February 21st:

*Z is barley aware of the fact that Kolson and Rory are speaking and can't tell what they are saying at all.  She can't hear anything past the screaming in her head.  Slowly slowly the pain is starting to recede from her consciousness, as she pulls herself away from it, away from herself.  The flames are creeping slowly up her arm. Gwydo now alert to the problem, watches in semi-horror/amazement as one laps at his hand just under her elbow.  He removes his hand nearly letting Z fall as he jerks it away from the flame only to realize that it... wasn't burned.*

Gwydo: "...its.. not hot.."

For a moment, Rory was disquieted by unscathed appearance of Gwydo and the sudden fade of the fire that burned around Z.

"Z...god-in-hell, what did you go and do that for!?" he fumed. "Look around you! Just what were you planning to do!?"

*Z still isn't responding.  The flames are still there, lapping at her elbows.  Her eye have gone unfocused, as she hold her head no longer thrashing, but rocking gently back and forth in Gwydo's arms.*

"She was casting a spell," Kolson mutters to himself. On to something he shouts, "She was casting a spell!"

"Tia, take me over there, quickly!"

Absolutely terrified, Tia does as she is commanded, trusting her brother to know what is safe or not. On their way over Kolson shout's back to Rory, "Not the time, not the time! She's barely conscious man!"

"Z, can you hear me?" He reaches out and gently puts a gloved hand on her face. "Z?"

Still furious and on edge, it took roughly 15-20 seconds for Rory to relax and breathe normally. Once he was, he put the knife away. "Just get her out of here--to the inn so she can rest," he snarled. "She's scared everyone half to death, and we got enough problems as it is." He returned to Fierneceal's side to try and help her calm down from whatever it was that seized her up.

*Kolson the flames lick at your hand as you reach up to Z's face, leaving Z's skin empty behind it. They lay there along your hand caressing it and Z's face.  They aren't hot, in fact they are nearly the opposite, not quite cool, they remind you of a summer breeze, feeling cool against the skin under the onslaught of the hot summer sun. Z is showing no signs of responding to you, her gaze is steady, but unfocused and she is still rocking gently butting into your hand with her head as she moves.*

*The flame at your hand travels up your arm, poking you in the face, much to Tia's horror.  It crackles and leaps, laughing at you... if such a think is possible for a flame... Z's rocking has slowed, her eyelids flutter once, blinking, they've been open this whole time.  The flame pokes you in the cheek again before rolling down Z's arm.  Once against the skin of her face, the one exposed place on her person it evaporates.  Z's face slowly begins loosing its pinched expression and her grip on her head loosens.  After several minutes have gone by she relaxes back against Gwydo's arm.  At this same time Fiernaceal does the same, sighing as if some great agony had finally left her.*

"Fierneceal...you alright?" Rory scooched back a bit to give her some air.

At first Kolson is surprised by the flame in his face but that soon gives way to wonder. "Fascinating," he says with a smile, as the flame leaps and pokes.

As she relaxes, Kolson gently places his hand on her shoulder and gently shakes "Z? Can you hear me now?"

"Who the frell was screaming?!"

*She rubs her temples and runs a hand through her already disheveled hair.*

Rory nearly skipped a beat when Z raised her voice. "Wait...screaming...?" He knew he hadn't been yelling that loudly.

Kolson frowns and says back to his irritating companion, "She has a headache Rory. Stop yelling."

"Sorry about that. You had us all a bit upset earlier," says Kolson. "You erupted into heat-less flame. Or I should say, heat-less you. At some point you took over the flame, climbed over my arm and poked me in the face a few times. I've never seen anything like it. Truly amazing."

Fierneceal shakes her weary head.  "Don't mind me.  Just letting the bunnies flop out."  She scratches at her head, and small rises of steam emit from it, as though it had been super heated.  "I'm okay.  Well other then my bruises I'm okay, hah."

".... I what?"

*Z blinks at you in confusion.*

no deception she is actually confused.:

"You didn't happen to...I dunno, 'hear' something...that maybe the rest of us didn't?" Rory feels her forehead for a temperature.

Kolson:

For the second time that day Snarg goes flying backwards, smashing in to the quarry wall as he lets out a loud yelp. He slides down the wall and collapses to the ground, blood dripping from his mouth.

Spoiler:

Zeiss is lying on the ground, motionless. The only thing his consciousnesses can perceive is the extenuation that runs through his whole body. He knows he was screaming, but he is so exhausted that he is incapable to ask himself why. After a few minutes, Zeiss is again capable to form normal thoughts. He rolls slowly on the ground, get up on his knees with great difficulty, then stand up. Rainbow is sitting just next to him, emitting plaintively a few "Mheee!". He takes her in his hands, keep her against his chest, then limps towards the entrance of the ruins.

To Rory:

Still recovering from the thought of not burning alive, Gwydo cradles Z, trying to make her as comfortable as possible while not falling over.
Looking confusedly over at Fierneceal, though not expecting an answer, he says "Bunnies?"
Looking around, Gwydo realizes he has yet to see Zeiss.
"Has anyone seen Zeiss? He should have come back with Kolson and Z."
Turning his head away from the gathered group, Gwydo bellows "ZEISS?"

Fierneceal shakes her head faintly.  She looks distraught, but when she speaks it is with quiet conviction.  "We need to meet... talk about something.  All of us."  She looks up.  "Now.  Where is everyone?"

"Let's do a head count first..." Rory turned to look at everyone who was here. "Z, Kolson, Gwydo--shut the hell up, man! Sethos, Tabran...we're missing Snarg and Zeiss, and Javan and Araiguna are...somewhere else, I think. But I think that's everyone. What about you? How are you feeling?"

"Zeiss is in the... the... you know what," she mumbles, shaking her head.  "I let him in last night, before I went to bed.  Don't know where anyone else is though."

"Then that's where we start. We're going to have to wade through all the people still reacting to the backlash from the Ley Line," Rory sighed. He stood up, but didn't walk away. "Are you well enough to come with us, or should we leave someone at your side?"

Fierneceal nods shakily.  "I can walk, don't worry.  Let's... let's go find them."

Rory's eyes conveyed doubt. He felt unnecessarily uneasy about that head wound, and letting her, of all people, get up and walk around, but  she wasn't too banged up, and it wasn't his call to make. "Well come along then," he replied before walking away.

"Me and Fierneceal are going to the ruins to find Zeiss," he announced after he reached the others. "That's where she says he is, and unless our living torch has anything helpful to say about where she was or where she last saw Snarg, I'll need all of you to come with us, and maybe we'll pick up Javan and Araiguna along the way."