OPEN - And when the wave comes sweeping

[lonered]

Who: Keith & Anyone, Everyone, You?
Where: Temple hallways
When: Later stages of the plague event
Rating PG? Idk. Memories and talk of death
What: End stage plague things. Seeing things that aren't there, then not seeing anything. Fun times to be had by all.



[ Option A - end of week 2, hallucination boogaloo ]

Keith has given up any pretense of being well enough to do much besides lying in bed, curled up and shivering and trying to ignore the increasing loud voices that he knows can't possibly be real.

Or, well, he'd known that the last time he shut his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

But now, now as he wakes, he hears a voice calling for him -- nearby and frantic. It's a voice he hasn't heard, save in odd dreams, since he was a child. His eyes snap open, and all he sees is fire. Everywhere.

Keith scrambles out of bed, eyes wide and terrified -- and perhaps more jarringly to anyone who sees him, near glowing a vibrant yellow behind the usual violet iris and currently blown pupil -- and stumbles out into the hallway. His father's voice screams for him, but only Keith can hear it. Keith screams back, and his strained voice echoes through the hall, "Dad! Where... where are you? Please... no..."

The vision of fire rages and Keith stands, lost in the hallway, breath shallow and quick, terrified, near feral. He doesn't remember the last time he cried, but there are tears streaking down his ashen face from currently inhuman eyes. "Dad?!"


[ Option B - mid week 3, unseeing ]

By now the fever has broken, and there is a faint almost spark of hope in Keith that maybe this is over. It isn't though. And that becomes obvious far too soon after. The worst of the hallucinations are gone, but this time, as he stands in the doorway of the room that he shares with Shiro, he's clinging to the doorframe a bit too tightly, knuckles white.

His eyes have returned to normal, none of his Galra side choosing to show itself at the moment, but the way he's looking out at nothing isn't normal either. Noise will catch his attention, and he'll look in the general direction, gaze not quite focusing.

"Is someone there? I can't.... I can't see."

Comments

[lonered]

[Keith looks at Maes for a long, level moment before nodding and letting his hand drop away with a shake of his head. Nothing to thank him for. The other man had shaken him out of a delusion earlier, it's the least he can do.]

Pretty name. She sounds really cute.

[He cracks a smile,] If we manage to make it back to your room, you should show me the picture.

[Big if. God Keith is exhausted.]

[dadandgone]

There has never been a cuter girl in all of history.

[He smiles. It's more like old times, boasting on his girl like that. It was often to the annoyance of others but, honestly, he never cared. Because as goofy as he was about it, he was never lying about his feelings towards Gracia or Elysia. He was over the moon for the both of them and he knew he was a lucky many indeed.

They aren't too far from the room Maes occupies now. After all, he hadn't had to go far to get to Keith.]

Certainly. Then you'll get to see for yourself.

[Just remember this one day Keith when you get sick of Maes busting out these pictures.]

[lonered]

[Keith will never get tired of pictures, Hughes. He's a big proponent of families. Families are super important, okay? He knows this so very well, because when he lost his, his entire fell apart. And the little bits and pieces of family that he's cobbled together and found since have changed everything again.]

Good.

[Keith agrees and well, is that the door? Please let that be the right door. He's no good at actually knowing who stays where these days, outside his own team.]

[dadandgone]

[Maes stops at the door, studying it for a moment in the haze of fever and feeling awful. He steps forward and pushes it open.]

Okay...yeah this is my room.

[He'd run out without the light coming on. He flicks it on now and moves over to his dresser. Sure enough, tucked into the top drawer is a wallet. Maes has to pause to cough, but then he turns around. There's a photograph in his hand and he offers it to Keith with a weak smile. If he wasn't sick and if this family picture wasn't a reminder of what he'd lost...well he might smile more. Still, painful or otherwise he still loves these two women dearly. They will always make him smile, with both love and pride.]

Here they are~ I will admit, seeing them does always make me feel better. How can you not feel better just looking at her smile.

[lonered]

Good... would've been awkward otherwise.

[Almost a joke. But he also sort of means it. Keith follows in and takes the photograph to look at, glancing at the picture before looking back to Hughes with a smile of his own.]

They're both beautiful. You must be very proud.

[What a good family, Hughes. Keith holds the picture out towards him.] Thanks for showing me.

wrap up?

[dadandgone]

Tell me about it. Though I think I know most of the people in the surrounding rooms...so we'd have to be in the completely wrong hallway...

[Which...given the hallucinations going on, wasn't impossible. But Keith had indicated they passed the kitchen...so that was a good sign. Hughes takes the photo back, carefully holding on to it so that he doesn't smudge or damage the picture.]

Of course. I have a few more...though nothing compared to the photo albums back home...and then one was messed up before I got here.

[He looks down at the photo, the usual combination of pride and sadness in his smile now, it's probably familiar at this point. He looks back at Keith.]

Remember to call me when you get back to your room. I'm gonna go back to bed.