#I can feel it in my SINUSES AUGH

[rileys-battlecats]

its like my body can sense when I'm about to be productive and then specifically starts breaking down in order to counteract my efforts

[genshxn]

✤ 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐜: 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐤

mild(?) spoilers for 3.2 archon quest (but probably everyone knows it by now let's be honest)

written pre-3.3

author drivel. what's up, i've got covid and a head full of cotton and I'm making it your problem too, so here's some unsolicited 'fluffy' scaramouche word vomit. as such, please excuse any egregious spelling/grammar mistakes or consistency errors because lord knows i'm gonna fuck something up with my negative braincells rn.

sorry about the lack of consistency with scaramouche's name. there are so many bloody things you can call that lil piece of shit

synopsis. under kusanali's order, you're in charge of scaramouche's domestication. for now, you've fallen sick with a tenacious cold, and as part of his 'training', scaramouche has to look after you.

contents. y/n has a cold (and the shivers), scaramouche being scaramouche, slight crack, fluff, and scaramouche screaming.

w.c. 2.2k

HEY HEY YOU CAN READ PART 2 HERE

You let out a prolonged, melodramatic groan. Colds suck. You were piled under blanket after blanket, nestled in amongst a halo of pillows, banished to your quarters near the Sanctuary of Surasthana. Despite being half buried alive, you were still trying your best not to shiver. Your fever has rotated to its chills period, and nothing was helping.

You sigh. The low-lit room and radio silence weren't helping your awful feeling. Curse human fragility and its ability to fall victim to microscopic beings not even really considered "alive".

"Augh, I feel like shit..."

The door slams open. "You look like shit." In walks Scaramouche—the man of many names—with a tray of food in hand and blankets strung over his slender shoulders like an oversized, pompous collar. Same as ever, he speaks with a sharp tongue. It's not so much sarcasm aimed at you rather than it simply being the puppet's nature.

"Yeah, thanks Bowlcut." You cough back in reply.

"How many times have I told you to stop calling me that?" He huffs, gently setting down the tray on a small table next to you, contrary to his grouchy demeanour. Next, he sheds himself of the blankets, sticking them at the foot of your bed.

"As many times as I've told you to not announce your arrival with 'n insult aimed a' me." You grunt out, voice stuffy and croaky from your sinuses feeling like they're about to blow up. "Try your opening line again, Bowlcut."

With a dramatic roll of his eyes, he belligerently changes his greeting. "I brought your food." He dramatically gestures to the table beside you, sarcastically showing off the dishes with the added pizzazz of some jazz hands.

"Much better." You pathetically sit up, cascades of green blankets falling off your form. The movement makes your wonky head spin slightly.

"If you don't hurry up and eat it, I'm gonna eat it myself." He pulls a chair up from behind him and sticks himself down on it, leaning back with one leg crossed on top of the other. "It smells good." He looks between you and the food expectantly.

"I'd love to be able to smell it, but unfortunately it feels like a slime's taken refuge in my sinuses right now." You shuffle over to the edge of the bed to get closer, still wrapped in a thick, fluffy blanket. You shudder at the loss of warmth. "Thanks for bringing my food, Scaramouche."

To your surprise, you're met with silence from him. Normally he has some sort of surly quip to fire back at anything you say, but not this time it seems. "...What're you gawking at?" He notices your blatant staring.

"You feeling alright? You're unusually quiet."

"I should be the one asking you that question." His half-assed sarcastic tone betrays his actual message with that line. He stares at some point on the floor in front of him, unable to meet your gaze. "I-it's— um... just..."

"Just what?" You blink, tilting your head slightly.

"Can you not call me that?" His voice is much quieter than normal. He sounds almost... defeated. A very uncharacteristic tone for someone who refuses to accept defeat (despite it being the only thing he's been faced with in recent times).

"You mean Sca—"

"Did you not hear what I just said?" He quickly cuts you off.

"Ah, sorry." You look down at the same spot on the floor for a moment. "What would you like to be called then?"

He doesn't answer, still looking downcast.

"I think I've heard you use Wanderer once. I could call you that."

"What? Don't call me that. I just said that because I couldn't think of anything to say to some rando, like... one time!" His expression is right back to his usual self: a look of confused contempt.

"What about your other name, Kunikuzushi? I could also call you a shortened version, like... Niku?"

"Do not call me that. Niku means 'meat'. Of all things, you picked out that?" He throws his arms up in response. "Kunikuzushi or whatever works, I guess... Just don't call me Scaramouche. Or Bowlcut. OR NIKU." Upon the final word, he crosses his arms over himself like a child having a tantrum. "Now eat your food or I'm gonna take the halva for myself and feed you the... other thing... myself."

"Alright, alright." You turn to look down at the food. As you've had with your past meals, there was a dessert side of Halvamazd, made specially by Nahida for you, but curiously, the main dish itself was different than the usual Sumeran cuisine. It looks like some sort of Inazuman dish that you're not sure you've ever seen before. You stare at it curiously, and he notices.

"What, do you not like it?" Kunikuzushi frowns, staring intently at your face. His voice is unexpectedly intense.

"Oh, nothing like that, I just wasn't expecting an Inazuman dinner today." You wave your hands around slightly beneath the blanket.

"I-if you wanna blame anyone, blame the Radish," he says, sitting back, crossing his arms again. "It was her idea..." He trails off suspiciously, looking off to the side.

With that reaction? "Yeah right."

"It was!" He exclaims defensively. "Gods, are you sure you're sick? You're still as annoying as ever."

"Either way, it looks really good. What is it?"

At your words, Kunikuzushi calms down with a sigh. "It's my take on chazuke. Rice with some tea poured on top, plus some toppings. I made it, so of course it's going to be delicious." He declares confidently, puffing his flat chest.

"You made it for me?"

He stops in his tracks, lavender eyes going wide once he realizes he just blew his nonexistent cover. He sputters out some unintelligible nonsense before ultimately slumping down and crossing his arms grumpily for the third time. "Yes. Yes, I did. There, are you happy? I made it for you and it was my idea."

"Thank you very much, Ku. It looks delicious." You smile warmly at him. He looks at you with wide eyes, expression almost unreadable. His mouth parts, maybe to say something in response, but nothing comes out.

You unsheathe your hands from the blanket and begin to eat the dish. While your senses of smell and taste have been dampened by the cold, you can still taste the softly bitter and sweet flavours of the dish dancing over your tongue. It's the perfect temperature, to boot. Hot, but still cool enough to not burn your already shredded throat. Because your appetite isn't quite what it normally is, the light dish hits just right. The whole time, Kunikuzushi carefully—almost nervously—watches you wolf down the dish.

Once you finish it, you place the bowl and utensils back on the tray. "That was so good. Exactly what I needed." You wrap the blanket back around yourself, pulling it tighter to try and preserve your limited warmth. "You'll have to make it for me again when I'm better so I can really appreciate the taste."

"...Sure." He says shortly. His response isn't curt like normal, but just... awkward. You sit there awkwardly as well, trying to gather up all your layers of blankets again to reassemble your blanket cocoon. You're putting in a bit too much effort to try and not shiver. Kunikuzushi watches you for a minute, and then wordlessly moves to pick up the extra blankets he brought from the end of the bed.

"Oh, than—" Instead of simply handing them to you like you thought he would, he layers you in them, wrapping them around you himself. He kneels on the bed, torso close to your head. As he piles on blanket after blanket, his hands brush all over your shoulders. He's so close that you can feel a faint warmth radiating off him. An idea cha cha slides into your head.

