Dreamfoil

Post your RP stories/character descriptions/other cool stuff here!

Moderator: Guild Officer

User avatar
Aelflaed
Posts: 609
Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2008 10:10 am
Location: The Swamp
Contact:

Dreamfoil

Postby Aelflaed » Thu Nov 13, 2008 3:42 pm

((Since this isn't finished just yet... GET THEE TO THE NEW FORUM. /kicks))

The alarm bells over the Harbor were still ringing when Aelflaed finally dragged herself back to the small apartment in Old Town. Mrs. Cross had left the stairway light on – she was a friendly woman, though not particularly open, and she’d been kind about the odd hours that the redheaded paladin had kept lately. It probably didn’t hurt that the Silver Shield hadn’t had any problems with zombies or undead since Aely had moved in.

Stumbling down the stairs with a candle, she lit the lamp and slowly – almost painfully – pulled off her armor, setting oil soaked rags on a few of the particularly gunked up joints. Her shield would need to be hammered out again as well, but that was one of the benefits of living in the basement apartment under the armorer’s shop.

After what seemed like hours to her weary hands, she sat on the edge of her bed in a loose shirt and pants, idly combing her hair with her fingers, her brain racing as the bells at the harbor started up again, announcing another Frostwyrm attack. On the inside of her shield it said “He who guards doesn’t sleep”, but tonight she couldn’t fend off her eyelids any longer.

She peered across the room to the other bed where Phileas had been sleeping, over near the small stove and her cabinets of herbs. Her quilt was still there, lying in the rumpled remains of three nights without sleep. Leaving it there, she grabbed a heavy woolen cloak from the cedar chest that held her spare clothes and lay down, sinking into a wary sleep, her final thoughts wondering, not for the first time, if he’d been alright during the attacks.

*****

From somewhere in a dreamless haze, she thought she heard her name. She couldn’t tell, maybe it was just a dream. She heard it again, and couldn’t place the voice, her mind slowly teetering halfway between sleeping and consciousness, unsure of whether to wake up and answer.

When the voice continued, speaking something she couldn’t understand, she sat up – her eyes blinking into the utter blackness that filled the small room like ink. She fumbled for a match, lighting the small candle on the table at the foot of her bed, and nearly knocked it over as her eyes adjusted to the dim light in the room and she realized what was going on.

She scrambled off the bed to kneel on the floor beside the sleeping rogue. He’d wrapped himself in her quilt and was lying there, almost tucked under the edges of her own blankets. And he was dreaming, his face contorted as he struggled with some unseen foe.

Aely reached down to lay her hand on his shoulder, only to find her wrist grasped firmly in his long fingers. He struggled against her, his voice growing desperate as he tried to fend her off - as though she were attacking him.

“Phileas. Phileas wake! Ye aren’a hurt – ‘s jus’ a dream.” She threw her weight against his other arm, ignoring what would eventually be bruises where he’d grabbed her shoulder, trying to keep him still as he tried to push her away. “Phileas – hear me! I willna hurt ye. Phileas!”

After a few heartwrenching seconds, he stopped struggling, his eyes finally focusing on her face. “Aely?”

“Ligh’, Phileas. I didna think ye were going t’ wake.” Aely relaxed her hold on his shoulder as he sat up, his whole body beginning to shake. She gently drew him into an embrace, pressing her cheek against his, and wrapping the disheveled quilt around them both, hoping sheer warmth and force of will would drive the dream away – “’s a’righ’, love. Ye are a’righ’. ’s naught here but me."

Phileas leaned against Aelflaed for a moment, trying to separate dreams from reality. It wasn't a simple matter, especially since his new life had begun to make appearances in his nightmares of his old one. He blinked dazedly, feeling his heart hammering against his ribcage crazily. He then looked over at Aely, and down at his shaking hands, and felt guilty for waking her.

