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 Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2016 7:53 am
Xeizii had arrived over summer, when the snows were low enough that someone so sickly could be transported as safely as possible- though that didn’t stop him from catching a rather nasty flu on the way down. He’d been in a local hospital since then, and not allowed to have any visitors. That had been a great source of frustration for Prometheus, who both missed home and his brother dearly. He hated knowing that Xeizii was here, but out of reach. With each passing day, his frustration grew. He knew, logically, that it was for Xeizii’s good that he remain in quarantine, but logic didn’t always work with emotions, sadly. Rather than risk lashing out at anyone he genuinely cared about, the litch took to isolating himself from his friends and instead worked on making his new dorm - shared with Xeizii - suitable for his brother.
Finally, after months of being denied the ability to see him, Prometheus was given word that Xeizii was going to make his move into the dorms for the first time. He’d spent the entire morning spot cleaning the entire place - even though the caretakers had insisted it was already clean, they’d watched it happen themselves. It didn’t matter, he hadn’t watched it happen. Didn’t they know how easily Xeizii caught cold?
He finished wiping down the window sill for the fourth time and then paused to look at the clock… Any moment now… they were due to arrive at noon, and it was 11:50.
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Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2016 7:54 am
Xeizii did not like hospitals. They were very different from home, where he was able to lay in bed and let familiar people take care of him - namely his parents and when Prometheus was home, Prometheus helped too. Hospitals were… bright, and even though the staff had very nice bedside manner, they were not the same as his family. He knew he would eventually join Prometheus after he was sent to the Academy, but still… the reality of it versus the knowledge of it were very different things. He just wished at least one of his parents could have accompanied him on the journey.
Every time he started to get better, something new happened. He went from just being unable to stand or sit up straight for more than a few minutes, to hacking up his lungs, to barely being able to breathe over the course of two months. Finally, finally, they figured out what was wrong and were able to treat him to a point where he could go be in the academy dorm rooms. Sadly, even with all of their medical expertise both scientific and magical, Xeizii’s problem was not something that could be fixed forever. He was just… like this.
When it was time to go to the academy itself, they carefully loaded him into a carriage, making sure to keep anyone that might be sporting a cold far, far away from him as they did so. The ride to the academy itself was short, and Xeizii found that he was a little surprised by how drastically the colors of the plants had changed. Was it fall now? Things didn’t really do this at home…
The trek to the dorm itself was harder. He had to keep stopping to take breaks, and at one point one of his escorts offered to get him a chair, but he refused. No, he wanted to see Prometheus on his own two feet, even if eventually he probably would need the chair to get around the school. It would break Promme’s heart to see him first thing in such a pitiful state.
Finally, the dorm was just up ahead. He reached out to turn the knob, then slowly pushed it open. The dorm was… spotless. He’d been picturing something less clean, but then again, knowing Prometheus he should have expected this instead. Promme always put in the extra effort for him, after all. He shuffled into the room, dark eyes landing on his older brother standing near the window… He looked almost the same, which brought a tired smile to his face. ”H-hi Prometheus…”
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Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2016 5:19 pm
Prometheus was about to search for something else to clean - there had to be something else, absolutely had to be - when the sound of the door knob turning caught his attention. He remained in place, eyes focused on the door as it slowly opened to reveal his brother. Xeizii had gotten taller - not by much, but still… he looked more tired, more thin… even with the hospital stay. But he seemed… well. Immediately he set the towel he’d been using on the sill aside, not really sure what to do with his hands but he wanted so badly to hug him.
“Hello Xeizii.” He responded, feeling the corners of his mouth turn up in a small smile as he did. It felt good to see family again. To have someone he was connected to by more than shared culture or interests… He stepped forward, though paused as an adult he didn’t recognize came inside after Xeizii.
“Ah, this is your brother? Good to meet you, Prometheus. I’m just escorting Xeizii here with his things…” The adult flashed him a cheerful smile, then shuffled on past Xeizii over to the vacant bed to set his suitcases down on top of it. Prometheus watched them for a moment, then continued forward to Xeizii’s side.
