Don't Skip Your Flu Shot

[purrtagonist]

Who: Everyone! It's a mingle post for the first week of Struxta sickness!!
Where: All around the temple
When: During the first week of the sickness
Rating PG?? At most??
What: Curry, blankets and pillow forts, and other assorted sick things

[With the Struxta illness sweeping through the temple like a wildfire, and with so many new arrivals trying to get adjusted to temple living, it's probably no surprise that things around the Astoria's little pocket of space have gotten a little hectic. Feeling under the weather? Looking for something warm to soothe that scratchy throat? Just want to curl up underneath a pile of blankets and not move for like, seven hours or so? Never fear! A Mysterious Helper (TM) has you covered]

A. Curry in the Kitchen

[The kitchen smells extremely nice during lunchtime this week, the only meal of the day that isn't pre-prepared by the misty servants. Like the scent of coffee intermingled with complementary spices. Those who take the initiative to investigate will find something pleasant waiting for them. A few pots of fresh made curry and steamed rice; a few pots of miso soup (a. . . little on the salty side, sorry); and some freshly brewed coffee already poured into individual mugs, along with cream and sugar and whatever additives your heart desires. It's all strewn out across the counter tops with a handwritten note pinned against the wall above the stove:]

Help yourself, and get well soon.

[There isn't any sign of the mysterious chef when you enter the kitchen, and if you arrive near the end of lunch hour, some of the food and coffee miiiiight be a bit cold. But hey! This might be a good chance to mingle with some of your new coworkers who are also seeking out a warm meal to help quell some of their cold symptoms. Just please don't sneeze into the curry pot, thanks. . .]

[Lunch will be laid out in the kitchen every day at lunchtime for the entire first week of the sickness. Help yourselves!]

B. The Temple Hallways

[THERE ARE BLANKETS AND PILLOWS EVERYWHERE]

[. . . no, seriously. For some reason, it's like you can't even walk down a hallway without tripping over a bundled up blanket or a pillow. What's up with that! For the most part, they're normal bedtime accessories, although you may find a bundle of pillows and blankets stacked up into an ENTIRE PILLOW FORT if you're lucky.]

[Pinned to the walls of the hallways (not every hallway, but enough of them that it should be easy to find one of the signs without wandering for too long) are more handwritten signs:]

Whoever can build the tallest pillow fort will receive one (1) high five as a grand prize. Good luck. Blanket provider is not responsible for anyone accidentally falling asleep in the hallways and blocking your route back to your bedroom.

[Hm. Well, that's weird. Anyway! You can build a pillow fort if you want, grab some blankets to take back to your room, or. . . nap in the hallways. Or do whatever! They're all free for the taking. Maybe you could even team up with another Circle member to try and win that extremely coveted high five??]

C. Wildcard

[Don't feel like interacting with any of the above? That's okay! Make your own prompt based on the event stuff over here, or just use this post for. . . whatever you want! It's totally and completely open for mingling for new and old characters alike, so. HAVE FUN ♥]

Comments

[twitter]

[ ... ah.

hajime claps, completely unironically, because the pillow did technically touch the fort so minato still did his job. ]

My turn!

[ hajime... is better at throwing than minato is. she's pretty athletic, for such a tiny person! so she throws it as hard as she can. the tower wobbles slightly as the pillow collides with it, but as it doesn't have much weight itself, it's not enough to do anything other than nudge the pillows it hit slightly to the left. ]

[p_mortem]

[ Minato doesn't clap, but his back straightens somewhat in surprise and disbelief. A miracle, it's still standing. ]

-Oh. You're impressive.

[ Both for that throw, and the construction of the tower, which he was fully expecting to have fallen despite their best attempts with the strength behind her throw. ]

[twitter]

[ they lucked out in that she hit it where it was more fortified instead of like, the flimsiest part where it's just one stacked upon the other. ]

Wrong! We're impressive, this was a three man effort.

[p_mortem]

[ Nobody's going to come flying in six feet in the air to snipe down their flimsy tower tip, so testing the base out works good enough for him.

He lets out a breath, which could be a laugh, or could just be a breath, but there's a hint of a smile on his face, at least. ]

...Yeah, we're pretty awesome, aren't we?

[ He holds both his hands out, one out straight and the other a little lower— Koromaru already knows what to do, lifting up one paw and resting it on Minato's palm. ]

Let's win this.

[twitter]

[ she watches koromaru, before immediately mimicking the gesture with the hand that isn't at dog height. ]

-- ah. Do we know who's doing the judging?

[ there was no actual name attached to any of the signs. ]

[p_mortem]

[ ...That was an invitation for a high-five, but you know what? the doggy equivalent of it works too.

Hajime seems to understand what he's going for, anyways, because he'd meant it as something to tide them over before they get their official victory high-fives from this mystery judge. ]

I don't know... The handwriting on the posters matches the ones in the kitchen. Maybe it's someone who works there? We could ask around there.

[twitter]

Like one of the shadow people? Or the boss?

[ astoria, she means. although hajime pictured that her handwriting would be prettier than what was on the signs... ]

[p_mortem]

What— There are Shadows here?

