15 Feb 2020, 05:55
Noxious Exhaustion
@Ruka Tân
___ ___ ___
Selim sat by the Great Lake under some overhanging mossy rocks, mostly hidden from prying eyes. In front of him, the cold, half-frozen water lapped at the shore, which had patches of snow here and there. Around him, one could here the animals of the forest as they scavenged for food, preparing for a night full of nocturnal predators and freezing weather that came with winter.
The sky was slowly darkening, and it was a good few hours before dinner. Selim wasn't intending to go, his apatite gone thanks to the almost-constant nausea rolling in his stomach like an unsettled beast. He shivered, a cold sweat sheening his pale skin, which was whiter then usual, and flushed. His winter cloak was haphazardly draped over his shoulders, and despite the chilly evening air, he still felt like he was close to overheating.
A headache pounded in his skull, causing him to have propped it up in his hands, face cast downwards, with his black hair covering most of his visage. Beside him rested dual knives, which he brought out for protection.
A rough cough tore out of his throat, deep, and wet-sounding, making it flare up in pain. That only caused him to cough more. The action made his whole frame to jerk and shudder, his chest ache as if punched in the ribs, and eyes water. The fit lasted a good minute or two, and left him panting at the end.
Groaning, stomach rolling, he curled into himself, resisting the urge to puke. His whole body felt heavy with exhaustion, the signs of it being visible on his face. He was too sick to put on makeup to cover the deep bags under his eyes... honestly, he looked like a walking corpse riddled with illness.
He was thinner then usual, and not purposefully. For the past two or three days (He couldn't remember how much time had passed since he'd eaten, honestly), he couldn't keep food down. He tried, oh god he did, but it always ended up with him vomiting everything up in the nearest toilet. He stopped bothering after the tenth attempt...
The most he could keep down was some vitamin water he 'summoned' in the magical dinner goblets (Those things were fucking life savers). He had tried a smoothie, but had gotten the same results as he had with the chicken noodle soup and other solid foods.
If he could eat, he would've, he knew not eating when one was sick was the worst thing someone could do, but his body rejected anything he tried to ingest (beyond light beverages).
Another fit of coughing hit him, hard enough to make him struggle to breath. His throat felt raw, his lungs heavy, and he probably had rather low blood sugars at the moment because he felt like his head was floating in the clouds.
A tremor ran through his form yet again, and he slumped further as the fit dispersed.
He had a good idea of what made him feel this sick... not that he'd admit it to anyone. The logical deduction he had made was that his ailments had been born purely of sleep deprivation... he remembered reading somewhere that lack of sleep affects the immune system.
Again, he'd admit such a thing to no one, because they'd try and get him to sleep.
God he didn't want to sleep. The thought almost paralysed him with terror, curl into himself, and almost panic. That thing, the last time he had slept (he didn't remember when), that fucking demon had tormented him, but it had been more cruel then usual... Selim wasn't sure why it had gotten worse, but it had been bad enough to make him veto sleeping completely.
Usually, he slept during the day... he stopped doing that when sleep paralysis hit him while he slept through one of his classes, and he was face to face with that abomination yet again. Upon jerking awake he had a panic attack. Luckily... it was a quiet one, and he had been back in the furthest corner of the room. No one had seemed to notice.
He tried three more times, each time more hesitant to do so, and each time he had been visited by it again, and again.
He had skipped the last class and retreated to the abandoned classroom to try and calm down. Afterwards, he was too petrified to try and nap again.
He stopped sleeping...
It took a week before he began to get sick.
Now, here he was, by the lake, feeling like literal shit.
...He avoided his dormmates, his redheaded dormmate would most definitely try and force him to sleep, and he was too terrified to sleep. He didn't want to, so he made especially sure to keep away from him.
(Besides, he was practically a walking container of viruses, the fox would get infected from just being near him.)
Sniffling, partially from illness, he wiped another obnoxious tear from his cheek. He was sick and tired of crying, but apparently sleep deprivation also made it harder to control emotions. He had cried erratically throughout the day, though it was easy to hide, no one much paid attention to him except the fox, really.
Another thing his lack of sleep affected, his ability to focus. His grades had been slipping.... he hoped the professors hadn't noticed. They did have to keep an eye on hundreds of students' grades anyhow, why would one's slipping grades catch their attention? It's not like they cared much about the health of him and his peers anyways.
(He wasn't particularly bitter about that observation, it was just a fact at this point. As far as he knew, the only one who really cared was the nurse)
He disliked the fact that his marks were dropping, but his fear, as usual, outweighed his urge to fix the problem.
Upon swallowing dryly once more, Selim accidentally triggered another coughing fit. This one was bad enough to force him to kneel instead of sit as his body laboured to simply breathe. Hacking up phlegm, speckled with droplets of red, he pressed a shaking hand against his chest, tears prickling his eyes from pain.
Upon the fit stopping, he stayed in his position, breaths coming out in ragged gasps and wheezes. Slowly, he closed his eyes, keeping himself from inhaling deeply in an attempt to prevent another painful fit.
He wanted to collapse into unconsciousness, but didn't through sheer force of will.
He didn't want to sleep, couldn't.
He was too scared.
___ ___ ___
Selim sat by the Great Lake under some overhanging mossy rocks, mostly hidden from prying eyes. In front of him, the cold, half-frozen water lapped at the shore, which had patches of snow here and there. Around him, one could here the animals of the forest as they scavenged for food, preparing for a night full of nocturnal predators and freezing weather that came with winter.
The sky was slowly darkening, and it was a good few hours before dinner. Selim wasn't intending to go, his apatite gone thanks to the almost-constant nausea rolling in his stomach like an unsettled beast. He shivered, a cold sweat sheening his pale skin, which was whiter then usual, and flushed. His winter cloak was haphazardly draped over his shoulders, and despite the chilly evening air, he still felt like he was close to overheating.
A headache pounded in his skull, causing him to have propped it up in his hands, face cast downwards, with his black hair covering most of his visage. Beside him rested dual knives, which he brought out for protection.
A rough cough tore out of his throat, deep, and wet-sounding, making it flare up in pain. That only caused him to cough more. The action made his whole frame to jerk and shudder, his chest ache as if punched in the ribs, and eyes water. The fit lasted a good minute or two, and left him panting at the end.
