[OOC] Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

[xivyxx]

Snake looked up at the man's hand as he asked. It was.. strange.. to be asked such a thing. No one at the circus ever asked him permission for anything. They just did whatever they wanted, so it was strange to actually be.. asked for once. He nodded slightly, feeling the warm contact of his hand before he had pulled back.

"Head hurts.. cold.. feel um.. krank." He switched to German at the end.. mostly because he couldn't find the right word in English for the feeling of nausea he knew he'd have.

--

The sound of Faolan's voice roused Lucien from his sleep. Almost instinctively his hand had reached out to feel the empty spot where Faolan would have normally been, and him not being there was what caused him to open his eyes. They had found his lover quickly, kneeling next to the boy's cot. Right.. he hadn't at the front of the RV that night.

Lucien sat up. Considering it was odd to see Faolan willingly interacting with the boy, he wondered if something was wrong.

"Is everything alright?" He asked, getting out of the bed.

[FreckersFrog]

Faolan nodded at Aurel's explanation. He didn't know what the last word meant, but he could tell that it had something to do with the boy's throat or chest because of the way he glanced down when he said it. He was about to clarify when he heard Lucien stirring.

He looked over to the Nephilim and gently shook his head, his expression tight. "Boy's not feeling well. What does 'krank' mean?" his accent made his German sound absurd, but he knew Lucien would understand him, he always did.

"It means ill, or.. nauseous, depending on use." Lucien said, his eyebrows furrowing slightly.

"Mmm..." Faolan said, now certain that he was correct about the boy's condition. As Lucien joined him in a crouching position in front of the boy, Faolan leaned back to whisper in his ear, "Sílim go bhfuil sé as an alcól .... tarraingt siar."

[xivyxx]

Lucien was quick on his feet as he heard that the boy wasn't feeling well. At Faolan's words, he glanced over to him, his worry reflected clearly in his eyes. He crouched next to Faolan as he responded to his question, attention now on the child who was tightly bundled in blankets.

There was a small surge of anger as Faolan explained what he thought was happening. He was familiar with withdrawals, as it was something he had seen plenty of times in the past. Some people had even come to him to attempt to get it healed. He remembered that Faolan had told him he smelled alcohol when they had first met the child but.. to think he had been given so much that it would have reached this point. No child should have ever had to experience this.

"Can I help you sit up? Faolan told me you're feeling unwell, I wish to help you." He told him in German. The boy nodded slowly, and sat up a little. He could tell he was a bit sweaty, and his face was flushed. Some snakes moved out of the way as the boy fully sat up. He hadn't rushed him, as sudden movements might make his nausea worse. After asking for permission, Lucien checked his temperature, and he confirmed the boy had a fever. Before knowing how to proceed, he'd want to know exactly what they were dealing with here.

"How often do you feel this way?" He asked him.

"Usually.. during our travels.. during our performance stops Johan would give me something to drink to make it go away.. said it was medicine.. it did help.." The boy responded.

Lucien tensed slightly, trying to hold back his anger at the boy's response. Had that ringleader knowingly gave the boy alcohol even though he knew he was becoming addicted to it? He was afraid of the answer, but decided to ask anyway. He needed to know how long this had been happening.

"This.. medicine how long have you been taking it?"

"About... a year I think? It helped.. to stay calm.." The boy shifted uncomfortably as he spoke, it was clear he didn't to talk about this anymore. The response only angered him further, but he tried his best to keep his expression clear.

"I see..." How much had this child actually endured in that terrible place? He.. simply didn't want to imagine it. He pulled back, not wanting to make the boy more uncomfortable with his questions, before turning to Faolan and explaining what he had been told.

"Do you think I should heal it?" He asked him. The last thing he wanted was to make the boy suffer, but he wasn't sure if it would be a permanent solution if alcohol was something his body was used to receiving. One time most likely would not be enough.

[FreckersFrog]

Faolan watched the boy as Lucien spoke with him in German, gauging his expressions. There was no doubt in his mind now about why the child was ailing. Lucien's words only confirmed this for him, once and for all. His fists and jaw clenched in anger as he heard the report, and although he tried his best to stay calm, the anger was clear on his face.

At Lucien's question, Faolan nodded. "This is quite severe." Of course, he had seen worse, but for a child to have to experience something so intense at this age. "Let's see how it goes," his voice was tight as he stood to walk away, afraid that his mood may scare the boy, "We'll see if its necessary tomorrow." Although Lucien's ability was akin to a miracle, even the Nephilim wasn't sure of the extent of his abilities. Neither of them knew whether one application of his healing would cure the boy completely or if it would need multiple days of treatment. Only time would tell.

