[closed]

[rhygret]

Who: Rhys (rhygret) & various
What: Rhys's infection reaches stage 2
When: mid-Oct
Where: various
Warning(s): Attempts to remove cybernetics

[ All things considered Rhys think he's been handling being sick rather well. Sure he might have worn Jyn's patience a little with his constantly asking for things (tissue, coffee, dinner, lunch, breakfast, snacks, fluffing his pillows...the usual) but he's spent the majority of his time in a lump on the couch not doing a whole lot. He hasn't been taxing himself outside of the Bunkers & Badasses game, and though the event leaves him utterly exhausted and coughing up a storm later he relents and spends the next day sleeping for the most part. he wakes feeling...not much better honestly, but surely the worst of it is almost over. It's been a week now. Any day he'll start feeling like himself and he'll be on the mend.

Then the static starts. At first it's just small instances of white noise in the back of his head. It disappears when he pops his ears or rubs at his temple, comes and goes. Then it makes him feel lightheaded and awful. There's a churning in his stomach and he sits down to rub his temples when the beginnings of a headache start to take hold. Rhys pops a painkiller and goes to bed in the hopes that he'll stave it off entirely and when he wakes up things will be back to normal.

They aren't. ]

A: Who are you again?

[ When Rhys wakes up he's beyond disoriented. He feels faint and dizzy, he hurts all over and he can't remember how he got on couch. Did he fall asleep there? Why does he feel so awful? He's going to be late for work--

That he should in no way whatsoever be going anywhere let alone to work fails to occur to Rhys as he stumbles back to his room to try and get ready, and he gets most of the way there. His hair isn't styled perfectly and his dress shirt isn't tucked in, but Rhys drags himself out of the apartment anyway and begins to stumble his way into town.

Like a responsible, totally-not-sick-and-delirious adult. ]

B: Jack's Back, Baby

[ People find him, they take him home, and Rhys gets put back in bed in thankfully short order. He conks out almost immediately but wakes only a few hours later when suddenly, inexplicably, Rhys jolts awake. He has no idea why he startles the way he does but his ECHO eye lights up and out of reflex he activates the palm like on his arm despite the fact that it's only midday. Something woke him...right? He's awake because there was...there was...?

There's nothing. Just an empty room and a lot of dirty clothes on the floor. He really needs

"--to straighten up the place, huh cupcake? There's letting yourself go and then there's just being lazy Rhys. Three-day-old underwear on the nightstand? Seriously?"

Rhys freezes for the split-second it takes for shock to set in and have him flailing out of bed, arms windmilling when his legs get tangled in the bed sheets and he lands with a loud whump! on the floor. Sharp, cruelly delighted laughter reaches his ears even before he lifts his head to stare wide-eyed in disbelief at the flickering blue image of an all-too-familiar AI standing before him. Colour drains from his face as he opens his mouth, but sound fails to come out.

Jack cuts him off a second later.

"If you're looking to catch a bunch of flies there are easier ways than with that face. What's the matter cupcake? Surprise to see your ol' pal Jack again?"

He crosses his arms over his chest and smirks with obvious pleasure at Rhys's distress. He shakes his head at the vision--this can't be real, this has to be a mistake. The spiders. He'd heard Jack's voice when they were nearby, there must be spiders--

"Seriously? You think a bunch of bugs are responsible for this?" ]

Th...this is impossible. You're not here. Y...you can't be, I...

[ "You what? Murdered me?" Jack's grin only widens. "You think getting rid of me is that easy? You think I didn't know you'd turn on me Rhysie?" ]

This isn't real.

[ "Oh, but it is Rhys. And this time? I'm here to stay."

One hour later and Rhys is stumbling into the streets of the housing distracting, dishevelled and a stricken look on his face as the stumbles down the stairs and into and nearby wall, knocking over a garbage can. He doesn't even stop to try and pick it up or pay anyone else any mind--he's already struggling to bolt from the area, his cybernetic hand twitching and jerking erratically as his organic one grips it in the closest thing Rhys has ever managed to a death grip. ]

Get out of my head--!


