lose her precious baby so easily, Pilar dove after him. A bleeding hand found the scruff of his neck and her arm wrapped around his body. She didn't want to hurt the poor thing, but some tough love was in order.

Callamyre scrambled to her feet after the creature fled their respective grasps. "Watch out, don't let it bite you--" she warned, stumbling over her feet in order to catch up to Pilar. With the kit once more within its owner arms, Calla huffed out a sigh. "We are not done yet, little one ..." Her expression softened, and she added, "We can try again ... but ... I may have to put him asleep first." The woman looked up at Pilar. "It is up to you, my dear."

Pilar grit her teeth as the badger fought to free himself. "Y-Yes... do what you need... to save him." The badger tried to bite at her again, but this time he couldn't reach. He yowled in frustration.

Callamyre nodded to Pilar, understanding what she had to do in order to save the creature. “Alright … here we go … attempt … number … two--” This time, as the vampire laid her hands on the creature’s white and black fur, she closed her eyes, concealing the glow found therein. Drawing in a deep breath, she held Darmani’s head firmly between her hands, and began to hum. It was a silly tune she learned as a child, and acted as a conduit through which to deliver her empathic signals and vampiric hypnotism, albeit on a much stronger wave this time. The woman’s hands trembled, but she gripped the badger even tighter until at last it became limp in Pilar’s arms. “Aaahhwhew,” the woman breathed, withdrawing her hands. “That was the easy part.” She offered the other vampire an apologetic smile. “Here, let’s …” They were still in the inn, and she became quite aware suddenly of the wary eyes aimed toward them. “Let us … go up to my room.” Beat. “We will have more … privacy up there.” Just in case things did not go as planned, the fledgeling vampire could grieve in peace. “Come …,” she murmured, laying a hand on the woman’s shoulder briefly before withdrawing to scoop up her books. “It’s just through here …” The water remained on the table, still untouched by the vampire, who then guided Pilar and her pet through the main barroom and up the stairs to the second floor. Callamyre maneuvered her stack of books into one arm, using as little magick as possible to keep them from tumbling to the floor so that she could reserve her energy for the task to come -- saving the badger, if at all possible. “Come, quickly,” she encouraged, unlocking the door and urging the vampire to enter with a sweep of her free arm. The books were thrown haphazardly atop the bed, and Callamyre suggested, “You may lay him there, on the desk, if you like.” Once Pilar was safely in the room, she locked the door -- to keep people out much more likely than to keep people in. “Shall we get down to business? Let’s save your little friend here!”

Pilar seemed almost reluctant to let Darmani go, but she laid him down all the same. The badger's breathing was calm and his chest rose rhythmically. Pilar stroked his cheek before stepping back to allow Callamyre room to work.

Callamyre nodded to Pilar, then moved in on the badger kit. She was nervous, I mean, what if it didn’t work? What if she killed her new acquaintance’s pet by trying to save it? The woman breathed in slowly, flexing her fingers over the animal. “Alright,” she murmured to herself, “let us try this again.” Calla offered another nod to Pilar, before moving to place her cool hands on the animal’s fur again. Her touch was gentler this time, almost soothing as she stroked his fur. Her lashes fluttered, her eyes half-closed as she searched again for the source of the magickal decay. She could feel it. It burned, it burned, it burned; Calla gasped. She grit her teeth, breathing through her nose. “Gods damn it,” she hissed through her teeth. “Whoever … whoever did this …” Again, the vampire gasped, shaking her head stubbornly. “This poor thing … I can-- I can feel it--” Again, the woman was able to magickally locate the darkness inside the badger kit, and immediately the smell of sulfur began to permeate her room. Sulfur, rotten eggs … decomposing flesh. Images of maggot-ridden bodies flashed before the vampire’s gaze. “Something … is not …” With a startled yell, Callamyre stumbled backwards, quickly withdrawing her shaking hands. More ooze trickled from the creature’s moist nose, this time mixed with blood. Calla swayed on her feet, defeat weighing on her shoulders. “I … It is …” She tried to catch her breath, her expression betraying her loss. “Something is not right about that … It is--” It still burned her, even though the ooze had never touched her flesh. The woman knew all-too-well what magickal burns could do, and she instinctively raised a hand to her sternum, her own scars hidden from view. “I am … hesitant to try again...” The woman sighed, “But I do so want to help you.” Hazel-gold twins fixed on Pilar, as if waiting for the woman to decide what to do next. “It has locked onto his soul, the poor thing.” Beat. "I cannot get to it without help." Another beat. "We need someone ... or something strong ... someone stronger."

