They had been on the road for a week, and Hector didn't think that Varian's health had improved at all. If anything, it had gotten worse. Varian barely stayed awake for longer than half an hour at a time. Hector didn't have to fight to get Varian to eat and drink whenever he was awake, but that was the only improvement made.
Varian's fever only got worse, even though Hector regularly gave him fever reducer. The kid seemed to throw up everything he ate. Even though he was always asleep he barely seemed to get any rest at all, and only got more exhausted.
They hadn't had any truly good days yet, just days that were less than completely horrible. Days where Varian might be able to stay awake for an hour at a time, and wasn't always plagued with nightmares when he slept. On those days Hector was able to get to know the boy a little better, and Varian was able to get to know him a little bit too.
Varian had a lot of questions about the black rocks. He frequently asked the same question multiple times, occasionally during the same conversation. Hector had pointed it out to the kid once, only for Varian to become frustrated, confused, and somewhat scared. The boy shut down after that, and Hector didn't point it out when it happened again.
Hector answered what questions he could, but he didn't actually know that much about the black rocks, let alone their scientific properties. He just knew they were connected to the moonstone, they were nearly unbreakable, and they destroyed everything in their path.
Even though Varian was the one who asked these questions he always seemed bothered by any discussion about them, so Hector did what he could to steer the conversation away from the rocks. He doubted that Varian would be so easily distracted while he was healthy, but when he was sick he could barely pay attention to what the conversation was about and didn't notice at all when Hector abruptly changed the topic.
Hector much preferred to talk to Varian about the Dark Kingdom and their culture. They may be a dying kingdom, but they were a proud one. This was the kid's heritage, and he deserved to know about it. Varian seemed to like the stories well enough, and he usually seemed comforted whenever Hector so much as mentioned his dad.
Hector looked at these 'good' days as a sign that maybe Varian's health was slowly improving. It wasn't until about midafternoon on the seventh day of travel that Hector saw just how bad Varian's condition had got. Varian had been awake for about forty-five minutes, and they'd actually been having a conversation.
With everything that Hector told Varian, the kid had a dozen questions about it. The boy seemed to ramble on and on about everything. It was actually a little funny. Hector didn't always understand what Varian was saying, and he didn't know if it was because the kid was using fancy scientific terms or because he was mumbling and slurring his words so much that they wouldn't be understandable to even the smartest people. Hector didn't care though. At least Varian was talking.
His relief collapsed in an instant when he heard one particular question. It had come in a series of rapid-fire questions, and Hector had hoped that he'd just been hearing things, but he had to be sure. Hector looked down at Varian in shocked concern. Ruddiger looked almost alarmed as he did, which was worrying. Maybe the raccoon had heard the same thing as he had.
"What was that?" Hector interrupted Varian. His voice was a bit more of a growl than he'd originally meant. Normally people would run away screaming when he addressed them like this, but Varian didn't even seem concerned or startled. "What was that last question?"
"Uh…" Varian blinked multiple times. He looked confused, like he didn't even know for himself what he had asked.
Hector scowled and clenched his fists. He felt like shouting and hitting something. He had to take several deep breaths to calm himself down. "You asked something about your dad."
"Oh," Varian brightened. "Where is he?"
"Where is your dad?" Hector frowned. Varian nodded. Ruddiger chittered anxiously and buried his face in Varian's chest. The boy frowned in concern and pet the raccoon. Hector sighed. He didn't like the look of this. "He's back in Old Corona."
"Oh, yeah." Varian said sheepishly. Hector felt hopeful that it had just been a small slip, but then Varian continued. "When will he join us?"
Hector froze. He pulled his rhino to a stop so abruptly that Varian would have fallen off its back if Hector didn't steady him. He turned the kid around so he could face him. Varian looked a little shocked at the intensity in his eyes, but Hector didn't back down.
"Varian, I need you to listen very carefully." Hector growled. "Why do you think your dad's in Old Corona?"
"He's working." Varian said with confidence that scared Hector. "He-he's busy helping others, but he'll find us when he's done, right?" When Varian saw Hector's silence and Ruddiger's nervousness he started to look worried himself. Varian went from confident to panicked in a matter of seconds. "Right?!"
"Yeah, yeah, sure," Hector said quickly. Internally though he was cursing at every deity he had ever heard of. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. "Why don't we take a break? There's a stream nearby, and you could use a bath."
"I'm sorry." Varian's scared expression didn't go away. He leaned away from Hector. "I-I'll do better." The kid had been reluctant to willingly get himself wet. Thanks to the Coronan guards Varian associated being wet with punishment. He took it as a sign that he had done something wrong.
