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[sunbaked_baker]

Sunshine is pretty sure she must've slept crooked or something last night. She woke up tired, which is not out of the realm of what counts as 'normal' for her, but also aching like she had hauled rocks the previous day. A full-body crick-in-the-neck. That was new, and not something she wants to become a habit. So, despite the aches and pains as well as the cold, heavy clouds, and sporadic rain lingering from yesterday's storm, Rae forces herself to get up, get dressed, and go outside to stretch and do her morning run.

Though 'morning' is being generous. Dawn is still late, this time of year, and the overshadowing weather just delays daylight further. The bar grounds and lake shore are as dark as midnight.

Usually, her morning run is almost serene, if she doesn't let herself dwell on why it's necessary. She uses her run as a good opportunity to spend some time getting her thoughts in order before the day begins, her Dark Sight letting her find her way through the dark with hardly any effort. But Shiva wept, it's wretched outside today. Even with her running shoes' good traction, the mud of the saturated ground requires her to pay attention to every footfall to keep from slipping in it. She stumbles more than once, and the going is more arduous than usual.

By halfway around the darkened lake, she knows she has to slow down. Her head is pounding, and her chest isn't thanking her for all the lungfuls of cold, wet air. Rae leans on a rain-soaked tree trunk, coughing so hard she see sparkling bursts of color behind her eyelids. Like fireworks.

Damnation.

Comments

[auxin]

There's a skinny watchman on a jog around the lake, in full uniform, because he needs to be used to the weight.

He stops when he sees Rae, and hovers at a distance for a moment before asking.

"You okay? Got a stitch?"

[sunbaked_baker]

Looking up at the question, Rae holds up a hand in the universal 'I'm okay, just give me a minute' gesture, the other still resting on the tree trunk for balance while she waits for the coughing fit to pass for good.

She takes a few deep breaths after, feeling the faint ache in her chest and hearing the roughness of her voice. "Sorry about that. Came out of nowhere."

[auxin]

"Seems to be a bit of a cough going around." Auxin says, offering her his water bottle. "And it's a bit horrible out here, it's true."

[sunbaked_baker]

"Ah, thank you," she says, accepting the water bottle and taking a drink to help soothe her aching throat. "It's pretty wretched, yeah. Spring rain and mud but none of the warmth yet."

She shivers slightly, her tone wry. "I had been hoping a run'd help me feel better, not worse. Shows how much I know."

[auxin]

Auxin isn't medically trained. Heck, he'd probably take his colds to his mother. But she doesn't look very well and she's shivering and it's quite a walk back.

He takes his armour off for a moment, pulls off the jumper underneath, and offers it to her. It's clean, but a scruffy-looking thing, heavily darned, and slightly too small for him.

"Here, it's dry under where the armour sits at least. It's not good to get too cold when you've been for a run. Can I walk you back?" he asks.

[sunbaked_baker]

Rae stares at him, surprised and... touched.

"That's so very kind of you," she says, in a faintly amazed tone that indicates she hadn't expected anything like him. She accepts the jumper, and pulls it on over her head. It is damp in places, but still warm from being worn, and feels a bit like being wrapped up in a blanket. The sleeves are long enough that her hands are mostly tucked inside them. It keeps out the chill very well, even if her head is still pounding and her chest feels like there's something sitting on it. "Thank you."

"I think you're right, too. I should probably... give up on today's run. It'll be warmer in the bar, and I'll order us some tea when we get there, to say thanks."

[auxin]

Auxin looks a bit embarrassed.

"Sorry it's a big mucky, like." he says.

He walks back with her. He'd feel bad just leaving her out here if she keeled over on the way. He's warmed up from the run, but he's used to the cold, and Mum makes him wear his string vest under his regular vest. His bare arms are skinny, but what he's got there is muscley.

"I can't remember if we've exchanged names before, I'm Auxin."

[sunbaked_baker]

"It's warm," she says, shaking her head to dismiss his apology as unnecessary, but stops as the movement makes the world lurch unpleasantly "and very much appreciated."

Her steps are uneven as she picks her way back around the shoreline with him.

"To be honest, I'm not sure, either," Rae admits, grinning slightly. "It's good to meet you, Auxin. My name is Rae. Rae Seddon. Most people call me Sunshine, though."

[auxin]

"Nice to meet you, Sunshine."

He offers her a hand. "Don't fall in the lake, or we'll both be getting wet."

[man_without_fear]

Matt can't stand it anymore. Being bound is driving him mad and he's too restless to stay inside the bar any longer.

After another night of not sleeping he departs his bed early and finds himself outside. With a hoodie on and sweats he set out for a walk, this early he doubts there are many people around so he has the cane in tow, but it's folded up and unused as he makes his way around the lake.

He doesn't mind the drizzle, in fact he finds a rock to perch himself on and sits back, glasses off, feeling the droplets fall upon his skin; trying to find some peace, though he doesn't quite achieve meditation.

The approaching sound of footsteps draws his attention, and he frowns when he hears how labored their breathing and motions are. He's moving before he registers who it is, and then he's moving faster when he realizes it's Rae.

He's there when she reaches the tree, seemingly appearing out of shadows, and offering an arm out to try and steady her.

"Rae, are you alright?" She's very obviously not.

[sunbaked_baker]

It's a dry cough, but hard. The kind that shakes the person and leaves the following inhale ragged and desperate. She doesn't notice Matt until he is right in front of her. She turns her face away, but Sunshine's hand nevertheless finds Matt's forearm and holds on, trying to keep herself steady as the coughing fit eventually subsides. It leaves her dizzy, the pounding headache not doing her any favors.