Groaning, stomach rolling, he curled into himself, resisting the urge to puke. His whole body felt heavy with exhaustion, the signs of it being visible on his face. He was too sick to put on makeup to cover the deep bags under his eyes... honestly, he looked like a walking corpse riddled with illness.
He was thinner then usual, and not purposefully. For the past two or three days (He couldn't remember how much time had passed since he'd eaten, honestly), he couldn't keep food down. He tried, oh god he did, but it always ended up with him vomiting everything up in the nearest toilet. He stopped bothering after the tenth attempt...
The most he could keep down was some vitamin water he 'summoned' in the magical dinner goblets (Those things were fucking life savers). He had tried a smoothie, but had gotten the same results as he had with the chicken noodle soup and other solid foods.
If he could eat, he would've, he knew not eating when one was sick was the worst thing someone could do, but his body rejected anything he tried to ingest (beyond light beverages).
Another fit of coughing hit him, hard enough to make him struggle to breath. His throat felt raw, his lungs heavy, and he probably had rather low blood sugars at the moment because he felt like his head was floating in the clouds.
A tremor ran through his form yet again, and he slumped further as the fit dispersed.
He had a good idea of what made him feel this sick... not that he'd admit it to anyone. The logical deduction he had made was that his ailments had been born purely of sleep deprivation... he remembered reading somewhere that lack of sleep affects the immune system.
Again, he'd admit such a thing to no one, because they'd try and get him to sleep.
God he didn't want to sleep. The thought almost paralysed him with terror, curl into himself, and almost panic. That thing, the last time he had slept (he didn't remember when), that fucking demon had tormented him, but it had been more cruel then usual... Selim wasn't sure why it had gotten worse, but it had been bad enough to make him veto sleeping completely.
Usually, he slept during the day... he stopped doing that when sleep paralysis hit him while he slept through one of his classes, and he was face to face with that abomination yet again. Upon jerking awake he had a panic attack. Luckily... it was a quiet one, and he had been back in the furthest corner of the room. No one had seemed to notice.
He tried three more times, each time more hesitant to do so, and each time he had been visited by it again, and again.
He had skipped the last class and retreated to the abandoned classroom to try and calm down. Afterwards, he was too petrified to try and nap again.
He stopped sleeping...
It took a week before he began to get sick.
Now, here he was, by the lake, feeling like literal shit.
...He avoided his dormmates, his redheaded dormmate would most definitely try and force him to sleep, and he was too terrified to sleep. He didn't want to, so he made especially sure to keep away from him.
(Besides, he was practically a walking container of viruses, the fox would get infected from just being near him.)
Sniffling, partially from illness, he wiped another obnoxious tear from his cheek. He was sick and tired of crying, but apparently sleep deprivation also made it harder to control emotions. He had cried erratically throughout the day, though it was easy to hide, no one much paid attention to him except the fox, really.
Another thing his lack of sleep affected, his ability to focus. His grades had been slipping.... he hoped the professors hadn't noticed. They did have to keep an eye on hundreds of students' grades anyhow, why would one's slipping grades catch their attention? It's not like they cared much about the health of him and his peers anyways.
(He wasn't particularly bitter about that observation, it was just a fact at this point. As far as he knew, the only one who really cared was the nurse)
He disliked the fact that his marks were dropping, but his fear, as usual, outweighed his urge to fix the problem.
Upon swallowing dryly once more, Selim accidentally triggered another coughing fit. This one was bad enough to force him to kneel instead of sit as his body laboured to simply breathe. Hacking up phlegm, speckled with droplets of red, he pressed a shaking hand against his chest, tears prickling his eyes from pain.
Upon the fit stopping, he stayed in his position, breaths coming out in ragged gasps and wheezes. Slowly, he closed his eyes, keeping himself from inhaling deeply in an attempt to prevent another painful fit.
He wanted to collapse into unconsciousness, but didn't through sheer force of will.
He didn't want to sleep, couldn't.
He was too scared.
Last edited by Selim Faust on 16 Feb 2020, 21:14, edited 1 time in total.
"False Face must Hide what the Heart Doth Know." -Macbeth
S.F
15 Feb 2020, 08:45
Noxious Exhaustion
@Selim Faust
The week had been tough, and there wasn‘t much Ruka was willing to do when things went off the rails, aside from getting some practice time in, hide in a book or take a stroll to the lake with his untouched breakfast food to feed it to the Giant Squid.
Reading required a silent retreat he hadn‘t been able to find, and for the moment Ruka had enough of his unruly flames biting at him like small animals with pointy teeth, so going to the Lake seemed like the only option for the day.
Pockets stuffed with all sorts of bread and pastries, Ruka had made his way out onto the Grounds, feet covered in four pairs of socks as to make sure they wouldn‘t freeze in the cool winter air. The skin of his hands and arms was still blistered and raw from his most recent rehearsals, but the sleeves of his winter coat hid at least most of that, and the cold breeze felt nice against his damaged skin.
He was still hiding the fine straight scar on his forehead under Jack‘s fedora, even a week later, black hat perched atop unkempt copper hair he hadn‘t bothered brushing in a few days.
What was the use anyway?
It wasn‘t like he had really been socialising much with anybody since the Tea Party, and the few people he had met in the past few days hadn‘t seemed to care that much about his state of desperate disarray.
So, as he made his way to the lake that day, he kept his focus mostly on his feet, not really in the mood for conversation and working with the law of ‚if I don‘t see them they don‘t see me‘.
It was working quite well too, up until he actually reached the lake and got torn out of his head by the sound of someone coughing up half a lung.
For a second Ruka wanted to just turn the other way - was it really his business that someone decided to take their disease out here? - but then his eyes fell on a crouched creature not far away, kneeling on the ground and looking like death personified.
Something about that black hair seemed familiar to Ruka and he squinted his eyes a bit as he tried to figure out where he knew that kid from.
Then, taking one step closer, it hit him.
He‘d seen this boy before - albeit in a better condition before - at the Errand for the Chinese Zodiac. It was Jack‘s dorm mate.
Heart skipping a beat, Ruka frantically looked around the Grounds as if expecting Jack to be close by his clearly ill companion, but just as his eyes searched the Grounds behind him he stopped himself from continuing.
This was getting ridiculously out of hand if he was more concerned with possibly encountering Jack than with the fact that there was a kid writhing in pain on the ground before him, and... were those knives next to Selim?
