( open )

[adelphoi]

Who: Alisaie Leveilleur (adelphoi) & you nerds
What: October general shenans
When: All month
Where: Everywhere potentially but probably just at her house mostly
Warning(s): Sick.. stuff?? idk probably nothing but will update if necessary.



PART 1;

a; aftermath

[ alisaie is not present in the marketplace when the attack occurs, but the resounding boom cannot be missed, even from her home flat. it's a hectic hour or so while she rushes to figure out what has happened, and when riza returns home sick she feels a heavy misgiving sink deep into her stomach. disease is not an enemy she can fight with her rapier, it's something insidious, something sneaky and unpredictable - gods help them find a remedy soon.

immediately, she's dashing right to work. with riza ill they'll need supplies - healthy foods, spare blankets, medicinal herbs, ice, a great deal of ice. once she's set with her list she's off to the institute and markets to gather what useful things she can, stuffing them into a canvas shoulder bag, but you can certainly bet that she'll stop to assist in any way she can, whether it's righting an overturned cart or leading those who were injured in the panic to the sanctuary.

of course, it's not long before she's feeling rather warm and dizzy herself and, of course, chalking it up to the rush and mayhem. maybe she'll just.. sit down a moment. ]

b; sickbed;

[ alisaie is an awful patient.

keeping her in bed is no easy task, and there's an itch under her skin that urges her to move, to work - there's so much she could be doing, ways she could be helping. this disease is a godsdamned prison.

she's responsible enough to at least not mingle with the public, lest she spread this horrible mystery illness further, but she cannot remain strictly indoors in bed for so long, not without losing her mind. so when she can, when the weather is tepid, alisaie sits on the second floor deck of her flat, wrapped up in a blanket, usually with a book (or stack of books), enjoying the fresh air on her too-hot face. ]

c; reaching out

[ what else can you do when you're more or less bedbound? catch up on the internet, of course. mostly, alisaie keeps an eye on the network for any updates, and takes the time to reach out to those she knows, to doublecheck that they're safe. if you've met her even once or twice, chances are she will toss a line out and test the waters. incoming message from RedMage: ]

This is Alisaie; how are you faring?

PART 2;

a; wandering

[ it's late evening the first time she sees him.

though first she hears him, the familiar voice of her grandfather calling her out of her dreams, warm and welcoming. she wakes in her bed, slick with fever sweat and surrounded by silence - mayhaps she had misheard it? it must have been a dream, her head is spinning. but then it comes again, distinct and clear; it has been years since she last heard his voice but it is not a sound that she would ever forget. ]

Grandfather..?

[ dizzy and disoriented, she climbs out of bed and stumbles toward the open window, squinting into the slanting light of sunset just in time to see the shape of him, louisoix leveilleur's all too familiar form disappearing around the corner. immediately her heart kicks up into her throat and alisaie gasps and turns, stumbling back through her bedroom and out of the house, down the stairs and onto the street barefoot, in her nightdress, to follow a ghost. ]

No, please wait.. don't leave me again..

[ how long she wanders in this delirium she cannot say, but her feet are sore and scratched and muddy, her hair down and wild from sleep and the tugging winds. she may run right into you, or trip over a flagstone, but short of forceful intervention nothing will keep her from her goal. ]

b; friendly fire

[ for those of you unlucky enough to visit her (or stop by her home for some other purpose) while the symptoms continue to worsen, you will find that her delirium has not abated. between bouts of lucidity and sleep she tries still to wander, to follow the voices and phantoms of her family and friends to whatever oblivion they might call her to, but it is not only friends she sees. sometimes it is enemies or horrible, twisted monsters. it's hardly a problem if she wanders outside, weaponless, but any creak of sound within her home would easily alert her.

blinking blearily, alisaie tumbles out of bed at the noise, her heart thudding and her mind cloudy, and she does not think twice before taking up her rapier and focus which lie across a chair in her room and stumbling into the dimly lit common area. her voice is rough from coughing. ]

Who.. who goes there?

[ catchall for october! alisaie will spent much of it being sick, apparently, so feel free to crash her place and visit.. make sure she stays in bed. get her texts or send her one, or meet up in the market!! if none of these prompts work for you i'm more than happy to work something out and write up a starter. ♥ plotting comment is here, or i can be reached on plurk for planning. i'm game! ]

Comments

[adelphoi]

No, it's -

[ it's what? she's scrambling to find excuses, reasons - ]

It's very warm out, and I've - I've been working..

[ it sounds a weak and worn excuse even to her own ears, and when alisaie glances up toward him again there's a flash of fear behind her eyes. getting sick is one thing, but catching some disease designed to be a weapon is quite another, and she can feel cold, terrifying fingers closing around her heart.

which she's quick to stamp on, with a sharp inhale. ]

I cannot be ill.

