Balthasar sat in one of the chairs just outside the infirmary, his elbows on the arms of it and his fingers steepled together in front of him. The expression on his face was caught somewhere between concern and pensiveness: his brows were drawn together, and he frowned slightly, but his eyes were out-of-focus, their color unusually pale and vague. He was staring into the middle distance, but he wasnāt really seeing anything.
It went without saying that he was worried about his family. Ary had filled him in on what happened at the meeting via message already, and while Balthasar could not say he was particularly fond of the idea of his brother joining the Council, he could at least understand what the advantage was. If any of them could pull that off, it was Ary. He himself was a terrible liar, Zero was too impulsive and mischievous, and Yuki too direct, when she spoke at all. Leora might be able to do it, but she was young, yet, and it might do her more harm than most of them to be thrown to the wolves like that. The twinsā¦
He sighed as his thoughts were redirected to their current state. While it appeared to be mostly mental strain from Mikhailās untimely death that had knocked both of them out, it did not seem to have released them yet. If Al had to guess, he would say that perhaps the odd circumstances of their genetics and their birth had given them a psychological link that went beyond the common case with twins, and that this bond had caused Keir to experience the death of a familiar in a very similar way to Alarica. He supposed there might be a more precise explanation, but without access to all the medical results Yuki was running on the both of them, he wouldnāt know what it was, and he trusted his sister to do the work. She was the expert, after all, trained for nearly a century by Freya.
So he gave them their space, and he worried. Leo hadnāt left the infirmary itself since they all got back, and he could understand that. She and the twins had grown up together, after allāit was natural that she didn't wish to leave their sides. He honestly didnāt, either, but he had no wish to crowd anyone, and so out here he remained. He wasnāt even sure if he should go in when they woke up, butā¦ no, he would. They were his family. Whether she liked him or not, he had to make sure they were okay. Heād justā¦ leave quickly.
He realized dimly that something in his field of vision was moving, and for a moment, he thought it might be Yuki, with news. But as soon as he blinked and cleared his vision, he realized that it wasnāt her at all, but a classmate of his, laden down with what appeared to be a basket of items. It took him a second, but he placed her name almost immediately. āMiss Snowe?ā he asked, clearly confused by her presence here. She was a relatively new classmate, and he knew her father was on the Council, butā¦
She glanced up from what she was carrying, blinking a bit owlishly for a moment and then smiling wanly. She appeared to be under a bit of strain, though it was hard for him to tell why, exactly. āOh, Lord von Nacht. I, umā¦ā she seemed to be casting around for the right words, and her smile dimmed into a thoughtful frown. āI heard about what happened to your cousinsā¦ Iām sorry.ā She looked down at the floor, but raised her eyes when he spoke again.
āThank you, but thereās no need to apologize. What happened wasnāt your fault, after all.ā She seemed to relax a bit, and shifted the basket so that it was balanced on a hip. That drew his attention back to it, and he raised an inquiring eyebrow. āIs there something I can help you with?ā
She looked slightly surprised to hear it, and then looked down at the basket. āI wasā¦ actually, I was thinking I should be asking you that question. You and your family protected Cross and the town, andā¦ some of you got hurt because of that. I know some of us arenāt very good at expressing it, but the other students know that youāre helping them, I think. Even the humans. I guessā¦ I guess I just wanted to do what I could to help, too. Iām not much of a fighter or anything, butā¦ my father runs a pharmaceuticals company, and I thought maybe you might have a use for some medical supplies, now or in the future.ā She drew a couple of steps closer, stopping about five feet from him and holding out the basket, which did indeed seem to contain a wide array of clean and sterile medical supplies, of the kind that were useful for particularly bad vampiric injury.
He smiled; there was even what appeared to be a thank-you card on top, and he could see that sheād collected several signatures from other students to go on it. It was a small thing, but thoughtful, and he was sure Yuki could find a use for the supplies. āThank you,ā he said warmly, closing the rest of the distance by standing and moving towards her, accepting the basket from her outstretched hands and placing it under one arm. āIām afraid the kind of injuries my cousins have isnāt really treatable in the usual way, but Iāll pass these along to my sisterāIām sure weāll be able to make good use of them. Tell the other students we said thank you, as well. I know itās not always easy to show support when oneās parents might want something different, so it means a lot. You have my gratitude, Miss Snowe.ā
She smiled, shaking her head slightly. āItās the least any of us can do, really, given all your family does for us. If itās all right thoughā¦ call me Elizabeth? Iād like to be your friend, Lord von Nacht, if youād let me. Regardless of what my father decides.ā
That wasā¦ direct. But Balthasar didnāt mindāhe wasnāt always that good with the subtlety, anyway, and she didn't seem like one of those people that wanted to be around him for the power or position. Her father was already a Councilman, and besides that, she seemed honestly concerned about his family. It was hard not to respond positively to that. So he nodded, and stuck out his free hand for her to shake. āAll right then; Elizabeth it is. But if weāre going to be friends, you have to call me Balthasar, not āLord von Nacht.āā He pulled a face, and her nose crinkled in amusement.
āItās a deal, Balthasar,ā she agreed, taking his hand and giving it a firm shake. āPlease, if you find the time, let me know if your cousins wake up. Iād like to thank them, too, if I have the opportunity. And if notā¦ it would be nice to know theyād recovered at the very least.ā Her smile faded, and she released his hand. He found that it had been strangely warm, and now he felt a littleā¦ cold? How odd. Shaking his head, he resumed his seat, laying the basket next to him so he could give it to Yuki when things slowed down a bit. In the meantime, he supposed there was little to do but wait.
