The hike back from the Bat Cave felt good. Everything was fine, and nothing had gotten too terribly dirty in her absence. The overgrowth had grown over some more and become more dense, but the pathway was still easy to navigate. Chapman walked in through the sliding glass door, that smile on her face the very one that bespoke volumes of her knowledge of life, the universe and everything.
She moved to her room and dropped off the duffel bag she'd been lugging, and decided it was high time for a shower, and then she was going to grab Rad B and Loke to go out for a drink. After that, she'd see what Dina was up to, and then stop by the office.
After she got out of the shower and slipped on some jeans and a shirt, her stomach started growling, and Llidya thought it'd be a good idea to make some food for the pack. Before she could get out of the room, her phone rang. Those Bahamas-clear water blues settled on the caller ID and she smiled when she saw it was Dina.
"'ey kid. How's life?" She moved to the kitchen as she talked, relaxing as she thought about what to make a pack of wolves for dinner. She smelled some new scents in the air, but didn't have faces to go with them. Dina talked in her ear, excited about their new connection, as was Llidya.
She was nodding her head (like Dina could see that over the phone) when Llidya's head jerked to the side, as if she'd been stung by something. A look of surprise and confusion crossed her face before she jerked her head violently again, her body doubling in a cringe. Chapman snapped her hand to the back of her neck and skull, to the origin of the pain, clutching as if she'd been stabbed or shot, which it felt like she had been. She was trying to focus on Dina's word's, but they didn't make sense.
"Dina...Dina I'ma call ya back." She flipped the phone shut, pulled ing her hand from behind her head to see if there was any blood. There was none. She glanced around to see if anything else seemed so abnormal when the pain suddenly returned in full force and an involuntary yelp of pain escaped her before all effort of her lungs went to sucking air into them. The phone clattered to the floor as she fell to her knees, both hands squeezing at the unrelenting stabbing sensation in the back of her skull.
"Owowowowowowow!" It was a new sort of pain, like someone was tring to dig at her brain with a sharp edged spoon. It reached out, coursing through the entirety of her body. All she could do was squeeze her eyes shut, hold her head and lay in a fetal position hoping it would pass before anyone found her. Just go awaygoawaygoaway...
When she could stand again, she would be going straight to the doctor, she promised herself. The flare intensified and this time the wolf let out a howl of fear and confusion at what was going on the with the human counterpart.
It was a volentary punishment she had decreed to herself. Amber eyes flickered behind the black rimmed glasses as she frowned at the spreadsheet in front of her. Two pillows behind her back and two on her lap under the laptop. Comfort was the key after all. After a moment or two of frowning she pulled her glasses off and set them to the side on her bed as she rubbed at the bridge of her nose. Her large savings account was slowly dropping down to a precarious level. She really needed to get the Gallery up and running and get painting more.
Setting the laptop aside she kicked the pillows off her legs and stood moving to the rocking chair in her room and snatching up her house pants. Again, comfort was the key, even if you are in men's boxers and house pants. Fingers looped the strings at her waist as she padded across the room toward the door.
As the door openned she heard the "owowowow" and tilted her head to the stairs heading down them two at time. She was nearly down when the power of Llidya's pain slammed into her. She rarely shielded at the pack house and was completely startled enough to clatter down the last four stairs noisely.
Bare feet moved even as she landed on the bottom floor heading toward the pain. "Llids. you okay?" Hurrying around the doorway and stopped short for a split second seeing her on the floor. She moved too fast to think about it and ended up beside Llidya on the floor catching her face with her hand.
"Llids, talk to me. Tell me what's wrong." Calm, Loke was calm. Wouldn't do anyone any good to panic in this sort of situation.
Some may say that staring at a blank wall was a sure sign of madness, Bianca would probably agree. But in her defense she was positive the wall was actually staring back. Not so much the wall but the house. The Pack House. Since the moment she stepped over the threshold the werewolf felt something she could only describe as a presence. It wasn't a warm and tingly sensation one got whenever they came home. Well, to a loving home that exuded a loving and safe vibe to those who were familiar with it. This was a presence that clearly translated to "I don't really like you." Not that Bianca could blame the house. Even though she wasn't aware of its entire history if her dreams were any indication some shit went down and not all of it was good. For a while she tried to make friends with the place. Not scuffing the floors. Making sure the hinges on the doors were well oiled. The sinks weren't clogged. Still sometimes her door would lock for no apperant reason, and the floor in her room at night became extra squeaky. Even when no one was walking on it.
It was like dealing with an annoying aunt who didn't really want you there because you were a bad seed, but was just too nice to throw you out on your ass all together. Sure Bianca could have just imagined the whole thing, but the creepy vibe was just too obvious for the magically inclined werewolf to ignore.
So Bianca attempted to get inside its head. Her head...his, what ever. Did houses even have a sex? All questions she couldn't wait to have answered (not really) while she focused her will on trying to find and pluck at the strings of awareness the brick and mortar structure around her possessed. What Bianca came across wasn't what she was expecting.
The flash of pain across her brain sent the werewolf tumbling sideways as she blinked in surprise. It was the equivalent of getting smacked in the head with a baseball bat. And Bianca knew how that felt from personal experience. Wincing, she sat up, slowly, rubbing the bridge of her nose as if that would make the lingering effects of the metaphysical slapshot fade away. And it helped, a little.
The lingering effect wasn't so easy to get rid of and that's when Bianca took note that it wasn't focused on her but the thread of pain extended away from her and down the hallway. Frowning, she slowly rose to her feet and padded barefoot down the hallway to the source. It was a living source that much was clear and the closer she got the stronger the sensation that something was "off" became. Peering around the corner Bianca heard voices. One was muffled the other one was Loke. It was hard to mistake Loke's voice.
