Chapter Text
“Can I get my own bedroom? Without you in it,” Finral asked. He was slouched in the common room window seat watching the birds on the sill outside. They were snapping up the remains of his breakfast. “You snore, Yami.”
“Yeah, well, you talk in your sleep. And never lie still.”
“See, it’ll help you get a better rest too.”
But Yami was reluctant. The boy was still dozing through most of the day and if he woke through the night he was confused about where and when he was. Owen had warned them he would need months of recovery time after the injuries he had sustained in Ayre. There had been a long list of possible complications. So far they were having enough trouble with the headaches and the concentration.
“Choose a room, but there’s a futon going in too. Then someone can sleepover. It doesn’t have to be me. Bet you wouldn’t say that Vanessa snores.”
“She won’t sleepover. She’s being sort of…” the boy waved his hand as he struggled for the word.
Yami sighed. “Reluctant. Yeah. I noticed.”
“That’s it. But I can get my own room. That’s great. I’m going to look now.” He slipped off the seat and wobbled. He had to use the furniture to regain his balance, but frowned at the arm Yami had put out automatically. “I can manage.”
“Sure. Whatever you say, grumpy. Don’t take too long. I don’t want to have to send out a search party.”
“You won’t.” He was limping on the weaker left leg, but he was managing on his own two feet. Yami chose to ignore the way he paused to lean on the door frame on the way out. The boy wanted to try this on his own, then Yami would let him.
But he was starting to feel antsy when Vanessa arrived later with a sandwich and a bottle of wine. How long did it take to find a room in a house that was at least eighty percent bedrooms?
“Where’s Finral?” she asked. She may have been holding herself back from the boy, but she wanted to know everything he was doing. “Is he still going on about his own bedroom? There’s one beside the stairs on the second floor with a spare futon in it already.”
“Yeah. He said he was going to look for one.”
“When?”
“Half an hour ago.”
“Should it take him this long?”
Yami lit a cigarette. “Maybe I should show him the room you found. He’s probably got himself turned round and lost.”
Vanessa snorted. “Finral doesn’t get lost. I’ll wait here for him.”
But the boy was not on the second or third floor. Yami found the room with the futon, but there was no sign that Finral had even opened the door.
Where on earth could he be? It was not as if he could have walked far and he could hardly climb many stairs. Yami went back to the ground floor again. Maybe he had not even attempted the steps.
There was no reply when he shouted Finral’s name, but Vanessa poked her head out of the common room. “No luck?”
“He’s not on the two floors above. I thought I’d try here next.”
“But there aren’t any bedrooms on this floor.”
“I know. But he was limping on that leg, I don’t think he could have managed all the stairs.”
Vanessa downed her glass and said, “Right, I’ll look on the top floors and I’ll show him that room if I find him.” She did not sound worried, but there was a tightness about her mouth that telegraphed her concern.
Yami checked the big bathroom and the two closets without success. When he opened the kitchen door he almost missed the silent figure standing in the corner.
“Hey, Finral. What are you doing here?”
There was no reply. The boy continued to stare at the wall without acknowledging Yami’s presence.
“Finral,” he said again as he touched the boy’s arm.
The boy jerked back and almost stumbled. “Y… Yami.”. He glanced around the darkened kitchen as though he was as surprised as Yami to find himself there. “What… what am I doing here?”
“I was asking you the same question.”
“I shouldn’t. I wasn’t meant to be here.” His breathing was speeding up and he was looking around the room as if expecting a threat. His ki was full of confusion and fear.
“Hey, Finral. It’s okay. It’s just the kitchen. How about we go to the common room and see what Vanessa is doing?”
“Yami?”
“Yeah.”
“What am I doing?”
“No idea kid.”
Finral allowed himself to be directed out of the kitchen. His left leg was shaky and he was dragging it worse than before. Beyond the door he stopped and looked around in confusion again. “Yami?”
“Yeah, Finral.” He took the boy’s hand and felt his ki settle from fear to simple confusion. “Come this way.”
“Okay.”
The physical contact seemed to settle the worst of the distress, but he was no more aware by the time they reached the common room. Yami deposited him on a chair and for a moment the boy gazed around the room as if he had never seen it before.
