Evernight

[Elle Joyner]

Sinking down beside him, Minette shook her head. Real or not real, and she had already decided it didn't matter either way, he needed his rest. He had gone through an ordeal that none typically walked away from, and as eager as she was to be free of Evernight, of Thalia, it made little sense to rush in when he was hardly at his strongest. Her hand still encased in his, she reached with her other and cupped his cheek, thumb brushing against the apple.

"Thal... You... you've been through a lot. Gregian won't get far. He's got no clue how to survive out there, especially in the dark, on his own. As much as I worry what he might do, it won't do us any good to have you rushing into anything." She considered how Gregian had been... first striking her, the sting of the gash still raw on her cheek, then his behavior after the Antropoe disappeared... He would undoubtedly be keen to find Thalia, to win her over, but they had to act wisely, or there would be not hope of defeating either of them.

"You need to rest, my love. I... I have you back. I won't lose you again... I can't." Breathing out, she let her hand fall to her side, "We'll plan in the morning. I'll keep watch for tonight." She was tired, too, bone weary to her core, but even knowing he was alive, she wasn't about to let her guard down. She would watch over him... keep him safe.
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Thalion very much would have liked to argue, but he knew it would go to no end. He hadn't the energy to spring up and show her that he was, in fact, fine. He wasn't fine. His muscles ached in a way they hadn't ached before. His throat still burned, his lungs still stung, he still felt weighed down by an immense pressure. Sighing, he finally obliged with a single nod. "My mother has no purpose for him yet," he agreed, though not entirely whole-heartedly, "She will not be seeking him yet, I'm sure. Only when she knows I'm alive will she reach out to him, unless he finds her first but…" he shook his head again. "These forests are filled with nasty creatures. He'd be wise to wait until morning."

Reclining back, he stretched out. It felt good to stretch, though he supposed after a few days of not moving at all, his muscles were eager for some form of articulation. Things were warming up again, slowly but surely, but he still was not entirely sure what a soul was. All of his adult life, he wondered fervently what it would be like to have a soul. He always thought he'd knew immediately—that it'd change him, make him happier, better, human. The truth was that he felt no different though. It frustrated him because he had always hoped it would coax what human parts of him he had further to light, but he was still oddly in touch with his other half… naturally, that thought came with a surge of others like… did he even deserve to leave Evernight?

Or was he still a monster, soul or not, that did not belong in the other world?

Closing his eyes, he tried to shed those thoughts from his mind. "What is a soul then?" he wondered aloud, but yawned, and promptly dozed off. Given any other situation, he would have argued that Minette was the one who needed the rest. He was even about to, but sleep had another idea and it claimed him before he even had the opportunity to get a word in edgewise.
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[Elle Joyner]

As Thalion sank into sleep, Minette had a small rush of fear that he might not wake again. That his brief revival would somehow be shortly lived and in the morning she would find herself alone again. It was enough, as if she needed the motivation, to keep her own eyes wide open. She would watch over him, and if he showed so much as a hint of falling away, she would shake him awake until he returned to her.

It was going to take time before she was willing to accept what had happened, before she could fully trust that everything was real. It was enough, just seeing the steady rise and fall of his chest, hearing the gentle rush of breath escaping him. That was the only comfort she would be able to pull from that evening.

Fingers brushed gently through his hair as she considered his last word and frowning softly, she shook her head, "...I thought I knew, my darling... I thought it was something within us, that made us whole... but after today? After today, I think maybe it's something you give...All I know is, you have mine, and you always shall..."
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He woke faster than a cat in ice-water, every sense urging his way up to standing. His heart slammed violently in his chest and sweat beaded across his forehead as he repressed the nightmares he couldn't even remember now that he had awoken. He had very nearly hit his head on the top of the hut, being as tall as he was, but he very narrowly avoided the roof support beam with a very quick reflex and a duck. The pain on his chest had relaxed and the exhaustion had cleared moderately. He still ached all over, but it felt good to be standing—like he was draining away all the pressure.

