[Rainbowfox Ari]

Human Form

The train ride had been a long one, and he'd informed Strages to pick him up at this spot at this time. Unfortunately, the train ride hadn't been the only tiring thing in Aaron's life lately. The war. Seeing death for the first time. Having his son die before his eyes. Having children... Stress. Stress. Stress. So it was really no wonder that the poor Lucain boy collapsed the moment he got a safe distance away from the train. His legs just crumpled, and he fell unconscious, onto his side, back facing the direction Strages would come, the visitor's pickup entrance. He had no energy left. To anyone else, it looked as though he was dead.

It was starting to get late, and most of the train passengers passed him by without a second glance, as they had to get home to their families, or were running late for meetings and whatnot. They didn't have the time to deal with 'presumably' drunk teenagers sleeping in the middle of walkways. He was kicked a few times, off to the side, but he remained with his back facing the entrance. His eyes were closed. It was easy to see how people could look at him as drunk. Especially considering what time it was.

[ToxicShadow]

Being informed, Strages couldn't describe how he felt to get wind of the news. He would have much preferred if it hadn't been at a later time, since he would have to skip the end of work to pick him up instead of just taking the day off. It meant that he'd work, but wouldn't be able to set foot on stage. If you weren't on stage while working at a theater, it wasn't exactly entertaining. Plus, it left him anxious all day, hardly able to focus on work at all. Coming from work, he would have usually been in one of the character based outfits, much like before, with a corset in such. No, he made his life easy with at least what he wore. His usual black pants and a T-shirt. A whole heck of a lot simpler then his other wear.

As he reached the station, his once stolen car [which he completely claimed as his own by now] was parked out front. The keys jingled as he stored them away in his pocket, eyes scanning for his beloved. Tossed over his shoulder was a bag of his random collection. Aaron never was well coming from war. He would always bring stuff along while coming to meet him.
Okay. Let's see. Not him. Not him. Most definitely not him. He continued his way through the station, looking about. Until he spotted him. 'Oh crap' didn't even BEGIN to describe it. Just then, he ran, his heart pounding against his chest. It felt like he was going to puke it up at any second. So many thoughts smashed into his mind, he couldn't coherently form a single thought. Right when he reached him, he hefted him up into his arms, sending a death glare to a man in a business suit walking by in a hurry. The man looked away and went on his way. Frantic, he took him from the open area inside the enclosed part of the building as fast as his feet would carry them.
Sitting down in a bench with the unconscious Aaron in his lap, he felt cold. He was about to slip the bag from his shoulder and dig for something that he'd brought when he suddenly recalled something. How stupid was he? He'd forgotten...Freeing a hand, it wrapped tightly around the charm of the necklace he'd been given. He never took it off, so it became very much a part of him. He was so used to it, he failed to remember it was there. Now, he preyed to all the gods, that it would deliver better news.

[Rainbowfox Ari]

Even for as still as the boy was, the gentle pulse of the necklace told that his heart was still beating. A tad irregular, but that was fairly normal for Aaron. He was just utterly exhausted. In the dying light of the sun, his skin looked radiant, if pale. His face like that of a sleeping angel. He really WAS handsome. And he was all Strages'. He'd lost weight. A LOT of weight. Easily able to feel his ribs as he held him probably worried his lover no end. Not to mention his skin was cold, and pretty much all he had on was a t-shirt and jeans. Not exactly winter-type clothing. His hair was slightly greasy from not being washed in days, but he'd made an effort to scrub his body before he left, and smelled faintly of lavender. His eyes were sunken in his head, and his whole being screamed that he was utterly exhausted.
The heart-pendant gave a few skips in a row, matching his own beat. He wasn't dying, but his heart couldn't take being awake much longer. And this proved he WAS awake. Indeed, he opened his eyes weakly, and offered Strages a wan smile. His eyes had lost their shine, lost the luster they usually had. He was broken right now. Strages could fix him.

"H...hi love.... M..miss me?"

[ToxicShadow]

Strages heaved a sigh of relief, feeling the beat of the pedant acting normal, Aaron's version of normal. Always different from a normal's normal. "I swear if I didn't love you so much, I'd kill you for making me fret so much!" He said then, somewhat huffy. It covered some of his worry, but hardly very well. He couldn't stay mad at his lover, it was impossible. He wasn't even really mad to begin with. He released his hold on the necklace, pressing his lips very tenderly to Aaron's, as if afraid that he'd shatter if he wasn't so careful. He looked awful. He looked very well dead. Obviously, most people didn't even know any better. How could they? "No question that I missed you. Come on, let's get you home." He breathed, situation the other Lucain so that he was leaning against him and he could dig into the bad he had. Producing a blanket, he was quick to toss it over Aaron before getting back to carry him. He had a lot of practice with this, and he was so light now. More so then before. All he could think about was getting him out of here, getting him out safely.

