The Best Medicine’s None [Aether]

[Lexos]

The stark blue-ish fluorescent light was dim against Artichoke’s back. For his part, the boy looked far too lively for the hospital atmosphere. At nearly 12:30pm, the hungry, overworked nurses were shuffling around audibly while the loudest patients, groggy and ready for their evening meals, were moaning and coughing and moaning some more. One of the only people not in for recovery from the deadly crow virus that had ravaged the town and disappeared like nothing- just like he knew it would!- he was a ray of sunshine in the eyes of the hospital staff.

The ray of sunshine dangled his legs out the hospital window, trying to work out how far a jump it would be. The sad fact about hospital stays was, no matter how nice the doctors were, or how amazing it was to have food brought to you, three times a day, without having to worry- was that you had to stay in a hospital. Three days of the fake lights and the fake smells and the fake plants, and Artichoke was contracting a form of stir craze that more resembled stir insanity. They didn’t let him keep the windows open, even.

He'd been there a week, or nine days. The hospital had been his first stop, after the announcement of the disease's cure, because walking around with his arm in pain wasn't too bad, but it was starting to get hard to move and he worried, just for a second, that it might just stay that way. Most of it was physical rehabilitation, and making sure he completed the antibiotic's seven day course. Torn rotator cuffs could get nasty infections.

He carefully eyed the big tree they’d let him have a room next to, after he asked nicely, twice, and propped one foot against the nearest branch. It budged. That was a no go. His hospital gown shifted around him as he shuffled back onto the window sill proper. The ground below was no more than an eight foot drop. He could make it, and his back probably wouldn’t even hurt too badly; thank goodness for painkillers. For a second, the teen considered clambering back inside, to the bleach-white room, with its fluorescent lights, and the thin itchy sheets. And he slid forward, right to the very edge of the sill, and looked determinately onto the ground below him.
One, two…

SPOILER: Click to show

Eternal Mage, Aether.

[Eternal Mage, Aether.]

The hospital corridor is stuffy and the air has an undertone of bleach. The wall are magnolia and are scraped in places from the hundreds of trolleys that have bumped into them. The pictures on the walls are cheap benign prints of uplifting scenes and above the double doors are large blue plastic signs with the areas of the hospital that lie ahead. I try to keep out of staff path so I prevent them from their job duties. I walk passed the double doors to the private ward.

In the private ward, the atmosphere was completely different. The air had a perfumed scent and the seats were plush. Every surface was dustless. The nurses were unhurried and they moved with a serene purposefulness from room to room on their rounds. There were vases of flowers and beautiful framed pieces of art on the walls. In the corridor was a water dispenser and in most rooms could be heard the noise of a television power by lacrima.

I visit a few patients who are recovering from the virus and other injuries that I've helped during the outbreak. We only chat just for a bit, mainly just pointless stuff. I help them to do some simple favors and then make my way out of the hospital. As I make my exit, I notice there's a shadow out of place on the ground. “Huh?” I look up and see someone in a hospital gown falling downs on top of me, well then. I am going to assume this is going to hurt as I brace myself.

[Lexos]

Three!

In one small push he was falling from the window. Artichoke braced himself to avoid damaging his legs and back, and everything seemed fine, until- a person popped out, previously unseen from under the tree's lower leaves. Crapcrapcrap! Without being able to do anything to stop it, Artichoke closed his eyes as he collided with the passerby.

It was a flurry of fluttering clothes and grass and mostly pain. An electric shock went up through Artichoke’s arm, and when he opened his eyes he saw it had landed in a weird position, bent starkly upward at the shoulder then back down at the elbow in a possible-but-not-comfortable position, with his elbow jabbing the middle of the black-haired man's face. Untangling himself quickly he flew back, his white clothes stained green and a covered in grass.

“Oh crap! Can you move? Can you walk? I didn’t mean to d- ow ow ow.” Artichoke’s frenzied speech rapidly devolved into pained yelps as he tried to get up. His back was fine, by now, but his arm- well, the painkillers weren’t as magic as he thought. He wasn't too pained to miss the noise from the open window. The creaking of a door, and shadows against the white curtains. It wasn’t a second later when the a throaty, mildly confused voice had called out his name. Well, he couldn't respond now.

His heart pounded loudly. Without thinking, he jumped all the way to his feet and pressed up against the wall, mouth tight as he waited intently for the nurse he was familiar with to poke her head out the window to see what was going on. To Aether, he might have looked highly suspicious. He wasn't thinking much now, though, fueled by adrenaline and, frankly, getting a kick out of the whole deal.  After a few tense seconds, it became clear that she wouldn't be checking out- probably assuming he'd wandered off to another room or for a drink. He let out a sigh, nearly forgetting the presence of the other person who'd seen the entire display.

SPOILER: Click to show

Eternal Mage, Aether.

[Eternal Mage, Aether.]

I brace for impact as the boy crashes on top of me. I let out a loud oof noise as the pain shoots all over my body. The boy elbow jabbed right into my face and almost knocking me out if I didn't brace myself. The boy quickly stands up, and for a moment, he sees if I am OK. He quickly presses his back up into the wall; it seems like the boy is hiding from the nurses for some reason. Is he attempting to escape the hospital for some reason?

I sit up and my forehead is slightly bleeding, but it's only a small cut. It's no big deal, but man does it sting. The blood slowly drips down from my face and onto my pure white vest, staining it. I reach up and wipe the blood off. The bottom and back of my clothes is covered in grass and dirt, staining them even further. I have a good look at the boy, and I recognize him. It's been a month, but I think I remember his name. “Anti Choke, what are you doing here,” I asked Artichoke not realizing that I have his name wrong.