"You look all... not even pathetic, just sad when you're sick and cold."

You've been around the grumpy puppet long enough to know that what he's really saying is that he doesn't like seeing you look miserable. Once you're suitably wrapped, he places one final blanket on top, draping it over the top of your head like a hooded cloak or veil. He takes a step back to examine his blanket-wrapping handiwork. Suitably happy with it, he decides to return back to his chair. But before he can get too far, you manage to grab his slender wrist, earning a shocked sputter from him.

"The blankets aren't enough. I'm still cold."

"What?! What else could you possibly need to—"

"You can't get sick, right?"

"No, not from colds or viruses or whatever, hence why I'm he—wait, what're yo—" Kunikuzushi squints at you suspiciously, aware of sinister things lingering in the air.

"You're warm. Be my heater for a bit."

"H-has your fever turned you delusional?!"

"Probably." You try to suppress a shiver unsuccessfully. "But c'mon, you said that you wouldn't get sick. Please?" You look at him expectantly,

Kunikuzushi looks at you with all sorts of conflicting feelings flitting across his twitching, reddening face, bubbling up until he finally concedes with a massive sigh. "F-fine." He puffs, eyes completely avoiding your gaze. He's too embarrassed to look anywhere near you. "At least let me do something first..." He sits on the edge of the bed and sheds his loose-sitting kimono and robes, leaving them folded neatly on the edge. Now he's in just that semi-transparent undershirt and regular shorts.

You stare at him with slightly raised eyebrows.

"What? I don't wanna overheat." He frowns, turning away from your gaze slightly. "If you're really going to... c-cling to me or whatever, lose at least two of the blankets."

"But 'm cold."

"That's your brain gaslighting you into thinking you're cold. Your 'shivers' will dissipate once I'm under there with you. If you overheat, your brain will become even more fried, and then you'll be completely useless."

Now it's your turn to let out a massive sigh with a reluctant "Fiiiiine." The outer two layers of your blanket cocoon come off, discarded to the floor next to you. You shuffle back to your original position, lying under the covers, wrapped in blankets. Kunikuzushi shuffles up next to you, hesitates for a second and then pulls the new outer blanket up a little to sit it just on top of your head. That was the second time he did that.

"What's the point of that?"

"What?"

"Move the blanket on top of my head?"

"...Um. I... do it sometimes. I like the feeling of it. I don't know, I thought you might—"

Instead, you cut him off by reaching out and putting part of the blanket on top of his head as well. He immediately goes quiet with wide eyes.

"Come on heater, get under the blankets. You talk a lot."

He makes a miffed grunt and shuffles under the covers, finding his way through all the blankets until he was right against you. You rotate your body to face him for optimal surface area coverage and close your eyes with a content exhale.

The two of you remain like this for a while, you lying next to the slightly stiff but warm Kunikuzushi. He doesn't move much and is completely silent aside from the very faint sound of his gentle breath. (does he breathe? idk lol) He must have fallen asleep at some point, because he seems to loosen up a little. You smile faintly at the thought, but it's quickly wiped from your face and replaced with a confused frown because he turns to face you and places his chin on top of your head. You can feel his soft breath on top of your head. Your eyes are as wide as saucers, staring right at the view in front of you—his neck. But oh, he's not done. Next, he pulls you slightly closer to him and then takes your hand in his own and gently laces your fingers with his. Your heart is going to beat out of your chest.

Next, he begins to mutter to himself. There's absolutely no way he's asleep—he must think you're asleep.

"Damnit... Fuck you, (Y/N)..."

You have to try SO hard to remain silent and not get offended and hit him with 'Bowlcut', but the dizzying polarity between his actions and his words is enough to keep you silent for now.

"Making me feel all this shit... Not even the Radish really knows what these feelings are."

You blink, eyes wide. You feel a cough coming on. This is not good. Your cover's gonna be blown.

"You're gonna be the end of me. Toying with my already shattered heart like I'm your plaything... Your smile, now calling me Ku... all these promises and things you do... I want to hate you, but I can't."

You can't hold it in anymore. You quickly push off his chest and jerk your head in the opposite direction so you don't have a coughing fit right on his chest. When you finally finish and turn back around, you're faced with a red-faced Kunikuzushi, looking absolutely mortified.

"YOU WERE AWAKE THE WHOLE FUCKING TIME?!"

You bit your lips together awkwardly.

"AND YOU HEARD IT ALL?!"

You cough again. "Yep."

Instead of having a response that could somehow qualify as normal, his stare simply goes blank for a second until he proceeds to konk out, eyes closing and head flopping down onto the pillow.

He short-circuited.

[xivu-arath]

augh the wind blew directly into my face once and I can already feel my sinuses being weird about it

[seeminglyseph]

I do not know why I just spent half an hour cleaning the bathroom when my sinuses feel so congested I wanna die.

What was my plan? I don’t know what I’m doing here? But whatever. My counter has been deep cleaned. I’m gonna buy some irrigation cans because sometimes they do a better job than the bottle or whatever. And then maybe a warm compress. And humidifiers. Since it’s-30c I think the air is just like. Dry as fuck and murdering me. I’m trying to cope but it’s just like. Aaaaa. Death.

Also I have just not been able to sleep properly for shit. And that sucks so like. Annoying. Hate that. Blehhh. Let me be rested and comfortable and not. Gross. Idk.

Augh.

[bam-monsterhospital]

i STILL can’t get the smell of the green onions my sister chopped up for nachos 5 hrs ago out of the back of my throat and front of my brain.

[xroguex1027]

Steady as She Goes (An Arcana Hurt Comfort Fan Fic)

Before we begin you may want to read this. This is my first ever posted fanfiction. That being said I should prepare you for what it is. I have emetophobia so to get over it I sometimes write sic fics to work on exposure. So there are emetophobia triggers in this. Second, I tried to make this gender neutral and sfw. There is implied nsfw but I think I did it tastefully enough that it won’t be obvious to someone glancing over your shoulder. Why anyone would be glancing over your shoulder that concerns me but without further ado here it is...oh one more thing, this was written before I knew Julian found anything in the dungeon so it’s not canonical. Feel free to reblog with credit. 

It’s been a rough week for Julian Devorak. After realizing that there was nothing for him in the dungeon and no clues as to the source of his guilt elsewhere he has decided there is only one place left to look, the Lazaret, the monument to his failures. The island looms on the horizon like a bad omen.

Of course, you couldn’t let him go alone. You know him too well, you know he would beat himself up from the inside out when it came time to take in the gravity of the lives that were lost. You also know no matter how much he denied it, he wanted you here.

You decide to distract him by engaging in sword play. You’ve always wanted to swashbuckle at sea like a real pirate, who better to teach you than the pirate doctor himself? You’ve only been at it for about forty-five minutes but it feels like hours. Your arms are growing heavy and your legs are sore from maintaining bent knees.

He critiques your footwork, apprehensive at first, but gradually he gets deeper and deeper into the teacher role. You cast him looks whenever his commentary borders on condescension. You adjust the foil in your left hand, tightening your grip. The fact that your dominant hand is opposite his and you are shorter sets him at a disadvantage. None the less he still finds ways for you to improve.

“You ah, might want to watch your feet.” He uses the tip of his sword to gesture to the placement of your toes.

