A monk who had just happened to see them holds the reins of the two horses patiently as Rey'deyono slides off the horse, looking up the steep path to the monestary itself. She keeps a hand on Meir'cillus's forearm for support. "It is a fairly steep climb though not a long one, Lord Yerosyn...I should go and retrive help for you. I do not think it wise to simply grit your teeth through it; you may puncture a lung."

"I'm not feeling... hmm... like arguing, my priestess," Meir'cillus answers her, eyes slightly glazed. "Where is this... we can't spare the time, Rey'deyono..." 

Vega's eyes soften from her vantage point between some large stones a hundred feet away. "He's delirious," she whispers, watching quietly. "I wonder how badly I actually hurt him..."

"A monastery and inn, where you can rest and receive better medical treatment than I can offer. Taking a delay of a day or two is not more counterproductive than letting your injuries worsen and ending up immobilized for weeks," the priestess notes firmly as she helps him from the horse.

Meir rolls down, wincing when his feet touch the ground, but nodding to her anyway. "When I get out of here," he tells her, "have my army gathered outside of our tent." He looks at her, but... to look at him is to know that he doesn't really see her there. "Then we can go."

"Rest for now." If she's unnerved by his delirium, she doesn't show it, though her eyes are worried. She helps him over to a pile of hay to lay there. "Here, rest." She gestures over to the monk. "This man is tending our horses. He's a monk. I'm going to head up and get some help...I'll return shortly. All right?" She hopes the introduction will prevent his possibly attacking the monk for trying to steal the horses. Or being a threat. Or something.

"A spy," he mutters, gazing past Rey'deyono's shoulder. It hardly matters. With his antimatter gone, and his strength at such a pit level, an attack would probably just end in stumbling and a lot of grumbling.  He lays back as she told him, though, having a vague notion that this woman is important.

Rey'deyono nods, a hand lingering concernedly on his forehead for a few moments and a prayer on her lips. "Wait here, Meir'cillus. I will return shortly." That said, she starts up the mountainside at a fair clip considering that she's not exactly in a warrior's condition.

As soon as she's out of the way, Vega trots onto the path and heads for him as if she had been on the way to the place anyway. When she reaches him, she looks to the monk. "Is this yours?" she calmly demands, kneeling next to Meir'cillus. "Hello again, drow."

Meir just stares at her, as if he has no idea who she is.

The monk, conveniently enough, has taken a vow of silence, and only watches her, some defensiveness of Meir'cillus in his eyes.

Vega reaches into her cloak, producing two things in one hand. "She held you the whole way here. And you jumped in front of her to fight me. I do not know why you are the way you are, and i can't give your power back because I know that you are a killer. But if you are intent on fighting Vayen..." she lays the dagger upon his chest, brimming over with his power. "Use it. This is for your priestess, as well..." a bag full of her special 'medicine' is laid next to the weapon. "Don't...." Vega turns her face away from him, "don't make me regret this." 

A moment later, she is gone again. No smoke, no bombs... just walking back down the path. She'll go see Vayen herself, and ask him a thing or two.

The monk watches her come and go quietly, though paying closer attention than it seems. His eyes linger curiously on the items in question, but...they aren't for him.

The priestess returns before long with the first two burly monks she'd been able to find. Really, one could heft the slightly built drow with no trouble, but two will be able to move him without unnecessary damage. Her breath catches in her throat at the icicle-shaped dagger. That...she knows the origin of. Her eyes narrow a bit, and her hands travel cautiously to the bag, opening it only with a fair amount of wariness. Her nose tells her what's inside when she does.

She blinks. That is...strange. Or perhaps not so strange. She takes the two items and stands aside, gesturing to the monks. They pick up Meir'cillus gently despite their bulk, one holding him beneath his arms and the other holding his legs.

Meir's arms and legs right them at first, and he mumbles something about preferring to die than be a prisoner. His head drops back at last, muscles relaxing into the weakness of a wounded man.

Rey'deyono, one hand grasping the items their assailant had left behind, touches his forehead gently with the fingertips of the other, calming him empathetically to the extent that she'll probably send him into a light stage of sleep, her eyes quietly disturbed.

---

The next afternoon sees Meir'cillus in a warm bed, bare-chested but for the bandages winding about his torso and the blankets pulled to his throat. Rey'deyono is asleep nearby, sitting on the floor beside the bed and leaning on the edge of the it, head lying on her arms. It's been a long night and morning.

Meir's senses return to him slowly, as if wading through a surreal muck before getting back to reality. He is immediately aware of a dull ache in his muscles and bones, but pushes that to the side... he knows what happened. He'd dreamt of it as soon as he'd become aware that he'd been dreaming.

"Mm... I am getting so tired of waking up bandaged," Meir whispers, eyes settling upon Rey'deyono once he realizes that she is there. A soft smile touches his lips, and he reaches out to stroke her hair, surmising why she is where she is. 

"Mm..." Her eyes flutter open at his touch, and she looks up at him, eyes half-shut. "Lord Yerosyn. It is good to see you awake."

"It is good to be awake," he answers in a soft voice, amused to see her so spaced out. "Have you been here all night...?"

"What was left of it, yes. It is afternoon now, I believe." She yawns, covering her mouth with a sleeve. "Erm..forgive me. I had not meant to fall asleep. How are you feeling?"

Meir gives her hair another soft stroke, grinning at her. "Like I've had my ribs broken by a zealot triton. And do not worry about falling asleep. I rather liked seeing you like that... so peaceful."

She smiles, blushes a little, but then her eyes and expression fade. She looks up towards him. "I feel that this is all my fault, Lord Yerosyn...I sensed her coming long before she actually confronted us, but said nothing." The guilt has had time to set deeply by now.

Meir considers this for a few moments, wondering. "I might have been irritated a year ago, Rey'deyono." He looks down at her, knowing that he could never be mad at her nowadays. "I'm not convinced that knowing about her would have changed the outcome."

She smiles at him, however wanly, and stands up. "Are you thirsty, Lord Yerosyn?"

"Immensely," Meir answers her smile. "I hadn't really thought about it. But have one of those voice impaired brutes do the serving... you should rest."

Rey'deyono nods. He's right. "There are two who can speak...the monk in charge, and one whose turn it is to speak, as that rest from the vow of silence cycles...ask for Thenai if you need to speak to someone, it's fallen to her now."

"I'll do that, my priestess. Now, please go and rest. I haven't the strength to debate about it." His eyes twinkle. "Unless you would like to lie with me. I'm not sure how well the monks would take that."

Her eyes sparkle before closing into an embarassed blush a moment. "I cannot imagine very well, Lord Yerosyn." She smiles and bows. "Rest well. I will let someone know that you are awake."

Meir'cillus leans his head back, closes his eyes. Score. "You too, Rey'deyono. I hope to see you well in a little while."

She nods, and takes her leave. A few minutes later, a monk comes in with a glass of water.

Meir opens his eyes at the footsteps. "Do you speak?" he asks. "Nod your head or something."

The woman nods, no hint of sarcasm or anything else in her dull and lifeless though intelligent eyes as she sets a pitcher on the desk, holding the glass out wordlessly. Her hands are covered very much like Rey'deyono's.

Meir takes the glass with a word of gratitude, and drinks slowly. He knows better than to try to slake thirst quickly, having learned that lesson a long time ago. "So you do speak? You..." he looks into her eyes without a great deal of personal boundary recognition. "You must be Thenai, then. Are you a Divine Twins type too?"

She's quiet a few moments, looking back with the same kind of frankness, before she connects his glance at her hands to the question. "I am. And no. My hands are covered for personal reasons, not religious creed." She raises one a little and turns it, revealing a slit on the other side all the way to her wrist. Unlike Rey'deyono's truly unweildy sleeves, hers can be thwarted most easily. Though probably with a good deal of thought so they don't catch on fire or whatnot.

Meir nods slowly, not really caring why her hands are covered so much as wondering how it means he'll need to deal with her. "Do you know her? Rey'deyono, I mean."

"I know who she is, certainly. I also travelled with her for two days, very long ago."

Meir'cillus nods slowly. "Are you always this chatty?"

A smirk touches a corner of her lips, though shunning her eyes. "Only with such riveting company. How do you feel?"

"It's better having half of my ear ripped off. But I doubt that I will be able to go anywhere for a while." Meir grins at her. "I can tell that you are thrilled."

"Beside myself in ecstasy. Are you hungry?"

"Careful monk. Subtlety might make me start following you around." Meir sighs softly. "No. I doubt that I could eat well right now. But please, make certain that Rey'deyono is well tended."

The monk bows politely. "I will." She walks over to his nightstand, where the priestess had left two items. Thenai picks up an icicle-like dagger gingerly. She knows what it is and how to handle it. She holds it out for his sight, that he sees it when they're still someone here to explain. "The priestess left this here with you. It was left with you in the stable last night. She is not speculating as to why."

Meir'cillus gazes at it for a moment. "What is it? It doesn't look like much of a weapon to me."

"It is the weapon that damaged you last night. It contains the essence and full power of your magic. You can no longer access it through your own body."

Meir sits up, wincing at the effort. "What the hell are you talking about?" He holds up a hand. "It's right..." blinks at no light forming, "... right... oh hell. That's just wonderful."

"I thought that you would like that. I'm sorry." There's actually genuine sympathy somewhere deep in there. She can relate.

Meir looks up at her, shaking his head. "Oh, no, don't misunderstand. That it's still somewhere near me is wonderful. But... considering our destination, my being deprived of my power may very well be a death sentence." He's slightly amused. "Though... that you seem to care is appreciated."

"No problem. Don't get used to it." She sets the dagger on the nightstand again. He can reach it without hurting himself too much. "You have come this far. You will think of something."

"I'll try not to. Maybe I'll just..." he blinks, dismisses the thought. Telling her that he has the idea of just sticking that dagger into Vayen's heart may not help his image here. "What is the other thing over there?"

"It contains two packages of diferent sorts of medicines. It was left with the dagger. Deyono'rey was quite meticulous in checking them for danger, but ultimately used them to help treat you."

Meir blinks. "Just a second. Left... by who?"

"A triton...the priestess suspects the same one who stabbed you, though of course absolutely certainty isn't possible."

The drow sits back, sighs softly. He doesn't understand. And right now he doesn't care to. "Where can a man get a bath around here, lady Thenai?"

"I can have it arranged. I will need to help you, though. Your injuries are too fresh and possibly irritable by nature."

Meir nods, but smiles at her. "I thought I was going to have ask nicely."

"You're too short for my tastes, anyway." She bows. "I will go draw that."

Meir chuckles. "You don't know that for sure yet," he laughs. "Thank you. I hope my manner hasn't offended you much."

She waves a hand dismissively as she heads for the door. "If I don't offend you, I'm sure all will be fine." And she heads down the hall.

Meir just chuckles and tries to rest for the moment, while his laughter has taken his mind off of the pain in his body.

A few minutes later, Thenai returns, looking in first to see whether he's sleeping. If he is, the bath can wait.

He isn't. His mind is whirling now, with the pain of his injuries combined with concern over... damn near everything. "Hello again," he greets her in a soft tone.

"Hello. There's a bath waiting for you. Here..." she walks over beside him to help him sit up, very aware of his reactions to everything.

"That's good," he observes, leaning as little as he can upon her to help rise. He still has his dignity, after all, or so he believes. "You're stronger than you look," he notes when he gets to his feet.

"Manual labor does wonders for the figure. Don't be afraid to lean on me...the bandages should help, but you do have two broken ribs. If you fall, you could puncture a lung, and that's just not good. That clear, do you feel steady enough to walk?"