Yami did not want to leave him on his own, because who knew where he would end up. “Stay there,” he instructed, then went to the door and yelled for Vanessa and Gordon.
When he turned around, Finral was pacing the edges of the room. He was stumbling even more now.
“Finral. Sit down before you fall over.”
No response.
Yami took his hand again and nudged him back to the sofa. When he sat, Yami sat beside him and kept a grip of his hand. The presence seemed to be enough as the boy curled up against Yami’s arm and closed his eyes.
There were footsteps hurrying in the corridor, then Vanessa shoved the door open to crash against the wall. Finral flinched but did not open his eyes at the noise. “Way to make an entrance Vanessa.”
“Where’d you find him?”
“The kitchen.”
“What was he doing there?”
“He asked me the same question. He didn't know what was going on. I had to bring him here and then he wouldn’t sit still unless I was holding his hand.” He lifted their joined hands to demonstrate. “He fell asleep and now I’ve got cramp in my arm.”
Vanessa frowned. “We need to tell Owen.”
“Yeah. We do. He’s coming tomorrow.”
Finral woke after an hour and seemed much more like himself. “I was what?”
“You were in the kitchen staring at the wall. You were meant to be looking for a bedroom.”
Finral blushed. “I don’t remember. Maybe I was hungry.”
“You weren’t eating anything,” Yami said. “Look. Don’t go wandering off without telling someone where you are. This is a big building, who knows where you might end up. Vanessa found you a room anyway.”
“Me and Gordon are going to move your stuff over.”
“I can help,” he said, but he was already drifting off to sleep.
“I think we can manage.”
Finral dozed on the sofa all afternoon. He woke to nibble what Charmy put in front of him for dinner then fell asleep before she removed the plate. Vanessa tucked a blanket around him and he never twitched.
It was getting dark when Yami decided that he needed his arm back. He levered the sleeping boy onto the other side of the sofa and stood up.
“Finral. You wanted your own room. Bedtime.”
The boy opened his eyes. For a minute his gaze was vacant and his eyes shot wide. Then, with a shake of his head he almost focused on Yami. He looked bemused at the offered arm, so Yami pulled him up by the elbow.
“Shit, but you’re out of it today.”
“Hmm. I feel sort of disconnected.”
“Right. Sleep. Tomorrow will be better.”
He stood and looked at Yami but did not make any effort to move.
“Where are we going?”
“Bed, Finral. You wanted your room, remember.”
“Oh, yeah.”
Yami took his hand for fear of losing him again.
Once in his room, Yami had to remind him why they were there. Gordon was better with the dressing, but Yami tried by first throwing clothes onto the bed, then manhandling the pliant boy into the pyjamas when he stared at them for too long. He curled into a ball away from Yami and he seemed to sleep.
Yami watched him for a long time before settling down on the futon.
--
Owen visited before lunch the next day. Finral was more like himself, but unable to explain what had happened. He submitted to Owen’s examination under Yami’s watchful gaze, but aside from the weakness in the left leg, almost zero fine motor control and the perceptual issues Owen found nothing new.
Finral glanced at Yami before saying, “I got my own room. I didn’t sleep so well.”
“You were sleeping fine when I watched you,” Yami said.
“But you snore Yami. I told you.”
“And the headaches?” Owen asked.
Finral shrugged. “They’re okay I guess. The painkillers help. I think I took some yesterday. He... he had them. Him.” He waved his hand around his face.
“You mean Gordon.”
“Yeah. Him. He has them.”
“So Gordon gave you painkillers before you went wandering?” Yami asked. “Was it at breakfast?”
Finral shrugged. “I guess so. I never thought about it.”
“That could be the reason,” Owen said. He opened his case and pulled out a paper bag with tablets inside. “That medication can have side effects. These ones might suit you better.” Finral took the packet and excused himself. He did not look at Yami or Owen as he left, even though it was obvious that they were going to talk about him.
Yami watched him go. “Are you sure Owen? He was really spaced out yesterday. I’ve not seen him like that since he woke up. And that can’t be normal.” He pointed to the door. “He’s not a little bit interested in us talking about him.”