“I cleaned up as best as I could. How are you feeling?” Despite his best efforts not to get too touchy- he reached out to place a hand on his brother’s thin, bony shoulder.
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Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2016 5:20 pm
Prometheus had gotten much taller- he couldn’t tell from the window, but as he approached Xeizii actually had to lift his head a little to maintain eye contact. He was probably going to be as tall as one of their fathers at this rate… That would make him happy. He scooted aside for his escort to come in, noting that Prometheus seemed wary of them.. Perhaps he thought they might take him away again. The idea made a lazy little smile cross his face for a moment… no, they wouldn’t take him away just yet. Not unless he got really, really sick again.
“I’m okay. I need a nice sit down, though… Is there a chair I can use?” He glanced around the room, dark eyes roaming over all of its features… So neat and orderly, not at all like home. Everything was everywhere in their little house. Prometheus of course leapt to life fetching him one. He carefully slid himself into it, thumping down hard as soon as he was a couple of inches from the surface - his legs had decided to give out right then… of course.
”I’ll bring your chair in next, okay?” His escort seemed to have noticed it- and chose that moment to step out into the hallway to get the wheelchair. They rolled it into the room, then placed it next to his bed-to-be. ”Here ya go. Don’t push yourself too hard. We’ll call in a few days to check up with you. Be sure to see the nurse when you can.” They came over and ruffled his hair - the disgruntled look on Promme’s face did not escape Xeizii’s notice - and then waved a goodbye before heading out.
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Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2016 5:22 pm
His legs were still weak… probably weaker than before- especially with the way he sat down. How were they going to work with that.. A cane? Perhaps… it might work… The escort mentioned a chair- his eyes flashed to the door as the adult brought in a wheelchair as if it were nothing at all, then… as quick as they’d appeared, left. But not before ruffling Xeizii’s hair as if he were their child. Prometheus was not sure how he felt about that…
“I did not realize you needed a cheir now… Hes it gotten thet bad?” Prometheus looked from the chair to his brother, who was attempting to straighten his hair out again. “The Academy is good about eccessibility, it will not be hard to nevigate the hallweys.” He nodded, pleased that at least Xeizii would have something easy for once.
He wanted so badly to ask about home- see how everything was doing… Judas, the math teacher, had told him not to return home but didn’t specify why. Xeizii probably knew. Probably. He was very sheltered, after all.
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Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2016 5:29 pm
Xeizii could only nod slightly… yes, it had gotten that bad, but he hoped that it wouldn’t be like that for very long. He’d rather like to actually get up and engage with people for once- schools were meant for that sort of thing, weren’t they? He’d never been around so many people in his life- it was both terrifying and exhilarating.
“It is fine, I think it will get better now thet I em here.” He managed a small, tired smile up at his brother. “I hev missed you very much, Prometheus. Home was not the same without you.” That was true, their parents were more and more agitated as time went on...they never really explained what was bothering them so much.
“Tell me about the school? Is it es nice es I was told it is?” Xeizii could sense Prometheus wanting to ask him a plethora of questions- but… he didn’t really have any answers for him. It was better to shift the subject before Promme could get his hopes up too high. At least, that’s what he thought was best.
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Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2016 6:06 pm
That... didn't exactly make Prometheus feel any better about the situation at home. Things were bound to be different, yes, but.. something about Xeizii's tone and expression said that something was going on after all. He needed to know.. but then the question about the school. He could spot a topic change when it was presented, and opted to respect it. It was Xeizii's first day at the school, there would be plenty of time to ask about home later.
"Eet ees. Et least, despite the obvious culture shock thet comes with living somewhere so... different from home, eet ees very nice here." He nodded solemnly, thinking back on his time at the school so far. It had been lonely at times, but... his friends had made it easier. They had become a sort of... family away from family.
