[Open Adventure] A Gift for the Queen

[Duvalyon Hellebore]

Duvalyon watched the Moth Queen crumple to the ground and begin to vomit wretchedly. That was one way to liven up an evening, but not his first choice. Mad panic was beginning which only made Duvalyon grow calmer, a habit picked up in the Place of Purging. Perhaps the ability to control himself when all else was going mad made him feel more powerful than those around him. Someone was gesturing for him to come forward and see to the girl. He chided himself for not volunteering sooner, granted it was all passing rather quickly. When he came to Selaria’s aid, he demanded a radius of space about her in no uncertain terms. After which he endeavored to roll her on her side to avoid her choking on vomit, a rather inglorious way to die. Just as quickly he began to remove the sharp jewelry around her head and neck. Frustrating as others may find it, restricting her movement during a seizure was un-wise, all they could do while it endured was make sure she didn’t hurt herself. Unless someone had a magical dose of chani with henbane or Gloam flower. “Can you hear me, Selaria?” he asked, though he imagined it was fruitless, "Where is the pain?" He pressed his hand on her skin and tried to look at her pupils. Hopefully this was merely a case of nerves mixed with sour Bruka, but experience told him there was something worse at work here. Well, it wasn't a real festival until someone died a gory death.

[Osakis]

The sudden ruckus startled the Konti deeply and before she had time to recover herself, Osakis felt a violent shove forward. Tripping over her own feet she found herself at Duvalyon’s side and quickly tried to analyze the situation before her. The Moth Queen was a sickly beauty, a terrible sight to be seen. Osakis set to work instantly, taking off the fancy shoes and tearing off a good length of her own dress. She wadded up the cloth and tossed it to Duvalyon, shouting over the buzz of the panicked crowd, “Her head Duvalyon, her head!” Selaria’s head needed to be cushioned from the seizures as a precaution. Peppermint would soothe the Queen’s stomach when the fit was over and Osakis made a mental note to check the stores at the Purging for some the first chance she got. The Konti watched Hellebore’s son as he removed the girl’s jewelry. The two had never really socialized in the few years that she had been in Kalinor. It made her wonder what kind of man he was.

[Erasmus]

Erasmus craned his neck to catch a better glimpse; the moth queen was the glittering centrepiece of everyone’s eyes and for an instant he felt mystified such a symbolic gift could ever have been an ordinary Symenestra being at one point. The crowed seemed to careen with her every movement as if she directed an orchestra without the vexatious clamour of instruments to disrupt the grace of this unspecific location. Being in the hive of his own kind made him complacent, no longer was Erasmus an outsider, rather his voracious optics scrounged out the few contrasting outcasts that were not of His kind instead of the usual vice-versa. He devoured those misfits with both mistrust and racism. The feeling of pride coursed through his veins as if an unidentified substance had been injected into his bloodstream not five seconds before. If Erasmus was to ever make a discovery later on about his past entailing he held the disgraceful position of something connected with a complete failure: at least the monster had one thing to cling to… he was, no question, a Symenestra. Never would he wish for a different race, never would he trade that title. Yes, nobody knew of him… but upon scrutiny he would always be recognized as “one of those nasty spider people,” and the young man would smile at the accusation with no hint of shame. You could say the silk city had woven chain-like threads straight through his soul. The Moth Queen was handed a basket brimming with trinkets that made the Symenestra children’s' eyes widen in joy, however after that moment all else happened much too fast for his taste. From what he could gather, Selaria hesitated and then leaned down to bestow a young girl with something from the basket… the clattering of prizes colliding with ground came next followed quickly afterwards by vomiting and the poor thing crumpled underneath a spell of spasms. Screams erupted from the crowed, disgust mixed in concern and mingled with an ample amount of panic, the sounds clawed at his ears while people jostled Erasmus into the middle of chaos. The crowd of Symenestra rushed in a disorderly ocean like scattered marbles, giving him no time to react ahead. He stumbled over someone and quickly jabbed another person in the ribs with his elbow when the opposing force attempted to push him aside. Holding back some surprised curses and brushing off his clothes amidst the uproar Erasmus managed a difficult escape but found with minor displeasure he stood next to Vorador, who was consequently next to the festival’s fallen queen. Selaria was being tended by a healer or two, or so he concluded. Erasmus took necessary precautions not to stand in the way of things. Vorador, the poor fellow, looked like a standing corps and did extract some sympathy from the still bewildered brute. He spoke fluently of Symenos with a natural velvety voice; though he wasn't at all loud his tone was clear as well as audible, “are you alright, sir?”