If he was being honest, concern and empathy hadn‘t exactly been very high of his list of common emotions recently, but the fact that this boy had brought weapons with him as he knelt by the lake looking like he was about to die... well, it at least caught Ruka‘s attention.
He slowly got a bit closer, trying to stay at enough distance to avoid Selim reflexively stabbing him should he startle the boy with his presence.
„That doesn‘t sound so good,“ he pointed out, probably with too little worry in his voice, but it wasn‘t like Selim couldn‘t have gone to the nurse instead of sitting out here in the cold. „And you look like death. Why aren‘t you in a bed? Or at least inside?“
He probably wasn‘t one to talk; his own face was riddled with sleep deprivation and his cheeks were sunken from days of practically starving himself, but in a way it felt nice to be able to scold someone else for bad behaviour.
Now all he could hope for was that chastising Selim wasn‘t going to get him killed.
~Hell is other people~ - Jean Paul Sartre
Stamina: 7 ~ Evasion: 10 ~ Strength: 4 ~ Wisdom: 14 ~ Arcane Power: 6 ~ Accuracy: 9
15 Feb 2020, 19:43
Noxious Exhaustion
@Ruka Tân
___ ___ ___
Selim flinched upon hearing a voice make a very obvious observation. Instead of reacting to a possible threat as he usually did (Getting into a fighting position with daggers bared), he lifted his head slightly, glaring at the person from the corner of his eyes.
He scanned the boy... he seemed familiar.
He raked his foggy memory, before coming up with the info needed. It was the Gryffindor boy from the Lunar event, the one his dormmates seemed to have declared as his own.
Upon coming to this realization, he eased. Gingerly, he slid back into a sitting position, leaning his back heavily against the rock behind him. His headache spiked, and he slid his eyes closed wearily.
"Ruka Tân, right?" If he got confirmation, he'd continue, "I'm not inside or in bed because I'm keeping away from a certain nagging dormmate." He let out a breath, which quickly turned into a short cough fit. He covered his mouth with his elbow, now that someone else was here.
Dropping his arm once the fit ended, he took a few shallow breaths to recover. Then he cracked open one eye to look at the other boy. "You don't look too healthy either." It was a statement, one said without any concern or care in his voice, but he did decide to point out a fact, upon seeing signs of possible self-starvation. Might as well make sure the Gryffindor knew the facts behind starving one's self.
Besides, it may shift the topic away from himself.
"The human body can last three weeks without food... during that time the body takes its nutrients from muscles, bones, and eventually organs," he slid his eye closed once more for a moment as he listed out facts tonelessly, "This then begins organ failure, and eventually death."
Both his eyes opened once again to see what reaction this would garner from the Gryffindor. They glinted with cold curiosity, echoed by exhaustion. His eyes shot to the forest though, once he swore he saw something humanoid moving between the trees. His heartbeat picked up, but he forced it to calm... it was simply another hallucination.
He focused on the boy who seemed to have signs of anorexia. "You can't really belittle me when you seem to show signs of starvation." His voice was still dull with apathy, though his tone held a hint of wry humor.
Another fit hit him, this one causing him to curl into himself. The coughs sounded harsh and ragged, and once it stopped, and he recovered with gasping breaths. Selim eased back into his previous position, a small frown pulling at his lips. 'bloody hell, what did I catch? Fucking pneumonia?' he thought scathignly.
Softly, his frown eased, and he let out a steady sigh. His stomach continued to roll, but now he felt a hint of bile crawling up his throat. Preventing himself from gagging, he swallowed, grimacing. For a moment, he forgot the boy was there, his mind was clouded with pain and grogginess, and he was largely trying to focus on not vomiting up the liquids he had drank to prevent vitamin deficiency and dehydration. If his body started refusing to accept liquids, he was essentially screwed, and would probably end up possibly dying from dehydration in three days unless he didn't get help.
Another tremor of exhaustion wracked his form, and he was once more made aware of how stiflingly warm he felt, despite how he as beginning to shiver in the cold of winter.
"Kuso" he swore slightly in Japanese under his breath, before pulling his cloak further around his form.
His stomach seemed to decided to do a flip, and he let out a hiss of pain, curling into himself and resting his head on his knees. He wrapped his arms around his nauseated stomach, letting out another string of Japanese profanities.
He remembered, after a moment of being prone with pain, that someone else was there. Scowling, though it would be unseen by the Gryffindor boy, he looked back at the boy from the corner of his eye, hair covering his visage once more.
At least it wasn't Jack who found him...
___ ___ ___
Selim flinched upon hearing a voice make a very obvious observation. Instead of reacting to a possible threat as he usually did (Getting into a fighting position with daggers bared), he lifted his head slightly, glaring at the person from the corner of his eyes.
He scanned the boy... he seemed familiar.
He raked his foggy memory, before coming up with the info needed. It was the Gryffindor boy from the Lunar event, the one his dormmates seemed to have declared as his own.
Upon coming to this realization, he eased. Gingerly, he slid back into a sitting position, leaning his back heavily against the rock behind him. His headache spiked, and he slid his eyes closed wearily.
"Ruka Tân, right?" If he got confirmation, he'd continue, "I'm not inside or in bed because I'm keeping away from a certain nagging dormmate." He let out a breath, which quickly turned into a short cough fit. He covered his mouth with his elbow, now that someone else was here.
Dropping his arm once the fit ended, he took a few shallow breaths to recover. Then he cracked open one eye to look at the other boy. "You don't look too healthy either." It was a statement, one said without any concern or care in his voice, but he did decide to point out a fact, upon seeing signs of possible self-starvation. Might as well make sure the Gryffindor knew the facts behind starving one's self.
Besides, it may shift the topic away from himself.
"The human body can last three weeks without food... during that time the body takes its nutrients from muscles, bones, and eventually organs," he slid his eye closed once more for a moment as he listed out facts tonelessly, "This then begins organ failure, and eventually death."
Both his eyes opened once again to see what reaction this would garner from the Gryffindor. They glinted with cold curiosity, echoed by exhaustion. His eyes shot to the forest though, once he swore he saw something humanoid moving between the trees. His heartbeat picked up, but he forced it to calm... it was simply another hallucination.
He focused on the boy who seemed to have signs of anorexia. "You can't really belittle me when you seem to show signs of starvation." His voice was still dull with apathy, though his tone held a hint of wry humor.