"The teachers are very kind. They will explain things es meny times es you need them to." He'd had to have a few things re-explained in the past... Xeizii would likely need that as well. "The only thing I cennot really get used to ees the heat. During summer eet ees nearly suffocatingly hot."
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Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2016 6:10 pm
That was reassuring.. he'd been nervous about that, but Prometheus hadn't demanded too often to return home, so it must not be that bad... Xeizii thought that Prometheus was awfully brave for doing this on his own- he had the benefit of having his brother here for him while he adjusted... Prometheus had to go through all of that adjusting all by himself with only sporadic letters to provide comfort.
"I em glad to hear thet... They will probably need to explein a lot to me." He wheezed a little laugh, knowing full well that he was severely out of the loop for most... southern educated kids. He'd figured that out in the hospital when nurses would idly ask him questions just to keep his mind off of things.
"Do you hev friends here? I cennot remember you mentioning them in the letters thet I was able to read." Surely he had to- he'd been here so long! It wasn't like Promme was an unfriendly person, after all.
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Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2016 11:10 pm
Friends... he hadn't mentioned them in his letters? No, he had... Xeizii must not have been able to read any of the recent ones. He hadn't written about them in the beginning- the friendships were still too new, and.. admittedly he was still trying to return home. He had feared that mentioning that he was making friends would cement his stay at the Academy. Not that it really mattered, he was still here.
"Yes, I hev several friends." He nodded. Rather than continue standing, he paused for a moment to pull over another chair, then sat down across from Xeizii. "I cen tell you of them. Ustule is like us, she is from Boreas. Though her parents are... no longer around. Eet ees best not to mention them." He nodded, diving right into the topic since this was what Xeizii wanted to talk about.
"Then there ees Histeol. He is part litch, part Fallen. He ees Hallowed. He ees a very nice boy... his family lives near here so he does not live at the school." Honestly he could say a lot more about Histeol, but he chose to keep it short for now. "Perigor ees another friend. He ees also part litch, part demon. He ees... interesting. I think you will like him. He can be very loud sometimes, though." Prometheus figured that... interesting was the best way to describe Perigor... It wasn't a lie... and it wasn't really an insult. He did care for the orange hybrid, it was just hard to describe him.
"There ees also Parodia, but I hev not seen her in some time. She a baphomet, and is also Hallowed." Was that everyone...? Yes... he had a nice circle of friends, small, trusted... He should check in with them. He didn't really tell them anything before he started isolating himself... Hopefully they wouldn't be too mad.
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Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2016 11:14 pm
Xeizii watched as Prometheus got himself a chair, pleased that he was going to accept the topic change... He had been a little worried that he wouldn't- his topic changing skills were not the best after all. He nodded as he listened to their descriptions, a small smile coming to his face. "Oh, so you have made friends with people who are not litches." He couldn't help but laugh a little, barely audible really.
"Or et least, not part litch. Really Prometheus, you hev been here for so long end we are surrounded by people who are not like us, but you seem to hev only made friends with people similar to yourself." Not that Xeizii really had room to talk- he'd never really had friends to begin with that Prometheus hadn't brought to see him... Still, he'd kind of been expecting a broader list of races there. "Will I be able to meet them? Do you think they would like me?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2016 11:29 pm
Ah, of course Xeizii would point that out... honestly he had sort of made a conscious decision to... stick to his own. Not that he actively rejected attempts from people who were not at least part litch- he just... hadn't sought those friendships out himself. "Well... I suppose eet just heppened to be thet wey." He shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant about it.
"Oh, yes. I em sure they will like you. I should... contect them. I edmittedly hev not been a very good friend lately..." He wasn't about to go into detail- Xeizii didn't need to know what had caused his isolation. "But I em sure they will be excited to meet you. For now, let me help you unpeck?" He raised one brow, then nodded back at Xeizii's bags.
Xeizii of course accepted the assistance, though was unable to really help... Prometheus ended up putting everything away on his own, but he didn't mind. Anything to help his little brother.
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