Meanwhile, his heart was beating steady and strong, coming back to a more normal rate. It was still dark out, he could see that, but morning was close. That he could feel. The air had gotten chilly, but pleasantly so—enough to take the edge off the heat and give him just the suggestion of a shiver. He stood there a moment, hands hanging down at his sides, as he tried to sort through what had been a dream and what had been real. For the first few seconds, he had convinced himself that their previous night conversation hadn't happened at all—but the sinking reality crept in closer and deeper.

Clearing his throat, Thalion pushed his hair away from his forehead and snorted with exasperation. "Minette?" he asked, his eyes adjusting to the dark space, "Minette are you awake?" She had said she was going to stay awake all night, but he wouldn't have blamed her if she dozed off. After the few days she had, she must have been rightly exhausted.
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[Elle Joyner]

She hadn't however. She'd wanted to, almost desperately, she had wanted to, but the fear had lingered too long, always overpowering whatever exhaustion she felt, forcing her eyes opened again. Yet despite her fears, he had made it through the night and as he woke with a start, Minette straightened as well, grimacing at the ache in her joints, at the bruise, spread now across her cheek. Pressing the back of her hand to it, she frowned softly.

"...I'm awake. Are you alright? How... how do you feel?" She wasn't sure, entirely what to say. What did one ask a person who had been dead for two days? Was there anything appropriate? He seemed less weary, certainly and a brightness had returned to his skin, to his eyes, but his previous state had to have taken it's toll.

Then again, what about Evernight hadn't taken it's toll on the both of them. How long had it been now? How many days since she had woken up on that shoreline, since Thalia had taken her from her home? The days seemed to blur, now, fading together... only bits and pieces standing out, some good, some not so good... It all felt like a strange dream, which maybe wasn't entirely inaccurate, after all. That was what it had started out as...

"It's a few hours yet, till dawn. Are you hungry? There's plenty left over from the bonfire..." There hadn't, after all been any Antropoes to clean it up...
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'I'm fine' seemed like the understatement of the century so Thalion didn't say it.

Instead, he just sort of nodded solemnly. "I feel alright," that was the truth, at least physically. He felt sore, but no sorer than he had when he had been bashed with a dragon's tail that one time. Now than he had gotten some sleep, he was feeling much better in his body, but his mind was still a jumble. It was like a puzzle box someone had shaken all up after removing a few pieces from it… all the pieces belonged together, but he wasn't sure how and he wasn't convinced they'd ever make a complete picture again. He wasn't even sure what the picture was supposed to be.

"I…" was he hungry? He took a moment to mull it over, "I am a bit, yea. You rest, alright?" he turned to her, squatting down next to her and taking in the entirety of her face for the first time. The previous night he had seen her in sort of a hazy halo, a blurry image. It was like he had been drunk and his eyes weren't able to go into focus. Now, he saw her crisp and clear—every line, every curve, every plane. He rested his hand gently on her cheek, brushing his thumb just under the bruising that had begun to fill in. "The cut is too clean to have been to have been a tree or a rock. It could have been a talon or claw, but there is only one so it's unlikely it came from any creature's paw or hand so… where did you get this from, hm?"

He didn't poke at it. He did pull his thumb away though, so as not to inadvertently bump it and cause her pain. It wasn't particularly deep or life-threatening… it was a long way from her heart and didn't look or feel like it was infected, at least from what little he could make out in the dark.
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[Elle Joyner]

Flinching ever so slightly, more at the question than the delicate touch, Minette shook her head. It wouldn't do to lie, even if she'd had the desire to. Thalion would know… he always seemed to know, "I told you he's changed. Though I had not realized how greatly, until last night. He was mad… raving about making a queen of me, whether I consented or not. It is to your credit, my love, that you taught me so well how to use a blade. I imagine I wounded his pride far worse than he, my cheek."

