The Eye of the Storm

[Pearce Lockheed]

The girl's answer made him feel a little better, but he still felt stuck in some other memory. The man took a step toward the wall and put his hand to it as they walked toward the courtyard, needing a little more physical support. After talking to Zander in the dark hours of the morning and the more blatant words from Briella, he felt like some unseen force had hold of his chest. It wasn't quite painful, but it was tight and he could feel his heart pounding in his ears.

Pearce smiled and nodded distractedly as Briella continued. "I d-don't like him lonely either," he managed faintly. While the young girl spoke, he tried to pay attention and nod and calm down. The pain had gone away, but he couldn't breathe easily and his stomach hurt. Maybe he should lie back down for a bit. He wasn't used to waking up so early, after all.

He glanced up as Zander returned. "S-sh-short jog," he noted. "Feel b-better?" Why was he stumbling over his words so much? "I mmmight...might skip breakfast," Pearce mumbled.

Breeze had been stalking the courtyard in the early morning light. It was still much to early to have a proper sunbath and self cleaning session, after all. And there were rats and mice to be had. The sudden company in her domain, however, interrupted that. But she did like her person. And the new people were acceptable, especially the one that understood. Breeze rubbed past Pearce's legs to greet Briella with a soft hello and a headbutt.

[Zander Brogthamon]

Briella didn't seem to notice much wrong with the other man. She was more focused on greeting the cat with a sweet smile and affectionate pat on the head. Zander on the other hand was immediately concerned. "Hey, are you alright?" What had his sister said to him while he was gone? He hadn't been out very long.

Zander led Pearce to take a seat and crouched in front of him. "What's wrong?" Briella had wandered off to follow after the cat leaving the older Brogthamon to worry over the nobleman. His brow furrowed as he kept Pearces hand in his and ran his thumb soothingly over his knuckles. "Did my sister scare you?" He tired to sound teasing and playful, in hopes to maybe get his mind off of whatever was bothering him. There was still worry in his tone though.

As one of the servants walked by with some tea for the three of them Zander pushed one of the cups towards Pearce. "This might make you feel a little better."

[Pearce Lockheed]

The blue cat purred faintly at the affection. For the moment, Breeze didn't mind the company. But she was heading somewhere specific. Pearce being awake meant his bed as empty and that was always a warm cozy place to sleep through the morning. Sure, it was a bit early, but warmth was warmth. The cat made it to the stairs in the foyer before she realized this was something she preferred to do alone. She paused to consider Briella and suggest the girl find her own cozy place to nap.

Pearce wanted to assure the young man he was fine, but that would be some rather blatant lying and he knew it. He shook his head faintly in an effort to focus and breath and relax. Sitting helped and so did Zander's gentle touch. It was all a far cry from the pain of his memories. But he still couldn't shake the feeling despite all of that, try as he might.

"N-no, she...fine," he said, trying to smile. Pearce admitted that he could find just about anyone scary. But he'd been alone with Briella plenty of times. While sometimes her rambling could be tiring, she was young. This...this wasn't Briella's fault. Just an awkward topic at a bad time. He pressed a hand to his chest as a twinge of pain returned. Pearce shook his head at the tea. "My chest and st-stomach hurt. I...just need to rest." Pearce was tempted to put it down to the sudden wake up call and subsequent lack of sleep. He melted into the chair. Resting seemed to help.

He was, in fact, having a mild heart attack.

[Zander Brogthamon]

Briella pouted a bit as she reached the stairs of the house with Breeze. She remembered how Pearce had said the second floor was off limits and while she could be mischievous sometimes she wasn't one to blatantly break rules. Besides she was still looking forward to breakfast. The girl waved silently to the cat before making her way back towards the court yard.

Between the look on his face and what he said was wrong Zander bit his lip. There had been a couple of times he'd helped with someone at his old village having a heart attack. Luckily this one didn't seem as severe. "Don't move alright?" Zander gave his hand a reassuring gentle squeeze before standing up to find a servant. Luckily the head servant wasn't far away. He asked for some specific medications and herbs to be brought to them with a mortar and pestle before going back out to Pearce. "It's going to be okay. Try to take some deep breaths for me."

