The Demon Within (Siobhan)

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Mirien Valdier"]


Meanwhile thousands of light years away, in the arsepit of the universe, Elpsis had been doing her job, which was not a particularly legitimate one. Once Rattatak had been a domain of the Lords of the Fringe, now with their collapse it had slipped back into warlordism and anarchy, which was not really much of a change.


The red sun had already set and a sandstorm was brewing, throwing up dust across the desert when she returned to her freighter after making the deal with the local warlord of the week. The Rattataki People's Front was in fierce enmity to the United People's Front of Rattatak and so it had been quite eager to accept the 'high quality weapons' she had to offer. To a not insiginificant degree these were old blasters and slugthrowers she had gotten on the black market or from the scrapheap.


Most surprisingly no one had tried to stab her in the back and she had only needed to kneecap locals twice. They had even accepted the consignment of spice, though it baffled her how this would aid their campaign of liberation. Not that she cared. It was as she walked up the landing ramp of her ship that she was suddenly overcome by a feeling of pain so strong that she fell over. As she tried to get to her feet she found herself clutching her head in pain as images flooded her mind. It was all garbled, painful and chaotic...the only thing she knew was that Cora was in pain.


Lots of it. On some planet called Tygara. "Sod it," she spat angrily when she managed to stumble into her ship as the vision passed, leaving her with a headache from hell. Taking a deep breath she quickly rushed to the cockpit as the desert splitter swept across the land, then powered up the engines and took off. "You better not get yourself killed."

 

[Cora Passek]

In the medical bay, Cora was not dying. No, but she certainly wasn't going to be happy or feel that great when she woke up to find herself in any hospital like setting. They were just bad juju. After all they had taken her leg.

Slowly, slowly Cora began to stir. Her eyes fluttered open and a grimace soon followed as both hands flew to her head, to deal with the massive throbbing she felt roll through her mind. It took her a moment, to realize the only voice in her head, was her own. Vahri wasn't there. But damn it still hurt like hell. Which when you talk about ripping out a spirit in her mind that had been there for a good eight or nine years, with plenty of time to lay down roots, it was bound to hurt like a queen when it was pulled free.

Finally she lowered her hands and glanced around the room and came to the realization that she was in a place she really, truly, and rightly did not want to be. Her first reaction was fear, and a bit of panic as she sat up quickly in bed. Though dizziness did overwhelm her for a moment, before she swung her legs off the bed, determined to leave the hospital place behind. "Nope, no, no ... Not here. Not staying here. Ain't no way, no how." This was the very last place she wanted to be.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Vaena Askari]

[member="Cora Passek"]


(Un)fortunately for Cora, Eileithya was not far from her side. See, the Priestess liked the cuddly terror - and maybe also wanted to convert her to the Goddess since she had clearly been saved by divine intervention.


"I swear it, Siobhan has a weakness for unhealthily stubborn women. Where do you think you're going? You're not sneaking out of here without my permission." Hours had passed and Eileithya still had a bad headache, but that obviously was not stopping her from being out and about. Much like every doctor, she was not good at following her own advice.


A gentle, soft hand touched Cora's shoulder. "Vahri is banished, you're free from the abomination now." Unlike some of this writer's characters, Eileithya was not the type to claim credit of her own accord or emphasise her own contribution. It was not she who had exorcised him, it had been the hand of the Goddess. She had just been a simple vessel that had served Ashira.

 

[Cora Passek]

Cora gave a glance to the redheaded elf. "I believe I stated my intentions pretty clearly. So, technically speaking, it's not sneaking. It's walking right out the front door, thank you very much." The blonde said firmly. She always had to be a smartass when the opportunity presented itself. Hospitals were beyond not her thing. There was no way in the galaxy she was staying.

"While I entirely appreciate his removal and once more having freedom of thought and action - I hate hospitals. So, that walking out the door thing is going to happen right now." Stubborn til the last, Cora always did try to get her own way with things. Especially when it came to her extreme dislike of certain places. Leaving was priority regardless of anything else. With that the blonde pushed off the bed, though the attempt to leave certainly didn't last long as dizziness overtook her, and she found herself clutching the edge of the bed for support.

"On second thought...." She muttered, not wanting to be heard on that one.

[member="Tarissa Cadalthor"] | [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Vaena Askari]

[member="Cora Passek"]


"You are in no position to move, which you obviously know. If you try to walk out again I'll be obliged to take measures to make you don't hurt yourself. Unlike Ardarvian priestesses I'm not fond of tying patients to a bed," Eileithya said. Despite the dry tone her words radiated concern for the blonde.


