Restless ((Friends))

[dana]

Long nails tapped an irritating tune on the window-sill. She had shaped the nails, coloured them and now she was irritating even herself with the never-ceasing tapping. The rhythm of the tapping changed back and forth randomly being a funeral march now only to change into the merrier wedding march a moment later before it switched back. Her lips pursed thoughtfully Dana stared out of the window with a small frown displayed on her features as she quietly pondered about the pointlessness of human nails. An bird needed it’s claws to perch itself on tree-branches, owls carried letters between their talons as often as they did between their beaks, all predatory birds used their claws to catch their prey… small mice or rats, frogs or whatever small creatures they ate. Claws were just as necessary for any animal. Mostly also for eating. Claws were a necessity to most living creatures. But why did humans have nails? They held no practical value, because you couldn’t use them for any real work, because nails broke easily. Was their reason really only to be frivolous and flashy and draw attention if they were cared for nicely enough? Stopping the tapping on the window-sill Dana hit her finger-tips slightly against the wood as if a last parting accord. Turning Dana moved swiftly down the hallway not baring a glance at anyone in the hallway as she rounded the corner and swept straight towards the staircase.

She wasn’t really even that interested about nails. Sure, Dana could be vain, but she wasn’t that hopeless. She was just feeling… restless today. Maybe it was spring fever. Glancing at a window as she was passing Dana let out a snort as she saw the snow-covered grounds. Right. It was the beginning of January, spring wasn’t even near yet. She wasn’t sick, she wasn’t anxious about any tests coming up, all her homework was done. But something was still getting her edgy and it was worse than simple want to do something. Kris was gone for a few days after a chilly argument between him and Meredith where Kris gave up in finally so he was gone to have his eyes checked again. While it did add a touch of irritation to Dana’s character that wasn’t overly sweet anyway. Shockingly as it was, but Kris did manage to smooth her temper and take away any stress Dana might be under because of school. But she had just walked Kris to Hogsmeade and she wasn’t THAT dependant of him for that to be the reason either. Dana just felt… restless. Letting out a long breath she hadn’t known she was holding Dana called out to Cleo who was just coming from outside. “Can I have your jacket?” Dana called over the hall to Cleo who glanced at her mid-thigh long black leather jacket before shrugging it off and throwing it to Dana who caught it as swiftly as possible as the jacket wasn’t really built the best way to fly in air. Barely nodding her thanks Dana was out of the doors of the castle before it closed after the next person who had entered as she pulled the jacket over her soft black sweater while walking. She was a little taller than Cleo but other than that the jacket fit well enough as Dana jumped down the few stairs and ignoring the fact that she was wearing a pair of boots with high stiletto heels and white pants that would NOT look well with pieces of dirt on them, took off running. Perhaps a bit wobbly run at some steps, but none the less a run.

Ignoring anyone who might be outside to observe this peculiar mood-swing Dana tore off running to the lake and then by the small path at the lake-side to the very same cliff she had started to count as her own ever since she had cried there in the beginning of the year. Not to mention the rather peculiar but awesome looking sandy beach inside the cliff that could be entered from under water only, even though the cave had a few holes in its walls so it wasn’t completely dark in it. The cave merely swam in a constant state of dusk. Jumping over a fallen log with more grace than could be expected Dana stopped her running and picking out an old tree with a suitably long branch to suit her purpose jumped to hang on the branch. Swinging back and forth on the branch that was bending under her weight Dana’s hands got rather tired from holding up her whole weight until the branch finally snapped dropping Dana back on the ground and causing the slushy snow splash up and leave rater inartistic brown spots on her white silk-pants that were now dirty beyond any hope to be cleaned properly again. Not that Dana cared right now as she transfigured an other branch into a knife and walked over to the cliff-edge. Using the knife she had transfigured to clean off small branches and more or less smoothen the cover of the branch Dana started to cut both ends of the branch properly round. Most certainly not the best idea considering her unexplainably restless mood today especially since her skill of handling knives was nowhere near that of his cousin.

