Echos of a fateful meeting

[Feleti Eidothea]

Leti smiled and shook his head "You can just relax." He replied knowing that it was likely the hardest request he could make. It was obvious that Leti hadn't considered what sort of panic being tied down might instill in a soldier.
In fact perhaps in someways a healer doing so would have made that act all the more panic inducing. But there was still a naivety to his thoughts even whilst plotting something distinctly lewd.

He began to slowly shrug off his cloak and let it fall before just as slowly undoing his trousers. Leti remembered the way it had sent a shiver down his spine to have bastian confess he wanted to see the healer strip. Now he felt the same rush as he did so unprompted. He stood before Bastian in only pale skin, the candle light gently playing on his features.
[fade to black ]

[Feleti Eidothea]

[fade in as the couple has finished a bit of fun and now are lying in bed]

Leti nodded and helped bastian back down into the sheepskin bed.
He could hear the slightly labored breathing and he brought a clean soaked rag to lay on bastian's chest. It felt as though every time he used his gift on bastian it was easier to establish a connection. He gently poured some of his magic into bastian but he was so tired at this point that he wasn't able to manage more much. He could feel himself ready to drift off into a nap. That was odd because he had slept in so much that morning already.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

Bastian was actually taken aback by the quip. He supposed aftdr everything he shouldn't be so surprised by Feleti's fire but it was still such a contrast to how he normally saw him. Maybe it wasn't fair of him to assume so much of the man considering he mostly saw him fretting and looking concerned over him and not who Leti was on a normal day when he didn't have a stubborn patient to tend to.

"You are more than alright," he said, even though they both knew that hadn't been what he said before. Still, he could take correction.

Out of the chair he winced at moving, mostly for his leg. The nettle helped but it was still quite painful. He swallowed his grumbling about it though. If he could move himself on crutches without complaining he could hobble a few feet woth Leti. What he couldn't cover up was the rush of a sigh once back on the mattress. Bastian settled himswlf in the pillows again. At least, if they had to do that tomorrow, it wouldn't be as bad as he had thought. Hell, he was actually looking forward to it. Sans the being tied to the chair bit. That wasn't going to fly a second time.

Leti's touch and the cold damp rag felt good. In a sort of painful way. It was distracting and relaxing though which was what he needed.

Even he was tired after all that, but it was still early. Well, he wasn't actually sure what time it was, but it wasn't entirely dark out. Cain wasn't home either.

That train of thought was lost as he started to drift off to sleep next to the warm comfortable body of Leti. But it had been aimed somewhere along the lines of what the hell they would say to the man if he found them like this. And too, part of him wondered what had Leti so much more tired than normal. He would have to ask. Later. The easing of the discomfort in his chest combined with the affection he had for Leti and the desire to consummate the moment with a longer one of sleeping together won out.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Leti hadn't really connected the dots yet but if he took a step back to look at why he was so tired lately....the answer probably would have been obvious. He was tired because he was using his gift so much and so frequently on healing bastian. It did take quite a bit out of him but rarely had he used it so often on one person.

Leti fell asleep with the sheepskin blanket drawn up just above their hips and his hand on bastian's chest. He fell into a far too peaceful sleep. He hardly even stirred when the sound of cain's walking stick tapping across the stone floor of the cave filtered down, nor when cain called his name. The old man presumably having not found leti outside, or brewing dinner, he came looking for the lad. Cain ambled down the steps likely expecting to see Leti fretting over the stranger that was now a fixture of their home. He had not however expected to see the two rather intimately sharing the same bed. For a second it seemed like he would let out a fiery shout but instead he sighed heavily with the full wait of his years.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

Bastian made it to sleep soundly enough, especially with Leti's magic to ease his breathing.

His dreams were calm at first. The usual mildly uncomfortable that made him shift slightly. He mumbled vaguely in his sleep.

Bastian twitched at Cain calling for his son but it didn't quite wake him up. He was too busy running from some unseen force in his dreams, struggling to get air.

