Seizing the Moment... Finally

As Megara finished her initial work, she could feel Nairn’s steady presence beside her, his arm wrapping around her shoulder. She leaned into him briefly, letting the warmth and solidity of him anchor her as her hands rested on Ruth’s chest, her magic still flowing steadily. His breath was still shallow, each rise and fall of his chest a struggle, but her healing light kept his heart in its fragile rhythm.

We’ll all sit with him until the other healers get here, she murmured, glancing at Nairn’s stoic profile. His expression was guarded, but she could see the depth of his worry in the slight tension around his eyes. It was a look she knew well, a mask that hid the intensity beneath.

He has to. Or he’s dead. She inhaled deeply, focusing her magic in her palms and calling on her training to summon a vision of Ruth’s heart. With a grim determination, she projected the hollowed image into the air between them - a beating replica of his damaged heart, translucent and delicate, glowing faintly as it floated.

It was impossible to miss the misshapen organ’s swollen state, inflamed and bloated to twice its natural size. The walls of his heart looked stiff, hardened, as if they were struggling against themselves with every beat. The veins and arteries around it were strained and pulsing weakly, evidence of the long-term toll Ruth’s addiction had taken.

Megara swallowed, her gaze dark as she met Nairn’s eyes. If he keeps going like this… he might end up like you, she whispered, barely above a breath. The words hung in the air, heavy and sharp with the weight of truth.

She leaned further forward, her fingers moving to Ruth’s temples as she felt for the traces of his consciousness. Meg could feel the craving that pulsed through his thoughts. The gnawing need for alcohol, an ache that had burrowed into the very core of him, clawing him from the inside. She realised the seizure had been triggered by the sudden absence of it, his body rebelling against the lack of what it had grown so dependent on.

With a low sigh, she pulled herself back to the present, releasing her hold on his mind and letting her hands fall into her lap. He’s more dependent than I thought. Without it, his body just… shut down. The seizure was his system’s way of revolting. We’ll need to keep a close watch… every step of this will be a battle.

A small, humourless smile touched Megara’s lips as she nodded along with Nairn. No, he won’t. Ruth will fight us. He’ll try to push us all away if we ambush him. She sighed, a bitter warmth in her voice. Every one of us is going to stay though, but I think it’s best we give our lectures after I explain everything to him. We can’t choose sobriety for him. It’ll be his own choice ultimately.

The steady rise and fall of Ruth’s breath was the only sound in the room as they waited, silent yet united, for the other healers to arrive.

@Nairn Neirdre
@Theodora Oridotti