A Cold and Wet Night II 
Frost 3rd, 120th Year, A.o.S.
Telion came back from within Rickter's room with the door shut behind her, the blanket from his bed rolled around her arm as she held it close to her, on her way over to wrap it around the wolf himself as he sat. Ten minutes had passed but it already started to feel like forever to him now, as the wolf's entire body had become coated in a sheen of sweat. Sweat that refused to let up as he shivered consistently in place, even though the room didn't exactly feel as cold as it did to him. No... He was cold. To his very core Rickter felt nearly frigid, and yet one look at the shirt and pants he wore, one could assume he'd gone swimming by now. "Here, this might help!"
As she said this Telion wrapped the blanket all around him, bringing it over his shoulders as the wolf just steadied his breathing. He'd started shivering earlier as a result of how cold he'd gotten, enough to where the feeling of being cold himself was all that he knew. Telion checked him on the forehead with concern in her eyes, hopeful that this part of the initiation would come to pass sooner than the last. With Negation, he simply conked out and experienced some sort of... vision? He still didn't quite know what it was at the time, just that it meant something in regard to his own soul. This time, however, no such luck with the fading of consciousness. At least not yet.
So far Telion's primary concern has been keeping Rickter in a fair state of mind, but certainly, she too noticed the distinct look of determination in his eyes. He wasn't going to be afraid of this, not of the damn cold that plagued his skin. Even with the droplets of sweat pouring from his forehead, Telion's eyes widened at how cold he felt, almost like she didn't expect this sort of reaction at all when it came to the sickness. "I'm sorry Rickter, at this point I wish I knew what else to do." She spoke to him endearingly now with an apologetic tone, her eyes falling into a somber stare as she sat down next to him on the sofa. By now the wolf wished he had a fireplace of some sort built into his home, because a fire sounded ideally like heaven right about now.
The shivers that wracked his body did not lessen, however. No the more he tried to keep them under control, the worse the tremors were as even his breath quaked in turn. This was highly unusual for the poor wolf and certainly for the bard too, for the poor girl had never seen Rickter struggle so shrug off a mere case of the cold. But this wasn't just the cold, was it? This was threshold sickness at its core, inducing unto him what it would've done to anyone else. In a way, it was funny, because he sweated so much he could've started to fill a tub, and yet the poor bastard was so cold he might as well turn into a giant icicle. By that point, Rickter had given up worrying about anything else, as he'd realized then, that the risk factor had exponentially grown in comparison to his first initiation.
Negation was safest by a long shot, whereas now he could possibly curl up and freeze to death, or catch pneumonia as Telion described earlier, and deal with that in turn. None of those sounded like a pleasant thought at all really, and the struggle to conquer his shakes only felt more futile in turn. By now he had felt a sense of concern for his own well-being, wanting nothing more than to feel the warmth of a fire once more as he'd bundled up. The blanket had started to get wet by now, the inner layers starting to soak from the amount of sweat he created. Telion took it as a sign that he would need water soon, as well, and therefore moved to prepare him a separate goblet from the beer he sipped on earlier. He hardly felt inclined to drink it when she returned, nodding for her to place it on the table, which she did before lowering down to sit next to him.
"I'm not sure how long this'll last Ricky... How are you feeling?" When she checked with him she leaned to look him in the face, for the wolf simply stared down at the goblet of water, his focus still on the matter of stilling his limbs wherever they shook. It was then he realized that his feelings hard practically bled out into the open, for Talon and Aoren could be felt reaching out to him then, or perhaps they had been for a while but he just didn't notice it right away. Regardless, he could tell they were concerned as well, enough to offer their support physically as well as spiritually in turn. Not that he knew if they could help in any way, but he did impart upon them the intent to remain strong, and that he would accept their aid however it would come.
And come it did, for within him, he felt comfort and warmth of a different kind. In a way it almost reassured him of the task at hand, yet, Rickter seemed to be further into the woods than he anticipated. For while his skin felt akin to that of a cold lake or ocean at the surface, deep within he started to feel colder than before, like the icy depths of a river during the Frost. It had caught him off guard honestly, and it struck him hard in the pit of his stomach more than anything. The wolf's head began to lower as his eyes grew weary, which then prompted Telion to spur into action the moment she saw the sluggish nod of his head. "Here, Ricky!" She urged him as she started to peel off the blanket, determined to turn it over so the drier side rested against her back, and moving so that she could sit up close behind Rickter.
