OOM: Sick Goth, bored now

[ostro_goth]

It has not been a week yet, since Teja took ill; and Guppy had said to stay in his room for a week, lest he 'infect the universe', so Teja does that. But his fever and the hallucinations have receded somewhat, and he merely coughs and blows his nose much, now, and listlessly sprawls on his rug, too listless to read, even though he has books -- a surfeit of luxuries, like a modern man has, Teja chides himself, but that does not incite him to read any clever books about the end of the Roman empire, either.

So last night, he ventured out to find something else to read, and happened upon the Swan King, who was drinking by himself at the bar and assured him that shape-shifters didn't get sick, not in his world. When Teja told him what he was looking for, Donovan had said that many people liked to watch sentimental movies while they were recovering from something, in his experience. That most of his experience was about women, Donovan didn't say.

So, Teja asked the bar for sentimental movies and something to watch them with, and he got a stack of cases that contained disks much like his music CDs, and a player much like his CD player, also, but with a screen like a omputer attached to it. Teja took it all back to his room, but felt tired, and went to sleep.

This morning, however, he is awake again, sprawled on his rug, and instead of chiding himself for indolence, Teja is watching a movie, about the dramatic wreck of some huge, great ship, with thousands of people on it that are, to judge from the beginning of the tale, all going to drown. If any one comes to Teja's room, the rats will open the door, and Teja will look up from the little device which is playing quite lively music at the moment.

Comments

[mogget_cat]

There are fuzzy ears and two green eyes peering around the edge of the door.

Yrael didn't think he had heard a harp or guitar in all that clamor.

[ostro_goth]

Teja does not notice yet; but Count gets up from where he had been sprawling on the small of his human's back, in turn, and walks over to greet Yrael.

[mogget_cat]

Yrael greets Count, bumping his head lightly against Count's ear and purring. He asks after them both, to see how things are.

[ostro_goth]

Teja looks up from his movie at the loud purr, and the cat-noises, while Count informs Yrael that things are nice, but his human is still being Really Strange.

"Greetings, Yrael!" Teja says.

[mogget_cat]

"Greetings, Teja," says the not'cat, as he inquires how Really Strange Count's human is being. Hallucinating strange or some new kind?

"How goes the day?"

[ostro_goth]

Count answers that his human keeps staring at the noisy thing, and sneezing and sniffling a lot, and sometimes will fiercely hug and cuddle one of the cats, which is very nice, but still Really Strange!

"It goes slow and quiet," Teja says. "I am better, but not well -- how can that be, if 'better' is better than well?"

[mogget_cat]

Yrael leans on Count's shoulder for a moment as he approaches Teja. His human is just working on getting better. He'll be kind of strange until then.

"Better is closer to well than you were before, if not completely well yet," Yrael replies. "What are you watching?"

[ostro_goth]

"It is called a movie," Teja says. "It is like theatre, but preserved, and on a screen, like CDs are for music?"

Pause.

"Donovan, the were-swan, said sentimental movies are good while one recovers, so I am watching this, which is about the dreadful sinking of a great ship."

[mogget_cat]

"Jason, Elizabeth and I once held a movie night, some time ago, and watched movies with poorly-represented were-wolves in them, and I have watched some over others' shoulders," Yrael says, moving to settle next to the Goth King.

"I do not think I have ever seen a sentimental movie, before, though. Only those full of humorous situations, or of great violence."

[ostro_goth]

"This one is full of drama, with all those men, women and children that are going to die a horrible, watery death," Teja says, "and also, there is a doomed, forbidden love story between a young working man, and a noble maiden given to another, that cannot possibly end well."

Count settles on his human's back again, iviting Yrael to share the comfortable spot; the human will not move much.

[mogget_cat]

Yrael might perch upon the Goth's shoulder in order to have a better view of the screen, then.

"Ugh, water," he makes a face. "That's never a good way to die."

Chokes you to death, does horrible disfiguring things to your corpse, and then there's the smell. The Dead brought back from those who died recently at sea are some of the most disgusting to face. Luckily, Yrael's not had the experience of helping the Abhorsen with that specific situation in many a decade.

[ostro_goth]

"That is what makes the tale so sad," Teja says. "One knows that all these people are going to die, even as they are merry and dance still, at this moment."

[mogget_cat]

"I do not know the story; what causes the ship to sink?"

...as the movie shows the ship in question...

"Other than the fact that it's huge enough to seem as though the only place they were expecting it to go was the ocean floor?"

[guppy_sandhu]

Guppy knocks on the door, come to check up on his patient.

[ostro_goth]

"Come in!" Teja calls out, looking up from the movie.

[guppy_sandhu]

"Hey." Guppy pokes his head around the door, then enters. He's starting to look a little ragged around the edges.

"How are you feeling? I ran your blood tests."

[ostro_goth]

"I am feeling better," Teja says, "but not well yet; I chafe at my confinement, but lack all energy to do any thing but lie here and watch sentimental movies."

Pause, while he turns to prop himself up on his elbow. "Have you learned anything useful from my blood?"

[guppy_sandhu]

Guppy sits down on the rug next to him.

"Flu is contagious usually for five to seven days after the onset of symptoms, and one day before. If you're feeling well, and you're more than five days, you're probably okay to go downstairs. There's people I haven't managed to isolate going around being far more infectious than you."

He rubs his forehead. "Yes, I discovered that this is a strain that the infirmary database has never come across, but that it is definitely in the influenza family. Nothing on how to treat it though yet, sorry. It was worth a shot."

[ostro_goth]

"So I may go down again tomorrow," Teja says. "Today, I would stay up here, and be lazy."

[guppy_sandhu]

"Good plan." Guppy says. "I recognise the film, always makes Frogspawn cry. And yet she watches it again anyway."

[ostro_goth]

"It is a very sad movie," Teja says, "with those poor people all being drowned, and dying by the hundreds. It has not made me cry yet; but that is, most likely, because I am no woman."

[guppy_sandhu]

"Oh I don't know, I think it's healthy for a man to cry if he needs to." Guppy says, quietly.

"Mind me beeping in your ear while you watch that?"

[ostro_goth]

"You may beep," Teja says. "As I am warned, I shall not flinch."

Pause.

"And I do weep at times; but for my own personal reasons, and those that I loved, and miss."

[guppy_sandhu]

Guppy takes Teja's temperature.

"Nearly back to normal." he says, looking at it. Then he nods.

"Like I said, good, healthy to let it all out."

[ostro_goth]

"Not always," Teja says. "Often, there is no time to grieve; or one would not show weakness before others."