Healing of the Mind

A crystal-clear evening over the Temple of Daeus finds most people wrapping up their day and preparing to retire, amid a magnificent dusk that finds the manalamps just starting to spill their light over the grounds. It is, as it usually is at this time, peaceful and quiet, when Dolan strides through the main doors and into the Temple proper, hands and arms bloodied, shirt bloodstained around the lower arms, one trouser leg sliced open, but moving well and not apparently actually injured.

He'd initially thought to come and give thanks, then go back home. The chores at home and his Temple work were done for the day, so it was meant to be a quick visit. The minute he walks through the door, and the chill of an early spring evening is traded for Daeus' warmth, though, and all the nervous energy drains out of him, spent on the walk here, it hits him like a ton of bricks. What could have happened. Just how close he'd come to losing a friend. Images of the ice devil he now knew to be Jal'goroth came to the fore, laughing and leering -

Distracted in his own mind, he leans forearm against the nearest pillar, head on forearm, abruptly shaking uncontrollably.

It doesn't take long for Dolan to draw a bit of attention. A few glances here and there from curious passerby's. It's the attention that first draws Zeke out of his conversation with another cleric. He notices the mood of a crowd more than most might, and their concern and curiosity draw his own. The blue-scale seeks out the source of their attention and notices Dolan.

Quickly he finishes his conversation, urging the other cleric off and making his way more quickly than is his usual wont toward the man. He stops a fair distance back, his green eyes noticing the fine tremble in Dolan's body, his distant gaze, and the way he's slumped against the pillar. "Dolan?" He asks carefully, keeping his distance just in case.

There is no answer immediately. It's as if Dolan hadn't heard him. This is not the first time that's happened, and it means nothing good. Also possibly concerning is the fact that the Redeemer clearly had something happening, but is not wearing the padded leather cuff over his left shoulder. Thankfully, it doesn't look off or wrong, and he isn't leaning on the arm, but instead lets it dangle from the shoulder, using he other to support him.

The images in his mind twist and change, like a waking nightmare. From the ice devil to a red-skinned pile of bones with sharp claws. He can smell the acid, feel the cold of the chains, the hardness of the stone on his back -

Zeke rumbles low in his throat, him forgetting for the moment that he is where he is. Dolan's well-being is far more important. He thrums. The sound meant to reassure hatchlings that all is safe and well has become so much more to him. A healing sound. A sound to reassure any and all that need it that the world is not that which they remember it to be. "Dolan. You are in the Dragonfathersss temple. Can you hear thisss one?" He continues thrumming and realizes he has no tea to offer to Dolan's senses, nothing but his thrum to bring Dolan back to the present.

GAME: Dolan rolls will: (15)+10: 25

Somehow, that thrum, a vibration more even than a sound where Dolan is, shakes the nightmare off its foundations, shatters the glass. How, he could not explain, but suddenly, the only stone under him is a cool marble pillar against his arm, and a familiar _presence_ at his side. "Fuck. Yeah, I'm here." He's still shaking, some, but there is presence in the words. "What happened?" He looks up, straightens, to find his arm wet and the left side of his face tear-streaked.

"Sssa." Zeke says, sighing gratefully when Dolan comes out of his mind and into the present. "Thisss one will explain, but thisss one ssshould get you to a plasssce where you can sssit down yesss?" He suggests this gently, motioning that Dolan should follow him into the temple proper.

It's as if Dolan only now sees the curious and concerned crowd surrounding him, as he turns around. He tries on and almost holds a sheepish grin, but one ragged around the edges. "Sorry. Long day," he apologizes to the onlookers, and with a deep breath prepares to follow, carefully not looking anywhere but at Zeke's back. "Yeah, that'd be good. A stiff drink would be good, too."

He keeps himself easily to Zeke's pace - after all, his claim of a long day was very much the truth, and with an adrenaline crash added in, he has no interest in running a marathon at the moment.

Zeke keeps his pace slow and even, his normal pace or perhaps even a bit slower. Thankfully now that they're moving people are more than happy to move out of Zeke's way where needed. He leads them to a familiar room, not the same one that Dolan had recovered in, but a room similar just the same. This one doesn't actually have a bed in it, but instead has a table. He leads the way in, and then hesitates near the door though he leaves enough room for Dolan to enter as well. "Thisss one doesss not have 'ssstiff' drinksss, but can offer water, tea, or juisce. As you prefer." He looks at Dolan a bit worriedly. "If you think that you will be all-right alone for a few minutesss."

Grateful to be out of the public eye, Dolan enters behind Zeke and slumps into a chair. "Better make it tea, then," he replies, removing his weapon belt, tossing it carelessly on the table, and flumphs into a wooden chair on the far side of the table, one that faces the door. "I need to settle my stomach." His gaze goes off into a corner of the room. "I'll be fine. Just give me a couple of minutes."

