[MINGLE] Worried/Sick 2: Snake Expedition & Recovery!

[sixthiteration]

WHERE: Anywhere; multiple locations
WHEN: Apx. 19-27 November
OPEN TO: ALL - MINGLE
WARNINGS: Serious illness and reactions to such, snakes, hallucinations

IMPORTANT NOTES: This is the second of two mingles. Please see the timing and general event details here.

Not putting any mod top-levels in this one — Just make sure you label your own top-level clearly as to whether it's Expedition or Recovery, and as always, whether it is OTA or not!

Please keep in mind the established plot details, but creative license is welcome and encouraged as long as it doesn't step on toes.

Comments

vanille | expedition | ota

[tosavecocoon]

Honestly, Vanille had volunteered for the expedition in large part because she's convinced she's one of the only people here who is used to a life of survival. Life on Gran Pulse was, in many ways, what the people made of it, but it wasn't easy and survival wasn't guaranteed, even without the fal'Cie involvement. Besides that, she wants to do something to help and with several people she knows going, she'd decided to come along, too.

She might soon live to regret that decision. Crossing over to the right island looks trickier than originally anticipated. Or maybe that's just Vanille's sense of foreboding. The bridge isn't entirely gone, but it doesn't look very sturdy, either. Deciding to take something of the back edge on this part, she jumps lightly across behind everyone, momentarily forgetting that she's just a normal human here and doesn't have the l'Cie's apparent ability to jump long distances with ease. Jumping over a large crack is all well and good. Less so when the landing is slippery.

Her foot lands on just the wrong edge and because it's the only one down, as it slides out from under her, she goes tumbling straight into the water. If no one's actually been watching her, the first sign they'll have that anything is wrong at all is the loud scream that pierces the air for a few long, drawn-out moments before she hits the water and submerges.

So much for any element of surprise they might have wanted.

steve harrington ; recover ; ota + closed for kate

[thebabysittersclub]

closed - for kate

[He's pretty sure he's dying.

At some point, staying in his house hadn't been an option, and someone had, thankfully, gotten him to the hospital.

Steve has been sick before. The flu was a bitch, there was even that one bought with pneumonia, but holy shit that had nothing on this. To make matters worse, he thought this cure was supposed to make him feel better, not worse. Instead, he'd gone from feeling really shitty to the most intense fever of his life. Trying to even move hurt and he was desperate for water in a way he hadn't thought possible.

He can't even see straight when he finally realizes someone's sitting in the chair next to him and he's not even one hundred percent sure that the person there is real. His voice is a croaky mess when he speaks.]

How long have you been there?

ota

[By now, he's turned a corner, and he's damn sure he never wants to go through what happened back there ever again.

Steve doesn't feel one hundred percent, and he still needs some extra care and someone to watch over him, but he can at least get out of his bed to take a piss or even grab a snack when he feels like it. Other patients or visitors at the hospital are welcome to run into him, or feel free to visit him in his room specifically.

Finally, he gets out of there. He probably should have stuck around another night, but if he'd stayed one more minute, he was going to go totally stir crazy, so he's pushing open the hospital doors and heading the hell home.]

Finally...

7 - Recovery (mild/spicy/post) - ota

[to_defend]

Recovery

7 was already not a fan of this whole human concept of being sick, and with the expedition team returning with the venom she was hoping for a swift recovery. She was not expecting for things to get much, much worse before they got better; she's burning up, can't get comfortable, and sleeps only when exhaustion overtakes her and not a moment sooner. It's a fitful sleep, even then, tossing and turning as she sweats through the fever.

Mild
During her times of wakefulness, she's thrust into a fever-dream mess of twisted metal and broken bricks. Anyone that crowds her bed is either seen as one of her fellow dolls, which will get anything from a warm welcome to a glare and some not very nice words, or a hybrid of metal, bones, and cloth as a terrifying machine built to hunt her down.

Spicy
The latter will be treated with as much force as she can muster. Someone confiscated her spear beforehand, right? Probably for the best. Doesn't mean she won't put up her best resistance; her whole body becomes a weapon in the absence of her spear, and she's pushing, pulling, swinging [weak] punches, and generally tangling herself up in the blankets.

Post
Her fever finally breaks, the hallucinations subside, and she's finally able to rest comfortably. Once she's regained some strength through sleep, her appetite returns with a vengeance. Her first visit after being released from the hospital isn't her own home - it's at the Inn to catch a meal.

Feel free to join her here, but warning; she may threaten to eat anything you're not.


