RP:The Washing Away Of Wrong

Summary: Celaeno finds Khitti hard at work in the bakery (and very much not pregnant!). She tells Khitti of things things she's done in her absence and Khitti resolves to help Cel get her life back via healing her lesions entirely that was caused by the dark magic that was put on the half-elf.

Ginger Snapped Bakery And Sweetshop, Cenril

Khitti was in the bakery today, and even in the kitchen too! Brand had Dominic today, the captain and his crew taking care of the child as his first mate Dozla said they would. The whole of the ship absolutely adored the kid and Khitti knew he’d be in (many) capable hands. The redhead was busy kneading dough, making biscuits as it were, much like house cats were prone to do. These ones were infused with different herbs and cheese, Khitti having dubbed them Cenril Bay Biscuits. They were glorious and one of her top sellers as people loved to pair them with the seafood that was sold in town. When the kneading was done, she’d use a round cookie cutter, pry circles of dough from its whole and toss them onto two large pans, enough to hold a dozen each. This wasn’t going to be enough, and she knew it, and went to work getting more dough started.

Celaeno had been scant the past few weeks, burying herself in studies, research, and special projects (and recovery from said practicing). As usual, the girl tended to push herself when a problem was staring her in the face, so much to the point where she started feeling spiteful toward the well meaning motivations of the voice she shared her head with. She needed a break, a distraction, a supportive presence to keep her going--more than guild pressures and macabre, but friendly, encouragement. So she left her black robes at the Xalious tower and replaced them with her work apron, new enchantments buzzing across her forearms. Her trek took her to Cenril where a frustrated bit lip made her shoulder open the door rather than push it. Her journey took her to the back by the kitchens, where she usually checked with the bakers to see if they needed any assistance before she took to the front with her little tea tray service. Khitti was spotted with a relieved smile and butterflies in her stomach as she folded her hands in front of her. One might note, rather than adorned in silver armor, her forearms sported black gloves with filled out fingers instead…

Khitti was hard at work when Cel arrived in silence, to the point that the half-elf made her jump. “Frakking hell, Cel.” Ha, she rhymed. There was a smirk though, to show that she wasn’t upset, as olive-green eyes fell towards the mage’s hands. A few blinks were given, and Khitti’s hands wiped off onto her apron. “Did you do this?” She hesitantly reached out with her own hands, fingertips daring to touch fingertips. Khitti was certainly impressed regardless. “I did really like the silver, but I understand why you’d want to do this too.” She wasn’t going to say it, but she knew Cel wanted to be normal, or everyone else’s vision of normal anyway. “If you did this, then you must’ve hurt yourself again… How are you feeling?” The redhead soon pulled her friend into a hug after Cel’s hands hand their inspection.

Celaeno ’s nose wrinkled at the rhyme, though Khitti’s questioning of her work had her beaming with evident pride as she rolled her left sleeve up with jerking fingers. The texture of the fingers seemed to limp in certain areas now and again, the fingers twitching and spasming. Black inked runes ran from her wrist to her elbow, outlined in warm reds, oranges and yellows. She hadn’t shown off the functional artistry to anyone just yet, but many of the characters matched those of her gauntlets, though most seemed for a different arcane purpose. “Miss Meri did the most important part, but I thought it would be beneficial if I had an alternative that didn’t need to be oiled or cleaned daily. They’re a flexible series of barrier constructs shaped to be prosthetic equivalents. It’s a similar constant magical toll as the gauntlets, so it maintaining them only takes more concentration rather than energy.” She jerks her chin over her shoulder to her pack. “I still have my primary pair in there, and I still intend to use them--particularly when performing anything arcane--but sometimes blending in has its uses. And this way I can knead things!” Questions of her condition send blood rushing to her cheeks as she returns the hug, more pressure from her wrists than the experimental palms. “I did not push myself too much. Adequate rest periods and potions between experiments and enchanting. Really, I’ve spent my time doing more reading than active casting.” A frustrated edge colored her voice at that last admission. It’s then she notices something of her own...Khitti’s stomach wasn’t prodding her. She separates and her eyes nearly burst from their sockets with how wide they get. “You...shrank!”

