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+--- Thread: Ravensblood Forest you can't wake up this is not a dream (/showthread.php?tid=34488)
you can't wake up this is not a dream - Cadeau - May 16, 2019
@Illidan
They were on the open road again, Cadeau following behind Illidan like an obedient shadow. He knew the wilderness better than anyone she knew… though the amount of wolves she knew was only barely countable on two paws so perhaps she was exaggerating his guidance skills just a bit too much. The point was she had blind faith in him out here. Cadeau could hear the forest as it slowly awoke alongside the morning sun over the hills, a heavy mist and fog covered everything thickly. She had to squint her eyes just to peer through it. Faint sunlight broke it apart in patches.
Morning dew clung to her as she walked after Illidan, the halfling eagerly looking around at whatever she could see on the forest trail. Tied around her chest and neck with vine was a red pitcher plant, Cadeau plucked anything she thought was worth keeping and stored it in their as a makeshift bag. The idea came to her recently the more she thought that traveling would make keeping herbs harder when either of them needed treatment, Cadeau felt pretty smug about it still. Silhouettes of deer traveling nearby caught her attention and peeking with interest she broke away from Illidan a moment to go take a look.
“Illidan, there are deer nearby!” Cadeau whispered excitedly, not waiting to see if he would follow her to look.
Though they traveled together it wasn't super odd for one or the other to break off for a bit when the need rose. Cadeau always found him in the end, and visa versa. The brown yearling pushed through some tall leafy bushes and shrubs, Cadeau getting closer to the calm grazing animals, wanting to investigate them more so than hunt. Breakfast had been an early affair anyhow, even if skunk wasn't the tastiest thing on the menu granted…
Without really looking down at where she was placing her feet, she felt something brush against her back leg. She didn't think much of it, too keen on seeing the wild life hiding amongst the misty woods. Taking another step forward, there was a furious hiss as she stepped on whatever strange thing had grazed her. Cadeau glanced down with a startled noise, stumbling before feeling the sharp teeth of a snake sink their way into her hind paw. She yelped like a kicked puppy, flailing her leg and watching the reptile go flying into the underbrush. The deer heard the ruckus and without so much as a heartbeat were running in multiple directions in a panic, now seeing the half wolf surrounded by the morning fog.
At first, Cadeau felt nothing. Only stunned as she looked down at her paw. She hadn't gotten a good look at the snake, the surprise and poor lighting didn't give her much to work with. Cadeau swallowed a lump forming in her throat, not wanting to jump to conclusions. It could have been a harmless garden snake after all, Cadeau leaned down to take a look at where she was bitten, seeing the two puncture wounds embedded at her ankle. Blood oozed from it, Cadeau gave it a careful lick before raising her head back up.
Then, she began to feel… weird. She turned on her heels, deciding to get back to Illidan. She couldn't slow him down, they were making good time today… she was fine, she had to be. Cadeau swayed with each step and returning to the trail, she almost could have swore she was winded. Her skin felt clammy and her muscles taut, Cadeau didn't even really think to check her herbs for anything.
She felt unsteady on her paws, everything spun around her in a drag like motion, slow yet overwhelmingly quick to her uneasy body. Illidan looked so far away… maybe he was far away, like he was in a tunnel. Her heart was loud and heavy in between her ears. Breathing raggedly, Cadeau didn't understand why terror wasn't gripping her with sharp claws. Through the hazy cloud of awful sensations rippling past her body, Cadeau knew she didn't feel afraid because Illidan was here, he always knew what to do… Cadeau stopped walking suddenly and mumbled in a slurred voice, “Illidan…? Illidan… I don't feel so good…” Cadeau seized up and eyes rolling up, collapsed to her side with dead weight limbs. Foam tinged around her mouth and her body shook in small convulsions, eyes fixated in a random direction, trying to keep her companion in her sights.