It was quickly all he could do to breathe and he woke up gasping frantically. Bastian couldn't manage a full breath or even part of one, feeling like he was suffocating and likely aggravated by the anxiety that not being able to breathe triggered.

He tried to reach out to Leti and his chest, less certain of what was going now than he had been a few days ago and for the moment unaware of their visitor.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Leti wasn't the only one startled by bastian's sudden waking this time. Cain took a step forward as if to perhaps detain the man but leti's panic stayed him.
The white haired healer had a terror stricken face as he reached out to bastian in the moment compeltely uncertain of what to do. His head was blank with confusion having woken suddenly and from panic.
It was cain who brought sense back into the matter by taking the urn leti had carried in earlier and swiftly dumping the water directly over bastian's torso. Being hit in the splash zone of the cold water brought leti back to his senses.

He took a deep breath and placed both hands on bastian's chest, finding the connection easily and funneling energy into it.
behind him cain removed his pack of healers tools and began rifling for a knife and lancet. He brushed Leti aside breaking the hold of magic leti had on bastian. Leti watched anxiously as Cain found bastian's clavicle and measured his way down with the knife. He seemed to have recognized what was wrong immediatly, something Leti couldn't fathom. He pulled aside bandages to make an incision the size of a coin and deep as a thumb so as to be big enough to press the lancet into. Leti watched on in horror in spite of his trust in his mentor.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

The water was a shock that took a moment to register. It was cold. The next sensation he remembered was...more an absence of feeling. Less pain. Less tightness. But he still couldn't quite breathe.

Bastian tried to draw air in and out, wheezing loudly. He found Leti's haor and then his eyes easily enough, focusing on him, desperate. And then Leti was gone suddenly, replaced by Cain.

He flinched at being stabbed but even the initial incision lessened the pressure slightly. It felt...more than strange having something slide inside his chest even as he felt everything closing in around him.

And then he managed a breath. It wasn't much but it was enough to avoid suffocating. He gasped and tried to relax, his eyes closing against the discomfort and pain. It still didn't feel right but it was better, some of the air having escaped and still more rushing out.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Leti watched with relief as bastian finally took a breath. He was glad to have a mentor with as much experience as cain had. Though he likely could have solved it with his gift, he wasn't sure it would have been fast enough to save bastian from suffocating. Cain motioned for Leti to take over holding the lancet, and he did so, wrapping a bandage around where it met the flesh to avoid blood seeping in or his wound bleeding out. Luckily it was snug enough that likely wasn't a problem, unluckily Leti knew that the nettle probably wasn't doing near enough to dull that kind of pain.

He offered bastian an apologetic expression as he watched on to make sure that bastian's breathing was still improving.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

Bastian was getting rather tired with the struggle to breathe. It seemed like a very simple concept but apparently not. He moaned softly and constantly, too exhausted and out of it to keep his pain to himself. The soldier shivered. He was cold and wet and in pain and tired but he could breathe a little. Small victories.

"…stabbed me," he attempted to point out, a bit obviously. Not that the words sounded like much more than faint whispers between his lack of air and the general exhaustion and shock, but he tried to talk to prove a point. Sure, Leti had told him not to talk if it hurt but that was ages ago and clearly could not apply now.

The edges of Bastian's mouth turned up in a smile as his eyes found the white haired healer again. Leti was cute when he was worried. "Cute….worried…" he mumbled, his eyes closing as he drifted into unconsciousness. He tried to fight to stay awake but it hurt.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Leti was was at a loss for what to do as he helplessly watched bastian struggle with consciousness. His instincts told him to immediately start using his gift, but he was afraid to do so with lancet still inside of bastian's chest.
Hearing bastian struggle to talk Leti shook his head unable to even make the usual shhing noise before bastian drifted away. Distraught he turned to look at cain whose face was even more of an impartial mask than usual.
"He'll live. I will prepare a sedative, call for me if he stops breathing." Then he quietly turned and walked further into the cave. That suggested to leti that he was going to bring something rather serious.