[Rainbowfox Ari]

When Strages picked him up, his breath caught in his throat. Still some unhealed wounds on the inside. Not like they had anything but medics at the base. Aside from Darian - and Darian had done all he could with the supplies he had. Which weren't many. He gritted his teeth, and tried to breathe normally, but ended up rasping. His heart pounded, a counter-rhythm to what was even HIS normal. So tired.... Drained...

"M'glad...." he slurred, eyes starting to close. "Ches' 'urts... bu' s'ok...."

With that, he closed his eyes completely, and leaned into Strages, head resting against his shoulder. He was tired, limp, and almost completely out of it. He was still awake, though - keeping himself that way. Which probably wasn't the best for his heart.

[ToxicShadow]

The older male flinched slightly, thinking somewhat to himself how he should have been more careful. If that was even possible. Still, he'd nag himself for it mentally now. He stopped walking, long enough to see that Aaron was, at the very least, alive and functioning enough to continue. "Sleep. I'm not leaving. You'll be safe and well soon enough." He commanded lightly. He needed to sleep, no question about that. He had to. No reason to stain himself to stay awake. Strages wouldn't let anything happen to him. They'd get his beloved over his dead body. Quite literally. He was that type.
He got to the car, juggling the other male to get his keys and unlock the door, sliding him into the passenger seat, buckling him in and reclining the chair. He made him as comfortable as he could, with the use of blankets. In the same time, he tossed the bag behind the driver's seat. Shut the door, and took his place behind the wheel. His eyes were on the other Lucain, ever wary. How he'd focus to drive was beyond him, unless he looked at it that both lives were stake if he didn't focus on the task.

[Rainbowfox Ari]

His love's words were all it took before Aaron finally drifted off into sleep for the first time in about a week and a half. Real sleep. Restful sleep. His breathing slowed. Heart-rate calmed. Head lolled as the car moved, to whichever direction the car was turning. He was indeed fast asleep. And warm now. He was starting to get a little color back to that death-pale face. But not enough of it. The moonlight filtered through the car windows, through the branches of trees as Strages drove, illuminating new scars. His beloved was NOT in good shape. Physically, or mentally. As before noted, he was utterly broken. A discarded toy, so to speak. Strages would be the only one to fix him. But first, he had to get him home, give him a checkup, get some food and water in him, and let him sleep. Preferably in that order.

[ToxicShadow]

Strages was a fast driver, as usual. He wasn't exactly one to obey the law, any real law. Killing, stealing, speed limits. He did as he pleased, that was that. He wouldn't let this world limit him. Played by his own rules, down till the very end. It was almost scary to think of what extremes he may go through in death, just to will it to his own wishes. Anyway. While driving, he'd glance back to Aaron, even take hold of the heart pendent, to check on how he was doing. For the most part, the roads were empty, so speeding was an easy task. Once they pulled onto the road leading to the obscure location to the property in which he resided, it was completely empty.

They arrived in decent time, the driving male pulling up to park and kill the ignition. He slipped the keys back to his pocket when he got out, walking around the car to pick Aaron back up and take him in the house. The house which just so happened to be exploding with family. The large cabin was filled and bustling. Everyone heard the news, so everyone was up and about. The youngest daughter, Nardat, was off in the kitchen with her grandmother, trying her luck at cooking with the older one's advice. Liam was watching TV in the living room, boredly, just to pass the time. Intrepidus was with him on the sofa, though on the far opposite from him, curled up with a book. She'd read a bit of it, watch a small part of the show, and read some more. It appeared to be something on poetry, one of the books both she and her sister read. The truly most detached son, the one that used to suck up to the one father that he knew, he was sitting at the kitchen table, going over some sort of research papers. Even Ente, Nitidus and Ente's adopted son was there. Plus Aaron and Strages' grandson, Vivax. That group was conversing together, and trying to keep the young Kuhna entertained. Missing anyone? Possibly. There really was quite a group there.