It was for this reason, as well, that she had been so careful to watch Thalion while he slept. If she had drifted off and Gregian had returned, there was no telling what the man might prove capable of. It had frightened her to see him so violent, but it did not surprise her. Men like Gregian, driven by their lust and greed were often not far from violence of a physical nature… and it was only a matter of time before he fell into the habit, had he not already been privy to it, of using it to get what he wanted…

Smiling delicately, Minette reached up to take hold of his hand, and bringing the rough palm to her lips, she kissed it, tenderly, "I'll be alright. I have you, and that is all I need... " The smile faded as she met his gaze, her eyes softening, welling with tears, "Oh, Thal. I cannot tell you what it did to me, to think that I had lost you. It scares me, still… to think that at any moment, I might wake to find this all a dream, a terrible, cruel dream."

Closing her eyes, she pulled his hand to her cheek again and leaning against it, closed her eyes, "If it is a dream, I would will to never wake. Better a thousand years within the lie of a dream than even one awake, without you."
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There was some anger, yes, but considerably less than there probably would normally have been. Thalion had his own demons and Minette had gotten a few demonstrations of his anger, though they were never violent outbursts. It pleased him to hear her comments on the matter though. Somehow, intuitively, he knew he would die in Evernight… though he hadn't been anticipating the eventual outcome. Even months prior, he knew he needed to teach her and teach her he had. So, instead of becoming irate, he just nodded. "Good," he said, "He doesn't deserve to have pride if he is going to try and hurt you. I'm most disappointed that he didn't think I taught you better than that. Hm."

The poetic commentary caused him to laugh. His laugh was like ripples in a still pond after a stone had been thrown in. It radiated outwards through his entire face, it lit up his eyes the moment they were still open before they closed and his head tipped back. "You are very poetic," he commented once he had gathered his composure, his eyes still bright with a smile even though her eyes were welling with tears. "Minette, I wish I could say I missed you too, but there was nothing," his head shook gently, "At least nothing I remember. Death meant… it was nothing to me. I feel like no time has passed for me at all. I don't know what Green Reach is anymore and all we have is this place."

"I know that if we can survive this shared dream, there is nothing we can't achieve. So don't cry or be scared," his fingers unfurled across her cheek as she leaned into his palm, "If the cosmos were ready for our story to be over, I would have stayed dead." Sliding his hand away from her cheek, he chuckled softly—a light, joyful sound, a sound that he seldom shared with the world.

"Come here," his arms wrapped around her shoulders and he pulled her into an embrace.

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[Elle Joyner]

It had been too long, decidedly, since she had heard his laugh, but the sound of it warmed her, enough to keep the tears a bay. He might have died, and certainly that impacted the both of them, greatly, but he was still so much the same Thalion… her Thalion. She had worn down his defenses, shown through the light beneath his darkness, but there would always be a part of him that was wild…

Still… as he pulled her into his arms, she could sense in him a shift, a subtle change. He was Thalion, but he was altered, whether by what had happened to him, or by something else entirely. Burrowing close, she leaned against him, the driving beat of his heart beneath her ear more comforting than he might ever know.

"If we want half a shot at a life together, we have to stop her…" She whispered, after a few minutes, "She's taken too much, far too much, here and at home. You said there were other ways of getting out? What do we need to do?"

It wasn't ideal going up against Thalia on uncertain ground, but if they had any chance of defeating his mother, it was now, when she was vulnerable… while she still believed Thalion to be dead. They wouldn't get another shot at it… of that, Minette was certain.
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His hand soothed her hair, brushing the long tangles tresses down her back. "I don't know for sure," he admitted with a hum, "I never told you about it because you were too strong-willed and I knew you'd go after it when you first arrived here and I thought you'd never survive it. You probably wouldn't have, honestly. When I captured the Watchcrew, he told me that every universe is created in a sphere of magic that is laid flat and perfectly uniform. It it then molded together but there is a seam and that seam connects this world… and all others. I—I never pursued it myself because that's really all I ever learned about this seam."

Watchcrew were difficult to catch but even more difficult to keep contained. He had wrestled just a little bit of information out of the creature before it had grew dense foliage around its cage and leeched out between the bars, escaping back into the forests. "All I know for certain is that my mother cannot die in Evernight because it's…" he wasn't sure how to explain it. Evernight wasn't real—not in the way Green Reach was, yet it wasn't entirely fake, either. It was sort of stuck in-between that which was real and that which was a dream—a bridge between realities.

