26. HEAL!
✧･ﾟ:* a comprehensive list of scenarios | HEAL : for one muse to nurse the other back to health from a sickness or injury.
"...it appears to be symptoms of a common cold," Baizhu finished and started taking out his pens and parchment. "You say the patient was a child? Then I'll write up something milder for the dosage, and trouble you to deliver it to his mother."
"Thank you, doctor." Sitting across from him in a simple chair was a man with platinum blond hair and a pair of pale-gold eyes, one leg crossed over the other as he lounged in his seat. He was dressed impeccably neat in a three-piece suit with a longer jacket nestled over his shoulders like a cape—or perhaps, the mantle of a cloak, for his posture was certainly kingly.
If anything, the consultation room of Bubu Pharmacy seemed to be paying homage to a new monarch, with Baizhu reduced to the position of a his scribe. If he felt the change, he didn't acknowledge it, pen steadily scribbling the ingredients across the paper.
"The price will be calculated by weight," Baizhu declared when he was done. "I will have—cough!"
Perhaps the cool breeze from an open window was to blame; perhaps he'd simply turned too quickly and caught his body off-guard. In any case, Baizhu was forced to hastily excuse himself while muffling his coughs away from his guest. By the time he caught his breath—quite an understatement, considering the difficulty he had drawing in air at the moment—the tall, imposing man had risen from his seat to stand before the counter, one arm raised to offer him a clean handkerchief.
"Are you well?" he asked with concern even as a soft warning hiss came from the white snake around Baizhu's shoulders.
"Shh, it's fine," Baizhu soothed her, though Changsheng only raised its head until she was eyeing their customer and stuck out a forked tongue. "Please do not mind," his weak voice went on to address Aurelius, "It is a chronic ailment."
"That's quite unfortunate for a physician," his guest remarked even as he remained holding out his handkerchief.
Baizhu politely ignored it. "If you would just excuse me a moment." He needed to collect himself. "I'll ring for one of my assistants to collect the ingredients."
Where was the something he needed for these occasions—oh right, on the shelf behind him. Perhaps he would wait for the customer to leave before getting up to—
"Is it this one?" a velvety voice asked as the man reached over and above him to take down a certain bottle. "Forgive my impertinence. I saw you staring at it quite intently."
Baizhu stood up in surprise. "That's—"
It was a terrible mistake.
Vertigo assaulted his senses. He heard Changsheng exclaiming something unintelligible while his body swayed and fell sideways. Quite neatly, gloved hands caught him against a broad chest and held him still until his vision stopped spinning. The sudden headache that had flared up with his impulsive actions faded as well, reduced to a dull throb at the back of his head. A heavier weight around his shoulders made Baizhu look down to see his serpent companion had inexplicably fallen asleep.
"I regret that I cannot do much more than this."
Baizhu blinked. Then he felt the warmth from a hand placed behind his head and the soft, soothing energy that flowed into him from it, lulling his tense brows to relax.
"What are you..."
"I'm sure Klaus has spoken of our kind," Aurelius replied, easing Baizhu into his chair and helping it recline backwards so the man could breathe more easily. "It is in the nature of angels to heal where there is hurt."
“Pardon—you know Klaus?” Baizhu asked as Aurelius found a blanket and tucked him in, conscientious and caring. The other angel was quite the contrast to this man and his overbearing aura that allowed no resistance.
“We come from the same world. I heard that he’s been in your care.” Of a sort, since Baizhu had hired him to work here. “I thank you for looking after him.”
The phrasing of his words made Baizhu wonder about the nature of his relationship with the seraphim. “Klaus is a diligent employee,” he began and started to cough again. Oh, not the blood agai—
Silk came to cover his lips, catching the first splash of red even as a hand rested idly over his chest. More warmth flooded through the palm to fill his lungs, suppressing his urge to cough further. Before Baizhu could sputter out either thanks or apology, Aurelius was already wiping bloodstained lips clean with his handkerchief.
"Please don't overtax yourself,” he murmured good-naturedly.
“The prescription—”
“I trust your assistants can handle it in your stead.” The handkerchief was removed before the gloved hand went to brush stray hairs from Baizhu’s forehead. Then his glasses were taken away and his view of the ceiling replaced by the strange angel’s face as he loomed over him with a faint smile.
"You have very lovely eyes."
"It is fortunate then, that they are only the least appealing facet of your persona."
There was only kindness in his tone, but his wording sounded terribly suspect. Some long-buried instincts kicked in as Baizhu tried to sit up, but Aurelius firmly pushed him back down and rested a hand over his eyelids to ease them shut.
"Rest, doctor.” The melodic voice was a balm to weary spirits, while the overwhelming flood of warmth that Aurelius channeled into Baizhu’s head was enough to banish the worst of his pains in an instant, leaving him drifting in a soft, comforting space. “You are not my enemy yet.”
Baizhu’s thoughts drowned with his consciousness as he sank into peaceful sleep.
