Chapter 3 ☆ [Voice]

[eyesofremorse]

[Following the draftees' return to the village yesterday evening, Joshua... hasn't actually been around that much. He hadn't been dropped off at his own apartment when he returned; rather, Joshua ended up at the clinic together with Leonhardt. Which is just as well, really, considering the latter's still in bad shape and likely best off remaining

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[Action]

[eyesofpity]

[And so the evening is dragging on and after Joshua has answered any responses he has gotten from others it seems Leonhardt still isn't responding to anything, outside of normal reflexive actions. Really, there hasn't been much of a change since he was brought here.

However, about an hour before midnight that changes and Leonhardt slowly opens up his eyes at last. He doesn't say anything at first, and there is definitely a confused expression on his face that shows he is wondering where this is, and also when it is since he does know he was out for some time. It just doesn't feel like it was all that long to him and this looks like the village. How strange...]

[Action]

[eyesofremorse]

["Dragging on" is a good way to describe today in general for Joshua. At this point, he's really just feeling... exhausted, both physically and mentally. But he's not quite so tired that he misses Leonhardt finally opening his eyes again - and needless to say, that is more than enough to divert his attention from certain thoughts.]

... Loewe...? [His voice still sounds awfully tired, but rather than sounding detached in addition to that, there's a hint of disbelief instead. He's not just imagining things because of how little sleep he's been getting, right? He really did just open his eyes again, right...?

Maybe there's at least one thing that's still good about today. He'd honestly been fearing the worst, considering Leonhardt had hardly been reacting to anything and nothing seemed to help him regain consciousness, so this is an enormous relief... but he's still a little cautious nevertheless. It could just be temporary, after all...]

[Action]

[eyesofpity]

[Nope, not imagining things. Leonhardt just needed some more time for his own body to heal some of the things that couldn't be healed by magic. He's definitely feeling pretty dang sore and there likely aren't many parts of him not covered in bruises now.

It takes a few moments before he says anything, and he's looking at Joshua with a bit of disbelief too and his eyes are blinking like he's trying to see if the image of Joshua will vanish. Truly, he is a bit surprised to be awake, and with how damn sore he feels, he's likely not dead like he thought he was going to be.] ...Where...? [His voice is a bit hoarse from not being used for over a day and he coughs a bit to clear up his lungs and throat.] ...Where is this...?

[eyesofremorse]

[...He really is awake. He's awake, he's talking, and he's actually reacting to Joshua... That's definitely a good thing, and it's no surprise that all of this earns a smile from the boy - nor that there's audible relief in his voice as he speaks.]

You're at the clinic in the village plaza, Loewe. You've been unconscious since the morning of the 19th. [Since the cave-in, but he doesn't really want to bring that up at the moment. That's not something he wants to think about now when things are finally looking up again after what happened back then.]

[eyesofpity]

[Okay, he does remember the 19th was the last day of the draft. And if Joshua is giving the date, it likely is not the same day.

Leonhardt goes ahead and tries to sit up, supporting himself on his left arm, though that causes a wince of pain because that is definitely still hurting a lot even if the broken bone has been healed now. That attempt ends in failure because suddenly the room starts spinning on him and he feels real dizzy and ends up falling back into the bed.]

What day is it now?

[There's something he should be remembering about a day, but he's having some trouble recalling what because his head is just a jumbled mess and dang he sure has a headache too. For now he closes his eyes a bit just to stop the room from spinning.]

I'm still awake...need to stop the room from moving...

[eyesofremorse]

[That's a little more alarming, but it's not too surprising. Even if the worst of his injuries were healed, he's still not exactly in good shape. That's probably going to take some more time.]

You shouldn't push yourself too much. It's better if you try to rest for now. [Trying to sit up while he's still in bad shape will only make things worse, and that's something Joshua doesn't want.]

It's the 20th of December. [Well, it's almost the 21st at this point, but... that's not for another hour, at least.]

[eyesofpity]

[20th of December...the 20th...that's what he was forgetting!]

Happy birthday, Joshua. I wanted it to be more special than this...my apologies. [He can remember that he had plans for them to try and spend some time together if Joshua wanted, but looks like that isn't happening because he sure isn't in good shape at all to do much more than talk. And even that was growing harder. Why was he so tired when he'd been unconscious for over a day?]