"This isn't a punishment, kid." Hector said. He pulled Varian into his arms and slid off the rhino. "Remember what I've been telling you? Water is your friend." Hector had been trying to help the kid break past his fear. They frequently stopped at streams and rivers, just for a few minutes, so Hector could ease Varian into the water. Ruddiger tried to encourage the boy to play splash games with him. Neither of their strategies had been getting anywhere, but Hector wasn't about to give up.
Hector set Varian on the ground and handed the canteen of water. "Drink something. I've gotta do something real quick." Varian nodded and obediently drank the water. Hector turned back to his rhino and started unloading the saddlebags and Quirin's chest. Hector stroked his old friend's horn.
"I need you to try to find Adira." Hector said quietly. "Bring her back here." Hector knew that it would take time. Adira was always traveling and moving around. She could be just a few hours away, or several weeks. It didn't matter though. Hector needed her help. Varian's condition had gotten way out of his control, and Adira had always been better at healing and medicine than him.
"Don't worry about how long it takes." Hector said. "Just get her to me." He and Varian would stay here for a few days, maybe not travelling would improve the boy's condition, before they moved on. If his rhino hadn't returned by then Hector would sneak into a nearby town and steal a few horses so they could continue on. He knew that his rhino would be able to find them wherever they were.
The rhino nodded in understanding and huffed before charging away. Hector turned his attention back to Varian, who was watching him curiously.
"Two questions," Varian said a bit too quickly. His tone and the unfocused look in his eyes made it look like he had wandered too close to the flesh eating flower in the great tree and was hallucinating.
Thinking of that flower Hector made a mental note to himself to see it when he got back. He was normally really vigilant and focused when he patrolled the tree, but every once and awhile things got too much for him and he needed to relax. On very rare occasions, just a handful of times in the past twenty five years, he would restrain himself, tell his bearcats to watch him carefully, and purposefully wander too close to the flower so he could experience the hallucinations and relax.
If there was ever a time that Hector needed a high it was now.
Varian was looking at Hector expectantly and it took the man a minute to realize that the kid was waiting for permission to continue. Hector sighed. "Alright, what's on your mind?"
"One, who's Adira?" Varian asked, even though Hector had to have told him all about her this past week. "Two, why's your horse going after them?"
"She...hang on." Hector raised an eyebrow at Varian. "Horse?" Was Varian really so sick that he mistook a rhino for a horse and completely forgot that his dad was trapped in amber? Hector had no idea just what kind of hallucinations the kid was dealing with.
"You know what, forget about the horse thing." Hector said. Varian was clearly having a difficult time understanding things right now. Hector needed to pick and choose his battles. "Adira's my sister. She's a knight of the Brotherhood. She knows a thing or two about healing. She'll be able to help you."
"Oh," Varian nodded, though Hector doubted he understood him at all.
"Don't worry about it." Hector said. "You ready to go for a swim?" He didn't give Varian the chance to answer. He picked up the kid and carried him towards the stream. Usually Hector tried to slowly pull Varian into the water one toe at a time. This time he decided to take a different approach.
Hector took his cloak off and soaked it in the stream. He picked it up and laid it on the ground next to the stream with the fur resting in the water. He set Varian to lie on the cloak and wrapped it around his torso and feet. He tried to help the kid be as comfortable as possible. If Varian associated water and being wet with punishment and being in trouble, then he was going to have to give him a different association. He wanted Varian to connect water with being cool and comfortable.
"Just relax," Hector said. He had Varian lean his head back and soak his hair in the stream. "You'll be fine. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."
Varian hummed and closed his eyes. Hector didn't think that the boy was actually relaxed, but he was just too exhausted to fight and try to protect himself from something that he felt threatened by.
Hector was more than happy to let the kid get some sleep, but he didn't want him to sleep quite yet. Hector sat in the shallow stream in front of Varian. He brushed his hands through the boy's hair, untangling it and soaking it in the water. Hector paused when he took in the blue streak in the kid's hair. He had seen this streak in the portrait back in Quirin's room, which had shown Varian as a baby. Hector didn't think this streak was an aesthetic decision.
"What's with your hair?" Hector asked. He hoped that the boy was coherent enough to be able to answer him.
"I, uh, don't know." Varian said. His words were slurred. He sounded half asleep. "It's always been like that. It won't go away. Can't cut it, can't change it." Varian before he tilted his head back so he could look at Hector. The boy seemed to study him for a minute. Hector started to feel a little uncomfortable. What was the kid focused so much on? Was he actually looking at Hector, or was he seeing something that wasn't really there?
Varian sluggishly lifted a hand and pulled on one of Hector's braids. "Dad did that once with my hair."
"He did?" Hector pulled his hair out of Varian's grip. He put the kid's arm back under the cloak.
"Uh-huh," Varian nodded. He seemed to snuggle against the fur that his head was resting against. "Got it outta my face." Varian closed his eyes and smiled. "I liked it."
