acatalepsy_logs | [open] you can lead a sick horse to water

Entry tags:

[open] you can lead a sick horse to water

Who: Konoha and YOU
Where: around the Temple
When: 8/28 - 9/20
Rating PG???
What: catch all log for hanging with a centaur before or after the sick sets in

01 | GARDENING | 8/28

[What Konoha really wanted to do was to go home. But she knows... She has to make the most of her situation. Has to try and stay positive the best she can. So, like she'd talked about with Nier... a garden seemed like a good idea. With the plants withering like they were planting didn't actually seem like it would work, but at least she could get the field ready? It seemed like something to do, at least, and hard labor is what Konoha did best.

So she gets to work. In the first few days she can be found out near the woods, sleeves tied back and a cloth wrapped around her forehead to keep sweat out of her eyes as she starts prepping the dirt. Digging out stones, ripping up dead roots, cutting away weeds, dragging a makeshift plow behind her to till the soil...

At the sight of anyone from the Circle, however, she takes a moment to give a friendly wave.]

02 | BATHHOUSE | 8/30

[All the plowing she's been doing works up a sweat, and it wasn't often she had the luxury of a bath big enough for jinba that wasn't... wading into the river. Not that there's anything wrong with rivers, but. The bathhouse at the temple is more luxurious than she's ever really tried before, and it's so comfortably hot???

She could be mistaken for a human woman at first glance, with all the steam, but the dark shadow in the water reveals her more equine half. That and the long black tail floating towards the top of the water. Sighing happily and resisting the urge to try and roll, Konoha lets her hair down from it's usual bun and sets about running her fingers through it to try and untangle it as she sinks a bit deeper into the water.]

Ah... This is nice.

03 | HELPING THE SICK | 9/5

[Konoha has never gotten sick when her parents or the other humans in the village had. She didn't really hear a lot about jinba getting sick at all, really... So she thinks it will be fine. She doesn't have enough education to know that this might be because, as similar as her upper body looks, a jinba and a human are different species, and not all sickness can cross those differences... She just knows that she's probably fine.

So she tries to help.]

Morning... I brought breakfast.

[She pokes her head in the door of one of the bedrooms in the Temple, smiling through the concern on her features and a steaming bowl of what looks like porridge in her hands.]

Feeling up to eating?

04 | KITCHEN STUMBLE | 9/12

[Fun fact for anyone studying this outbreak... Species doesn't matter. Jinba get sick, too.

She's been feeling tired, but... She's also been working hard as more and more people got sick. Hasn't really been sleeping well. The low fever, that... had been more concerning, but what could she do about it? She did tell someone, she wasn't trying to hide anything-

But she also didn't expect it to take a turn so fast. To be so clumsy as to catch a hoof on a stone, to send the basket of apples she'd been carrying rolling across the floor and her sprawling right after with a crash as her attempt to catch herself failed and only managed to knock cutlery off the counter.

She'll get up... She will. In a minute. Meanwhile, a lone apple rolls out the kitchen door.]

05 | HUMPTY DUMPTY | 9/17

[It's so hot. She knows it has to be because of the fever, knows she's supposed to sweat it out... but she still can't help the urge, anxiously twisting where she lies on the ground in her temple room to try and undo the bear hide wrap she wears tied about her waist, try and loosen the fit of her shirt as sweat beads on her dark skin.

Sometime in the last night... She's lost the strength to stand. Had gradually collapsed to her knees, then to her belly, and then to her side. She forgets how long ago. Long enough for the pillow she'd taken with her to soak with sweat, for her throat to parch and her stomachs to twist in protest, both starving for food and roiling to reject it.

The sound of a visitor... doesn't even really register.]

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You don't... know... ?

[Konoha's gaze drops down to her own body, or... as much of it as she can see over her tea-stained chest and her other chest.

He talked like this metal thing was some kind of new development, but surely that was just her misunderstanding, right?]

Nope, not even a clue.

[Perhaps he shouldn't be so nonchalant about that, but it's been an accepted thing for such a long time that the concept of it being weird doesn't even cross his mind.]

