Aesir (![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} deadmanwalking) wrote in ![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} beforedawn_ic,@ 2024-11-17 14:49:00 |
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What: Aidan go BOOM
When: Early October
Where: Aesir's home
Rating: low
He woke up, his head pounding. His mouth tasted weird. His nose itched. His fingers ached. Something was wrong. He pushed himself up, sitting up. A book laid next to him. It wasn’t in a language that he knew. He rubbed his nose. Actually, what did he know? He tried to think but his head ached too much. Water. He should drink some water. That would help. He hoped. He pushed himself to his feet. He didn’t know where to go. Kitchen? Was water hidden elsewhere? He stepped out into the hall. His head was pounding. He paused, leaning for a moment. Just a moment. Maybe longer than a moment. He slid down the wall. Something was horribly wrong. He didn’t know what exactly but he knew there was. And he would figure it out later. Now he would close his eyes for a moment. Until the pounding stopped.
—-
Aesir immediately felt a deep wrongness. He frowned to himself and closed his eye, trying to work through his mind to figure out where it came from or what might be causing it. When he came up with nothing he decided to wander a bit. Maybe his head would clear or he’d figure out the issue. Either were better than just trying to ignore it. As he stepped into the hall Aesir saw Aidan and he was slammed even harder with that feeling. Rushing to his love he knelt down beside him and gently touched his face. “Aidan! What’s wrong?” He began looking him over as if he would be able to see the problem.
—-
He opened his eyes to a very tattooed man looking very concerned. He should know this person, should he not? If he was in this space with him? Except he didn't know where he was. Or, if he thought about it, that he didn't know what was wrong. Or who this Aidan he was talking to. Which then led him to that he didn't know who he was.
He closed his eyes for a moment. He needed this headache to go away. He needed it to stop hurting so much. Then he could think. He could put the pieces together. He realised after a moment that this man was waiting for answer.
He opened his eyes and looked at the other's striking blue eyes and said, his voice hoarse, "I don't know. I don't - who are you?"
---
Aesir was trying to read Aidan to see if he could figure out what was wrong and he was getting a jumbled mess that didn't make any sense. He waited, trying not to panic too much. He wanted to figure out what was wrong and what he could do to help Aidan. And then he spoke and Aesir just blinked at him for a moment. Okay, so Aidan was confused, that fit with what he was getting from him.
"Come on, let's get you off the floor." Reaching down, he pulled Aidan into his arms and picked him up off of the floor. "Do you hurt?" He was going to focus on Aidan's physical condition and worry about the rest later.
---
He did not expect to be picked up like that. That question made him frown and he replied, "My head is killing me." His mouth still tasted weird and his fingers tingled less now. He had wrapped his arms around the tattooed man when he was picked up.
"I'm sorry," he said, "I'm- confused right now." Where was this man going to take him? Should he be concerned? He should ask more questions. God, his head was pounding. He closed his eyes a moment, "Times I wish Advil would work."
---
Aesir tried to keep his cool but the more Aidan talked the more he began to panic deep inside. His head heart and he was confused and he didn't seem to know who Aesir was? Maybe it was just from the headache and it was realy no big deal. He was going ot hold onto that for now.
"You don't need to apologize." Aesir said gently then carried him to the bedroom and set him down on the bed. "I could get you a cup of tea. Or do you need to feed? That might help."
---
Feed? No. He did not think that would help. Actually, the idea of feeding made his stomach turn. He knew that wasn’t a positive response. How was it that he knew what feeding meant, what he was but he didn’t know who he was? Why was that a question mark? He blew out a breath slowly as he sat on the bed.
“Um, yes please. Tea would. E wonderful,” he said. Right. This man would step out and he could look around and get some idea of what he was missing. Maybe it would trigger something.
—-
“Alright. I will do that”. Aesir’s eyes lingered on Aidan for a long moment. He had so many questions but it seems that Aidan was more confused than he was and THAT was terrifying. So, for now, he was going to tread lightly. With a nod he headed out of the room to make tea for Aidan. A tea that would probably take longer than normal.
