#only 5.8k words BUT only two weeks since last update so I'll take it

[lunastarhawk]

A completed chapter on WiP Wednesday? More likely than you'd think.

Tides of Memories part 28 Chapter 8 - The Doctor's Apprentice part 2: Distractions

On AO3

What is structure anyway.

Reliving his memories of his time working with Altheia during the Red plague, Julian discovers some of her hidden past, and just how she wound up at the shop in Vesuvia.

Something of an Altheia-flavoured rewrite of Delightful Distractions, from Julian's pov, but is different in many ways from the original. It tells of when they got together together, and contains Altheia lore!

Excerpt

"I think that if you weren't a doctor, you'd find one to work with. Perhaps become their apprentice." Julian heard the wry smile behind Altheia's words, because that was exactly what she had done. "Ah. Maybe so." "Besides, Asra was always leaving. He'd go away for weeks at a time. Never let me go with him. So it really didn't surprise me that he left, and who could blame him. What did surprise me was that he asked me to go with him this time." "But you didn't… because…" "You know because." "Mmm." She'd wanted to help, he told himself. He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. "Can I ask something else?" Altheia chuckled. "It's the evening for questions, is it?" "It seems that way." He took a deep breath, almost afraid to ask, fearing the question would push her away, but he had to know. "How… why… did you wind up at Asra's shop at all?" "It's not his shop," she said primly. "It's mine." Her other hand brushed wayward locks of hair from his eye; he looked up to see a shadow across her eyes. "You haven't asked before." "No, well, you didn't seem to want to talk about it, and it wasn't really any of my business." "Is it your business now?" Julian bit his lip and looked away. "Ah. No. Probably not." "It could be." He looked up again. "Could it?" "What do you want?" Julian sighed. "What does it matter what I want?" "It matters now." "I want…" You, he thought. But he couldn't say it. Because if he said it, if he heard her say it back… he knew he couldn't let her go. So instead he said, "I want another drink, that's what I want." Altheia clicked her tongue and sharply raised her legs so that Julian tumbled off her lap with a surprised "Ow!" The pebbles and seashells were sharp under his hands as he pushed himself to sit up. The beach… the shells…

"Fine, don't tell me." Altheia sounded embarrassed and started to move away, but Julian grabbed her hand in a panic, looking into her eyes in earnest as he blurted out, "If I tell you, you'll stay."

The rest is on AyOhThreeee