Skedaddle

[Emora Deen]

Laya looked where she guessed Adonis had gone. She watched the opening in the stairwell for a moment. "I don't know," she breathed. "I don't know what he would do. He confuses me. He clearly hates me, yet he saved me... Maybe he will do the same for the people of this ship? Besides, he would save them out of necessity at any rate. We cannot crew this ship by ourself."

[Soran Nightblade]

Telanis held on to Laya a little tighter as the ship rocked. The winds had changed again, and although the wind was weakening, the ship was stretched parallel to the waves. He looked down at Laya's wet clothes and remembered how humans could fall ill. "You should go someplace dry. There's nothing left for us to do but wait this out." He thought about leading her there, but wasn't sure his legs wouldn't just dump them both on the ground. He didn't want to lean on her after what she'd just been through. "Do you feel well enough to walk?"

* * *

Adonis sucked in a tight breath as the blackness dove deeper into him than he'd ever let it before. The intensity of the spell required a certain amount of investment from the caster, but the magic felt like poison ripping him inside out. He grit his teeth and commanded the power flowing through him, hating the power and the people he was using it to save. His mind stretched out to every sick man on the ship, touched their psyches, and melded with their suffering, until he was connected to it all and could feel the curse like a living thing inside him. The blackness sucked at him, endlessly devouring the power he offered. After a few minutes, the talisman he'd obtained from the fanatic throbbed with dark light, exhausted of its power. The object shattered beneath Adonis's bloody palm, dropping that much more spiritual pressure onto his own power.

He choked out a sharp gasp, curling forward as his insides felt like they were being torn from his body. Black filled his veins, weaving in dark lines along the surface of his skin. It started at his hands and crawled up his arms, then thickened into an ugly web as it reached his heart. Sickened, he forced himself to focus the energy permeating him and use it to draw out the curse from the crew, drawing the energy into one evil mass inside himself and then dissipating it, piece by piece, into raw and meaningless energy.

The spell finally ended. Adonis clutched his blackened arms around himself and leaned forward until his jeweled forehead touched the wood floor. He gagged and sucked in deep breaths, knowing he'd crossed some kind of line and let the blackness too deep.

[Emora Deen]

"I am calmer now..." she said, nodding. "I think I can walk on my own." Telanis's presence had calmed her nerves, eased the fear into nothing. She felt strong again. Laya stood up slowly, holding on to Telanis's arm to help him if he needed. They could help each other.

[Soran Nightblade]

"Okay," Telanis nodded. He pushed to his feet with her, his stiff legs wavering as he found his balance amidst the movement of the ship. "Let's find someplace dry." He gripped her shoulder for support as he managed to follow her down into the shade of he lower deck. There were sick men lying on the floor there, lying all to still. Telanis tried not to worry too much for their safety as they sat down next to them against the wall. The floor was wet from the rain, but at least they had shelter here.

As they sat, the man lying unconscious next to them let out a soft groan.

[Emora Deen]

Laya sat with her back against the wall, and she leaned her head on Telanis's shoulder. Laya looked up and down the hall with her eyes, not moving her head. She watched the sick. "Telanis," she whispered. "Maybe we should see about Adonis?"

[Soran Nightblade]

Telanis frowned, because he knew she was right. But even though his brother apparently hadn't done all this, somehow he couldn't stop being mad at him. Or maybe he was just feeling guilty and blaming it on his brother. Or maybe it was because of the way Adonis had yelled at Laya earlier and made her feel like she'd done something wrong, when she hadn't.

Or was he just afraid to admit to himself that his brother was not going to save these people, that there was really nothing left of the purity they'd both been born with, and that he'd never be able to save him from what he'd become?

"I'm not sure what to say to him," he admitted candidly, glancing down the hall to where he presumed his brother was.

The man lying next to them mumbled something and slowly opened his eyes. Clear, blue eyes. Telanis didn't see him, but he felt something shift in the energy of the ship around him, a gradual dissipation of the suffering that had been thundering through his mind.

[Emora Deen]

Laya looked down at the man lying next to them, at his clear eyes. "Telanis," she whispered feircly, squeezing his arm. "Look! His eyes... They aren't black."

She moved away from Telanis and when to the man on the floor. "How are you feeling?" she asked him. She didn't touch him, her hands wrested clasped in her pockets. It wasn't because he was sick... Laya just didn't like to touch anyone she didn't know well.

"I think he did it," Laya said with a smile, glancing back to Telanis. "He helped them."