“You might want to watch your tongue.” You smirk. The adrenaline is pulsing through you, faster than you can justify your dialog.

“Or…you could. Watch my tongue I mean, erm, explore it at the very least. What do ya say?” He lifts a rascally eyebrow.

You take the unguarded opportunity to swipe at him but he blocks your blade and your ear is thrilled by the ting of metal on metal.

“Swift.” You say, smirking teasingly.

“Years of practice my dear.” He smiles behind the crossed blades, then with a flourish of his cape, spins around and aims the tip of his foil at your chest.

“Let me see your perry six.” He says smoothly.

You shift your wrist slightly to the left blocking his lunge,

“Ah, that was perry four. Tilt the uh, hilt down a bit.” “Like this?” You ask Relaxing your grip just a bit.

Julian slides his sword into his belt before walking around behind you and adjusting your grip on the handle.

“Just the thumb and index finger. Hold it too tight and I might disarm you.”

“Is that what happened to Lucio?” You ask with smug satisfaction.

“Oh I disarmed him alright, wasn’t even in combat, well ah, at least not on my end, he definitely through some punches though, Ah, not that they landed, he was…he was pretty out of it at the time…Ooft!”

Julian grasps at his belly where the blunt tip of your sword is pressed into him. He looks down at you and bights his lip. He pulls on the end of your blade pressing it tighter against him, staggering back dramatically with a dreadful sound.

“Oh god! Why?” He collapses onto the deck with no finesse and you turn around to kneel beside him, playing along.

“Julian, I’m sorry, it…it wasn’t supposed to end like this…”

“Augh- it’s too…late…Now all that's left for me is death’s sweet, sweet embrace…oh come great angel of the dead and free me from the pains of this…this mortal…mmph.”

You press your mouth against his taking up a fist full of his shirt and lifting him to your lips. He lifts one hand to push the hair out of your eyes then coils his fingers behind your neck. You want him badly. You bight his lip hard, pressing lightly on the tender place where you just bruised him. You know it will heal pretty quickly but for the time being it aches a bit. He gives a low moan pressing your fingers deeper into his bruise. “Like this.” He whispers, pushing harder. You see him wince and part of you likes it while the other part of you wants to kiss away his pain. You bight him between his neck and shoulder, softly at first but gradually tightening your teeth around his flesh until you taste a metallic tinge of salt. Unsure if it’s from his shoulder or your own teeth you let go and flex your tongue, licking a tiny bit of blood from your gums.

He’s watching you with a pleading eye, but his gaze travels past your shoulder reflecting an overcast sky. You turn to look behind you at the steely grey clouds rolling overhead, molten darkness on the horizon.

“We’ll make it there alright. Don’t worry.” You say reassuringly as you rest your head against his chest.

“Oh. ah. it’s not that.” He says looking away, he’s trying to hide the flush in his cheeks but he is doing a terrible job of it.

“What is it then?” You ask him softly consumed by his heartbeat and the soft yet sturdy comfort of his chest.

“Ah, you uh, remember how I was a pirate, sort of, ah, a doctor who traveled with pirates, you know stole a pregnant war elephant, fought off mutineers, plundered for gold?”

“Cut off a mans arm?” you wink and lay your head back down.

“That…that happened later, but you remember all of that don’t you?”

He feels you nod against his chest.

“Well, I…I probably would have never left the pirate life, I loved it, I really did, I was a natural at swashbuckling, I could barter and talk myself out of any situation with the best of them, I even had ways to cure them of scurvy…er, at least keep the symptoms at bay. But ah, there was one tiny issue…I don’t, - my sea legs are… a little wobbly, to say the least.”

You feel the boat rocking softly underneath you as you look out at the heavy sky. “You mean you get seasick?” You ask with a note of surprise.

“Ah. Sometimes, Most of the time I love sailing, it’s freeing, the salty air is good for the sinuses and it clears the mind, but when the water gets choppy…ooft tosses my stomach something fierce.” He pauses to take a deep breath conveniently angling his nose towards your hair. “But it’s been years maybe things are different now.”

“Doesn’t the curse help with that?” You ask curiously. “I mean it cures you, helps you to heal right?”

“Ah. that's just the thing, seasickness isn’t exactly sickness, there’s no virus or germs to heal from just dizziness that makes your brain think you’re sick. Oh well, guess I'm just gonna have to embrace this.” A smile cracks across his face and you nuzzle into him sympathetically.

“Though, it would appear that we have a little time left before the storm hits. Would you ah, care to take this under the deck?”

Failing to suppress a grin you take his hand and he links arms with you as you make your way to the cabin. He follows you down the stairs as you drag him by the hand over to a small bench. You sit down and pat the empty space beside you beckoning him.

He takes the seat and leans over you eagerly, an intense gleam in his eye as he moves close enough to grace your lower lip. His breath is warm in contrast to his cold skin. Your noses bump against each other as something starts between the two of you. Too eager to wait you pull off your leather vest and drop it to the floor.

You can’t help but groan as he slips his nimble hands under your shirt to satisfy his mischievous curiosity. You maneuver yourself comfortably over his knee so that the thick of his leg is just between yours, this should hold you over, at least for a little while. You shift desperately against him, the kiss has become yours now and he’s the one moaning.

You dig your hands feverishly into his scalp and he tilts his head back in blissful anguish as you pull harder. Now that his neck is exposed you press your lips lightly against the place where the curse is buried under his skin. And then you kiss a little harder, perhaps you can nibble away at that curse, gnaw on it and render it free from his neck.

He breaths softly through pursed lips, squeezing you tighter, trying to wrap his legs around you. You skillfully unbutton the snaps on his coat and slide it off his shoulders. Then you begin to unfasten his jacket. It’s impossible not to laugh at how many layers he wears.

“What?” He snickers.

“You’re like a nesting doll.” You grin impishly. “There’s just no end…”

“Ah, Pasha had one of those as a-uh, as a child.” He smiles and works your shirt up over your head, briefly interrupting your progress on his buttons.

A coolness hugs your waste as the shirt is pulled off and tossed aside. His hands slide over your core, eagerly. He wants to feel as much of you as he can all at once. As his arms wrap around you pulling you close he buries his face in your sternum with a muffled groan.

Finally, you’re down to his white linen shirt, but you don’t take it off immediately. The way it clings to his sweating form does something to you. You have to take it all in, messy hair and lip bite before you peel his shirt off.

Your fingers search anxiously for his bruise wanting to make him squirm. It was too satisfying the first time not to try again.

“I’m afraid it’s uh…all healed up now.” He says, a faint pout on his lips. “But don’t worry, I can think of several other ways you can er…make me hurt.”

“I’m sure you’ll be suffering enough when that storm hits.” You remind him.

“Mmm, that’s ah, that’s too long.” He murmurs. “Make me suffer now.”

You push your hands against his bare chest and he eases down on the bench, adjusting so that it covers the length of his back. You press one knee into his stomach eliciting a slight “ooft.” You slide your leg down to support you as you lean over his chest scraping your nails across it. He clutches your hair in his fist tugging just enough to get you excited.

Your bare chest hovers over his and you are dying to feel them touch. You want to feel the skin of your belly pressed against his as you squeeze together thirsting for more sensations. You lower your self on top him and he continues to kiss you even more deeply until you can’t tell if the dizziness is from the rocking of the ship or the adrenalin rush.

When it’s all over you lay sweating and trembling naked in each other's arms. He kisses the top of your head gently and draws in a deep breath.