Khitti could only grin as Cel went on about her work--yep, she was just like Khitti. “You do have a point. I’m sure all that dough would get stuck to metal and that would be a pain to clean.” Cel’s own realization was made known and the no longer pregnant redhead nodded, “I did! The baby’s name is Dominic Connor and he’s doing wonderfully.” The thought of that day though prompted a slight frown, but Khitti did her best to hide it by returning to the dough. She threw the finished product into a bowl, put a towel over it to let it rise, and asked one of her other bakers to deal with it when it’s ready. “I’m glad you’re doing well, Celaeno. I understand the frustration of being cooped up and not being able to do much because of your issue with dark magic.” Trust me. She really -does- understand. “Have you done anything further with that healer and their potions? I doubt you’re going to be able to subsist on that forever.”

Celaeno || “That is a...good name. I’m glad you survived the ordeal, being...split open like that.” She blinked at Khitti’s midsection for a solid minute, academically understanding the theory of childbirth but not quite fathoming the reality of it--or comprehending the true turmoil of Khitti’s situation. She seemed almost taken aback, quirking her head to one side like an inquisitive puppy as Khitti turned the subject around so quickly. Every mother she had encountered tended to...well...gush. She almost assumed their next stop would be the Tranquility. Yet she fancied Khitti to be a practical yet ambitious sort, to a point. One of the many reasons she thought so highly of the other. “Oh yes...I was half tempted to sail back to that continent and hunt down our family trunk where his library was kept. Then I found sense again. I feel quite stuck, in fact. I cannot be promoted to Tharandule to access that restricted information until I perform a final task, yet I cannot perform that task until this issue is taken care of. I need something sooner, yet vampirism is out of the question.” She shudders. All the fluid exchange and touching… “So unsanitary...fine for those that like it, but certainly not me. I’ll raise the dead, not be the dead just yet, thank you.”

Khitti smirked at Cel’s mention of not becoming a vampire, “Vampirism doesn’t mean you’re covered from head to toe in blood and gore at all times; there are refined sorts among the vampires, but yes, I get your meaning.” Even the ‘refined sort’ of vampires had their unsavory moments. “And I’d certainly like to keep you amongst the living.” After cleaning her hands and removing her apron, Khitti finally turned back to Cel, a pensive stare gifted to the half-elf, “Well… this is something else we could try. Seika has yet to instruct me on healing and now that Dominic’s here, I’m certainly able to do things more easily than before. I don’t think she wanted me channeling magic, just in case it might affect the baby--which is perfectly fine with me considering it was dark magic that sped him along in the first place and there’s no telling what sort of reaction there’d be.” There was another frown, and then a sigh. “Let’s go to the Tranquility. You can meet Dominic and we’ll have a bit more privacy there. Lennier can loan me his medical room--might even be able to help too.”

Celaeno || “Blood is one thing, but the saliva and open wounds and violations of personal space and all that mess is an entirely other matter.” Prudish or overly health conscious? Perhaps neither? Regardless, her tone stayed firm as she crossed her arms over her chest, her gloves convulsing into fists. Khitti’s idea has her eyebrows going up with evident intrigue, though she rubs her chest where the very unholy carvings still left their ever present reminder. “I am up for considering any ideas you have, so long as you implicitly trust this spirit...Seika.” Khitti might very well intimately understand the grain of hesitation regarding ‘other’ presences slipping into Celaeno’s tone near the end of that thought. Given her history with certain should-be-dead necromancers and their mutual history with should-also-be-dead sisters. She’d still follow, without any delay, much like any loyal house pet.

