Sage is going to give the cleric a heart condition at this rate ;p

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He'd been wondering where his young friend had ventured off to today. the cleric had gotten so used to her frequent presence, browsing his books and asking him about magic, that the empty space beside him felt like a physical weight. As a distraction he'd fretted around the Pond for a while, admiring the large willow trees, reminding him of the one in his garden back home. It wasn't long after that Maritus found him, at first giddy at surprising him with her true draconic form, before a more grave look crossed her features, softly telling him that he should follow. Brow furrowing, he trekked after her back towards the trees. They arrived at the second largest tree he'd ever seen, but he didn't stop to marvel, not today. Inside the Oak he found the answer to his earlier question.

"Sage..."

Neirin knew she'd been feeling ill for awhile, but had been at a loss as to how to help, but now things were looking bleak. She looked so...dull...lying there curled into the roots of the ancient tree. She could barely look at him through bleary eyes. She was fading. Neirin had to act. In spite of the walls he'd instinctively built keeping everyone away but for rare exceptions, he broke them down and held her close, wracking his brain for what might be wrong, and what he could do. The contact was for more than Sage's comfort, he needed to feel her pulse, the very energy that gave her life and will, and sense where the problem lie. Neirin's nerves grew taut and strained as the minutes ticked by with nothing, until all at once he found it. The cause remained shrouded to his senses, but he'd definitely found something...off. There were no words he could find to described the sense of wrongness he'd found, her magic was eating her spirit alive. No matter why or how, he just had to fix it. And he knew of only one thing he could do.

He was not a brave soul. In fact he'd been running from his last grave mistake and feared he was about to make it again. Nei was a hack of a doctor and not much use as a holy man in his mind, what good is someone who is too scared to help? But he couldn't fail again. especially not this time. He was not a brave soul, but he had to try.
He gently scooped her up, roused her friend and told Maritus he needed to get them to the Ruins. With all the haste they could muster.
In Sage's weakened state, it took longer than he'd wanted, yet they made it, hopefully not too late. Neirin gently laid her before what he believed was once the altar and settled in front of her. He placed a hand on her head, prayer beads lightly tinkling, silver bells chiming a reassuring song. Taking a glance around the pagan idols, the ancient and so very full of magic trees, the ruins of a once holy place, Nei closed his eyes, and began.

In her mind, Sage could hear a voice, beside her and around her all at once.

Sage, hold on for me, alright? I'm going to try and do something for you.

In this moment, she could see and feel bits an pieces as Neirin connected his very self as an Eidolin, a Spiritfolk, to her own, willing his life to bolster hers. She could suddenly see a forest, even older than the one she was living in, bathed in a golden sunset. It was early summer, a faint breeze blew through the chimes and lanterns that lined the path she stood on. The path ended at an extremely large tree, twisting and bending up and up into the clouds. At its base was a small, humble shrine. It was bare save for a few books and some dandelion wine. Suddenly Sage could feel a presence, large as the tree itself and yet comforting and close, like the sunlight on her face or the company of a friend.

I'm sorry I don't call more often, but I'm in need of a favor...

Looking or Neirin, she couldn't see him, but felt him all the same. She wondered if he might be joking with the tree.

I can't...fix this...on my own. I don't have the best track record, and even if I did I don't think I could stop her condition from progressing.

He sounded sad, even guilty.

In exchange for granting her your grace, your magic, I'll give more of mine to you, to sustain your forest, just like I promised.

The all at once large and small presence Sage had felt first seemed to pause, like it was considering. She was suddenly aware of a large shape surrounding the tree. It was tall and vast, limbs like tree trunks and a body like both moss and fur, blossoms seemed to spill from the crown of its head.

She swore she felt it smile warmly.

All at once the feeling of sunlight and warmth and life shifted from outside of her to within her. Neirin's deity had granted his request. The world became golden sunlight and a hymn, ancient and gentle, in the cleric's voice.

The spiritfolk was using his own body and energy to channel his patron's into Sage, distributing it through every ounce of magic in her, hoping it would balance out whatever was eating away at her.

When he'd finished, Neirin managed a weary smile at Sage, still recovering from the exchange of magic, before managing to look up at the rest of the group. He looked paler, dark circles under his eyes and a visible shake to his form, bits of him seemed to flicker, like leaves in the wind.
"I think I managed to-" was all he could get out before he slumped to the side.
Still alive and mostly hale, just drained. His last thought before completely drifting into blackness was that it was worth it.

Don't give up before you've even begun...

how daRE YOU
angel will be hearing about this >: I

but holy shit this is so cool
god your css skills never cease to amaze

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also borrows thing

birb is a hungry meanie
disclaimer: birb won't do anything without permission, only stalk, sass, and be intimidating

@Draak:


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Sage is gonna cause herself a lot of trouble with these sorts of reactions lol

@Dag: Thank you!!

To everyone: I haven't forgotten about this, I'm just trying to plan out where to take this from here (and also plan more art for the next bit because it might need it). Neirin's actions did a lot of good in keeping the worst of this at bay, but this isn't a problem that's gonna go away in a snap. While I'm working on the next part, any and all other interactions are always welcome!

The Moontide walks, almost soundlessly, to where Sage lays. Without a word, she lays beside the doe. The gesture is of genuine care, intimate and warm. Pulsating and soothing.

She hums quietly for a little bit, before resting her head beside Sage's. It is still some time before she speaks, her voice distinct against the various sounds that echo through the forest.

I trust in you.

please forgive me for taking forever but yay I finally put time aside to do these responses o-0
Just pretend we're jumping back in time a bit back to when I first posted this >>
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@Draak:


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sage no are you trying to make this worse

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@nebulae:


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<3

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@Silverfang:


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have a glowing pine cone with your candle c:

a nightlight to deter the monsters
For this thread, definitely not a quick charge. It's not a strong spell in and of itself, but more like... staring into a particularly strong camera flash lol. She doesn't have a lot of stuff up her sleeves to defend herself just yet.