The Abbey

[Bloodtrailkiller]

/Lekalis/

He'd tried to stop Florence by raising a hand, though by the time his lips parted, Tilly's eyes had skimmed the paper and the two had dispensed in possibly the worst introductions he could have ever forseen. If, at all.
With a groan that turned to a stiff, and barely passable chuckle, he curled his fingers back to his chest and approached Tilly from her flank; placing the hand now on her shoulder as he raised a hand, palm out to the Crowgazer in an attempt to halt her before it spiralled any more out of control.

But, if this last engagement was anything to go by, Florence simply couldn't be trusted to sooth anyone not out to sooth themselves. And even then, only barely.
"Florence..?" He started, his tone coming from behind clenched teeth and strained with frustration.
"... May I have some time with Tilly, uninterrupted?" He asked stiffly. Blood had never truly realized how jarring the difference was when it came to conversing with Florence and other folk. How misinterpretations were all but the norm with her, for a moment, a swell of hate boiled up at the sheer idiocy of her.

He exumed the thoughts with a sigh, as he swept closer to Tilly's shoulder, giving it a loving squeeze as he nuzzled her boney joint, and then tilted his head to one side, to look at her properly.
"Pity her..? She... Doesn't know better." He whispered softly in her ear; even though he imagined Florence didn't care, he took great import in not letting her hear.

//

[Vanitypirate]

"Oh, yes. That may be beneficial." Florence agreed, gaze flitting between Tilly and the note. She supposed, from the silence that followed, that Tilly may have needed time to process the most sincere of apologies.
She nodded in complete understanding and promptly left the room.

--

Tilly held her tongue with an icy glare, instead stuffing the note into one coat pocket.
When Florence had gone, she spoke,

"Does she think this is some kind of joke?" She cast a hateful glare at the ceiling, almost metitatively, as though she were silently counting to ten.
Though, she could safely presume that this wasn't some ploy arranged by Lekalis, gathering from his own response...

"What in the bleeding hells goes on in her mind?" She sucked in another breath, and then sighed, letting a hand crawl up to rest on her Only's shoulder.
"This is who's going to fix our curse?"

[Bloodtrailkiller]

/Lekalis/

The Cat-like Lord watched the Crowgazer go, his eyes drifting then bowing in thanks as she passed his shoulder, and to the door.
"... I'll call for you, when we're ready!" He added, already forseeing Florence popping in at an inopportune time.

He sighed, or rather, took a steadying breath. Perhaps for both himself and Tilly, as he snaked his other hand around Tilly's waist and idly swayed her to and fro, in gentled rocking motions, as his hands slowly moved to hold her in a kindly embrace.
"Aye..." He intoned, his voice small and warm, as though coaxing a flame to spark.
"... She's got more brain than tongue. But for us... That's good. Means she doesn't have the tact much less the intent to concieve of any witty plan.", he gave Tilly a wholesome squeeze before loosening and making to turn her around, to face him.

His head jerked to the door, and he offered an old, cocky, smirk
"She takes everything for its face value; everything literally. If it's not explained plain as day, it goes right over her head.", with a humm, he nodded his head to the left,
"Like I said... She doesn't know any better so she does the same to everyone else. She'll never speak insincere words." he did his best to play on compliments, but with a negative derivative. Something to help coax Tilly's tolerance somewhere higher.

He gave her a hopeful smile now, and shrugged,
"If you want to know what goes on in her mind, just ask... Though, be prepared for it."

//

[Vanitypirate]

Tilly let her palms rest on him as she was, more or less, cradled in his embrace.
Considering the words, they had truth: Florence was alike in openness to Albrecht, if Albrecht had a fancy for butchering those he killed.
On reconsideration, though, Tilly wasn't sure if she knew enough about the hunter to make such a statement on him

"She's a right creep." Tilly breathed spitefully, but she felt her fury wane with every breath she took. "She's awful, she looks half-dead, and..."

Tilly aused, sighing, "You might be right." She cast a glance to the door,

"What's she got to be sorry for? She didn't know 'im at all. She doesn't even know me

[Bloodtrailkiller]

/Lekalis/

His eyelids fluttered as he felt the brim of her hat push against his brow, and he had to take an indignant moment to bow his crown and sneak it underneath the wide brim. Though, his brow now pressed against Tilly's, he gave her a light peck on the cheek before pulling back and doing his best to rest his chin above the hat.
"Aye, she is quite the creep. But, as we've noticed, lots of those doc's are in one way or the other." He mused and slowly let his swaying pass as he heard the spite in her tone wittle away like the banks of a river.

"... Dunno why she's sorry." He admitted, rather realizing the rather punctual nature of that query. And, now set, seemed to dig into his mind like a mite. His brow furrowed and he hummed.
"Could probably ask her." He pointed out, his mouth creasing to a light-hearted frown as his brows shrugged and he patted the Ex-Graverobber's lowerback.

"Though, she's got a mind to ask you some questions first... I told her of our coitus, your visions. Seemed imperitive, 'cause of our curse."

//

[Vanitypirate]

"...Dunno if I really want to know the answer to that."