The blade slipped and Dana let out a rather loud and clear string of curses as she dropped both the branch she had been carving and the knife as she stared with real annoyance into her left palm that was now half-way slit open. Raising the wounded palm to her lips in a completely natural instinct, she rummaged in the pockets of the jacket Cleo had borrowed her. Feeling a piece of soft silk cloth between her finger Dana pulled it out merely arching an eye-brow and letting out a chuckle at the sight of Kris’s initials sewn into the piece of white cloth. Not bothering to wonder why was one of Kris’s handkerchiefs in Cleo’s pocket, Dana shook the piece of cloth open as it had obviously never been used. Frowning at the cut in her palm Dana tried to wrap the piece of cloth securely around her palm and tie it closed firmly until she felt ready to go back to the castle and get a band-aid to put over it. The cut wasn’t much worse than a scratch so nothing else should be done to heal it really. Letting out one more melodically hissed ‘zzzzzzzzut’ Dana tried rather unsuccessfully to tie the handkerchief around her palm only to find the silk constantly slipping from the grasp of only one hand making it rather impossible to finish the knot. Especially with her starting to get a bit dizzy. Dana had alwyas had hte bad habit of 'fainting' after loosing some blood but hopefully she would get hte handkerchief tied around her hand before she would flop down and try to gather her wits once again even if it was a mere scratch. The knowledge of that she was bleeding just slightly was enough to make Dana dizzy already.

((Dana is/was restless. So was I for some reason so I just let her write herself. Haven't read it over as the post came out in about 10 minutes so sorry for any mistakes there might be, but I'm not reading it over right now. ))

[Sapphire Phoenix R7]

Sapphire gathered up a handful of the snow she had been walking through. A shame, she thought, as she let it drop to the ground, sloppy and insufficient. It didn't feel right to walk through either. Not crisp: her feet just sank through it onto solid ground. Not such hard ground either. The snow which had lain on the earth, built up over the cold snap she had missed in rain-blighted Muggle London, was becoming thin now as it started to become mushy and melt, leaving behind muddy scars on the landscape. Sapphire sighed and pulled off her gloves with disgust, which, not being waterproof, were quicklybecoming rather cold as the slush revealed itself as the dirty, barely frozen water it was and soaked through them. She deposited them in her coat pocket and was about to shake off the unsatisfactory 'snow' perching on one of the low branches of a nearby tree when she caught sight of a girl who looked very much like her friend Dana Coran heading off around the lake.

On impulse Sapphire disengaged from dislodging the slush from the branch and instead decided to follow the sixth year. When she thought about it, she wasn't even sure why she was out here herself, so the company wouldn't be a bad thing. Probably it was something to do with having stayed with her mother and stepfamily over Christmas making her more aware of her origins. Whenever it snowed Sapphire felt drawn outside, to go and explore. To see if it was anything like Russia. It always failed to compare of course, and she would get a feeling of disappointment and discontent. Not that Russia had been anything near perfect when she lived there, of course (far from it, if she considered it objectively), and the cold had hardly been a good thing, but having spent a good proportion of her younger years there and little else since, she tended to look at the country through rose-tinted spectacles. At least whenever it snowed she wanted it to be the right sort of snow (though she had no right to - this was, after all Britain!). There was always something to stop her from settling down in a new place. Too much moving had seen to that.

Dana had headed along a small path which Sapphire hadn't until now been aware existed. She was sure now though that it was Dana, since she was being sworn at in French; at least the general vicinity was being sworn at. Sapphire replied with a mild Russian curse before letting out a genuine hiss as she saw the already blood-soaked piece of cloth Dana was attempting to tie round one hand. Taking inspiration from the branch and knife she saw lying on the ground nearby Sapphire dug a little through the slush until she found a leaf which must have dropped off the trees in a cold snap a good while back. She forced herself to concentrate on Transfiguring it with her wand. The correct incantation uttered, the result was a rather soaked, cold and dirty looking flannel. Probably not bad under the circumstances. Sapphire quickly cleaned, dried and heated it using a set of charms, hoping the whole thing hadn't taken too long, before crouching down to the same level as Dana. She prised the silk gently away from the other Ravenclaw and tied the flannel round what she estmiated was tight enough to stop too much blood loss, while trying not to restrict the blood flow to the fingers too much.

