Transcendent Love

Day three of @enbymagicianweek​

“Ah, Lochlan, what a lovely name. A musical name. Lochlan.”

        Lochlan couldn't pinpoint the exact moment they fell in love with Julian Devorak, only because they felt as if they'd know him for much longer than their memories went back. Which was true.          It had been almost a year since that masquerade party when they defeated the Devil, and now the most exciting thing they got up to together was an afternoon sailing with Portia.          On evenings like this particular one, Lochlan would glance over while Julian wrote away in journals or worked through cases as the palace physician, occasionally shaking out his fatigued wrists, swollen from overuse, and admire that concentrated pout on his thin lips.          "Julian…" Lochlan asked over the candle-lit din.          "Yes, my dear?" He glanced up with a fond smile, relaxing the tense scowl from the last few hours of work.          "Do you remember how we met?" They asked. Julian scoffed, placing his quill down and languidly stretching his back.           "As a matter of fact, I do." He replied. "It was about eight years ago," he stood up, making his way over to the window ledge Lochlan was perched on and leaned over his partner, resting long languid arms over their shoulders and kissed the top of their head. "In the mood for a story, my love?" 

         “Good afternoon, Salina,” Lochlan said with a wave as they entered the apothecary. They placed their hands down on the counter, leaning in with a charming grin as the girl behind it blushed. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes…” they said. “I’m sure glad to see you today.”          “Oh...Lochlan!” The girl at the counter coughed, trying to regain her senses.  “Welcome, what can I get for you today?” 