—-
He waited for the man to leave before getting off the bed. He went into the nightstand first, hoping for a wallet or something. Instead he found a photo on top of both of them, a classic pose of the other man with his arm around him and he was turned in to look. They were a couple. Of course. It made sense, being in the bedroom. How long had they been a couple? He set the photo down. His head was still pounding. He opened the drawer but didn’t find a wallet or any ID. He huffed, annoyed that it wasn’t so simple. He crossed the room to the other night stand and there was his ID and wallet.
Aidan Niven. The birth year was a lie. Did that mean the whole thing was a lie? Was his name? Aidan? It looked like him but he didn’t know. He slid the cards back.
He frowned. Now what? He should keep looking. He needed to find something.
—-
Aesir was about as prepared as he thought he could be when he headed back to the room. He made sure to make enough noise so Aidan would hear him before stepping in. He handed over the tea, prepared just as Aidan liked it. “Hopefully this helps. Short of knocking you out I have no other cures for a headache.” Yup. Play like everything’s normal.
—-
Aidan heard the steps and moved back to the bed. He smiled when the other man handed him the tea. He enjoyed the warmth of the mug.
“Thank you.” What was his name? “I appreciate this. And perhaps being knocked out would help. This headache…” he trailed off and looked away, “I don’t feel like myself,” that’s one way to put it, “and I’m not sure what happened. The headache. Everything.” He was very confused.
—-
Hearing hte simple thought that Aidan didn't know his name felt like a punch to the gut. He really coudn't ignore this anymore or pretend like it wasn't happening. With a sigh he sat down on the bed. "You have no idea who I am or where you are, do you?" He needed to hear it out loud. Maybe HE was the one losing his mind and Aidan was fine? He could hope. Looking over at Aidan, he waited for an answer.
---
He looked down at his mug then back at the other man and gave a small shake of his head, "I... remember this headache but everything before..." he trailed off, "I have the feeling that you are someone I trust?" Love, possibly but he could be making that up, mixing up what he could figure out from the situation and what he hoped made sense, "But..." He frowned, "I don't suppose you know what caused this headache?" As if the headache was the reason he remembered nothing, which, honestly, it probably was. But why? And how? And how did it effect a vampire like this?
---
“No. I don’t know why. About two hours ago I went to my office to make some calls and you were in another part of the house. I don’t know what you were working on.” Aesir spoke softly. “Then I found you on the floor.” He tried to keep his voice calm and keep his fear in check. The last thing he needed was to affect Aidan and make it worse. “I’m Aesir. Your sire and we have been together over 300 years.” He assumed Aidan knew what he was since he mentioned the advil thing.
—-
He blinked at Aesir. His sire? And they were together for over 300 years? How old was he? Old. Not incredibly old but old enough to be considered older. He took a deep breath. Alright.
"I feel like I ought to apologise. This must be very distressing for you," he said then offered a weak smile, "To be fair, it's distressing to me too. I know what I am. But... specifics..." he frowned, "This is unusual for vampires, is it not? Perhaps it will wear off..."
---
"Unusual enough that I have never heard of it happening to a vampire before. It happens to humans sometimes and sometimes it wears off nad others it doesn't." Aesir kept his voice as neutral as possible. "It is probably best we focus on what happened and how we can help you through it for now." He looked away for a moment. "I am empathic and I tend to bleed over to you most of all so I am trying very hard no to influence you with my own distress." It was better to better to try to threat this as a business problem. No emotions. But that was going to be easier said than done. Just the fact Aidan had no idea who he was ate at him deep inside.
---
He nodded as Aesir spoke. Did his emotions bleed to him because he was his childe? How did he know that terminology and not his own name? Or his sire's own name? He knew there was a term for what he was going through but he didn't want to try and find it now.
