Danger, danger.

[starcrossed]

Layali looked just as worried as Logan as they headed into the library. She immediately headed towards a section hold extremely old, nearly crumbling tomes. "It's good that she's being social. But.." She shook her head, then began searching intently through the shelves. "Death clings to him. And not in a good way."

[Sharkbait]

"And we're still helping her," Logan said, sighing. "It's a damn good thing she's my best friend." He looks through the shelves trying to find something worth noting. What about this one? Insane Illnesses and Their Causes..."

[starcrossed]

Layali peered at the book and said, "Hmm, maybe. Though this looks more like a pre-existing condition.." She sighed, running her finger across spines as she read them. "Well, we couldn't exactly abandon them. But why couldn't he have gone to the healers? He's hiding something." She shook her head again but didn't say anything more after that, immersing herself in searching through the books. Perhaps half an hour later, at a round table covered in old, dusty books, Layali tapped a page. She wore white gloves, as the librarian had discovered them handling the ancient books and nearly had a heart attack. The gloves had been a compromise - god forbid they get any oils onto the aged pages. "Look at this. 'Black Widows'. I knew I'd seen this sketch before!"

[Sharkbait]

Logan raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend. "That sounds creepy and ominous," he said. "And coming from a vampire, that's saying something." He gets up from his side of the table and stands behind her, reading over her shoulder. "Well, it looks like the same thing."

[starcrossed]

"There hasn't been a documented case in over a thousand years, so this information may be outdated.. But it's all we have to go on." She slid a suede bookmark between the pages and shut the book. "We'd better take this to Autumn. If we move fast, we might get it past the librarian."

[Sharkbait]

"Okay, let's go," Logan said. He took the book and hid it under his cape. He walked toard the exit of the library keeping his face at his normal level of indifference. The librarians see nothing wrong and don't even consider talking to him for fear that he hasn't fed in a while and could possibly attack them.

[starcrossed]

Layali follows after him, and they quickly make their way back up to Daemon's room. Layali knocks before entering tentatively, observing that Daemon hasn't gotten any better, and says to Autumn, "We found something. It's likely not much, but it's something." She motioned to Logan to give Autumn the tome and continues, "We believe he's something called a 'Black Widow'. It's an ancient - characteristic, I suppose, present only in people with magic."

[Sharkbait]

Logan handed Autumn the book and she quickly opened it to the marked page. She scanned through the information."Yeah, that looks right," she said. "Slightly morbid and weird, but accurate."

[starcrossed]

"Is there anything else we can do?" Layali asked, eying Daemon warily. He thrashed weakly in bed, fighting off some imagined phantom.

[Sharkbait]

Autumn looked down at Daemon for a few seconds, knowing that touching him would make him trash around more. She sighed and looked back at her friends. "He'll be worse if he finds that I recruited others to help when he didn't even want me in here," she said. "So, unless you want to risk his wrath, you should probably go back to whatever you were doing before. And sorry for pulling you away, by the way." Logan narrowed his eyes at her. "We're not leaving you alone with him."

[starcrossed]

Layali touched Logan's arm and said to Autumn, "Just.. be careful. And call us if you need us, okay? We won't be far. We'll stay in the common room."

[Sharkbait]

Autumn nodded at Layali. "I hope I won't need to, but thanks," she said. Then she turned to Logan. "I'll be fine. I promise." Logan grumbled, but didn't yell. "If you come out with so much as a scratch..." he warned before turning and heading to the Common room. Autumn shook her head and turned back to Daemon, once again replacing the cloth on his forehead.

[starcrossed]

Daemon swam slowly into consciousness, eyes still glazed and skin slick with sweat. He peered at Autumn as though through a thick, foggy glass, and muttered, "Still here?"

[D'you remember the treatment, or should I type up excerpts since you don't have the book with you for reference?]

[Sharkbait]

((I would be eternally greatful for the typed excerpts. So much so, that I won't complain when you volunteer me for starting threads for like... a few weeks.))

"Of course I'm still here," Autumn said, pushing wet hair out of his face. "I told you I was going to help you and I meant it." She showed him the book that Layali and Logan brought her. "See? I think this might have what you need."

[starcrossed]

[Excerpts sent!]

Daemon squinted at the book, trying to focus his eyes enough to read it, and quickly gave up. He could vaguely see the sketch, though, that showed a hand that looked eerily similar to his, if a bit more effeminate. "You're crazy," was all he muttered, letting his eyelids fall shut again.

[Sharkbait]

((Did I mention that I am eternally greatful? And now I'm going to use it shamelessly... Eh, maybe I should put a disclaimer: A good portion of this post does not really belong to me. I'm just borrowing it from Anne Bishop's Daughter of the Blood.))

Autumn chuckled. "Me being crazy is the only way you're getting help, so I suggest you not argue with me," she said. She quickly read through all the information aloud so that Daemon knew exactly what she would do. Once she read it, she put the book down and quickly got a new bowl and cloths. Positioning the small bowl beneath his hand, she slowly stroked the finger from knuckle to nail tip. Then a faint sound, as if a grain of salt had been dropped into the bowl. Then another, and another, and one more before she squeezed a thin, white, steady thread of thickened venom out of the tooth. Eventually, it was done. She pulled off his shirt and used the new cloths to dry the sweat off. "You should probably rest now."

[starcrossed]

Daemon peered blearily at Autumn as she read, pulling his mind together enough to concentrate on what she was saying. Some of it he'd been able to glean through experience, but there was much there he'd never known. Where had she even found that book? He'd never been able to find any references to his condition before. Daemon sighed in relief when the pain finally stopped, muscles relaxing, though his head still felt fuzzy and vague. He felt exhausted, and wasn't thinking straight, but he felt he should give Autumn something for helping him, for making the pain go away. "You know," he muttered drowsily, "giraffes eat cotton candy." Probably not the smartest move, and he'd probably regret it in the morning, but it was done. She knew two of his secrets now.

[Sharkbait]

Autumn smiled when she saw him relax. She was happy that she could help him, even when he hadn't wanted it. She started to get up to mix the potion that would be safe for him to drink, but she stopped when he spoke. She sat back on the bed next to him, unable to walk. She laughed quietly. "I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time," she said. "Thank you."

[starcrossed]

"No problem," he grumbled, closing his eyes. "Don't tell anyone."

[Sharkbait]

Autumn nodded, but knew that he wouldn't see it. "I won't," she said. "I promise." Then she got up and went to get the ingredients for the potion that he would need when he woke up. She set them all on his bedside table after she got rid of the bowl of water. She wrote out the recipe for it so that he would have it if that situation ever presented itself again, but she hoped that it wouldn't. Then she wrote a separate, smaller note that said "I promise. Three times over." and set it on top of the recipe. She took one last look at his sleeping form before leaving the room, carrying the book.