“You’re ah, breathing a little heavy there, are you alright?” He asks.

Somehow you find enough breath to answer him “Alright’s an understatement.” you say with a little light headed laugh.

“Oh uh, you liked it then?” His voice wavers slightly.

“Mmm very much so,” You press your hips into his leg knowing you could never possibly have enough.

You lay together in naked silence, euphoric sensations of each others company. You can hear the depth of his voice in his every breath. Thunder rumbles soothingly outside the cabin and Julian's eye snaps open. He looks up to the ceiling as though observing the ominous sky through it.

“Well, this will be fun.” He says sardonically.

“Remember how pretty I am right now because in about ten minutes, I uh…might not be. Might even change colors if I’m lucky, I think a deep sea green would bring out my eye.” He sits upright and pulls on his loose white shirt. “Then again, I’ve probably outgrown it. It’s really more prominent among children anyway. I uh, I should be fine, I’ll be fine, it’s…”

Before he can finish reassuring himself a voice calls out from overhead.

“All hands on deck!”

He squeezes your hand, as you button your vest with the other.

“Well, If I don’t make it, I want you to know it’s been a pleasure, ah a real treat getting to know you and uh…”

“Julian.” You say quickly turning off his monologue. “You’re not gonna die from seasickness.”

“Ah, it’s actually more plausible than you would believe, many people have lost there lives as well as their lunch over the side of a ship you know, terrible way to go… I envy them.”

“I’ll make sure you don’t fall overboard.” You promise as you plant a kiss lovingly on his cheek.

“Shame, I was really looking forward to finding out what drowning feels like.” He muses as you pull your pants and boots back on.

You lift an eyebrow at him and he flashes you an incorrigible grin.

As you exit the cabin your face if met with the salty spit of the sea. The wind is blowing harder now, the water is already starting to churn. You shudder, suddenly wishing you had more than just your vest to keep you warm.

“You ah, you cold? Here.”

Julian slides his coat off and drapes it over your shoulders, it’s warm and it smells like herbal spices and bath salt.

“Thank you.” You say looking up at him.

“It’s uh, it’s nothing.”

Julian bears a serious look on his face, his shirt billowing around him. You give his arm a reassuring squeeze, knowing that he’s bothered by more than the impending seasickness.

The ship is starting to rock but Julian seems unfazed as the captain calls out to him,

“Devorak! Stay the foremast!’

“Aye aye, sir!”

Before you know it he leaves your side and hurries over to tie down the mast. You are about to go over and see if you can help but the boat tips and the door to the captain’s quarters swings ajar. Perhaps you can find something inside to settle Julian’s stomach if the sea fairing gets the best of him.

The captain is on deck if there is a time to sneak inside it’s now. The room is dimly lit a lantern swings precariously over a desk. It’s feeble light gleaming off a brass pitcher. The desk is covered in papers, mostly maps, some old documents with jargon too complex for you to try to understand right now. Any other time you would be fascinated but you must move quickly before the captain catches you.

You start by opening drawers one after the other. One has a handkerchief and some folded notes, another a compass, some coins, and a key. You determine that if there are any remedies in this room they won’t be in the desk. You make your way over to a shelf and find a few canisters of herbal teas.

You pick up a small brass canister, unscrew the lid, and the sent of ginger fills your nose so instantaneously that you impulsively smack the lid back on. But the captain is still on deck, shouting orders over the downpour, surely he can’t smell the potent remedy all the way out there.

You grab a small bottle and locate a pitcher of water on the captain's desk. You try to pour a discrete amount into the bottle without splashing and drop a pinch of the ginger tea inside. Then you quickly place everything back as it was before. Save the remedy you have just created which you tuck inside the inner pocket of Julian’s coat.

When you arrive back on deck things have gotten much worse. The sky is black and you have to grasp the side of the vessel to steady yourself so you don’t slip. The sea writhes below you lapping at the belly of the ship with a feverish tongue.

You hear a horrendous belching noise followed by a familiar groan. You don’t see Julian’s face but you can still recognize him at this angle. He’s doubled over the side of the ship, spewing his guts into the sea. 

Swallowing any anxiety, you hurry over to him trying not to lose your balance. The ship bobs unsteadily on the rolling waves. Julian startles as you wrap your arms around his torso in a helpless attempt to keep him grounded.

“I promised I wouldn’t let you fall overboard, didn’t I?” You say playfully, in hopes of lifting the mood. He looks like he needs it. You slip your hand over his forehead and pin his hair out of his face

“mmh…this isn’t as fun as…” His stomach interrupts him to empty it’s self overboard “As fun as it looks.”  he continues

He wipes his mouth on the back of his hand and slides down the side of the ship trembling.

“Well, that was…disgusting.” He stifles a burp behind his tattooed fist.  “I uh, don’t think I’ll be having any more of Portia's bread pudding for a while.”

“Here drink this.” You offer, taking the bottle from inside his coat. You spiral the content inside for a moment heating it the way Asra taught you, then you hand it to Julian. He subconsciously holds it close to his stomach, seeking its warmth.

“Thanks, ah, er… what is it?” He asks, un quirking it and tossing it back.

“Ginger tea.” You tell him as he gulps it down, maybe a bit too fast.

His eye widens and he winces, pulling it away from his lips. “Mmph, burns.” He hiccups as the bitter drink finds his stomach. He curls up beside you with his head in your lap. You ease your fingers through his hair as he shivers and you remove his coat from your shoulders to drape it over him.

“Aren’t you ah, cold?” He asks you feebly.

“Not as cold as you are.” You whisper leaning over him to shield him from the wind.

“Here.” He says forcing himself upright. He extends one arm to share the coat with you and you nestle in tight. You lay one hand on his belly, tracing a sluggish growl with your index finger.

He leans his head against your shoulder, dizzily. And you brush the back of your hand against his stubbly cheek.

“Mmh If I hadn’t just thoroughly disgusted you…” His thumb brushes your lips longingly.

“You didn’t disgust me.” You reassure him, “Maybe worried me, but you couldn’t disgust me.”

He holds his head for a moment, trying to calm his vertigo. “If I hadn’t just disgusted myself then.” He says with a grimace.

His stomach makes another audible groan, it must be exhausted after turning it’s self inside out.

“Do you need to go back under deck?” You offer.

“Ah, actually I uh, I’m not so sure I’m finished just yet. Comes in waves, er, the nausea I mean. Funny word nausea, comes from nautical, did you know that?” He winces from lingering stomach upset and swallows hard.

“That is interesting.” You say still sounding concerned.

“Is it? Oh. erm good.” He pauses a moment eyes closed breathing heavy. “Actually I, I think I’m alright now, just ah, a little shaken,” you help him to stand. He struggles to his feet with one hand holding his aching abdominals.

Julian's eye widens suddenly “Or not.” He croaks, his lower lip tenses and his hand flies up to block his mouth just long enough for him to turn around before belching over the side of the ship again.

“You okay?” You ask him, tentatively rubbing his back. He isn’t able to respond, instead, he bends at the waste violently heaving over the edge of the ship. His stomach is writhing, trying to force up content that doesn’t exist. You rub his back gently as he gags coughs, and spits into the water.

He caches his breath and swallows, he looks back at you his face drained of color, yet tinged with green.

“Must be ah… must be nerves.” He rests weakly against the side of the ship. His arms shake as he gives an ill stare across the water.

