The Shards of a Broken Heart

[saerwen]

Darkness gripped the world in a relentless grasp. It seemed as though dawn would never come. The streets were silent tonight. It was such a strange thing. Usually they bustled with people running too and fro, going about their work. Not tonight. Jaedon was glad of it. Her form moved slowly through the alleyways and narrow passages. She stopped on her journey down an alley in front of a large brick wall of a house. The task seemed impossible to most, but Jaedon was not most people. She had been trained to do this kind of thing. A groan escaped her lips as she reached up and grasped a cold iron bar. First a quick inhale of breath and then a grunt as Jaedon pulled herself up, one wrung of the iron ladder at a time, at first only able to use her hands and then her feet.

Each movement caused her to clench her teeth tightly in pain as it flooded her system. She could hardly see straight anymore. She hands were sticky and slimy, not a good recipe for climbing, but sheer adrenaline ensured that she was able to keep climbing. When she reached the top of the ladder, she hoisted herself onto the roof. Her nocturnal eyes scanned the rooftop for her exit and she was a similar ladder on the other side of the house. She drew her breath in long, ragged and thin gasps. She had to get out of this city. She had to get home. As she trudged over to the other side of the house, she could feel the last bits of her energy give out. Adrenaline could only get you so far, and Jaedon had long used up all of hers. She pushed and pushed but it was useless. The darkness was too strong. Just like the cold of night as it turned into the dew of dawn, Jaedon felt her energy turning from a rock solid resource to nothing more than a bygone thought. She stopped dead in her tracks and then let out a disappointed sigh as she let go. Her body fell the the ground. There was no point in fighting the inevitable. She couldn't make it. Perhaps this is what she had been wanting.

Her eyes shut as her hand fell to her side, right above her hips. Her arm covered one and her hand covered the other. It was like feeling your life slip between your fingertips, literally. Blood oozed from both wounds and began to pool around her. Her face was pale and lifeless. Too much blood...Too much. Her mind gently lapsed her into a place of peace as she fell into unconsciousness, what would soon turn into an irreversible coma if something didn't happen soon.

Her mind replayed images to her, as though she were watching a film frame by frame. It began with Cecily handing her a bottle of unmarked material, a poison or medication, no one could tell. Then it jumped to the city, but much further in. His into the interior of the limits, Jaedon entered into a building through the air vents system. She poured the poison into the drink on the night stand, then turned the heater up. The slide jumped to a man, sweaty and dehydrated rummaging for a glass of water and picking up the one on his nightstand. His form then fell backwards against the bed. Jaedon moved from her position and scrambled over to the man, checking his pulse, which had slowed to a stop. She then began to search through his desk and office for that one item. Her next frame showed her picking up the key card and driver disc and moving towards the vent she had come from, but on her way there, a gun shot came from behind her. Confusion had rippled through Jaedon. There was no way he should have survived, but he did. He had shot her in the side. She drew her own gun and fired, hitting him in the head, but not before he had planted another two bullets in her shoulder and stomach. The next frames were a jumbled mess of her escape. Jaedon was surprised in retrospect that she had gotten as far away as she had. She was almost outside of the city limits. But it was not far enough.

Yes, she thought to herself, this is what I wanted. I wanted this to happen. I wanted to escape. I wanted freedom from those memories, from him. Perhaps this is one of the good things about me being an assassin. Perhaps I have finally ensured my own death. About time, I suppose.

[»Míríel«]

The cool air of the night felt good under the bat-like wings of Tarian. It was nice to fly again, though at night wasn't something he enjoyed to much. It seemed that more people at night could observe him, an unusual thing for someone who is used to being unnoticed the majority of the time. Still he wasn't here to escape, he was here to find someone. "This darkness doesn't seem to be helping you old chap." He murmured to himself as he circled once more to fly over the city below. Searching for a dark haired, most likely dark clothed, camouflaged trained, individual in low light was not on his list of easy things to do. "Like finding a needle in a haystack."

This whole mission was a bit strange to him. It started with him coming back from his usual wanderings and seeing Cecily as jittery as a squirrel. The imagery came back to his mind. Cecily had just knocked over one of her vials when he had entered. Her usually tidy appearance was a bit lacking and her hands were shaking uncharacteristically. "Tarian." She turned to him. "I am a fool." Tarian shook his head at the memory before letting it continue. "I am worried about Jaedon. I need you to find her. I fear for her life." Tarian chuckled slightly as he remembered how quickly the worry vanished from her face and she shooed him out of her house so she could continue with some concoction of hers. She was a strange one. Under that crazy layer there was a soft and gentle inside. He wouldn't be surprised if Cecily didn't have the biggest heart of them all.

The scent of blood came to his attention and he drew in the savory aroma. Other creatures wouldn't have been able to smell it from such a range, but that was the advantage of being a Thestral. He could tell that the blood was fresh, to fresh for the poor creature who was loosing it to be dead. Tarian would have to be careful investigating it. The last thing he wanted to stumble upon was some gang fight, though he hadn't had a feast in a long time now. Angling his wings downward he followed the scent trail to it's source. "Well hello my little needle." As he landed he didn't like what he saw.

Jaedon was limp and unconscious, and the growing pool of blood was not encouraging. He was going to have to act fast. Quickly shifting forms he observed the wounds. Tarian had been around sick people enough the wounds inflicted on her were no laughing matter. Quickly taking his shirt off he ripped it into strips. Keeping two long strips he used the rest of the shirt on the wound on her side and stomach area, by far the worst of the three. Then using the two long strips he bandaged the clumps of cloth down tightly. "Hold steady there chap. Don't go drifting off on me. I will have you in good hands in a jiffy." Shifting once more Tarian stared at her for a moment. How was he going to get her on his back? "Bloody hooves." He cursed as he had to choose the least ideal choice to save her. Lowering his head he grabbed a mouthful of cloth. He couldn't leap into the air, instead he charged off the edge of the roof, into the alley below.