Meir nods, agreeing with both. "I think I can." He leans his weight away from her, though still holding onto her arm in case. The breath doesn't come easily, though. "I won't be winning any races right now, I caution you."

"That is fine. I placed my bets on the other side." It's a slow trip down the hallway to facilities that prove to be, far removed from those on the Ono estate, quite basic. It is, after all, a monastery.

"Oh, yes!" Meir all but shouts, seeing the facilities. "I was afraid that I would have to bathe in frippery again. Have you ever been to the Ono estate, Thenai?" He looks at her, breathing hard from the quick words. "I would have given anything for a field hospital in that place."

Thenai laughs softly. The drow has no way of knowing how exceedingly rare that is. She likes him. "The Family has...no problem with the concept of luxury. Here, sit down..." she guides him to a chair... "to undress."

Meir nods, and allows her to lead him about, sitting in the chair. "So," he asks her, "just... off with it?"

"Unless you want to do a dance first, yes."

"Now that you mention it," Meir acts as if to get up, but sits, and calmly slips himself out of his clothes. True to his word, he's not a drow of small stature in every department. "And then?" He smirks at her, but a friendly kind of smirk.

A little amusement's touched her eyes and she takes his forearm again. "Now we try to get you into the tub without breaking something. It's the only tub in this wing, you see."

"I like this plan," Meir observes, standing with her help. He is profoundly glad that he isn't bothered being nude around other people (the famous sleep uniform of a soldier, of course) or else he might be inclined to be embarassed by the touch. "Lead the way." The thought does strike him, though, that the change in her eyes made her far more interesting as a woman. Not to him specifically, of course; he belongs, as far as he is concerned, to Rey'deyono. But the observation is still there.

The change to her eyes had been brief, but at least it had been there. She's exceedingly careful that he doesn't slip getting into a mid-sized tub of water that's found a fair balance between warm and hot. But of course, he isn't a total invalid, either. She retrieves some soap and rags from a high shelf and sets those beside them. "We'll need to replace your bandages after this, but it's better to leave them on for now."

"I understand," Meir tells her once he's settled in the tub, the water both killing him and making him feel better in the same instant. He reaches for the articles and employs them as carefully as he can manage, though he finds it difficult to reach certain areas, and at one point nearly blinds himself with the pain of overreaching. He leans back, eyes tightly shut, just waiting until the horrible ache goes away.

Thenai helps where she can, where he tries to reach but can't. It's why she's here. She's very much a monk at those moments, being just as gender-neutral as possible.

For all his posturing, Meir understands that very well. "I am grateful," he tells her after a while. "I do hate being laid up, but... yes. Thank you."

"It is my pleasure. We'll just see to it that you're doing this yourself as soon as possible, and hope to your not being 'laid up' again in the near future." She wrings the rag over his head just for amusement's sake, and retrieves a towel for him. She sets it aside. "Here you are. No more peep show, darn the luck. Let me help you up, though, so you don't have to bend." She walks behind the tub and helps lift him beneath the arms until he can get his own balance.

"I'm sure you're... gah...!!" Meir tenses when she lifts, both unprepared for her strength and suddenly feeling his injury again. "Gently, woman. I might not look it, but I'm fragile." He towels himself off carefully, purposefully shaking his hair off to fling a little water at her, and covers himself. It really is a relief, though... sometimes it's hard to control being male. "There we are, all accounted for."

"I apologize. Are you all right?" She moves a step nearer the tub so he can step out without having to stretch quite so unnaturally, close nearby just in case.

Meir smiles benignly at her. "Yes, I am fine. You really are a strong woman, though. I admire it." He gets out alright, but looking at her suddenly makes him painfully long for Rey'deyono. "Sure you wouldn't like another look?"

"Don't push it." She sets a robe over his shoulders. "Just hang onto this for awhile...I'll see to your clothes being washed and mended."

Meir nods, his smile there, but quite feeling as if he's done wrong now. Not that he really cares. "Thanks," he says, settling into it. "So, now what?"

"Well, if you'd like to go back to bed--recommendable, really--then we can remove and replace your bandages in there. If you'd rather sit in the front room for awhile with the fire, then we can do that here. So it is really your decision."

"I would rather get to bed," he agrees with her. He holds out an arm. "Shall we go now then?"

Thenai thinks she knows at least part of why he's uncomfortable, and tries at that, bowing her head in agreement before taking his arm. "Certainly. I am certain that Lady Ono would be pleased to hear it."

He smiles at her, just a little, and shuffles back towards his apparent room. It hadn't been a complete waste of time; at least he's clean. 

The bandages are changed unhurriedly, but with a sure, accurate hand, and his wounds are re-bandaged before long. "There you are. There is a bell beside your bed. Feel free to use it if you need anything."

"I'll keep it in mind," Meir answers in a quiet voice. "I'll try to sleep. If anyone comes looking for us, though, wake me and give me my sword. Alright?"

She nods. "You have my word. I will also note, for the record's sake, that many of the monks here are adept defenders as well. And that our order is not a pacifistic one."

Meir laughs softly. "No wonder I took such a quick liking to you. In that case... just protect her." His eyes close, and his breathing quickly falls into the rhythmic sigh of sleep.

---

The day passes quiet and undisturbed. The priestess's sleep is somewhat disturbed though she gets enough to function...she spends most of the time she should have been sleeping meditating before the fire in the main room, getting her thoughts in order and feelings more closely reigned in. 

Meir'cillus wanders there sometime during the morning, and from his wandering eyes, it's plain that he is searching for someone. His step is a careful, slow one, but he's standing straight, and looks quite a bit better. "Ah, so... here's where you've gotten to," he calls to the priestess when he enters the room. 

The priestess takes a few seconds to open her eyes, but a small, warm smile threads across her face when she looks up to him. "Yes, Lord Yerosyn...how do you feel?" She stands up and walks over in case he needs her help...though she doubts that. Which is nice.

Meir'cillus returns her smile, displaying clearly the improved nature that she's all but instilled in him. "I am painfully deprived of your company. My ribs hurt, too. But the former is worse."

Her cheeks color a little, but she walks over to help him to a comfortable chair, concerned, regardless of whether he really needs it. "Here...the fire is quite nice."

Meir closes his eyes. "To hell with the fire," he mumbles to her, his hands reaching out for her. "The fire doesn't interest me in the least."

Her blush deepens quickly, eyes just a little wide...she really isn't sure what his intention is, to be honest, or whether she wants it or not. She doesn't move to avoid him in any way.

The drow hugs her, gently, but briefly. He steps back, smiles at her, and wondering what had her so out of sorts. "So..." he begins, "... did you have a pleasant night?"

Her eyes are a little sheepish. She hugs him back, gently, and smiles. "It was...long, Lord Yerosyn, wondering as to your health. And did you?"

"I slept soundly, my priestess, for the most part. I must admit to some concern that we would be followed here, though." He doesn't say I was afraid for you. Though that is certainly the truth. "I dreamt that I was a feather."

"A feather, Lord Yerosyn." She tilts her head just a little at that. "I must admit that I am curious. Would you be so kind as to tell me about it?"

Meir nods, and carefully lowers himself down into the chair. He bites his lip against the ache, and ends up having to steady himself against Rey'deyono's arm, but makes it alright.

"I started the dream inside of someone's pillow... but inside of my family's castle. Its owner dropped the pillow at one point, and I, a black feather, blew away from the ripped case until I floated through a window." Meir thinks carefully, knowing how idiotic this sounds. "I wafted about on the wind outside for a long period, before blowing back to the castle only to find that the entire building had caught fire. I worried that I would be burned, but a clerical type reached up," he holds up one hand, "and snatched me." Closes it. "After that, I found myself contained within another pillow, but only one other feather was there. A white one."

Rey'deyono, seated on the floor by the fire again, smiles up at him thoughtfully. The symbolism, at least, is very clear. Or it is on the surface, anyway...feathers? "That is very interesting, Meir'cillus. It definitely bears thought." Her eyes soften a little to a sparkle. "Or perhaps that is a clerical quirk."

A thought creeps its way into Meir'cillus's love-drunk brain right about then. "Do you dream, my priestess," he inquires of her, "that you are aware of?"

She blinks, thinking. Surprised by the fact that...no. She can't recall dreaming last night. "In a sense, Lord Yerosyn...dreamscaping is one of my major interests, as a planeswalker. I both dream and remember, but can also choose to control my paths in sleep." Blinks slowly once more. "I cannot remember dreaming this last night, though, or, really, since leaving that stasis...only a hazy darkness, and a malicious cold." She hadn't really thought through these things completely...her voice is turned quite inward, eyes equally introspective.

Meir scratches his silvery hair, which is quite fluffy due to being cleaned and not submerged in filth immediately afterward. "I hadn't meant to dredge anything up, my priestess." He holds his hand out to her, to do with as she will. "We will deal with the blackness soon enough."

She smiles, takes his hand without thought or hesitation. "Thank you, Lord Yerosyn. I feel certain that we will."

Meir simply sits with her, his hand clasped in hers, staring contentedly at the fire for quite some time. How he came to this... he really can never be sure. He knows that he does not deserve it. I will soon, though. When Vayen is gone. Then I will deserve the way she treats me so well.

"Rey'deyono," he ventures after a time. "That dagger. What is it?"

Her light smile fades into the blank thoughtfulness most common of her countenance. "Tell me, Lord Yerosyn...what do you remember of last night's events?"

Meir's ears droop slightly when her smile disappears. He squeezes her hand, only just then realizing that she had taken his. In her own hand. He smiles despite the serious subject, feeling... a little bit better about things.

"Little," Meir answers quietly. "I remember an assailant. A cloaked woman..." he blinks, focusing, "... with a hell of an uppercut. A trickster, correct?"

"A mage slayer of the Order of Daiko, a triton. She told me after the fact that she was sent by Vayen."

Meir nods slowly. He'd assumed as much. "So... she defeated me, and then used that weapon on me while I was out?"

Rey'deyono nods once. "The stab wound near your shoulder. It's a strange sort of thing, a complex explanation I do not entirely understand myself, but the ultimate effect of the weapon is to magically cripple an opponent."

"It creates a directly opposed energy path on contact with magical power that sends an energy flux through the body, causing it to expel magical energy at great physical strain. In response, the bodies of most races with magical potential will immediately guard themselves from further upset by permanently cutting off all energy generation, a sort of hard-to-activate failsafe device," Thenai observes in a rather encyclopedic sort of tone as she approaches them with a tray. "Tea?" She finishes pouring a glass as she speaks, and holds it out to Rey'deyono, to a grateful smile.

Meir blinks. "Well, that is one way to put it. And... none for me, thank you." His hand reluctantly leaves hers, as he's sure that she would prefer to keep her priestessly image intact in front of others, and also, so that she can hold her glass. "Is it a permanent change...?"

Thenai puts the pot back on the tray. "Antidotes to its permanence have been studied, but with extremely limited success. It would be wise to accept it as permanent."

Meir smiles slightly, but ever so briefly. "Well. I suppose that I will... simply have to find a more peaceful occupation, then." Though his voice is not without regret, it is certainly not sarcastic either.

Rey'deyono tilts her head a little, a mixture of concern and curiosity beneath her eyes. He had made that supposition entirely too quickly for it to be sudden. One can't just turn around an entire life's path in a heartbeat's span. Not unless there was very much thought backing up that span. "Do you have any ideas as to what, Lord Yerosyn?"

Meir looks at her for a purposeful moment. "I'm not entirely sure. As King... my power set me apart from most average Drow men. It made me legitimate. Drow men are historically subservient, and if I went back without my power, I would be inviting daily assassination attempts." I want to be with you. The hell with the rest of it. "Perhaps I could remain King, though, and become a diplomatic ruler instead of a foreceful one."

