Not the bird flu / closed

[moreweaponsthanyou]

Who: Fil, Liam and Aaron
What: Fil dragging Liam off to Aaron's clinic in Locke to get him some REAL medical attention
Where: The clinic
When: Around 1/17?
Warnings: Nothing.

[He has never met anyone so...utterly frustrating. It had been an adventure in itself, getting Liam off the mountain in one piece. (Fil was seriously thinking about getting a leash on the guy.) Then there was the short car ride to the teleporter in Vegas. (He hated driving these days, mostly on account of how he had to have cushions just so he could see over the dashboard). The teleporter, as much as he disliked that too, at least was working properly now and he was getting used to the sensation of going through it. The convenience of being able to travel so far so fast outweighed his past prior experience with it. Then it was followed by another, thankfully short drive to the clinic.

It was with a sigh of relief that he parks the car.]

C'mon, we're here.

Comments

[elfstoned]

Nearly. I'll be back in a few minutes -- then, we can talk.

[He leaves the room again: this time, to talk to Fil, to call in that favor in the lab downtown, to dismiss the rest of the staff, and to close down early. It's about twenty minutes before he returns, with something about grapefruit-sized wrapped in a towel under his arm.]

I'm sorry. I'm sure you have questions. I won't be able to tell you everything for confidentiality reasons, but I'll do what I can.

[He sits in a chair next to the table, setting the towel-bundle down on the floor with a dull, heavy-sounding thud.

There. Liam has his full attention, and his undivided time, for the next several hours.]

[arrowpoint]

[Liam waits anxiously, sending off a few texts to appropriate people. When Aaron returns he's mostly curled up on his side, though the arm with the IV in it sticks out some. The round object in the towel has him curious, but there were a lot more important things on his mind right now than to ask about that. Several questions come out at once.]

Okay so... seriously, I get that you can't tell me everything, but should I be worried? Is like, bird flu possibly a thing, here? Do I need to call my parents or anything?

And how do you know my old name, are you numbered?

[elfstoned]

We'll know for sure by tomorrow. I've called in a favor with an old friend -- she'll be able to tell us if this is a bad flu, or something else. I'm afraid I can't tell you what the something else is -- it was told to me in confidence by Julien Sakazaki, and it is up to him to tell you more. But I will say that it has to do with the numbers.

[A deep breath.]

As for your name, I learned it well over a year ago, when I began to remember things that had never happened to me. I had a number from April 2013 to December of that year. Then, I lost it -- for a full year, there were holes in my memory. My number seemed to be gone for good, but this morning, I began to remember.

Iston i nif gin, Legolas. Gin iston.

[arrowpoint]

...Aw, shit.

[It it had to do with being numbered, that usually meant bad things. He listens as the doctor tells him a bit about his numbered past. The Sindarin takes a moment to register with his fuzzy brain, but when it clicks he has trouble reverting to English.]

Ú-iston lin. Man i eneth lín?

[Just now it occurred to him that he didn't even know the doctor's name, and now he was putting his life in his hands.]

[elfstoned]

[He replies in the same language, using words harder to piece together using internet phrasebooks and conjugation charts.]

Do you truly know me not?

[It can't be seen, but his mouth twists into a wry smile behind his mask.]

Here, I am called Aaron Strider. But the name you knew me by...

[Aaron finds that he does not want to say. He couldn't tell you exactly why: maybe he wants to be remembered first out of some desire for acknowledgment, or maybe it's simple orneriness after a roller-coaster of a day.]

...you will remember soon enough, I am certain.

[arrowpoint]

Not fair. You know my name.

[By now Liam is speaking half in Sindarin and half in English. The fever obviously making it harder to concentrate and focus.]

How do you know me? You remember something about me?

[As sick and scared as he was, he was really curious now. The doctor knew him, but Liam didn't know who he was. There's an unpleasant sounding coughing fit. Liam gives a low groan.]

You got any cough medicine you think is okay for me to have?

[Yep. He's asking for the real stuff.]

[elfstoned]

[Aaron stands. He did bring some with him, back into the room -- he was just giving Liam a chance to talk, first. He gets a cup of water, two tablets, and a small medicine-cup full of liquid cough medicine.]

Take these first.

[It's Tamiflu -- probably their best bet at containing this if it's H1N5. He'll hand the capsules over, along with the water. Then, Liam gets to down the nasty-tasting cough medicine, but hey, at least there's still water. Aaron will make sure it all goes down all right.]

I do remember you. We journeyed together in dark places.

[arrowpoint]

[Liam sits up and takes both medications without question, though he does make a face at the cough medicine. After a few sips of water his head clears a bit, and he's back to English... Aaron's words, however, have him thoughtful. He looks... really uncomfortable.]

...Was it underground?

[elfstoned]

[He lifts his eyes to meet Liam's, and when he does, a darkness passes over them. His tone is not light when he says:]

Yes.

best time to bring up the balrog lol

[arrowpoint]

[The confirmation brings Liam's thoughts back to that memory. The one of the fire demon and Gandalf had given him nightmares for weeks on end. The creature had felt evil in his memory, even more than looked it. His eyes look distant and unfocused as he turns another shade of pale beyond that of his illness. His breathing quickens, and he grabs onto a nearby counter to stay sitting up.]

Dude, I don't...

[He stops to breathe, and gets interrupted by coughing.]

...I think I might... pass out.

tw: underground

[elfstoned]

[He holds out a hand -- he'll put it on Liam's shoulder, both a reassurance and a gentle nudge towards lying back down.]

Losto, Legolas. No more talk of dark things. We will speak more later.

Not everything I remember is dark.

