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[princeofwhores]

[His Highness and supreme ruler of Tel Maran, crown prince of the Dal'Anor Empire; the Emerald Prince himself is looking.... rather terrible.

In fact, he's not been seen for quite some time, and when he's finally stepping out of his room, he looks a lot thinner. The prince appears sickly and tried, and he walks like he's in his own world, taking a break once before the stairs to catch his breath.

So how about them curses? They tend to suck.]

Comments

[heresyandlace]

See? Just like that.

Keep that up and I just might make you lunch.

[or... more like find lunch and bring it over, since actual cooking is not exactly one of her strong points]

[princeofwhores]

[He smiles through the pain, covering his mouth for a moment.]

We would be eternally grateful, desert moon.

[heresyandlace]

[once they're approaching the kitchen--] What would you like, if I can find it? [--and subsequently warm it up for him, at most]

[princeofwhores]

Anything touched by your hands would be lovely.

[He's still a mess of cold sweat and pain, but can he stop his flirting? Nope.]

[heresyandlace]

[and oh, how she appreciates it. It puts her in a generous mood.]

Don't say that, because then you'll end up with a bowl of cereal and you'll be sorry.

[princeofwhores]

We do not know what that is, but we would eat it.

[He coughs again, fingers prickled with black stains.]

...for you are so kind to us.

[heresyandlace]

[as much as she's enjoying cozying up to your dying self, don't cough on her, okay?]

That isn't a very princely thing to say, is it?

[holding the door open for both of them]

[princeofwhores]

[He's doing his best not to. He's a gentleman.]

Starving men say the same words, be they royalty or peasant.

[heresyandlace]

[she leads him over to the table, allowing him to find his own seat from there]

When's the last time you ate anything?

[princeofwhores]

[He slumps into a chair so heavily that it creaks under him.]

Two days ago... maybe three. We do not remember.

[heresyandlace]

[digging through the cabinets, she finds a can of nice meaty soup. This, at least, she's figured out how to open and make. And the stove? What a convenient invention! So, she gets that started while they talk]

You should have said something sooner. No one should go hungry like that.

[and, as someone who loves food, she really does mean that]

[princeofwhores]

We could not get out of the bed.

[He sighs and closes his eyes for a moment. The pain had been unbearable, but the hunger had won out in the end.]

[heresyandlace]

[once the soup is warming, she returns to his side. Sliding into a seat beside him, she reaches out to stroke his pretty hair.]

Keep your book nearby next time, someone will surely come to help if you say something.

[princeofwhores]

[He leans a bit into her touch, gritting his teeth as the pain shoots through him again.]

That would have been bright... though we are a proud man. Asking for help is not easy.

[heresyandlace]

Letting yourself get to this starved state is just as much of an indignity.

[and then... ah, she can't help herself anymore. she wants to play.

bringing her hand to rest against the side of his face now--] ...I'd like to try something.

[princeofwhores]

...that is true. We were foolish.

[He blinks a bit when she touches his face, and looks a bit confused.]

...what is it that you wish to try?

[heresyandlace]

[oh, apparently she wasn't asking for permission.

Her lids hang lazily half-closed, eyes taking on a faint glow as she concentrates.

She's just going to reach in and feel for all the poison and disease, all of that awful stuff that resonates so nicely with her own energy. It feels wonderful, to be honest. She couldn't have crafted a better blight herself.

And once she's run her metaphorical fingers through every place that it has seeped into his system, she tightens her hold. Slowly dragging it to a halt. She can't take it away, she can't make it go backwards, but she can at least make it pause for as long as she keeps up this contact. ...It might jog forward a little to make up for lost time when she lets go, but it will stop corroding for now. Just a little break]

[princeofwhores]

[His eyes widen as he sees the glow of her eyes... and then she is doing something to him. It feels odd... but the pain seems to have halted for a moment. It's still there, but not getting worse...]

...what did you do?

[heresyandlace]

[there's a little delay as she makes sure that she's got a solid command over the poison before she divides her attention enough to answer him, eyes still lightly gleaming]

It's just a little trick.

[princeofwhores]

We are grateful... you truly are a dark goddess; a beauty of the sands.

[He smiles shakily, reaching out to touch her cheek and trace the smooth line of her chin with his thumb.]

[heresyandlace]

I wish I could do more.

[it's a selfish thing, really. Helping without truly helping, eating up the praise that it brings.

She shifts closer so she can rest her forehead against his, fingertips beginning to heat from the energy she's using, hand never moving from its place against the side of his face]

[princeofwhores]

[He puts an arm around her, closing his eyes for a moment to enjoy her presence and the slight halt of his agony. It might be a brief respite from the deteriorating curse, but it is heavenly.

If he only knew half of her thoughts, he wouldn't be as grateful - but at the moment, Tek has a future emperor wrapped around her exquisite fingers.]

[heresyandlace]

[and she eats it up. Her free hand finds the other side of his face, resting there to trace slow soothing circles with her thumb.

And she'll stay there... until she hears the sound of the soup boiling.

Then she pulls away, placing a kiss on his cheek before she lets go and stands, leaving the poison to get back to work while she turns her attention to the meal]

[princeofwhores]

[Ouch! It did hurry up a bit after that lingering contact of her 'trick', and Majid doubles over a bit, spitting up black gunk with a pained groan. It wasn't that a lot of time that had passed, but the change in pressure inside him was enough to make him bite his lip in order to not scream.]

H-haah...!

[heresyandlace]

[oh, how dramatic. Well, her curiosity is sated now, at the very least.

And she makes sure to tuck away any traces of a smirk before she glances over her shoulder while she shuts off the stove and stirs the pot of soup]

...Are you alright?