In Tarian's mind they would have soared off immediately, but due to the drastic balance shift he found himself plummeting instead of flying. Just as the ground was about to come and greet him Tarian found his balance, and using the ground as a push off point he launched himself into the sky. His wings beat like never before and it didn't take long before he was at Cecily's house. It was as if she was expecting them, the door was open for easy entry, and a table was cleared off. She stood by the table pouring boiling water into a bowl with a pile of bandages beside her.

Cecily waved away his questioning look with her hand. "Don't ask, just do. Put her on the table. How is she?"

Tarian put his burden down on the table and stretched his jaw before answering. "Not good. Three wounds, one to the stomach, one to the side, and one of the shoulder. It's bad isn't it."

"I believe the correct term would be bloody bad. Or is that to cliche?" Cecily was already undoing the blood soaked bandages. " I need you to go find Neron, where ever that ungrateful beast is. Tell him he needs to come here immediately." She paused for a moment. "And tell him if he forgets my scissors he will not be allowed to take a step in here." With no more to say she continued with her work. She sighed when Tarian had gone, she needed him to disappear, or she couldn't do her work. Ripping Jaedon's shirt deftly she began pulling the bullets from the wounds. "Now if this doesn't wake you from the dead..." She frowned. Pain often did that, pulled people from unconsciousness, other times it caused them to sink deeper. It all depended on the persons will to live, and their stamina.

[saerwen]

Jaedon's mind was restless, even in unconsciousness. She found that her thoughts jumped all over the place, from Neron to Miriel to Fische to her mother and then back to Neron. The most prevalent were Miriel and Damion and Neron.Her memories of Miriel and Damion made her want to force herself to wake up and ensure that she stayed alive, but her memories of Neron made her want to stay asleep and never wake up. Part of her realized that she had never really forgotten what Neron had taught her and her changed personality never really reverted back, they were all just stifled behind this desire to forget and not hurt anymore. She had been running away because she was afraid that facing her fears would lead to more pain.

She had no idea what was going on around her, what was happening to her. Part of her mind said that she was almost dead and that she was fixing to find out what the other side looked like, but part of her said that she still had a little time yet. However, nothing cemented within her more the fact that she was still alive and still able to recover more then the pain that shot through her entire system. Little did she know it, but the side of her that had been remember Damion and Miriel had been winning out. She had known both of them much longer than she had known Neron, and while they didn't mean as much to her as that scaly lizard, they were about half of her world. Her mind fought to bring her out of her practically comatose state so that she wouldn't die, simply for their sakes. Pain was the perfect thing to finish waking her up, or at least bring her out of her hazed state.

Her eyes flicked open for a moment and in a terrible blur, she could tell that she was no longer in the city. She saw something white moving around above her, but nothing else was clear. She hoped with everything in her that she wasn't in a hospital. However, more pain quickly followed her reawakening and Jaedon, strong and resilient as she was, couldn't take it. She was too weak to fight against the pain, and so she closed her eyes again, refusing to let out a sound. She was still not as far under as she had been a few moments ago, but she was still firmly drifting off.

[»Míríel«]

Cecily bent over Jaedon's form, eyes squinted as she searched for the bullet in the side. With a little scoff she found it and pulled the bloody lead out and stared at it for a moment. "Lucky for your that bullet in your shoulder passed clear through. Less pain for you, and less work for me." The bullet rattled as it fell into a bowl beside Cecily, joining the other bullet. Even though the bullets were out there was the troublesome problem of the bleeding.

The bandage Tarian had used helped start to help the blood to coagulate, but do to her getting the bullets and taking the bandages off it disturbed the healing. Grabbing bandages she placed them over the wounds and pressed as hard as she could. Pain would have continued as the damaged areas were being crushed. Beads of sweat were beginning to appear on her forehead. There was a roaring fire in her fireplace, it had to be warm in here or Jaedon could go into a deeper shock than what she was. Where was Tarian and Neron she needed extra hands here. Just then she heard a footstep at her door.

"Tarian, get here and prop her legs up with some of those pillows. Neron are you here?" Cecily paused for a moment and there wasn't a reply. Looking up she saw Tarian come through the door and start gathering the pillows. Where was that dark-haired demon?

Neron stood in the doorway like a statue. His skin was pallid and his eyes were wide in shock. He couldn't believe it when Tarian had found him and told him Jaedon was hurt. Jaedon didn't get hurt, or if she did, she didn't let it show to much. Neron realized his mistake, the initial instinct to think Tarian was joking, when he saw Tarian's face and blood on his hands. Neron couldn't remember when he had flown so fast. Now that he was here he was frozen, not from fear, but from guilt. When Cecily spotted him all NEron could do was whisper,"This is my fault."

Cecily didn't blink an eye. "Of course it is you numbskull, whose else would it be? Now close your ever opening trap and get over here and save your girlfriend. I need to to apply pressure on these wounds. Put those muscles of yours to good use." Then she added under her breath. "However small they may be." Then louder she spit out of him. "Move your feet before I make your face uglier than it already is."

Between Cecily slighting his masculinity and good looks Neron felt a flame of disgust flare within him. Looks were always a dragons soft spot, believe it or not. Those who went to far in name calling usually became a tasty morsel. Moving quickly over to Cecily he took her place and pressed hard on Jaedon's wound. Looking at Cecily with a burning gaze he hissed, "You better be glad am worried about Jaedon or you would have been missing a limb or two by now."

