(no subject)

[herr_bookman]

A pale and miserable Autor lurches through the door today, shivering and sweating. Once he manages to reach the bar without stumbling, he deliberately straightens his shoulders, intent on holding himself up despite the fever.

Tea, Autor thinks, lovingly cradling his cup, is the best invention in the history of all the universes. The first sip of any cup is always good, but the drink before him is ambrosia to Autor's swollen and parched tongue. He nurses the tea for a while, dehydrated but not wanting to swallow too quickly. Cup eventually drained, the clammy boy gathers his strength to attempt the stairs and return to work in the library.

Catch him here or there.

Comments

[knightoftheswan]

The Knight is just a magnet for Autor's troubles, isn't he?

But it is good to see relatively older Autor again. Lohengrin takes a seat by his friend some time after the teacup arrives.

Whatever he was going to say quickly turns into, "Autor, you look awful."

[herr_bookman]

He truly is.

Autor's vision swims as he swings his head around to meet his friend, but a smile pulls at his lips. "Thanks," he says, continuing to place healing herbs on his split knuckles. "I'd say, 'what's your excuse', but that's been done. How are you, Lohengrin?"

[knightoftheswan]

"I mean ill," he specifies. "And I'm doing considerably better than you appear."

[herr_bookman]

Autor glances away. "I know what you mean," he says quietly, and takes a sip of his tea. "Getting sick is an inconvenience"--he says as if he's just decided it--"but it's nothing I can't handle."

[sunbaked_baker]

There's a little girl peering at him over the bar, her arms crossed and resting on the countertop.

"You don't look so good."

[herr_bookman]

Autor sets his tea down, his split knuckles stinging. "Yeah, I was worried about that," he says with a shiver and a smile. "And I tried so hard to look at the mirror this morning."

[sunbaked_baker]

The corners of the girl's mouth turn up in a familiar wry smile, amused. "Mirror didn't break in horror, did it?"

Then, a little more serious. "You sick?"

[herr_bookman]

"It did, and I have seven years bad luck," he scoffs, dabbing at his face with his handkerchief. "Can you believe it?"

He shakes his head, and then regrets it because he's dizzy. "I probably am," he says, and his smile is apologetic.

[not_his_pa]

William's having some cocoa and reading when he sees Autor and frowns before walking over, standing beside him to be support if needed,

"Hey, what's wrong?"

[herr_bookman]

Autor swings his head around to face William, but not too quickly as he's lightheaded. "All signs point to me being sick," he says, with a shiver and a shrug. "Nothing I can't handle. How are you, William?"

[not_his_pa]

"Yeah, I thought so. How're you handling it?"

He's an older brother with a younger brother who's been terribly sick, this is older brother voice.

[herr_bookman]

Autor doesn't recognize that voice, but he's a musician--he knows tones. "I'm... I'm handling it," he says, curling his split knuckles around his tea. "It's just a fever."

[souffle_girlek]

"... What are you doing?" Oswin doesn't sound a whole lot better than Autor, if for entirely different reasons. Right now she also sounds rather dismayed at how she finds him.

[herr_bookman]

"Drinking tea?" Autor says, rather weakly, raising the cup. Healing herbs line his split knuckles, and he shrugs, stiffly. "How are you, Oswin?"

[souffle_girlek]

"You... shouldn't be out here, you should be in bed." She replies, cross and irritable and shaking underneath it all. "I don't know what you're trying to prove."

[herr_bookman]

"Oswin?" Autor says, dropping all pretense of falsity and light, and focusing on her with concern. He licks chapped lips. "What's wrong?"

[street_sparrow]

Gavroche eyes him.

"Autor, tell me you're going to go and lie down."

[herr_bookman]

"I'm going to go lie down," Autor says, not adding the eventually aloud. He shivers again, and cradles his tea in a pair of split knuckled hands. "Hello, Gavroche. How are you?"

[street_sparrow]

"Good, all things considered. And you?"

As if he couldn't see for himself.

[cook_the_rude]

"Autor," says an audibly worried voice coming up behind him as he's at the bar.

[herr_bookman]

Autor's vision swims as he slowly turns his head towards that voice. He straightens his shoulders and sets his teacup down on the bar. "Dr. Lecter," he says, greeting him with a curt nod despite the dizziness it induces.

[cook_the_rude]

"You look frightening," says Dr. Lecter, leaning in with an expression of worry on his face.

[guppy_sandhu]

Guppy had been about to go over, but then Hannibal went, and he froze up.

Once Hannibal has gone, he moves to catch up with Autor.

"Hey. Are you okay, was he bothering you?"

[herr_bookman]

Autor swings his head over to see Guppy, dizzy and flushed. "Huh? No, he--he normally bothers me, but today was an interesting case," he says, distracted by reviewing the previous conversation in his head. "Why do you look panicked already?"

[guppy_sandhu]

Guppy, who was fairly twitchy already, looks fairly taken aback at this direct question.

"Because... he's a cannibal, who isn't supposed to be treating patients, and you look unwell, why shouldn't I be alarmed?"

He tucks his hands in his pockets, because whenever he comes into contact with Lecter they start trembling.

"Do you need to sit down?" he asks.