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Post by starcrossed on Aug 14, 2008 15:48:47 GMT -5
Two days after sharing Autumn's dream, Daemon hadn't gone to any of his classes or been seen at all during the day. He had spent the day locked in his dorm, his condition unchanged. He lay on top of his bed covers, skin slick with sweat. His clothes were damp with sweat as he alternated between fever and chills. The pain was centered in his left arm - it was most intense in his ring finger, and gradually became less so as it worked its way up his arm, to his shoulder, and through his body. He lay with his body curled around that hand, teeth clenched, though he didn't make a sound. When the pain receded slightly, he forced himself up to his knees and reached for the jar on his bedside table. The jar was empty, but had a piece of thin, specialized rubber stretched over it and secured with a rubber band. For what felt like the hundredth time, Daemon punctured the rubber with the snake tooth, which at this point wouldn't retract back into his ring finger. His breath hissed out between his teeth quietly, the only sign he showed that the pain worsened as he tried to milk out the thickened venom, to no avail. Too long - he'd waited too long to milk it. He'd been unable to find a safe moment to do so, and now - he feared if he couldn't do this he might lose his hand. And that was if he was lucky.
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Post by Sharkbait on Aug 14, 2008 16:47:40 GMT -5
Autumn came back into the Common Room after a day of classes. She was exhausted, but she still concentrated on blocking everything out. But even when she was blocking out thoughts, emotions still came through, which was not a good thing. She noticed that Chaosti and Edward seemed to be having a good time, yet again. She couldn't tell if they were together or not, but it didn't really matter. She was avoiding both of them. Then she noticed something that was not common: Daemon was in pain. She stopped where she was and concentrated before she remembered her promise to him. She had been keeping both her promises to him: one, to laugh more, and two, to keep out of his thoughts. His emotions were definitely not the same thing, but he wouldn't see it that way. She hesitated, debating what she should do. After a few seconds, she decided that she had to help him. She ran up the stairs to his dorm and went in.
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Post by starcrossed on Aug 14, 2008 17:59:39 GMT -5
Daemon was concentrating so fully on trying to milk the thickened and crystallizing venom and fighting the pain that at first he didn't notice someone had entered the room. When he did finally feel eyes on him, his head snapped up and instinctively he flicked his right wrist, triggering the holster there. The switchblade slipped into his hand and snapped open; at the same time he stood, a quick, fluid motion, and the snake tooth slipped out of the rubber on the jar, which fell and shattered on the floor. "Get out," Daemon snarled, eyes blazing. "Out!"
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Post by Sharkbait on Aug 14, 2008 18:03:47 GMT -5
Autumn took a step back at the sound of his voice and the expression on his face, but other than that she showed no sign of fear. "No," she said cautiously. "I want to help. I don't know what's wrong.... but I want to help." She looked him in the eyes as she said this, being careful not to show any sign of weakness. She remembered Logan getting like this a few times and she knew how to handle it. Don't back down and show no fear.
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Post by starcrossed on Aug 14, 2008 18:14:09 GMT -5
Daemon's grip tightened on the handle of the switchblade until his knuckles turned white as he growled, "I don't need your help. Get out while I still let you." His sight swam a little and darkness slowly started to creep around the edge of his vision, the result of standing up so quickly while in such a state, but he ignored it stubbornly.
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Post by Sharkbait on Aug 14, 2008 18:26:31 GMT -5
Autumn noticed that he looked like he was going to pass out. She used her telekenesis to steady him, letting him keep his pride. "You're in pain," she said. "I've kept my promise and not looked into your thoughts, but I can see feel your emotions. Please... let me help you." She didn't even care that she had let the secret from her dream slip. She needed to help him.
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Post by starcrossed on Aug 14, 2008 18:39:03 GMT -5
"You can't help. This is my problem, and I can deal with it. The only thing you can do is leave me alone and forget this. Or I will kill you." He said it in a matter-of-fact manner, his voice and eyes deadly serious. He wasn't even sure if he was strong enough to kill her right now, but he wasn't about to let her know that.
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Post by Sharkbait on Aug 14, 2008 18:43:10 GMT -5
"Don't be a martyr," Autumn said, narrowing her eyes. "You can't deal with it yourself if you're in this much pain. And I'm willing to trust that you won't kill me. I don't know if that's a smart idea or not, but I've made the decision." She took a cautious step forward. "Let me help you. It's not a bad thing to have help."
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Post by starcrossed on Aug 14, 2008 19:00:57 GMT -5
"I've been dealing with it since I was twelve. I'm fine. Get out. If you knew- knew who I am, what I am- you'd let me die. You'd do the world a favor. You don't know-" He was starting to ramble, starting to get delirious from the fever. He was saying too much, but he couldn't control the words that tripped off his tongue.
