It's Raining It's Pouring, The Old Man is Snoring


Published
3 years, 4 months ago
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4605

Storm Chasing Prompt October 2020

Arthur falls ill during an Aria storm and Lohrian comes over to keep him company while Percy is out.

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Lohrian had gotten a message from Percy a bit out of the blue, asking for him to come and see Arthur. Well. It was to watch him while Percy ran an errand, but Lohrian was always excited to see the big Leyr. Butterflies did tend to fill his stomach when they were alone, though. He knew he liked Arthur. He was sure Percy knew. Reading further in the message, his heart sank slightly as he head how Arthur wasn't doing well. He'd have to help him out.

As Percy was about to leave, he saw Lohrian touch down outside, carrying a couple things, including his Daemon. He waved to Percy once the incorporeal Daemon was placed on the ground. Percy could see Lohrian smiling at the colorful boy's hardly-concealed excitement to be going out of the tower.

"I'll let you know if anything takes a turn for the worst. Enjoy yourself."

Percy didn't have to be told twice, and Lohrian made his way up the tower. He'd brought things to make Arthur some tea, in hopes it might clear his head and help him feel a little better. Spending a moment to make it, he brought the cup up the stairs to Arthur's study and bedroom. Seleihri tapped up the stairs behind him. She was there to help if Arthur wanted to sleep, and also to distract Acacius.

"Arthur?" He asked, knocking on the wood before opening it and stepping inside. "Its me, Lohrian, I brought you some tea."

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Arthur was laying in his actual bed for once. Percy had made sure he was bundled up, covered in several layers of blankets. He was laying on his back, his wings currently slipping over the sides of the mattress. He lifted his head as he heard someone knock. “Come in.” He called out before resting his head back on the pillow. He wasn’t feeling great. His head was spinning a bit and it was hard to keep his eyes focused on anything for too long. “Lohrian?” Arthur questioned; just now processing that Lohrian had said his name as well as the fact that the voice didn’t belong to Percy.

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"Yes, it's me." Lohrian crossed the room, pulling up a chair next to Arthur's bed. "Percy asked me to come look after you for a few hours. He isn't here right now." He set the tea cup on his lap, letting Arthur adjust. "I brought you tea." He held it up, letting Arthur sniff it if he wanted. "My mom used to work with medical stuff, magical and herbal, so she gave me a little notebook with tea guides one of her old friends taught her. I brought a couple other types with me, if you want to try something else later."

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Arthur sniffed the tea, breathing in deeply. “Oh.. thank you.” He said. Arthur reached up with one hand, gently guiding the tea cup to his lips. He gingerly sipped on it, pulling away after a few swallows. “Mm.. thank you.. Lohrian.”

Arthur laid his head against the pillow again, smiling warmly at Lohrian. “Your mother is a healer?” He asked, curious about that topic.

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Lohrian felt a soft warmth creep to his cheeks the way Arthur had said his name. Was he trying to commit it to memory? "Yeah, um. Was. She did it right after graduating, with her mom. My grandmother was an immanu that used to run her own clinic. After I was born, things didn't go over too well. I don't remember much of it. Mom's been doing side jobs and finally got a permanent job doing entertainment, but she deserves better than that." He exhaled. "My other mom does fishing out on the coast, I see her on jobs more often."

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“They aren’t together?” Arthur asked, seeming surprised by that. “Huh.” He stared up at the ceiling for a moment as silence stretched out between them. “Maybe I could meet your mothers some time? I’d like to talk to them.”

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"Yeah, that'd be cool." Lohrian tried not to think of it as introducing your crush to your parents. "They split up on mutual terms. They're still good friends, the only thing that kind of comes between them, and me, is that they don't really see my work in dreams as... I guess being substantial? I can see where they're coming from, but conceptual work is still work." He slid a strand of hair behind his ear. "Anways... how are you feeling? Percy didn't go into detail, just that you weren't feeling good."

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“Your work is substantial, it’s a field even I haven’t explored much... well, that I remember.” Arthur commented with a soft chuckle. “I might have a book or two about it somewhere in my library.”

“Oh, I’m alright, really. Just some minor fysa poisoning... I was studying an artifact for too long. That’s all.” He commented. “I just need to rest and I’ll be good as new.”