((Thank you so much Poison!))

[Dra-Nivias]

OOCSorry for taking so long, I finally got to a real computer to type this out :X

Dra-Nivias almost wished she had something to do with the moth queen's falling over. It would give people a reason to hate her. She had no idea what was wrong with the Moth Queen, only being focused on getting up before being trampled. The person she ran into apparently had a friend just as tall as he, and that was quite annoying. She had to deal with two of them? And she had a very good reason to stay alive. Because I want to. Standing up, she prepared herself for anything that they would do to her.

Even worse was the person who suddenly appeared in between her and the pair of full Symenestra. The nerve! How could anyone be so stupid? thought Nivias. She had learned to accept punishment for things she never meant to do, and she could take care of herself. The presence of someone 'defending' her was insulting. Like she couldn't fight her own battles! And he was bold. Too bold. No one in their right mind would start yelling at someone who could crush them like a small insect, let alone for someone they didn't know. And what he was saying-- just ridiculous. Nivias wasn't a weakling.

She grabbed the back of his shirt in order to yank one of his ears close enough for her to say something. It must have been pretty uncomfortable to be pulled backwards like that, but Nivias found it necessary. He was almost a foot taller then her.

"You better leave before you make a fool of yourself. You're too bold for your own good, you should learn to hold that tongue of yours. I can fight my own battles, and if you're hurt I'm not showing sympathy." she hissed into his ear. With that she released his shirt and tried to make her way to the Moth Queen. Something interesting had to have been happening if there was this much commotion.

[Dra-vindu]

While waiting Dra-Vindu felt a tug on the back of his shirt then someone grabbed his ear. As he was listening to what she was hissing all he could think of was ~How dare she. I stood up for her, she should be grateful! And she feels as if she can insult me!~ When she stopped and released his shirt he whipped around so he can teach her to be respectful. When he finished turning he saw her walking away, acting as if he had no right to say anything else. As if his act of "generosity" didn't allow her to go do what she was doing. He contemplated going after her, chasing her down and teaching her a lesson.But decided that finding out what happened was more important. ~I'll let the world handle this girl.~ Dra-Vindu forgets what happened, turns and starts walking to where the Moth Queen vomited and fell. His curiosity and need for excitement overpowers his sense of reasoning. ~Something has this whole crowd in an uproar and i'm going to find out what!~

[Poison]