[[If you're joining her during a hallucination, please indicate which level of hallucination you would like; mild (doll) or spicy (machine)]]

Post.

[imareporter]

Eddie has decided (against Venom's wishes) to be the one to check on 7. You're so motherly he can practically hear Anne's voice in his head, You take such good care of me.

He liked taking care of people. Of things. It felt right.

So he's been at the hospital a bit and, when he got the news of the fevers breaking, returned with a pile of flowers. Normal ones. Don't want a repeat of that shit. Why do you bring her flowers?

"Hey kid. You look so much better." Eddie ignores him, "Flowers for the sick."

You also bring flowers to the dying

His expression doesn't waiver, "Can you sit up? Not contagious anymore right?"

Bruce Banner | Recovery | ota

[notsoangry]

Bruce managed to keep steady up until the point where they confirmed the cure was successful, and the details were given to the team to head out. By then he knew he was sick, but he was careful enough not to make it obvious. He didn't want to worry the team that one of the main doctors was in danger, and he tried to keep it together as long as possible before he recognized he was too sick to truly help. This was after his first hallucination in which his father, who he hadn't thought about in years, showed up just to call him a freak. He went to bed.

[ooc: people can reply to all the prompts in bold below if they want!]

When they come back with the cure, Bruce is ready (or so he thinks) for the aftermath because by this time he knows what to expect. It doesn't make it easy. In the beginning it isn't terrible. He sees Betty, even speaks to her a few times. He tells her about everything that happened to him since they split up, and that he hopes she's happy. He tells her about Tony and Nat, and all of it is positive. Betty is a calming influence, so he's calm and honest during this time.

This changes drastically when he sees his father again and ends up scrambling so far up the bed that he practically climbs the wall behind him to get away. The sheer terror he is experiencing from the man and his harsh words and violent threats aren't rational. All he can do is beg him to stop and apologize over and over for being a freak and for everything being his fault.

When General Ross shows up, Bruce goes again in the opposite direction. He goes right to blinding fury and tries to climb off of the bed to fight him, only managing to fall on the ground weakly in the process. But he'll keep chasing what he thinks is Ross, threatening him with the Hulk and yelling that he'll kill him.

When it's all over and done with, Bruce very quietly slips out to give himself a breather after what he experienced. It won't last long as he knows he has to go back in and try to be a doctor again for the others, but to start with he simply disappears from bed when no one is there and walks hazily to the schoolhouse. There he'll sit down in a corner and do long breathing exercises to cope with what it brought up.

over and done

[tothefly]

She'd only been gone for an hour or so. Just long enough to eat something small, and take another trip down to the springs to fetch more water. Long enough, apparently, for Bruce to up and vanish, and things are still hectic enough that no one she asks can remember seeing him leave, or where he went if he did. For a moment, she's reminded of what she's heard about people just...vanishing, leaving everything behind, and there's a little lurch in her chest she isn't expecting, one that's quickly pushed away. There's no sense in jumping to conclusions. Maybe he's confused. Maybe it's another hallucination. Some of them she'd witnessed hadn't been too bad, but others...others made her glad his father was already dead. Others made her worry more about what he might do to himself.

The schoolhouse was her first logical choice to search; it's next door to the hospital, quiet and dark, a good escape from the bustle and din. Her eyes aren't fully adjusted, but she steps inside anyway, ears strained for any sound, eyes searching for movement. "Bruce? You in here?"

his father

[morphogenia]

She does the work to fix things by going on the expedition. That doesn't automatically make things better. Kamala knows she can go home. Frank might even baby her a little after a long trip and make her something good to eat. It doesn't have to be her problem. Like always, Kamala can't turn her back on anyone.

While what she's hearing coming from Dr. Banner is scary, she has to face it. That's what heroes and friends do. Kamala takes a deep breath, puts on her game face, and very carefully comes into the room. "You're not freak." It's soft, but firm as she makes her way over to join him. She has no idea what he's seeing, but it can't be good. Kamala offers her hand as she hopes for the best as always. "Take my hand, Dr. Banner. Let's sit together for a while, okay? I promise I'm better company than anyone who makes you say stuff like that." It doesn't take a genius to work out what is happening here. Whoever Bruce thinks is here is hurting him. She has to try to make that right somehow.

over and done with

[ex_enlisted288]

[ The schoolhouse isn't the first place Steve looks when he comes to check on Bruce. It's the Inn, and then the forge, in case he's with Tony, and then he decides that maybe a quick peek at the school is in order before he's allowed to panic.

