[Flashback] Playing with Poison (Veldrys)

[Adavi Brevissima]

Summer 28 509 AV


When Adavi returned home the house was as quiet and cold as the rock which crafted it. Not a light or sound issued from the cocoon like stalactite, meaning both father and Sosuna had left. The tempo of his heart slowed a bit at that and the many half baked stories he'd been mentally concocting disappeared. Good. The boy didn’t want to explain himself to them. The truth would make father’s mouth frown in disapproval and Sosuna wouldn’t understand. In place of the truth a lie would've been a horribly transparent thing as the boy had no affinity for deception.

The spiral staircase which coiled down the house’s center like a spine was dark, even for Symenestra eyes. Though he wanted to rush, jumping 2-3 stairs at a time, Adavi held back and carefully descended until reaching the first opalgloam, which when uncovered shed a pale ethereal light over its surroundings. Dropping the heavy cloth he dashed down the rest of the stairs stumbling to a stop in front of a niche hidden from view by the draping of a childlike tapestry. H'd made the tapestry himself some years ago and while the designs weren’t very good the fabric was thick and created a feeling of privacy. Sliding it aside revealed 6’x4' x3’ hole large enough to serve as a bed with some extra space for personal items. The niche's base was layered in colorful soft fabrics and comfortable furs. A small shelf along its farthest side held many of the boy's things: a slingshot, clothes, souvenirs he'd picked up from the surface, small stuff that had enchanted him at the time and was now left for memory’s sake.

“Nessuna?” Adavi whisperd, crawling onto the bed and feeling gingerly around with delicate hands. The lack of a friendly greeting chirp worried the boy more then expected and his searching movements became hasty when he failed to immediately find her.

Normally when leaving Nessuna alone Adavi kept her in a cage in the living room, but this morning, when he'd gone to feed her she hadn’t woken up. Perched on her wooden rail, beak tucked within white breast feathers she’d been cold and stiff to the touch. Heartbroken the boy thought she might've died in the night, but gently holding her he could feel a whispering pulse still beat within her fragile body. Hurriedly Adavi had wrapped her up in the warm blankets of his bed, not sure what to do, but wanting to avoid any questions from curious family. Nessuna was a healthy cockatiel only two years old, he didn’t want them asking what had happened to her. Afterwards he’d run off to go get some things. Maybe it was then she had woken up and wriggled out into the house? What if she’d gone up the stairs? Her wings weren’t clipped so she could’ve flown off anywhere. What if something had eaten her? These thoughts zipped quickly through the boy's mind half hopeful and half dreading making a conflict of emotion that caused his heart rate to double and throat to constrict.

A few seconds passed by in frantic searching before fumbling fingers brushed soft feathers. Releasing a sigh of relief he held her small body against his chest while groping with a second hand for the niche’s personal opalgloam. Sliding off the silk covering, years of absent minded chipping and picking away at the opalgloan had carved it into a rough snail shape. The snail and its slow steady pace was something Adavi contemplated rather frequently as moving too quickly often resulted in embarrassing clumsiness.

“Nessuna?” He asked again holding her non-responsive body to the light. She was still cold and stiff, the delicate muscles of her white wings feeling oddly swollen under the boys probing touch. Her beak was open, and the tongue a disturbing off color. When she didn’t respond he tried a number of things to wake her up: hanging her upside down, strong smells, her favorite food, pinching pain, even briefly dunking her in the house water basin. Nessuna did muster up the energy to shoot an angry glare from that last one, but her eyes closed quickly after.

“Come on Nessuna, wake up!” Adavi ordered the last word coming out in a choked sob. He hadn’t wanted to admit it, but it was obvious now that Nessuna was dying or at least close to death. Rolling her up in a long strip of cloth he hastily created a makeshift sling by tying it over his shoulder. Forgetting to recover the opalgloams the boy hurried out of the house. Adavi didn’t want to ask for help, or explain himself, but he didn’t want Nessuna to die more. Maybe someone at the Place of Purging could help? It was a silly hope. The physicians had a hard enough time saving their own people, much less a poisoned bird, but to a boy of twelve his pet’s life was worth the embarrassment of asking.

[Veldrys]

Veldrys‘ day had been busy, as always. To his relief he hadn’t had to treat any surrogates – dealing with them always made him feel a little bad, although their presence in Kalinor was a necessity. His patients had all beeen Symenestra, suffering from a wide variety of ailments. He’d treated a grumpy old woman that had broken a leg, given a child with a fever some medicine and then helped a little boy who had stuffed one of his toys into his nose. He couldn’t imagine how that had happened. He wasn’t even sure if he wanted to know. Strangely enough the boy hadn’t been in any pain. He just hadn’t been able to breathe properly.