"It's… complicated but she is not bound to this place in flesh like you and I. If she is to be stopped, it must be done from Green Reach." Nothing could be easy, of course. No, fate didn't seem keen on throwing them any kind of bone or dash of good luck. Getting to Green Reach would be hard enough, but ending the witch's reign? That was a whole other matter entirely and Thalion felt queasy about the very idea of Green Reach. His mother had messed up once, but he was certain there would be no third chances… he was sure the next time the witch got her hands on either of their lives again, it would be permeant death.

"The problem is, I'm not sure where to even start to try and find more information on this seam."
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[Elle Joyner]

It was as sound a plan as they were going to get, it seemed... a little frustrating, considering it wasn't much of a plan, at all. There was only so much they could do, however. It was, after all, Thalia's world and while Thalion seemed to have a bit more control than they initially realized, he was still not directly in control. There would be challenges to overcome... and maybe they would be successful, maybe they wouldn't, either way it would not be easy.

Straightening, though not out of his hold, Minette frowned, thoughtfully, "Sounds to me like maybe we need to find another Watchcrew. You know enough this time around to ask the right questions. Though I suppose we should keep you ought of sight as long as possible. The minute finds out you're alive, she'll come for you, again. She enjoys the thought of me struggling to survive on my own... she won't bother me, until she has to."

Pressing a hand over that steady heartbeat, as if to remind herself it was still pulsing, she shook her head, "Which ultimately means that we'll need to deal with Gregian, too. He's angry, and he's bitter. He'll go to her, as soon as he can and he'll tell her everything. You said last night you had an idea of what to do with him?" A part of her was hoping, even despite all that he had done, that it wouldn't be Gregian's fate to die in Evernight... certainly not by their hand. He wasn't a good man, but trading one act of cruelty for another wasn't the way Minette ever wanted to function.
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"Yes, so he has," Thalion agreed, letting himself consider the depths of what that meant. Gregian had, purposely or not, betrayed them. Damn well near killed him… did kill him, but Thalion could have forgiven it had the next thing she said not been enough to send bolts down his spine. A man with a changed heart, or perhaps he was just a man finally showing his true heart. From the moment they had met, Thalion had not trusted the other man. He hadn't trusted Minette, either, but Gregian had been different. At first, he had thought it mere jealousy, but he learned that hadn't been true, either. He had nothing to be jealous over. Minette had staked her claim and he had no reason to doubt that, still, the feeling had persisted and he finally knew why.

"I think we should…" he was about to continue when her hand reached out and connected with his bare flesh along his jaw. It caused his senses to prickle and the weight on his chest to suddenly feel no so heavy. The exhaustion wasn't vanquished, but it eased its aggression. He tipped his head softly into her fingers, sighing out a deep, pent-up breath… one that felt so deep from within him, he was certain he had died with that very breath in his core. "You know I'd do anything for you," he mentioned, his voice a deep growl. "I see no point in making exceptions now."

But god was he tired. His body still ached out painfully. Even sitting up had been an effort, he couldn't even imagine what walking must feel like… but what choice did he have?

"I don't think we can defeat her here, in Evernight. This is her terrain… she knows every inch of it and makes up the rules as she goes. Green Reach… I think—I think that's the only place we stand a chance to defeat her." Even then, he wasn't sure they could. She was an immensely powerful witch and a trained one at that. "As for Gregian," he reached up, gently taking her hand and pressing a kiss into her knuckles, "I think I know what we can do to him."

"Catching Watchcrew is incredibly difficult," he admitted, "Keeping it contained will be even harder. If we catch one… and that's a big if, we can't let it loose again. You know they are loyal to my mother only, but perhaps we can coax some answers out of it. I may have an idea on how to contain it, but I don't know how to catch it. The little trick I used last time won't work again, I don't think." He tilted his head down to her as she straightened, inhaling sharply. "So, if you have any ideas, don't be afraid to blurt them out. You're right, I think she'll focus her attention back on your crown in Evernight now that she thinks I'm dead. I'm sure she'll periodically send her spies after you to check up."