"I doubt your figure could move that fast." Cecily waved off as she gathered more bandages. Tossing two to Tarian who had propped Jaedon's knees up she barked out orders. "Tarian bandage up her shoulder wound, you did pretty good with her other ones. Pretty boy if you watch you may just be able to learn something for once." She chuckled as she could feel Neron's gaze burning into her back. Though Cecily's words were biting what she was doing was working. Neron was actually able to move and the longer he kept his mind off of his guilt, he could be useful to her.

Her fingers moved fast making a compress of St. John's Wort, Witch liazel, Yarrow, Shepherd's Purse, Lady's Mantle, and other herbs that would help with clotting and pain. Once the compress was complete she glided over to Neron changed the blood soaked bandages with new ones including the compress. "Now press again." She smirked and whispered loudly to him, "You know it gives me so much delight knowing that no matter what I say you can't touch me. Love." She smirked, "Such a powerful thing hm?" Them she moved over to Tarian's side and inspected his work, and added a smaller compress. "Well The bullet to her stomach just missed the organ and the liver, other wise she would have been dead long ago. The wound to the side is deep as well and hurt some internal organs, but nothing that cannot be repairs. Her shoulder is only a flesh wound, a painful one, but just a flesh wound. All in all, if we can get the bleeding to stop, prevent infection, keep her from going into shock or slipping into a coma, we should be in good shape." Turning she moved over to the boiling water and added herbs to it. Tea would do them all good. "Tarian I need your english sense in helping me with this tea. You make a good stout brew while I make a more soothing one."

Neron was only half listening to Cecily as his eyes focused down on where he was pressing on Jaedon's sounds. Blood was on his hand, and for once it disturbed him. His head bowed, letting his hair shield his face from the view of others. This was all his fault. Just his luck.

"It's not your fault." Tarian whispered.

"You have no idea. Once I find out who did this." Neron's hands clenched on the bandages as he pressed harder than before.

"They are most likely dead if I judged the scent of blood correctly. Don't worry there will be nothing of him left once I am done with him." Tarian placed his hand on NEron's shoulder for a moment before heading over to Cecily.

The sight of his bloodied hands gripping bandages was beginning to waver before him as his eyes clouded with tears. How could he have been so stupid? He had never expected her to react this way, go off and do something stupid. Yet he had ripped her heart apart, what else would she have done? He could almost laugh at his life. Here he had been trying to protect her from death and here she was, on the edge of it. A tear fell onto the bandages, followed by another one falling onto Jaedon's skin. His arms quivered slightly. Memories of them together flashed through his head. If she died. If she died...

"You are going to crush her Neron. Here." Cecily's voice was gentle for once and she held out a cup of tea. "I will take over from here." A smile was on her lips. "I guess you had more muscles than I thought." She placed her other hand on his. "But what we need now is expertise not strength. "

Neron looked down at the bandages, the blood had already stopped flowing. Taking the cup in his hand he let Cecily take over. How long had it been? Looking out the door he saw the rays of sunlight peek over the horizon. It had been longer than he had thought. Tarian was no longer with them. He could only wonder where he had gone. Just as he was about to take a sip of tea Cecily's voice stopped him, "Don't you dare take a sip. That is for Jaedon. IT is going to get rid of some of her pain, though not all of it. I don't want her sinking into a coma. Give it to her. Yours is in the kettle, which you can drink after you are finished giving it to her."

Neron stared at the cup of tea for a moment before looking at JAedon. She looked so pale, so lifeless. He shook his head. She would be fine. She had to. Once she did. He stopped his thoughts, he didn't want to think about that right now. HE needed to focus. Unconsciously he reached out and brushed the hair out of her face. His touch was gentle and loving. Cradling her head carefully against his chest, he then pressed the cup to her lips. "Jaedon, if you can hear me swallow this." He whispered, "Who knows what terrible things Cecily may be up to."

[saerwen]

Jaedon was falling yet again into an apathetic state that told her to just give up and die. She wanted to not have to worry anymore. So what if she, herself, was being a coward. It didn't matter. She just didn't want to hurt anymore, and she knew that as long as she was alive and away from Neron, she would be dying inside anyway. It was starting to makes sense to her now why assassins never got married. Their lovers usually died before they could get married. She also understood why beginners were told not to fall in love at any point in time. It would just end in disappointment and a broken heart. The pain was excruciating, but while she wished that she had never even tasted of love so that she would be hurting so much, she also was glad that she had fallen in love. Her love for Neron had taught her many things, none of which she had forgotten, just suppressed.

It didn't take long for her inward debate between life or death to be made for her. She felt pain shoot through her stomach, all the way up and all the way down. It was like one bit of pressure caused her entire body to grown in anguish. Her mind resurfaced for a moment and her eyes flickered open. Someone dark was standing over her, pressing down hard on her stomach. She felt her ab muscles contract as she tried to fight back the pain, but it only made things worse. Tears welled on the edges of her eyes as she tried to control sense of pain. She grasped desperately at the part of her brain that registered pain so that she could block it out. However, she was too weak. The sheer stress of her actions caused entire body to tense up and her heart rate, which was already becoming dangerous from lack of blood, to beat harder and harder. She felt her body buckle under the stress and eventually she lost all control of her mind. Her eyes shut again as her telepathic power broke loose over the whole room, tearing through any mind that wasn't specifically focusing on stopping her rampage. She could hear their thoughts, which caused her to cringe as she heard multiple voices circling around her at once, but more importantly, they could hear hers.

