[SRP] Just a Dream..? (Raja x Tethys)

[Epine de Rose]

His eyes opened slowly but surely, every millimeter allowing the light to sear his vision. By the gods did it hurt, he was inclined to believe that he had been through hell and back. He had certain looked a demon in the eye, and in those moments he had been almost certain that he had been dead. In fact, though he might still feel the pain, he wasn't entirely confident that he was alive. He had simply sustained too much damage and even he knew that a body could only take so much abuse before it fell to its knees and the flame was extinguished.

Regardless, as he eased himself into a more upright position and gazed about his immediate vicinity he had to acknowledge that it looked a little too familiar. In fact it even had an individual who looked rather familiar, in terms of probability, it was unlikely the otherwise healthy leopard should have expired at the same time as him...

"It's you," he growled, wincing as his voice cracked. The caverns had taken their toll on everything, it was probably in his best interests to neither talk nor move, but he had never been a good patient and if the leopard was here then perhaps he might happen to know how he'd even managed to get here.

...Or maybe he had just found him, it was a touch convenient.

"How are you here, why am I..."

Words: 239

 

[Epine de Rose]

The leopard looked up from his bag of remedies as the lion stirred, he had been here for a considerable amount of time and was at the least, relieved to see him wake up. While there had been little else the leopard could do to patch the lion up, he had done the best he could, and now all he could do was sit about and wait until he either lived or passed away. Suffice it to say that given the length of time the lion had been unconscious, the herbal bags were looking rather organised which was not something he was well known for.

"I was summoned," Raja replied as he heard the murmur of recognition and the croaked queries. "I would strongly suggestion you remain where you are," he added as the Captain made to move again. Raja was a reasonably decent paramedic, but he was no miracle worker, and Tethys's stubbornness might yet kill him.

"You appear to have made some interesting enemies," he said at last and raised to his paws, sweeping his bowl along towards the pale lion so that he might drink from it. "Or I would say allies in this case," he mused and regarded Tethys thoughtfully. It wasn't every day that he received a missive, especially ones that contained orders rather than requests. At this time the leopard didn't even know who had demanded his attention...but he'd gone all the same.

Some in this world simply had no bedside manner.

"I would ask why you attempted to kill yourself, but there are some rituals in this world I do not entirely understand and these are generally one of these things..."

Words: 278

 

[Epine de Rose]

"I didn't try to kill myself," Tethys replied, though he scooped up the bowl swiftly to drink. With a throat as dry as his there was nothing as glorious as the taste of water as it slid down his throat. All right, so it might actually hurt at the moment, but with plenty of the stuff and some clean air it would heal. Just add a multitude of pain killers to the mix and he would be patched up in no time, that was generally how it worked.

"I don't remember what happened," he continued, casting a grim gaze towards the leopard who appeared to be going about his own business while he drank. "The memories aren't there, I don't know how I got there," he coughed and took another sip from his bowl, this soon turned to hungry gulps. If he didn't know any better, he would say he was feverish. He dared not look at himself for fear that he might see a more grim prognosis than he would like to believe.

"I remember what was in there, then it -" he paused.

"Well I thought it had killed me but you seem as sprightly as the first time we met," he murmured and shook his head. "What the hell did you do to my eyes, they're on fire..." he added, squinting as he made to wince.

Words: 228

 

[Epine de Rose]

The leopard raised a brow at the Captain's response and shook his head, Tethys's story became every more convoluted as the days, weeks and months passed. In years, he had no doubt that it would be quite the epic to a passerby, and there would still be unanswered questions. Honestly, Raja would be disappointed if there weren't several plot holes by that time as well, epics tended to result in such things after all.

"I fixed them," he replied with a touch of amusement. "Unless you had taken to dousing them in rather unhealthy concoctions," he added and shook his head. "I'm surprised you could see anything in that state," he finished. He took the bowl away at this point and wandered a small distance away to refill it. For all intents and purposes, Tethys had been 'deposited' at a rather convenient location - whoever had been toying with him hadn't want him to die.

...On the contrary, they seemed to have given him every opportunity to survive.

"One would assume," he returned with more water and took a seat. "That you were subject to some rather impressive medication," he murmured. "If you can't remember then it would appear you were under influence rather than dragged -" he paused and pursed his lips.

"You recall when we first met that you were sent to me because none of the alchemists could work out what your enemies were using to lead their quarry away willingly, yes...?"

Words: 243

 

[Epine de Rose]

"I remember," Tethys confirmed as he took the second bowl with unbridled enthusiasm. Quite frankly, he couldn't recall when he had last drank and if he'd had his way he probably would have made the rivers run dry. However, Raja's remarks had brought him a much needed reassurance that he was definitely alive. Why would one bother to discuss something like that if they were in the afterlife? Unless his failure meant that he would have to chase ghosts for all eternity, a touch extreme in his opinion...

