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 Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2023 7:42 pm
“I know,” Devyn answered easily. “You could probably jog all the way back to the Hall if you wanted. Thank goodness we have a boat, though.”
Thank goodness he’d paid enough attention to know how to handle it, too. He wasn’t sure Michael could stand right now. He wasn’t going to test it. He’d rather humor him, anyway. He made his way to the boat easily, and though he brought a puddle of water with him, he didn’t seem unsteady at all as he made his way to one of the benches. He set Michael down carefully–kissed his forehead again–and then fished around in his subspace pocket until he found his first aid kit. Well, his first aid kit, the one he’d been using before he went back to Earth, and the one Michael made him as well.
The boat rocked gently on the water but he made sure Michael was comfortably propped up. If he was feeling sickly he didn’t want to keep him in wet clothes, but if he was overheated it was probably the best choice for now.
From his pack, he pulled out a honey-colored cube from the wax paper it was wrapped in. “Here, chew on this. It’s sweet. It’s from Alastor but it’s not poison. I made it from some of the flowers in the garden and some roots. It helps with dizziness. It’ll feel like chewing raw dough for a while, when it starts to get tacky, put it on your cut. It’ll help draw out toxins. Then we can use some antiseptic, or whatever Earth medicine you think is best.”
He held one up between his fingers, glad that his hands weren’t in any terrible condition. He couldn’t help but stroke Michael’s cheek and brush his fingers through his hair a bit to try and soothe him.
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Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2023 7:50 pm
Devyn was too sweet and kind and gentle. How anyone could think poorly of him, Michael had no idea. They clearly had never met him if they just assumed he was like the Senshi before him.
Michael already had his hand out to take the cube, but paused to glance up at Devyn with faux exasperation.
“I certainly hope it wouldn’t be poison,” he breathed, which was still labored despite not doing anything strenuous. “Unbelievable,” he muttered as he put the cube in his mouth to chew as instructed. It was difficult for him to not just lay down on the bench, but he kept his other hand firmly planted to keep himself upright.
“Not sure if Earth medicine would be better in this case,” he admitted, glancing down at his arm again. The dizziness wasn’t as bad once he started chewing, but it meant he could get a better look at the black that looked like it was creeping up his arms.
He managed to get a glance at Devyn’s hands too, noting how they weren’t nearly as dark. Nor did he have any wounds that looked infected.
“Any idea what to expect from this…? It’s been… hundreds of years since the Black Rot was wiped out, right? This is just… something lingering,” he decided, but wasn’t sure how strong his voice was at the moment.
He just wanted to lean against Devyn’s touches and get his breathing back under control and to stop sweating as much. Thankfully, the rocking of the boat was barely noticeable, and he was perfectly comfortable on the water.
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Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2023 8:10 pm
“It’s not Black Rot,” Devyn reassured. “And even if it were, that’s easily cured. You’d have nothing to worry about. You don’t have anything to worry about this, either.”
He stroked his hair once more, and while he probably should have busied himself with getting the boat moving, he instead sat down next to Michael so he could fuss over him a bit more. “It might be allergies,” he suggested “You get rashes for those and feel a bit under the weather on Earth, don’t you? I’m not too worried.”
He watched the necklace just to make sure it wasn’t picking up anything, but he was satisfied and smiled again. “We’ll get you set up with some water and snacks for the ride home. You can rest, I can get some blankets and we’ll make you comfortable. I think we can set you up with a nice little bed, don’t you? A nap might refresh you. I think I can handle the boat. I had my eyes on you the whole time we were headed over here. I’m sure I can figure it out.”
Like he hadn’t already handled the boat before, and probably learned his fair share of it from Virgil long ago.
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Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2023 8:21 pm
No, he didn’t think it would have been Black Rot. That was an ancient disease by now, and certainly something they were prepared for now, based on all the stories Devyn told him about what happened with the sickness.
Michael nodded lethargically, and after a few more moments of chewing, he took the wad of not poison out of his mouth to press against the scrape.
“Were you paying attention to what I was doing, or just looking at me?” he at least had the energy to tease. He didn’t know how much energy he had for anything else, though.
When Devyn sat next to him, he tried not to make it obvious how out of sorts he was feeling, but ended up leaning heavily against Devyn anyway.
“Nap sounds nice,” he panted. “You take such good care of me. Thank you. I love you. I can stay awake long enough to make sure you have everything you need to get the boat downstream. Sorry, I didn’t think you’d have to, otherwise I would have had you help me more,” he said guiltily. That’s what he got for being controlling, he supposed.
