Closed Night (Sama'el)

[Leto Sunsinger]

Timestamp: 54th of Winter, 512 A.V. Having slept through the night entirely, Leto awoke next to Sama'el, and watched as he was sleeping as well. Sighing a bit, he still felt tired, even though he had slept through the night without any major issues. Maybe i'll just sleep a little longer, he thought, and laid his head back down upon Sama'el's shoulder. It wasn't until he felt the chill in his spine that he realized something was potentially wrong. Sitting up, he held the back of his hand to his head, and it felt hot. What is going on? he thought, and slowly sat up, pulling on his leather pants, and putting on his wool jacket over his leather vest. The wintry storms had layered Endrykas with snow, and he as he slid on his leather shoes to prepare to trek out into it. If what he thought was happening, was truly happening, he needed to get away, away from Sama'el, Denen, Ronan, and everyone else in the pavillion. Slowly making his way out of the tent, he fell to the ground, his body tired. It wasn't until he felt Arias' warm nose nuzzling his face that he pushed himself back up, and got up upon Arias' back. "W... we must go, I can't get the entire pavillion sick with this disease..." he said, knowing full well that the tiredness combined with the feverish feeling was the cause for the first stage of the Pox. Pushing himself up onto Arias' back, he urged Arias' forwards with a slight tap to his rear, an the horse did indeed move. Making his way to the outskirts of the Pavillion where his old tent happened to be, Leto dismounted Arias', and opened the flap to his old tent, as he had tended to sleep with Sama'el every so often to keep increasingly warmer during the wintry months. Especially with the amount of snow that had fallen recently. Upon opening the flap, he didn't see Xnnn in there, and entered himself. Getting into his bedroll, he quickly bundled himself up, and Arias entered into the tent to sit next to him. And then he couldn't help but cry himself back to sleep, as he knew what the end result could potentially be, given the circumstances surrounding the deaths of over three thousand drykas men, women, and children. And thus, began Leto's trials over death. Would the Pox claim him as it had so many other Drykas? He didn't know, and he didn't know what to do, other than hide away from Sama'el and the rest of the pavillion in order to keep them from contracting the deadly disease as well...

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sama'el wasn't used to waking up to a cold bedroll. With a wife to please, and affectionate friends, and winter biting through any chink in their tents or clothing, they tended to stick together. As his eyes grew from mere slits, he considered the need for a proper pavilion, so that even if they weren't all sleeping in the same pile of people just to stay alive, the interior walls might be warmer for the single structure with all of them inside. And there could even be a section for the horses, in case the weather grew truly inclement.

But after a few minutes of respite, he made his decision to get up and quickly dressed. He wore layers upon layers now, and when he stepped outside his tent, all that was really visible was his eyes. He checked in on everyone, some still sleeping at dawn, others up and busy already.

Last he came upon Leto's tent, which ought to have been empty, but perhaps he had been restless and didn't want to disturb Sama'el's slumber. Arias wasn't out with the other horses, which was strange. They were all seeking out what remained of the grasses, and soon he would supplement that with some feed, perhaps even heating it up into a mash to give them a warm belly. But for now he knocked on the wooden frame of the tent.

"Ho, Leto," he called softly. "All well?"

[Leto Sunsinger]

Leto heard the wrapping on the wooden frame of the tent, and lifted his head from Arias' fur soft fur coat. When he heard Sama'el's voice, he immediately became worried and afraid of him coming into the tent. He didn't want to get Sama'el sick with whatever this disease was, especially if it was the Pox that was infecting everyone else. Another cold chill ran up his spine as he looked up towards Arias from the bedroll he happened to be sleeping within. Arias neighed a bit, and nudged Leto's head as if to say, "Go ahead, tell him." Leto understood the horses meaning, and then said aloud, "Sama'el... I th...think i'm sick with whatever is going on with the drykas community. I don't want to infect you or anyone else, so it would be best if I were to be left alone until I know whether it is the Pox or not..." As he said this, another cold chill ran up his spine, and he shivered a bit, not quite knowing what else to say other than to inform his Ankal of the situation, and allow the Ankal to decide the appropriate course of action for whatever it was that was happening at the time, this time, Leto being sick with the possibly deadly disease. Arias neighed a bit more, and then shifted his body in an attempt to help keep Leto warm, as the man was still shivering uncontrollably from the fever that had set in upon him...

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

As soon as the words struck home, his eyes began to sting and itch, and he felt sick to his stomach. He crouched down next to the tent, guessing where Leto was based on the quality of his voice. He wanted to say this wasn't funny, but he knew Leto wasn't the sort to joke about such things.

"Gods, no," he whispered. Not Leto, the quiet, gentle man with his great learning and his loving heart. Sama'el had done everything he could think of to protect his family from the pox, but all for naught. He wanted to climb in and comfort him, but then he would risk the rest of his family. He wanted to get Denen, and he would, but not quite yet.

"Leto..."

But what was he supposed to say?

"We still have the healing scrolls from Kavala, no? Are you hungry? Thirsty? What can I get for you?" He would ride to Avanthal and back again to bring some tincture that would cure his blood-brother.

"What do you need?"

[Leto Sunsinger]

"I... i'm not sure the healing scrolls will assist with anything but the fever... we didn't make any to prepare for a disease like this..." said Leto, his voice cracking a bit, as he didn't know what to do. He was at a complete loss for what to ask for as well, given he'd never been faced with something such as this. Death it seemed might very well be right around the corner for him, and that prospect scared Leto more than anything. He wanted to live, and he prayed to Leth every second that this wasn't the pox, and that it was something else, but deep down inside he just knew that he had caught what was killing Drykas left, right and sideways. He just knew that it was something more than a simple wintry illness. Something more than the glyphs he had Kavala had made could take care of. "I... I don't know what to do Sama'el... Arias is with me right now, keeping me warm, so I don't need warmth... Perhaps some feed for Arias so that he doesn't have to leave my side to feed upon the meager grasses that are out there?" he asked politely, unable to hide the tears from his eyes as he whimpered a bit, scared of his prospects given how many Drykas had fallen ill from the Pox, and how many had died from it. Elders and Children were the most to get it, and Leto was certainly an elder drykas given his age, and the ages that most drykas died at he was nearing. He was older than most drykas, and given that, he knew his chances didn't seem very good, and were quite dire in fact. "Perhaps a healer too, if you can manage to find a free one, if Denen's not around... i've heard some healers with Rak'keli's marks are able to stop the progression of the disease... if possible, we might be able to slow it down, or stop it all together before I get much worse..." he said slightly hesitant, hoping the rumors he had heard were true, and that he could get some form of help from the devastating disease...