Only there isn't a need to panic, because that's exactly where Bruce is. Or. Maybe there should be panic because the scientist doesn't look like he's doing so good, at least from Steve's position just hovering inside the door. ]

Hey. [ He deliberately raps his knuckles against the frame and waits a few moments. Then, ] Mind if I join you?

Natasha Romanoff | Expedition + Recovery | OTA

[tothefly]

Expedition:

The second they learn what the cure is for this illness, Nat is one of the first to volunteer to go and get snakes to bring back. It's a good thing, all around: she gets a chance to explore further into the island with a group, gets a chance to see what skills other people have to offer, can help her sick friends recover. And, of course, most important, it gets her moving. She's been still too long now.

The easiest route towards the nesting ground of the fever snakes is along the river, which just so happens to take them right through a thicket of trees that are apparently the home to a largeish flock of shine birds. One call has Natasha grinning, almost euphoric, and every other word is practically a breathy laugh. It's not natural, she knows it can't be, but she's still smiling when they settle down to make camp for the night. A fire is only practical in this weather, and she sits next to it with the others, wrapped in a blanket, turning a large, incredibly vibrant feather over and over in her hands.

"I've never seen anything like this. Do you have any idea what it's from?"

Recovery

Natasha doesn't stop moving after they've collected the snakes and delivered them back to the village, either. There's always something that needs to be done, someone who needs to be cared for, either wrestled back into bed and restrained (she's stronger than she looks, knows how to keep someone down who's twice her size, and keep them from hurting anyone else) or sat with and comforted, with a cool cloth on their forehead or a hand in theirs. She sits with those she knows often. She sits with strangers, if they have no one else. She rarely sleeps.

Those few times she does leave the hospital, it's not for more than a few hours at a time. Occasionally, she'll head to Danny's for a workout, now that she knows there's a space for it. Other times, she'll head for the spring, fetching water for the ill still fighting fever at the hospital. She won't say no to company during any of those times, especially the latter: those water buckets are heavy, and they always need more. Plus, there's always the danger of running into any of the native wildlife along the way, isn't there?

[[feel free to react to any part of the above! Shine birds of your own, the springs, Nat sitting with your character or trying to keep them from hurting themselves, or any of the native hazards. Let's get them bingos~]]

expedition

[morphogenia]

Natasha isn't the only one who is delighted by the birds. She smiles wide once she spots them and wishes she had a camera. This would be a cool thing to show the ones who didn't tag along. The thing is she's so amazed by the creatures she can't even fathom this isn't natural.

She's still cheerful when it is time to settle down for a brief while. Kamala shakes her head at the question. "Nope! Kind of reminds me of a magical book series to be honest."

Recovery

[unraisehell]

And she'd thought the infection was a bad trip.

Despite a rather... robust history with hallucinogens, the venom has been hitting Wynonna pretty hard. She's had to be restrained several times, and there are still bruises on her arms from when they'd literally had to tie her down.

She's worn herself out at this point, though, just a limp mass of sweating misery. She's still far from lucid, though. "They said you were dead and I was crazy and it was easier to believe that than to think about the truth. I'm sorry I didn't look. I should have looked."

Recovery; Work Out!

[theimmortalweapon]

Danny continued to focus on the Dojo and it's pieces and parts. He knew that people were getting sick but he wasn't sure what help he could offer them. The best he could do was continue his work here and trust the others to return with the cure. He had somehow been immune or hadn't come into contact with a carrier. It likely helped that Danny rarely left the Dojo.

He was surprised to see the lethal red head but happy to know that the space was being used. He didn't have the punching bag done but he did have small make-shift mats wrapped around polls that people could punch. It was almost like a punching bag.

"Good to see someone else here." He spoke as he stepped down the steps from his room upstairs. "Hi. I'm Danny. Not sure if we've met." He's seen her around but Danny's seen most people around at one point or another.

He was wearing his monk attire, showing off a small sliver of his chest where Natasha could see the black mark of the dragon.

Expedition; with a Shrine Bird

[minus1twin]

They were rare birds and a species that Wanda hadn't encountered before now. There song was light, airy and she felt it pulling her in like the echoes of ringing church bells. Her brow furrowed at Natasha's uncharacteristic laughter but she couldn't bring herself to see anything wrong with it. The feeling in her chest was warm and despite everything her head was telling her, she was happy.

She stepped at Natasha's side but stopped and stared up at the birds.

