A comfortable, if somewhat haunted castle-like, guest floor in Korliss's Keep. It used to be dedicated to seances and scrying, but Amilei Lei has less use for it than her late father did, and so she's set up a pair of comfortable bedrooms and facilities there.

---

Second Floor Archive

---

Ting opens her eyes a bit, smiles...cuddles under the blankets, curls up, and is completely out again. Likely in a more natural sleep now.


Yue lets his breath out, and stumbles back to his own bed. Being eviscerated took the energy out of him, after all. In seconds he's asleep, with the final thought that going into someone else's mind without knowing them well is a bad idea.

Felina is quite ready to steady the angel when they step into the hall outside the bedrooms. "Are you okay? I'm going to go ahead and keep a beacon portal to the ether plane open near you for the energy transfer."

Ale nods to her. He feels as though he needs to sleep, but knows that if he did, it would probably mean his end. What's left of his wings flickers black to white. This needs to be a short visit.

Yue's eyes open. He looks around, feeling Felina's energy nearby, and sits up, looking to the door curiously.

Felina nods, still keeping a wary telepathic eye on the angel, and smiles at Yue when she steps into the room. "Hi...Ale wanted to visit Ting, is all. Is everything okay here, Yue?" She smiles at the incubus...nudges Ting awake telepathically, to a "mmmph...?"

"Things are fine," Yue nods, smiling prettily at them. Until he sees Ale, that is. "Stars... Ale! What are you doing here, are you insane?" She's up in a heartbeat, snagging the younger man's arm.

Ale just smiles a drunken-looking smile. "Ting," he explains, looking down on her.

Felina sighs inwardly. Yes, and she's a pushover for good intentions. Cuts another portal for the ether energy transfer, keeping an eye on both the angel and planar integrity.

Ting blinks, and finally peeks out of the blankets sleepily. Her drowsy features brighten, though, when she sees the angel. "Ale! Uh..hi! What's wrong? You don't looks right." Pokes him.

"I just wanted to see you. I can't stay on this plane." The angel snags her poking hand, smiling a little. "Still nice and neat," he notes, talking about her nails.

Ting grins, and looks at her claws. "Despite my best efforts. Give me another day, I'll get it!" She looks over to Yue. "Ale gave me a manicure," she explains. "It was sweet! So now I have pretty claws."

"He gave you something else, too," Yue points out, looking at the ring on Ting's finger.

Ting looks at it. Blinks. Twice. "Uhhh...Ale's really sweet and all but we just met and don't I get a say in this?"

"It's a ward," Ale explains, "it was for in case demons attacked again. Despite the implication..." He closes his eyes. Not much longer.

"Felina, he needs to be taken out of here. Immediately," Yue insists, shaking him gently. "Two more minutes and he's a memory."

Felina nods. "Ale, Yue's right. Time to say goodbye. Concisely."

Ting blinks again as she slips out of bed. "Well...I'm not sure what's going on, exactly, but it sounds bad. So..." she hugs Ale. "Thanks for coming to see me! It's sweet. Now you should go before you poof or whatever and don't want to see me again which by the way I'll take as a personal insult so bye!" She pecks his cheek.

Ale's cheek warms. "I'm just glad you're okay. See you soon, Ting, I gwa-!" Yue shoves him roughly through Felina's portal, smiling sweetly when he vanishes.

"Men know nothing of brevity," he points out.

Ting giggles. She likes that ending, it was funny and warm!

Felina smirks. "See, Yue, this is why I love you." She laughs. "I should go make sure he's okay. Is everything all right with you two?"

"Quite." Though, Yue knows he needs to talk to her about Kaies. Now is not the time, with Phenhine still needing to be investigated, though. "Did you find out what you needed to?"

"Yes." Felina nods once. "I also found out that whoever is targetting Minna has a history in this city, though, so I really should get moving. I'll see you both later, hm?" She smiles, and steps back through the portal into Saea's Gardens.