"Muggle plasters have gauze on them so the absorbent material doesn't stick and pull off the scab when you take it off," she said quietly. "That actually looks a little nasty. I hope you're going to clean it up before it gets infected, because I'm not personally too fond of Madam Pomfrey." Sapphire gave Dana a small smile. She'd been rather worried when she first saw all the blood, but now wasn't quite as anxious, commenting, "Precipitation seems to have a strange effect on you; you dance in the rain whilst paying absolutely no attention whatsoever to the fact you're getting soaked and when the snow turns to slush you make sharp knives - far too sharp by the way; whatever was McGonagall thinking, teaching you to be that good? - and end up hurting yourself with them. I dread to think what will happen when it hails." She smiled at Dana again; even though she'd quickly returned to her usual mode of speaking, she hadn't injected any sting or teasing element into it as she often did. Somehow it didn't feel as though this waws the right place for that right now. Besides, that knife was sharp. "I'd still maintain you qualify yourself for St. Mungo's, except it's me who's got OWLs this year. I could do with someone to talk to."

[dana]

As the dizziness started to get over-bearing Dana dropped herself to sit on the ground letting out an annoyed mumble as her bottom hit the ground rather harshly. Shaking her head for a moment to get rid of the dizziness. The sudden movement of her head didn’t really help Dana much however as the buzz in her ears just got worse. Hearing a soft curse Dana looked up and grinned widely at Sapphire letting her own hand move away as Sapphire wrapped a new piece of cloth around Dana’s palm as Dana let out a snicker. “Sapph! You cussed! Let’s have a competition and see who knows more swear-words in different languages!” Dana called feeling just a bit giddy as she snatched up the bloody handkerchief Sapph had pried away from her hand. Letting out a giggle Dana gave Sapph a hug before throwing her arms wide and flopping down on the ground.
“Owie,” Dana whined as her head hit the ground with a dull thud as she spread her arms and stretched herself out as long as possible on the ground ignore the cold and wet slush-ish snow-ish ground. Her eyes closed as Dana started to hum the funeral march only to gasp suddenly her eyes snapping over. Raising her head just enough Dana snatched the bloody handkerchief again waving it happily towards Sapph as she closed her eyes and let her fall onto the ground again. “It’s Kris’s! I shall give it back to him as a sign of a heroic fight!” Dana giggled a little while moving her arms up and down as she tried to make a snow-angel.

Opening her eyes Dana smiled and waved at Sapphire once again with the bloody handkerchief: “It might very well be a heroic fight when Cleo sees her jacket again. But I found Kris’s handkerchief in her pocket! A-ha! She can’t argue with real solid evidence!” Dana called out victoriously as she continued making a snow-angel before staring thoughtfully at the handkerchief in her hand trying to recall her previous actions. She had raised her bloody palm to her lips while finding the handkerchief, hadn’t she? Letting out a sort of hic-cupping giggle Dana raised the handkerchief and tried to wipe off any smears of blood that might have stuck to her lips. “Icky, it’s wet!” Dana whined pointing the handkerchief towards Sapphire with her lower lip stuck out in a decidedly certain pout, “I don’t like it being wet. Why is it wet? I don’t like wet!!!”
Sitting up Dana curled her knees up to her chest as she giggled and snickered for a couple of minutes before looking at Sapph again her eyes glistening with tears of mirth.
“Will you hire a rocking band to play on my grave if I get blood-poisoning and die? I will come back and dance on my grave as a ghost is you make a good choice on the band!” Dana called out excitedly while continuing to giggle. She felt restless still… restless and just a bit wild and giddy and dizzy still… and the back of her head was throbbing slightly because of the hit it had taken from the ground previously making Dana’s lower lip stick out even more as she sulked a little.