As Adavi arrived at the Purging, the young doctor was just in the entrance room, preparing to leave. As the boy stepped through the door, Veldrys‘ amethyst eyes widened a little. His gaze fell on the bird he was carrying, confused. He briefly turned around to see if there were any other healers nearby, but no, Hellebore and his other colleagues seemed to be busy. He faced Adavi again. The boy seemed to be worried, but he didn’t look sick. Nor did he have any visible wounds. Still, he decided to ask him, to be sure.

„Are you hurt?“ The healer’s voice was gentle, as if he were seriously worried about Adavi. „Or is this about …“ He looked back at the bird that seemed unconscious or dead. „Is this a Kelvic?“ he wanted to know. He knew that Kelvic were sometimes used as surrogates and that Duvalyon, old Hellebore’s son, kept one as a pet. This was the only logical explanation for why Adavi had carried what looked like a lifeless bird into the Purging, a place that was usually reserved for humanoid patients. „What is wrong with it?“

[Adavi Brevissima]

While rushing towards the Place of Purging Adavi had nearly toppled multiple times over the gossamer webbed roads of Kalinor. To cushion his jostling movements he’d been holding Nessuna tightly to his chest, greatly reducing his ability to balance. At one point the boy would’ve fallen, lost to the great dark below if not for the quick reflexes of a nearby Symenestra. Thanking the women in a slur of words he forced himself to slow down; letting Nessuna hang within his makeshift sling while he skittered over the weds, holding his arms out like an airplane.

The Place of Purging was large, made even more so by his unfamiliarity with it. He’d only been here once before to receive stitches from some nasty lacerations, and once had been enough. It’d been during late summer when many of the surrogates were giving birth. Sitting on white sheets while a needle threaded painfully though his leg, the women’s screams had scarred Adavi’s mind in a way he wasn’t sure could ever be erased. After that he’d done his best to never get sick or injured again; the reason why he’d given Nessuna the poison instead of himself. A choice he was now beginning to regret.

Stepping quickly through the Purging’s entrance the boy stopped not sure where to go next. He needed a doctor, but they all seemed so busy, and he felt somewhat like a pest as an older Symenestra shooed him out of his way. Taking Nessuna from the sling of cloth draped over his shoulder Adavi gazed around with frantic eyes.

That was when the man approached asking if he was ok, asking about the Kelvic.

Kelvic? What was he talking about-oh! Adavi’s eyes widened in comprehension. He hadn’t thought of that. While unusual, Kelvic’s weren’t unknown in Kalinor. Maybe if the man thought Nessuna was one of the beast people he’d be more willing to help her. The boy appraised the older Symenestra for a moment, noting his kind tone and somewhat tired eyes. There was something different about him, an odd presence that made Adavi think maybe here was someone who’d understand. Veldrys was his name, Adavi recalled while searching the man’s face. Whispered in a number of rumors, for though 20 years of age he’d yet to claim his first surrogate.

The boy nodded after a pause, but to which question was unclear. Silently he held Nessuna up to Veldrys, his face a mixture of hope tempered by caution and laced with just a trace of fear.

[Veldrys]

As the boy nodded, Veldrys assumed that the bird in his hands was indeed a Kelvic. Maybe it was the family pet? Maybe even a future surrogate, bought for the boy himself? Veldrys could imagine that some people did that. It was easier to control a surrogate that had never known a different life, that had never seen the sky.

„Breivissima, isn’t it?“ Veldrys asked as he gently took the bird from Adavi. He noticed that the boy hadn’t said a single word since he had entered the Purging. Was he in shock? Why had he come alone? Where were his parents? „You must be one of their younger children.“ In a small city like Kalinor people had usually at least heard of each other.

„Come with me.“ The tone of the healer’s voice was calm, friendly, as if he wanted to tell Adavi that everything would be alright. „I’ll take a look at your little friend here.“ He led Adavi into one of the examination rooms and quietly closed the door behind them. Adavi could see a a table, chairs and a cupboard that contained medical equipment there.

„Can you tell me what happened to her … or him?“ Veldrys had never taken a closer look at a bird and thus didn’t know whether Adavi’s pet was male or female. „Did it eat anything strange? Did you feed it something? Please be honest with me. I can only help the bird if I know exactly what has happened to it.“

As he asked this, he carefully placed the bird on the table and listened to ist heartbeat and checked its breathing. It was still alive, but weak.

„Can you make it change?“ he wanted to know. He had never treated an animal and was worried that he would do something wrong. Everything about it looked so delicate. It was so much easier to treat Symenestra.

