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It was as unexpected as it was urgent, the text that he received from Xiu sent off all kinds of alarms in Kyou's head. About two years ago, Xiu had attacked Alex, trying to take her blood due to his blood lust during the month of the Hungry Ghost. It is a month when the evil spirits from the world beyond roamed the world of the living freely, making Xiu unable to feed on innocence for some reason. So Xiu had resorted to his... less desirable form of feeding - blood. The Raevan had been difficult to restrain even at the Frei stage during his first blood lust, and now that he is a Sigel...

The doctor's reply to the text was a simple one. Come stay at the Lab until the blood supplies are replenished. The reasons were clear, he first need to separate the predator from his prey, in this case, Hazeline is the prey. Furthermore, the only other two individuals residing at the Lab are him and Lazarus. (except Alex and Zeke who works during the day) Who are fully capable of defending themselves if an attack ever occurs. It was the ideal solution.

So here he is, waiting at the lobby for Xiu's arrival the following evening. He had asked the Sigel to come as soon as possible, but Hazeline had insisted that she drive him over after she got back from work. It should be fine, he needed to constantly remind himself, it is still Summer right now and the sun sets later than usual. Only when the darkness descend upon Gaia that the true effects of the Hungry Ghost month affect Xiu most.

Lazarus on the other hand, was excited that Xiu would be staying over for a long period of time at the Lab. Last year, he barely saw Xiu during this dreaded period. He knew about the blood lust and the problems that Xiu might be facing with the low blood supply, but he still couldn't help but feel excited about the prospect. Perhaps Xiu could stay in his room with him, they could spend the day just talking or watching movies. Even if Xiu prefer to rest alone in one of the guest rooms, they could still hang out. Imagine the things they could do together with so much time on their hands!

To surprise Xiu, Lazarus had heated up half a cup of blood in Xiu's cup in the Lab, and had left it on a table in the dining area. He was a little disappointed that he couldn't give more, as there is only one pack of blood left in the lab. Kyou had given most of them back to the hospital due to the accident. Although it isn't much, he would be happy if he could relief Xiu's hunger even just a little bit, a smile would be wonderful too.

Seeing Hazeline's car pulled up at the curb outside, Kyou exited the Lab glass doors to welcome them. "Hello Xiu, I hope you are holding up well." He made sure to not say the last part so loudly as to let Hazeline overheard, probably not a good idea to worry the young girl too much. And Xiu probably wouldn't appreciate it too.

Looking politely at Hazeline, he straighten his coat and extends a hand to the young woman. "It is a pleasure to meet you again." He smiled politely, the knowledge of her having period right now was... slightly disturbing. "Xiu will be staying with us until there are new blood supply. The hospital that we aliased with told us that they are planning a blood donation drive next week to replenish it. Once we have fresh supplies, I think Xiu can head home already." He explained, expecting Hazeline to be wondering and asking questions, and answers that maybe Xiu could not give. "But at the mean time, we only have one pack left, so we need to use it sparingly."

Lazarus followed suit behind Kyou excitedly as he saw the familiar vehicle pulled up at the curb, and the fond white figure that exited the car. Smiling softly, he waved at Xiu and quickly floated to his side, taking the other's hand in his. "How are you doing?" He asked gently, his voice concerned. Xiu looks a little haggard, probably due to multiple reasons, with one of them being hunger. "You don't look too well.." Brows knitted in concern as he gently sweep some of Xiu's bangs aside, they were casting a shadow under Xiu's eyes, making him look extra gloomy. "But don't worry! I have a little something for you sitting in the cafeteria. I hope you will like it." The fire Raevan squeezed the other's hand gently in reassurance, Xiu is in good hands now, he knew it. Together they will go through these trying times.

It was not that he was not aware of Xiu's wishes to keep their relationship a secret from Hazeline, but he was just too eager to see Xiu that he couldn't help himself. The gentle tug of his hand reminded him of this, red eyes took a wary glance in the direction of Xiu's guardian. At least Kyou is keeping her distracted, maybe they should enter the Lab discreetly while she is occupied.

Tugging Xiu's hand gently, he quietly motioned Xiu to follow him. Fingers unwrapping from the other's hand, the fire Sigel led Xiu into the lab as to not draw suspicion from Hazeline. They could hold hands again when they were out of sight from prying eyes...

