~#~ Chapter 3 ~#~

As it turned out, Alhaitham was much improved by the morning. He had finally caught up on the missing sleep of the past couple of nights and felt much better after a hot, cooked breakfast. Not being one for making a fuss, he went into the Akademiya like normal and spent the day in his blessedly quiet office until Kaveh wandered in to collect him just before he was due to leave. "I wanted to check you weren't overdoing it," the architect told him softly. "But it looks like I was worrying unnecessarily."

Alhaitham had been a million miles away when Kaveh had wandered into the room. He'd been sitting at his desk, staring into space with the enigma coin rolling backwards and forwards between the fingers of his right hand. It took a moment for him to come back to himself and actually focus on Kaveh. "Is it time to go?"

Kaveh mentally retracted his last statement at Alhaitham's quiet question. "Are you alright?"

Alhaitham caught the coin in the palm of his hand and tucked it back into this pocket. "I'm…fine. Just, maybe a bit tired. I'll have an early night. It's no problem."

Kaveh wasn't convinced but remained quiet, well aware of just how much sleep Alhaitham had racked up since leaving the market the previous day. He'd slept most of the afternoon and had only woken briefly to take tablets and eat his meal. He had then slept all night, dead to the world on the couch and had only woken when Kaveh had shaken him awake so he could eat the breakfast he'd cooked.

~#~

The two men walked the short distance back to the house. Alhaitham went straight to the bathroom and showered while Kaveh pottered around in the kitchen and sorted the kitten out. He played with her for a while and then set about putting dinner together.

Alhaitham was much more himself when he wandered back into the kitchen. He sat at the table and lifted Kayan up in front of himself when the kitten tried, and failed, to jump into his lap.

Kaveh turned back from checking the food and saw Alhaitham rolling the kitten around on her back as the tiny cat dug her claws into his hand. "Such a ferocious beast," he chuckled. "Although I'm not sure she should be on the table."

Alhaitham shrugged and slid her off the table and into his lap where he continued to pet her until Kaveh told him that the dinner was ready.

~#~

Kaveh kept a close eye on Alhaitham for the next couple of days. Despite his housemate doing his best to disguise it, Kaveh was aware that he was still being disturbed by sounds that either weren't there or that were just too quiet for Kaveh to hear.

As well as startling at potentially non-existent noises, Alhaitham's sleep patterns were a mess. He was barely sleeping at night, spending most of it prowling the house or sitting on his couch, reading, researching or just simply sitting there staring into space while fiddling with the enigma coin. He started, unintentionally, to catnap at random hours of the day and Kaveh began to watch for him getting drowsy and send him to bed for a nap, an instruction which, surprisingly, Alhaitham followed, with no objections.

~#~

A couple of days later was their monthly TCG night with Cyno and Tighnari. Kaveh wasn't sure whether it was a good idea to go due to Alhaitham's new-found ability to fall asleep just about anywhere but, against his better judgement, they went anyway.

The four men sat at their normal table, secreted away on the upper floor of Lamad's tavern. As usual, they were the only people on the upper floor and very soon the game became heated with Alhaitham, unexpectedly, thrashing Cyno in the first two matches. It looked like the third bout was headed the same way until Alhaitham suddenly let out a yelp, jumped out of his chair and shot sideways until he was way past the opposite side of Kaveh. He stood there for a moment, staring at the space beside the chair he'd just vacated and then rubbed his hands over his face and, with a shudder, walked back past Kaveh and sat down with a quiet groan.

Kaveh reached over and rested his hand on Alhaitham's shoulder. He could feel slight tremors through the thick material of the scribe's cape, and he peered at him worriedly. "Do we need to leave?"

Alhaitham shook his head. "N-no. I'm fine. Don't fuss."

Kaveh wasn't convinced but turned back to the table. His eyes met Tighnari's worried gaze and he gave a minute shake of his head to keep the forest watcher quiet. "Later," he mouthed silently.

Alhaitham's game went to pieces after his outburst. Cyno won easily and then went on to defeat both Kaveh and Tighnari in his next two matches. Alhaitham claimed to be tired and refused to play any more that evening. He pulled a book out of his belt pouch and sat there reading while the others played.

Kaveh's attention see-sawed between the game and his housemate and, because of this, he was looking at Alhaitham when he erupted next. One moment he was sitting, quietly reading and then next he was battling with some invisible entity beside him and launching himself off his chair with a loudly roared "No."

He viciously brushed something unseen off his right leg and stood there breathing heavily. "I…I'm going home," he announced shakily and, without waiting for a reply, he turned and strode off down the stairs.

Kaveh quickly gathered his dice and cards together and, with an apologetic look to Cyno and Tighnari, he rushed after Alhaitham. The scribe had set off at a fast pace and Kaveh only managed to catch up with him as they passed the entrance to the Corps of Thirty's compound. "Hey," he said softly.

"Don't," Alhaitham replied gruffly. "Not here."

Kaveh matched his speed as he marched towards the house. The moment they were through the door of the house, Alhaitham simply stopped and stood, facing down the corridor, swaying slightly. "You're not just hearing things, are you?" Kaveh asked quietly. "You're…seeing things as well. Things that aren't there? Please tell me you realise that they're not actually there?"

