The first part of this is over here Bet your life, but I see no reason in pestering administrators to move it from one perfectly reasonable place to another. So, we continue on!
The house was quiet. Not because everyone was asleep, by no means. The hour was late, and everyone was out. They had left her alone after the lateness of her return and gone about their day. No doubt she would find a note left behind in the kitchen expressing their hopes that she had a fine time, that they would see her at such and such an hour or place, and expressions of familial affection.
For the moment, though, she was in the bathroom slowly peeling away the gauze. The dried pus of a few broken blisters pasted the wrappings to spots on her hands. She had not felt them break, but no doubt in the merriment of the Beltane Fires, she had been distracted by the fun and friendship, seeing others burn away their cares through drink, dance, and...other activities.
She was gentle with the wounds. The small rounds and ovals with loose skin were left alone. When the pink, raw flesh beneath was prepared to take the damage, then she would remove the old. With a sigh, Lirssa looked at her reflection in the mirror. If they did not heal soon, she would have to take alternate measures.
As much as she preferred to be as she always had been, unspectacular, unenhanced, human, there were advantages to having that curse inside her. She hated to use it, and only to help others, but she was also not going to let burns ruin her performances at the street festival later in the week.
A snarl and shake of her head, she would not do it. She would not give in to the temptation. "Heal on your own, fool." She muttered to her reflection, and then cleaned, placed the ointment, and wrapped her hands fresh.
The places on her neck had been much smaller and fewer; already done with their tender care. The spots barely showed in the day, and at night took seeking to find.
The buzzer to the front door on the first floor made Lirssa start. Her heart pounding, she sucked in a breath and made her way to the speaker. "May I help you?"
"Lirssa, it is time for the weekly meeting." It was Konane. The voice was unmistakable. When people announce world altering ideas, it imprints the sound of them so very clearly. Lirssa would never forget how Konane sounds.
"Not here. Don't ever come here." Lirssa snarled. The mood of the previous night sent scattering to the wind as a flock of birds startled by a fox.
There was silence on the other side, and so she continued. "You leave messages at the Inn or at the port, but you leave this house alone."
"Lirssa, the meeting. One hour. Clock tower."
Odd place for a family gathering. "Fine." Lirssa was not going to go unarmed, though. She never let her guard down anymore when it came to meeting people. In fact, "Dante!" She called for the hound. "Time for a walk."
The house was quiet. Not because everyone was asleep, by no means. The hour was late, and everyone was out. They had left her alone after the lateness of her return and gone about their day. No doubt she would find a note left behind in the kitchen expressing their hopes that she had a fine time, that they would see her at such and such an hour or place, and expressions of familial affection.
For the moment, though, she was in the bathroom slowly peeling away the gauze. The dried pus of a few broken blisters pasted the wrappings to spots on her hands. She had not felt them break, but no doubt in the merriment of the Beltane Fires, she had been distracted by the fun and friendship, seeing others burn away their cares through drink, dance, and...other activities.
She was gentle with the wounds. The small rounds and ovals with loose skin were left alone. When the pink, raw flesh beneath was prepared to take the damage, then she would remove the old. With a sigh, Lirssa looked at her reflection in the mirror. If they did not heal soon, she would have to take alternate measures.
As much as she preferred to be as she always had been, unspectacular, unenhanced, human, there were advantages to having that curse inside her. She hated to use it, and only to help others, but she was also not going to let burns ruin her performances at the street festival later in the week.
A snarl and shake of her head, she would not do it. She would not give in to the temptation. "Heal on your own, fool." She muttered to her reflection, and then cleaned, placed the ointment, and wrapped her hands fresh.
The places on her neck had been much smaller and fewer; already done with their tender care. The spots barely showed in the day, and at night took seeking to find.
The buzzer to the front door on the first floor made Lirssa start. Her heart pounding, she sucked in a breath and made her way to the speaker. "May I help you?"
"Lirssa, it is time for the weekly meeting." It was Konane. The voice was unmistakable. When people announce world altering ideas, it imprints the sound of them so very clearly. Lirssa would never forget how Konane sounds.
"Not here. Don't ever come here." Lirssa snarled. The mood of the previous night sent scattering to the wind as a flock of birds startled by a fox.
There was silence on the other side, and so she continued. "You leave messages at the Inn or at the port, but you leave this house alone."
"Lirssa, the meeting. One hour. Clock tower."
Odd place for a family gathering. "Fine." Lirssa was not going to go unarmed, though. She never let her guard down anymore when it came to meeting people. In fact, "Dante!" She called for the hound. "Time for a walk."