"I'm sorry," he said, "I'm sure if we can figure out what happened, we can figure out how to fix this. Or we enjoy the tea and wait for it to wear off." He didn't like the last option. That would take too much time. He wanted the answers now.
"So you have no idea what I was up to? What do I usually do around this time? I assume I live here, yes?"
---
"I am not a fan of waiting, and I know you are even less of a fan of it." Aesir cracked a half smile even if it didn't last long. "So I don't suggest that." Even if they didn't have anything else to do right now, they could at least try.
"Usually you are in the music room working on music." He thought about that for a moment. "But sometimes lately you've been working on your magic." He spoke softly. "You have your own apartment but you stay here with me most of the time."
---
He frowned, in thought. Music would not have caused this. Magic, however. Vampires didn’t have magic but why did he? Yet he knew that too, magic hummed in his veins, in his being. His magic, actually, now that he thought on it, felt off kilter. Like an unbalanced scale. Something had knocked it to its side.
“What magic have I been working on?” Aidan asked, “Have I shared that with you?” Perhaps that was a clue?
—-
Aesir frowned slightly ash e thought back to what Aidan had shared with him about his magic. Most of what he was working on didn't make a lot of sense to him but he did like to be a part of Aidan's life in every way so he tried to listen and follow what he could. "I believe you had some new manuscripts that you were trying to translate. You were hoping it might lead you to something you were looking for." He shook his head slightly. "I'm sorry I don't remember more than that.
---
"Perhaps we should look at them. Maybe there is something on there. Something I did that I wasn't supposed to," Aidan said. He slid off the bed to stand and immediately swayed as he stood. His head was still pounding. He took a deep breath. He was fine. Absolutely fine.
"Shall we?" Best to keep going before he felt worse.
---
"It certainly is worth a try. I will do whatever I can to help." Aesir watched Aidan and rushed to him when he saw him sway, laying a gentle hand on his arm to steady him. No, he was not fine. But Aesir had no idea how to help him. There had to be someone who might know what to do. He would look into that, later.
"Let the investigation begin." He offered Aidan his arm as he always would have for fun and hoped he would take it.
---
Aidan took Aesir’s arm, leaning into him more than he wanted to. He didn’t like feeling this unsteady. He also didn’t like how they walked, his headache raged more. Perhaps he ought to feed. Blood had to help, right? It had to.
He let the other man lead him into a room. He could feel the magic buzz in the air like an annoying mosquito. The magic was off. Aidan frowned. That would explain it, in part, at least.
Aidan felt his head pound worse as he stepped into the room and towards a dropped book. The book hummed with energy. He looked at the pages and nothing on it made sense. He frowned.
“Someone else who is magically inclined may be able to tell why the air feels weird,” he said.
—-
Aesir laid his other hand over Aidan's where he held on. He could tell Aidan was feeling unsteady and it worried him, but he didn't want to freak out and make things worse so he just did what he could to steady Aidan.
Watching, Aesir focused on Aidan's emotions and what he was feeling from him. That too was off, though it was still Aidan at the core.
"We could get ahold of Gage." He thought about the fact that Aidan wouldn't know who that was. "He's a warlock you've worked with before. He would know your magic, I think. You're pretty close."
---
Gage? Aidan was glad that Aesir filled in the blanks. A warlock that he knew. Aidan gave a nod. That might be a good idea. A warlock may know why things were off here and how to fix the energy and, hopefully, him.
"Yes, perhaps call him?" Aidan suggested, "Might as well try to get answers now before the air shifts again."
---
Aesir led Aidan into the dining room and helped him sit in a chair. "I'll call him then get the tea started." He looked Aidan over for a long moment before heading into the kitchen and getting the kettle on. He called Gage and told him just enough to get him to the house as quickly as possible, promising to make it worth his while if necessary.
Once the tea was ready he came back to Aidan and sat down beside him. "Can I do anything else, for now?" He asked, softly.
