RP:Terminus

Summary: All of Viera's plans come to fruition. Well, most of them anyway.

The Apartment Above The Bakery, Cenril

Brand || In her dreams, she was drowning. An iron weight in her stomach pulled her down toward the ocean floor. Her limbs were tied; she couldn’t swim. The weight grew larger, rounder, more dense. Her lungs screamed for air. When the weight could grow no larger, it cracked her skin open like an egg. The formless creature that emerged wore her face. No, not -quite- her face -- a face more akin to a twin brother she never had. Her, but not. It winked at her, and then a third eye opened in its middle. A fourth. A fifth. Soon it was covered in them. They stared through her, irises glowing cold and yellow as the creature with no mouth swallowed her whole.

Brand || Through some miracle, Brand made it to the sink before her stomach could empty its contents. She was still clearing away the cobwebs of sleep as she vomited, but she could have sworn she saw tadpoles washing down the drain. Curious. She rinsed her mouth and washed her face, eyes still half closed. It wasn’t until giving herself a good look in the mirror that she remembered, and with her sudden recollection came full wakefulness. Viera. The ritual. She stared at her reflection and brought a trembling hand to her stomach, not quite able to believe the bump was real until she felt its firmness for herself. It was small, and at the same time impossibly large. She shouldn’t even be showing yet. Even if she’d gotten pregnant immediately afterward somehow, her last miscarriage had only been days ago. It wasn’t possible. And yet… stranger things had happened in Lithrydel, hadn’t they? Stranger things had happened under the watchful eyes of the gods. She dropped to her knees in thankful prayer, right then and there.

Khitti's dreams weren't much better, though they were a bit more on the toasty side. Where Brand was drowning in fear and worry, Khitti was burning with rage. It was somewhat akin to the dream Khitti and Brand had had years ago, where Cenril burned, Vailkrin was overrun with spiders, and Khitti was a lich that mourned those she cared about in a mausoleum. But there was no lich. And there was no mourning. Just a very angry Khitti torching everything, every place, and everyone she'd ever cared about. Brand had been the first to die. Khitti had taken his sweet time with the woman he called 'wife'. And when he was finished with burning her alive, his dark magic sought out her soul. Before it had a chance to escape to the afterlife, Khitti tore her soul right out of her charred corpse and engulfed it in a ball of shadow-ice, the shadows and Brand's soul writhing around within.

Khitt || While Brand was busy throwing up and praying, Khitti awoke with a start, covered in sweat. The smell of burned flesh, and scorched earth and wood, clung to Khitti's nostrils as he shook his head, trying to will away the dream. What the hell -was- that? He sighed and looked to his side, finding the other side of the bed empty. Crimson brows furrowed with concern as he pushed himself out of bed. "Brand?" Gods, she didn't fall again did she?

Brand || “In here!” came the distant response, and soon enough Brand was back in the bedroom. Her bandaged hands reached out in front of her as she crossed the gap to the bed; she was still a little unsteady. “Is something wrong? You look like hell.” She knew she couldn’t look much better, as sick as she still felt, but the nausea was tolerable enough for now. Maybe she could even climb back in bed and rest a few more hours before rising for the day.

Khitti just shook his head and helped Brand back into bed. When she was situated, he leaned over and clung to her, his line of sight fixed on the shadows across from him on the other side of the room. He felt hot, like he had burned too, and the cold, clamminess of Brand's skin helped to cool him.

Khitti || He said nothing as he thought over the dream that barely lingered in his brain now. Things were getting fuzzy, that world blurred to nothing but reds and oranges as he tried to remember details. The only thing he could fully recall was the rage... But there was something else that lurked beneath the surface of all that anger: a certain kind of sadness that he wasn't sure he ever felt at any point in his life. The feeling of betrayal had cut deeper than any necromancer's knife from his childhood and he couldn't grasp at all why his dream self would feel that way.

Brand || Khitti didn’t need to say anything for Brand to get a sense of what had happened. “...You had nightmares, didn’t you? So did I. I probably will for a while, actually. That’s how it was with Dominic.” She patted the curve of her stomach. “You’re trouble, aren’t you? Well, you should know your father and I are more trouble than you could ever possibly be, so you might as well behave. You won’t be able to outdo us, no matter how hard you try. I promise.” She couldn’t know she was being proven wrong even at that very moment, that they were in deeper trouble than they could fathom. The only trouble she could sense at the moment was the loud gurgle that followed her words. “...Oh. I guess I’m hungry. Do you want to go out somewhere?”

Khitti only nodded at Brand’s first question. He was grateful she didn’t ask about what happened in his dream. She proooobably wouldn’t take it so well. Most people don’t take being set on fire well at all, let alone having their spirit trapped in ice. He was still thinking about it all as Brand talked to their “child” and it took a moment before he realized Brand was finally talking to him again. “Hm? Oh. Yeah. Out. That’s fine.” Was it? Was it safe to go and do anything if -both- of them are having nightmares? It felt like some sort of omen, but Khitti just sighed and shook his head at himself before moving back to the conversation at hand. “Are you having any cravings? If not, we could just go to that seafood place on the northwest side of the city. You know, the one that’s on that cliff?” Maybe going out -would- be okay. Maybe Khitti just needed some fresh air.

Brand looked at him with wide eyes, then took her hands to each of Khitti’s cheeks and pressed them together, pressing his lips into a fishy shape. “SEAFOOD.” Take that as a yes, Khitti. Your wife is excited. “Seafood, seafood, SEAFOOOOOOOOOOOD.” She hopped out of bed with renewed vigor and practically bounced her way to the closet, as if her nausea and dizziness had dissipated entirely. Dress after dress was pushed aside as she hunted for the perfect thing to wear -- something showy and light? No, it was too cold outside for that. A formal ball gown? No, the restaurant was nice, but maybe not -that- nice. Aha! And there it was, a dress with heavy enough fabric to keep her warm, with cuts of yellow, pink and red interspersed to be reminiscent of the finest summer peaches. Khitti had worn the exact same dress to the exact same restaurant once -- not that Brand remembered that now. Brand layered it with a cream-colored cardigan and, finally satisfied, rushed to the bathroom to work on her hair and makeup. She’d be done in record time, maybe even fast enough that she’d be stuck waiting on Khitti for once. The woman was so famished that she -might- just have cheated with a little illusion magic to speed things up.

Khitti just stared at his wife with vague fright. He wondered to himself if he should take out a loan at the bank for Brand’s seafood feast. He smirked as she ran off to get ready in the bathroom and gathered his clothes to wait. And when she was out? Well, he’d bat his eyes cutely as she was wont to do and headed into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Sorry, Brand. Your husband woke up sweaty and needed a bath. You are definitely going to have to wait. Khitti did his best to make it quick but he couldn’t help but ponder on the meaning of his dream as he sat in the tub.