Another fit hit him, this one causing him to curl into himself. The coughs sounded harsh and ragged, and once it stopped, and he recovered with gasping breaths. Selim eased back into his previous position, a small frown pulling at his lips. 'bloody hell, what did I catch? Fucking pneumonia?' he thought scathignly.
Softly, his frown eased, and he let out a steady sigh. His stomach continued to roll, but now he felt a hint of bile crawling up his throat. Preventing himself from gagging, he swallowed, grimacing. For a moment, he forgot the boy was there, his mind was clouded with pain and grogginess, and he was largely trying to focus on not vomiting up the liquids he had drank to prevent vitamin deficiency and dehydration. If his body started refusing to accept liquids, he was essentially screwed, and would probably end up possibly dying from dehydration in three days unless he didn't get help.
Another tremor of exhaustion wracked his form, and he was once more made aware of how stiflingly warm he felt, despite how he as beginning to shiver in the cold of winter.
"Kuso" he swore slightly in Japanese under his breath, before pulling his cloak further around his form.
His stomach seemed to decided to do a flip, and he let out a hiss of pain, curling into himself and resting his head on his knees. He wrapped his arms around his nauseated stomach, letting out another string of Japanese profanities.
He remembered, after a moment of being prone with pain, that someone else was there. Scowling, though it would be unseen by the Gryffindor boy, he looked back at the boy from the corner of his eye, hair covering his visage once more.
At least it wasn't Jack who found him...
"False Face must Hide what the Heart Doth Know." -Macbeth
S.F
15 Feb 2020, 22:09
Noxious Exhaustion
Ruka was pretty sure he could see Selim searching his memory for where he had seen him before; It wasn‘t like they had really interacted that much, and the Slytherin was clearly in a very unstable condition, so Ruka could hardly blame him for taking a moment to recognise him.@Selim Faust
Slowly, Ruka sat down in the grass, a safety distance between him and Selim as he watched the other boy carefully; He looked dreadful, even worse now that he had sat back again, revealing just how pale he was, just how dark the circles under his eyes were.
Ruka decided not to comment on that, instead opting to just nod his head shortly in confirmation when Selim said his name. He was slightly surprised that the boy actually remembered it considering they hadn‘t talked to or even seen each other since the Lunar Event.
Upon getting confirmation, Selim decided to answer his questions on why he wasn‘t inside somewhere, and his words stung Ruka‘s chest like an arrow.
How ironic that Selim was out here avoiding Jack, while Ruka was out here being avoided by Jack.
What a messed up situation.
He only hummed his understanding, deciding not to say anything about that, resisting the urge to ask any kinds of questions about Jack or his picture or about why the Slytherin had just randomly decided to go out of Ruka‘s way all of a sudden.
No, this wasn‘t about his personal issues, it was about how Selim seemed to be coughing up all the last fluids in his body.
However, before Ruka could do anything about it, Selim had already pointed out the fact that the Gryffindor didn‘t exactly look very healthy either. The words were more of a surprise than they should have been; anybody with eyes should have been able to see that Ruka was even skinnier than usual, that his skin was pale and the circles under his eyes were just ever growing shadows.
However, so far nobody had really pointed it out much, and it took Ruka by surprise for a moment.
As Selim decided to list off all the effects of self-starvation, Ruka pulled his knees up to his chest and reached into the pocket of his winter cloak, taking out a piece of bread and throwing it into the lake where he had seen a tentacle poking from the surface just a minute ago, almost as if to show how little he really cared about the possible results of his actions.
„How dreadful,“ he said, voice hallow and with far too little concern for this little glimpse into his future. What could he do when he just didn‘t feel like eating? No matter how much his stomach growled in protest, the thought of eating anything at all made him want to throw up on the spot, and he could happily live without that.
For a second, Ruka thought he saw Selim‘s attention waver, eyes darting to the edge of the Forest, but the Slytherin‘s focus was back on Ruka quickly enough to make him forget about that.
„Don‘t get me wrong,“ he said with a little shrug, looking over at Selim from underneath the fedora‘s rim curiously. „I don‘t want to tell you what to do, I was just curious why you were out in the cold instead of inside with some tea. As bad as not eating is, whatever you‘re having seems to be a bit more of a pressing issue.“
He had decided not to even try to deny the fact that he was skipping meals more and more again - It was obvious and Selim was clearly not stupid.
Instead, he was trying to get the boy to see how coughing up ones organs really wasn‘t the healthiest condition to be in either.
Before Ruka could say anything else about that, however, Selim started hacking up more phlegm, a coughing fit cruelly wrecking his body.
Ruka didn‘t know what to do, wasn‘t sure what to do, didn‘t know if he was supposed to pat Selim‘s back reassuringly or just sit there and let it pass, but he decided on the second option because there were still knives next to Selim‘s exhausted form, and Ruka was slightly worried about getting stabbed.
Once Selim‘s coughing fit finally seemed to old off, Ruka could hear the Slytherin boy talking in a different language, maybe swearing about this horrendous disease he seemed to have picked up.
„Jesus, here,“ Ruka said as he got up for a moment just to return with a pile of flammable sticks, setting it down at a safe distance from the other boy, pointing his wand at it and muttering „Incendio“ under his breath.
The little pile of nature shrivelled under the flames coming from Ruka‘s wand, and the Gryffindor sat down again, a small flicker of concern in his eyes as he hoped the small source of warmth was in any way comforting to Selim.
“Listen, let me at least bring you something from the Hospital Wing,“ he asked of the Slytherin, gnawing lightly on his bottom lip. „I get if you don‘t want to go back inside the castle, but you need some actual medicine.“
~Hell is other people~ - Jean Paul Sartre
Stamina: 7 ~ Evasion: 10 ~ Strength: 4 ~ Wisdom: 14 ~ Arcane Power: 6 ~ Accuracy: 9
16 Feb 2020, 00:18
Noxious Exhaustion
@Ruka Tân
___ ___ ___
The boy's response to his veiled warning was rather unenthusiastic, going as far as to throw a piece of bread to the giant squid. Selim watched as the tentacle grab it apathetically, it wasn't like he was going to push the matter. Truely, he didn't care if the boy died from starvation at his own violation, Jack probably would, but Selim had no such connection the the Gryffindor.
