Over Worked (D'rorah)

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

Cavan sat in the library, something he hadn't done in quite some time, recently he'd come in, borrowed some books and gone straight back to him dorm room or common room, depending on how busy it was. He did his homework the night it was assigned and spent all other time teaching himself new languages, on making sure he was understanding them as best he could. He only ever gave himself a few days to learn a language and he rarely slept. He napped between classes and studied through the night.

He now sat at a table not far from the entrance, ready to get up and leave at any moment. His hair hung around his face as he read, it was a lot more limp than it had been not that long ago. If anyone could get a glimpse of his face, they would see his face always straight, concentrating hard, trying not to worry, bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. Though anyone who looked into his eyes realized quite obviously that his attempts weren't working.

He was currently scribbling furiously on a note book as he poured over his codex once again. It was an odd sight, only because he hadn't even taken the time to change into his comfortable clothes, instead he sat there in robes and all, studying as though if he stopped someone might die.

When was the last time he'd laughed? Or smiled? How long had it been since D'rorah had left him in the tower, leaving that book that told him so much, and disappeared without a trace? He, of course, had poured himself into his work after speaking to Mister Cooper. He'd given everyone time to ask for help at lunch, which he forced himself to stop studying for. After that he went on either catching a nap or studying more. He didn't talk much, keeping his transfigured snake as company most of the time. It hadn't occurred to him that by isolating himself, he would miss the obvious good news of Dee's return and relief from his worrying.

[D'rorah Philosophy]

D'rorah's days had been much of the same since leaving her recuperation in the Room of Requirement. She had easily ignored the stares directed at her new appearance. The streaks of grey and black in her hair, the darkened look of her previously grey eyes, and the slightly greying tone of skin that had always been very pale to begin with. Apparently, the other students found little sport in questioning or teasing her about her appearance, for few bothered and those who did quickly stopped. Likely, it was simply that she looked quite intimidating with her newly tainted-by-darkness appearance.

Quietly, she walked into the library, dressed in her usual, formal robes which covered all but her face and hands. Her waist-length hair was tightly pulled back into it's usual coif, securely piled atop her head. Sparing little time to look around, she lifted the strap of her bag higher on her shoulder and made to head to her usual table in the back. Her eye, however, was caught by the sight of a familiar figure huddled over a table near the entrance.

She slowly walked closer and watched him work for several minutes, taking in his appearance and his frantic working. Realizing that she had not seen Cavan since before she had been taken off to the Ministry, she decided to check in to see how his language studies were coming. Quietly, she made her way over to his table, coming to stand across from him. "Mister Weiss," she greeted quietly, "may I have a seat?"

Her words were flat and toneless, devoid of anything that might be considered emotion. She was working on regaining her emotions, but with no Elemental Master, no anchor for them, any twinge of feeling she experienced managed to slip away, despite her best efforts to hold onto them. She waited for him to answer, looking down at him and his work, pleased to see that it looked as though he had accomplished quite a bit.

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

Cavan looked up at the voice, startled to have anyone speaking to him. He was sure that he'd alienated everyone with how much he had been studying and how little he talked, even his smiles had become rare.

He made a strangled noise and his quill slipped from his fingers when he saw who was standing there, begging a seat. He was exhausted, more so than he had ever thought possible and now it felt like a large stone had been removed from his shoulders. Without a second thought about his or her appearances, he swiftly moved from the chair and pulled her into a surprisingly strong hug.

It wasn't something he would have normally done, but he'd almost lost hope, terrified that she was dead, or worse. Having her suddenly standing there, almost exactly as she had been that night, the last time he'd seen her, he lost what was left of his frayed control and he found himself crying in relief. It wasn't something a boy like him did lightly and crying gave him even more relief. Slowly all the things that had been plaguing him were melting away.

He was so glad that she was alive and here, that it took him a little while to realize that flinging himself at her and crying on her, probably weren't what she'd been expecting, or wanting for that matter, when she'd asked for a seat at his table. He slowly let her go, looking up at her with a odd smile that was both happy and sad, his cheeks puff, his face and eyes red from crying, bags under his eyes from less sleep than was healthy. But some how, his back was straighter than it had been, it was had a visible effect, the weight lifting from his conscience.

"D'rorah..." Was all that he could managed in a sore, whispered tone, the crying having irritated his throat a bit.

[D'rorah Philosophy]

D'rorah's eyebrows raised as Cavan made a strangled sound and dropped his quill. Before she could even react, she found herself pulled into a tight hug, which she received stiffly, with her arms at her sides. It took a few moments to realize that he was also crying. Unable to react properly, unable to bring forth her own emotions, she simply waited him out.

