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Post by ParamountKeymaster on May 27, 2017 17:32:52 GMT -5
In the calm of the early morning, the Summer Snow apartment was dead silent.
Darien stepped out of his bedroom and stretched, staring at the door to Evan's room. He didn't even want to imagine what was going on in there. The poor bloke had been in such a sorry state yesterday that one had to ask just how much more spiderlike he was today. He had been told that Patrick and Swift had left last night in search of a cure. How that had turned out remained to be seen.
He stepped into the kitchen, unsurprisingly finding Jen already awake and seated at the table, head in her hand and a cup of coffee next to her. "Morning."
"Morning..." Jen sighed, weary and uneasy. "How'd you sleep?"
"Well enough, I guess." Darien shrugged, then shot her a sad look. "You not so much, I'm guessing?"
"No... Not really."
Darien sat down next to her and placed his hand on top of hers. They both knew full well what was on Jen's mind. It didn't need explained. "Patrick and Swift haven't returned yet, I'm guessing?"
"Not that I'm aware of," Jen murmured, pausing to sip her coffee. "I just don't understand what's taking them so long."
"Yeah, it is weird that Swift would willingly remain in close proximity with Rainflower for an entire night."
"I guess... maybe Rainflower's just making the cure fresh? That's the best guess I have. I-I'm just... worried about what kind of effects this'll have on Evan."
"Well... whatever the case, I'm sure they're fine." He warmly looked Jen in the eye. "Knowing Swift, she'll go to the ends of the island to turn him back to normal."
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on May 27, 2017 17:43:34 GMT -5
Soon enough, Ace walked out of her room, still dressed in the flannel pants and Skillet tee-shirt she wore to bed, looking only half awake. She waved to the duo at the table, looking around the apartment all the while. "Hey... No sign of Pat, I take it."
The door to Andromeda and Aether's room subsequently opened, the alien girls stepping out and joining their roommates. Having heard Ace's inquiry, Aether stated, "Yes, it... is strange that he and Swift haven't returned. You... did say they were going to speak to Rainflower, right, Jen?"
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on May 27, 2017 17:52:36 GMT -5
"Yeah..." Jen breathed, tapping her mug with her thumb. "I'm not sure why they haven't come back yet. I guess... best case scenario is that Rainflower is brewing a cure for them. I'm not sure what else would force them to stay down there for an entire night."
"Aside from... you know, all the weird things that live in those caverns," Darien muttered.
"Truth be told, that's not what I was afraid of..."
Right about that time, following a telltale shimmer of purple light in the living room, a portal briefly opened and Patrick and Swift appeared. Everyone's attention turned to them as relief quickly swept over the room. Carter looked up in surprise, having been asleep on the couch and promptly roused by their arrival.
He was the first to notice the bottles in Swift's hands.
"Oh s***."
"Hey, gang!" Patrick chimed, yawning shortly thereafter as he patted Carter on the head. "Sorry we took so long. Ran into a bit of a roadblock."
"I'll say..." Jen replied. "So... you have a cure then??"
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on May 27, 2017 18:05:07 GMT -5
"Yeah, but... here's the problem..." Swift sighed as she walked over to the rest of the group and showed them the four bottles. "Rainflower pulled these out saying that one of them is the cure. Then they took off without telling us which one it is. We waited for 'em all night, but they never came back."
"So you're gonna make Evan guess which potion is the cure??" Ace concluded incredulously. "Are you sure that's a good idea? We're talking about the same potion maker who turned the city into a swarm of hyperactive butterflies!"
"If I had any other options, I would take them! Trust me!" Swift snapped. "But according to Rainflower, this disease is only curable for a short amount of time, and I didn't wanna risk waiting any longer lest Evan be stuck in spider form for the rest of his life. What matters is that we have the cure."
"We're just... running the risk of Evan undergoing more changes before he takes said cure." Aether awkwardly stared up at Andromeda, who shrugged in return. Then she asked, "So Rainflower just... up and left you with no explanation?"
"Yeah. Ran off to do some other business and never came back. I even searched the entire cavern and couldn't find them."
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on May 27, 2017 18:43:04 GMT -5
"Why does that not surprise me?" Darien sighed. "Nothing is ever that easy, is it?"
"Swift..." Jen shot the hanyo an anxious look. "Do we really wanna put Evan through this? I want him back to normal as much as you do, but to potentially turn him into something even stranger than what he already is? Don't you think that's kind of risky?"
"Hey, I already talked it over with her and she's dead set on this plan," Patrick responded. "Unless we find Rainflower in a short amount of time, what else are we gonna do? Whenever they show up again, they should be able to fix anything those other potions do to him. Oh, and Van just thought of this! Even though he couldn't change Evan back to normal before, he should be able to use a transmutation spell on him once his phobiosis is cured!"
"I... guess that's true," Jen mumbled. She was still uncomfortable with the idea of giving Evan any kind of unidentified potion, but ultimately she conceded that it was their best bet. "As long as you're absolutely certain that one of those can cure Evan's... wait, what did you call it??"
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on May 27, 2017 18:52:04 GMT -5
Swift groaned slightly and peeked down the hall. She had waited all night. She couldn't stand waiting any longer. "Pat, do you think you can explain? I'd like to get to work on Evan ASAP."
"Yeah, you go right ahead. He's had his eight hours," Ace insisted. "I'm sure he'll be happy to see ya."
"Hope so..." With the potions in hand, Swift headed towards her and Evan's room, stopping halfway and turning back around. "Oh, uh... If you guys don't mind, could you give us some privacy for this? I think he'd appreciate having less people staring at him if he... happens to turn into something strange."