Where am I? I hope to the high heavens this is not a hospital, or I might as well be dead anyway. Who saved me? Why? Should I really try and recover? What is the point? Maybe I should just give up. I've known this was gonna happen eventually...It's only natural after all. I can't think myself invincible. Besides, there's no reason. My only reason abandoned me. Her thoughts paused for a moment and then rolled on, But what about Miriel and Damion? What about everyone else? How selfish of me to just quit! I can't give up because of them. Even him. He would never stop blaming himself, would he? That is not what I want. I don't want to die just because I quit. I have never quit on anything in my life. However, her better thoughts had come when Neron had stopped applying pressure to her stomach. As he used the new compress that Cecily had provided, Jaedon's mind went dead from the pain. She thought nothing, she did nothing. Her entire energy was focused on not making a sound. But for all of her will power, she couldn't stop the tears that fell from her eyes.

Her eyes opened again. Her vision was blurred, and she was dizzy, so the room was continually turning, but she could see two figures very close to her, one still pressing on her stomach. They were talking in low voices, but they sounded menacing. Jaedon felt a shiver run down her back as she decided to just close her eyes again and pretend that she knew everything was alright. However, that didn't happen. Neron's actions of anger caused him to put even more pressure on Jaedon's wounds. It felt like he was crushing her bones. Jaedon couldn't breathe and the pain caused her to cry out. She heaved heavy breaths, trying to calm down, but it only made things worse, causing her to start hyperventilating.

Jaedon almost heaved a sigh of relief as the suffocating pressure was eased. She could breath easier now, but she still found it a challenge. Her eyesight was still hazy, but in her near delirious state, she heard an all too familiar voice as someone lifted her head. It was Neron. Her eyes widened a little bit. Again, she lost all control of her mind as it ran rapidly around, trying to find a solution to the new problem. Her heart rate practically doubled. She felt something press against her lips as he asked her to drink whatever it was. Jaedon started to pull away, trying to move, but her body groaned in protest and more tears flowed from her eyes. She couldn't say anything, but her mind raced, and anyone that still had their mind unprotected would have been able to hear it..

Why is he here?! Please tell me I am dreaming. I can't take this. I can't take him being so close. I take him being around me. My heart can't go through this not even one more time. I'd rather die. Oh, now I am wishing I were dead! I don't want to wake up and have him act like everything is fine again and then tell me that it was simply for my recovery. I won't survive. Don't do this to me again! Jaedon kept pitching a fit, causing herself to breath rapidly again and she tried to move, having slight success, but causing herself serious pain in the process as her shoulder was jostled around.

[»Míríel«]

Neron was shocked by the sudden words in his head. they were Jaedon's. His eyes flickered over to her face and saw her eyes open. His heart leaped within him. She would be alright. She was getting better, that's what waking up meant right? Then he heard what she was thinking. She didn't want to live because of him. A sense of grief filled his soul as it began to be weighed down by guilt, he started cursing himself in his mind. How could he be so stupid? What she was saying was true though. He never would stop blaming himself, it seemed like he never would no matter what happened. Was there any chance that he would be happy or his luck would ever turn for the best?

He looked down at her face as he tried to give her the tea. But after he spoke she seemed to recognize him and pulled away. His hand started shaking slightly. She hated him. He knew she would be mad at him, but hate him, he had not expected that. He couldn't exactly blame her, he had told her he would never see her again, and here he was crawling back to her. It was like he shattered her heart and left, only to return to see how the fractures caught the light in the sun. Just when he was beginning to get a grip on his life her second wave hit him.

Cecily had been watching Neron the whole time, as soon as she figured out that he was hearing Jaedon's thoughts as well. He had turned pale, face frozen, hand gripping white knuckled on the cup. She could see his heart and mind being pulverized by Jaedon's thoughts. This was not good. Moving forward she slipped one hand under Jaedon's head, and pushed Neron away gently. "Neron, why don't you go and get some air. I don't need two sick people on my hands." She frowned at the blank stare she received and let out a sigh. Why was she the only level headed on of the group? "Neron, it would be best if you went outside, you are disturbing the patient."

Neron blinked once or twice before it registered that Cecily was talking to him. Looking at her with wide eyes he whispered, "Sorry. what?"

Cecily puckered her lips and shook her silvery hair muttering, "This is what I get for being nice." Gently laying down Jaedon's head she stood up, eyes blazing, and spoke lowly, "Get your scaly tail out of this place and go take a walk before I kick you out." Her eyes narrowed, "And if I kick you out there is no way you are ever getting back in." Snatching the tea from his hand she sat down in a puff. Neron stood there still looking at her in confusion, still in shock from what Jaedon had said. "OUT!" Cecily hissed.

As Neron trudged out of the room Cecily sighed again as a smile appeared on her face. Leaning down by Jaedon's ear she whispered. "So now my little furry friend. How about you drink this lovely tea. It will make all of your pain drift away. Don't worry about that nasty lizard, he left. So there is no need to struggle. Now relax." She pressed the cup to Jaedon's lips and tilted it slightly. "And drink."

[saerwen]

Jaedon vaguely heard Cecily telling Neron to leave and part of Jaedon yearned for him to stay, but the other part of her was glad that he was gone. She knew that she had probably been overreacting a little bit, but Jaedon also knew that if she did survive this and Neron got close to her again just so that she would survive and then decided to pull away at the end of her recovery, she knew that she really would die. She would make sure that she died. She had killed for a living, she would find a way to do it so that Cecily couldn't fix it.

Her breathing calmed slightly, but now she was having trouble breathing at all. She knew this feeling. Her breath came in short, thin gasps, and her chest heaved with the effort. Even though she knew the bleeding was soon to be under control, she had lost so much blood already her body was buckling under the lack of oxygen. That was why she couldn't see. She was starting to fade out. Her accelerated heart rate had finished whatever part of her that was still holding on. She was slipping into shock and she could feel it. It was an unnerving feeling to her and she could always tell when it was happening because her brain began to slow and she became dizzy.