...Which is not very far, as the door to the to the corridor that leads beyond the lobby is just about twenty feet away. Once through the door, Lazarus smiled excitedly and fondly at Xiu as he grasps the other's hand once more. "Come with me to the cafeteria." The fire Sigel beamed as he led Xiu around a corner just some ways down the corridor. And there it is, a lone cup sitting on the kitchen counter with a faint trace of steam still coming from it. It was the cup that Lazarus used to serve blood to Xiu when he stayed here a couple of years ago, and Lazarus had always kept the cup clean and sterile for him. Carefully he lifted the cup off the counter and offered it to Xiu. "Be careful, it is a little warm still." Holding the body of the cup, he offered the cup's ear to Xiu, he doesn't mind the heat as much as most people do. "I just thought you would be hungry when you arrive." Since Xiu probably haven't ate much since the Hungry Ghost month began.

"I know." Kyou had to echo Hazeline's notion, Xiu really had been through a lot. The blood lust during the Hungry Ghost and the losing of his voice. It is really unbelievable how much he had already went through at such a young age. "Don't worry, he is in good hands." The doctor reassured the young woman by squeezing her hand gently, only letting go a short moment later.

"Do you... want to come in and have some tea or coffee?" He offered Hazeline. Since she is already here, and Kyou never really had a chance to chat with her, might as well invite her in. "I have some delicious macaroons that I bought this morning from a new bakery nearby." Maybe offerings of sweets might entice her to stay a little longer?

Lazarus eagerly stared at Xiu as he took the cup, waiting for the other to drink it. But when the white Sigel did not and instead, looked back with expectant blue eyes, he had to wonder. "Is something wrong? Is the blood not clean?" He fussed, but he was sure that he poured this out directly from the blood bag!

Then he noticed Xiu's hands wrapped around the cup, it tighten when he asked the questions. Since Xiu is mute now, he had learned to read these little details in gestures to better understand each other, they can't rely on pen and paper all the time. And these little gestures really tell a lot. The little squeeze meant that there was nothing wrong with the drink, but then.... "Oh!" Lazarus exclaimed, remembering that Xiu is an awfully polite Raevan. "You want me to drink too!" He smiled brightly, happy that he managed to get the other Sigel's meaning. That's right, Xiu had always brought two drinks, one for each of them when he was over at Xiu's.

Mind racing, he wondered what he could drink. Grabbing his cup - a plain black one from the counter, he opened the fridge to find a large carton of mango juice inside. That will do. He poured a generous amount into his cup before putting the carton back into it's own place, then he floated back towards Xiu.

Thankfully for Lazarus and Xiu, Kyou is equally clueless about their relationship as well. He does know however, that the two Raevans are indeed quite close. The fire Sigel had made a few visits to Hazeline's place before, he assumed to see Xiu. And that time when the Lab froze over, Xiu was also the one offered to help nurse Lazarus back to health. He couldn't deny that the white Sigel actually did a pretty good job. That was already six months ago though, how time flies...

"Great!" The good doctor beamed, excited that Hazeline wants to stay over for tea. "Oh I totally understand." He agreed with Hazeline as they entered the Lab, heading towards the cafeteria where the two Raevans are. "Too much sweet is not very good to the body." Although his sweet tooth begged to differ, as he eats at least one cake a day. "I've heard raving reviews about the macaroons from the new bakery, that was why I went to get them this morning. I haven't tried it yet though, I'm glad you're here so I could have some company to enjoy it with. I left it on the counter in the cafeteria." He smiled at the younger lady as they entered the corridor, the opening of the doors making a sound that echoes down the hallway.

Hearing the sound of the door opening and closing, Lazarus knew that Kyou had entered, maybe even with Hazeline? As the good doctor likes to invite people for tea. "Why don't we bring these up to my room so we could drink and enjoy in private?" He offered Xiu, still holding their untouched drinks in their hands.

WARNING! THIS NEXT COUPLE OF POSTS WILL FEATURE CONTENTS THAT MAY CAUSE READERS TO FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE.

It has been close to a week since the day that he had arrived at the Lab and Xiu was trying his best to help out when he can but… all was not well. The blood donation drive by the local hospital had been postponed and despite pulling as many strings as he could, Dr. Kyou simply could not obtain any more blood in the foreseeable future. Which meant that…the remaining packet of blood (already halved in volume when Lazarus had so generously offered him a cup upon his arrival) had to be stretched to its utmost limit. Already Xiu was feeding on a very watered down version of the blood once every two days and the slow starvation was getting to the Sigel. Flaring his wings in agitation, Xiu gave the empty cup a hopeful glance, as if hoping that by sheer willpower alone the glass would somehow…magically fill up. But this was not the case and the cup remained depressingly empty. It would be another two days before he got another paltry ration of blood and water. The white Sigel let out a soft growl; his rune glowing a dull purple in the Doctor’s office. Dr. Kyou had been very firm about not letting him out of the lab; and even then he was constantly in the presence of either the Doctor or Lazarus. And for good reason too. Xiu had found himself, on more than one occasion, eyeing the clueless pedestrians outside in a predatory manner which…was what he had not intended to do at all but all this hunger was starting to…cloud his judgment…

A familiar shadow was approaching the office and Xiu gave a quick glance up from his paperwork. Today, he was helping Lazarus sort through some old files and records. They mostly contained bits of notes and scribbles that the Doctor had done back when he was a youth. Nothing particularly important in the Sigel’s opinion. Dusting himself, Xiu floated up to meet Lazarus. It was a warm day today and Xiu had chosen to forgo his white outer garment and arm warmers in favour of only his grey vest beneath. Lazarus however, had opted to wear his default raevan clothes today. That amount of exposed skin was...distracting. In a bad way. One could get bitten...almost...anywhere...

