Shayna Mae O'Reilly (shaynamae) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2020-06-02 11:11:00 |
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Entry tags: | #january 2018, knox, knox x shayna mae, shayna mae |
Who: Knox and Shayna Mae
When: evening, Monday, Jan 22nd
Where: the O’Reilly house
Status: Complete
Kicking Max out -- temporarily, because it hopefully would be -- had been difficult but necessary, and Knox felt a tiny bit better as he watched Max drive away. He was fairly sure that this would stop the escalation of whatever was going on, but he wasn’t under any illusion that it would fix anything overnight. Or even in a few days’ time. Knox was aware that soon he might have to try to find solutions outside of the family, ask other witches’ help with healing them, but he wasn’t ready to do that yet.
Once he was satisfied that Max was gone, he locked up the house and went back upstairs to Shayna Mae’s room. She was in and out, but still able to talk to him sometimes, and honestly even if she hadn’t been, he still just wanted to be with her. He needed her presence even when it was dim. Knox padded barefoot to the side of her bed, just gazing down at her for a moment before he carefully climbed in next to her. Knox settled on his side, head propped up on one hand. He brushed the fingertips of the other against her arm. “Mae Mae,” he murmured softly.
Shayna Mae was blissfully unaware of any family-related contention. She had been too tired to do anything but sleep and her dreams had been wonderful. Full of warmth and the smell of earth and blooming flowers. When she was able to swim to the surface and open her eyes, there was nothing but exhaustion. Even her bones felt heavy. Occasionally she was aware of Knox's presence but she couldn't reach him the way she usually could. So, yes, it was so much better to just sleep and lose herself in her dreams.
The touch on her arm and Knox's quiet voice pulled her out of her slumber and Shayna Mae was awake for a few moments before she found the strength to open her eyes just enough to watch him come into view. "Hmm?" His magical energy seemed to surround her and she wished she could do the same for him. "Are you okay?"
In spite of everything, Knox had to smile softly when Shayna Mae opened her eyes to look at him. He gently moved a few strands of hair off of her face and behind her ear, wishing desperately he could just magic her better. Feed her his own energy. But it wasn’t that kind of sickness, he was helpless. For a second, Knox wasn’t sure how to answer her question, because he was and wasn’t okay at the same time. “No ... I’m worried for you,” he whispered, eyes drifting over her face. She looked too pale. Still beautiful, but definitely not well. “But I think I found the source of the problem, and I took care of it.” Knox hoped he had, anyway. It had occurred to him that maybe this thing was just going to keep escalating even without Max around, that maybe there was no controlling it now, but Knox was trying to stay positive. Vigilant, but positive.
In a very vague sense Shayna Mae was worried for herself too. She knew this wasn't natural but at this point, she couldn't be bothered to care much. She knew Knox would watch over the family when she couldn't. Hearing that Knox might have found why this was happening to her prompted Shayna Mae to try and force her eyes open a bit more so she could focus on him. This had hit her so quickly that Shayna Mae hadn't had much time to try and research and figure things out. She felt like maybe it was too late, but now there was a spark of hope in her gut. She reached out with one hand to rest it on his side, just to be able to touch him. "What was it?"
Knox stroked his fingers down the length of her arm and back up, more than happy to touch as much as she wanted. He’d been trying not to crowd her too much, in case it made her feel worse, but Knox had been cuddling her here and there when he wasn’t checking on the others. Or tossing her brother out of the family home. Knox gave her a look that was both grim and apologetic. “It was Max,” he told her softly. “Whatever infected him in the fog ... it’s hurting all of you. Remember the Greer woman? With the husbands? I could feel the strangeness in her, and I could feel it in Max too. You all get worse when he’s here for very long, I can feel you fading.” Emotion made his throat feel thick for a brief moment, and Knox swallowed.