[xivyxx]

Lucien nodded in silent agreement. He wasn't sure if it would really work long term, since any time he had healed withdrawals, he had never stuck around the town long enough to find out what became of them. He supposed... now he'd find out.

"Is he.. angry?" The boy asked quietly as Faolan left the trailer, causing the nephilim to look back at him.

"He's not angry with you, he's just upset of what that place has done to you. Faolan.. has a very kind heart. He doesn't like to see people suffer." He said in a gentle tone. "Neither do I. I'm going to use my skill to help you feel better, but I'm unsure of how long it will last. If you begin to feel the symptoms return, please let me know, because we might have to find another way to deal with them." He explained to the boy in German.

He nodded quietly, and Lucien placed a hand on his forehead, slowly beginning to heal the boy's symptoms. He could tell that it was helping based on the boy's expression, and eventually pulled away.

"Is that better?" He asked.

"It is.. thank you.."

"Alright, let's go have some breakfast okay? And then after that, when it gets warmer, we can do a bit more swimming. We want to get that strength in your legs back as soon as possible. Can I pick you up?" He asked.

The boy nodded and extended his arms toward him, causing Lucien to smile a bit as he picked the boy up and headed outside, placing him on a log that was near their campfire, where Faolan was already setting up breakfast.

"It worked for now, I told him to let me know whenever he felt off again though.. and that we'd figure things out from there." Lucien explained.

[FreckersFrog]

Faolan left the trailer and went about his business, then began to set up for breakfast. Lucien's healing never took very long, and he had to busy himself to distract from the rage that gripped his heart.

He stoked a fire on the twigs and placed the grate they used for cooking on over it. It was quite a chilly morning, so he wanted to make sure that their food had extra time to heat up. Once that was done, he waited for Lucien and the boy to come out, and traded places with them to retrieve a jacket for himself and the food stores he had buried under the trailer to keep cold so they wouldn't spoil. He returned with that and some bread, cut it in half and placed either side face down on the grate to warm it. He knew the boy would be cold, he was so thin, so he wanted to make sure that he got some warm food in him as quickly as possible.

Once everything was set up, he took a seat next to Lucien and nodded at his explanation. He stoked the fire with a long stick to warm the bread quicker and said, "Only thing left to do is get him a warm meal then." His voice was strained, and he avoided looking at the boy to make sure his expression did not cause him alarm. He had scared adult men before with his scowl, on many occasions, and did not want this to be the case here.

[xivyxx]

Lucien nodded in agreement and tried to help Faolan set up. Momentarily he went back to the trailer, to bring out more blankets for the boy and wrap them around him so he'd be sure to stay warm.

Snake watched the two men work, and muttered a thank you to Lucien as he gave him more blankets. His snake like eyes trailed over to Faolan. He took note of how he wasn't really looking in his direction. Was.. he still mad? He thought back to what Lucien had said, he didn't really want Faolan to be upset because of how he was feeling. What Lucien had done made him feel much better. He hadn't even had nausea when Lucien had picked him up. He.. preferred this feeling, to what actually happened when he drank his 'medicine.' It made him feel.. woozy, and while it did calm him, he didn't like the lack of awareness it gave him. At least this way he could perfectly observe his surroundings.

His nose twitched as the food began to be heated. He could catch the scent of meat again, and his eyes sparkled in anticipation.

[FreckersFrog]

Faolan watched the food cook in silence. He had cracked a few eggs into a skillet they used to cook with on the grate, and thrown some sausages next to the bread as well. They were large and thick, German, the woman had told him and called them "brats". Sausage was sausage to him, but he thought the child may enjoy the taste of home. He was glad that he liked meat, it was an excellent source of protein, along with the eggs, and would help to build his strength more quickly.

Once the bread was warm, he threw a cloth over it and offered the half to the child covered so he wouldn't burn his fingers. He said nothing, and though he tried to smile, the thought of the boy shivering and sweating only moments ago returned when he looked down at his pale face. Everything that had happened to him reminded Faolan that some monsters wore human skin...

[xivyxx]

Snake simply enjoyed the smell of the cooking food for a while, his mouth only beginning to water. He knew that it was sausage, a luxury for him, as it had been something he'd rarely get to eat, and when he did it was always cold, and not even a full piece. He watched Faolan approach him with bread, and gladly took it, glad for it's warmth, before looking up at the man who had attempted to smile. Despite that he could still see.. some of that lingering anger from before.

The boy reached out, and softly grasped the helm of the man's shirt, and weakly tugged. "I.. feel better.. please no upset.." He told him, a small attempt to reassure him. If it was because he had been suffering before that the man was angry, he wanted him to know he wasn't feeling bad anymore. Maybe it would help brighten the man's mood.