Khitti || After not quite as long a wait as what Brand usually made Khitti sit through, her husband was ready, equipped with a heavy dose of black eyeliner. He’d lead them through the streets of Cenril, mostly quiet along the way as he kept an eye out for… well, anyone that needed their ass kicked for getting too close to the pregnant lady.

The Restaurant On The Cliff, Cenril

Brand || The restaurant on the cliff was unnaturally busy, particularly considering that it wasn’t even lunchtime yet. How could so many people be craving fish for breakfast? But Brand pushed to the front of the line, and with a wink at Khitti announced: “Party of two. Herzegler. We have a reservation.” The hostess looked, and sure enough spied their name and the time of their arrival in her book. Brand waited until the hostess had seated them and left before smirking guiltily at her husband. “Look. I know I probably shouldn’t use my magic on that kind of thing, but I’m starving and I’m supposed to be eating for two. The rest of those frakkers can wait.” When the waiter came, Brand would order the jumbo appetizer platter and the largest meal she could find on the menu.

Khitti just shrugged at Brand once they were seated. “I mean, did Viera ever tell you to -not- use it for that? And besides, whenever she’s no longer your teacher, you can use it for whatever the hell you want. You’re a completely, totally well-adjusted adult that doesn’t get into any shenanigans ever. ...Right?” He smirked and eyed the menu while Brand rattled off what she wanted to the waiter. If it was even possible for someone that pale to lose a bit of color in their face, Khitti did when he realized how expensive the food Brand was ordering was. It was almost like karma wreaking havoc on Khitti’s bank account for their second-first date where she ordered lobster while Brand just got fish and chips. Maybe he shouldn’t have spent -all- of that Warrior’s Guild quest money on dresses for Brand. So, in much the same way as Brand, Khitti settled on fish and chips. Because the bank notes in Khitti’s pocket just went up into flames.

Brand || “Yeah. I think I’m almost done, actually. She’ll always be my mentor and my friend, but she said she didn’t have much more to teach me during the last lesson we had.” The appetizer arrived, and Brand dug in immediately. For someone so otherwise ladylike, she sure was stuffing her face like a crazed animal. Khitti would have to act fast if he wanted any of the platter. But once it was finished and they were waiting on their meals, Brand was back to her civilized self. She dabbed her face daintily with a napkin and then, producing a compact mirror from nowhere, reapplied her lipstick. "Ah, that's much better. I still feel like I could eat a whole horse, but at least now I'm not so starving that I'd strangle the horse to death with my own two hands first." She blinked innocently at Khitti. "Figure of speech, of course. I don't think I even have the arm strength for that."

Khitti || Brand’s husband watched as she shoveled food into her mouth like a cartoon character, his eyes wide as he realized his chances of getting anything other than his order was quickly dwindling. In a sort of 1-2 punch kind of motion, he grabbed a couple deep fried shrimp from one side of the platter, while snatching up a hushpuppy from the other, all the while trying to avoid Brand’s gnashing teeth and void-like stomach. All that training he’s done over the years really came in handy for more than just fighting. “Oh. Well. That’s good,” he said eventually in between bites. What -wasn’t- good, of course, was that this also meant it was reaaaaaally close to when Brand was supposed to do that whole death thing. But, you know, neither of them knew that. “I dunno. You -did- beat that orc in arm wrestling while you were drunk, a couple years ago.” That didn’t -actually- happen. Thanks, Viera, for the weird memories.

Brand || “Huh. That’s true.” Brand had the same false memory. “But I think the fact that he insulted your pretty face is to blame for that. I was -mad-.” Oh, thank the gods, the kitchen was fast today. They’d barely finished the appetizer when the waiter whisked away the empty platter, topped off their drinks, and set their meals in front of them. Brand actually ate like a normal person this time, but didn’t leave a lot of space in between bites for talk. She was most of the way through her meal when she noticed no one else was really talking, either. The din of the other customers had gradually quieted down since they’d arrived, and was now an eerie silence. Brand peered around the edge of the booth to investigate, and was shocked to discover patrons face-down in their meals or slumped over the back of their chairs, their faces pale and their breathing faint. Their waiter was sprawled in the middle of the aisle, the empty dish still in his hands. The hostess was drooling on her podium. “Uhhhhh. Khitti? Are you seeing this?”

Khitti || Just as Brand realized that things were more than a bit odd around them, things started to go dark for Khitti. He struggled to keep his eyes open, his face twisting into a look of confusion as he slowly slipped into unconsciousness and fell over out of his chair. A void-like blackness filled Khitti’s mind when he hit the ground, threatening to swallow him whole until there was a tiny purple spark in the distance. It grew and grew until the dream from the night before came into view and began anew. On the outside, Khitti’s body was warmer than usual, and sweat had begun to bead up on his forehead. Whatever was happening, it wasn’t quite the same as what had happened to everyone else.

Brand || Okay, now Brand was -really- panicking. Why was she the only one awake? How far had the effect spread -- just the restaurant? The whole block? The whole town? Was this the work of some great evil, like Kahran? Brand scrambled out of the booth and started trying to shake Khitti awake. When that didn’t work, she pulled on his arm, trying to drag him out of his seat. She succeeded in toppling him onto his side, but not much more than that. Useless. She needed a different kind of strength for this. With a snap of her fingers, she conjured up a phantom weightlifter, and directed him to carry Khitti. They needed to get out of here.

Brand's Secret Grotto, Cenril

Brand || The next minutes were a haze. She walked through busy streets and then isolated paths, never stopping to ask for help, not knowing where she was even going. Just… away. Away from the scene that had frightened her so. She walked until her feet ached. Maybe she should make an illusion to carry her, too. Only… suddenly, she knew where she was and why she was there. Around the corner was a secret grotto, where she sometimes went to pray or to practice her magicks alone. There was no altar here, but it had a hallowed aura all the same -- something more peaceful and beneficent than the lord of chaos could provide. She ordered the illusion to set Khitti down, dissipated its being, then knelt down to pray over her husband.

Khitti didn’t stir once the entire time Brand struggled to drag him and when he was being carried by the illusion through the city. The strange fever seemed to worsen, though he didn’t seem to be sick otherwise. In the dream, it was the same as before, with purple flames stretching as far as the eye could see and charred corpses littering the ground. But then, above the din of the fire, and the creaking and groaning of burning buildings that threatened to collapse, there was a strange whispering, coming from seemingly everywhere and nowhere at all. This only served to infuriate dream-Khitti more. Where the hell was it coming from? In reality, of course, it was Brand’s praying. Over time, Khitti got a little less angry and a bit more calm. As the anger faded though, soon came the overwhelming sadness. The flames in Khitti’s dream dissipated, the ashes of what was left of the city were left to smolder as flakes of shadowsnow began to fall. Thankfully, there wouldn’t be a blizzard to contrast with the fiery hellscape Khitti had only moments ago. He continued to listen to the whispering and eventually, Khitti woke up. “Goddamn it… It feels like a frost giant hit me in the damn head again.” Yes. -Again-.