Rey'deyono smiles, nods her head once. "I do not doubt that you have the ability to do so if you so wish, Lord Yerosyn."

Meir shakes his head in answer, eyes far away. "No... I couldn't. Not without help." He looks at her. "Not without you."

Rey'deyono looks down for a bare moment, almost shyly, before her eyes travel upward again. "You are Ionnya's king, and it is not antimatter than rallied and united a nation behind you. I think, Lord Yerosyn, that you are far more capable in the department than you yet know. Though...I have no intention of leaving you to attempt this alone." She smiles ever-so-slightly.

Meir'cillus blushes as darkly as a drow can. That smile is all he really needs to accomplish anything, diplomatic or otherwise. He glances at Thenai, as if to say something, but simply looks back to the priestess. "See," he softly says to them both, "this is why she is so precious to me. For all the power I used to have, her courage dwarfs any drive I ever possessed."

Rey'deyono blushes at that, looking down, bearing an embarassed smile at the attention.

A bare smile touches Thenai's lips. "I'll see about getting you two something to eat." She walks off elsewhere.

Meir turns his head a bit, watching her go, then looks back to the priestess. "See," he says to her, "if you stay with me you will have to get used to this sort of praise and attention."

She looks up at him, eyes amused. Really, there aren't all that many people who can accurately read her eyes, but Meir'cillus is one of them. "Is that a fact, lord Yerosyn?"

His eyes travel along the curve of her cheek, and back up to her eyes. "That is a fact." His smile softens slightly, fading into an expression that is somewhat unusual of him. An affectionate smile, as opposed to an amused one. 

Rey'deyono returns it, for a moment, her eyes softening as well, before looking back to the fire to relieve tension. Her priestessly reserve towards him is thinning, that much is certain.

Meir'cillus leans back some in the chair, eyes closing. This is much too relaxing, and down deep in his heart, he feels that he should be doing something more productive. But her company is plenty for the moment.

"The monks do a fantastic job here," he observes somewhat inanely at one point. "How do you feel?"

That's actually precisely what she's trying to figure out. Her eyes are extremely fixed on the fire, snap rather jerkily to Meir'cillus at the question, and then travel back to the fire. She hesitates over her answer.

The drow takes a deep breath, and pushes himself up from the chair. It's a painful effort, but he ignores the hurt of it as sits on his knees beside her.

"You need not say anything, if you aren't ready," he assures her. 

It only occurs to her in a bare corner of her mind to be concerned at his moving, something that would usually be foremost. "No. It is not that, Meir'cillus...I do not..." she shudders a little, looks at him, looks through him. Eyes don't focus. Something's wrong.

"Rey'deyono?" He looks at her quizzically, head tilting slightly.  He turns his head in the direction that Thenai had gone, and calls for her, not frantically at first. "What is wrong, Rey'deyono?"

"A blade," she murmurs... "a flying stone..." without further pomp, she sucks in a sharp breath, and crumples to the floor.

Meir's eyes contort into an expression of absolute horror. "Thenai! Monk! One of you get the hell in here right goddamn now!!" The drow leans over her, grimacing in pain, to check her pulse, her breath. 

Rey'deyono's eyes are turned sharply upward a few moments, before finally falling shut. Her pulse and breath are both fairly quick, like those of one who's suffered a bad scare. Her breathing isnt' perfectly even. Footsteps can be heard approaching quickly.

Meir doesn't move her or touch her... he's terrified, fearing that something had been left over from Vayen's spell. "Stay with me, stay with me... please..." He looks towards the footsteps, eyes burning with a dozen emotions.

Thenai's eyes widen just a little when she runs into the room, then narrow. "What happened?" She hurries to Rey's side, dropping to a knee beside her and taking her pulse exactly as Meir'cillus had.

"She spaced out... said something about a flying stone and a blade, and collapsed like this," Meir explains, not calmly, but with admirable lucidity. He's seen enough combat wounds to handle himself pretty well here. 

Thenai's brow creases. "This seems almost like a seer's trance...I hadn't realized that Deyono'rey was a seer superior." Actually, she's positive that the priestess herself has expressly stated that she's not. She works her arms nimbly beneath the other woman sets her feet just so, and stands up with effort.

"I thought she was a planeswalker," Meir says, standing himself, though not without a groan of protest. "Let me help... ah..." He wavers. "Shit. What now?"

"Carefully," Thenai cautions. She looks down to the Priestess, whose face, far removed from the peacefulness of sleep, twitches more than occasionally towards this or that emotion or reaction. "I'm almost certain that this is a seer's trance. I'll try to confirm that. If it is...then we just wait." She heads back towards the bedrooms again.

Meir follows, mortified. Why would her supernatural talents shift like that? Had she always possessed that power? He follows, keeping his questions to himself, begging every god he knows for her safety.

Thenai is able to confirm as nearly as she can that her theory had been right...another monk, a seer himself, agrees. That confirmed, the priestess is really left to her own devices. She's sweating at one point, breath quickening again where it had been quieter for awhile...Thenai brings a basin of cool water and a cloth to wipe the priestess's face, starting this herself but then offering the task to Meir'cillus. She's mostly here for his benefit...she can't affect the priestess, not really.

Meir takes the cloth, his eyes grateful, but his voice hung in his throat. He cleanses her face with the utmost care, his touch so gentle that he hardly seems to be touching at all. "Is she in pain...?" he quietly asks of Thenai.

"No," the monk responds without hesitation. "Fear, maybe...you can watch her face and get ideas of her emotion. But pain in a trance like this is exceedingly rare."

"Why fear...?" The drow doesn't look at Thenai when he asks, only gazes worriedly at the priestess. Where she is concerned, there is no calmness under pressure.

"It depends entirely upon what she is seeing, Master Yerosyn. It can be anything...and it must be significant, else she would not be in this state."

Meir steps back. "I cannot stand to wait like this," he observes, knowing full well that he can do no more than that.

"Would you like to take a walk?"

"It might help," Meir agrees. "But... I don't know. Is that good for broken ribs?" He looks again at Rey'deyono. "Even like this she is beautiful. Perfect. This... is simply not fair."

"Not in the least. But at least the pain is a distraction." She looks at the Priestess as well. "She does have a lovely face. And she will be fine, I am quite sure. She can awaken any minute, or it may take as long as days. But she will awaken no worse for the wear."

"Then let's go," Meir agrees. He looks again at the priestess, and leans close to whisper a short valediction to her. He turns. "Lead the way. I would only get lost."

Thenai bows, and walks out of the room slowly enough that he can follow without strain. Though, really, it could just as easily be attributed to her normal gait. "This kind of thing is common enough," she chats to prevent brooding as they walk. "It happens to one of our resident seers perhaps twice a year, the other maybe once every three years or so."

Meir follows along quietly, except to answer her. "But she isn't a seer," Meir notes. "She is a planeswalker."

"They're related abilities. In the same family, if you will. It's not unusual for a planeswalker and dreamscaper to receive visions as well. This has never happened before, then?" She looks over to him.

"If it has," Meir answers, "I can't remember. Though I do get the hell beaten out of me often."

"Hm..." Thenai ponders this quietly. "Has she been under any...extreme circumstances? In the last few years?"

Meir closes his eyes. "Hell. She was essentially killed by Vayen... kept alive only enough to be tortured until I saved her. Then she and I spent a day or so in Cocytus. And met with her father, which may have been worse."

Thenai's eyes darken somewhat at that. "Forgive me...I had not realized." She's quiet for several moments. "Tell me about the episode with the sorcerer...what do you mean 'essentially killed'? How was her life maintained, and in what state?"

Meir pauses, thinking. "She... when I left Ionnya... the political situation went to hell. I left her, like an idiot, because... it doesn't matter why. But Vayen ended up attacking her temple himself, destroying it as she tried to protect the refugees inside. I don't know how the spell worked, exactly, but... she was reported as dead. I came back to... to punish Vayen for her death. But he ended up using her as a shield of sorts, showing me that she lived in a comatose state. His sorcery held her life in between death and..." Meir grows silent. There is too much hatred there, too much regret.

"I see." Thenai lets all that settle, thoughts going many ways at once. "First, I have to note that she certainly does not seem to hold anything at all against you."

"She is not that kind of person," Meir'cillus answers, "though I will always blame her suffering on myself. She is immaculate, that woman."

"I will not argue with you. I will leave that to her." Thenai pushes open a door to another corridor, holding it open for Meir'cillus, then moving on again once he's through. "It sounds as though Vayen kept her in a state of potential dreaming for a very long time. That would put her in extended contact with has primary ability...planeswalking is in the psionic class of abilities are surely as seeing. And if her power increased or, on being thwarted too long, folded back on itself and tried to find another way out, it is entirely possible that another ability of the same class that was hardly present or simply didn't exist before manifested."

Meir just nods. He doesn't understand, not really. "All of my sorcerous training involved existing energy. Antimatter flowed within my spirit, and the trick was simply learning how to make it sit up and beg. It was very straightforward. I know nothing of this psionic... stuff."

"Psionic powers, for the most part, are simply...a sort of energy to listen to. Coax it to speak rather sit up and beg."

Meir grins at her, sidelong. That's why he liked Thenai... he'd forgotten. "Then I shouldn't worry about her. She is only listening." He nods, quietly considering, but then a thought strikes him. "Do you happen to know if any of your monks found a sword on the path here?" He turns, looks directly at her. "It slipped my mind, but I dropped it when the triton struck me."

She pauses, thinking, and then shakes her head. "No. You may ask Deyono'rey if she has it."

Meir's head lowers slightly. "You know... I don't think I will." Eyes dance with a hidden sort of light. "I think... it's a sword that has been soaked in too much blood. A sword for a killer. Thenai. I need a new sword."

She smiles at him. "I think that can certainly be arranged. The town of Culhai is known for its weaponcraft, and it isn't so far away. Unless you'd rather wait to return to your own continent and more familiar styles of weaponry, of course."

"I should try something new, I think. I'll certainly try to get ahold of something new when Rey'deyono and I reach Culhai." He grins at her. "Thank you. You really are a useful creature."

She smiles sidelong back. "We all have our place in life."

"Thenai," another man, a tiny human aged far beyond what most ever will be, inquires as he walks up to them with a surprisingly sure gait. "Rethei would like to know where you left the priestess."

"In the same room she occupied last night," Thenai responds though a respectful bow.

"Yes, well, she isn't there."

Meir'cillus hadn't been paying much attention. His eyes close and opene slowly, as if he is just waking up. "Run that by me again." 

Thenai blinks. "Are you sure that he's looking in the right room...?"

"You should check," the elder monk notes.

"It's probably some sort of mix-up," Thenai notes to Meir'cillus, though she certainly turns around at a fairly quick step.

Meir would run, if the jarring wouldn't hurt so damn much. As such, he hurries along with Thenai, mind racing in a thousand directions. "It had better be," Meir notes, though his voice doesn't accuse Thenai at all.

It's not, of course. That wouldn't fit the Ionnyans' luck at all. Thenai looks around the room quickly for any hint, a note left ot indicate that she'd been moved or whatnot, but there is none. "Her shoes are still here," she murmurs, perplexed.

"Was the door locked? Shut? Where is her chair?" Meir looks about the room for clues as well, his instincts as a soldier beginning to take back over. Happily, his fury and terror are stilled by them. "Her shoes. Was she wearing them earler? Would she have tried to sneak out...?"

"I can't imagine why...and yes, it's characteristic of people from this region to always wear footwear of some sort." Meir'cillus should actually be first to see that the sliding door to the outside is open a slit.

