still, lay it bare. (open)

[geometry]

Characters: Yelloweq and you
Setting: Floor 4; lounge. Backdated to the fifteenth.
Format: I'll do whatever, yo
Summary: The events of the last few weeks, including this goddamn sickness, finally hit Equius... and leave him as a screaming, shaking wreck clutching his head in the corner of a public area.
Warnings: Freakouts. Cursing. Oh, so much cursing.

[It hurts. Make it stop. Someone make it stop.]

[For quite a while now, Equius has been having some... upsets with this sickness that's going around. As if he really needed to be sick alongside the freezing coldness of the Tower and the whole debacle that had gone down with Eridan the other day. Those two things alone were enough to break his brain. But as if destiny really had to make it worse, there seemed to be a few unpleasant side effects to this damn cold. Nothing quite seems... right anymore. He can feel it. Everything in his perception has been altered -- all that physics-breaking he hates so much, that gives him the headaches so bad he has to avoid some floors altogether? Well, it now follows him around. So to all other residents of the Tower, the fourth floor looks just like it would on any other day. But for the one troll now staggering down the stairs (he hasn't been able to walk straight for quite a while), it's just enough to push him over the edge for reals.]

Oh god. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No no no no no no no no nonononononono...

[...Or maybe it was that he hasn't eaten anything for two days. That could be the reason too. Really, there were a lot of reasons why he could have been pushed over the edge this month. Maybe he had just been good at keeping them bottled until now, hidden under an oversized coat. But now he was repeating the word "no" many more times than a sane, healthy person would, at least until they escalated into something else. Somewhere between a cry and a whine:]

Make it stop!

[Whatever the cause, the fact of the matter was: the walls were spinning. There was a heartbeat shaking the room like small, steady earthquakes. The floor tilted in ways that Equius' Spacey sensibilities didn't think possible. It was nauseating for a normal person, sure; but add that to the fact that even the perception of warped Space brought on the damn migraines (which had gotten much worse since yesterday), what he did next shouldn't have come as a surprise. Though to anyone else in the room, it certainly would have come as a shock.]

[Equius screamed.]

MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT STOP--

[Loud and long, it was the kind of howling that could curdle blood, the #1 sign of a breaking mind. Someone on the next floor up or down could hear it quite clearly, since he wasn't that far from the staircase. And it didn't stop. It kept going for -- fuck, how long, a minute maybe? Something like that. We just don't know. Equius didn't know. He just screamed until his lungs couldn't do that anymore, and the lack of oxygen made his head swim even more, so he just kind of staggered off into the glass, letting his forehead loll onto it when he did. The icy coldness of the unbreakable glass made him scream more, but it was a sensation that wasn't the feeling of his brain leaking out his ears, so that was probably good. He threw his palms onto the glass too. Sure. Why not. WHY THE FUCK NOT.]

[He just kind of... keeled over from there, would be the best way to describe it. Eventually, all that was left on Floor Four was a troll trying to cram himself into the corner between the glass and the floor, clutching his head and shaking like a leaf, making these horrible pained sounds as he went. Fortunately, they were much quieter.]

[Equius won't be going anywhere for a while. Hope you guys brought earbuds.]

Comments

[wrigurun]

I said I don't know!

[The antidote to yelling was surely louder yelling but the ringing in her brain was starting to make her head hurt too. Wriggle didn't know what to do, how to fix whatever it was that was wrong but after their last conversation she felt almost obligated to help despite the fact that she probably didn't want to just as much as he didn't want her help]

Just calm down! We can figure something out!

[geometry]

[Equius didn’t seem to offer any response to Wriggle’s proposal, but that was mostly because he was too busy curling up into a tiny ball with his hands over his ears. As fun as screaming matches with Wriggle were on a regular day, now he really just didn’t care about her when there was the more pressing matter of his brain is being ripped apart in systematic half-inch strips.]

[Looks like you’ve just got to figure that out on your own, Wrigs.]

[wrigurun]

[Even though he was quieter he didn't seem like he was doing any better. In fact she thought she liked him better when he was loud. First things first though, he needed to calm down and all Wriggle could think of was dragging him up to the place she always went when she was feeling tense.

Well, maybe not the place she always went, that would surely make matters worse but the place she sometimes went might be better. Taking a deep breath she drifted over and tried to grab hold of his arms with the intention of dragging him up to the meadow]

[geometry]

[For Equius, quieter certainly was better than louder. After all, when things were quieter, that meant there was less that had to filter through his migraine-addled senses, whether they were his own noises or those belonging to someone else. But if Wriggle had a problem with that concept, well, there was nothing he could do about it; after all, he was more or less decapacitated. But if Wriggle has enough power to pull up an unsettlingly light six-foot-tall troll child, she will find that said six-foot-tall troll child will have a lot of problems, uh, walking around.]

[That is to say, he will stand up for maybe half a second, and then fall down again, as if he's too dizzy to walk properly.]

