Slipping Away (Plot/Erilena)

[Rowana]

The tap on the door was light and hesitant, but T'ke didn't wait for permission to enter. It was the infirmary after all, anyone was free to enter at any hours. He'd only knocked so that the people inside wouldn't jump when he entered. He didn't really like to bother them. Everyone was on edge lately with all the salamandyrs and fire lizards getting sick and dying. Sneaking further into the room, T'ke was relieved to see the person he wanted to find was actually there. They hadn't spoken much lately. She was busy with her family and other things. He just wasn't sure who else he could ask.

"Erilena?" he asked nervously, his voice quieter than normal and with some extra sadness. "I'm sorry...I...don't mean to bother you...but...would you...?" In his hands, was a limp and wheezing Shard. She was so skinny you could see her ribs, and mucus was leaking out of most of her pores. "I've tried everything," T'ke lowered his voice, trying hard not to cry. He'd hadn't even like the salamandyr when they'd first met, but now he couldn't bear to let her go. "She won't want a man to touch her. Can you...?" His voice was desperate, but pessimistic too. He knew Shard was probably lost to him. She hardly even responded anymore. At least Haru and Gara should be safe. He'd sent the pair of them off as soon as Shard showed symptoms.

[Rei]

No. No. No. Nothing there either. Erilena pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. “Damn it.” The next minute she was shoving that scroll aside in frustration. She wanted to cry, she really did. But that wouldn’t help anything, so she didn’t. She had curled up alone in the infirmary storeroom to cry only once, as soon as Dementia began to show signs of the illness and as expected Dmitri started to mirror them. The pair were bound too close for him not to. It made this whole thing even worse. As if it wasn’t bad enough already. Her own firelizard was dead, (The other one, Grim, was healthy so far but she was watching him closely just in case), Dementia and Dmitri were sick, and she still had two one and a half month old twin babies demanding her near constant attention.

With Dmitri out of commission Erilena didn’t so much as ask for a bit of help from him where the little ones were concerned. He didn't need further stress. Instead she struggled on her own with as much help from S’rei and Elysia as they could and would give. Whatever tiny bit of extra time the greenrider could scrape up between caring for her family was being spent in the infirmary or pouring over work at home. Sleep be damned. She hadn’t had any for over twenty four hours now. And Erilena didn’t plan on that changing anytime soon. Not until she had something. Anything she could use to combat this. There had to be an answer. There had to be a cure. The alternative was just too terrible to even consider. They couldn’t lose them. She couldn’t lose them. It was her fault anyway. If she hadn’t left Dileina alone. If she had just….

Biting her lip Erilena pulled over another of Kalierre’s old scrolls. She had requested they be rescued when the earthquake had hit. The woman had turns ago allowed her complete access to them and she knew where they were. Now the dragonhealer was just wading through them for things she could use. Anything that looked even a bit helpful was like a glimmer of hope. A soft voice startled her from her search and Erilena's head snapped around to face it. Immediately she paled and quickly left her stool to approach T’ke. Not another one. Regarding him with as much calm composure as she could gather in that moment the greenrider placed a hand on his arm in an attempt to offer him a little comfort.

“Of course. You aren’t bothering me T’ke you’re never a bother.” The greenrider uttered in a soothing tone before simply nodding to the rest of his statement as she gently scooped Shard out of his hands and into one of hers. “Of course.” Quietly Erilena examined the salamandyr noting just how far the disease had progressed already before she started towards a nearby table, gesturing for T’ke to follow. Damn. She was already to the excess mucus stage. Which meant that they had precious little time to waste.

“How long as she been sick approximately? When did you start noticing her loosing her appetite?” Erilena asked the bluerider gently as she took a warm wet rag and began to carefully wipe away the mucus from Shard’s mouth and nose. As she did she carefully noted the green’s breathing rate and the color of her mucus membranes too. There were some worse off yes, but still Shard’s condition was worrisome. She tried her best to keep any worry out of her expression or tone as she turned back to T’ke. “She’s pretty sick T’ke. She’s certainly got what the rest of them have. It only gets worse from here on out I’m afraid.” Meeting his eyes the greenrider waited for his reaction. She had a question to ask. But she needed him to understand this first. Shard wasn’t going to get better. Not on her own anyway.

[Rowana]

T'ke followed Erilena and laid Shard out gently on the table so they could see her better. He took a couple deep breaths, though it did little to steady his voice. "A few days," he admitted quietly. "She stopped eating. I just thought she was upset about...you know...Rhino." His face grew uncomfortable. Rhino had never been the most attentive or devoted of mates, but that didn't change the fact that Shard had adored him. "I tried everything. I'm sorry." His voice started to drop in volume to almost an apologetic whisper. "If only I'd realized sooner."

He nodded acceptance as Erilena explained. He knew it was bad. His mind was already happy to go through all the horrible results this was probably going to have. He wanted to hope, he really did. Yet even Garaeth's optimism could only go so far. Shard was dying. And T'ke didn't think even Erilena could stop it. "I know," he said, his voice going flat and dry. "Thanks though," he added, more gently. He wasn't sure what he was thanking her for. Taking the time to see them? Being honest with him? Maybe just letting him have someone to talk to? Whatever it was, T'ke was just glad she was here.