The Sun Also Rises

It was so distinctly unlike Sebastian to step out as suddenly as he had, at least for any manner not relating directly to work, yet, perhaps more alarming still, was the vampiric woman his husband had so seemingly brought with him. Sebastian, after all, was nothing if not diligent in informing him of any guests he intended to have. DOrian too was quite certain his lover did not keep the company of any vampires other then Arlo. This woman was a decidedly new occurrence and while he trusted Sebastian's judgement upon just whom he brought into their home implicitly- the Monarch could hardly help that faint wariness of sorts that tugged at him still. His very species, after all, so tended to be a favourite of the vampire race. Dorian as of yet remaining uncertain on the level of control this vampiric woman possessed even as that polite smile found his face. The Fae King moved further into the hall and towards his husband then, his hand coming to rest upon Sebastian's arm in that small and yet affectionate gesture. Dorian, after all, was terribly prone to missing Sebastian whenever the man was away from him for any length of time. The Monarch took that moment to introduce himself to the vampiric woman in turn as Sebastian so apologised for his failure to make those very introductions ismelf. Dorian so hardly concerned for such a thing when Sebastian felt so decidedly...hot. How very curious! Surely the heat from the shower had not lasted this long? Even after Sebastian had fed he so never seemed to retain this level of heat. In truth, his lover felt near feverish to the touch and yet Dorian knew readily of the impossibilities of such a thing. Vampires, after all, just as Fae, simply did not succumb to illness. At least, so Dorian had been led to believe.

He was oblivious, in that moment, to how very curious the vampire woman seemed to find that affection between Sebastian and himself in turn. Dorian far to taken with how very ...out of sorts both vampires appeared. Truly he was near assured that both looked pale by even vampiric standards. How very drawn and tired the woman looked and indeed Sebastian so hardly looked himself, the man appearing almost...sweaty. Those very first tendrils of genuine worry so began to creep into the Monarch's own chest, the sheer temperature of Sebastian's skin prompting his own words to fall short as he drew attention to that very fact. His lover seemed near genuinely surprised at that very observation, the vampire proceeding to notably shiver before proclaiming he hardly knew what he felt. A look of alarm so readily finding Dorian's features then. In all that time they had been together he was near certain he had never seen Sebastian shiver!

"Mon Cher, are you ...cold? Your shaking."

How could he possibly feel cold when his skin felt so hot! Dorian so making a near subtle attempt to inquire as to whether or not either of those vampires felt...well. The Monarch suggesting that neither looked as terribly healthy as they normally did. The teal-eyed woman was near quick to see through his very ruse as she insisted they looked akin to death before proceeding to speak of something green that was apparently killing them. Sebastian had made no mention of anything green. Dorian glanced between his lover and the woman now as Sebastian further insisted they were fine. Dorian, this time, so failing to believe that very sentiment as his features frowned further with worry. Whatever protest the vampiric woman had been about to offer however was abruptly cut off by her sudden sneeze. Dorian, near instinctively, stepped backward and closer to Sebastian as if to avoid the trajectory of the sneeze itself.

"Sebastian, I ...dont think your friend is ...well."

Those manners, it seemed, were still inclined to cling to the man and yet the beginnings of that panic were surely clear in turn. Dorian so suddenly possessed with that desire to have the woman leave their home immediately. He had seen sickness before- in all its ugliness. He had seen that fever take several of his siblings, he had seen those aches and chills take another and that plague, by far the worst, claim his own mother and infant brother. Even with his own immortality the fear of those diseases remained near deeply ingrained as they had been for so many of the age in which the Monarch had lived for so long. A cough, a sneeze, even a mere ache so often the veritable beginning of the end within his own time. Yet- had not Sebastian assured him that vampires could not become sick? Dorian so clinging to that very fact that appeared to grow more and more feeble with each passing moment. The sudden and abrupt disappearance of their hallway readily saw Dorian reach for Sebastian's arm once more, the Monarch glancing about with alarm as they seemed to appear somewhere ...within Paris? Had his own mind been afflicted by that condition in turn!? How on earth had they gotten to Paris? Sebastian's voice drew his attention then and yet those sudden, racking coughs from the woman so prompted Dorian to lift at the collar f his own shirt, the Monarch drawing his shirt up and over his nose and mouth as if this, somehow, might shield him from that spread of disease that clearly afflicted the woman- and her illusions.

"She's sick, Sebastian! Don't get too close to her, it might afflict you as well! How on earth do we get out of Paris? We quite need to find her a doctor- "

That illusion seemed to shift near as suddenly as it had appeared, the trio returned to Sebastian and Dorians own lavish home and hallway before yet another sneeze from Petra seemed to prompt the appearance of a chicken upon the hallway rug- Dorain so momentarily left eyeing the bird in disbelief as Sebastian demanded it not ruin the carpet. A chicken? Dorians gaze shifted from that very bird to Petra and back again. Illusion or otherwise the creature looked so distinctly real! Sebastian's hands raised to rub at his temples then as if the very noise of the bird alone was entirely too much, that worry returning to the Monarch with full force. Dorian, for now, willing to attempt to ignore that chicken- luscious though the idea was that a chicken was even in their home to begin with. The Fae King slowly drew his shirt away from his face if only so Sebastian might hear him better.

"Bastian? Could you lift your arms up for me, please?"

It was, admittedly, a truly curious request and yet Dorian waited only so long as it took his husband to comply with that very request before the Monarch proceeded to near examine Sebastian's exposed side. His husbands skin, mercifully, appeared free of that black discoloration that so indicated the plague. Dorian wandered toward Sebastian's other side then if only to assess it in turn. That skin equally blemish free. Thank heavens! Yet- if it was not the plague then what was it?

"Neither of you are in any pain are you? Or....bleeding from anywhere?"

How desperately he tried to keep that worry from his voice and yet how readily those notes of concern seemed to find him all the same, Dorian near assured that beat of his heart that fluttered nervously within his chest had already given away his own concern for his husband in those moments. Dorain was certain the woman was to blame- bringing disease into their house and now his beloved Sebastian was sick. Sick! The sight of Charles at the end of the hall seemed to prompt the Fae to pivot in place.

"Charles! Would you fetch Elizabeth please and whoever is the nearest doctor. Sebastian is taken ill, as is his guest. Hurry, Charles!"

How very confused that unfortunate manservant appeared! Charles glancing between Dorian and Sebastian before Sebastian's very appearance seemed to prompt the man into action, Charles all but racing down those stairs in search of Elizabeth. In the very least the woman might know how best to handle that situation. Tea. Perhaps Sebastian and his guest needed tea- and tissues. Did they even own tissues? Dorian's gaze shifted from the woman and back to Sebastian then before reaching for his lovers hand.

"Darling, I think you and your friend best come downstairs and rest on the sofas until the doctor gets here or Elizabeth has a chance to see you both. Would you like a cup of tea?"

Tea, after all, so eternally seemed to appease Sebastian even if Dorian was largely assured his affliction would not be cured by it here and now. That anxiousness of sorts still clung to every part of the Monarch as he regarded his husband and the vampire woman. How he could not bear it if Sebastian had caught the plague!

Dorian Ellington-Aragona