Brand didn’t know how long she prayed for, but it was time enough that her mind drifted away from the words she was speaking and became void of all thought. Her worries and pains seemed distant in that space, and it was only as Khitti roused that the feelings returned to her. Everything ached, her heart most of all. “I… I wasn’t sure you were going to wake up… you passed out at the restaurant. And so did everyone else. I don’t know what happened. I got us out of there, but then I wasn’t sure what to do...” Absentmindedly, she stroked the curve of her belly. It protruded far beyond what it had earlier that day -- and beyond what was likely for a single child at any stage -- but Brand didn’t seem to think anything of it. She watched Khitti for another moment, then carefully, oh so carefully leaned down further to give him a kiss. “Do you know anything about what happened to you? To any of them? Do you think you’re able to stand? I, uh, might need some help getting back on my feet, if you can… I wasn’t exactly thinking ahead or I probably would have magicked myself a chair… Do you think we should take you to Lennier?” She was flustered, the words coming out of her too fast and with too many questions attached. The relief she felt at Khitti’s waking was dwarfed by her remaining concern.

Khitti fixed his gaze on Brand with his own heavy amount of concern. Was she showing that much before? “I’m fine. I think. It’s fine.” It wasn’t fine, probably. Did he have a concussion from hitting his head on the floor? Well, he supposed they’d find out later on. “Where are we?” He sighed and sat up finally, still eyeing Brand’s stomach. Maybe it was twins--or worse, triplets. Whether it was from the sitting up or the realization that he might be changing way too many diapers soon, Khitti looked like he was going to faint again and promptly fell over somewhat onto Brand. “I don’t know what happened. One second I was listening to you talk and the next I was out cold.” His head ached terribly, the ocean was just a bit too loud, and that sudden fear of more than one baby possibly being in their future far too stifling.

Brand only barely caught Khitti without also toppling over from the change in balance. She ran a hand against his forehead, wiping some sweat away, then just held him until whenever he was ready to sit or stand on his own. “Well, you’re not as overheated as you were before. I’m going to take that as a good sign. We’re…” She looked around at their surroundings, gathering her thoughts. It really was serene here. The gentle blue-greens of ferns and moss, the faint sound of nearby waves, the light coming in from cracks in the cave’s ceiling -- it all contributed to an atmosphere of ethereal calm. “We’re in my secret hideaway. I come here to be alone sometimes. Nobody else knows about it, I think. The entrance is really hard to find if you don’t look from just the right angle.” She smiled sheepishly. “Sorry I never told you about it before. I’m not sure why, honestly.” The old Brand had kept too many secrets. Unlike so many others lately, this particular one hadn’t come back to bite.

Khitti sat up again, a little more slowly this time so as not to nearly pass out for a second time. “You’ve got to have somewhere to go for peace and quiet,” he said when he righted himself fully, offering his wife a shrug. “I will say though that yours is much less weird than mine.” Once he was sure he wasn’t going to fall over again, Khitti took Brand’s hand and squeezed it, his other hand pressed against her cheek. “Are -you- okay?” Like, because, you know, you may or may not have gained a few pounds in the baby department, Brand. Khitti wasn’t going to say that though. That would be bad.

Brand || Her smile came a little easier this time. “Yeah, I’m okay. Y’know, other than the whole ‘beached whale’ thing, and the kiddos thinking it’s funny to kick me in the bladder or the ribcage every three seconds. But that’s nothing new.” Luckily for Khitti, he didn’t have to broach the baby topic because Brand had done it herself. Unluckily for Khitti, she’d definitely said ‘kiddos’. Plural. And she seemed to think she’d been like this for a while, unlike what Khitti would remember. “The Tranquility is docked not far from here. I really think Lennier should take a look at you before we go home. At both of us, probably. And we should probably tell someone about the folks at the restaurant so they can investigate what happened and get those people some help… I hope no one is permanently hurt.”

Khitti || There’s a few blinks given to Brand when she says “kiddos”. It’s the kind of blink where you’re not quite sure you heard and understood what the other person was saying. There’s another blink, though this one was a bit slow, as he processed the things his wife had said. And then he fainted again. Thankfully not on Brand this time. It’d be a few minutes before he woke up. Khitti.exe has stopped working. “Ugghhh. Okay, yes to seeing Lennier,” he said when he opened his eyes again. He tried really hard not to stare at Brand’s stomach. It was in the same sort of way Brand had eyed Khitti’s stomach back when he was having those dreams about Khitti being pregnant (even though she was still a vampire) and Brand had still been extremely against the “domestic whatevers”. It’s not that Khitti was against it. He just… wasn’t prepared. One was fine. But two? Three? They needed to stop having sex three times a day. Yep, that’s it. He was swearing off sex forever. “I’m sure someone found the people at the restaurant. Healer’s Guild is working in Cenril now too, so I’m sure they’ll get help.” Mostly, Khitti didn’t want to go back there. For now. He’d probably have to go back whenever Brand got a seafood craving again. “I didn’t even get to eat my fish and chips,” he whined, somewhat pathetically, when he realized all his food went to waste.

Brand || Khitti tried not to stare when he awoke (again), but Brand still wrapped an arm around her stomach as if to somehow hide it from him. “Khitti, please. I’m self-conscious enough as it is.” Yep, she caught him. But she didn’t seem particularly bothered by it, despite what she’d just said. She was even smirking a little. “There’s food on the ship, you know. I didn’t get to finish my meal, either. I’ll have someone whip up something for us once we get there. But we have to actually get up if we’re gonna do that. If you pass out again, I’m just gonna lay down next to you and we can both die here.” Her smirk hadn’t faded, but there was very real concern behind her joking demeanor. Would he even make it to the ship in his condition? Would she be able to catch him if he fell while they were walking? “I, uh, carried you here with some help from my magic. I can do it again if you don’t think you can walk.”

Khitti just shrugged and laid down in the sand, “Guess I’ll die.” And he did. Or at least pretended too, in hopes of making her feel better. And then he made some sand angels. When the joke was good and over, Khitti shrugged again. “Guess we’ll find out if it’s needed or not,” he said, with regards to her magic. “Okay. Stay reaaaaaaally still.” Yes, Khitti was going to use his poor pregnant wife to steady himself as he stood up. He was nice enough not to put all of his weight on her though! When she was ready, he’d hold out his hands to help hoist her up off the ground. “See? You’re not a beached whale. You’re a beautiful frakking mermaid.” He’d give her a kiss too, just in case. It wouldn’t bode well to have his poor pregnant wife crying in the middle of nowhere with a long walk back to the ship. He might actually die then.

