Knights' Roleplay - A New Day

[KitClairvoyance]

"How may I help you, Sir?"

There was something in the healer's voice that made her come across as slightly too friendly to Kit. The fact that the healer's cheeks had taken on a tinge of pink really didn't help Kit feel at ease around her. His eyes darted around the room uncertainly, trying to avoid looking the healer in her eyes. His eyes found Ikkin still standing at the entrance of the infirmary, looking rather agitated. Kit again quickly shifted his gaze towards an arbitrary point between him and the ceiling, what is it with females? He had long resigned himself to the fact that he'd never be able to comprehend those of that gender. They were too unpredictable, too confusing. Even the mysteries of the future paled in comparison to the mind of a female. At least tarot could help him with the former.

The healer coughed politely and repeated her question.

Kit could have sworn he had heard her stifle a giggle at his confusion. He glanced at her quickly, careful not to let his gaze linger on her for too long when he noticed Shade sitting cross-legged on her bed, facing him and the healer, a grin on her face. Kit wished he had some form of footwear to throw at Shade. The least she could do is help him, not derive some form of twisted entertainment from his predicament! He made a mental note to get back at Shade for this.

Again, the healer repeated her question a third time, her voice slightly louder this time, as if trying to snap him out of a daydream.

Kit was positive that this time she had giggled. What was going on in her mind was beyond Kit, he wasn't even sure he wanted to know. You can help me by leaving me alone! How Kit wished he could have said that there and then! Still, enough sense remained in him to realise that if he spurned her now, he could be stuck in the infirmary for a long, long time. Stuck in the infirmary for a long, long time with that healer for that matter. And this time Shade wouldn't be around to keep him company.

Kit shuddered at the thought. Never in the nine hells had Kit been faced with such terror as the prospect of being stuck together in the infirmary with the healer.. alone. He'd rather spend the day playing poker with Marbas.

For a moment he wondered if he should play deaf and dumb. Then he reconsidered the thought quickly, he didn't want the healer to be jumping to her own conclusions as to what he needed. He didn't even want to know what those conclusions would be!

Where on earth was Maya when he needed her?

"You wouldn't happen to have some form of a healing potion on hand would you? I'd like to get out of here as soon as possible."

He mentally added, "preferably now!"

[Deleted]

Esmerta had to repeat her question question two more times, unable to help but giggling a bit with each, before the Knight had finally answered her and requested simply a healing potion.

"Oh, oh, yes, of course," Esmerta stuttered, drawing her mind back to the task at hand. She rubbed her hands nervously over one another as she remained standing beside the Knight, not quite certain what she was to do now. She blinked absently, and said, "Oh, of course, the potion." She blushed sheepishly as she turned away and began walking towards the potions across the room.

On her way, she noticed that the first Knight had sat up to watch her tend to the second, and a third Knight-- who didn't appear much older than herself, but perhaps the same age --was looking at her with a glint of disdain in her eyes and her lips pursed together angrily. Esmerta turned her eyes away quickly, noticing the King still standing pleasantly out of the way, and took to her potions.

Hands shaking, she grabbed another pewter goblet, one that looked as if it would fit nicely in the Knight's hand, and set it on her worktable. She pulled the cork from the potion bottle and began filling it with an anxious tremble in her grip. When she was finished, she recorked the bottle, thinking briefly at least another glass-full remained in it, and and hurried back to the night awaiting her.

"Here you go, Sir," she said quietly, holding out the goblet to him, a small sparkle in her eyes.

[Dice]

Pyro groaned, muttered something unintelligible, and brushed the back of her hand across her eyes before fulling opening them and looking around. She'd had a strange dream the night before, a dream of shadows and panic and fighting, but it had dissipated as the early morning birdsong filtered through her window. The sunlight streaming through into her small room lit up the area and made it bright and cheery, sending vigor into her veins.

Resisting the urge to whistle and definitely resisting the urge to break into song (she liked Castle Dunburrow's windows intact, thank you very much), the Black Knight clasped her sword and sheath to their familiar place at her hip before heading down the stairs to breakfast. Upon approaching, she could hear familiar voices, and she quickened her pace.