[ His question comes out a bit sharper than usual, but

Shadows. A boss Shadow? He thought had he left that life behind him, but he can't keep the alarm off his face if it turns out otherwise. ]

[twitter]

[ ... hm. his reaction was curious. hajime just said the first thing she thought of to describe the people working here. there's not corporeal, and they don't talk so she can't ask their names. ]

The ones running around the temple. I think they work here?

[p_mortem]

[ Truth be told, he'd mostly just followed behind the coporeal, non-shadowy people when he'd first got here and proceeded to keep his head down through most of what's happened.

Minato touches his hip for a second, frowns slightly, then lets his hand slide into his pockets instead. ]

Hm. Can you show me?

[twitter]

Come with me!

[ she pats their fort, like that will protect it from getting knocked over while they're gone.

with that, though, hajime starts walking. she isn't entirely sure where any of the servants might be, but she figures they're more likely to run into one if they're on the move. ]

[p_mortem]

[ If the fort can withstand Hajime's farewell pat, it can withstand anything, surely.

Anyways, lead the way! Minato will trail behind her right at her heels to keep her within view, while Koromaru stays right by Hajime's side. The halls are too crowded to really make out any of the ghosty servants, but once things empty out... Their original destination of the kitchen might be their best bet in the end anyways- there's always a need for someone/thing to help cook and serve and clean. ]

[twitter]

[ to the kitchen it is.

hajime peeks inside slowly, like a shy kid who is scared to approach the others on the playground. except she's then basically skipping inside two seconds later, so maybe it was not exactly like someone shy.

over near the counter is one of the servants! it seems to be gathering some dirty bowls that people hadn't cleared away. ]

[p_mortem]

[ Minato will play the part of the shy kid, then, glad to hang back when Hajime does, and keeping right behind her when she moves— he'd like to have moved slower, more quietly and with the exact timing that's been honed into him for sneaking up behind Shadows, but his worries are unfounded.

The servant doesn't exactly have a face, but he imagines it turns to acknowledge them, briefly, before turning to its task. ]

Uh.

[ It doesn't look like a Shadow, but the best way to differentiate between something good and not-so-good might be to talk to them, so- ]

Are you the fort judge?

[twitter]

[ the servant looks up at them, before gathering the rest of the abandoned bowls and scurrying away with them. hajime opens her mouth to speak, but it goes straight through the wall before she can get any words out.

unfortunately, the bowls very much have a form, so they do not go through the wall and just crash onto the floor. ]

Huh. I don't think he was the judge.

[p_mortem]

[ The plates shattering causes Minato to flinch inwardly. Maybe these are Shadows after all, causing trouble like this... ]

Careful...

[ He gives Hajime that advice, but doesn't take it himself, finally pulling away from her side to step towards the broken bowls and reach out to pick up the shards before anybody can—-

-get cut on the sharp edges, which is exactly what Minato does, a bead of red that pools out of his finger with a stab of pain, but even as the blood runs down his wrist, a solid, more literal bead drops to the ground with a clink as it bounces, broken bowls nowhere to be seen. ]

[twitter]

[ well, a lot just happened at once. the most noticeable thing is the disappearance of the bowls, to be replaced with... a bead? hajime looks at the item then at minato. was that his power they he got from here? she isn't entirely sure of what the correlation between the bowls and the bead is, but that's something to be investigated later.

now, though, there's something more pressing. hajime immediately steps over to him, kneeling down so she can reach for his arm. ]

Let me see.

[p_mortem]

[ See with your eyes not with your... oh, alright, then.

Minato holds his arm out obediently; it's a small cut, but anybody who's ever had to prick their finger for any reason knows that it's the fingers that hurts and bleeds the most even with the most minor of injuries. After the initial shock of it happening, it doesn't hurt that much more, and his hands are cold enough that he knows he won't bleed for long. ]

I didn't lose a finger. It'll close up with some pressure.

[twitter]

Let's get this squeaky clean though!

[ she stands up, lightly tugging at minato for him to follow. the goal is the sink to at least wash the blood off his skin. up, up. ]

[p_mortem]

[ He gets on his feet easily enough, but there's a little resistant when he drags his feet behind him on the way to the sink. ]

—that illness going around, are you sure it's not in the water?

[ He has nothing against hygiene, but the idea comes up that everybody seems to be affected, from the people to the plants. If there's bacteria or some other toxin in the water, maybe he doesn't want to blast it directly into his bloodstream. ]

[twitter]

I have no clue!

[ it's said cheerfully enough, like it doesn't really matter. they're already all sick, there's not much they can do there about stopping it. ]

Don't be a baby.

[p_mortem]

[ All his life people have been telling him not to be so eager to die, and the one time he tries out self-preservation, he's called a baby :( ]

Alright... If I become septic in the next 24 hours and die, please take care of Koromaru for me.

[twitter]

[ life just be like that sometimes. sorry minato... ]

I'll take good care of Koro-chan, but you're definitely not going to do any of that. I don't even know you well enough to write a proper eulogy.

[p_mortem]

[ He touches the tips of his fingers to his chest as thanks for agreeing to be Koromaru's next official guardian. ]

We have time before I die to get to know each other. I don't mind a badly written eulogy either, so long as you speak from the heart.

[twitter]

Hmmm... eulogy, eulogy, heart, eulogy, heart...

[ well, she's turning on the sink before ushering him forward to it. ]

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