Ting, for her part, giggles. "That was sweet. In a damnably stupid kind of way, but sweet!"

---

"Yue. Take Minna and get her out of here. Hide, now."

It isn't too much later before Yue, who'd been working on going back to sleep, sits bolt upright in his bed. "Felina?" Looks around. Had he been dreaming?  No... as an incubus, his power over his own dreams is next to absolute.  He would have known. 

"Ting, I have to go see your father. Something's come up." He rises, heads for the door, intent on snagging Orrin by the shoulders and warning him most urgently.

"Huh...? All right, can I help...?" She'd just awakened too, again, but is more lucid each time.

"Oh no, you must rest and get your strength back. I was just going to hug your father for earlier." She smiles rather un-convincingly.

Ting yawns. "You're a bloody liar...let me know if you need help, right...?" this as she dozes off again.

"I know," the former angel whispers, "I just wish I was better at it." And she goes to bang on Minna's door, rather frantically. "Orrin, I need to talk to you!"

The dumen is startled, of course, but is there in a hurry. "Yue?" He inquires quietly. "What's wrong?"

"I heard Felina's voice," she explains, "warning me. She's in danger somewhere, and wants me to get Minna out of here and hide her." Shakes his head, eyes desperate. "Where would be better than this fortress though?"

Orrin frowns. "I...don't know. Who all knows that Minna's here?" His mind is racing. Fel....

"I don't know," Yue shakes his head. "I can track her energy. I want to go find her."

"Yue, as long as Minna's here, Felina would want..." voice trails off. His mouth finally stretches taut after a moment, and he nods. "Be careful, Yue. Get Dewei if you think it would help. Makyon's also available."

"Yeah..." the angel smiles at him a little bit. "Please protect Minna for me." He spins on his heels, still clad in Ting's nightgown, and marches off to collect Dewei and Makyon from the Shiny Thumb.

---

When Dewei returns, the first person he actually sees is Ting, who's quite given up on trying to sleep by now. She perks when she sees her beloved twin. "Hiii, Ding! Is Ai okay? Is mom okay?" Blinks, deflating when he just passes her. "Are you okay?"

Dewei turns his head to her after a moment, and smiles just a little. "I'm fine, Spot. Go back to bed."

She just blinks as he knocks on the door to Minna and Kaies's room.

Orrin, of course, opens it, cautious until he sees his son's face, but still looking anxious. "Dewei? Where's your mom?"

"She's back at Lady Phenhine's house..." Dewei shakes his head. Doesn't want to say in what state. "She's okay. I need to take you and Minna there, too, though."

"What? Why? Minna's safe here. Did Fel ask that?"

"...yes."

Orrin narrows his eyes after a moment. "Dewei. You're lying. I'm you're dad, I know these things."

"Who's lying about what...?" A sleepy-looking Mara-kuru pads out of her borrowed room in the middle of that, rubbing her eyes and yawning a great fangy yawn. "I wanna play."

"Auntie's awake!" And Ting, though still baffled by Dewei's behavior, nails her aunt with an overjoyed pounce.

Dewei, meanwhile, tries to step into his room, only to be stopped with another hand to the chest, which is really beginning to irk him.

Mara goes down, rolling with Ting and laughing through her yawn. Squishes and hugs in the process, too.

All the ruckus, of course, wakes Kaies. After a second of 'wha, where am I?' the medium remembers himself and is on his feet, claws out, ready to kill something.

Orrin glances back to the possibly possessed medium, and back to his son, voice low. "Dewei, why do you need to take Minna and I to see Phenhine?"

"She asked me to."

The dumen narrows his eyes. "She sang to you, didn't she?"

Ting blinks. "Who's singing to who now that's not me?"

"Phenhine is a dumen name, Ting."

Another blink. "Ohhh...sireny 'you my bitch now!' singing." She nods, hugs her aunt once more, purring a little to have her awake, and then gets off of her.