[zarikrahia]

Zari saw Pyro walk down the stairs and waved cheerfully. This was the best she'd felt for months. Good enough to be cheerful, after the knights events. Pyro, Tamia, and Kat all knew she was a Fae. if they wanted tpo blurt it out, it was fine by her. If no-one did, she'd get one of her creations- The people and animals she had found were created and influenced easily- to plant a rumour. That was easier than admitting she had hidden her species, rank, and true nature right from the moment she had arrived in the Castle.
Much much easier.

And all this ran through Zari's mind in the space it takes to smile and wave.

[Dice]

Pyro saw Zari waving and walked over to the Knight with a small smile.

"And how fare you, my lady, on this fair morn?" The Black Knight asked cheerfully. "Are you to breakfast?"

[Kat]

"Greetings, Lady Pyro," greeted Kat with a little cheery wave. She had gotten up to follow Zari into the dining hall. "Come and join us for breakfast if you haven't eaten yet. Knights shouldn't starve themselves." She shrugged. "At least, I think so. Then maybe we can return to the infirmary and see what we can do to help our fellow knights recover."

[zarikrahia]

'Yes, I am going to breakfast. Food is good. I'm anrexic enough as is. I could eat my dragon as an entree.' Zari joked 'I'm not sure what I could do for any injuredZaha to sit on 'em. Se has healing vibes, I swear.' Zari made a face, then Zaha looked happily up at Pyro and Kat and commented 'Hello, humans. Why do your race like coffee? It tastes funny.'

[KitClairvoyance]

As the healer left to get the healing potion, Kit realised that he had completely forgotten to acknowledge Ikkin's apology for Sev's reluctance to heal him. He mentally scolded himself, it wouldn't do for him to appear to be ignoring Ikkin; after all, she was waiting for him to be healed instead of joining the other knights for breakfast.. even if she did appear to be a little prickly this morning.

"Sorry about not replying to you earlier, it's just that that healer unnerves me. And some people weren't doing much to help." He stopped and shot a glance at Shade before continuing, "and it's fine really, I can pretty much understand how annoyingly stubborn companions can be at times." Right, Maya? He took care to keep his voice relatively low, not wanting the healer to pick up on what he said. The last thing he wanted was to have her slip some sort of sedative into the potion that would knock him out for days. The prospect of being in the infirmary for days was bad enough; to be in here for days while unconscious was terrifying.

"Here you go, Sir,"

Kit looked back to see the healer standing a little too close to him for comfort, a pewter goblet in her hands. Her eyes seemed happy enough to be left on him, a fact that disturbed Kit. He made many mental notes to not allow himself to get injured too badly again, especially if this healer was going to be here for a long time.

"Thanks," Kit said as he took the goblet from the healer's hands. If he had been looking at the healer, he would have noticed that the tinge of pink on her cheeks only got brighter as his hands touched hers as they took the goblet. Now, if Kit had known a little bit more about chemistry and potion lore, or if the healer had been concentrating on what she was doing rather than being concerned about what kind of goblet she should give to Kit, they'd have realised immediately that the tin in pewter reacted badly with healing potions ( which is why most healing potions are taken straight from the flask ), causing the potion to turn rancid and while it still retained its healing properties, it would give the drinker an upset stomach for a while.

Unfortunately for Kit though, the healer was too busy blushing to realise her mistake, and he had always failed at chemistry anyway.

He downed the potion in one shot, a bad idea since if he had taken it slowly he would have tasted something amiss and wouldn't have to suffer a goblet full of the stuff, and nearly choked to death on it. He gagged at the taste of the potion, his throat refusing to take it down, whereas he couldn't spit it all out ( it wouldn't do for him to do such a thing in front of three females ). For an agonizing three or so minutes, he forced his throat to down the mixture, only to have his stomach tense in protest, trying to force the foul liquid up back where it came from. Again, Kit forced his stomach to accept the potion ( if spitting out potion was bad, vomiting it out was out of the question ), which it did reluctantly and went on to hurt badly as it absorbed the potion.

"What was that?!"

The last time Kit took healing potion, he could have sworn it tasted like raspberries. This one tasted like demon brew. Heck, even demon brew wasn't as bad as this. Still, he could feel the wound closing up rapidly as the potion rebuilt the tissues on his arm. At least it worked. He handed the empty goblet back to the healer,

"Thanks again."