[ ooc; closed prompts within! hmu via discord/plurk @ Dolly#0571 | owlits if you want a thread with rhys so we can plot! ]

Comments

[rhygret]

Wh...? No, that's not...I...

[ Rhys raises a hand to his head, and when he does he swears he can feel his brain swish around inside his skull. He feels lightheaded and disoriented, trying to blink away fever even as he looks over at Qrow and frowns, confused. ]

What are you...doing here?

[ The voice is obviously Qrows and obviously male, but to Rhys's addled mind neither of those things matter. This all makes sense and Rhys sees not the man who came to his B&B game, but instead a woman of nondescript details. Who he somehow knows and recognizes, which makes no sense. None of what he's seeing make sense right now. ]

[unpromising]

What am I doing?

[ He scratches his head at the question, pretty confused. Is... he not supposed to be walking out in the streets?

He squints his eyes and takes a good hard look into Rhys'. ]

Gonna get a drink. You, uh-- wanna come?

[rhygret]

[ The are definitely contracted way more than they should be as opposed to a more normal dilation. Thanks to the second stage of his infection his newfound sensitivity to light keeps them thinned and thanks to that he's definitely going to have a migraine later. And that's so say nothing of how unfocused they are. ]

Wh...but we.

Didn't we break up...?

[unpromising]

What?

[ He sounds incredulous, and he lets out a snort right after. The hell did he just hear? It's obvious he's trying hard not to guffaw, but he just gives him a sheepish grin as if to say the whole prank's over and done with. ]

That stuff's over, kid. Pretty sure we're not playing a game anymore.

[rhygret]

[ IT'S LIKE BREAKING UP WITH STACEY ALL OVER AGAIN... Except Rhys is delirious as fuck and only sees Dove, or what he imagines her likeness to be. ]

Hey, you were...you were the one who was asking for drinks. I was just...hooogh. Ugh. [ His head feels really, genuinely awful give him a moment here. ]

[unpromising]

[ Any sane and concerned person would probably help him here, but Qrow, completely unaware (for now) that Rhys is even infected does not. He does, at least, wonder if Rhys is okay or not, but he makes no move to keep the other man standing. ]

Doesn't look like you're okay, so why don't you sit down somewhere?

[ Except... he has no idea where somewhere even is. ]

Where are you going, anyway?

[rhygret]

I was just....

[ Where was he going? He was certain he had something he needed to do, but he can't for the life of him recall it. Rhys's brows furrow a bit and he lifts a hand to his head. ]

I think...maybe a drink of water?

[ he's thirsty so that must be it right? ]

[unpromising]

[ ... Well. This wasn't what he was expecting when he wanted to go out for a drink. It's not like he's not used to playing babysitter, but he certainly enjoyed the few weeks of being alone and having no one else but himself to worry about.

His hand moves upwards to grab Rhys' head from the top. With some force, he tries to spin the smaller man to face the other way. ]

Walk.

[rhygret]

[ Rude Rhys is like at least half giraffe?? He's not too much shorter than Qrow.

...he is easy to manipulate though, and Rhys winds up successfully spun even as he tries to swat the other's hand away with a miserable sound, coughing. ]

Okay, okay...ugh.

half giraffe, i laughed

[unpromising]

[ He only moves his hand away once Rhys is facing the other way. Qrow begins to walk, leading the way. Usually, he walks pretty fast. He's all leg, which means his strides are long when he skulks about. He slows down slightly just so Rhys can actually follow him, though. ]

Don't tell me you're sick, kid. That Violet thing's getting worse.

yw :'D

[rhygret]

[ So kind, so kind. I'M NOT KIDDING WHEN I SAID HE WAS A GIRAFFE THOUGH he's 60% leg in his model rig and like 6'3"ish but...he is super-sick, so the slow pace and person to follow parts are probably good. He's easy to exhausted like this and gets winded within a minute.

