|
|
Post by Lizzie on Jun 13, 2014 18:08:53 GMT
Dominic was touched by his concern, truly. It had been years since someone who'd cautioned him in such a way. To a degree, it made him miss the world outside, miss the relationships and bonds one could have with other people...it did until he remembered the risks one could run. He shook the thought from his mind but held the smile that had pulled at his lips. "I'll be fine, but thank you." Gently he placed a calming hand to the other's arm.
"I can blend well enough, at least from any of your hunter friends...but if I do run into them, I won't be able to tell them where you are or that I found you, and for that I'm sorry." He took a deep breath, Stepping away from the bed. He hated that he couldn't give any friends of Jaime's the peace of mind that he was still alive, safe, and getting better...but if they knew, there was no telling what they might do to him, and at the very least they'd want to take him away too soon. "But I'll be careful. I used to have a friend who was a hunter so, while I'm not quite skilled like you, I know enough to stay out of their way during the day."
He tossed his own friendly grin over his shoulder. "But you need to rest, don't worry about me or anyone. Just focus on resting. I'll be back within a couple of hours. Hopefully with good news."
|
|
|
|
Post by Shea on Jun 13, 2014 18:54:29 GMT
Jaime watched him go with trepidation in his gut. Would Dominic find anything? Would he, or one of his acquaintances, get hurt? If he could, he could have gotten up and followed. Instead he slouched farther against the bed.
Stuck here, useless. Worrying his lip between his teeth, he wondered if he should go have a look around the house, at the least.
But even if he could, the thought felt wrong to him. Dominic had shown him nothing but kindness. Even if he could get out of bed, snooping around the other's home wasn't a way to repay him.
Letting his eyes close, wishing there was something more he could do other than lay around, he fell into a restless sleep.
|
|
|
|
Post by Lizzie on Jun 17, 2014 9:49:02 GMT
Dominic, sadly, hadn't expected to find anything. Not really. A coven of vampires as large as Jaime described let a hunter go? Seemed nearly impossible. The healer feared the worst, especially from this brood. Something about the way they had left Jaime had said they weren't completely interested in feeding, which meant they'd have limited uses for a woman...all not very pleasant.
In his years, he had seen covens keep hunters for weeks, feeding from them, raping them, torturing them...all leading up to eventually forcing a change. It wasn't an easy thing to do, but once you broke down a hunter enough, both thier willpower and bodies, you could do nearly anything with them. Dominic knew first hand how fragile a hunter mind could be when toyed with, but their bodies had always been like putty in his hands.
He searched around a few hours, taking in the area where he'd found the hunter who lie asleep in his cottage.. There was a barely visible residue of blood only he could have scene, a small trail. Dominic was careful not to stray TOO far, not to let himself get too caught up and wonder from what was safe. He went a ways, not turning up much in the way of good or bad news and a check of his watch told him sunset was near and it was time to return to the cottage.
The healer didn't want to return with no news but he had supposed no news was better than bad news. That was when his eye caught a glimpse of something that reflected the soft light that managed to make it's way through the trees. A small gold chain? Stepping forward, he plucked it from the ground and held it up to examine it. It appeared to be a locket of some kind... He did't dare opening it, not yet. Dom took a deep breath, slipping the necklace into his pocket and turned to head back to his home, praying it was just a necklace that belonged to one of the other, no doubt many, victims of the hateful brood.
|
|
|
|
Post by Shea on Jun 17, 2014 20:06:52 GMT
When Jaime woke up again, he was still disorientated, and only aware of the dulled pain in his side. It felt like something was pulling on his skin. He hissed, attempting to turn and fend off the source of the pain, but a strong hand held him down.
His senses snapped back to him, and he groggily glanced over his shoulder to see Dominic. It wasn't hard to put two and two together. "Tore the stitches again, did I?" he groaned, falling back on his side. He wasn't in nearly as much pain, but instead of feeling more relieved, that worried him. "I wasn't out for a week again, was I?"