RE: you can't wake up this is not a dream - Illidan - May 16, 2019
the rainy weather had made the ghost pensive. at least, he felt as though he needed a means to justify his quiet reserve. the truth was that he had been hurt by his conversation with firefly. he had been even more sad that maia had vanished from the sound with only a howl on the air to say her goodbye. illidan could not help but to wonder what it was that caused so many of his relationships to suffer. it was almost as though a dark shroud hung over his head. darker than the hood that he already wore – it was fathomless and terrifying. the ghost could not help but to think that he was a curse to others.
now, illidan did not typically buy into the idea of superstitions. he was more realist than idealist and more rational than nonsensical. in spite of this, illidan had found that it was incredibly challenging to go through his life experiencing the things that he had, without the faintest idea that there might have been something more at play than it seemed. it was not a religion or the inspiration of one, but the simple curiosity that is bestowed upon everyone.
having separated from cadeau, the dark-hooded wildling slunk into the woodland expanse. he lost himself in the forestry, letting the terrain pass beneath his long limbs with ease. the forest was stunning to him. the atmosphere of it was chilling in a way that he could not have explained with words. it was a feeling that had overtaken him, touched him in the marrow of his bones. he was fascinated with the wild wood.
it was fortunate that his distraction had slowed his pace to a stop at a curious looking stump. he heard her voice before he saw her, but her voice was enough for him to turn around with a knitted brow and a gaping mouth. it was just as she rounded toward him on unsteady limbs that he saw her eyes roll into the back of her head and her body fell like a rag doll.
“shit, shit, shit…” the wildling muttered, darting toward her to inspect what might have happened. the gleaming yellow of his gaze darted from her eyes to her limp frame. she was still breathing, but her features looked wild to him – something had overtaken her, and this is what it had left. he was not a boy who understood the intricacies of a medical mind. he knew that something was wrong, but he would not have the capability of knowing what had happened, or how to assist.
“cad… what’s going on?”
his voice was tentative. it was like he was fearful that speaking up would harm her more. she had crafted some strange medicinal container for her herbs. he didn’t understand much of that, either, but he wondered if she had eaten something from the satchel that had done this to her. he couldn’t imagine that she would make a mistake like that. it had to have been something else – something in the wood.
RE: you can't wake up this is not a dream - Cadeau - May 17, 2019
Cadeau hurt everywhere, it felt as if her blood had turned into fire and was burning it's way into her veins like hot casting iron. Her limbs tingled, the spot where the snake had bitten her was a combination of painfully swollen and uncomfortably numb, if that were even possible. She felt confused why she was on the ground so suddenly but she knew the reason, trembling painfully with quiet whimpers and grunts.
Cadeau could feel something like panic grabbing at her when air became much harder to take in, the halfling raising her head slightly as if it would make any difference. Her face slumped back into the dirt, more foam and some blood pooling from around her muzzle. The only reason she managed to find a semblance of peace was because she saw his face, Cadeau didn't want him to worry.
Though, there was a lot to worry about in this frightening moment. His question reached her ears, Cadeau found her words despite how weak and raspy they sounded. "...I stepped on... a snake." Cadeau closed her eyes with a cough before struggling to look at Illidan, eyes unfocused and blank with a fevery shimmer to them. Whatever had bitten her, it was a strong toxin. "Got... bit. I couldn't see what... it was."
She struggled to swallow, Cadeau shaking. She pointed at the makeshift satchel around her neck and chest, only having enough strength for the split second. She wheezed, "Grab... that. Listen carefully, okay?"
Cadeau willed herself to smile but it looked more like a grimace, trying to keep everything calm. Inside she felt terrified but she did her best to think like a proper herbalist would... even if she'd never had to treat herself, let alone anyone, from a life and death situation before.
"I can't move, Illidan," she explained with a trembling voice, her expression was as calm as she could manage it. She knew if she freaked out it could cause Illidan to feel that insecurity, it wouldn't help any of them right now.. "At most... I got ten - fifteen minutes... get the comfrey first, it's a root with... purple flowers. Chew it... and put it on my ankle..." Cadeau paused to take as deep a breath as she could manage. Once he did that, she would explain what he needed to do next. "Dab a bit on my mouth."
