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She gave out a small gasp as she slammed into him, her grip never leaving him. "Recinis!" she cried out in alarm as the warrior seemed to put forth an immense effort to keep moving, but only tottered in place. He then stopped altogether and merely stood unsteadily, held upright between the pillar and her grasp on him, which now slipped down to affix itself about his waist. She leaned into him now, one hand daring to loosen its hold so that she could reach up and tilt his face down to hers.

His eyes were rolling back in his head, seeing images in a world which held a population of one.

"Recinis!" she cried out again, thoroughly alarmed, giving his face a little shake to try to bring him back into the present. "Recinis!"

No answer but that the warrior seemed to let out a heaving sigh, then slowly slid down the pillar as his knees finally gave way and sent him to the floor. Graysith went down with him, beyond merely concerned now, for no lightsaber wound would produce such a result in its victim that she knew of. She shifted a bit, kneeling beside him and grasping him by both shoulders. She shook them as hard as she could, so hard in fact that his head whipped back and forth with her efforts, his horns scraping against the cold stone behind them.

"Recinis!" she cried again, more loudly, a note of despair rising in her voice and moisture shining in her eyes. "I cannot carry you!"

Nothing. The Sith remained oblivious, his eyes staring into the unknown. Then he shuddered, and an all-body sweat sprang out on him. His breathing accelerated in the space of a second, along with his heartbeat, and his blood once more began seeping from the wound. He lay against the stone, not even appearing to try to fight.

Graysith drew in a great breath, and pulled herself back from her protector, crying out for Shawn's assistance as she did so. Then she did the only other thing she could do: pulling back her arm, she then let go and slapped him across the face as hard as she could. Once, twice... and again.

[ 08-26-2002 09:10 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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"What did you do to him?" she hissed in a fierce whisper, pinning Loban with an icy glare born from desperation for her protector. Clearly, if the warrior wasn't somehow stabilized, and soon, chances were great that he could die.

Ignoring Loban now, she turned back to Recinis, and reaching out once again struck him fully across the face, seeking with all her might to bring his focus back from wherever it was hovering....

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"That blade of yours, that lightsaber... it did... something to Recinis."

It was as though she heard the words for the very first time as she spoke them. Her breath caught in her throat, and she straightened up from the Sith, one hand flying to her mouth as she considered them further. Her eyes widened as sudden realization filled them, and she turned them now back and forward between Shawn and Loban.

"This is sorcery...." came the shocked whisper. She swallowed then turned back to the warrior, where she allowed herself the luxury of merely regarding his silent form for a moment longer. Then--

"Someone must inform Lord Aelvedaar, and immediately," she asserted, now turning to Shawn. "Unless you believe you can help in combating dark magicks, I think you might have the most luck in discovering my Sire's whereabouts. In the past I have let the All lead me to him...."

Her voice trailed to an abrupt closure with that, and she turned back to Recinis once more. There she continued her previous course of action, trying to awaken him with a series of slaps interspersed with her low outcries of concern.

[ 08-26-2002 11:04 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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Shawn paused, thinking of something. "Erik Kartan may perhaps be able to assist us here, since he has both Force ability and has dwelt here longer than any of us..."

Stretching out in the Force, Shawn found that Force signature that was Erik's and sent a thought into his mind. Then he waited a moment for understanding to dawn on the other man. In no time he was satisfied.

"He is on his way..."

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"Seems the immediate danger has passed. I'm needed in the Temple, but there is no cause for you to return with me at this point, should you not wish to. Seems we do have a bit of a situation, however. So it's up to you. I'd best be on my way, however."

With that, he turned and hurried on to the Temple, following the sense that was Shawn Petrolu and a few of the others as he did so. Upon entering, he found them in a lounge adjacent to the foyer. He stepped inside, and cast his eyes about the room, his gaze stopping as he spotted the unmoving form of Recinis. Then he looked up to Shawn in question.

"You needed me?"

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But then, he had watched over Jhindarra with Aelvedaar, so he just might know where to start.

After a bit more thought, he nodded, saying, "Yeah...I might not know the exact location, but...I have a good idea. Perhaps we can pool our talents and find him in due haste. Follow me."