He remembered sleeping fitfully; nightmares starting to pull him awake only to drag him back under. He was covered in a dried cold sweat. He remembered seeing Dominic in his dreams. But... darker. Evil. And Macken, dead, but aiming a gun between Jaime's eyes. He shuddered.
|
|
|
|
Post by Lizzie on Jun 17, 2014 21:03:21 GMT
Dominic tried to calm him, placing a hand against him softly but firmly to keep him down. "It's okay, you weren't out a week this time. Just a couple of days." He quieted him before Jaime could say anything, taking a deep breath. If things kept going this way, he almost thought the hunter would never be well enough to leave. The human body, when under stress and duress, was so slow to heal.
"I've kept you mostly sedated this time, you've been having so many night terrors, restless sleep and moaning in pain....I did what I could to help." Finishing up the stitching, he carefully cut the end of the thread. "I'm sorry I can't do more to help you heal quicker." DOminic sighed, brows furrowing as he reached for a small cup on the bedside table, offering it to the wounded hunter. "Here...drink this. It'll help with the pain some...and when you feel better, we should talk."
|
|
|
|
Post by Shea on Jun 17, 2014 21:09:41 GMT
Jaime shifted onto his back, frowning into the cup. A few days was still a long time. He was starting to feel like he'd never heal. Dominic was STILL having to stitch him back up. The wounds should be closing by now, not constantly reopening. He drank what the cup held, grimacing at the foul taste.
Turning his attention the the healer, he asked, "Talk about what?" It didn't sound good, whatever it was, but Jaime would rather hear it now. It probably had to do with Viveka, and from the way the healer spoke, she was either dead or he hadn't found anything.
He hoped to god he hadn't found her body.
|
|
|
|
Post by Lizzie on Jun 18, 2014 6:29:15 GMT
Dominic watched him. Hunters, right to the point. The healer tried to relax, his mind having been a buzz since he'd come back with the locket he kept in his breast pocket. He wasn't entirely sure what she was to him, but if this were hers and if Jaime thought she might be dead, what would he do? Hopefully, if after this was over, he would be smart about any revenge he might seek. Revenge was like a cancer, and it was usually the innocent who were hurt and even situations like this, wouldn't be without their consequences.
Reaching into his breast pocket, he pulled out the locket. He hadn't cleaned it, wanting to keep the scent from being too tainted. Holding it up for the hunter to see, his brows furrowed. "I found this, it was a short ways from where I found you. It looks like the chain snapped and there's blood." He honestly wanted to lower his eyes, always dreading giving news like that to others. It was part of why he could never be a true doctor...just a hermit who occasionally healed those he found.
"Is it hers? I didn't find a body, I was too worried to venture any farther with the sun setting."
|
|
|
|
Post by Shea on Jun 18, 2014 6:56:14 GMT
Jaime took the locket gingerly from the healer's hand and turned it over. His breath caught in his throat, and when he clicked it open to find it completely empty, he closed his eyes.
"It's hers," he said, his voice quiet in the still room. He never understood why Viveka always wore the necklace but never put a picture in it. But he never had asked, either. And now he might not know. And know she might be dead, because of him. Because he hadn't listened to Markus.
"When she was taken out of there, she was... either unconscious or dead. She wouldn't have left without this if she were awake," he said. The words were hollow. It had been nearly two weeks. Either she was long dead, or turned, or by some miracle, alive.
But the longer he sat here, the more he doubted. She was strong, but she was also heartbroken and reckless. She was asking to die. And she may have gotten her wish.
"Is..." he started, fingering the locket. "Is there anyway I can find out. I don't... know if you go into town. Or if you have... I don't..." he stopped, and took a breath. "I need to know if she's alive, Dominic."
|
|
|
|
Post by Lizzie on Jun 18, 2014 7:40:04 GMT
He felt his own stomach sink. It was her's. He had hoped, more than anything, that it hadn't been. Of course, even hoping that made him feel guilty because it would have just meant another poor victim to those monsters. He couldn't do much, not if she was dead...and he couldn't go into that place to find her. He wasn't helpless, far from it, but the bodies of the undead were far too difficult for healers and antihealers to do much against.
Feeling guilt and regret weighing on his chest, he placed a hand to Jaime's shoulder. "I want to help..." and he did. Dominic wanted to help more than just soothe Jaime's physical wounds. He wanted to help with the emotional, knowing well that it played just as big of a part in recovery as medicines and his little magic did.
