Private Tales The Space Between

A private roleplay only for those invited by the first writer
Most of the family were eager to offer their congratulations. The children wanted to feel the bump, and noisily pushed one another in their quest to put their hand on the new thing. Joseph let her bask in the attention, content to look adoringly at her. "You carry it so well! When I was carrying Gerard's first I looked like I'd swallowed a watermelon." Phoebe joked. Alice was a lot more restrained. She seemed a lot like Holden. Not unemotional, but definitely less explosive about it than other members of the family. She smiled and nodded at Shuck.

Elda kissed her cheek. "Welcome to the family sweetheart." she patted her affectionately. "Now please, eat! I know you must have an appetite now that you're eating for two!" She herded everyone back to their seats and Joseph hid a smirk. He wasn't going to have to fight to feed her. Elda was going to protectively offer her every dish first, even if she had to wade into the herd of boys with a wooden spoon and dispense justice.
"Three months? Then you can stay! That's not too long. It will be perfect. The baby will be born for the spring thaw!" Elda said excitedly. Joseph leaned over and kissed Shuck's cheek, holding her hand briefly.
"That is, if you don't mind." Joseph searched her face for some indication staying here was okay. All he'd felt from her before then was nervousness. If she was scared of this place he didn't want to force her to stay.

Ellis was happy to be out of the room. In the commotion he'd taken the plate he'd prepared for Trahaearn and slipped away quietly to the warlock's room. He sat by his bedside and set the plate of food on the nightstand, pulling his hair over one shoulder. He examined the man's bandages, touching his forehead to make sure he wasn't too hot with the fire going in the room. "I brought you some food." he said softly. He touched Trahaearn's cheek. Gods, he was handsome. The poultice was holding on the bandages, and the chest underneath them was muscular and strong. Ellis slid his hand down Trahaearn's stomach, though he withdrew his hand before it could become too improper. "I don't think I've ever seen someone as handsome as you." Ellis fussed over him, tucking his hair behind his ears.
 
Shuck beamed. It was a warm welcome to the family, and their excitement was wearing down her anxious walls. What had at first been nervous hesitation at their requests to touch and see quickly shifted to quiet nods and soft smiles, and she was even so bold as to move the children's hands when she felt a little wiggle, which earned a round of giggles.

Elda's invitation to stay was generous, but Shuck's smile faltered and she looked at Joseph. He was leaving this up to her. The answer was easy, and yet not.

"We can, after... After," she said softly, meeting his dark eyes. Yaste's warning couldn't be ignored. Without her heart, neither she nor her babe survived. Shuck could see how desperately he wanted to stay here, to welcome their little one into the same home he'd been born to. This family seemed just as eager, and she couldn't deny any of them this. Besides, it wasn't like she had anywhere else she'd have preferred to be. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze, assuring him that she was okay.

// Joseph Meier //
 
Trahaearn had not hesitated to step in front of a shuck for Mal, and he had paid dearly for it. He was losing the fight from the beginning, but he was not about to let Mal take the brunt of this fight while he yet lived. He had hoped to avoid serious injury, but when it took it's true form to escape the silver pike and his bite, he had tried to reach his sword.

A well wasted effort as it had shortly near rent him in two for the attempt. His world quickly became dark after being very briefly but surely filled with pain. It had swiped up and left, thankfully missing his heart, but it didn't have to finish the job with how deep it had gutted him. He would have bleed out if not for a certain black shuck showing up.

Having passed out after receiving his grievous wound, he dreamt of nothing. No joyous images. No gut wrenching horrors to behold. No reliving the past or possible futures.

Blank nothingness.

Until suddenly sounds around him of someone approaching, very distant and near at the same time. As though he were hearing it from the next room over. A hand touched his forehead and it brought him further out of the bleakness, The merciless pit of black. The hand slipped to his cheek, and then to his stomach before pulling away. Words, still as though someone where in another room talking to him. It was terribly frustrating as he peeled his eyes open slowly.

Everything was a little hazy as he spied a freckled face, brown hair and goatee. Long hair and goatee. Whether it was his hazy vision, or some delirious side effect from what was most likely near death, he could not stop himself from cracking a grin and saying a few words.

