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Date Posted: 00:49:58 01/03/02 Thu
Author: Tristan
Subject: Well these effects suck
In reply to: Corum & Yorik....and Erlic 's message, "Cause and effect" on 20:04:39 01/02/02 Wed

Tristan returned Marz’s smile somewhat hesitantly. This abrupt change in attitude had taken him rather by surprise, but it was a hell of a lot easier to deal with. He thought about asking Marz why he couldn’t go and ask for some more medicine, but he realized he had offered to do it for him. Besides, he didn’t really mind it when Marz ordered him to do something; he liked doing little things for him. He was used to it, too, especially after living for so long with his teacher, whose long list of chores to be done by nightfall seemed at times never-ending.

He nodded quickly in agreement, and turned around, heading immediately for Jeremy, who was closest. No, he didn’t want the little brat to make Marz crazy again, like that time he’d jumped out the window…but he didn’t want him to suffer from his headache, either. He changed his mind in mid-stride, deciding to approach Valhorek first and see what he had to offer.

A touch on his shoulder made him pause, and he turned and looked curiously at Erlic, who held his hand up, gesturing with one finger that he should follow. Corum hovered behind him, as if waiting. Tristan gave Marz one more worried glance before following Erlic and Corum until they were out of earshot from most of the others.

“I believe,” Marz’s teacher began, “both of you are in need of an explanation regarding Marz’s behavior.” Tristan raised both eyebrows at him, wondering just what the hell he was talking about. What was wrong with Marz’s behavior? Just being his usual bossy, hotshot self, that was all. Not that Tristan wasn’t still upset about the shirt thing, but hey: forgive and forget, right? My own drab shit, huh?, he thought, folding his arms and not realizing he was frowning again. Cocky bastard!

When Erlic immediately started to drone on about those chakra things again, Tristan rolled his eyes, not bothering to hide the expression at all. Who cared about this meditative “hidden meaning” crap, anyway? He already knew he’d screwed up by encouraging Marz to try to do it on his own; he didn’t need for it to be rubbed in or anything. But as Erlic looked into both his and Corum’s faces, he could apparently tell that he wasn’t getting his true meaning across, so he tried to speak what he probably considered to be in simpler terms.

Tristan’s jaw almost dropped when it was revealed to them that Marz’s earlier brief spout of possessiveness a couple minutes ago had been a result of dealing with the chakras. Immediately, a thousand questions leapt to the tip of his tongue. How long was this going to go on? Would there be any additional side effects? Was it hurting Marz in any way? And just why the hell hadn’t Erlic told them about this before?

He grew increasingly disturbed when he remembered that this was only one of many exercises they were going to embark on. After this chakra would come several others, and who knew what they would do to Marz. Maybe make him depressed and try to commit suicide, or maybe make him even more violent than usual and cause him to be a threat to his own friends!

When Erlic suggested that they just learn to agree with Marz, he snorted. Easy for him to say something like that! He imagined Corum wouldn’t have a hard time of it either; not only did he worship the ground Marz walked on, but if he got annoyed, he could just walk away. Tristan didn’t feel that he had that option. He felt that he of all people ought to stay by Marz’s side, especially during difficult times. Besides, he really did want to be there for him, and didn’t need some crapped up sense of guilt and duty to do so, either. It was plain to him, however, that Marz was going to be very difficult to live with for the next few days, or months, or however the hell long it took to finish this chakra mess.

“Is there anything that you don’t understand,” Erlic finally concluded, “or need clarification on?”

Tristan exchanged a glance with Corum, who only shrugged. Just as he’d suspected, Corum would just be his old obliging self as usual. Well, it just wasn’t that easy for Tristan. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, and finally he decided to just let Erlic know how he felt. He was still a teeny tiny bit intimidated by the man, but for now he’d brush that aside and say exactly what was on his mind.

“What I don’t understand,” he said, gritting his teeth slightly, “Is why you didn’t tell us about these types of complications before hand!” Not surprisingly, there was hardly a flicker of reaction in Erlic’s calm gaze, and that seemed to only stir up Tristan’s anger even more.

“Exactly what else are you not telling us?” he hissed, crossing his arms again and leaning forward slightly. He was slightly taller than Erlic, and had the distinct pleasure of looking down on him. “I don’t want to find out the next time we do this that he takes on some other crazy personality disorder, something that could even be dangerous to him or us! I don’t like leaving things to chance. I don’t want Marz getting hurt.”

That last part came out in a bit of a mumble, but he said it nonetheless. He stared down at Erlic with renewed vigor. “It seems to me that these chakra things are all a big mistake. Why can’t you find some normal way to fix him, huh? I don’t understand all this stupid meditation shit or these highbrowed ideas you’re feeding him about being “grounded” and conquering his “fears.” Just teach him how to control his damned magic!”

He huffed angrily, sending a tiny puff of smoke to drift lazily into the air. “No more chakras,” he said tensely, slicing the air quickly with his hand. “Think of another way to help him. If you can’t, we’ll find someone else who can!”

He turned away and walked quickly off, clenching and unclenching his fists as he moved. Silly of him to get so upset over this…but why hadn’t Erlic told him about it before hand? He knew it! He knew these chakras were bad news. All along he hadn’t trusted the whole idea, this crazy cooked up concept of closing some little magical buttons inside your body so your magic wouldn’t make you explode the next time your blood started to boil. It had been so long since he’d learned how to control his own magic that he couldn’t remember how he’d done it, but it had to have been different from this sort of thing!

As he passed Jeremy, he remembered that he was supposed to be collecting medicine for Marz’s headache. Pushing the ever-present strands of hair from his face, he strode angrily toward Jeremy and demanded anything and everything he had for pain relief. Once the kid complied, Tristan deserted him, ignoring his desperate offers to administer the medicine himself. Next, he went to Valhorek and made the same request. Initially, the healer was wary, but once Tristan assured him the pills were for Marz and not himself, Valhorek promised to “look into it.” Obviously, the new healer wasn’t as easy to push around as poor Eremis had been, but at least he promised to find and brew up the right thing for Marz’s needs.

“Here,” he said, finally returning to Marz’s side. He dumped his handful of pills into his friend’s outstretched fingers, trying not to feel guilty about having slipped a couple of the supposedly stronger ones into his own pockets. “These will make you feel better. Take your pick.” He remembered suddenly what Erlic had said about agreeing and, looking briefly away, eventually added, “And…if you need anything else, just ask me. I’ll do whatever you want me to do. And I’m sorry…” he gritted his teeth again but forced himself to go on, “…sorry about wearing your shirt. It won’t happen again.”

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