Brand || Khitti was just all sorts of unlucky today, because Brand immediately dissolved into tears at the mermaid comment. It would soon become clear, however, that they weren’t sad tears or angry tears. He hadn’t -upset- her, per se. He’d just hit a nerve, a nerve neither of them could remember was there. Brand had said that exact line to Khitti before, first in a dream and again before Dominic was born. The reversal set Brand’s heart to bursting in ways she couldn’t understand. She clung to Khitti’s arm and sobbed into his shirt.

Brand || “I’m sorry,” she sniffled, after a time. “I’m just… so emotional, lately. I can’t imagine why.” There, through the tears, was a little of that trademark Brand sarcasm. She pulled Khitti down by the collar, enough so she could kiss him again. “That was sweet of you. I’m just crazy right now; don’t mind me.” And with that, she’d set off. Or, she’d try to. She’d barely take a step before staggering off-kilter and clinging to Khitti again for support. It was almost as if she’d had mere minutes to get used to a shift in balance that should have taken months. When she tried again, she was slower and more cautious -- but also far more successful. “Okay,” she sighed, once she felt a bit more confident in her footing. “Let’s go.”

Khitti || Brand wasn't the only one to get somewhat emotional, but Khitti's was more on the inside. Why did he say that to Brand? Why did it feel familiar? Why did it make him sad to say it? Like he'd never hear anything like it again? Before Khitti knew it, tears had welled up in his own eyes and as Brand tried to reclaim her balance, Khitti quickly wiped them away.

Khitti || He accepted the kiss, but his mind was elsewhere. The sadness he felt in that dream lingered now. It was the type of sadness one felt when hopes and dreams were dashed to pieces and things that had been worked for were altogether lost. Khitti smiled faintly down at Brand when she said she was ready to go, but it disappeared as quickly as it showed up. They'd make the trek to the Tranquility and once there, Khitti would lead Brand to Lennier.

The Tranquility, Cenril Wharf

Brand || The path to the Tranquility was, thankfully, a short one. The grotto opened up to shore and shallow water, and from there it was less than half an hour to the docks. That was even factoring in Brand’s plodding, careful gait -- she walked with both hands braced against her back, swaying first to one side and then the other with each pace. Unlike Khitti, she’d been quick to recover from the pang in her heart; she hummed a cheerful tune to herself most of the way to the ship.

Brand || The journey was without incident until they reached the walkway onto the Tranquility itself. There, Brand suffered another of her dizzy spells, grabbing onto the railing for support as her vision dimmed and the world reeled around her. This time, Khitti would be able to feel the pulse of reality-shifting energy as its shockwave spread, even if he couldn't know what it was or what it meant. It was just that sudden, that powerful.

Brand || The Tranquility, as it turned out, was a pleasure cruiser. It had always been a pleasure cruiser. Wealthy vacationers milled about on its decks, traveling from one attraction to the next, getting pedicures or deep tissue massages or soothing face masks with cucumber slices over their eyes. It departed every hour on the hour, did a big loop around some scenic private island, then returned to dock again.

Brand || The old Brand would have hated it. The new Brand proudly managed it, thus she was the "captain" of this barely seaworthy establishment. Lennier rarely needed to tend to anything more dire than the occasional seasickness, so the medbay was very empty when the couple arrived. The elf jumped to attention when he saw his boss, but an attentive eye would note he'd been drooling on the daily Cenril Times crossword just moments before.

Brand || "Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Herzegler, a pleasant surprise as always. What brings you to see me today?" He seemed a little nervous. Probably worrying the boss-lady was about to lay him off for being a very expensive, very idle healer.

Khitti || “Oh, you know. Blackouts. Possible twins. The fact that Brand and I have very little medical experience,” Khitti said, with a somewhat bitter smirk. This Khitti was not quite as close with Lennier as the other was. He hated healers and this experience was going to be as unpleasant as any other Khitti’s had. Perhaps if Khitti had remembered the near-death experience from House Dragana, wherein afterward, Lennier and Khitti had had a talk about mindflayers and necromancers as he’d stitched Khitti up. But thanks to Viera’s terrible attempt at giving them all false memories, there was nothing there. “Deal with Brand. I’ll be fine. Probably just haven’t been drinking enough water lately or something, I dunno.”

Brand || "Triplets," Brand said, and gave Khitti a bewildered look. He should know this. He'd been here with her when Lennier had confirmed it. "Khitti first. I'm not the one who passed out a half dozen times." She was exaggerating, of course, but her point was made. Poor Lennier looked back and forth from the both of them, trying to decide who to listen to. Ultimately, though, it was best to listen to the woman who provided his paycheck. He ushered Khitti to the examination table, mouthing a 'sorry' from an angle Brand couldn't see. Brand eased herself into a chair to wait her turn.

Brand || "At first glance, I'd say you have a concussion," Lennier said after acquiring a list of Khitti's symptoms and running some basic tests. "But given what you told me about the restaurant, I don't think we can rule out magical interference. I -do- sense something in you that doesn't seem to be your own magic." Lennier frowned and backed away, looking sidelong at Brand. "It's stronger in her, actually."

Brand jolted out of a daydream and sat at attention. "What? Me? But nothing even happened to me."

Brand || "All the more reason to think you're the source," said Lennier. "It's been concealed somehow. I couldn't sense it until I knew what I was looking for, from finding it in Khitti. But now, I can hardly believe I missed it when you first walked in." He stepped closer to Brand, and she sank back into her chair, arms wrapped defensively around her bump. But he only reached out a hand to help her up, and after a while of staring, she begrudgingly accepted. Lennier gestured for Khitti to remove himself from the table, so that Brand could take his place.

Khitti || It was clear Khitti hated this, and luckily for the “captain” and her crewmember, Khitti didn’t pass out again after the word ‘triplets’ was uttered. Unfortunately for him, even if the couple were in their normal forms, Brand probably still would’ve insisted anyway. Because -that- Brand also signed Lennier’s paychecks. And probably hated healers as much as Khitti did. Lennier was well aware of this hatred and Khitti just sighed a little at the healer’s apology. Khitti allowed him to do the things, albeit as begrudgingly as his wife, and when Lennier brought up ‘magical interference’, Khitti actually started to care about all of this.

Khitti || “You -will- get your ass on this table or I will pick you up and put you on it myself,” he said, as he hopped off the table. Frowning, he looked from Brand to Lennier and back again. “There’s… a couple of other things.” His words were for Lennier, of course, but he looked at neither of them as Khitti went off to inspect a skeleton that was used to help people visualize where their physical problems were. “We’ve both had nightmares. Brand -did- have nightmares with Dominic, but I don’t recall myself having them at the same time. These weren’t stress dreams. I know full well what a stress dream is.” He didn’t go into any more detail about it though. “And…” He hesitated, sighed, and shook his head. “Brand was not showing this much when we were at the restaurant and she seems completely oblivious to it. There was some weird sort of thing going on, on our way here. She didn’t notice that either, beyond feeling dizzy.”