"Must be heaven with this angelic face greeting me..." Trahaearn murmured as he stared at the man, lifting his head a bit to get a better look at his angel. His nerves began to fire all at once as his eyes shut tight and his teeth clacked together. His whole body hurt, and everything had tightened at once. Resisting the urge to curl up into a ball and wail, he instead slowly placed his head back down on the pillow. Tight lipped hissing was all that he could manage for half a minute before his muscle let loose enough for him to form words.

"Not dead. Definitely not dead.' Trahaearn hissed, he didn't open his eyes again. "Where am I? Is Mal and Joseph alright?" Trahaearn wheezed at the words, it hurt to talk. Hurt to breath even. Why am I not dead? He thought to himself.
 
Joseph squeezed her hand and nodded. After. "I want you to stay here. We can't go anywhere until Trahaearn wakes up, and even then he's not going to be fit for the saddle. When he is, him and I will go." he said softly. "You're hitting the point the doctor warned us about where you can't ride either." He said it in a low voice, disguised as an afffectionate kiss near her ear, to save her the embarrassment. He withdrew and kissed her. "Once Trahaearn is better." he nodded and sat down to eat.

"That man isn't going anywhere." Elda said protectively. "He's faced something terrible and lived through it. A man with a weaker heart would have withered and died. It's a miracle he made it this far in the damn snow. No. He's staying right here until he walks out of here on his own power." She stabbed a bit of duck with her fork for emphasis. Joseph nodded, and turned his attention back to his own food. He couldn't stop sneaking looks at Shuck. He was so in love. The family clearly liked her. Everything was going so damned well.

For Ellis, it wasn't going damn well. He startled at the sound of words coming from the man, turning bright red from his neck to his scalp. He really hadn't expected him to wake, at least not this early! He sat the man's head rise up...and then pain slammed him to the bed and pinned him there. Ellis recognized that look. It was the same one Joseph had fighting through pain. What worked for pain? Poppy. "W-wait there." Ellis poked his head out of the room just in time to see everyone pawing the baby bump .If he interrupted that moment even for an injured man, Elda would use his intestines for the baby shower decor. He was on his own for this one.

He fiddled anxiously with his hair, his hands raking the ponytail as he went back to Trahaearn. "I...uh, hi. My name's Ellis Meier. You're at the Meier family household, been here for about a day. I don't know who Mal is. He might not have survived the attack but um...Shuck and Joseph are here. Joseph's my baby brother." he explained awkwardly. His mother had brought in poppy, but where was it? He looked around for the little brown bottle and finally found it. "Listen, you're in a lot of pain. Poppy helps my brother when he's like this."

Ellis sat by the bedside and gently opened Trahaearn's mouth, dropping two small drops of the drug between his lips. For a man of his size, it would melt the pain away even if it did make him a little cottonheaded. "I have to take this with me. This stuff can get very addictive and you can put yourself to sleep permanently with stuff like this. Can you drink some water? I brought you some food." It was frustrating. He didn't know how he could help the man or what he needed.
 
The man stuttered after his display of pain. Not unexpected, but if Joseph and Mal were in the same place, he was surprised they weren't here. Then again, might have been a few days already and they were done staring at someone they could little help. Whoever this was seemed anxious as they left the room. Pain was everywhere in him, and didn't seem to cease even after several minutes. The same footsteps returned, and introduction were made. Meier. The Meier family household. And that pretty face earlier belonged to one of them.

Gods there were more Meier's.

Ellis, explained that Joseph was his baby brother, and the Shuck and Joseph were here. The mention of poppy was made and he tried to wave his hand but he couldn't sort out which part of him made that movement at the moment. It was eventually found, and after some effort, a few drops were administered and most everything seemed to take a fuzzy edge.

The pain melted, his mouth tingled, and his eyes opened once more to see the man before him. "Yep, still pretty." Trahaearn spoke aloud, intending for it to be an internal monologue. The nerves were still a bit messed up though, and he wasn't about to argue with himself. "Water, water would be good. Water then food. And Mal is Shuck. Nevermind that though." Trahaearn dismissed the rest of the conversation, focusing on his breathing for a second.
 
