Blue Jay Gets A Cold

[Blue Jay]

Blue Jay sat at the bar in Trollskull Manor staring down at the engineering treatise sitting in front of her, elbows resting on the bat while her cheekbones rested on her fists. She had been beating her head against this problem for days, hardly getting any sleep. It was a quiet day, so she had ventured down from the study, hoping that a change of scenery make shake something loose. While the sound of Fae working in the kitchen was largely soothing—Blue Jay still flushed with embarrassment whenever she heard the popping and pinging of the skillet she had made for Fae—that hadn't translated into any progress. In fact, she was having a hard time just getting her eyes to focus on the page.

She sighed and closed the book. Perhaps what she needed was to fiddle around at her workbench a bit and let her fingers find the piece her mind was missing. Tucking the book under her arm, she turned to jump down from the barstool, when her body reported her sense of balance at a 45° variance from where she expected it to be. "Erp?" Suddenly, she was lying on the floor, dazed. Must have taken a tumble. she hadn't really registered the sound of her of her descent, but the stool was still rocking slightly on its legs.

Blue Jay sat there, one arm bracing herself against the floor, and tried to remember when she last ate. Such details often escaped her attention when she was in the throes of an obsession, but she was fairly certain Fae had been bringing her meals. Saving her the trip had been part of the rationale for studying on the ground floor today.

[FaeOndoron]

Cold morning air blew gently through the open windows of the kitchen, countering the heat of the fires crackling in the stone oven where Fae's latest 'experiment' with bread and treat making was currently rising. She had risen with the sun, for once on purpose as the young half elf had gotten an inkling to try baking rye bread after a night of drinking rye liquor. The dough needed a long rise time, she knew from the one time she'd successfully made it, and something about the flavor just felt right for the weather. It had been nice the last few days - quiet, peaceful, though a bit lonely. Her companions had taken to their own business, and while footsteps were heard above and below at times in the multi-story manor, Fae couldn't help but feeling like she was spending more time with the ghost of the former owner than the living.

"Maybe today we'll do food for two. She ain't been eatin' much lately. Prob'ly liven off camp rations..." Fae grumbled judgmentally, though a gentle pink flush filling her pale cheeks as she reached for a copper pan: her copper pan. Of all the cookware, Fae had taken to the hammered metal tool as her undeniable favor in the kitchen. She dropped a pad of butter into the skillet and let it melt, her ears perking as the sparks and crackles began. Fae had learned just how to monitor the pan: when to lay down meats like bacon or sausage versus the eggs. When to pour that first pancake and flip it to make a perfect golden brown. She still squeaked a bit and caught herself giggling when an errant pop flew toward her. But she didn't mind. It was her's.

She had been sliding two eggs off the pan when she heard the crash, dropping everything and rushing to the bar area to see what was the matter. From beyond the bar top, everything seemed perfectly normal. Everything in its place...except the wobble of a bar stool.

Coming around the bar, a gasp escaped Fae's lips as she saw the crumbled mess of hair and robes that was Elly. "Elly? What happened?" she called, concern heavy in her tone as she knelt down to get a better look. 'Baggy eyes. Shallow cheeks.'

A gentle hand reached forward and lifted some of Elly's hair off her forehead. Without a moment's thought, she pressed her own head against Elly's, two silver-grey eyes looking down at the gnome with a maternal sort of concern and judgement. "Yer' hot.."

[Blue Jay]

Blue Jay attempted to collect herself before Fae made it out to check on her, but either Fae was too fast, or she was too sluggish. "I'm fine," she said, trying to wave her off. "Just lost my balance getting off the stool." Fae was, apparently, unconvinced—being convincing was never Blue Jay's strong point—and before Blue Jay could stop her, she was reaching out for her.

A gentle hand reached forward and lifted some of Elly's hair off her forehead. Without a moment's thought, she pressed her own head against Elly's, two silver-grey eyes looking down at the gnome with a maternal sort of concern and judgement. "Yer' hot.."

