Thread: The Witch and the Alchemist (closed)

Of course he didn't consciously hear her, but a part deep inside of him did and was moved to act on her words. On the outside though, Lan was just growing exhausted in his efforts and starting to lose hope. Several times he stopped to lay his head on her chest to hear if her heart had started again, only to continue on with the chest compressions when his ear was met with silence. Don't die on me! he muttered in between heavy breaths as he pressed upon her chest repeatedly. Don't you fucking die on me! I won't lose you again! That was when he realized he was crying and that somehow in his mind, he wasn't with Dorelia anymore but with the little girl he'd failed to save. He faltered in confusion, not used to his mind playing tricks like that on him, but then her eyes popped open and she grabbed his hands. Suddenly, despite being relieved to see her awake, he sank to his knees uncontrollably kneeling beside the bed. It felt like something was pulling from inside him, like a sapping of his energy and his limbs felt heavy and weak, like they couldn't support him. The sudden exhaustion puzzled him but when she leaned down to whisper in his ear he jerked away at the word 'spell.' Immediately his mind went to work figuring out what it could have been. Alright 1. it was a late night last night, didn't get to sleep until 4 in the morning and then woke up suddenly at 6 or 7 and was running around worrying about being late. Then 2. had to appear in court and come up with a plausible argument for people not to kill her, then 3. had emergency with her passing out and then stopped breathing. And 4. I didn't have breakfast at all. His expression changed from one of frantic concentration to one of satisfaction. Yes, that's all it was. No silly spells or magic involved. You silly, silly girl, he thought airily, his head light and having trouble focusing. Coughing abruptly and taking in a deep breath, he stood up beside the bed, and groaned with the effort but trying to keep a straight face, straightening his clothes and trying not to sway on his feet. He barely listened to her talk about dying, mostly because he was having trouble concentrating and also because he didn't care. He felt like he was about to fall over any minute. At her suggestion, he remembered the tube connecting them and would have immediately held that up as reason number 5 of why he was so exhausted if he'd had the energy to think things through logically right now. Instead, he pulled the needle on the end of the tube out of her arm and held a piece of gauze there to stop the bleeding. Put pressure on it, he murmured, his voice full of fatigue that he would not let his face show. He did not offer himself the same when he pulled the other end of the tube from his own arm, and althought the hole it made wasn't too big, it still bled a bit on his shirt sleeve. He tried to keep up appearances and even tried to murmur encouraging words to her when she said she was fine now, but all that came out was mumbled words and he tilted slightly on his feet. He caught himself with a hand on the wall and shook his head to clear it of this fog weighing down on him. He refused to pass out in front of her. When Abigail entered the room, she'd had a worried look on her face and brightened when she saw Dorelia's eyes open. But when she looked at Lan the worry was instantly back, but with a bit of impatience in her eyes as well. You look dead on your feet, man! she said, with hands on her hips and a new white gown draped over one shoulder. Go on now and sit down before you hurt yourself. She motioned at the chair by the bed side. He shook his head and started to talk, but she came over and grabbed his arm. All refusals were swallowed by his tongue as her small amount of strength shoved him down into the chair. He didn't try to say anything else, but just let himself sit and enjoy being still for awhile. Having settled that, Abigail turned to Dorelia. It's good to see you awake, dear. You had us all very worried, she said warmly, actually having worried the whole time she'd been gone on whether Lan would kill her with the blood tube contraption. She was so relieved and so happy to see he had not and that the girl was doing better now. She didn't think much of Lan's exhausted state, knowing that the man often worked himself past his limits and that it was about time he showed a little weakness. He was only a man afterall.