He tried to give her a reassuring smile, but the fact that his stomach now felt like it had acid poured all over it didn't help much. All Kit wanted to do now was to curl up on a foetal position and slowly moan in pain, but again the presence of the females did not allow for him to do so. Instead, he regained his composure and tried getting out of the infirmary bed, only to find that his stomach rejected any notion of movement and started to twist horribly. He'd have asked for another potion to cure the stomachache, but after what had happened, he decided not to risk it. Instead, he steeled himself and prepared himself for a long day.

[Ikkin]

"What was that?!" Kit said, clearly finding the healing potion unpleasant. Ikkin felt a twinge of guilt. If she could have convinced Sev to heal him... but, it was too late now.

In any case, it didn't look like Kit was going to be able to get up in time for breakfast. This made her rather sad; she had wanted to go down with him. The fact that it was that healer who had made him ill upset her further. She wanted him all to herself, didn't she?

Wait, what was she thinking? What was important now was that she helped Kit in whatever way she could. "Is there anything I could do for you, or..." she asked, worry evident in her voice.

[Shadaras]

"Sorry about not replying to you earlier, it's just that that healer unnerves me. And some people weren't doing much to help." Kit stopped and glared at Shade before continuing, "and it's fine really, I can pretty much understand how annoyingly stubborn companions can be at times."

“What? How am I not helping? I’m just sitting here, after all,” Shade said. “If that bothers you, I’ll leave.” But the healer came back with another goblet before Kit could answer. Kit took the goblet with a word of thanks, swallowing all of it at once.

It seemed to not taste good, as Kit gagged. “What did you put in that?” Shade asked the healer, who seemed as surprised as she was. Kit eventually forced the potion down, saying "What was that?!" as he handed the goblet back to the healer.

Shade got off the bed. “I guess I’ll go down to breakfast now,” she said, beginning to walk to the door.

[Kat]

'Hello, humans. Why do your race like coffee? It tastes funny.'

Kat grinned. "I don't like plain or black coffee. I like it sweetened and adorned with all sorts of things like cream. But hey, it wakes us up and gives us a nice jolt, but too much of it can be really bad for you. C'mon, I see the dining hall now." She pointed towards the double doors on one side of the corridor.

The two doors parted and revealed a redheaded maid, who curtsied repeatedly in the doorway.

"Ladies, breakfast is ready," she announced. "Please, if it's not too much trouble, it would be nice if you could invite the rest for the meal."

"Liarre, the rest of the knights are still recovering," said Kat calmly. "You know that."

"But don't tell me all of them are hurt!" the maid panicked. "What can I do? Shall I write to your fief and have them deliver the rest of your magic book collection? Perhaps gather some herbs - "

"That will be all, Lia," replied the Purple Knight, holding up a hand. "We'll just eat, that's all, and the rest will follow. Don't worry so much."

"Yes, my lady." And with that, Liarre stepped aside to allow the knights to enter the dining hall.

[zarikrahia]

Zaha purred. 'I like cream. Zari doesn't like mild so I get it all. Coffee is just one of these humanoid things I do not get. Note I say humanoid here.' she said, glancing at Zari, who was stretching, her wings in full view. 'Like saucepans.' Zaha added as an afterthought. Zaha laughed. 'Zaha doesn't understand collars or catfood or flea powder either.'

[KitClairvoyance]

If Kit could have chosen a moment to die, he'd probably have chosen that very moment when his stomach made it apparent that it wasn't going to forgive him for downing that entire goblet of healing potion. If it could even be called a healing potion. The sensation he felt in his stomach reminded him of the time when he had accidentally mixed up the juice of a deadly nightshade and grape juice. After that incident, he had made many mental notes not to put any consumables anywhere near his stock of ritual ingredients. After this incident, he reminded himself to never trust the infirmary's healer ever again. Why can't they just use healing magic like other healers? Then again, if this healer could botch up a simple healing potion, perhaps it was best that she couldn't use magic.

Again Kit tried to get out of the infirmary bed, this time with a little more success. He made it onto his feet before his stomach decided to shred itself, sending Kit back onto the bed clutching his stomach. He tried his best not to show too much agony, the last thing he needed was word to get out that he, Kit, had been bested by a stomachache induced by a healing potion. His third attempt at getting out of the bed proved the most successful of the lot. After the initial lurch of pain, he found that he could stand on both his feet without having the urge to keel over and start writhing on the floor in pain.

That was the easy part, now came walking.

"Is there anything I could do for you, or..."