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"Do you want to talk about it? I know tend to get more forgetful when you're locked away all the time. How Percy claims it, anyways." Lohrian glanced down towards where Seleihri had been, finding her slipping out of the room with Acacius in tow. Looking back to Arthur, he continued. "It can't be great for your body to be exposed to so many artifacts unprotected... still, it's always nice to hear about you and how you're doing, even if it isn't about work."

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“Ah, well, I’ve paid the price for my work already.” Arthur said with a weak laugh. “Tonight I was just doing some basic inventory. Taking the artifacts out of their cases and checking them over before locking them away again. I might have spent a little too much time taking some new notes but.. well, I feel like I would have been bedridden regardless.”

Arthur sighed softly, running his hands across the fluffy blanket on top of him. He then remembered that he had tea to drink and took a few sips before continuing the conversation.

“My body is fine it’s just my head that gets all scrambled. I just need to rest and I’ll be right as rain in the morning.”

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"Do you enjoy it? Your work?" Lohrian asked, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "If it makes you sick... surely it's hard to love something that makes you feel like this." He felt so bad for Arthur. All he wanted to do was go up and hug him. He looked like he needed it. Arthur really was the strongest of all of them.

"We care about you... if something were to happen to you, something worse, because of these artifacts, I don't know what I'd do. We'd do." He placed a hand against his own forehead before sighing.

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“I do enjoy my work, knowing I’ll be learning new things about the world every day is what keeps me going.” Arthur said, offering Lohrian a smile. “I’ll be okay, Lohrian. Don’t worry. I’ve been around for a few centuries now, I don’t think I’m going to be dying any time soon.”

Arthur reached out and placed his hand on top of Lohrian’s head, giving him a comforting little pat pat. ☾ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Lohrian chuckled softly, looking up at Arthur. "Are you at least comfortable enough in there? You definitely look like you've stolen every blanket in the tower." Lohrian raised his hand up, softly patting the back of Arthur's hand on his head. It was close to a hand hold. Right? No. It was still a little exciting to do so regardless. "Don't spill you tea." He cautioned, frantically leaning forward to stop the scalding liquid from tipping over onto the bird.

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“Ooh, whoopsie.” Arthur said as he caught himself before spilling the tea. “I should go ahead and finish this.” He commented before bringing the cup up to his lips once again.

Arthur did finish it off and offered the empty cup back to Lohrian. “Is Percy downstairs? Or did he run off somewhere?” He asked. “I meant to ask him something... but I’ve forgotten what it was.”

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"No, Percy is out for a couple hours. You asked him to gather some samples for you since you were sick. He asked me to come watch you." Lohrian took the cup, setting it carefully on the floor. "I can send him a message on my replier for you if you think of it, but if it's anything here, I could do it for you until he comes back." Lohrian offered. "I don't mind."

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“Oh I see.. right. Ah, well if I remember I’ll ask you.” Arthur nodded in acknowledgment. He tilted his head back a tiny bit, just enough to see the window behind his bed. Rain drops were pattering against the glass as the storm picked up outside. Wind whistled and the lights flickered after the sound of thunder rolled through the area.

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"He'll be fine." Lohrian assured Arthur, watching and following the larger Leyr's gaze. "I've seen him spread his wings before. He's a lot faster than me, with that extra pair." Lohrian somewhat liked the sound of rain. Maybe it was because he'd been so used to it, but the sound of rain hitting structures was oddly relaxing.

Lohrian sat with Arthur a moment, looking out the window before glancing over at Arthur. Partially to see if the bird wanted anything from him, or was just looking, or to see if he could mayhaps sneak a soft look of admiration and concern. Arthur was nice to be around, for many reasons.

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“I was just hoping that I would get a chance to go out there.” Arthur explained. He sighed softly as he laid his cheek against his pillow once again. The rain picked up, the sound of it drumming against the roof was soothing in a way. Arthur just wished he could have been the one to collect samples this time. He enjoyed his work but sometimes writing got boring.

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"We could go out in it." Lohrian offered. "I have an umbrella with me big enough for you to use. As long as we're careful not to poison you further. We couldn't collect anything for your work, but maybe a break would be nice. When was the last time you enjoyed something that wasn't work or food?" He asked. "Maybe just walking or sitting somewhere outside for a while might help lift your spirits. If you think you safely can..." he added, gesturing to all the blankets that Arthur was hidden beneath.