His eyes shifted to the wooden door. The light from the setting moon trickled in below and he sighed out his deep breath. Gregian. That man had proven more trouble than he was worth and he clearly had not learned from his experiences in Evernight. Hitting Minette? He must have been daft. Even Thalion knew better than to try something so foolish.

"Yes, remember that time I got stung and I lost all my wits?" he inquired, though he was sure he already knew the answer. How could she forget? "Their poison is extremely potent and mostly harmless. The body dispels it after some time. We'll drug him and tie him down to a pack animal. He'll be obnoxious, but he shouldn't be much of a problem in that state." Thalion would have very much liked to have just offed the man, it would have been easier, but perhaps easier was not the answer they needed. Like it or not, he knew that Evernight did a terrible thing to the minds of men.

"It's not ideal but I'm afraid none of this is. Once… if… we get to Green Reach, we can dump him off there and leave him. At least he won't get eaten by a dragon there."
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[Elle Joyner]

Whatever their options were, they weren't likely to be anything less than complicated. If they could get a Watchcrew contained, there was no telling if they would even get anything out of them, but they had to try. There had to be something they could do to find a way out of Evernight. And knowing now that Thalion possessed magic of his own, perhaps they would finally have something of an advantage.

She felt a little better, hearing his plans for Gregian. Whether or not it was in consideration of her, she couldn't know, but she was ultimately pleased to hear that he didn't intend to end the man's life. He was a cad, and probably worse, but in the end, Gregian had suffered the same fate that she had and no one, as far as she was concerned, deserved to die within Evernight, "It's more than he deserves... but I'd say it's a good plan. Finding him will undoubtedly be a bit easier than finding the Watchcrew... I imagine he's not familiar with covering his tracks."

If they could track rabbits, there was no doubt in her mind that they're be able to track Gregian, and with him controlled, they would have much less to worry about. Admittedly, she was glad they'd be leaving him alive, but there was still some vindictive pleasure in knocking him down a peg or two.

Smiling tenderly, she stretched her hand up, cupping Thalion's cheek, "You're really back. I've been so afraid to accept it, but I can feel it, now." It was real, and if she had anything to say about it, she was never going to let anything happen to him, again.
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"Well, if there is as much of me in this place as everyone says, then I suppose I can't be gone yet." He shrugged a little, taking one last breath out as she pressed her palm to his cheek. "I'm going to go to the ponds to find whatever I can to knock Gregian out good and cold for a while. You rest, alright? The Antropoe village is extremely well protected. You'll be safe here." Leaning down, he pressed a kiss into her cheek. He needed to get out for a while. His muscles were tense and ached for movement. "Get some rest, you seem like you need it."

He also planned on finding their friend Gregian, wherever he had wandered off to, though Thalion could only imagine he hadn't gotten far through the night. Where would he have gone, anyways? Too far North and he would have walked straight into the Hendelen Geyser field. Too far West and he would have sauntered into Skawolf territory. Who knew, maybe he had and maybe he had already gotten eaten by something, or had his flesh melted off of him by the geysers. Now, Thalion didn't wish to kill him, but he wouldn't have grieved too hard had he learned Gregian dead.

Stretching out his shoulders a little, Thalion stepped back and moved for the door. Giving it a soft push, he inhaled sharply as the cool morning air swirled across him. Minette was right, the sun was still a few hours off, but he could feel the morning in his bones.

Glancing back over his shoulder, he nodded his head. "I'll see you soon, alright?" He noted he didn't have a sword on his person anymore, but the Antropoe village was bound to be brimming with them—and bows and arrows, too. He felt bad about looting from their camps, but what choice did they have? Furthermore, he knew it'd be a worse shame to let it all go to waste.
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[Elle Joyner]

Her lips curved down in a frown that was very nearly pouty, as Thalion moved for the hut exit. He was right... she needed to rest, and it was better to do it now, when they had some grace than wait too long, but the idea of letting him out of her sight wasn't one she was terrible thrilled with. He pressed a kiss to her cheek and with a sigh, she released him, nodding, "Please be careful..."