The Recovery Mage nodded. “He had a serious injury Yami. It’s remarkable how well he’s doing considering the extent of the damage. It's only been three weeks and the fact that he’s up and about at all is more than I expected. It’s going to take longer for him to get back to normal.”
“He’s never tried to use his magic.”
“That’s probably for the best. If he’s having difficulty with reading and distance perception the magic will take a bit longer to come back.”
“And his concentration is shot to pieces. He forgets names. He can never remember Gordon, and sometimes he forgets Vanessa’s name even though they used to be thick as thieves. I’m not sure he remembers what I said at the start of the conversation by the end. He can’t read.” Yami sighed. “But you said it was going to take months for him to get back to normal. You had that list of complications.”
“He can’t wake up after that kind of injury and go straight back to normal. He’s still got a long road to go, but he’s doing well. That leg is improving every time I see it. His coordination and fine control will improve too. We have to be patient Yami.”
“Okay. Yeah. No choice really. Do you want to stay for lunch?”
“I can’t stay long. The infirmary’s stressful at the moment.”
Vanessa had found Finral in the corridor and taken him to the kitchen. They were sitting at the table when Yami and Owen joined them. “Care to explain these?” she said, holding out the paper bag. “Dozy didn’t have a clue what they were.”
Finral shrugged. “I don’t remember what I was supposed to do with them.”
“Owen thinks that yesterday’s wandering might have been a side effect of the tablets. Those are different painkillers,” Yami explained.
“The other ones were maybe too strong. These should help with the headaches without being overly sedating,” Owen said. “Can you pass the salt?”
Vanessa pocketed the tablets. “I’ll give them to Gordon.”
“That would be safest.”
Finral was gazing at the little birds on the window sill and did not say anything. He pushed his food around the plate until Yami said, “Eat that. Stop playing with it.”
“Sure. Sorry Yami.”
Yami would accept the two bites before his attention wandered again as a win.
Owen finished his meal quicker than usual. Now that Yami looked at him properly, he did look tired and distracted. “Thank you for lunch, but I need to get back. It’s nice to come here for a bit of peace.”
“Never thought anyone would come to the Black Bulls for peace,” Yami said.
“It could be the catering,” Owen said, with a nod of thanks to Charmy.
Charmy cackled in delight.
But before he left, Owen was silent for a moment as he watched Finral gazing out the window. “I think I’ll come back in a couple of days. Give the infirmary a call if anything changes. Anything at all. It’s probably just the tablets and poor sleep, but if it’s something more serious, I need to know about it. You’ve got a communication disc?”
“We’ve got Maigret’s one. That linked straight to you last time.”
“It'll link to the infirmary's main desk now. Any changes, Yami, I want to know.”
“But you’ll be back in two days no matter what.”
“Yes.”
Vanessa said she would walk him to the portal location in the garden. That left Yami and Finral in the kitchen on their own.
“You gonna eat any more of that? Or can I give it to the animals?”
“Hmm. Oh. No. I don’t think so. I’m not… not… what was that word again?”
“Hungry? You’re not hungry?”
“Yeah. That. I’m going to the common room.”
He pushed himself up and limped from the kitchen.
Yami cleaned up the lunch things. Normally he would have left it for Charmy, but he needed the privacy to think.
Despite Owen’s reassurance there was something deeply unsettling about the change in Finral. Last week he’d been full of rage at the limitations being imposed on him. He’d argued about the no magic rule. The exercises that Owen made him do were both too easy and too hard, the light was too bright and the room either too busy or not busy enough. The food was too hot. Then it was too cold. Yami’s voice was too loud, Gordon too quiet and why was Vanessa following him everywhere? Then it was as if someone had flipped a switch, the anger evaporated and they were left with a washed out, vacant version of the boy that they knew. Yami understood that it was the head injury, and maybe the medication. But he’d been taking those tablets last week with no problem. The headaches had been worse when he’d been frustrated.
Yami decided he would speak to Gordon once the dishes were finished. He needed to know how many tablets Finral had taken for the pain.
Gordon was in the common room with tea and an ancient magic encyclopedia from the library. Vanessa was fiddling with a magical device to play music.
Finral was not there. Oh shit.
Vanessa said it first. “Where is he?”
“I thought he was here. This is where he said he was going.”