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his eyes suddenly became focused, seeing graysith clearly, begining to feel the contiunus slaps accross his face.
he finaly managed a grunt in reply to his own thoughts "no...." seeming to find confert in its meanings he continued on. "failure...is...not... possible..."
Drawing in a deep breath he suddenly grew slightly more aware. his conciousness becoming full.
Fight...fight with everythign you have...if for no better reason then to complet your mission...
strangly, the thoughts continuesly gave him the strength to fight...yet, it was failing.
his eyes snapped open again, and stared deeply into graysiths for a moment...
worry...
a growl escaped from him as he faught on.
you can not let yourself fail...for the mission...for your friends.
focusing as best he could he somehow managed to stand, and stumble confusedly into the room, untill finaly colapsing on the couch that loban had been on. all his effort, he managed to reach a layign possition. he wasnt sure if anyone had followed, his attention being focused deeply on trying to reach the slight bit of comfert. he then blacked out, fallign deeply into the shadow's of his mind.
his last thought floating about absently in his head.
your friends will help you...your friends...

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The cry choked out from between Graysith's lips as Recinis lay back against the cushions and began to black out. His head gradually lolled to one side, his half-lidded eyes staring inward toward a point that was getting farther and farther away from reality.

As the Sith warrior had battled against the rising blackness within himself, stumbling about blindly to finally fall upon the couch where he now lay, Graysith had kept with him, never letting her touch leave his person. Even now as he fell to lie silent she kept her hand upon him, instinctively knowing that he could somehow sense her being there with him, that she wouldn't let him fall into the darkness.

At least not alone.

So as he flopped limply upon the couch, she again went down beside him, ending up on the stone floor beside him, her feet curled up beneath herself. She reached out a cool hand to wipe his fevered brow, the other one now kneading his shoulder in the constant effort to let him know she was there, and every so often gave his head another shake or his face another slap to try and bring him around.

To no avail. The warrior remained silent, his eyes unseeing, his skin clammy. His wounded arm fell limply off the couch, brushing against her gown and staining it with its blood. She paid it no heed, but sat close by, keeping the all-so-important human contact with him unbroken.

"Hurry Erik," she whispered at length, although in a voice so quiet that Loban didn't hear her. Then she fell silent herself, trying to maintain a strong and supportive front, and all the while never feeling so inadequate in her entire life.

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And furthermore, Erik had been in the place where the Octrahedron was. He had spent quite a long time there watching over the unborn JhinDarra as the Sorceror Lord kept an eye on proceeding events.

However, knowing where a place was within a Sith Temple and actually getting in once you got there were two different things.

At length they reached the lowest floor of the Temple, and Erik lead Shawn to a pair of large and richly-carved doors.

Doors which most likely opened to only one presence.

Erik turned to Shawn. "Sense anything?" he asked. "Cause I sure don't."

Shawn started to say something, but Erik cut him off with a look. "Trust me, he's in there. You're gonna have to try to contact him. We might not be able to sense him, but I'm fairly certain he can us. Still, I don't have the abilities you do to mind-link..."

Erik trailed, his thoughts leading him along a related tangent. Only with one...

[ 08-26-2002 09:49 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Mara1Jade ]

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Then the presence of He whom they'd been looking for all along nailed him right between the eyes.

"He is in there," Shawn said quietly. He berated himself a bit for being so insensitive to the guidance of the Force, then moved on to the task.

He sent out a very brief and very urgent message. Lord Aelvedaar, I apologize deeply for the interruption, but there is a matter here that demands your immediate attention. The young boy that came with us from Khar Delba has brought a lightsaber that, during a duel, inflicted a strange and possibly fatal wound on Recinis...

Shawn sent no more thoughts than that, somehow knowing that this alone would be more than enough to gain the Sorceror Lord's attention.

[ 08-26-2002 11:16 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shawn Petrolu ]

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These flames are my own...the wound was simply the gate...i let them in, no, they have burned within me for some time, constantly growing with every bashing thought he held towards himself. The wound could heal, but the thought of failing in battle...that was ever lasting... and this could not be.
with that the flames slowly subsided, becoming that of a normal fire, still strong, but his understanding had acted like water...cooling there heat, and alowing him to think more clearly.
graysith stood once more, her hand outstrethed to him, he stood slowly, and began walking to her, the flames licked at his being, with every step he was confronted with a memory of his failure, with every step he was forced to confront what he had failed in, and accept that which he had no control over.
he could not fully put away any one memory, but he felt as though soon he would be able to release his self doubt.
These fires can not be destroyed. they can only be accepted. I feel not that i have the strength yet to release them...but in time, i will. with that he reached graysith, a brief smile crossing his face before...