Selaria was lying directly in front of Sunay. The young Moth Queen’s eyes were wide with fear, and her mouth was open as if she wanted to scream, but no words came out. Her body was still wracked with spasms. She extended her hand, as if she wanted to ask for help, as if she wanted somebody to come to her. She reached out to Sunay, the person that was currently closest to her and grabbed her ankle. Vorador, her moth, looked thoroughly sick. His face had already been pale before, but now he looked half dead. He covered his mouth with his hand and gulped as if he wanted to keep himself from vomitting. Unlike Selaria he was still able to stand. Whatever had happened, hadn’t affected him as much as it had apparently affected the queen. He rushed to her side, tried to help her up, but it looked as if she was choking now. The two men that stood in front of Dra-Nivias both had ashy skin that was laced with thin veins, long black hair and golden eyes. It almost looked as if they were related. They had also grown the claws on their hands out. They looked like they could be quite dangerous, and they seemed to have no issues with hurting a woman, even a woman that could serve other purposes despite her tainted blood. One of them – he had a scar on his cheek – raised his hand and made a step towards her, about to strike her, but then he heard Dra-vindu’s voice and spun around. The men’s attention was focused on him now. „How do you know that she didn’t do anything?“ The man with the scar wanted to know. „You don’t know her!“ He paused, and then he looked at Dra-vindu as if something had just occured to him. „Maybe you did it! Or maybe the two of you did it together! Filthy halfbloods!“ As Dra-Nivias rejected Dra-vindu’s help, he laughed out loud – and then both halfbloods felt somebody grabbing them from behind. And a moment later something connected with the side of Dra-vindu’s face. The two Symenestra weren’t willing to take any chances and allow the halfbloods to reach the Moth Queen. As far as they were concerned, Dra-vindu and Dra-Nivias really were responsible. As Duvalyon stepped forward, the people automatically cleared a bit of space for him so that he could inspect the fallen Moth Queen properly. They didn’t leave completely though. Countless pairs of jewel colored eyes were focused on him now. What would Hellebore’s son do? Would he able to help Selaria? By the time Duvalyon had reached her, Selaria had already been about to choke on her own vomit, but now that he had rolled her on her side and removed her jewelry, her breathing was a little easier. She was still twitching uncontrollably, and as he had expected, she wasn’t able to answer. In fact she didn’t seem to react to his presence at all. „She was complaing that she was feeling dizzy and had a headache“, the young man next to her answered in her stead. „And then she vomitted and started doing this.“ He clutched his stomach. Duvalyon could notice pearls of sweat on his face. He could also notice that Selaria’s pupils were dilated. The crowd parted a second time to let Osakis through. Erasmus had a much harder time getting anywhere. Nobody recognized him. He wasn’t a healer, and people were either trying to reach Selaria and watch or get out of the gathering hall as fast as they could. People jabbed him in the ribs or the stomach more than once, and he nearly stumbled over something that was on the ground. But finally he stood next to the queen. He could see a Konti and a Symenestra, obviously tending to Selaria. „I’m not sure“, Vorador murmurred as Erasmus adressed him and wiped the sweat off his brow with a sleeve. He blinked a couple of times as if he wasn’t sure if his eyes were working correctly, and then he asked Erasmus, „Do you think you could help me a little, Sir?“ Since they were closest to Selaria, Devmond and Sunay heard and saw everything. And apparently not everybody thought that this should be the case. „Do you really want to subject a little girl to this?“ Devmond could hear a female voice behind him say.

[Dra-vindu]

Dra-Vindu quickly whips around to face the two symenestras, "You think we did this together? I met her for a second and was already fed up with her," He says with undeniable angry."Ridiculous" he mumbles to himself. ~I can't believe it! How dare they put me in the same category as her.~ "Which one of you hit me?! If you think nothing is going to happen you have another thing coming!" Dra-Vindu spits out with anger as he stiffens his body and gets ready for what must ultimately end in a fight.

[Erasmus]

“Certainly, depending on your request of course.” He forced a slight sympathetic smile in the direction of the fellow, of whom he had never met… or at least, of whom he had no memory. To some extent there was a confrontation a little ways off, never mind the fact that the whole place seemed to be constructed of raised voices anyway... fighting usually pursued panic, nothing out of the ordinary… or perhaps the expression that fit better was ‘nothing not out of the ordinary.’ He couldn’t help but glance at the fallen moth queen along with the healers reacting simultaneously with all they knew to perform. Was this girl a sister of the guard who had welcomed him to Kalinor the very first day of arrival? The possibility was scarce but Erasmus clearly recalled the man had said he hoped his sister would win the title. The unfortunate chosen young queen of this holiday was strewn on the floor amidst her disarray of shining new toys, still and lifeless toys that would be wasted… for what child could pick one up and extract a drop of joy from it after this fiasco? The whole day was in shambles, which disappointed the eighteen-year-old bitterly. Nevertheless, he didn’t show his more selfish emotions on the outside, keeping an 'uninteresting' mask tightly in place to conceal the inner clockworks of his over-active imagination and dark natural colors. Why did he hide in a place where nobody knew him well enough to look… when this was possibly the location that held beings with his exact manor? Well, why do people do anything if not for their way of life? Why is an Inarta’s hair red and a tiger’s pelt striped? What makes a songbird sing, the moon shine, or a clock tick? “I’m Erasmus by the way, ser.”

