Coping. (Post Prophecy)

Revenge, one way or the other... As Diaes exited the building, he looked back, up at the floor upon which Shadow's flat rested. He nodded to himself and began to walk away. Dark forms in the night congealed and writhed in their private corners, stretching out one moment and then retracting in the next. Black things swirled and dipped and arced through the air. Around him, they were, all around and yet they were not of him. They began to move as though with purpose for the first time as he started to leave, rising towards the building from which he had just come. "Silence," he said, not turning back, "Get back and to your own places return, now!" His voice had been low with no noticeable emotion in it, but the dark shapes in the night retreated. Then, one last look at the flat, with narrowed eyes. 'Perhaps,' he thought, 'Perhaps this will play out, but I think not... No, they fear me too much, but soon... Desperation can drive a person to many things, especially one in love.' His gaze to the moon above turned. 'And there will soon be cause for desperation, should prophecy see fit to work itself,' and he was gone, vanished into the night...

Shadow sat up straight again, grimacing as the stitches holding her wounds together reminded her that they were there. She was going to have to be exceedingly careful not to rip any of them out. She cursed under her breath. It meant that she was going to be next to useless over the next few days at least.

Dominique approached Bart. Arriving in front of him, she stopped, and tilted her head. Bart lifted one eyebrow, and Dominique rolled her eyes. She put a hand on his shoulder, and whispered something inaudible in his ear. Bart turned his head to face her.
"We can't go now; Shadow needs our help for protection, as she's wounded," Bart whispered back, through an almost closed mouth.
"Then we go tomorrow," Dominique murmured back. Bart looked up at Shadow. He put up one finger to Dominique, and approached Shadow. As he appeared in front of her, he stalled, and then hesitated. But he knew he needed to do this.
"Shadow," he began, "You're probably not protected from any of the attacks from the Lord, and in the state you're in, you won't be able to defend yourself. I think you won't contradict me, hmm?" Bart continued, "How many days do you think the Lord will force attacks on you? Until you're dead?" He asked.

Shadow looked up at Bart.
"Kill me? No, he just wants obedience. That's why the punishment is as it is. It serves to break the spirit of the assassin long enough for them to swear their loyalty." She paused. "Then again, I do wonder if it is in fact that he wants to kill me. Slowly."

"Do you think he'll demand more 'obedience' from you, by sending even more assassins?" Bart asked, slightly sarcastic, but only slightly. He waited for the answer calmly, as Dominique walked in circled a little further away, near the door. She had put her hand up to her chin in concentration. She still needed to ask Shadow something. And she would ask it now.

Shadow frowned.
"This isn't a game, I just brought the game to him rather than waiting it out." She said, stading up slowly, ignoring the pulling pain from the stitches as her muscles tensed and flexed to allow her movement.
"Wolf," Kia said quietly, "You need to calm down a bit..."
"Fawn, be quiet."
Kia fell silent.

Bart let Shadow stand up, even if he knew it wasn't good for her to move in such a lousy state of body. Bart kept an eye on Shadow for a while, before lowering his head and sighing very slightly.
Dominique, on the other hand, took the chance. She walked over to Shadow. She hesitated for a moment, then spoke. "Shadow," she began, "Can I please have a most possible private discussion with you?" She asked.

Shadow nodded once, and gestured towards her room before slowly limping there herself. She wondered what Dominique wanted to talk to her about.

Dominique entered Shadow's room, closing the door slowly but tightly after Shadow and she had entered. She kept an ear on the door, to make sure that Bart wasn't listening past it. It wasn't that she didn't trust Bart, but it was that she just wanted this to be private. Bart must of understood that. After her checkings being answered, she turned to the demoness.
"Shadow," she began, "You know of the agreement between Bart and me, right?" She turned around, then around again, slightly hesitant. She looked up at Shadow. "You see," she continued, "I would want to know if I'm able to... Have... Children, if you know what I mean..."

Shadow listened carefully to Dominique's words and nodded once.
"I understand your concerns," She said quietly, starting to look over the spines of the ancient looking books placed carefully on the bookshelves that covered mose of the walls of her room, careful not to pull any stitches. "I will see if I can find something to aid you."

"Please do," Dominique muttered quietly. She turned in circles for a long time, thinking about what she really wanted. She needed to know. Was she able to do this? She had never said no to it, and she always thought yes. But now that she really asked the question to herself, the answer really was, I don't know.

Shadow scowered her books, trying to find the one she was looking for. When she eventually found it, she flicked through the yellowing pages, searching for the knowledge she needed.

Dominique walked over to Shadow, looking over her shoulder. She couldn't read the pages as fast as Shadow was flicking through them, but she understood the main topic of each page immediately before Shadow could pass it. Her heart was beating harshly against her rib cage. She wanted this to be done with. She needed to know the answer.

Shadow sighed, closing the book and taking the one next to it. It took a few moments for Shadow to refamiliarise herself with the Synari runes the book had been written in, but soon she was flicking through it quickly.

Dominique sighed as well, but not of boredom, but more like because she was stressed. She looked around, trying to find out what was supposed to be done. There were many books around, but Dominique couldn't read what was written on all of them. She looked back at the book Shadow was flipping through. This one had a different alphabet, and Dominique couldn't understand a thing that was written on the tome.

"Here's something I can use." Shadow said quietly, her violet gaze turning to Dominique. "It should tell us what we want to know."

Dominique got up quickly, putting her clenched hand up to her chin. She nodded briefly, closing her eyes. She looked back at the door, then she turned to Shadow again.
"What is supposed to be done?" Dominique asked.

"It's a sort of ritual." Shadow said, reading through the passages again. "But it doesn't look too complicated..."

Dominique lifted an eyebrow at Shadow.
"And you're sure that you'll ave enough control over your magic to do so?" Dominique asked. Her hair fell don over her eye, and she pulled it up behind her ear with her right hand. She turned back to Shadow, waiting impatiently for the answer.

Shadow thought for a moment before nodding.
"Yes, I can perform this rite."

Dominique nodded once again, and thought to herself for a very short moment. She then looked back at Shadow, her eyes glinting. "Then what is needed, for this ritual?" Dominique asked, one hand on her chin, one eyebrow raised.

Shadow read through the beginning of the text.
"Powder of the Carin Stone, I have that, a careen feather, I have that too, holy water, uh-huh, and a spell." She read out.

"So..." Dominique muttered, looking downwards hesitantly, "Does that basically mean that we could do it right now?" Dominique asked, lifting her head to look at Shadow. She felt her heart beat against her rib cage, and she tried to calm down.

Shadow nodded again.
"Yes, if you want me to."

"The sooner," Dominique said, "The better." She turned around, and put a hand on the doorknob. She was about to turn it, when she turned her head to the demoness. "Where are the ingredients?" Dominique asked.