Undying IC contact

[aria_ardeinae]

In case you want to send this man a letter via courier bat or something.

Comments

[aria_ardeinae]

Of course someone being in the room and close enough to sneak up is the worst one!

[serpendipity]

Is it, though? In your head, they'd know everything you were thinking about during...

[ There's a long enough pause where the dots start to look like a blotch on the paper. Well, maybe it depended on the person being in the room as well. ]

The point is that if anything, they clearly didn't get very close to us, or be around in a way we'd notice.

[aria_ardeinae]

[ Don't make him think about that either, his skin is craaaaawling. ]

All of them are bad, Eden. All of them! I don't want to think about anyone lurking outside the door, either, and that's close to the best case scenario.

[serpendipity]

Then how about a different subject?

[ To act as a bit of a different distraction. She was likely one of the volunteers helping out with novices getting affected by the curse, but was hit by the time Reyson was going through recovery. ]

How're you feeling since being cursed and waking up? You were screaming for a while before we'd gotten you moved.

[aria_ardeinae]

[ He feels a little better at Eden being the one to have been... doing whatever it is one does for people suffering from unprecedented scream trance syndrome. ]

I lost my voice for three days, but as you can hear, I've made a full recovery.

[serpendipity]

[ At least for the initial care, thought he means to administer the cure wasn't exactly the most gentle on the throat either. The best that could be said was that the tube wasn't nearly as harsh as the damage from screaming. ]

It sounds like it's been a little more than full. Did your Maker also take this as an opportunity to feed you? The projection was a little too impressive for stone walls.

[aria_ardeinae]

It could be my natural talent. A younger sibling does have to be loud to get recognition.

But yes, my near demise seems to have motivated him to shore up my resilience.

[serpendipity]

[ Well, she'll never share this on paper, but now she's wondering if she was someone's sibling. Not that she was eager to find out anymore. ]

Do they?

Do you feel more resilient as well? I know your court is more vulnerable to the curse, given the abilities it comes with.

[aria_ardeinae]

[ Reyson mentions his family now and then, like testing a wound to see how it's healing. Pretending they didn't exist would be worse. ]

Older siblings get to do everything first. It balances out.

Overestimating my mental abilities is how I fell to the curse in the first place. I won't count on my blood giving me an advantage the next time we get some damned dream hex.

[serpendipity]

I'll have to take your word for it.

It's not your fault. Even a bit of curiosity could have one using those abilities without thinking, and this happened to be a situation that spread to take advantage of that. Luckily I haven't heard of people falling to it a second time.

[aria_ardeinae]

[ ...She might have siblings out there, it occurs to him. People mourning a lost younger sister. He really needs to look more into that crest. ]

Advantage, yes. It's almost as if it was designed to trap vampires.

[serpendipity]

[ Sadly, at this point, there was less of a chance where she'd try following up on it. The good news is that means he has all the time to work on it. ]

I hadn't had to deal with thralls, so that isn't incorrect.

[aria_ardeinae]

That is odd - they still dream, I presume.

[serpendipity]

Maybe they don't? I think the only way to know was if you were one.

[aria_ardeinae]

I'm trying my best to avoid that particular fate! Have you seen them out from under that hypnotic fog? It's dreadful.

[serpendipity]

I wouldn't want to. They're probably with some awareness, despite not having their own will, so taking it away would seem very traumatizing for them.

[aria_ardeinae]

You are correct. Don't ask Xenk about it.

[serpendipity]

Did you ask Xenk to unthrall someone or something???

[aria_ardeinae]

Yes. It seemed like a perfectly reasonable thing to ask at the time, but it was awful.

[serpendipity]

Of course it would be! If I remember, most of the thralls in the castle are failed novices. Imagine what they'd be thinking if the enthrallment was suddenly dropped.

[aria_ardeinae]

I don't have to imagine it.

He said that it's not uncommon for them to attack, too. I can't blame them; I certainly would.

[serpendipity]

When it comes down to survival and desperation? Anything would be possible at that point. Will you be able to handle it when enthrallment is going to be part of your duties and skills?

[aria_ardeinae]

The alternative is becoming a thrall myself. I will be able to handle it, because I must.

[serpendipity]

Technically the alternative is another court before even that, but if you insist it's all or nothing... actually that kind of determination is really attractive.

[aria_ardeinae]

Every court has something inherently distasteful to it. I'll choose the method of my own suffering, and thereby control it.