#thegrayhairedprince

Continued from here.

When he heard Takumi was to be his babysitter once more, he was reluctant to approach. After all, their meeting hadn't gone too well, and Dwyer didn't want neither him nor the Kinshi Knight to feel uneasy in each others’ presence. Even as it got late and the boy found Takumi reading by the fireplace, he was unsure whether to ask what he was doing or not. The Knight seemed rather at ease-- perhaps it wouldn't hurt to get a look? Dwyer snuck into the sitting room to find Takumi with a book.

Now the thought of wanting to be read to crossed the child’s mind. It had been a while since someone else rather than his caretakers even pulled out a book in the dusty mansion. Not even attempting to makes his presence unknown, he climbed into the man’s lap. Immediately the boy made himself comfortable as he tucked the back of his head in between Takumi’s bicep and figure. A nod came from the child.

@thegrayhairedprince

“P-Prince Takumi!” shouted out Zep as he quickly ran to the fallen prince’s side. He held the other’s head up and placed two fingers to his neck.

“Irregular heartbeat… Dammit, he’s poisoned!” Zep gritted his teeth. Should he call for help? No, at this rate, it’ll be too late before someone could provide an effective potion for him. He had to at least try to help Takumi survive the effects until it was flushed out.

Zep closed his eyes and concentrated. His eyes opened again with a purple glow in them, staring into the other’s body.

“Take deep breaths… If you can still hear me, I need you trust me right now. I’m gonna force your heart beat to a normal rhythm and try to prevent the poison from killing off any major tissue in your organs…” Zep pressed a hand against the other’s chest, his Psionics pulsating through the other’s body now to try to stabilize the other.

The young Archagent swore under his breath. This had to be a set-up… The timing was just too convenient for it to be called a coincidence. But he had to worry about it later.

This wasn’t Xander’s first time going above and beyond his duty on the battlefield. 

By the time the fight had finally ended, Xander had returned to their base with numerous wounds, and they weren’t necessarily minor, either. What did he expect, handling the front lines on his lonesome? Legendary weapon or not, he was bound to end up injured, and that was a best case scenario. Had their enemies been stronger, he would have been much worse off. 

He held back a wince as one of the Troubadours wrapped his wounds. As much as he wanted to tell the healers to leave him be and treat the others, he was well aware that someone would call him out on his double standard sooner or later: had someone else been in his position where they turned down medical assistance, he would have scolded them for not allowing someone to see to them. He could argue that it wasn’t a double standard, but… well, that would make people worry, and he simply couldn’t allow himself to do that to his family, friends, and comrades. He was the Crown Prince, after all: he was supposed to be a sturdy force for everyone to rely on. 

Pulling his shirt on over his bandages once he was left to his lonesome in his tent, Xander exhaled a breath. He needed to be more careful. He needed to be stronger. He needed to stop being so willing to put himself in danger, as much as his subconscious seemed to love the idea. Were these wounds redemption? Would they make up for the blood of others that he had spilled? 

        ❝ Daaaaaaddy~! ❞ The vixen’s voice rang through the         usually quiet air as she ran after her father, having caught         sight of him heading off who knows where. In moments         Selkie was coming up behind the prince, throwing her         tiny frame against his back with fluffy tail wagging away         rapidly behind her.

“If you do not keep quiet, I will do something you will regret.”

It wasn’t an empty threat either. However, what exactly he would do was left to Takumi’s imagination. He adjusted the other, trying to keep him steady so as to not drop him on the way to the horse. The Hoshidan probably would like to not be dropped, and Xander would rather not lose him so quickly. The prince halted for a moment, checking to see if they were both still alone. He just needed to get a little further.