He watched carefully as the boy sat in the grass a good distance away, and rose a brow, "You realise I have no intention of attacking you, right?" He let out a huff of air in amusement, "It's not like I could if I wanted to either. I don't have enough energy to really fight."
His vision strayed again as he saw another humanoid figure standing int he shadows of the trees. He recognized it, and tensed up, fear spiking. His breathing halted for a moment as he stared hard at the figure of the being haunting his sleep.
He snapped himself out of it though, at the sound of the Gryffindor's voice. Inwardly, he frowned at his actions, smothering down the adrenaline that had begun to rise. It was another hallucination, it would do no good to work himself up over it, honestly, he body probably couldn't even handle it.
Despite this, a creeping sense of paranoia filled him.
He focused back on his visitor.
"Don‘t get me wrong," the other boy said with a little shrug, looking over, "I don't want to tell you what to do, I was just curious why you were out in the cold instead of inside with some tea. As bad as not eating is, whatever you‘re having seems to be a bit more of a pressing issue."
At that, Selim chuckled humorlessly, coughing slightly afterwards, "Perhaps." His eyes slid closed again as he relished in the feeling of the cold stone against his overheating form.
He said nothing more after that, taking in shallow breaths to try and prevent any more fits.
Then the boy spoke up again in response to another chain of coughing.
"Jesus, here," he cracked open one eye as the boy grabbed some dry sticks, setting them down a distance away, and muttering what he assumed was a spell with his wand pointed at the pile. Fire leapt up from it, and Selim opened both eyes once more, no trace of surprise or awe on his face. He watched the dancing flames with a half-lidded gaze, largely zoning out.
He snapped out of it when the Gryffindor spoke.
“Listen, let me at least bring you something from the Hospital Wing," his upperclassmen asked, gnawing lightly on the bottom of his lip. "I get if you don‘t want to go back inside the castle, but you need some actual medicine."
A smirk tilted at his lips, amused at the request and the slight hint of what was possibility concern he heard in the Gryffindor's tone. "You're right, I don't want to go back in the castle." he impulsively closed his eyes, body trying to shut down and sleep, most likely. Of course, he wouldn't allow that, so he forced them to open again, sliding he gaze back to his unexpected visitor. "But there's no use in getting medicine for an undiagnosed sickness."
He didn't really know what number of bugs he had caught, his immune system was basically ravaged, so for all he knew he could've caught something ranging from tuberculosis to the common cold.
"I don't know if the nurse would take kindly to you taking medicine from the sick bay anyways. Though I guess I don't really know if there are rules against it." He shrugged. "Besides, why go through all that trouble? You barely know me, so why care?"
He honestly didn't know why the second year would bother doing that for him, really, it's not like he'd benefit from it.
He felt another coughing fit creep up on him, and raised his elbow to his mouth when it struck. He had to lift his torso away from the rock to prevent himself from slamming into it under the force of the attack.
The aching in his ribs began anew, and the memory of reading somewhere that people could crack and break ribs if they coughed hard enough rose to the forefront of his mind.
Honestly, he wouldn't be surprised if that happened.
After the fit ended, which took another good two or three minutes, he leaned back against the rock once more. His face had twisted slightly in pain, eyes shut as his headache pounded away in his skull like a jackhammer. He held his arms against his aching sides... honestly he didn't really have enough energy to deal with this shit right now.
___ ___ ___
The boy's response to his veiled warning was rather unenthusiastic, going as far as to throw a piece of bread to the giant squid. Selim watched as the tentacle grab it apathetically, it wasn't like he was going to push the matter. Truely, he didn't care if the boy died from starvation at his own violation, Jack probably would, but Selim had no such connection the the Gryffindor.
He watched carefully as the boy sat in the grass a good distance away, and rose a brow, "You realise I have no intention of attacking you, right?" He let out a huff of air in amusement, "It's not like I could if I wanted to either. I don't have enough energy to really fight."
His vision strayed again as he saw another humanoid figure standing int he shadows of the trees. He recognized it, and tensed up, fear spiking. His breathing halted for a moment as he stared hard at the figure of the being haunting his sleep.
He snapped himself out of it though, at the sound of the Gryffindor's voice. Inwardly, he frowned at his actions, smothering down the adrenaline that had begun to rise. It was another hallucination, it would do no good to work himself up over it, honestly, he body probably couldn't even handle it.
Despite this, a creeping sense of paranoia filled him.
He focused back on his visitor.
"Don‘t get me wrong," the other boy said with a little shrug, looking over, "I don't want to tell you what to do, I was just curious why you were out in the cold instead of inside with some tea. As bad as not eating is, whatever you‘re having seems to be a bit more of a pressing issue."
At that, Selim chuckled humorlessly, coughing slightly afterwards, "Perhaps." His eyes slid closed again as he relished in the feeling of the cold stone against his overheating form.
He said nothing more after that, taking in shallow breaths to try and prevent any more fits.
Then the boy spoke up again in response to another chain of coughing.
"Jesus, here," he cracked open one eye as the boy grabbed some dry sticks, setting them down a distance away, and muttering what he assumed was a spell with his wand pointed at the pile. Fire leapt up from it, and Selim opened both eyes once more, no trace of surprise or awe on his face. He watched the dancing flames with a half-lidded gaze, largely zoning out.
He snapped out of it when the Gryffindor spoke.
“Listen, let me at least bring you something from the Hospital Wing," his upperclassmen asked, gnawing lightly on the bottom of his lip. "I get if you don‘t want to go back inside the castle, but you need some actual medicine."
A smirk tilted at his lips, amused at the request and the slight hint of what was possibility concern he heard in the Gryffindor's tone. "You're right, I don't want to go back in the castle." he impulsively closed his eyes, body trying to shut down and sleep, most likely. Of course, he wouldn't allow that, so he forced them to open again, sliding he gaze back to his unexpected visitor. "But there's no use in getting medicine for an undiagnosed sickness."
He didn't really know what number of bugs he had caught, his immune system was basically ravaged, so for all he knew he could've caught something ranging from tuberculosis to the common cold.
"I don't know if the nurse would take kindly to you taking medicine from the sick bay anyways. Though I guess I don't really know if there are rules against it." He shrugged. "Besides, why go through all that trouble? You barely know me, so why care?"