The bard drew closer to him enough to where he felt her body press into his back, the heat from her chest and core nearly radiating into his spine. It was utterly bonkers at how cold he actually felt just then, and when she wrapped the rest of the blanket around him, Telion drew even closer to where she practically hugged him from behind. "I'm so sorry..." She muttered as he shook violently, his teeth practically clattering together as he gave a low growl of frustration at himself. "I shouldn't have-"
"I-it's-ts n-n-not y-your... f-f-ault-t..." He interrupted with a scowl on his face, his expression severely grim as he clenched his jaw then. Telion could see the frustration in his eyes now, and rested her cheek on his right shoulder, likely gazing at the Rune of Elementalism glowing on the other side. Another series of tremors wracked through his entire being, causing the wolf to lower his head with his eyes closed, while he tried to suppress the tumultuous feelings churning within his gut. Telion must have noticed this because her arms shifted then, allowing her hands to move from atop his shoulders to underneath his arms. At first, it somewhat alarmed him honestly, even so much as tickled a bit when he felt the warmth of her arms embrace his core. She wrapped her arms around his body as much as she could, without restricting his arms, in an effort to at least share her personal warm with him.
"Nobody's ever told me that this could happen," she admitted almost with a light tremble in her tone, "the fact you're sweating while your cold, and it almost doesn't make sense."
"N-n-norm-ma-mally it-it does-doesn- doesn't bother m-m-me..." He regarded lowly with his eyes still closed, feeling Telion's arms gently squeeze him now as she pressed herself into his back.
"Water might become your Arche-Element then." The bard reasoned considerably, a little hopeful that the worst would come to pass. By now, both the blanket and Telion were drenched by Rickter, and the wolf's own body felt fresh out of the ice caps that decorated Lake Udori around this time of the year. Water and cold were never things that generally bothered him to begin with, and yet, when you combined the two it was something else entirely for Rickter. But to be sweating buckets and be cold? It defied any sense of logic at all, so it did make sense that the initiation had something to do with this. Telion looked to the rune she inscribed on him once more, her chin later resting on his right shoulder blade as he fought the shivers further. The overwhelming feeling in his gut expanded then, weighing heavy as it made his stomach and innards feel like they were rolling. Inside him, everything felt odd now, almost in a sickly way but not quite in the same sense.
As he groaned lowly he fought back a couple of urges, the diaphragm beneath his lungs prompted with a sudden need to heave. His body tensed where it was possible, actually stilling the majority of shakes that wracked his form, as he felt on the verge of actually becoming sick just then. He clenched his jaw harder then, breathing deeply as it felt like waves battered his innards now. There were motions that wracked them consistently for a while, almost like a ship being rocked by the sea, before those began to gradually wane in turn. Once those passed then so too did everything else, for the tremors lessened almost immediately after they subsided, and though soaked to the core he no longer produced sweat anymore. Telion noticed the shift of receding afflictions that plagued him, and lifted her head up to peer at the rune of Elementalism once more. "Well what do ya know," She gently remarked as a result, Rickter could hear the grin she wore when she spoke, "the worst has come to pass!"
He was utterly relieved to hear it, let alone feel the threshold sickness subside in turn. Though still rather cold to the touch, Rickter could actually feel the warmth seep back into him, allowing his body temperature to gradually return to a state of normalcy after a while. When that finally came Telion moved to allow herself free, removing the soaked blanket from Rickter as she took it with her. She dropped it onto the floor as the wet fabric made a soft splat against the stone, and turned to check on Rickter before glancing down at her own clothes in turn. The blouse and pants she'd worn were just as soaked as the blanket, at least in the areas where she maintained close contact with him. Yet Telion didn't seem bothered at all, just relieved to see that Ricky would be fine as well. "Wow, I don't think I'll ever do that again."