Dana stared at the knife that had caused all this trouble thoughtfully. “Do you reckon that I should become a knife-thrower in the circus? I could wear a flashy cloak with the outside silvery and the inside red and wear a one-piece swimming suit with red and silver and red tights and silver shoes under it. I would be breath-taking and mysterious and wonderful as I throw the knife in the traveling circus while blind-folded. Do you want to come along? I could throw the knives around you,” Dana said slowly her head hidden between her knees as she tried to overcome her dizziness that was starting to become accompanied by a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach.


((*huggle* Thanks for coming over. And I figured out where this thread it going so don't worry, Dana has a good excuse for acting the way she is. *giggle* Even if it is liberating to write her this way! Just stick with her will you? And don't freak too much as Sapph. And feel free to invite whoever you want in this post if you need any help with her.
Oh and - to clear on small detail of confusion for me in the end of the plot - can Sapph swim?))

[Sapphire Phoenix R7]

Sapphire smiled at Dana's amusement. Sapphire rarely cursed; words could be twisted and arranged to give a far more cutting effect. She did, however, have a small repertoire that suited her needs well enough. She merely didn't use it much. "It's become a highly distinguished discipline, is it now?" she returned. "I believe I can credit you immediately with being the better studied; you can understand Russian." Sapphire smiled at Dana, but she was quickly becoming more concerned than she had been when she first caught sight of her friend. Dana was quickly starting to display symptoms of having lost quite an amount of blood - she looked unstable and dizzy from what Sapphire could tell, and she was most certainly acting a little strangely. Sapphire could sense that the Dana she usually talked to was fast being overcome by this current irrational state, save for the undercurrent of the strong will Dana possessed becoming more prevalent. Sapphire sighed a little to herself. Blood she could cope with easily enough; Dana going crazy was a terrifying prospect.

"Blood tends to be wet," she said calmly, before frowning to herself. She wasn't sure exactly how she should get her friend to do what she wanted her to do "Dana, would you lie down and stay still? Don't move your head about - it's not going to help." Sapphire knelt down by the sixth year, making sure the instructions were followed and trying to stop her from bumping her head. “Right, okay, stay in that position,” she ordered gently once she was satisfied. “And focus your mind on something which will keep you awake; try not to drift off.” Remembering what Dana had said about Cleo’s jacket, Sapphire decided she should perhaps do something to keep her friend warm. Truth be told she knew next to nothing about how to cope with such a situation – she had nothing but her own rudimentary knowledge of the human anatomy and first aid and her own common sense. Taking off the warm winter cloak she was wearing, she spread it over the other Ravenclaw before raising the injured hand to inspect it.
“You’ll have to contend with me too now,” she said softly as she examined the bandaged wound. Some blood seemed still to be soaking through the flannel, although thankfully not too large quantities. Hopefully the bleeding had slowed somewhat. She would still have to put another layer round. This she did as quickly as she could (Sapphire wasn’t one to rush things since she preferred to ensure she did them correctly), continuing to talk to Dana in a fairly unobtrusive tone. “If I’d known you were intending to have me get mud and blood all over that, I would have put another cloak on specially for the occasion. Perhaps you could warn me in future.”