The Tranquility, Cenril Wharf

Khitti nodded, “Seika has taught me everything I know about becoming a templar, Cel. I absolutely trust them.” After giving some instructions to her crew at the bakery, they’d set off to the Tranquility to see some of Brand’s crew and find her son. Khitti was unusually quiet though the entire way, a brief smile given here and there to those she passed on the ship once they boarded it, as well as an inquiry on where Dominic was. They’d be pointed in the direction of the aforementioned ship’s healer, who now had a hold of the baby. “Hello, Lennier,” Khitti said as she led Cel into the medbay, “How is he?” The tall, bald elf dipped his head in a slight bow to his captain’s woman, precise steps bringing him to stand in front of her, “Perfectly fine--well, now anyway. He was uncharacteristically cranky most of the day and none of us could figure out why. Captain Brand took him to the baby’s room and there they found what Dominic wanted.” He passed over the child, almost hesitantly, as Khitti spotted the object of Dominic’s obsession. It was a green hat, often worn by the former first mate Onyx, and Dominic was currently gumming it to death. Lennier’s hesitance was not for naught, for when Khitti saw the hat, she paled and nearly started to cry. Quelling her tears, Khitti nodded to Lennier and took the child regardless, cradling him in her arms. “Dominic… I want you to meet someone. Her name is Aunt Cel.” Khitti turned to face Cel, offering to let the younger woman hold him. “Lennier, I may need your help aside from the child. Maybe something in the way of anesthesia--something light though. Nothing powerful enough to knock someone out entirely.” The elf nodded and went about to find supplies.

Celaeno opened her mouth to ask more about this templar business, but closed it before any questions came out. She would mostly likely learn with time, she figured. Khitti’s quiet did little to reassure her nerves, though, as suspicions grew in the girl and the more intuitive of the twins sharing said body started lending her theories. Had little Dominic come out off somehow? Yet Khitti had said he was doing fine… She maintains the quiet, however, taking her mentor’s lead as they board the ship. Lennier is given a bow of the half-elf’s head as faint memories of his tending her came back. She breaths a small sigh of relief upon seeing Dominic gumming away, merry as any babe in a fair mood. About to make a comment about how the drooled upon cap should be washed soon, she bites it back again upon spotting Khitti’s pallor. Still, a baby was being offered for her to hold. She debates a moment, glancing at her shuddering gloves. “I wouldn’t want to accidentally drop him,” she offers in excuse as she pats his head ever so gently. He might feel a slight buzzing, hear a dull hum from under the thin fabric covering the constantly shifting barriers, but nothing harmful as she strokes his head with her fingertips. “I perhaps could not do this with him, though, were I wearing my gauntlets instead. Those edges are sharp sometimes. Always cold.” With her small talk quota used up for the moment, her gaze flicks between Khitti and the healer. “So...am I correct in guessing something is off? Not meaning to pry, of course...” Celaeno also says to the babe, "Pleased to make your acquaintance Mister...Dominic." It just then occurred to her she didn't know either Khitti's fiance's surname and/or her mentor's future surname.

Khitti would nod in understanding at Cel’s remarks about holding the child, “It’s alright. I’m sure you’ll be able to once you get things completely sorted out with your new gloves--if you want to anyway. I won’t pressure you into it. Kids are not for everyone and that’s perfectly fine.” She mustered a smile and set the child down into his crib that’d been brought in here so Lennier could keep a better eye on him as he worked. “I’ll have to give you the tour of the baby’s room some other time,” she said as she eyed that drool-covered hat. Ever so carefully she tried to pry it out of his equally drool-covered mitts, but to no avail--he had a titan’s grip on that thing and looked a little sad when Khitti tried to take it from him. “Of course you’d like that thing.” She sighed, turning back to Cel as she inquired about Khitti’s demeanor and formally introduced herself to the child, “When he was born, Facilier showed up… tried to take me and Dominic back to the Shadow Plane. The kid was barely out before he showed up. I thought I was going to die then and there, because I wasn’t going to let Facilier take Dominic from his home, but Onyx… Brand’s former first mate… they just showed up out of nowhere.” She fiddled with the lapis lazuli stone on her neck, the pendant hooked to a silver choker. “They sacrificed themselves for me and Dominic… and I have no idea why. I didn’t even think they cared about me. I feel like a piece of me is missing that I won’t ever be able to get back. Dominic’s been attached to that hat ever since. It was Onyx’s.” Khitti shook her head, Lennier approaching only when she finished speaking, “Here you are, ma’am. Nothing too potent. Shall I leave you two here alone?” The redhead nodded, “Yes, but stay close by just in case. Seika’s going to instruct me in healing with holy magic. I doubt nothing will go wrong but, I’m uncertain of how it will affect Cel and her issue.” Lennier nodded, then stepped out of the room.

