Story: Meanwhile... Chronologically Concussssssed

: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
: (slithering closer to him, even as he thrashes around) Pleasse, Alaric, talk to me, what’sss wrong?
: Fire, fire everywhere - (he moves away, eyes wide) - i-tt’s here, please no, nooooo-
: (turning wildly) Gaiusss, what’sss wrong with him! Pleasse, we need to do ssomething, PLEASSE!
: I understand that, my Queen, but I-
He pauses, staring wide-eyed at Alaric as he shakes violently, then waves his arms at the king to draw his attention.
: Sire, calm down, please!
: Gaius? (He reels from Gaius, shaking even harder.) Nonono, that can’t be, is this even real? Can it be true, but no, that-
: That’s right, sire - it’s me, me and the Queen.
: Genesis? (shaking his head hard, as if trying to dislodge water) No, no, she’s gone too, everyone’s dead, again, and again, and again-
: (edging close, reaching out to tap Alaric’s collar) Alaric, this is Aether, you’re safe-
The Serperior recoils at Gaius’ arm, trying in vain to shrink into himself, succeeding only in retreating closer to Tara.
: No! It’s not, nobody is safe! I- Please, make it stop! No more! I’m, I can’t, breathe- I can’t- breathe-
: (embracing Alaric in a tight coil) Pleasse, love, breathe with me.
: Make these visions go away, please!
: (shhing quietly before staring at Gaius sharply) Gaiusss, go get Gwen, hurry-
: No, no time, we need to find him first, he’s dead, dying, he’ll be dead if we can’t-
: Breath, love- who isss it, tell usss what we need to do to help you.
: Bál, we need to find Bál, where is he, I need to, I need Bál-
: Bál? Sire, he left for Veethrfölnir more than two weeks ago, after you had your little dispute.
: It doessn’t matter. Gaiusss, have Koji go by the guild and inquire about Bál’sss exxact whereaboutsss, and insstruct him to fly to wherever that may be and bring him back to Aether.
Nodding, Gaius leaves the room in a quick scurry, leaving Tara alone with the trembling Alaric.
: They killed him, we need to- if he dies, then, it will happen again-
: Sshussh, dear, it’ll be okay, just focusss on breathing…
: You don’t understand--!
Time passes as Alaric’s frantically incoherent cries shift into breathless murmurs, and Tara reassures him with gentle whispers until Gaius enters again.
: I’ve sent Koji on his way, but Tara, even if he finds Bál, that doesn’t guarantee he’ll come back, or will even know what ‘this’ is.
: I don’t know either, Gaiusss; I can only do what I can, right now - and now I need you to go fetch Gwen. Sshe can give him ssomething to calm him down.
: Right.
Gaius hurries off to find Gwen, rushing down the hall towards the medical ward section of the castle. A tinge of cleanliness hangs upon the air as he hustles towards Gwen’s office - and is lucky enough to spot her just as she leaves her room.
: Guinevere!
: (immediately turning towards Gaius with a disapproving frown) Gaius, settle down. I won’t have running or shouting near my ward.
: No, bu-
: Those are the rules. If you need something, you can talk to the healers inside, I have an appointment at the orphanage, it’s serious so I can’t be held up much longer.
Guinevere turns away, about to turn the corner: only to be stopped by Gaius’ whispered shout.
: It’s the king!
: (whirling back around) What? What’s wrong with him?
: We don’t know, he suddenly started screaming and thrashing, he’s incoherent and-
: Does he respond to you?
: Barely, but Gwen, he thought for a second- he mentioned Genesis, Gwen.
: …
: Understood. Where are they, and who’s with him now?
: Private study. Tara is with him.
: Go ahead and try to move him to his bed. Also send for Nicholas and Gawain; seeing familiar faces might help ground him. I will meet you there.
: Where are you going? I understand the orphanage is important, but-
: I need to instruct my assistant to go ahead and go to the orphanage ahead of me, and I need to grab some things I think I’ll need for Alaric. As I said, I will meet you there.
: R-right.