Sapphire gave her friend a smile, picking up two stones and reforming them with her wand into roughly shaped mugs, keeping an eye on Dana all the time. These she filled with hot chocolate slightly sweeter than she would ordinarily make for her own purposes and carried them over to Dana carefully. “My one talent,” she said, “Hot drinks. You’ll have to teach me how to make biscuits to go with them. Hot chocolate? Not my best but I think you might need it like this right now. You’ll have to sit up though. Tell me if you feel too sleepy – I don’t want to deal with you choking. And Dana – endeavour not to die of blood poisoning. I shan’t be able to make you a proper cup of coffee if you do.” Sapphire took a sip of her own hot chocolate, ready to help Dana sit up and drink from her mug if necessary. She hadn’t had a great deal of warm clothing on underneath her cloak, and now that was gone Sapphire was shivering uncontrollably. She needed the warmth of the hot chocolate herself. Turning another stone into a rough goblet (she was practised at this particular sort of thing) Sapphire proceeded to fill it with brandy. She hadn’t ever sampled much brandy, so it was a bit difficult to fill it with the right substance, but she probably ought to do something to sterilise the cut. Brandy was the best thing she could think of right now. She couldn’t actually concentrate on the task; she was perplexed as to what to do next. She couldn’t leave Dana to get help because Dana definitely needed someone watching her and she had no way of contacting anyone right now – Ruffles was out on an errand. She could do with one of those mobile phones her mother and stepfather were in possession of, except that of course Muggle devices didn’t work within the radius of Hogwarts. A working one would have been awfully useful right now. She didn’t like the idea of trying to take Dana anywhere. The sixth year didn’t look ready to move much. She would have liked very much to fix everything with her wand, but she wasn’t up to much in the way of healing spells and wasn’t about to test her luck either; it was Dana’s luck rather than her own. She had a feeling keeping on talking quietly was probably the best she knew how to do at the moment, whatever she said, so she did that.
“Glad to know you see a way to make a spectacle out of murdering me with ridiculously sharp knives,” she said. “By all means go ahead; I wouldn’t wish to stand in the way of your entrepreneurial spirit.”

[dana]

Dana shuffled a little but settled down soon enough and let Sapphire examine her right palm as Dana kept quiet politely. Accepting the mug from her friend Dana took a sip absent-mindedly noting that she personally preferred sweeter hot chocolate. Dana didn’t really care much for chocolate and maybe to make up for the dislike of regular sweets, she drank her tea and hot chocolate as sweet as possible. Liquid sugar as Kris sometimes called the drink Dana prepared for herself.
“I feel completely awake! No need for a nap. Nap’s are for kiddos!” Dana bent her knees and jumped to her legs a bit wobbly supporting her weight with her left hand fro a moment before standing upright again. Sapphire’s cloak floated back over the shoulders of the young girl. The cup still held in her left hand Dana bowed to pick up the knife in her right again her finger curling just a bit awkwardly as the cloth wrapped around her palm didn’t let Dana move her hand as freely as usually. None the less Dana gripped the hilt of the knife and turned it lazily in her hands her eyes just a bit misty.

“Can you just feel the call of it? Travelling, stopping when you wish, never staying for long enough than needed,” Dana moved over the cliff battling invisible opponents with the knife in her hand and the cup of hot chocolate in the other, “The thrill, emotions, mystery. Power and knowledge.” Dana laughed happily her eyes looking at something only she saw. Thought maybe seeing the real world might have had some more real use. At the very least it might have stopped Dana from stumbling on a rock producing out of the cliff. The knife flew out of her grasp and luckily fell rather innocently over the side of the cliff the shining blade retransfiguring itself as the branch of tree Dana had transfigured it from fell harmlessly into the Hogwarts lake. Hopping at the edge Dana spread her arms widely letting the random gusts of wind support some of her weight as she stared over the lake: “It feels like flying! Come, try it, Sapph!”

Twirling and stumbling awkwardly for a moment Dana drooped to her knees next to Sapph. Her eyes had widened and were starting to get moist as her lower lip stuck out in a clear display of feeling miserable. “My knife fell, Sapph. I can’t become a magician anymore! I haven’t found a dragon either so I can’t become a sorceress either.” Dana jumped up and twirled happily away from Sapph somehow managing to stay in complete balance this time before leering at her: “Think I’d make a good sorceress?” Dana’s mug fell from her grasp and shattered into a small pieces on the ground as Dana suddenly clapped both hands over her mouth her eyes widening as she stared at Sapph. “I have a funny feeling in my stomach!” Dana stated blinking rapidly before turning away. And dropping to her knees on the cliff-side once again Dana promptly threw up the toast or two she had pushed down her throat in the morning.