[wrigurun]

Come on...

[If she hadn't been flu-ridden she might have been strong enough to even barely lift him off the ground. Wriggle was feeling weak from the yelling though and all she could really do was drag him along the floor on his knees]

[geometry]

[This is a really pathetic situation, and in almost any other state of mind, even Equius would refuse to partake in it for what it would do to what's left of his dignity. But right now, he's really too sick and tired to give a shit. So I guess... he's just going to be dragged along on his knees by a tiny demon bug girl. Only in the Tower.]

[wrigurun]

[Wriggle could only make it to the stairwell before he gave up and dropped Equius in a heap on the floor. She rested her back against the wall, breathing deeply. This was no good, if she strained herself any further she felt like the incisions on her body might break open, despite the fact her skin was clean to the outside viewer]

Can't you walk...?

[geometry]

No!

[He barked that out much more quickly than he really had to. After a second of just sitting on the floor there with his eyes closed, he spoke again, and this time even managed to come nearer to comprehensive speech.]

Too... dizzy.

[That was the word for it. Dizzy.]

[wrigurun]

[Wriggle let out a heavy sigh. Probably whatever she had last time they spoke. She was supposed to drag him down and get him food, right? Only she couldn't cook and she hardly had the strength to drag him any further. It was time to throw in the towel and she dropped to the ground besides him]

Do you need something to eat? Or a blanket or something?

[Her voice doesn't sound particularly concerned, more like she's fed up with everything]

[geometry]

...

[You know what, this is getting kind of ridiculous.]

[Equius reaches up and grabs for Wriggle's hand, using her and a nearby couch to push himself up. He staggers for a bit, then seems to find some semblance of balance, and moves his hand to her shoulder.]

Jus' go.

[Hopefully he can use her and the railing to not make a spectacular flip off the stairs and into another death.]

[wrigurun]

[Wriggle starts to scowl. Even if she'd rather be somewhere else dealing with no one in particular she feels like she has an obligation to keep him in one piece]

No way! You know what happened last time I left!

[And even if she found that obligation frustrating it's the first time she'd ever felt anything like it. Wriggle wasn't exactly the kind of person who was needed or wanted often]

[geometry]

Coming with you.

[He's starting to sound a bit annoyed.]

Don' let me fall.

[wrigurun]

Ah...

[Well maybe that was a little better. Grabbing hold of his other wrist she starts to feel a little more secure herself]

Where to?

[geometry]

Bottom floor.

[They sure are going to be holding hands down the staircase, but frankly, Equius doesn't give a shit.]

[wrigurun]

[Wriggle gives a small nod and starts drifting towards the staircase. Hopefully she won't get snatched along the way]

[geometry]

[And once they get down, he's just going to sit on the end of the counter and eat whatever is offered there in the middle of December. Probably energy bars. He fucking hates energy bars, but he doesn't have the -- urk -- energy to cook anything, so whatever the Tower offers is what he gets.]

[...This food is terrible, though he hardly registers that.]

[If Wriggle cares, she can bear witness to Equius shoving that shit down his throat like he hasn't eaten since last week (which may or may not be true), and afterward, with his mouth still full:]

...thanks.

[wrigurun]

S'okay...

[She isn't actually looking at him, far too preoccupied with the supposed stitched up gash on her arm. Even though she knows she shouldn't she can't help but pick at it a little. When it starts to open up again Wriggle curses under her breath and covers it with her hand]

H-hey, how good are you at sewing...?

[geometry]

[Sewing?...]

Uh.

[ ... ]

Good. Why?

[wrigurun]

Umm...

[Now thinking about it, it probably wasn't a good idea to show Equius this sort of thing. But since she'd agreed to help him out he was now obliged to help her, right?]

Just this.

[And she held out her perfectly clean, un-scarred arm]

[geometry]

[What...]

I-is there something wrong with you arm?

I mean, I'm a medic too, I guess, but... that's not... sewing...

[wrigurun]

[Wriggle finally looked up, a mix of confusion and irritation on her face. Surely Equius wasn't so sensitive to it that he'd try and block it from his mind altogether]

Of course there is! Don't you see that gash? It's right there!

[Her voice was hoarse as she raised it and pushed her arm closer to his face. The shoddily closed incision was obvious to her, but only her]

[geometry]

...There is no gash.

[He reached out a hand slowly, hovering it a few centimeters above where her supposed gash should be; if she allows him to, he'll touch it, running his hand along the length of her forearm.]

There's nothing here, Wriggle.

[wrigurun]

It's right there! Are you blind!?

[In her head she can feel it sting as he touches it and she snatches her arm back. As her voice raises Wriggle descends into a small coughing fit]

[geometry]

[Equius backs up automatically when she coughs, cringing.]

N-no!

I... I don't see anything... sorry.

[wrigurun]

Why won't you believe me!?