Strages barged the door open with Aaron in his arms, and Liam was already on his feet and Nardat peeking around the corner from the kitchen. These two were particularly excited about finally being able to meet their other father, while the older of the siblings weren't so excited. They'd grown up too much and had divided too much previously to stay knit with everyone. Though Vivax wanted to know his other grandfather, since he was taken in by Strages and Strages loved Aaron. Liam would have greeted them happily, if only he hadn't seen his sickly father, well, sickly. He dodged out of their way, the one beelining it for the closest cushioned furniture, the cushion. "Intre, move." He didn't have time to be nice. The female jumped up from her place, switching the TV off as Strages lowered his lover onto the couch. Try to remain gentle, he attempted to wake him. "Aaron, Aaron. Love, wake up. I need to check up on you." He at least wanted to give him a warning.

And, by then, everyone who was interested was hovering about. Adze didn't leave his seat and papers, but he at least was looking in the direction to see what was going on.

[Rainbowfox Ari]

Aaron was slow to respond. And when he finally did, he was groggy and disoriented. He yawned, then realized his throat hurt, so raised a hand to rub it, as if that was going to help. He didn't have the strength to move far. Nor did he have the voice with which to speak at the moment. His heart started jerking around randomly, and he ALMOST went out again, but managed to control himself, and keep awake. Trying to sit up proved to be an exercise in futility, and trying to move at ALL was not a good idea, as it was messing with his heart.

Benji, perhaps, had the strongest reaction. But he didn't say a word. Just climbed to the top of the counter, and stared as though he couldn't get enough. After a while, he tugged on his father's sleeve.

"Dad... you're a doctor... can you go see what's wrong?"

An innocent enough request, but Ente would know by now that two spirits inhabited this body - both of which called him 'dad'. This was the older spirit speaking. It was evident by the tone and pitch of his normally-childish voice. It was deeper. Fuller. Not to the extent of being creepy, though.

[ToxicShadow]

Before Benji could manage his request, Strages was already pulling Aaron's shirt off so he could get a clear shot at his heart. Okay, that wasn't true. He'd cut it off with his claws to make it simple. Honestly, he didn't care at all who happened to be there. He just wanted to make sure that he ended up doing better. Everyone else wasn't exactly shocked at the sight, since the relative that they knew was obviously worried. What some of them were shocked about, particularly Nitidus and Akaona, was the odd intensity the felt pouring off Strages in waves. Let us just say, they didn't expect such an occurrence. They were happy for them, yes, but they were still shocked, since he grew up so entirely messed up in the head. Blood had gotten the better of him throughout his life.

Ente glanced at his adopted child, knowing full well which half was speaking. He rose an eyebrow in questioning, but he was doctor. At that, of course he felt the urge to tend to anyone who was in need. In reality, a doctor was the perfect job for him. He and his brother being very much the opposites in the matters of violence and damaging other living beings. "Strages, maybe I should-" He was cut off by a death glare. He sighed. "I know. But I'm a doctor, you're not. Don't you want what is best for him?" Besides, they were nearly brothers-in-law. Even if he didn't know Aaron personally, he was close to Strages, that was enough for him. But Strages was a little too hard headed and protective to agree to that. The fraternal twins didn't have to speak to argue. And there argument wasn't going well. The few in the know, who were were around them for a long time or really close to one of them, would be aware of their dispute. That narrowed down to both of them, Akaona, Nitidus, and most likely Aaron, being so close to Strages. Possibly Benji too, on Ente's side.

[Rainbowfox Ari]

Aaron reached out a hand to rest on Strages' arm. An impossibly cold hand. He looked worse. But he managed to smile, and gave his love a little shake of the head.

"Let him, Jes... He's only a doctor. Besides... you know who my heart REALLY belongs to..."

He squeezed the arm slightly, and then suppressed a round of coughing and a soft moan. It WOULD be better to let the doctor take a look at him. Aaron was right, there.

Benji still watched from the counter. He wouldn't interrupt. He knew it was too important right now to be going over family ties. And he could feel the tension in the room. Aaron was right, and the two fighting probably knew it. If he were getting worse and not better, quite honestly, Strages probably wouldn't know what to do. Ente actually worked at the hospital. And with Benji's heart the way it was, he was no stranger to that sort of problem. But Benji was pretty worried, watching, waiting. Aaron was growing worse by the minute, and if they didn't find out why, there wasn't going to BE an Aaron left to fight over. On the other hand, that was probably an exaggeration... probably.

Aaron spoke again, and sighed quietly as he went into another round of coughing. It sounded like all this exhaustion wasn't the only thing wrong.

"Jes... please... understand? He's a doctor... I want to teach you to be one... but... I can't yet."