"Assss you ssssay." Another worried, and lingering look is given, but some time to himself may be precisely what Dolan needs after his ordeal. Now that the imminent crisis is over Zeke can't help but notice the bloodied state of the man, his rumpled clothes. Something happened. The blue-scale ducks out of the room, and hastens to gather tea. He has rarely moved so quickly in his life.

When Zeke returns with tea, Dolan hasn't effectively moved, other than to take out the artificial eye and wrap it in a square of silk, replacing it with the eyepatch and tucking it away in his belt-pouch. In fact, he's got his remaining eye closed, and appears to be about half-asleep in his chair, hands folded over his stomach, stretched out as much as the chair permits. The images from the day - the book and its revelations, the tower of clutter that was Magpie's quarters, then the immediacy of what just happened - are still present, but at enough of a remove to keep him from sliding back into panic.

A sharp eye will also note several shards of glass stuck in his clothing, particularly in his right sleeve and the front of his shirt on the right. He does not appear to have noticed.

The door opens to let Zeke in, and he pauses for a moment to take Dolan in again before closing the door and settling his tea service on the table. He pours the tea for Dolan and himself; grateful that the kitchen had a calming tea already made. The chamomile and rose hip tea would be a good mix he felt, with just a touch of lemon for flavor. He doesn't speak, but turns the other chair in the room around to sit on it comfortably and waits.

The smell of tea - so familiar at this point - isn't exactly what Dolan wanted, but its smell is enough to rouse him, and he yawns, opening his flesh-and-blood eye. "Blast it all. Thanks." He takes his own teacup, letting his hands warm for a minute or two. "So that demon that is harassing my family? Came face to face with it. It's harassing Verna and Auranar, too. Threw Auranar off her balcony." He stops, remembering those heart-pounding moments. "She's okay, that elf mage friend of Verna's caught her. I'm working on getting more information, but -" He closes that eye again. "Too much shit. These assholes mean business. I haven't told Andie yet. I've barely seen her."

The blue-scale blinks at Dolan's sudden explanation, the way that the words roll right off tells him how much Dolan needed someone to talk to. Needed to say the words that were rolling around in his mind. Zeke holds his own tea, not getting into it just yet but enjoying the warmth of it. "It sssoundsss asss though very much hass happened in a ssshort time." He comments quietly, encouraging Dolan to continue.

"I've tangled with fiends three times since last Eliday," Dolan answers wearily, finally taking a sip of his own tea, if only to assemble his thoughts. "Andie knows about the first two. I've got a pretty good idea of what their goal is, now. At least the weather is warming up, so I don't hurt quite as much. I've even had a day where I didn't hurt at all." Only a quirk of a half of a smile accompanies that, though. "I haven't been able to really tell anyone else what's going on yet. I just found it out today. I just hope I can fight when I have to, and that I don't freak out and lose track of where I am or something."

"Hass that happened often?" Zeke asks somewhat cautiously. He doesn't mention Dolan's reaction earlier, but is genuinely concerned about the man, not just because of that, but because the idea of being attacked three times by fiends inside a week is a lot for any many to handle. Much less one who has seen as much as Dolan has.

"Not too often." Dolan takes a long, slow pull of his tea, weariness coloring every line of him. "It's usually when I try to think of particular things, or say one or two words, I'll get hit with something. It's not as bad as it was." He lets out a breath. "Funny enough, it doesn't really happen too much if I'm achy or have a headache or something."

It's at that moment that another set of footsteps come down, the jingle of armor signaling that the walker is armed and guarded. "Bry, baby, is that you in there?" comes Andelena's voice, followed by the Sunguard opening the door.

Andelena's panting a little as she walks briskly in full armor and white cloak, the full regalia wrapped around herself as a signifier of her station and charge. Her steel-grey eyes are mired in both relief and surprise--happy to see Dolan's here, and unhappily surprised to see how bloodied he looks. "Bry, baby," she murmurs, closing the door behind her. "I heard about what happened and one of the others out front said they saw you come this way with Sunguard Zeke. I just got off duty and came as quickly as I could."

Zeke is halfway to his feet as the door opens. He is ready for a paladin coming to the wrong room, but it's Andelena instead and he... Hesitates. He looks at Dolan and then her and offers a quietly succinct suggestion. "Thisss one sssuggessstsss the removal of glasss before any... touching occursss."