"T'day...or tonigh', eitherwhich...I gae back. We gae back. Cannae take another nigh' a' this. One way or th'eyther...'s got tae stop."
[5.OOC] Beltar: Hammer of What The Fuck Were You Thinking

User avatar
Phileas
Posts: 45
Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2008 5:42 am

Re: Dreamfoil

Postby Phileas » Fri Nov 14, 2008 11:21 am

T'day...or tonigh', eitherwhich...I gae back. We gae back. Cannae take another nigh' a' this. One way or th'eyther...'s got tae stop.

Bold words in the wee hours of the morning. He'd meant to go - a simple thing, to toss some coin to the gryphon master and fly off to Light's Hope - but somehow, between frostwyrm attacks, Aely's armor repairs, and other assorted duties, Phileas Lynch once more found himself staring at sunset over the walls of Stormwind.

Normally, the setting of the sun only served him as a simple marking of time, no different than the changing of the guard or the coming and going of the meal crowds at the Pig and Whistle.

Tonight, on the other hand, seeing the sun go red as it began to sink below the city walls caused his stomach to clench with dread. With sunset, the time drew closer when the city would settle down, and the majority of its residents would take to their beds...which was, at the moment, the absolute last place he wanted to be.

True enough, it was quiet, it was warm, and it was safe, which was worlds better than sleeping on the street...but his bed was also where Darrowshire waited, these last several nights. After last night's set of dreams, Phileas was more ready to sit up all night than try to sleep again. He'd seen the disapproving look Aely had given him when he jokingly mentioned just staying awake...but what was he to do?

With a sigh, the rogue turned and descended the stairs into the room he and Aely shared, thinking it rather like a cage at that particular moment. As he stood there, his eyes fell on the paladin's collection of herbs. There, in the middle of the shelf, he noted one particular label on one particular box:

Dreamfoil.

When Aelflaed came back to the room, Phileas was waiting, box in hand. "Hae much?"

The paladin arched an eyebrow at the oddity of the question. "How much what, love?'

Phileas handed her the box, oblivious to the drain of color from Aelflaed's face as she read the label. "Hae much a' that would it take tae put me out - an' keep me there, so I dinnae dream, cannae dream?"

Aelflaed stammered for a moment, as if trying to get a handle on her thoughts.

"No... Jus' no. Have ye los' your mind? No. 's too dangerous. Philly, tha' stuff can kill ye."

He looked back at her, his face half way between determination and something like fear. "I canna hae another nigh' like that. I'm tired a' bein' driven mad. Jus' one night."

She sighed, taking the box of herbs from him. "I ken tha' ye dinna wan' t' dream. I jus... this stuff's dangerous - real dangerous. Have ye' tried a Dreamless Sleep potion?"

Phileas shook his head distractedly, cupping Aely's face in one hand, trying to explain. "I need summat I cannae figh'. Summat I ken willnae wear off i'th' wee hours. Isnae that I dinnae trus' thy skill, love...I jus'...I havetae sleep. Please, Aely...help me."

She blinked at him for a moment, torn between what she knew could come of a wrong dose and what she knew it would've taken to get him to ask her for it, straight up like that. Her shoulders slumped slightly and she sighed.

"Jus... well, tha's no' really nice stuff. Ye are like t' vomit up everythin' ye have eaten in th' last week come morning, an' probably have a headache too, though I can help wi' tha' a bit."

He nodded, unflinching.

Walking back over to the cabinet of herbs, she pulled out two more boxes, a small book, and a set of small scales and then set a kettle of water on the tiny stove to boil. She didn't like giving him the herbs - but she wasn't about to do so without a strong Goldthorn brew on hand in case things got bad.

Phileas stood behind her, watching as she weighed out a small amount of the dried Dreamfoil leaves and then ground them down into a powder in the heavy marble mortar and pestle she kept on the counter. She added Peacebloom to the mix, hoping that would help him keep the strong sedative down long enough to sleep and dumped the mixture into a teacup.

When the kettle whistled sharply, they both jumped.

After pouring a few ounces of the steaming water over the ground herbs, goldthorn went into the pot loose, and she rummaged in a drawer until she found a small strainer. She waited until the ground herbs finished sinking to the bottom of the cup, and then looked over at Phileas, worry reading clearly across her face.

"Ye are sure?"