“Are you nervous about going to the island?” You ask him gently.

“Every time I see it I just…” He casts his gaze down in solemn despair. “It’s not even a fifth of the people that I’ve let down. I didn’t just let those people die, I left mothers without children, children without parents. My own mother might be on that island, Pasha’s mother. And I’de- I’de never know.” He casts a grim look out across the settling waves. “It’s all my fault really.”

“Hey it’s not your fault,” You say, taking his hand. “You didn’t bring the plague here, alright? Lucio did. Well…I mean we don’t know if Lucio did but it’s Lucio I mean come on.”

He gives a broken sigh and slumps to the deck.“I...I let him down too. I was supposed to save all of these people. Lucio chose me to find a cure and I-I failed”. He pulls his knees into his chest and holds his head in his hands. His body shakes from overexertion.

“You’re not responsible for the well being of the entire world.” You whisper and sink down beside him.

“I know I...I wish I could be, I should be. I’ve done so many things, er, failed to do them, there has to be a way to make up for them right?”

“Ilya, you’re putting yourself under so much stress, look what it’s doing to you.” You say gently brushing his hair out of his face.

“It’s a burden I deserve.” He forces himself to stand leaning against the side of the ship “mmph…there’s not enough pain to justify the things I’ve done.”

“Ilya, you’re being ridiculous..”

“Look …I don’t know, when we get to this island, I don’t know what I’m gonna do. What if I-I find out that I had something to do with all of this, not just failing to cure them but what if I, what if I’m the reason they became infected or…”

You close your eyes and bury your head in his shoulder holding him firmly in your arms. He seems startled at first, but his body relaxes after a moment. You lift a hand and press it to his cheek, gently guiding his gaze away from the island.

“Julian, that doesn’t mean that you’re a bad person.”

“But what if I…” He hangs his head “What if I was?”

“If you were, then the person you are now more than makes up for that.” You whisper. “And I promise, no matter what you find on this island, nothing is going to change that.”

He smiles weakly, the fatigue in his eye seems to have been replaced with soft adoration.

“I…” He’s about to protest but his voice disappears behind a sigh. “Thank you. That, that means more than you know.” He swipes his thumb across your cheekbone. 

“You are a good man. No matter what happens, I want you to promise me you will remember that.”

He looks out distantly across the horizon. There’s just no keeping his gaze from lingering on that island.

“I promise.” He whispers.

-xroguex1027

[starsgivemehp]

Red’s lesson on skeleton anatomy (and a bit of science talk, and scar talk from Boss)

A discord semi-rp with @pyrocicle

"technically you explained it right but at the same time you explained it all wrong."

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

"academia has a tendency to use jargon as a method of gatekeeping, if it can be explained in simpler terms there's no reason - beyond legitimate technical explanations - that it shouldn't be."

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"it can be simple and not... like that."

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

Evil giggling. "I'm sorry are you offended I called it 'brainmeats'?"

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"yes.""not only that tho."

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

hysterical giggling.

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"shut up it's gross"

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

WHEEZE-CACKLING.

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"besides the brain is made up of grey matter not meat"

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

"... oh right you've never heard of head cheese."

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"....i'm going to pointedly not ask you"

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

"fair."

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"ok listen"

"there's a better and just as effective way of explaining what you just explained"

"watch."

"or listen, rather"

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

Chinhands!

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

“well fer starters, y’are slower. before ya could move at the speed of magic, now yer slowed down t’the speed of thought an’ there’s a pretty significant delay between the two. there’s a minimum two-part delay. yer actually processing shit after it happens - basically, ya know how I’ll see an attack comin’ but still can’t get out of the way in time? that’s because I gotta see it an’ there’s a processing delay because the brainmeats want to process sound and vision at the same time but sound travels slower than sight, then I have to figure out what to do, and only then can I actually move out of the way.”

vs.

"all of the magic in one body is the same. it's spread out but it's one piece. all of the nerves in a human body branch out. the sensations nerves receive need to travel to the brain to be processed, while the sensations magic receives is automatically processed. for example. magic can see and hear an incoming attack at the same time, and the correct part of the magic moves in response. nerves see and hear an incoming attack separately, relay the information to the brain, and then the brain can tell the correct body part to move. the delay is small but noticeable, and it gets humans killed.  hence, an attack that you or i can dodge easily is deadly to dove if she's not completely focused on fighting."

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

"see that relies on knowledge I don't have."

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"it's basically the same thing it just uses more formal wording"

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

"it also relies on knowing how magic in the body actually works, which I just knew I have a delay and y'all don't."

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"...eh, i guess that's fair"

"time for a lesson in skeleton anatomy, dove"

-sits down-

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

Dove: !!!!! -gets out the notebook!-

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

-holds up his right arm-

"watch this"

-pulls off his right arm at the elbow joint-

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

-spittake-

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"hehehehe"

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

"what the actual FUCK"

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"doesn't hurt me one bit"

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

"augh that's gross!" -now SHE'S covering her eyes-

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"oh my god it's not even bleeding marrow, stop covering your eyes. this is important."

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

"hell no that's disgusting!"

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"the bones are completely intact"

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

"and things that should be attached are not!"

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"but what's the only thing attaching them?"

"i don't have nerves or flesh"

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

"magic?" -still not looking. guess he knows how to revenge squick her now-

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"yes, exactly. the only thing holding the parts of my body together is magic. now, since i've taken off this arm, the magic in it is stagnant. it can't move on its own."

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

"okay."

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"but since it is still magic, it can still hurt. if i were to- ow."

-bends one of the broken fingers as he speaks-

"see? well no you can't 'cause you ain't looking."

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

"and now I'm not gonna oh dear gods"

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"pfft. anyway. it can still hurt. but it can't move on its own. so, uh, clearly, taking off parts of my body ain't somethin' i want to be doing anytime anywhere. but this demonstrates perfectly the difference between a human nervous system and a monster magic system."

"i stopped hurting it, seriously open your eyes now. for like, five seconds."

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

"if you make me regret this you're gonna have to clean up the results." -peeks-

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"watch." -he simply moves the arm back to its place, then lets go. it's connected again and he waves with the hand- "reattachment is simple, painless, and instantaneous. magic starts flowing again without any extra prompting."

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

-she still looks kind of green but at least she isn't making a beeline for the trashcan-

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"not that bad, honestly. the point of that was to demonstrate how flexible and smart the magic is that makes up our bodies. it can't rip or tear unless the actual bone is damaged. even that can be healed, with green magic. my entire body is a vessel for my magic. i don't have a central processing center like humans do in their heads. this would work with literally any part of my body if i'm careful enough in doing so - though i don't do so 'cause what's the point? and without that central processing center, all of my magic moves exactly how it needs to with minimal processing time. all, if any, processing is done through the soul. due to the placement of one's soul, it's often compared to the human heart, but it functions similar to a brain, as well. our emotions and reactions stem from our soul. does that make sense?"

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

"yeah, that makes sense. explains why everything feels numb when my soul gets yanked out, too. great now I'm wondering if there's an even bigger processing delay because of that..."

[I mean given the soul is 'the culmination of your entire being'...]

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"probably. ok. 'but red,' you might say, 'why doesn't ecto slow a skeleton down?' and to that i say,... well it does, but only as much as it weighs. and ecto is far lighter than flesh."

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

"... huh."

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"why is that? because ecto is also made of magic. it's just a slightly more solid magic, hence it weighs something, unlike the magic in the rest of my body. i only weigh as much as my bones. manifesting ecto ups my weight."

