Beauty & The Beast

[Carthrat]

"What's going on?" shouts Rick, having also been hurrying up to the screams.

The woman starts to yell, "It's coming, it's coming! The horror!"

She hasn't seen N'Dovu (yet), so she's probably not referring to him. Abruptly, she stops thrashing, and begins to weep.

[Brian]

"She's having a nightmare," N'dovu says as Rick approaches.  "I think it would be perhaps best if she didn't wake up to my face."

[Carthrat]

"Ah, yes, I see," says Rick. "Well, I should-"

The woman abruptly begins to glow- a vibrant purple that strobes the room. It reminds N'Dovu a little of the Vapor Room's strobes.

[Brian]

N'dovu blinks at this, and squints, trying to see if the light illuminates anything out of place.

[Carthrat]

Maybe it's a trick of the light. Maybe it's some latent aura also produced by the woman. But N'Dovu nonetheless sees- with startling clarity- what appears to be another woman however over the one thrashing about. A woman made of purple fire, with incoherent rage across her face. A woman who flickers for a moment, and then is banished from his vision, leaving spots in his sight.

[Brian]

N'dovu frowns, and looks around, trying to see where the vivid spectre went.  If he can't find it, he'll fetch whatever Rick needs to tend to the woman.

[Carthrat]

The apparition is gone, and N'Dovu can't see it anywhere. The glowing of the woman itself, as abruptly as it began, flickers out, leaving only a rapidly breathing body under the covers.

"N'Dovu? Get some water," says Rick, shaking his head. "I don't think we'll be getting any more sleep tonight."

[Brian]

N'dovu grunts, nods, and does as told.

[Carthrat]

When he returns, he finds that Rick has put the girl back into bed, where she's visibly trembling. She seems to have regained herself- a little.

"Did you notice that all of her previous wounds have vanished?" comments Rick, glancing at N'Dovu as he enters. "I can't imagine how... but then again, I've no idea what made her light up like an violet candle."

[Brian]

N'dovu rubs his chin thoughtfully, grimacing at the slight stubble he feels.  "Well," he says after a moment.  "I find it odd, but have never experienced such in my home.  Jessie, perhaps, might understand better.  Come morning, I will ask her.  Until then ... I do not know.  I suppose I will watch."  N'dovu shrugs.  "I cannot fight what I cannot understand."

[Carthrat]

"If we need to fight," notes Rick, cautiously. "This is all very portentious.

I am not sure staying here will be such a good idea, either," he continues. "But I do not know what actions to take.. I suppose-"

"Where am I?" blurts out the woman- she has an Italian accent, very lilting, very light. She sits bolt-upright, staring around wildly.

[Brian]

"Among the Cahuilla," N'dovu responds, glancing at Rick.  "Ma'am ... what is the last thing you remember?"

[Carthrat]

The woman looks at N'Dovu for a moment. "I.. oh gods, burning, I remember burning, and my husband... James, James, is he dead? Did you find him, too?" she asks, panic in her voice.

[Brian]

N'dovu shakes his head.  "I do not know ... but I do not know where you were.  You are now in Arizona.  Not terribly far from Phoenix.  I found you at the bottom of an archeological dig site.  Where did you last see your husband?"

[Carthrat]

"A dig site? There was no dig site when we were exploring the ruins," mumbles the woman. "James, James.. he was with me, in front of this.. altar.."