Her hand reached out to gently but insistently push the blonde back down onto the bed. Clearly she would not be letting her escape so soon! But then her hand touched Cora's forehead as she called upon the strands of power to help the woman with the dizziness and pain she might be feeling. "Calm down a bit, stop being so stubborn and I can have you relocated to the shrine of healing. That is not a hospital, so you should have no complains there. I am not fond of most modern hospitals either. Too sterile, too lifeless and mechanical."

 

[Cora Passek]

"Okay, okay ... Maybe I do know that, maybe." Though she really didn't want to admit that. Pride certainly did get in the way of such things.

A sigh escaped Cora's lips as the Priestess helped her, most insistently back onto the bed. Closing her eyes tightly, trying to avoid the dizziness, she felt the redhead's warm hand against her forehead and a soft soothing energy that seemed to wash away her pains, and dizziness. Finally she seemed to settle a little onto the bed, relaxing just slightly. "Okay, I can handle that, anywhere but here. I just ..." The woman shuddered briefly, "Have my reasons for hating these places.... Anywhere but here." Cora repeated. "Couldn't agree more with you on that last part."

[member="Tarissa Cadalthor"]

 

[Vaena Askari]

[member="Cora Passek"]


"Healing is about more than knitting wounds together and pumping someone full with medication. A body can heal, it takes far more for the soul to," Eileithya declared. Though less xenophobic than many Eldorai, she had never been a fan of modern medicine. Or most human hospitals. They seemed far too commercialised and mechanical in her opinion.


She stroked across Cora's head and then kissed her gently on the cheek before stepping up and placing a call on the comm device thingie on the bedside table. "A stretcher will be here in a few minutes and I'll take you to the house of healing. I don't expect you to attend the prayer sessions for the Great Goddess, though that would probably help your recovery!"

 

[Cora Passek]

"Seems logical enough to me." Cora said quietly, as she nervously fiddled at her hands. Keeping her eyes closed at least made her less anxious about being where she was.

"Thank you." She said softly, the tiniest hints of a smile forming at the kiss upon her cheek. "Prayer sessions? Been some time since I've been to anything that resembles a church." Though she did recall the meeting with Moira a while back within a church. Things certainly had been a mess then, lighting candles for the people, friends and family she'd lost along the way. Some through her own stupidity, others sheer accidents, and yet other things that she still hadn't quite figured out, like the death of her family for treason. That still made no sense to her.

[member="Tarissa Cadalthor"]

 

[Vaena Askari]

[member="Cora Passek"]


"Well, I am a Priestess. Part of my duties involve leading prayer sessions, helping the helpless and spreading the faith. Contraty to what your Mistress might tell you, Ashiranism does not solely consist of orgiastic rites and literacy modules," Eileithya joked. Though it clearly incorporated that sort of thing as well!


Anyhow, two Firemane nurses entered the room, bearing a stretcher and put it down. Then they picked up the cuddly terror and gently laid her upon it. Well, as gently as you could lie on a stretcher, but you get the picture. That done she was transported out of the room, Eileithya following her and gently holding her and. Her tone was more serious now as she spoke. "You can rest under my care, Cora. And if you need someone to talk to or simply an ear to listen, I shall be there. Goddess protect you."

 

[Cora Passek]

"Imagine that." Though it was hard to pinpoint exactly what had seemed to have surprised her about the Firemane's words. It was still odd to her that the firemane was a Priestess. "I suppose that is true, as much as she might try and convince me otherwise. Used to be ... into religion I guess a long time ago. Kind of a complicated story that one is, how I fell away from that and ended where I am now." She said quietly.

Once she was shifted onto the stretcher, Cora seemed to relax a fair bit as they got outside of the hospital room she'd been in. Anything but to not be there in her eyes. She squeezed Eileithya's hand, tightly for a moment. "I do appreciate that. Though, I'm not sure my story is one you really wish to hear." After all it had been nothing but sadness, backstabbing, pain, and betrayal, as well as far too many acts of evil that she committed of her own accord, and those that Vahri made her do. Certainly not a pretty life. So many mistakes and regrets. Things Cora wished she could have done differently by now.

