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Lorcan looked over the message and address that Desiree had sent him. At first, he was surprised by the message, having not really seen the agent, or well, whatever she might be in the negaverse when she wasn’t working on things for his cousin or Aloysius. She’d been direct yet open about when the visit would be at the address she provided. While he didn’t exactly like everything about this situation, he had come to understand the level of secrecy and paranoia that came from Aloysius and those who were close to them for longer periods of time.

It was with all that in mind that he let Kioshi and Omen know that he had a house call to make for Aloysius’s group. While he didn’t recognize the address at first, he had an idea of the area it was in. It only took him an hour to get there once he got his things packed into his car and got on his way.

He had been told that there were two people to check in with, one named Blaise and the other Rafayel, but it didn’t seem like Desiree was forthcoming about the details outside of that. When he arrived and looked around the quiet neighborhood, he couldn’t really blame them for not wanting to make a scene in a place like this. Too many neighbors that might ask questions or look into things if they got too loud.

With a knock at the door, he checked his phone one last time before tucking it away. “Desiree sent me. I’m Dr. Cosgrove.”

Hadn’t it been long, had it? Time still felt like it was standing still, yet also racing, even as he groaned and sat himself back up on the bed. Rubbing his face more to try clearing his head didn’t really help much, but it was worth a try as he heard two sets of footsteps coming up the stairs.

“Yeah… Sure.” Not that he really wanted to deal with this, but it was out of his hands, one of the downsides of ending up where he had while under the influence. At least he’d forgone a shirt, so whatever needed to be checked could be done quickly, and they could leave him alone.

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“I see.” Well, the fact that they’d made it somewhere meant they weren’t worse off. At least that was his first thought before remembering the state Alexandre had shown up in at his house on more than one occasion. His expression tightened for a moment at that memory before he caught himself and let his face relax a bit again.

“I’ll take a look, check for anything serious, but if they made it here instead of into a ditch, then it could have been worse.”

Looking between Blaise and the doctor, he already had a sour face from having to have a check-up with someone who didn’t know him. At least when Blaise spoke up to see if they needed anything, Rafayel took the opportunity to get them to step out of the room maybe for a bit.

“I could use something small to eat… maybe more of that soup you made before?” Knowing it would take time, and keep them out of earshot if anything came up.

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It didn’t take more than a few seconds to get a picture of what was going on as he stepped into the room after Blaise. It took even more effort not to let the disgust show on his face as he noticed the signs of drug use. “If you have tea, I’d like some for after as well. Thank you.” It would be best to get this other person out of the room, especially since he could tell the injured man on the bed was still under the influence of something. Their pupils were wider than they should be in the dimmer lighting, and he could see a cold sweat on them and tremor running through their hands.

“So someone got to you, did they? With a weapon, or was it hands-on?” Starting with the main reason he was here, he stepped in closer and set his bag on the bed out of their reach. The last thing he needed was for them to dig through it looking for medications or needles. He didn’t see marks on their inner elbows, but that didn’t mean they weren’t somewhere else.

Waiting until Blaise was out of the room, he eyed the doctor and stayed silent for a moment. Following their line of sight as he looked down at the scratches and other marks that weren’t from the fight. It wasn’t something he could hide from a doctor, probably from Blaise or most others, but not from someone who made it their job to look into wounds of any degree.

“They kicked me, and that was about it. I figured it was best to just… not deal with all that and leave?” Shrugging slightly, he purposely avoided looking them in the eye as he spoke. The quicker this was over, the quicker he could sleep this off. “They kicked like a Mack truck, though.”


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The sigh came out even as he tried not to, his hand coming up and running through his hair as they spoke. “So the scratches are self-inflicted then. And you’re still under the influence. Can’t take pain meds if you’re on something. It might react and cause problems.” It came out more tired than he’d meant it, but he didn’t try to walk back on his intent.

Stepping closer, he listened to their lungs with a stethoscope, watching as they flinched when the cold metal touched their skin. At least that was a normal enough reaction. He couldn’t smell any smoke, so not an inhaled type of drug. But with a closer look, he could see how some of the scratches were fresher than others. Focusing and walking them through deep breaths so he could listen, he didn’t find anything wrong with their lungs, at least.