Celaeno eyed Khitti’s wrestling with the hat and her new son with a bit lip. The story brought much needed clarity to her mentor’s demeanor. She could hardly imagine how much witnessing someone dying in her stead once would do to one’s psyche. Certainly jarring to have the memory coupled with something that was supposed to be celebrated like a birth. As Lennier stepped out of the room, the half-elf made an attempt to initiate embracing Khitti, a gesture that was starting to grow on her with the older woman. While she might have needed it before, her friend seemed to need one right then. It would still be a quick thing, unsure as her gloves twitched into a splayed formation. “I’ve never been one for...signs and omens and the like, but it seems a good thing, despite the unpleasant reminder, for your boy to be fond of a memento of theirs,” was the last she’d mention the matter unless Khitti wished to dwell on it further. Regardless, she tugged down her shirt collar, revealing the symbols that pulsed with that dark taint they always had. Any other energy surrounding her organs emanated from that inflicted source. “As...for me I suppose this will hurt some? Hence the anesthetic? I’ve found myself feeling...repelled by godly auras more recently the more I practice.” Even if Khitti’s magic wasn’t so muted in the future, the hugs would still be worth it.

Khitti merely shrugged at Celaeno’s mention of ‘good luck’. “I suppose so. The way Dominic was born, aside from all of this Facilier and Onyx stuff, is supposed to be good luck too, according to Lennier. Maybe it’s actually working. Hopefully. I think.” It’d take her a little while to come to terms with the notion of good luck--so far, in all of her years, she’d only ever had bad. “It may hurt, yes. That’s what I’m worried about. But, you’re not undead, so it might not be as bad as my first interaction with holy magic. -That- nearly fried me to a crisp as a vampire. I think it’ll be far less painful than that, especially with the anesthetic. It’s nothing too powerful; just something to dull the senses a little. I’ve had to use it before, when Lennier was dealing with… erm… several hundred stab wounds.” There’s a bit of an awkward cough before she continued on. “It should be fine. Here, lay down on here,” she motioned to the examination table, “Plus, this way, if you need me to stop, you can still tell me.”

Celaeno || “Not yet anyways.” The little enchanter’s fingers twisted as she stared at them, first away from each other, then together--was she trying to cross them in a hopeful gesture? Giving up with a pensive pout, she climbed up on the examination table, feeling very much like a body in Cenril’s morgue for a moment as she laid back with a small shudder. “Funny...I haven’t in this position since Papa put these on me,” she mused aloud as she squirmed in her attempts to get comfortable. The several hundred stab wounds comment made her head tilt up suddenly as she blinked at the formerly pregnant woman in a whole new light. “I...think you just struck Cari quiet. Your life is far too eventful, Khitti, you know that?” An understatement, to be sure.

Khitti smirked down at Celaeno as she moved to the half-elf’s side, “You really have no idea.” A vial of green liquid was plucked up from where Lennier had left it and handed over to Cel, “Drink this. It’s the anesthetic. Lennier managed to perfect it with a bit of mint so it doesn’t taste awful. I was the test subject for this, of course, when he was dealing with my wounds.” The things she does for science. “Let me know when you start to feel its effects. It shouldn’t take long.” As they waited, that sword of Khitti’s floated its way into the room. “Sorry, Seika. I would’ve come and gotten you--” She was cut off, likely by whatever the sprite had said to Khitti, and Khitti only nodded with a smile. “Seika says that I’ll be channeling the magic slowly, so it shouldn’t be anything too intense.”

