Title: Echo
Fandom: Angelique
Character/Pairings: Clavis/Julious, mentions of others.
Theme/Prompt: #25 'Perception'
Rating: PG-15 for safety's sake.
Warnings: Some male/male situations, mild horror of the supernatural persuasion, violence and language.
Summary: Part of the Deadwalk AU and follows 'Apparitions'. Clavis goes to the observatory to see Sara and Pastha whilst Julious goes to see how Oscar's doing.
Notes: I really enjoyed writing this once I got a damn move on. Especially Pastha. OOC abounds but it's AU, so help me.
There was a familiar shock of pink and blonde just visible through the small window into the hospital room as Julious approached. Opening the door, he found that to his surprise the other was the only one in the room besides the comatose artist. He nodded in greeting as Olivie looked up from his magazine, turning a weary smile in his direction, and sat down in the chair opposite, closest to the bed.
Julious took in the silent figure between them and noted the rare absence of a certain redhead by Lumiale's side. He turned to the nightclub owner, who nodded in reply to the unvoiced question, his smile turning a touch bitter and avoiding Julious' eyes.
'I sent Oscar home to sleep, take a shower, anything to prevent him from killing himself any further, blaming himself like he does.'
Julious nodded very slightly, eyes on the still face of their friend. He was painfully aware of his best friend keeping vigil over his unconscious lover ever since he'd been brought in that horrible night. Oscar was now on 'sick' leave from work until such time as he felt able to return; the chief editor of the magazine they worked for had been sympathetic when Julious had talked with him last, albeit regretful that they were short a photographer for the coming season. The blond also knew that Olivie had been a steadfast companion in the times when the others' jobs were making it impossible for them to sit with him.
'What about you?' The other asked, leaning forward a little to put the magazine on the table at Lumiale's feet. Julious shot him a questioning glance and he elaborated with a small sigh.
'You don't look so hot yourself. Almost as good as Oscar did when I came in this morning, to be perfectly brutal. Everything okay at home?'
Looking away, the blond thought before replying. He wanted to honour Clavis' unspoken request about not getting too many others involved, and here in this room, Lumiale's current unmoving frame was enough of a grim reminder of what more could befall them and there was more yet to come, Julious was sure; as cloudy as Leviath's plans might yet seem to them now, from past experience there was no doubt that this was just the beginning.
'…Everything's fine. Just… just got to get it together. It's not been the best couple of weeks, y'know?' He shot Olivie a bitter smile. The other man echoed it before turning back to his magazine, even though it seemed that the lurid headlines didn't hold much interest for him anymore.
'Yeah, don't I know,' he said quietly.
At the top of Kepler Hill, the looming structure of the City Observatory and offices sat, white domed walls shining in the early afternoon sun. Shading his eyes as he walked up the broad steps to the entrance, Clavis searched for the figure waiting outside that would tell him that Pastha was there ready to meet him. Sara, Pastha's lover and a fellow psychic, was coming in on the subway as far as she could without infringing on mob territory, which was closer to the better end of town nowadays, and then getting a lift in with Luva whom Clavis had invited along in a last minute burst of inspiration. The librarian certainly knew his way around the reference section and computer databases, which was always useful if they needed to find things out quickly in a pinch.
He reached the glass double doors just as someone opened them from the inside, and he stepped back to let them pass. A group of three men walked out, dressed in the uniform of the extremely well-to-do - designer sunglasses, crisp suits and immaculate hair – not even pausing to glance at him as they walked quickly down the steps, chatting in low voices amongst themselves. They looked odd, out of place at the observatory, which was not known for attracting many visitors even on good days, and most definitely not of that class. Then the only thing that came straight to mind following that line of though was… Leviath's goons?
Uneasy, Clavis entered the observatory, declaring himself as Pastha's guest to the receptionist inside. Told to wait whilst Pastha came down to fetch him, the fortune teller took a seat on a bench next to a fake-looking potted plant, going over the possibilities of the intentions of the group of men who had just left. For some reason, they just hadn't felt… right to him, giving him the same unnerving feeling as he had in the dreams when he was being chased by something that wasn't quite human. But, walking around in the light of day-
'Clavis?' Almost jumping at the sound of the other's voice as he called from the door of his office down the corridor, he stood and met the astronomer warmly, shaking his hand.
'How are you, my friend?' He asked, a rare, small smile gracing his face. Pastha nodded back, and held the door open for Clavis to enter.
'As good as can be expected,' he answered, shutting the door and sitting on one of the easy chairs on the other side of his small desk. Gesturing for Clavis to do the same, he continued, 'I don't suppose you saw the rich-lookin' fellas on your way in?'
'I did. I was going to ask you about them, as a matter of fact. Leviath's?'
'Heh, how'd you get that impression? Yeah. I'm not quite sure what they were after though, but Elise sent them off packing with some excuse about a meeting when they got too enthusiastic. Remind me to give her a raise.'
'You don't pay her.'
Pastha shrugged, grinning. 'Right. I'll get her some flowers or something. Anyway, what about them caught your attention? You looked fairly rattled when I called you over. Did you recognise them?' He added after the other didn't reply for a moment.
Clavis shrugged slightly, his uneasiness returning as he remembered the associations he'd made between the aura rolling off those men and his dream, which was the primary reason he'd come here today.
'They, or rather, their aura seems a little familiar is all,' he said after a moment. Pastha frowned a little, regarding Clavis with a thoughtful expression.
'That doesn't sound promising,' he commented after a moment with an exasperated sigh. 'I take it you don't mean personally?'