Elly found herself feeling quite flushed, for a variety of reasons. She knew what Fae was really saying, of course, but her traitorous ears couldn't help but hear another message at the same time and carry that missive to her heart, which was already a bit overworked. She stifled a groan. Elly didn't want to be sick, but she hadn't prepared a curing spell this morning and Karon was off questing for the Temple of the Moon, so she couldn't ask to borrow a cup of healing from his reservoir. "I'm fine," Elly repeated, but she couldn't maintain eye contact with Fae, so she only looked sullen and guilty. "I'll tough it out today and cure it tomorrow."

[FaeOndoron]

In the silence of a second after saying it, the words traveled from Fae's own lips to her ears, her mind wrapping around them as she watched Elly do the same and take them in a direction completely opposite of what she'd intended. Fae wanted to laugh a bit, to prod Elly into saying something embarrassing so that their little dance of intimacy could continue. Instead, the half-elf's hand slipped away from Elly's hair as the gnome drew back just enough that Fae worried she would knock her head against the wooden counter behind her.

Elly found herself feeling quite flushed, for a variety of reasons. She knew what Fae was really saying, of course, but her traitorous ears couldn't help but hear another message at the same time and carry that missive to her heart, which was already a bit overworked. She stifled a groan. Elly didn't want to be sick, but she hadn't prepared a curing spell this morning and Karon was off questing for the Temple of the Moon, so she couldn't ask to borrow a cup of healing from his reservoir. "I'm fine," Elly repeated, but she couldn't maintain eye contact with Fae, so she only looked sullen and guilty. "I'll tough it out today and cure it tomorrow."

One eyebrow piqued almost too perfectly as Fae looked down at the mess of a gnome in front of her. The half cocked smile she usually wore flattened to a thin line as she stood, dusting some flour and dirt from her apron, "Now don't go bein' all half-baked," Fae chimed, her tone clear that she was ignoring any attempt to convince her that this was what 'fine' looked like. "Magic's one thing but ain't no magic that's better than a little rest, and some food," she added, her tone shifting just at the end to somewhere between benign statement and malicious barb that screamed 'I-know-you-haven't-been-eating-don't-play-games-with-me'

Fae's hand stretched out in offering to help provide some balance and support, "Com'on now, when's th'last time you even seen a'bed?"

[Blue Jay]

Fae's eyebrow felt like an accusation, the flat line of her mouth a verdict, but Elly still felt the need to muster a defense. Realizing that she wasn't helping her case by sitting on the floor, she got to her feet, but her skull felt like it was filled with cork and she had to put a hand against the counter to keep from wobbling. The impulse to rely on the counter rather than Fae's outstretched hand was one she didn't want to explore.

"There's a bed in plain view of my workbench," Elly said, though if pressed she would have had a hard time pinpointing when she last turned her head to bring it into her field of vision, much less made use of it instead of dozing off in whatever chair she was sitting in. This was not a productive defense, she knew, but it seemed better than running afoul of the "when did you last eat?" hook.

She stared at Fae's hand, caught between the desire to feel it against her head again and the wish that Fae would go back to what she was doing and leave her alone. Elly had had to take care of herself alone for five years, and the nebulous resentment at having had to do that clashed with the more specific resentment at the implication she couldn't. She crossed her arms, not entirely succeeding at standing steady. "I'll just go sit in one of the easy chairs by the hearth." Surely that counted as rest.

[FaeOndoron]

Fae would have no way of knowing just how much she resembled her own mother in that moment as she looked down, watching as Elly obstinately denied the real problem and refused to accept the simplest solution. Her face softened, but her eyes still stared in absolute resolve to get the gnome into a proper bed. Still, she felt a shiver run up her spine like in some distant place, someone was laughing at her for her own comeuppance.

"Ellywick Julia Tenena Virra Tarkleby" Fae chastised with a sigh, bouncing on her heels as her hands moved to her hips. If Elly was going to be stubborn, then she could be overbearing. Still, the name flowed from her lips with such ease, like she had committed them to memory by saying them repeatedly, over and over in the mirror. Of course, Fae had never really expected that the first time she spoke Elly's full name would have been to admonish her attempts at taking a break. "I got fifty feet a'rope an' I'm damned positive I can hogtie you if I need'a." The intensity was enough that Fae's natural drawl dropped, punctuating her words.

Shifting her body so her hips blocked any staggering attempt toward the hearth, she pointed, "So we gon'get in bed? 'Er am I gon get some rope?"

