From: Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 07:10:53 EDT Subject: into the woods Teri was walking again. She sighed; her feet were sore, she was covered, again, in red dust, and the Kha she had had at the inn had worn off. Her veins were filled with lassitude it seemed.. or glue.. she was quickly becoming tired, and with the exhaustion came teary frustration. She was trying to keep it down-- She knew, from hearing snippets of conversation between Roland and Shinji (where they thought she couldn't hear; Men.. they never _were_ as cautious as they thought they were), she figured that ... well.. in terms of her fantasy books, she was "broadcasting" feelings and things when not aware of it... but she truly didnt' rememebr having done so. She had no recollection of frying the bandits, as Roland had told her, nor of any evidence except that she kept feeling strange things. She'd always been adept at reading body language, but lately she was imagining feeling stuff that... no.. no, she was just tired. And stressed. They were riding in silence... or, walking, rather. She sighed. She wished she could ride, but the mule had decided, about an hour to sunset, that it would pull no more. Teri glared at the beast that was trotting happily, almost weightlessly, down the path. The woods about a quarter mile away would provide some much needed shade; she had been baking in the sun far too long. Far, far too long. She shouldered her black bag and sighed. Her make-up was probably melted. She wanted another bath. The one the previous night had been good... so good.... She'd even go for a bubbling brook if this arid, god-forsaken hell hole had so much as a bubbling brook. So far it had been dry scrub, a tumble weed or two, and a sea of red powdery dirt... which she looked like she'd been dunked in. She ran her hand through her nearly grimy hair (GRIMY HAIR?!?!). Shinji was running his hand through his hair before he grimaced, stopped, and relaxed. He looked quickly at Teri and back.Teri flushed (though you couldn't see, since she was pretty much sunburned); was she projecting so badly? what was happening? Why couldn't that stiff asshole back at the shrine have told her more of what was going on in her body- why she was ... she didn't even know WHAT she was doing. Shinji seemed tired-- and she felt tired too... so tired. She stumbled, and shinji immediately caught her elbow. She suppressed a flush of gratitude, and then a flush of anger-- she saw Shinji's face tighten, and swallowed, meeting his eyes with wide ones of her own. He tightened his jaw, and helped her stand. "Almost there.." he said softly, then turned his attention back to the road, and dragging the mule along with him. Teri's eyes fell to her feet as she walked, drowning in shame and confusion. He wasn't saying anything-- he was bearing whatever trouble she was causing... she would have been at her wits end on his end of the receiving... actually, she WAS at her wits end. Teri pressed her fingers to her forehead again and sighed, trying to relieve the tension in her shoulders. She felt Shinji's eyes rest on her for a moment, then pass. Almost to the woods-- almost to sleep. *** Shinji's jaw convulsed again. He had thought this Jiy bond was supposed to HELP the girl stop broadcasting, not project it further. Since they'd left the town, she'd nearly collapsed twice from exhaustion; each time her control was slipping a little more. He was feeling nearly everything now-- waves of emotion after emotion, strong and sweeping, raking his mind raw. Shame, and anger, and sadness, confusion... one after another, in an endless barrage. He was tempted more than once to knock her unconscious just for a few moments of peace and solitude within his own mind-- except that then he'd be carrying both her weight, slight as it was, and the mule's (since the mule didn't like the idea of carrying anyone on the cart). Now that he thought about it, the mule looked pretty happy. Hmph. Probably too stupid to pick up the waves anyway. He stiffened again as another wave came... they weren't as strong as the one the previous night-- while they had been sleeping. He could still feel, he still had identity when they came-- but they were so damned obnoxious! And wearing... they wore on him... He was sure she could feel much of him, too. He had been told once, at the monastery, that the Jiy bonded to their masters in peculiar ways-- that they were built for specific purposes... that they were not to be trusted. The cunning machines could have multiple levels of purpose. He was trying to figure these two out. Aside from projecting cute-puppy vibes, as the colored jiy seemed to be doing-- (Teri would frequently coo at it... they seemed to be getting along marvelously) aside from that, he assumed that the jiy had some sort of protective purpose, as well. Perhaps it was causing these waves.... diluting her power over long spans of time rather than one concentrated burst. But the result was draining-- he could see her weakening with every step, the Jiy whirring consolatorily in her ear. She tried to look strong, but her sadness seeped out. They were almost to the woods, in any event. He just hoped it wasn't too far to this woman they were supposed to meet up with... **** The shade on her skin felt like a hundred drops of dew, cooling and soothing. The earth here was damp and moist-- she could breath without coughing dust. She felt almost envigorated. Almost. Her lips tugged into a smile though-- she loved the greenery, the forest... "When can we stop?" she said, a bit of energy in her voice again. "Let's go a little farther in-- away from the path," her guide replied. Not for the first