029 - audio/action

[tapestodiane]

Diane ... fever still high.

[Oh hi there Coop - been pretty quiet on the network lately, haven't you? And go figure that this time, it's a mistake to adress it anyway. But he's feverish enough not to question the fact that he's speaking into his Gear, not his usual audio recorder. He sounds tired and weak and somewhat scratchy, and like he has minor trouble articulating the words.]

Persistant pain and soreness in my back and ... [Lengthy, troubled pause.] ... I have to say, Diane, whatever these things are, they're causing me a lot of trouble.

Skin still turning rusty, although thankfully not in a literal sense. The patterns are similar to Lichtenberg figures, but I can't ...

[Trails off. Sighs.]

I find it difficult to think like this, much less speculate. Buddha once said that the mind can't be strong and clear if the body isn't kept in good health, but this is an illness I don't know how to fight.

I believe perhaps some air would do me good.


[ACTION for Ecruteak; He's out in the rain. For once, he's dressed very casually - t-shirt and jeans, actually - but that's not the most eye-catching thing right now. Like many others, he's got Symptoms. And his are of the Level 5 Fire variety. Skin is a mottled brown-red hue down his back and shoulders and upper arms, that are also lined with darker, feathery lines. Entei's influence is clear in the broken mask on his face and spikes down his back. He's not particularly happy ... but at least he's not the only one looking abnormal.]

Comments

{Video}

[bamfsecretary]

{Nanao looks like someone's dipped her in a vat of shimmer dust and dyed her hair blue - but she is, after all, a mere Magikarp compared to his Entei.}

Cooper?

{Video}

[tapestodiane]

-- yes, Nanao.

_{[It's his usual business tone, but so much more distracted. Naturally, when he connects to the feed, he looks worse than he sounds, but his gaze is at least mostly focused.]}

{Video}

[bamfsecretary]

{She winces - that can't be comfortable.}

I guess asking if you wwere okay wwould be a moot point, huh.

[audio]

[soggypastry]

[...fal'Cie and Etro, how far did this thing spread!? That's definitely more than a handful of people sick and it's probably only going to get worse before it gets better...great.]

You too, huh?

[Sorry if she sounds cranky, Coop. Her mouth hurts and she's hungry. Bad mix.]

[audio]

[tapestodiane]

Me too.

<sub>[He confirms, voice laced what mostly sounds like a layer of exhaustion. He fought stuff growing out of his spine these past two nights - he'd br cranky too if he wasn't so tired.]

[But he's thinking along the same lines as her, albeit probably a lot slower. It's certainly widespread, whatever this thing is. And it looks like a lot more people are hit than those first few that appeared, about a week ago.]</sub>

[audio]

[soggypastry]

[An angry sigh, but that anger is not directed at him. No, she understands his tiredness and can't be angry about that; it's about what else is going on.]

What the hell is going on around here? Even people in Olivine got hit with something.

[If Minnie has the same thing they do, anyway. Which could be a thing.]

audio; | private

[doitrockapella]

[Somewhere in Ecruteak City, a cybernetic tinybird has just erupted into a series of insistent beeps and boops, determined to summon his trainer's otherwise occupied attention to the Gear he's currently residing in, and the post that's just gone up on the network.

Suffice to say, once she listens to it herself, the pursuits she was previously occupied with have abruptly taken a backseat to this far more pressing concern.]

You're not outside with a fever, are you? In this weather?

audio; | private

[tapestodiane]

<sub>[Aw, Zack.]

[Coop recognises Carmen's voice immediately, but it takes him a second longer than usual for him to note the concern in it. And for a moment, he really doesn't see the problem. It's just rain. Andit's way too warm and stifling and suffocating to stay in that room.]

[So she'll get an answer, the usual honest and blunt.]</sub>

Yes, I am.

audio; | private

[doitrockapella]

[Admittedly, it is probably better for him to be out in the fresh air, rather than cooped up in the hotel room; rain alone won't harm his immune system, and a virus is far more likely to spread in an enclosed area than an open one. But she's not so much worried about that as she is that he's pretty clearly delirious, and it'd be bad enough for him to be wandering around on his own like this without the weather being a mess while he's at it.]

Find an awning and stay put. I'll come find you.

[It's not a question, Coop.]

[audio]

[icansolvethemtoo]

It's... it's like e-everyone's getting sick.

[She wanted to tell him he accidentally turned it on, but far too distracted by his symptoms.]

[audio]

[tapestodiane]

_{[It's ... not a very pretty list, and it wasn't even all that clear. There's a faint grimace on his end at her assessment that probably carries into his tone of voice.]}

An overwhelming majority, at the very least, I believe ... It's very troubling.