[Adavi Brevissima]

The boy felt some relief at Veldrys’ respectful handling of his pet. Even if he though it to be a Kelvic at least he seemed willing to help. Adavi nodded as the older man mentioned his family name.

“Yes, Adavi.” He replied respectfully with a small bob of the head. More than just being one of the younger children as Veldrys assumed he was also one of the few children left. The Brevissima web was small and dwindling; its members know for their flights of fancy often ending in bizarre personal deaths or disappearances.

Any new idea is often looked upon with scorn or dismissal and having the name Brevissima only increased this rejection. Adavi had learned long ago that it was better to keep thoughts in your head and mouth shut least others accuse you of strangeness. But with that said Brevissima’s were thinkers, tinkers, curious about the world around them, and minds blessed, or cursed, with a generous dose of imagination. While his heritage might be the object of shame in most social circles in the end Adavi was a Brevissima, and maybe someday he would find the confidence to take pride in that.

Following Veldrys into an examination room the boy looked around, his wide eyes flitting from one object to another. Why did all the tools in medicine look so dangerous? So many things for cutting and pulling, stitching and holding, bleeding and stinging, and…what, was that? Adavi stood on tiptoe to get a better view of a large glass jar. It was filled with some sort of dense murky liquid and there was something in it, he could almost make it out…
Veldrys shut the door behind him causing Adavi to cast a guilty look over his shoulder before following to the table. Even if it was just for a second how could he forget Nessuna? It was his fault she was dying. He was her keeper, her master, he’d cared for her, and she’d accepted him, as pets normally do, without judgment. She was his responsibility, he couldn’t fail her trust.

The boy shook his head in answer to whether he could make Nessuna change hoping to keep the Kelvic charade for as long as possible.

“Her,” Adavi quietly confirmed as the cockatiel was placed upon the table. “Nessuna is a her.” He didn’t want to tell this man however kind and understanding he seem about what had happened, he didn’t want to tell anyone. What had started off as innocent curiosity driving by good intentions had fallen into a point of shame and regret. He could see now that it’d been foolish to think he, a child, could accomplish what his elders had not; could discover a solution that had eluded minds for generations.

When asked what had happened, the boy didn’t answer right away. His eyes instead searching Veldrys’ face, hoping to find some hint that further information wasn’t required, but no. His pride or his pet, a price would be collected. Adavi’s face was a subtle contortion of conflicting emotions as he reached out to stroke one of Nessuna’s white wings.

“Symenestra venom,” He finally replied. Now that he’d made a decision his voice was easily audible though halting as his thoughts bumped and jumbled into one another. “I’ve been giving her a few drops a week. Diluted in, mashed fruit. I, mixed it in her food.” He now gazed up at Veldrys trying to portray with his face, if words failed, why he’d done what he’d done, the importance of what he’d hoped to achieve. “At school…sometimes with… you can build immunity by eating stuff over and over. And I thought that with venom. If Nessuna could then, then the surrogates could too.” Adavi shrugged, an unconscious distraction to keep the tears away, and rubbed his face as if to wipe away some particularly stubborn dirt. Curses he was messing it all up. He’d wanted to sound like an adult so Veldrys would take him seriously not like a stupid kid in over his head. Turning his face sideways so as to avoid looking at either bird or doctor Adavi’s voice was a mask of cold disinterests when next he spoke.

“So, you can help her?”

[Veldrys]

As Veldrys noticed how Adavi inspected the glass jar, he quickly walked over to him, took the jar and put it into the cupboard without saying a single word. There was no need for the boy to see what exactly was in it and suffer from nightmares as a consequence. It was better if he didn’t know that it contained the tiny body of a baby that had been born deformed, conserved by alcohol so that it could be studied for years to come. There was a whole collection of such jars somewhere else in Kalinor, containing deformed fetuses, brains and sometimes even dead animals.

„Her, of course, forgive me“, Veldrys murmurred as he readied the smallest, thinnest tools he could find.

He had no idea if a bird’s organs were in the same place as a Symenestra’s and how fast a bird’s heart usually beat. Everything in this room was made for humanoid patients. The treatment of surrogates was called animal husbandry, but that was just a word. Veldrys couldn’t help but feel terribly inadequate at the moment. He was not a veterinarian. He wasn’t even sure if such a person existed in Kalinor.

„Symenestra venom?“ Veldrys asked, and his eyes widened. „You were feeding her Symenestra venom? Have you lost your mind? Do you not know how potent our venom is? Don’t you think this exact method has been tried before? Promise me that you’ll leave the medical experiments to the doctors if your precious Kelvic survives.“

„How long have you been doing this?“ he wanted to know. „Did you do anything different today? Did you feed her more venom than usual?“

As Adavi asked him if he could help the bird, he didn’t reply right away. Finally he said, „I will try to help her.“

As he saw how the boy rubbed his face, he wordlessly handed him a small handkerchief.

