February 8, 1178
After running out of tears, Vera had spent most of the night pretending to sleep and she suspected that on the other side of the bed her stepmother had been doing the same thing, at least until her father came back. Nora had risen and they'd spoken in hushed voices, though not so hushed that Vera couldn't make out what they were saying. She'd asked about the essence and he'd told her they'd found some under Remiel's old bed. Vera's grandmother had administered it and Lucien seemed to be doing better, even if he still hadn't woken. The situation was--to quote her father quoting her grandmother--'as hopeful as it was ever going to get'.
Of course, Vera couldn't take the news secondhand, not when it was Lucien. She'd waited in feigned slumber until her father was settled on the couch and Nora was tossing about beside her, then slipped out of their room, her tread swift yet light as she hurried back to her own.
Of course, Vera couldn't take the news secondhand, not when it was Lucien. She'd waited in feigned slumber until her father was settled on the couch and Nora was tossing about beside her, then slipped out of their room, her tread swift yet light as she hurried back to her own.
He does look better, she thought as she joined him on the bed after a couple minutes' look. By nature he was pallid but the little color he had seemed to have returned, and he was no longer the comatose sort of still he'd fallen upon Remiel's touch, or even the tossing and turning sort of asleep he'd been after receiving her grandmother's essence. No--now he was peaceful, resting. He was recovering. Her father had said it might be a few days before he woke, but at least he seemed to be on the mend.
Lucien stirred somewhat, but it wasn't the restless jostling of before. He was probably just reacting to her weight on the mattress. He was still fast asleep, so she hadn't really disturbed him... had she?
Lucien stirred somewhat, but it wasn't the restless jostling of before. He was probably just reacting to her weight on the mattress. He was still fast asleep, so she hadn't really disturbed him... had she?
No. He'd just rolled over, just like everyone else she'd ever shared a bed with and probably everyone she hadn't. He didn't know she was here. He wouldn't know. He wasn't about to wake before he was ready to do so.
Fingers trembling, her hand wavered toward him and stroked the side of his face. He didn't respond, but she flinched as something flowed out of her, some strange energy she hadn't known she possessed. Her head was light and her limbs were heavy. The room was a little darker, a little fuzzier. She knew she was stationary but she felt she was spinning.
Fingers trembling, her hand wavered toward him and stroked the side of his face. He didn't respond, but she flinched as something flowed out of her, some strange energy she hadn't known she possessed. Her head was light and her limbs were heavy. The room was a little darker, a little fuzzier. She knew she was stationary but she felt she was spinning.
She tried to steady herself as she slipped off the bed. Lucien needed his space, and she supposed she could make it back to her parents' bedroom if she stayed close to the walls. She'd never felt quite like this before, but her instincts told her to rest. She was not well.
At the same time, she couldn't say she felt poorly.
NEXT CHAPTER:
At the same time, she couldn't say she felt poorly.
NEXT CHAPTER:
9 comments:
Umm... so I'm thinking for now that I'll just merge the family trees with the character profiles. I'll still keep my eyes peeled for reasonable alternatives to TribalPages, but for now I think the character profiles can perform both functions if I add family shots to bios and whip up a "Who's Pregnant?" page?
Not an ideal solution, but still :(
Hmm, so Lucien, in his weakened state, is absorbing whatever essence he can get? It makes sense that Vera would contain the same energy as her father and grandmother, maybe that little bit extra will ensure Lucien's recovery? Maybe now they will be linked in some way more intense than just physical attraction.
The "Who's Pregnant" page sounds interesting!
I'm not sure if we'll ever know all the technical workings of what just happened here, but at this point it seems like it could help ;)
I'm hoping to have that page up in a couple of hours, but right now I'm stuck in the process of redoing my family shots (that will definitely be done in spurts, because it's taking forever--trying to get them for all the profiles I have to update tonight, though.)
I've been doing the same thing (taking profile shots) but I'm taking my time... Also, in Ashe's profile, (I don't know if its still there because I noticed it ages ago but seeing as your updating them anyway) one of the 'he' is actually still a 'she' you might have missed it at some point, :)
Just finished up with tonight's batch... at 5 AM my time :S
Thanks for the catch! I figured I'd probably miss at least one there XD
Aww, that was sweet. I hope Ekho is right and this binds them more closely together. :)
Good luck with your profiles! *shudders* Family portraits -- the bane of my existence. But they're not so bad once you get used to them. And once you work out a way to have kids and adults in the same shot without having to zoom out so far you can't see their faces.
Still haven't figured that one out myself ... but good luck to you!
I raced through the last few updates after the horrifying one. Perhaps taking some of Vera's essence is like taking warmth, but that's not a zero sum exercise. How totally sick and awful.
I use tribal pages, but since I have less than 100 people, it will never cost me anything. It's a lot of work to build them, though, so I really sympathize about your problem.
Ah, yep. This is what I thought would happen (though the mechanics of what happened here are left as vague as Vera would know them to be). Lucien recovers with the aid of Vera's____(magic? essence? magical essence??). I was expecting it to take more out of her than what she seems to have felt though. I pictured a reversal of their positions, where Vera ends up the one in the bed while Lucien watches her with concern. The problem with that scenario, though, is who then saves Vera? Unless of course no one does. :O
Morgaine: Heheh... I took the easy way out and am still using extracted imagines from Sim PE. (Most of my families are just too big for full shots, not to mention I furnish and build on an as-needed basis and most of my lots don't have suitable rooms for such large pictures.) I am remaking them, though, since an image can only be saved as a jpg so many times before the quality gets ridiculous.
Thanks :)
Beth: Aaaah, sorry :S I didn't mean for this to come across so much as him taking at as her giving it. Granted, he's still unconscious and his body might be in survival instincts mode. Perhaps that will be clarified later.
Thanks Beth. Yeah, I'm not looking forward to the changes, but it has to be done :(
Pen: Hmmm, a reversal would have been interesting. Seems that she didn't lose all that much, though. She might be down for a day or two, at most as long as Riona was.
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