He met her eyes, jaw set. "I hae t' sleep. I canna take another nigh' a' that."

She nodded, straining the mixture from one cup into another, and handing him the lukewarm liquid.

"Tha'll take 'bout ten minutes t' have ye sleepin'. An' ye are sleepin' where I can keep a watch on ye." She pointed at her bed, and the chair sitting next to it. He nodded, sitting down, mischief flickering in his eyes.

“Should hae guessed it’d take me fair killin’ mysel’ tae get me in thy bed. Talk abou’ a lass playin’ hard tae get, hrm?”

She rolled her eyes, sitting next to him while he made a face and drank the contents of the cup in one go.

They sat close on the edge of the bed until she could see him start to fade - the sedative taking its toll on his consciousness. She settled him down carefully, throwing the quilt back up over the bed, and watched as he relaxed into a deep sleep.

She watched like that for some time, standing, and then went and poured herself a cup of the Goldthorn tea, lacing it strongly with some of the peacebloom to settle her own nausea, and sat down next to the bed, an empty water bucket at her feet, idly running her fingers through his hair, and praying she could stay awake until morning.

For Phileas, the time passed in the span of a blink. When his eyes closed, he’d been looking up at Aelflaed’s face, love and worry in her expression and his mind sliding into fog. When his eyes opened, he was looking at the ceiling of their room and at the bars of sunlight that managed to worm their way in around the window covering.

He tried to lever himself up on his elbows to look around, but found that his body was singularly disinclined to follow his commands. The grace he normally had was definitely not with him on this particular morning. As he dropped back onto the pillow, his stomach rolled warningly, which made the decision to stay where he was an even easier one to make. The sunlight had started to make his head hurt, so he closed his eyes again. As soon as he did so, he felt himself sliding back towards sleep, so he quickly reopened his eyes, squinting to reduce the glare from the sunbeams.

He looked carefully to his right to find Aelflaed asleep in a chair next to the bed. Foggily, Phileas wondered if she was even aware she’d dozed off. Slowly and carefully, he reached out to take her hand, running his thumb over the back of her knuckles. “Aely…lass? Wake up.” He wondered if she’d be able to hear him – he could scarcely hear himself, with his voice a dry-mouthed croak.

She started slightly, then squeezed his hand, blinking a few times in the stripes of sunlight.

"Ligh' I'm glad ye woke on your own. Mornin', love. Feelin' a'right?"

He nodded. "Righ' enow. Feels like my mouth's full a' sawdust, an' I dinnae trust my stomach, but otherwise, righ' enow."

She got up, getting him a glass of water and pulling out a canister of coffee - the thought of putting herbs in anything wasn't particularly appealing. Settling herself on the edge of the bed as she waited for the water to get hot, she peered down at Phileas as his eyes adjusted slowly to the sunlight.

"Please - dinna ask me t' do tha' again. I'll go wi' ye t' Darrowshire today, but I'll nae tempt a mishap with dreamfoil again unless 's dire. Please?"

Phileas nodded. "I willnae. We'll leave th'dreamfoil alone frae here on out." Clumsily, he scooted over in the bed. "Lie down...I can tell by lookin' at thee tha'rt fair knackered. Darrowshire can wait a few muir hours, till tha'rt rested...an' till I've slep' off th' res' a' that stuff. Don' exactly fancy th'idea of standin' up righ' now anyway...likely I'd win' up on my arse soon's I got up. Now come here an' close thy eyes a bit, love."

Carefully, Aelflaed stretched out in the space that Phileas had cleared for her. She couldn’t really argue with the man’s logic…she was tired, and he was far too uncoordinated at the moment to move further than he already had. She started in surprise, then relaxed, when she felt his arm slip around her waist. She lay there, drowsing, for several minutes. She thought Phileas had drifted back to sleep until she heard him muzzily whisper, “’S nice. D’I need tae shove over an’ give thee muir room?”

“Ye're fine...now go tae sleep.” A soft sigh, and she felt his hand relax against her as he dozed off again. As she closed her own eyes, she had to agree...it was nice.


Return to “Roleplay”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 31 guests