Oracle

Part 35

Jaspar grimaced as John carried him upstairs, not enjoying being carted around but John was annoyed with him and Jaspar had no way to fight back against the considerably more powerful supernatural. Once it had turned 9 am, Nathan had finally been allowed to leave the Rook but not before John had kissed him on the forehead with his blessing. Not that Jaspar had fully understood the meaning behind it but Donny as always was happy to fill in the blanks for what he missed being blind.

Once the young man was out of the bar, the air had turned darker again as John let his facade fade a little to reveal his annoyance at Jaspar and Leo. The noise level dimming as the feeling of John's displeasure spread around the room. 

"Leo, after work today you are to report to my office," John ordered firmly as he moved over to Jaspar, placing his hands on Jaspar's shoulder and rubbed them slightly. "I am not happy with your recent behaviour," he scolded ominously. 

"Yes, Master," Leo said quietly, no traces of his normal bubbly self. Jaspar would have smirked but he knew he was in John's bad books too.

"As for you little seer," John said, next to his ear as strong arms swept him up bridal style. "We are going to have a private word upstairs," he growled. The fae's presence was foreboding as it surrounded Jaspar, and Jaspar felt the image of the green wolf he had seen earlier return. Smartly, he didn't complain, even though he really wanted too.

The stairs creaked under their weight as John moved up them, and there was a strange scent of lavender surrounding them, overwhelming the normal scent of beer and cigarettes. Fae magic, Jaspar assumed. He hadn't been around John long enough to know how his personal magic worked, but the books he had read as a child said fae magic smelt of flowers.

"Elison!" John called, his voice still clearly annoyed. "Get up please," John ordered curtly as he entered their bedroom.

"Yes sir," Elison said with a begrudging tone, unafraid of John when he was annoyed. Or possibly just knew it wasn't him that John was angry with. "Is Jaspar in trouble?" he asked, apparently not missing Jaspar's unhappy expression or John's.

There were two heavy thumps as Elison got out of bed and Jaspar felt as John shrugged before he was put down on the bed. Noticeably on the silk bed sheets by the feel of the smooth material under Jaspar's hand, and not the heavy blankets which they used at night. Jaspar wasn't sure if this was a good sign, a bad sign or inconsequential. Either way, the fact he was noticing meant he was nervous at the moment.

"Slightly, but not enough for you to be worried about. I'm not at the point where I am going to give him the proper punishments for his infractions but I will give warning. He swore and was being incredibly rude," John growled, his lips pressing against Jaspar's forehead in a strangely soft kiss. "Getting a little frustrated, aren't you little seer?" John hummed in an almost dangerously cheerful tone.

Despite the warning bells ringing loudly in his head, Jaspar's mouth moved before he could stop himself and he snarled. "Leo was being a little..." Jaspar made a noise of frustration as he struggled to find an alternative for the word he wanted to use which wasn't another curse word. If the use of curse words was the sign of someone unintelligent enough to find proper insults, they hadn't had the joy of having a single word describing a person perfectly.

"A fashion diva?" Elison offered from the side, knowing Leo.

Jaspar just let out a frustrated sound of agreement and crossed his arms in protest, his fingers clinging to the shirt sleeves almost nervously. "So what if my clothes aren't perfect," he muttered darkly. "I picked them."

There was a heavy sigh from John and the mattress dipped as the fae sat next to him. A hand playing with his hair in a very caretaker type fashion. "You are also not in a current state where you can knowingly pick what you are wearing. I've allowed the fact his reaction was very rude in itself for why you are getting a warning and not the normal punishment but you do look a little strange in this outfit," John commented softly, clearly trying to sooth Jaspar's hackles.

The sound Jaspar made at that was almost embarrassingly pitiful. He blushed but didn't fight as he was pulled into a one-armed hug by the fae. Lavender surrounding him again, hiding his face against John's neck. John was evil, but he was also tactile. Jaspar knew one of the best ways to stay in John's good books, even when in trouble, was not too shy from his touch.

"I know things are frustrating for you at the moment, but once Ms Tyer is happy you can read braille we will label your clothes so you can pick them with more ease," John reassured, his hand petting Jaspar's shoulder. Already John's presence felt warmer and softer, less like the wolf was going to try to consume Jaspar.

"I," Jaspar made a strangled noise before moving away from John to pull his knees up to his chest. He nodded slightly as he hugged them tightly to himself. The uneasiness, which had been in his stomach since he had woken up, increased. He hated this. He hated being so helpless that he could do half the things he wanted by himself yet, even with the others saying he would be able to with time. He just wanted to be whole again, but that was close to impossible now.

"Just a little longer, boy," John reassured in a tone which suggested he knew what was going through Jasper's mind at that moment. "Now," suddenly John's voice went from reassuring to considerably more stern. "As for you attitude. I'm letting you off this once, but if I hear you swear again, I will wash your mouth out with soap. If you question me again in public like you did, I will take your pants down and put you over my knee like a child. Public or not. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," Jaspar bowed his head slightly into his knees.

"Good boy," John's voice was still stern but approving before hands pushed him backwards so he was lying on the bed. "For now, go back to sleep. You need it," his voice settled halfway been stern and gentle, two sets of hands prodding and pushing him into the centre of the bed. 

"I just slept all night," Jaspar complained about with no real heat, willingly going where the hands were pushing him. He almost grunted as the heavy blankets were thrown over him and tucked around him. A hand running over his forehead almost like someone was taking his temperature.

"The sight of someone being killed in the way you saw is no easy one, Jaspar," John commented his voice falling back to gently and reassuring. "I'm betting you have a painful feeling in your stomach where your nerves are tight and I'm willing to bet the backs of your eyes are starting to hurt again too from the adrenaline shock."

Jaspar shifted uncomfortably, knowing John's words to be true. He hadn't quite noticed the headache yet but his stomach was still painfully clenched. Now someone had used the term for it, it was obvious what he was suffering from, it was more than just his current mood swings. A tear formed as Jaspar thought about what he had seen in the vision but he quickly pushed it away. It wouldn't happy. Not now. John wouldn't let it, Calder wouldn't let it. If these men had half the power they claimed too, Nathan wouldn't die like that.

"Sleep, Jaspar. It will help, I promise," John ordered, "We will discuss your place here when you feel a little better and can be more civil."

"Don't want to sleep. I don't want to dream," Jaspar whispered, turning over to curl in the blankets, noticing he could smell Elison strongly in the blankets. The man's scent oddly reassuring. The previous night had been a mixture of all his visions, in particular, the more gory parts of the visions. Maria's yellow eyes as she was impaled and Nathan's screams as he was burned alive now locked in his mind. Until the events had played out, there was nothing Jaspar could do but wait and hope things were different.

"Then have a dreamless sleep," John's voice seemed to whisper. and the bubble of fear in Jaspar's stomach seemed to melt away as the fae's magic gently surrounded him again and lulled him to sleep. Jaspar willingly letting the fae's magic force him under, trusting John to keep his dreams free of the vision. The fae was evil, Jaspar knew that, but right then, he was surrounded by soft sheets and blankets and the strong smell of lavender from John's magic. Maybe John was telling the truth, maybe he did need more sleep and things would settle better in the morning.

Maybe.