[Soran Nightblade]

The man slowly reached up and touched his chest like he was surprised it was still there. "Don't know...what happened. I was going for more line....hurt like a goddamn bitch," he muttered in confusion.

Telanis felt relief sweep through him. It seemed like Laya was right. The spell had been reversed. The sailors were able to talk...well, like sailors again, so they must be feeling better. He noticed others beginning to shift and mutter where they lay down the hall way.

"..how's...storm?" the man mumbled as he took inventory of his body parts and found them all still there.

In the infirmary, the men began to come to on the hospital beds. Their confused groans brought Adonis back slightly from the edge of his panic. He raised his head slowly from the floor and managed not to heave at the sight of his black-veined hands. Logic told him he didn't want to be the one found sitting in front of a black circle with a broken object of power when the men regained their bearings.

He focused on getting to his feet, fighting back the sense of bleak horror and disgust that was jolting through him. He stood and looked at the door with unfocused eyes that were still tinted with black. He needed to get out of that room.

[Emora Deen]

Laya stood up. "The storm is still raging, but I think the worst passed..." Laya looked down the hall towards the infirmary. "Maybe we should go see about Adonis, now, Telanis..." Laya said, wondering how much energy it took to undo something so strong.

[Soran Nightblade]

Telanis took a deep breath and nodded, knowing he had to face his brother eventually. He stood up, holding onto the wall for support. It occurred to him that worrying about Adonis after all he'd done to her wasn't an easy thing for a human to do. Laya wasn't just an ordinary person. She was a very special human. Adonis had to realize that, eventually. Or maybe, given the state of the crew, he already had? He nodded to her and took her hand as they made their way down the slanting corridor to the infirmary.

Adonis nearly walked into him as he emerged from the other side of the doorway. One look at the black unicorn's darkened features was enough to tell Telanis something was wrong. "Brother," Telanis murmured, reaching out to touch his arm, but a shock ran through him as he tried to touch him. The black magic in Adonis rejected Telanis's pureness and forced his hand back. Telanis's eyes widened. "Brother!"

"You, stay away," Adonis snapped at him, pushing past Telanis. He didn't let himself look at Laya as he brushed past her. There was an air of desperation to his movements as he strode too quickly to get to their room, the only place he could think of.

[Emora Deen]

Laya wrapped her arms around one of Telanis's, the one that had been repelled. She was afraid for him to touch Adonis, afraid whatever was wrong with him would leak onto Telanis and harm him. "What was that... What is wrong with him?" she asked faintly, watching as Adonis went to their room.

[Soran Nightblade]

Telanis stared at his brother's disappearing form. "I'm not totally sure," he murmured worriedly. "The way my touch was rejected...it was like he was actually impure." The way he said it made it clear he didn't just mean a little morally crossed. "I don't understand these powers he's been harnessing, but from what I've seen, they're not kind to their hosts. I'm afraid he did too much..."

[Emora Deen]

Laya's hands slipped away from him and she took several steps down the hall, watching where he'd disappeared to. "Well... It could fade or something, couldn't it? Maybe its only temporary." Laya looked back at Telanis. She wasn't sure why she worried about Adonis, as he obviously hated her. Was it because Telanis loved him, or did she, despite his hatred of her, see some sort of good in him? She was afraid of him, but not like she was afraid of the men on the ship. She couldn't quite explain how she felt towards him. But, it wasn't hate.

[Soran Nightblade]

Telanis shook his head, unable to stop staring at the place his brother disappeared. "I don't know how permanent these things are. He's involved in things I'm not able to understand." The hurt of knowing his brother was beyond his help showed in his eyes. "He needs help, and I can't even understand..."


* * *

Adonis let the door shut behind him and crossed straight for the wash basin sitting on the floor at the far side of the room. He knelt in front of it, deafened by his own heartbeat. Pushing up his sleeves, he threw his hands to the bottom of the basin and rubbed the cold water over his black-veined forearms. Frantic that his efforts were useless, he dug his nails against the skin of his opposite arm and barely stopped himself from trying to scratch himself apart.

[Emora Deen]

Laya wished she could help Telanis. She wanted to help him, and she wanted to help Adonis. However, she was human, and unsure on how things worked for unicorns...

Unicorns. Laya looked back to Telanis thoughtfully. She was in love with a horse.

No, he wasn't a horse. He was pure magic. She thought, maybe, he could be whatever he wanted to be. Then again, she could be wrong.

"Telanis," Laya took his hand. "It will be okay. We will figure out something."