Hector grinned. As he rinsed out the kid's hair. "It's a good way to keep it out of your face. I can braid it if you want me to."
Varian hummed to himself and smiled at Ruddiger, who was curled up next to him. "Yeah. That'd be nice."
Keeping the kid talking seemed to be a good way of keeping him awake. Hector was curious about how long that might last for. Now seemed as good a time as any to test it out. "Quirin told me a lot about you, but you're still not quite what I was expecting."
Varian blinked and burrowed himself into the wet cloak. "Better or worse?"
"Well, your health's definitely worse, but that's not your fault." Hector said.
"Wha-what about the other stuff?" Varian asked. He looked at Hector curiously, though there was a look of pain in his eyes.
"Well, you're a lot more talkative then I was expecting," Hector smirked. Varian chuckled slightly in embarrassment and ducked his head. "Your dad mentioned you're passionate, but he made it sound like it was in more of a private and reserved kind of way."
"What?" Varian tried to sit up, only to fall back with a groan. He rested for a moment before rolling onto his stomach and looking at Hecter with pained confusion. "That's...I'm not…" Varian took in a shuddered breath. He looked distressed. "That's not me at all."
"Yeah, I figured." Hector said. Varian looked far more bothered than Hector thought this conversation warranted. "What's the big deal?"
"My dad, he...he told you that I'm...but I'm not. Why would he-?" Varian trailed off. He wrapped the cloak around his shoulders and shivered. Ruddiger whined and nuzzled against Varian comfortingly. "Does...does he know me at all?"
"From what he told me in the letters, no." Hector said bluntly. Varian's eyes shot wide and he looked panicked. Ruddiger shot Hector an annoyed look. Varian whimpered and hunched in on himself. It took Hector far too long to realize that maybe pointing out that the kid's dad didn't really know him wasn't the nicest thing.
"He tries, though," Hector said awkwardly. He wasn't used to being comforting and reassuring.
"But...but he doesn't." Varian whimpered. He looked like he was breaking down. "I-I try to talk to him, but he doesn't...he never…" Varian buried his head in the fur of Hector's cloak. He looked like he was trying to smother himself. Hector couldn't allow that.
"Ah, kid," Hector sighed. He stood up and walked onto the shore. He sat next to Varian and pulled the kid up onto his lap. Varian whined and leaned against him. Hector grimaced and awkwardly put an arm around the kid's shoulder. He wasn't fit to be dealing with a sick and distressed teenager, but he was starting to wonder if Quirin was much better.
Hector loved his brother, and Quirin was great at a lot of things, but emotional support had never been one of them. Hector had learned how to see the little ways that Quirin showed he cared, but it had taken him years. If Quirin's cold distance was the only thing that Varian knew he might question whether his dad cared about him at all. Maybe on a normal day when Varian was in a decent state of mind he could handle it, but not when he was sick and so emotionally vulnerable.
Hector knew that when Varian was upset when they talked about the black rocks Hector would distract him by switching the topic of conversation to the Dark Kingdom and the Brotherhood. Varian was upset about his dad this time though, so that wouldn't quite work. Against his better judgement Hector decided to do the opposite of what he normally did.
"You've been studying a lot about the black rocks. Right now I think you might know more about them then I do." Hector said. "Why would you want to study something so dangerous?" Hector slowly started to braid Varian's bangs. He hoped that it would help the kid relax and remind him of one of the times when Quirin had shown that he cared.
"I, uh, I wanted to understand them." Varian said. "I didn't think they were magic. Still don't. I thought if I could figure out what they were I could figure out how to make them go away, so I studied them. I...I…" Varian's eyes widened in alarm and he pulled away from Hector so quickly that the man ended up pulling on the kid's hair. Varian didn't seem to notice.
"Dad!" Varian looked around frantically. "Dad. I didn't...I just...the rocks!" Varian's breathing quickened. He was panicking. "Where's dad?"
"Don't worry about your dad right now." Hector said sternly. He wanted to comfort the kid, but he couldn't just tell him that his dad was fine because he definitely wasn't. Varian would probably forget this conversation after a nap, but Hector still wasn't going to make him any empty promises. Varian deserved better than that.
"You're okay," Hector said. He pulled Varian to lean back against him. He returned to braiding Varian's hair. "Everything's fine. Just, I don't know, besides how destructive the rocks are, what do you think of them?"
"They're...incredible." Varian sniffled. "They're indestructible."
Hector frowned as he braided the boy's hair. "Like your streak?"
Varian chuckled weakly. "Yeah, like my hair stripe."
Hector hummed thoughtfully. Varian's hair wasn't normal. It wasn't the most ridiculous thing Hector had ever heard of, but he had come to learn that even the most seemingly innocent looking oddity could be a sign of disaster.
