Keeper Alard told Garrett that he could remove the surgery gauze by the end of the week.
Artemus insisted he keep it on for an extra two.
Garrett had no issue abiding by his father's request, happy to put Artemus at ease however he could. Though he would be the first to complain about the abrupt return of dwindling depth perception getting in the way of even the simplest tasks, causing him to misjudge anything from the edges of tables to books on shelves, he kept the bandages on.
Of course, the post-optic surgery recovery was anything but peaceful. With Garrett's presence within the Haven being well known, Orland not so subtilty hinted [demanded] that Garrett be put to work to earn his keep. And through some strange misguided 'mercy' the First Keeper offered to set the thief up in an old apprentice dorm room. On the surface, the gesture was one of good faith, but neither Artemus or Garrett were blind.
Orland had bitterly resented Garrett's rejection of becoming a Keeper Enforcer. There was little doubt in both father and son's minds that if given the opportunity, Orland would deny Garrett a choice the second time.
So naturally, Artemus vehemently refused to have Garrett moved to an old apprentice dorm room, and Garrett had no intention of leaving his father's side, so together they remained in Artemus' small but comfortably cramped house, just as they had all those years ago when Garrett only came up to his thigh…
Artemus was not the sort to redecorate on a whim, in fact the last time the Keeper had ever done anything major to the small three room home was adding an extra chair for Erin, the memory was a distant one, but fondly thought of and warm. Likewise, the number of places to sleep in the house had not changed recently. There was the reclining chair by the fire in the living room, Artemus' bed and the small settee by the front door for tying shoes.
The two however were family, and while the concept of family may have been well beyond Orland's comprehension, Garrett and Artemus shared no qualms or displeasures in sharing a bed. There had been a time after all, where Garrett refused to sleep anywhere but his father's bed.
Initially, all seemed… Not well, there were too many things wrong for their situation to be well. But things were normal. Father and son fell back into routine, Artemus dividing his time between his usual tasks and fighting Orland off whenever the First Keeper decided to try his luck and 'insist' Garrett begin earning his keep.
And Garrett did offer to help Artemus with his work. Artemus merely shushed him and ordered him back to bed; "You can think about helping once you've recovered."
Eventually, recover Garrett did.
And soon after the bandages came off, Artemus began to… Notice things.
It should have been obvious from the moment he saw his son's eye again, how the slight flicker of blue seated at the heart of Garrett's pupil seemed larger… But at the time, Artemus was simply relieved that Garrett had not lost the eye, and better yet, that Garrett was on the mend. Still, Artemus kept a close eye on his son, and for the first while, waited with baited breath for something, anything to go amiss.
Thankfully nothing did. Nothing while Garrett was awake that is…
When the dreams first began, Artemus found himself jerking to sudden awareness, and Garrett, who always slept tucked as close as he could to his father, would follow suit, ever the light sleeper the thief was.
It would take a while for either man to figure out what was causing the nightly disturbances seeing as every time Artemus would find himself waking in the dead of night, Garrett would be soon to follow. It would take a strange happenstance for Artemus to catch his son in the act.
Garrett never moved in his sleep, never so much as rolled or shifted a limb, once he was comfortable, the thief was unmovable. When he was very small, there were times Artemus feared the boy he had brought into his home had perished in the dead of night, his breathing so faint and slow…
The dead slumber Garrett always slipped into worsened as he aged, the symptoms at least, Garrett slept fine, or so he claimed, he just never moved…
Which was why Artemus was so taken aback the night Garrett fell asleep before him, curled beneath every single blanket Artemus had in his home, twitching in his sleep, not thrashing wild and afraid, merely twitching, curling his fingers, open, close, open, close, as though he were dreaming of reaching for something…
To say that Artemus found Garrett's unconscious motions unnerving, even more so than his previous lack of, would be an understatement…
Garrett spoke very little of times before he entered Artemus' life, though the Keeper knew that his son's earliest years were far from happy. Even so, never had Garrett ever woken from the throws of a nightmare, something that Garrett always insisted was a boon when it came to his profession.
"Sleeping in strange places has its benefits." Garrett had told him once, long before the young man, at the time, a mere boy, had flown the coop, nestled uncomfortable across a narrow beam in the Haven's library, well out of reach from the nearest walkway, "No one would think to check the rafters for a napping student."
"No one except me."
The new development of his unconscious fidgeting unnerved Garrett far more than it did Artemus, the Keeper knew that his son would adapt, Garrett always did. But what worried Garrett far more was the prospect of the issue evolving.
It was one thing to twitch in his sleep, Garrett could live with that, or at least find ways to work around the cumbersome habit. If twitching became tossing and turning, or even more troubling, sleepwalking, Garrett wasn't sure what he was going to do…
Artemus tried to assure his son that things would be fine, but all he managed to do was jinks his son.
The very next night… Garrett began speaking in the throes of slumber.