RE: you can't wake up this is not a dream - Illidan - May 18, 2019
a snake…
the words left him feeling worse than he had before. she had gotten bitten by a snake. he may have never encountered the serpents up close; he had learned that some were deadly. leave it up to cadeau to find one that had basically crippled her and left her to die in the woods. he could feel it inside of him. it was like he was a bad omen for anyone who tried to stick around. there was a shadow living in there, and it was hellish. he did everything that he could to smother it then. illidan knew that if he did not focus, her time would only tick away until there was none left.
she instructed him to look through her satchel. his brow did not unknit. he stepped toward it and did not pick it up gingerly. feeling the weight of their time restraint on him, he shook the bag until all of its contents had been spilled onto the earth at his feet. she had described a plant that he needed to find. he sniffed at each one for a moment or two before he latched his sights on the one that fit her description.
illidan hated the taste of just about everything that she’d had him chew on. there hadn’t been a damn thing that he’d enjoyed enough to feel compelled to do again. there was a brief pause before he realized that she was withering away in the time that he took to stuff a plant in his mouth. his tongue snaked out and took the stupid purple flowers. they tasted about as good as he had expected them to. trying not to gag, illidan chewed them until they were a gooey paste in his mouth. he unceremoniously spit them on her ankle. a thick glob of purple-colored saliva covered the snake bite. he turned back to her when she mentioned that she needed to consume some of it. he wasn’t about to spit into her mouth. stepping back toward the spilled cluster of herbs, illidan grabbed the last of that specific plant by the stem and brought it toward her.
he placed the plant on the ground so that it touched her nose. it would have been an easy task to scoop it up and eat it. the ghost peered at her with an intense and expectant expression. he didn’t know what else she had wanted from him and he didn’t want to waste their time any more than he already had. all he could think about was how unfortunate it was that the healer was the one who was bitten by the deadly snake… if it had been illidan, cadeau would have been able to treat him without failure.
her herbs were scattered across the earth. he had stepped on several of them in the back and forth of trying to help her. he felt like an ass. he didn’t even know if these things would help her or if they were just a way for her to buy time so she could solve the issue herself.
“what now?” he asked sharply.
RE: you can't wake up this is not a dream - Cadeau - May 18, 2019
Cadeau watched Illidan with hooded eyes as he emptied the contents of her pitcher plant, merely focusing on him and her breathing, she needed to make sure she stayed concious or else there wouldn't be much her friend could do for her. He found the comfrey and Cadeau was glad it didn't take long, the herb would help reduce the swelling going on with the wound and her body, kind of like an epi pen when someone was having an allergic reaction. It would buy her some time.
Sympathy swelled in her chest at the faces he was making, she knew the herbs weren't the most tasteful of things but it was what needed to be done. Cadeau knew it was often she had him test the effects of herbs, only tiny dosages, she really owed him one for all the medical abuse she was putting him through. She felt the herbal paste splat onto her wounded foot, Cadeau feeling the effects of the anti-swelling agent kicking in a minute or two later. Illidan pushed another bit of comfrey towards her and Cadeau reached forward with a shaky movement to take the plant into her mouth. She chewed it quickly, twisting into a wince herself at the bitter taste. At least now she could properly breathe.
Cadeau let her cheek rest against the ground, zoning out for a long moment as she blankly stared ahead. Dark edges crept into her vision and Cadeau blinked her eyes furiously to clear it, turning back to look at Illidan. Dizzily, she kept telling herself over and over again she needed to keep awake and focused. Keep looking at Illidan, he's right there, ignore everything else...
At his question, the sharpness of his voice woke her right up again. "Rattlesnake Master... its a spikey looking flower, kinda like a white dandelion, that... smells a lot like a carrot... It counteracts snake poison." Cadeau looked at her scattered collection of herbs and felt a pang of fear swell in her chest, hadn't she picked up the rattlesnake master on a previous trip? There wasn't any rattlesnake master among the plants and Cadeau willed the rising panic back with a shudder.
There would be some rattlesnake master on the trail behind them... how far back Cadeau wasn't exactly sure. The comfrey would buy her some time, if Illidan could go find the herbs... "Illidan... Stormy," she began, bringing up the nickname to try keeping a sense of normalcy and calm to the situation. "You have to backtrack and... find the rattlesnake master. It shouldn't be... far. The comfrey will kick in and hold me until you get it."
She smiled at him. "I'll be okay."