Lucien watched this exchange with slight surprise in his expression, eyes shifting from the boy to Faolan, before his expression eased into a smile. He could tell this child's experience with people was limited but.. it was a heartwarming exchange to see, to go out of his way to try to make Faolan feel better. What.. a truly selfless child he was.

[FreckersFrog]

Faolan paused before turning away as he felt the child's hand on the hem of his shirt. Slowly, he turned and looked down at him once more. As the full gravity of the words struck him, the Irishman felt as though his heart were being squeezed. This child was incredible...so selfless and kind. Though he was suffering, he was reaching out to make sure that Faolan was not angry. Though he could barely speak the man's native tongue, though he was so small in comparison, so weak...he wanted to hold him up.

Through the weight of the moment, Faolan forced himself to smile down at the kid and nod gently. "Glad to hear it...that ability of Lucien's, it's really something isn't it?" He glanced to the Frenchman then, his anger full retreated and replaced with calm as they smiled at each other. He didn't know anyone else could have this effect on him...but even after all these years, someone could ease the storm inside of his chest.

He returned to his seat once the moment passed, stirred the eggs and rolled the sausage over. He glanced over at the child who was holding the warm bread close to his chest. He chuckled quietly and shook his head, "Make sure you fill up this morning, lad. You need energy for swimming later."

[xivyxx]

The boy relaxed, before returning the man's smile. It had been a while since he had genuinely been able to smile like this, but he found it so easy to do around Lucien and Faolan. He let go of the man's shirt and followed his gaze to Lucien.

"Yes." He agreed. It wasn't something he had ever seen anyone do before, something that would just.. make the pain and injuries go away. Was this.. why he felt so at ease around him? He wasn't sure.. but he was okay with that. For the first time in a really long time, Snake actually felt safe.

For a moment he had simply held onto the bread he was given, holding it close and enjoying its warmth. As Faolan spoke again, he looked back down at his bread, before he blew on it, as Lucien had showed him last night, to help make it so he could eat it sooner. He really wanted some of that other food. As he finally took a bite out of his bread, before his eyes trailed to the pot again. He was unsure of how much of the bread he should eat, because he also wanted space for the meat, but still he continued to take small bites.

Lucien placed a hand on Faolan's shoulder for a moment before he took a seat beside him. He had seen how touched Faolan was by the boy's words, and had been moved by the whole exchange. He was truly happy that they had been able to save this child. Even after all of his terrible experiences.. he was still so kind.

"I don't think he's scared of you anymore, Faolan." He told him.

[FreckersFrog]

Faolan finished stirring and seasoning the rest of the food, then served it on plates for the three of them. He kept the boy's portion small, maybe a third of what he gave Lucien, who was also a lighter eater than himself. He didn't want to overwhelm the child, despite his instinct to help him fill his belly. It would be healthier to ease him into it, he reminded himself.

At Lucien's comment, he paused before taking his first bite and flashed his crooked smile. "Mmm...yeah. No thanks to you," he said, giving Lucien a little nudge with his shoulder. This made him feel a little better about being alone with the child in the coming days, though he still half-hoped to find work for himself so Lucien could do it instead...his outlook about it was a little less grim the more he and the child interacted with one another.

He looked over at him as he began to eat, pleased to see that he was at least trying, and quite enjoying the sausage. He noticed a strand of the boy's long golden hair fall across his plate, then swallowed before calling over, "You better be careful with that," he gestured toward the plate to show the child what was happening, "Or Lucien will try to make you cut it." Having long hair himself, Lucien had made comments in the past about what he might look like with a shorter style. Faolan had always liked having long hair, it made it easier to obscure his face. Besides, maintaining a short haircut was irritating, and a waste of time in his opinion. This boy's hair, however, put him to shame. It didn't look like it had been cut in the child's lifetime, though the Irishman wasn't sure if this was by choice or not. Either way, Faolan wanted to lighten the mood by mentioning this, preferring to move the attention away from himself and back onto their guest.

[xivyxx]

Lucien let out a chuckle. "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about." He responded, before he began to eat his food. He gave the boy an occasional glance. It was clear he preferred the meat on the plate to everything else, considering he started with that first. His pace was still slow, but at least he was eating. He paused for a second as Faolan spoke, and tried to move it out of the way.

"Always long." He responded. The boy had never really had a need to cut his hair, and Johan had never wanted it cut either, saying it would.. help his act.

"I wouldn't force him to cut it, though, doesn't it get in the way?" He asked. The boy only shrugged. He shifted his attention to his lover, and reached up to remove the hair tie that currently held his hair up.