It went without saying that he was worried about his family. Ary had filled him in on what happened at the meeting via message already, and while Balthasar could not say he was particularly fond of the idea of his brother joining the Council, he could at least understand what the advantage was. If any of them could pull that off, it was Ary. He himself was a terrible liar, Zero was too impulsive and mischievous, and Yuki too direct, when she spoke at all. Leora might be able to do it, but she was young, yet, and it might do her more harm than most of them to be thrown to the wolves like that. The twinsā¦
He sighed as his thoughts were redirected to their current state. While it appeared to be mostly mental strain from Mikhailās untimely death that had knocked both of them out, it did not seem to have released them yet. If Al had to guess, he would say that perhaps the odd circumstances of their genetics and their birth had given them a psychological link that went beyond the common case with twins, and that this bond had caused Keir to experience the death of a familiar in a very similar way to Alarica. He supposed there might be a more precise explanation, but without access to all the medical results Yuki was running on the both of them, he wouldnāt know what it was, and he trusted his sister to do the work. She was the expert, after all, trained for nearly a century by Freya.
So he gave them their space, and he worried. Leo hadnāt left the infirmary itself since they all got back, and he could understand that. She and the twins had grown up together, after allāit was natural that she didn't wish to leave their sides. He honestly didnāt, either, but he had no wish to crowd anyone, and so out here he remained. He wasnāt even sure if he should go in when they woke up, butā¦ no, he would. They were his family. Whether she liked him or not, he had to make sure they were okay. Heād justā¦ leave quickly.
He realized dimly that something in his field of vision was moving, and for a moment, he thought it might be Yuki, with news. But as soon as he blinked and cleared his vision, he realized that it wasnāt her at all, but a classmate of his, laden down with what appeared to be a basket of items. It took him a second, but he placed her name almost immediately. āMiss Snowe?ā he asked, clearly confused by her presence here. She was a relatively new classmate, and he knew her father was on the Council, butā¦
She glanced up from what she was carrying, blinking a bit owlishly for a moment and then smiling wanly. She appeared to be under a bit of strain, though it was hard for him to tell why, exactly. āOh, Lord von Nacht. I, umā¦ā she seemed to be casting around for the right words, and her smile dimmed into a thoughtful frown. āI heard about what happened to your cousinsā¦ Iām sorry.ā She looked down at the floor, but raised her eyes when he spoke again.
āThank you, but thereās no need to apologize. What happened wasnāt your fault, after all.ā She seemed to relax a bit, and shifted the basket so that it was balanced on a hip. That drew his attention back to it, and he raised an inquiring eyebrow. āIs there something I can help you with?ā
She looked slightly surprised to hear it, and then looked down at the basket. āI wasā¦ actually, I was thinking I should be asking you that question. You and your family protected Cross and the town, andā¦ some of you got hurt because of that. I know some of us arenāt very good at expressing it, but the other students know that youāre helping them, I think. Even the humans. I guessā¦ I guess I just wanted to do what I could to help, too. Iām not much of a fighter or anything, butā¦ my father runs a pharmaceuticals company, and I thought maybe you might have a use for some medical supplies, now or in the future.ā She drew a couple of steps closer, stopping about five feet from him and holding out the basket, which did indeed seem to contain a wide array of clean and sterile medical supplies, of the kind that were useful for particularly bad vampiric injury.
He smiled; there was even what appeared to be a thank-you card on top, and he could see that sheād collected several signatures from other students to go on it. It was a small thing, but thoughtful, and he was sure Yuki could find a use for the supplies. āThank you,ā he said warmly, closing the rest of the distance by standing and moving towards her, accepting the basket from her outstretched hands and placing it under one arm. āIām afraid the kind of injuries my cousins have isnāt really treatable in the usual way, but Iāll pass these along to my sisterāIām sure weāll be able to make good use of them. Tell the other students we said thank you, as well. I know itās not always easy to show support when oneās parents might want something different, so it means a lot. You have my gratitude, Miss Snowe.ā
She smiled, shaking her head slightly. āItās the least any of us can do, really, given all your family does for us. If itās all right thoughā¦ call me Elizabeth? Iād like to be your friend, Lord von Nacht, if youād let me. Regardless of what my father decides.ā
That wasā¦ direct. But Balthasar didnāt mindāhe wasnāt always that good with the subtlety, anyway, and she didn't seem like one of those people that wanted to be around him for the power or position. Her father was already a Councilman, and besides that, she seemed honestly concerned about his family. It was hard not to respond positively to that. So he nodded, and stuck out his free hand for her to shake. āAll right then; Elizabeth it is. But if weāre going to be friends, you have to call me Balthasar, not āLord von Nacht.āā He pulled a face, and her nose crinkled in amusement.
āItās a deal, Balthasar,ā she agreed, taking his hand and giving it a firm shake. āPlease, if you find the time, let me know if your cousins wake up. Iād like to thank them, too, if I have the opportunity. And if notā¦ it would be nice to know theyād recovered at the very least.ā Her smile faded, and she released his hand. He found that it had been strangely warm, and now he felt a littleā¦ cold? How odd. Shaking his head, he resumed his seat, laying the basket next to him so he could give it to Yuki when things slowed down a bit. In the meantime, he supposed there was little to do but wait.