Briella made her way back to the court yard behind a servant carrying the things Zander asked for. She watched curiously as her brother crushed and mixed the ingredients together before putting the powder on a piece of parchment. "This isn't going to taste good but I need you to eat this." He stated firmly as Briella made her way over.

"Is Mr. Lockheed okay?" Zander turned to her with a calming smile. "He's gonna be alright. He's just not feeling well right now."

[Pearce Lockheed]

If Pearce thought about it, he'd probably had this happen one or twice before. But usually it went away after a moment and he could continue on with his day. It hadn't happened in a while. The noble gave Zander a confused look as the boy told him not to move. Where was he going?

"I'll be...okay in a minute," he said when Zander returned. Deep breaths? Pearce nodded and tried to do that even though he wasn't sure what the point was. To calm down, he supposed. The noble shared Briella's curious gaze. And then he was even more confused. Maybe Zander knew what was going on but Pearce didn't. "Zander, what is going on? I d-don't want to eat that." Whatever that was. Not that he could exactly resist or go anywhere and if Zander insisted, Pearce would probably do anything the boy asked him to, even if he didn't understand.

He glanced at Briella, but Zander answered before he could. So, Zander could say Pearce was alright, but Pearce couldn't say that? Hmm.

[Zander Brogthamon]

Being that Zander was the oldest son it had been expected that he'd be the head of his family once his father had passed away. That idea had led the boy to wanting to make a good impression on others. If he was going to be the head of anything he'd always wanted people to look at him with respect for his kindness and understanding. Not out of fear like they had his father. While as a child he had been usually too afraid to talk to anyone there was always something in him that took over whenever a person was hurt.

Jaskier may not have allowed his son to have friends that didn't stop Zander from helping where he could and when he could. At Pearces question he sighed softly. "If this is what I think it is, you're having a heart attack. Not a bad one, unless you start smelling burnt toast and lose feeling in your arm." It was better to just be honest with him about what was going on.

"People in our village used to get them when they became over worked or too stressed." It was usually the older men but Zander didn't see the point in adding that detail. "This," he motioned to the powder, "is going to help you get over it faster and with less pain. I learned it from one of the nurses that worked with soldiers that would pass through."

"Swallow it then drink your tea."

[Pearce Lockheed]

Pearce blinked at Zander. A heart attack?

He was educated enough to know generally what that meant. That it wasn't anything good, that something was wrong with his heart, that he could die. But he also thought it was supposed to be accompanied by a lot of pain and...maybe those other things Zander said. "B-b-burned t-toast?" he wasn't sure if he should laugh of not. It sounded funny, at least, but from Zander's tone, he shouldn't laugh. He flexed his fingers slightly. No, no lost feeling. Not a bad one. Pearce wasn't sure that was comforting.

As it was, his chest barely hurt anyway. But...he supposed maybe that wasn't a sign of anything. That was even less comforting. Could he have had others before now and not realized it? He paled slightly. Maybe it would have been better to not know.

Over worked and too stressed. Definitely stressed. But what really was 'too stressed' anyway? Certainly not something a person could consciously decide. It was just something that happened. And apparently, that something had happened this morning. He gave the powder another tentative look and took the paper in a shaking hand. He folded the paper slightly to make it easier to tip into his mouth.

It tasted terrible. Pearce gagged and coughed on the powder, doing his best to keep it all down and down the right way. He held out a hand in a silent ask for the tea Zander had ordered he drink. Being told what to do made him mildly uncomfortable.

"T-taste terrible," he tried to joke, reaching for Zander's hand and the comfort his touch provided.

[Zander Brogthamon]

At least Pearce was willing to listen to him. He couldn't count how many times he or someone else had to shove the powder down the throat of someone having a heart attack in the village. Of course he was aware that it tasted awful. Luckily enough for the noble there was something to drink waiting for him. Watching him cough on the powder made the redhead pick up the cup to hand it to him as soon as his hand was outstretched towards him.

"This should help with the nausea as well as thin your blood for the moment until your heart can pump it through your body without trouble." He took Pearces free hand once again. Briella looked between the two of them with concern until food was placed on the table. She took a seat but didn't eat at first as she still watched the men curiously.