It didn't feel good enough... the soft warning, but Thalion knew what he was doing and she couldn't forget that. What had happened with Gregian and the orb had been a horrible fluke, but otherwise, he had survived Evernight for so long, and she could not lose sight of that. He could handle himself, and he had taught her much the same.

But left alone in the hut, she still felt the weight of anxiety unlike what she had felt before.

Curling up on the cot that Thalion had vacated, she lay her head on her arms and closed her eyes. Sleep didn't come immediately, and for that she wasn't terribly surprised, but eventually the heaviness of her exhaustion overcame her nerves and steadily, she drifted off, stolen away into a tumultuous rest.
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Thalion had been right in that the village was flush with weapons for the taking. It still felt amoral, but desperate times called for desperate measures and Thalion moved quickly to find himself a more than adequate sword, quiver, and bow. It felt good to have a bow in his hands again. It sat heavily in his palm, the wood grain coarse against the roughness of his palms. Though it felt good to be armed again, the quietness of the town unnerved him. The village was quiet without a soul in sight. Even Gregian was gone, though Thalion had a good idea of where he had gone off to. As Minette had assured him, the man's trail was more obvious than a yellow brick road.

Deciding it was not the time to dwell, he turned off to head for the marshes. Sure, he had been stung in the pools, but those little buggers enjoyed any sort of warm, damp earth and the nearby marshes were just as good of a habitat as the pools. He spent most of his morning there—wading ankle high in murky, muddy water plunging after gumball size bugs that were trying to sting him. They were bountiful, but harder to catch than he had been anticipating. Barely avoiding getting stung on several occasions, Thalion managed to wrangle six of the little bastards into an old mead bottle he had fortuitously grabbed in the village.

Satisfied with his catch for the day, he sauntered slowly back to town in no rush at all. The sun had risen and the warmth felt good on his skin. It was a bright, shining day—the sun plump, the clouds white and fat, the sky blue as he had ever seen. Thalia was in a good mood, it would seem… but so was he.

He had purposely avoided the direction he believed Gregian had gone, deciding ultimately it'd be wiser to have Minette with him when they ambushed the Duke. One to pin him down and hold him steady and another to give him a good jab with a wee bit of toxin. As strong as he was, Thalion understood a man in panic was often stronger than they first appeared and Thalion really didn't want to accidentally loose a grip on him and have to go sprinting through the god forsaken forest.
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[Elle Joyner]

In her sleep, Minette dreamed... her mind propelled by weariness to a world of fear, crushing and deep. In her dream, she stood before Thalia, the mocking queen, dark and lovely, towering over Minette, a figure of perfect, violent power. In her hand, her long fingers curved around it's form, she held an orb like that Gregian had used to kill Thalion... and on her lips, a cold smile, her cruel eyes alight with victory. For a long while, she remained silent, but for the tapping sound of her long nails against the glass of the orb, her grip tightening every so often. When she finally did speak, her voice was soft, almost tender... though without genuineness.

"Did you think that I would make it easy for you, child? That you would just walk away, return to your life? I always have contingencies... and I will not allow some spoiled princess from Doyle to outwit me. What will you do to bring him back when you've exhausted all other options? There's no one left, my dear, but you... Would you do it? Would you give your soul for his?" For measure, Thalia tossed the globe a few inches from her hand before catching it again, "...Do you love him enough? Let's see... shall we?"

A second time, she tossed the globe but this time, she did not catch it and in suspended horror, Minette watched as it came crashing to the ground, the shattering sound felt, rather than heard, deep within her chest.

With a startled cry, Minette woke from the dream, bolting upright with a choking gasp, her hand clutching her heart.
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The little bugs swirled angrily around the jar. Their plated bodies clicked as they ran into one another and they made a hissing sound that rattled like a Rattle Snake's tail. He gave them a little shake once, peeing at them through the tinted glass with an amused snort. Well, Gregian probably wouldn't enjoy it, but at least he'd probably be amusing… assuming he wasn't dead yet. They didn't like being shaken because they very hastily hissed and grew louder, stinging at the glass to try and get through to him. "Heh," he mused with a shake of his dead, dropping the tightly capped bottle down on the ground for the time being, "Serves you all right for one of you stingin' me a while back."