Mara grins at Ting, and sits up, a little more bright eyed than before. "But wait. Ai's gonna be pissed, Dewei. What would she say if some chicklet with goth lips sang to you, and you went and did stuff for her? She'll kick your balls up into your kidneys!"

Dewei is quiet a moment at the mention of Ai's name. "Yes. Yeah, she is, but I have to do this."

"Do what?" Kaies demands quite forcefully. "What?"

Dewei shakes his head. "It's nothing serious...lady Phenhine just wants to see father and Minna."

Aunt, fix him! Ting implores quietly, kitty eyes trained on her aunt.

Mara looks back to Ting, but isn't sure what she can really do about this.

Kaies all but shoves Orrin out of the way at the mention of Minna being taken anywhere. "Minna is staying right here. If this Phenhine wants her so badly, she can come here, and I can tear out her heart."

Mara tilts her head at Kaies, looking to Ting first. What brought that on, she wonders?

Ting just blinks. Kaies had been the one to gut Yue, right...? She's beginning to wonder about this friend of her mother's....

Dewei bristles at the threat to Phenhine, fangs baring a little. "You'll do no such thing, Kaies. I need to take Minna to Phenhine, and I will."

Orrin is quick to shove his way back between them, largely because he remembers what had happened to Yue..and also because he isn't positive that Dewei won't do something foolish, himself. "Dewei. Why does Phenhine want Minna?"

The halfbreed shakes his head, though stilil glaring at Kaies. "I don't know."

"And where the hell is your mother?"

"She's stuck to Phenhine's wall in a spiderweb."

Okay...this is the part where Ting completely wakes up and flips out. "She's what?!"

Dewei glances over to her. "She'll be okay. She'll wake up tomorrow."

The other twin's eyes bug. "That makes it worse! Dewei, what's wrong with you?"

"Okee people!" Mara-kuru's fangs are out now. "I," she announces, "am running a tight ship here. Kaies, sit your ass down. Tingy, kick your brother's ass!" Mara's hand comes out, a power restraining spell forming around it and aiming for the kittymutt in question.

Ting growls, and thusly pounces. Dewei moves to defend himself, but Mara's spells grab his arms at exactly the wrong or right moment, and Ting takes him down, straddling his chest with her knees, and begins with the literal punching him in the face. "Snap...out of it...you little...bitch!"

Mara eeps softly. Wilts, feeling horrible for commanding this. Her little head tilts, though, when a very pretty voice filters up from the first floor. "Whazzat...?" she wonders, looking around. "Pretty."

Ting blinks. Picks up on it before her father, with the enormous ears and all, and in half an instant, has muted her Orrin's hearing, to a startled jerk on his part. She knows that kind of song damned well, since she trains with a siren at the Derrias.

It also seems to give Dewei new energy, and he growls at his sister. Only her speed sends her barreling into her dad and slamming the door behind her. Dewei slams a fist into it, which would have shattered the thing had she not reinforced it.

"Dewei quit it!" Mara rushes to his side, imploring him in every way she knows how to stop. "Please please! Quit! Don't make Auntie bust your fucking head, honey!"

Dewei doesn't, however, stop, although he's leary of his aunt's power.

Ting, meanwhile starts talking fast. "Okeedokee, dad you can read lips right okay good now listen hm I need Minna up..." she hurries over and takes the infused goddess's hands as she speaks.

Minna had been sitting on the edge of the bed and just allows this, wondering what in all hell is going on.

"Yay well..." a cloaking spell forms around the room and a powerful illusion begins to form right after, slowly changing Ting's energies to temporarily feel exactly like Minna's. Appearance is easy, she'll worry about that later. "Okay yay, dad, I need to more permanently deafen you mom can turn it back later?"

"Sure," Orrin nods. He's startled and proud as hell at how Ting's acting right now. It seems that with Dewei out of sorts, she's decided to take over his usual roles. "Ting, I...god fucking damnit!" This said as his eardrums snap.