The wolf's expression contorted a bit, mostly because he wasn't sure what she meant behind the statement. When the bard saw this, of course, she lightly giggled before crossing her arms. "You're probably the only person I've ever initiated, twice now come to think of it. And after that, I think I might hold off from giving anymore for a while. Least with good reason." So that was what she meant then... Without even knowing it Rickter had practically scared the poor girl, made her worry over his well-being this entire time, and he could see it drained her just as much as it did him. The wolf barely smiled to her in response to this, giving her a sincere look of appreciation when spoke in turn.
"I... don't blame you." He admitted with a bit of thought behind the fact. "I can't thank you enough for helping me out."
"Oh," Telion looked a little surprised at him then, "it's nothing really. You've helped me out quite a bit, so no harm in doing the same for you!" She then smiled a little sheepishly as her eyes averted from him as well. "I just don't have any more to give is all, and I don't know if I'd risk it for anyone else after seeing how bad your threshold sickness got."
"It's honestly your call," He assured her with a plain expression, "I'm just sorry for the worry I caused you is all." He then admitted as a few more tremors racked his body, though now it was legitimately from the cold state of his clothing. Telion quickly turned to reapproach his bedroom door, heading in without another word as the wolf heard her footsteps in the other room.
"So, first things first, we need to make sure you stay warm. A change of clothes is a good start, and after that, then we can talk about your new rune." It was rather strange for her to just up and go into his room like that, but apparently, she intended to look after Rickter even after his sickness waned. He heard some of the drawers of his dresser open a few times, only to be shut a moment after each time one was opened. Before too long she walked out of the open doorway, a batch of clothing held in one hand that she kept away from her body, so that she didn't risk them touching a wet spot on her attire once she came back to offer them. "Here, take it easy getting up, please. I'm going to go change in our room," by that she meant her's and Hannah's, "and when I come back you should leave your wet clothes on that blanket."
Telion didn't really leave much time for him to object, much less have any say in the matter regardless. Giving him a bit of a look before turning to walk away, she went to the door to their room to enter, closing it behind her so that she would have privacy when she changed. Rickter, a little reluctant to move anyway, sighed through his nostrils as he looked at the small pile of clothing next to him. She'd even gone out of her way to find a towel to dry off with, an observation that had led him to lightly grin as he shifted to move. When he pulled the towel out from the assortment of clothes, Rickter brought the fabric up to his face first, drying off the excess amounts of water that coated his skin. He took it slow just as he'd been told, and started to dry off standing up after he removed all his previous attire.
The entire time he did, however, he couldn't help but think about Telion; and how quickly she'd deflected his apology.
As she said this Telion wrapped the blanket all around him, bringing it over his shoulders as the wolf just steadied his breathing. He'd started shivering earlier as a result of how cold he'd gotten, enough to where the feeling of being cold himself was all that he knew. Telion checked him on the forehead with concern in her eyes, hopeful that this part of the initiation would come to pass sooner than the last. With Negation, he simply conked out and experienced some sort of... vision? He still didn't quite know what it was at the time, just that it meant something in regard to his own soul. This time, however, no such luck with the fading of consciousness. At least not yet.
So far Telion's primary concern has been keeping Rickter in a fair state of mind, but certainly, she too noticed the distinct look of determination in his eyes. He wasn't going to be afraid of this, not of the damn cold that plagued his skin. Even with the droplets of sweat pouring from his forehead, Telion's eyes widened at how cold he felt, almost like she didn't expect this sort of reaction at all when it came to the sickness. "I'm sorry Rickter, at this point I wish I knew what else to do." She spoke to him endearingly now with an apologetic tone, her eyes falling into a somber stare as she sat down next to him on the sofa. By now the wolf wished he had a fireplace of some sort built into his home, because a fire sounded ideally like heaven right about now.
The shivers that wracked his body did not lessen, however. No the more he tried to keep them under control, the worse the tremors were as even his breath quaked in turn. This was highly unusual for the poor wolf and certainly for the bard too, for the poor girl had never seen Rickter struggle so shrug off a mere case of the cold. But this wasn't just the cold, was it? This was threshold sickness at its core, inducing unto him what it would've done to anyone else. In a way, it was funny, because he sweated so much he could've started to fill a tub, and yet the poor bastard was so cold he might as well turn into a giant icicle. By that point, Rickter had given up worrying about anything else, as he'd realized then, that the risk factor had exponentially grown in comparison to his first initiation.