He honestly didn't know why the second year would bother doing that for him, really, it's not like he'd benefit from it.
He felt another coughing fit creep up on him, and raised his elbow to his mouth when it struck. He had to lift his torso away from the rock to prevent himself from slamming into it under the force of the attack.
The aching in his ribs began anew, and the memory of reading somewhere that people could crack and break ribs if they coughed hard enough rose to the forefront of his mind.
Honestly, he wouldn't be surprised if that happened.
After the fit ended, which took another good two or three minutes, he leaned back against the rock once more. His face had twisted slightly in pain, eyes shut as his headache pounded away in his skull like a jackhammer. He held his arms against his aching sides... honestly he didn't really have enough energy to deal with this shit right now.
Last edited by Selim Faust on 16 Feb 2020, 17:59, edited 1 time in total.
"False Face must Hide what the Heart Doth Know." -Macbeth
S.F
16 Feb 2020, 09:15
Noxious Exhaustion
@Selim Faust
Ruka hadn‘t expected Selim to care at all about whether he died of starvation or not, so it really came as no surprise to him that the Slytherin decided to just drop the topic after watching the Squid grab for Ruka‘s leftover breakfast.
What did slightly surprise him, was the fact that Selim seemed to have noticed the carefully calculated distance Ruka had put between them, and actually spoke up about it too. „Well, you did bring knives with you,“ he pointed out, nodding in the direction of the weapons next to the boy. „I just didn‘t want to be close enough for you to stab me once I inevitably start to annoy you.“ He shrugged his shoulders lightly but moved a little closer to the Slytherin boy anyway, showing a bit of trust in his words.
For a second, Ruka busied himself with letting his fingers play with the blades of grass to his sides, eyes following a small insect as it tried to climb a decayed flower. Then his attention got drawn back to the Slytherin and his almost frightening cough.
Ruka could recognise some of Selim‘s behaviour and expressions, though he couldn‘t tell exactly what their source was - The constant flicker of his eyes as if he thought he saw something nobody else could see, probably feeling like someone was watching him, the way he seemed to barely be able to keep his eyes open, a direct result of sleep deprivation.
He saw those things when he looked into the mirror, but he assumed for Selim they came from somewhere completely different.
For a long moment, Ruka decided to just let the Slytherin close his eyes and try to regain control of his breathing - maybe was going to be able to fall asleep?
However, sleep didn‘t seem to be an option for Selim as the insistent cough wrecked his body in horrifying tremors. Yes, maybe Ruka knew nothing about Selim aside from the fact that he and Jack had a contractual bond and shared a dorm, but how was he supposed to let anybody suffer through what just had to be painful fits?
„I don‘t care,“ he told the Slytherin, voice emotionless. He doubted Selim would mind hearing that Ruka didn‘t actually care for him, doubted that he expected to be cared for by a practical stranger in the first place, so there was no need to sugar coat anything. „I just have some decency. I wouldn‘t want anybody to die in my presence. Imagine all the questions I‘d have to answer to.“ He rolled his eyes a little bit at the thought, then reached into his pocket to throw some more food for the Squid into the lake.
The fire he had conjured crackled comfortingly as Ruka stared into the flames for a moment, humming thoughtfully as he considered what Selim had said about him not knowing exactly which disease he needed a cure for.
„I mean, it‘s a magical infirmary for Heaven‘s sake, one of those potions is bound to at least stop that cough, no?“ he pointed out, turning his head to look back at Selim who was caught in another fit so strong he actually moved his torso away from the rock behind him, assumably to avoid accidentally cracking his head open on it.
For a second, Ruka worried it wasn‘t going to stop, that Selim was just going to vomit up everything inside of him, crack a few ribs in the process, slam his head against the rock and die right there in front of him.
And for a horrifyingly emotionless moment, Ruka just found himself thinking that it wouldn’t be the first dead body he‘d have to move elsewhere.
A shiver ran down his spine as he snapped himself out of that thought. Trying to make up for his mind, Ruka slid even closer, carefully reaching out a hand to hover over Selim‘s shoulder, afraid to touch him and possibly trigger another coughing fit.
„Let me take you to the hospital wing then?“ he asked quietly, not wanting to startle the other boy. „Just long enough for the nurse to give you something that can help? After that you can come back out here and avoid people for as long as you want, I don‘t care.“ He bit his lip again as he tried to think of arguments that would make Selim agree to go to the Hospital Wing, but it was just like he had said to Opeila the first time they‘d met: You can‘t force help on someone who doesn‘t want it.
Looking at Selim, Ruka recognised the same stubbornness in letting himself suffer that he possessed too, so what good were words from someone the Slytherin had absolutely no connection to, right?
~Hell is other people~ - Jean Paul Sartre
Stamina: 7 ~ Evasion: 10 ~ Strength: 4 ~ Wisdom: 14 ~ Arcane Power: 6 ~ Accuracy: 9
16 Feb 2020, 19:01
Noxious Exhaustion
@Ruka Tân
___ ___ ___
When Selim heard the boy's reason for sitting further away from him, he smirked, "I don't get annoyed easily. So far, the only one who's accomplished such a thing is Burnett, I still haven't stabbed him." His smirk faded to a slight smile, "I only really brought my knives with me because of the animals out here."
After his spiel about the pointlessness of getting medicine for him, the Gryffindor reaffirmed his stance that he didn't care.
"I don't care I just have some decency. I wouldn't want anybody to die in my presence. Imagine all the questions I‘d have to answer to." The second-year rolled his eyes as he spoke.
Another smirk curled up his mouth, eyes narrowing teasingly, "My, my, aren't you a cold-hearted little lion?" He chuckled softly. Honestly, he didn't expect such a sentence from a Gryffindor, but he supposed not all of them would fit the description the hat gave for them perfectly. He has seen some rather un-Slytherin Slytherins often enough.
The other boy seemed to gaze into the fire in thought for a moment, before speaking up once more, just when Selim got caught in another fit of coughing. He hadn't heard much of his sentence, too busy trying to get the fit under control. So he didn't really answer.
When the fit ended, he just caught sight of the second-year moving closer, his hand hovering over his shoulder. He flinched slightly at the suddenness of it, but the surprise passed quickly enough, and he eased.
The Gryffindor spoke again, voice quiet, "Let me take you to the hospital wing then? Just long enough for the nurse to give you something that can help? After that you can come back out here and avoid people for as long as you want, I don‘t care."
