They always seemed to be trailing after each other. At least, she always seemed to be trailing after him. What did that say about her? Jewell wasn't quite sure, but she didn't have the mind to think about it at the moment.

She had been concerned after Skyler had left the Outback without her, upset with herself for being unable to follow; she had a sword match in less than an hour and she had to stick around for it. She kept reassuring herself that the second it was over she'd go and find Skyler.

Naturally, it had to be the longest duel she ever participated in; over an hour of clashing swords on Twilight Beach. She had been cursing herself the entire time for bringing her claymore, of all things! Sure, it had been made for her and was lighter than most swords of that make should be but her arms still were burning after the first few rounds. At least her opponent had been nice, their bantering back and forth lightening her mood although worry still lurked at the corners of her mind.

It was close to midnight when they finally finished, Corwin gaining the advantage towards the end. Fortunately Wyheree had been there to clot her wounds quickly, she preferred her sissy doing that over using the wards. Once that was done, she staggered off leaving a good deal of her blood behind to stain the sand.

From the Island to the Inn to the streets of RhyDin. Her worry for Skyler's condition could only quicker her pace so much, her head swimming from blood loss, exertion, and general weariness from the last week of sleepless nights. She had stopped to lean against a wall or five while still within the city's limits, thinking wryly that now would be the time for the West End murderer to come upon her.

No such luck for the murderer, though, so Jewell had to drag herself all the way to Cosmo Beach. She stopped in the driveway, just staring at the house. She didn't really want to go inside and drag herself up the stairs, undoubtley making noise as even she could not walk lightly tonight.

Instead, she made her way around to the other side of the house. She looked up at Skyler's windows, frowning. She really didn't have the energy ...but screw it, she did it anyways. Without wings--which would have made the whole thing easier, but she wasn't really thinking straight--she raised herself off the ground. Her body went up into the air, almost like an elevator, until her face was on level with the window and she could peer inside.

Jewell was dismayed when she didn't see Skyler in his bedroom and more than frustrated with herself for not following him earlier. She lowered herself back down to the ground, feeling more woozy and light headed than before after that little display of magic. She would have to get Corwin back for abusing her poor body some time in the future.

Skyler would want to bless those pointy ears of hers later for without them she would have just turned away and stumbled home. Instead, her ear twitched mid-turn and she looked back to the glass that encased the living room. It wasn't the first call of her name that she had picked up on, but the second followed by that horrible coughing.

She stepped forward, placing her hands and nose on the glass and peering inside. It was easy enough for her to see into the pitch-blackness of the living room, her breath catching in her throat as she saw Skyler lying on the floor. She didn't see the blood, not yet, but she remembered what he said about his heart earlier in the night. The sight was enough to get her heart pumping quickly, bone-weary body filled with a spurt of adrenaline and blue energy dancing to life around her limbs.

She looked over the glass wildly, doors and windows as a means of entrance not even crossing her mind. Actually, she wasn't really thinking at all because she wouldn't be able to recall why she decided driving her fist through a pane of glass was a good idea, especially in her current state of blood-loss and injury. But that's what she did; encasing her hand in energy, she smashed the glass to pieces. Not a single shard hit the floor, though, as she reached out, embracing every last piece in her energy, and sent it flying behind her to scatter on the property.

She stepped into the room, the glow from her body (blue from the energy and that ethereal silver of her skin she usually hid) sending shadows scittering to the corners. She looked absolutely wild, her skin and clothes blood stained, bruised, and cut to pieces. When the light she shed fell upon Skyler and revealed the true state of things she couldn't contain her cry.

At his side in moments, she heedlessly knelt in the puddle of blood and lifted his upper body to cradle him in her arms. "Skyler...Skyler?" Her voice came out just above a whisper, not out of any sense of courtesy to those living in the house (as they weren't a passing thought in her befuddled mind) but because she couldn't trust herself to speak any louder without screaming or crying.

Her arms trembled as she held him as she was pushing herself to that dangerous limit with such brazen displays of magic. She used that other-sense to search out his wounds, tending first to his head. She couldn't heal him all-out at the moment, not without sending herself near death or beyond--which would do Skyler little good. She had to settle for clotting the wound for now, what she wouldn't give for Wyheree's presence, by super-charging the blood platelets in his body and gathering them at the sight of the wound.

She shook uncontrollably as she did what little healing she could at the moment, babbling quietly to him, "Please...love, wake up...say something...please."

She was near ecstatic when Skyler was able to stand and speak but such feelings were counter-balanced and dragged back down into the realm of anxious, angry, and upset by the way he sounded, the blood he spit out, and the things he said.

?Tommy got pissed when I told him I was moving out.?

That fueled her anger; her world went red (and not from the blood that came from both of their bodies). Jewell was familiar with such feelings of blood lust; it had carried her through fights many times before when loved ones were hurt. This rage would have to sustain her once again, carrying them both to her house.

She let drop a bangle from her wrist, aside the pool of blood, before leaving the house. It was Faerie gold, and not the kind that changed back into leaves and dirt with the light of day. No, this was the real thing. Of course, the real thing could be very bad luck for any mortal that had it in his keeping. Jewell was planning on Tommy not knowing that, so few did. Leaving it had been some strange notion in her head?to pay for the window she had thoughtlessly broken so that Skyler would not end up in more trouble than she had already put him in and to get Tommy back in some under-handed way.

She knew before they started that this was going to be one of the longest walks home ever, even if home was only a few houses away. Every muscle in her body screamed at her to stop moving as she supported Skyler out of Cosmo Beach and onto the road. She repeated two mantras to herself even as she spoke to Skyler: ?Pain is just a state of mind? and ?Weariness does not exist.? Her master had drummed them into her head so long ago and she had lived by such beliefs at times throughout the years; they kept her on her feet now.

