The Sentinels better to reign in hell

a cough racked lasher's body as he stood with muzzle downcast at the edge of the wood. it was a dry, hard sound, one that reverberated from the bare trees. all night he had wrestled with it, until his ribcage ached from the strain. he would seek out eilidh, for water had not soothed his throat.

the druid coughed again, this time dissolving into a flurry of the hacking, collapsing soon after with an exhausted groan on the earth, to breathe in the scent of the loam and consider what this illness meant for his corporeal form -- and donnelaith

She was learning, though feebly and slowly alone. She did whatever marking of the borders she felt necessary, she tried to catch the small prey that occasionally scurried about. She encouraged and aided all the small lives she felt beneath the earth. Some, she felt, would show soon. Rowan was on her way to find the dark specter when she saw him fall. 

She crossed the last few feet at a trot, nudging him gently as she laid next to him to support his form, nudging her white body beneath his to share her warmth with his. "Who shall I call?" She asked, reaching out in that silent way - more bold and daring than she had ever been in his company. She tried to gauge his sickness and what she could do to assist him. 

Her eyes glinted from betwixt the shadowy trunks of the sequoia that guarded her home; little Emaleth was as a wood nymph, always in the protection of shade, watching the world in a curious silence. When she separated from Deirdre, it was her father that was her favored target. She wanted to know what he knew, and loathed to leave his side— but she sensed that he needed his own space, and did her best to give it to him. Emaleth was yet too naive to realize he likely knew of her constant, watchful gaze... but she had never strayed near enough to catch his words, and often left for her own devices when he had company.

But this was different. She could see the quake in his body, and though she moved to draw near to him, a white form was nearer and quicker. Still, the young Mayfair rushed toward her beloved father, gaze cold as it swept over the stranger, but softening with concern as she looked upon he that was her world. "Father?" she queried, voice shaking despite her determination that it remain steady and strong.

she sensed her sisters worry, and stole upon the darkened pathways that quivered in their nakedness, cold, very cold; they passed the feeling to her, and she knew something was wrong. it was always easy for her to find emaleth; the duo never could hide from one another, though neither had ever tried to do so.

when deirdre arrived, she saw the familiar face of the white woman. but this did not hold her attention for long; from afar she had heard a sound she loathed, and here, she smelt the sickness upon him. deirdre did not wait a moment, she tilted her head upward and sang for @Eilidh who must know what it was that need be done to aid him, to heal him.

Eilidh had remained quiet and contemplative lately, and had withdrawn from her family when she truly needed them most. Her sister's call sounded and the golden-kissed girl jumped from her position beneath a log, the only solace she could find in the sun-beaten forest. She flew to her sister on swift limbs, having heard the quiet desperation in Deirdre's call. When she arrived, she found both her sisters there, and another whom she hadn't met yet. But her eyes were only for her father, who was collapsed upon the earth. She rushed to him and felt along his face with her nose, wondering what was wrong. What ails you, Papa? Her gaze searched his, worry and love mingling within.

thanks for joining, everyone!

it was the witch-who-was-not that joined him first; in consternation lasher attempted to pull aside, but stilled himself, a cough rattling his body once more until tears flowed. "rowan," the druid managed to choke in a shattered voice. he would have attempted to speak more had not worried emaleth and concerned deirdre attended him then, the latter tilting back her crown to call for their elder sister.

eilidh too came unto him, and he was struck with a brief pleasure to be surrounded by family. "a cough," he told the tall pale girl. "it saps my strength; it is hard. dry." he looked between the four of them and was silent, somehow ashamed for his failure.

The wraith attempted to pull away and she gave a soft snort, shaking her head at his pride and his push to pull away. She was not interested in that, not right then. "Lasher," His name was a softer whisper from her lips, for a moment she pressed her cheek against his shoulder - equal parts concern and a mild sort of affection - he had after all taken a chance with her he did not have to and that alone endeared him no matter what else she might have worried over him. 

The two that approached next - his children, his coven - made her lift her gaze from the dark male she was propping up, the cough so strong it made her shake as well. She could feel more, too, her natural strength in sickness, life, death - the endless circle they formed. She was silent as another child approach and she understood this to was one of his, letting the girls tend to their father. "Are there herb stores here?" She asked quietly. "Angelica and Beth root might help - Elderberry too." She suggested gently, not wanting to push her position too far.

im gonna let u guys powerplay lasher and also this thread closed <3

he nodded at rowan's gentle words but could not rouse himself to answer; he slid weakly against the ground and lay prostrate, inviting their attentions, though he loathed himself for being unable to stand firm, to assure them. a cough racked his body and he sighed when it was over, wanting nothing more than to be alone with himself and his weakness.

there are, deirdre informed, though i am not sure if we have those. would you come with me, so that you might show me? there was a knowing that came to her when she touched things sometimes, right or wrong, but she was shaken in this hour, when her father was as taken with his sickness as he was. eilidh and emaleth will watch him, her gaze panned to her sisters, but she was assured that they would and knew she need not even ask.

final post from me!

Rowan met Deirdre's eyes, her gaze lifting reluctantly from Lasher as he laid there. "We will return soon," She assured the gathered Mayfairs. She stood slowly, not wanting to pull herself away from Lasher although she did not want to. She gave the young woman a gentle nudge as she lead her away from her family and into the woods, tracking down some of the deeper roots - the ones that had been left untouched by the plague. It would not cure him entirely, but they could not know that. They could only do so much, even with their many strengths combined. 

last post from me. <3

Eilidh watched her sister go off with their aunt - cousin? - before turning back to Emaleth and Lasher. She worried for her father, and worried more for the hardness of the cough that wracked him. She had never seen such a cough; not even Dante's had been so bad. What would they do to cure him? Surely there was a way. Perhaps a saltwater bath, or a liniment for his lungs. She ran through the scenarios in her head while she helped make him more comfortable, worry etched on every line of her face.