[member="Tarissa Cadalthor"]

 

[Vaena Askari]

[member="Cora Passek"]


"I do, actually, but if yon don't desire to talk, I shall not push. Siobhan told me the basics, I can imagine plenty of the rest, dear," Eileithya said softly. "You are not the only one between the two of us who has committed horrible acts. The Goddess forgave me though, unworthy though I was. She welcomes those into her embrace who seek her forgiveness out and rejoices more over the lamb who strayed from the flock but found her way, than other those who never faced adversity."


A hand travelled across Cora's hair, stroking it fondly, while she was carried towards the house of healing. As would become clear when it came into view, the building bore a strong resemblance to a chapel. Aside from Eileithya, a few Ashiran healers and lay sisters worked here.


The doors opened and they entered a small hall, to be greeted by the statues of Goddesses and martyrs of the faith, along with stained glass windows. There was a distinct feeling of warmth inside these halls, though that might have also been because incense was burnt. One could hear chanting coming from another hall, though it was not so loud to be invasive. Directed by Eileithya, the two Firemane minions carried Cora upon her stretcher to her room. On the way the blonde would pass a few sisters kneeling before what appeared to be a statue of Ashira. Eileithya came to a halt as she passed it, bowed her head and spoke a few words in Eldarai, presumably a benediction, though the cuddly terror might notice that the Priestess also spoke her name.

 

[Cora Passek]

Cora seemed a bit surprised by that. "You do?" Truthfully she never imagined many folks had much interest in her past life. "Ain't a story I tell often, but I don't mind sharing. I just ... I don't want pity for it. Wasn't an easy life, but I've survived and that's what matters." She said quietly as they approached the house of healing. The Eldorai's words hung in her mind, and slowly she worked through then, just thinking as the woman stroked her hair, bringing much comfort in that simple action.

Coming inside, her attention was drawn into the statues of various Goddesses and such. To her, it felt nothing like any place of healing she had been before, aside from Eileithya's shop on the starport. That felt like forever ago now.

Her attention was drawn to the redhead as she stopped, speaking the prayer. A soft smile crossed her lips, hearing her name among the words she did not recognize. It had been some time, since she'd see anyone actually do such. In fact the last time she could remember that, was her mother when she was very little, and very sick. So strange to her that such a memory would float to the surface now. A memory she'd nearly forgotten until that moment. Something about it, just connected her deeply to that past, so long ago now.

[member="Tarissa Cadalthor"]

 

[Vaena Askari]

[member="Cora Passek"]


"Love the Goddess, because she loves the sinner. Love the sinner, because she is you. Without sin, what need is there for a redemption? Without sin, what grace has forgiveness?" Eileithya said solemly when she turned away from the statue, though she might be talking more to herself than to Cora, though the blonde would undoubtedly hear her words. "I'd like to hear your story, dear. When you are up for it."


Moving past the places of worship and what seemed to be like a room reserved for administering healing duties, they eventually came to a halt in front of a door. This seemed to be the section reserved for the guests of the house of healing who needed more long-term care.


The door opened and the two minions carried Cora inside, gently laying her down upon a comfortable looking bed. Unlike in a common hospital room, one could find a few pictures hanging on the wall. Some showed the nature and wild life of Kaeshana, others represented religious iconography. A carpet lay upon the floor and there were a few plants on the windowsill. Further in the distance one could still faintly hear chanting and music, though it was not so loud to be intrusive. "There we are, dear. It is not the height of luxury, but not a hospital room."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Mirien Valdier"]


Slowly, very slowly, consciousness returned to Siobhan. She was obviously in a better state than Cora, but her head would still hurt like hell after mentally wrestling with an ancient Sith spirit. Time passed and then she began to stir, step by step. Her eyes fluttered open and she tried to make sense of her surroundings before realising she was in a medbay of some sort.


Siobhan was no fan of hospitals, but did not feel inclined to rush out. One hand moved up to her forehead to rub it, for she felt the start of a headache. It stood to reason that the aftereffects of a spirit trying to seize her body for himself would hurt like hell. However, a feeling of warmth overcame her when she realised that Mirien was with her. "Hey, you're a sight for sore eyes, love. Been with me the whole time?" Clearly this was the cue for Siobhan to feel mushy about things. Taking a breath, she gave the woman's hand a squeeze. "How's Cora?"