Dominic disliked going outside of the haven he'd made in the woods, only doing it on rare occasions...but as much as he hated it, Jaime couldn't make that trip. "I can...I can maybe go into town and look for her? You have to stay here. But, I'm not sure what I am to say to your friends if I look for her, or where to start. If I tell them I have you, they'll demand your return and you can't survive in a normal human hospital right now, not and return to your full strength."
|
|
|
|
Post by Shea on Jun 20, 2014 6:33:18 GMT
Jaime shook his head. No, it wasn't right. He didn't need to drag Dominic more into this than he was. It was clear that the idea of leaving unsettled him, and after saving his life, asking more of him wasn't fair. He reached up to place his hand over the one Dominic had on his shoulders before he thought about it.
The healer's hand was warm, but the skin felt delicate, even with the few scars he felt against his knuckles. Not hunter hands. Not someone used to holding a weapon. Not calloused and rough like his.
He pulled his hand back. "No... you're right. She's either dead or alive, and you finding out won't change her fate. I'm sorry I even said anything. Whatever happened to her won't change from now until I can go find out for myself."
He looked over the locket once more before putting it over his head. The metal was cool against his chest. Looking up at Dominic, he offered a smile. "Aside from finding this, I'm going to assume there was nothing else? No one was there, were they? The vampires, I mean."
|
|
|
|
Post by Lizzie on Jun 20, 2014 16:03:09 GMT
Dominic's strong brow furrowed, a grey curl falling into his face. He wish, more than anything, that he'd come back with definitive news. He wish He would have returned with more than a locket that only gave the other hunter more stressful thoughts. The touch he gave the other was meant as comforting and he only pulled away once the gentle, calloused hand pulled from his own.
"Finding out, good or bad, will give you a piece of mind. You need that to heal properly or i'll just be fighting a losing war with your nightmares and restless sleep. I can only drug you so much before you build a resistance or become reliant on it for sleep and niether open is a good option." The healer pinched at the bridge of his nose, suddenly feeling the exhaustion of his many, many years.
He didn't go out of his sanctuary and into town for just anything...but this wasn't just anything, this was for a patient, this was for Jaime. "All the vampires were dead, sleeping or they had moved on. But I WILL go into town first thing tomorrow and check on her for you. You'll have to give me a place to look, and a cover story that might go over well." There was a dull, throbbing pain in his chest at that moment before he spoke but he pushed it aside. "It's been a long time since I've been privy to the sort of things you guys believe."
|
|
|
|
Post by Shea on Jun 21, 2014 2:01:12 GMT
Jaime ran a hand over his face. He really didn't like the idea of Dominic going into town when it made him so uncomfortable. He didn't have a right to even ask that of the healer. He would argue the point more, but it was obvious Dominic had already made up his mind. And Jaime would rather him go in with a plan than just wander around.
"Do you have a piece of paper and pen? I'll give you an address." He waited until the healer brought him what he asked, and wrote it down for him. "You're going to ask for Sierra when you get there. Don't speak to anyone else. Just say you have something you want a healer to look at, and she'll take you to a back room. If Viveka's alive, she'll know. She's honestly probably be the one looking after her. And if you tell her you have me and I'm alive and on the mend, she'll keep it quiet. Avoid Markus," he said as an afterthought.
He had no doubt the man wouldn't stand for Dominic leaving without taking him along. Smart and cautious though the man might be, he was still wary and untrusting of non-humans he didn't know. Even the ones he DID, unless he'd known them for years, he didn't trust. Getting him to allow Yvaine into his home had been harder than pulling teeth. He was more willing to trust those with supernatural powers, such as healers, but the fact that they could go so evil set him on edge.
"It'd... just be really simple. Tell her Jaime promises not to be late to tea, and then just ask if Viveka's okay, or if she's had word of her." It was a silly code, but simple and something anyone overhearing would ignore.
|
|
|
|
Post by Lizzie on Jun 21, 2014 17:40:34 GMT
Dominic took the piece of paper. Contrary to his age, he had quite the memory. The healer had a near photographic memory and, as he listened to all his patient was saying he remember it word for word. Sierra, she must be a healer they had on call....at least there was someone like that amongst them and thank goodness she seemed to be a reasonable woman.