[Adavi Brevissima]

The boy’s eyes narrowed slightly in anger at Veldrys’ comment but, not a word escaped his firmly pressed lips as he reluctantly accepted the doctor’s handkerchief. It was a blow to Adavi’s pride that he’d almost lost composure in front of an elder, and worse that Veldrys had noticed. As thoughtful of a gesture it might’ve been, the boy couldn’t help but feel insulted and belittled by it. Still, better to take the offering quietly then reject it and risk distracting Veldrys further from saving his pet.

The man’s assumption of he’s intelligence hurt too. Adavi was a kid, ignorant at times, but not that stupid. He knew better than most his age how deadly Symenestra venom was. He’d killed his mother after all, the love of his father, and he knew exactly how she’d died. He knew how all the women died, murdered in unbearable agony by their own poisons children. That’s why only Dra’s had real mothers. That’s why-

For just a moment Adavi’s eyes glazed over, the rest of Veldrys’ words lost as he descended briefly into memory.

The noise had started off as a distant echo; easy for the boy to dismiss as he suffered though his own personal pain; soon though it'd grown, quickly gaining momentum as more shaking cries tore from their victim’s throats. Pitiful, helpless sobs devoid of hope, they’d twitched over the boy’s skin, withering within his stomach, griping his heart like a vice so that tears streamed unchecked down his face, and lungs convulsed in abrupt hypervenaltion. The room had come alive then, each surface dripping with the suffering of past patients, infecting him, he couldn’t escape, it was everywhere, the pain would devourer him just like it had the others-

Adavi blinked, blood oozing from his white-knuckle grip to secretly stain the handkerchief held within. Yes, he knew what Symenestra venom could do. That’s why he had to stop it, find something that could counter its deadly effects. He hadn’t wanted to hurt Nessuna; he’d tried to be careful but...

The boy continued to gaze at the wall, calming his breath while trying to remember what Veldrys had just asked him.

“No.” He replied after a pause, his voice steady but, distant as if speaking from far away. “For a month. I didn’t do anything different. Just one drop every forty-eight Bells.”

Slowly returning his gaze to the doctor Adavi gave a small nod in acknowledgement of the older man’s assurance to help, before sullenly staring at Nessuna.

Briefly he contemplated telling Veldrys the truth about her.

Adavi didn’t like hurting people and knowing that the older man believed him capable of endangering another sentient life wounded him. He was starting to like Veldrys and he wanted the doctor to like him too but, he’d already decided that Nessuna was more important than his pride. In the end Veldrys could think and say whatever he wanted if it would increase her chances of survival.

[Veldrys]

„For a month?“ Veldrys asked incredulously. „It’s a miracle that the bird survived that long then!“ Most of the time Veldrys tended to be a calm, polite man, but he absolutely couldn’t stand stupidity. And in his opinion Adavi had done something incredibly stupid. He clenched his fists so hard that the knuckles stood out, as if he could hardly keep himself from hurting the boy or insulting him, and then he abruptly spun around and began to search the room for something that he could use.

„If you had fed your bird a snake’s venom, I would have tried to find an antivenom, but there is no antivenom for our venom“, he stated while he rummaged through a drawer. „On top of that almost every other possible treatment that I can think of requires her to be conscious. I can’t feed her a potion when she’s unable to swallow. I can’t give her coal. Because again that requires her to be conscious and able to swallow.“

„And I’m not sure if sticking something into her throat and trying to make her vomit to get rid of the venom is a good idea either, seeing as she’s unconscious and might just choke on her own vomit“, he continued as he turned around again and placed several small bottles and instruments on the table next to Nessuna.

Once that was done, he gently took her and moved her so that she was lying on her side now. „Pray, Adavi Breivissima“, he said as he opened the bird’s beak. „Pray to Viratas and all the gods out there that your foolish experiment doesn’t cost your bird her live. I don’t think I’ll be able to save her without a bit of divine support.“

[Adavi Brevissima]

Adavi's eyes widened as he watched Veldrys' hand clench into a furious white knuckled fist. Afraid the older man might hit him the boy braced himself, excepting of any pain Veldrys saw fit to bestow upon him. Yes, he deserved to be punished, he wanted to feel the sting of the doctor's hand across his face. In his child mind Adavi believed that if he could suffer just enough, incur the right amount of pain, then somehow Nessuna would be saved. He wouldn't fall though, he'd stand and take it like an adult, silent and enduring no matter how much it hurt.