As Cecily held the cup to Jaedon's lips, she yet again shook it away. She hadn't eaten anything recently, but the smell of the tea in her now nauseated state made her want to push up and out everything that she had swallowed in the past year. In truth Jaedon wasn't sure she could have swallowed it even if she had tried to drink it. Her throat felt so dry and scratchy that it was starting to worry her. She felt a cough rise up in her chest and while she felt like she needed to get out a hacking cough, she could barely hear herself wheezing. However, those wheezes were enough to send pain spiraling through her whole frame. She shook with each one and tears rose fresh into her eyes, which she closed in defeat.

With her eyes closed and body working furiously to fix her current lack of oxygen, Jaedon realized that she had left Neron with some really terrible thoughts. Her own words and worries had poured out of her like a waterfall and Neron had heard them all. That was probably the closest that Neron had ever gotten to seeing her true feelings and being able to see her vulnerable and scared. Jaedon was just sad that it was under such circumstances. Perhaps that's why... She cleared those thoughts from her head. It wouldn't have been so trivial. Even though most of her said that he deserved this, the part of herself that she had buried in the hopes of it not reminding her of Neron told her that he needed her. She was scared of him doing something stupid. So, prying her thoughts away from the dizziness, the pain, the nausea, the heartbreak, and the weakness, she sent a very weakly focused train of thought Neron's way, hoping that she didn't lose control again. Her powers were so weak because her mind was so fuzzy and confused. She was sure that if her eyes had been open she would have been seeing little pink flowers all over the place, or something ridiculous like that.

Neron...? Neron?

[»Míríel«]

Neron, having been sent out of the house, had stopped not to far away, before rambling around aimlessly. What had he done? His mind was numb, empty. Every drop of life seemed to have been drained out of his very soul. Guilt weighed upon him once more. Suddenly he couldn't take it anymore, the pain was to much to bear, he couldn't go on. Reaching out to a nearby pillar of stone for support he gasped for breath. Everything he touched, everything, seemed to die.

"Why is he here?! Please tell me I am dreaming. I can't take this. I can't take him being so close. I take him being around me."

The words kept circling around his head, each time they seemed to cause more pain than before. It's your own fault. You coward!" his forehead touched the cool stone. "That's what you are, deep down, a coward. Nothing more. Neron's hands were clenched but icy. His mind was correct, that's exactly what he was.[/i]" A tear slid down his cheek, "She deserves better".

What was he going to do now? Turn his back to this place and leave. It's all he had ever done. Forget, bury the past, try to start anew in another place, knowing it would always turn out the same. The coolness of the the stone started seeping into his head. It was relaxing, the cold touch against a stormy situation. Something about it cleared his head. "I don't have to run." His eyes opened suddenly. What? It was true, he didn't have to. He had Miriel and Damion, but that might estrange Jaedon. Jaedon..." The image of her pale, her body stained with blood on the table. She needed him. If he truly loved this girl he would have to be there for her. Things started to click in his head. No matter what happened, no matter what they would go through he had to be there by her side. They could face the ugly future together. What if she didn't want him here, what if his presence just made things worse. The image of her pulling away from his touch came to his mind. He shook his head. He couldn't have her die just from him being selfish and wanting to be by her. Plus he didn't know if Cecily would even let him in. Neron needed a sign.

It was then that a frail voice echoed in his head. Immediately he stood straight up, turned on his heels and strode to Cecily's home. This was territory he had never entered before, but he was going to do it, for her.


Cecily frowned when Jaedon' wouldn't take the tea. This was not good. The girl also seemed to be having trouble breathing. Setting the cup down with a thud she whirled around and began rustling around in the back for a different concoction. Picking up a vial of eucalyptus oil, some ginger and garlic she started on a new mixture. Putting a large kettle on she filled it with water and put the oil in it. the ginger and garlic she would save when jaedon was more willing to drink. At least the eucalyptus would get in the air by the steam and would help ease her lungs, making breathing easier. Closing her eyes half way she stood by Jaedon and began talking to herself, listing herbs and combinations in a chanting like voice. It was soothing and rhythmic, and although it could lull one to sleep, she wasn't doing it for Jaedon, she was trying to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything that could be useful in their situation. It was then that she was disrupted.

"I can't leave."

Cecily raised an eyebrow and turned his way. "Oh? It seemed like you already had." She turned as if ignoring him, and switched back to going through herbs.

"Cecily Jaedon needs me, I have already screwed up to much to afford to do it once more. If I leave her side when she needs me most, I will never forgive myself. If you don't want me here than you are going to have to push me out by yourself." Neron's voice was determined, and his hands were clenched, ready for her to refuse.

Cecily stared at him for a moment, her face angry for him interrupting her train of thought again. Slowly she walked towards him, pulling herself to her full height and looked into his eyes. "That" she smirked. "Is a little more like it." she spun on her heel as she chattered away, "That sobbing mess didn't suit you very well Neon. Made you look weak. Stubbornness..." She glanced at him for a moment as she picked up a couple pillows and a blanked. "Is much better. Plus, lucky for you i need an extra hand. Pick up her legs." she was already by Jaedon's side. "I fear she may be trying to slip into shock again." She paused and turned her head back to the door. Neron hadn't moved. Rolling her eyes she sighed, "come on lover boy, if you don't get your act on I will kick you out and I won't be so forgiving in letting you in."

Neron blinked and shook his head. He hadn't expected it to be this easy. He moved over by Jaedon and lifted her legs slightly, just enough for Cecily to put more pillows under.

"I fear she is getting worse. She seems bent on slipping into shock. The fool." She shrugged. "Although it may not be altogether her fault, I will still blame her if she does. Here. " She pushed the blanket against Neron's chest and turned, not waiting to see if he held it. "Cover her up, she needs to stay warm."