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

Well now she's taking notes again, and if he looks carefully he can spot a... doodle of him popping his arm off. Apparently it bothers her less in art? "that makes sense I suppose."

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

[8'D looking at disection diagrams didn't bother her but the minute she had to actually touch the fetal pig she noped the fuck out]

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"makes perfect sense. of course, babies can't control it like i can. if seeing my arm pop off squicked you out, never hold a skeleton newborn."

"their magic isn't smart enough to keep itself connected properly. skeleton babies need their parents's magic to assist theirs in holding their bodies together."

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

"... joy."

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"here's another interesting piece of information for you! and far less squicky."

"the nature of how our magic works compared to human magic is why monster children get sick and adults don't."

"for monsters, childhood illness is usually just a fever and weakness. so why a fever, of all things? skeletons regulate their temperature so easily. well, to answer, consider this. magic is energy, right? what's energy made out of? heat. therefore magic is also made out of heat. this is why skeletons don't get cold. our bones are warm due to the magic flowing in them."

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

"oooh. makes sense."

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"so when a monster child develops a fever, the reason why is an excess of magic in their body."

"children can't control and guide their magic. too much of it builds up, and they essentially get overstuffed with it."

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

"....ooooh, kind of like what happens when I eat too much at once?"

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"yes, sort of. except this is inevitable for all children, whereas that is caused by the action of overeating."

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

"makes sense."

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"now then. take boss. he got sick very often as a child."

Boss: "..."

"whereas i did not get sick very often as a child. this is because due to... reasons... i had a far better handle on my magic from a younger age. while my body is weaker and smaller, my magical control was better honed. boss's body may have been far stronger and far bigger, but he wasn't as skilled at channeling and directing his magic, so it overflowed often.

("'reasons' being 'experimentation')

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

“if it makes ya feel better, I'm frankly amazed my sinuses haven't tried to knock me out yet. I usually get miserably sick at least once a season."

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"...THANKS, I GUESS..."

"heh. well, he grew out of it, like all children do. and now when it comes to green magic, he has a far better handle than me, not to mention more magical and physical stamina. but anyway, the reason why i brought it up is because of that inherent nature of magic. monsters are made of magic. we learn how to suppress it enough to function properly. humans, on the other hand, have reserves of magic within them and are made of other things. flesh, nerves, chemicals, water. it's so difficult for you, dove, to use simple magic we could use as children, because your body wasn't necessarily made for it."

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

"that makes sense. I'm coming at it from the opposite direction than you guys did."

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"exactly. you can be taught, just as monster children are taught how to regulate their magic. it's just... well, you weren't. but now you can be! i've no doubt by the time we reach the castle, you'll be able to use far more of your magic in a far more cost-efficient way."

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

"it's actually kind of interesting because, well, ya know my little fire trick? I used to do that as a kid with no control over it. and did have to learn how to control that."

"but I'm sure you're right!" Big smile.

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"well, i'm not surprised by that. but magic certainly never induced physical body issues."

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

"yeaaaah." nod nod. "I'm pretty sure that's just my shit genetics."

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"probably. and bad luck."

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

"that too, yeah."

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"boy do i know the feeling."

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

nodnod. "one'a my nicknames growing up was 'accident waiting to happen'. like, this scar?" She points at the longer one on her right arm, "is from when I fell off of a dresser and we still don't know what I cut it on but it went down to the bone."

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"holy shit. accident child."

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

She squirms around and pulls up her pant leg, showing off the deep, j-shaped dent-scar on her right shin. "this one, I was jumping on some rocks, slipped, and cut right down to the bone again."

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"damn."

"OH, WE'RE COMPARING SCARS??"

"boss no don't start."

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

Left sock is pulled down. "surgical scar from where I broke this ankle. dislocated everything below the knee and snapped it right on the growth plate. I've still got a screw in it!" they're comparing scars.

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"so that's why you sometimes just-"

"WOW. LOOK AT THIS ONE!"

"boss no-"

"SHUT UP I LISTENED TO YOUR ANATOMY LESSON. LOOK!" -points to the giant crack on the top of his head- "I GOT THIS FIGHTING A COUPLE OF AARONS!"

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

Giggling. She shifts to kneeling so she can get a better look. "niiiice. I cracked my head on a marble windowsill as a kid but you can't see the scar because of my hair."

"also yeah that's why sometimes it just gives out."

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"THAT'S TOO BAD! NOW THIS ONE." -points to the crack on his left femur- "BEAR MONSTER AND EAGLE! THE EAGLE CLAWED ME GOOD WITH ITS TALONS BUT I STILL WON WITH ONLY ONE HAND!"

"that sucks dove."

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

"oooooh. only one hand? damn!" High five?

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

-boss high fives her with a smirk-

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

"wanna hear something cool? when my ankle isn't randomly rolling, I've actually got good enough balance to walk along a guard rail in flip flops"

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"THAT SOUNDS PRETTY COOL! NO WONDER YOU CAN DANCE."

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

"that and knowing how to fall, yep!"

GetMcDunkedOn-07/06/2017

"SO THE HUMAN BODY CAN STILL DO REMARKABLE THINGS! JUST... NOT AS REMARKABLE."

grimoireCrow-07/06/2017

"... I dunno, being able to recover from a heart transplant is pretty damn remarkable?"

[themockingcrows]

Whisper Just For Me: Ch. 10 - Scattered Pieces

Following a traumatic experience, you find your attention divided in twenty directions at once while you pick up the pieces of your lost evening and ruined day. You're certain you have all the pieces accounted for and it's time to finally take a rest.. till you realize the most important piece has fallen through the cracks. You can only hope you can find him before it's too late. This chapter is SFW cw: vehicular accident, medical treatment Ao3 Mirror: [X]

The driving hadn't been nearly as hard as you thought it would be once you took into consideration the brief disconnect of time from realization of what needed to be done to actually fulfilling the act with a borrowed body. The finesse wasn't there, but driving was indeed happening to the tune of a soft radio and John's panicked voice in your ears. …. DAVE. Dave, Dave this is bad, Dave pull over what if something happens. Am I dying? Am I dead?? ….

You wanted so badly to comfort him, but no amount of talking was going to comfort that fear. No. No, nothing was going to happen, John. Everything was just fine. You had this entirely in control.

The oncoming car did not have it in control.

A single moment was all it took, oncoming driver unaware of your vehicle as they pulled out onto the road, failing to look before springing into action, winding up in front of you before you could even hope to slam on the brakes and stop. You jerked the wheel sharply to the left, tried to lessen the impact, tried to do anything that your panic would allow you to do. Everything was going wrong, everything was going wrong oh God you couldn't think of how to make this be a bad dream.

One second you were driving. The next, you were becoming weightless as you heard John's scream come first from inside your head, then outside of it as the sound of metal grinding on metal rang out alongside a crunch. A sharp squeal of tires and John screaming. You screaming. Your borrowed voice and John's melded together before pain hit you and things went black as the final attempts to escape this situation failed.

You didn't remember your own death, and yet your last thoughts were a prayer that you weren't about to remember John's as you raised your hand to clasp tight at the pendant and tug the chain taught without even thinking.