Meir rolls his eyes. "Imagine looking all around this," he notes, gesturing towards the open door."

"Eh-heh...right. That." Thenai heads for it without bothering to go back for a cloak.

Meir'cillus follows, eyes peeled for clues, or threats. As if he could fight right now.

Only one set of bare footprints leads away through the snow, and it can be identified easily as the priestess's. The stride was fairly short...she hadn't been running, or even hurrying.

Meir'cillus vocally worries that the priestess will get sick, running barefoot through the snow. He, in his doofy little robe, feels the cold quite well... but that doesn't stop him from following the trail. 

Thenai agrees. The trail actually goes on an admirable distance, unchanging, until the monk's pace picks up quickly at a figure laying in the snow, at a literal run.

Meir runs after her, terrified that the priestess has come to harm, so fast that he slips in the snow, landing with the graceles crunch of snow beneath. He struggles back to his feet, though his movements are much slower, and his breathing wheezes with every intake.

"Careful...you're not going to help anything that way, Thenai cautions back at him. She wants to go back and help him, but at least needs to check on the body first. She covers the last fifteen feet or so to it, turns it over...it's the priestess. In very much the same comatose state as before, though now sprawled in the snow. She's not shivering. That's a bad sign. But at least she's alive.

"Don't worry about me," Meir tells her. "Rey'deyono... why in hell..." The drow reaches down, as if to lift her, but cringes in pain when he reaches out. Some protector he is turning out to be.

"Easy..be careful." Thenai isn't sure she can get the priestess all the way back to the monastery...but she can certainly try. For now, she removes her robe, only pants and bare skin beneath, cringing the littlest bit at the cold, and wraps it around Rey'deyono, picking her up awkwardly and unstable for a few moments until she gets situated and regains her balance. "Let's hurry back," she breathes against the bitter cold.

Meir doesn't even think about it, throwing off his own robe to put around her shoulders. He's glad that he'd decided to locate his pants earlier. "Take it," he whispers, "and hurry, please." He turns, and starts to walk as quickly as he can, scarcely noticing the cold.

"Thanks." It's a much slower trip back...tough on the monk, especially since it's largely up hill. Whatever level of physical fitness she has is definitely being pushed towards its breaking point, and her breathing is ragged by the end. But they do make it. Thenai's infinitely glad to see that last hill roll into sight.

Meir just wants to help. But... wounded as he is, there's no way that he can do more than offer encouragement. He's thrilled to see that hill, though, as he can't feel the tip of his ear, and his lips, though he has said nothing, are colored with blood.

Thenai stumbles a little when her feet hit the floor, as though she's come this far and is done, but catches her balance. "Draw a tub of cool water," she wheezes to the first monk she sees. "Not cold, just cool." He nods, eyes concerned, and another, looking somewhat startled as he rounds the corner, is quick to take the priestess from her.

Thenai lets out her breath and looks to Meir'cillus, then blinks at the blood on his face. "Please...tell me you've...been biting your lip."

Meir looks at her, eyes unfocused. "Imagine," he rasps, "that I could find a way to make this worse..."

The monk utters something under her breath that sounds distinctly profane and is by his side quickly, supporting him by the arm as she had before. "Here...let's get you back to a bed." She doesn't take "no" or, for that matter, "maybe after..." for an answer. She makes sure he's warm, then hurries off at a more-than-brisk step for a better healer than herself, guilt nipping sharply at the side of her mind. She should have told him to stay here while she followed the footprints. Damnit.

Meir can only lie in bed. What a fool he'd been... Thenai could handle herself. He knew that. But.. something had spurred him on. Love? No, probably not. It is more like... concern that a better person than he might die if he didn't go.

It's an extremely long few hours of totally unexpected and still unexplained chaos. The monks do their absolute best to keep Meir'cillus totally calm and still, as his breath spped up simply wouldn't help a slightly punctured lung that's working its way towards collapse. One of the healers here is extremely good, which helps all parties involved, though, unfortunately, Rey'deyono does ultimately lose two fingers and a number of toes to frostbite.

Thenai's noticeably subdued, reverted entirely to the icily emotionless demeanor she'd worn the first time Meir'cillus had seen her, when she brings him a cup of hot tea, in a flask so he can drink it lying down. "Here...it's been long enough, this has another pain reliever in it," she notes gently as she hands it to him.

The drow looks at her, as if looking at someone in a dream. He shakes his head. "Where is she," he whispers, his voice weak and grating, "is she alive...?"

"She is in bed. She has a touch of hypothermia, but it is not advanced. She will recover easily, she is young and strong."

Meir'cillus's eyes close. "Thank you," he whispers, "you... are brave. Selfless. Admirable traits."

"You were by my side the entire time. You gave me your robe," the monk notes.

He smiles. "Only because... such fine breasts shouldn't be frozen."

Thenai snorts, amused, as she takes his robe from a peg on the wall. "Here, let me return the favor." Bunches it and tosses it at his head.

Meir starts to say something, but his words are cut off by a mouthful of robe. He pulls it away from his face, smiling despite his situation. "You throw like a girl," he observes.

"You catch like a cripple," she retorts, then raises the flask sweetly. "Tea?"

Meir grins. "Certainly. Now that I know that she is alright, I can allow myself to relax." He holds out a hand, which shakes just a little bit. 

Thenai nods. "Yes indeed." She doesn't mention the missing digits. No need, and he'll find out soon enough. She hands him the flask, carefully making sure he has its weight supported before letting him have it all to himself. "How do you feel?"

Meir sips slowly, thinking. Lying would be a dangerous move this time. "The pain in my chest is... hm... enormous," Meir answers in a choppy tone. "Breathing is... a chore."

Thenai nods a bit. "The painkillers should help...there's a mild sedative in there, too, by and by, so you'll rest soundly and soon." It's just like her to tell him after he's consumed enough to knock him out. "Jahn is an extremely good healer, you will knit fine under his care. According to him, just rest on your back. Relax, and your wounds will heal themselves."

"Sounds good to me." Meir gives her a very genuine smile. "What is it that you want in your life, Thenai...?" He asks the question, then blinks. "I ask, because... I need to know how I should go about... repaying you."

Thenai blinks slowly. "My goal...is to be here and now." She tilts her head and looks at him. "I was born rather wealthy. But it's by choice that I'm sitting around drugging a drow with an offbeat sense of humor. There's no repayment required. But thank you."

Meir closes his eyes. "You're no fun to be... indebted to. But you are welcome." That sleep is coming upon him is obvious... largely from the lack of a come-on.

"Uh-huh. Night-night now."

---

The next day is long, quiet, and somewhat solemn...Meir'cillus is very strictly kept in bed on threat of beatings and druggings--all from Thenai, of course--and Rey'deyono has not yet awakened. The priestess has someone with her at all time...and if for some reason she doesn't for minutes at a time, she's very literally bound to the bed.

"I suppose I should tell you," Thenai muses as she prepares one of the usual, medicated teas in Meir'cillus's room, though this one lacks a tranquilizer, "before you see it for yourself...Deyono'rey did lose several fingers and a number of toes to frostbite." The monk looks over to the nation-less king. "Certainly evidence that it's good that we made the speed we did, lest she have lost more."

Meir'cillus had been quite pleasant that time, partially from the medication, and partially because he had been there to see her safe. He looks at Thenai. Tilts his head. "If this is a joke, it isn't funny."

"I have a skewed sense of humor...but not a cruel one. I wouldn't make a joke of something so serious." She looks over to him. "She lost toes. She kept her life."

Meir looks down at the covers. He's silent for a long time, and when he speaks, it is in a very apologetic tone. "Can she walk...?"

"She will limp for awhile," Thenai admits. "Possibly for the rest of her life. But yes, in a few weeks, she should be on her feet again."

"Then I've already failed her." He looks up, and then down. He has nothing else to say on the matter, but the shimmer in his eyes says quite a bit.

Thenai's eyes sadden with his. "Hey, come on." She sits on the edge of the bed. "You saved her life. More than once. No matter how much self pity you want to wallow in, that's gotta count for something."

"You do not understand. I promised her brother that I would protect her. I am many things, but not a liar." Meir sighs softly. "It isn't self pity. It is guilt for failing to live up to my word."

"You kept her alive. That's protecting her. You had no way of knowing that she'd get up and walk out into the snow, no one did. And we haven't managed to explain that yet. It's not your fault."

Meir's eyes open, and he gazes at her. "Of course it isn't. But what am I supposed to tell Chian? 'Yes, well, she lost fingers and toes while in my care, yeah, will be a gimp the rest of her life." He sighs again. "I apologize, Thenai."

"Don't worry about it. You're under a lot of stress. But Chian...that is her brother, correct?...will almost certainly be happy to have her alive above all else. What's happened, has happened. You can't change that, no matter how much you may want to at times. So now just look forward. Rey'deyono is still in your future. She might not have been. But she is."

Meir nods to her. "All valid points. I... will try to consider them as best I can. You said she hadn't been awake yet?"

"I probably shouldn't tell you, but she awakened about twenty minutes ago...still a bit zoned out, but awake. Regardless, though, both of you need to be in bed at this point."

Meir sits up. "Hell no. Take me to her." He starts to throw the covers back, intent on going to Rey'deyono himself if need be.

"You're one hell of a difficult individual, you know that, right?" Thenai presses on his shoulder to keep him down. "Give me a few minutes and I'll see about you two being put in the same room, okay? But for now...stay put."

Meir resists for a second, until it becomes too painful to do so. He grudgingly lies back, grumbling, but good naturedly. "You're thinking twice about.. not asking for repayment now, eh?"

"Keep pushing and I'll ask for one free kick." Thenai smirks the littlest bit, pats his shoulder, and stands up. "Now stay put so I can make those arrangements."

"Yes, mother." Meir'cillus grins, just lays back. 

Thenai's eyes are somewhat amused as she leaves the room. After talking to various people around the monastery--though said conversations sound admittedly one-sided--and also to the Priestess for her opinions and consent, before getting a couple of burly men to scoot aside Meir'cillus's bed--with the no doubt uncomfortable drow still on it--and move another one into the room, with things resituated a bit.

"I'm sweating just watching them," she observes. "You're a lot of work."

"I'm worth the effort. I just wish that my subordinates had been so well-disciplined." Meir grins at her. "No, meir'cillus, you cannot hit them when they talk back."

"Well that's no fun at all."

Before too terribly much longer, a priestess who looks very much like she's trying not to look groggy is carried in by one of the monks. She smiles reassuringly at Meir'cillus.

The drow's eyes light up. His lips move, mouthing her name, but no words come out. He looks, for all purposes, like a child who has seen their personal hero in person.

Thenai's eyes soften. It's a very sweet relationship that they have, really.

The priestess smiles at the monk when he sets her on the bed and helps her to get re-situated without putting pressure on the offended hands or feet, then looks back over to Meir'cillus, eyes amused. "It is good to see you also, Lord Yerosyn," she observes in her quiet little way.

"Heh..." Meir'cillus beams at her, the pain in his body quite forgotten. "You have no idea how... exquisite it is to see you, my priestess. I have questions, but... they can wait."

She smiles, weariness showing only in her eyes. "How do you feel, Lord Yerosyn?"

"I hurt, Rey'deyono," Meir answers, "but... my ribs will heal. It is my pride that is in pain right now. Can you..." he gazes at her, willing himself to fight back his irritation at these new emotions, "... forgive me, for failing to protect you...?"

The priestess blinks slowly. "For failing to...Lord Yerosyn, you had no reason to think that I needed protection from myself."

Meir's eyes take on a pained sheen, not of physical hurt, though. "Please, Rey'deyono, answer the question... I should have been there with you, not loping about this place, hiding my eyes from my concern..."