The last time that I've seen him was when the raiders were coming right at us. I created an exit for everyone to take and get away. Ever since then, I haven't come across Deon or Anti-choke. If he's here, then, did he get hurt back then or perhaps he at some point caught the virus? Maybe he's recovering from it? I hear that once you catch it and get it cured, you're forever immune to it. “Did you catch the virus or something?”

ooc: sorry for shitty post. DX

[Lexos]

He winced at the sight of blood on the older man’s, suddenly feeling a pang of guilt. When his tone of voice let it be clear that he wasn't affected, Artichoke breathed out, relieved. Anti Choke? "Is that supposed to be me?” He asked, sounding more amused than offended. A laughed leaked out of him despite the situation, and he quickly shut himself up before another of the staff came by, but the smile remained. He looked over this new person. Dark hair, formal clothes, and-


“S-Sorry, I don't think I know you from anywhere.”
He stuttered out. The smile had dropped off his face, eyes going just a bit wider.

Red eyes. It was trivial, but he felt a wave of excitement. Red. Fire. Fire magic. He knew his name- sort of. Artichoke had definitely never met this person; the red eyes and his own knack for faces made sure of it. There was always a chance that he was some family friend, who’d heard his name, briefly, but still, the optimism underlying his entire outlook led him to the question. Was he his dad? Or at least, did he know him by his dad? And this was all some strange, fated meeting? It was probably just a coincidence, but the hope collected in his stomach. Combined with the adrenaline it made a strange, pain-relieving cocktail.


He pushed off the wall, eyes alight. In his starry-eyed stupor, he only just registered the man’s second question. Oh, right, hospital escape. I look like I'm on the run. If this guy did turn out to know him from somewhere important, then this wouldn't be the best introduction. How quickly could Artichoke lie? And how well?


"I was just." Then, all at once, "I was just in for a checkup. But the, ah, doctors- they take forever in there. You know what I mean?” He paused, looked at the ground, then- “I'm afraid of needles. I mean- really afraid of them. I'll come back later, I swear." Apparently, not too well. Maybe he would buy it. The pause could have been hesitance instead of consideration. He continued in a quieter voice, tinged with anticipation. "For now, maybe we could keep our voices down. I'm Artichoke. Do you know my family?"

[Eternal Mage, Aether.]

The boy seems confuse as I refer his name, but maybe I had gotten it wrong. The name that I used for him, he finds it a bit amusing as he chuckles to himself. “I'm sorry, it's been a while since we've last met that I've forgotten,” I said to the boy. I give it some thought to think what his name is until I think I finally remember it. “Hm, if I'm not mistaken it was Artichoke?”

The boy seems confuse and don't recognize me, despite it's only been a month? I ponder this thought and a lightbulb pops in my head. That right, recently my appearance changes so it's not unusual that he doesn't remember me. Well that makes sense I guess as I stand on my feet and dust myself. The boy asks me to keep it down so the nurses don't catch me and ask me if I know his family.

Well, he fallen on me, and he's jumping out of windows while not watching out for people below. Well, I think I can play this off and amuse myself for a while. “I've known you for a while, but it seems you do not remember me. Well, it has been a long time so it's not all that unusual, Artichoke.” I let out a burden sigh towards him. I need to get him back inside and get heal up properly. “If you don't return your room and heal up. You will only hinder your progress and never remove the spell around forest.”

[Lexos]

‘Spell around the forest’.

As he spoke, Artichoke gradually got more invested, it that was even possible; and by the time he had gotten to the spell around the forest the boy’s eyes were lit up as brightly as the will o’ wisps. He was in a state of unrestrained curiosity, fixing an intense gaze at the man- the lack of a name was starting to chafe. He didn’t want to be overly excited, but… well, seventeen years was a long time.

He hadn’t told anyone about the forest, save Aether and Deion, but he’d met them once, a month ago, not a long time in any dictionary. Even was already racing. Who would he tell? Well- it wasn’t like he knew anyone in Fiore. Maybe he would tell a nurse. Either way, someone was going to know about this. The brown-haired boy took another step forward. Then faltered. How to continue the conversation without being… well, weird? He wished, not for the first time, that Suited Man would just out and say it instead of being so cryptic.

Shuffling indecisively, he finally looked back up at this new guy with a look he figured was whimsical; a light smile was playing on his face. “You talk like you’re my dad.” Internal high five. If Suited Man was just some random person he’d met travelling about Fiore, or a friend of a friend, he’d probably play it off or let it pass without mention. But if he was his Dad then he’d say something. He punctuated the statement with one last tacked-on chuckle, then shifted his eyes over to the older man, looking to see his response.

[Eternal Mage, Aether.]

Oh, well I didn't imagine he thinks I talk like his dad. If I'm not mistaken, Artichokes mention something about his dad. I stare at Arichoke eyes with a solemn sober look. “It wouldn't be the first-time someone said that to me.” We're out in the middle of a small garden; there's a small bird bath and a large tree in the center of the garden. There're busy people coming in and out of the hospital. By the door, there's a no-smoking sign.

On the intercom, they're calling out Artichoke name and telling him to return to his room. I hear doors sliding open and shut from behind. I turn around, and I see two security guards with a nurse. The security guards are average size men with badges around their neck. The nurse has this frustrated look upon her face. She's dressed in a blue nurse outfit with a badge around her neck stating nurse. She's glaring at both me and Artichoke.

The nurse surrounds Artichoke and attempting to drag him back to his room. The nurse puts her hands on her hips while glaring. “Arti, you can talk to your dad inside the hospital, IN YOUR ROOM! You're not in any condition yet to be out here.” I look at the nurse profile and blink a couple of times. “I agree; he must stay in bed rest until he's well.”