Neron Looked down at the blanket and began unfolding it. Spreading it over Jaedon's form he tucked it in gently, just below her chin. "What do you mean she is getting worse? Isn't there something we can do?"

Cecily frowned. "Like I said, she is bent on slipping into shock. All we can do is wait. I have done all I can do."

Neron nodded. Pulling a chair beside Jaedon he lifted a side of the blanket and slipped his warm hand into her cold one. "Don't worry." his voice had deepened. "I'm not going anywhere." Leaning down he kissed her hand gently. Settling back into his chair he realized how tired he was. He had spent all night trying to stop the blood. All the emotions and stress was wearing at him.

[saerwen]

Jaedon was shivering now. It was like all of the heat in her body had escaped with her blood, which was partially true. Lack of circulation led to being cold. She figured she was probably covered in goose bumps and the fact that she had little on to protect her was not helping. Her pants were soaked in her own blood and her shirt, which had been short sleeved to begin with, had been torn by Cecily. Part of her wanted to shift forms, knowing that the warm and fuzzy fir of her coat would protect her from cold, but she also knew that it would be very hard for Cecily to help her any more if she changed forms.

She had lost control of the part of her mind that had reached out to Neron, and so she had stopped, but she could tell that it had obviously done something to him because she heard his voice at the door. It was impossible for Jaedon to discern what he said, even though it was perfectly loud enough. In fact, it sounded like he was shouting to Jaedon, but she figured that was just because of her inability to focus. Who knew what tricks her mind would play on her when she was like this?

However, one thing Jaedon knew was not a trick was when she finally felt something cover her up and add slightly to her comfort. She would be warm now. Jaedon felt another cough come up in her throat, but this time it was much worse than before. She was no longer wheezing but actually coughing. She just started to pray that she wouldn't start coughing up blood. That was the last thing she needed. As tears fell from her now tightly shut eyes, Jaedon felt a warm hand take hers and then lips press against it. She wished that she could smile, but it was physically impossible at the moment. And though she couldn't understand what he said to her as she slipped into unconsciousness again, she let her lips form a single phrase, the first words she had spoken since she had left the house to go into the city, "I love you."

[»Míríel«]

Cecily glanced over as another voice came to her ears. It was Jaedon's. Flicking a glance at the pair she watched as Neron smiled and gently whispered no doubt the same three words before giving the hand a slight squeeze. He looked tired, exhausted actually. Grabbing another blanket she carried it over to the pair and put another one on top of Jaedon. It was hot to Cecily, with all the fire going, the steam filling the room from the kettle, still when one is going into shock, your body does strange things. "You had better get some rest." She held up her finger to stop him from protesting. "I don't need you right now. There is nothing we can do. It is up to Jaedon to decide whether she is going to live or die. I need you to be as strong as you can when I do need you. I'll wake you if anything changes."

Neron didn't have the energy to refuse. Leaning his head against the back of the winged back chair he closed his eyes, drifted off, still holding Jaedon's hand.

Cecily watched the two, both unconscious, but linked by the hands. She shook her head. Love. turning she grabed some more spices and tossed it into the kettle. The air about them began to have a more complex scent to it. Cecily never could stand just one thing permeating the house, it was to bland. No, it must be complemented with something, one herb by itself wasn't as interesting or as strong as many. All of the herbs she added would help breathing, hopefully it would start to do something. Getting a smaller kettle she put it on and began to make herself some tea. Sitting down she leaned against the back of the chair and stared into the fire.

She was worried about Jaedon, but that couldn't be seen by the expression on her face. All of the symptoms, if they didn't start to recede, pointed towards death. Cecily had seen it many times, the life drifting from someone. their eyes grew distant, than hazy, then the spark left as their whole body went limp and then stiff. A dead man's body was cold, nothing warm and comforting about it, nothing encouraging. A stream of steam began to pour from the kettle. Before it could whistle she pulled it off and poured herself a cup. Then sinking back into her chair she clasped the tea in her hand, enjoying the warmth.

"Is it any good?"

Cecily glanced up to see the kind face of Tarian. A smirk came to her face. "What do you think?"

"I don't know i haven't tried it yet." Tarian teased.

"You greedy Englishman. Always wanting tea." Even though she sounded harsh, she poured him a cup and gave it to him. Glad for some conscious company.

"You're worried aren't you."

Cecily glanced at him and raised her eyebrows, giving her face and innocent look. "Me?" She looked into Tarians face and knew she wasn't going to get past him. "How do you always read me when no one else can?"

Tarian laughed. "Whenever I see you staring at the fire moodily with tea in your hands instead of you scurrying around like a little mouse I know something is up."

Cecily nodded. "Very observant." She sighed. "She is not doing as well as I would like. I hate waiting on the fate of someone. Especially blacky over there. If Jaedon dies we might as well call him a goner as well. That is if he doesn't kill me first."

"Oh, I don't think you would allow that. You are much to sneaky." Tarian took a sip of tea and sighed. It was just the way he liked it, as usual.

"So where were you and why did it take you so long?"

"I had a feast to attend, and I noticed Neron forgot his violin. Knowing how much it means to the chap I thought I would bring it to him."

Cecily nodded and smiled slightly across her cup of tea. "How thoughtful."

"Aren't I?" Tarian laughed and smiled at her. The two sat together, by the fire, ignoring the heat and enjoying each others company. They couldn't say how long they had been chatting, but time doesn't matter much when you are in the company of a close friend.

"Can I have some of that stuff?" Neron asked.

"That stuff." Cecily sounded shocked that he could call it such. "Is a high quality tea. Get it right."