Before Kit attempted at making his first step, Ikkin stepped towards him and offered her help. It was a kind offer from the Blue knight, and the slight quiver in her voice betrayed the worry that obviously filled her. Kit considered the offer for a moment, it went against his character to accept help so freely. It was something Kristen had instilled in him ever since she had taken him in. Dependence on the help of others was a weakness, and only in the most dire circumstances should help even be considered. His thoughts slowly trailed off to his old mentor, and the way she found true independence in the way she lived.

Again, he was reminded of the goal he had been trying so hard to achieve. The flawless perfection that Kristen had attained through a lifetime of training and mental conditioning. The way she invoked fear in her enemies just by the way she looked at them, her eyes revealing no emotion as she faced impossible odds, not a single flicker of fear as she met army after army.. and perhaps the most intimidating was the way she would walk out of a battle, victorious yet devoid of any feeling of triumph. The woman whose heart was colder than a blade forged of ice. The one goal that Kit had been pursuing ever since he had gazed into those intense teal eyes.

Kit's gaze fell to the floor. He couldn't let this minor inconvenience stop him from reaching that goal. Perhaps he would ask Lady Tamia later if she could prepare some form of herbal medicine for him, he had more faith in the young knight's talents than in the healer's, but the pain was something he had to deal with himself for now. Until he got a cure for it, he wouldn't let anyone else carry the burden for him.

Kristen wouldn't have had it any other way.

Neither would Kristen have forgiven him if he did otherwise.

"Thanks, but I'll be fine." Kit gave Ikkin a quick smile before making his way painfully towards the exit of the infirmary. Each step sending a jolt of pain through him.

He'd get to breakfast even if it killed him.

[Ikkin]

Ikkin felt awful just watching as Kit attempted to pull himself out of the bed, falling back clutching his stomach the first time, then somehow making it to his feet. She wasn't sure what was wrong with the potion, but she did know that, for whatever reason, it had put Kit under excruciating pain. And she couldn't do anything to help unless he accepted it...

He seemed to pause before responding to her offer to help him. She had no idea what went through his mind, just that he dropped his gaze to the floor as if chastised by an invisible teacher, then rejected her offer. "Thanks, but I'll be fine." He gave her a quick smile and walked towards the exit slowly, leaving her behind.

Why wouldn't he let her help him? she thought, following behind him. "I hope you don't mind if I walk with you, at least," she said, hoping that he wouldn't think that she was trying to help and reject that, as well. "And not because I think you need help. Just because I want to get to know you better."

Like why you are so dead set against letting anyone else do anything for you, she added silently.

[Deleted]

Wolf watched with mild amusement as Esmerta gave the healing potion to Kit, who instantly started hacking and convulsing. Esmerta stumbled backwards, hearing Shade inquire angrilly if she had put anything in it, and she ran back to Wolf with a worried expression upon her face.

"Oh, your Majesty, I didn't put anything in it, I swear!" Wolf glanced at kit, who seemed to be recovering, and then back at Esmerta. Her face was ridden with worry and distraught.

"I believe you," Wolf said. "Perhaps...?" He left the word hanging.

Esmerta turned back to face Kit. "Perhaps he is allergic to it, or perhaps he swallowed too quickly... I haven't been here very long, honestly, but I did exactly as I was instructed to..."

"Perhaps you could assistance him some more to ensure he's alright?"

Esmerta lowered her head solemnly. "I don't think that Knight would want any more of my assistance; he seems rather to dislike me..."

Wolf nodded. It did sometimes appear to take the Grey Knight some time to get acquainted with people. He turned back to Esmerta, "Sir Kit seems to be recovering, so perhaps you should go and have some rest."

"Thank you, your Majesty," Esmerta said quietly before bowing yet again and walking back towards her quarters, tears swelling in her eyes.

Wolf stepped forward to ask Kit how he was faring, though as he did so, the Knights all seemed to filter out of the infirmary before him and he was left alone. He shook his head, sighing, not feeling wholly as confident in his kingship as he should have, and started walking towards the Great Hall.

Breakfast was nearing, if not already served, and he had to announce the prospective council. A ceremony of appointment wouldn't be held until later that afternoon, yet he had to announce the council at breakfast nonetheless. He had spent all morning considering the Knights he might choose, and the decision had been long and taxing. Nevertheless, he had narrowed it down to only a small handful of Knights he believed would rightly serve their country.