Hearing the startled cry crack through the otherwise deserted campsite, Thalion perked up a little. He didn't hear any rustling or any tell-tale signs of some beast invading the camp. "Minette?" he called, jogging forward and pushing open the door to the hut to find her entirely alone but jolted wide awake. "Hey? You good?" It didn't take a genius to figure out it was probably just a bad dream and after the last few weeks in Evernight she had had, he wasn't surprised. They'd stop eventually, the dreams.

After a while, you just grew too adapted to it to let it give you nightmares.

"I got our new friends for Gregian. I didn't hunt after him, though. Decided I didn't have enough arms to tackle him, pin him to the ground, and get him stung without stinging myself in the process. Figured you could lend a hand… figured you'd want to lend a hand." Maybe it wasn't killing him, but there had to be some vindication in helping him get stung by a hallucinatory bug.

"You should eat something before we leave… maybe find some new gear, too. Might as well, I guess."
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[Elle Joyner]

Reality flooded her mind as the dream world faded, but Minette was still so shaken by what she had seen that Thalion's question barely registered. It wasn't until he continued, bringing up their plan for Gregian that she seemed able to focus. Looking up, she nodded her head, frowning softly, "I... I don't think it's a good idea for either of us to go anywhere alone, as it is. Not for long. If... if something happens..."

Rubbing the back of her neck, her gaze fell. It wasn't going to be easy. Remembering that Thalion was more than capable of taking care of himself was one thing, but trusting her mind not to jump to conclusions every time he went away... keeping the panic at bay was going to be troublesome, "I... I'm sorry." She whispered, and in frustrating, she blinked back the tears that stung her eyes, "I know you're fine, I... I just can't shake it. That feeling. There are no Antropoe to help if... if something happens to you, again."

Shifting from the cot, she rose to her feet and raking her fingers through her hair, looked to the entrance of the hut, "I won't take long. I'm not exactly hungry, anyhow." Being alert, however, was important, and she wouldn't pass up the opportunity to eat a decent meal before the were back out in the wilderness. It was a shame, really, that they needed to act with such haste, because they both could have used a few days to recover, and the Antropoe village was well stocked...

It had needed to be.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, she sighed and moved to the door, "I'll get past it... I will."
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Thalion had been alone in Evernight a long time and he had faced a great number of terrible things, but what had happened to him with Gregia had been something no amount of hunting prowess could have prevented. Those orbs, whatever they were, were something even Thalion had known nothing about. He still wasn't sure exactly what they were—or how many of them existed. Did Minette have one? Gregian? Thalia? Did everyone, every living creature have one? The only person who might have been able to give them more information was Gregian, though he knew the Duke probably wouldn't be giving up anything willingly… and his memory was going to be scrambled with the toxin.

As Minette insisted they couldn't go out alone, Thalion's mind was elsewhere. It bothered him to wonder why, if his mother had such an easy means to get rid of anyone she wanted, why she hadn't. If she had been capable of killing one or both of them off earlier, why hadn't she? There were rules to magic—deep-seated rules that he hadn't fully come to understand, it would seem.

"I know you will," he returned back to the present conversation as she brushed past him with a hasty apology and a comment that she'd get over it, eventually. "We're both going to have to." Thalion was dealing with it in the same way he dealt with everything: ignoring it, shoving it deep within the confines of his mind and pretending it didn't exist. It was easier that way, especially when he had a much bigger problem to deal with. He couldn't promise her they'd both come out of the fight alive… he couldn't promise her anything, despite he very much would have liked to. If Thalia had kept those orbs, whatever they were, a secret for so long… he could only wonder what other tricks she had up her sleeve.

Perhaps they were destined to fail, though Thalion already knew he wouldn't regret dying fighting that fight.

Trailing behind her, he stepped out into the sun-drenched morning, inhaling sharply the smell of burnt wood and smouldering coals.
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