Tarian chuckled slightly, "Be easy on him Cecily he just woke up." Tarian got up and got another cup. Filling it with the liquid he gave it to Neron. "You are lucky to get some fresh stuff. Sadly it was my turn to make this stuff, so it may not be as good as Cecily's"

"He's just being humble." Cecily shook her head.

"I'm sure he is. After all he is English." Neron smiled slightly.

Tarian held up his hands in defense. "Now, now, just because I am English doesn't mean I am a tea expert. I just like a good brew."

"Meaning tea expert." Cecily smirked.

Tarian looked from Cecily to Neron and shook his head. There was no way he was going to escape being teased by these two. So he changed the subject. "I brought your violin."

Soon the room was full of more chatter and teasing. Days passed as they waited for Jaedon to wake up and although the room had an undercurrent of tenseness the three knew that there was nothing they could do. Tarian usually busied himself by making tea, or getting game for them to eat. Cecily kept her hands busy by changing the dressing on Jaedon's wounds and keeping bandages fresh, while ordering Neron around and enjoying sparring with him. Neron, besides being bossed around by Cecily usually was at Jaedon's side, watching for any sign of her waking. There wasn't a night that went by where he wasn't asleep, head on the table, hand clutching hers.

It was on one of these days that Neron finally decided to open his instrument and let music fill the room. Tarian had been begging to hear, and finally Neron gave in. As the aroma of rabbit being turned on a spit filled the air Neron placed the instrument on his shoulder. He was sitting at his usual spot by Jaedon, though he pulled his chair back a bit for more room. Putting the bow to the strings he let his instincts take over. The music that filled the room was peaceful, surprisingly, occasionally there was a sensation of loneliness and worry. Neron kept it as soothing as he could. If Jaedon woke up, the last thing he wanted her to hear was some mournful tune. He wanted her to wake up to a chorus of beauty, life, and hope. he hoped she could hear it, in her unconscious state. He hoped it relaxed her, encouraged her and allured her to awaken.

[saerwen]

As the days in Cecily's lit house passed, Jaedon was faintly aware of movement around her and the sound of people talking, but it all seemed like one big blur. It was impossible to tell what people were saying and what was happening. Her level of coherence was hardly even able to be measured. There were points when Jaedon was terrified and she could remember waking up from dreams that were frightening, but she couldn't remember what she had done or how she had reacted, if at all. She was most terrified by the fact that her mind, which had been the one stable thing she could always have depended on, was failing her. She couldn't grasp hold of her thoughts, she couldn't reach out to others, and as she lay on that table, she found her mind was so capable of playing tricks on her in this weakened state that she wasn't able to from reality and fantasy.

However, Jaedon had strangely been able to pinpoint her thoughts and feelings on one thing, and that was the feeling of Neron holding her hand, or even his presence beside her. While nothing else registered, that one thing seemed to keep her safe. She clung to him like a piece of drift wood in a stormy ocean. It was only when Neron started to play his violin that Jaedon began to feel relieved, like she was okay. In the back of her mind, as she waded through all of the thoughts and memories that had been piling up over the years, waiting to haunt her when she was at her weakest moment, Jaedon found that Neron's music pulled her back to reality. She didn't open her eyes because she was afraid he would stop if he did, and the magic that his music had performed would be lost. So she just sat there and listened, a small smile, barely noticeable, coming to her lips.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Damion had been wandering around for a while. It was seemed like such a strange day to him, a strange week actually. He hadn't run into anyone that he knew really well, like Neron or Jaedon or Tarian or Cecily. He was starting to wonder what was wrong. They were usually haunting the normal places, but when Damion had walked around to each one in the past week, he had found no one. At first he thought that it was no big deal, but he realized that everything was uncharacteristically quiet. He was glad that for the most part he didn't have to worry so much about not seeing Jaedon around anymore, because she was beyond that point in her life where she was more likely to be dead than alive. However, he was also quite aware that Miriel hadn't seen hide or hair of either of their friends. He shook his head.

His feet were taking him up towards the Stone City. Cecily could more than likely be found in her little house in the Stone City, and he was on his way to pick up some news. That foxy little sprite had a habit of popping in on other peoples conversation and hearing things that most people would have wanted to keep private, so Damion was fixing to go and get some gossip. He didn't generally like the idea of gossip, but there were points when it was helpful. As he approached though, he heard a curious sound. It was Nerons violin, with Neron no doubt behind the wheel, but something was off. It was like the normally passionate Neron who let his feelings float into the music was being controlled, like he was playing for someone. The only person that Damion could picture Neron playing for would be for Jaedon. Damion smiled in triumph. However, as he bounded up to Cecily's little cottage, he became more disturbed as he realized that the sound was coming from inside, and that there was more than one person inside. What had gotten into Neron? He would normally have shied away from playing for a crowd. Still quite optimistic, Damion stepped right through the threshold of the door. His smile instantly faded when he saw Jaedon laying on Cecily's table, normally used for healing, and Neron sitting beside her, calmly playing the violin, but the stress obvious on his face and pretty much everyone elses' in the house as well. He looked over at Cecily and Tarian, not wanting to disturb Neron's playing any more than he had, he mouthed, "What happened?"

[»Míríel«]

Neron's sharp ears caught the presence of someone else at the door. Glancing over he caught sight of Damion at the door. Shifting his eyes away and back to his instrument, his playing didn't falter for a moment. Instead the tune began to have a different feeling to it, not unpleasant, but different. Neron was feeding off the people in the room, their presence, and character, and tying it together with a positive voice. For once he was not playing for vent his emotions, he was playing for someone.

