#magic poisoning

[whumpspicelatte]

Two Steps Back: Terry in "King's Counsel"

Terry's POV to @echo-goes-mmm's Regress

Juno belongs to @echo-goes-aaa / @echo-goes-mmm

Warnings: sickness (fever from magic poisoning), delirium, Terry's canonically horrible self-esteem

Something was wrong. 

Magic inebriation, Wright had told him in private. A seemingly harmless name for a potentially deadly phenomenon. There was too much magic in Juno’s system. While Juno had grown accustomed to trace amounts in his system from the ointments and the curse in Terrance’s blood that had been used to ink that tattoo into Juno’s skin, not to mention atmospheric magic in the air, he still could in no way handle the high saturation needed to save his life. It had become poison to him. Any further magic in his system could prove fatal. 

Terrance had to…sit down, after that. Rest his head in his hands. His puffy eyes still watered. 

The court mage had sealed off Juno’s room so that no magic could get inside and drained it of all atmospheric magic. A week of bedrest would allow Terrance’s boy to drain of the magic in his system thanks to the enchantments, while also letting him recover from the exhaustion of his body being forced into overdrive to so thoroughly heal those injuries in such a short amount of time. 

None of this was told to Juno. The young man was of Timorsia, born and raised; there, magic was all but reserved solely for war and conquest. It would only make him panic.

…Terrance probably should have taken that into consideration before bringing in his court mage along with his medics. 

Damn it. 

At least, so long as they were careful, Juno should be safe by the end of the week. He just needed rest, and to stay in that room. No magic. None at all. 

So Terrance had to wear gloves when he went in to take care of Juno. 

As petty as it was, he didn’t like them. Even though he knew it was for the best. Even though he still made himself wear them, because they were for the best. He wouldn’t put Juno’s health in danger just because he didn’t like wearing these gloves while touching Juno. 

He didn’t like the distance they imposed between the two of them. 

But if this would make sure Juno could rise back to full form from that body on the bed, hollowed out by exhaustion, sweat clinging to those flushed cheeks…

The fever had started only two days in. “A natural reaction,” Wright had told him. “Just the body cycling out the excess magic. Burning through it, as it were.” An unfortunate metaphor; now all Terrance could think of was fire burning his boy from the inside out, eating away at everything until all that would be left was a hollow husk of paper-thin skin and charred ashes and bones, tanzanite stones resting in empty eye sockets. 

“Food and water,” Wright reminded him. “He’s going to need plenty of food and water to sweat this out.”

Food and water. He could do that. 

Juno whimpered, face scrunching up, and Terrance’s heart squeezed. He paused mid-feeding to gently run his knuckles over Juno’s cheek, the way that always had made his boy’s lashes flutter and body melt before. Had always helped his boy relax. Help his boy know he was safe. 

Instead, Juno flinched. 

Terrance’s knuckles hovered over that pale, clammy skin. 

Slowly, he drew away, and his boy relaxed, throat bobbing beneath a delicate, unenchanted collar of ribbons and lace, the pearls dripping from it rising and falling with the Adam’s apple. It had been the only clothing-adjacent thing they’d been able to purify of all magic contamination. Just the blankets alone had been a struggle. 

It took everything he had not to yank his gloves off and throw them into the nearby wall. 

He quietly fed Juno a mulberry, and did his best not to pay attention to the claws spearing his lungs as those ocean-slits filled with tears. A whimper trickled free, and Terrance’s fingertips flinched, unnoticed. 

When his boy began to cry, little hiccups struggling to stay as silent as they could, he closed his eyes before they could blur. 

Food and water. 

He picked up the waterskin and gently began to trickle water down his boy’s throat. 

He could do that. 

<><><>

The fever worsened. Wright had warned him of delirium. Of how Juno might be unable to recognize anyone. How his boy may behave somewhat erratically. How he might not be able to think clearly. 

Such as trying to get off the bed when he couldn’t even hold a feather between his fingers. 

Terrance set the tray of fresh fruit and fish and warm honey-ginger tea, all prepared the Tismorian way, down on the bedside table harder than he should have, making the glass shiver. “Juno,” he rasped, head already pounding from the even heavier duties that came with getting rid of most his council for thinly veiled treason under other pretenses. His remaining Minister and the Duchess did their best to help, but they could only do so much. Already, the court was jockeying to fill the power vaccuum left in the wake of the six removed advisors. 

It was almost enough to make him regret his decision to have them taken from their posts, warded off with the reminder of why he’d done it every time he saw his boy like… like this. 

His boy, who was on the verge of tipping right out of the bed and cracking open his skull. 

“Juno, no!” Terrance shot forward, gloved hand pushing his boy down as gently as possible. Regret shot through him at the young man promptly bursting into tears. His boy…

Why was it that all Terrance seemed able to do was make his boy cry?

“Juno,” he croaked, shaky fingers coming up to brush away those tears with dabs of his gloved knuckles as he propped his boy up on the pillows, making sure Juno was as comfortable as he could make him. “Please, don’t cry. What do you need?”

Before now, Juno and him had figured out ways to understand each other through actions for them both as much as words and hums from Terrance and soft little noises and gestures from Juno. But now, all the feverish boy could do was sob into his pillows, unable to even lift his own head. 

“I think I should teach you some sign,” Terrance mumbled, feeling stupid for not thinking of that beforehand, just because they had seemed not to need it. How isolated had Juno felt for the lack of it? “Or some writing. Or something.”

Terrance didn’t know what the fever had warped his words into, because then Juno began to thrash. 

All he could do was gently hold his boy still enough to not crack his skull open against the headboard or bedside table. Until Juno sank back against the pillows, hollowed out and empty all over again. Dull eyes looked off into distance. Terrance swallowed around the lump in his throat, head pounding. 

He deserved the pain. Deserved the throbbing ache. Deserved how it hurt.

He knew it was a likely useless endeavour with Juno left in this state, but Terrance still busied himself with trying to talk through the alphabet and simple flash cards he’d once used with his niece when Florence had a hard time remembering words as a toddler, all drained of all echos of magic still otherwise clinging to the paper. All Juno did was make his head loll away. Terrance hoped that the white noise of his voice, at least, might help. Somehow. 

When Juno’s eyes fluttered shut, breathing evening out in sleep, Terrance let himself fall silent. Let himself set down the flashcards, rest his face in his hands and weep. Let himself be weak. 

Terrance was a selfish, impatient, useless man. And it burned. 

He wanted his boy back.

[ask-jack-and-jolt]

Magic Poisoning

Jolt sat on the floor of his room, contemplating whether or not to go through with it. It'd been ages since he'd heard from Sage. Had they disappeared? He didn't know what he'd do if Sage turned into nothing. Find a way to get them back, he supposed. 

Sage had said just to call for her and she'd be there, right? She'd know and come to him? Something like that... he hoped he wasn't bothering her. 

"Sage?" He said to the empty room, wishing he could just go find her in person. Seemed less demanding than calling for her and expecting she appear. "I miss you Sage-y. I dunno how this works but if you can somehow hear me I would really like to see you."