Ellis chuckled nervously. "Yes you are still pretty." he blurted before he could control himself. Water and food. He picked up the plate and set it on Trahaearn's lap. It was piled high with roast duck, vegetables, a thick slab of beef, two rolls, and a generous helping of potatoes. Water, right. He scurried out to the dining room to fill a glass with cool, clear water ad brought it back into the room. Thankfully everyone was so focused on his brother and the new baby they didn't notice him. Except for Holden, who raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing.

He came back into the room and slowly tipped the water glass to Trahaearn's lips. "Slowly." he told him, but gave him as much as he wanted. He settled down to cut up small bits of Trahaearn's food for him, offering him forkfuls as he wanted them. "Everyone's distracted by the baby news. When they brought you in, you looked bad, but my mother is a hedge witch. She put protection and healing herbs on you, and cleansed the room. I'm still learning." Nervousness made him talk. He began to calm down the longer he sat there, the blush fading to a light tinge of color behind his freckles. Gods, this man had beautiful eyes. "My brother and Shuck were worried about you. But um, I hope you'll like it here. The common room's just outside your door, you get some nice views of the snow, and you've got your own hearth in here. I'll change out the wood later. Um, outhouse is outside, but there's a chamberpot in here. Kitchen's just down the hall, help yourself."
 
"What?." Trahaearn chuckled, drawing his own amusement out of the situation. He had meant it at Ellis, but whatever, even thinking brought pain. He felt the plate go into his lap, and still couldn't feel his right arm. He blinked a few times before convincing the muscles in his neck to turn and let him look at this shoulder. It probably didn't look pretty underneath of all the crossing bandages. He blinked again and turned his head back to Ellis.

Slowly he was told, and he did. When food was made available, he took small bites. He was hungry, but not. It was a very strange and new feeling. He was told that the rest were distracted by baby news, and that his mother is a hedge witch. And that he was still learning from her. He gave the barest of nods to the information.

"Hedge witches aren't bad. Practical, never means bad." Trahaearn slowly replied to the comment. He was told Sh-Mal and Joseph were worried about him, and that the common room was right outside his door. Being told where everything was, he could only look to Ellis with an arched eyebrow.

"While that all sounds lovely. I think, I'll lay here for a bit." Trahaearn informed Ellis, but the mention of those two made him draw a deeper breath. "Are they here? Mal and Joseph? Can they see me?"

He was very nearly in an alarmed state, trying to push himself up with his left arm, slipping thanks to the lack of a pinky finger.
 
Ellis blinked when the man tried to get up! Oh gods he shouldn't be getting up at all! "No no no no!" Ellis set down the plate quickly and patting Trahaearn's shoulder as gently as he could. "Don't get up. You've been really gravely hurt and you need to stay in bed. Please. Please just stay there. You'll hurt yourself." Ellis smiled at him. He messed with his hair for a moment. "Um....call for me if you need anything. I'll get them for you."

He headed out to the dining table and gently tapped Joseph's shoulder. "Your friend's awake." he said quietly.
"Look at him redder than a dog's dick on a nice carpet." Gerard grunted.
Joseph rolled his eyes and got up, giving Ellis a meaningful look. "Stay away from him. Let a more experienced healer take over." he said sternly. He wasn't under any illusions. He knew Ellis had no interest in women despite his mother flinging cute country girls at him every summer. But he'd be damned if his older brother started shacking up with Trahaearn. He didn't want the other man to become a notch on his belt, especially with how inexperienced Ellis was. He might have been slightly older, but he was definitely sheltered.

Joseph got up from the table and headed into Trahaearn's room. He eyed the cut up food. "He was feeding you?" he asked. He sighed and shook his head. Idiot. He was going to have to be proactive to nip this in the bud. Healer's blush was a real thing. People became attracted to people they took care of or who took care of them. He sat next to Trahaearn on the bed. "How are you feeling? You look like shit."
 