His eyes suddenly snapped open, instantly he was confronted with graysiths almost serprised look, a brief smile crossed his features, and he looked at the wound, yet the pain was that which he could handle now.

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"Here, this should help... that 'thing' has held all the blood it can handle..."

Lo-Ban waited, to see if Graysith wished to do the honors of administering the bandage...

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Rathal

(I AM turning to the Darkside)

A great uprushing flood of warmth cascaded through Graysith's body as her brain finally kicked into gear, putting together the facts that Recinis's eyes were indeed open, that the bleeding of his arm had slowed, and that the awful look of haunting pain which had so recently creased his features had utterly disappeared. He stared up at her with amazing calmness, and even managed to smile at her, one brow crooking a bit as if to say, "Well--?"

Graysith released the breath she had been withholding, all unbeknownst to herself. Suddenly Recinis's eyes were entirely too large, too green, too filled with... something she couldn't quite place a finger upon, and in fact didn't truly know if she wanted to at this point. Her own eyes grew huge in turn, softening as an unspoken question filled their depths and reached out to find the answer in his.

He merely stayed calm, quietly smiling up at her.

Shaking her head as if to bring her own self back to reality, she let that short and strange moment pass entirely. Then she moved her hand from his shoulder to lay alongside the planes of his face, now smiling down at him in turn.

"I thought you were going to die, Recinis," she said quietly, her lips trembling at the very thought. "And what would I do then without your strength at my side?"

Falling silent, she remained seated on the floor next to the warrior, her one hand on his face, the other laying loosely against his shoulder, ignoring Loban's attempts to nursemaid as she simply basked in the pure relief that her protector had returned from whatever dark realms he had just journeyed within.

[ 08-27-2002 01:40 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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Lo-Ban placed the bandage on the corner of the couch,"Here, if you need it... I'll leave you two love birds alone..."

Matt shrugged. "Not a clue." Then, "How's that piggyback coming?"

Jasyn eyed the controls to the spaceport as though considering this. "I can't read these screwy heiroglyphs, but I don't think it'd be difficult to rig if we had someone here who could read this jibberish."

Matt nodded and began to say something, when a somewhat disgruntled-looking Loban entered the spaceport as though he were hurrying away for some reason. Jasyn turned to look at him and rose a hand to his face to cover the grin of amusement suddenly covering his face. With effort, he managed to sober and reached in his pocket, pulling out a flask of something. "Here Kid," he said, "You look like you need this more than I do."

Matt turned to Jasyn, first frowning about the implications of Jasyn carrying around a flask of liquor then suddenly grinning, laughing in bemusement himself.

Jasyn continued with, "No wait...you can't have any, you're too young!"

Matt now joined in the fray. "Come now, Jasyn, who will ever know? Not like the law is gonna come after us here..."

Jasyn's grin turned lopsided. "You have a point there, my friend." And again turning to Loban, "What do you say, kid? How about some Whyrene's Reserve to fuel a little break from reality?"

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I move along the stone corridors, my robes swishing against the stone walls in cadence to the steady sounds of our advancing footsteps.

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Her hand moved from atop his to lay lightly upon it, like a bird alighting on a sturdy limb. She let her fingers bring a modicum of cool relief to the wound, which was pouring forth heat like a miniaturized wildfire.

"Help is on the way, Recinis," she smiled into his eyes, her fingers brushing ever so lightly upon the wound. "This shall be taken care of, and soon you shall be well.

"I expect Lord Aelvedaar shall desire to... speak with young Loban...."

She let her voice trail off with that and fell into silence, a small shiver racing through her as the young man's very name brought with it the too-fresh memory of what he had so nearly caused to happen. She shivered again, not moving from Recinis's side, but merely sat curled by him, one hand on his arm, the other on his shoulder, her eyes still returning the deep look he gave her with one of her own.

[ 08-27-2002 12:27 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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