Vesuvia weekly ; Sleepy Mumblings
Pairing : Liam (my mc) x Julian Devorak
Fandom : The Arcana visual novel
Warnings : none that I can think of (slight angst maybe, sum tension/anxiety idk)
Summary : A doctor can only do so much when it comes to healing what forbidden magic does to a man...
Nota Bene : upright ending timeline
Asra being away yet again, Liam had invited Julian to stay the night. Being on the run from everything and everyone had proven to be exhausting, and while he could always hide at Mazelinka's, Liam had really insisted that he sleep at the shop tonight. Julian could only guess he needed a little company... Which was understandable. It's not like the doctor didn't need company as well.
He was glad to stay at the shop, albeit a little anxious to be found by the guards. But feeling the warmth of Liam's body against his own was worth all the anxiety that came with it. The magician was already asleep in his arms, his breathing slow and regular. His short curly hair tickled Julian's chin as it rested atop of his head, and his pajama felt soft under his hands. The blankets added an extra layer of softness and warmth to it all, making the moment almost... Too good to be true. Julian's heart fluttered in his chest ; it had been forever since he'd felt this safe and content holding someone. His mind went back to his time with Asra, and he tried to shake away the thought. No. Liam was different from Asra. He couldn't compare the two.
He shifted a little in the bed, holding the magician closer, as he slowly but surely felt himself be lulled to sleep. Liam's soft and regular breathing, his slow and steady heartbeat, his softness and warmth... It seemed to gently caress Julian's mind, trying to bribe him to fall asleep and let go of his worries. And it was working. He almost chuckled at that. His eyelids threatened to close at any moment now, but he shifted his position and hold on Liam one last time, to be sure both of them would be comfortable, and then only did he allow himself to succumb to unconsciousness.
Late in the night, Julian felt himself stir awake. Something was amiss... He opened his eyes, only to realize he was laying in an empty bed. His heart clenched with fear in his chest as he sat up straight, patting the spot beside him. It was still somewhat warm. Julian looked around the bedroom, but his silent questions were only answered by the mute furniture and the half-opened curtains, the thin ray of moonlight peeking through only to reveal the door to the bedroom wide open. Julian felt his heart race as he slowly got up from the bed, approaching the threshold of the bedroom ; the corridor was dark, nearly pitch black. He wanted to call out, but it's as if the already silent room was keeping him quiet. He took a hesitant step into the corridor, hands gently resting against the wall as to not get lost.
As he walked, he faintly heard what sounded like whispers. He froze in his tracks. He could not make out any of the words, nor could he see whose mouth they were spilling from. His heart hammered anxiously in his chest ; could it be a ghost? He shook the thought away. He had to make sure Liam was alright first. He walked forward, his uncertain and tentative steps making soft creaks against the wooden floorboards of the corridor. The more he walked, the closer the whispers got ; and eventually, a silhouette sketched itself at the end of the corridor. Julian's eyes widened and he was pretty sure his chest was going to explode. He took a deep, steadying breath, and continued to walk forward. But yet again, his heart threatened to stop when he realized it was Liam at the end of the corridor, whispering, and facing the wall. The doctor's jaw hung slack for a hot second, before he got closer, calling out softly :
"Liam...?"
No response. Only the whispers. Julian couldn't even understand them... It seemed as if the magician was speaking a whole other language. The doctor swallowed back the anxious lump in his throat as he continued to walk forward :
"Liam, it's me, Julian..."
Still no response. More whispers. It was unnerving. The panic made Julian's chest tighten more as he got even closer, looking anxiously at the back of Liam's head. He kept whispering. The doctor put a hand on his shoulder, calling out a little more loudly this time :
"Liam ?"
The magician whipped around with a startled gasp, which nearly made Julian flinch as well.
"Julian!" Liam exclaimed in a whisper, before his tense shoulders relaxed. He seemed to look around briefly, before his eyes looked back into Julian. This is when the doctor noticed just how vibrant his green pupils were in the dark, a testament of forbidden practices. It made Julian's heart clench in his chest.
"Love, what are you doing out of bed...?" He inquired softly, tucking a curl of brown hair behind the magician's ear.
"I... I uhm..." Liam sighed "I'm sorry. It hadn't happened in a while and... I thought..." the magician shook his head. Julian's brows creased in worry.
"What? What happened ?" the doctor asked, but just as he inquired it, the answer seemed to come to his mind. "... You sleepwalk."
"huh?" Liam looked up at him, a little confused.
"You... You sleepwalk. Uhm... In your sleep, you become active as if you were awake." Julian explained, his hands coming to rest on the magician's shoulders, trying to provide a grounding and reassuring presence.
"Oh, so that's what it's called... I guess I'd forgotten." Liam nodded "Yes, I have little episodes like that. Can I ask what I was doing?"
Julian let his hand caress his face, as if to reassure both himself and the magician "you... You were facing the wall and whispering... The Arcana knows what. You weren't even speaking vesuvian."
The magician nodded, thoughtful. "Asra told me when he saw it happen himself. Those... Those are incantations." At that, the doctor's heart clenched in fear yet again. Even if he was far from an expert in magic, he knew what an incantation was.
"Is... Is it dangerous? What kind of incantations?" he inquired
Liam waved his hand dismissively, wanting to reassure him "Necrotic incantations. But they don't work, not while I'm asleep. To be effective, there has to be a conscious will to... Provoke or execute the spell, and while I'm asleep well it can't work, since I don't know what I'm doing. No, it's... More like I'm studying, y'know? Saying the words again and again so I can know them by heart" he explained, attempting to lighten the mood with a little chuckle to punctuate his explanation.
Julian sighed. He knew just how much danger Liam was putting himself in just by practicing necromancy. His life was at stake, and seeing the magic have this much of an impact on him was... Somewhat devastating. "Liam... I'm no, uh... Magic doctor but I think all of this is getting to you much more than it should.."
Liam raised an eyebrow "What is getting to me?"
Julian refrained a frustrated sigh "This. The whole necromancy thing-" he took the magician's left arm, running his hand over the bandages and talismans "you're decaying, for gods' sake"
Liam stayed silent for a moment, his gaze falling on his arm as well. His expression became somewhat remorseful "...It's... It's more complicated than it looks, Julian. I can't just... Stop"
The doctor knew this was not the time to argue about it ; it was the middle of the night and they both needed sleep. But oh how he wished he could shake some sense into the magician... He sighed and took his hands.
"Let's go back to bed. You need to sleep..."
Liam nodded and complied, following Julian back to the bedroom. Once again, they both settled down under the covers, without a word. Liam gave him a soft kiss on the lips before laying back down to rest into his arms. Julian's heart clenched in guilt and love as he looked at Liam fall asleep again.
He ran a hand through his curls, bitterly realizing that no matter how good of a doctor he was, he couldn't cure or alleviate what Liam was going through.
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