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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2008 2:33:28 GMT -5
"Will this dosage dull my wits, or sap my strength?" Aranya asked, taking a gulp, and then cautiously sipping.
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Post by The Stranger on Jul 14, 2008 2:35:16 GMT -5
"If you want her to live, tell her she needs bedrest, not... whatever it is she's planning." The Maester said, as he spoon fed the woman some of the milk of poppy.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2008 2:42:36 GMT -5
Aranya swallowed the poppy as meekly as a child, and but then she pushed his spoon away with her good hand, looking a little relieved. "I feel warm in my chest," she murmured, with a small smile. "I reckon that's enough. Thank you, maester. Stay here, I might need you." She took a deep breath, squeezed Cedric's hand with her good one, and closed her eyes. She felt stronger now, and her will was hard and determined.
She reached out, and sensed the basilisk. But she did not make contact.
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Post by Bunny-Rabbit on Jul 14, 2008 2:45:58 GMT -5
Cedric slipped under his wife, and pulled her against his chest. He held her tight, and sang a lullaby that his mother used to sing to him as a child.
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Post by The Stranger on Jul 14, 2008 2:46:01 GMT -5
She felt her arm, tingling, and an itch in the back of her mind, encouraging her to make contact, to open herself up and come into the creature's mind.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2008 2:48:44 GMT -5
Aranya was prepared to be patient. Her barriers were around her, and the second she felt her arm tingling, she pulled back slightly. Her mind and the basilisk's orbited, circling around a closed channel. She intended to pique its curiosity, or try and find out what she could without touching it.
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Post by The Stranger on Jul 14, 2008 2:51:31 GMT -5
It was cold and stony. reptilian, and without remorse. but fascinating. Aranya's desire to investigate, to explore the depths of its lizard mind, grew. The creature was open, it had no defenses, it seemed to welcome any attempt to connect to it.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2008 2:57:15 GMT -5
Aranya was sorely tempted, but she was beginning to realize something, and for a moment it disheartened her. She pulled away gently, faded out and returned to her body. She leaned against Cedric, exhausted.
"Thank you for that poppy, maester, it really is helping," she said. The torturous pain in her stone fist was greatly lessened, to a dull, slightly numb throb.
She did not look at Cedric. Her head was on his shoulder. "I'm doing it the wrong way."
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Post by Bunny-Rabbit on Jul 14, 2008 2:59:14 GMT -5
Cedric rubbed her belly, but did not speak until the Maester had gathered his belongings and left the room. Cedric leaned down and kissed her ear, then whispered, "What is that?"
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2008 3:08:14 GMT -5
"I'm trying to befriend it, tantalize it," she said. "But it is too crafty, and too much of a predator. It only understands power - those above it, and those below it. I cannot befriend it. I must master it."
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Post by Bunny-Rabbit on Jul 14, 2008 3:09:15 GMT -5
Cedric nodded in understanding, "How?" He asked simply.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2008 3:12:39 GMT -5
Aranya grimaced. "I'm not strong enough. That has been made clear. But I could attribute it to weariness from the battle - I'm certainly not at my strongest right now. But I need serious mental power to try and combat it. I wish I knew how I could do that." She stared broodingly at the bedsheets, remembering another time, long ago, when she was in the Neck...but she was far from that kind of knowledge now.
"I don't know if a human mind is capable of overpowering a basilisk's - but I think nothing is impossible, if I try. And try I will. I just need to...to think. There must be some way. There must be."
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Post by Bunny-Rabbit on Jul 14, 2008 3:17:43 GMT -5
Cedric's fingers began massaging her tense shoulders, and kissed the crown of her head, "Relax love. You will do it. I know you can." He breathed in her scent and smiled, "You were amazing in battle today, killed twice what I did."
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2008 3:31:50 GMT -5
"Thank you," Aranya said quietly, kissing his hand. He knew it was not for the compliment, but for being here with her, and encouraging her. "I would do it again for you, or any of my family. I am doing this for my family, for the soldiers who died and the soldiers who lived, everyone trapped in here - and for us."
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Post by Bunny-Rabbit on Jul 14, 2008 3:36:54 GMT -5
Cedric nuzzled against the back of her head, "Of course love. There was not a doubt in my heart." he moved his mouth to her neck and gently kissed it several times, "Is there anything else I can do to aid you?" His strong hands worked at her shoulders, causing a gentle heat.
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