If Bianca was in a mood she'd have joked how it traveled down her body and resonated in that big ass which lent it its distinctive quality. Right now didn't feel like a time for jokes. Making enough noise so not to spook Loke Bianca came around the other woman, her shoulder bumping her's lightly as she peered through the doorway at Llydia who did not look all that well.
When Loke went to help the redhead Bianca peered over her shoulder to see if anyone else was headed in their direction before she joined Loke next to Llydia. "Llydia? What's wrong? Want us to get you something...boil some water? Get some clean towels?" When Loke gave her a "wtf?" look Bianca just shrugged back in a silent "you got better ideas?" kind of way.
Surprise etched across her face as she felt Loke's hot hand on her cheek. Llidya reached out, forcing her hand away from her skull to Loke's forearm. Her fingers closed around her arm in a bone crushing grip, in some way giving her strength to pull her other hand from the back of her head.
"Mal..." She forced out, her Bahamas-clear water hues wide as she tried to concentrate, to communicate. This was nothing, right? "Get Mal." She hadn't seen the doctor lately, and he seemed to know more about her physiology than anyone else. He was her best bet on finding out what the hell was wrong with her, at least, she thought so anyway. But of course Llidya didn't think about anything paranormal or supernatural being the cause. She had just gotten used to the fact of being a werewolf. Didn't Ash say she wasn't supposed to be having headaches? Her gaze lifted to Bianca when she appeared, a weak smile crossing her lips for a split second before a grimace covered her visage. She needed to get off the floor. This was just embarrassing.
Involuntary tears seeped from the corner of her eyes as she looked to Loke, trying to stand.
Okay, this wasn't good. Not only was it not going away, it was getting worse.
Loke stared down at Lliyda as she registered her kneeling over her. She didn't wince at the grip although she wanted too. It felt like her muscles where being crushed into her bones. Anxious amber eyes watched Llidya carefully, waiting for the rush of May Bell the one Munin she knew to heal through her but nothing happened. There was no physical damage to Llidya that Loke could see so therefore no healing was needed. How special! She rolled her eyes faintly at Bianca. "She's not have a baby. And if she is, well hell I call dibs." Hell to the yes, Loke wanted a kid. You always want worst what you can't have.
Loke did frown slightly when Llids asked for Malcolm, knowing he was not here. None the less she nearly lifted Llidya herself, curling an arm around her till she was standing and could bring her to the couch in the living room. Once she was settled Loke leaned down and caught a tear creeping down Llid's cheek and wiped it on her pants leaving a small wet stain.
"I don't know where Mal is Llids. I haven't seen him since before I left for Tibet. And his scent hasn't been around here at all. So..." She gave a helpless shrug.
She shifted to look at Bianca as if she might have known something before looking back at Llids. She settled on the right side of the her on the couch, worry on her face. "Maybe I should call Ash."
Llydia was in pain. That was both very obvious and very troubling. For one Lycans healed too damn fast for any pain to linger. The Lycanthropy virus was a predator in its own right destroying smaller viruses that inhabited the body. The Flu, colds, cancers all were wiped out in the wake of the mighty metaphysical infection. Yet there was Llydia in pain. Huh.
Bianca wasn't what people would call nurturing or motherly. Warm and fuzzies in her world was what you got after imbibing too much tequila. And even that was no longer possible thanks to Lyc V. But Llydia was still in pain and the sheer amount made Bianca wince in sympathy.
Reaching out, the redhead slid her fingers over Lydia's hair. Pushing away the sweat slicked curls in a gesture Bianca hoped came off as comforting rather than what it was. Tiny tendrils of power slipped through the other woman's aura. Squinting, Bianca let herself see into the Other sight. A place where the material world had no substance. Instead of furniture and people there were auras and lights, shadows that mimicked people and objects. Looking out with the Sight, Bianca noted Loke.
The woman was all bright yellows and orange swirls glowing like a miniature sun in the room. Llydia's colors were more subdued tinged more with green and blues and spots of purple, that slid like oil on water, around her head. "Deep breaths Big Red just imagine the pain as a tennis ball that you are throwing away." The words were a placebo, at best, a minute distraction that failed, at worst.
Lifting both hands to Llydia's head, Bianca dipped her fingers into the dark patches in the other woman's aura. Wincing as the echo of Llydia's pain shot upwards through her fingers, jolting Bianca's own nervous system. But unlike for Llydia this pain didn't hurt. It was merely a shadow of what the other woman was experiencing and Bianca shut it off like volume on the television. Pooling a bit of energy between her hands she channeled it through her hands into Llydia's aura. Forming a small cocoon of energy around the pain. Not a neurosurgeon Bianca didn't know the cause so delving deeper into Llydia's psyche seemed...dumb, so for the time being she simply administered a magical painkiller. It wouldn't hold and it wouldn't cure it all. Pain was a symptom of life and Bianca wasn't about to inoculate someone to that degree (putting Llydia in a coma might be a bad idea.)
"Just close your eyes and try to keep your breathing steady...I'll go get you an ice pack for your head. Always works for my hangovers." Flashing both women a smile Bianca left Llydia in Loke's capable hands while she went to get an ice pack for Llydia and an aspirin the size of Texas for herself. What ever Llids was going through made Bianca's head throb just from the close proximity.
-- Edited by Bianca on Monday 29th of June 2009 12:11:45 PM