Brand || Now it was Lennier's turn to give Khitti a bewildered look. "She was here just a few days ago for a checkup, and she's showing about the same now as she was then. But it would seem our memories conflict. Something strange is going on, indeed."

Brand || As Lennier began his tests on Brand, Brand looked at Khitti with renewed understanding. "That's why you were staring at me so much, isn't it? I -thought- that was odd." She mused on silently. Lennier pulled some kind of metal and glass contraption over to her, alternately looking through various lenses and scribbling notes, muttering to himself the whole time. He was fully engrossed in his work now.

Khitti || The exchange of memories between the three of them was getting to Khitti a tad. That signature frown of his stayed planted on his face and the anxiety he was getting from the situation as a whole was clearly showing. He tried hard to think things through, to try to remember if there was anything else. There seemed to be gaps here and there between memories, large lapses of time that weren’t entirely explainable, though Brand likely would’ve just assumed he was nuts if he told her. All of this thinking and trying to remember was starting to hurt his head. Khitti cried out and tears welled up in his eyes as the pain became sharper, like one of the other Brand’s ice daggers being shoved repeatedly into Khitti’s skull. The pain felt familiar, and yet, he knew he had never felt anything like it before. Right? With all these conflicting memories, Khitti was no longer sure. He collapsed into a chair finally, holding his head, the tears lingering but not falling, as Khitti tried to think of something else. -Anything- else.

Brand gasped at the same moment that Khitti cried out. “The ritual. I remember the ritual. It was just last night. But I remember it being months ago, too, and obviously my body would suggest the latter memory is the correct one...” Her head was starting to hurt now, too, only hers felt like a great wave crashing down upon her, again and again and again, with barely time to breathe in between. She pushed Lennier’s contraption aside (much to his exasperation), hefted herself off of the table, and took a seat at Khitti’s side, cradling his head with one hand and her belly with the other. Holding him made her feel a little better; she hoped it did the same for him.

Brand || “Okay, let’s say I believe you, and I wasn’t this big this morning. Do you think it’s connected to what happened at the restaurant? It’s a strange thing to do to someone, don’t you think? Knock several dozen people unconscious, change a few memories, speed up one woman’s pregnancy? To what end? Who in the world would want all this, and why?” She had a dark foreboding that she already knew the ‘who’, but she didn’t want to make the accusation. Not of her best friend. Not without an inkling of ‘why’.

Khitti leaned over enough to rest his head in Brand’s lap as she tried to soothe him. It didn’t help, like she wanted it to. Khitti thought back to the restaurant, the dream he had while unconscious flooding back into the forefront of his mind. “I don’t think it’s just a few memories… There’s something else. Something bigger.” The violet fires he’d started in that nightmare might as well have been right in front of him. He could see it, he could feel their odd warmth. “I think… I think I killed you. In my nightmare. I was so angry. I think I set fire to everything. All of Cenril was covered in shadowfire. Everything was burning. I put something in my shadow-ice...” He didn’t notice it just yet, but blood had begun to trickle from his nose as he tried to force himself to remember the dream.

Khitti || “I saw the same thing after I blacked out in the restaurant. There was so much fire. So much rage. And then I heard whispering. It was the same thing over and over--or that’s what it sounded like to me--but I don’t know what was being said. It was… soothing, if only for a moment. The anger went away, the fires went away, and then it was replaced with sadness. It hurt so much, I thought my heart was breaking in two. Just as I was waking up, snow started to fall.” The blood from Khitti’s nose continued to trickle, very slowly staining the part of Brand’s dress that he was laying on. “There’s something there… just barely out of reach.” He dwelled on it more and sat up, suddenly feeling very weird after telling his wife he killed her. The more he thought about it, the stronger the dripping of the blood became. Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. Khitti’s nose itched, thanks to the blood that started to dry there. He took to rubbing it somewhat with his index finger, in a half-hearted attempt to scratch it. That’s when he felt the wetness on his hand. That’s when he saw the blood. And that’s when Khitti fell unconscious again.

Brand || “Khitti…? Khitti!” He was still breathing, at least, but that was small comfort. Brand looked to Lennier for help only to find that the elf, too, was dazed. He started to walk toward the couple, and in so doing staggered into a tray full of medical supplies. Metal instruments clattered onto the floor, and Lennier on top of them. He didn’t move again. Brand screamed and shot up from her chair, leaving Khitti to slump over the side of it. It was happening again. It might be happening on the whole ship. She had to get out of here. She had to find help -- if there was even any help to be found.

Brand || It wasn’t easy, even in normal circumstances, to navigate these narrow halls. It was made all the more difficult by the bodies strewn throughout. Her fear pushed her onwards. She had a mind to disembark, to head straight for the altar and pray for divine intervention. It seemed like the only thing that could help her now. Except, when she reached the deck, it was clear the ship was elsewhere. Somewhere familiar, and yet wholly unfamiliar to her. An archipelago of islands. The twin moons were full in a nighttime sky, full and bright and looking very much like two eyes staring down upon her. Eerie lights filled the horizon with unnatural color. The gangway was already lowered and a dinghy was waiting at the bottom, waiting to take her to the nearest shore. She felt certain that it had been left for her specifically.

Brand || She shuddered at the implication, but ultimately took the boat.

Khitti || “This is not the path I laid out for you, you know.” Khitti was still out, and yet, he was being spoken to. “I’m rather intrigued by the fact that it’s not your fault this time. Brand -had- said that day we found you again: ‘Never underestimate my ability to frak something up’. I suppose I did underestimate it anyway.” The feeling the disembodied voice gave Khitti felt… disappointed. “It always -had- been a problem, in each timeline. For all the love you two have for each other, your communications skills are terrible. Sigh, I really should’ve left some sort of instruction booklet for the two of you. Neither of you can be trusted to do anything right on your own.”

Khitti || “...Onyx?” Khitti opened his eyes. He wasn’t on the ship and there was no undead child. He was in Cenril, but it was snowing. Shadows clung to each and every snowflake.

Khitti || “Dilly dally shilly shally.” The redhead frowned and looked around for where the new, female voice might be coming from. It was clear he was confused. “-Dilly dally shilly shally-, Khitti. Don’t tell me you forgot that too!” There was clear disgust in the voice. “What I'm saying is you need to get over it! Worry about feeling emotions afterward. Why aren’t you fighting back?! Isn’t that what you do? Don’t tell me the both of us died for nothing.”

Khitti || The light snowstorm started to turn into a blizzard, as Lydia questioned Khitti. The flood of feelings from before rushed back. The sadness. The defeat. The feeling of being lost and alone and betrayed. “What do you expect me to do? Kill her? Kill both of them? I am powerless against her and her god. Mine don’t speak to me the way they do her.”