Vanessa scowled at him. “Yami. The kid got lost looking for a bedroom yesterday. He never gets lost.”
That was a good point. “Gordon. You stay here. If he comes back, you corral him and don’t let him out of your sight. Whoever finds him brings him back, and lets the other person know. We meet up in half an hour.”
Gordon nodded, and muttered something that better be agreement.
Vanessa took the lower floors, Yami headed upstairs.
Normally, he loved this building. It was rambling and confusing and never the same two days in a row. Today he hated this building because it was rambling and confusing and never the same two days in a row. Finding his own bedroom was hard enough. How was he meant to find a sleepwalking spacial mage.
He checked each room that he passed on the second and third floor. He found his bedroom, the ever unpredictable library and a brand new music room he had never seen before. There was Charmy’s bedroom and the small pantry that liked to stay near it.
But there was no sign of Finral. Maybe they should get him a bell.
He had just started on the fourth floor when he heard Vanessa call his name.
“Yeah, Vanessa, I’m here.”
“I found him.” She jogged up to join him.
“Where the hell was he?”
“Sleeping in the racquetball court. Passed out in the corner of the room. I got him up and he’s with Gordon now. It was like waking the dead and I almost had to carry him to the common room. Don’t think he’s going anywhere else this afternoon. He curled up on Gordon like he did on you yesterday and he’s snoring away.”
“Damn. What are we going to do with him?”
“I don’t think we can let him out of our sight. Someone’s going to have to stick to him all the time. I don’t care if he thinks we’re overcrowding him.”
“He’s in no state to object at the moment.”
“Agreed.”
Finral was curled against Gordon and drooling on the quiet man’s shirt. Gordon did not seem to mind. He told Yami and Vanessa something, but Yami would be damned if he knew what it was.
The boy was pale. He had dark rings under his eyes. Yami would have assumed he had not been sleeping if it was not for the fact that he had slept most of yesterday. There was blood on his face from where he had bitten through his lip. That was new. They needed to speak to Charmy about feeding him up too.
What a mess.
Vanessa made them all tea.
Gordon started to speak, then creased his face in concentration and said loud enough for the others to hear. “What's wrong with him?”
“Owen thought it might be the painkillers for his headache. He gave us new ones to try.”
Gordon frowned. “He hasn't been taking them. I’ve not given him any for three days.”
“He told Owen he had some yesterday.”
Gordon shook his head. He started to speak, then made an effort to increase the volume. “No. He never said he had a headache.”
Yami and Vanessa shared a look, then at the sleeping boy.
“Owen said he was going to come back in a couple of days. Until then, someone is with him at all times,” Yami said.
Gordon and Vanessa both nodded.
Finral slept for the rest of the afternoon. Vanessa got the little musical device to play and Gordon managed to prop his encyclopedia up against the table so he could read despite Finral’s head on his lap. When it was time to eat, Charmy brought food into the common room.
“Finral,” Yami said. “You gonna wake up and have something to eat?”
The boy opened his eyes, but it was the same vacant stare as yesterday. Without answering he closed them again.
“Finral. At least drink something.”
“Tired. Leave me alone, Langris,” he mumbled without opening his eyes.
“It’s Yami. And you need to wake up and drink something.”
“Yeah. Yeah. Okay.” But he made no move to sit up until Gordon helped him. Even then his eyes were closed more often than open, and he only managed to drink because Gordon held the glass for him. He leaned into Gordon’s arm once he had had a couple of mouthfuls and his breathing settled back to sleep.
Gordon glanced at Yami, who shrugged. They were never going to get him to eat if he would not wake up.
Yami carried the boy to his bedroom once he had finished his own meal. Might as well let Gordon get the use of his arm back. Vanessa joined him on the futon and they played checkers. She only drank one glass of wine.
Gordon knocked just as Vanessa was planning to go to her own room. He was carrying a clean set of pyjamas, so Yami left him to it. He had got very good at his nursing duties. When he let Yami back into the room, Finral was tucked under his blankets and still asleep.
“Did he wake up?” Yami asked.
Gordon shook his head. He looked back at Finral in concern.
“Yeah. I’m worried too. If he’s still like this tomorrow, we call Owen back. Something feels wrong.”