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

[sixth_attack]

Sechs may not have been aware of the people around him in the Sun Room, but he sure made his presence known by the snoring he was making into the couch he slept on. With his head tucked into the cushion and his back facing everyone else, he had managed to keep his napping spot since earlier that morning, too sick and achy from the virus in his system and the post-battle wounds from the night before. A nurse had been kind enough to just leave a lunch bag beside his couch without disturbing him, knowing how stubborn this wide-spread sickness was but seemingly unaware of just how serious it really was.

To top it all off, Gally the kitten had given up trying to get the grouchy Replica to play with her, so she made herself a make-shift nest out of his scruffy hair, curling up in a little grey ball on top of his head. Sechs was too tired to push the pest off, as long as she helped block out the bright light of the Sun Room out of his eyes and didn't dig her claws into his scalp, he could have cared less. Conversely, Gally herself didn't seem to mind the noise coming from her hairy sleeping spot either.

*Snort!*

[no_dont_go]

Aigis thought she would be alone for the duration of the lunch period, but the institute always surprised her with the most unexpected encounters. No one was introduced to her and no one came of their own volition. Instead, it was sound of a great snore that drew her up in surprise. Glancing around, Aigis blinked when she saw the source just a few yards away. Sechs sat there, slouched and dozing with... a cat on his head?

Aigis didn't know someone could sleep with that kind of pressure to the head. But then again, Sechs was no ordinary human by far. Interest piqued, Aigis made an effort to stand and walked over to her friend. Blinking owlishly, she reached up and touched his arm softly. "Sechs-san? You have a cat on your head."

[sixth_attack]

"...Mmph?" Like pressing a button, Sechs' snoring immediately ceased at Aigis' touch. He slowly shifted out from his afternoon slumber. "...Cat on my head...?"

Meanwhile, Gally the kitten woke up faster than Sechs but not fast enough. Opening her big eyes, she just about mewed at Aigis when her perch upon Sechs' head abruptly turned over, sending the kitten tumbling down to the floor. She gracefully landed on her feet, but was not in the least pleased about her sudden eviction. She mewed angrily at Sechs, who only drowsily looked over his shoulder at her with an uncaring shrug. "What? That's what you get for bugging me," he grumbled at the disgruntled cat.

Rolling over onto his back, Sechs tiredly stretched out like he was a big cat himself before sitting up on the couch. "Hey Aigis... Uh, that's just Gally, she's always pestering me," he drowsily explained as the aforementioned cat stalked off with a huff. "You uh, you doing ok?"

[no_dont_go]

Aigis watched with light amusement as she friend awoke and, in turn, knocked the cat from its warm perch on his head. He had given the kitten such a charming name. "Gally-san seems attached to you."

Aigis took a seat next to her tired friend, not feeling she was required to ask. As a fellow sick patient, she figured Sechs would understand. As for how she was doing... "It could be worse. I am certainly not completely well but..." She turned to him, suppressing a shudder after a chill. "I have not yet undergone any transformations."

[sixth_attack]

"Yeah... I don't know why. Maybe I remind her of somebody..." Sechs replied as he lazily rubbed his eyes. "She sure reminds me of someone I know that's for certain," he said with a tired smirk, reflecting on the kitten's similarities with his Original, Alita. "Got the face, small size and stubbornness to boot!"

Sechs' focus shifted from Gally to Aigis as she took a seat beside him. Seeing her as an ally and friend, Sechs didn't mind sharing the couch with her, but it still bothered him to see the fellow droid looking so ill... "That's... That's good. Uh, not that feeling bad is good, but not transforming..." Sechs replied, feeling the urge to do something to make her feel better but having no idea how to do so.

However, he did remember the important discovery he made the night before. "Hey, I managed to find that second clue the radio mentioned last night!" he blurted out, then found himself trailing off with a sheepish frown. Looking down at his lap and messaging the bite wound in his leg, Sechs awkwardly scratched at the back of his head and unhappily mumbled, "And uh... I don't really get it yet..."

[no_dont_go]

Aigis smiled gently at his explanation. "A nice reminder." Much like her Schrodinger-san reminded her of Heat. Those reminders could be sad, but they were also reasons to go on.

The smaller android nodded. "There is little we can say is good here, but not transforming is definitely on that list." She shook her head and immediately felt a little dizzy. "However, the complications that come from it are hardly delightful."

She could do without the aching, the shivering and the erratic beating of her inner mechanisms. The crawling of the skin and the cold sweats were also less than agreeable to the android. The mention of clues, however, had her lifting her head again in interest. "Perhaps we can figure it out together? What is it that you found?"

[sixth_attack]

"Yeah, tell me about it..." Sechs groaned, closing his eyes and wishing away the damn fatigue and nausea to no avail.

Sechs nodded to Aigis' suggestion, feeling a bit encouraged knowing that she had a good head set on her shoulders and could probably figure this out for him. She definitely had more brains than him. "Who didn't?" Sechs grumpily thought to himself. At least he knew he was smarter than some people like those dumb twins Elf and Zwölf! If he gave those two a good shake he'd hear their brain chips rattling in their heads!

"Well, it was in the X-Ray room and near the first clue that popped up before," he began, leaning back against the couch with a soft grunt. "It was this old painting on the wall, a picture of a woman holding a man's severed head on a plate. The title of the painting was called... Uh... 'Salome with the Head of John the Baptist' or something like that. Below that painting was a pile of these dried leaves. I took a few just in case..."

"Someone mentioned on the bulletin board that the painting is an old story about some guy named John getting his head chopped off because some dancer asked for it," he explained with a dubious shrug. "She impressed some king so he gave her whatever she wanted and this guy's head on a platter was it for some reason."

Letting out a gruff sigh, Sechs rubbed at his temple with frustration. "So that with the leaves and John being a Baptist who hangs around water... I know those are clues but I don't get it yet... Any of this make sense to ya?"

[no_dont_go]

Aigis listened patiently to Sechs' whole story without comment. She blinked a few times after he finished, then looked to the side as she searched all of her mind. Perhaps it was the slight feverish headache that had taken over, but she couldn't place anything he had said.

Frowning, she shook her head. "I am trying but... Nothing that you have said strikes any chords in me." She shook her head again, as if trying to shake off her ignorance.

"I do not know anyone named John or Salome, or what a 'baptist' is, unfortunately."