Dolan's head snaps up at the voice, and he immediately sets the tea down on the table. "Andie." Mingled relief and concern hangs in the single word. "Brightest of days, baby. I'm okay. I just punched through a window because that bastard blocked the door, is all." He looks down at himself, suddenly, and frowns. He looks _tired_. "Shit. Yeah, I'm covered in glass, baby. Didn't realize. Mortin is Jal'goroth, Andie. He damn near killed Auranar and tried to drag Verna off to Charn to get married." The weariness is now covered with a scowl, and he's talking fast, in the way that he does when he has a lot on his mind.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, there's actually a small grin that finds its way to Andelena's face. "Not the first window you've broken like that and it sure as shit won't be the last, baby," she says, walking closer to Dolan and giving him a look that suggests, before anything else, she is _proud_ of him, because she is. "You stopped the sonuvabitch from murder and abduction, though, so--window's a small price to pay."

She looks at Zeke, her expression a little more sober--and then there's a small quirk of her lips again. "Well, Sunguard, I hate to say it," she says, "but in my professional and personal opinion, easiest way to get that glass off is to take his shirt off. Don't worry, I'll behave." She walks over to Dolan. "Arms up, babe."

Zeke looks from Dolan to Andelena and back again before retaking his seat. He seems worried though, and yet he doesn't say anything. Not yet in any case.

They'll need to peel off both the jacket and the shirt. The jacket can be cleaned with a relatively simple spell, but the shirt is probably toast. Getting it off might scratch him a little more if she isn't careful, but it is quite clear that this is not, indeed, the first time this has happened. Sighing, Dolan stands and raises both arms, allowing her to remove the offending clothing. When she is done, though, he turns the chair around backwards, similar to Zeke, and straddles to sit backwards in it, arms resting on the back, the scarring on his back left open to the room. "Thanks, baby," he sighs, rubbing at the scarred half of his face, where he has removed the eye in favor of the eyepatch. He does not say more just yet, though, instead reaching for his cup of tea again and just holding it, wearing a look that is just a little bit lost.

Andelena is more than careful, and when the clothing is shed and put away carefully into the corner of the room, she reaches into her bag of holding and pulls out a tunic. "Always have one on hand in case I want to change out of my armor before I head home," Andelena says with a small smile. Even with the warming of the ambient temperature, she's not about to let her man's back stay exposed to the cold air longer than he has to.

And of course, she notices Dolan's look, and she reaches down to put an affectionate hand into his hair. "I'm proud of you, baby. You did what you had to do. "

Zeke rumbles. "More than he ssshould have to thisss one thinksss." The thought is offered slowly, and he looks at Dolan carefully. "Do you both realize, that Dolan isss not fully recovered from hisss... experiancesss?"

"Yeah." Dolan's short answer holds a world of acknowledgement. He pulls the tea inside the back of the chair with him, to hold it close, not taking the tunic just yet. "It doesn't matter, though. Demons don't stop threatening my family just because I have bad days. That _thing_ - the Red Maw - in the camp isn't going to go away. I'm out of time, Zeke."

Andelena nods soberly, holding the tunic for when Dolan's ready to take it. "I know, Sunguard," she says, the affection and warmth in her face fading away back into sobriety. "But he's been improving almost every day. There are days where he doesn't need the brace. And the both of us agreed we're not doing this forever--when he 'retires', so am I, and that's the reality of it. But in order for us to retire, we need to take care of the big shit, and he isn't doing that alone."

Zeke emits a soft sigh. "Thisss one doess not mean the physsical. Thisss one meansss the mind. The mind is a thing that can be wounded just as the body can be, and it doess not heal sso readily." The blue-scale rises to his feet suddenly and motions for Andelena to take his place. "Would you like sssome tea Andelena? You can have thisss onesss. Thiss one hass not had any yet." He has left the tea cup on the table in anticipation of her acceptance.

Knowing the truth of what Zeke is saying, Dolan remains quiet, staring into his teacup, for a very long moment. "He's right, Andie. I can't be losing track of what's going on around me, and sometimes my mind gets the better of me. I can't always stop it. I - I just don't have a choice, Zeke. I've got demons threatening my family. I don't have time to sort this out right now. I can't stop what I am doing and figure this out."

Andelena stiffens, just a little, like an issue of the Tribune with a particular whammy of a headline's landed on her desk. Her steel-grey eyes look down to Dolan for a moment, but she nods a little and walks to where Zeke had been sitting, taking the cup of tea that's offered to her. "What if it doesn't have to be a choice to invest in something that's going to take forever, Bry?" she asks, just holding the teacup for a moment. "There's things that can help. I'm not an expert because much of my healing focus has been on the physical, but... Zeke's right. The mind has to heal, too, and I don't think that means stopping what we're doing altogether."

"Thisss one can offer ssssome sssuggesstionss. Thingss that help the mind heal. Meditation isss one sssuch. Teach breathing techniquesss for when thingsss become too much. Introduce a healer trained in the mind to help you. Thisss one offerss ssself asss a plassce to ssshare wordsss. Thisss helpsss." Zeke looks at Dolan. "You may not be able to ssstop the fiendss from finding you and your alliesss, may not be able to ssset asside the needsss of the moment, but if you do not heal your mind thisss one isss worried that thisss wearing on you isss precissely what they want."

