falling ill

[keep_busy]

A few months after the business with the chalice, Annie (with a gold engagement stud in one earlobe, now receiving mail at Aldaras's apartment, and thoroughly comfortable with Being Necklaced, to the point where she's helping mold the thing towards more exacting standards for real-world-practical as well as theoretical compatibility) is in bed with some unidentified sort of head cold or flu. Aldaras doesn't have it so far, so she is snuggled under the covers while he makes her spicy soup to help clear her sinuses and because she's having a little trouble with non-liquids. He's worried, she's mostly just groggy. Zzzz.

Comments

[darkest_evening]

"Hello," says older gentleman from the other side of the mirror, speaking carefully and sounding quite foreign. "That didn't take long. I'm the one who wrote the letter." He waves.

[keep_busy]

"...Hi," says Annie stuffily. "I'b Annie. Id dat taked?"

[darkest_evening]

"It is not, you may have it. Are you sick?"

[keep_busy]

"Yeah. By fiadcé is bagid be soub."

[darkest_evening]

Oh yes, new language plus a sick speaker means everyone else is going to have just a bit of trouble understanding Annie. How lovely. Prime is going to add this to the long list of 'things he isn't being paid for.'

"One of the Bells - you're a Bell, she's another one of you - has the ability to cure sicknesses. I can explain things to you first, or we can pop over there now and simply cure you?"

[keep_busy]

"Oh, dad'd be good, he's all worried ad I'b dired. Hee, Bells."

[darkest_evening]

"Yes, it's very cute, we've made several puns off of it. Right then, we'll be there in a little while."

And shortly, there is Prime, with Spring, in Annie's room.

[namesthesky]

"Hi, Annie," says Spring, who has picked up the language from supervising Prime's call. "All I have do to heal you is touch you, okay?"

[keep_busy]

"Souds good. Wad's the side effegt?" wonders Annie, closing her eyes as Spring reaches out to lay her hand on Annie's face.

[namesthesky]

"There's n-"

Spring freezes.

[keep_busy]

"Oh, fuck."

[darkest_evening]

"... That is not a word choice I associate with, 'oh, yes, everything is going fantastically here and there have been no strange mixtures of magic at all,'" states Prime. "What happened?"

[keep_busy]

"I forgot I was wearing the oh fuck I'm so sorry -"

[namesthesky]

Spring sits down on the floor, eyes closed, and holds very still.

[keep_busy]

"Um, here, magic has side effects, and you get the main effect and the side effect if you touch a magic thing. Uh, now you're immune to - other mind affecting-magic? Yay?"

[darkest_evening]

"What, exactly is the side effect...?"

[keep_busy]

"She, uh, wouldn't have even noticed if it weren't already in effect... Um. It. Does a falling-in-love thing."

[namesthesky]

"So it does," squeaks Spring.

[darkest_evening]

"... Of course it does," sighs Prime. "Why would it do anything else. Spring, is it the obvious?"

[namesthesky]

"Yeah."

[darkest_evening]

"Right then. I'm just going to guess that there is, of course, zero way to reverse the effects. Am I wrong?"

[keep_busy]

"Well, not here, that I know of, and I think a reversal artifact would've made the news, but you have... lots of magic? So maybe you can? I'm so sorry. I just wear it most of the time because you can - tweak how the items work if you're touching them and I kinda pull it off better than my fiancé does."

[namesthesky]

"Oh," says Spring.

She sits very, very still.

[darkest_evening]

Prime - looks at her, then sighs and sits down next to her.

"Well. I have exactly zero idea how to reverse it with my magic," he says. "And daeva magic would be exactly useless. Ice's magic might be able to manage it, or spellbinding or runecasting with enough time investment."

[namesthesky]

"Okay."