Alhaitham turned to face him and he was dismayed to see the scribe's eyes were bright with unshed tears. "I do. I know they're not there but apparently that's irrelevant. I can hear, see and…and feel things too. My body's overruling my head and tells me things are touching me. I…I need it to stop. I need to sleep. I need…I…" Alhaitham swiped his arm to smack at something way out to the side of his left leg and his face crumbled. He wrapped his hands around his head, grabbed a handful of hair in each fist and then dropped to his knees. "I need everything to stop touching me."

Kaveh hesitated for the briefest of moments and then sunk to his knees and wrapped his arms around Alhaitham as tightly as he dared. Regardless of his aversion to being touched, Alhaitham needed help, he needed comfort, and most of all, he needed something, or someone, real and solid to ground himself on.

Alhaitham sagged into the embrace and remained there, unmoving until Kaveh eventually scrambled to his feet and dragged the scribe up with him. There was a brief moment of indecision where Kaveh was deciding whether to simply put Alhaitham to bed or to settle him on the couch where he was easier to keep an eye on. The latter won out and very soon Alhaitham was bundled up on his couch with a blanket tucket tightly around him. Kaveh had stripped him of his cape, boots and belt pouch to make him more comfortable before tucking him in but, other than rolling over to face the back of the couch, Alhaitham had made no effort to help or interact with Kaveh in any way. Kaveh sat beside him waiting for the scribe's breathing to even out into the slow rhythm of sleep and, by the time it finally did, Kaveh was barely holding back tears.

~#~

Any hopes that Kaveh held of making it through the night, so he could get Tighnari in to check Alhaitham over the next morning, died a little after midnight. The architect had set his bedcovers up on his couch as he'd done previously and had fallen asleep almost as soon as he'd laid down.

He was awoken again very suddenly, by Alhaitham letting out a blood-curdling scream and springing to his feet. Green light filled the room a moment later as the scribe gathered a trio of chisel mirrors around himself and Kaveh barely had time to launch himself over the back of his couch before the mirrors were released in all directions.

Alhaitham let out an animalistic growl as he batted at invisible opponents and, as Kaveh watched, his hands began to glow green as he pulled dendro power into them ready to unleash another volley of mirrors.

"Haitham," Kaveh climbed to his feet but kept his body folded low to make himself the smallest target possible. "Haitham, stop. You're sick. Let me help."

There was no sign that Alhaitham had heard him as the next batch of mirrors were released the moment they formed. Kaveh didn't react fast enough and one of them grazed his cheek on the way past and then continued along its path and shattered against the wall behind him. Another burst against the door and the third made a sickening crunch as it embedded itself into the spine of one of Alhaitham's ridiculously thick reference books.

"No," Kaveh shouted loudly, trying to bring Alhaitham back from wherever he'd become lost. "Stop. St…" A chisel mirror had buried itself in his left hip and Kaveh barely managed to stay upright as pain tore through him. "Hai…s-stop."

The next volley of mirrors blew out the window just behind Kaveh's right shoulder. He had the vague notion that at least the noise might bring help but he had no time to continue the thought as he had mere seconds to take Alhaitham down before more mirrors formed. The architect launched himself at his housemate and grabbed hold of his right hand as he came in contact with it. He rammed the hand into Alhaitham's stomach, wrapped a leg behind the scribe's left knee and pulled with everything he had. Alhaitham's leg crumpled and he went down, heavily, but as soon as he was on the floor he began to fight. His free left hand sparked with green dendro energy as Kaveh adjusted his grip on his legs which were scrabbling for purchase on the floor. More by luck than judgement, he managed to get his lower right leg across both of Alhaitham's knees which hindered his movements greatly and allowed Kaveh a brief second to grab hold of the flailing left hand. With all his body weight, Kaveh dragged the left hand down against Alhaitham's stomach and pinned both hands tightly together with his left knee. This left him straddled awkwardly against his housemate but effectively immobilised all four of Alhaitham's limbs.

Despite Alhaitham's hands being pinned between Kaveh's knee and the scribe's own stomach, Kaveh became aware of a green glow forming beneath him. Even over both his own, and Alhaitham's ragged breathing, he could hear, rather than see sparks begin to form and he panicked. If Alhaitham managed to form, let alone release, even one chisel mirror in the position his hands were in, then he was as good as dead. There was nothing to stop it tearing through the centre of Alhaitham's torso until it hit his spine and by that point it would be too late.

Mindful that he couldn't move either knee, Kaveh reached up and snatched at Alhaitham's vision. Alhaitham renewed his struggle against him and the green glow against his stomach started up anew. Kaveh made a second grab for the vision and missed again but on the third try his fingers made contact and he grabbed hold and twisted it until the clip holding it to Alhaitham's shoulder gave way. Alhaitham let out an inhuman howl and bucked against him. Kaveh pressed down with both legs, rested his left elbow and all his upper body weight against Alhaitham's sternum and then did the only move left remaining to him - he hurled the vision across the room, as far from Alhaitham and his glowing hands as possible.