PM to join A life unlived (Eleret)

[Adnaj]

Adnaj became visibly upset at the sight of having made Cecily go into a tirade and then regress into her typical, passive form. He genuinely wanted to help this girl and to cause her to have an emotional episode made him feel both guilty and foolish. He had no choice though! He had to interrupt her. As much as he wanted to hep Cecily, he couldn't allow her to reveal his secret! Not in this way!

Upon hearing Eleret's voice, Adnaj started to think that his method of 'damage control' hadn't worked. He recognized the solemn, commanding tone in her voice. She was quiet serious and even a little perturbed. If the hair, on his lifeless neck had been capable of rising, it would have. If his dead eyes could dilate with fear then they would have grown three times in size. If had been possible for his cold flesh to contract into goose-flesh then he would be covered in it. He assumed that he could guess where this conversation was able to go. It had to be that Cecily had dropped a big enough hint. Her surmised that Eleret had probably figured out his true nature...

As he led her out of the treatment room and into the hallway, his mood shifted to something which he hadn't felt in ages. It had been so long that the sensation nearly confused him. He felt a deep, dooming, panicky fear as he waited for Eleret to speak.

[Eleret]

Eleret was quiet as she followed Adnaj out of Cecily's room, glancing once back over her shoulder at the woman they left behind. Her regret at Cecily's reversion to passive and nonresponsive was only compounded by her sense of Adnaj's fear. She reflexively flinched from the pungent, acidic combination of scents and the knowledge of what mood lay beneath them -- the knowledge that she had brought this fear and guilt to the forefront for her friend and mentor. As she stepped out into the hallway, closing the door behind them, the Konti reminded herself it was necessary. For all that she wanted to apologize, to take the words back... She took a deep breath and looked directly at Adnaj. "I do not ask, Adnaj," Eleret said, spreading her arms to either side, palms tilted up. "I do not ask what you hide, what you fear so. What you hide from me is your choice." She paused for a beat, gaze searching his expression as she brought her hands back in, each hand loosely clasping the other arm over her navel. "But what you did there, even I see it is not good. Not good for Cecily. And that is not how it should be. That is not what a doctor, a healer, should do." Though she spoke those words quietly, she spoke them with firm conviction. Eleret's lips pressed into a thin line as she paused again; but she didn't pause for long. "I know you, Adnaj. I have seen what you do here," she continued, voice soft, a wave of one hand indicating the clinic around them. "Do you think my... thoughts for you, my opinion, so small that you risk a patient to hide from me?" The Konti shook her head sadly. "As I said, I do not ask for your secret. Keep it as you will. But only... think on it. Is it worth what it might cost them?" She shook her head again, then moved to start down the hall. She didn't want him to feel pressured by her continuing presence, didn't want to give the impression that she expected an answer then and there. "I stay at World's End this season. I will be happy to help more, if you need; you can find me there."

[Adnaj]

Adnaj raised a hand and opened his mouth. He wanted to stop Eleret from leaving. He wanted to admit everything and encourage her to stay. Unfortunately, the courage to be honest, with her, had completely eluded him. He couldn't force himself to just come out and admit, to her, that he was a Nuit. It might have been easy months ago. Even earlier, in this second meeting, it might have been feasible. But now, after Cecily and Eleret's own reaction to Cecily's comments, the pressure was just too high.

With a resigned sigh, he apologized for calling her. His comment sounded more like a resigned admittance of self disappointment than an attempt at etiquette.

With Eleret leaving Cecily to Adnaj's care, he would have to devote all of his remaining time to Cecily's care. Fortunately, the strange encounter had engendered, in Adnaj, an interesting new theory. The conversation was in true form to all of Adnaj's previous discussions with Cecily. She seemed to have a fascination with religious, the fantastical and with magic. The most striking things about her statements were always focused on magic. Adnaj was starting to suspect that Cecily wasn't "sick" at all. Adnaj anticipated that these next few months would prove very difficult as the healer would try his hand at rehabilitating an overgiven djed user.

[Paragon]

Adnaj

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Acting	2
Rhetoric	1
Investigation	1

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	Hiding One's True Nature
•	Twisting the Truth
•	Recognising the Signs of Overgiving

Eleret

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Investigation	1
Observation	2
Rhetoric	1
Leadership	1

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	Returning to Zeltiva Six Years Later
•	Acting on Suspicions
•	In a Patient's Best Interests
•	Helping Cecily

Legend Becomes Reality

Enjoyable thread, I think Eleret knows the truth but seeks confirmation. Interested to see more from you two going forward If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can work from there.