"That's... fair enough, I suppose," Aether hesitantly agreed despite the prospect making her and Andromeda profoundly nervous.
"Great. So no matter what kind of noise you hear in here, just leave it alone unless you hear a direct call for help." After shooting the group a thumbs up, Swift continued down the hall, softly knocked on the door and poked her head inside.
"Hey Evaaaaan... Good morning! Guess what I got!"
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on May 27, 2017 19:02:36 GMT -5
"Hmmmmm...?" Evan was still asleep when Swift entered the room, slowly waking up and once again finding himself in a state of pain and misery. It took his eight eyes a moment to adjust to the light, but once they had, he steadily forced himself to sit up, propping himself up with two arms, rubbing his face with one, and pushing the covers down to his waist with another.
Surprisingly, he had undergone very few changes overnight this time around. The only significant differences were that his hair –head, facial and body– was slightly longer and fuller and his fangs were protruding out of his mouth. After taking a mental note of this, as well as a moment to blow his nose, Evan looked up at Swift, blinking innocently, a gesture that might've been sweet if not for the extra eyes.
His attention turned to the bottles in her hands, immediately stirring up a bad feeling in his gut. He had guessed it would happen eventually, but... why did she have four of them?? "Did... you... go to Rainflower?"
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on May 27, 2017 19:10:47 GMT -5
"Yeah... about that... here's the thing..." Swift awkwardly murmured as she kicked the door shut, then took a seat next to the bed and set the vials and their corresponding labels down on his night stand.
"As luck would have it, Rainflower knew exactly what we're dealing with. It's called... phobiosis... I guess. Whatever. Point is, they had a cure! Unfortunately... they... pulled out these four potions, told me only one of them is the actual cure, then ran off for God knows whatever reason. I have... NO IDEA what the other three do. Pat and I tried waiting on them, but they were gone all night, and they also said that if this isn't treated soon, the... effects will very likely become permanent. I-I didn't wanna risk that, so..."
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on May 27, 2017 19:17:23 GMT -5
"So we're leaving this to chance, aren't we?" Evan muttered, staring at the vials of identical orange fluid in utter dismay. He took a good look at his arms, equally mortified by the idea of this becoming untreatable. A rock and a hard place was a tame description of how he felt about his options. "Swift, as much as I wanna get back to normal, I don't know how comfortable I am with the prospect of potion roulette, especially knowing what Rainflower is capable of."
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on May 27, 2017 19:22:30 GMT -5
"I know, Evan, I know..." Swift mumbled, head low and ears flat. "I hate subjecting you to this, I really do. But like I said, if you're not cured soon, we might not be able to fix this at all. We've put up with Rainflower changing us into all kinds of weird things. I think I'd rather take that chance and endure a few more transformations, knowing they can more easily be fixed, than force you to be stuck as a half-spider forever."
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on May 27, 2017 19:44:42 GMT -5
Evan frowned and continued to stare at his six spidery arms. The idea of willingly drinking a Rainflower potion sounded horrid, but the idea of maintaining the traits of such a revolting creature for the rest of his life sounded that much worse. "Yeah, okay... can't argue with that."
This was not what he wanted to wake up to...
Having resigned himself to his fate, Evan looked over the potions and the descriptions Swift had written for each one. He had to choose carefully if he wanted to drink as few of these as possible. Which one seemed most likely to have medicinal effects? Or at the very least, which one sounded the least likely to turn him into a cat-spider hybrid?
Well, he had to start somewhere, so he tentatively selected the peppermint and basil scented potion, pulled the stopper out and gave it a quick sniff, his face reflexively scrunching up with dread. Sure, his sense of smell was still significantly dulled, but the scent was strong enough to make him cringe on top of his fear of what would happen to him. "Well... bottoms up." He then tilted his head back and guzzled the liquid in one go.
Immediately, Evan was struck with a wicked head rush. Not a painful one, but definitely disorienting enough to make the room spin for a good ten seconds. He covered his face with his upper hands while gripping the bed with the other four in an effort to steady himself, moaning dizzily until everything finally calmed down. Once it did, he looked up again and went rigid, as if waiting for something more to happen. But nothing did.
"Huh..." Loosening up slightly, Evan took a look at himself. The hair, arms, fangs and eyes were still there, so obviously that wasn't the right potion. All that was left to figure out was what that specific potion did to him. "I, uh... I don't feel any different. Do I look different to you?"
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on May 27, 2017 19:52:04 GMT -5
"Um... no, I can't see any changes," Swift replied, examining Evan with a tilted head and slight uncertainty. "Guess this is one of their subtler potions. M-Maybe it's a mental thing? I mean, you kinda looked like you had a headache for a moment there."
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on May 27, 2017 19:59:20 GMT -5
"Yeah, everything went all loopy for a moment there..." Evan wearily stated, rubbing his head. "I-I feel okay now. I just... I don't know. Everything feels white now. Smells white too. White and... kinda smooth. Like eerily smooth."
He blinked in surprise at his own choice of words. "Wait, what the heck am I talking about?!"
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on May 27, 2017 20:04:38 GMT -5
"You... just... described tactile sensations and smells with colors and textures." Now Swift was fascinated. "Hm... Be honest with me. What do I smell like? What does my voice sound like?"
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on May 27, 2017 20:11:07 GMT -5
Evan sighed and closed his eyes. He couldn't believe he was doing this. "My nose is still kinda backed up, Swift, but... SNFF... you smell... warm... and pink. With weaves of crisp brown. And your voice is like... orange and yellow. Sunset colors, gently ebbing and flowing with the occasional break, like a wave hitting rocks."
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