Quiet Daeusites
Rain patters on the roof of the Soldier's Defense this morning, a quiet susurrus that joins in harmony with Dolan's light snores. He has not responded to anyone or anything since Marsward flung him into Magpie and into the wall, and he struck his head hard enough that the healers have feared a head injury. Bruises and bumps, mostly, but combine that with the massive headache he'd come in with, and he might be expected to be quite unhappy. Somewhere last evening, though, the absolute silence from the cot shifted into light breathing that would suggest normal sleep, but he didn't rouse from that either.
Until now.
Now, he stirs in the cot and blinks his lone eye open, staring for a moment at the light stone walls.
Andelena's by Dolan's side, of course, although she's fidgeting with something in her hands--Dolan's silver holy symbol, retrieved in the melee and aftermath of Marsward in this place of healing--as Dolan awakens. It's a moment later when she turns her steel-gray eyes back to Dolan and she, herself, blinks--and then a wide, wide smile blooms onto her face. "Hey baby," she says gently and softly, leaning over to kiss him on the forehead. "You've been out for a while."
"Where -" Dolan's lone eye immediately turns towards her, along with the rest of his head, and he smiles crookedly up at her, clearly fully alert, and even - relaxed. "I'm not at home," he states, as if it is obvious fact. "What happened?"
"Tanith appeared and chased that asshole Marsward off," Andelena says as she reaches out with her hand to gently stroke Dolan's hair, still leaning over him. "He threw you at Magpie into the wall. Fucker."
She sighs deeply, but the sound is followed by relief in her steel-grey eyes. "I got N'thain into the hands of the healers. He's safe from Marsward. I think Marsward tried to make him turn into a werewolf with a look--but when Tanith distracted him, N'thain seemed to stop shifting. That's... fucking disturbing. That he can force someone to shift forms like that if they've been infected."
It takes Dolan a minute to register what is being said. "Fuck. Marsward Seraquoix." He sits bolt upright, despite the calming strokes, looking around, the blanket falling away from him. Now he remembers. The quick move doesn't seem to bother him at all, and he turns back towards Andelena. "I need to warn Tel and Lana. If Tanith showed up - where'd Tanith come from? I guess she left." He's talking fairly fast. "That asshole needs to be shut down. That's the one that turned Zalgiman. I need to talk to the man we rescued, as soon as he's up for it. You say he's still in the Defense?"
Andelena leans back up as Dolan bolts upright, her hand going to rest now in Dolan's lap. She nods gently at the question. "Still here," she says. "Poor guy begged me not to leave him. My guess is that Marsward's trying to fill a Zalgiman-shaped hole with someone, and that someone could be anyone or anything."
She looks at Dolan for a moment. "We can have a message sent to them," she says. "I don't know if I want to leave the Defense at the moment until you and I can get a chance to talk to N'thain ourselves. Not to mention--you took a brutal hit to the head, Bry."
"Did I?" Dolan raises a hand to his own head, running it through his hair gently. It's easy to tell when he finds the point of impact, because he winces visibly, baring his teeth in a grimace. "Shit. Ow. Then why does my head hurt less than I remember it hurting when Seraquoix showed up?" He's still very gently feeling the area, grimacing, and after a moment lies back down, more carefully. "I feel like I've had the best night's sleep I've had in years."
"Yeah, you're probably right. We need to put a Seraquoix-shaped hole in the ranks of the living, that's what we need. That man is an unutterable bastard, and he's evil enough to make me sick to my stomach. Same one who was watching us exorcise that kid and his mother."
"We both called on the Knight," Andelena says softly with a smile, her hand going up to pet at Dolan's arm in a reassuring gesture. "Pretty sure that's why Tanith appeared. Wouldn't be surprised if that had something to do with your recovery, although I did personally participate in getting you assessed, healed, and back into bed."
Then her gaze turns steel again. "I agree. Rat bastard. If he's willing to see a child possessed by a fiend--then he's morally fucking abhorrent. Not surprised considering he's one of the Hound's."
Dolan blinks one-eyed at the ceiling for a moment, pieces beginning to reassemble themselves in his mind. Moving had also been something of a mistake, although not a terrible one. "Thank you, baby. You, me, and the Knight. We all work together. What about - N'thain? Was that his name? How's he?" He notably has not yet asked for his artificial eye. "And can you send a message to Tel, that I said Marsward Seraquoix is in town, that silver works, and I'll come see them soon?"
There comes the gentle refrain again. "You, me, and the Knight, baby. N'thain's stable, but I haven't been able to get in to look at him yet. Honestly--my focus was primarily on you after the healers took him in." Andelena smiles fondly, going to put her hand back into Dolan's hair. She strokes it gently. "I'll get that message to Telamon and his wife. We'll sure as shit want Tel to know, at least."
"Let Tel know, and Lana will know." Dolan turns his head towards Andelena again, smiling affectionately and crookedly up at her at the hand in his hair. One of his favorite things really. "I think I've had enough sleep for now, and I don't hurt too badly, thank the Knight for small blessings. If Seraquoix is tied up with the shadow demons, and he might be -" The smile fades. "Baby, we should take a trip to Selentia too, and see if we can find out about that maid of Lady Derwes' that was murdered. That's probably the work of a demon, from the sound of it, and maybe it'll lead us back to Jal'goroth's cult."