The fortune-teller shook his head, eyes dropping to the smooth, polished surface of the low coffee table, and went on, 'Not exactly human, but… not completely demon. It's as if…'
'They've been enhanced somehow?' Clavis looked up with some surprise at his friend, who waved it away. 'Just some rumours that caught my attention last time I went to Olivie's place,' he explained. 'There might be a bit of truth in them after all. Some new drug that the mob've been hawking. Something to do with enhancing musculature with no outward effect and something more, but that's all I got. Maybe it's something we can have Luva look up, right?
'Speaking of which,' he added, glancing at the clock on the wall. 'They should both be here in a half hour, assuming the subway's not shot to hell again. You want a drink while we're waiting?'
Shaking his head, Clavis stood, taking out his cell phone. 'I've got to make a call. Julious went to visit Lumiale this morning. I don't suppose there's been any change, but at the very least, I should ask after Oscar.'
Pastha nodded, expression a bit subdued, before standing as well and moving to his desk. 'You two okay now?'
Clavis looked at him slightly askance, eyebrow raised in inquiry. 'How do you mean?'
The astronomer made an expansive gesture with one hand whilst rifling through the papers on his desk absently with the other. 'Well… I heard-'
He was cut off by the loud tone of the phone on his desk. Mouth set in a straight line at the interruption, he picked up the receiver, answering the line with a curt, 'Yes?'
After a moment, Pastha's expression softened considerably, his eyes full of affection, and he mouthed they're on their way now to Clavis, who had already guessed that it would either be Sara or Luva at the other end, if that look was anything to go by. He signed to the astronomer that he was going to make his call to Julious outside the office, leaving at Pastha's acknowledging nod.
Closing the door behind him, he leaned against the wall slightly, punching in the number to his lover's cell phone, listening to it ring a couple of times before it was picked up.
'Hey,' Julious greeted, his voice warm in the way that Clavis at the other end could tell that he was smiling slightly. 'What's up? Are you at the observatory?'
'Yes. Sara and Luva are on their way now and we'll be able to talk soon. Are you at the hospital?'
There was a small sigh, and Julious' voice changed, his tone sounding a little defeated. 'I just got back to the apartment. Olivie was there when I arrived though. He's sent Oscar home to get some rest but…' He trailed off, uncertainty in the hesitation. Clavis finished the sentence for him.
'But, you don't think he's going to stay at home?' A deeper sigh this time; Clavis could picture the other running his fingers distractedly through his hair in his frustration before he answered.
'No, he won't. I wouldn't, if it was…' If it was me, Clavis thought, and he had to agree. In Oscar's position, there was no way to be sure that any one of them would be acting differently and it was now his resolution that none of them would ever have the chance to find out.
'I know,' he said, letting some reassurance creep into his voice. 'Listen, there's something Pastha picked up at Olivie's club, rumours that we need to check out. I'd ask Luva, but there's no telling what other research we'll need him to do after this.'
'Oh? What rumours?' The blond asked, sounding like his interest had been piqued once the subject had turned to what amounted to the basis of his career.
'Drugs. Some kind of amphetamine sounds like, only more powerful than the usual. It affects people's auras.'
'Their- what? I thought you said before that an aura was a reflection of the soul? It can be changed with drugs?'
'Not usually, which is why I'm worried,' Clavis admitted. 'I think Leviath might be the pusher if these rumours are true.'
'Why am I not surprised?' the other commented bitterly. 'I'll get onto it.' He paused before adding quietly, 'I'll see you later, okay?'
'Right.' The fortune-teller hung up, feeling as empty as Julious sounded. Slipping the 'phone back into his jacket pocket, he re-entered Pastha's office to find the other sitting on the sofa again, flipping idly through a pamphlet produced by the observatory. The astronomer looked up as Clavis sat down again, smiling slightly.
'Done with your call? Luva and Sara will be here in a couple of minutes; they're just trying to find a parking space.' He shook his head slightly in an exasperated motion. 'Everybody's taking up space these days around this neighbourhood. Just trying to move back from the mob's ground.'
'I don't blame them,' Clavis put in softly. Pastha shrugged.
'Well, no. I know that.' The phone on the desk gave a short trill before falling silent again. Pastha spared it a glance before smiling broadly and rising to his feet, eyes on the door.
'They're here?' The fortune-teller queried, as he too stood and turned to face the door as it opened. Nodding, Pastha started forward at a knock on the door, opening it to reveal a startlingly attractive redhead, Sara, and a handsome man with quiet features, Luva. Pastha greeted the psychic and the librarian exuberantly, gathering them both in a warm, enthusiastic hug before pulling away, ushering them inside his office. Shaking hands with Luva, Clavis smiled at his friend and former classmate as she reached up on her tiptoes to give him an affectionate kiss on either cheek.
'It's been a while, you,' she said, eyes glittering. Clavis shrugged slightly.
'Things have been happening,' he remarked, and Sara's eyes turned serious, her expression solemn.
'Let's all sit down then,' Pastha suggested, and Luva took a seat next to him, opposite Sara, who chose the seat beside Clavis. Once they had all been seated, he took in all of their equally grim countenances in turn, coming to a rest on the two psychics.
'Well then, what's been going on in this city?'
End Notes: Continued in 'Distortion' – Finding out what's going on and Leviath's next move.
Already started the next part and making an effort for it to be released early next week, say Wednesday?
AU is as AU does. I'll probably be doing more on the Pastha/Sara/Luva trio.