It was a simple pleasure to hold him closely like Tilly was, feeling the red silk on his shoulder beneath her fingers, she supposed it was enough to tolerate the Crowgazer for another while.
But what an effort it was.

She let the tension ease off her shoulders and set about steeling herself for another encounter with that Crowgazer.

"That explains... quite a bit, then." She let a hand flutter on off to rub her jaw, as if suffering from some toothache. "She isn't going to ask about the actual... event, is she?"

Tilly already reckoned she knew the answer, truthfully, and she found it entirely disagreeable.

[Bloodtrailkiller]

/Lekalis/

"Unlikely..?" He admitted with some haphazard calculation, as he made some distance between himself and Tilly, letting the brief embrace ease off and give them some time to recover some wit and morale for the pressing trial of this examination.

Granted, he hadn't a slightest clue on how trying this appointment was to be... For all he knew, it could end up being a dead end... For some reason, that frightened him more than the prospect of delving deeper into the unknown.

His brows furrowed in thought, as his eyes seemed to refocus on the topic at hand,
"... I believe : she wants to see if you're truly with child. As... the vision could have been born from any measure of dalliance; bad wine, water..." He mused, his eyes and face drifting up in consideration, before he cocked a smirk back and looked down to Tilly,
"... Pun, wholly intended." He brought a hand up to tap the side of Tilly's nose.

"Compliance and trust will make this all go over quicker than you think. If you want, you can always depart; plenty to do this morning still. If you find yourself uncomfortable, of course." He reminded with a warning bow of his brow, his eyes squinting as though gauging to make sure his point came across...

//

[Vanitypirate]

Tilly still had enough sense in her to roll her eyes quite pointedly at his cheeksome wordplay, drifting towards the desk where Florence once sat.
Her hands returned to burrow in their coat pockets.

"Course she doesn't believe me." She listlessly prodded a finger at the pile of near indecipherable notes, in their wild mixture of English and Italian. "Doctors don't trust anything but themselves."
It would doubly serve useful, then; to be confirmed-- or, preferably, discounted-- to both Tilly and to Florence.

So she worked a strained smile and nodded to the door, "I don't plan on dragging my feet, so..." She shrugged and nodded to the door, "Let's go on and get it done, then."

[Bloodtrailkiller]

/Lekalis/

With a sigh, and a cluck of the tongue, he crossed his arms over his chest; seemingly ready to make a protest, though he shook his head and nodded agreeably. Though, as she looked over Florence's notes, and the pages yet to be wetted with ink, he smiled widely; chewing on his lower lip and glancing away to owe her some respect, though, only for a moment as he looked back to her hatted self illuminated by dawn's first light.

"I love you." He stated at last, punctually, simply as he rolled his shoulders and looked to the door; steeling himself, perhaps more to keep himself from being too amused than any real fret over the admittedly serious situation reposing and brewing in the Archives now.

All the same, he meandered to the door and knocked upon it;
"We're ready, Florence..?" He declared, and began to open the door...

//

[Vanitypirate]

Tilly's smile warmed with the sun.
Looking to her Betrothed, she bowed her head.
"I love you, too."

To speak the words clearly and openly brought some measure of joy to Tilly, in spite of this... appointment she had stumbled into-- moreover, this curse of Flesh and Blood, in all senses of the phrase.
She sat atop the desk, between the stack of notes and the inkwell, careful not to disturb either one. And she watched the door like a criminal might await her executioner.

---

The sharp scent of herbs followed in Florence's wake as she entered in through the door, stiff-legged and jerky in her movements.
Her eyes briefly passed over Lekalis as she passed, a manner of vials and canisters piled in her arms, which she dumped roughly on the table surface beside Tilly.
In her left hand, she held a scalpel. Tilly eyed it and shifted quietly away from the pile, and from Florence.

"Breathe." She instructed, first.
Then, in two jerkish movements, she lifted a cloudy white vial and opened it. A vapor escaped from its mouth and fizzled off, carrying with it an odor of burnt fish.

"Drink half of this." The Crowgazer stared at Tilly, who paled at the scent of the mixture.

Hesitantly, with a bewildered glance at Lekalis, Tilly took the vial in her hands and brought it to her mouth.

[Bloodtrailkiller]

/Lekalis/

The Ex-Lord barely had time to take a step out of the way before Florence shuffled past; hardly inquiring, or even saying hello again... Hardly even explained her intent.
Did she listen in..? She had to have; it was a bit unsettling, after claiming her lack of wit, though it was no doubt mere happenstance.
Either way, he sighed, and followed in Florence's hasty wake, before watching Florence go about her business.

He frowned at the uncouth nature of it all, and Florence's haste... no doubt born from some need to spare as little time as possible. Perhaps some unseen fervor and excitement?
With a long inhale, he motioned for Tilly to do as Florence implored with a wave of his hand and a smile, and a nod.

He'd a mind for questions but... thought better of it; the queries could come later.

