#tegh

The haze of chaos surrounds Aoren as he drops to his knees, the room startlingly silent. Darian just laughs, sauntering over to the boy on the floor. 

“You thought you could take me down with that? A sorry excuse for magic and you think everything is going to be okay?” He scoffs, tilting Aoren’s chin with the tip of his sword. “You know it’s treason, right? That I have every right to stand you in front of the crowd and hang you.”

“Then do it.”

“Oh, no. That’s much too easy. I’ve got something much better.”

Aoren stumbles into the stables in the early hours of the morning, the fog of dark magic clinging to his skin. He sends the horses skittering away, kicking at the doors of the stalls.  His head burns and he feels like he’s dying. The darkness, at least, soothes the pain as he finally collapses onto the hay. Tegh appears with a light a few minutes later, softly calling into the night. Aoren’s gentle sobs from the empty tack room draw his attention, rushing forward to see to him.

"What happened?" His voice is soft, inviting Aoren to answer. 

Tegh - Emergent Errors

Opal Tapes

Tegh keeps the damp cloth on Aoren’s forehead, having to change it every few minutes as he sleeps. He’d called for the healers, but they were too busy dealing with the rest of the town, trying to keep the outbreak under control.

The little magic Tegh had left had been pushed into Aoren, trying to make the boy more comfortable. Lirek and Erëac had been out on a hunt for several days, getting ready for the winter ahead, and so were unable to help. Aoren hadn’t taken well to the magic, eyes rolling and back arching as he cried out, a moment of sanity within his fever.

He starts muttering in the early evening, pleading in a long dead language that sent chills down Tegh’s spine and spread an air of unease around the room. Aoren doesn’t show any sign of recognising Tegh as he tries to rouse him, staring straight through him as he tries continuing his conversation. He mixes his words with a language Tegh finally understands, and it doesn’t settle him any more. He catches fleeting images as he presses his hand to Aoren’s forehead, sending him staggering back in fright.

Erëac stood silently at the barn door, watching as Aoren broke down, feeling his heart drop. This was not like Aoren. Aoren stayed strong, after everything he had been through, Erëac had never seen him complain, seen him cry, seen him do anything but what he was supposed to do. Erëac nodded to himself before tapping on the door as he walked in. Aoren attempted to move, to deny he’d been crying, but Erëac shook his head at him.

‘It’s okay.’ He sat himself by the younger boy and put his arm over his shoulder. Aoren stiffened for a moment before taking a shaky breath and relaxing into Erëac’s side. They sat in silence for a while, until Aoren’s sobs subsided and his tears dried on his cheeks.

‘I almost couldn’t do it’ Aoren broke the silence first, his voice rough.

‘What?’

‘I didn’t think I was going to be able to save Nyx.’

‘But you did, ’Erëac soothed ‘That’s the most important part. You did.’

‘I nearly didn’t though. Look where I ended up. I didn’t even realise that it had happened – I should have been there. I should have stopped it!’ Aoren pulled away from Erëac and turned to face him on his knees. ‘Do you know what that’s like? Knowing everyone is expecting you to do something, but you can’t do it? I was helpless.’

‘Hey,’ Erëac leaned forward, placing his hand on Aoren’s shoulder ‘It’s okay. Nobody is expecting anything. The important thing is you’re both safe. Nyx will be fine soon enough, and your magic is alright.’

‘Is it?’ There was a harsh laugh as he stood up to leave.

‘Darian said-’ Ereac pushed himself up

‘Darian doesn’t know- he doesn’t care about any of us’ Aoren gritted his teeth, then spoke through a clenched jaw ‘He wouldn’t care if we were dead.’ He reached for his satchel, his movements slow and stiff ‘I’ve got to...got to..go”

“A. Are you okay?” Erëac reached out to Aoren, to stop him from leaving, to try to talk to the boy. Aoren flinched like the touch had burned, taking a confused step backwards into the wall as his surroundings shifted around him.

“Aoren.” Its met with a small moan of a reply, and huffed breaths. “Aoren!”

Aoren drops to his knees, hands splayed out in front of him as he tried to catch his breath.

Tegh appeared at the doorway, slightly taken back by Erëac in the room. He nodded at him before moving onto the younger boy with the familiarity of a regular routine. His rough hands tugged gently at Aoren’s entangled in his hair.

“Aoren, you’re okay. You’re okay.” His voice was soft, a complete opposite to the man’s exterior.  Erëac, completely out of his depth, shot a panicked look at Tegh. 

“If you want to make yourself useful, sit behind him and keep him on his side. I can explain later.’ Erëac swallowed and nodded, quickly shifting his position.

“Aoren, you need to breathe. Come on, properly.” His breaths came in short, painful gasps, only broken by a heaving cough and a small, pathetic whimper. 

“Can’t.”

“Aoren, come on” Tegh’s voice was firm “Aoren!’

With the last call of his name he glanced up, catching Tegh’s eye with a desperate look and a small shake of his head.

When Tegh returns with more cloths, he's curled up on the floor again, shivering. He'd pulled the thin sheet off the bed as he'd fallen, and hadn't the energy to get back up.

He flinched as the rough hand gently nudged his shoulder. A soft whimper as he dropp3r his head back to the floor, eyes still not focussing on the Elder.

"It's just me, Aoren. I'm trying to help." Tegh pushed the younger man's hand back to his side. "Stop trying to push me away. It's not helping either of us." Aside from the shivering, Aoren lay still, finally giving into his fever.

"Hey." Tegh tilts his chin up to look at him, but Aoren just looked straight through him. There's something muttered as he nips his shoulder, but no real response. "Aoren. I'm sorry, you're not going to like this." He's scooped up, Tegh noticing how much weight he must have lost. He makes a mental note to tell him off when he's better.

Aoren’s hair is damp with sweat, his face both pale and flushed at the same time. His eyes were glazed, and he only lets out a small whine as he's jostled off the floor.

The cold water shocks him; he gasps and tries to pull himself away from it. He's pushed under again, the cold washing over his fevered skin. A distraught keen escapes his lips as he desperately claws at Tegh’s arm.

He's pushed under a third time, his head finally going under. Time seems to slow and he can't breathe, his feet scrabbling to try get purchase. There's a hand on his neck, holding him up, a rough pressure across his chest.

"You need to breathe, son."

He's half sitting up, he's not being held down? It doesn't add up in his mind, he can't seem to fit the pieces together. He wraps his hands against the ones holding him out of the water under.

"Aoren!" There's another nip, knuckles rubbed across his collarbone. He whines again; it hurts and he hasn't done anything wrong.

It's not adding up.

His hair is pushed off his forehead, the hand hovering to feel his temperature. The touches are soft and gentle, not angry. Not what he's used to.

Aoren pulls away again, and everything is spinning. He's not in his room. He's outside? Someone is still holding him up. Not down, not under. This time, his hands don't claw at the others, but hold on, gripping tightly.

"You back with us?" It's Tegh. Of course it's Tegh.

"Mm." He doesn't bother with a full reply, can't think of a full reply.

"You were burning up. I had to bring your temperature down. You shouldn't have let it get this far." The words are soft, but the meaning is clear.

"M'sorry" It's more of a whisper than anything, but everything is slipping away from him.

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