Joseph agreed, subtly reminding her of how near she was to the limits Mattias had suggested. She offered Elda a soft smile for her concern for Trahaearn, but her mind was elsewhere. Poking in her food and drinking her tea, she was only half paying attention.

How much longer would she last without her heart? The last few days had been tiring, and even now she could feel her energy fading. Fear coiled around her stomach. Would she be weakening more like she had been when they met Yaste? Trahaearn had said it would be two or three weeks until they reached her heart. Could she afford to wait for Trahaearn to heal? And the days were whittling away before Oor came calling.

So many worries weighing her down. Yet, she smiled and looked between the siblings. She'd not know what domestic life looked like inside the homes in her village, but the warmth, the happiness, the comfort... Shuck smiled at Joseph. This was good for him -- good for them.

Ellis returned, and Shuck realized she hadn't quite noticed his absence. Her sharp hearing quite easily caught what he said to Joseph, however, and she raised a hand to cover her lips as she hastily chewed a mouthful of broccoli.

Joseph rose, and Shuck jumped up to follow after him. She peered over him into the room and a sterling smile lit up her face.

"Don't listen to him," she said as she sat on the opposite side of Trahaearn. "You gave us a good scare. It's good to see you awake."

Shuck reached up and slid her palm across his forehead, checking his temperature before gently petting his hair as she withdrew the hand.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, her hand resting on his shoulder in a place that (hopefully) didn't hurt. She was still smiling, glad to see that he was alright. They may have had their differences early on, but they had come to a friendly understanding now, and the more she got to know him, the more she liked him. The road had been quiet without him.

// Joseph Meier // Trahaearn //
 
He was pushed down, and then left in the room while a ruckus was made outside. Joseph was in the room shortly after, and Trahaearn gave him his best attempt at full attention. His head turned to the side to look at him, his eyes about half lidded, then turned slowly to examine her. Which was not by any means complete attention, since the poppy had been administered.

"Then like I look, shit. I can't feel my right arm, I think. I don't dare get up." Trahaearn sighed, his breathing was a little slow, but steady. It didn't hurt as much now to breath. He turned his gaze back to the ceiling and relaxed. Turning to face them wasn't wearing him out by any means, but if he kept at it he would be dizzy, and throw up, and be stuck in it.

"Ellis was feeding me. Don't know if it will stay down. Everything hurt. Hurts? Hurt." Trahaearn muttered the last word to himself to sound out the tense he was after. He didn't figure he would have woken up from that fight. Was surprised to find them all here and what seemed to be good company.

"The hell happened? You two alright?" Trahaearn managed to remember to ask. He felt weight on him, glanced at Mal and wasn't bothered by the weight there.
 
"You aren't going to be sick." Joseph said sternly. He wasn't sure that was true, but if it was, he needed to correct it. He looked at Shuck. "I'm going to get him into a half-sit. If he vomits he won't inhale it, at least." He looked at Trahaearn. "We went to my family's ranch. You're here, you're safe. Everyone's safe. The minute you can sit up in a saddle we need to push on for the heart, but right now I need to make sure you're not going to collapse. You focus on getting well." And staying away from Ellis, he thought internally. "Shuck's fine, I'm fine. Here, Shuck, grab those pillows. I'll lift him, you put them under him. Lower back, and between his shoulders. I can't risk him getting sick when he's laying flat like this. Stupid boy should have been feeding him oats and milk, not rich meat."

He got up and straddled Trahaearn, linking his elbows under his shoulderblades. It brought him close to Trahaearn's face. Uncomfortably close. He glared at him, and lifted him up with a loud grunt. He held Trahaearn to his chest, keeping his torso stabilized so he couldn't rip open his wounds again while Shuck put pillows under his back. Unfortunately that meant he was practically sitting in Trahaearn's lap. He lowered him back slowly, satisfied that Trahaearn was more of a 45 degree angle now than flat.

"Now, if you're fucking sick you won't choke." Joseph told him, and got off of him.
 
Shuck did as she was told, pushing the pillows behind Trahaearn to offer him some support and adjustong them as Joseph settled him back into them.