[audio]

[icansolvethemtoo]

[She sighs softly. She can catch that tone, and she definitely understands.]

A-and everyone's still trying to... figure out what c-caused it, aren't they?

[Action]

[foolishwren]

<sub>[Rain? RAIN.]

[Yes, good. RAIN.]

[Against... probably the wishes of everybody she's staying with, Heather had slipped out of the hotel and into the rain. Because fuck, this is more than just a fever. Lying down with cool washcloths over her eyes hadn't been doing anything.]

[Neither did the rain, really-- but it felt good, in any case.]

[In nothing but a pair of loose cargo shorts and an orange spaghetti-strap thing that had been part of the costume she'd gotten on arrival and had pulled from the bottom of her bag solely because it's the most sleeveless thing she owns, Heather is standing barefoot in the rain, letting it patter down on her shoulders and soak through her hair.]

[... But she looks up-- less because she heard someone there and more that she felt someone there.]

[Her first instinct? To recoil. Those things sprouting from his face, those jagged burn scars...]

[But then...]</sub>


... Coop?

... Coop, what the HELL...

[Action]

[tapestodiane]

<sub>[He grimaces at her tone and looks away at first, in what probably looks self-conscious. In a way, he is - he knows his appearance, knows it well, because he's seen it progress in the mirror and felt those things- horns, maybe?- break through skin when he slept. And he doesn't like it. In a way, he's scared of it.]

[Because this sure as hell doesn't look like anything he's ever heard about and if the natives of this world don't even know what they're up against, then how should he?]

[He touches his face briefly before he pushes his hair back, wet and loose from the rain, before he looks back to her with a sigh.]</sub>

I don't know, Heather.

[Action]

[foolishwren]

_{[She can't help but stare. It's one thing to talk to him about whatever Crazy Of the Month has hit Johto this time, but it's entirely another to see him half-transformed into... something.]}

... Holy...

<sub>[She steps forward, her arms folded tightly. She's not cold, though. Not at all.]

[In fact, although she has no blemishes (yet), Cooper may notice that the rain that's pattering down on her bare shoulders is steaming.]</sub>

... It's that sickness, isn't it?

[audio]

[usedsuperpower]

Isn't it amazing?

[audio]

[tapestodiane]

_{[Wow, it's ... been ages, or at least it feels like it, since Cooper heard that voice. It takes him a moment to place it, but when he does, it doesn't really make him feel better.]}

Stitch?

voice;

[broomwithaview]

You're not feeling well either, huh.

[Wow, Kiki sounds...feeble. Her voice is very thin, bordering on raspy, like she's parched.]

voice;

[tapestodiane]

Quite badly, to be honest.

<sub>[It's not something he'd admit so easily in most circumstances, but since everyone are ... most definitely affected, it's not exactly hard to guess anyway.]

[He definitely hears her tone too and lets his own be concerned.]</sub>

How are you faring, Kiki?

[video]

[impulsives]

[...Now, where have he heard this voice before...

...

Urgh, he can't really remember, but he knows he's heard it once-! Aha, his very first day here!]

...Pardon, but I have some questions to ask, if I may?

[Might as well investigate from the comfort of his... hospital bed.

While bandaged.

And injured.]

[video]

[tapestodiane]

_{[Which is a LONG time ago, now, and Coop doesn't place Shinn's face at first, either. He frowns at the bandages, instead.]}

Feel free. But I can't promise I can answer them.

[audio]

[newberktown]

[It's a long while before Hiccup replies to the post, having been trying to nap through his own symptoms with limited success. He wouldn't dare go out in the rain, though, with the way picking up a water bottle causes the contents to turn to ice within seconds, and he isn't much feeling up to leaving his own hotel room to visit the agent's, either.

So an audio message it is, complete with chattering teeth!]

...Hey C-C-Cooper? Who's Diane?

[audio]

[tapestodiane]

She's, ah. She works for me back home.

<sub>[That brief hesitation isn't because of the whole YEP I talk to a secretary far far away, it's because he backed out of calling her his secretary to begin with, figuring Hiccup might not know the word.]

[Coop himself feels better at this point, but he frowns as he listens to those chattering teeth.]</sub>

[Audio]

[quickattackjack]

_{[Jack's brows drift into a worried peak as Coop's message goes on.]}

I'm sorry to hear you're not feeling well. I'd try soup if I were you.

_{[Because Jack is a master at medicine. Soup fixes everything.]}

[Audio]

[tapestodiane]

_{[Oh, but soup isn't actually a bad suggestion. Soup and willpower. At least, that's how it'd be in normal circumstances. Right now, Coop's not entirely sure.]}

I just might, Jack, thank you.

_{[But he remains polite, all the same.]}