"How are they doing?"
"They're doing well." He leads the Virtue across the training field, spying his own squadron learning under Abraxos' command, towards the room gifted to their two sentrys over a month ago. "Reel is slowly opening up. Abner is returning to his old self, Gadreel is having a harder time, but from what I hear," Titus spares the mental specialist a glance, "that's to be expected."
"It is, his experience was drastically different then the one Abner had, it was an expectation that someone would come for the elder of the two at some point." Akriel spares him a glance as he looks up from their path across the training field. "The same could not have been said for the younger. He was theirs to do with what they wanted." He looks back down again, watching his footing carefully. "Has he talked any?"
"He doesn't say much, not to me anyhow, from what Abner says though, they hold regular conversations."
"Gadreel trusts Abner more then he trusts anyone else. That makes sense."
They step up on the stone veranda of the Pavilion, crossing languidly to the stairs that lead up to the home of the Powers. "Has he let you touch him without flinching?" Akriel sounds curious, perhaps a tad worried, and they share another look.
Titus nods softly. "He sits between Abner's legs and I poke him in the belly and sides."
"He lets you poke him in the belly and the sides?"
"He does," he smiles at the Virtue. "And, he giggles like a fledgling."
"That's wonderful, Tus, truly." Akriel pats his arm lightly. "He's opening up to you. It's a sign of trust he's gifted to you."
"I cherish that inkling beyond words."
They take the stairs one at a time. "Nurture that sliver, it's good that he has Abner whom he can trust, but for him to have another soul he gives himself to would aid him beyond measure."
"I will take heed." Titus leads him down the hall to their sentry's room is located, across from his, next door to Puriel's. "And make sure not to move too fast."
They share a nod, and fall silent as the Power knocks lightly on the door, waiting for the soft voice of the older Sentry to call out and grant them entrance. Titus opens the door slowly, they both peer inside, smiling at the two sentry's in the bed. Abner is the only one who returns their smiles, Gadreel is resting peacefully against Abner's side, his head cushioned on his arm.
Akriel smiles at them as he takes the chair from the desk and turns it around, setting it near the edge of the bed, he leans forward and runs his fingers through Abner's hair. "It is usually the other way around when I come to visit."
"Yea, well," the sentry shrugs lightly. "I fell asleep early last night. He was up later. I could feel him tossing and turning."
He frowns in worry, looking down to the younger sentry, careful not to touch him. Gadreel rested on a hair trigger, the slightest of touches would wake him in a panic, and that was the last thing they needed. "Did he say what was the matter?"
Abner shakes his head slightly. "He fell asleep and has been down since then." He looks down at his sleeping younger brother. "I can wake him if you need."
The Virtue shakes his head. "No, no, let him sleep."
Abner nodded, settling back in his bed, smiling when the younger sentry nuzzled his cheek against his arm and settled in deeper. He stroked his fingers through his hair lightly, to settle him back down, and looked back up to the Virtue sitting across from him.
"Well, seeing as you're awake, in this odd turn of events, we can talk this morning."
"But what if we wake Gaddy?" Abner rubs his fingers over the sleeping sentry's forehead, smiling when his nose twitches cutely, and leans back against his pillows. "He needs his sleep."
"You're not getting out of this, Abner." He points a finger at the older sentry in warning. "We'll talk quietly."
"It wouldn't be me if I didn't try to get out of it."
"If you need convincing," he gestures to the Power leaning against the doorframe. "I'm sure Titus would be happy to oblige." The young man in the bed looks over his head, to the Power behind him, and the tall angel wiggles his fingers at him playfully. Abner's eyes widen, and he shakes his head quickly, looking back to the Virtue with wide eyes. "I think I'm good."
"If you're sure."
"I'm quite sure."
Akriel nods, leaning back in his chair, crossing his arms loosely about his chest. "Tell me, have you been having any more nightmares?"
He shakes his head, pauses a moment, and then nods a slow nod. "Sometimes. Sometimes I'll be back there, curled up in my corner, the sound of the thick boots coming down the hall to come get me. And then….And then it just hurts."
"What hurts?"
"I don't know." He looks down to his lap. "Everything." He shrugs lightly. "It just hurts."
"Okay, then what happens?"
Abner picks at the quilt over his legs, looks down at his sleeping younger brother, and then back to the quilt. "And then the key rattles in the gate, I can't see who it is, I don't dare look up at it, but the gate opens and someone steps in and…..and that's it."
"That's it?"
"That's when I wake him up." He looks over his shoulder to the Power, and Titus nods, looking over to his grown charge. "He starts crying out, I can hear him across the hall, I come and wake him up."
"Okay, you wake up, then what?"
Abner sighs. "And it all just hurts. I don't know what else to say about it. It just hurts."
"How do you get it to stop hurting?"
He nods to his old guardian. "Tus rubs it away."
The Virtue looks over his shoulder again for clarification, and Titus nods. "He complains that his back hurts. I help by rubbing the phantom ache away."
Titus knew all about phantom pains, his shoulder acted up frequently, the muscle tightening of its own accord, leaving it to be massaged into release again.
Akriel looks down to the sleeping sentry. "What about Gadreel?"
"Sometimes his feet start to hurt." Abner rubs at his brothers head gently. "Tus rubs his feet when they do until the ache passes."
"And he allows him to?"
He nods lightly. "As long as I'm here, he lets Tus touch him, cautiously at first, but he warms up to the touch after a minute."