"Eh-heh..." and she banishes the pain immediately. "Sorry, it was the quickest way, and also the easiest to fix." Looks at her hand, at the energies flowing off of it, and then mutes her own power signature. "Hey, that looks pretty good!" Her appearance and voice shift...and then, Minna is looking right at Minna. Of course, one looks peppy and one looks amazed.

Ting beams. "Yay! Now Minna hides somewhere." She takes off a pinky ring of her mom's that can hide energy signatures the same way mom's cloak does, and slips it on Minna's finger. "Yay! Now more with the hiding."

Kaies manages to put his gloves back on, but... feels more torn than he has in as long as he can remember. That sound, that music... he feels so drawn to it. He wants to leave, and it is all he can do to keep his hand away from the doorknob. He finds himself reaching for it anyway, eyes going to glass.

Mara-kuru growls and stamps her foot. "Okay, mister I have to go plant world trees and scare auntie just for some divine nookie you're going down!" The Serinian flings a wicked psionic shove for Dewei's chest, readying herself to move in case of a counter attack.

Ting winces. Oh, yeah, forgot that. Takes a deep breath. Is she ready for this? Maybe not, but...starts singing, herself. A song about a brave young man who goes to the ends of the earth for the love of his daughter.

Dewei growls, catches his footing after being solidly shoved down the hall. Has readied an attack and...hesitates, blinking, at the second song.

Kaies, meanwhile, just freezes where he is.

"Gotcha bitch!" Mara catches the hesitation and springs, her fist balled up and a swift cross aimed for Dewei's forehead.

Into the middle of the lyrics, Ting inserts "Minna get under the bed" seamlessly, and the song increases in strength and pitch. She steps forward, and tries to gently put him to sleep. Just for a couple of minutes, Minna may need him, but...if Phenhine comes up here....

Dewei's eyes widen, and he tries to catch the fist, but he's just too late.

Mara bears Dewei to the ground and pins him, but the only whimpering is from her own lips. "I'm sorry honey, I'm so so sorry I never want to hurt you Auntie loves you...!"

The song from below grows in volume as Phenhine and her cavalcade ascend the central staircase. Mara looks that way, sniffling as the insects army floods towards her. She jumps up and back throwing psionic blasts that send ants and bees every which way, but Phenhine, Legion, and Ikma continue towards Dewei unabated.

Kaies shivers at the music. His helpless eyes turn to Ting, who looks like Minna of course. "Minna...?"

Minna just finishes shuffling under the bed. Ting lets out her breath, and stops the singing lest it be heard. She smiles. "Yes, but...I need help, Kaies, I'm feeling kind of dizzy..." she sways. And, in her defense, she isn't used to having a ball foot.

Orrin remains silent, and makes sure there's no trace of the real Minna with a foot and a fixed wrinkle.

Dewei is...about as close to knocked out as you can be without actually being there. He manages a sheepish, pleased smile when Phenhine approaches, though, just glad to see her.

Mara throws more and more attacks, but now sports a few red sting wounds on her hands and arms.  She's fighting with all she has, but is still so tired after just waking up that she can barely put her all into it.

"Legion," Phenhine sings, "handle the kitten. Do not kill her." She kneels, strokes Dewei's hair as she sings. Words interweave into her notes, just as Ting's had, but this is a song of motivation. A song, not of love, but of absolute, unrestrained lust, and the means to satiating it.

Kaies, inside, dives to catch Ting-Minna, face filled with worry. "What's wrong...?"

Dewei is...hm...definitely motivated! And manages to sit up, with difficulty, ready to jump right back into this.

"I don't know..." Ting-Minna shakes her head. "It's just the transition, I think." She leans on Kaies, though, smiling gratefully. "Thanks." She glances to her father, and looks towards the door. Relaxes the seals on it...and cringes a little when Dewei breaks the lock telekinetically and pushes it open.