Celaeno gulped as Khitti held out the liquid. Admittedly, the table and the potion were not helping her nerves much. The barriers composing her hands flickered as she reached out to take it, the gloves falling limp and hanging there like a couple deflated balloons. One deep breath, let her heartbeat slow and the nervous tremors and visions pass. She forced her eyes shut, concentrating her energy back into the tattoos and the enchantment that buzzed along them. With her focus regained, they inflated once more into those delicate little constructs and she took the potion vial. It was getting easier...mildly, to force herself to a calm enough to drink anything offered to her in a vial that she hadn’t purchased herself. She downs it like all those healing potions she’d been consuming, hoping for an end to that string of need with it. Tingling spread down her body out to her limbs as she laid back down until her skin felt...numb, odd. She could move, twitching her toes in her boots and rolling her shoulders, yet it felt like someone else was doing it, like she had strings. “Ah...I think it’s working. This is...odd.” She gulps, offering a small nod toward the sword. “And good day to you...Spirit Seika.”

Khitti could sense Cel’s nervousness and frowned, “I’m sorry. This must not be easy. I’m not sure how else to make things more comfortable for you though. It’s not an ideal situation to be sure. You tell me if there’s anything else I can do okay? Even if that means stopping because things are too much for you. This isn’t like what happened with your father. If you don’t think you can do it in one go, then we’ll do it in sessions. That time I mentioned, when I was injured and Lennier took care of me… it reminded me of the necromancers that fused me with Amarrah and things were only made better by Brand being there with me. If this reminds you of your own past with your father, it’s okay to feel the things it makes you feel. It’s okay to cry or be angry if you need to and I’ll be here for you. You’re not what he tried making you into--whatever it was supposed to be--and it’s time to put what’s leftover of that behind you so you can move on.” She smiled somewhat, trying to be as comforting as possible. It came a little more easily to her nowadays, what with motherhood and all, but even moreso now because Cel’s situation was so much like her own. “Now, best not to waste more time and Lennier’s ingredients. Just remember: we can stop anytime you want.” Khitti took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She’d nod again to Seika, listening to the sword’s instructions. Clear her mind. Focus on the lesions inside Cel’s body. She couldn’t see them, but she could imagine them. The golden aura around Tenbatsu Kaji glowed more brightly, and soon the same color magic surrounded Khitti’s hands. The redhead let them hover over Cel’s body briefly, giving her time to steel herself is she needed it before continuing, channeling the yellow light into Cel’s torso.

Celaeno ’s cheeks turned that embarrassed shade of red they often became when her vulnerabilities were so apparent, but pushing through that hesitation was becoming easier, with some people at least. “Yes, it is like that, I’m afraid. Papa drugged me before the ritual and...my hands. A potion to dull my mind...make me open to suggestion. Pliable.” Her gloves flickered, the fingers drooping once more as flashes of memory resurfaced. She had spoken of the particulars of that event before, only a couple times, and rarely with much detail. “Some things, like taking potions and infernal anything, tend to bring reminders and I freeze up. The episodes pass usually, just a few quick moments of panic and then my sense returns.” The bit of unnerving silence as the sword’s aura expanded and neared her made her heart kick up again. It was perhaps a result of the taint inside her flaring in warning, panicked. The fingers of her gloves filled out again as she gripped the edges of the table tight. Good. Her entire body stiffens up some as the energy wriggles in her chest. Not painful, persay, but the furthest thing from comfortable like worms crawling through her lungs, over her stomach, creeping up her throat. She shudders. “I...think it’s doing something.”

