Day 66: Sun Room (Third Shift)

[freewill]

When the shift changed, Gabriel didn't hesitate to take his leave, and Castiel couldn't blame him for that. He likely had other people he wanted to talk to, and as a newer patient, he might even be curious about some of the other areas. Castiel had seen it all multiple times by now, so when his nurse asked him if he wanted to move elsewhere, he declined.

It seemed better to remain in one spot for as long as he could and stay still so that his body wasn't pushed past its limits. His nurse couldn't argue with that, so instead she went to go get him some more painkillers, which he swallowed down instantly.

Relying on human drugs... It seemed ridiculous, though Dean had once given him a whole bottle to take. He wouldn't mind doing so again, but with the way his body was right now, that likely wasn't a good idea. So he'd just have to go along with what the nurses allowed him.

"Though Michael, you should really try to eat," his nurse insisted as she set a brown bag into his lap. "I know you're hurting a lot right now, but you'll feel better if you can get some food down."

Maybe she was right, but when Castiel stared at the bag, it seemed like a trial to even open it. Maybe if he just drank something... Slowly, he lifted his hand to push the bag open and reached inside to see what was there.

"There we go," the nurse encouraged him with a smile. "I'll be close-by in case you need anything."

At that point, she walked off, and he was left alone again. Maybe after he drank something, he could even see about getting some rest. Humans could sleep sitting up, couldn't they?

Comments

[freewill]

No, the boy misunderstood, and it wasn't as if Castiel had meant to drag information out of him in such a way. He'd been operated on, yes, but not by the institute. If the boy's eye had been toyed with, then the doctors here had to be responsible. As far as Castiel knew, most patients didn't want to discuss it. And now he'd led this stranger to think they had something in common when that wasn't the case.

"No, another patient operated on me," he clarified. He was too exhausted to try and pull together an apologetic look. He had a hard enough time getting this vessel to do what he wanted when he was at full strength; now it seemed impossible. "I was one of the infected." He lifted his hand to show the boy his hand, where the rash that had covered it was already fading.

Ryuugamine Mikado, he said. What a dramatic name. Castiel nodded to the other patient. "I am Castiel," he said.

[ofthemotions]

Another... patient? Confusion slid across the boy's face obviously. It was possible that there were people with the skills needed for that here, yes, but the need for it escaped him. The further clarification given by the man was anything but. Infected? What did that even mean? The last Mikado knew some people were getting sick, but to call it something like that just seemed strange.

The man introduced himself in turn before Mikado could ask, and the boy nodded politely. Castiel. Another strange name. More like Tolten than Lily or Snow, but it was still something he had never heard before. Rather than repeat it to sound it out, Mikado questioned Castiel further. "You said... infected. What do you mean by that?"

[freewill]

How could the boy not know? Castiel frowned for a moment. He found it hard to believe that Ryuugamine would have been experimented on when he'd only been here a day, so how had he missed the news about the illness?

But Castiel's nausea had been growing steadily since the conversation started, and it was starting to reach a point where he felt like something bad was going to happen, though he didn't know exactly what. He didn't know how to read this body or the signs it gave him.

"It means... There are a group of us that fell ill," he said, hoping that he could distract himself from how awful he felt with conversation. "But it's no ordinary illness. Those who let it go untreated will eventually turn into a monster of some kind." He sucked in a breath, hoping that it would help with the nausea, but it didn't seem to do much good.