#earthrunes

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August is simply.... awake. Out one moment. Eyes open the next. And. Confused.

There is a weight on his chest!

A weight... and some aches. He takes in his surroundings.

Coradel is dozing in a nearby easy chair. They insisted she have a more comfortable seat.

A fluffy grey weight.

He blinks several times, licks his lips, tests his limbs....

Carefully.

There is a vase of sunny marigolds and silver lilies to his left.

The fuzzy weight stirs and then hops up!

"Mmm. Cor. Cora. Coradel?"

Oh, possum-nose bumping his face...

"Mm?" A bleary moment, because hearing his voice in her sleep is the most natural thing in the world...but then suddenly she's startling out of the doze. "August? August..." She moves closer, and he can see her better....beautiful, yes, but tense, lacking sleep.

"Hi."

"Ah?" At the nosing.

A little sniff, and Emma bumbles down to the foot of the bed.

"Hi." A shaky half-laugh. "You're awake...." She takes his hand and squeezes it gently, bringing it to her lips to kiss. "How do you feel?"

A long pause as he thinks about it. "Confused. Did something happen? Are we... what's going on?"

"Shhh...you were hurt. You...things might be hard to remember for a bit." Concern, and she strokes his hair.

Plop, down to the floor.... and Emma pops up on the other side from Coradel. "His glue is still drying. Italian, you know, frag-eel-lay."

"I was? Who hurt me?" He blinks blearily at Emma. "Hello."

"Bonjour, cher!" A sunny grin.

"It...doesn't matter right now. Can I tell you later? Is that okay? Right now I just want you to rest and heal."

A bright smile at the Healer. "He sounds good, doesn't he?"

"Rest, and heal, and sluagh-juice. Which I might get. We'll see."

A bit of a pause. "What kind of juice?" Careful.

"Sluagh-juice?"

"Wait...." He's trying to find something, mentally.

"Hmm. Not sure. He might need more smooch therapy. You know - sluagh-juice. Dried leaves in hot water."

"Ahhhh....tea, yes! Oh, yes, Emmaline, tea would be a wonderful thing for him, I think."

"Verrrrry secret recipe, much ritual - I learned it from a witch-doctor of darkest China..."

She tips a salute to Cora and heads off 'on quest!'

"Ahh... yes. Tea? Please?" Hopeful. "I'm...ah, thirsty."

"Here...there's water here..." she pours him a glass and offers it with a straw. "Sip carefully." She holds it for him.

He moves his head away, winces, and asks. "Tell me?" Softly.

"Is Zara ok?"

"Yes," she says immediately. "Zara's fine. She's safe, and...Paler is gone."

She wants to soothe at least that much of his concerns.

"G... he.. what?"

"He will never be a threat to her, or anybody, again. It's done, August. Now, drink. There are details, but...first water, then tea, then Emmaline checks you over again. Please?"

He takes a sip of water. And, ok, then another. And some more. Then he stops. "Yes, but... tell me now."

She hesitates, then sets the water aside. "Promise me that you will stay calm, please. Remember that it's all done. It's over." A pause, and then she asks, "Do you remember that Paler captured you?"

He blinks.

"What?"

She nods. "Paler held you captive in the Dreaming. I received word here...his eshu daughter, Golnaz, delivered the message...surrender Zara, and August will be released with all his fingers." She frowns at how she'd mistakenly interpreted that to mean unharmed.

He swallows.

"She's safe," she reminds him. "More?"

He nods soberly, then blinks, wincing.

"The seer confirmed the truth of the matter," she continues. "The instructions said Zara was to come alone, and we suspected Paler would be watching to see what other members of the court were doing...so we set Leonora off on a decoy mission, and Claire played my part here, but we turned to the commoners for help. Mr. Gluminsky, Madame Odette, and Rileybrie and Ray all contributed...oh, Ray especially deserves commendation...and Chieftain Clementine offered an elder-form. In the end, I went disguised as Zara, Ray disguised as Earl, and the real Zara and Earl went veiled to plan his destruction while I kept him distracted. Shalimar and Vashti caused a fair amount of chaos after that."

"But...we got you out...and I sentenced both Paler and Golnaz, for use of cold iron to spill salt tears. I executed them." She says softly. "It is done."