Snake's eyes immediately brightened as the source of the smell was shown to him. He had never had this.. stew, but it certainly looked delicious. Now that he was somewhat conversing with the man, he realized he wasn't as scary as he had initially thought. He was actually.. quite nice, just like Lucien had said. The other man had risen to his feet and took the jar from Faolan, before setting up a pot over the fire they had made to warm it up, stirring on occasion. The stronger smell hit him immediately, and his eyes shifted from Lucien to the pot, before looking toward Faolan.

"Nose good, eyes too." He said, in regards to his other comment. Perhaps those skill sets could be helpful to them? He wasn't sure. His eyes were very good at seeing and finding sources of warmth, it was what made hunting a lot easier back in the day, along with his strong sense of smell. Considering they were in the forest right now.. he wished that he was able to show them that, but.. considering the weakness in his legs he doubted he'd be able to for a while.. it was unfortunate.. since he really missed being able to live that way.. more free.

"He told me that before the circus, he used to live with that snake he has there in a forest back in Germany." Lucien spoke up as he continued to stir the soup.

"Do you like forests?" Lucien asked him, since he was unsure of whether his experiences with them were positive or negative.

Snake nodded at his question. Even though it was cold at times.. he still enjoyed the freedom he had there.. it was at least.. much better than the orphanage.

It was at least good to hear he liked them, because it meant that camping out in the forest would be something he would probably enjoy, as opposed to being scared of the dark or something of the sort. When the soup was heated properly, Lucien served it, and handed the boy the bowl. He peeked at it, but appeared a little deterred.

"Is it too hot?" He asked him.

"Yes.." He responded quietly, but Lucien smiled at him.

"That's alright, people like different temperatures, feel free to let it cool." He told him.

The boy nodded, and stared down at the bowl for a little while, as if waiting.

"You can blow on it gently to speed up the process, like this." He paused to show him how it was done. The boy watched him carefully, before doing the same. With that, Lucien went back to the pot and served himself and Faolan, handing the man his bowl.

Faolan nodded at the boy's response, "Mm...that makes one of us," he said, "My eyes are shite." Eyesight had never been the Irishman's best sense, but after he'd been attacked by the creature in the woods, his other senses had seemed to pick up the slack. He could see, of course, just not things that were too far away and his night vision was even worse. Luckily, his senses of hearing and smell, coupled with his natural instincts, made his eyesight almost obsolete.

He watched Lucien stir the pot and heard his own stomach rumble with anticipation. It smelled wonderful. He ate the rest of the bread that he'd brought and produced another from the bag to dip into the stew. At Lucien's explanation, he nodded and hmm'd his response. Unusual, to say the least, but it wasn't as if Faolan's childhood had been run-of-the-mill either. Although he was sure the boy wouldn't know, he wondered just how closely related to reptiles he was, considering that a snake had seemingly raised him.

But no...the boy seemed rather civilized as well. Aside from the circus, there had to be something else in his past that had taught him these things. Faolan of all people knew that transitioning from fully feral to fully civilized would be harder for someone who had only known one extreme.

He watched the exchange about the food with interest as well, which only further proved his theory about the child's upbringing. Faolan paused a moment to receive his bowl from Lucien, then dipped his bread into the steaming liquid and ate it fresh out of the pan. Hot food had never bothered him, his tongue had all but lost sensation anyway. He chewed and swallowed, but before taking another bite, he asked, "How old is he?" He directed the question at Lucien only because he was unsure if they had already discussed it. Besides, he wanted to let the boy eat uninterrupted.

Lucien nudged Faolan's arm with his elbow as he took a seat. "Faolan, language." He scolded. It was likely the child didn't even know what it meant, but he didn't want him going around saying such things either.

Snake continued to blow on his soup, occasionally lifting his gaze to look at Lucien and Faolan. He watched the larger man dip his bread into his soup, and glanced down at his own curiously, before dipping the last of his bread into it. He blew on that too, before taking a bite of it. His eyebrows raised slightly. It was delicious.

The boy glanced up as he heard Faolan ask something about his age.

"I'm not really sure.." Lucien had responded.

Snake wasn't sure either. He knew what year he was born in.. mostly because it was the year he had been brought into the orphanage but.. not the day he was born. There was really no way for him to know that. He wasn't even sure what year it was now, it had been easy for him to lose track of such things.. it wasn't like anyone at the circus really told him anything.