"What are these?" The birds were doing something to her. She could feel it but Wanda couldn't place what that was. It wasn't the first time she'd had her emotions altered but it felt too real for Wanda to ignore or dismiss.

"I've never seen this kind of bird." Wanda's lips pulled into a smile. "It's amazing."

Ty Rhodes | Expedition + Recovery | OTA

[succored]

[ EXPEDITION ]

One of the reasons that Ty had excelled during his Division training was because of his ability to stay calm under pressure. After working as an EMT for so many years in New York City, arguably one of the craziest cities in the States, he had thought there wouldn't be anything that would surprise him anymore. But somehow the Observers had managed to hit to the core of his fears in one swift stroke: Kira bedridden and dying from a disease that had enough symptoms similar to green poison. It shook him up more than he cared to admit, made him feel frantic and grief stricken in wild turns. Not a great combination when it came to going on an expedition to get snakes whose venom could cause hallucinations and even death, but even if it was extremely selfish of him, Ty couldn't stay behind.

Working at the hospital wasn't the haven it usually was, because every time he glanced over to see Kira's prone form, it hit him like a sledgehammer to his stomach. It was hard to breathe or focus, and his hands couldn't stop shaking. Losing Kira would be on par with losing Delilah or his mother. He didn't think he could handle it, especially not if he sat on his hands and did nothing.

He'd padded his arms and legs as much as he possibly could, but even he knew he had been a bit reckless and careless. So he couldn't say he was too surprised when he felt fangs bite into the flesh of his calf before he managed to wrangle the offending snake into one of the containers he was using.

"Okay so, I just got bit." Ty said, trying to keep his voice calm. "How quick are those hallucinations supposed to kick in?"




[ RECOVERY ]

During his hallucinations, Ty was going to keep seeing his mother just beyond his reach, and every time he sees her he'll try to get out of bed and follow her or take care of her.

He'll also see his childhood best friend Delilah, who either will calm him down or get him surly and upset, depending on what the hallucination was saying to him.

And if it's not the two of them he's seeing, he'll just be seeing friends and family in various states of disease accusing him of abandoning them. To which he'll just be mumbling 'I'm sorry' over and over.

Once the fever breaks, he'll try to help out with those who are still sick and he'll steer clear of the snakes, thanks.

Expedition

[cryptoherpetology]

"Lay down with your foot up on that rock over there," Alex instructs. "I have bandages and something to clean the wound. We'll minimize and slow the effects of the venom as much as possible," he assures him.
"Barnes said the effects hit pretty fast. But it's possible you got less of a dose than he did. Snake bites can be unpredictable that way." He speaks in his best I Am Doctor Price, Snake Expert voice, knowing exactly what someone wants to hear once they've been bitten. "Given that it had to go through that padding, it probably didn't get as deep, either."

Even if it's bullshit, it's best to keep Ty calm, and his heartrate down. Slowing the spread of the venom is the name of the game here.

recovery;

[tosavecocoon]

Vanille takes friendship very seriously. Ty was one of the first people who really wanted to be her friend here and the first she felt truly connected to aside from Fang. With Fang gone, she's clinging to these friendships, to people like Ty who seem to care about her for being who she is. She hasn't told him everything about her, but for now, their friendship stands as solid as any other she has cultivated in the last few hundred years. That means she will do her best to help him and take care of him, no matter what happens.

She might also feel a bit responsible for him getting hurt. Like so many people in her life. The least she can do is try to help him recover.

Which is why she stays by his side as much as she can, bringing him anything he needs to stay hydrated and whatever he can manage to eat. She even tries to work him through whatever the hallucinations are, difficult as those seem to be on him. The mumbles of "I'm sorry" feel all too familiar to Vanille. That's just what she would say if she were the one hallucinating, after everything she's seen and done.

"It's okay," she says softly after one particular moment, reaching out to touch his shoulder. "You're fine. Everything's okay. You'll see."

Recovery

[connatural]

Ashley has been burning the candle at both ends since this started. Not that she's one to take things slow before any of this, but now that all of this illness is going around, she is doing the best she can to help others and throwing herself into things to help.

Then, just as it looks like they've found a possible solution, Ty gets brought back bit by a snake.

So she shifts her focus. Yeah, it comes with a bit of guilt, but family came first and at this point, that's what Ty is. He's her roommate, and her friend, and if he's in need, she's there for him.

Even if it means hauling him back into the bed, muttering about how wrong it is to consider tyeing him down. Though he keeps it up, and she may.

