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

[p_mortem]

[ He tends to trust people's memories better than his own, so Minato shakes his head. All the pillows in the world won't be worth it if he just gets stepped on in the middle of the night because everybody refuses to sleep. ]

It's fine. Like I said, I'm a squatter. It's not my place.

[ He looks curiously at all the armor North is wearing, though. ]

Any chance that armor with an air filter? There's an illness going around, and you might decide against taking it off, if so...

[brodakota]

It does filter out most things, yeah. I'll keep that in mind. I did hear some people sniffling earlier.

[That might be a bit of a tough choice if he actually wants to lie down on a bed. He's never really tested just wearing the helmet]

Sounds like a cold or something.

[p_mortem]

It feels like a cold, yeah. [ He catches a cold almost every month, it seems, regardless of whether it's a winter month or summer. It feels just like that- runny nose, sore throat, a headache, the urge to sleep 72 hours straight. ]

It's so widespread, though, that's what worries me... But colds are usually over with in about a week. Maybe you should just get infected, to get it over with. Then you'll be immune.

[ It'll be like... a chickenpox party... That Minato hopes is more like chickenpox and not the deadlier smallpox. Either way, it might be impossible to keep from getting sick if North is going to be hanging around so many people in close quarters, especially if he's taking off his helmet for sleeping or eating. ]

[brodakota]

It's been a while since I've been sick, so I'll do my best to avoid it. Kind of like the streak I've got going.

[Though there was definitely the time plague struck the Mother of Invention. That was a bad time.]

It's a lot of people in a small space, right? That might be part of why it's spreading.

[p_mortem]

Small space and not enough windows, I think...

[ It's really just a guess, from what he remembers from science class, the germ theory of disease and all of that. It all seems so long ago. ]

I won't keep you too long, since I'm sick too. Will you be okay, having to stay away from people...? It'll be your safest bet.

[brodakota]

So, just a winning combination all over, huh?

[Well, he arrived at a good time.]

I think I can trust my immune system. Last I checked I was pretty healthy.

You just make sure to get some rest and all that.

[p_mortem]

[ Seeing how so many people were susceptible in so short a time, yeah. They're all going to die and there's no escape. ]

Foreign diseases are like that, 'cause you have to build up that immunity each time. I always got sick every time I moved somewhere new. [ Aaaand gets sick regardless of how long he stays in any one place, but really that means he knows how to take care of himself by now. ]

Don't worry about me. Straight 72 hours of sleep and I'll be fine.

[brodakota]

Makes sense. Did you move around a lot?

[Though the second comment gets a look of concern that is surprisingly clear despite his face being hidden. They have only known each other for a handful for minutes, but he is going to check on you.]

I'll hold you to that....uh...sorry, I should probably ask your name.

[p_mortem]

Yeah.

[ It's a bit curter than intended, eyes flickering down in recognition and apology before he meets North's eyes again, but admittance isn't anything he likes to follow up with anyways. Moving around a lot, for kids, is understandably hard, even if his situation is a bit different from most. But it doesn't change the toll of being uprooted too often, of never being able to settle down, of not knowing what "home" means; it's different when you're an adult, and can make these moves on your own decision, he imagines.

That said, he moves right along. ]

Minato Arisato. What's yours?

[brodakota]

[North nods sympathetically. Granted he mostly stayed where he was as a kid, but there was a lot of movement through the military. Mostly because of South but he wasn't about to throw her under the bus while she wasn't here.]

Agent North Dakota, but friends usually call me North.

It's nice to meet you, Minato.

[p_mortem]

[ North Dakota... Minato's only vaguely aware that it's the name of a state, but he wouldn't be able to place it on the North American map. ]

Nice to meet you. Can I ask what you're an agent for? Or is that a secret.

[ A secret agent... Whatever North answers, Minato preemptively thinks it's cool. ]

[brodakota]

It's not much of one. I worked for an organization called Project Freelancer.

Not that it has much bearing here.

[Or back in his world. Since he did leave it.]

[p_mortem]

It sounds like a writing club.

[ But looking at North's armor, he kind of suspects it isn't. Like how his own club suggests being a normal after school extracurricular activities club, but they go around running around with armor of their own too. ]

[brodakota]

[That makes North laugh. It would have been the wildest writing club.]

It definitely isn't, though I'd kind of like to see how that would go.

Most of the people involved were kind of on the wild side.

[Florida would be a writer though.]

[p_mortem]

Wild people have the best stories to tell. They'd be great writers.

[ There's a way for the two of those to coexist, he's sure, looking somewhat amused that the imagery makes North laugh. It's hard to tell with that helmet on, but hearing North laugh makes him sound a lot more human. ]

So, are you going to tell me what sort of organization it is, or keep me wondering?

[brodakota]

That, I can't disagree with.

[Really, someone should have collected the stories Florida could tell.

Though at the next question, he shrugs. It kind of brings the mood down.]

Military Organization. We were trying to bring about the end of a war.

[p_mortem]

[ Must be a hell of a war, to warrant North wearing all of that armor, Minato thinks to himself. ]

I see... Hopefully you can get some rest here while you can. Being in combat day after day is tough.

[ As if he has experience with that sort of thing. It's easier on Minato because he's not fighting every single day for hours on end, and it's easier because what he's fighting isn't people. ]

[brodakota]

Thanks. At the very least, this place seems pretty peaceful, so I hope I can.

[Even though the war was mostly over from his standpoint, and they were largely on clean up duty, scraps still happened from time to time.

But, he's also concerned.]

Don't tell things are bad where you're from?

[p_mortem]

[ It's peaceful, quiet, and boring, all good things so long as North doesn't get sick. ]

It's, uh. It's fine now.

[ Things aren't downright terrible back home, so Minato finds himself at a loss for how to describe it. It's not bad. They've managed— they've fixed it- they're fine. ]

Nothing as bad as a war, so don't worry.

[brodakota]

[There's a sense that there's more to that story but North can push for details later. He'll take Minato at his word for now.]

That's good to hear, at least.

[p_mortem]

[ He'll take that "for now," looking somewhat relieved when North lets the topic drop. ]

It's all stuff we have no choice but to deal with later, so... I'll probably find one of those rooms to quarantine my germs in. You should get going too.

[brodakota]

Yeah, probably a good idea.

Just make sure to poke your head out every so often, let people know you're okay.

[p_mortem]

I'll make sure to crack the door open every day or so to see if anybody's left an offering of food.

[ That, or he'll brave dragging himself to the kitchens, depends on what wins out, hunger or illness. ]

I'll see you later, then.

[brodakota]

Good.

And same. It was nice meeting you, Minato. Thanks for the help.

[Any information is good information in his experience.]