The eggheads that made me and everyone else like me are lonnnng gone, and wouldn't you know? They didn't leave us a user's manual. And I'm not gonna lie, I'm not really going to volunteer to have my guts looked at for science. I like them staying inside me, for the most part.

[He furrows his browplates, thinking hard.]

I mean, I don't have a stomach? That one I'm sure about. So beats me where anything goes in there.

[It's... really confusing, (maybe even if she wasn't feverish), how he sounds so casual about a thing such as... not knowing his own body?

Connor had talked a lot about his "Creators", so... she's at least familiar with the concept, but.]

So... you just woke up metal one day... and still have an appetite?

[Was he a metal baby, like Connor was???]

[Sighing quietly, Cayde leans back against the counter and contemplates the cup in his hand for a moment, trying to find the right words for everything.]

It's kinda complicated, yeah?

[Okay, very complicated.]

Real long story, but you hit the gist of it on the head. I went somewhere, gave everything to ice and snow, and then bam, you get the handsome devil you see before you.

[At least...he thinks. That's what his old journals said, but there's always the possibility that none of it was true.]

[Bam.

Konoha stares somewhat blankly yet while she tries to work though how that could be possible... until she remembers it's probably impossible, and things would be easier if she'd just accept that here, impossible things just happened.

Is this what handsome looked like to the metal people? Did that mean 9S was ugly because he looked so human???]

Do you... like being metal? You look real durable...

[Well that's one hell of a question, and he can really only shrug in response.]

Do you like being you?

[It's an honest response, no sarcasm or snark for once.]

Kinda the same thing. I mean, can't really say what it would be like to be anything else. I mean, I eat, I breathe, I bleed, I suppose it having squishy flesh wouldn't be too different.

[He pauses for a moment, the lights in his mouth flickering slightly in amusement.]

Oh...

[Well, when he puts it that way... She doesn't get how he eats or breathes or bleeds, but... he's already proven he eats, so... she probably should just believe him.

She has the wherewithal this time to look a bit chagrined, stops patting at her tea-stained cloths a moment to scratch a bit nervously behind an ear.]

That was a stupid question, huh... Sorry, I'm kind of... dumber than usual today...

[Or more feverish, whichever.]

Nah, not a stupid question at all. [There's another flicker of his lights.] Back where I'm from? Where there are a lot more people like me? People still ask questions. It's human nature to be curious. Or...whatever you are nature. I've been rude and haven't even asked, looks like there's egg on my face.

[He tuts, however, and shakes his head very slightly.]

Don't ever sell yourself short though, you're not dumb. [Spacey today, yes, but never dumb.] We're all from different places, yeah? All things considered, it's really normal that there's stuff we've never encountered before.

[It's easier to imagine that kind of world after Struxta, at least. Before that... Konoha doesn't think she could have even been able to picture a world full of people made of metal like that.]

... Jinba.

[A bit belatedly, she clarifies. Usually has the mind to explain that apparently most people knew her as a centaur, but. She did prefer Jinba.]

... Thanks, though.

[She smiles a bit, managing to at least... get her tea in her mouth this time.]

Everyone here is so nice, I'm glad... I never thought getting kidnapped would mean I ended up with nice people.

Jinba.

[He files that away, glad that he asked.]

No thanks needed, I don't make a habit of telling lies. [Well, okay, that's not true, but it's true in this particular case.]

Strange how we're all here, and it all just feels like one big happy family. Who'd have thought that so many different people could get along so easily.

[There's a flicker of amusement in his eyes.]

I think we're all just that awesome, that's gotta be the reason why.

[He has a point. Even a bit fever hazy, Konoha knows that, because she's had similar thoughts. This was more than just being from different domains... this was worlds.

Her smile turns a bit bittersweet, looking down at her tea.]

... yeah. It is kind of surprising, isn't it... no war or anything.

[That certainly isn't expected, and for a moment Cayde is without words. When he does find his voice, there's more than a little concern that leaks in.]

That's a pretty heavy thing to jump to right away. Just because we're all here doesn't mean we're all immediately going to start hating each other.