Before pulling away, though, he couldn’t help but offer a few more words. “If they don’t know now, they will soon. So clean up whatever you’re doing. This isn’t the type of thing you can do while out and about with enemies lurking.”

Putting his things away, he didn’t look at them anymore for the moment, instead waiting for Blaise to return. This was something he would bring up to Desiree; this wasn’t something to have others around without knowing.

—----------------------------

His jaw tightened as they spoke, his hands covering the worst of the most recent scratches. It wasn’t like they knew that they actually understood what it was like to feel bugs crawling all over your skin.

Taking deep breaths ached, but he still managed it well enough. The next thing the doctor said had him seething and glaring up at them. “Why, are you going to tell him? Isn’t that against the law? He isn’t my next of kin or power of attorney.” Even if he was the black sheep of his family, money was money, and he could get a lawyer when it came to something like that. But looking down, he knew it wouldn’t be because they told Blaise. The signs were getting worse, just like that feeling of bugs crawling all over, even now, he could feel it on his skin.

“Stay out of my business. I didn’t want a doctor to come here. It wasn’t my idea.” Though the fight in his words diminished each sentence, there really wasn’t much he could do without saying more, and that was the last thing he wanted to do. This wasn’t a doctor who knew his history; he didn't want to go through all that with someone he would likely never have to deal with again.

—-------------------------

Turning back to look at them, he sighed once more. “You seem to think you know a lot about how all this really works. I may have only been at this whole… magic… feud for some years, but that’s long enough to know how to handle myself and not end up injured.” With that, he finished tucking things away and closed his bag back up.

“I came here as a favor for Desiree, and as a doctor, it’s my job to help people. Though you don’t particularly seem to want to be helped. I’ve checked up on you, though, no broken ribs. Take it easy and avoid any substances, and you’ll be fine.” Not that he expected them to follow that last piece of advice.

Enough time had passed that he could hear footsteps coming back upstairs. Fixing his expression, he took a seat in the chair that sat near the edge of the bed. Avoiding the glare of his patient as he did so.

Letting them know it was alright to come in, he took the offered tea and sipped at it for a moment. From what he could tell of Blaise, they seemed normal enough, no immediate signs of being a user. It made sense then why Rafayel wanted to keep things underwraps even if it seemed obvious to him what the black haired idiot was up to.

“No broken bones, just bruising. Mainly avoiding lifting anything heavy for a up to 2 weeks, by heavy I mean over 15lbs.” It was simple enough, though he wouldn’t need to work if he got money every time someone neglected to follow his advice.

“I’m not too picky with tea, this is good. I assume you’ll be watching to make sure he stays out of trouble?”

—----------------------
Leaning forward to start eating some soup, he cringed slightly as he felt the pull in his side. The thing about lifting things made sense, not that he often had to pick up the heavier bags and supplies at work. With him having a bit of time off anyway, he didn’t exactly have to worry about that either.

He would have grumbled when the doctor asked if Blaise was going to basically be babysitting him but in a way he kind of liked that idea. It was nice having someone else cook for him. More often than not he was tired after work or running around and had what could barely be considered a meal. The lack of calories didn’t bother him personally but he knew it led to him having rougher days at work or getting too drunk while out at the clubs.

“I’ll head out then, if you need to get ahold of me you can call this number.” Pulling a card from his pocket, he handed it to Blaise before picking up his bag and standing up. “If you notice any fever or trouble breathing let me know, otherwise you need to take it easy.” Giving Rafayel one more look, he headed out of the room and down the stairs. It was a nice enough place, somewhere someone might stay for awhile, but he still preferred his own home.

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Rafayel glared again as the doctor interrupted him just as he was about to speak. It was only when they left that he finally looked over towards Blaise. “I guess that means more magic… Because ******** if I’m going to get jumbled around in a car or walk that far.” Hanging his head, he stared down at the half eaten soup.

“You can just call me Raf you know, you don’t have to be so formal. Especially since you’re going to finally be seeing my house.” With a sigh, he went back to eating as he rubbed at his sore ribs. This sucked but there was a part of him that was pleased that he would be getting to soak up their time without having to get them drunk or bring them to a club.