Xiu mind was beginning to....cloud once more...

And only snapped back into focus when Lazarus accidentally dropped one of the boxes he was carrying.

Xiu gave an irritated sigh when Lazarus began picking up the scattered notes and folders. The papers were everywhere and the room was beginning to feel stuffy and cramp with all these boxes about. Throw in the mess on the floor and you have got yourself a thumping headache.

Floating over to his friend, Xiu silently began helping the fire sigel with the scattered notes, picking them up at random and stacking them onto one of the boxes nearby. These would have to be sorted through and placed in their respective folders again. Wonderful.

A tired sigh from the Fire Sigel beside him made Xiu look up and for a moment, a stab of guilt hit him. He was...not being fair to Lazarus and he knew it. The Sigel had been very accommodating these last few days and even now Lazarus had been the one to volunteer to lift all these heavy boxes to the stores below. It was just that...

Giving a soft sigh, Xiu reached out a hand and gingerly brushed Lazarus’ sweat drenched fringe aside. Carrying all those boxes around would tire out just about anyone. When Lazarus turned to face him, his expression one of confusion and surprise, Xiu gave Lazarus what he thought was an encouraging smile. Then reaching for his writing pad, Xiu wrote Shall we...take a break?

The both of them could do with one. They certainly deserved it.

The change in Lazarus’ expression was almost instantaneous the second he saw Xiu’s smile and the white Sigel felt an even deeper stab of guilt as, obligingly, Lazarus had taken to his suggestion like a kid to candy. Floating after the fire Sigel, Xiu found himself thinking of how endearing Lazarus’s behaviour had been and for an instant; a genuine smile of fondness was seen across the white Sigel’s feature. Lazarus may look fierce at times but deep down, he was really rather childlike and it showed in such instances such as this.

Lazarus’s lead had taken the both of them all the way back to Lazarus’ room where Xiu found himself being led over to the couch. Lazarus had then unceremoniously plopped himself down onto it and indicated that Xiu should do the same. Nodding, Xiu lowered himself onto the couch’s comfortable seat with a tired sigh. Lazarus’s room was certainly bigger than his own back home and Xiu could not help but feel envious every time he entered the Fire Sigel’s room. Which was...not at all that often really. Most of the time they tended to hang out in the cafeteria or library; hardly ever the bedroom.

It was only after Xiu had settled himself down that the awkward moment began. Lazarus seemed shifty and uncertain before finally blurting out "Maybe... we could talk or something ?

The white Sigel sat in stunned silence while Lazarus continued watching him with that childlike hopefulness that Xiu had found so endearing not too long ago. The white Sigel was...uncertain. There were certainly things that he could talk about but...Xiu was aware that the underlying meaning to that innocent question was more or less comparative to Is there anything wrong? Perhaps...we could discuss this

Xiu shook his head. There was really nothing that he felt like ‘talking’ about. He still felt hungry, more so this year than when he was a frei. Perhaps it was because he was...bigger? And the negativity of the month was still getting to him like nails on a chalkboard. Xiu flicked his wings uncertainly. Lazarus was still watching him with that concerned expression. It was...unfair... Lazarus had to put up with him being like this...

Xiu knew that the Fire Sigel had hoped for a more romantic-cuddly relationship during his stay here; that much was apparent from the first few days of being at the Lab. The fiery Sigel had tried to hold hands, place an arm around his shoulders, hug...things like that but to each of his advances Xiu had barely responded. He’d even been so rude as to wander off from the movie that they were watching yesterday. It was a...kind of steamy romantic drama...insofar as Xiu could recall. The man certainly had a loud voice and the woman was prone to fall into plots that would never really fly in real life.

“Lazarus...,” mouthed the White Sigel silently as he stared guiltily into Lazarus’ crimson eyes. There was nothing accusatory in them; only concern.

“Lazarus...,”

Leaning forward, Xiu gave Lazarus a tender peck on the cheek before pressing his forehead against Lazarus’s. The Fire Sigel’s warmth and strength felt good against his own hunger laden body.