Adavi's eyes narrowed into slits as Veldrys raised his hand, the boy's body stiffening, waiting for impact, but instead the man continued his motion turning swiftly away to search the room. Adavi let out a silent breath as the doctor flitted from one corner of the room to another; not sure whether he was thankful or disappointed by the dismissal.

The boy watched and listened nervously as Veldrys' thoughts hurried from his mouth. The boy had had little hope of saving Nessuna when he'd first brought her to the Place of Purging. He'd assumed no one would take any mind in his pets plight and that she'd die in his arms. It'd been a heart wrenching thought for the boy, but now as Veldrys rambled over the many reasons why she couldn't be saved Adavi was beginning to wish the man had never offered to help in the first place. At least then the boy could've blamed Nessuna's death on the doctor's unwillingness to help, but now, now there was no one to blame but himself, and he didn't like how that fault made him feel.

Nessuna was going to die, because of him, because he'd been too cowardly to take the venom himself, and to proud to know any better.

The boy felt a great frustration and anger twirl withing his stomach. He was a good kid, a good person, why was this happening? He'd just been trying to help, trying to do something amazing and wonderful. How could it have turned out so badly? Why did Nessuna have to be so weak? If only she'd-

Adavi's thoughts came to a sudden halt as he watched Veldrys gently move his bird unto her side. It was such a small simple movement, but somehow more respectful then many of the times Adavi had held Nessuna himself. The boy's anger abruptly snuffed like a candle, to be replaced by sullen shame. Even if this man was only saving Nessuna because he believed she was a Kelvic at least he was trying. And he wasn't doing it to make Adavi feel better or because the boy had asked him to, it was simply what he did. He was a doctor and every life was worth saving in his eyes.

The boy felt a new wave of tears threaten to spill from his eyes as the shame quickly filled him. It wasn't fair that Nessuna had to die. It wasn't fair that any of them had to die. Had the Symenestra brought the furry of some god upon their heads so long ago? Was that why they were cursed? Veldrys said he should pray for his pets life, but why would a god who forced every birth to couple with death save a single bird? There was nothing remarkable about Nessuna, she was only special to Adavi because she was his. Why would a god like Viratas care?

Adavi pressed his lips tightly together as Veldrys opened Nessuna's mouth. The boy was starting to feel so many emotions it was becoming hard to sort them all out.

Why should he pray? But then hadn't he already asked himself a similar question today? Wasn't Veldrys standing here with him now trying to save Nessuna because the boy had had enough courage to seek help? If he could find a doctor who cared about his bird, then maybe it was worth asking Viratas for help too. The worst that could happen, Adavi reasoned, was that Nessuna would die, but she was going to die anyway.

Adavi's lips parted slightly, "Viratas I...." The prayer died upon the boy's tongue before it truly began. No this wasn't right. He couldn't demand something of a god just because he wanted it. God's weren't like people. If he wanted something from Viratas then he'd have to prove it.

Calming his voice as much he could Adavi quickly unwrapped part of his forearm. "Viratas, I give my blood so that it's strength may serve another." The boy prayed his voice respectful, but demanding to be heard. "Please let her live."

"Take my blood." Adavi commanded, his eyes wide and focused while offering his bared arm to Veldrys. "Please, take it, and mix it with the medicines."

[Veldrys]

As Adavi said Viratas‘ name, Veldrys turned around and looked at him for a moment. As the boy bared his forearm, he handed him a small knife. „You should make the sacrifice yourself“, he told him. „As for mixing it with the medicine …“ A pause while he uncorked one of the bottles he had retrieved. He often drank blood, either as a light snack or as part of a religious ritual, but he was not sure if feeding a poisoned bird blood would be a good idea. It might just make everything worse if that was at all possible. „No, I think you should let that be. Use a bowl instead, say a prayer over the bowl and take the blood to the Temple of Viratas when we are done here.“

Having said that, he turned away from Adavi again and carefully put a few drops from the bottle into Nessuna’s mouth. „Oil“, he explained. „It helps when somebody has been poisoned or swallowed acid, and Symenestra venom seems to have acidic properties.“ His voice was calm now. Being hectic was never good when you were treating a patient, even if the patient in question was in serious condition. You tended to make more mistakes, and he didn’t really want Adavi’s Kelvic to die, even if the boy definitely deserved it.

„There are a mortar and a pestle over there“, he told Adavi, hoping that he had finished his prayer. „Give them to me. I will give Nessuna some finely powdered coal. If we are lucky, it will help her.“ As he said this, he checked on her breathing again. She was still alive, but how much longer? And how much coal and oil should he give her?