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Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2023 8:30 pm
Devyn could only smile at Michael’s teasing. Maybe it was a bit of both. He wrapped an arm around him and rubbed his back gently in an effort to soothe him. He couldn’t quite recall Michael being sick since he’d come to Earth, but that didn't mean he hadn’t been. He’d just been good at hiding it.
“Michael.” He spoke his name gently, and pressed his forehead to his temple. “You don’t have to worry, I can manage. I know the important things. Watch out for rocks, don’t aim towards the riverbank. I’m teasing, I can do this. I’m not as good as you, but I’ll make sure I don’t sink us on the way back. And if it’s too much of a bumpy ride, I’ll just find somewhere safe to tie her off and we can head back to Earth. She’s made it this long, I’m sure a few days in the water won’t hurt her.”
The weather was good and clear on Alastor and none of his bones ached so he didn’t imagine there were any storms on the horizon.
“If you’re tired, rest.” He held a hand to his forehead and wasn’t pleased to feel how hot he was, but it just meant he’d get a fresh, cool rag. “I’ve got a supply pack so we’ve got everything we need.” Even if they hadn’t had the picnic blanket, he wriggled his foot under the bench they were sitting on until his toe caught a rope handle. A bit of careful nudging revealed a wooden chest, and he leaned forward only enough to open it. There were fresh, linens with a few dried flowers atop. “Do you want out of those clothes? If you borrow Sessrumnir’s power again, I’m sure you’d get a nice, dry outfit. Although, it isn’t like you have to wear anything out here, either. It’s just us. We’ll get you nice and comfortable. You worked hard today, you deserve a nice break.”
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Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2023 8:38 pm
All Michael could do was give Devyn a weary, exasperated look when he teased about things he knew what not to do with the boat. He wasn’t really exasperated, but he had to give Devyn a little bit of a hard time for his teasing.
“Would it be safe to go back to Earth?” he made a face as he looked down at his hands again, but closed his eyes as Devyn put his hand against his forehead, letting out a quiet hum of appreciation.
“Your hand is cool. It feels nice,” he mumbled, his eyelids fluttering a little when Devyn moved to pull a wooden chest out. He eyed it with tired interest, but in the end couldn’t focus on what was inside.
He didn’t like feeling like this. He felt useless. And distracted.
“I don’t want to get the boys sick if it’s contagious,” he explained, but he really didn’t know how it spread. For all he knew it was only spread when touched. Still, he liked being extra cautious. Especially when he already messed up and got himself like this in the first place.
“I don’t know if I can focus enough--” he tried to explain, his voice weak as he slumped against Devyn. He could try to power up, but he could barely concentrate on what was in front of him, much less any magic. “Dry would be nice, though,” he admitted, and closed his eyes for a moment to try and draw power from Sessrumnir, but it seemed to sputter and left him in still wet clothes.
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Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2023 8:45 pm
“My hand is cool? You must have a higher fever than I thought, I always run hot,” he mused, but he stroked Michael’s hair again. He knew the river had cooled him off significantly. He was still soaking wet and dripping everywhere. The good news was that he had a sleeve drenched with water, so he tore it off, wrung it out just a bit, and then dabbed it lightly across Michael’s face again.
“It’s probably safe to go to Earth. I don’t think this is contagious.”
But, he didn’t know that, and he hadn’t known that Michael could get sick so quickly either. He didn’t want to risk it, even if he knew he had medicine that should still work. Should.
No, he knew it would. He just needed to get Michael to take it and rest a bit.
“Sessrumnir must be protesting, it doesn’t want you working any harder than you already have. That’s all right, no matter. Wet clothes are no match for me. I’ve got plenty back at the Hall, and I’ll hang these up to dry while we’re heading back. Don’t you worry about anything.”
He was doing his best not to. He didn’t even ask Michael to lift his arms; he didn’t want him to exert any more energy than he needed to. He looked exhausted right now, and the only thing Devyn could think about was letting him get some rest.
These symptoms weren’t uncommon, they weren’t alarming. He just didn’t want Michael to be sick. He hooked his fingers at the bottom of Michael’s shirt and carefully pulled upwards. “It’s a good thing I brought so many blankets, I bet we can make a nice little nest out of this. So good ou almost won’t even notice you aren’t at home in your own bed.”