It's pretty bad. ]

The... violet thing...?

[unpromising]

[ He stops, folds his arms against his chest, and gives Rhys a judgmental look. ]

The epidemic going on for weeks now? You know the one.

[rhygret]

[ Rhys coughs, sniffles, and shrugs. ]

I don't...I've been battling this rough cold so I don't...know?

[ He's also having black outs, memories issues, and bursts of paranoia. Like ya do when you have the totally common cold. yep. ]

[unpromising]

[ Jeez... Qrow will just assume that Rhys was there when the attack happened. A rough cold does not make someone look like that. ]

Guess all you can do is keep trucking when there's no cure for it yet. [ As he says that, he begins to walk, nodding at the direction of where he's going beforehand. Please follow him, weak giraffe child. ] I'd tell you to drink it away [ because he's such a good role model ] since it's worked for me before, but I doubt it'd work on you.

[ A beat. ]

You don't wanna go home and rest?

your thirst for awkward is too great

[rhygret]

[ Yes sir. Much easier than thinking for himself, and it's really surreal watching what should be a B&B character who's fictional walk around in broad daylight. No one else seems to notice but him and maybe that should set off a ping or two, but nope. Nothing. ]

You wanna...hang out with me?

[ Is that what he's gleaming from this ]

is that a bad thing

[unpromising]

[ God... Rhys. . . Please stop seeing Qrow as a woman... ]

No one should be hanging out with me. [ crawwwwwling iiiiiin my skiiiiiiiin ] But if you pass out right here, I don't want to have to carry your butt back to wherever you're staying. I don't even know where that is.

never

[rhygret]

[ no you're not his real dad ]

That's 'cause you never call.

[ worst fictional ex gf ever ]

[unpromising]

Why... would I call you?

[ QROW IS SO LOST RIGHT NOW!!!!! ]

[rhygret]

Well...you know.

[ NOPE, RHYS. NO ONE KNOWS BUT YOU. ]

We have...history. Had? Yeah had. I think.

<small.[ he's having a hard time remembering to be honest. Like he feels that they've had a ton of drama and history but he can't recall any of it, which is clearly normal. ]

[unpromising]

Nnnnnope.

[ It makes him chuckle, mostly because he thinks Rhys is getting weirder and weirder by the second. ]

Maybe you're thinking of someone else.

[rhygret]

[ NOPE just more delirious. ]

What? Come on, I know you're...mad about the whole robot thing--but there's nothing between me and Loaderbot! He's just a...a bro. Y'know.

i cant believe this

[unpromising]

[ ... As soon as they near the entrance to the bar, Qrow stops again to knock on Rhys' forehead. ]

I know you're sick and all, but that's just a different kind of sick. I got no idea who or what you're talking about.

naruto voice goes here

[rhygret]

[ Oh my god why, Rhys is sick and his head is already sensitive?? One knock and Rhys grunts in pain, hands coming up quickly to hold the area as pain shoots through what feels like his entire skull. He groans in misery following that, wincing. ]

C-can you...not...

[unpromising]

Oh.

[ ... Right. Sick and all. Colds and headaches and whatever else. He was pretty sure he knew that Rhys was sick, but for a second there, it totally slipped his mind. ]

Look, just, [ An exasperated sigh. ] Be cool, alright?

[ Thankfully, the bar is totally quiet at this time of day. People are working, and there aren't many people save for those who have no jobs (Qrow). Rhys won't have to have a bigger headache because of the noise. ]

[rhygret]

[ Rhys is totally cool, he's so chill like all the time what is Qrow even worried about gosh.




Except the fact that when he goes to walk into the bar after Qrow he totally misjudged where the door is and walks into the frame and bounces right off of it, falling ass over backwards. ]