"Born.. 1910." He told him, before finally taking a partial spoonful of the soup. It was still warm, but he could drink it now. He couldn't remember ever having had something so warm.. the boy was used to cold foods.

"So he's around twelve.. That means he joined the circus when he was around eight years old.. Lucien muttered, considering what the boy had told him before. If he had grown up in a forest.. it was strange for him to even be aware of the year he was born in. It made him wonder if there was more to this child's past than he was saying, but he didn't want to pry too much so quickly.

Faolan lowered his head a bit like a wounded dog, but kept a small smile on his lips. "Aye, leithscéal..." he muttered as he continued to eat. He didn't exactly have the mouth of most Irishmen, but even Faolan liked to indulge in a curse every now and again. It might take some getting used to, but he would try for Lucien's sake.

At Lucien's next discovery, Faolan nodded as he chewed a large gulp of stew and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Wait..." he said, looking between the boy and Lucien as knowledge lit up his eyes, "Does that mean the lad doesn't know his own birthday?" Faolan hadn't thought about his childhood in ages, especially his own birthday. Lucien remembered it more than Faolan did, and ever since he had begun giving him presents he found it hard to forget. He had remembered Lucien's birthday as well, once he was told, and tried to do something for him on that day every year. It was a bit of a tradition they had started, and if the boy was going to stay with them, it only made sense to introduce him to it as well. But, if he didn't know his birthday, how could they know when to cut him in?

Lucien glanced toward the boy as Faolan's question. He had a point, the boy hadn't really given them a proper date.. so Faolan was probably right.

"I suppose not.." He muttered. It was likely that it wasn't something he really got to celebrate at the circus, he just didn't see it happening considering the circumstances he lived in. His birthdays as a child had been relatively humble, which he hadn't minded at all. It hadn't been as big of a deal to him until he and Faolan had begun travelling together. He knew Faolan wasn't materialistic, so he always tried to make something for him, or give him something he could make use of. Over the years he had found himself enjoying his own birthday as well. It was a nice to be able to celebrate it with the man he loved. He thought the boy deserved that type of happiness as well.

With that in mind, he directed his attention to the boy again, who was still tackling the soup at a slow pace. He decided to ask him, just in case they were wrong.

"Do you know your birthday?" He asked him.

The boy glanced up from the soup and shrugged. "First of the year?"

That sounded more like that was what he had been using to keep track, instead of the actual day itself. "What do you think of making today your official birthday?" He asked, before switching over to German. "In honor of you starting a new life, I think it would be fitting." He added.

The boy seemed to ponder for a moment, before nodding. "Date?" He asked in English.

"It's October 3rd."

"Okay." He said, clearly pleased with this. He gave the two a smile before he went back to eating his food. It was odd that these people were so willing to not only give him a name but also a birthday.. they.. really were nice.

The more he learned about this child, the heavier the Irishman's heart became. He had no name, no birthday, no family...the only hands he had known had presumably been severe and cruel. The only language he spoke clearly was the one he had heard spoken by his tormentor. He was underfed, small and skinny for his age, weak, and most likely had no education at all. Though Faolan had grown up a poor farmer in the bogs of the Irish south, even he had had more chances than this boy. Lucien had been raised entirely cloistered by a religious patriarchy, had never known the touch of his mother or father's hand, and only had the chance to experience freedom after his teenage years had already ended, but had many more opportunities than this child could have known were possible.

Faolan looked down at his nearly empty bowl, then up to Lucien and down at the child. They had given him a second chance at life...Faolan would be sure it wasn't squandered.

"I suppose that means a cake is in order, eh?" He said to the boy, almost grimacing when he realized he almost added "Snake" to the end of the question. He would not call the boy that, not ever. He would rather refer to him with silence than use the name given to him by that evil charlatan masquerading as a man. He saw that the child had barely eaten any of his food, and raised an eyebrow before looking at Lucien once more. "We'll make an eater out of him yet." he said, then downed the rest of his stew by tilted the bowl into his mouth.

By then Snake had 'finished' eating. This.. was the most he had eaten in a while, and he didn't feel like he could have any more. He had eaten a good amount of the meat that had come with the stew, but had left about half of the liquid itself. Honestly it.. felt like a waste of food. Glancing over at Lucien he could see he was almost finished with his.