"Damn," she croaks, her voice rough and crackly. She clears her throat, her voice sounding a little more normal afterward. "Shiva wept. How'd that one sneak up on me?"

[man_without_fear]

He pats her back lightly with his other hand, trying to help her along as he holds her steady; his arm steady and sure.

"You sound like you might be catching something," he notes, training his senses on her, looking for other symptoms.

[sunbaked_baker]

"Oh, I hope not," she says, voice still scratchy but fervent all the same. Her hand is warm on his arm. Overwarm. The fever is low, at the moment, but is still there. "I never get sick back home, but Milliways just has to be special, I guess."

Rae makes herself straighten up, aware of how her chest feels like there's something sitting on it, how her legs and back ache. She tries not to rely on Matt's arm so much but she feels better knowing he's there. Just in case. "Thank you, by the way. I'm glad you were... around."

Rae is used to occasionally seeing one or two people sometimes while on her morning runs, but it's not something she could ever rely on. The miserably late night/early morning isn't most people's idea of a good time to be conscious, much less out wandering in the dark.

[man_without_fear]

He puts a steadying arm around her shoulder when she straightens, his concern overriding personal space for the moment.

"I think we should get you inside," he says, flashing her a quick smile that's meant to be reassuring.

He shakes his head to the thanks, partly because it's not necessary, but also in part to downplay his being out here.

"Well, I wasn't sleeping, so I thought some fresh air might be good."

[sunbaked_baker]

"I think you're right," Rae nods, admitting that her own thoughts are bending towards the blanket on the back of the couch, the warmth of the fireplace, and the existence of tea in her immediate vicinity. The dizziness still lingers as they make their way around the lake's edge, but her foot placement is sure even upon the unlit, uneven ground.

"It wasn't a great night for sleep, no," she commiserates, faintly wry. The night of unrest left her more fatigued than usual. "It was nearly the time I usually get up, anyway, so I gave in, but I got up feeling like I had been hauling rocks or something similar all night. Wanted to get outside and work the soreness out before imbibing enough caffeine to function. Early morning's usually nice and quiet out here compared to the bar, too." She adds, dryly, "when random runners aren't out hacking up their lungs, at least."

[man_without_fear]

Matt lets her lead, alert for any obstacles and ready to steady her if she needs it, but otherwise there just for support.

"Hm, some days require a caffeine IV drip," he jokes lightly. "Any idea what might've caused the soreness, and the coughing?"

He has guesses, and they're not great for her.

[sunbaked_baker]

"Not really," she admits with a slight shrug, gingerly angling them around an old fallen tree trunk well before they get close to it. "I assumed the soreness was just from sleeping crooked or something. Like waking up with a full-body crick in one's neck. The coughing didn't really start until I overdid it out here. And I thought I had been taking it easy."

Her voice has been sounding more discouraged, little by little, as she talks through it. Compared to her normal morning run, she had been taking it easy. "I really hope I'm not getting sick. I never get sick back home, but when I do in Milliways it's always a doozy."

[imthepilot]

Bodhi is sitting in the kitchen door, watching the rain. When he hears someone in distress he goes out in the rain, following the sound.

"Ms Seddon?"

{ooc: can we please handwave the whole Hannibal/Galen thing? The thread with them is still ongoing and unresolved (and somewhat messy)}

[sunbaked_baker]

(ooc: Sure! I've no problem with that.)

Rae holds onto the wet tree trunk to keep from falling over with the force of her coughing. It is the kind of dry, heaving cough that leaves every following breath ragged and desperate. It is some time before it passes enough for Rae to look up and notice his approach. She croaks, roughly. "Bodhi?"

[imthepilot]

"You're sick." He sheds his jacket and offers it to her. "You should come inside."

[sunbaked_baker]

"Thank you - I hadn't realized how cold out here it was," she says as she accepts the offered jacket. She shivers still, and not just from the cold. "I think you're right about heading in, though I hope you're wrong about a being sick."

"Thought I just needed a run to sort out how I was feeling this morning. I didn't sleep well, and woke up feeling wretched."

[imthepilot]

He offers her his arm. He's pretty weak himself but he's willing to help her as best he can. "You don't look well. I can make you some tea in the kitchen."

[sunbaked_baker]

Rae is still strong, but the coughing fit left her dizzy, her balance unreliable. But they will get there, little by little. "Tea sounds... fantastic, actually."

She adds, "And some painkillers too." Her head is pounding. Every heartbeat feels like an anvil-strike, giving the world around her a faint feeling of unreality.

"How are you feeling, for that matter?" she asks him, looking over the pilot with a concerned look. Interpreting shadows may have become almost second nature to her, but in her current state, she can't spare enough focus to try.

[imthepilot]

"I don't have any painkillers but the rats will know where they are." He helps her into the warm of the kitchen and into a seat, reaching for the kettle without answering her question.

[sunbaked_baker]

Rae rubs her eyes as they transition from the darkness of the lake area to the light and warmth of the kitchen. She counts it a victory that she sits rather than simply lets her knees give way when she reaches the chair.

There is concerned squeaking from some of the rats.

"Ivanhoe," she says to one of them, gently interrupting him mid-scolding, though her voice is still scratchy. "Could you get me some painkillers from the Bar? And some cough medicine, too, please. Thank you so much." The scolding squeaks diminish, only partially mollified, as the rat scurries from the kitchen.