Negation was safest by a long shot, whereas now he could possibly curl up and freeze to death, or catch pneumonia as Telion described earlier, and deal with that in turn. None of those sounded like a pleasant thought at all really, and the struggle to conquer his shakes only felt more futile in turn. By now he had felt a sense of concern for his own well-being, wanting nothing more than to feel the warmth of a fire once more as he'd bundled up. The blanket had started to get wet by now, the inner layers starting to soak from the amount of sweat he created. Telion took it as a sign that he would need water soon, as well, and therefore moved to prepare him a separate goblet from the beer he sipped on earlier. He hardly felt inclined to drink it when she returned, nodding for her to place it on the table, which she did before lowering down to sit next to him.
"I'm not sure how long this'll last Ricky... How are you feeling?" When she checked with him she leaned to look him in the face, for the wolf simply stared down at the goblet of water, his focus still on the matter of stilling his limbs wherever they shook. It was then he realized that his feelings hard practically bled out into the open, for Talon and Aoren could be felt reaching out to him then, or perhaps they had been for a while but he just didn't notice it right away. Regardless, he could tell they were concerned as well, enough to offer their support physically as well as spiritually in turn. Not that he knew if they could help in any way, but he did impart upon them the intent to remain strong, and that he would accept their aid however it would come.
And come it did, for within him, he felt comfort and warmth of a different kind. In a way it almost reassured him of the task at hand, yet, Rickter seemed to be further into the woods than he anticipated. For while his skin felt akin to that of a cold lake or ocean at the surface, deep within he started to feel colder than before, like the icy depths of a river during the Frost. It had caught him off guard honestly, and it struck him hard in the pit of his stomach more than anything. The wolf's head began to lower as his eyes grew weary, which then prompted Telion to spur into action the moment she saw the sluggish nod of his head. "Here, Ricky!" She urged him as she started to peel off the blanket, determined to turn it over so the drier side rested against her back, and moving so that she could sit up close behind Rickter.
The bard drew closer to him enough to where he felt her body press into his back, the heat from her chest and core nearly radiating into his spine. It was utterly bonkers at how cold he actually felt just then, and when she wrapped the rest of the blanket around him, Telion drew even closer to where she practically hugged him from behind. "I'm so sorry..." She muttered as he shook violently, his teeth practically clattering together as he gave a low growl of frustration at himself. "I shouldn't have-"
"I-it's-ts n-n-not y-your... f-f-ault-t..." He interrupted with a scowl on his face, his expression severely grim as he clenched his jaw then. Telion could see the frustration in his eyes now, and rested her cheek on his right shoulder, likely gazing at the Rune of Elementalism glowing on the other side. Another series of tremors wracked through his entire being, causing the wolf to lower his head with his eyes closed, while he tried to suppress the tumultuous feelings churning within his gut. Telion must have noticed this because her arms shifted then, allowing her hands to move from atop his shoulders to underneath his arms. At first, it somewhat alarmed him honestly, even so much as tickled a bit when he felt the warmth of her arms embrace his core. She wrapped her arms around his body as much as she could, without restricting his arms, in an effort to at least share her personal warm with him.
"Nobody's ever told me that this could happen," she admitted almost with a light tremble in her tone, "the fact you're sweating while your cold, and it almost doesn't make sense."
"N-n-norm-ma-mally it-it does-doesn- doesn't bother m-m-me..." He regarded lowly with his eyes still closed, feeling Telion's arms gently squeeze him now as she pressed herself into his back.
"Water might become your Arche-Element then." The bard reasoned considerably, a little hopeful that the worst would come to pass. By now, both the blanket and Telion were drenched by Rickter, and the wolf's own body felt fresh out of the ice caps that decorated Lake Udori around this time of the year. Water and cold were never things that generally bothered him to begin with, and yet, when you combined the two it was something else entirely for Rickter. But to be sweating buckets and be cold? It defied any sense of logic at all, so it did make sense that the initiation had something to do with this. Telion looked to the rune she inscribed on him once more, her chin later resting on his right shoulder blade as he fought the shivers further. The overwhelming feeling in his gut expanded then, weighing heavy as it made his stomach and innards feel like they were rolling. Inside him, everything felt odd now, almost in a sickly way but not quite in the same sense.
