More Offensives (Afina and Jaela; 84 days left)

[Ebiris]

"Yes, according to Apasa he's preparing the ritual of the Nine-Fold Soul in Deephome involving the sacrifice of 900 people to make him far stronger, it's scheduled for three days away. Possibly two, Apasa was unconscious a while and he might not have realised how much time's passed him by," Afina supplies some information.

[Corwin]

"And hey, are you alright?" Jaela asks Balyss. "Can your body handle all this channeling?"

[Anastasia]

"I'll be fine," Balyss says, "Let me....guh..."

> roll 1d20+3 con check, no gear on
<Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20+3 con check, no gear on --> [ 1d20=15 ]{18}

Balyss shudders, gasps and falls back onto the bed.

[Corwin]

"No, seriously, don't lie--" Grimacing, Jaela asks Stille, "How is she, really?" She doesn't often put faith in vague prophecies but it is a bit too convenient that she's told one fairly shortly before this.

[Ebiris]

"I don't think it's fine," Afina says, wincing and flying a bit closer. "Please, forget I asked. This is simple enough, you should put it from your mind and focus on resting."

[Anastasia]

"Drained and overdrawn," Stille says as Balyss doesn't reply. He checks on her, feeling her pulse on her neck. "She's channeling forces she's not meant to, not as a partial mortal yet. She needs to rest, but won't stop."

Balyss manages a weak laugh, barely a sound. "Selune's will is more important. Lifasa's more important." Slowly she opens her eyes, "Have...have to earn that title of Lunatic, anyway. Quinn, right?"

[Ebiris]

"No, save your strength. There'll be more important missions in the future where we'll need your counsel, I was only being too cautious in bothering you. It's fine Balyss, rest," Afina encourages, reaching forward to pat Balyss's head and giving her a slight smile, "Eat a hearty meal or two as well. We'll leave you alone now," she says, fluttering up and towards the door.

[Anastasia]

"No, I can..." Baylss tries to rise, but falls back hard. After a moment and a groan, "Go eat a big steak," she half laughs, half groans. "It might finally put some meat on your bones, Afina."

[Ebiris]

"I'll do that before we set out, promise!" Afina waves, beating a hasty retreat before Balyss forces herself to channel any insights at the cost of her body.

Wait, she doesn't eat meat.

Oh well, it's all magically conjured by the mess hall, it's not as if she's actually killing something for it. What's the worst that could happen?

[Corwin]

"You're forbidden from channeling for as long as necessary, with Stille being the one to decide what is necessary," Jaela tells Balyss. "Afina's right, we'll definitely need you at top condition for the final battle."

If she can't be reasoned with normally, this might well do the trick. Nodding at both siblings, Jaela follows Afina to the mess hall.

[Anastasia]

As you go out, "Thanks," Elena pops in once the door's close. "I'm having Vul'lath do some research on this, and it points to this being really dangerous if Balyss doesn't give herself time to recover."

[Corwin]

"I foolishly assumed she'd actually tell us if there was a problem," Jaela mutters. "Well, keep an eye on her as well, alright?"

[Ebiris]

"Make sure no one else disturbs her then," Afina says to Elena. "She's too helpful for her own good."

Maybe there's a health spa they can send her to or something?

[Anastasia]

Elena inclines her head slightly, "I'll look into it. Good luck with Quinn."

From there it's Afina's greatest enemy. It sits in the mess hall, unconcerned of her coming attack. It is a big, thick, juicy steak.

[Ebiris]

It's pretty small from Jaela's perspective no doubt, but to Afina it's certainly a large slice of meat! Surrounded by healthy greens and slathered in some sort of peppery sauce. It's okay though, she's seen people do things like this before, it's fine. Stabbing her fork into it, she saws her knife back and forth a few times to carve off a bite-sized chunk which she holds up to get a sniff of.

Eurgh, her stomach just moved. It clearly knows something it has no experience in dealing with is on the way.

Taking a deep breath she pops it into her mouth and chews.

And chews some more. And a bit more.

Then swallows!

Her eyes widen and her wings beat futilely behind her despite her bum remaining firmly affixed to her chair. Fortunately she no longer needs to breathe but it's still alarming and she thumps a tiny fist against her chest several times before the half masticated chunk of meat goes down the rest of the way.

Then, grimly, she sets about cutting off another chunk. It's going to be a long meal.