[ she can't afford it, there's far too much to be done. ]

[verflair]

That must fall flat to even your own ears.

[ That would be a lame attempt at a joke on a good day, but now, when his tone is muted and made thin with worry, it barely comes off as a joke at all.

Gods, he’d love to deny it. Give him a mystery to solve, criminals to catch, a monster to fight. He’s good at that, but he’s so far out of his depth with this and it scares him. Alisaie has been all but alone for three long moons, and now that he’s here he can’t even protect her. He’s stared down magitek monstrosities and they have scared him less than this.

There’s fear in her eyes, and there’s nothing he can do.

He’s not sure what it says about him that he manages to keep his own fear off his face— too many years trying to find hope where there is none, maybe— but he manages it all the same. ]

Come, give me your things. Let’s get you home.

[adelphoi]

[ it does fall flat, if falls flat onto its face, and alisaie deflates visibly, a cold core of quiet anxiety tightening in her stomach.

it will be fine. it'll have to be. it's a simple flu, mayhaps nothing more than a scare tactic, if that terrorist woman's threats are anything to go by. swallowing thickly, alisaie nods and slips the heavy canvas sack over her shoulder to offer it to him.

which in and of itself it likely an indication of how terrible she's feeling, that she doesn't even have the energy to fight him spectacularly as she normally would, because of course she can carry her own things!! she's sick, not dead. ]

Thank you.

[verflair]

[ It’s difficult to watch the fight go out of her, like the air let out of a balloon. With the hand still in place on her shoulder, he gives a light squeeze, something he means to be grounding and reassuring, though at present he doesn’t especially feel sure of much.

He straightens from his crouch, slipping his glove back on before he accepts her bag and slips it over his own shoulder. ]

Are you fit to make the trek back?

[adelphoi]

Of course.

[ she may very well not be, but even though she'll hand over her bag to him, she's not willing yet to sacrifice that much of her pride; alisaie will walk until her legs give out beneath her, that much is certain.

which means you're probably going to have your hands full soon, gramps. ]

I will manage.

[verflair]

[ Admitting defeat as she had must not have been an easy thing for Alisaie, proud as she is, so he’s willing to give her the benefit of the doubt for the time being.

That’s not to say he isn’t ready to catch her if she should falter, because he is. He just thinks she should be able to make her own way if she can. ]

Your roommate has fallen ill, hasn’t she?

[adelphoi]

[ thank you for respecting her ego, x'rhun.. this is why you're the best. unless you've been telling embarrassing stories about her to Certain People then we might have a bone to pick with you. ]

Aye, she has.

[ a weary sigh; she should have been more careful. the disease is not airborne, she must have been careless in washing up; what a stupid, foolish mistake. ]

She was on site when she explosion occurred.

[verflair]

[ Whoa hey now he hasn’t told any embarrassing stories! … Yet. ]

Ah, I didn’t realize she had been right there. I only poked my head in for a moment to ask after you.

[ Being that close to the source, well, it’s no wonder she caught it. He only wishes things had played out differently. ]

[adelphoi]

Would that she were the only one.

[ sorry x'rhun, she's definitely slowing down here a little bit, and tugging at her collar again; gods it's hot, and her head is pounding harder with every passing minute. all it serves to do is make her angry, though, angry with herself, angry with the sadistic monsters who would do such a thing. warfare or not, involving civilians, potentially children - that is a low she cannot forgive. ]

The market was quite popula.. populated..

[ she lifts a hand to her head. oh, dizzy. ]

[verflair]

[ The way that she falters brings him to a halt, and he gives her a long, scrutinizing look. Alisaie may have her pride, and he had every intention of respecting that, but she's looking worse off by the second. Pride will do her little good if she collapses.

He shifts her canvas bag to his shoulder. ]

Come here.

[ It’s not much of a warning, but it’s all he gives. It’s probably unfair to scoop her up knowing that she doesn’t have the faculties to fight it, but he’d rather see her home safely even if she complains the whole way. He lifts her bridal style, with one arm at her back, the other tucked under her knees, and resumes his trek to her home. ]

[adelphoi]

[ her thoughts coalesce more slowly than they normally would, all things considered, but she still knows what's coming a hair of a moment before it arrives. she knows, and she's already preparing her rebuke, but the words are muddled in her head so by the time he scoops her up all she can offer is a plaintive, rebellious whine.

she's so pathetic. 8( ]

You - that's -

[ ugh, but her head is spinning, and already it feels better to be off her feet. alisaie's hands grip at x'rhun's jacket, tight at first, ready to fight him, but with a rattling exhale they soon loosen and she shuts her eyes, resting her aching head comfortably against his shoulder. ]

You will.. keep this to yourself, please.