When he finally looked up at her, she could see all too well the overwork and could imagine the stress he had put himself through lately.

"D'rorah..."

"You have not been sleeping properly, Mister Weiss," she remarked quietly. "And knowing how I am when I become involved in the sort of work you have doubtless been involved in these past several weeks, I would wager you have not been eating properly either." She didn't mean for her voice to sound as cold and logical as it did, as though she were some sort of robot making observations about a science experiment she were conducting.

"Much has happened in the past weeks. We should find somewhere more private to speak of it... somewhere where you may have a proper meal," she added. "And then rest." She looked down at the young man before her, wondering concurrently just how far he had progressed with his research and how he would take her demeanor and appearance at the moment. Certainly, she was a far cry from the person he had first met... both in appearance and in emotional capacity.

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

Cavan blushed at D'rorah's first spoken observation, because it was true, though not from lack of trying. Not that the blush showed through the red of his face from the crying he'd done not a moment ago. "I've been eating..." he said half heartedly, because in truth he'd been having as much trouble eating as he had sleeping, though he made himself go to each meal and forced himself at least a few bites each time.

Strangely the tone of her voice and the expression on her face did nothing to bother her as it must have others. The change in her appearance was something he would have been surprised not to see, as he'd been imagining her in horrible situations for nigh on two weeks at least.

The moment she spoke of going some where to speak, Cavan was packing up his books. He did it in a speed of someone who moved often and didn't want to linger. This was true as he would study at night in the common room and as soon as someone awoke he would pack up, go down to breakfast and then study between classes where he could, when he wasn't napping. He didn't hear either the meal or rest parts, too intent on packing up so he could speak with her. Though now that she was back, his body felt more hungry and exhausted than it ever had before, even as excitement pulsed through him.

"Lead the way and I will follow D'rorah." He said, all his belonging stuffed neatly into the messenger bag that hung on his shoulder as if it were empty. He didn't care where they went, he wanted to know how D'rorah was faring and tell her how far he had gotten in his private studying of the codex. He hadn't managed to get a hold of her research, but he had a feeling he would be very helpful once he got some real sleep.

[D'rorah Philosophy]

D'rorah was pleased with how quickly Cavan managed to gather his belongings. He also seemed to take her appearance and demeanor in stride, apparently not holding it against her. She could recall in her memory that she had functioned as something of an older sister figure in the short time they had known each other, but wasn't sure she could still fill the role effectively.

"Certainly, Mister Weiss," she replied, turning to head toward the exit of the Library. Her mind quickly went through the possibilities of where to go. The kitchen would fill the need for Cavan to eat, but was too busy for the privacy they would need to talk. Neither common room would do, as there would be too many people around. That left only the Room of Requirement. It would supply them with food and with a place for Cavan to rest. And their privacy would be assured. Certain of her destination, she set off for the sixth floor corridor, hanging back just a moment long enough for Cavan to fall into step beside her.

Luckily, there didn't seem to be anyone about at the moment. As they reached the sixth floor, D'rorah quickly paced the three times before the space where the door was, thinking of a comfortable place to talk instead of the usual training room.

When the door appeared, it swung open to reveal a table set with a hearty dinner as well as a sitting area and an area with beds for resting. It was dimly lit, owing to D'rorah's preference for avoiding bright light at the moment. She took a seat at the far end of the table, her eyes falling to rest upon Cavan. "So then, what do you have to tell me? And please, eat a proper meal."

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

Cavan followed her to the sixth floor corridor, moving as fast as possible without tripping to keep up with her and not slow her down. There was so much he wanted to talk to her about and the sooner they got the their destination, the sooner that could begin. He couldn't help wondering as they headed up towards the Head Mistress's office, where exactly they were going to be speaking. He sure didn't want to be speaking around her.

He watched curiously as D'rorah quickly paced in front of a wall, was she lost? Had the time away befuddled her mind, he hoped not. And then there was a door on the wall where she had been pacing in front of. Even as a wizard all his life, this fact surprised him and he decided that this must be what Muggles felt when they saw magic.

When the door swung open, it reveal a table set with a hearty dinner as well as a sitting area and an area with beds for resting. He squinted for a moment adjusting to the dim light. He assumed it was because she expected him to rest, but thought that perhaps there were other reasons as well. She took a seat at the far end of the table, he took one close to her, but not so much as to encroach on her personal space.