"I distinctly recall you being at a loss as well," he pointed out with an arched eyebrow. With the subject to distract him, he could temporarily ignore the pain in, well, everything. That thing had tried to kill him, but in doing so he had found something, and for some reason it had also let him live. That phantom had permitted him to survive and he vaguely recalled its remarks... It had told him to find them.

...Well wasn't he already doing that?

"You implied no such herbs existed that possessed that quality and we were running down rabbit trails," he continued. Another cough followed, a series of them, though they were a touch more muted than before.

It was then that he saw the leopard's expression.

"You know what it is..." he murmured faintly.

Words: 223

 

[Epine de Rose]

"It's not a plant," Raja confirmed and motioned to one of his bags, it had remained untouched, already organised a long time ago with the intent of delivering it to a relevant party. He had been on his way to deliver it to the Hlare as they had the greatest chance of knowing how to pass the articles on, but it seemed fate had orchestrated this encounter a little too well.

"Well it is, and it isn't," he lifted a paw and massaged his temple gently. "The herbs are not the vital ingredient, they are filler, I would go so far as to say they aren't even needed," he closed his eyes briefly. The discovery of such a unique product hadn't been an easy one, and in some respects he would have preferred he hadn't found out how and why it was used... there were just some species that should never been encountered and some cultures never disturbed.

He reached for the bag and tossed it towards the Captain, his expression grim.

"It's toxins; poisonous frogs and fish, as well as several other ingredients including bones and lion flesh," he paused and shook his head. "I was not able to identify how they managed to turn the flesh ashen, but it was far too dangerous to remain any longer than I did," he pursed his lips.

"As a compound, they achieve the very reaction you describe... " he tilted his head to the side. "Absolute obedience, the subject in question will do literally anything asked of them."

"Even if that means compromising their own instincts to preserve their life."

Words: 268

 

[Epine de Rose]

"I see," he wasn't entirely sure what to make of the information at this time, to find out they had been looking in the wrong direction was unsettling, but it seemed that something had aligned. When the Hlare had sent him to Raja they had done so for a reason; they had known with absolute certainty he would find the answer. Tethys had been highly skeptical at the time, it was quite the vote of confidence to receive and unsurprisingly, the leopard hadn't known the answer at first.

...And now here he was.

"I'm going to assume that it's inhaled," he said slowly and furrowed his brow. That posed several issues, if it was to be inhaled then that would mean that they either had some sort of defence against it, or they applied it a specific way. Neither of which he believed he could work out with ease...at least not in the time they had to purge this particular scourge.

"Can it be disrupted...treated?" he asked. "Or are they effects permanent?"

Words: 172

 

[Epine de Rose]

"I'm not sure," Raja replied honestly and sighed. "The concoction requires both parts to be administered, the one with the fish comes first," he grimaced. "After they begin to regain consciousness they are given another dose comprised of the plants," he paused to recall what he had observed. All things considered, he had been left more than a little unsettled, he had no idea who those victims were or how their fate should be regarded, though the complete removal of all freedoms seemed...Grim.

"The combination of both seems to render the individual delirious and highly receptive to everything," he cleared his throat. "However where there is one herb to cause a particular affect, there is usually one to disrupt or cure it," he confirmed softly. He might not know what it was, or the combination of herbs, but he had been around long enough to know how these things worked.

There was a way somewhere, they just had to find it.

"I have brought as many of the herbs and materials as I can gather, but I simply do not have the means to safely test a variety of strains," he added and motioned to Tethys. "On this occasion, this will be up to you, Captain."

"When you are able," he clarified. "Not immediately, you will die in transit if you move at the moment."

Words: 225
Total Words (Raja): 1014

 

[Epine de Rose]

"You're going to need to tell me everything," he said softly, acknowledging that at this moment it wasn't a good idea for him to move. For now, it was in his best interests to try and understand as much of the information Raja was attempting to provide him with. There would be some questions he was never going to be able to answer, but he could at least memorise some of the critical information so that the various parties could fill in the gaps.

For this discovery, he would have to supply the alchemists of all his 'allies' so that they might work. Perhaps with all of them working on something, at least one would have a breakthrough. If it required that he pull them all together to pool their resources then he would do so, but he was beginning to suspect that placing his trust in the words of this leopard would be an intelligent decision.

...The Hlare had provided him with something of great value.

Granted it benefited them as well, but they could have simply called upon him themselves. They deserved the recognition and the gratitude, all of which he would provide on his return.

As for the other alchemists, he was going to have to put his absolute trust in all of them. This wasn't a race, more of a collective effort, all of them had an equal chance of working out how to disrupt it... and he didn't care which one it was.

"Everything," he stressed again as he made himself more comfortable.

Words: 258
Total Words (Tethys): 1120