         “Julian,” they asked. “How do you know this part if you weren’t there?”           “Hush, my darling,” he replied. “I’m trying to set the scene for you.          “Well, I really need some mugwort and coneflower petals,” they replied. “Have you got any?”          Salina was already twirling about behind the counter, climbing the step-stool to reach for the jar of mugwort.          “How much do you need, handsome?” She asked. Lochlan smirked at the shameless flirting, not an uncommon thing for them here. They patted their pockets, pretending to check for money as they began their question.          “How much can I get for…” The paused. Cue the concerned expression. “Uhm…” One more pat-down. “Oh no,” They said with a pout. “Looks like I forgot my money today.” They pulled the puppy dog eyes.           “Man, I really needed that mugwort too…” Salina sighed in sympathy. “Do you think I could pay you for it later?” They asked.           Salina was losing the fight within herself. The battle between finances and her position working in the shop, and her desire to see that beautiful smile on their face again.           “I really not supposed to do that…” She said. “And I’ve already let you do it a few times before...”          “Our tragic hero knew there wasn’t much for them to do now,” Julian added with a dramatic flutter of his hand in Lochlan’s line of vision. “And when the apothecary door opened with a new customer, they were ready to cut their loss and leave.”          “But then a tall handsome stranger stepped in, right?” Lochlan asked.           “Ah yes,” Julian replied with a grin. “I believe it was a dashing doctor, standing at a gangly six feet tall.”          Julian entered the shop, stomping dust from his boots, as Salina directed her attention to him in hopes of evading the awkward stand-off with Lochlan.          “Hello, my dear,” Julian said. “I need some coneflower petals and cardamom.”         “Right away, sir.” She replied, quickly stepping up and reaching for the respective jars.          “I’m sorry,” Julian said to the wide-eyed customer before him. “Were you being served?”          “Uh, no…” Lochlan said. “I was just leaving…” They took a few steps, breezing past until Julian caught their shoulder.           “You came in here for a reason, didn’t you, kid?” He asked.           “I needed...some stuff,” they replied. “But I forgot my money.”           “Slippery mind, hmm?” Julian smirked. He stood up fully, neither of them having realized he leaned in so close and squared his shoulders, turning to the girl busying herself with scooping and weighing the herbs. “Let them get when they need,” He commanded. “On me.”           “Oh, you don’t…”          “Hush,” Julian interrupted. “What kind of doctor am I if I don’t help people?” He winked in Lochlan’s direction as Salina bowed her head, nodding when Lochlan asked for two ounces of each.           “What’s your name?” Julian asked.           “Lochlan.” They replied.           “Ah, Lochlan,” Julian grinned. “What a lovely name, a musical name. Lochlan…”           “And who are you?”           “I am Julian,” he said. “You can call me Doctor Devorak.”          “So, Coneflower petals,” Julian said. “Are you planning on using them for some kind of tea?”           “I steep them in boiling water and Prakran sugar until the whole mess bubbles, I’ve come to find that they make these little candies that help with cold symptoms. My friend and I sell them when we can.”          “Ah, so my money goes to a young upstart!” Julian laughed. “How about the mugwort.”           “It’s for my aunt. She’s feeling sick right now, and I know that tends to help her stomachaches.”                   “I’ll admit,” Julian said as he nuzzled his nose against Lochlan’s cheek. “I was impressed by your knowledge, after all...you were what, eighteen? And you already knew so much without being a doctor’s apprentice.”          “Asra always told me the little bit he knew of my parents,” Lochlan replied. “He said that I was from Zadith just like him, that I told him about my parents when we were kids.”          “Oh, really?” Julian asked.          “Yeah. According to Asra, my mother was a healer, not a doctor, but had experience; and my father had some magical abilities.”          “Amazing…” he said. “So you get your ability from your father?”           “I guess so.” Lochlan smiled as Julian peppered their face with kisses.           “My wonderful genius.” He mused.           “So what happened next?” Lochlan asked. “Did you sweep me off my feet or something?”          “I’m afraid that happened a long time later,” Julian replied. “I paid for everything, gathered my order, and left. You did ask me where I worked, but… I didn’t hear what you said fully, so I think I just laughed and walked out the door.”           “That does sound like something you’d do, love,” Lochlan replied. They chuckled, kissing away the pout that formed on Julian’s lips, before he settled on the window perch behind them, resting his head on their shoulder now as the two watched Malak fly around the roof of their home.           “When did we fall in love?” Lochlan asked. “Do you remember it?”           “The first time?” Julian asked. Lochlan nodded, and he gazed outward, staring into the sky, reddened by the setting sun.           “I remember it now.” He said. “For a long time it seemed more like a dream than a memory, but somewhere along the way, along all the adventures, it all came back to me…”          One long bony finger twirled a piece of Lochlan’s long hair as he considered it.           “It was early summer...after the plague broke out,” he said. “It had been maybe three months into the epidemic, hundreds were dead, and those who survived isolated themselves. We had been in the last lot of doctors, you were 0-65 and I was 0-69.”          “Really?” They asked. Julian nodded into the curve of their neck.          “Since we knew each other and Valdemar realized we worked well together, they paired us up, we did a lot, found a lot. We nearly perfect bloodletting,” He let out a breath that could have been construed as a laugh. “And somewhere along with all the work, we found time for each other, little touches as we read things, smiles as we fixed up each others’ uniforms, and one night you rested your head on my shoulder, falling asleep as we logged all the notes from the day, that was the part you never enjoyed.”          “How was I supposed to know that years later I’d use those notes and journals to find you again?” Lochlan smirked.           “You were so cute,” Julian replied. “I didn’t have the heart to wake you and send you to your own cot so we both slept on mine. A tight squeeze, I may add; and in the morning, you woke up on top of me,” He smiled fondly at the memory now. “And instead of being startled or angry, you just said good morning and kissed me.”          “I did?” They asked.           “Yes,” Julian replied. “I was still waking up, so it barely registered. But I know I returned the gesture, and we didn’t really stop until someone knocked on the door telling us to report to the morning meeting.”          “Oh…” Lochlan muttered.           “We ended up making a game of it,” Julian added. “If we were passing each other during the day and our hands were full, we’d brush shoulders. We’d often stand in the back during meetings and see how far we could go to make the other blush...and I seem to remember a certain someone keeping a hand on my behind for an entire thirty-minute meeting.”          Lochlan blushed, feeling the second-hand fluster years later.           “I’m sure I deserved it though,” Julian added. “Can’t for the life of me remember why, but I’m sure of it.” The way his side-long gaze landed on them made them think that he knew exactly what he’d done, but he would omit it for the sake of the story.           “I remember the second time then,” Lochlan said. “I don’t think I’ll ever forget the moment.”           “When?” Julian asked. Lochlan realized now that Julian was staring at them very intently. Eyes wide open and mouth pressed firmly closed. Eager to hear their truth. When had they fallen in love with him?           “It was at the aqueducts,” They said. “I think the moment you grabbed my hand to lead me down after ripping the vampire eel off of me. Maybe it was the way your face looked, so concentrated and professional, the way your voice dropped...it was sexy. You seemed to enter a whole other realm of existence. You weren’t the fugitive, or the stranger...you were just Julian. A handsome doctor with such skilled hands. Then when I realized you had taken on the pain for me, I really had it bad. You led me to a safe haven while bleeding and injured, and kept me safe, even though you barely knew me.”          Julian opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again, drawing in a deep breath while his cheeks burned a hot red.           “You’re so cute when you’re flustered, darling.” Lochlan said.           “Only you, my love…” Julian finally replied after a moment. “Only you could render me speechless like this.” Julian stood up, holding out a hand to Lochlan and they took it. Soon his lips were smashed into their. A hungry kiss that took their breath away. Hands roughly entwined into his red hair.          “I love you, Julian.” the said.           “I love you, Lochlan.”