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Arthur looked to the window once again before he nodded. “That would be nice. Let’s do it.” He smiled as he pushed aside the massive amount of blankets. Arthur sat up slowly, giving himself a moment before he stood up all the way. His head did spin a little bit but he hoped he’d adjust. Hopefully the spinning would stop.

Arthur placed a hand on his bedpost, squinting a little as he looked towards the door. He was a bit unsteady on his feet. Maybe just sitting out on the stairs would suffice? Lohrian didn’t want Arthur to go for a walk and then fall down out in the rain.

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Lohrian stood, holding his hands up to the big Leyr. "Here, let me help." He offered. Taking Arthur's hands, he slowly guided Arthur across the room and all its messy glory to the door. He opened it for Arthur, gently coaxing him out into the stairwell. "Do you need a break for a moment?" He asked, looking up at Arthur. "We can sit for a second and let you get your bearings." He didn't mind walking backwards if it meant looking at Arthur and making sure he was okay.

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Arthur nodded before he took a seat on the stairs. The outer staircase where they were was open, only a railing and a roof protecting them from the storm. Water poured off the shingles and the distant rumbling of the thunder seemed to shake the building.

Arthur wasn’t bothered by it. If anything he was soothed. He tucked his massive wings close to himself as he stared out at the downpour, watching the rain trickle down the rooftops of the neighboring buildings.

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Lohrian stood behind Arthur, having helped him to sit. The poor man had his hair and feathers all tousled from lying down, and it looked like it had been a while since Arthur had really managed to preen back here.

Lohrian felt the heat rush to his cheeks as the thought of his question came to mind, but inhaling gave him the courage to ask. "Arthur?" He said, stepping to the side so Arthur could see him in his peripheral vision. "Do you want me to fix your hair and feathers up back here a little? They got moved around from your bed, and your ponytail is little tangled."

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“Hm?” Arthur questioned, turning his head around to look at Lohrian. “Oh, yes, if you’d like to.” He reached up to touch the back of his head as he looked back towards the rain. He went ahead and tugged the little tie out of his hair, allowing it to fall freely. “Thank you in advance.”

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Lohrian sat on the steps behind Arthur, gently taking Arthur's hair into his hands. His heart was racing, but the storm was able to calm him enough that it wasn't terrible. The butterflies in his stomach were back in a full swarm. Looking over at Arthur enjoying himself peacefully, Lohrian began to carefully brush out Arthur's hair with his fingers and claws, softly working from the bottom-up. He slid his claws in to gently scratch at Arthur's scalp in places that he knew would have been hard to itch while kept in a ponytail for what looked like the last three and a half weeks. His feathers could come next.

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Arthur leaned back against Lohrian, his eyelids growing heavy as he stared out at the storm. Lohrian’s gentle touches and careful preening felt so wonderful. He hadn’t felt anything quite like it in ages. He and Percy were close but didn’t preen each other very often. And when they did it was normally just Arthur correcting a feather or two that had gone astray on Percy. At least from what he could remember.

“That feels nice, Lohrian...” Arthur mumbled, coming to rest his head in Lohrian’s lap.

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Lohrian was surprised, his feathers ruffling upwards on his neck. They quickly lowered, but his cheeks were still warm. "Oh, thank you." He smiled. "I'm just doing what feels natural." He threaded his fingers through the full length of Arthur's hair, really just taking in how much of it there was. "Do you brush your hair often when it's tied back?" He asked, quietly making conversation so that Arthur wouldn't fall asleep.

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“Sometimes I forget to.. I honestly can’t answer that question because I can’t recall the last time I did.” Arthur admitted with a soft sigh. “Normally Percy reminds me to. I can’t remember the last time he did though...”

Arthur stared out at the rain, blinking slowly. He fought to keep his eyes open, wanting to watch the storm, but Lohrian was making him incredibly sleepy.

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Lohrian moved his hands out of Arthur's hair, straying down to the older man's feathers. He was a bit more particular with those, using the tips of his claws in lieu of his beak. It would give Arthur a chance to watch the storm. Every so often Arthur could feel the excess feathers on Lohrian's arms brush across the back of his head and neck as the little Leyr worked so diligently and carefully to help him look and feel nice. Bonding activity...

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Arthur did end up dozing off. He just felt so relaxed, he couldn’t help himself. Lohrian could probably hear the old leyr snoring softly, one of Arthur’s hands moving to rest on Lohrian’s thigh as he dozed off