 

[Mirien Valdier]

Mirien set her book aside, as Siobhan started to stir. Reaching forward she gently squeezed the woman's hand. "Glad to see you awake. I wanted to be here so you didn't wake alone." Then she sighed heavily, "Cora is as stubborn as ever. Clearly a sign of recovery that she wanted to instantly walk out of her on her own power, muttering something about hating hospitals. Eileithya put a stop to that, convinced her to stay in bed, on the condition of taking her to the shrine of healing or something like that. I figured with the Priestesses she couldn't get into too much trouble and they might actually get her to rest. But as for the whole, she seems to be her old self. Back to who my files pegged her to be before she came to Atrisia. So, I'd say she's doing well."

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Mirien Valdier"]


Mirien not wanting her to wake up alone made Siobhan smile very brightly. "That's so sweet of you. Thanks." She was still feeling quite tired, but she gently brought Mirien's hand to her lips and kissed it. Presumably she had gotten the idea from a corny romance novel. She shook her head and then chuckled slightly after hearing about Cora's latest antics.


"Back to the old, eccentric Cora then? That's great. She should be in good hands with Eileithya. At most she's at a risk of being converted to Ashiranism and asked to sing in the church choir," she laughed. Totally not using meta, not at all. "Are you ok? You got hit pretty hard by that monster." Concern was evident in her voice and she appraised her lover. "And can I get out of this medbay and get something to eat?" Clearly she was not feeling like staying put either.

 

[Cora Passek]

Cora only lifted a brow in response to the Eldorai's first words. "Well, it's not like I have anything but time right now." The blonde certainly had no business deals or anything really of note going on. No where she had to be, nothing she had to do. A part of her had an urge to smash the comlink in her pocket, meaning all her contacts from her old life would be gone. No one would be looking for her here. She could finally start over. Still though, another part of her was clinging to that past, and those contacts for what they meant to her. Even if it was a most painful past, it was still her past and she wasn't ready to let go. Not yet.

Coming into the room, Cora found herself a bit surprised. For some reason, the surrounds in the room made it something that actually felt quite comfortable to her. There was no sign of the usual hospital things and then that lovely music too certainly helped. Cora shifted most happily on the bed, admittedly her head still hurt, but she was happy and without worry for the first time in forever. "Now this, I might be able to get used to."

[member="Tarissa Cadalthor"]

 

[Vaena Askari]

[member="Cora Passek"]


"That is pleasing to hear. Try not to seduce all my lay sisters while you're here," Eileithya said fondly. There was no truth to the rumours that some Ashiran priestesses had 'negotiable affection'. She sat down on the edge of the bed, gently stroking Cora's head. The healing magic would not fully eliminate the pain, but make it easier to manage and less burdensome.


"The abomination has been purged from your mind and you should be fit to leave our house in a few days. What do you plan on doing with your life now? As trite as it sounds, you've been given a second chance. Few people receive that." Vahri was gone, what happened now was up to Cora.

 

[Mirien Valdier]

"Of course, love." She smiled sweetly as Siobhan lifted her hand and kissed it gently.

"Yep, couldn't be more her if she tried. Glad to see her springing back to her snarky self. She was giving Eileithya a hard time as well. With her, I expect nothing less." Mirien couldn't help but chuckle at the mention of converting Cora. "That's a strong possibility." Of course Mirien knew a little of Cora's past, and how she had once upon a time been a religious soul.

Other than a mild headache Mirien had felt fine. "He slammed me around a bit, but yeah I'm alright." She said quietly. "I see no reason why not. They only wanted to observe you for a few hours. So, aside from the headaches that I know we both have, you should be alright as well." She said with a grin. "Let's go get you something to eat." Mirien said as she offered a hand to Siobhan to help her up and keep her steady on her feet as she rose from the bed.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Mirien Valdier"]


Aww, you're so cute together. When will you be exchanging collars? Shut up. You know you want to. True, but you still annoy me, Siobhan thought to herself because it was that time of the week again, meaning she had to spend a post or two talking to herself.


"Thanks, darlin'. You're the best," Siobhan said brightly, clearly pleased with how things were going. She eagerly took Mirien's hand and with her lover's help managed to stand, though she was obviously still a bit wobbly on her legs. "Thanks a lot for what you did...it...means a lot to me. If I'd been possessed again...," she broke off, looking a bit embarrassed. The former Inquisitor would know how traumatic being taken over by Shadow had been for Siobhan.


However, she managed to recover as they walked out. "Second time an ancient Sith tried to claim me as their meatpuppet. I guess it's because I'm hot stuff. Got a headache and my mind feels weird. Like information spilled over that I shouldn't know. Maybe that arsehole left me a goodbye present."