"I hope you don't mind if I borrow this." He said with a slight grin, before getting up and walking over to the boy. "Can I tie it? It will help you eat better." He asked. It would work better for keeping his hair out of his food.

The boy nodded, and Lucien stepped behind him to gather his golden locks. It didn't look very well taken care of before, but after they had cleaned him up the shine of his blond hair really came through. He gently gathered it in his hands and tied it before smiling back at him. "How's that?" He asked the boy, who smiled and nodded.

"Danke." He responded, before pausing for a moment. "Thank you."

Lucien smiled back before returning to his seat. Throughout their day the nephilim had still been trying to think of a name for the boy, but any German names he came up with sounded too rough for him. He felt like the boy deserved a sort of elegant name, to suit his appearance and personality.

"I never thought coming up with a name could be so difficult. I really want to find something suitable for him."

[FreckersFrog]

Faolan smiled through a mouthful of food at Lucien's attempt at deniability. He hadn't exactly hounded him about it or anything, but the Frenchman had brought it up often enough that the Irishman deduced that it must have been important to him. At least enough to make it known. Faolan had never been a man to keep up with any fashion trends anyway, he liked his long hair, and doubted that it would ever change.

"Oh, by all means," he said after swallowing a mouthful of food as Lucien was already tying up the boy's hair. He watched this exchange and saw how delicate Lucien was being. He was always gentle, but watching him with the child was heartwarming in a different way. Lucien would make a good father...given the opportunity. This was a feeling that Faolan had always had, but now was just realizing how true it really was. His smile remained, but turned almost sad as this thought touched him.

There was a bit of silence that passed between them as Faolan thoughts turned toward Lucien and the family he had never had...might never have, especially if the two of them...well, if they were together forever. Faolan loved Lucien, more than anyone, and wanted him to be happy. He hoped that he would be enough, but he had worried in the past that he couldn't be. Maybe having the boy here...it would help with that, at least a little. Or maybe it would make it worse. Only time would tell.

As Lucien sat and looked over at the child, Faolan shrugged as he continued to eat. At a break between bites, he said, "You might be thinking too hard about it." he said, offhand, then looked over at the boy. "Just look at him, see what comes to mind. Isn't that how parents do it?" Not that Faolan would know, but to him, it seemed a more natural and instinctual process than an intellectual one. Then again, almost ever process was instinctual with him.

[xivyxx]

Lucien took Faolan's words into consideration. "I wouldn't know too much about that, but I suppose you're right." He had never really known the intent behind his own name. Knowing what it meant was enough for him to at least think she had viewed him positively, but that was all he'd ever really know in regards to it.

Realizing what he had said, he spoke up again, not wanting Faolan to think his comment had ruined his mood."Though, I don't know if I really want to hear that from you, mister I named my dog, dog." He said amusingly, before shifted his gaze back to the boy. In terms of appearance well.. Snake covered his snake like qualities, but it was a terrible name. The other notable thing about it was his long, golden hair. Perhaps something in relation to that? He began to think of other possibilities, until he finally spoke up again.

"Marcus?" He spoke up, directed toward the boy, who tilted his head.

"Mar...cus..?" He questioned, before scrunching up his nose a little, causing Lucien to chuckle.

"I guess not." He said amusingly.

Faolan nearly spit out his food when he heard Lucien's first suggestion. He swallowed, then looked at the Frenchman while fighting laughter, "Marcus?" he asked, then shook his head, "Please tell me that just randomly popped into your head..." he said, keeping his tone light. He didn't want to offend or annoy Lucien, but he was never good at hiding his opinions, especially since the Frenchman had started it by giving him a hard time about his dog's name.

Lucien shook his head. "No of course not, there is a valid reason." He said. "There was a Roman Emperor and philosopher called Marcus Aurelius, his last name meant 'golden, or gilded,' so that was just the first name that came to mind, considering his hair." He said, before letting out a small hum.

"Hmm.. Aurelius.. Aurelius.." He muttered to himself, it sounded catchy, but too fancy. Not a name anyone in their time would use."Aurel?" He questioned, looking back at the boy.

"Aurel.." The boy repeated. "Aurel!" He seemed to like the sound of it, and honestly it flowed well with his German accent.

Lucien smiled in satisfaction at the boy's approval of the name.

"Aurel it is, then." He said.

[FreckersFrog]

Faolan watched Lucien's face as he thought, smiling and nearly forgetting all about his food. He always loved watching him when he was deep in thought, or reading a book. He could be so entranced that the world around him just melted away...Faolan had always admired that ability, to just tune everything out. Sometimes, the two would absently be holding hands, and no matter how far away Lucien's eyes or expression got as he delved further into thinking or reading, his grip on Faolan's hand would never falter. It was always steady and cool and comforting.