Mara tries to jump and stop him, ignoring the fire of the bee venom in her system. Her anti-poison spells are beginning to work, but their stingers are still sharp. She leaps, but makes it only halfway to Dewei before Legion's fingertips crackles with lightning and blast her backwards. She blinks as she slumps down, wondering when was the last time she felt an elemental spell with so much force behind it, and topples over.

Kaies pulls Ting-Minna to his chest briefly, just long enough to move her and put himself in front of the door. The gloves come off.

Ting cringes quite visibly when she sees her aunt...but then, that's not out of character. She remains quiet and wide-eyed, and her dad also readies a dagger.

Kaies just waits. There's no point kicking down the door to let the guy trying to get in, get in.

Phenhine's song rises in volume, but if the medium can hear it her certainly isn't reacting. His eyes are feral, and full of want for blood, mixed with that hint of worry for his Minna.

Dewei steps into the room. Suddenly terrified for her baby brother, Ting grabs Kaies's arm, clinging to it. "Please don't hurt him, Kaies," she begs. "Let's just at least see what they want?"

Kaies's muscles tense, but Minna's voice has absolute sway over him and has for some time. He doesn't relax, but he doesn't attack, either.

Phenhine steps behind Dewei, gazing at Orrin thoughtfully. "My heavens," she softly says, finally stopping to get her breath. "Orrin, is that right? And Minna." She smiles at the both of them. "I was hoping Dewei would have been able to get you two for me. Amilei and Mara-Kuru will be fine, but I hope we do not have to hurt anyone else to get you to come along...?"

"Minna" shakes her head quietly. "No...we'll come." Looks at her father, who steps forward to help her walk.

"Kaies...could you please stay? I just...don't want anyone else hurt..." The faintest hint of suggestion as to what's going on flitters across his mind, quiet because Ting's terrified of it being heard or sensed.

Kaies shakes his head. He's too far gone, now, too close to going berserk. He wants to hurt Phenhine in the worst way.

The Dumeni enchantress steps back, eyeing Kaies warily. She sometimes forgets just how mortal she is, keeping company with men like Legion. The former steps into her place, sizes Kaies up a moment, and abruptly launches a second lightning elemental spell against him. At first Kaies growls, tensing as if to pounce, but soon goes to a knee as he loses the strength to stand.

Minna squeaks. Ting does almost simultaneously, trying to cover it up.

Orrin, for his part, steps forward. "That's enough. We'll come."

"Of course you will. Oh. Don't mind the pest problem as you follow." Phenhine resumes her singing, a slower, more obedient sort of song floating along the corridors of the keep, and heads out. The ants follow her, as does legion, though Ikma waits for Orrin and Ting with a practiced obedience. It nudges Dewei, waiting for him to go on ahead.

Dewei nods, and does.

Ting lets out a relieved breath, though doing her best to look unsure and frightened, and limps along on her dad's arm.

Ikma gazes at Ting, his mandibles bristling again. Something is not right, and he knows that for sure. Do you want to ride on my back? he offers, noting the limp and no crutches or walking stick.

Ting looks over to the spider as though startled, and cringes slightly. Looks up at Orrin-dad. He nods after a moment. "It would probably be a good idea.

And, thus, Ting looks timidly back to the spider, and nods just the littlest bit, still looking only marginally better than Yue had.

Ikma lowers his massive body a little bit, far enough for Orrin to set Ting-Minna up so she can sit at the curve between his segments and not be bucked off. I'm told that riding a spider is much nicer than a horse. Smoother. Though rumor suggests that Sneakers is the best transportation of all, with those millipede feet.

"Well, you get some bragging rights, anyway," Ting notes timidly, with just the slightest smile once Orrin's lifted her up carefully. He isn't thrilled about all this, by the by.

Ikma lifts back up, smiling as only a spider can. With his feet, as he clacks along after Phenhine, who gives Amilei a cursory kick as she passes. 