?I don?t care if you bleed all over my floors, love, I do it all the time.?

Pain is just a state of mind.

His delirious chatting, unlike her pain and weariness, was hard to ignore. She could deal with the physical, but such obvious displays of his state of injury hit at her emotional weaknesses. When tears ran down her cheeks, mixing with the blood there, it was because she was absolutely terrified by the things he was saying. She could not deal with the possibility that Skyler could very well be dying as she half-dragged him to her house. It was just another time when she wasn?t strong enough in any capacity.

As they walked, she continually filtered tiny amounts of her own energy into him. It was making her dizzier than ever, her whole body feeling on fire as she strained her magic; yet, she refused to stop. She would not stop sharing if she still had anything left to give to him. It wasn?t particularly meant for healing but to help his body sustain life in general.

There were several times when she considered just falling to the side of the road, wrapping her arms about him and letting them both die in peace. The idea was firmly rejected each time and she continued to push herself onwards, even when she was almost completely carrying him. She even forced herself to keep up a running dialogue when his tapered off, panicked at the thought that he might drift into unconsciousness and from there?the death of her very mortal lover was not entertained lightly by the fae.

?I never told you about when I gave birth to Amanda. I was with this guy, and I probably knew even then that it was never going to work out; neither of us cared enough.? Her own words were starting to slur with exhaustion but she pushed on. Weariness does not exist. ?I was a Ravenlock by that point already, I think?I don?t know if I actually was in name or not, though. But I was alone when I had her, save for this midwife. I was terrified too, I hated being alone then. I probably was just unhappy with life, but that?s been my whole life for the most part,? she didn?t even realize she was starting to ramble, her brain just kept insisting that it was imperative that she continue to talk so talk she did. ?I was unhappy, but I had her and it hurt like hell?because childbirth does and I hate it because it?s one of the few pains I can?t stand.?

Pain is just a state of mind.

?But I had her and the midwife cleaned her up and set her in my arms and she opened those beautiful grey eyes at me and it didn?t matter anymore. It didn?t matter if I was alone, or unhappy and in tons of pain because I had this beautiful little girl who would love me and never leave me. I thought that way, and I think I?m right. Amanda and I?she loves me still even if she won?t talk to me right now.?

He wasn?t directly aware of Jewell?s energy filtering into him, but the effect was obvious. It probably kept him from completely losing consciousness and toppling over. Her talk about Amanda was heard and processed, and though he couldn?t manage a coherent response, he understood her emotions regarding her daughter.

He remained more or less aware all the way to the healing room. The room was so well arranged and purposefully organized, simply being inside of it had a sort of curing effect. When Jewell left him and stumbled to the bathroom, he was acutely aware of the sudden lack of her presence. He turned his head to the bathroom and saw her shape bent over the toilet dry heaving. Skyler wanted to go over and comfort her, and even though he tried to do so, all he could manage to do was extend his arm in her direction, as if trying to stroke her head from all the way across the room.

From the divan he watched her roll into the tub and turn on the shower. That shower looked inviting through his squinty eyes, yet he had no strength to rise. His limbs were numb, unresponsive. He lifted a hand and raked a fingernail down his cheek, but couldn?t feel it at all.

Suddenly Iona was there. He reached out to touch her, just to make sure he wasn?t hallucinating her. He couldn?t feel her when their skin touched, but he could see his hand fold around her arm. That convinced him that she was real enough. The words she spoke made no sense to him, but he knew that the drink she mixed needed to be consumed. Skyler opened his mouth and let her slowly pour it down his throat.

As the stuff went down, it seemed to make the blood stop wanting to surge up his throat. It had a warming effect on his body, causing Skyler to feel all fuzzy and cozy inside. His head wound was forgotten even as Iona tended it, as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

Jewell was left to recover on her own, unconscious in the shower, until Iona felt it was safe enough to leave her watch over Skyler and rouse Amanda from her sleep. She had the young girl, begrudgingly, watch over her mother's beau as she went to tend to her mistress.

She tsk'd and grumbled as she turned the shower off, happy she didn't have to clean blood and gore off of Jewell this time but concerned with how long she had been left unattended too. She was shivering now, still unconscious, even as Iona stopped the onslaught of cold water; she knew the water was good for her mistress but being cold and wet wasn't good for anyone, even a water fae.

She dragged her out of the tub, dried her off, took care of the wounds that Wyh had already clotted as well as her cut up hand, and set her up in nice warm clothing. It wasn't easy, as Jewell was dead weight and did not stir once, but Iona executed it all with the air of a doting mother and as someone who had experience with tending to Jewell many times before.

Getting her all wrapped up in blankets, she set her up on a divan that Amanda helped her pull next to Skyler's. It was a risk, neither Amanda nor Iona would put it past Jewell to wake up and try to heal Skyler immediately without waiting for herself to recover first. It was for that reason, and to continue to monitor Skyler's condition, that Iona set herself up in a chair to watch both her patients after sending Amanda on her merry way.

"I'll call yah if your mamma wakes up, sweets...she may ask you to do a little healing for the young man if you can." Amanda did not seem at all pleased about that but she gave both unconscious people a concerned look anyways before leaving.

There wasn't much for Iona to do but sit quietly. She carefully cleaned Skyler up a bit, trying to make him as comfortable as possible. When Jewell stopped shivering, she returned her to a bathtub filled with warm water. It would at least be mid-day before Jewell regained any form of consciousness, she wasn't so sure about Skyler. So, she waited.