Cure for the Itch

NATE

There are very few things that Nate would leave the peace and warmth of Torchline for right now. It’s just his luck that one of those things lands on his doorstep in the form of a letter, a request that he can’t turn down.

Somehow, good spirits manage to cling to him as he waits at the entrance to the infirmary, glad that the building is already nestled within the temple. It makes this next part easier. Much as he might want to be dramatic, lead Cameron to one of the more secretive shrines, there’s really not much point in drawing this out any further than it needs.

An arm is thrown around Cameron’s shoulders when they arrive, Nate’s grin bright, infectious. He leads them to the back of the temple easily, a few questions falling from his lips - How have you been feeling? Have the substitutions been treating you alright? Are you excited? - but he falls quiet once they’re standing before the shrine.

”Mother,” Nate calls to the shrine, the title falling less awkwardly from his tongue than it usually does, ”I have someone with me who’d like to ascend.”

Like a bullet through a flock of doves
To wage this war against your faith in me

"Oh, um ..."

Cam had almost flinched away when Nate threw an arm around them, not because of Nate in general but because they just weren't used to being casually touched. A moment later they decided that they sort of liked this camaraderie, actually, so that was fine.

What wasn't fine, though, were Nate's words to the shrine -- to the Voice. Because while Cam considered Ascending an option, they didn't want it to be their only option, if there were other possibilities. They weren't opposed to Ascending, but they were still a little nervous about it, and if another path existed, they didn't want to close it off. If nothing else, their experience with Ronin had shown Cam that having an Accepted friend could be helpful, for the Ascended themselves.

If this had been anything less important, Cam probably would have just let the misunderstanding slide. But this was a big deal, possibly the biggest deal Cam had ever faced in their life. So gently, with an awkward smile, they corrected, "I'd like to talk about my options, including Ascending."

cameron ?

"Cameras" by Ennev is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Unfortunately for the duo, the Voice doesn’t answer. Instead, a black tendril of smoke slips out from the shrine, growing larger and larger in its extent to reach Cameron, drifting past Nate without much care. It surrounds Cam, crawling along their limbs and middle, before the tendril seems to tap them on the top of their head. When it withdraws, Cameron will find they can only answer questions definitively with yes and no. Uh oh! Because Cameron hasn’t decided to fully Ascend or not, we rolled it as a typical shrine visit… Which means, Cameron has been cursed by a spirit. For the next 2 OOC weeks they can only answer questions with ‘yes or no’.

NATE

Nate does not like being corrected, especially not now, but before he can even level a look at his companion, something... strange happens. Brows furrow together as Nate’s gaze moves between the column of smoke and Cameroon, the doctor taking a big step back from the shrine while he did.

He’d help isn’t he aftermath, but whatever was happening right now was all Cam!

By the end of it though, they don’t look any worse for the wear, and Nate feels safe enough to step closer again, looking over Cam with a critical eye. “You look okay.” He offers, glancing back at the shrine. “I’m sorry you didn’t see the Voice, but uh... here, I’ll get you to the infirmary, take a better look there.”

There was no room in Nate’s grip for argument, the doctor wanting to put as much room between them and the shrine as he could before he really stopped to look Cam over. It just seemed wisest.

Fin~

Like a bullet through a flock of doves
To wage this war against your faith in me