As he groaned lowly he fought back a couple of urges, the diaphragm beneath his lungs prompted with a sudden need to heave. His body tensed where it was possible, actually stilling the majority of shakes that wracked his form, as he felt on the verge of actually becoming sick just then. He clenched his jaw harder then, breathing deeply as it felt like waves battered his innards now. There were motions that wracked them consistently for a while, almost like a ship being rocked by the sea, before those began to gradually wane in turn. Once those passed then so too did everything else, for the tremors lessened almost immediately after they subsided, and though soaked to the core he no longer produced sweat anymore. Telion noticed the shift of receding afflictions that plagued him, and lifted her head up to peer at the rune of Elementalism once more. "Well what do ya know," She gently remarked as a result, Rickter could hear the grin she wore when she spoke, "the worst has come to pass!"
He was utterly relieved to hear it, let alone feel the threshold sickness subside in turn. Though still rather cold to the touch, Rickter could actually feel the warmth seep back into him, allowing his body temperature to gradually return to a state of normalcy after a while. When that finally came Telion moved to allow herself free, removing the soaked blanket from Rickter as she took it with her. She dropped it onto the floor as the wet fabric made a soft splat against the stone, and turned to check on Rickter before glancing down at her own clothes in turn. The blouse and pants she'd worn were just as soaked as the blanket, at least in the areas where she maintained close contact with him. Yet Telion didn't seem bothered at all, just relieved to see that Ricky would be fine as well. "Wow, I don't think I'll ever do that again."
The wolf's expression contorted a bit, mostly because he wasn't sure what she meant behind the statement. When the bard saw this, of course, she lightly giggled before crossing her arms. "You're probably the only person I've ever initiated, twice now come to think of it. And after that, I think I might hold off from giving anymore for a while. Least with good reason." So that was what she meant then... Without even knowing it Rickter had practically scared the poor girl, made her worry over his well-being this entire time, and he could see it drained her just as much as it did him. The wolf barely smiled to her in response to this, giving her a sincere look of appreciation when spoke in turn.
"I... don't blame you." He admitted with a bit of thought behind the fact. "I can't thank you enough for helping me out."
"Oh," Telion looked a little surprised at him then, "it's nothing really. You've helped me out quite a bit, so no harm in doing the same for you!" She then smiled a little sheepishly as her eyes averted from him as well. "I just don't have any more to give is all, and I don't know if I'd risk it for anyone else after seeing how bad your threshold sickness got."
"It's honestly your call," He assured her with a plain expression, "I'm just sorry for the worry I caused you is all." He then admitted as a few more tremors racked his body, though now it was legitimately from the cold state of his clothing. Telion quickly turned to reapproach his bedroom door, heading in without another word as the wolf heard her footsteps in the other room.
"So, first things first, we need to make sure you stay warm. A change of clothes is a good start, and after that, then we can talk about your new rune." It was rather strange for her to just up and go into his room like that, but apparently, she intended to look after Rickter even after his sickness waned. He heard some of the drawers of his dresser open a few times, only to be shut a moment after each time one was opened. Before too long she walked out of the open doorway, a batch of clothing held in one hand that she kept away from her body, so that she didn't risk them touching a wet spot on her attire once she came back to offer them. "Here, take it easy getting up, please. I'm going to go change in our room," by that she meant her's and Hannah's, "and when I come back you should leave your wet clothes on that blanket."
Telion didn't really leave much time for him to object, much less have any say in the matter regardless. Giving him a bit of a look before turning to walk away, she went to the door to their room to enter, closing it behind her so that she would have privacy when she changed. Rickter, a little reluctant to move anyway, sighed through his nostrils as he looked at the small pile of clothing next to him. She'd even gone out of her way to find a towel to dry off with, an observation that had led him to lightly grin as he shifted to move. When he pulled the towel out from the assortment of clothes, Rickter brought the fabric up to his face first, drying off the excess amounts of water that coated his skin. He took it slow just as he'd been told, and started to dry off standing up after he removed all his previous attire.
The entire time he did, however, he couldn't help but think about Telion; and how quickly she'd deflected his apology.
"Every side attacks you when you don't pick sides."