Now that the weight had been lifted from his shoulders, his stomach grumbled in protest and he felt immensely ravenous with so much food in front of him. He filled a plate high with everything that happened to look good before turning to D'rorah with another blush, much more obvious now that his face wasn't red from crying. He pulled out his notebook and codex and handed them to her, each chapter he'd read had a tab marking it as completed, his note book was separated much the same. The tabs went on for three fourths of the codex from front to back.

He bit into a roll dipped in gravy, closing his eyes for a moment to enjoy it, having not realized how distracted he'd been until this moment. "I'm almost done with the next chapter, but all my work needs checked. I think I got most of it right, but I was only giving myself a couple days each, so I could have missed something." When he was done with the roll he moved on, silent as he ate, letting her look at what he'd done so far.

(You decide which languages he's learned and which he has left, all I know is the few we did and Egyptian Hieroglyphics.)

[D'rorah Philosophy]

D'rorah nodded with approval as Cavan served himself. Taking the notebook and lexicon, she forestalled having anything herself for a moment as she began flipping through the pages. Seemingly absently, her hand found its way to a dinner roll, which she began slowly picking to pieces and eating as she read. It was amazing just how much work he had managed to complete, especially considering that he had been working alone and had had school to attend to.

She flipped at first quickly, getting an overall sense of the work, before returning to the front of his notebook to begin a more careful reading of the texts. Surely, this young man was born to be a scribe of the Order... to have learned so many languages and so quickly. Only in a few places did she note where she might have translated something differently... and really, those places were subjective to opinion so that his answer should be noted alongside of her own interpretation.

"So far, this is excellent work, Mister Weiss," she remarked as she looked up at him. "Your skills with learning new languages have proven to be quite remarkable." And then, feeling her own body scolding her for not eating, she began to prepare her own plate. She ate slowly and methodically, the experience of dining missing the emotional component most people experienced when eating. It felt only half-complete. And so, she tarried somewhat over her meal, eating it only half-interestedly, expecting at any moment that Cavan might begin to question her regarding her lengthy abscence. She closed the notebook, intending to continue her reading while he rested... but after they had talked.

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

Cavan managed to eat much more than he'd expected, but he wasn't foolish enough to over eat and make himself ill later on. He eat his food as he listened to D'rorah's praise, taking everything about her new self in.

Finally, he could eat no more and set his food aside, watching her pick at her food. "The food is not going to jump into your mouth, you actually have to move your fork to help it along. And I don't mean around in circles either." He gave her a playful smile, knowing that the questions that had long plagued him were sure to burst out soon and that that was probably part of her worry.

He took a deep breath, readying himself for his questions, he delayed the inevitable by take a long swig of water. No longer able to hold off, he looked at her and smiled. "I'm so glad you're back D'rorah. I was worried that it was the shadows, but it wasn't, was it?" He didn't know how he knew that. Sure, he felt darkness, felt shadows on her, but it was different from his nightmares, it was more familiar than that. He knew, though his had no idea how, he knew that she'd been taking by another enemy they hadn't expected.

[D'rorah Philosophy]

"I do understand the mechanics of eating," she replied, unable to return the humor in her current emotionless state. In fact, she was even unable to identify his attempt as being playfulness or humor. So very much of emotional messages were subjective to one's own emotional state. With no internal rubric to go by, she seemed almost oblivious to such things.

And finally, they had moved in the direction she was certain the conversation would go. Luckily, she was able to speak frankly and unemotionally on the subject. Cavan, she knew, was on their side and could hear what had happened. He was trustworthy, she did remember that. "I was not taken by creatures of the Shadow Realm," she confirmed as she answered his questions. "Actually, I was removed from my place of employment by two Unspeakables from the Department of Mysteries. They managed to catch me with my guard somewhat down and absonded with me almost before I was able to react."

She paused for a moment as she took time to more clearly remember the course of events for that particular day. "Upon awaking, I found myself in some sort of interrogation chamber. Apparently the Ministry believes that I have some involvement with and allegiance to the Shadow Mage. The stay was most unpleasant--physically torturous. I could feel, as they questioned that the stress of my questioning was causing my hold on emotions to slip... between the Unforgivable curses and other questioning methods, that is. Finally, in an act of self preservation, my body melded to the Shadow Form of a Shadow Warrior and I found my way back into the Forbidden Forest. I was alone and weak, very near the brink of corruption. I even attempted to attack the other Lightfighters when they came to rescue me from the Forest. Through a very messy, complicated, and painful procedure, the Lightfighters were able to pull me back from the edge that I was on. I must still fight against potential corruption every moment, but at least I am once again able to fight. As a result, I am left with no emotions and the physical markers you see now."