"Another black shuck came and fought the other off," she explained softly, readjusting his blankets. "She said she was my mother." She realized almost instantly that now might not have been the best time to be asking him about her past life stuff, so she laid her hand on his arm.

"But we can talk about that when you're not so tired. Joseph is right -- you need to rest and focus on healing. We're all alright, even the little one." Shuck carefully picked up his hand, mindful of his healing finger, and laid it on her stomach. Now that it was big enough to be felt, it seemed like the babe was constantly wiggling and kicking. She held Trahaearn's hand steady so he could feel the flutter.

He had mentioned on a number of occasions that he had once had a family and had taken from his past experiences to do a bit of fussing while Joseph had been healing. Trahaearn acted indifferent, especially around Joseph, but he had always been kind to her. Seeing his small smile as he felt her bump made her own smile widen.

She settled his arm back against his side, and did a bit more fussing with his blankets.

"Now rest. Don't worry about us; you worry about getting better." With a small grin, she patted his arm and stood.

// Joseph Meier // Trahaearn //
 
Joseph smirked and patted Trahaearn. "Settle in." he said. "Elda should be in to check on you in a little bit. In the meantime get some rest. If you need poppy just ask. The dose Ellis gave you seems to be working well so we'll stick with that, and wean you off slowly." He kissed Shuck. Dinner was winding down, the wives were packing up the food that hadn't been eaten and beginning on dishes. Joseph led Shuck up his room, letting her get settled in bed and joining her. He held her while they slept, cuddled up behind her. He'd given her the side of the bed with the views of the pastures. Even though the house was quieter, it wasn't entirely so.

Ellis and Booker were in the attic. "He's so handsome, Booker..." Ellis said quietly while they turned down their beds. They had shared a room for years, and being the quieter elements of the family they'd bonded closely. Booker's side of the attic was awash in paints, paint bottles, brushes, half-finished works, and drop cloths. Ellis' side was a little more tame, with books about horse breeding and foal care.
"You like him, I saw." Booker muttered, settling down in bed. "You shouldn't. You don't know if he is, and if he isn't it will only make trouble. Give your balls a tug, and sort it."
Ellis sighed and curled up in bed. "Maybe." He mumbled into the pillow. He wanted to go down and tend to Trahaearn, but Elda had chased him off. He sighed and snuffed out his lamp, closing his eyes. He ran a hand lightly down his chest and stomach, remembering how Trahaearn's felt.

Holden and Gerard were thunderous snorers, and Joseph had forgotten how damned loud they could be. It was strange...once back here, he woke up once, but slept for the rest of it. He was used to them and their dragon snores.

Along the pasture in view of Joseph's window, a horse with a single rider was headed out into the snow. Thomas was moving slowly, obviously trying to keep attention off of himself, his troll-tusk staff over one shoulder. He had business to attend to even in the middle of the night, and family gatherings were secondary to more important work. He had a single root cellar to check tonight but it couldn't wait, not in this weather.
 
The information was processed slowly, but surely. They were at the Meier family ranch, which confirmed what Ellis had said. He agreed with Joseph on the heart and gave the man a nod to confirm how he felt. When they moved him into a different position, he was thankful he was already numb for the process. He could only manage a slight grin at being so close to Joseph, but otherwise remained quiet for the process.

"Thank you, though I don't plan on getting sick if I can help it." Trahaearn admitted, his attention shifted when the words other shuck and mother formed into one sentence.

"Penance? Fucking bitch." Trahaearn spat. He didn't want to deal with that yet. The hand on her bump felt nice, and the girl was indeed wiggly and lively. A small smile appeared on his face, a little bit of joy to be had even while he was numb.

He gave a nod to confirm what Mal had said, and his eyes were quickly becoming heavier. His breathing was slowing a bit, suggesting how tired he truly was. He gave a half hearted left handed thumbs up to Joseph about the poppy and Elda. Left to his own for even a few minutes had him quickly succumbing to sleep. He didn't wake much for Elda when she came in, enough to grunt and let her know how he was feeling before returning to sleep.
 
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