[Duvalyon Hellebore]

Duvalyon caught Osakis’s cloth without a word, just a terse nod as he stuffed it under Selaria’s head. It was turning into more of a spectacle as the people watched with him with suspended dread. Old Hellebore would breath down his neck during procedures, so the pressure was not entirely foreign, but it wasn’t welcome in the slightest. Osakis was now beside him doing her bit of nursing. He’d seen her about but had no desire to build any rapport. She would neither understand him, nor he her. She was an odd thing to come and work amongst the Symenestra. The Konti’s generosity of spirit was more off-putting to Duvalyon than her race. He couldn’t feel comfortable around people that reeked of goodness, and they made for terrible conversationalists. He nodded briskly as the young man beside the Queen gave a quick description of her maladies. Duvalyon noted the moth didn’t look well either. “Excessive sweat, vomiting, enlarged pupils, abdominal pain, spasm, dizziness,” he was talking to Osakis, a first. ”All suddenly onset – might be too quick for an infection. Press her lower right abdomen, Konti, see if it gives a pain worse than the rest. If not, the source is likely external.” The Symenestra had little concern for the Moth Queen’s modesty at this point and began undoing her dress. “Everything off but the small clothes.” He then looked at the crowd, numb with shock, and coolly demanded someone “stop looking stupid and get water.” As they worked at undoing the elaborate gown, now a bit sticky with vomit around the bodice, he fired questions at the moth. “Did you share any food in the last day? Was there anything only the pair of you touched? Any odd vapors or smells?” Impatient, Duvalyon snapped his fingers. “Focus. Tell me now.”

[Poison]

OOCIt’s been over two weeks, so I decided to just continue without Osakis and Devmond for now. If you come back and would like to rejoin the thread, send me a PM. „What else should I think?“ the man with the scar asked. „You have to agree that this is a little suspicious. The Moth Queen dies just as the two of you come here.“ He had decided to conveniently overlook the fact that Selaria wasn’t dead yet. „And I just hit you. I’m not going to let you reach the queen!“ He clenched his fists preparing for another attack. „The Ochya are going to have fun with the two of you. You know what they do with murderers, don’t you?“ He laughed, and then he aimed at Dra-vindu’s stomach, hoping that he would knock the air out of his lungs and that the filthy halfblood would double over. His friend was still busy with Dra-Nivias. „I’m just not feeling too well“, Vorador murmurred and rubbed his eyes. There was definitely something wrong with them. Everything was blurred, and he was sweating even though it wasn’t that hot in here. „I think I might have what Selaria has ... just weaker. I don’t suppose you ...“ He stopped in mid-sentence. He suddenly began to feel dizzy, and a moment later he was leaning against Erasmus for support. „Sorry“, he murmurred. „As I said, I’m not feeling well. I’m Vorador by the way. And I think I’m going to be sick.“ Selaria didn’t do anything as Osakis pressed her abdomen. She didn’t even move. Whether that was a good sign or not remained to be seen though. She also didn’t protest as Duvalyon took off her clothes. The crowd did though. Duvalyon could hear a few people gasp. A man asked, „What is he doing?“ And somewhere a woman covered her little boy’s eyes, deciding that he was too young to see a woman naked. It took Vorador who was still holding onto Erasmus for support a few moments to realize that he had been adressed. „Ummm“, he made, fighting the urge to vomit. He found it hard to concentrate. The young man looked scared. He was worried that he would end up like Selaria. He didn’t want to die! „We shared a lot of food. Selaria and I are friends, and we had a meal together before we came here. Bruka. And we also had fruit.“ He scratched his head as if he thought about the healer’s other question. „I don’t think there was anything – apart from the veil, and the veil was a gift.“ „Do you think you can help her?“ Unfortunately the people around Duvalyon did not stop looking stupid. In fact it seemed as if most of them hadn’t even heard him. They just continued to stare at him and poor Selaria, not knowing that it was far from over yet. After a while somebody handed Duvalyon a bottle of water though.