Worrying Takes a Toll...

[imhisaunt]

Who: Delmar + OTA
What: Delmar gets the flu
Where: Around Town / Delmar’s Apartment
When: 16th Nov – Approx. 26th of Nov
Warnings: N/A – Will Change if Needed

It had started as a dull thudding at the back of his head whenever he moved a might too much and at first he’d pushed it to the back of his brain. He was prioritizing all the work that needed to be done, all the things that needed to be worried about. But it hadn’t stayed just a headache. Headache was followed by aching in his muscles, in his joints, aching from the top of his throat deep into his stomach. And the heaviness and static fuzz of fatigue followed quickly on the heels of that pain. Then finally the alternating shivers and sweats.

Delmar doesn’t realize it but he begins to sink in to himself. He doesn’t answer his phone when it rings. He begins spending more and more time wandering into quiet, uncrowded spaces. Voices, particularly more than one at once, grates on him sharply. Too many people nearby makes him feel stuffy and dizzy. So subconsciously he begins avoiding them. Hiding.

Eventually he retreats entirely into his apartment. Too disoriented to realize that he’s acting any differently. After all, it isn’t that different really, is it? He was always shy and reclusive back home. Himself, his crosswords, and his blankets in the quiet.

The quiet empty is familiar. And at the back of his mind he misses ‘familiar’ so very much right now.

[Nov. 16th – 20th - Around Town]

Delmar can perhaps spotted shuffling along the riverside staring off into nowhere or sitting in the grass in the park practically dozing in the open. If you call out to him he might not notice you right away. Particularly if he’s fallen asleep.

[Nov. 20th – 26th – Delmar’s Apartment]

By this point Delmar does not feel well enough to leave his apartment. If you wish to see him, you’ll have to come find him at home.

Comments

Around townnn, 20th

[redwinekindofgirl]

He hasn't been answering his phone, and that's been playing on her mind. She hasn't known Delmar that long, but that doesn't mean he hasn't become important in that short time.

When she finally sees him, he's in the park, sitting on the grass. Julie enjoys the park for the openness and the greenery of it, and how she can almost pretend that she's free if she doesn't look up to the cavern ceiling, but those thoughts do not come immediately to mind when she calls out from a distance and he doesn't respond.

She jogs closer, her steps faltering slightly as she realises that it looks very much as if he's completely dozed off.

"Heyyy." Julie crouches by him and speaks very gently as she touches one of his hands and chafes her own over it. "What are you doing?"

[imhisaunt]

Delmar is in fact in the light, worthless kind of sleep that comes with illness. The kind you can't seem to outrun but at also can't seem to hold on to, and you never wake feeling at all more rested than when you had first dozed off. As such it takes a few moments before he shifts his head to blink blearily up at her and it is followed with a look of confusion, his mind not putting two and two together that he fell asleep in the park nor why she was here.

"Julie?"

[redwinekindofgirl]

"Yeah... You okay?"

Her hand moves from his and up to his arm, where she chafes again lightly as if she's trying to rouse him. She tilts her head down to meet his eyes, her own softened with concern, and she frowns slightly.

"What are you doing out here? Were you sleeping?"

[imhisaunt]

He doesn't immediately know how to answer that and instead ends up casting a sort of lost look around them. Little by little the trees, the grass, they begin to piece back together to form a vague picture of when he had come here earlier to sit and catch his breath.

"I...I must have fallen asleep."

At last he looks back to her.

"What time is it?"

His voice wavers between croaking to almost non-existent wheezing as though there's an angry scratch at the back of his throat stopping him from getting any decent breath.

around town, the 19th

[roseofthetyrells]

[Margaery is on her way back from Delight's temple, a bolt of turquoise colored silk clasped in her arms when she sees Delmar sitting in the park. she calls out to him once, twice, with no answer.

that has her worried. as far as she knows, he's not on the Null's hit list, but what if someone else chose to do him harm simply because they could? so she approaches him quietly and gently lays her hand on his shoulder]

Delmar? Are you all right?

[imhisaunt]

[Delmar's head was hanging forward, forehead pressed to his knee. He's too tired to hold it up himself, and his knee doubles as something soft to hide his face behind. He's so near to sleep that he didn't hear when Margaery called out to him. It's only when something comes to rest on his shoulder that he even becomes aware of anyone else nearby.

He makes a soft but croaky noise in his throat before finally lifting his head.]

Oh...Miss Margaery...

[His voice is nearly gone, but he tries for his usual smile.]

...i'm sorry...I didn't hear you.

[roseofthetyrells]

[with that posture, she's definitely concerned. he looks like he's pretty rough for wear and she hates the idea that someone could've possibly tried to harm someone so nice.

though, the croaky noise is something of a relief? he doesn't sound injured, just like maybe he's coming down with something, especially when he speaks]

It's quite all right. Are you not feeling well?

around town;

[trashmouths]

"You look like shit."