"Come on, Ty. I just need you to rest. I know it sucks but you've got to rest," she sighs, her bedside manner sucking so bad and she knows it.

Expedition & Recovery - OTA

[cryptoherpetology]

Prologue: Always Be Prepared

Alex has made a quasi-decent replica of a snake- or at least, the best one can do when you're making it out of braided vines. He's in full Zookeeper-slash-Crocodile-Hunter mode, acting as if the pretend thing is going to lash out and bite him.

"Okay, so first off- try not to grab it with your hands at all. I've put together a few tools here-" he's no blacksmith, but poles with hooks on the end are easy enough to piece together.

He goes through the process of showing people the safest way to approach, catch and contain a venomous snake- though he encourages people to locate the snakes and bring him to them if they're uncertain about whether or not they can safely handle them.

After that, he goes on to What To Do If You're Bitten. No tourniquets, just a light bandage- lie down with the wound above the heart, and everything else Web MD will tell you to do if you're bitten.

After the lesson that really feels more like a very rehearsed lecture (because it prettymuch is) he goes on to the obvious conclusion of such a speech: "Any questions?"

Expedition

"Just stay very, very still," says Alex. "Don't shift your weight, or move your feet," Alex is saying very, very calmly to the poor individual that's found itself in a staredown with a fever snake.

Ever so slowly, he inches the hooked pole in, uses it to quickly catch and grab the snake, and tosses it into a waiting bag.

"You did great!" he tells the would-be bite victim, trying to sound encouraging while holding a bag of venomous potential death.

Recovery-Process

Alex has been milking snakes for quite some time now. Make whatever puns about that you desire, he's probably heard all of them.

He holds each snake's upper jaw over a jar with a membrane he's made out of dried livestock entrails, since there's no source of readily available rubber, sinks the fangs into it, and lets the poison drip until the snake has no more venom to give. Then he puts it into an enclosure, writing down the time on a slip of paper next to it.

"Use it fast, we have no way to freeze it yet," he says as he starts to hand it off to someone, then stops, realizing he's getting far too robotic. So he stops and makes eye contact, and puts something of a polite, if extremely tired smile on his face. "Unless you're here to help with the milking. I've got a few

Recovery-Process

[eaglesonofnone]

"Teach me," Altaïr says, approaching without fear. He'd listened to the man's talk on how to gather the snakes and had gotten quite a few on the expedition. He'd seen the damage this illness could do firsthand, with Tony, with 7, with the others. And while he'd used his time as best he could, first aiding with the ill, then trying to clean their houses so the stale sweat of sickness wasn't lingering when they returned, there was always more that could be done.

This was a way to actively help.

Expedition

[fishingfortrouble]

Technically speaking, Phryne has been in worse scrapes than this. Or at the very least, has been in ones that at least present more immediate danger. But even during the worst of those she'd had at least the comfort of a good set of lockpicks, which is very distinctly not the case here. Not to mention the fact that while they may be all well and good when one has just been locked into a glass case full of water, it tends to be significantly less useful when one happens to be facing down a venomous snake.

She does, however, still as soon as Alex says to, barely even so much as breathing until the snake is safely corralled and tucked away into a bag. And it's only then that she actually dares to speak up.

"I would have preferred to not have to worry about being potentially bitten, to be honest." There's a brief pause and then she continues on. "Although there was something I'd been meaning to ask you about."

Recovery - OTA

[unraisehell]

Once Bitten

It appears that Wynonna's particularly sensitive to the hallucinogenic effects of the fever snake's venom. And whatever she's seeing right now? Is really unpleasant, because she's screaming and cursing at the poor person who has to hold her down to keep her from hurting herself.

"No! I can hear her! I can hear her crying! can't you hear her? She's crying and she needs me and I'm not there. I sent her away! I couldn't keep her safe and she's going to hate me, but she needs me, she needs her mother-"

Cooling Down

The fever and the worst of the hallucinations have passed, leaving Wynonna a battered-feeling heap in a hospital bed, just barely able to hold herself up to drink the water people keep cajoling her into drinking.

"So I'm getting better, right? Not just hallucinating that I'm getting better?"

Finnick Odair | Expedition OTA | red scrubs | scrubs powers

[fishermansweater]

hook line and sinker

Finnick does not like snakes. He'd been bitten by one in the arena when he was hiding out from the other tributes, and the time between the bite and the arrival of medication from Mags had seemed to last much longer than it really had thanks to the distorting effect of the pain.