Khitti || “You idiot, did you forget you got -my- magic? Haven’t you studied enough about the Shadow Plane to know what I was? What my people are?” Another voice, this one shrill and rather bitchy made it obvious who it was. “Ugh. I always had to spell everything out for you. ‘Yer a necromancer, Khitti’,” Amarrah said in a mocking tone, quoting one of Khitti’s books. “And she’s just a spirit. I think you’ve known what you had to do all along, you just didn’t want to. You know how things will end and there’s no turning back.”

Khitti inhaled deeply and opened his eyes. This time, he actually was on the ship. But there was no Brand, though all the other people on the ship were mostly fine and sort of not dead. He didn’t bother climbing ladders and stairs to get to the top. Instead, he shadowstepped there and looked around. Those lights… this place. It didn’t take Khitti long to figure out where they were. The pull of the spirits that lingered over all of the Demon Archipelago was all she needed to feel to know. He could see Brand from afar, the rowboat she was in reaching the shore. Khitti wasn’t going to entirely listen to his sister though. He stamped down those feelings of betrayal and let the rage build. He was going to need every ounce of it to finally kill Viera.

The Demon Archipelago

Brand || A curious heat was building in Brand’s abdomen as she rowed, growing broader and hotter with each stroke of the oars. By the time she reached shore, it had become a searing pain that encompassed the entirety of her middle. She dragged herself out of the boat on her hands and knees and crawled onto the sand, each movement sending another shock of white-hot fire through her. Whatever was happening to her, she wasn’t ready to let it stop her just yet. She could see something up ahead. Just… a little… further…

Brand || Sand gave way to an obstacle of stone. Brand clawed herself to a stand and was finally able to see what the thing in the distance had been -- she’d reached another altar, just like the one in Cenril. Another pulse of agony pounded through her as her body began to move of its own accord, climbing into position on the rocky slab and lying supine for some unknown end.

Brand || She was splitting in two. That was how it felt, anyway. She was going to die here, and everyone on the Tranquility would have no one to save them, and they might die as well. Khitti, and all her crew. Her eyes snapped downwards, towards the pain. It must have driven her to delirium, because now she was seeing things. A furious light shone from her, crimson-white like the hottest of molten metal. A silhouette emerged. A body, fully formed and fully nude. It leapt from her center down to the sand, then wheeled around to face her. As the light faded, she realized she recognized the person sneering back at her.

Brand || Viera. But why…?

Brand || “Why? You want to know -why-?!” Viera shrieked, as if she’d heard Brand’s very thoughts. And maybe she had. Or maybe this was a nightmare. Everything had gone from bad to worse so quickly, Brand wasn’t sure anymore. “You know -exactly- why, you’ve just forgotten. But turnabout is fair play, sunshine, and I’ve forgotten nothing.”

Brand || Everything. Suddenly, Brand remembered everything. With it came another pulse of agony, the sight of hands soaked with blood, a woman’s scream that erupted from Brand’s own throat. And then… nothing.

Khitti || “Mommy!” Khitti’d been so focused on finding Brand, he hadn’t looked around the top deck. He just assumed everyone was just as out cold as those within the ship. Dominic ran up to Khitti and clung to his leg. Khitti didn’t even question the “mommy” bit this time, now that it was obvious Dominic was right about Viera all along. “‘Mina’s asleep, Mommy.” It took only a moment for Khitti to spot Camina’s conked out body, to which Khitti winced. “Everyone’s taking a nap right now, sprout. But, we’ve got something else more important to do. You want to help me beat up Viera?” Dominic raised his hands in the air excitedly. “YEAH!” Khitti sighed and smooched his forehead. Maybe it was for the better that their son was here. While whatever was happening to Brand at this moment was likely not something for a child’s eyes, it’d keep Khitti from going too crazy--like keeping him from killing Brand.

Khitti || “Alright. Come on then,” Khitti said as he picked Dominic up and hopped off the side of the ship. A patch of shadow-ice met his feet then and between every bout of shadowstepping until he made it to land. Khitti followed the tracks where Brand had dragged herself to the altar and got there just as Viera started in on her extremely short villainous monologue. Khitti was grateful for this--there’s been one too many times that bad guys just talk and talk and talk… Khitti crouched down for a moment behind a bush, eyeing the situation until Brand’s scream. “Okay, kid. Go set her hair on fire!” Dominic cackled gleefully and wandered off to meet face-to-face with Viera, “You hurt my mommy and daddy! You’re a bad, ugly lady!” And then, you know, he made with the fire. Khitti, on the other hand, shadowstepped over to Brand, and attempted to check on her. All of that blood though… It gave Khitti a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Brand || Dominic may have been able to best Jessamine and James, but he was no match for Viera. Luckily for him, Viera wasn’t interested. She’d turned toward the child’s shouts, realized Brand had been followed, and promptly vanished. She wasn’t really gone, of course. She had a body now, and all the boons and inconveniences that came with it. But she wasn’t about to stick around and potentially jeopardize everything she’d worked for. She had her life back. Brand was dead. She’d gotten what she’d wanted, and now it was time to make her escape.

Brand || Viera had made one miscalculation, however: Brand was dying, but she wasn’t yet dead. As Khitti looked her over, he’d spy the faintest rise and fall of her chest, the weakest hint of a heartbeat, still pumping blood into the gaping wound of her stomach. There was still a chance, if Khitti moved quickly. Perhaps Brand could yet be saved.

Khitti scowled at Viera’s retreating form. “Dominic, go back to the ship. Wake up Camina and tell her to get Dozla.” Dominic’s excitement faded. He could tell by Khitti’s voice that Khitti was upset. The almost four year old took a few steps towards his mother. “No, don’t come over here. Please. Dominic, it’s very important you get Camina and Dozla woken up.” The kid frowned, “Okay, mommy.” He headed back in the direction of the ship to do as instructed.

Khitti || “You have frakked things up, Brand,” Khitti said, once Dominic had gone. “You’ve frakked things up more than anything I’ve ever done--and I’ve frakked up a lot.” Did Khitti even have the ability to heal anymore? He never did make any headway on his light magic, since he’d been so preoccupied with other things. Khitti put a hand on Brand’s chest, and the other on her abdomen, and concentrated. “You’re so stupid… How am I supposed to protect you if I don’t even know what to protect you from?” His hands glimmered somewhat, the light magic taking on a pearlescent hue as he tried to heal Brand. Tears welled up in his eyes. He wasn’t sure if his magic was even doing anything at all. “You don’t get to take the easy way out. You still have to deal with me being angry for a long while.”

Brand || Deep within Brand's unconscious, there was a light. It was but a pinprick at first, distant and dim, but it grew as Khitti’s magic poured through. Though Brand stood on the threshold of Death's door, the light kept her from passing through.

Brand || Rousing the crew was no easy task, and quite some time passed before anyone arrived to help. But eventually Lennier came, woozy but alive. He said little after seeing Brand’s condition. It was better to set immediately to work. Lennier used potions and salves, stitches and gauze. And though Brand did not awaken, Lennier at least managed to staunch the bleeding. Brand’s pulse evened out, though her breath remained faint. Lennier wiped bloody hands on his robe and collapsed at the foot of the altar, spent.