- - - - - -

Everything ached. There was a throb to your head that you began noticing was strong enough that your heart beating made everything feel too warm for a moment. You saw colors pulse behind your eyelids with every hint of a thought. Each inch of your body was in painful stasis.. and at least one potential broken bone judging from the radiating field of Nope that came from your right leg. Make that two. Your nose ached as if someone had punched you full force, and attempts to breathe out of it instead of your mouth was impossible. Something felt lodged in there, or swollen.. Hard to tell.

You finally opened your eyes and stared at the ceiling with its yellow tinted light and breathed deep the scent of bottled air and disinfectant. Curtains encircled your rooms borders, keeping it safe from an open hallway that lay beyond your blanket clad feet if your guesses about the unseen approaching and departing footsteps were right. Your glasses weren't on, so you couldn't be positive about anything beyond these blurred shapes and fuzzy edged lines.

A machine softly chirped just behind the edge of your bed, and after a bit more looking you realized just what all you were hooked up to. A pulse-ox clip covered your finger, bulky but barely there pressure of plastic letting them keep track of your vitals. The coil of an IV  was stuck in the back of your hand and taped in place, which also explained why your arm felt so chilled. You were kind of glad you couldn't see clearly, able to resist the temptation to lift the blankets covering you to try looking down at your leg, but you appeased yourself by lifting a hand up to gently test your nose. Aside from pain and the stuffy feeling, it seemed that there was a bandage setup on your nose and over the edges of your cheeks to guard the bridge.

“John!” a familiar voice said from somewhere to your right. Shit, you hadn't even noticed anyone else was here, let alone so close. You blinked a few times in quick succession as Jade surged into view, crisper the closer she came. “Oh, John, you're finally awake again, I was -this- close to pinching you to wake you up. How do you feel? Do you need more painkiller? Should I call the nurse?”

“Again?” you asked quietly, racking your brain. You were pretty sure you'd remember being in the hospital, let alone getting here. “We were at the aquarium and then.... Jade, how'd you get here?”

“I'm your emergency contact on things, remember? Me and your dad? I think he might have been busy or his phone was on silent, but I answered after the first ring or two,” she said while rising from the chair she'd been inhabiting, setting aside her book and phone for now before leaning over you and hugging you tight as a vice. “It was a hell of a wreck, you're lucky you got out of it with a messed up leg and a bump on your head... What even happened, were you speeding? The other person's a bit messed up from their airbag, but they were on the far side. Could've been much worse.”

Oh thank God, there hadn't been any deaths. “My car..”

“Basically totaled, yeah, they had to cut the door to get you out, it wouldn't open right. We'll figure out what to do about that later though.”

“I don't.. I don't remember any of that,” you said with a frown, brows furrowing. “How long was I sleeping?”

“A few hours, not too long from what they told me. You were plenty awake and worked up when you first got in apparently, but you started napping before I got here. I've been waiting for you to wake back up this whole time. Augh, have you got any idea how scary it is to get a call from a hospital like that? Worded all ambiguous like you might be on your death bed and they don't want me to panic on the way over,” she said, and your chest clenched painfully when her words slowed to a wobble and her wide eyes filled with tears. Fuck. She hardly ever cried, shit, fuck, what had those idiots SAID? Who were you going to complain to later about unnecessarily freaking out your family? Who was going to taste your fists once you could get up and about?

“Shhh, I made it though, right? I'm okay now!” you tried to say hurriedly, awkward about how to fix things aside from pointing out the good side, tried to point out the positives and run a wild headlong gamut to keep the bad as far away as humanly possible. You were just one guy, though, and it didn't always work.

Jade flapped at your attempts to be soothing and removed her glasses so she could rub her sleeve over her eyes and dry them, snorting to stop her snuffles before they could get worse.

“Don't even do that! Don't, it's okay, it just kind of hit,” she said with one more huffed snort to clear her sinuses and breathe easier. “Oh, right, right. Your dad knows what happened but he's not getting home till late apparently, he had to go out of state for business and the drive back's taking a while. I don't think they're going to admit you, but they were kind of ambiguous.. Once we're sure one way or the other we can tell him to either come here or go to your place when he's free. Sound good? I don't even know how long they're going to drag their feet just keeping you in the emergency room, a ton more people have come in and things have sounded hectic just since I got here.”

“Sound good, more like sounds -great-. I hope you at least kept him calm?”

“Calm enough as anyone can be after getting a message,” Jade sighed. “Damage done but at least soothed a bit. You waking back up and not showing any bad signs is great. You're all alert and making sense.”

You spent some time chitchatting, keeping each other calm and then going back to the usual routine of snarking and joking around. Your glasses frames had snapped from the airbag, but with a bit of medical tape and a promise to get your spares later or order another set, the gift of sight was returned to you. After more brief visits from a nurse checking on you over the course of a few hours, and administering some more exams, a doctor came in and discussed options with your x-rays in hand, and eventually got you sent off to get a cast put on. The break didn't seem serious enough to require surgery and there hadn't seemed to be any clots or venous damage, but there would be a few long months of being in a cast before you'd be given the okay to walk normally once more. Jade convinced you to go for a lighter blue cast on the premise of her wanting to draw all over it and dark blue not being good without paint markers on hand. It seemed you'd gotten exceptionally lucky. A broken leg, a nose that had to be re-set and bandaged, cuts and bruises along your face and forearms from the airbag, whiplash and mild concussion. Considering how terrible everything could have gone from start to finish, you were grateful for how things went. More updates to your father via Jade were met with excited return messages, happy that you weren't going to be facing any surgeries or more imminent problems and promising that he'd be sure to cook some of your favorite foods for you over the coming weeks while you healed.

With a prescription for pain medicine, a fresh set of crutches and several numbers to call related to followup care and information left by the police relating to your car, you finally were released to the world again with the recommendation of coming back if certain symptoms or signs began to appear. No need to end up in ICU over being stubborn, right?

Jade laughed at your awkward gait but helped stabilize you when you wobbled, unpracticed and impatient to get the pressure off your palms and armpits. It was quite a feat to get back home in the darkness and settled, but with Jade helping, everything went just fine. You were given access to remotes and fruit juice, and she even helped set up some snacks to keep near you on a tray, ready and waiting when hunger struck so you wouldn't have to hobble all the way to the kitchen and back with something clutched in your teeth at three in the morning.

It took till you were almost entirely settled, drowsing and relaxed and finally cozy to realize that something was off.

“... Dave?”

Jade looked over, then around, waiting for the usual thump or rush of breeze. When none came, she looked back towards you as you started to pat at your chest in a panic.

“Jade? Jade, where's the pendant?”

“It might be in the bag your other things were in, like your wallet and stuff,” she said, going to snag the  plastic bag emblazoned with the hospital's logo, rooting through it. “..Hm. Wallet, paperwork.. Cast care. Pamphlets.. I'm not seeing it in here. When did you last have it on? The hospital?”

With growing alarm, you sat more upright and glanced around, rubbing at the part of your chest where the pendant usually sat. After having Dave around for so long as a constant force, suddenly not having him nearby felt... wrong.

“I don't remember being at the hospital before I woke up. Where could it have gone? Would it still be in the car? I had it under my shirt all day, and I don't think Dave took it out when we switched..”

Jade frowned a bit. “Switched?”

“Yeah, we uh. ..I don't know how, but it's like he was in control of my body for a while? I don't know how it happened and it wasn't on purpose, don't even get that look on your face,” you instantly followed up, noticing the wariness in Jade's eyes increase. “We were on a date and something happened and suddenly he was in control of my body and I was just kind of stuck watching everything happen.”