She gestured to her hair, eyes, and skin in turn. The entire time she had spoken, her voice was a flat, even monotone, no hint of emotion or excitement of any kind. "Ironically, the Ministry, in attempting to extract that I was an agent of the Mage, very nearly turned me into one of her agents themselves. My Elemental Master is no longer alive, and thus cannot assist me with regaining my emotions. I have attempted to do so on my own, but it simply is not within the abilities of a Shadow Warrior to retrieve her own emotions--that is the sole task of an Elemental Master. With any fortune, I will locate the new one quickly so that I will no longer have to struggle against my own corruption."

She fell silent, having relayed the entire events of what had happened. Her plate of food had long since been pushed away, only looking barely eaten after her picking-over. It sat on the table a few feet in front of her, looking abandoned and forlorn, things obviously having gone cold long ago and no longer looking very appetizing.

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

"Yes, sorry," he amended realizing the severity of her condition at the moment. He listened intently, mind reeling with the implications and truths of it all. He stored everything away, remembering everything, even things that might turn out to be nothing. His mind raced as more questions formed and were discarded and new ones took their place. Finally, he had his thoughts together enough to ask another question of her, "How will you know when you've found your new Elemental Master?"

While he was waiting for her answer he picked at some of the food left on the table, munching on a hardening roll and sipping lukewarm pumpkin juice, popping warm grapes into his mouth every few nibbles of the roll. His eyes were starting the grow heavy, but he showed no sign of giving in to sleep until he had the answers and assurances he needed. "If there is a way, D'rorah, I will help you find your Elemental Master. And if you need anything, I'd be more than happy to help."

[D'rorah Philosophy]

"No need for an apology," she replied. "And you ask a valid question. When indeed will I know I have found my new Elemental Master. It seems to have been more an act of intuition when it has happened in the past. Typically, Shadow Warrior and Elemental Master are drawn together by some sort of force... at least, that has been my experience. In the past, with previous Lightfighters, I do not believe that that was the case. In fact, this is the first time in any of the records I have access to, that any Shadow Warrior has had to join with more than one Elemental Master. Generations previous, the death of one meant the certain corruption or death of the other. Fortunately for us, it seems that fate has seen fit to have a line of successors prepared to step into the role. That sign, more than any other, leads me to believe that this is the final, and most epic battle between light and darkness our realm has seen in millenia."

She watched as Cavan picked at the table offerings, already beginning to have lost their presentational luster. They no longer looked nearly as appetizing as they had when the table had first been set. At his last statement, she shook her head slightly. "I believe it is something the Elemental Master and I must discover on our own. At the moment, I am content with everything I have and am keeping my senses open for any sign of him."

"This will be my fourth Elemental Master," she remarked. "For the sake of our cause as well as the sake of my continued survival, it would be best if it were my last. The process, in my memory, is quite unpleasant. And should be even more so given my current state... the sudden retrieval of all of my emotions. At the very least, it will be quite interesting to observe." She spoke dispassionately, almost as if she were some sort of science experiment simply waiting for the right catalyst in order to produce an observable result.

Carefully, she pushed back from the table. "You should rest, Mister Weiss. We both are in need of sleep soon. I suppose this is as convenient a time as any, considering the room is quiet and no one should disturb us."

With that, she made her way over to one of the beds in the room, settling down with the intent of sleeping, though she knew it would only come in fits and would not be terribly restful. However, she also knew that any sleep she might gain would be helpful. "Sleep well, Mister Weiss," she remarked as she closed her eyes in an attempt to force sleep to come.

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

Cavan listened intently, as he always did whenever his parents, a teacher, or D'rorah was speaking. He nodded, looking a little sad that he couldn't do anything to help D'rorah. After a moment he made the resolve that he would finish learning the languages in the codex and would help D'rorah in other ways at least. He yawned moments before she told him he should rest and sadly, he agreed. Now that he didn't have a giant weight on his shoulders, crushing him with worry, his body was ready for some well deserved sleep. He was a little worried about sleeping for far to long and missing classes, but he knew that they would forgive him if he did extra homework. It wasn't like he wasn't keeping up with his classes or his homework. Even with his extra class he was keeping up, and he knew at least some of the professors were giving him worried looks when they thought he wasn't paying attention. He was wilting and he needed the rest, so he slipped off his shoes and climbed into his own bed, following D'rorah's example. In seconds he was asleep, breathing steadily, no shadow monsters to haunt his dreams tonight.