Eying him warily, Selim thought over the offer.
He was sick, he couldn't do much to help himself beyond sleeping, which he refused to do. He couldn't stomach food, which would've also helped him fight against the unknown ailments afflicting him. He doesn't know if he could get medicine himself, as he didn't know what would actually help him or not...
The nurse would know, could treat him, but they also might try and make him sleep, and might make him stay bedridden in the sick bay... the Fox could spot them while they're traveling to the nurse's office...
Despite the cons, Selim knew it would just get worse if he neglected his illness. He was a pragmatic person, he tried to make purely logical decisions. Currently, what he was doing was illogical, he doubted his immune system could fight against his sicknesses, and he probably couldn't heal up on his own.
If the Fox found him... his reaction would probably be strong. Despite this, Selim knew he'd have to just deal with it.
As he realised this things, he inwardly grimaced. It seemed fear truly did make one illogical.
Finally, he let out a long sigh. He just needed to get this over with. Looking back up at his upperclassmen, he finally answered, "Fine, little lion, you've convinced me." He frowned slightly in displeasure, "My ailments won't just disappear on their own. I suppose it would be best to just get it over with."
With that, he pulled his legs under himself, pushing himself up, taking his knives with him, and leaning heavily against the mossy stones beside him. His nausea grew with the movement, and his headache spiked against his skull. Grimacing, he crossed an arm over his stomach, head cast down as he closed his eyes, waiting for the discomforts to abate enough to walk.
His form trembled as his exhausted body tried to keep up with him. He felt disgustingly weak. The thought made a scowl twist his face, soon disappearing into to a weary frown. He felt worse then he had when he came down here a good few hours ago... he was't sure if he could climb his way back up to the castle.
Glancing up he saw the sky steadily getting darker. Dinner was most likely happening at that moment... perhaps his dormmate would be too busy with that to catch them heading to the nurse.
...Honestly, he doubted it. He had been avoiding that redhead for days now, and he wasn't dumb enough to think the fox didn't notice. Sometimes that boy was annoyingly sharp.
He looked back at the lion, "I may need some help walking...". His face stayed carefully apathetic as he said this, despite his internal cringing at the request. He didn't like asking for help from people he barely knew. "Hopefully dinner with distract the Fox enough for us to pass by without issue."
Doubtful.
He mentally prepared for the inevitable clash that was coming once they entered that damned castle.
___ ___ ___
When Selim heard the boy's reason for sitting further away from him, he smirked, "I don't get annoyed easily. So far, the only one who's accomplished such a thing is Burnett, I still haven't stabbed him." His smirk faded to a slight smile, "I only really brought my knives with me because of the animals out here."
After his spiel about the pointlessness of getting medicine for him, the Gryffindor reaffirmed his stance that he didn't care.
"I don't care I just have some decency. I wouldn't want anybody to die in my presence. Imagine all the questions I‘d have to answer to." The second-year rolled his eyes as he spoke.
Another smirk curled up his mouth, eyes narrowing teasingly, "My, my, aren't you a cold-hearted little lion?" He chuckled softly. Honestly, he didn't expect such a sentence from a Gryffindor, but he supposed not all of them would fit the description the hat gave for them perfectly. He has seen some rather un-Slytherin Slytherins often enough.
The other boy seemed to gaze into the fire in thought for a moment, before speaking up once more, just when Selim got caught in another fit of coughing. He hadn't heard much of his sentence, too busy trying to get the fit under control. So he didn't really answer.
When the fit ended, he just caught sight of the second-year moving closer, his hand hovering over his shoulder. He flinched slightly at the suddenness of it, but the surprise passed quickly enough, and he eased.
The Gryffindor spoke again, voice quiet, "Let me take you to the hospital wing then? Just long enough for the nurse to give you something that can help? After that you can come back out here and avoid people for as long as you want, I don‘t care."
Eying him warily, Selim thought over the offer.
He was sick, he couldn't do much to help himself beyond sleeping, which he refused to do. He couldn't stomach food, which would've also helped him fight against the unknown ailments afflicting him. He doesn't know if he could get medicine himself, as he didn't know what would actually help him or not...
The nurse would know, could treat him, but they also might try and make him sleep, and might make him stay bedridden in the sick bay... the Fox could spot them while they're traveling to the nurse's office...
Despite the cons, Selim knew it would just get worse if he neglected his illness. He was a pragmatic person, he tried to make purely logical decisions. Currently, what he was doing was illogical, he doubted his immune system could fight against his sicknesses, and he probably couldn't heal up on his own.
If the Fox found him... his reaction would probably be strong. Despite this, Selim knew he'd have to just deal with it.
As he realised this things, he inwardly grimaced. It seemed fear truly did make one illogical.
Finally, he let out a long sigh. He just needed to get this over with. Looking back up at his upperclassmen, he finally answered, "Fine, little lion, you've convinced me." He frowned slightly in displeasure, "My ailments won't just disappear on their own. I suppose it would be best to just get it over with."
With that, he pulled his legs under himself, pushing himself up, taking his knives with him, and leaning heavily against the mossy stones beside him. His nausea grew with the movement, and his headache spiked against his skull. Grimacing, he crossed an arm over his stomach, head cast down as he closed his eyes, waiting for the discomforts to abate enough to walk.
His form trembled as his exhausted body tried to keep up with him. He felt disgustingly weak. The thought made a scowl twist his face, soon disappearing into to a weary frown. He felt worse then he had when he came down here a good few hours ago... he was't sure if he could climb his way back up to the castle.
Glancing up he saw the sky steadily getting darker. Dinner was most likely happening at that moment... perhaps his dormmate would be too busy with that to catch them heading to the nurse.
...Honestly, he doubted it. He had been avoiding that redhead for days now, and he wasn't dumb enough to think the fox didn't notice. Sometimes that boy was annoyingly sharp.
He looked back at the lion, "I may need some help walking...". His face stayed carefully apathetic as he said this, despite his internal cringing at the request. He didn't like asking for help from people he barely knew. "Hopefully dinner with distract the Fox enough for us to pass by without issue."
Doubtful.
He mentally prepared for the inevitable clash that was coming once they entered that damned castle.