Richie Tozier is watching the older man, a large piece of wood in his hand like some sort of baseball bat or club. It's a habit he's started up since arriving here--landing facefirst in the dirt in the colosseum has only made him slightly more paranoid than everything in Derry. 'Walk softly and carry a big stick' indeed, although he's still working on the walk softly part.

...Actually, he's not working on that at all, if his extreme bluntness is anything. He swings the stick in the air, smashing imaginary monsters with it before looking over again.

"Like, you really really look like shit."

[imhisaunt]

Delmar was trudging along a quieter street, mind elsewhere, when Richie spoke to him. His mind was so much elsewhere, having wandered off somewhere deep into the fog of fever, that Richie's voice didn't even register as a thing in reality. Not until he reiterated the sentiment. Then Delmar slows, stops, and blinks dumbly at him, body feeling heavy and brain thudding at the back of his skull.

He frowns weakly.

"Thats n-not a very nice thing to say," Delmar rasps before trying to clear his throat unsuccessfully.

[trashmouths]

"Why?" Richie doesn't miss a beat, looking owlish with his glasses, and swings at invisible monsters again. "It's the truth."

Another swing, this time so hard he grunts and nearly spins away, but he's back in the game as he looks over him again.

"It's not my fault you look like runny cottage cheese now. Are you gonna puke? One of my friends was stuck all summer with a cold and all he'd do was throw up, it was gross but kind of awesome."

delmar's apartment, nov 22

[ghostlocked]

[Harlan has sent Delmar a worrying amount of unreturned texts and calls in the past 24 hours, so now he's knocking on Delmar's door, ready to storm the castle. He's concerned for his friend's well being, of course, but he figures that if Delmar died somehow, he would've come back by now. What he's really worried about is that Delmar has gotten nabbed the Door and sent home. Maybe that'd be a good thing, technically. Delmar would've gotten to go home. But... His home didn't sound all that nice, and Harlan would miss him. He's allowing himself to be selfish here.]

Hey, Del. You home? [He knocks again when there's no immediate answer.] I'm coming in, okay?

[He'll wait another moment to see if his buddy opens up, but if he doesn't, he's keeping to his word. He'll teleport in if the door's locked.]

[imhisaunt]

[Delmar had managed to get himself out of bed long enough to prepare himself tea with honey but that had taken whatever energy he'd had for the day. Now he's at his kitchen table with most of his lanky frame swaddled in a large yellow blanket and bent over so his forehead rests on his forearms. He's fast asleep and has been so long that his tea, with barely even a sip taken from it, has gone cold.

He doesn't hear the knocking or Harlan's voice.]

[ghostlocked]

[...Okay, yeah, Harlan's worried. He Dimension Doors into Delmar's apartment, though he appears just a foot or so in front of his actual door so as not to potential spook his friend by suddenly being in his living room.

And Del's passed out on the table. He looks like hell, but he's breathing. That's a start. Harlan makes his way over and stands awkwardly for a moment before tugging lightly at the end of the blanket.]

Delmar. Hey, wake up. [Please? There's not really a 911 here. He could repeatedly Dimension Door until he ended up at the clinic, maybe...]

November 23. Delmar's apartment

[dreamsallotted]

It hadn't been terribly hard to find Delmar's apartment. It also wasn't hard to notice that he hadn't exactly been himself lately, and when he stopped showing up at the bakery and bunker, Seel went investigating. At the very least he wanted to make sure the guy who he was building a bunker and bakery for hadn't dropped dead. Was he on the list? Seel couldn't remember, but it didn't make a difference. There were enough trigger happy humans in here that they could have gotten confused, or Delmar could have inadvertently set someone off.

Knocking on the door, Seel asked, "Delmar? Are you alive?"

Please don't be dead. He really didn't like finding dead people. Particularly dead people he was starting to like. He had his fill.

[imhisaunt]

From where Seel is standing on the other side of the door it might be dead quiet for several long moments before there is the sound of light but clumsy shuffling, followed at long last by coughing as Delmar finally manages to get himself to the door.

"Mr. Seel, is tha-" Cough, "-is that you?" He calls through the door.

"Y-you shouldn't come in here, you might get a-awfully sick."

[dreamsallotted]

That was adorable on so many levels. Downright adorable. Seel stayed where he was, feet firmly planted on the other side of the door.

"I'm not human--actually I'm not even male. But don't worry, I can't get sick. At least not your illnesses. We're not the same species. I can help, let me in."

Delmar was not the first sick person he cared for, and while Delmar wasn't actually going through inception and changing from human to Wraeththu, there really wasn't that much difference. Vomit was vomit, and Delmar wasn't delusional and hysterical and thinking bats where covering his face, so, by comparison, this really wasn't that bad.