time, she was surprised at Shinji's knowledge and command... he was perplexing to say the least. One moment naive and boyish, the next the consummate Ranger, the next a sad and dark man with a damning birthmark. Teri shook her head. People were so complicated sometimes. At least, with this new little talent of hers (despite the blacking out, the exhaustion, and the gnawing at her nerves), reading people might be a little easier--- She doubled over in pain as her head seemed to explode-- the breath rushed from her lungs-- the jiy were instantly spinning in the air above her head, shining, both of them. Shinji leapt towards her, then doubled over himself as the pain and fear rushed through her like a conduit and spread into the forest air.... Birds took flight, tears were streaming down her face as she crouched on the ground, nails digging into the soil as the pain-- the pain!! flowed through her... "it's... not me..." she breathed, her vision fluxing white, then clear... The Clear Jiy clicked loudly as the colored glass took on a bright white color--Shinji collapsed to the ground in relief, the waves from Teri dissapearing. Teri herself straightened, still crying, her face strained. "I'm not.. anymore...?" she asked in a broken whisper, and shinji shook his head. "No.." he stood, and grabbed the reins of the mule, before hesitantly reaching to steady his companion. "Are you ok?" She flinced from his touch, her eyes wild, not seeing him. "I can feel him. He's in pain.." she whispered, and took a frightened step to the side. Shinji frowned. "Who's in pain?" no answer: Teri was looking wildly, deeper into the forest. "Teri? TERI!" he reached out and shook her violently... she felt like twigs in his hand-- his head snapped back as she slapped him. It took amazing willpower for him to neither touch his cheek nor haul back and hit her in return. Her mind was still far off, he could tell.. she.. was stepping away. With a strangled sound in her throat, she turned and began running into the dusk-filled forest.. "Teri!!!" he screamed after her, as she ran on, two jiy trailing small rays of colored light behind her... "I swear! That girl will be the death of both of us!" he muttered to no one in particular before sprinting off after her. **** Stana worked furiously, trying not to think too hard on what was really happening here. She felt that if she allowed reality to get her attention, she would go into hysterics again. He had finally given her some instructions on what to do. She prayed she remembered them right...she prayed HE had remembered them right. Clip had been vague and half delirious while he rattled off a list of ingredients to use. Only some of which she actually had. The sage and Burnet were used but she had to substitute chamomille for his request for Valerian. She knew the properties were similar in some ways and only hoped it would still be ok. She didn't have time to go and look for the proer ingredients, and doubted she'd find them in this shady old forest anyhow. She had been told she worked well under pressure. But she never agreed. Each crisis was endured with quesy stomache and an anxious tightening of an imaginary noose abou her neck. Her hands shook and she tended to get glassy eyed. With no time to check her hands for the jitters she acknowledged she was scared, clueless and definitely on the border of panic. She had dabbled in herbs before, made soaps, infusions, some nice harmless stuff, but what Clip needed was skilled professional help-antibiotics- Which had probably never existed here. Apparently apothecaries had. Which meant that this was all the healing available. And her inexperienced hands the only administrative tool. She got a grim consolation from the fact that since Clip was already dying she couldn't make things any worse. She lifted the ointment she had made, and a washcloth and began spreading the liquid lavishly on the open wounds. If he survived this- despite her bungling, it would be all to his knowledge. Her little smattering of learning was dangerous here...she knew just enough to cause trouble not solve it. Maybe he could teach her better. She finished applying where she thought best and began to clean up when she heard a thrashing in the woods. With a muffled cry she turned and stood tense and ready to run. The cloth and bark dropped from nerveless fingers and she stared as a smallish light grew ever closer and brighter. ::Hunters? Serial Killers? Hansel and Gretel?:: She didn't know, only that she couldn't run, not and leave Clip to die alone. Not in the dark, not here. she was a coward, true, but for some reason her legs carried her back to the Unicorn, and she crouched, drawing her boot knife and trying hard to glare menancingly. The light blinded her, beaming down into her gaze full force. She squinted, lifting a hand to shield her sight when the crashings in the forest gave way to a mad rush. *** Teri stopped, jaw slack, fern half crunched under her foot, as she saw Stana hovering protectively over a man whose face was twisted in agony. Suddenly, the shock was gone--and with it, the beautiful moment of peace and numbness she had felt-- the grief and pain slammed into her a second time. Her eyes stung; she felt nauseous. She grabbed her bag and, without thinking, swung hard-- the pain flashed, then ceased. Tension fled from the man's face. The tears coursing down her cheeks were more from relief than anything else. The man in stana's lap was now unconscious. Stana's expression mirrored shock, her eyes bright with outrage and hurt-- Teri was about to mumble an apology when the air in her lungs suddenly got too hot to breathe, the air around her dimmed, and she blacked out.