Brand || “I think we can get him back to the ship now, at least,” Lennier said once he’d had a moment to recover. “Or -- her? Apologies. I’m not really sure what has happened. Your child warned me about a ‘bad lady’ and that the two of you would ‘look weird’, but I wasn’t sure what he meant until I arrived. I’m piecing memories back together, and yet I feel I still don’t have the complete picture.”

Khitti continued with the light magic for as long as he could, in an attempt to keep Brand stable while Lennier worked. When the elf was finished, Khitti just stared down at Brand, his lips twisted into a grim frown. “Someone from Brand’s past came back to haunt her, literally,” Khitti said at length. “The bitch was here on the archipelago the entire time. Brand only ever told me lies about Viera. I knew something was up, because Brand kept acting weird not long after we came here and rescued Lionel, but I didn’t think it was anything like this…” There were no tears for the Catalian now as Khitti pushed up off the ground, leaned over, and picked Brand up. “Brand doesn’t know it yet, but I’m going to be leaving for a while. I don’t know how long. It won’t be forever. I just… really have some things to think about.” There was going to be a lot to process and a lot of drinking to help all of that processing. “I need you to keep an eye on Brand while I’m gone. Dozla too.” He took a few steps away from Lennier, but would pause again. “And I think I should have Camina keep an eye on me as well.” Khitti was entirely unsure of how he was going to be when he finally allowed the walls that’d been built up so he could focus on things to break. The rage and sadness from those dreams were still concerning, even now with the danger having passed. He continued on towards the ship, expecting Lennier to follow when he was able to, and carried Brand onto the ship and into Lennier’s room. He turned to leave, but hesitated, deciding it’d be better to stay at least until Lennier returned.

Brand || When Lennier arrived, it was at Dozla’s side. “You’re leavin’?” was the first thing she asked, concern written on her face. Lennier went to monitor Brand’s condition, but Dozla stayed at Khitti’s side, lowering her voice in an attempt to keep the conversation between just the two of them. “Look, I’m not gonna pretend I understand what you’ve been through, or what’s goin’ through your head after all that. I’m sure you have your reasons, and I’m not here to argue with ‘em. I just wanna make sure that, when you say you’re comin’ back to him eventually, you mean it. If you don’t, I need to know. I’ve got a ship to run and a cap’n to watch over. I like to know what I’m in for.”

Brand || On the examination table, Brand coughed up a clot of blood, then gasped for air through a dry, constricted throat. Lennier sprung into action again, uncorking yet more potions while urging her to remain still. The advice was pointless -- Brand lacked the strength to move much, anyway. But her eyes roamed the room wildly, only slowing once it was clear that she was on the ship, and Viera was nowhere to be found. Lennier lifted her head up enough to pour a couple of potions down her gullet. “Listen carefully, Brand. By all rights, you should be dead. Now, I’m sure this isn’t the last time I’ll be saying that to you, because it certainly isn’t the first, but this time’s a bit different. There’s still illusion magic active on you. I can’t be certain I’ve patched you up fully as long as what I’m looking at isn’t really you. If you can cleanse it, there’s a greater chance you’ll recover. One of the potions I’ve given you should help with your magickal reserves, but that’s assuming you still have the ability...”

Brand || “Shapes--” wheezed Brand, before descending into another coughing fit. “Not… illusions. It’s shape… shapeshifting. There’s a diff… a difference.” The air rattled in her lungs. Coughs still wracked her being every few breaths. Slowly, slowly, she raised a trembling hand toward Khitti. Whatever she was asking for, it seemed she didn’t have the energy to say.

Khitti || “No, you -don’t- have any idea what I’ve been through,” Khitti said sternly. It’s not the sort of tone Khitti’d ever given Brand’s second-in-command, even after all the other bad situations the Herzeglers had gotten themselves into before. Khitti winced somewhat immediately after saying it. It’s not like he hated Dozla, and he knew why she was asking, but damn if he wasn’t a little unstable in the emotions department right now. “Look, I’m just going to Frostmaw for a few days… maybe a week. If things change, you will be the first to know. I-I can’t -be here- right now, Dozla. All of this… It’s all been tainted by Viera. And I can’t be around Bra--”

Khitti || Brand’s coughing started up and Khitti was forced to quiet himself. He looked somewhat in Brand’s direction, but not directly at her. Maybe one of her shoulders. Maybe a little more at Lennier. Maybe the wall. It was almost like how Brand used to try to avoid Khitti’s gaze when he was completely in denial about her feelings, except this was different. Everything was like a jumbled mess in Khitti’s head and looking at Brand was a constant reminder.

Khitti || And then Brand reached out to Khitti. If Dozla wasn’t there with them, it would’ve been a reversal of the first day Khitti met Lennier, after the attack on House Dragana. Khitti hesitated, but ultimately went to Brand’s side and took her hand. “I’m not exactly a shapeshifter, so if it’s not illusion magic then…” Khitti was probably stuck as a dude forever. RIP

Brand was trying so hard to meet Khitti’s gaze, to say with her eyes what she couldn’t yet say with words. But Khitti wouldn’t look at her. And Brand couldn’t blame him. There was, however, one thing she -could- try. One way to start to make amends, if amends could be made at all. It started with fixing Viera’s mess.

Brand || When the two clasped hands, Khitti would feel a rush of magic, similar to the pulses of energy that Viera had produced. It would course through him quickly, leaving a tingling sensation in each nerve ending that persisted even as the wave passed. And then, his body would begin to change, to become what it had been before. Pretty soon, she was herself again. Shapeshifting, it seemed, didn’t require that one -be- a shapeshifter. Not that Brand was in any condition to explain.

Brand || She, too, had begun her transformation. The old Brand began to shine through the rippling of her form. But abruptly, her features contorted and the ripple became akin to stormy seas, seizing in and out in angry whorls, lashing out in spikes of unnatural flesh. Brand screamed in a dozen voices, limbs thrashing, her hand breaking from Khitti’s grasp. And then, as quickly as it had begun, it ended. The whorls became ripples became solid form. Her body lay as still and broken as it had been before, unchanged. The bandages on her stomach stained crimson anew, and Lennier set about in a panicky attempt to stem the bleeding again. Dozla stood frozen, a hand over her mouth and fright in her eyes. But Brand looked to Khitti with a weak smile, even as her eyelids shuttered and her thoughts began to fade. “S’okay,” she murmured. “Go.” And then the darkness claimed her once more.

Khitti was… back to normal? Whatever the hell “normal” was anymore anyway. As Brand too tried to return to how she’d been before, Khitti continued to hold her hand until it was wrenched out of her grasp. ‘S’okay. Go.’ She just stared at Brand. ...Go? “Goddamn it, Brand, I wasn’t leaving forever! I-It’s not like before!” She took Brand’s shoulders in hand and shook her a little, then tried to get Brand to look at her as Khitti’s hands moved to Brand’s face. “Brand…?”