He probably, actually, should have stayed away from this. But a lot of the villagers are out sick, and the people who can help with this mad snake hunt probably should. So Finnick helps to make snake catching hooks, and he's brought some with him when he shows up for the expedition. He's no expert on snake catching, but that's what he'd been told they needed, so he and Annie had gotten to work.

He'll be handing them out when they get close to the snake island, with a wry, "this should help."


off in your bubble

The concept of encouraging the snake towards a bag and then catching it up so it can't get back out is simple enough in theory, but when he actually sees the snakes, it's definitely not simple. He eyes them as they eye him, and he makes his way in a slow, wide circle, trying to get close enough to sweep it up with the long-handled hook he's holding.

The snake, however, has other ideas. At the moment Finnick starts to lunge towards it, it gives an angry hissing sound and shoots forward towards him.

Finnick lets out a yell, a sudden surge in adrenaline jolting into his body and making his heart pound in his ears. He darts sideways in a panic, trying to get himself away from it, but the snake's movement stops a couple of feet from him, suddenly. The snake rears up and strikes, its fangs landing on empty air, even though it had clearly wanted to bite Finnick. Somehow, it seems to be moving backwards, and despite the thrumming of fear in his body, Finnick stares at it.

"What's it doing?"

[ Finnick is red scrubs so in his moment of panic he's activated an invisible 2 foot round shield around himself! ]

Bubble

[cryptoherpetology]

Alex has two poles with him, and instead of the shepherd's crook-like tool that Finnick also has, he uses one made to accommodate a braided cotton lasso that he's able to get around the snake from behind. With the animal focused on striking Finnick, it doesn't notice that Alex is even there until he's stuffing it into a pillowcase and quickly twisting the fabric shut to trap the snake inside. "Shhh, shh, calm down there buddy," he says to the snake, before he addresses Finnick at all.

"I don't think it was the snake doing that," he says, and approaches him, and reaches out as if to pat him on the arm- only to find it stopped against the forcefield.

"Yep. It's you. Congratulations on activating your superpowers."

hook line and sinker

[eaglesonofnone]

"Shukran," Altaïr answered, taking the hook with a grateful nod. "It is good to see the inhabitants here coming together to aid one another. How is it that you made the hooks, shabh? These will be very useful, not only for this."

His sincerity was complete. That people were willing to put in their due, to aid where they could - it was heartening. He'd seen similar in Masyaf, had worked to organise similar in times of sickness or times of famine. That it could be done here meant much.

Gaius Gracchus | Recovery | OTA

[ad_dicendum]

He had thought he was going to die. The burning fever, the headache, the reddish rash spreading across his arms, had all been familiar. Any of those things on their own would not necessarily be serious, but it was a bad combination. Plague and illness were common in Rome; they'd struck even his wealthy family many times, and he knew how bad the outlook could be. Gaius had retreated to bed early in his illness, but once word of a cure that would have very unpleasant side effects had spread, he'd gone to the hospital to seek help from the doctors there. He still was not used to how many people here relied on the doctors; physicians had been few and not always well regarded in Rome.

Still, he'd submitted to their care, just as he would have if he'd been wounded serving in the army. It isn't long before he finds himself wondering if it had been a bad idea, as his fever climbs and it becomes impossible to feel either cool or warm enough. At first, he's vaguely aware
of the indignity of so many people gathered together while so sick, but before long, even that level of coherence slips into nothingness.

"Frater," he murmurs as he slips into and out of sleep. Is it a dream that shows him his brother's face? Or is it a vision, or a hallucination? It's hard to know as Tiberius seems to wander into and out of his view. "Frater! Tecum venire volo!"

He doesn't realize that he's speaking to a memory, only that he wants to be with him, that he misses him, but the image of his brother fades, and Gaius grows quiet. Next time he wakes, it's to find his brother replaced by the bloodstained image of Nasica, then Aemilianus, then Octavius, the hospital replaced by a forum washed in blood.

"No, no, no! Interfectores!"

It's only in the morning after the fever breaks that he finally regains his awareness of where he is or what language he should be speaking. He's thirsty, and he slowly manages to push himself up enough to look around.

"Hello?"

[ataashihunter]

Bull pushes himself up to his elbows from where he had been sleeping not far from the man. He wasn't much better than Gaius, having finally woken from his own fever dreams not that long ago. But he shifts to grab the glass of water and offering it to the other.

"Bevi." The language the other had been speaking sounded close enough to Antivan that he could try a little bit of it. "Sei al sicuro" For a moment he wished Zevran was here, it would be easier with the elf around.