"I don't know why I'm so drawn to the rocks." Varian said quietly. "I couldn't resist it. Even just the thought of forgetting about the rocks and ignoring them made me feel sick. I felt...I don't know."
Hector knew that Varian wouldn't remember this conversation, but he himself wouldn't forget a single worse of it. This was far too important. "Would you say you felt connected to the rocks?"
"Uh, I guess so." Varian shrugged. He didn't seem convinced. Hector knew how ridiculous it sounded. He could barely believe what he was suggesting himself, but Hector had seen first hand just how odd and impossible the power of the moonstone was. It seemed impossible that Varian was connected to it, but by now Hector wasn't naive enough to completely disregard the idea.
Maybe he should take Varian to the Dark Kingdom and see what King Edmund thought of the possibility. That man knew even more about the dangers and properties of the moonstone than Hector did. King Edmund had been right there when Quirin had been exposed to the moonstone's power. If anybody could know whether or not Varian had somehow inherited some of its powers, it was him.
First things first though, Hector had to make sure that Varian was healthy and well enough to travel. "Do you think you can stomach some food?" Hector asked.
"I don't know." Varian muttered.
"Well, let's give it a try." Hector said as he finished up the braid. He stood up and pulled Varian to his feet. The boy was a little unsteady on his feet, but Hector helped to keep him balanced and focused. "Come on." Hector used one hand to balance the kid and one hand to grab his cloak and pull it out of the water.
Hector led Varian to the shade of some nearby trees. He handed the kid the canteen of water. Any chance he could get to get the kid rehydrated he was going to take it. Varian watched as Hector pulled some dry wood and flint out of the saddle bags. He always carried around things for putting together an emergency fire. They hadn't really camped out at all this week, only stopping long enough to give his rhino a quick break so it could keep going. Now though Hector didn't think they could afford to not let Varian rest properly, at least for a day or two.
It only took a minute for Hector to get the fire going. Varian handed the canteen to Hector, who took a drink from it himself. They would have to boil some more water for drinking.
"Let's see if we can get you to eat something more filling than a snack," Hector said. "What's your favorite food?" He hoped that if he gave Varian something that he liked then he would eat more than just a few bites. There was no guarantee that he'd be able to keep all of it down, but they at least had to try.
"I like ham sandwiches." Varian said. Hector nodded. It was a simple enough food. They still had some leftover bread that Hector had snagged from a town they'd passed through. The ham would be a little more difficult to get their hands on, but Hector thought he'd be able to find a wild boar nearby. If not, maybe he would be able to find another wild animal that he could kill to trade for some ham in the next town they passed through.
Either way, it was time to go hunting.
"Watch the fire for me, would you?" Hector asked Varian. He knew the kid would probably be nodding off in the next few minutes, but he also knew the raccoon would keep an eye on the boy and the flames. Hector didn't want to leave the kid unsupervised, but he couldn't constantly babysit him. Varian would be fine for half an hour.
"Okay." Varian nodded, staring at the fire. A long moment later he furrowed his brow and lifted his head to look at Hector in confusion. "Where are you going?"
"I'm gonna see if I can find us some ham." Hector said. He ruffled Varian's hair. "Stay here. I'll be back soon with a feast."
Varian pulled his legs to his chest and rested his head against his knees. He yawned, already starting to drift off. "Okay, Uncle Hector."
The man froze. This wasn't the first time that Varian had called him 'Uncle Hector', but he didn't think he would ever get used to it. It had started on the second day, when Hector had referred to Quirin as his brother. Varian had come to the logical conclusion that Hector was his uncle. The man had been shocked the first time he'd heard it, and only more and more shocked every time he was called 'Uncle Hector'.
Varian forgot most of their conversations, sometimes before the conversation even ended, and yet the Uncle Hector thing seemed to stick through everything. It was weird, and Hector didn't understand it, but he wasn't going to complain. If Varian saw him as an uncle already, if he trusted him, well, that just made Hector's job easier.
"I'll be back soon, kid," Hector said. He brought out his blade and stalked into the trees. He knew he probably wouldn't be able to find a board, but there was no harm in trying. It may be the middle of the day, but maybe the moon would show some mercy and decide to bless them anyways. The moon's blessings were few and far between, but Hector had dedicated his life to serving it, and Varian may or may not have been cursed with the powers of the moonstone. If anybody deserved the moon's blessing, especially one as simple as finding a wild boar, it was them.
A/N: This story is just getting started, but I can already tell that it's definitely going to end up longer then I was originally estimating. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but it's just a little shocking.
I took creative liberties with Varian's fever. This is definitely not medically accurate, but I kinda like rambly and unfocused Varian.