Rey'deyono's eyes sadden a little at his expression. Ponders her answer. "Lord Yerosyn, were there anything to be forgiven, I would forgive you in but a moment."

Meir smiles a little at that. Leans back against his pillow, all but oblivious to what monks might still be in there. "You don't have to call me that," Meir'cillus notes, as if out of left field. "Lord Yerosyn, I mean."

Her cheeks redden a little, though she smiles. "It is...the product of years of habit, I suppose." She just barely stops herself from adding "Lord Yerosyn" at the end.

"We both should change some habits." Meir smiles at her again. "So... do you feel up to talking about what happened? You certainly do not have to."

She'd smiled a bit at the habits bit...but then it fades with the rest. She looks down at the blankets, silent a few moments. "If we land at Kiee as I had originally planned, we will both be killed immediately."

Meir blinks. "That will ruin their tourist industry." Bad joke. But suddenly he feels the need to lighten the situation. "So Vayen is waiting for us, is he? What else did you see?"

"Yes and no...not Vayen himself, one of his lackies. I saw her very clearly...a strange creature, human, but with an arm forged of unnatural material...she was quite powerful." The priestess shakes her head a little to clear it before going on.

Meir'cillus blinks. Then he smiles. "Felara," he mumbles, then looks to the others somewhat apologetically. "An associate of mine. Former, anyway... apparently she has been bought. We'll simply have to find a way around her." He blinks again, thinking about Chian's charms. "Unless your brother's tricks would affect her."

Rey'deyono nods a little. "They should." She lets out her breath. "I also saw the triton who attacked you. She and another...I suppose it was a woman, a horribly scarred creature...equally slaves in Vayen's keep. They have both seen horrors I do not care to relate in these past few days, the triton losing her grip on her beliefs as Vayen breaks her...both will be assassins. Maybe the scarred one already is, I could not tell."

"Therian. Of course, she didn't escape. Cute." Meir sighs, lays back to think. "The triton... well, I can't say that I care, really... I suppose I should though, as she left those things with us." He bites his lip. "Was there any good news hidden in this, Rey'deyono?"

"Vayen will not be ruling much longer." She looks up. "And Ionnya willy regain strength largely under the guidance of Lady Persin once he is gone."

Then I'll probably be dead, the drow immediately surmises. His smile, though, fails to betray that thought. "So a happy ending after all. You said something, by the by, about a 'blade, and a flying stone'... if you remember?"

She nods a little, looks aside again. "The stone...there were several. One was the one that struck me down in the temple. One struck me again at Kiee...it ended my life. And the blade...was a strange weapon, seemed to be directed of something unseen. It struck you down at nearly the same time." Her expression is clearly disturbed at all of this. She closes her eyes, trying to fully calm herself again.

"I think," the drow is quick to say, "that we should rest now, you and I." He turns his head, gazes thoughtfully at Thenai. "What do you think, mother dear?"

Rey'deyono blinks.

"I think that that is a fine idea. Though you," here she points at Meir'cillus, "had better stay in place tonight or you'll get no breakfast."

"Believe me, when I say that leaving this bed is the last thing on my mind," Meir answers her. "'Tis a jest, my priestess. Do you feel well enough to sleep?"

"I think so, L...Meir'cillus, yes. Thank you." She smiles at him.

The drow closes his own eyes. "That is music to my ear, Rey'deyono. Sleep well, my beloved..."

Rey'deyono blushes, though a genuine smiles crosses her lips. "And you too, Meir'cillus.'

---

Meir'cillus sleeps without really resting, his mind plagued with nightmares, fears, and worries about the future. He knows that he'll have to kill Felara. Hadn't he promised to do so, if he failed to kill Vayen? It seemed so long ago that they had last spoken... and to become enemies so suddenly... and then there is Therian. Therian who could have went about her business, but decided to help him, only to end up in Vayen's dungeons again.

When he wakes up, it to the tune of his own rapid breathing and the feel of cold sweat on his skin. Immediately he turns his head in the direction of Rey'deyono's bed, looking for her.

"Are you okay?" she inquires softly, watching him with some concern. She hasn't slept, except briefly and lightly, a few minutes a time. She hasn't needed to. She's been comatose for two days.

Meir gives a slow nod, then shakes his head. "My ass hurts," he informs her with a half smile. "The past will not stop biting it."

She smiles with sad humor. "Which bit of the past would that be, Meir'cillus?" She knows he'll tell her if he doesn't want to talk about it...though she certainly thinks that it will help if he does.

"Just a couple of promises that I have yet to fulfill," Meir answers, looking back at her. "I have to kill Felara, at some point. Unless I kill Vayen first, in which case I have a debt to pay to her... I would probably kill her anyway. She is a total sociopath, and dangerous to everyone around her."

Rey'deyono nods a little. "She is an...ally of yours, then?"

"Formerly," Meir nods in answer. "She's very mercenary. She works for whoever has the best chance of winning... at the time, that was me."

The priestess nods again. "I see...so, when you went missing after challenging Vayen, she probably immediately changed sides to preserve her own life, correct?" She remembers the Felara of her vision well...represses a shudder at it, really.

"I assume so." The drow tilts his head at her. "I swear to every god I know that she will never hurt you, Rey'deyono. We are just in a complicated spot right now."

Rey'deyono smiles a little, and nods. "Yes...I am not sure yet how to thwart what I saw."

"Well, the first order of business is not to go to Kiee. We should make our ingress from somewhere else." Meir turns his head aside. "Chian's tools will protect us from Felara, as long as we aren't ambushed. I will try to goad her into attacking head on. But I will need a new sword." He looks into her eyes, those uncanny blues. "Gods, you are beautiful... I can't lose, not when I have you to come back to, Rey'deyono."

The priestess blushes. "I...certainly hope that you will not, Lord Yerosyn." She smiles, and looks up. I am sure that you will find a way." He always has. He's always always found a way to keep her freom serious trouble, these last few years. IT's really not hard to determine just why it is that she's so slow to blame anything on him.

Meir grins. Making her blush is strangely fulfilling these days.

"What do you think about the triton?" The drow tilts his head, subject change imminent. "If she spared me... and went back... chances are that her imprisonment is partly my fault."

Rey'deyono is quick to shake her head. "No. Related to you, most probably, but not your fault."

"In a way, I... want to see her again. I'd like to ask her some questions, maybe slap her a few dozen times." He grins at his beloved Rey'deyono. "If she survives. Or isn't a brutal murderer by the time we arrive."

Rey'deyono nods, a little solemnly for the end of the phrase. "Yes. I do think that we will have dealings with her again, but...I do not remember precisely what they were."

"What time is it?" The drow sits up, grunting a bit at the effort. "For that matter... what day? I wonder if she's been turned already..."

"I believe it has been...four days since we arrived here." She blinks. That's disorienting though accurate. Since she'd been out for two of them.

"It's been too long," Meir decides aloud, moving as if to rise from bed. "I have to go. He won't wait."

Rey'deyono's eyes widen a little. "Lord Yerosyn...you are yet injured." And she'll have trouble travelling as well...maybe too much for him to take along.

"I'll be yet injured for a long time, too. Rey'deyono, I don't know if Faresylia has that much before Vayen decides to engulf our resistance force." He gazes meaninfully at her. "But..." sighs. Sits. "Forgive me. I forget..."

Rey'deyono looks down. "You are right," she says after a few moments. "I know that you are. I am simply...I am worried about you, Meir'cillus." She looks up, eyes glimmering.

The drow gets up again, and sits carefully beside her. "Dont' worry about me, Rey'deyono. Just love me... I'll be fine, that way."

The priestess is quiet a few moments, looking down and aside. She leans on him...carefully, without much weight. "I...do, Lord Yerosyn."

The drow looks at her, reaches around her as carefully as he can to hug her shoulders. "I told you," he laughingly says, "call me Meir'cillus. Maybe... you and I should simply try and enjoy our time here, instead of worrying."

She smiles at him, a little, nods. She stiffens at the embrace, as per always--he's easing her into it, but, really, affection from anyone but her brother, who she'd gone years without seeing anyway, is still rather new to her--but relaxes after a moment or two. Just...fairly content. She speaks again after the better part of a minute. "If this...seeing...is really a newly manifest ability, I will most probably need to spend some time in an oracles' convent to learn to understand and direct it properly." She looks up. "Even for several years. That passed, if it still remains, I...if you would still have me..." she hesitates over her words.

Meir wonders quietly at that. "I would have you even if took a century." The words tumble forth from his mouth before he really has a chance to think on them, but... they are good words. "I would have you now, and forever."

Rey'deyono smiles quietly...rather timidly, really. "If that is the case...I would love...to accept your proposal. Meir'cillus." Her heart is in her throat, all told.

Meir had been about to say something witty. Or attempt to. He pauses, though, his mouth going instantly dry, his hands shaking. "You would... be my wife...?" He doesn't say Queen. Her seeing had said something about Ionnya strengthening under Lady Persin, so there's a fair chance that he won't be king much longer. His expression is filled with awe, wonder, at such a gift... he cannot be so lucky. "Rey'deyono, I... haven't the words..."

A little smile tugs at the corners of her lips, eyes still down. "Well...there is a first time for everything." Her eyes are still turned down, but amused.

Meir chuckles, softly. "You're right," he softly says, steadying his breathing, as he leans forward to very carefully kiss her cheek. First time for everything indeed.

Her cheeks warm, and her eyes remain down, but...her face is irrefutably pleased.

"Thank you," Meir whispers, his voice lacking the emotional resistance to speak up, "for... I don't know. Being." He starts to stand, as if to head back to his bed, though his hand remains on her shoulder.

She looks up, smiles. "Thank you, Meir'cillus. For...everything."

He practically melts right there. "That is the look," he says softly to her, "that I saw for four years, every time I closed my eyes." He smiles, offers nothing more about that, and slips painfully into bed. 

Rey'deyono smiles softly to herself, and settles back down. Maybe sleep will come more easily now.

And it does.

---

Morning comes, as mornings do, to find a Meir'cillus, with a completely screwed up sleeping schedule for his species, walking back and forth just inside the door. His steps are dead silent, to keep from waking Rey'deyono up, but he figures that a little walking will his body some good.

Thenai looks down from a ladder while dusting atop some rafters. "For someone with three broken ribs, you're strutting like a peacock who got dyed purple."

Meir looks up at her, grinning despite himself. "If it weren't for the fact that I could not do back flips before my injury, I would be attempting them. And I am fortunate that I purple suits me." He chuckles. "She accepted! I could... fly, I think, in theory."

"I wouldn't recommend trying it." She looks down at him with a quizzical half-smile, somewhat affected by his mood. "Now slow down. Accepted what?"

The drow's eyes buzz with life. "My marriage proposal," he answers, feeling that no more is necessary for it.

Thenai smiles at him, icy eyes softening a bit. "Congratulations. That is good news." Goes back to wiping the rafters. "So. I don't suppose I have to juggle the bedsheets, since she is a priestess and all?" Gives him a mock-stern look. "Or I'd better not. Priestess and all."

Meir tilts his head, his eyes laughing. He can't pass this up. "Is sex all you think about?" 

"You're the one with the breast fixation."

"I'm male, Thenai. We all have breast fixations." Meir'cillus paces a bit more. "I would have given my life to know ten minutes of her love. I would not squander what we have by pushing for physical intimacy." He grins up at her. "Accepting is something else entirely. But it will always be up to her."

Thenai grins. "Well, congratulations to you. That certainly is happy news." Finishes this section and climbs down. "How are you breathing today?"

"What? Oh, right. That. It hurts like all bloody hell, but I don't seem to be noticing as much." The drow nods. "You have a fantastic healer."