---
Aidan wanted to protest being alone in this room but kept quiet. He reached and touched the air. Off. So very off. What was he doing here? He frowned. And was what happened reversible? He stepped out into the hall and took a seat there, away from the weird air. His headache was starting to fade a bit.
He glanced at Aesir when the other man returned and gave a small shake of his head, “No, I don’t think so. Just need to wait this out and have whatever magic this is, fade away.” Here’s hoping that’s all it was.
—-
Aesir nodded slowly the sat awkwardly. He didn’t know what to do. He wanted to reach out and hold Aidan. He wanted to fix yet he knew nothing about it. He was pretty much useless.
Gage didn’t bother to knock. He burst into the house in a very Gage fashion. “Aidan. What the fuck did you do?! Where is this book and this room.”
—-
Aidan felt awkward as they sat together. He felt like he should be leaning on Aesir more, that that was what the other man was used to but Aidan wasn’t familiar with him enough to do that. Or with himself. He found himself peeking at his hands, arms, trying to understand the tattoos that he had. Why?
He looked up when the warlock came into the room and raised an eyebrow. They must be friends. Or Gage was insane. He gestured towards the room as he asked, “Can you not sense it?”
—-
Gage shut his mouth long enough to actually pay attention. He frowned lightly then winced and shuttered. "Oh fuck that's a serious mess. No wonder you're out of sorts." He tilted his head slightly. "Where's the book? I should probably look at that first. But first I need to know if you remember anything." He looked over at Aesir who shook his head then he turned back to Aidan. "Even vague memories or ideas might help."
---
Aidan felt a bit on edge now, like he was being cornered and he didn’t appreciate it. He waved a hand vaguely in a direction and said, “The book is around somewhere.” That was true. As did what he remembered? Well. He remembered… what he was? That was something, wasn’t it? But the rest? Not so much.
“It will wear off, I’m sure,” Aidan said. He hoped.
—-
Gage blinked at him for a moment then winced. Aidan the eternal optimist? Well. There was that. "Okay you're not going to like hearing this but based on the feeling of this? It's not going to wear off. So you might want to focus more on fixing it then hoping it'll wear off. I'm going to go find this book. Why don't you go outside so you can breathe, metaphoricly speaking, and step away from this mess for a moment." He looked at Aesir as if trying to tell him to drag Aidan if necessary.
Aesir stood. "We could step out to the couryard. It should be lit up nicely." He was trying not to be pushy knowing Aidan wouldn't like that.
---
Aidan frowned. What the hell had he been doing that exploded like this? He didn’t want to go outside. He felt like he was being pushed out; a child with a colouring book. The throbbing of his headache wasn’t helping either. He took a deep breath.
“Of course,” he said, “but perhaps well lit is not best for this headache? I could lay down. If you wanted time to look for a book.” Like the book was the only thing he was looking for.
—-
Aesir was frustrated but trying very hard to hide it. He could tell Aidan was scared and confused even without being able to feel it so he wasn’t going to add to it. He nodded simply unsure of what to say or do.
Gage however didn’t hesitate and rolled his eyes. “Dude, I’m not kicking you out I just thought this had to be making you feel like shit and you could use a breather. I’ve fucked up spells before and made a mess but you’re not reckless like I am so this isn’t a normal fuckup. If you want to look with me have at it.”
—-
"My headache makes me feel like shit," Aidan corrected, "and, sadly, I cannot get away from my own head. As much as I would like to." He was supposed he was being a bit short, a bit prim and probably a bit British in his mannerisms but he couldn't help it. Besides, it wasn't like he knew either one of these men. Not really. This all could be some sort of hoax.
"I wish I had some information to give you but apparently I did not share with my... sire."
---
Gage waved off his last comment. "You have never shared the details of your magic with Aesir. It usually just confuses him." He blew a kiss to Aesir who let out a short laugh.