[ToxicShadow]

Well, that was beside the point. But the more violent of the brothers sighed in admittance. He just couldn't help how he was. It was always a fight between the brothers, such different views they had. It was hard to understand that they both loved each other to the extent that they'd happily die for each other, die with each other. What got Strages to make the decision was Aaron, since he started speaking and acting, making himself worse. He stood aside, smiling gently to his love and nodding toward his brother. His eyes, however, held warning.

"I know, I know. You'll kill me, and cause your's, mother's and Niti's chain death over the matter. You're just that rash." Ente responded, fetching the bag of supplies that he'd brought with him. He and the other Lucain were similar in that way, always prepared. He was in the bag right away, slipping the ear pieces to a stethoscope into his ears and pressing it to the sickly Lucain's chest. It was normal procedure to start this way.

Beside him, Strages wasn't very pleased about ANY of the turn of events. His tails were flicking, watching Ente set to work. Almost jealous.
Nitidus came around, hugging him from behind quickly, as friends do, and pulled back to stand beside him She'd forever love her friends, even if it had hurt to have the one you believed to really love choose someone else over you. "Things will be fine, Jessy. You know how crazy Ente is about his patients." She tried to comfort him. She was worried for Aaron too, but fretting so horribly about it wasn't good for their health. She trusted Incruente.

Meanwhile, Nardat had linked arms with both of her other siblings standing around. Intre linked in one arm, Liam in the other. If she would have had a third arm, she would have captured her nephew who happened to be older then she, Ivax. The meeting of their father wouldn't very well work if things didn't turn out okay. They were left on their toes.

[Rainbowfox Ari]

Aaron was quiet as he let Ente listen to the beating of his heart. He closed his eyes, exhausted. The heart was sickly, as much as the boy was. Racing. Weak. Irregular. A lot like... Benji's heart. During an attack. Without much warning, his head started to loll, and his limbs to go limp. The heart jerked a bit, and stuttered. So tired... he was so tired...

"Love...." he murmured. "Hand?..."

He reached out for Strages' hand, not able to really stay awake all that long. His head was lolling before he was so exhausted, not because he was asleep. He just didn't have any energy.

"Tired..."

Ente would hear the heart skip again. Boy needed medication to stabilize him. Then food - which would give him more energy, and the added ability to fight off whatever attacked his system.

[ToxicShadow]

Right away, the doctor found recognition between his adopted son's and Aaron's hearts. They acted very much the same. This was rather unusual, since even Benji's heart was somewhat of a mystery. At least with what caused it. But that factor also made this a good bit easier to deal with. It meant that Ente had the suitable medication with him at this very moment. That was a benefit for everyone. He hurried to get the bottle from his supply bag, requesting that someone get him a glass of water in case it was needed. The only downside was that the sickly Lucain would have to be conscious enough to swallow the pill.

Strages was right there in a heart beat, beside Aaron, a hand laced within his. As he was showing signs of collapsing again, he worked to support him, running his other hand back and forth, rubbing up and down his back while avoiding getting in his brother's way. "Love, stay awake. You need the medication." He said softly, urging him up enough to take the digoxin pill that Incruente was offering now.

The males' mother, Akaona, had been the one to fetch the water, what with being closest to kitchen as it was. If it was needed, it was good and there.

"Keep in mind that there are side effects to this medication." He added. It seemed like the best for this situation, but it could come at a small price. "Lack of appetite, headaches, dizziness, weakness, nausea, blurred vision. None of them may happen, but it could. There is no doubt that he needs food, water and a whole lot of rest." But all that, he could leave to Strages.

[Rainbowfox Ari]

Aaron managed to stay awake long enough to take the pills, before he slumped to the couch again, leaned against Strages, fast asleep. Benji, curious, moved over, and touched Aaron's leg. His own senses jerked to life, and he had to repress a delighted squeal. His brother! This was his brother! Then the name had NOT just been coincidence, as he'd originally thought. That made him happy. So he shifted into Kuhna form, and curled up by the fire.
Aaron was still out, though - and likely would be for a while. He was already tired. The medication probably just made SURE that he passed out. Which wasn't exactly a bad thing. He needed the sleep. And loss of consciousness meant dreamless sleep. Regardless of this, however, keeping a tab on Aaron's heart [via necklace or stethoscope] would probably be a good idea. So would cooking. Once Aaron had some food in his stomach, it would be easier for him to stay awake for longer periods of time. Thus, less stress on everyone else. Strength was not something to underestimate. Neither was the effectiveness of a good meal.