As Faolan addressed him, he tilted his head slightly. "Never had." Back at the orphanage he had seen it on a few occasions but.. he had never had any himself, but it had always seemed like the other kids enjoyed it. He watched the larger man get up to step toward the stew, seemingly to serve himself more. Instead the boy lifted the bowl slightly in his direction.

"Want?" He asked. "Can't eat anymoe.."

Lucien glanced over at the boy. "Are you sure? You can have as much as you like. There's plenty." He told him, not wanting him to feel like he had to hold back, but the child simply shook his head.

"Full.." He responded.

Faolan raised his eyebrows at the child's response, though he was not surprised by this information. "Never had cake...we will have to fix that, won't we?" he said, glancing at Lucien's direction as he got up to serve himself more food. He had always been a big eater and knew that it took much more food to power his ridiculous metabolism, but the boy was putting a whole new meaning to the phrase "eats like a mouse". He knew that they couldn't force too much food on him right now, but they would have to steadily increase his intake over the next few months to see if they could get his weight up.

He paused when heard heard the child speak to him and turned to see him offering more than half of his food. This would hurt Faolan to do, but even though he wanted the boy to eat more, he would have to accept the offer for now. No need to waste food, and if he made the child eat more it could make him vomit, which would be the ultimate waste.

He took the bowl from the boy gently and flashed him a halfhearted smile. "Thanks," he said, then took a seat. "There's always more when you're ready," he added, then grabbed another piece of bread and ate his fill of this bowl as well.

Lucien nodded. "Yes, we most certainly will. I want him to try beignets too, maybe he'll like them just as much as you do." He said to Faolan, giving the man a small wink.

He watched the exchange between Faolan and the boy with a smile. While he too wished he would eat more, he knew it would be a slow process before he could eat like they could.. well.. at least like he could. He was quite sure no one could really eat like Faolan did. Still, he was glad to see the child able to interact with Faolan. It didn't seem like he was as intimidated by him anymore. He watched as the boy smiled brightly at Faolan's response and then nodded at his words, before looking down at his snakes. There was a moment of silence then, before the boy nodded and some of the snakes slithered off.

"Are they leaving?" Lucien asked curiously.

The boy shook his head. "Hunting." He responded.

"Do.. you know how to hunt?" He asked, causing the boy's smile to return.

"Yes!" He seemed to hold pride in this fact, which made Lucien smile. It certainly interesting. If he said he had lived in the forest then it made sense but he wondered how the child was used to doing it. He had to have been able to do a decent job if he had survived out there by himself with just a snake by his side. There were still so many mysterious things about the boy, but he knew they'd have to take it slow. He couldn't drown him in a bunch of questions the first day.

"Perhaps you'll find a much better hunting partner in the boy, since I've never had the knack for it." Lucien said to Faolan with a small chuckle.

At the mention of beignets, Faolan's mouth immediately started to water. While this was a delicacy that he did not get to enjoy often, it was still one of his favorites. Ever since Lucien had made them for him when they first met, he had made a point to seek them out when they were in the southern United States, or anywhere that had French influence. Lucien often made them for him, about three times a year, and especially for his birthday.

He chuckled lightly as he set the now empty bowl at his side. He'd finished it quickly and still had room for more, but wanted to wait to be sure that Lucien had his fill before he had more. "He can have them in a month or so, I suppose." His birthday was approaching, after all.

At the lad's next statement, Faolan couldn't help but raise his eyebrows in surprise. So the little one did have some admirable skills after all. This was good news, especially given the boy's excitement for it. Faolan could definitely use hunting as a way to increase the child's strength and stamina, if possible.

"Perhaps he will...but we'll have to get him stronger before we try any of that. Three meals a day, some light exercise, we'll have him fit in no time." He winked playfully at Lucien and smiled over at the child.

Lucien smiled at Faolan's reaction to his mention of beignets. He was glad that Faolan's birthday was coming up so he'd have a chance to make some for the boy as well. He'd be sure to make an extra batch or two, just to make sure they could each get their fill. Hopefully by then the boy's appetite would be larger. Seeing Faolan was finished, he took the bowl from him and served the man another, knowing he wanted more. He was personally full, so he didn't mind if Faolan had the rest. He knew how much food the Irishman needed to eat to feel satisfied. He handed it to him as he spoke and let out a chuckle.

"Look at you, already planning out his regime. We need to get him his leg strength back first. He's actually a pretty good swimmer, I thought that might be a good way to help him with that."