Leti watched over bastian with his hands placed about the chest so that he could feel the rise and fall of the man's breathing. This being the second time bastain had nearly died in his care he was beginning to wonder if he would be able to fulfill his promise. Would he actually be able to bring the man back to full health? He had always been able to heal before, he had done before what cain had told him would be impossible without magic. Even so, even he knew that death couldn't be stopped when it chose a man, only delayed.
When cain emerged back up the steps it was with a drought of dwale. It too contained flower of poppy but was brewed a different way. Leti recognized the bottle as soon as he saw it. It was only brought out for patients that would be in need of surgery. "but..." Leti wanted to object, worried about what might happen if bastian were made to sleep. What if he stopped breathing again but wasn't able to wake or shout?
Cain shook his head and Leti knew that perhaps it was the only way to make sure bastian took to healing again. Cain moved over to tilt bastian's head and administer a few drops of the liquid.
Even such a small amount was enough to keep a man of bastian's size asleep for a day, perhaps two.

Leti found himself unable to sleep that night watching bastian like hawk and checking constantly to make sure he was breathing. Cain found himself quite unable to share what he had come to reveal to Leti. He brought a new blanket for Leti lay over bastian's legs and they carefully took the wet linens to dry outside. It was certainly a dark turn from their peaceful moment. There was a heavy gloom that had settled into the healers features, one unlike any his mentor had seen before on him.
When the sun rose the next day cain found Leti sitting beside Bastian as if he had not moved an inch. This was worrying for several reasons.
Cain entered the room and placed a hand on Leti's shoulder. "You've grown too attached my son. He has stood at the river three times, if a fourth comes then it may be time to let him cross." The man advised rather cryptically but Leti understood all too well and shook his head furiously on the verge of tears "We're healers! How could I?...I should have...we shouldn't have- what if it's because I'm doing something wrong? Is my magic not strong enough? "
His gaze turned to cain, bleary from lack of sleep and filled with sorrow.
"Perhaps the forces that drive your gift do not wish to save this one. He is not as he appears." Cain replied in a firm grim way. He could see the bewilderment and confusion on Leti's face so he continued "Just after you found him I was called upon by one of the villagers. A man with a very peculiar wound indeed. His arm had been cut clean though with a blade but it was burnt evenly as if cauterized. He said it was a wound from a strange sword. I have known this man for a long time, he is a cheat and a bit violent....but I had known him as a mystic. I believe him when he says he was to be slaughtered for being so. I believe our 'soldier' is one of the fabled wardens."
Leti offered him an incredulous look "That can't be....those are just..." He wanted to doubt but he couldn't. He himself was a mystic, he had spent his whole life being told that his own kind were wives tales. Not only that but he had seen the sword much too nice for a soldier. It left him with a lot to think about. Cain filled him in with more details of what he had found in the village and his study of the odd wound but leti's head was already spinning.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

Bastian wanted to keep living. He was rather attached to it and to his life and to his family. He'd fight to keep going. But it was...admittedly quite personally frustrating to not be able to do the simplest things. It was a traumatic experience on a number of fronts, but perhaps the mental struggle was a lot more of a motivating (or unmotivating) factor than he realized. He needed to give himself time to heal on all fronts and while the deep, heavy, dreamless sleep of the dwale didn't allow for much, if any subconscious thought, it did allow a much needed respite from thinking about anything. And of course, time for his body to relax and simply be.

His breathing was shallow but steady into the first night. It was ragged and a little wet but slowly settled closer and closer to a deeper, more stable rise and fall of his chest. He didn't move as he slept unlike he usually did and there was no mumbling in his sleep. Bastian looked quite peaceful, if one over looked the lancet and the bandages and the fact that he was quite impossible to wake up.