[arrowpoint]

[He closes his eyes as he's guided back down, and tries to take some calming breaths without coughing. There is limited success. Liam's face very clearly speaks to how unwell he was feeling. ]

Yeah, uh... that's not a good memory for me. Were there any good times?

[As much as his body was telling him to sleep, his mind was still racing. He wanted the distraction, and though he's laying down and pulling the blankets high to fight the chills, he asks more. He's drifting off, but his last thought shouldn't be of the one that gave him nightmares.]

[elfstoned]

[Aaron's voice is calm and even.]

There were. I remember us in a forest, surrounded by music and lights. We must have been celebrating something.

[With a laugh:]

There was a lot of drinking. But the forest was beautiful, and the singing was all around us, and you were telling me about how even though Elves couldn't catch diseases, they could be sick if they drank too much. Which is good news for you -- even if this is what I'm afraid of, if that Elven immunity comes back, you have nothing to worry about.

[arrowpoint]

[He also has to laugh a little, though mostly at that last part. Laughing turns to coughing, however, so it's a moment before he catches his breath.]

Yeah it would be great to get an echo like that right now. So far, not happening... That sounds cool, though. The forest and stuff. Nature is kind of my thing.

[Liam shifts uncomfortably on the exam table, grimacing from his aches and pains. He reaches over his head with one arm and pulls part of his coat over his eyes to block out the light. He's nervous again when he speaks next.]

...What about you? Aren't you worried about catching this? You keep acting like... it could be really bad.

[Pause.]

If it is what you think it is... could I die?

[elfstoned]

If what I walked in here wearing isn't enough to protect me, I've already got it. Nothing I can do about that.

[He says it with a shrug, as though it doesn't matter all that much. Aaron Strider doesn't have the energy to worry about himself and his personal survival right now. He's too busy worrying about a H5N1 outbreak.

As for Liam's other question, Aaron takes a moment to consider how to answer that.]

And of course you could die. If your immune system is compromised enough, just about anything you catch could kill you. But, the human immune system is an incredible thing, and if you take care of it, it will take care of you.

[A beat.]

I hear you haven't been eating right.

[Yeah, he's going to scare Liam a little.]

[arrowpoint]

["Of course you could die" were not words he really wanted to hear. Sugarcoating was more Liam's style.]

Shit...

[He tries not to get himself too worked up, but it's difficult. He had to reach up to wipe away a tear before he can fling back his coat sleeve from his face and give Aaron his full attention. He tries to keep calm, but his voice wavers some.]

...Uh, well, I'm vegan. There's like, limited selection. They just don't get it.

[elfstoned]

Mm-hm.

[He's going to let you sit there for a moment under the Striderstare.]

It's not impossible to be both vegan and healthy. It just takes a lot of work. I'd ask if you'd been putting that work in, being sure to get enough protein and calcium and vitamin B12, but from the state of you when you came in, it's clear you're not.

[arrowpoint]

[He's quiet for a while. These were things he knew already in theory. He could tell you the ins and outs of being a good vegan as if he were reading a pamphet really... but in practice...]

I know but... some of that stuff is gross. Like lentils. Lentils are gross.

[The thought that his poor eating habits could be responsible for his future death, however, was starting to hit home. Worried, exhausted and feeling sicker than he had in a long time, Liam finds himself working himself up into tears and wishing that his dad were here. He turns a little on the table, and puts the coat sleeve back over his face.]

[elfstoned]

You have a choice, then: suck it up and eat food you don't like, or switch to a diet that's better for you.

[...but then, his face and voice soften. He looks less like a stern doctor now -- he looks kinder. He lets himself feel pity for Liam -- the poor boy is sick and neither of them know if he's going to die, and it looks like the message has gotten through.

...he made Legolas cry, he dimly realizes, and feels a little bad about that. Aaron really, genuinely wants Liam to pull through, and not only because of the avian influenza.]

There's ethically-sourced meat and dairy out there, if you look for it.

[arrowpoint]

Yeah, I know. I grew up on free-range. I went vegan in college.

[Which, if you judge his appearance, wasn't too long ago. Truthfully, most of his reasoning was due to peer pressure. He coughs through tears for a moment, then calms himself.]

Last summer I passed out and took iron pills for a while after but I stopped.

[It was mostly due to a numbered incident but...]

[elfstoned]

Tsk.

[He's clearly disapproving, but the lecture is over.]

So, why vegan, specifically?

--everybody else was doing it--

[arrowpoint]

[He thinks back, which is hard to do right now with his lack of ability to concentrate.]

Uh... My friends from Hiking club were taking this class on it. It's better for the environment, and you don't like, need to eat animal products so...

[Liam turns on the exam table, grimacing. It wasn't the most comfortable surface.]

Look, I get it. Poor life choices and all that - but if I die it's not going to matter if I'm vegan or not so, can we just, not, right now?

[There's a sigh and a few coughs before he mutters something under his breath;]

...I just want to go home.

[elfstoned]

[Ahh. Everybody else was doing it. He understands.

And he'll drop it.]

You should rest. Sleep, if you can.

[He considers Liam for a moment.]

Or, if you can't, I can talk about something better.

[arrowpoint]

Believe me, I'd love to sleep, but I feel like shit, I might die, and - no offence - this table isn't exactly comfy.

[He tries to shift, but between the aches, chills, hard surface and having to keep his arm relatively straight for the IV, he's looking rather unhappy. He pulls the blankets high, covering most of his face.]

So... I'd appreciate the distraction, man.

[elfstoned]

Most of what I remember of my old life isn't fit to tell. Speaking with you in the forest is one of the only happy memories of him I have.

But I do remember a story. It might have happened, it might be legend, or it might be pure myth. I don't know.

Would you like it in English or the Elf-tongue?