Khitti || “I figured as much. But, you know that I’m not doing it to hurt you. Even when I was still a necromancer, after Seika and the sword came along, its aura still hurt me. You’ve already been through enough pain, mentally and physically--I just didn’t want to be the cause of more.” Khitti nodded when Cel said she thought it was working, “I’m going to ramp it up just a little bit. Dark magic is like a disease on mortals--sometimes even on immortals too. Larewen, as an example, has been corrupted by dark magic for a long time, so much so that she bleeds black.” The yellow aura grew, shifting to orange, the holy magic intensifying and attempting to heal Cel’s organs.

Celaeno shut her eyes and gripped the table harder as she resisted the urge to writhe right there. With all other concentration pinned on staying put, the barrier-constructs flickered out entirely, leaving her sleeves to droop even as phantom sensations convinced her that she white-knuckled where she lay. No, she needed something else to concentrate on. Khitti’s voice makes her slightly pointed ears prick as her eyes scrunch shut and her nostrils flare. “Yes...I...had an opportunity to do an-ah...experiment on someone. Their...consent and request of course. It was...odd.” The tale she recounts is interrupted as she grinds her teeth. The lesions seemed to heal, then tear, then repeat that cycle all over again. “They asked me to try...draining their lifeforce somehow and...the energy I pushed into them was...the same as I used to raise corpses. But it drained them. It went a little...awry, but it turned out...fine. I managed to..heal them through the same method...on myself.” The taint was pushed out bit by bit, engulfed as the intensified holy magic started to overwhelm it. After all, the foreign forces that had inflicted it were not available to reinforce it. Even the scars upon Celaeno’s skin seemed to fade some before Khitti’s eyes, not as dark or sharp as before. The crawling spiked all at once and the girl’s composure couldn’t seem to last anymore as she let out a whining whimper. Then all at once it subsided...Had it worked?

Khitti frowned at the news from Celaeno. An experiment? Well, at least it wasn’t something she’d done against someone’s will. Still though… she wished she’d been there to help in some way. “I’m glad it went alright, then,” she said distractedly as she continued to channel the holy magic. She was thankful that this hadn’t come up when she was still pregnant; just as Cel was made uncomfortable by the holy magic fighting with the dark, Khitti too was feeling weak. When was the last time she’d used this much magic? Most of it lately was minor things, even with the armor. It reminded her of channeling Amarrah’s magic, and she tried not to frown further. Hopefully, her training would be completed soon and she’d have her own magic again, instead of borrowing from Seika. “You be careful, doing things like that, okay? Sometimes, even if a person asks you to and gives you consent, doesn’t always make it the right thing to do. Judge your situation carefully. Is this person trustworthy? Can they use this power in some other way? You seem to be rather good at judging other people’s character though, so I trust your judgement. I’m just cautious is all. Lots of bad things happening these days. Just be careful.” Cel’s squirming stopped and Khitti blinked a few times. -Did it work-? The aura on her hands faded away and Khitti tilted her head at Cel, “Seika says that it’s gone.” There’s another set of blinks. “I did it?” She did do it. “I think you should rest though for a little bit, just to let the medicine wear off. I can help you off the table and take you to one of the cots if you want, “she said as she motioned to the other side of the room.

Celaeno || “No, you’re right. It was...a mistake with interesting results. I should have been...more careful.” Potentially indicating she had dubbed said subject as one of those untrustworthy people. She breathed deep, panting as sudden exhaustion washed over her. While that anesthetic’s effects still kept her numb, she had no doubt when she woke next her entire body would feel sore. Her jaw already felt stiff from being clenched so hard. She propped herself up on her elbows, gloves slipping off her wrists and fluttering to the floor as she adjusted her positioning. “Yes, more practice with...those.” Khitti was addressed with wide, hopeful eyes at the question of if she’d been successful. Giddy butterflies started in Cel’s stomach as she offered her mentor a tired, yet triumphant smile. She would take that offer to be hoisted up and escorted to a cot, laying in it with a yawn turned into the crook of her elbow. The gloves forgotten, she snuggled into the stretched out canvas with contented peace on her face, braid snaking across her new pillow. “Thank you, Khitti,” were her final words before she drifted off.