Blood from Stone [AU]

[Coquette Blacquin]

"It will pass," she says again, gently stroking Garrett's back.

And within a few moments, Garrett's breathing smooths out. When Cedric pulls back, Garrett bows his head, hands neatly folded in his lap. "Are you feeling better?" Cedric asks, gently. 

[Marian Hawke]

"Yes, ma'am," she replies, her tone soft, gentle. 

[Coquette Blacquin]

"Good girl. Why don't you go about your chores? It'll help you feel better, won't it?"

[Marian Hawke]

"Yes, ma'am," she says, with a small, relieved sigh. Eyes downcast, she gets to her feet, heading for the kitchen. Dishes. Nothing like dishes to get my brain to stop.

[Vigile]

Ears still flat, His-paws-are-silent-but-his-growl-is-fierce-in-defense-of-the-righteous gives Cindy a long, hard look. "She is badly hurt, her soul bleeding and wan," he hisses, tail lashing, after the other girl has left the room.

[Coquette Blacquin]

"I noticed," she says dryly. "This is much better than I found her." 

[Vigile]

"Has she been given to the Bright Healer's servants for care?" His-paws-are-silent-but-his-growl-is-fierce-in-defense-of-the-righteous demands. "Or perhaps the Endless Dreamer's, given the nature of her injury."

[Coquette Blacquin]

"She's been seeing all sorts of healers. It's not like a physical wound, you can't just magic it away," Cedric(?) argues.

[Vigile]

That gets both a soft, unhappy growl and a nod. "My apologies, I... I have spent a very long time captive, unable to help any of those suffering around me. It... I feel... My apologies for the manner in which my concern was expressed. It was undeserved."

[Coquette Blacquin]

The merikos looks to the doorway to the kitchen, listening for the sounds of dishwashing. When she speaks, her tone is soft, regretful. "We are neither of us what we once were. She needs me in a way that terrifies me. It's all I can do to be a good mistress, to keep her healthy and whole."

[Vigile]

The pavitra frowns, tail still lashing about in his agitation. "Have you considered suggesting she swear to a deity? He politely does not mention any specific names for preference.

[Coquette Blacquin]

"She needs a master she can touch. We are both of us Cirenite."

[Vigile]

"The Warmth of Touch, yes," the pavitra says with a nod. "A more... indulgent life than I would recommend in some ways but a good one. Strange, for those what would risk life and freedom to protect others," he notes.

[Coquette Blacquin]

"That's my work, my duty," she allows. "There's no point doing any of it without passion. Without a safe place to come back to at the end of the day, and someone in it to make it worth coming home to."

[Vigile]

That gets a very pleasured thrum of purring. "Very wise, for a mortal as young as I think you are," he praises her in a very feline tone of voice. "Without love to hold, why protect anything but yourself? Without creation to teach, why serve another? Without light to illuminate the soul, why have courage in the dark? Without beauty to experience, why act with decorum? Without the lives before us, why devote yourself to a path forward?" That... sounds like a quote. Or rather, scripture.