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 Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 11:37 pm
Calder gave a muffled "hmm" under the covers, that didn't really come out as a yes or no. The kelpie moved once more in the covers, adjusting once more, before pulling the covers down to allow himself to breath. How was it already nighttime? He hadn't done anything? How long had he been sleeping? What day was it? He hoped he didn't miss too much. The homework would be too demanding.
But schoolwork was only a passing through as he laid against the plush cushion, content even as Handsome jumped back up on the bed. Nothing mattered or bothered him now. Not the woe hound. Not if the world came crumbling down. Not even if Barth's thorns really did take over. As long as he was left alone to sleep, he was fine.
All he needed to do was sleep and he was sure he'd be fine. Eventually. He hoped soon.
Calder managed a small 'night' before settling and turning in very early.
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 1:40 pm
It was nowhere near night, but Barth spent the day in bed any way, giving the thorns more time to wax and enjoying the teacher-given excuse to sleep.
It was, perhaps, fortuitous that Calder was sick, and could stay with him for such long periods. Since the thorns had behaved thus far, he was now a little curious to see how far within reason they could go. But wasn't sure how to go about it. Thinking about being protected seemed the right flavor of encouragement. He would have worried about his pets, but most of them were robots or made of slime. The only living non-ooze non-mechanical mini he had left was Handsome, who had been staying close to the bed.
It was a good thing, because the bramble continued to build and inspissate.
When Barth awoke on the Third Day, everything was dark. He realized this was not because of the time, and when he sat up in panic, the thorns slithered back. He watched them draw away from the floor, the ceiling, the furniture, which was all unharmed, and the door, which was shut and undamaged.
The room was completely clear, as if the thorns had never been there at all.
"Calder," he said thickly, "...Did you see?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 1:46 pm
The kelpie didn't so much as perk an ear. By now the mushrooms had traveled up and into his hair, a few poking up from his hair. The slime was no longer slippery and transparent as it was once before, and there was less now. The slime was now thick, a sort of mucus dark green, and it made Calder's breathing short. The blanket over him was wet and his shirt was soaked. The chill that Calder felt to need the blanket had passed and now he was above warm again, heat rolling off of his body. Barth's accomplishment went unnoticed by the monster along with everything else.
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 2:02 pm
"Calder?" Barth asked again, hesitating and then touching his shoulder. Only a cold. How long did colds last? It was only a cold, wasn't it, and nothing more serious?
Calder looked...warm and asleep and oozing, and the fabric of Barth's shirt was slick.
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 2:06 pm
Typically, if Calder was woken up, he would have jerked awake and started barking about wolves, but he didn't have that reaction. Just the opposite. When touched, it took him a moment to even register he was being shaken, and then he opened his eyes just enough to look up.
Then, he licked his lips, and tried to smile. "..hey." The shaking had moved his shirt, exposing just the cusp of a strange insignia on his left arm just covered by the sleeve.
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 2:18 pm
The insignia was not at all strange to Barth. He had been trying to avoid staring earlier, but he stared now. His feelings on the subject were inexplicably mixed. ...No, it didn't matter. Not his Contract, not his business.
"Afternoon."
Barth opened his mouth, about to repeat his earlier question of whether Calder had seen the thorns or not, looked again at Calder, and changed his mind.
"...How err, how long did you say it took for that medicine to kick in?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 2:25 pm
Calder thought a moment. Afternoon? His eyes roamed around as if he could tell, but returned to Barth after giving up. Medicine? Oh yeah. "I used what I had before I came here. Made tea." He had only felt a little bit better but it hadn't lasted long. He had already feared that it had become too old and therefor ineffective after a time.
He thought of medicine, and then tea, and then water. "I'm thirsty." It was a statement and that was all. He then turned into his pillow.
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 2:34 pm
"Right," Barth said, and carefully clearing the sleep from his eyes with his palms, slipped from the bed to use the phone.
He knew ahead of time who he wanted to dial, and waited for the ringing on the other end to stop before launching his inquiry. He adjusted his grip on the phone, and looked back at Calder.
"Hello, Malodore? Err, about that favor?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 3:04 pm
((Assuming jumping to Mal's arrival is what was wanted, if not I'll edit? XD))
The plague doctor was no stranger to hurrying up the hill to the demon dorms - but usually it was heading for Riley's room, not the one next door. It hadn't been back to Barth's room since Riley's... incident. Not that the sloth demon really needed to call in a favor to get Malodore to come by, but... well. It always paid to be prudent when one was beholden to demons, even without a formal contract or mark.
Fifteen minutes after the phone call, Malodore knocked on Barth's door.
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 3:43 pm
The door opened by remote. Barth was waiting on the sofa by the phone.
"Good. Glad you could come by. Err, it's," Barth gestured helplessly to the bed. "He said he took some medication a few days ago, but he's just gotten worse. I'm not- err, that is, healing isn't my forte, exactly, he said it was sort of like a cold- Boggers, have you heard of it?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 4:04 pm
"Calder?" Malodore looked startled. The kelpie looked like a swamp had thrown up all over him, or perhaps like he was becoming a swamp himself. "Merde... No, I am afraid I've not heard of that, sadly. My early training was in maladies of Reapers, not Monsters..." And the vast varieties of monsters could get ill in ever so many interesting ways.
It walked over to the bed. Surely, Calder couldn't be deathly ill or Barth would have contacted Nurse Cricket... hm. It examined the scene from a careful, clinical distance, noting the mushrooms, the slime, the dampness. "That damp is a symptom, yes? You did not pour water on him, or anything like that?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 4:16 pm
"Yes, a symptom, I think. He hasn't been in the tub since yesterday." Barth managed to get off the couch to make a slow path after Malodore.
"Err, Calder," Barth said, worry evident, "Malodore's here to see you."
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 4:22 pm
All the noise was bothering him, and when his name was called, he opened his eyes again. Why was Barth trying to wake him up? When did the demon ever bother to wake anyone up and why was Barth not in bed with him? This made it bothersome to sleep.
Still, turning, he faced the undead and stared at him, letting the gears work slowly before registering. "..heeyy Mal." The nickname Malley seemed too long. When did he last see the undead? He wasn't sure. He wasn't sure how long he'd been at Barth's place. Was it still afternoon from when he last opened his eyes? It didn't look dark yet, but who knew if it was the next day.
"Aww. Come ta see me." Too bad he wasn't up for having a long talk about their date. He scooted just a fraction back to make room. "Wanna nap?" Why didn't they just all climb into bed and sleep. That would be nice.
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Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 9:10 am
"Not at the moment, grazie," Malodore said politely. Its brow furrowed with worry, though obviously nobody could see that under its mask and bandages. It was pretty sure Calder wouldn't have asked an undead for a nap if the kelpie was in his right mind. "Hm."
It glanced back at Barth. "Tell me all you know, if you could?" Perhaps this was a common kelpie affliction, even if it did look rather alarming; plant growth on the undead was often a fairly serious threat, but that didn't mean it was the same across all creatures in Halloween.
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Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 10:56 am
"I asked him to come in three days ago for some err...help. With something. He was a bit sniffly and tired, but said he'd taken some medication. In the morning, he was err, covered- err, that is-" Barth felt himself turning red, and felt stupid for it. "-covered in slime," he managed. "And the mushrooms. He said it was a common affliction, and that some kelpies end up looking like...gardens? Something like that. But he's just err...moved less and less."
Barth slumped into a chair next to his bedside dresser.
"Not that I'm opposed to moving less and less. But slothfulness and sickness are not quite the same thing."
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