So, the gentle-riding spider begins as he leads Orrin and carries Ting, want to tell me who you are? You are no more a gimp than I am.

Ting silences at this, for several seconds. Finally, quietly... no. But I'm trying to save the life of one.

Ikma is silent for a while, as he heads down the stairs. Rough business for eight legs. Finally, though, he levels out. My mistress is not a killer, he assures her, but she's acting so strange lately. She's always been... hm. Diabolical? But never so willing to interfere with people.

She wants Minna's divine essence for something. Ting points out. It's what everyone wants with Minna almost. The only way to get that is by killing her.

I can't see that. Maybe she really just wants Minna herself? Phenhine is interested in young women, after all. Or maybe for some other reason. Ikma's been with Phenhine for quite a while now. It is hard for him to up and distrust her, just like that.

If she wants to play nice and have tea, then that's great. But the last I heard, my mom's unconscious and plastered to a wall somewhere. That makes me want to check it first, Minna later if it's safe. Oop...s... damnit. She always talks too much.

Ikma chuckles a hissing chuckle. Well... unconscious and on a wall is not too odd considering Phenhine's proclivities. You might ask her yourself. But I promise I won't let her kill this Minna, because, I do not condone needless murder! I am spider royalty, after all.

That would explain why you're a handsome spider! Ting chirps more cheerfully. Yeah. Afraid of him was just an act. She'll befriend anything.

Aren't I? Ikma laughs again, hissing softly. He likes Ting. He can't help it, even though Phenhine will probably be angry at him over all this.

Ting purrs inwardly. She likes new friends! Almost starts to swing her feet, then remembers herself. Frightened and somber frightened and somber you're going possibly to your death dipshit and you can't do a thing about it.

Really, Minna would be calmer and more accepting that she's playing it, but Ting hasn't known her long enough to realize this.

---

Meanwhile, as she hears Phenhine's party reach the bottom of the stairs, Minna creeps quietly out from under the bed. "Kaies...?" she hurries to his side on all fours, more than concerned.

The feral edge still burns in Kaies's eyes, though the smell of his charred skin seems to have attention more than the injustice of the day. At Minna's voice, though, his mind clears enough to look that way.

"Minna...?" he manages to rasp, a puff of smoke issuing from his mouth. "I thought you were taken...?"

"No..." she shakes her head. "That was Ting...she just changed her appearance to look like me." Her brow furrows gently at the smoke. She tries to touch his cheek, but is startled backward by a shock.

"We need to get you a healer, Kaies, this is bad...where was that healer of Felina's?"

He shakes his head slowly, as ashes of his hair flutter to the ground. "Don't know," he quietly answers. If he did, he likely couldn't remember right now anyway.

Minna nods, and kisses his hair. Shocked again, but oh well. "Here..I'm going to see about getting help. I'll be back soon, okay Kaies?" She crawls over to her crutch just because it's more convenient and stands up with it...heads over to the closet, where she's sure she saw a cloak earlier--she did, and actually, it's a pretty blue job with silver trim. Once that hood is pulled over her face, she starts for the stairs at a respectably quick clip. Practiced gimps are so much better at walking than able-bodied people pretending to be gimps.

Kaies protests, but without any conviction. He's in a bad way, and knows it for once.

Down the stairs, a furious Amilei is just beginning to rise. The white of her eyes has gone black with hatred.

Minna starts to speak when she approaches, careful on the stairs...but her breath catches. She knows very well what an angry vampire is capable of by this point, though she's never been on the receiving end of it. "Um...Lady Amilei...? Are you okay...?"

She glares at Minna, her lungs rumbling like a warning lioness, but only for a few seconds. Her eyes clear. "I will be, if I can just get you to push on my neck right here." She points to where her skin is strained, where the bones are shoving outward.

Minna cringe when she sees it, but takes a deep breath, nods, and steps forward to do that, setting aside her crutch and just lightly touching Amilei's shoulder for support. She sets the ball of one of her palms carefully across the protruding bones, the other hand on top of it--though trying very hard not to have some sort of stroke in the process--and push-leans on it firmly.