[Blue Jay]

Hearing Fae utter each one of Elly's names startled her into dropping her arms and gaping at the half-elf. It had been years since she had heard all of her names used at once. There weren't any gnomes in Waterdeep close enough to her for the intimacy of holding her entire person in their mouth. Most tall folk didn't bother to remember all her names, but Fae not only remembered, she enunciated each one without any halting or hesitation. It had a feeling like being held, her weight fully supported. It had a feeling like being seen with discomfiting clarity.

"I got fifty feet a'rope an' I'm damned positive I can hogtie you if I need'a." The intensity was enough that Fae's natural drawl dropped, punctuating her words.

Shifting her body so her hips blocked any staggering attempt toward the hearth, she pointed, "So we gon'get in bed? 'Er am I gon get some rope?"

Elly backed into the counter, hands pressing back into it, her knees suddenly treacherous, gaping as her mental gears seized at the attempt to shift while in motion. Face beet red, she visibly swallowed. "Did—did you just threaten to tie me up and take me to bed?" Maybe she really was sick, if she was experiencing auditory hallucinations.

[FaeOndoron]

Elly backed into the counter, hands pressing back into it, her knees suddenly treacherous, gaping as her mental gears seized at the attempt to shift while in motion. Face beet red, she visibly swallowed. "Did—did you just threaten to tie me up and take me to bed?" Maybe she really was sick, if she was experiencing auditory hallucinations.

"Yer damned right I did.." Fae said without missing a beat, her face plain that the same kind of imagery had not quite crossed her own mind. She took a slow step forward, shadow beginning to loom over Elly. "An if y'keep it up I might just keep ya'tied up there a few days till I'm satisfied."

It was a second too late for Fae to realize there may be more to what she was saying than she meant. Elly's flushed expression was just because she was under the weather. Her nervousness and fluster because Fae was taking command of the situation instead of giving in to Elly's suggestion. Nothing more. 'Nine Hells this girl.' It felt like a mirror cracked on her expression as Fae tried to remain stern and focused on getting Elly into bed, despite a flush starting to rise on her own cheeks and tinging the tips of her pointed ears as the idea of 'getting Elly into bed' took on secondary meaning.

Fae's nostrils flared a bit as she took a deep exhale, moving to close Elly in. And then she leaned down, bending at her waist, her palms wrapping delicately around the edge of the bar top. The way she was bending made Fae's apron and the loose tie of her tunic hang open, teasing what may lie underneath the dark abyss of fabric. And then, her forehead was resting on the gnome's again, staring deeply into her, "Y'know it ain't fun when I can't tell why yer overheatin'. So why don't we go upstairs an' get ya' comfortable, hm?"

[Blue Jay]

Elly shrunk back against the counter, wide-eyed, like a mouse that couldn't help but think maybe letting the cat play wouldn't be so bad. Why does this have to happen when I'm sick? she thought. Also: Eyes up, Ellywick. Her hands came up to clasp together at the neck of her tunic, holding it shut as though, through the principle of sympathy, that would also keep Fae's from falling too far open. "It's a wonder I ever stop overheating," she said.

Fae's forehead was cool against her own. Just that sensation was soothing in a way that made Elly want to melt. Why am I fighting this so hard, anyway? It wasn't as though her latest obsession was anything urgent. Would it be so bad if she just took the rest of the day off? Maybe she should find out.

"Alright," Elly said at last, no longer able to endure Fae's gaze. "I'll come quietly."

[FaeOndoron]

Fae's eyes closed finally as she let out a pleased breath at hearing Elly's capitulation to her demands. "Good..good," she softly intoned, one hand coming off the bar to gently cup Elly's cheek as she stood to her full height. She tried to ignore how warm the cheek was and the pang she felt deep in her chest that something worse might be wrong. The intrusive thought lingered in the back of her mind nonetheless, of days at a bedside, high fevers, delirium...'death'.

"You really ought'a take better care.." she said as a way of distracting the thought and making it disappear. She waited for Elly to move from the wall and head toward the stairs before following her, standing just behind as a merciful anchor in case Elly needed support, and a firm wall in case the gnome tried to make a dash for it.

"Lucky fer you, I got experience playin'a nurse.." she said with a sly wink.