Zander turned his attention to his sister with a soft smile. "Eat up, you need the energy for your studies." Hesitantly she began eating as the redhead turned his attention back to the noble.

[Pearce Lockheed]

He took a drink of the tea, not really sure what he was getting into there. Luckily it was a simple green tea, peach from the flavor and faint sweetness. Enough to clear his throat and take the taste out of his mouth. He handed it back to Zander, still trying to take deeper breaths.

"You know...a lot about this," Pearce said, slightly confused. He didn't understand the implications of thinning his blood, but if Zander said it would help...he tried to relax a little more effectively, holding Zander's hand tightly.

The servants that brought the food hesitated and one of them asked Zander in a soft voice full of concern, "Shall we call for a doctor?"

[Zander Brogthamon]

"Our mother was a nurse and I was either sick or hurt a lot." He said with a soft chuckle as he ran his fingers through his hair. At the servants question Zander pondered for a moment then nodded his head. "Go ahead and send for one. Just to be safe." He watched the servant walk away before turning his eyes back to the noble.

"I'm sure you'll be okay." While he was being honest about that he was still worried about the mans safety. Especially given that he needed to leave for the training yard soon. Zander used his free hand to gently cup Pearces face with a soft sigh. "You can't go getting sick on me now."

[Pearce Lockheed]

Pearce recalled Zander had mentioned once or twice he was often sick. Hardly the boy's fault and he seemed quick capable now. A soldier even. "Your mother sounds like a good p-person." Better than his father at least. Pearce's own mother had been largely unconcerned with her children. She was a noble woman, married and bearing kids only so that she could maintain her wealthy lifestyle.

He didn't like the idea of calling for a doctor. Yes, he admitted he wasn't feeling great and Zander was probably right and he didn't want to confess that this had likely happened before without him realizing...but sending for a doctor made it...serious. Scary. Pearce didn't enjoy strangers touching him either.

"I am sure I will be," he reassured Zander with a faint smile. "S-sorry for scaring you," he added, blushing and leaning into the young man's touch. "Not planning on it. I promise." But especially after their discussion this morning. He glanced over the table set with breakfast and Briella eating already. "You both eat. I'll..." Maybe once the medicine Zander gave him worked. Or after a nap. Or after whatever else he had to deal with this morning.

[Zander Brogthamon]

"She was a good person." Zander didn't like talking about his mother. It always made a lump of emotions jam in his throat if he thought about her too much. About how she was supposed to be in Aralore with he and his sister. About how Briella had been so young when they fled their home she barely had any memories of either of their parents. And the ones she did have of them were fuzzy at best.

He shook his head to clear those thoughts then smiled again. His eyes wandered over to his sister who only seemed worried about Pearces well being. There was an air of indifference she always held when it came to conversations about their parents. Given that what she did remember about her father was unpleasant at best and she could no longer remember what her mothers face looked like. Zander was the only constant in her life.

Zander stood with a sigh and stretched. "You finish your tea at least." He teased with a smile as he walked over to sit between his sister and Pearce. Though he wasn't exactly in the mood to eat at this point. Still, to make both of them happy he picked a bit at his food.

[Pearce Lockheed]

Pearce could tell the topic bothered Zander so he didn't say anything else, just gave him a small smile in an attempt to be comforting. He felt bad for ruining breakfast.

He chuckled at Zander ordering him to drink his tea, even with the slightly teasing tone. "Yes, sir," he said softly. He took a few calming breaths and picked up his tea from the table. He was starting to feel better, enough to pull himself together no matter how awkward or uncomfortable or in pain he was. He knew feeling embarrassed wasn't going to help.

The tea was splendid, but he hardly tasted it. "How's breakfast?" He asked after a moment, trying to move past the moment. He could deal with it later. The noble was content to deal with that problem later, considering he'd have a stranger to do some explaining to once the doctor got here. Whether Zander stayed or not, Heather and likely Briella wouldn't let him avoid that situation. Regardless, until Zander left he would drink his tea, make small talk, and avoid talking about himself or the siblings parents or his own parents for that matter.