Night 62: M11 - M20 Hallway

[age_of_kings]

After bidding good night and good luck to Kratos and being left alone in his room, Tolten stood and decided that he may as well make use of his time. It was rather like being in prison, or so he fancied. He'd never been imprisoned before, but he'd listened to the stories around the fire and the dinner table. And while he couldn't do much insofar as putting his mind to work, he could do his best to stay in top physical shape.

Even if he was (perhaps) under the weather. He didn't know what to think of the announcements that were made, either during the day or after dark. But he didn't trust them one bit. And until he could discuss it with someone else or read the bulletin, he was going to ignore it. It was really easier that way.

But in the meantime he would set himself a routine. Which would involve stretching and warming up each evening between dinner and whatever was to be done that night. Even if he was staying in. Really, especially if he was staying in. At least running about and fighting was physically invigorating!

The young king managed to strip off his shirt and stretch a handful of times before he felt light headed and decided to lay down on his bed for a moment. Just to catch his breath.

He truly hoped this wasn't warning signs of some horrible thing...

[Locke!]

Comments

[kings_thief]

Between Tolten's last statement, Locke's relief, and his still dissipating nervousness, the treasure hunter laughed. He couldn't help it, it was just...completely ridiculous and embarrassing and a little funny. Besides...it made him feel a little better, emotionally if not physically. "Sorry, I've never been very good at the courtship thing. Guess I'll just have to take some lessons first. Truth be told, I have been feeling a little sick pretty much all day."

For the first time since he'd set foot in Tolten's room he relaxed a bit and sighed, promising himself he'd never do something so impulsively stupid for a while. His quota had run out for now. "I am glad to hear about the weapon. It would be nice to be more useful whenever we go out." It would be nice to no longer be a liability.

[age_of_kings]

Tolten stood back up, casually grabbing his shirt and pulling it back on. Or at least trying to appear as though he were doing so casually. His face sobered some and he nodded, frowning.

"There have been...mentions," he said, in regards to feeling ill. "I don't know what I believe, honestly. But...it's a bit worrying. I assumed I was just fatigued and nauseated due to running about all night, every night. I don't assume that any longer."

But surely...surely it was just some manner of bug. They were kept in closed quarters, only bathed every three days...even in a 'hospital' that was a breeding ground for illnesses.

"You're very useful, Locke. Just not currently for killing things."

[kings_thief]

He, largely, ignored Tolten's last statement, sparing it only a shake of his head. He didn't agree but he didn't want to turn it into a discussion either; it was better to just keep those thoughts in his head.

"Yeah, I assumed the same thing...but then it didn't go away so, now, I don't really know. I'd almost rather it was just something we caught but-" But every time he tried to dismiss the idea as nothing but fatigue or diet he remembered the gas and whatever it had been that had messed with his head the next day. It had to have been something they had slipped him-and others- because hallucinations certainly weren't normal, it had nothing to do with the gas from the night before, and it had faded away like something running it's course through him.Of course, in that case, the symptoms had been the same for everyone.

"Tolten, what exactly are you suffering from? Is it fever, nausea, and dizziness, or is it something else?" If their symptoms were the same then Locke was more than certain it was some sort of drug or something like that. If not....well...he didn't know.

[age_of_kings]

"Light fever, some nausea earlier...headache and some muscle aches on and off." Tolten shrugged. "Nothing terrible, but...."

Still worrying, all things considered. "Just...generic illness, really. If I felt this way back home I'd chalk it up to stress or overexertion." The same things he'd chalked it up to here. "But if a significant number of patients are ill...the man I met in the showers wasn't exactly at his peak of performance either."

And with the announcements, what on earth was he to think?

"But really it makes more sense to think there's a bug going about than that perfectly normal illness symptoms are a sign of something more sinister. Hospitals are a breeding place for germs."

[kings_thief]

"Yeah....that would make sense." Locke pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. Maybe he was just getting paranoid from everything that had happened. People got sick all the time. Usually he'd be able to take something or sleep for a couple days and be fine, but not here. Getting sick frustrated him to no end on a good day.

"You're right, about tonight, we should just...relax as best as possible until 'tomorrow.' It might help." He still wasn't entirely certain how 'tomorrow' could really be the next day when a guy didn't actually sleep in this place. It was unnerving.

In an attempt to lighten the mood again Locke flashed Tolten a smile that, he hoped, looked better than he felt. "So, what should we do with our night? Lie around?"

[age_of_kings]

"If nothing else perhaps we'll be in a better position to judge if this illness is born of normal causes or not." 'Probably' and 'most likely' weren't certainties by any mean. And while Tolten kept repeating his logic to himself, he knew as well as Locke did that it was simply a hope.

But Locke had a good follow up point. What to do? The young king didn't have that much experience with just sitting around and talking. Oh, there'd been plenty of it on the Nautilus, but...

Well, he'd never done much talking.

"Tell me about your world," he said, suddenly.

[kings_thief]

"Hmm?" Well, that was one thought. It wasn't like Locke wasn't curious about Tolten and the world he'd come from, there just never seemed to be an appropriate time to ask; now, when they had nothing else to do, certainly seemed like the best. "Well....okay. Don't really know what to talk about, but I can, if you want." He smirked. "But! You've got to tell me about your world in return."

He shifted slightly, thinking about what he could say. "Well....it's a pretty nice place...or, well, it was. There were conflicts and all that, but they were never all that huge. There were three ruling kingdoms, one on each of the continents and it was all pretty peaceful. Then, one of the rulers, emperor Gestahl, went power-crazy and decided he wanted to rule everything. He started attacking other villages and cities, trying to gain power through fear and magic." He paused, wincing slightly at the thought of how Vector had attacked his own village, and Locke hadn't even been there to fight. It was still a little bit of a sore spot in his mind, even now.

"A group of people formed a resistance called 'The Returners' and we fought him as best we could, but it was pretty unevenly matched." He gave a wry smile, thinking of all the times The Returners would do something to sabotage the Emperor's efforts and yet it never seemed to have an effect. Not until Terra arrived, anyway.