AFter finishing Dana settled back to sit on her heels as she took hold of the cup Sapph had also conjured. taking a sip Dana cleaned her mouth before spitting hte drink out again. Taking one more sip Dana swallowed it grinnign at Sapph: "Brandy. I've never drank it before you know. Just tasted, but it smells nice! Cheers!" Raising the glass towards Sapph Dana threw her head back swallowing the small amount of brandy left with one gulp. Almost gagging at the drink as it bruned her mouth Dana made a grimace: "Not nice. It smells better than it tastes."

[Sapphire Phoenix R7]

Sapphire glared at Dana as she stood up, leaving the cloak on her shoulder as Dana had put it there but standing up herself. Dana hardly had a particularly stable foothold to be doing what she was now, so Sapphire moved closer to the cliff edge. She wasn't having Dana falling over. Her breath caught for a moment as Dana stumbled, her heart in her mouth. It was all right though, and Sapphire gazed neutrally at Dana, having lost her friend's thread of conversation. She really was talking gobbledegook now; even if she didn't quite compare with Luna Lovegood in the year above Sapphire, she could certainly give her a run for her money at this moment in time.

Sapphire cast her mind back to the invitation to fly and remarked in reply: "I'd rather support you hurling knives at me than pushing me over the cliffs as a means of disposing of my troublesome presence. I'm sure the former would be far more profitable and entertaining for you." Sapphire watched as Dana threw up into the lake and moved the pieces of the broken stone mug (surely it should be easier to make it take on the appearance of china rather than the properties, she thought offhandedly with some bemusement) out of the way, sighing. She wasn't sure what she should be doing now. The last thing she'd been going to do was to sterilise the wound as best she could with brandy.

Sapphire turned her attention back to the cup of brandy, only to find it wasn't where she had left it anymore. It would appear that Dana had taken possession of it. Sapphire gave her a hard stare and in reply to Dana's complaint said slightly unkindly, "Well, you won't be drinking it again then." She gave Dana a smile since although she felt exasperated, there was to be no dealing with her friend's state. She would just have to cope as best she could. "At least I know now itwas brandy," she murmured to herself, reflecting further that that might not help her much considering the fact it was all gone now. "I never said drinks were on me, you know," she added in a louder tone to her friend. Sapphire stood up, picking up another stone which she transfigured into a slightly jagged container. She pondered it for a moment in mortification - she never upheld the merit of not giving of your best, whatever the circumstances - but then filled it with brandy before walking over to Dana, her wand now pointed directly at the Ravenclaw sixth year.

"Are you suggesting you'd be easier to handle as a 'kiddo?" she asked, one eyebrow raised. "Don't tempt me. It could be arranged." Sapphire sighed inwardly as she bent down beside Dana and sterilised the wound as best she knew how. Most likely she'd made quite a number of mistakes in the order she'd done things in, but she was only trying to do all she thought as soon as she thought of it; she was utterly inexperienced but she was doing the best she could. She wouldn't do anything less for a close friend like Dana.
"Will you sit still and listen a moment?" she pleaded, using her wand to apply a little downward force to Dana's shoulders to reinforce her request. She continued to tend to the hand wound, where the bleeding had slowed considerably much to her relief, whilst talking in a soft tone to her friend.