He remembered quite clearly what training with Faolan was like. It had been hard at first, but he had been determined to follow through so he could become stronger, and it had paid off, but he wasn't sure how much the child would be able to take right now.

"What's your definition of light exercise?" He asked with a raised brow.

Snake watched the two men interact with interest, trying to focus and pick up what they were talking about. It was clear from their interactions that they got along well. The larger man's expressions had eased as time passed, and now the boy found no trouble in relaxing around them. He couldn't really remember the last time he had felt.. so at ease.

Faolan nodded and flashed a half-smile when Lucien filled his bowl. He should no better by now than to wait for him to be finished before eating more. Lucien knew him far too well to let this slide. The Irishman graciously accepted his newly filled bowl and began to eat it, leaving off the bread this time.

At Lucien's comment he simply shrugged, "Have to start early. You did, and it worked wonders for your..." he paused a moment as he looked at Lucien, letting his eyes move over the man's body and back to his face. Before he finished the sentence, he saw Aurel looking at them and his expression quickly hardened as he focused back on his bowl, "Progress."

There was a small paused as he ate another spoonful, and began speaking without looking back up at the Frenchman, now afraid to betray his feelings in the presence of a stranger. "Swimming is excellent for strength and endurance. Keep it up, he'll be walking better in no time."

He chuckled at the Nephilim's final comment and shrugged, "Whatever he can handle." Faolan knew that the boy would have to start slow, but the Irishman needed to be sure that when the day came for the boy to leave their care, he would be capable of taking care of himself. Faolan was not comfortable sending him into the world, on his own or with others, in anywhere near the state he was in now.

Lucien raised his brow slightly as he felt Faolan's eyes glaze over his body, knowing full well what he meant. He too however had to make sure to keep himself in check around the boy. That was.. probably the real downside to this whole situation, but well, it wasn't going to make Lucien regret his decision. They would figure things out.

"It did didn't it? I had a good teacher, though I must say comparing my physique to his is cheating." He said, before nodding in agreement.

"We can take a few days to focus on that. He might be more comfortable here out in the forest than in town, so we can probably take advantage of that." He said, glancing over at the boy. "I suppose we'll have to see." He said.

"How were the job offers in town?" He asked, since that was also one of the reasons he had gone. Now that they had the child with them, he knew they'd have to be more aware of their spending, as they would have to provide for him as well. Lucien didn't mind, he was willing to take full responsibility for this. The nephilim had never minded putting in some extra work.

At Lucien's last question, Faolan groaned and shook his head. "Shi-..." he glanced at the boy and then back at Lucien before continuing. "Bad, for me at least. There was a desk clerk, grocer, and one dictation job." He set his bowl down and fished into his jacket pocket. He handed Lucien a folded scrap of paper before picking up his food once more. "I took down the addresses there, but there wasn't anything really suited to me." He looked into his bowl and focused on finishing as he spoke.

He knew that this meant that Lucien would have to go into town and work while he stayed here with the child. There was no way both of them could leave him alone out in the woods, even if he was capable of fending for himself. Town wasn't far, but if anyone stumbled across their campsite and decided to check it out, or worse, rob it, then the kid would be left exposed. One of them would have to stay back to make sure nothing went wrong, and Faolan knew that it would have to be him unless a new job went up within the next several days. Town didn't seem lacking in bodies when he was there, so he doubted this would happen. It wasn't the most horrible thing, but he was still nervous about being alone with the boy. Lucien always made him feel at ease, so his presence would be a big help with the two of them bonding. Without him, he could say something or do something that scared or alarmed the boy without ever knowing it...

Lucien raised his eyebrow slightly as Faolan almost slipped, but he commended him for at least managing to correct himself in time. Honestly it amused him a little, but he was glad he was putting in the effort.

"Hmm." They did sound like jobs mostly suited to him.. but he knew from Faolan's expression that he was worried about what that meant. Even though Faolan had improved in his sociability over the years, he was probably unsure of how he'd properly interact with Aurel. Language was also the problem.. though it seemed the boy was familiar enough to respond to them, that was good at least. In this short amount of time the boy already looked more at ease than he had when they had first found him. He was glad that it seemed he trusted them, but he knew that there were only so many days they could stay out here without working.

He reached out and placed a hand on Faolan's shoulder, giving it a small squeeze before pulling back.

