For Maegi, it was only a blink. A heartbeat between one state and another.
She was nosing around a bush that held just a trace amount of red berries, eyeing them carefully. She viewed most berries with some suspicion; she wasn't completely sure which were safe and which were not.
Poking her muzzle in, wary of thorns—
the next moment she
was
laying on the ground, tongue throbbing, ribs sore and blood pooling from her half-open mouth.
Just a blink.
For anyone observing, they'd have noticed the pale woman seize up suddenly, tumbling to the ground in convulsions. Perhaps witnessed her blue-tinged tongue protruding from her lips, then seized suddenly, violently, accidentally by her teeth.
Blood and motion, the thrashing, dull thuds of her body against ground;
A few minutes of mindless seizure, eyes rolled back in her head.
And Maegi helpless to it all, now breathing hard, gaze staring ahead in abject terror as she came back to herself.
the woman that pharaoh had allowed into their palace was very ill. tavina did not know what to make of this hospitality in the ruler. surely it could not be desire. ramesses preferred aching beauty. the white wolf had been hardbit by her years in this world.
tavina had just rushed to catch the end of the seizing; the stillness; the staring of the eyes. their guest breathed. the sesh moved closer, intending to catch the woman's face with the brisk side of her tongue. "steady yourself," she said with the firm no-nonsense tone of a physician.
A dark form approached, as if out of a mist. Steady yourself.
Didn't need to tell her twice. Gasping for breath, Maegi looked at her, still sprawled upon the icy ground, finally tasting the blood oozing from her bitten tongue.
Wha'—
she attempts, eyes wide but glazed, tired. She was suddenly exhausted, and almost gave into the darkness that overwhelmed her—
But this shadow. She meant to help. Maegi gritted her teeth, forcing herself awake.
"careful." the physician's voice was kind. "you're in akashingo. my name is tavina. we've been taking care of you."
"you fainted inside our palace." she pressed her muzzle to the inside of maegi's wrist. "you've just had a seizure. rest a minute but do not sleep."
Akashingo. I—I know,
she said, but the vagueness of tone didn't inspire any confidence. She listened to Tavina speak, sides still heaving.
S-s-seizure,
Maegi repeated. The bleeding was slowing as her tongue lolled against the cold earth, the veins constricting. Whassat? Why'd it happen t'me?
Oh, Jaes, she was so tired.
Her eyelids hung heavy, and the healer appeared only as a sliver of herself, a shadow against the brightness of sun and snow.
"you are quite malnourished and dehydrated. this isn't the cause but it does not help, of course."
tavina circled. "do you think you can stand? i will help you back to your room." mentally she was inventorying her stores, thinking what exactly might keep the seizures at bay, if only for a little while. valerian. milk thistle.
Malnourished. Dehydrated. Well, yes. But she'd been that way for some time, and still. . .
But the headaches. Those were new, too. New enough.
God, he was eating her from the inside out—
I. . .
She swallowed, wincing at the iron tang mixed in with saliva. She started to scrabble upward, leaning hard against Tavina and wondering if she'd bowl them both over. She wasn't all that heavy, nowadays, nor blessed with an incredibly large frame. . .
If the healer was able to bear her weight, though, Maegi would stand, albeit on trembling legs that might as well have been made from water for their weakness.
tavina grunted gently but supported the other woman's slight frame.
their going would be slow. she would pause as many times as maegi needed.
but eventually they would come to the small, austere room and she would help her patient onto the narrow bed. "i am going to bring you water and something to help you sleep."
Sleep caught her ear. P-poppies?
she stammered out, grasping onto that thin sliver of hope. Poppies would make it better. They always did.
If this healer was worth her salt, she'd have a store.
God, she felt so weak. She was afraid to give way to the exhaustion, lest the demons take her within dreams. Maegi forced her eyelids open, mismatched orbs staring wide, fixed upon a point just shy of Tavina's slim frame.
Please,
she breathed, and sucked in her cheek in anticipation.
can probably fade w ur next post! <3
tavina's eyes sharpened as maegi asked after poppy.
it was a dangerous plant with a winning hold over those who begged for it.
but tavina had been told of this one's skill with such things. it was not hers to deny.
"yes." the purple eyes flickered. "i will bring them."
the next sound would be that of the sesh's retreating paws.
Relief. Sleep would come soon.
Maegi gave into it, and would be deep in dreams—if not at least on the edge of them—by the time the healer returned.