Khitti || No no no no no no no! Tears welled up in Khitti’s eyes as she started to panic. She started going over things in her head. Even if her light magic was enough to heal Brand, if Brand was just giving up, then that wouldn’t matter. So… if Khitti could soothe spirits and call them to her… could she do the same with someone that was dying or -just- died? It might work in theory, but… Well. She might as well just try it. Old Brand would hate this. Even Khitti now was cringing a bit at it: Khitti kissed Brand. -In front of people-.

Khitti || The kiss was more than just that though. She poured every ounce of her light and dark magic into Brand through it. The light did its job of healing Brand’s wounds, while the dark tried to will her back to the living. ‘Please don’t leave me. Please. This isn’t what I wanted. I just needed time to think. I still love you, even if I’m upset with you.’ Khitti even prayed to Vakmatharas. She begged him not to take Brand, even if Brand really thought this was the right decision. She promised to get him as many of the souls from the archipelago as she could in exchange. She’d build him a damn temple there if he wanted it. Khitti started to feel lightheaded as she used up her magicks. Remnants of Viera’s telemancy magic still clung to Khitti’s mind, slowly eating away at distant memories here and there, like a parasite. As Khitti’s magic waned, the telemancy tried again to make her black out. Her knees started to buckle a little, her vision a bit blurry as the nosebleed returned, trickling its way into being. ‘Please come back to me. And hurry.’

Brand hadn't thought she was dying. She just... needed a little nap, that was all. So when she realized she was standing in her secret grotto, she assumed it was a dream. The gentle sounds of the ocean surrounded her. The ferns waved in a hidden breeze. It was peaceful here, the perfect place to rest.

Brand || A black fog rolled through the ceiling cracks.

Brand || By the time Brand knew it was happening, the air was already thick with it. She ran for the exit, but beyond found only a blinding emptiness of white. There was no escape. One way or the other, death had found her.

Brand || And then, in an instant, the floor sucked her in with the crushing ferocity of a whirlpool. Light and dark swirled around her in the raging vortex -- but above, she could see a rush of water flushing out the smoke. And when the vortex spat her out, she found she could breathe the water as easily as a crisp winter air...

Brand spluttered straight into Khitti's mouth just as Lennier began to pull the latter away. Her lungs were on fire. Her stomach felt torn to shreds. But she realized, as she met the tearful gazes of the room around her, that she'd been dead just a moment before -- or else something pretty damn close to it.

Brand || It felt like the right moment to say something pithy and unforgettable, but the urge to vomit overtook her the second she tried, and she puked on the floor instead.

Khitti || The world had started going dark for Khitti too, albeit for different reasons. She didn’t even register Brand’s sputtering and breathing again as Lennier pulled Khitti away. She leaned against the elf, struggling to keep her eyes open as she looked over at Brand. And then Brand threw up. Ew. But, that didn’t matter. What did matter is that… it worked? It was enough to stir Khitti from the daze of Viera’s magic. She stumbled around to the other side of the table--you know, away from the vomit--and hugged Brand. She tried to be nice about it though, making sure not to squeeze too hard in the wrong places. “You jerk… I wasn’t going away forever.” ‘Jerk’ was said affectionately, of course, as per usual. She also might be crying again.

Brand || “I… I know you aren’t,” Brand said to Khitti, confused. Another coughing fit took hold. Lennier began to fuss over her again with his vials and mystery concoctions. Khitti got his attention next, once he was sure Brand had somewhat stabilized. Dozla, meanwhile, stepped closer to the captain.

Brand || “We’re en route back to Cenril,” she began, taking one of Brand’s hands in her own. “The crew have orders to be on the lookout -- those that’re awake, anyway. But I don’t think this… Viera person made it back with us. We’re as sure as we can be, anyway, considerin’ her abilities.”

Brand squeezed the hand given to her, or tried to. She still felt faint, like she might pass out again at any moment. “No… she won’t have. She’ll go to… go to ground.”

Brand || Dozla looked like she wanted to know how Brand could be so sure, but Brand was in no condition to elaborate.

Khitti only had a moment to look back at Brand with confusion before Lennier more or less pushed her out of the way to deal with Brand. And when he was finished and came after her, Khitti just waved him off. “No. Go deal with the one that’s dying. I’m fine. Just tired.” She wiped at her nose, bits of now dried blood smeared onto her hand. She looked at it for what seemed like forever then ultimately did her best to hide it, as she dug into some of Lennier’s things, while everyone was distracted, for a bit of cotton and some alcohol to get rid of the remnants of the nosebleed. Maybe no one noticed? Let’s hope so. When she was finished, Khitti just sort of stood off to the side of the room, watching them fuss over Brand. Despite what she said a bit ago about needing to leave, she had this overwhelming feeling that she should tell them all to go away, so she could take her and Brand back to their quarters and cuddle the hell out of her. Instead, she sighed. And didn’t. And just waited.

Brand || It wasn’t long before Dozla was called away to other matters. Lennier, too, had others to attend to -- people who still hadn’t roused after Viera’s draining magicks, and others who had hit their heads or otherwise injured themselves as they’d passed out. Eventually, Lennier was satisfied with Brand and Khitti’s conditions and left to heal the others, telling them where to find him in the event of any further developments.

Brand || And then… Brand and Khitti were alone. Brand was almost thankful she couldn’t speak much, because she really didn’t know where to start, anyway. They’d have to talk about everything that had happened eventually, surely… but right now? Right now, all Brand wanted to do was sleep the worst of the pain away.

Khitti watched at Lennier and Dozla left and she was soon wishing at least one of them stayed. Sigh. They had work to do and she knew it. And they just left poor Brand on this table! Sheesh. Khitti scrunched up her nose in thought for a minute, then went to raid Lennier’s cabinets. Blanket? Check. Pillow? Check. They were set on a chair for a moment before she started on the elixir and potions storage. There were a lot of sounds of rummaging around and glass clinking together for a few moments before she found what she was looking for. “Open,” she said once she got to Brand’s side. She meant for Brand to open her mouth, of course. “It’s that stuff Cal drinks when he’s depressed. Or anxious. Or…” After pouring some of the minty flavored milk of the poppy into Brand’s mouth, she eyed the bottle again. “Why am I not drinking this stuff? He -did- say something about it being addicting but...” Well, it would not be the first addiction she’d gotten since coming to Lithrydel, so she drank some too. “Mmmm, yep. Gonna have to order some.” She may or may not have stuffed it into one of her pockets. “Maybe a lot.”

Khitti || The blanket and pillow were next. “I suppose you probably shouldn’t be moved for a while, so…” So she pulled up a chair next to the exam table to sit with Brand for however long she was to stay there.