6 [@necromantica: video]

[burntbridges]

Hello everyone... Carnivale was interesting, wasn't it?

[She hadn't spent much time there, but that's probably a good thing. Being startled by loud noises and lewd displays would probably have a horrible effect on her child, who's already a danger to her enough as it is.

For those who haven't seen Letha in a while, she's turning incredibly pale... even for her already pale and ashen skin tone. There are very dark rings under her eyes, and her cheeks seem sunken in as if she hasn't been eating for days. The rest of her seems equally frail; her fingers shaking, her lips blue-ish, her hair unkempt and pulled into messy pigtails. The only part of her that doesn't seem affected is her pregnant belly, which looks so big on her now that she seems ready to burst. Still, she's doing her absolute best to act like nothing is the matter.]

I seem to have fallen behind on meeting the new faces here... forgive me, I've gotten rather complacent with sitting around at home. Hello to everyone who has yet to meet me, my name is Letha! [At least she's doing her best to be cheerful and ignore how sick she looks.] I've been here for several months now, I'll be happy to help you have any... any questions. Anything you need.

[That pause there? She just got a wave of a massive headache... she looks woozy as she turns the broadcast off, but she really is doing her best to hide it.]

Comments

private;

[deathkid]

I can sense your lifeforce fading from here. Letha... I can take you to the hospital no problem. Your baby is practically eating you away.

private forever

[burntbridges]

[Well- okay, that definitely gets her to stop in her tracks. Damn you Nico, you and your well-honed abilities and knowing what's good for her.

After a moment of shocked silence, she swallows hesitantly and speaks in a meek whisper.]

....Don't tell anyone. Please.

[deathkid]

I won't, I promise. But you need to go to the hospital or see someone who can provide you with extra strength and energy. I don't... [ a frown, but his eyes are full of concern. ] I don't want you to die.

[burntbridges]

[She shakes her head adamantly.]

I keep being told it's not safe to carry her... I just can't- if it's her doing all this, it means... [She hugs herself a bit tighter, and god, actually talking about this makes it so much more real.] ...It means she's a healer, and that's not- I just can't-... I couldn't raise something like that.

[Something. Not someone. Healers are not people, they're monsters.]

[deathkid]

A healer... Why is that a bad thing? Why would she... [ he shakes his head because it doesn't compute. he thinks back on meeting will solace and how the son of apollo was such an apt healer, he helped keep nico from melting into the shadows. a bright light who grounded nico... he wonders what will would say or do in this moment. ]

Whatever the case, we need to get you to the hospital. I can take you via the shadows.

[burntbridges]

[Once again, she just shakes her head.]

I don't want to.

[But... she guesses she'll explain. There's no point hiding it when he can see what's growing in her.]

A healer is... someone who steals life from others. They can pull the life from anything around them just by touching it. And they can put it back, but... they're all selfish, and they store up as much as they can in themselves so they can stay youthful and pretty. Like sirens. If my daughter- can pull the life from me like that, that means- that she's got that sort of power.

[There's an unhealthy level of disgust in her voice... she may have never met a healer, but they're the stuff of horror stories in Thornwell. The thought that she had somehow messed up enough to spontaneously create one... well, that just makes her feel like an absolute failure.]

[deathkid]

Oh...

[ that's definitely a lot different from healers of his world. and makes things infinitely more challenging. he's at a loss for what to do because, for once, he's out of his depth. ]

Is there anything we can do about it?