Amilei makes not even the slightest sound when her vertebrae - C4 and C5 - crunch back into place. Afterwards, she lets out her breath and rubs her neck. "That is going to be sore tomorrow... thank you. Now, could you be kind enough to tell me where Dewei has gotten to? I have to strangle him."

Minna shakes her head. "No...Ting was fighting with him, and there was some singing...Ting pounced Orrin and I back into the room and locked him, and switched appearances with me. I hid, and they all left...with the dumen lady and giant insects." She shakes her head. "Kaies needs a healer. Mara too."

"Healer?" Amilei looks up the stairs. "I can help. Let's go." She rises, graceful even in ought-to-be-dead condition.

Minna nods as she gathers up her crutch. "Do you...ehm...need any help?"

"Oh, no," the elder vampiress smiles, "this sort of thing happens. One can do nothing but continue on."

Minna shakes her head a little, almost amused. "If I hadn't lived in a vampire's keep before this, I think you would have just sent my brain into a meltdown."

"Thankfully. I hate cleaning brain off of my floor." And she marches up the stairs, spotting Mara lying against the wall. "Who is in worse shape, Minna...?"

"I don't know..." the albino shakes her head. "I'm ashamed to admit it, but I didn't check Mara...only saw her as I was already running for a healer."

"Understandable." Amilei heads for Mara first, then, giving her a cursory examination. "Ouch," she notes, "the poor thing is full of venom. Her spells must have stopped negating it when she was hit by whatever burned her." She takes Mara into her arms, holding her so gently one would think Mara was her own daughter. "Minna. You can heal, can you not?"

"Um...vampires, and other dark-based creatures, but I've never tried it with anyone else."

"Have you ever tried it on Kaies," Amile wonders aloud, "at all? The lummox gets himself hurt enough."

"Once...it didn't work. But it was also a long time ago." Minna glances back to the room thoughtfully.

"I could turn him," she points out, as if just happening upon the idea. "Then you could heal him." It occurs to her that Mara could help, as well, and she sets to work on the fallen redhead.

Minna shakes her head. "He doesn't want to be a vampire...could have been, certainly, but didn't want it. I'm...going to try." And she heads back into the room beside Kaies, sitting on her feet next to him and taking a slow breath.

Kaies looks at Minna from his place upon the floor. There isn't much lucidity in his eyes, now, but the scent of him cooking has gone down immensely. He doesn't speak, just stares, as though resigned.

Minna takes a deep, slow breath. She isn't sure what to do, not really. Just...smiles a little at him. Closes her eyes a few moments, and sets the palms of her hands lightly, timidly on the fronts of his shoulders. Concentrates...tries so hard, just...concentrates.

Nothing.

She squeezes her eyes shut. "I'm sorry...I'm trying..." opens them, her pale, off-lavender eyes glistening. "I swear I'm trying, Kaies...I love you so much...."

And at this, a pale, soft white, somehow not in the least bit blinding despite its brilliance, lights from beneath her palms, startling her. It ceases as soon as she's aware of it. Bites her lip. Think. Breathes out. Just emotions. Not thoughts...and, again, less vividly this time, the healing energy--divinely potent--manifests and begins to weave over and through the medium.

Kaies's body takes on that glow, weaving in and out with her power. His eyes sparkle with returning lucidity. An impulse burns to life in the back of his mind.

It's as if he can feel her heart, beating in his chest. The sensation is unreal, impossible, but it is there. He can hear her earnest words, her honesty driving them deeply into his mind, kicking his brain into functioning as it supposed to.

He finds himself reaching for her. He doesn't know why, or what he plans to do, only that he wants to be close to her now. In his heart, there is no other reason to be.

Minna's smile lights cautiously, and she throws her arms around her dearest friend in the world. "You're okay...!" she whispers, quietly earnest.