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A. Action; locked to Diarmuid oathshackledbird

[There is a cracking sound as a stone fired from a sling strikes the tip of a tree branch. If she were a few years younger, Sola-ui would have cheered. After so many weeks of practice, she could finally hit a stationary target from a good space away. She is still far from being able to hit moving targets, but progress is progress, and she doesn't feel nearly so defenseless anymore.]

[She loads another pebble into her sling, aiming at the same branch. It will still take a while for Diarmuid to arrive for their training session. These swings serve as warm-up before he comes.]

[On her second throw, her luck fails. The stone goes over the brach, hitting some leaves before dropping back down.]

...Oh.

[She gives a disappointed little sigh as she loads her third stone for her next swing.]

[OOC: Sola-ui will end up infatuated with Diarmuid in prompt A, thanks to the effect of his love spot.]

B. Anon text; open

how do yu stopp loving someone your not supposed to love. and yes that someone is here. please tell me an answer

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Having a good teacher means that a student will be more motivated and learn quicker. As far as she was concerned, Diarmuid was the best teacher she ever had.]

[She smiles back at him.]

Thank you. It was all your help that made this possible.

Don't give me all the credit. You were the one who was brave enough to take this step.

[He laughs.]

I am just glad that I didn't scare you away. I have been told that I can be a very harsh teacher sometimes. However, when it comes down to it, I would rather someone be mad at me because I was harsh during lessons than dead even if death is not permanent in this place.

[She chuckles.]

Then you're lucky. I never had many other teachers. Not for this, anyway.

[She looks up at the branch again.]

But I still can't make a hit except by fluke.

[Diarmuid shakes his head, resting a gentle hand on her shoulder.]

It's not a fluke. You are getting better. Just trust in that and keep trying. These things take time, after all. Now, set up to take another shot. Let me see how you do it.

I suppose.

[She looks up at him, into his golden eyes...and into that love spot, and she feels a sudden burst of motivation. He said she was getting better, so she had to be getting better.]

[Right now, she makes nothing of it. After all, shouldn't she be proud at getting such praise from an experienced warrior?]

[She does her best to aim. To imitate her first swing. However, it still misses. Still, the pebble comes closer to hitting the branch than her last swing.]

Closer than before. Do it again, please--the same thing as you just did. Don't try to correct for what you think your mistake was. Just repeat your actions.

[Diarmuid is pretty sure he sees what she is doing wrong and it's a common error. So often when people are throwing things, once that object leaves their hand--or in this case the sling--they let their posture go and don't follow through. It does make a difference. A big one.]

[She repeats what he says. And, once again, she narrowly misses.]

It still can't hit on target.

[And suddenly she feels not just terribly disappointed, but terribly self-conscious that he had watched her failure.]

It's because you aren't following through when you throw the stone.

[Diarmuid reaches out and gently wraps his hand around her wrist.]

Fortunately, it is something easily fixed. Will you let me show you?

[When Diarmuid touches her, she feels an pleasurable sensation spreading through her body like wildfire. She craves his touch. It feels like he completes her.]

[Had she been younger, less experienced, she would have dismissed this as some platonic feeling. But she knows exactly what this is. She had felt it for Kayneth before, but never to such a degree.]

No!

[She hisses and pulls away. Why had she suddenly started loving him? And like...a husband, no less.]

Lady Sola-Ui?

[Diarmuid starts at her reaction, eyes going wide in confusion.]

What is the matter? Did I say something to upset you?

No...

[She whimpers, partly directed at him, and partly directed at herself. One hand goes to cover her eyes.]

[She is a magus. Finding a way to resist the charm should be easy enough. It's been too long since anyone has cast a spell of that sort on her, though. Her skills are a little rusty.]

[Still, it takes her just second to located the "structure" of the charm spell. She uses both her magic and her willpower to push against it. To resist it.]

[However, even, as she tries to resist, there is a part of her that isn't as horrified as it should be. A part that whispers to her not to resist.]

[Isn't it better this way?]

[Diarmuid is a better man than Kayneth ever was. And he's here. Kayneth isn't. She could start over. Fall in love of her own free will this time...]

[He's my son!]

[The rest of her mind shouts at that one part.]

[Yes, no matter how strong or gentle or sweet or helpful or noble he was, he was still a version of her son. A version of that little boy she had given birth to and raised. Her feelings for him had to be familial.]

[By now, she's covering her face with both hands, and sinking to her knees.]

[Diarmuid's shock very quickly gives way to worry and then even fear as she sinks to her knees. Has she somehow hurt herself? Or maybe is sick? Even worse, might this be some result of the game Ruana played last month?

He kneels next to her, arm going around her shoulders to help support her.]

Let me take you to the infirmary. You are obviously not well...

[His touch once again sends a wave of pleasure through her. She's tempted to embrace and kiss him right now.]

Get away from me!

[She pushes him and then scoots away, one hand still covering her eyes.]

[After a second, she realizes she snapped at him and takes a deep breath, trying to calm down.]

I-I'm sorry. I mean...please, don't touch me.

[Instinctively, Diarmuid finds himself reaching for her again out of worry, but he stops just shy of actually touching her. Her shift in mood is so extreme that he can't understand it. It makes no sense. Except... Except...

Oh, no...

Diarmuid moves back away from her, hand going uselessly to his face.]

My curse... It just activated, didn't it? That is why you don't want me to touch you, and why you don't want to look at me...

[She says nothing in reply. She just gives a quick little nod. She had thought that the curse was no longer there because the spot wasn't. That's why she had been caught unawares.]

I...I'm sorry.

[She pulls her hands away from her face and tries not to look at him as she turns to run away.]

Don't be sorry. It's not...

[His words cut off as she turns to run away. Diarmuid isn't sure if he should stop her or just let her go. After all, when this had happened before, giving the person space had been the best way to deal with it.

Well, except for Rin. But Sola-Ui, isn't Rin.

In the end, he lets her go with the intention of giving the curse a few days to fade and then contacting her by letter. She has magic resistance and is aware of the curse now. Surely, that will give her the time she needs to pull herself together so they can plan a way to deal with this.]

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