"I don't mind being the one to go to town to work, but before then.. how about we give it a couple days? We can focus on trying to get the boy walking again, and that will give him a bit more time to be more comfortable around us. He already seems willing to speak with you, so I'm sure things will work out." He tried to reassure him.

"Back when we first met I was alone, even if you seemed intimidating, there was a part of me that knew I could trust you. Your presence was reassuring to me. I'm sure the boy will come to see you the same way." He told him with a gentle smile.

Faolan felt himself relax a little at Lucien's suggestion. He was glad to hear that this was the plan, and he knew that it was the best course of action. Having Lucien around was better for both himself and the child, he was sure that the Nephilim's calming aura was felt by not only himself but their new charge as well. Getting him to be more self-sufficient was also best, as Faolan still had issues with close proximity with anyone except for Lucien. He wasn't sure the boy wanted to be touched by him any way, so it was best to let Lucien handle all of that until the boy could wash and dress himself, at least, and did not need to be carried anywhere.

He nodded his agreement, but his cheeks reddened ever so slightly at the Frenchman's last comment. He finished his meal in silence, wiped his face on his sleeve and shrugged before turning away to look into the fire. He couldn't help but let a small smile linger, even through his embarrassment. Knowing that Lucien felt comfortable and safe with him was what he considered to be his greatest asset in life. As long as he was there to protect him, he considered his course a success. Although he doubted that the child would ever be truly comfortable with him, Lucien's explanation and guidance would be enough to help him along.

Lucien held back a chuckle at his silence, noting Faolan's light embarrassment. Even through his silent, he knew the Irishman was happy about what he had said.

They had stayed around the campfire for a little while longer before they began to clean up to get ready for bed. He had picked the child up to take him back to the trailer before placing him back on the cot. The snakes had crawled back by then and had settled around him. It was still a sight he’d have to get used to.

In terms of sleeping arrangements, he knew they’d have to change it up a little. He tried to convince Faolan to sleep on the bed, but he had none of it, saying he’d sleep in the passenger seat instead. His lover was a stubborn man, so he let it go. He could not deny that he missed Faolan’s presence beside him.

He hadn’t fallen asleep immediately, keeping an eye on the boy to make sure he was comfortable and able to sleep well. It was only when he was sure the boy had fallen asleep that Lucien had done the same.

—

Snake had woken up the next morning with a strong headache. Throughout the night he had wrapped the blankets he had been given tightly around himself.. but it had not eased the coldness he felt as he still trembled under his blankets. This.. had almost become a normal for the boy.. at least.. for the days he did not have to perform, while on the road, this always happened to him. He didn’t want to sit up because he felt that he’d get nauseous, and so he tightened the blankets around himself.

Part of him had almost forgotten. The way the circus worked had always been the same. They traveled, he drank, he performed, and then they traveled again. That time gap between travels was when he always felt this way.. because he didn’t drink. He knew the feeling would go away if it did but.. would they give him any? Johan had always called it his medicine, because it would help him feel better, but he wouldn’t let him have it while on the road because it would be ‘wasteful,’ and it had to be saved for when he needed it. This made him scared of what might happen now that he now longer had access to it.

”Are you feeling it?” The snake at his side asked, causing him to nod.

”Y-Yeah..” He responded quietly.

Faolan was perfectly content and able to sleep on the passenger seat with the seat back all the way down. He reminded Lucien that he was capable of sleeping on the floor with no padding at all, and that he would be more than fine on the seat, but it took him actually laying on it and refusing to move for the man to let his decision go. He did fall asleep quickly with his arms wrapped around himself under a thinning blanket, but made sure to position himself so that he could see Lucien in the rear-view mirror. It was easier for him to fall asleep knowing that he could open his eyes and see his beloved was safe and comfortable...

Eventually, he drifted off and slept through the night with no trouble at all. He awoke before dawn as he sensed the sun's rise. His body usually woke up on its own. It was a brisk October morning, but Faolan was almost never cold. He shrugged off the blanket and stretched silently in the seat once he saw that Lucien was still asleep. A small smile lit his face, and he was about to stand slowly and quietly to go relieve himself when he remembered the boy on the cot between them. He reached up to turn the mirror so he could see the child.