I just mean... war is what happens when people can't understand each other or get along.

[Maybe she doesn't know all the specifics or requirements, maybe there isn't enough people her to make a war... but. Stories of war are all she knows, and the versions in stories...]

... right? I'm still glad it's not that, either way.

[That is a point, and one that he has to concede.]

Something like that, yeah. But I think all of us hear, we're not mean enough to start throwing punches just because we're all a little different. And if someone thinks of trying? Well, I've got a boot, they've got a butt, one'll meet the other pretty quick.

[He's already come from a recent war; there's no room for another one, even on this small of a scale.]

So we don't have to worry about it, I think we should more worry about everyone gettin' real tired around here and whether or not we're gonna have any more wine tonight. Those seem like some pretty important things.

Haha...

[For some reason the idea of him using his big metal foot to kick people like literally in the butt is very amusing to her fever brain, and she kind of... stutters into a small laugh.]

Are we going to get drunk instead of fighting? That sounds good to me... I don't think any wine here is strong enough for a jinba, but we can try...

[Maybe post sickness.]

[A laugh? That's good, right? She still doesn't seem very strong, but maybe this is an improvement?]

I mean, we can, but I'm thinking that right now it might be better for you to get some rest. I promise I won't steal all the wine until then, scout's honor.

[He motions with his cup towards Konoha.]

Tea first, then some downtime, and then we'll try to get you drunk, okay?

[As much as she wants to protest that she's fine... She knows she isn't, that she really doesn't have a leg to stand on if she tried to protest. Even though she should have four.]

... yeah, I guess that's a good idea.

[Tea first... so. She moves to finish her drink.]

I'll just... take a nap.

[He makes a motion with his cup, agreeing without words, but still wary.]

I promise. You, me, everyone, we'll get real roaring drunk and have a good time. Right now though? [He pauses.] Right now you look like you've been working too hard, so yeah, nap. Naps are great. And you let people know if you need anything, yeah?

Do metal people nap... ? Do you nap... ?

[Was that a rude question? She doesn't know anymore... He eats, so he probably naps, right?

Tea finished, Konoha struggles back onto all four feet, swaying a moment before she gets her balance corrected.]

I will, I will...

[Okay, that question admittedly throws him off for a moment. There's...no good answer for that that won't inspire more questions, and so-]

Yeah. Yeah we nap.

[Best not to get into any of that right now. It's better for him to reach out to try to offer an arm so that she can steady herself.]

Come on now, easy, easy-

[As much as she does hate it, feeling so weak... She takes the arm, shaking her head a bit slowly as if that will clear it from the fever haze slowly growing stronger.]

Let's take a nap, then... Just a little while...

[The courtyard seemed nice and sunny, but... Okay... maybe her room was better... And not because she was feeling sick or anything...]

Let's.

[He's not good at the comfort thing, it isn't something that he was made for, but there's something that tugs at his circuits seeing her so down like this. She's a good kid, this was...okay it was worrying. He pushes the thoughts out of mind, however, and lets himself take as much of her weight as she's willing to give.]

You got a room around here? Or should we just crash someone's pad?

[It's only a little bit of a joke.]

[Even if he's made of... like, super obviously made of metal, he's still human-shaped, mostly human-sized, so Konoha is loathe to put too much weight on him, well aware of... how heavy jinba were.

But she does... still kind of lean on him. Mostly for balance.]

Of course I have a room... Don't you have a room... ?

[A bit too feverish for jokes to land, Konoha answers... way too seriously, pointing vaguely towards the living quarters.]

[His knee-jerk response is to respond with something snarky, something particularly witty, but given that they're traversing the halls and Cayde isn't entirely sure that she'd even understand at the moment he fights the urge back.]

'course I do. Real homey, a guy's gotta have a place to relax. Little bit cramped, but if you want we can crash there. Up to you.

Oh, no, mines fine... We don't want people to gossip...

[The scandal, Cayde???? An unwed centaur and robot man???

So she sways her way down the hall towards her room instead, gesturing somewhat weakly again at the door.]

This is me...

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