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Post by Sharkbait on Aug 14, 2008 19:06:01 GMT -5
Autumn sighed. "You're probably going to hate me for what I'm about to do, but I don't care," she said. She used her powers to push him onto the bed. "And I know that I don't really know you, but I have a feeling that you don't see yourself clearly. Logan said the same thing to me at one point and I stuck by him through everything. And I'm going to try to do the same to you. But first, you need to stop struggling and let me help you. I can tell you have a fever and you're on the brink of passing out."
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Post by starcrossed on Aug 14, 2008 19:19:04 GMT -5
"Am. Not," Daemon insisted, furious but declining too rapidly to really do anything about it. "If you wanted to get me into bed, shoulda just said so." Definitely delirious. His vision blurred out of focus, eyes fever-bright. At this point, he was barely clinging to consciousness.
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Post by Sharkbait on Aug 14, 2008 19:24:39 GMT -5
"Men and their pride," Autumn muttered and she took in his state. She purposefully ignored the statement about getting him into bed. She sighed. "Okay, you stay right there. I'll be back in a second." She ran out of the room only to come back a few minutes later with a bowl of water and a couple cloths. She set those on his bedside table and then stood next to him. She gently pushed his shoulders back so that he was lying down. Then she soaked one of the cloths and laid it across his forehead. "That should help a little bit."
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Post by starcrossed on Aug 14, 2008 19:33:02 GMT -5
Daemon muttered incomprehensible protests the entire time, but sighed appreciatively when the cool cloth touched his skin. He kept a grip on the switchblade even as his eyes fell shut. He flickered in and out of consciousness, attempting to grumble threats when he was awake and gliding through mist when we wasn't.
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Post by Sharkbait on Aug 14, 2008 19:41:09 GMT -5
Autumn sat by Daemon's side as she tried to get his fever to break. She took the second cloth and wet it. She ran it across his neck and over his collarbone. She couldn't help but notice that, even in his sickly state, he was still incredibly good-looking. She forced that thought out of her mind before she could dwell on it. When she heard him attempt to mutter threats when he regained consciousness a few times, she let out small, quiet laughs. She tried not to draw attention to the fact that she was sitting next to him, trying to help him, when she had only known him for a few days and knew nothing about him.
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Post by starcrossed on Aug 14, 2008 20:08:51 GMT -5
Daemon continued to slide in and out of consciousness, his condition not improving but also not deteriorating as quickly. On one occasion when he woke up he forgot who was there, that someone was there at all, and seized her wrist in a vice-like grip, eyes wild. His hold then slackened and he was gone again.
Not long afterward, the door opened slowly and Layali stuck her head in the door tentatively. Autumn had sent her a mental distress call and she'd come as quickly as she was able. "Autumn? Are you okay? What's going on?"
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Post by Sharkbait on Aug 14, 2008 20:14:01 GMT -5
Autumn sat next to him, massaging her wrist from when he grabbed her unexpectedly when he woke up. She looked up when she heard Layali's voice and she could see the other girl and Logan standing at the door. "Oh thank god," she said. "I need you guys to do me a huge favor. Can you go to the library and get a few books for me?"
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Post by starcrossed on Aug 14, 2008 20:18:58 GMT -5
Layali nodded, looking concerned as well as confused, and said, "Sure, of course. What kind of books?"
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Post by Sharkbait on Aug 14, 2008 20:25:50 GMT -5
Autumn bit her lip and looked at Daemon. She delacitely took his hand and showed her friends the snake tooth protruding from his ring finger. "Anything that might explain this," she said. "He seemed like he was trying not to hurt that one finger. And see if there's anything that could link it to a fever and passing out." She gently put his hand back down. She replaced the cloth that was on his head. "He's been like this for almost a half hour. He didn't want me to even help him..."
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Post by starcrossed on Aug 14, 2008 20:31:36 GMT -5
Layali frowned, hesitantly stepping into the room to get a better look while making sure to stay well away from Daemon. "Hmm.. I might have seen something like this in an old book once. We'll do our best." She paused, uncertain, then touched Autumn's arm lightly and said softly, "Be careful. This room is thick with ghosts." She then left quickly with Logan, hurrying in the direction of the library.
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Post by Sharkbait on Aug 14, 2008 20:43:07 GMT -5
Logan looked between Autumn and Daemon before shaking his head in disapproval and following Layali. "I can't believe she's doing this," he muttered. "I ask her to come out of her shell again and she latches on to him. Of everyone else in the world, she picks him."
Autumn turned back to look at Daemon when the other left. She could tell that Logan was not happy that she was associating with Daemon, but she needed to help him. Even if it was in vain, she had to keep hoping that the Daemon in real life was like the Daemon from her dream. She hadn't told anyone about it, but she wanted it to be real. She tenderly reached up and pushed a lock of hair off his face. She hoped Logan and Layali would be able to find something in the library.
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