That smile on Dolan's face means that Andelena's smile stays all the longer, still brushing his hair softly. But then the trip to Selentia is suggested, and Andelena nods, soberly, looking away for a moment.
"That bitch still has Seb, too," she mutters darkly. "My mother. She's still got him. We need to root out that Lady Derwes."
She sighs heavily, her hand going to rest in her hair. "I'm... I'm a shitty older sister."
"No, baby. You're saddled with a man who can't keep himself in one piece for ten minutes at a stretch." Again, the crooked smile, this one much softer and quieter, but it fades, and he sits up again, this time more slowly. "Baby. We'll go get Seb. Now. As soon as we can arrange passage. And we'll see what we can learn. Yeah? Let's keep this small, and quiet."
Andelena snorts, just a little, and she leans in, stopping short of Dolan's mouth just by a couple of inches. "That's funny. Pretty sure the man you're talking about is also the love of my godsdamned life and is the sexiest man that ever was put on this plane," she says, before planting an affectionate kiss on his lips.
She pulls back just a little--leaving just enough space for another kiss if Dolan wants it--and nods with a small smile. "I agree," she says. "Small. Quiet. Not that either of us do quiet well, but hey."
The smile blossoms into a grin at the kiss, and Dolan leans forward to take advantage of that opening for another kiss, letting it linger. "If you're quiet, baby, I'm not doing my job," he shoots back when they finally separate, the grin turning wickedly teasing. "For Selentia, though, we'd better be." He sobers, then. "I can probably get away with sniffing around if I tell the local Temple I'm tracking a demon-summoner, but we'd better send word ahead. Think you can go find a healer so we can get out of here?" Aside from the bruises, he does seem in good health and good spirits, and quite focused and functional.
Andelena grins wickedly back at Dolan. "Don't stick it in my ass in Selentia and we won't have a problem, then," she fires back, knowing that'll get him good. "Let me go get a healer, babe--I'll find a piece of paper and something for you to write on if you want to write that message to Telamon and Lana yourself. They take plenty of notes around here."
She leans in and kisses him again--a peck, really--before she gets up, groaning with the motion. Apparently she'd been sitting for a while--likely keeping watch over Dolan as he slept for an extended amount of time. "I'll be back."
Not that long after, she returns with a small journal and a small charcoal pencil. "Not the nicest shit in the world, but it'll do, y'know?" she says, offering them both to Dolan.
Dolan throws back his head with laughter, laughter that follows Andelena out of the room, but when she comes back, he takes the journal and pencil from her, grinning evilly up at her. "Then I'll just have to do it before we go," he shoots back, tone laden with all the affection in the world. He sets about writing a quick, messy note, then tears out the lone page and hands journal and pencil back. The note is offered separately. "Or we could do it right now if you want."
"As tempting as it is, we ought to go home and do it in our own bed. I don't think these beds can handle some of the shit we get up to," Andelena says with a laugh, taking the journal and pencil back from him. "Can you imagine some poor Althean going, 'Those horny fucking Daeusites ruined that cot'? I don't think they'd be impressed if I pointed out the Knight and the Healer are husband and wife and they probably would get up to something similar." After all, one had to explain Eluna and her siblings.
This time, Dolan's laughter is more subdued. "Yeah, you're probably right. It wouldn't be right to scandalize the poor healer, either, and I don't fancy one walking in on us." He scratches at his hairline, carefully. "Of course, our bed isn't in great shape, either -" He trails off, and seems to think of something suddenly.
Andelena briefly dips out of the room to bring the borrowed items back, returning with a little smirk on her face when she notices the thoughtful look on Dolan's face. "I love those little girls, but they've been doing their own numbers on that bed," she says. "Can't help it, of course. They're just cat doing cat things. What're you thinking about?"
"Nothing important, baby." Dolan's a terribad liar, yes he is, and he's grinning up at her when she re-enters the room, but the grin fades after a moment. "What day is it, baby?"
Nothing important, in relation to a bed? A bed that he and Andelena own? Oh yes, he is lying, but that just makes the smirk on Andelena's face all the wider. "Okay," she says, letting him have this one--but telling him in a certain tone of voice that she knows he's up to something. She's no Corona like he is, though, and she won't pry it out of him.
"It's Korday the Fourth," she replies. "You've been out for a day, just about."
"No wonder I feel like I slept myself out. I probably fucking did," Dolan muses, letting the thing about the bed slide. She knows, and he knows she knows - but what exactly the details are will have to wait. They've got a healer to find. "Did you speak to a healer? I'm sure they'll let me out soon."
It is, thankfully, at that moment that a healer steps into the room--a short woman with red hair and brown eyes, the small wrinkles of middle age set into her fair skin. "Dearie me! Upright he is indeed. Let me get a look at you and get you both on your way out of here."
"Thanks, Hearthguard," Andelena replies with a smile. "We'll get out of here in no time."
That's a promise that's delivered on, and the Daeusites make their way home--presumably to see if Dolan's delivering on the other thing that he promised.