RP:The Next Right Thing
Part of the Time Heals All Wounds Arc
Synopsis: Pakellin Halifax figures out how to open the vault to reveal the next step to cure Leon Lovik. Penelope and Pakellin use their Ardelian bloodline to open the pyramid to find the secret to Leon's survival.
The Old Halifax Cottage
What became a promise became a lie. Lionel’s disappearance had created a landslide between Leon Lovik’s health. His health was disintegrating day by day, for the boy only had what might have been a week to live since that very night Penelope returned from the desert sands. There was no time to explain to Pakellin about Lionel O’Connor. There was no time to explain to her brother about Xicotl, and the danger Lithrydel was in. Leon was one boy. One boy out of a whirl of civilians. No one would be alive if the Imperator was missing--at least, so she would think. Truth of the matter was, Penelope and Rilla were the ones that would know more about Xicotl than the rest of the Warrior’s Guild ever would. Without Lionel O’Connor alive, however, none of the warriors would begin to understand such a thing.
Penelope’s return from the Demon Archipelago had been one where she was knocked out for almost twenty-four hours. Ruari and Nel’s twin brother had been worried upon her return. There had not been one scratch upon the healer, but the way she had been wiped, grew great concern. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep building up to the return home. The build up of trauma. Post-traumatic stress as Penelope fought her way through in order to stay up and fight her inner demons.
When the Ardelian sister awoke, she had been in her own bed in the old cottage within the silences of the forest in Sage. Slinking out of bed, the healer made her way into the living room in her disoriented state. There, in the corner, had been Alexia rocking herself in a nearby rocker while knitting. Opposite from herself had been Kellin still staring at the pyramid. With the creaks of the floorboards, Kel’s green eyes lifted to connect with Nel’s.
“It takes two of us,” Kel instantly stated. There was no time to ask Nel's condition on what happened when she was away from Kelay and on her voyage. Barely anytime at all. Leon was dying, and the sane brother had realized that when spending time with him in Yerrel’s hut. The boy had only a couple days, if that. “We need to use all of our magic. Call on all the elements if we are going to open this thing. When father died, uncle performed a ritual to inherit all of what father possessed. Meaning, uncle absorbed father’s ability to bend water and air.” The twin brother stands, and while doing so, Alexia stared at the two in her hesitant gaze before standing up and walking to Aeric’s bedroom. The teen gives the two siblings a long stare. One of irritation that the two are not helping Aeric and her own father--Linken--before moving behind the closed door.
Penelope watches as Alexia goes. The silence that wafted off the teen was painful. Eerie. Alexia had always been so gentle, but she knew Aeric was suffering. Aeric and Linken had been the last thing on her mind. For with Linken not around, the world had been slightly filled with ease--except for Aeric’s mood swings. Behind that closed door held a relentless teen boy with angst and hate for the healer in his soul. Hate for the fact Penelope had been avoiding him since the night Linken slipped into the void. All of the healer’s energy had been on Leon and Lionel, and Aeric had loathed every moment of it, for his father was trapped within time. The frizzy-haired healer then looks to her brother before stepping near in her white nightgown. “So… if we… use our energy to open the vault, we can see what is inside?” She canted her head.
Pakellin nodded firmly. “Yes. The octogram stone on the pyramid?” The man points. “It shows each element plus the connections within it. For example, water and fire can make steam. Etcetera. We perform to tap into the stone, it’ll be our key to open the vault and figure out what that last factor is in the pyramid, yes?” The brother then stands and does not wait for a response as he moves to the kitchen. On the counter rest a series of ingredients: a purple stone, a candle, and a bowl of water. “We channel this energy to open the pyramid, you understand?”
The twin healer just stares at the freckled man. “So why didn’t we just grab a random druid like Kailani to open this up?” A brow is quirked as she looks absolutely bewildered at Kel.
“Because Kailani does not carry Ardelian blood. Blood is the last thing we need to open this sucker up. And before you asked how I figured that out, it’s an Ardelian seal. Uncle sealed it. No one has been able to open it. It -has- to be the reason we are able to open it and not another druid.” The man says slowly. “Just common witchy sense, right?” Well, Pakellin had a point. Opening the vault was worth a shot. Another lucky shot. From Pakellin’s opposite point of view, he notices the girl slowly contemplating and nodding slowly.