"Okay, listen," she appealed. "You've lost... quite a lot of blood. At least I think you must have, even though I'm not sure you should've. And that's not exactly making you so well - you're not very stable with you blanace, for one thing. I can tell you're a bit impetuous, but please just stop and tell me properly how you feel - throwing up is hardly fine. If you feel well enough to go anywhere, we go back to the castle." Sapphire looked at Dana deadly serious but calm, although some concern showed through in her eyes. It was quite possible that wasn't recognisable anyway. Sapphire rarely let any concern show. She was hoping fervently that Dana would take in what she'd said properly, however badly she might have expressed herself. It mattered - Sapphire wasn't able to do anytying more, but her friend hardly seemed much better. She might not be bleeding all over the ground anymore (really, she could have chosen a better day, when there was proper snow to bleed heroically into, rather than this mere slush), but she was still acting strangely. Sappihre started to reconciliate herself to the fact a visit to the dreaded Madam Pomfrey might well be necessary as she waited slightly tensely for her friend to give some response.

((I've already apologised to you for any oddness in this post... and I can only do so again. *huggle*))

[dana]

Dana giggled and opened her mouth to let the cold January air calm her throat the unfamiliar taste of brandy had so-to-say burned the tender flesh there. Dana closed her eyes and spread her arms as widely as she could while sticking out her tongue in an attempt to touch the tip of her nose for a moment before Sapph’s comment sent her into fits of laughter. “Drinks on you! None of the drinks was on you! But I can pour some drink on you if you wish!” Dana giggled out with her head turning from side to side with every word she said. Her eyes merely taking in the sight of Sapph’s wand Dana nodded and giggled. “It was FUN to be a KIDDO! Me and Kris had a competition going to see who would be able to get rid of the nanny hired for us quicker. My record was one day!” Dana called out happily not making any secret of her childhood in which she really had been far from being a good child. Beaming proudly at her own success in the before-mentioned competition Dana’s face fell into a sulk a moment later. Scowling darkly Dana none the less admitted the not-so-pleasant truth honestly: “Kris won though. He managed to get rid of one with only half a day. It’s so unfair! I wanted to be better!”

Dana’s train of thought soon changed once again as she observed curiously how Sapph unwrapped the made-shift bandage from around her arm and started to clean the wound with brandy. “It hurts!” Dana complained loudly her upbringing the one thing that kept her from crying at the stinging feeling in her left palm. Trying to distract herself from the pain Dana reached out her fingers and prodded the wound curiously. Letting out a quiet ‘oompf’ Dana let herself fall to sit as Sapph used a quick spell to ensure her wish was fulfilled.
Jumping up as quickly as possible Dana grinned and scratched the tip of her nose thoughtfully. “I’m feeling dizzy and sick and a bit light-headed and happy and sad and good!” Dana answered seriously to Sapph’s questions as she gave the younger girl a tight hug, “You’re a good friend, you know that!”

A moment later Dana was already bouncing further away as she scowled playfully at Sapph. “My balance is great!” As if to prove it Dana threw herself into a cartwheel his body reflectively moving correctly as she completed the whirl without any mistakes other than a couple of tears quietly gliding down on on her cheeks as a stone had cut into her already wounded palm once again causing the blood to start seeping out slowly again. “Can you hear it?” Dana asked her arms rasiing as she started to dance. At first a slow swaying that quickened as the beat of the music only she could hear quickened as Dana danced with invisible partners gliding and twirling easily over the pieces of rock her eyes shining.
“Have you never danced with the fairies? The kind spirits that make sun come out again after it rains? The small magical folk who give your heart and soul the wings needed to fly? The very ones who hug you when you get sad? Don’t you ever dance with them and rejoice over life? Someone has to help fairies stay flying when their wings get tired too,” Dana mused out her eyes concentrating on something far away in the air that wasn’t really there in this reality. Dana beamed a smile and raised her arm in a half-wave as her eyes rolled over and she collapsed on the ground the high fever having finally taken over her body. The pale skin and Dana’s abnormally red cheeks were even more evident now as her constant moving didn’t hide her from an observers keen eye as for right now in her faint Dana’s mind was dead to the rest of the world as the raging fever shook her body.


((*huggles*The post is great as always. And thanks for even helping me get through this thread. And as I promised - didn't torture Sapph overly long as Dana is passed out and won't cause you any more problems. This time.))