Sickly [open]

For the slightest of moments, shock colored Arren's features. Yes, before he'd taken in Jace and Ace, he'd had little to no contact with others, so he could never really be sure, but the odd spark that ran up his hand felt vaguely familiar. His mind reached back, and eventually he remembered-- there was a similar reaction to the first time he touched his friends' skin. Those two times, however, he'd felt a rush of protective love. This sensation was much more enigmatic, leaving Arren more puzzled than he'd felt in a while.

Several moments later, he'd managed to shake it off, leaving it for later examination, and could only feel a small part of his concern for the boy relax. Wei had regained enough strength to feed himself and seemed to be doing so without hesitation. It was still worrying that Wei would take to such a simple meal, but it wasn't the time to be lecturing him on it. Instead, the wizard stood, watching Wei for a few more seconds before offering him a supportive smile and moving back towards the main desk in the Infirmary.

"There's a bit of paperwork to do, so I shall be here a while. Do not hesitate to call if you need anything, Mr. Wei."

Arren had been prepared to hear snores sometime after Wei finished the meal, keeping half his attention on the boy while the other studied the sheets of paper spread out before him. Occasionally, he'd sign where appropriate, but other than that, he simply made sure everything was in check. While he finished up most of the paperwork, though, he heard fitful tossing and turning before Wei's voice sounded.

Stories...? He silently floundered for a bit-- his childhood had been filled with strenuous labor in the fields until he passed out at night with little time for leisure, his mentor hadn't wanted to baby him around, Ace wasn't one for bedtime stories, and the students that stayed in the Infirmary were usually too preoccupied with their injuries to care. He supposed Wei wouldn't want a generic, run of the mill fairy tale either. A scary one.

A veritable light bulb nearly clicked on above Arren's head. He could use the deadly adventures his mentor had dragged him on in search of ancient, magical artifacts. He bit back a wince at the reminder that that adventurous attitude was what got his mentor killed in the first place, and he'd definitely have to edit some parts out for the boy. He didn't want to give him nightmares, after all.

Then again, Arren was getting a sneaking suspicion about why Wei seemed to work himself into unconsciousness. He said nothing, though, as he stood and made his way towards Wei. He cleaned up a bit, pushing the wheeling table with the tray of food so it stood at the foot of Wei's bed, and summoned a few more spirits to return the tray and its contents back to the kitchen to be cleaned.

Once that was done, he settled on the edge of the bed opposite Wei's, so he could look at Wei while he was telling his story. "Well... I cannot guarantee that this will be a good story, but..."

"There once was a man who loved adventure. He loved the thrill of the chase, the exhilaration he got when running for his life. He lived for it. And what better way to find such thrill than to search for ancient, heavily guarded artifacts? He would latch onto a rumor and doggedly follow it to its source, then seek out the treasure. He fell into traps, faced nasty and powerful creatures, and several times, he almost didn't make it out. On one of these adventures, he dragged his unwilling apprentice along..."

And so he painted a story of adventures and thrills, a scare just around every corner, of an exasperated apprentice who would help his mentor out of sticky situations, of a heroic man who loved to feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins. His voice seemed to be magic in and of itself, allowing images to flow along just as easily as the words.

He spoke of his own mentor, his voice tinged with wistful fondness the entire time.

After what seemed like a few minutes but was in reality a solid hour, Arren ended the story. His mind, however, supplied 'the man died after he bit off more than he can chew, leaving his apprentice to wander aimlessly in isolation for five long years'. By that time, Wei was well on his way to sleeping peacefully, though Arren had the vague feeling that such peace wouldn't last very long.

This feeling was what caused him to summon one last little spirit, the minute male glowing a warm red, before he closed the Infirmary for the night. There was an alarm tied directly to the nurses and doctors that a student could hit outside of the Infirmary doors if there was an emergency in the middle of the night, but he felt a tad bit more secure with his sentinel spirit keeping track of Wei.

He was grateful he'd left the little guard, as he was woken soon after he drifted off to a deeper sleep in the larger than normal suite the Academy had given him to share with Jace and Ace. He rushed out of bed, grabbing a polka dot robe Ace had gotten him one Christmas and hurried out of his room, into the larger common room/living room/kitchenette, then out of the suite.

By the time he'd made it back to the Infirmary, Wei was crying softly, the sounds tearing through Arren's heart the moment he heard them and forcing him to act before he thought about it. He was by Wei's side so quickly he appeared to teleport, engulfing the distressed boy in a gentle but strong hug.

He did nothing but gently rock back and forth with his bundle until Wei had calmed down somewhat. He felt a bit of his own panic subsiding but didn't let up, his arms remaining around the boy. He'd had plenty of practice soothing Ace after he had nightmares about the experiments he was subjected to, but whenever Ace was upset, his canine instincts took over; Ace would always try to snuggle into him like a pup searching for the security of its mother. Here, he figured he'd have to initiate such comfort giving, especially since it seemed Wei was still worried about something.

Arren shushed the boy gently, waving away the apology. He then began humming-- it was much differently than Wei's mother, though he didn't know that-- in the way of his own people, the wizards of his kind. Like his magic, it took smaller pieces of melody and combined it all into a soothing lullaby, the words sounding similar to the ones he used for spells and summoning spirits. There was no actual magic involved-- he didn't want to do that without Wei's permission--, but, just like his story telling, seemed to be a magic all its own.

"I will stay here for the night, if you wish." He murmured during a lull in the lullaby, returning to humming immediately after.

The part of him that wanted to wrap Wei up in a mountain of blankets and keep him sheltered from the world relaxed further as Wei himself relaxed, though it did set alarm bells ringing throughout Arren's mind. Yes, he did wish the many students he saw in the Infirmary would be safe and protected-- it was his nature to care--, but he'd never gotten this emotionally invested in someone like this, and a student no less.

He felt the urge to groan and bash his head into the wall, but now was neither the time nor place for that. No need to frighten Wei more than he'd been already.

Odd, very odd feelings aside, Arren kept comforting Wei a priority at the moment. He didn't break in his humming as he shifted both of them so they were comfortable on the Infirmary bed. And if he nuzzled the top of Wei's head for a short moment, well...

He was too used to comforting Ace. Yes. That was it.