RE: you can't wake up this is not a dream - Illidan - May 24, 2019
somehow, she had been able to find the strength to scoop up the plant in her mouth. there was a moment of satisfaction at the expression she made regarding the bitter herb. at least she was getting a taste of the stuff she’d tried to test on him. of course, illidan would have never told her such things to her face. he appreciated her company more than he wanted to tell her that her leafy greens tasted like a rotten squirrel. it must have been the cost of staying alive, or at least that was what he’d imagined. he had learned very early on that good things did not fall on good people. he had also learned that if he could not weather the storms through the bad, he would fail.
cadeau mentioned a plant called rattlesnake master. she offered a shaky description of it and then managed to tack on the nickname that she’d provided him nearer to when they’d first met. his brow was creased so that his eyes looked shaded over. there was an intense frown on his lips that did not vanish at her attempt to comfort him into knowing she’d be alright until he got back. the wildling knew nothing about herbs, save for what she had shown him.
“okay… but if you die out here, i’ll find a way to bring you back just so i can kill you myself,” he returned to her with a serious nod of his head. he would not have been able to help how he would feel entirely responsible for such a loss, if it were to happen. he wondered if she was upset at him for all of this. it had been his idea to go on a great adventure and to visit the other packs. she wouldn’t even have been in that same area if it had not been his plan.
casting the thoughts from his mind, illidan raced back the way they had come in search of his peculiar plant that she needed. his eyes darted from side to side, nose to the earth, while he searched for the herb. the more time ticked away, he more frantic he had started to feel. it wasn’t long before he had all but lost his mind. then, as though someone from above was smiling down on him, the boy latched his eyes on the shape that had been described to him by cadeau. he lurched forward and gripped the stalks in his mouth, ripping them from the earth.
then, he turned back to where she had been left and sprinted until he could not get air into his lungs. when he finally caught sight of her, he dropped the plants at her face and scrunched his up into an expression of disgust. “these ones taste worse than the first ones,” he muttered to her in a grumbling voice. then, illidan waited to see if she would be able to eat them. he stared intently at her, sides heaving.
RE: you can't wake up this is not a dream - Cadeau - May 24, 2019
Cadeau couldn't help the breathy sort of chortle that fell out of her trembling lips and heaving lungs, trying to latch onto anything to keep herself grounded despite the cold terror chilling her bones. In a way, the words comforted her despite the hard lines on his face following them. She saw him begin to rush off into the direction she instructed him to, where she hoped her memory was serving her justly of the location the rattlesnake master plant was. His dark form grew smaller and smaller, and with it her courage. Her eyes dropped heavily as she stared ahead at the distance, almond eyes unmoving from where Illidan had run off to.
Her body convulsed again painfully, rippling through her like she were jelly. Cadeau let her head loll back, weakly panting and quivering. You would think that in this moment she would begin to think on regretting this journey with Illidan, call him a jinx and yell at her past self for ever agreeing to this arrangement. After all, there wouldn't be a snake bite in the equation. However the only regret she felt was that she might not see the journey to its end, that somehow she would perish without finding her purpose in this world. Was there even a purpose? Would the universe really be that cruel? Cadeau thought in a burst of clarity through the venomous haze. She felt enclosed by darkness, shaking and screaming into its depths to let her go.
Another regret popped it's way into her head a moment, making Cadeau breathe out shakily at its intrusion. I might never figure out what this... feeling really is. The strange emotion that began nosing it's way through what was a fondness for her friend, one she was convinced couldn't possibly be real or logical to chase like prey in the hunt. She thought it strange the way it pushed itself into her heart in this moment, she had other things to worry about... not puppy love.
A voice whispered to her from the roots of her mind, so far back Cadeau had to strain to hear it. You are a jinx, its fitting you meet this kind of ending. You were lucky that day with the rifle...
Another voice joined it in its jeering, Cadeau jerking her head in its non existent direction ss if it were crooning into her ear. Yes, you should have joined your father in his grave. Instead your bad luck rubbed off on him.
Cadeau shut her eyes tightly, suffering with a low whimper. "Stop it... leave me alone..." She could feel them coming closer, physically lurking nearby with teeth bared and eyes glinting. If she looked close enough she could see they too had brown fur and brown eyes...
Your family would still be together if not for you.
Snowy would still be alive.
You were better off never born.
You are burdening him, he isn't coming.
He would rather be anywhere than here now.
Illidan only stays because he feels sorry for you.