Thenai smirks. "Yes, but I doubt that suddenly being engaged to a beautiful noblewoman doesn't help. Here, let's see to some breakfast for you. You're not short of breath, then?"

Meir shakes his head. "Not especially. It is just the same tearing sort of pain as always. And breakfast sounds exquisite." 

"I'll take that as good under the circumstances." Before long, she's serving up some sort of soup that's been stewing most of the pre-morning, and sets the bowl and ladle-esque spoon in front of him. "Here you are. Is your sweetie still asleep?"

"She was when I left," the drow nods, giving a nod of thanks before sipping the soup.  He makes a face, purely for Thenai's amusement. "I am not sure."

"Yeah, yeah...just keep in mind that I didn't cook that. A guy with forearms the size of your scrawny waist did. So behave."

"Well, think of it this way. The closer the cook is to hearing range, the better this soup tastes." The drow eats slowly, taking his time for no real reason. It really is pretty good, four breakfast soup. "And what, may I ask you, is wrong with my skinny waist?"

"Who said anything was wrong with it? Makes it easier to clothe you. Just grab an old shirt sleeve. Eat up, put some weight on you." She looks up at another monk who's just walked in, then back to Meir'cillus after a few moments. "Your priestess is awake. How about I give you another bowl and you can take one to her?" Rhetorical question. She's serving one up as shespeaks.

"Sure. And I'd be much rather be skinny than short... ah, hell." 

She grins at him, then sets a tray with another bowl of soup on it. "Here you are."

The drow takes the tray, nodding again in gratitude. He finds it odd that, a year ago, if someone had asked him to take a try to someone he would have laughed them out of his sight, and this thought occupies him all the way back to his room.

"Rey'deyono," he whispers, peeking his head inside. "Are you awake?"

She shifts a bit, looks up. Smiles at him slepily. "Yes, L...Meir'cillus. Good morning." She pushes herself up to a sitting position, though using the front hand the first time and wincing momentarily. "How do you feel?"

"I am on top of the world, my Rey'deyono. I brought you some food if you feel like eating...?" The drow steps inside, his manner calming at once in her presence. "It was made by a burly man, so it must be good."

"I see." Her eyes sparkle at that. "Well, it is as sound a bit of logic as any, I suppose. That's lovely, thank you very much." She smiles at him.

The drow brings the food to her obediently, holds it out to her. "Can you use utensils alright?"

"Yes." She smiles, raises a five-fingered hand. "I am left-handed. Thank you."

Meir'cillus sets the bowl down on her lap, then, making sure that it isn't too hot first. He smiles brightly at her. "Here you are, then."

She smiles at him, looks to the soup after a moment, blows the steam from what's in her spoon and takes a sip. All told, it's a little awkward..."so, now we're engaged, huh?" is an awkward way to start a conversation.

Meir'cillus is aware of this... in a way he had half-expected her to wake up and tell him that she had acted in haste the previous night. 

"If you feel up to it," he tells her, moving to sit upon his own bed, "I would like to try walking around this place today."

Rey'deyono smiles at him, nods as she takes another sip before speaking. "That would be very nice, Meir'cillus. I am sure that I can manage for awhile."

The drow tilts his head a bit, compensating of course for the loss of his ear. "We'll have plenty of time," he tells her. "There is no rush at all." He wonders, idly, if she'll catch the double meaning behind that. 

She doesn't, although the statement does serve to reinforce the notion that he has, indeed, changed. Which, really...is a comfortable thing. "Yes. It will certainly be a few days before it is safe for you to be jostled by a horse, to be sure."

"Heh," the drow girns, nods. "Yes it certainly will be. We're going to have to learn to amuse ourselves, Rey'deyono, at least until we are both recuperated. Do you know any jokes?" He smiles at her, eyes twinkling. 

"I associate with several." She looks down quickly, embarassed by the boldness, though there's a smile on her lips. "But otherwise, no, I do not."

"Oh really?" Meir grins. "Then we must be in the same business. Do you mind if I sit next to you, while we talk?"

She looks up again, smiles. "Not in the least, no."

Meir does just that, sitting close enough to feel her warmth, but far enough away to be respectful. Engaged or not, he's got to be very careful of her boundaries.

"So after all this nonsense with Vayen is over... where would you like to go, you and I?" He looks at her. "Stay in Ionnya? Travel the world?"

She thinks about that a moment. "I...suppose that depends on what is or is not needed." She doesn't mention the necessity of a seer's convent again for now. There's no need.

The drow shrugs a bit. "Always what's needed, Rey'deyono. I'd much prefer to hear what you wanted for yourself." Meir nudges her. "C'mon. There must be something."

Rey'deyono smiles at him a bit at the nudge, but looks thoughtful. "I...have never thought to consider it seriously, I suppose," she admits after a few moments. "Here I lived to serve my family, then in Ilitair, to serve the Twins...and most recently, divided that calling to Ionnya as well."

"Of course you haven't. You are selfless to an extent that I didn't even believe you acknowledged Rey'deyono as a person for a while." The drow lays a hand on her arm, squeezes gently, making sure that it is the not-damaged arm. "You can now. As your King, I command you to be selfish for a while."

She smiles at him, eyes sparkling, and then just eats her soup, thoughtful. "I suppose," she ventures finally, rather tentative, "that I have always wished to really tour the temples. To see what is really happening everywhere, how the faith is really practiced and really changes from region to region."

The drow chuckles softly, and hugs her arm. "Well, it is definitely a step in the right direction. And someday we can roust a few bars together, what do you think?" He grins, so thoroughly enjoying her company that even lame statements seem fulfiilling.

She smiles at him. She's enjoying his company, too. "Perhaps, Lord Yerosyn. It has been...a very, very long time since I have visited a bar simply for the sake of visiting a bar."

Here the drow's eyebrow lifts a bit. "I never thought about it. You don't drink at all, do you?"

"I have wine with dinner on formal occasions, if it is served...very occasionally, a glass of wine alone. But not normally anything particularly potent, no."

Meir's eyes light up. "Want to? Just once, before we head back."

She smiles, blushes. "Perhaps. If the occasion presents itself."

Meir grins. He'll have to see about making that happen. He says nothing on the subject, only leans forward and sets his lips against her forehead, kissing it briefly. "I think I should go talk to Thenai," he tells her, but doesn't move right away.

Rey'deyono blushes a deep red...but she's very happy, really. "Alright, then. I will see you later for that walk."

Meir rises and goes, heart singing at that blush. He closes the door carefully behind him, and trots off down the hall to find Thenai and con some booze out of her.

Thenai is, as she'd first indicated, busy with manual labor--shovelling a walk in this case--and looks up when he appears at the window. "Just can't keep you away, can I?"

"Come on, admit it. You like having me around." Meir sticks his tongue out at her, an infantile gesture that surprises him when it happens.

Thenai smirks, flings a shovelfull of snow his way. "Tsk. You made me spill."

The drow King, who doesn't seem to be all that kingly these days, shakes the impacting snow from his hair. He grins. "Yeah, but you like me. You're just so overwhelmed by my good looks that your hands are shaking. Drow like me just don't happen all that often."

"Thank the gods."

The drow just shrugs. "I do every day when I look in the mirror. Tell me, Thenai, what sort of strong drink is available here?"

She raises an eyebrow. "That bored already?"

"No, it's just that my Rey'deyono is a pure woman, and I thought I'd wine and dine my right hand tonight." He smirks at her. "I was hoping to share a drink with her tonight."

"Ah." Thenai nods. "Well, we have a couple of wines...not much in the way of true liquors, though there are a few that were brewed now and then by various monks trying their hand at it."

"If we could get ahold of some, I would be infinitely grateful," Meir answers, "which wouldn't change things all that much, I suppose."

"Yeah, yeah. Flattery will get you everywhere. So. Did you want that now, or will later do as well?"

"Whenever is convenient," Meir nods, grinning at her. "Starting the day with a drink isn't usually a pretty good idea for a guy my size."

"Ah, but it would make it interesting, yes?" She grins in return before looking back to the walk. "So. Plans for the day?"

Meir leans on a window sill, thinking. "Wounded the way she is, and the way I am, I doubt there will be much. I'd like to to take her out walking if she can manage it later, maybe find my old sword... I'll need something to pawn in Culhai."

"Ahh..." Thenai grimaces a little. "I'd strongly suggest getting alcohol in her first."

Meir tilts his head. "Why's that? I hope there isn't something you neglected to tell me...?"

"No, but she doesn't strike me as being particularly familiar with pain, or have a high tolerance. Further, I don't think she fully understands the implications of what happened to her feet. She's going to have to learn to walk again, in large part."

Meir looks away, down at the sill. He doesn't want her to see how his eyes well up when she speaks of Rey'deyono's pain so. "Then tall glasses and as much and as soon as we can find it." His voice, though, betrays the wayward emotion.

"Yes indeed." She leans over to see his face marginally more clearly. "Hey. She'll be fine. She has a very strong spirit. You do too. And you two have each other to get through everything."

Meir turns further away, and when he speaks, his voice rises just barely above a whisper. "I can handle pain. I can't handle her pain."

"Then don't handle her pain. Help her handle her pain."

Meir'cillus sighs, a defeated sort of breath. "I'm not sure I know how to do that."

"Just be there for her, stay there with her. Assure her that you understand what she's enduring, and help talk her through it. Humor, rest, affection, even a little booze here and there...whatever you know she needs. You'll know as it comes."

"Let's find that liquor then." Meir glances at her, eyes dry, stonefaced. He really is pretty good about containing things, when he wants to be. "I could use some myself."

"Off we go, then." Thenai dusts off soemthing in her hand and holds it out to him. A little flower, roots and all. "Crocus. Give it to her."

Meir takes it, blinks. Then, on impulse, he takes Thenai's hand and kisses it, sleeve and all, before turning away again. "Lead the way.. thank you."

She smiles, the very lightest of blushes tracing her cheeks though it's gone fairly quickly and the rest of her face didn't give much indication. "If that's for the flower, what will I get for the booze?" she pokes, laughing.

"Here we are..." she comments when they finally get to the cellar downstairs. A few bottles are stored on one shelf...she looks over them, trying to pick something reasonably alcoholic but not something with a taste that would knock a usual non-drinker flat. "This might work." She takes a bottle. "His stuff tends to sneak up on you...rather mild tasting, but will knock you silly pretty suddenly. Never feel it coming."

"It sounds like it will work to me," Meir agrees, looking around at the few bottles. "I can't help but wonder how she is when she's drunk."

"Well, I'm sure you'll find out soon. I'll be quite amused if she turns out to be an angry or violent drunk..."

"If my eye is blacker than it is now, later, you'll know." Meir grins at her. "Thank you, again. I think I will take this to her straightaway, unless you have another idea?" He tilts his head, listening.

"Not at all." She waves him off with a "scat" type of motion. "Enjoy."

Meir turns and walks off, both grateful, and slightly irritated. He really is growing tired of being treated like a kid.

"Rey'deyono," he calls when he reaches their room, tapping on the door before easing it open. "I brought us something..." he peeks in, to see if she's awake.

She is...rather deep in thought, actually, but looks up quickly, that deep-set look she gets sometimes fading gradually though her lips smile immediately. "Oh? What is that, Lord Yerosyn?"

Meir steps inside, watching her face shift, admiring every second of it. "My love, I come bearing the gift of inebriation. Would you, my beloved, get sloshed with me?" He grins at her, stifling a laugh.

Rey'deyono blinks once. Twice. Then laughs quietly. "Oh, dear...no time wasted, Meir'cillus?" Her eyes sparkle quietly. "Well...I had said that I would...so...certainly. 'Sloshed.""