Cecily looked up at Damion before waving at Tarian to go and answer his questions. She was paying attention to the food, plus she knew that Damion still wasn't comfortable with her enough to just drop by. He needed something. Yes, she would sit tight and let Tarian work with him. Perhaps the two English people could enjoy each other presence.

Tarian smiled at Cecily waving him over. Of course she would leave him the dirty work. Cecily was an odd sort though. Tarian knew that even though she was making him talk to Damion instead of doing it herself, she had done a lot and worked more than anyone else in the room. He had a feeling that he owed her. She would make sure he knew it as well.

Reaching down and pouring another cup of tea and refilling his own he walked over to the door. "Hello Damion." He motioned to go outside so they wouldn't disturb what was going on inside. " It seems that Jaedon got into a little mix up lately with the bad sort of people. She got shot three times, the stomach, the side, and the shoulder. The bleeding was a trial to stop, but as Cecily put it , Jaedon seemed bent on going into shock. I think we have avoided that, but Cecily would have to answer that one. She's been unconscious for a couple of days now, or at least mostly unconscious. When she does become unconscious her minds isn't exactly present. Cecily says all we can do is wait, she has done everything she can at the moment. I'll try an answer any question you have though. But before that," He held out one of the teacups in his hand, "Tea?"

[saerwen]

When Tarian kindly shooed him outside, Damion realized there was something really wrong. Jaedon hadn't just hit her head and temporarily knocked herself out or something trivial like that, this was something bigger. As Tarian's explanation came swooping out, Damion almost back-stepped from shock. He was obviously confused and overwhelmed. He shook his head to clear it and then stuck his hands up as a sign to stop.

"Woah, woah, slow down. I'm pretty good at keeping up but I am thoroughly and utterly confused right now. You said Jaedon got mixed up with a bad sort of people. She has left the Underground completely, even dropped her ID. Did they come after her or what, because there is no way she could have just gotten mugged on the street?"

Damion gratefully took the tea that Tarian offered and took a sip of it, still obviously freaking out. Shot three times? How had that happened? Jaedon had never been so careless in her life. He remembered hearing a story of one of the worst times that she had ever been beat up and even then she had never been shot three different times in three different places. What had happened? Something must have happened. He paused. Something must have happened. His eyes narrowed for a moment. It couldn't have been. He would save his anger for a moment to wait for more information. There was no sense in getting needlessly angry for no reason, but Damion was going through all of the possibilities that would have led to Jaedon wanting to do something stupid and at the top of the list was Neron. What had happened?

[»Míríel«]

Tarian nodded and frowned slightly. Poor chap, he was taking this rather hard. He could almost see the confusion in Damions eyes build as he tried to explain. Sighing he decided to try and do this again. " I don't know everything due to the fact that Jaedon hasn't woken up. What I have gathered from Cecily and from finding her is that she was with the wrong sort of people. I know for a fact she assassinated someone. Don't ask me how. Obviously something went wrong. Cecily refuses to say why until Jaedon waked up." He shifted his gaze to Damion. "She doesn't like repeating herself." Then looking back and taking a sip of tea. "Though she does make good tea. She made this batch a little while ago." He took another sip. "I do believe something had to do with Neron. The chap was in a poor state when I found him, and an even worse one once he came here. Most of that seems to be over now. The two of them have come to a sort of reconciliation without speaking. Though I think they will talk more when Jaedon is better."

He looked back at Damion and lowered his voice. "Don't be hard on him. He has gone through enough and I am sure he had some reason for his actions. From what I observed he wouldn't want anything to happen that didn't need to happen." He turned slightly and looked out to the distance. "Though you know him better than I."

[saerwen]

As Damion listened he narrowed his eyes. Jaedon had assassinated someone? She was back on the job? Why?! She had gotten out of that God-forsaken whole, and he had hoped it was for good. In fact, he knew that she had meant it to be for good. What had caused her to turn around so suddenly yet again, Neron came to mind and Damion's grip on the cup in his hand tightened as he took a sip. And then it came, Neron. As Tarian spoke, Damion's power spilled over into the little cup of tea and froze the steamy hot liquid solid, slowly starting to encase the outside of the cup.

"What did he say to her?" Damion muttered under his breath and shook his head. He was sure that Neron had probably just said it without thinking or done something in a strange train of thought that he hadn't really meant to cause problems, but it had probably backfired. Even so, he was boiling inside wondering why Neron hadn't corrected it before this happened, or even what he could've done in order to make Jaedon react so. Damion spoke with a tone that conveyed he was obviously trying to control the threatening anger that welled inside him, "Oh I am sure that he meant it to be of help but he probably didn't think through his actions all of the way." Damion might have seemed like he was overreacting, but in reality, he was doing much better than usual. He was used to being the father figure to Jaedon, and he was really starting to feel that way to her. Looking at her pale form lying on that table, thinking about her current status report, he was thinking like a father that had just seen their child in those situations. It caused ones heart to stop and then throttle into fast forward.

"How much blood did she lose?" Damion asked soberly as he thought. She had been hurt badly before, but never like that. If she had lost enough blood, she really could be beyond saving. "Has she actually drifted into shock yet, or just gotten close?" Damion then shook his head, he really should have been asking Cecily those questions but there was no way that he was going to bother her right now. Damion let out a sigh, then a terrifying thought struck him. Miriel. He looked up at the sky almost instinctively, and when he saw that she wasn't there, he let out a small sigh of relief. Good. He would tell her after Jaedon was better. He didn't want her trying to heal Jaedon, it would probably kill her. He couldn't runt he risk of that happening. Even though he loved Jaedon, he loved Miriel more. He looked back at Tarian, "Sorry for running you over with questions. It's just..." Damion looked down, "That girl is like my daughter. I have known her for so long now, and taken care of her for so long, it just unnerves me when I can't help her anymore."