[eyesofremorse]

[...He remembered. That nets a much warmer smile from the boy, though it's still a tired one.]

...Don't worry about it. I'm just glad that you're awake again. [There's just about nothing he could possibly be more grateful for than this. Leonhardt finally regaining consciousness, even if he's still not in good shape, at least means he's on the path to recovery - and really now, what more could he ask for for his birthday than knowing that there's a good chance that his brother will eventually recover from what had happened during the draft, when he'd been concerned that he wouldn't recover?]

[eyesofpity]

[Of course he remembered, and before now it had always been a day of complete and utter misery because it wasn't as if he could actually do anything with Joshua on that day.]

I am actually surprised about that. [Seriously, he does remember that he truly thought he was going to die and had accepted that.] ...Could I ask a small favor, actually?

[He hates having to ask, but Joshua looks like he could use the rest as much as he could. He definitely wants to send Joshua home to get a short nap and a change of clothes, and while he does that, Cecilia probably needs food by now and he'd like to have Joshua go get his present. That and he won't end up on the topic of how he welcomed the idea of dying for Joshua's sake. That needs to not be said.]

[eyesofremorse]

[Bah, he's probably not going to be able to get any sleep right now, anyway. Or at least, not a whole lot of it. There's still too much stuff on his mind, and the majority of it still isn't exactly positive - that's not really a good recipe for getting a full night of sleep.]

Of course. What is it? [Fulfilling a favor is the least he can do after what happened, and even if it's late and he's tired, he'll definitely do what he can. It's only fair, right?]

[eyesofpity]

[Leonhardt would compromise with an hour or two of sleep. It's obvious Joshua needs it.]

...I want you to go back to your place and get some rest. [And as he continues, he's sounding a lot more tired, so he's also sending Joshua away because he'd like some more rest.]

And then check on Cecilia and...there's a gift for you in my bedroom...get that before you come back...

...and be sure to wake me when you do. [Yeah, it's a few things, but mostly he's just asking to go home and rest and check on his kitten while out that way.]

[eyesofremorse]

[That's... not really the kind of requests he was expecting, sans for checking on Cecilia. And while he is tired, he doesn't particularly want to sleep at the moment. But, well...]

All right... but make sure to rest a little, as well, okay? You probably need it, too, Loewe. [That much is obvious just from his voice, but his condition in general isn't helping all that much either. And either way, rest is definitely what Leonhardt needs right now in order to recover completely.]

[eyesofpity]

[Joshua, just humor your brother by trying to take care of yourself. Last thing Leonhardt wants is his little brother needing the clinic as well.]

I'll rest far easier if I know you are taking care of yourself.

[eyesofremorse]

[That's not going to happen anytime soon. He's not doing that bad right now, even if he's pretty tired.]

You don't have to worry about that. [Really. He'll be fine.

Though with that said, he'll go ahead and stand up.]

I'll come back later, so... try to rest until then, all right? [Even if he doubts he'll be gone for that long, he at least wants Leonhardt to make use of the time until then. He definitely needs the rest far more than Joshua himself does, after all.]

[eyesofpity]

[That doesn't mean that this lack of sleep can't have long term effects. Worrying is just what big brothers do and it's nice to be able to again.]

I will. Rest well...and thanks for what you've done...

[And he'll pretty much fall asleep soon after. Yeah, even that little bit was pretty exhausting, but then always tiring to have to heal from serious injuries and he was just a tiny little bit away from dying, after all, and would have died if Joshua didn't have healing arts available to him at that time.

But he is only asleep, this wasn't just temporary and he is on his way to recovering fully.]

[eyesofremorse]

["Thanks"...? Joshua hardly did anything compared to Megaman and Amiti, and this wouldn't have happened had he dealt with that elite right away instead of just knocking him out and focusing on the others. It's a bit difficult for him to see why all of that would warrant any thanks.

But either way, with Leonhardt falling asleep like that, it's even more clear that he really needs some rest, so he'll leave him be for now. Besides, even if he'd like to stay and keep watch, he did agree to that set of favors... so he might as well work on that for now.

...He'll return later, though. He's definitely not planning to stay away for very long, even if he agreed to rest for a while.]