"False Face must Hide what the Heart Doth Know." -Macbeth
S.F
16 Feb 2020, 19:51
Noxious Exhaustion
@Selim Faust
Ruka found himself flinching lightly at the sound of Jack’s last name, had been able to forget, for just a minute, that they both shared a common acquaintance. Trying not to think about that, he decided not to give an answer to Selim’s words, merely nodding his understanding.
He wasn’t exactly sure why the Slytherin would need to use knives against any animals, but it was probably a good idea not to question it; maybe Selim had had bad experiences with wild animals and just wanted some protection.
He chuckled lightly when the other boy called him a cold-hearted lion, shaking his head lightly. He’d never really thought of himself as cold hearted before, but lately he had realised more and more that his empathy levels were steadily decreasing and he was having a harder time connecting to people with every passing day. It certainly wasn’t a very Gryffindor attribute, but he figured he was just reckless and daring enough to make up for everything else.
Still, he didn’t have much to add to those words, simply shrugging his shoulders and turning his gaze back to the flames. He didn’t feel like Selim was judging him for being cold-hearted so there didn’t seem to be any need to explain himself either.
With a little sigh Ruka threw the last piece of bread in his pocket at the Squid’s tentacle, watching as it grabbed the food and dragged it under water with the same ease it had dragged Ruka under last year as well. The thought sent a shiver up his spine, so he turned back to Selim again after all.
The Slytherin seemed to grow weaker and sicker with every passing second, and Ruka had half a mind to just drag him to the Hospital Wing no matter what he had to say about it - he had learned enough spells to find one that would aid him in moving this boy from A to B - but to his surprise, Selim really didn’t put up much of a fight.
Ruka nodded along with his words, watching as the other boy slowly stood up, trembling as if his legs were going to give out under him within the next couple of seconds if he didn’t get any help.
“Right,” he said, flicking his wand at the fire he had made with a muttered Extinguo, putting the flames out before they could spread and cause damage while they were away. “Here.”
Carefully he got up and positioned himself next to Selim. He had seen the way the other boy had flinched just from Ruka positioning his hand near his shoulder and he really didn’t want to startle him any further, but Selim was clearly unstable on his feet and had actually stated that he would need help, so Ruka figured it was fine for him to take the Slytherin’s arm and drape it across his own shoulders.
Slowly he took a step forwards, one arm wrapped around Selim’s waist to steady him as they walked, the other hand holding onto the arm the Slytherin had around his shoulders. “This work for you?” he asked, trying to set up a walking rhythm that was slow enough to accommodate the sick boy.
With a slight snort, Ruka led them both towards the castle. “I don’t think you need to worry about that,” he pointed out a little bitterly. “He’s been avoiding me maybe even more than you’ve been avoiding him and I doubt he’ll stop now.”
Exits to Unwelcome Meetings
Last edited by Ruka Burnett-Tân on 18 Feb 2020, 08:34, edited 1 time in total.
~Hell is other people~ - Jean Paul Sartre
Stamina: 7 ~ Evasion: 10 ~ Strength: 4 ~ Wisdom: 14 ~ Arcane Power: 6 ~ Accuracy: 9
16 Feb 2020, 20:49
Noxious Exhaustion
@Ruka Tân
___ ___ ___
Selim watched as the second-year put out the fire, before carefully maneuvering close to him and taking his arm. He let him do so, though inwardly cringed at the touch. Not because of the boy, but because of the few unsavory memories that rose up at the physical contact. “This work for you?”
"Yes, this is fine." Selim spoke, before leaning more of his weight on the slightly shorter boy.
As they began to walk towards the castle, Selim quickly got exhausted, head drooping. Still, he kept up with the steady pace, coughing into his elbow harshly every once in a while.
The Gryffindor then spoke up. “I don’t think you need to worry about that.He’s been avoiding me maybe even more than you’ve been avoiding him and I doubt he’ll stop now.”
Selim rose a skeptical brow, but said nothing, mostly focusing on putting one foot in front of another. His knives hung limply in one hand. He doubted Ruka's presence would dissuade his dormmate if he found them. Honestly, he was mildly apprehensive, not that he'd show it. Going from the... special, event that happened before when Selim tried to avoid everyone, he wouldn't be surprised if the redhead retaliated against his current avoidance of him.
Honestly, he didn't know why the fox even cared, sure, the situation in the showers may have brought it on... but Selim was still doubtful.
Why would he care? His parents didn't, nor did the elders. The professors don't care, the only one that does, as far as he knows, is his nii-san, who's almost never around because the council keeps sending him on missions.
So why?
He sighed, internally shaking the thought away, o use puzzling over it.
Silently, he continued on breathing steadily, on trying to put one foot in front of the other, continuing to ignore his headache, his nausea, and how he felt like he was overheating.
They headed back to the school.
___ ___ ___
Selim watched as the second-year put out the fire, before carefully maneuvering close to him and taking his arm. He let him do so, though inwardly cringed at the touch. Not because of the boy, but because of the few unsavory memories that rose up at the physical contact. “This work for you?”
"Yes, this is fine." Selim spoke, before leaning more of his weight on the slightly shorter boy.
As they began to walk towards the castle, Selim quickly got exhausted, head drooping. Still, he kept up with the steady pace, coughing into his elbow harshly every once in a while.
The Gryffindor then spoke up. “I don’t think you need to worry about that.He’s been avoiding me maybe even more than you’ve been avoiding him and I doubt he’ll stop now.”
Selim rose a skeptical brow, but said nothing, mostly focusing on putting one foot in front of another. His knives hung limply in one hand. He doubted Ruka's presence would dissuade his dormmate if he found them. Honestly, he was mildly apprehensive, not that he'd show it. Going from the... special, event that happened before when Selim tried to avoid everyone, he wouldn't be surprised if the redhead retaliated against his current avoidance of him.
Honestly, he didn't know why the fox even cared, sure, the situation in the showers may have brought it on... but Selim was still doubtful.
Why would he care? His parents didn't, nor did the elders. The professors don't care, the only one that does, as far as he knows, is his nii-san, who's almost never around because the council keeps sending him on missions.
So why?
He sighed, internally shaking the thought away, o use puzzling over it.
Silently, he continued on breathing steadily, on trying to put one foot in front of the other, continuing to ignore his headache, his nausea, and how he felt like he was overheating.
They headed back to the school.
"False Face must Hide what the Heart Doth Know." -Macbeth
S.F