"Right. Well... I thought that we should celebrate early." Meir blinks. "Glasses. I forgot the bloody... ah..." He smiles at her. "No glasses. Unless you don't mind sharing a bottle with a drow, i should find some."

She smiles, eyes sparkling. "I do not mind, but whatever you are most comfortable with, to be sure." All told, she's not horribly thrilled with the thought of drinking straight from a bathtub brewery bottle...she's still an Ono, and hasn't fully lost the egomania of that, however hard she's tried.

Meir smiles right back. Like hell she'll drink out of a bottle... she's a priestess... Meir stops to consider what most clergy drink from. Sacred cups? No... fountains? No... altar boys...? No, Rey is a female. He blinks. "I'll get us some cups." The drow bolts as fast as a fellow with wounded ribs can bolt, and returns a few minutes later with a pair of slightly mismatched cups. "There we are." He's laughing as he pours the glasses each to a respectable level. "Go easy, my priestess. You are a small person, too."

The priestess's eyes are amused, and she smiles gratefully for the glasses, though, all told, she's a little apprehensive at drinking at all. "Duly noted, Lord Yerosyn, thank you." She tips her glass to him a little, and takes a sip. Well. It cannot be so potent.

The drow drinks deeply from his glass, wondering to himself. No... it doesn't taste all that powerful, but he does remember what Thenai had said, and lets that one drink hold him for a while. "So," he asks of her, "how is it for you?"

The priestess licks her lips. "It is very...unusual."

"Drink up," Meir instructs, sipping his own and nodding. "You will get used to it, I promise. And hopefully you'll feel quite a bit better."

She smiles, eyes a bit amused at that. "So I have heard." Takes a couple more sips. Any curiosity she has is mild at best...she had simply said that she would do this, and is a woman of her word.

Meir knows this. He can't help but be somewhat irritated by it, by the impossibly pedestrian outlook she has on doing anything that might be fun for herself. But, he doesn't let that show, though. He looks down, stares sort of awkwardly at the floor.

Rey'deyono watches him after a few moments, then looks down to her drink. "Is all well with you, Meir'cillus?"

The drow grins at her, just a bit. "I'm just trying to figure out how I'm going to turn you into a party girl in about three weeks."

Her eyes sparkle at that. "I will pray for you on that bit. Though..." she observes... "this just may serve that purpose in three hours."

Meir takes the bottle, refills his glass. "Then by all means..." He holds it out to her. "Tell me how you're feeling, my beloved?"

"Somewhat worried, Lord Yerosyn," she admits, eyeing the drink a little warily, though she smiles at him for the refill. A bit too proper or not, the fact that she'll respond to the 'how are you feeling' question honestly to him sets him above everyone else in the world, except maybe her brother. "But physically, I am fine, thank you."

"Well yeah," Meir answers, feeling nicely tingly. "You certainly are."

Rey'deyono blushes at that, smiles a little more than usual. The edge of the alcohol is beginning to get to her.

Meir scoots a bit closer to her, looks at her, then looks away. Back again. "Can you sing, Rey? I couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, I'm afraid."

Rey'deyono nods. "To some extent. It is one of the qualities considered desireable in a well-bred wife here, and my voice receives some degree of practice through leading temple chants and such."

Meir grins at her. "Would you sing for me? If your voice is nearly as beautiful as you, then it must be wonderful indeed."

Rey blushes. "I...would not know what to sing, Lord Yerosyn."

"You don't need words," Meir tells her, "if you can sing notes, that would be just fine."

Rey'deyono blushes again, but does smile. Really, what comes next might not have happened were she not already somewhat intoxicated. She thinks back to songs that she knew a long time ago. Picks one and, though hesitating a moment even through alcohol, smiles at him nervously and starts singing softly. Since she's thinking of the sounds more than the actual meaning behind the words, Meir'cillus's borrowed earrings don't translate the meaning...it is just very foreign, but very flowing. Her voice is, though not perfect in every way, clear and flowing, precise though it doesn't sound forced into a melody.

Holy... I must be drunker than I thought if her words sound that jumbled up. The drow blinks, but listens intently, swaying softly along with her voice. No, her voice isn't as pretty as she is. But then, most things aren't. 

"You're very good," he says softly, not wanting her to hear so much as understand.

She smiles at him, continues. Poor Meir'cillus is most likely more sure that he's just confused as it goes, since she does "hear" a line occasionally and he is able to know its meaning. Eventually she forgets that she'd been singing, realizes that she's forgotten, laughs quite amusedly, and takes another drink.

The drow beams at her, totally oblivious. "Here, Rey..." he stands, holds out his arms. "Dance with me."

Rey'deyono tilts her head, but, after a bare moment's hesitation, sets her drink aside and swings her legs daintily so that she's sitting on the edge of the bed. It's sheer luck that she'd used her good hand to do this. She smiles at him and holds out her hand.

Meir reaches down and takes it carefully, pulling her up and immediately moving to cinch his arm around her waist, to hold her up. "Lean on me," he tells her, "I'll hold you so that you don't fall."

She smiles at him, nods. Rey'deyono does try to lean on him...but a sharp cry announces the second she tries to shift her weight on her feet and does it exactly wrong. She somehow finds this very amusing and laughs though there are tears in her eyes.

The drow is, of course, at her side in a second, apologizing so quickly he can barely understand the words himself. 

The priestess laughs and waves him off, oblivious on many levels to the pain. "Oh no it's not you it's my feet they want to kill me." She giggles and hugs him.

Meir blinks, hugs her back. "Wow," he whispers, "you're a lightweight, aren't you?" He smiles, though, and squeezes her a bit. So it isn't walking down the path. It'll do.

She catches this, and giggles, just hugs him for a few seconds. "I love you. You're nice to me." She kisses his cheek. Then, as though that had never happened... "I want to sit back down."

Meir blinks. "That's because you have a fantastic nose," Meir answers, lowering himself with her enough to set her on the bed again. "I have to get you drunk more often, Rey, so you can build a tolerance." Meir is just a little buzzed right now, or so he's sure, which means he's about half-drunk. 

She grins at him. "We use some fun things in some ceremonies, I'm 'tolerant' to those." She laughs.

Meir grins, and takes her hand. "What sort of fun things?"

"Opiates are the most common." She giggles, though she normally finds this deadly serious. Even when she's drunk, though... "but most people take it pretty seriously, and I do too. But it's still really...interesting!"

Meir blinks. "You? No. You?" He laughs. "My beloved Rey'deyono, what on earth are you talking about. You're drunk and making this up, aren't you?"

She grins at him. "Hallucinogens aren't just good for fun, you know. Not everyone's a planeswalker and can leave their bodies normally you know. Why do you think you get such an insane view when you use them? 'Cause you're in the beginning stages of leaving your body, and planeswalkers like me can direct that." Really, even this drunk, she knows she's saying a little much...and no allusion to the church's actual use for this is made.

Meir grins. "You know," he says, catching on a bit. "This sounds like something I shouldn't be hearing. Let's close those lips around something more useful." Meir gives her another glassful, finishes his off, and pours another. 

She blinks, reddening from more than just alcohol. "We're only engaged..." she notes tentatively. "And only just, at that...."

The drow blinks twice. Then smiles. Snickers. But mostly just smiles. "The, uh, the glass, Rey..." he's blushing too, though it's kind of hard to see.  "Put your lips on the glass." 

"Oh..." she obeys at that, significantly redder, though giggling. Mostly embarassed.

Meir chuckles, finishing his glass far too quickly. "You an' yer dirty mind," he nods. "Gard, this is gonna be a helluva hangover tomorra." He smiles at her again. "How're you feeling?"

"I'm either going to float away or throw up!" Rey laughs.

Meir just smiles. "Well, I'm glad these are borrowed clothes, then." He reaches for her, slips his arm around her, quite without realizing what he's doing. "Hi there. Gonna hurl?"

"Erf...maybe." She leans on him, though, eyes closed and quite content.

He looks at her, smiles rather drunkenly. "You know," he whispers, "we've gotten our asses whipped so many times in the last few days." He leans forward a little, letting her head rest on his. "I think it's been okay though. Gard, you smell... drunk. In a good sorta way, though."

She laughs, trails into a giggle. Looks up at him. "Was that supposed to be a compliment, Lord Meir'cillus?"

Meir's eyes clear suddenly, as if a light bulb has come on in his little head. "No, Rey, that was a drunken utterance... this is a compliment." Without hesitation, the drow turns his head and, not really aware that there might be consequences, kisses the priestess squarely on the lips.

Rey's eyes widen a bit, but then...relax, and close. Very, very timidly, even under the influence of the alcohol, she kisses him back.

Meir's eyes widen too, only because he hadn't been shoved away. They close, but the sparkles in his eyelashes are hard to mistake. He kisses her for only a few moments, then moves back, letting his lips linger against hers, perfectly aware of the wetness trickling down his cheeks. He can't speak. Drunk or not.

She smiles. Something in her admittedly hazy eyes says that she is indeed aware of what just happened. She reaches up gently to brush a tear off of his cheek with her right hand. "Don't be sad."

The drow looks at her, smiles just a little. "I am... sad, my priestess. My loneliness just died..."

"Maybe we should have a funeral for it." She giggles as though this is actually clever. "I think I want to lay down..."


Meir nods a little bit. "You need to lay on your belly if you had one and can." He grins. "YOu shouldn't lay on your back if you're drunk." He holds out an arm to help her stay steady, an arm that only wobbles a bit.


She smiles, takes it, and leans on him again. "Mm...can I just lay on you?" Too late. She's comfortable.


Meir laughs a little. He shifts his position a bit, holding her so as not to jostle her, and lays back with her. "Is this okay, Rey...?" he asks of her, letting his cheek settle against her hair.


She smiles at him. "It is perfect, Lord Yerosyn." She dozes off at about that moment.


Meir smiles a little, just cradles her against him as tightly as he can without aggravating his injury. It takes some effort to quiet certain urges, but he does... knowing she'd probably hurt him if she realized it. But... he really isn't tired, either. So he simply lies there, holding her, as long as he can.


Rey isn't tired, or hadn't been...on some level, she's probably thinking that it's better to sleep soemthing off than do something she'd rather not have, for one reason or another, later. Her eyes flutter open more permanently a few hours later. "Ugh..."


Meir had just been about to start dozing at that point. "Ugh?" He blinks. He knows that utterance. "Rey'deyono?" There's no romantic way to ask this. "Are you going to throw up?"


She blinks, quite plainly startled to see him so close, but tries to collect herself quickly. "Ehm...no, Meir'cillus, forgive me. My head simply hurts." Very much.


"I had to ask," he whispers. "You're just a little hung over, is all. Keep your eyes closed, and breathe through your nose when you can." He grins. He knows that headache.

She smiles wanly, nods, and closes her eyes. Thenai's right. She has a fairly low pain tolerance.

"If you can sleep, do it," Meir whispers again, still holding her, soothing her gently. "Sleep if off isn't a phrase for nothing. Tell me if you feel sick. I'll move so that you'll only get me dirty and not the bed."

Her little smile returns, and she nods. She's not sure she's entirely comfortable laying beside him...but she is most definitely grateful to be cared for, something she isn't used to. "Thank you, Meir'cillus," she says softly.

"I live to serve you," he answers before he can think, even though he means it. "Rest."

This time, Meir has no trouble falling asleep.

---

When the drow wakes up, he's lost most track of time. A slight headache beats against his skull, a minor hangover compared to Rey'deyono's no doubt. He looks around for her, wondering if she has gotten up yet.