An hour later, Gwen exits the king’s bedroom, closing the door with a vine. She uses her other vine to signal the people gathered outside to be quiet and not attempt to get in, those people being Tara, Gaius, Gawain and Nicholas. As they gather close to her, Gwen sighs.
: Not that I expect him to wake from what I gave him, but please, keep your voices down.
: Before you ask, I don’t know what’s wrong with him exactly. Well, that’s not completely right, I do have some understanding of the problem, just not of its cause.
: (with a barely-contained growl) If ya know th’ problem, can’t ya just fix it?! Yer th’ doctor here! He acted like he was shocked to even see us alive!
: Please, Gawain, can you not-?
: Yes, if only things were that simple, that we could magically fix medical and MENTAL issues without getting to the root of the problem. That would be great, now wouldn’t it?
: As I was trying to say before you decided you suddenly had expertise on something and wasted my time, as the doctor, to actually finish my diagnosis that you are here to hear-
: He’s traumatised by something. From what I could gather from what you told me and what he is saying, he has seen horrible visions of some kind that shocked him so badly that his mind has become jumbled.
: What kind of visions?
: I am not sure. I have my theories, but I’m not that kind of healer, so I can’t say I have the rightful jurisdiction to make any final conclusions.
: So ya basically can’t help him then?
: Gawain! We are all upsset, but pleasse! Sshe knowsss more that we do.
: Thank you, my queen - and I didn’t say that, now did I, Gawain? I would like to make sure before I act and do something irreversible, so I will look into it first and work with both Alaric himself and others in the field to procure a solution.
: But at the moment, he isn’t fully aware of things, and currently our best option is to keep him sedated so he has time to calmly sort things out in his mind. Other than that, you already sent Koji to get Bál?
: Yes, Alaric sseemsss to really be sset on sseeing Bál.
: In that case, I’ll swing by the guild on my way to the orphanage; I need to make sure Koji conveys the actual importance of the situation to Bál.
: You’re leaving???
: Yes. He shouldn’t require a new dose until I’m back, and I will pick some stuff up from the potion and herb shops on my way back. For now, I would advise one of you who can spare the time to sit with him if you can.
: I will take firsst watch.
: An’ what’s exactly th’ guarantee tha’ Bál will come, even if ya let ‘im know ‘bout th’ severity of Alaric’s health? They aren’t exactly buddy-buddy, not aft’r tha’ last conv’rsation they had.
: The fact that Bál is a responsible man with a good head on his shoulders - and I am not interested in hearing about this notion he is anything else, like both you and Alaric insist on, as if he’s your enemy. We are all very fortunate that the queen has a more fair judgment; Aether greatly benefits from the guild’s presence, including Bál’s.
: My queen, young prince - (she inclines her head) - I’ll prepare some light sedatives when I return for you, if you wish, to help you relax and aid in sleep tonight.
: Gaius, captain.
With a curt nod, she leaves, heading down the hallway with purpose - and Gawain waits until she is out of earshot before gritting his teeth and grumbling.
: I'm jus’ glad tha’ I don't have to deal wit’ tha’ guy an’ draggin’ him back; I feel sorry for th’ bird.
: Actually, Gawain, I wanted to assk you to fly to the guild and meet up with Koji if he’sss sstill there, or if not, go after him posst hasste with an assssembled party.
: Don’t think Bál will come with’ut force either?
: No, Gwen isss right; I believe Bál will come if he isss told what isss going on. I am more worried about ssending Koji alone into unknown territory. I... wassn’t really thinking thingsss through at the time I assked Gaiusss to ssend him alone… Make ssure Bál comesss back to Aether, but do sso peaccefully, undersstand?
He scowls a little at the command, but Gawain obeys, leaving quickly - but not quickly enough to hide his snort as he rounds the corner. Tara and Gaius exchange glances as he goes, she sighing and he frowning, though whatever thoughts they are thinking are interrupted by Nicholas’ somewhat meek words:
: What if I go along, too? If I can help bring Bál back, if that can help Father- I mean, having a royal there could ease the progress with the locals-
 & : Absolutely not!
Category:Meanwhiles
Category:Arc 2
Category:Aether