//

[Vanitypirate]

Tilly relented, frowning deeply at the vile mixture she was expected to drink; it smelled like if a dock were to be set on fire.
Down the hatch, it sent a tremor through her as it slid down her throat and left a greasy, fishy film on her tongue that she didn't expect to be gone anytime this year.
Instead, she grimaced heavily, smacking her mouth emphatically to express her distaste.

"What in blazes is that...?" She brought the glass up to eye level as she peered through it, and instantly regretted it; square, translucent chunks of some mystery herb were suspended in that glossy potion. The sight of it wreaked havoc on her already well-knotted stomach.
Tilly wrinkled her nose and curled her fingers in front of her mouth, half of her expecting it to be poison, and the other half wishing it were poison.

"It's bloody foul." Tilly informed Florence, who already seemed to be busying herself with measuring some amount of powder onto a dish. Tilly eyed it curiously, but she could not identify it herself...

Without visibly looking up-- though her dark eyes were still trained watchfully on Tilly from behind her lenses, Florence spoke, "It is... l'accelerante, yes. Please remain seated. It shall increase your catabolic rate proportional to your current rate."

Tilly blinked slowly and stared, silently wishing that Florence would take her awful vial back.

Florence detected the silence, and her mask tore itself away from the truly interesting mortar.
"If you are indeed with child, you shall begin to feel very warm, and you shall breathe faster. You will feel very hungry, and you shall require a greater amount of food to fuel your... activities for the next six hours. But, if you suffer from sugar-sickness, then you will expire in no more than twenty minutes." She nodded, and her beak bobbed along.

Tilly rubbed her brow.

"...You do not show symptoms of sugar-sickness." Added Crowgazer, her beak swiveling back to direct her attention to that mortar and pestle. "If you have not eaten within the past twelve hours, you may feel dizzy. Conveniently, we shall breakfast together and attend to your accelerated appetite."

[Bloodtrailkiller]

/Lekalis/

And just as swiftly as he'd told Tilly to trust Florence, it was readily dashed upon the stones of the floor as he listened and watched Tilly with some fret; moving closer and lending a hand to her shoulder for some minute reassurance. In all truth, he felt rather useless standing there like a fish out of water, though his head snapped to give Florence an incredulous look; his jaw dropped and his brow furrowed.

"Expire..?!" He asked with a scoffful chuckle. Lekalis tried to look confident in his past braggarts about compliance being the best option but... if Florence was playing with death so easily? It was not reassuring. He trusted her, but...
"... You mean, she could have died from that mixture?" He inquired hopelessly, knowing the answer,

"Y-you realize that's bloody mad, right? Did you even consider how that'd affect me?.." He huffed, and rolled his eyes as he relaxed a touch, levelling his gaze frustratedly on Florence's lens'd gaze.
"... The Amulet?"
"Did you at least take some precaution?"

//

[Vanitypirate]

"No..." Florence's workings of the pestle slowed, and she looked to Lekalis and spoke as if it were obvious,
"If she is afflicted with sugar-sickness, she would be lethargic and slow to the degree of lapsing into a... false sleep, a coma."

Tilly stopped drumming her fingers and quirked her head at Florence, bringing one hand to gently smooth Lekalis's arm. The other pointed a finger and waggled it snarkily at the Crowgazer, who went on to press the new, fine powder into a single, greenish lump.

"Thank you kindly for not killing me." She rolled her eyes and, almost boredly, brought the hand to tug at her collar; as time passed, she would begin to feel warm under Lekalis' palm, as though she were beginning to run a fever.
Her eyes flicked keenly to the pendant tied about Lekalis's neck. She watched it for a moment and asked,

"So how would me kicking off disturb your poor, dear necklace?" Asked Tilly, squinting one eye in apparent concentration as she poked squarely, with a finger that had set to somewhat of a tremble, at the gem.

[Bloodtrailkiller]

/The gem, upon Tilly's abrupt jab, would feel rather wet; as though it were run through a river and just removed. Indeed, it was surprising that it wasn't wetting the Red Lord's shirt.
Though, more worrying, was a sucking sensation at the tip of her finger; as though her finger were caught on a cat's tongue. Of course, it would come away easily enough, but only with attended effort./

/Lekalis/

"O-oh... Well, the Curse." He began, admittedly a bit awkwardly, as he brought a hand up to coax some strain from the back of his neck; only for it to come around and wipe away the worry from the haphazard danger to Tilly's life.

His hands pulled away, though he gave her a worried look, then to Florence;
"She's feeling rather hot; is that part of sugar-sickness..?" He grumbled, glancing back to Tilly,
"... Are you feeling well? I'd... Rather make sure you don't pass out on me halfway through the bloody saga of the Amulet and the Curse." He offered a semblence of amusement, though his intent was dire.

"Blitzing through it, though: Amulet's most like the source of all the hubbub. A phylactery; a sort of anchor for Life. Tethering us to some unknown source. Which we're trying to figure out, break the tether... Yeah..." He hummed, rubbing his brow and looking away; as though to make sure none of the crashcourse had danced away, his eyes returning for a moment,
"... That's about it. Florence?--" He paused, and reached out to feel Tilly's brow,
"-- She's still hot. Is this normal?" He pressed incessantly...

//