She has, but she's nearby. Though it had been with a bit of effort on her part, she's seated in a lotus position on the floor, though this is largely covered by her robe, eyes closed. For all that's been going on, she really does need to resume her bi-daily meditation, a minimum as far as she's concerned. Meir'cillus is covered with a light blanket.

Meir'cillus pulls himself out of the bed, gazing at her, wondering how she got her feet into such a position without screaming. He sits in front of her, several feet away, and waits, sitting in a normal cross legged way.

It hadn't been easy, all told. Really, only the driving urge to keep from awakening him had stifled the last little bit of exclamation she may have made. Having them on her legs, really, only hurts moderately, and had been a point of meditation to some extent. Getting them back off will be trickier. She opens her eyes some twenty seconds or so after he sits down. "Welcome back to the waking world. Did you rest well?"

"Fairly," Meir answers her, snapping back to reality. He'd been daydreaming pretty heavily. "I was just thinking about the trip here, and where we were headed. Irony, I mean. That if that triton hadn't busted me up and sidelined us, we might both be dead at Kiee right now." He grins. "I think we have divine intervention on our side."

Rey'deyono smiles at that. "I would not doubt it, Lord Yerosyn."

The drow nods. "So, ah, how's the foot? Has the pain decreased at all...?" Translation: when can we get out of this place? But Meir'cillus is subtle... he'd rather live out his life here than allow her to come to more harm.

"I will need help travelling, Lord Yerosyn," Rey'deyono admits. "To remain on horseback nearly as often as possible. But, if you feel well enough...then yes, I believe that I can, if that is the question." She smiles a little.

Meir blinks. She's good. "I wouldn't insist, my beloved. We can wait a few more days, at least, I am certain of it."

Rey'deyono nods, looks outside. "Well...nightfall will come in a few hours, and we are both rested...."

Meir's eyes soften. "I would regret it more than anything I've ever known, I think, if something went wrong."

Rey'deyono's eyes soften as well. "There is no place safe right now, Lord Yerosyn, not really...I do not believe that I just happened to wander off into the snow alone." Despite the serious words, her voice is reassuring. "The world is an unpredictable thing. All is risk, and one risk is as worthy as the next."

The drow just listens, nodding a little bit at the end. "I'll call for Thenai," he says, "but if your wounds bother you, we will turn back. Agreed?"

She smiles a little, nods. "Agreed."

Meir grins, gets up to his feet. "I love it when you smile," he says, turning to slip out of the room and find out about leaving.

Rey'deyono blushes and doesn't really respond further, wincing a little as she resettles her feet and then tries to get back to her meditation. She's grateful that Meir'cillus hadn't pressed the "snow" matter...she's actually all but sure that Vayen or someone who worked directly under him had actively manipulated her vision--and maybe evoked it, which would explain the random skill germination--to its nearly fatal inn.

Thenai nearly runs into Meir'cillus outside the room, stopping quite abruptly and barely shifting a tray's weight to one arm and grabbing a wobbling teapot with the opposite hand. "Tsk! You're trying to make me look like I'm the one who's been drinking." She fills a cup and holds it out to him. "Here, it'll get rid of any headache you may still have."

Meir blinks. "God you're good. You aren't a telepath, are you?" He takes the tea, sips it eagerly. Used to them or not, headaches still lack fun. "I think ... it's in our best interest to get going."

"Hm..." her face becomes more serious at that. "I don't suppose that I could convince you to hang around and allow more recovery time?'

"In a split second. But... we aren't safe here." The drow gazes into the teacup, thinking. "Vayen needs to die yesterday."

Thenai pauses at that, then closes her eyes, nods. "Yes. I can see how remaining sedentary may not be the best of courses. Well, I'll see to your supplies being organized and replenished, then. When do you plan to leave?"

Meir shakes his head. "I don't know. Now, as soon as possible... I don't have the answers anymore, Thenai. It's unfamiliar territory for me."

She tilts her head. "I doubt you're talking about the continent."

Meir grins. "You're far too cute to be a monk. I'm talking about... not having the answers. I've been a king for years, a general, and knew what I was doing. Now I am in the dark and it bothers me to no end."

"They'll come to you as you need them. You didn't learn to be a king or a general intuitively, either."

"Well..." Meir nods a bit. "I suppose that is true. Either way, we have to go face our mutual problem, Rey and I. Thank you again for your aid and faith, Thenai. And your breasts. But that goes without saying."

"Yeah, yeah." She pokes him in the ribs, though far from hard enough to do actual damage. "It was my pleasure, thanks for being amusing. I'll go and see about getting things ready for you two to go..." She holds out the tray. "Here. I'm sure she has a hangover, too."

Meir takes the tray, smiling. "Nah. She got wasted and sober again before I'd even finished being wasted." He turns with the tray, and once agan tramps back to their room.

"Here you go," he announces as he offers a cup of tea to the unfortunately gimped priestess. "For your pain."

She smiles at him and takes it gratefully, sipping at it. She really is enjoying having access to her native foodstuffs again, it's a simple but poignant pleasure. "Thank you, Lord Yerosyn. That was very fast."

"I almost ran into Thenai. I swear, I think she's following me around." The drow sits on his bed, stretching his arms carefully. "I'll almost miss thie place."

Rey'deyono nods. "We have been treated very kindly."

Meir'cillus grins. "Oh yes, very kindly. But not enough to keep me here. Are you positive that you can make the trip?"

The priestess nods, then is silent a few moments. "I am reasonably confident in my ability to travel, Lord Yerosyn..." she begins...looks up. "But I am not certain that my remaining with you would be sound for your safety. I feel quite sure that my venture out into the snow was coincidental, or accidental...I believe that it was an attempt on my life, and I cannot be sure that it or someone equally dangerous will not happen again."

Meir'cillus blinks. "Someone could have alerted me to this possibility. Rey'deyono, listen to me. I don't ever want to have to say this to you again." He slides from his bed and kneels in front of her, his ear drooping just a bit. "I will not leave you again. The first time ruined the lives of many people, not just me. I won't do it."

The priestess starts to smile wanly, fails, and is still a few moments, eyes down. She sets the cup aside, leans foward, and just hugs Meir'cillus tightly, squeezing her eyes shut, eyelashes glimmering. It hurts terribly, but she doesn't notice, not really. She's scared. For herself. For him. For the temple. For Ilitair. For...everything. And his words mean a lot.

God I'm good!

The thought isn't really a mentally audible one, but Meir'cillus certainly feels like he's said the right thing to her. He lets his hands rest on her back, treasuring the moment as long as he can. He is scared, too... not so much of getting himself killed. Being a soldier tempers that fear well. But certainly for the other things that are at risk here.

"We'll win, you and I," he assures her. "We have Ono toys to play with, remember."

She smiles. Just the littlest bit, just a little twitch at the corners of her lips before it fades again. "Yes. We do." She feels no inclination to move, though, just closes her eyes, brow creased. She doesn't know anymore what chance there will be to do this in the future.

---

As the sunset's nearly completed itself, the sun just barely clinging to life from between two mountains, the priestess is settled securely on the back of a horse, well-bundled against the cold.

"Please," Meir tells her for the nine thousandth time, "please, my beloved, tell me if you become uncomfortable. I will do what I can to help." The drow mounts his own horse beside her, looking for what he hopes won't be the last time at this place. "Thenai! My thanks to you and your fellows.  I'll be back, so make plenty of that brew, eh?"

"I'll be sure to spike it appropriately next time, so hurry back!" She waves.

Meir laughs. Waves back, and then turns to head his horse on down the path towards Culhai. So much has changed, since he got his torso shattered by a damned fish woman. He feels like he could almost thank her, once he finishes beating her.

"I'll pick up a new sword in Culhai, my beloved," Meir says to Rey, "please don't let me forget. My swordbreaker was lost."

She nods. Thenai had mentioned his comment about how it may be better if it stayed lost...and she'll honor that."I will remind, to be sure, Lord Yerosyn. There is a fine smith in the town."

"What about for you?" The drow looks at her. "I know you hate to fight. But I would feel so much better if you at least had a dagger."

"I am...unsure," she admits. The fact that she'd even consider it indicates that she's been changed somewhat by this whole experience as well. "My order is not absolutely non-violent, but...it is certainly an extreme last resort, and frowned upon."

"Getting poked full of holes would be frowned upon more, I think." Meir smiles at her anyway, though, knowing what such words mean. "You can use a dagger for all sorts of things, though. Cleaning fish, cutting vines... not just defense."

"That is a very sound argument, Lord Yerosyn." It's a very good argument, well-adjusted to appeal to her. "Yes, I think that it may be a good idea in that case."

"Then I'll buy you one in Culhai." The drow nods. That's what he thought. "If you need, I'll show you how to use it and maintain it, too."

She smiles at him. "That is very kind of you, thank you."

Meir grins. "Nah, it should be expected. Kind of me would be... knitting you a sweater, at this point."

She grins at that, a rare expression for her, though only for a moment. It's an amusing picture. "I had not realized that soldiers were so versatile, Lord Yerosyn."

"Grunts are," Meir answers, nodding. "I kind of fell into generaling. But I learned how to sew when I lived on my own... socks are a pleasant thing to have, but too expensive for someone whose primary income comes from bandits he's slain on the road."

"I can certainly see how it would be a useful task." She nods, then ponders that. "I...do not believe that I know how to sew, to any really useful extent." Thread in eye. Needle through fabric. Tie it at some point. That's about it.

The drow thinks about this. Sans those fingers, could she sew well? "When you are a Queen, you'll never have to do for yourself." He nods. "You will have whatever you want at your disposal. Including me."

Rey'deyono smiles...blushes a little at the thought, though. "It is...a strange notion, Meir'cillus."

"How so? I happen to think you'd make a brilliant queen."

"I...hope so, Lord Yerosyn. Being a queen is a very different thing than being a priestess. All told, that was the first moment that the very real possibility of my bearing that title truly sunk in." Of course, she has a head start...she's already respected by the people as a priestess. But, again..a priestess isn't a queen. How would they react to the change?

Meir listens, but he's already got an answer for that. "Beloved, you are the same woman. You have years of experience listening to the people complain, you have a face that doesn't give anything away, and you are patient. Most importantly, you are charming and beautiful, intelligent, and quick thinking. These are all traits of an able ruler. Besides," he nods, "after those moron puppets that replaced me, the people would practically worship you."

Rey'deyono's cheeks color lightly. "I think...that there will be questions asked, about how this came to be, to be sure," she notes. "But I must admit that I do not think Ionnyans would have too much trouble looking to me in this facility..." she ponders aloud.

"We will have answers. About the glorious maiden who, in selflessness, charity, and wisdom, stole the heart of the sick bastard that they had called King."

Rey'deyono blushes, smiles a little. "I do believe, Lord Yerosyn...that you are a fabulous hand at exagerrating such observations, from both sides."

Meir laughs, throwing his head back a little bit. "I have to exaggerate. I am such a painfully short fellow that I must compensate somehow."

Rey'deyono smiles a little, her eyes sparkling. She does enjoy his company.

---

Two days later, Rey'deyono yawns, then looks up at a familiar landmark. "We should be able to see the town just around this next bend."

"It's about time," Meir answers her, patting his horse's neck. "Never should anyone be allowed to give so much pain to a man's ass when we've only just met, horse or not."

The priestess laughs softly. "Would you like to find an inn, then, and visit the blacksmith on the morrow?"

The drow ponders this. "Mmm... if we can put in an order for weapons early, we can leave sooner. I think we should visit the smith first, if you're up to it." Meir leads his horse on down the path, craning his neck a bit to see the town.

Rey'deyono nods as Culhai rolls into sight. "That sounds like a splendid plan of action."