---

The man woke slowly to a dark space with flickering candle light. He was confused. Groggy. Hardly sure which way was up and positive that the candle light was blinding. He had a splitting headache. Bastian tried to blink away the pain from the flame and settled on leaving his eyes closed a moment longer before trying to get a look at his surroundings.

The last thing he remembered was dreaming about suffocating.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Leti had continued to watch over bastian. Though this time in the traditional sense. He had found himself unable to get up the energy or mental balance required to use his gift. So he had been at the mercy of how well bastian's body could heal on it's own. Luckily the lancet had worked as planned. After the first night, cain judged bastian's breathing and helped Leti remove the lancet that morning. The process wasn't pretty and cain tried his best bribe Leti into resting. Alas Leti seemed determined to stay by the man's side.

Leti sat beside bastian with deep circles under his eyes nodding off. Even if bastian had been well the storm of emotions fighting in his mind made it difficult to fall asleep. He had felt a bond with bastian, one he thought was reciprocated but now he had to question if it was all in his head. Anytime he started to fall asleep He felt a stressful pain in his chest and woke only moments latter.
When he noticed bastian stirring he couldn't help but feel relieved. He readied a ladle of water for bastian to drink. His hands shaking slightly as he looked at the man with a similarly shaky smile.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

He found himself staring at Leti and a slow wave of relief settled over him. More than relief really, it was something more akin to comfort and ease. It was good to see him. Him and his brilliant white hair and those eyes... Even not awake Bastian could tell Leti was tired. He blinked slowly and attempted a distant smile, trying to wake himself up further. "Leti..." he whispered his name gently.

Everything felt heavy and sluggish and Bastian lay there for a moment as if getting used to being awake and to gravity. He didn't particularly feel in pain either, which was...strange. In a good way. Still, he wasn't sure he should move. Or could with much coordination. He reached a hand out to Leti, not really noticing the ladle and much more focused on physical comfort. He wanted to hold the guy and be close to him and shake off whatever kept trying to pull him back down.

Maybe it would help Leti sleep. Clearly he needed to sleep too. "You...sleep," he mumbled, his voice dry. It was still a little difficult to keep his own eyes open but he was getting there. He'd drink if Leti guided him to but he wasn't really paying attention.

[Feleti Eidothea]

A wave of exhaustion hit him as he saw bastian's gesture to join him in sleep. He did guide bastian to drink and once the man had finished the ladel he sank into bed next to the man.
For the moment none of it mattered. He couldn't think any longer, his brain deprived by lack of sleep and anxiety.
His body gave out as soon as he was lying beside bastian. He fell into a dreamless sleep.
He still found comfort in in the physical presence and warmth beside him.

--
He slept for many hours and when he woke it was to the smell of stew cooking. Leti stirred, woken by his stomach turning over. He seemed to jerk up into sitting up and immediately checked how bastian was breathing. Seeing that his breathing was still alright he relaxed and glanced about confused, wondering what time it was. It seemed to be midday judging from the dim sunlight filtering down the cave.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

A soft sigh left him as Leti joined him. He still couldn't quite figure what had happened but having partly woken up, Bastian suspected he hadn't been dreaming. Not entirely.

Leti very nearly collapsed against him and it immediately solidified his assumption about it not being a dream. Had he stayed awake while he was unconcious? How long had that been? It was...humbling, how much the man cared. And concerning. Leti needed his strength too. The soldier managed to get one arm around the other man and found himself stroking his hair until he too fell asleep.

---

Bastian flinched when Leti moved, groaning as his body struggled to wake his mind up. Normally a movement. Or touch cue like that was an immediate trigger. But he was still weak and exhausted. He hadn't eaten in a few days. His stomach growled and attempted to drag him awake too.

"I'm alright," he murmured, noticing the other man's concerned look. Things hurt a bit more now but he tried his best not to move. He was glad to see Leti had slept. He still felt a little guilty and rather than speak more or move he lay there quietly, taking a deeper breath.