"I've seen worse."

November 24th!

[demonsional]

[Never fear! Hayden has heard all about how sick Delmar has become by Harlan, and since he remembers where his apartment is, of course he takes it upon himself to visit. He knocks on the door.]

Knock knock! Doors are for knocking!

[And then he opens a portal for himself and walks right through the door because he has not quite grasped the concept of the idea that knocking is also supposed to be accompanied by an answer before you just walk right in. And also doorknobs confuse him.]

Mister Delmar?

[He whispers loudly, cautiously, because he's pretty sure that noises are not good for sick humans, and slithers into the bedroom. Without a word, he removes an unopened soup can from his bag and...places it gently on top of Delmar. Hayden then waits, crouched by the foot of the bed, eyes wide and searching. Something amazing is going to happen, he knows! It's how science happens!]

The image of Hayden just leaving a soup can on top of him is killing me

[imhisaunt]

[Delmar has fallen into the bone deep type of heavy sleep that comes with illness. The kind that slips in unexpectedly between bouts of fitful unrest caused by chill or sweats. As such he doesn't hear the knocking, or Hayden calling out, nor the sounds of someone in his apartment.

He doesn't even feel a can being set on top of him.

However, the loud metallic clunk that can makes when it inevitably is forced to fall off by Delmar rolling in his sleep jolts Delmar awake so quickly that the room spins angrily with how quickly he shoots up in bed]

W-WHA??

[demonsional]

[And Hayden screams, because of course he does. So much for being quiet. Deeply concerned, he slides on all fours after the soup can, picking it up and holding it gently, like he's afraid its healing properties have been damaged. When he turns back to look at Delmar, he's practically shaking in remorse.]

I'm sorry! I'm sorry Mister Delmar, sir! I brought a soup to help you get better again, I didn't mean to do you a frighten!

21st, Delmar's Place

[aroundthecoroner]

[Michael has been... busy this month. Between the velociraptor menace, that whole... thing with Yukari, and trying to put himself somewhat back together in the aftermath, he hasn't taken a lot of time out for the people around him. Mostly he's just thrown himself into clinic work. But eventually, it's been more than a week, and he's realized he's sort of dropped off the radar with some of the people he usually keeps tabs on. Like Delmar, for instance.

He doesn't think he's spoken to Delmar since he told Michael about Atem being attacked. And that... was a while ago. When he fails to reach him through the phones, he starts to worry that something's happened. But Delmar wasn't on the Null's list, right? And his name is still in the directory...

After his shift at the clinic, Michael drops by the bakery building, but Delmar's not there either, so he swings by his apartment instead. He knocks on the door, quiet at first, but when he gets no response, he tries louder.]

Hey, Delmar? It's Michael.

[imhisaunt]

[When Michael comes to his door, Delmar had made a sort of nest for himself in his bed, bundled up in his blankets and pillows with Beauregard the Bear Lamp providing him with light as he struggled to make sense of the words on the pages of his Book of Modern Drama.

Mostly he's too dizzy for his eyes to follow more than a few words without his head beginning to ache, but the simple act of turning the familiar pages gives him comfort. That is when he's not having to turn away for a coughing fit or to blow his nose.

The sound of the knock goes entirely over his head, lost in the fevered fog of his illness. But the calling of his name gets his attention.]

Michael? [He tries to call back but it ends up a squeaky noise barely resembling the name 'Michael'. Delmar tries clearing his throat before trying again. ]

Michael? Is that you?

[aroundthecoroner]

[Michael's relieved when Delmar answers, but that voice definitely doesn't sound good. He probably isn't hurt, since he isn't calling out for help, but it's still worrying.]

Yeah, it's me. Are you alright?

[It's maybe a little creepy of him, but he tries the doorknob. Delmar seems like the type who might maybe think so highly of people that he's lax about locking his apartment.]

25th - dawn.

[puzzlingly]

「Hey Del...? If it feels like someone might be wiping your forehead with a cool damp cool cloth, it is because someone might be wiping your forehead with a cool damp cloth... Heh. Sorry if he woke you.」

Shh... It's alright.


(ooc; lemme know if this is ok?)

[imhisaunt]

[Delmar wakes with a weak sound in his throat, brows knitting as he instinctively tries to press his face closer to that nice cool sensation. Then slowly his eyes blink open, peering upwards with a groggy expression]

....Atem

[The name is barely a word, almost just a breath with how raw his throat is.]

[puzzlingly]

Sorry I woke you up. You have a little fever.

「He whispers.」

It will pass. I'll be here.

「He turns just to damp the cloth a little more, always making sure not to show the left side of his face.」

Delmar, I'm sorry I didn't come sooner...