Day 7 - Magically Ever After

        The moon was shining brightly above as Lochlan laid back to watch the stars, hands under the back of their head. It had grown too stuffy in the sleeping quarters and the odd feeling of dread filled their chest despite assurances from Asra that everything was fine.           They sighed into the night air, watching the mist of their breath dance above them as the faint sound of whimpering rose from the deck below. Strangled sounds, grinding into their skull and a level of panic took over.           Julian. 

         Once that thought registered in their head, Lochlan leaped up from the ground and dove under the deck to the sleeping quarters. Portia was there in the dim light of the moon through the window, hovering over her brother and shaking his arm, hissing at him to wake up..           "Ilya, wake up! It's just a nightmare,” she whispered. Mazelinka was still asleep, oblivious to his tiny strangled cries and Portia's frantic whispers.          "Pasha," They whispered. She perked up, lips slightly parted as if to utter their name with a startled expression and luminescent blue eyes.          "He just started mumbling,” She whispered. “He's nearly impossible to wake up during one of these, and I don't want to wake Maz."           "Let me help." they offered, kneeling down beside his face. Portia stood behind them nervously, her timid energy built up like a storm cloud above them, and Lochlan smiled, realizing what she was waiting for. Some kind of magic to ease Julian’s anxiety, to let him sleep throughout the night, and stop him from going into a full-blown conniption.          But they knew it wasn’t necessary. All he needed right now was communication. The kind magic of support for a troubled mind.           They acted slowly, making sure to keep their movement steady, knowing just how tightly wound Julian could become when he was stressed. He’d been mostly hiding it well up until now, singing sea shanties as he tied knots in the rigging systems, sailing the four of them into the setting sun of oblivion, pulling Portia and Maz into sweeping twirls under his arm around the deck and sharing stories about his travels in his medical studies, but during his quiet moments like dinner and sleeping, the anxiety is still there.          Now it came out in these horrible nightmares.           Portia watched on silently as Lochlan pushed the damp loose locks away from Julian’s eyes, they were shut tightly, tears escaping as he muttered small things in his sleep. Whatever was happening in there must have been terrifying.           "No…" He groaned. "No…” as his voice trailed off, growing into more of a pained whimper, they couldn’t help but wonder what he didn’t do. They knew these dreams hardly ever made sense, but from first-hand experience, they also knew that those tended to be the scariest.           "Julian, my love…." They said in a low voice. "Wake up." Their fingers trailed along the length of his arm, trying to avoid his back where he'd likely have a more violent reaction.          "Jules…” they whispered. “Julian…" They sighed, leaning over his writhing form and moving the hair from his ear. "Come back to me, my love."           "Lochlan…." He moaned. "Loch…I'm sorry."          Julian, you’ve done nothing wrong...  It would be so easy to tell him this but they knew it wouldn’t matter. Whatever is plaguing his mind now, haunting him in his dreams, it was a hurt far older than them. Behind them, Portia fell to her knees. She hesitantly brought her hand up to his shoulder, recoiling when he feverishly and unconsciously shrugged it away.           “Ilya…” She hissed. “Please wake up, you dumb big brother.” Lochlan knew this was scaring her, and the tears would soon fall. They turned to face her, abandoning their light touch on Julian and throwing their arms around her shoulders, soothingly running steady fingers through her soft red hair. she trembled in their grasp but they only held on tighter.          “Go back to sleep now, Pasha,” I whispered calmly. “I’ve got him.” She drew a short shuddering breath, a hiccup as the worried tears fell from her eyes. She nodded once before crossing the floor and I listened as she slipped back under the blanket beside Mazelinka.           Now Julian was facing the other way with his back to them, but they knew his routine now, and in a moment he turned over faster than lightning, still mumbling apologies. Lochlan sighed out of sympathy, not wanting to know what this nightmare was about, remembering the visions they bore witness to in the Devil’s trap.           They took a deep breath, slipping their hand over his writhing palm, interlocking their fingers as his hand gripped on tighter like a lifeline. They smiled, feeling hopeful at his movements. Perhaps he was finally coming to.           One more try.           "Dashing Doctor Devorak, please wake up." They whispered into his ear, softly stroking the sweaty skin on his forehead. Lochlan pursed their lips, placed a gentle but deliberate kiss on Julian’s twitching lips, holding them still through his crazed murmurs.          This finally roused him.           His eyes flew open, both crazed and feverish, but the blood-red eye glowed in the moonlight like a sparking ember.           “Lochlan?" He asked.           "It's me, Julian," they replied. "Come here," they stood up, ducking just a bit in the tight space, and held their hand out for him. "Watch your head, love."          Out on the central deck, the night air was cool, crisper than it had been in Vesuvia when the trip began two days ago. The moon was still high in the sky, illuminating the crystal waters with glimmering fractals of silver light. It looked beautiful, almost like The Sun's realm, and the thought of the realms reminded Lochlan of why they’d been laying outside to begin with - that strange prickling feeling that something is wrong back home.           "I'm sorry if I woke you, my dear." Julian said sheepishly after a few moments of comfortable companionable silence.          "Oh, I was already awake." They replied, bringing up one knee to rest their elbow on while Julian gathered his thoughts.           "Is something wrong, Lochlan?" He asked.           "I just couldn't fall asleep tonight, and I came out here to see the stars," they replied. "What about you, Ilya? That nightmare seemed worse than the others." They relaxed themself and placed a hand on his knobby knee as he let out a sigh into the atmosphere around them.           “And please don’t tell me that it’s nothing,” Lochlan begged. “If you don’t want to talk, that’s okay, but please don’t be worried about protecting me.”          “My dearest Lochlan,” he beamed. “In another life, I might have felt the need to protect you, but I know better now. No one needs protection when they can defeat The Devil Himself.” He sighed, leaning back on his palms as he glanced down at them still holding onto his upturned knee. He reached out for them, fingers brushing their shoulder as they leaned in, only to feel his hand on their shoulder, ushering them closer to his side, holding them steady in his lap as the two watched the moon bounce off the listless waves that tapped the ship, filling the atmosphere with a calm ambiance. Lochlan listened as his pounding heart slowed, steadying itself as he relaxed more. His skin was still so warm from his slumber, and it felt nice against their face when they burrowed into his chest. A happy sound emanated from his diaphragm, deep and luxurious. It was a laugh, one that they very seldom heard.           “You know,” Julian said after a long peaceful moment of silence. “I never thought I would have this.” His roaming fingers landed in the long dark tresses of their hair as it fell over their shoulders, twirling the locks until his hand relaxed, landing on the curve of their neck.           “I never thought I would have a moment like this, even after I found you in that aqueduct. Another lost soul, another person that I could corrupt or con, but even after I realized my feelings, even when I told you I loved you for the first time...all over again, I’d never envisioned a happy moment like this, and I’m beyond grateful to experience this with you.”          “I am too,” I said. “But Ilya...” they trailed off until that hazy smile fell on them again, lips pursed for a kiss, but instead, they placed a finger to his lips instead. He looked confused. “You’re stalling.” They finally said. He sighed, rolling his eyes before flashing them that adoring smile, placing a chaste kiss on the finger that blocked him at first and then pulling it away to speak.           “You’re right,” He said. “And I’ve calmed down a bit.” As he stretched his back, falling flat onto the deck floor and holding them even closer against him, huddled close as the crisp air nipped the bare skin that their tunic didn’t cover.           “It’s really nothing new,” He started. “You remember it, right? The dream we were trapped in together?”          “Yes,” they said. The memory still burned clear in their head. It hadn’t been long since they witnessed it all, but they knew they’d never forget it. Portia, Asra, Nadia, and even themself, all suffering from different stages of the plague. Eyes red and weeping, voices raw from infection and blood dribbling from their lips, all calling him out on his failure. Lochlan had never brought it up to him since, but it still haunted them. Visions in their dreams of the exact scene, the echo of Julian’s voice, his begging and his tears. They knew they’d never know how he felt about it, fully.          “Is that what happened tonight?” They asked. Beside them, Julian shivered. They reacted quickly and emotionally, tightening their hold around his waist.          “Thankfully this time, it wasn’t just a shit-show of all my loved ones dying of the plague,” he said. “Instead, I saw my parents…”          “Really?” They asked. He nodded silently, swallowing back sadness as he drew a long breath and continued to speak.           “I saw them walking along the beach near Lilinka’s land in Nevivon, they had washed up saying how glad they were to see us, Pasha and I, of course. They said they didn’t die at sea and they’ve been looking for us, and it was my fault that I abandoned them.”          “Julian…” Lochlan murmured.          “Don’t worry, my dear,” he replied quickly. “I’m under no illusion that it was my fault, this time…” His smile is weak, almost like a joke, but while his grip was tight in their hair, his fingers tapped along their arm, briskly rubbing the bare skin that prickled with goosebumps.           “How old were you…?” They asked. “When it happened?”          “I was nine,” he said. “Pasha would have been about three,” He thought for a moment, the fingers of his free hand coming up to his chin as he stared out into the dark abyss of ocean around the ship. “When I could finally breathe again...after coming up from under the water... I was only able to find Pasha floating among the waves, and she was already half dead.” His grip on their hand grew tighter and they allowed it, nodding gently as they waited for him to continue.           “I feel like I should have gone back, I could have gone back and searched after Maz and Lilinka took us in, I could have searched some more.” He said softly. “We had every fisherman in the continent searching the harbors for their bodies, but they never turned up, at least not before I left Nevivon.”          “It seems like you did everything in your power, Julian.” They replied quietly.           “I know there is no other conceivable measure I could have taken,” he agreed. “I did everything I could,” Lochlan heard Julian’s audible inhale as he tried to calm himself once more. “Thank you, my dear, sometimes I just need to hear that from someone else.”          “And I am more than happy to remind you, Ilyabush.” He smirked once before placing his hand on top of their head, cradling their skull and returning his idle fingers to twirling absent-minded curls into their hair.           “Perhaps a different endearing nickname, my dearest,” He smiled. “But I’ll save that conversation for daylight.” Lochlan chuckled into the soft hairs on Julian’s chest, murmuring into his warm skin until he released his firm hold on them.           “What was that?” He asked.           “I said, how about you stop suffocating me and we go back to bed.” They replied.           “Sounds like a good plan.”           The bed was warm, thanks to Julian’s tossing and turning, and as he fluffed up the flattened pillow and placed a kiss on their forehead, they knew it would be a smoother rest until the sun rose. 