He also remembered the name Markus and made note to stay clear of him. Dominic didn't want trouble, that was the last thing he wanted. He wanted to get news of this friend and return to Jaime's side to reassure him. That's all he wanted.
Giving a small nod, the healer slipped the piece of paper into his pocket. "I can do that." He took a steadying breath, and placed a hand over the hunter's. "I'll do what I can to find out as much as I can about her..if nothing I'll let Seirra know you're safe so she can let those closest to you know."
He wasn't...eager to leave his sanctuary but, he also felt a huge desire to get it over with at the same time, to put Jaime at rest sooner. Though, part of that might also be due to the fact that he wasn't too eager to leave the hunter here all alone. "Before I go...are you hungry? Do you need anything? I might be gone a few hours so I won't be here to help if you need something." The healer stood, cleaning up soiled bandages, salves and medicines he'd been using before Jaime woke, then walked across the room to get the hunter a glass of water.
"Do you need anything else while I'm already in town?" He asked, returning with the plastic glass, offering it to the wounded man.
|
|
|
|
Post by Shea on Jun 23, 2014 16:53:18 GMT
Jaime had to smile at the man's concern. Part of him wondered if he was just stalling to avoid having to go into town, but he knew most of it, at least, was genuine concern. He caught himself watching the way Dominic moved; fluid and sure motions. There was muscle there, and he found himself wondering how defined it was.
Which were inappropriate thoughts, and so he turned his attention away until Dominic returned. "Thank you," he told him, accepting the glass, and cast him a smile. "And thank you for doing this. I know... you'd rather not. So. Thank you. Very much." He took a small sip of the water, and shook his head. "I'll manage just fine. Honestly, I'll probably spend the time you're gone sleeping," he laughed softly.
Or thinking about Dominic. About the way his eyes darkened when he was tired, and how the grey in it stood out against the brown when the sun from the window hit it.
Jaime wasn't... normally like this. Normally he didn't feel that attraction. Macken had been the first man he'd met, and had thought of as more than just another being. He'd ended up in bed with him in a week, which had been unheard of for Jaime, and... they'd been inseparable after. Until...
So maybe it wasn't... odd, to find himself attracted to a strong healer that had saved his life. But did it make him feel guilty and more than a little ashamed? Yes. God, yes.
|
|
|
|
Post by Lizzie on Jun 23, 2014 17:15:18 GMT
Dominic gave him a genuine smile. Going into the world of man, around temptation and questions...he wasn't comfortable with it, not generally but this once he truly wanted to do it. Just this once. Even still, there was another anchor that kept him tied to this place. An anchor with tan skin and a penchant for tearing his stitches.
He made a motion with a finger, moving to a table to rummage around. The hunter insisted he would be okay, but Dominic couldn't help but feel a constant throb of concern when it came to him. He pulled out a small pouch that was buried amongs empty vials and dozens of scraps of paper. "Hah, found it!" the healer exclaimed, making his way back over to the sick bed of the younger man.
"This, will help insure you sleep restfully. It's...very potent and it can assure pleasant dreams...though the nature of the pleasant dream varies. It'll help with getting a restful sleep. I haven't really given it to you yet because you have to chew it first. You take a pinch from here, about like this." He showed him by taking a pinch out and juggling the pouch as he showed exactly how much it was in his own hand. "Then you just chew it. It has a very..minty flavor. It's a very strong drug, though...very easy to get addicted since the dreams are so vivid." Placing it gently on Jaime's lap he leveled him with a stare. "One pinch. The first time you doze off. No more, understood? I don't want you getting into another fit in your sleep and tearing those stitches while I'm away."
Taking a steadying breath, mentally preparing himself for what he'd chosen to do, the healer stood and offered a gentle smile. "Well, I better go before it gets too late. I shouldn't be too long, as long as your friend doesn't decide to turn me over instead of offering information." He placed a gentle hand to the top of Jaime's head. "I'll see you in a few hours, my friend."
|
|