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Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2023 9:13 pm
Michael wanted to respond more than a tired smile, but his head felt like it was in a cloud, and his body was heavy. He felt guilty for Devyn having to help him do basic things, like getting out of his clothes, but it was difficult enough for Michael to stay seated and not just slump to the floor of the boat.
“If you’re not next to me… I’ll notice,” he mumbled, hoping that Devyn knew he was just joking. Well, no, he would notice if Devyn wasn’t there, but he was still trying to prove that he wasn’t as miserable as he felt.
He still didn’t know how it snuck up on him, or how it hit him so hard, so fast.
“Was it like this for Percy too? Oh, but he had actual Black Rot. Not… allergies,” he frowned as he thought he moved to be able to kick his shoes off, but in actuality he didn’t move much.
Again, it was difficult to not just slump to the floor and try to sleep.
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Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2023 9:20 pm
“Not quite,” Devyn reassured, and when he was done with Michael’s shirt he went about working on his shoes, and the rest of his clothes. He moved quickly, with a practiced diligence. He’d had many years to perfect efficiency, and there was no awkwardness between himself or the Knight. He was as quick to wrap him in the dry blankets as he had been to undress him, but he seemed to have taken Micahel’s words to heart. He moved him from the bench they were seated on–which was wet enough, anyway–to the one that would be closest to him once they started moving. He pulled out all of the blankets to make the most comfortable makeshift bed he could manage, and made sure Michael was comfortable.
He didn’t seem to mind doing any of it, and he’d continued to answer Michae’s question as he did so. “The symptoms are similar, in a way. But you’re not coughing up blood or anything so I’m not worried. A fever is normal, aches and chills. I’m sorry, Michael. I should have prepared this a bit better. Now that I’m thinking on it, I suppose the water had quite a bit of time to collect all those chemicals. But it isn’t as if you were drinking the water, and we weren’t in it for too long.”
A few hours, sure, but…
He smoothed Michael’s hair again, and extracted a bottle of water from subspace. Uncapping it, he held it to Michael’s lips.
“I’ll be next to you the whole time. I’ll tell you stories the whole way home, so even if you’re sleeping, you’ll know I’m right here with you, how’s that? Maybe I’ll sing you lullabies to keep you resting.”
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2023 5:20 am
“Yeah, I’d prefer to not cough up blood,” Michael grunted and winced and whined as he was helped from the bench to where Devyn was setting up the makeshift bed near him. He had enough energy to keep the blanket wrapped around himself, and to ease down onto the pile of blankets, but he didn’t know if he could keep his eyes open any longer.
“You should get changed too,” Michael mumbled, which was further muffled because he’d immediately buried his face against some of the blankets. “If you get sick…”
Hopefully if Devyn did get sick, from whatever illness managed to put him under the weather, kicking and screaming, Michael hoped it wouldn’t be when he was sick as well. He wanted to be able to take care of Devyn and make sure he was comfortable.
So while he wanted to whine more about not needing him to fuss, he did appreciate the attentiveness and hoped Devyn would remember for when it was his turn to be fussed over.
He opened his eyes enough to be able to let Devyn help him drink some water, trying not to cough too much when he inhaled it instead of swallowing. But once that was done, he was tipping his head back so he could close his eyes again.
“Thank you. I love you. And you know I love your voice,” he mumbled as he tried keeping his breathing even. He was dazed and uncomfortable and didn’t know if he would actually fall asleep or if he would just toss and turn, but he knew he didn’t have to worry with Devyn right there.
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2023 6:23 am
Devyn smiled again, and smoothed Michael’s hair once more. “Well, then I’ll do my best to be good company while we head back to the Hall. I’ll keep an eye on you, if you need anything I’ll be right here.”
There were plenty of things for him to do for now; he didn’t want to keep Michael awake. He didn’t want to keep him out of a real bed. He’d get him some real medicine as soon as they were back.
Of course he worried. He didn’t bother hiding it so much now that Michael looked like he was ready to fall asleep. He hung up his clothes so they could dry on the way back, and untied the ropes they’d tethered the boat with.
He was sure he could get back without much issue. This might not have been his comfort zone but when it came to Micahel’s well being he was sure he could do anything.
He probably could have handled staying powered up without any issue, but he if Michael woke up and started worrying, oh. That wasn’t fair to put him through any more stress. He powered down into his nice, dry clothes, and tied up his hair. It was good weather, they’d be back at the Hall soon enough.
Thankfully, he had more than enough songs and stories to fill the time.
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