Due to their small stature, Lochlan tends to share clothes with Asra. Their wardrobes are pretty mixed and When they meet Julian and actually settle into a relationship again, Lochlan enjoys wearing Julian's shirts.

Gifted Child: Apprentice’s backstory and Pre-Plague Life

Day 1 of EnbyApprenticeWeek

      Lochlan was born in Zadith to a pair of alchemist parents. Their father was an esteemed magician and their mother was educated, a healer who made tonics blessed by her husband’s spells. Both were eager to teach their offspring their craft.       Unfortunately a spell backfired when Lochlan was thirteen which resulted in their home catching fire. Devastated by the blaze and lacking the resources to rebuild right away, Lochlan’s parents sent them to live with their father’s sister in Vesuvia. She had not been magically inclined like her brother, but owned a shop that boasted charms and potion ingredients. It was a half-day’s sail to the docks of Vesuvia, and their parents promised to join them within the week. 

By the end of the week, they never arrived. 

      A month after settling into Vesuvia, Lochlan met the wandering teen magician, Asra Alnazar, and the two became fast friends. Lochlan was astounded to see Asra’s magical ability, just like their father’s. Asra appreciated Lochlan’s intelligence and knowledge when it came to tonics and potions. The two quickly became a dynamic duo when it came to magic and medicine. Not to mention their looks. They often had bets on who would score a date first on any given night out.         Once their niche was developed, Lochlan began visiting the apothecary in earnest, sometimes paying for ingredients, other times, stealing them while schmoozing if the apothecary owner’s doe-eyed daughter was at the counter.         On a particular day, when Lochlan was pulling their charade, they met a gangly red head who entered the shop for medicinal supplies. They spoke for a bit while the shopkeep’s daughter wrapped up licorice root for the stranger and Julian was pleasantly surprised when he realized that this kid knew what they were talking about.        At the end of the encounter, Julian paid for the ingredients Lochlan had been trying to steal along with his own purchases. When Lochlan asked where Julian worked, the latter only laughed in response. The two would continue to bump into each other in the apothecary, in the marketplace, and even in south end. 

         When they were both sixteen, Asra asked Lochlan to move in with him and his friend Muriel after they’d built themselves a small hut in the woods. Lochlan declined the invitation, choosing to stay with their aunt with an underlying hope that their parents would return despite the years that had passed by since their last communication, not to mention that Muriel and Lochlan never seemed to get along. Lochlan agreed to visit them from time to time.

       The plague had already begun when Lochlan’s aunt grew ill. She was dying by the time Asra returned to the shop, asking Lochlan to join him and Muriel as they ventured to safer pasture. When Lochlan refused, while putting on their plague mask to see their aunt and give her medicine,  Asra told them she wouldn’t survive much longer and they would live if they joined them now. But Lochlan couldn’t take it anymore. As their stress rose, Lochlan finally snapped. They told Asra to wake up and smell the roses, pausing to actually throw a handful of wilted rose petals at him.         “Muriel doesn’t even want me around!” They said. “My parents taught me everything I know about medicine and you taught me enough magic that I can bless these tonics just as well as you can...” They were shaking from fear and stress now, voice muffled by the beak of their mask. “I--I can’t give up now, Asra! If that stupid Count can parade around with this virus, Aunt Maude will be just fine too.”        Asra accepted their words hesitantly and sadly, telling Lochlan where they would be if they ever needed someone, and exactly how to get there. Saying he’d be waiting for them, and that they were one of his best friends and that nothing else mattered to him as long as Lochlan and Muriel were alive.       Lochlan smiled through the beak mask, placing their hands on Asra’s shoulders.      “You’ve been a great friend to me, Asra, I will never stop being grateful for the time I’ve had with you. And I hope that someday you and Muriel will return and all of this will end.” Lochlan tried to hug Asra but the beak pecked him in the face, they both laughed, only to be interrupted by Lochlan’s aunt coughing into the sheets. She glanced up at the noice, turning over to see the commotion and smiled as blood dribbled from her lip.       “It’s getting so hard to see now, my dear. Is there someone else here? You should put on some tea.”       “Auntie,” Asra said. “I was just getting ready to leave, sorry if we woke you.”       “Asra, dear...how sweet of you to come by.” She fell asleep immediately after. “I hope you come to find us soon,” Asra said, squeezing Lochlan’s shoulder.       “So long friend.”

      Aunt Maude died two days later, and while Lochlan let out their grief over their efforts being for nothing, they heard the herald of the announcements echoing from the marketplace, knowing that no one and nothing was currently there to soak up the sound. They opened the door to listen…

       We are in dire need of doctors for the palace. Anyone who enlists will be given shelter, food, and payment. You will work under our very own Quaestor Valdemar in search of a cure for this deadly virus. The message repeated two more times breaking up as the speaker coughed and choked, probably in the early stages of the plague themself. Lochlan knew they had another chance now.         They carried their aunt outside, laying her delicately on the steps to the shop, knowing that by nightfall, Pontifex Vulgora would lead the charge to collect the dead, even placing lavender in between her spindly cold fingers, before beginning the trek up to the palace. 

They became Doctor 065 of the 70 doctors who managed to come from far and wide. Ended up in the last lot with Julian Devorak, and their odd little friendship quickly became a more serious and secret flirtationship before becoming a full-on partnership. Something that Quaestor Valdemar took advantage of and exploited when Lucio became desperate for a cure. Going as far as to request both of them to his room where he infected Lochlan telling Julian that now he really had a reason to do his job to save his little “fuck buddy” from dying. Julian became mad with his panic to save Lochlan who immediately was forced to stop working and spent all their time keeping and decoding Julian’s notes. 

Lochlan died on a sweltering summer day, holding Julian’s hand.