A medical emergency

[fadingworld]

A deep navy cloak hides his features and the more ornate tunic the courtesan usually wears to greet his clients. Mal hunches his shoulders and slides through the crowds hoping to avoid notice. He keeps his head down until he reaches the home of the doctor and wraps smartly on the door. "Open up," he calls in a voice that expects to be listened to.

How much time did he have? He could not have a client bleeding out. Not this one. Not one who had come to him for help, to be treated privately.

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[fadingworld]

Mal immediately transfers his head into Regis lap, without thinking and shuts his eyes. “This is nice,” he says with a contented sigh, “No expectations, clothes on, just being close to someone. “ He yawns. I like it a lot. Good night.”

[mandragoraspiritus]

Regis hadn't expected that his lap would be serving as Mal's pillow but he just doesn't have teh heart to refuse when the young man settles in like that. Especially not with what Mal said. No expectations, just being close to someone. This man has known frighteningly little care and gentleness in his life, hasn't he?

After just a slight moment of hesitation, Regis lets a hand settle on Mal's shoulder. "Good night, Mal. Sleep well."

[fadingworld]

“Goodnight,” Mal murmurs. HE would never have dared ask for this sober. But he curls his body in, feeling warm and content, tired from the day and the recovery.

He doesn’t snore and would quite happily shift his head if Regis wanted to move.

[mandragoraspiritus]

The night hours pass and Regis is still there, still leaning back against the wall and has barely moved an inch. In the early hours of morning he starts to doze off, drifting easily and pleasantly somewhere between sleep and wakefulness, just gone enough that he isn't aware that by the time the sun has begun to rise he's started to gently comb his fingers through Mal's hair.

[fadingworld]

Mal wakes up to those fingers in his hair. Opening his eyes he finds himself looking up into Regis face. It takes him a moment to process where he is and what is going.

It was lovely he decides, apart from the headache, to wake up pain free, warm and content. “Good morning,” he says sweetly smiling up.

[mandragoraspiritus]

The sound of Mal's voice rouses Regis from his light slumber. His hand lifts away from Mal's hair and goes up to rub the sleep from his eyes as he blinks awake.

"Good morning." His yawn puts those sharp teeth of his on full display for a moment. "Did you sleep well?"

[fadingworld]

“I don’t remember falling asleep,” Mal says, having a momentary blink at the teeth. “So I must have slept well. I can’t believe you stayed all night with me! Weren’t you uncomfortable?”

[mandragoraspiritus]

"Not so much. I have slept in worse places." But now he does nudge Mal to remove his head from his lap. "Though I do believe that you are, or at least ought to be. Headache? Nausea?"

[fadingworld]

“There are drums beating in my head,” Mal says as he sits up. “But it was worth it.” For a night nothing had mattered. He leans back against the wall.

“I’d like to give those drummers the rest of the day off, if you’ve got a good headache cure handy.”

[mandragoraspiritus]

"I shall see what I can come up with." Of course he was cures for hangovers. A tea of willow bark, ginger and peppermint plenty sweetened with honey should help quite a bit. As would food and water.

"But you must come to the breakfast table to get it." He flashes something of a smirk and gets up, leaving the room. He won't allow Mal to lounge in his nest all morning.

[fadingworld]

The first day of his new life had begun. Mal curls his knees up and rests his chin on them. It's a thrill that it is already starting differently. Generally he had not started his day until the sun was high in the sky.

He gets up moments later but he doesn't make his way straight to the table. He goes to clean and brush his hair through before he dares show his face.

So he looks a lot fresh than he actually feels as he joins Regis.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Not that he could cook but he might be able to carry things to the table without breaking any plates.

[mandragoraspiritus]

Regis stands at the stove when Mal enters the kitchen. There is already a small pot of Mal's hangover tea steeping on the table beside a bowl of boiled eggs. Sizzling away on a pan under Regis watchful eyes are slices of bacon.

"I was beginning to think you had gone back to sleep," he mildly teases and then waves in the direction of the pantry. "You can find bread, butter and cheese in there."

[fadingworld]

Mal sniffs the air. His mind is delighted with the idea of food even if his stomach is not so sure yet. "I had to clean up before I came out," he explains.

He grins as he goes to the cupboard and teases, "I had to skip my daily milk bath though."

[mandragoraspiritus]

Regis is well aware that Mal's stomach ought to be unsettled after a night of drinking, but that is where the ginger and peppermint in his tea comes in.

"I dare say that the cost fo so much milk would completely ruin my budget," Regis teases back and then has to add on a somewhat more serious note. "You will have to get used to early mornings."

[fadingworld]

Mal brings the bread and cheese to the table, setting them carefully in the middle. "That might be the hardest thing to get used to," he admits. "I've never really had to get up early, but I will adjust and try not to grouse about it."


He blows on the tea before he takes a sip. "How much do you sleep?"

[mandragoraspiritus]

"Two, maybe three hours per night, usually towards morning." Deeming the bacon cooked through he takes the pan off the stove and brings it to the table. "I am, as I'm sure you can imagine, rather nocturnal by nature. Still, I have gotten used to keeping to hours more acceptable by human standards."

[fadingworld]

"Oh help, I don't think I can keep up with that for more than a few nights at a time." He doesn't think Regis would expect it of him but it would have been nice to be able to keep him company.

He thanks Regis prettily for the food. "At least I am used to odd hours that constantly vary."

[mandragoraspiritus]

"Oh no, I don't expect you to keep to my hours. For a human it would be outright detrimental to your health. Lack of sleep might be fine for a night or two but in extended periods it can have very ill effects."

He reaches for the bread and cuts off a couple of slices, helping himself to one and starts to tuck in. "Not to worry, I do not suffer through the quiet hours. Rather I find them peaceful."

[fadingworld]

Mal gets a feeling the feeling that Regis will keep him from doing most things that are detrimental to his health and that is not a bad thing.

"I am glad it is a peaceful time for you," Mal says tucking into the eggs. "I find dusk very peaceful, it's always been the time that I have had to myself."

[mandragoraspiritus]

"You might find that changing now, depending on the needs of the day, but I shall strive to ensure that you have some free time to spend as you please." He won't try to be a hard taskmaster, but sometimes the days are long and busy.

"As for today I thought I would leave you until noon to run any more errands that you might feel you need, but after that I plan to set you to study."

[fadingworld]

Mal considers this. He's never really spent much time out on his own. A short expedition to wander and watch people would be lovely and he hopes not to frivalous ise of time.

"What will I get to study today? More parts of the human body?"

[mandragoraspiritus]

"Yes, I plan so. We have already made a tentative start, and ultimately, the body is what we ill be working with. Understanding of how it is built and how it functions will make it easier to understand things that ails it."

[fadingworld]

Mal grins, "Excellent. I can't believe I was falling asleep over it the last time. I hope now I am much better, the bones don't send me to sleep the same way."

[mandragoraspiritus]

Regis raises an eyebrow at that. "Last time you were fighting off a fever. It was hardly surprising that you were exhausted. This time will be different, I'm sure."

And this time? This time Regis will have expectations.

[fadingworld]

"It will be," Mal says with quiet determination. He is not going to give Regis a chance to regret his decision to take him on.

"Will you be going out on calls while I study?"