"I won't hover. I'm sure I'm just making things more awakward and difficult so I'll get out of the way. Thank you Gage. If you need me I'll be in the front office." Aesir motioned then stepped away.
Once he was gone, Gage turned back to Aidan. "Okay, so. Let's see what I can see or sense or tell and maybe I can at least help clean up the leaking mess so maybe your headache will get better. We might have to bring in the big guns since I don't claim to be an expert or anything."
---
Aidan wondered why Aesir left so easily. His gaze followed the other out but he said nothing. Perhaps his initial guess was wrong; perhaps they weren’t very close. Aidan turned his gaze to the warlock.
“He said you were a friend. Would I have shared what I was working on with you?” Aidan asked. He closed his eyes for a moment. His head was killing him.
“Who or what are bigger guns than you?” Aidan crossed the room and picked up a book that was on the ground. He held it out to Gage. This one.
—-
Gage watched Aesir go with a raised eyebrow but said nothing. He shrugged at Aidan. “Sometimes. Depended if you just dove into something or wanted help or another opinion or just to share excitement. You hadn’t told me about this yet though.” Taking the book he made a face but looked it over while he answered. “Bigger guns would either be the warlock in my head or we contact my family in Wales or I dig through my contacts and see who I can call. Or we get lucky and you took good notes on this and who might have a connection to it.”
—-
"The warlock in your head?" Aidan repeated. That sounded crazy. Gage was supposed to be the one who helped. He wasn't supposed to be crazy. He sighed softly.
"Do you see anything in there that would have done this?" Aidan asked, "Or anything that would... reverse this?"
---
Gage snorted. "Yeah, that makes me sound absolutely insane doesn't it?" He shook his head slightly. "It's a really really long story. But the cliff's notes version is that my ancient ancestor gave up his magic and his body attaching himself to the soul of his bloodline. You're the one who got his magic, and I ended up with him attached to my soul. We've come to a truce mostly because I've locked him in but he really likes you so he'll help as long as it's you."
Looking through the book, Gage shook his head slowly. "No. But I'm not the best translator either so I could be missing something. There do appear to be some powerful spells in here, so it's entirely possible. And given the circumstances I would assume it was this. You're not likely to just give yourself amnesia by choice. Unless it turns out you're more insane than me but I think Aesir would have noticed and he'd be more pushy instead of scared if that were the case." He frowned down at the book. "Yeah, gonna need help with this unless you can read it." He looked over at Aidan.
---
“That’s how I got magic?” Aidan repeated with a frown. No, magic was a part of him, just like he knew being a vampire was. Magic was weaved into his very being. It was coded into him. How could someone give it to him?
“I have questions but perhaps later,” Aidan said. He gestured for the book, frowning at it. Powerful spells? What was he trying to do? Too many questions and not enough answers.
“I must have notes around here, you think? Perhaps that would help us with intention,” Aidan suggested. He glanced around. He looked back to Gage, “Can you cleanse this area? Make the air… less static?” That could help too.
—-
"Yeah. Something about how you likely had magic when you were human so you were more accepting of it when Gwydion chose you. It was hundreds of years ago so most of your life, both alive and not-so-alive." He frowned at himself then focused on the here and now.
"Oh, yeah. Good idea." He set the book down then grabbed the bag he had brought in. Pulling out sage and other special stuff Gage went about cleansing the are as much as. he could with what he had. "I can do a de3per cleanse once I stock up on a few things but this should be better."
---
Aidan felt like that would be something he ought to know, if he had magic when he was human or not. Yet he didn't know that, not for certain. He wasn't sure how to take that. He simply nodded. He would muse on that later.
As Gage cleansed the air, it made Aidan's headache feel better. It didn't feel so much like he was being bashed over the head with a rock repeatedly. It ached but it was manageable now. What he also noticed was that his memory did not seem to return, not even a little.
"Thank you," Aidan said, "Alright. I suppose we should keep looking for the notes." There had to be something here that told them what Aidan had done to get into this situation.
---