“We’ll try it.” She states. “Anything we can, truly…” She says slowly. “Let’s push the sofa for more room. We can lay this out on the floor…” The girl runs a hand through her curls before moving to press her backside against the sofa to shift it to the side. All the while, Pakellin joins her to help with the move. The two gather each piece of element to lay out on the floor. Kellin also grabs a jar of salt to create a salt circle for the two of them.
“You don’t have to tell me what happened when you were away,” he states as they both lower down to the circle.
“I want to. I need to, even. You need to be ready for what I will tell you. What is happening with Lithrydel, but I need you to know that I can only control one thing at a time. Leon is the control we need. The light we need for what is to come in the future, for the future… will be bleak if we don’t change anything. That’s all I can say. All I can say before we focus after Leon’s recovered and sent back home with the chief,” the twin states. She places her hands on her thighs and gives them a gentle, soothing rub.
Pakellin gives Penelope a very tense and understanding gaze. One that was once known before his death. Before the insanity took over his mind. “We’ll focus on Leon then. We will make sure at least one is in peace. Chief Odon will be forever grateful. Perhaps we will be able to return to Ardelia.” He pauses and looks at her steadily. “You’ll need to focus your energy on the vault. You tell me lady Kailani says there is a fifth element. Channel that energy into the stone before you. Think of all the elements and how the energy connects to each other. Don’t let go of my hand when we connect and start the process. Together our energy pulses through each other to open this damn thing--if we are right.” Pause. “Now,” he grabs the dagger that is in front of them. Short chestnut waves fall into his eyes until he looks up at her. “It’s sterile--promise,” he smirks. “Wouldn’t want you throwing a hissy,” he teases. He then takes the dagger and presses it into his palm before gliding it across his skin. He then takes a napkin to wipe the blood off the tip of the dagger before handing it to Penelope. The man then clenches his fist to let the blood drop onto the stone of the pyramid--the octogram. “Your turn.”
Penelope listens to everything that her brother tells her to do. The woman in the gown is silent. The dagger that is grabbed is looked at closely before she smirks half-heartedly before reaching out to grab it herself. “I hope this is not a continuing thing,” her accented tone says hesitantly with that small smile. “I hope this works.” She then presses the sharp blade against soft skin. The pain swells within her palm, but with bravery, she glides the blade upon her palm. Nothing phased the girl. After Linken and nearly dying… nothing phased the Ardelian at all. A little blood never hurt the healer. The droplets leak onto the stone and then Pakellin reaches for her hand. She takes it and gives her brother a knowing gaze. The both of them narrow their chins down before closing their eyes. Within Penelope, her mind begins to focus. Focus on cleansing before finding her channel towards the fifth energy within. Every element connects to each other--someway… somehow. The warmth begins to flow from her as she connects with Kellin’s. The rock that is within the circle begins to rise slowly, the water in the bowl begins to bubble, and the candle within the flame begins to flicker from the air breezing against it. Within the salt circle, all four elements are working and the blood of the two twins the rest on the stone begins to move. The crimson begins to leak within the cracks of the stone that shape the octogram. The tattoo on the twin hands that hold each other begins to glow a faint blue hue. The eyes of the twins begin to flow from a green gaze to a hazel shade as nature pulses through them.
The energy that pulses through the girl’s body is foreign, for the feeling feels tingly within her arms and legs, but there is an intense focus within her mindset. One that is intended for the pyramid below. Her breath falters, and in that moment of weakness, Pakellin squeezes her hand. The pyramid below remains the same… Remains the same until… Penelope catches her breath with a head-on gaze of determination. The star stone then begins to shine a purple tone and a small ray of light begins to protrude from crevices of the stone. The light shines against the ceiling of the cottage and slowly the four sides of the pyramid begin to release from their locked grasp. Slowly, the sides lower flatly open and Penelope Halifax stares with a hazel gaze of astonishment. They did it. The twins did it. There within the four walls of the vault relied a small, thin scroll tied in a simple thread. With a break of release, the twins fall back. Both sharing similar nose bleeds as they stare at the tiny piece of paper in front of them...