Pilar was quite distraught by Callamyre's reaction, and by the sight of blood. "A-Are you alright?" She asked, putting a hand out to steady the woman. When the prognosis was given, Pilar went to Darmani's side and picked him up. Clutching him to her, she rocked him back and forth and whispered something in her native tongue. The badger kit stirred, baring his teeth in his sleep. Pilar rubbed his cheek. "Where can we find a strong someone?"

Callamyre frowned, acutely susceptible to the pain Pilar expressed. “Yes, I -- I am well,” the woman stammered, giving her arms a shake as if to shrug off the dregs of magickal exertion. “Your pet, though --” Her expression softened. “He may sleep a while yet … I … I cannot pull the magick out of him on my own, but I may be able to … slow its progress, if nothing else … at least until we can figure something out.” The woman saw this as a puzzle meant to be solved as quickly as possible, but she was not ignorant to Pilar’s attachment to the badger kit. “I do not know where we can find someone stronger … but … I will see what I can figure out.” Beat. “Josleen would better know who to contact about this …” She frowned faintly. “I am afraid my contacts are limited.”

Pilar hugged the little badger tightly. "Please... whatever you can do..." As she allowed Calla to work, she added. "You can contact Doña Josleen, yes? Will you, please?" Darmani growled and whined, but did not wake. "Tell her... tell her she can find me where Doña Larewen lives, and I... I hope, if she is well enough, she can help." Pilar had not forgotten Josleen's condition. She didn't want to trouble someone who already had enough on her plate as it was.

Callamyre nodded in understanding to Pilar. “Alright … I am … I am going to put him in a sort of … well.” She blanched, her lips twisting in indecision. “In a suspended state … until we are able to find a cure.” The woman paused, considering the possible ramifications. Good thing she had recently fed, else she’d be nearing the end of her rope, as it were, as far as magickal exertions went. “Alright,” she repeated, placing her hands gently on the badger again. To Pilar, she added softly, “Please … do not be alarmed, Miss Pilar. We will figure it out. Together.” She nodded to the other vampire, attempting to soothe her and provide some comfort in the face of their dilemma. With a deep sigh, she moved her attention to the badger kit, and as she began to stroke his fur again, Pilar would undoubtedly notice that the creature’s breathing slowed more and more until it was almost as if he wasn’t breathing at all. He was peaceful, and still, within her arms. The ooze and blood ceased flowing from his nostrils, but he still emanated a dark aura of the decay still existing within him. “I will send word to Josleen, as well as to a friend of mine … If Josleen does not know who to contact, he will.”

Pilar nodded tearfully. "Thank you, doctor..." She held Darmani close. It had only been a couple of days, but already she adored the baby badger, and would have been devastated if he couldn't be saved. "I think... I will go home. I need to... I need to..." She sniffed. She didn't even know what she needed, at that point. She just wanted to go home, make Darmani comfortable in his little bed, and take a long, long nap. She headed for the door. "Thank you, doctor," she repeated.

Callamyre felt obligated to rest a hand reassuringly on the other vampire’s shoulder. “You are very welcome, Miss Pilar. If you need anything, anything at all--” She offered a small smile. “--Then you can find me here, or up in Frostmaw.” The woman hesitated, looking briefly toward the stack of books discarded on the bed. Leaning toward the notebooks, she pulled out a piece of paper, and scribbled an address on it -- that of the fort in Frostmaw. “If anything changes in his condition -- whether it gets better … or … gods-forbid, worse -- let me know immediately, and I will come check on him.” She withdrew from Pilar, now, giving the fledgeling room to breathe, as it were, as well as room to take her leave. “Take care of yourself, alright?

Pilar took the paper gratefully. "Thank you, I will. Goodbye, doctor." With that, Pilar left the Dancing Destrier and headed back home. She hoped, prayed, that little Darmani would pull through, but she feared that this was only the beginning of a long ordeal.