It took a minute for Knox's words to cut through the fog in her mind. Once she realized what he had said, her brows furrowed and her fingers pressed lightly into his side. "Max?" She knew there was something happening there. But she had no idea it could have done this. Shayna Mae was trying to remember the last time she saw Max. The last time they spoke. But her memories were as fuzzy as everything else. Shayna Mae frowned. "What happened? What did you do?" Her tone was not accusatory, but curious and slightly concerned. Max needed her. It didn't occur to her that Knox might have sent him away.
He could tell she was trying to keep up with what he was saying, something that was so far off from how Shayna Mae usually was, it broke his heart a little. Knox hated seeing her so compromised. He kept softly stroking her hair. “I asked him to leave for a while,” he said. “To go to a hotel -- he’s going to Juniper, he said. Just to see if it helps you all to have some distance.” Knox was pretty sure she wouldn’t like it much, but it was the only thing he could think of to do. Aya’s question to him about whether or not he could kill Max if he had to floated back up to the surface of his mind, but he pushed it back down. It wouldn’t come to that, it couldn’t. “He’ll be fine, I’m going to go put up wards there, and give him money to pay for it ...”
She didn't like it, because Max might need her, or Knox, or Aidan. And what if something happened to him? He couldn't protect himself as well as they could protect him, here in the house. But Shayna Mae also knew Knox would never send Max away unless he absolutely thought it was necessary, so she couldn't be upset about it. The entire situation just made her feel helpless, especially as they didn't know for sure that it was Max draining their energy. Her brother had asked her to help him and she had let him down. Shayna Mae closed her eyes in an attempt to work past the emotion that was thick in her throat. "If something happens to him, it's my fault. I didn't do enough."
Knox looked pained and shook his head a bit. “No, no, Mae, you did all you could,” he murmured, still petting her. He gave the rest of her an anxious glance, but that was all the same as it had been in days. “None of us know what this is, and ... and maybe if you get better, you can help fix it. But you can’t help anybody like this, so we have to experiment to find what’ll help.” It made sense to him, at least. Knox was sorry if Max got his feelings hurt about it, but he didn’t think he was in any extra danger himself. Max seemed to feel great. It was the others that Knox was worried about. “He’ll be fine, so let’s just get you well, okay?” Knox leaned in to softly kiss her forehead.
Shayna Mae swallowed hard, wishing she could believe Knox. She felt like there had to be something else she could have done. There had to be something she missed. Maybe she didn't think it would escalate to this so quickly. Opening her eyes, Shayna Mae exhaled softly. Maybe Knox was right that Max being away might help them. Maybe tomorrow she would feel energized and refreshed again and she could figure this out and Max could come home. It was all too much to think about though, at least right now. She was so tired. "Thank you," Shayna Mae murmured. Even if her magic seemed to be failing her, she still found comfort in Knox's presence. "Will you check on Aidan and dad and then come stay with me for a while?"
In any other context, this wouldn’t have been acceptable to Shayna Mae, Knox knew that. But he couldn’t imagine many other contexts that would’ve made him make that sort of decision. Ideally the family should always stay together, but if one of them was hurting the others ... she wasn’t questioning him though, so Knox tried to set those defensive feelings aside. It was done now, and he would what he could to keep the remaining O’Reillys in the house safe and healthy. “Of course,” he murmured, giving Shayna Mae a nuzzle. He kissed her gently one more time, then rolled away to get up. Aya was probably lurking around somewhere, but Knox hoped he didn’t run into her. He was tired of talking. He just wanted to be quiet and rest with his love and try to make her better.
Shayna Mae trusted Knox to do the right thing. It still made her heart hurt a little, but she knew he would never ask anyone to leave the house unless it was absolutely necessary. She just worried about Max and she hated that she could barely get out of bed. But Knox was right. If she wanted to help Max, she had to get better. Shayna Mae watched Knox slip away and she felt the loss immediately. But after checking on her family, she knew he would be back so Shayna Mae closed her eyes and drifted, soon blissfully asleep, without a care in the world.