Her blood was on fire and her heart beat frantically in her chest, Cadeau could only hear the ringing of her ears and the voices that suddenly no longer sounded so real, as if they were spoken in some tongue she never heard of. For a moment they disappeared into a puff of smoke, Cadeau limply aware that someone else had come, chasing the bad things away. Eyes unfocused, Cadeau saw Illidan had returned. Relief swelled up in her chest, feeling akin to golden light on its warmth. "You... came back," she couldn't help but say, voice weak but tight in its emotion. Her eyes watered in a feverish way.
Cadeau saw the rattlesnake master dropped in front of her but for some reason she couldn't remember why it was important. She was too happy to see his face again, Cadeau not moving at all.
Why did he bring me that? I... I cant remember. I feel weird... maybe if I rest... Cadeau let her eyes close momentarily with a shiver. A chill brandished down her spine through the uncomfortable heat that burned her blood. "I'm cold..." she uttered. "Tired..."
RE: you can't wake up this is not a dream - Illidan - June 11, 2019
it would have been funny to know that cadeau dreaded some of the same things that illidan did. it would have been funny if not for the fact that she was glimpsing her life in a series of what went wrong just before the snake’s bite had attempted to claim her. it was fortunate that the ghost was not a witness to her wild visions, or the crazed words that spilled from her lips. to say that he might have been triggered was an understatement. it had taken some time for him to even be able to leave the boundaries of his pack. it had taken even longer for him to feel as though he could return.
once he had dropped the plant in front of her, his ears caught the strange remark that she had made. cadeau seemed surprised that he had actually come back. illidan furrowed his brow and peered at her with a stern expression. his eyes were sharp on her features and he did not seem as though he found the statement very humorous. of course, illidan didn’t know whether it had been intended as a joke or not.
“where the hell else was i gonna go?” he demanded.
part of him was offended that she would think him so low that he would simply abandon her while she was dying. the young ghost thought back to the first time he had met the scarred woman from drageda. she’d spouted that he knew nothing of the soul. her words had hit him deeper than she ever could have known. perhaps she was not the only one who thought him to be soulless. there was a good chance that it was visible to anyone who passed him by. had cadeau caught a glimpse of that? could she also see that he existed in that world without the presence of a spirit in him?
“eat it,” the wildling growled to her. or whatever you’re supposed to do with it…
cadeau seemed to state that she was cold – tired – and he could see that she was slipping away from their shared world. illidan’s heart began to race and he nudged the plant toward her furiously. “eat it and it’ll warm you up… give you energy, i promise,” he urged, but he did not know whether his words were true or not. illidan only knew what cadeau told him about the herbs that she sought. half the time he was only barely listening to her when she explained the properties. he wished that he had paid closer attention to her words.
RE: you can't wake up this is not a dream - Cadeau - June 11, 2019
Cadeau only shivered in response to his question, eyes shut closed and breathing softly shaking at her chest in a rattle. She tried to remember what words were, suddenly they seemed so faraway and strange to her foggy mind. "I... don't know," she mumbled once her tongue wasn't made from lead. "I'm just happy you're here."
She faded into silence, the halfling heard him growl out she had to eat the weird plant he'd brought her. Cadeau forced her heavy kids open to gaze upon the spikey plumage of the rattlesnake master.
"Eat it..." Cadeau slurred aloud a long moment before something lucid struck her hard, it made her stare with widened eyes and a gaping mouth. "You found it," Cadeau couldn't help the awe that fell into the words, not that she had doubted his ability to find the plant but that it was here at all. Collecting her energy while she still had it, Cadeau reached the rattlesnake master between her chattering teeth, gnawing as much as she could without losing the little strength she had left.
It seemed to take a lot out of her as she swallowed the herbs down, not even mustering the will to make a grossed out face at the bittersweet tang. She looked at Illidan with hooded eyes and labored breathing. "Get me to... somwhere sheltered. Don't jostle my leg too much, venom spreads with unnecessary movement." She clenched her eyes shut.
"If... if I pass out, don't be alarmed. The rattlesnake master has a sleeping agent, waiting..." She groaned painfully, face smearing itself in the dirt as she let the hurt burn through her in a shiver "Waiting out poison is... painful. You might want to stay away from me after." Cadeau didn't know what could happen after she fell unconscious, some reacted to venom badly with fitful nightmares and vivid hallucinations, screaming out and shaking as the poison made it's way through her system. She didn't want him to see her that way.