[ but there's no helping anyone who sees, i guess.. ]

[verflair]

[ He would rather that she had the presence of mind to yell at him, truth be told. Fevers can be nasty things, but this seems somehow even worse just because they don’t know what it is or what could be waiting down the road for those affected. ]

But of course. You have a reputation to protect, after all.

[ Maybe not as much of one as she thinks, considering his chat with a certain chocobro. Ahem. ]

Will you be needing anything after we get you home?

[adelphoi]

[ fevers are abhorrent. pain, congestion, headaches - she can work through those. but a fever is a monster, it confuses and disorients, makes even the most menial task seem almost impossible. it's difficult to work when you're addled and dizzy.

in other words, this is the worst, she'd be more angry if she weren't so tired. ]

No, I have supplies.

[ they're all in that canvas bag there that's over his shoulder; thankfully she went out to finish these things before she started exhibiting symptoms. ]

[verflair]

[ Ah, no doubt that’s what she was doing when he found her. At least she’s prepared, even if she wasn’t expecting to get sick herself. ]

Good. It’ll be straight to bed with you once we get back.

[ X’rhun is in full Dad Mode now. There’s no escape. ]

[adelphoi]

[ 8( dad mode noooooooo. but does this mean dad jokes are imminent..

honestly though, for as much as alisaie absolutely hates to be fussed over, there's a definite.. comfort in this. she's been alone so long, which normally would not be so terrible - she's well equipped for lone traveling - but these circumstances.. hydaelyn is gone, her home, their home, and this place has been relatively good to her but it's not been easy to go forward alone, without her family, her comrades. that x'rhun is here, gods, it's such a luxury, and in this moment when she needs someone to lean on, she is glad that it is him. it certainly makes it easier to swallow. ]

Oh come now, surely that.. isn't necessary.

[ i don't waaaaannnnnaaaaaaaaa ]

[verflair]

[ Usually X’rhun is content to part ways with people. His lifestyle has been one of solitude for a long time, and though he’ll partner up with someone— like he did with Alisaie, like he did with Arya and the Warrior— but in the end, he always walks away to continue his wanderings, knowing that his charges and friends will be just fine without him.

Here, it’s different. Here, they have nothing to go back to. They live in strange homes on a strange world. Everything and everyone they knew is gone, destroyed or sleeping on some faraway space station. He supposes he could learn to live with that, were he the only one, but the way Alisaie ran to him, the way she clung to his arms as though she were unsure he was even real, and the way she smiled, it broke his heart. It threw everything about how desolate their situation is into sharp relief, and he… he feels responsible for her. He was only her mentor for a short while, but right now, he’s all she has.

And she, in turn, is all he has. ]

My dear, you look as though a stiff breeze would topple you. You’ll be going right to bed and I’ll hear no arguments.

[adelphoi]

[ but daaaaaaaaaaddddd 8(

alisaie's grip tightens just a hair in his heavy coat, and at his angle he might not be able to see it, but she's absolutely scowling petulantly. being fussed over by alphinaud is one thing - he'd fret over a scraped knee - but x'rhun is quite another. he's not quite so easy to fight as her pushover of a brother, and she's more inclined to not take his worrying with a grain of salt. if he's concerned, it's likely for good reason.

and for all her rebelliousness.. she must admit to herself that he is right. she's utterly exhausted, disoriented and dizzy and of absolutely no use to anyone. she's stubborn, but she's not stupid. ]

All right. [ >:( ] For a bit.

[verflair]

I’m glad we could reach an agreement.

[ He won’t argue the point of “for a bit”, if only because he’s certain her body will win out once she’s settled in bed, and she won’t have it in her to move for a long while. ]

I intend to investigate this incident, and search for those responsible. I would keep you appraised of what I find, if you’d like.

[adelphoi]

[ .. that's probably wise, she's definitely going to pass out rather quickly once she hits the pillow. already her head is feeling too heavy against his shoulder, like she could fall asleep at any moment. ]

Yes, please.. and if there is anything I can do..

[verflair]

[ He clenches his fists without realizing it, the hand at her back gripping at the fabric of her shirt. It’s a desperate little action that betrays his worry, and he can only hope that in her state, she doesn’t realize what it means. ]

Ssh, ssh. Get some rest, and then we can entertain those thoughts, yes?

[adelphoi]

[ thankfully for him she's too tired and dizzy to really register it beyond a passing thought that does not stick. it's for the best. she's fearful enough as it is, though she hides it best she can.

even fear cannot stand up to her fatigue, however; alisaie's only answer is a soft hum followed only by silence. she'll be dozing on and off for the rest of the trip. ]