"I'm not putting that on you, Zeke. You've got your own problems, with your mother." Dolan sighs, and straightens his shoulders. "Yeah. Looks like I don't have a choice. I need to get a handle on this, fast. They're after me, and they're using my family to get to me. Verna's more interested in homemaking than in stopping this thing. So's Telamon. Dirk loses his mind when he's faced with real shit. Magpie's been a big help, but -" He closes his lone eye.

"Zeke is a healer, too, babe," Andelena reminds Dolan after she finishes a sip of her tea. "A healer's charged with caring for people, and I don't know if Zeke would offer help if he couldn't take it on."

She purses her lips together for a moment in thought. "Is there... Anyone else?" she asks. "As far as other people to talk to go. I mean, you know you have me, babe, but I know you'd probably benefit from talking to someone who knows about these kind of things from a personal perspective. And--from a healer's perspective, I might even be _too_ close for that kind of talking to be effective."

Zeke looks at Dolan. "Thisss onesss nesss-mother is dead." He doesn't sound sad about this. "Ssshe will caussse no further isssue. More than being a healer Dolan, thisss one isss friend. Thiss one would feel pleasssure in talking to you; helping you. Though if you wisssh another, thisss one can make a few sssuggessstionsss of thossse with ssskillsss and knowledge who may be helpful."

Here he nods at Andelena. Her acknowledgement of the fact that she might not be the best person to talk to is both wise and appreciated. "Your companionssss in thissss fight may not be the bessst to talk to about what troublesss you. If you are not comfortable with them, then they are a bad choissse. You need a perssson you can trussst."

"Ain't nobody in the lot who can _handle_ this shit, Zeke." Dolan sighs and puts the teacup on the table, not quite empty. "The only one who's even got a _chance_ is Lana, and she's telepathically bound to Tel. Anything she knows, he might as well know." A lost, helpless look paints itself across all of his features, and every line of his body. "The fact is that what's happening makes me vulnerable to the kinds of tricks that fiends play. If I'm going to fight, I've got no choice. I've got to close that door. I'll thank the both of you to not tell the others about this. They don't need to know, none of them. If you're up for it - what happened to your nest-mother, anyway? When did that all happen?"

"I'm not telling a word to anyone, and you know that, Bry," Andelena replies, frowning a little at the idea of even divulging a bit of this to anyone. "I may go bragging about you every second I get, but I'm not about to air out something like that."

She takes a sip and looks... contemplative, finding the words to say on the subject of Zeke's 'mother'. "I was there," she says. "It happened a little while ago--but I'll let Zeke tell it if he's willing."

Dolan's words make Zeke breathe out softly as he stands off to the side. "If you can not trussst friendss and alliesss, if you can not ssspeak to thisss one, thisss one will ssuggesst ssome-one you can Dolan. You mussst ssshare wordsss with sssome-one." Zeke looks with some sorrow at Dolan. "Thisss one would never consssider ssharing wordsss not wisshed to be sshared."

As to the mention of his nest-mother, Zeke offers a soft sigh. "Ssshe wasss killed by thisss onesss kin; ssshe wasss ssseeking to sssummon the aid of the Dark Dragon. Ssshe threatened thisss one and innocentsss. Ssshe... wasss not and hass never been well."

"No, Zeke. It's okay. I can trust the two of you." Dolan lets out a breath, slowly. "If Andie isn't the right person, that's okay, too. I'd rather not have to explain the whole thing to someone else. We can set up time to talk." He still hasn't accepted the tunic yet. "The fact is that I am vulnerable as fuck right now. If it's what I've got to do to get this done, then so be it."

The story of the nest-mother makes him start, though. "Oh, so that's why she was looking for you. I'm sorry, Zeke."

Andelena nods soberly at the discussion of Zeke's mother. "I did what I could to help," she says. "Speaking as someone who's got her own mother involved in demons, I viewed it as my _duty_ to help. Especially the moment she was trying to call on the Tyrant--all bets were off."

She sighs gently and puts down her teacup. "Bry, you must be cold as hell over there," she says. "Let me get you dressed and figure out what we're doing for the rest of the day, yeah?"

"Thisss one will let you dresss and ssshare wordsss privately." Zeke offers with a slight bow to the pair, but looks at Dolan seriously "Thisss one will ssshare wordss with you again sssoon Dolan. You have many wordss in your mind, and it isss passst time that they were releasssed. It will help. Come to the temple when you have had time to ressst. When you are ready; thisss one will be here." With that the sith-makar leaves the pair to themselves. But they linger on in his mind for a long time afterward.

-End