He snapped himself out of his reverie when Lucien and the boy settled on a name. He looked between them for a moment, then shrugged, "That was fast," he said, then after a beat repeated after them, "Aurel..." he said, trying it out as he looked over at the child. "Mm..." he said in approval, and nodding before he filled his mouth with more eggs.

[xivyxx]

Snake hadn't liked the sound of the first name Lucien had offered him. He didn't understand half of the explanation he had given to Faolan in regards to it, but he hadn't liked the name all that much. He was glad that Lucien hadn't been angry with him for it. It seemed.. he was taking this naming thing pretty seriously. The boy continued to watch with curiosity as Lucien continued to ponder. Part of him wanted to speak up and say it was okay if he couldn't come up with one, that was until he spoke up again.

Aurel.. that sounded nicer, and nothing he had ever heard of before.. but something about it stuck out to him. The boy liked it. Satisfied now, Aurel glanced down at the remainder of his food. There was still food on his plate, but he was already full. Lifting his gaze, he took note that Faolan's plate was once again almost empty, and extended his own in his direction, wanting to offer him the rest.

Lucien chuckled slightly at Faolan's comment. "That wasn't fast at all, I've been thinking about possibilities for his name since we first brought it up." He said, but simply hadn't liked any of the options.

"But I'm glad we found something he liked." He said before glancing over to the boy as he offered Faolan the remainder of his food.

"Are you sure you don't want anymore?" He asked him, and the boy shook his head.

"Full." The answer had been expected, but he figured he would ask just in case. Regardless he knew that Faolan would have much preferred the boy finished all of his food. It would certainly.. be a slow process, to increase his appetite.

[FreckersFrog]

Faolan was glad that Lucian had seemingly put and end to his pondering and chosen something that the two of them liked. Aurel...hm, Faolan didn't mind the sound of that very much either. Actually, he rather liked it. It suited the boy.

Faolan chuckled and shook his head as he finished the last of his first serving. "It's only been a day...I suppose you'll be able to give your mind a rest now." He offered a quick wink to his beloved, but was distracted by Aurel grabbed his attention.

He looked down at the half-full plate, realizing too late that he'd been frowning. Everything in him told him to push the plate back toward the boy and make him finish it, but he resisted the urge. It was what his father would have done. His grandparents had lived through the great Famine of 1845, and had instilled in his father a hatred for waste of any kind. Though Faolan had resisted many of his father's traits, this was one that had been passed down to him. Still, Faolan knew he needed to go easy on the boy...Aurel, so he turned his frown into a smile and took the plate.

"Danke," he said, in horribly accented German, before he began to eat.

[xivyxx]

Lucien's smile widened at Faolan's words. "Now my mind can focus on other things." He lightly teased, before watching the small exchange between Aurel and him. It seemed he was right about Faolan's displeasure, and the boy seemed to have notice it too. For a second he had pulled back his plate, but then extended it fully again when Faolan had smiled and took it from him.

Aurel smiled as he heard Faolan thank him in German, though very thick in accent.

"Bitte." He responded happily.

The nephilim could not help but let out a quiet laugh. "That means your welcome." He said, pausing for a moment. "Bet you wished you had taken me up on that offer to teach you German all those years ago, hmm?" He teased.

Aurel watched the exchange between the two men, before he decided to ask a question. Lucien's accent was one he had heard before. He was fairly sure.. it was French, Faolan's however, he didn't know.

"Sound.. different, where from?" He asked.

[FreckersFrog]

"Mmm..." he agreed with Lucien, then gave him a long look. Faolan hadn't realized how much of a carnal appetite he had until he and Lucien had become physical. Of course, he was always respectful, but he couldn't deny that his desire was almost never quenched. These past nights had been especially hard...

He tore his mind away from that, not wanting to get himself deeper down a rabbit hole that he could not navigate back out of. He merely grunted at Lucien's next comment, having caught only the tail end of the exchange.

The boy--Aurel's voice directed at him caught his attention, however, and he looked up from eating again, eyebrows raised. "Me?" he asked, a little stupidly. "Oh, ehm, Ireland. I'm afraid my accent won't transfer well..." he paused a moment, and cleared his throat, "Ich höre mich nach Spaß an, wenn ich darüber spreche." His accent grated as his mouth wrapped around the words. Though German was close to Irish, possibly closer than any other language, there was something about it that was confusing to his palette. Maybe it was because the two languages were so similar...