At first, all seemed well. The boy was still and quiet, and Faolan was about to turn the mirror back, when he saw the slightest shiver coming from him. Was he cold? Lucien had made sure to pile him with every nice blanket they had, and the child had fallen asleep with the jacket Faolan had brought him still on, but maybe the boy was especially sensitive to the cold.

Slowly, Faolan got up and moved toward the cot. He took the blanket he had been using, by far their thinnest but still infused with his body heat, and laid it atop the pile the boy had wrapped himself in. He turned to go, but paused. Normally, he would have let this go, but something in him sensed that this was not right. His instincts for protection were going off in him like alarms. Silently, he turned back and crouched in front of the boy, not too close to scare him, but within arm's reach.

"Hey..." he whispered, and reached a hand out to touch the boy's shoulder. He could just see his forehead and long blonde hair twining out from under the blanket. "Are you alright?" he asked, making sure to keep his voice as low as possible. He knew Lucien would awaken, but if he could discern the cause of the shiver before then, Faolan would ease the man's stress a bit. Lucien cared far too much and sometimes it was at great personal risk to his own health. Faolan knew having this child here would only make Lucien's stress levels rise, so he wanted to do his part if he could to ease some of that for him.

Snake was startled slightly by Faolan's voice, but relaxed a little soon after, he hadn't expected it. He shifted the blanket slightly so he could see the man who was speaking to him. He was unsure of what to tell him at first. He knew how he could make it go away but.. he also didn't want to be a bother to them, not after they had saved him.

He nodded to him before speaking up. "Fine... this normal.." He responded.

"You should tell them, child. Or you won't be able to feel better." One of the snakes spoke up. Most of them were bundled within the blankets, but a few others had settled in other parts of the trailer, hanging off some things. At least they had made themselves comfortable. If he didn't tell them maybe they would worry? But then Lucien seemed to have some sort of ability to make his discomfort go away.. maybe he could ask for that?

Faolan watched the boy's face carefully as he looked at him from out of the bundle he had made for himself. Searching his face, the Irishman immediately noticed that his cheeks were flushed, far redder than would be normal for this temperature. He heard a shake in the boy's voice through his short response, and saw how white his knuckles were as his small hand peeked out to grip the edge of the blanket.

The man's eyes narrowed slightly, not in anger at the boy, but in anger at his suspicions. He had smelled alcohol in the room that they'd found this "snake" in, and noted his wobbly demeanor and half-lidded eyes. He'd been drunk when they found him, and Lucien had presumably taken care of that with his ability. It was possible that if this was truly "normal" as the child indicated, that he was experiencing withdrawal. Faolan had seen it enough in his childhood, and the smell of sweat that wafted out from under the child's blankets only confirmed this fear. The Irishman's father had been an incurable drunkard, the result of a pour of whiskey into every cup of coffee he had ever seen the man drink. "To warm the bones," the man always said. He'd offered the amber liquid to Faolan as a boy, before he was ten years old, and though he had been curious, Faolan had only pretended to sip it after a harsh look from his mother. If his father went any length of time without drinking, if they'd run out and not had a chance to go to town for the grocer, he'd begin to shake and sweat. His stomach would heave, he would be mean and angry and lash out. He'd vomit and curse, and strike Faolan and even his sister and mother on occasion. Drink made him bearable at least, and as a young boy Faolan had found it more preferable for his father to be with alcohol rather than without. This became such a fear of his, that Faolan would often sneak a bottle away and return it only when his father was close to running out, just to be sure he would not turn into the monster he could be. It usually worked, and that was his life before the attack.

This would not be the case with this boy. Though Faolan was still uneasy about touching the child, not to mention the snakes that coiled about him, he reached a hand up slowly. "Is it okay if I feel your forehead?" he asked gently and quietly, letting his hand hover before making contact with the boy's forehead. Depending on how hot the child's skin was, he could tell how far the withdrawal had progressed, and if it was withdrawal at all or something more sinister.

The boy looked slightly uneasy, but nodded anyway. Faolan's eyes flashed to the snake near the boy's throat, but it made no move at him as he slowly made contact with the boy's forehead. It was burning hot, even hotter than Faolan's already warm skin. This confirmed his worse fear, and his face hardened. If he ever saw that man, Johan, again...

"What are your other symptoms?" he said, still keeping his voice low but no longer whispering. He would need Lucien now, to clear the boy's illness, at least this time, and Lucien would never forgive him if he suspected Faolan of trying to keep this from him.