“Well, could it be in reverse again then? Maybe you absorbed him or something during the wreck,” she said, lifting a finger to signal she needed a moment after her cell began to chirp insistently from her pocket. “Just a second, John, let me go take this.”

“Sure, take your time,” you say, trying to wrack your brain harder. Where the hell could it have gone? If Dave wasn't here, then you had exceeded the range of the pendant in one way or another. Maybe you could get Jade to check her car, make sure it hadn't slipped there. Or call the hospital to check and see if they'd spotted it. Really, the best option would be for you to be in different spaces personally, since you could see Dave so clearly now, but you weren't sure you were up to it or if it would really be a good idea.

..When had you last seem him, though? Before the car accident for sure, he'd been driving and it was terrifying to be in a moving vehicle with no sense of the boundaries of your own body anymore. You couldn't remember being in the hospital prior to waking up with Jade at your side, which was apparently nothing shocking according to the doctor. Traumatic incidents, repressed thoughts that may probably come back or may be lost forever. Sounded a bit weird to you considering it was just a broken leg, but then again you were into the fine art of parapsychology, not the intricacies of standardized psychology and the depth and breadth of variances for trauma responses. None of which were being helpful with remembering the last time the pendant had been around your body's neck.

“John? Your dad says he's willing to come this way if you want, but because it's so late he wanted to be sure you felt up to it. Backup plan is to bust in with a waffle iron in the morning,” Jade said, hand over her phone as she popped his head around the corner to pass along the information.

“What? Waffles? Uh, yeah that might be better if he's okay with it. I don't want him to go straight from being on the road to here, especially if I was going to maybe sleep soon.”

“Maybe sleep? Were you planning on staying up now that you're back?” she asked, hand over the mouthpiece of the phone to muffle her words. “Sure thing. I'll pass it on,” Jade promised as she ducked back around the corner.

You had to get up. You needed to know where Dave was. There was no way you could sit idly by and rest or relax knowing that the last time you'd been able to talk, things have been very very strange. What if he was still in the wreck with the pendant? What if it had been stolen? Who would even steal from an emergency patient, you wondered, but didn't have to think too hard. The world was full of good people who just wanted to help, but the world also held a lot of people who really should reconsider their job. How would you even find him if a theft HAD happened? How could he get hold of you?

While Jade was busy, you reached for your crutches again and struggled to get yourself up with only a few hard wobbles and a pained wince soon as your foot went downward. You didn't thunk it on the floor at least, but the difference between it being up and down was staggering as the difference between being hooked to an IV full of painkiller and fluids and coming down from it with only tablets to see you through your recovery for the foreseeable future. The aching throb slowly starting up was a pretty good indication of how bad this could get... you were glad you couldn't remember the actual break at all.

Dave wasn't in the apartment. Maybe he was down by the car? Or.. Or maybe at the hospital still, where was your phone? Jade didn't say it was in the bag, maybe it was but was out of sight. Or maybe it'd been in the car still? Oh, god. Your mind raced a million miles an hour as you locked up, looking between the plastic hospital bag and the front door, trying to debate your options.

“John, what the hell are you doing up? Couch! Go put your foot back up and lay back, you just got home, don't make things worse so you HAVE to go back!” Jade said as she returned, phone call apparently done in time to bust you red handed. “What's so important that you're needing up right this second, do you need the bathroom or something?”

“No! No, Jade, we need to go back to the hospital. Or my car. Or.. Or the curb by YOUR car, I don't know, we need to move though,” you insist, taking a determined crutch step towards the door before Jade could block you and try once more to guide you back to the couch. “Jade come on, we need to find Dave! I don't know where he is, this is important, it could be really bad!”

“What could be really bad? John, he's dead, I don't think he can really get any deader, and I'm sure he can at least wait for a little longer wherever he's at,” she urged. “It should be fine to wait till morning. I'll call the hospital, see if they have it in lost and found or something, let them know to keep an eye out and we can check back when it's actually morning. Maybe go from there after your dad visits. Sound good?”

You waver. Your leg is starting to throb even more, and the fire is racing up to your hip, down to your ankle, and lighting up more panic in the back of your mind. You were also realizing you were absolutely exhausted. What time even was it? Three am? Four? Did it even matter when you were this tired? Time had blurred the longer you had been in the hospital, and even now it was a bit blurry when you tried to focus on it and take in just how much time had passed between the normal wonderful morning and afternoon to now. “...But.. I can't just leave him somewhere, he's probably worried or scared. What if the last time he saw me I was unconscious or getting moved into an ambulance or something?” you asked, resisting a bit more before allowing Jade to gently escort you back to the couch.

“Dave's a grown dead person, he can be patient, John. Surely he'd be able to tell if you died?” Jade pointed out. “Yes, he's important, but right now you're hurt and I don't think he'd like you hurting yourself more for him. Wherever he is, he'll still be there in the morning, I'll be sure to find him with you okay?”

You sank back on the sofa and lifted your leg hurriedly to its formerly propped up position, relief flooding you again and fatigue roaring behind your eyes. That little bit had sapped more strength than you thought. Holy shit, you could sleep for a fucking week..

“...Yeah. Yeah, you're right Jade. I'm just worried,” you muttered, not protesting when she came to carefully take your glasses off and set the damaged frames aside on the coffee table. “I don't want him to be alone and scared somewhere, I want him here with me.”

She grinned a bit, at least you're pretty sure she did. Jade was close enough to make out the fuzzy edges of her mouth, and the position changed.

“You really do care about him, huh.”

“Well, yeah. I love him, Jade, I'm not kidding about that. I love him and I'm worried and I don't want him upset,” you say, pausing to let out a yawn that snuck up on you from behind and started to steal your consciousness away. “I don't want him alone anywhere ever again, if he doesn't get a say in it.”

“Just try to get a bit of rest right now,” she urged. “Your dad'll be here in the morning, you'll get your medicine in you again, and we'll be able to go find Dave. I'm going to crash in your room since the couch has you for now, okay? If you need me just holler. Your crutches are by the side of the couch.” “Where's my phone?” “I think it might have been in your car, let me go check your pockets,” Jade said, going back to the plastic to rummage around, smiling when she found it. “Oh hey, only a crack on the screen, not bad,” she said. “Do you want me to plug it in for you?”

“...Yeah. Yeah that might be better. Turn off the alarm, I don't want it on for the usual time, I don't think you'd appreciate lurching awake to that loud of a remix.”

“I figured not,” she said with a snort, pausing to rummage in your pant's pockets once more just in case the pendant was somehow there. Maybe Dave just wasn't talking? Could ghosts get hurt in accidents? There'd been talk of a 'switch', and such an unknown thing was making her more cautious. No dice. Damn.

Jade sighed and finally switched the light off, clunking along softly to the bathroom, then to your room after to continue shuffling around to get things plugged in and organized. You heard her toss and turn a bit to get comfortable, your own mind wandering in the dark to the tune of your rising and falling breaths.

… It was so quiet here without Dave rustling papers and knocking things over. It -felt- wrong. There was no cold kiss to your cheek, or pressure on your chest as he moved around, no glints of red at the corner of your eye. Jade was so close, but you still felt lonesome. Dave had been a constant in your life for so long now that suddenly having him gone was just... awful. You grimace and try to fight the bubble of anxiety in your chest and stomach down enough to sleep, grateful when your dreams picked up the slack and took you under.