[log] Shadows in the Window [closed]

[rubikscomplex]

Characters: House, Ginger, Leon, Enoch, Haurchefant, Raoul, Sans, Frisk, and Toriel
Location: Clinic; E6 - 34/35
Date: Day 87 - Evening
Summary: House and the gang finally make it to the clinic where all sorts of people are knocking around.
Warnings: Language, drug addiction, probably some pranking shenanigans

[Sadness, a nearly overwhelming amount of it, pervades the landscape as House, Ginger, Leon, and Enoch make it to the clinic with a few hours to spare before lockdown. While there's a strong pull toward the shadows wandering the streets, there doesn't appear to be any actual danger in them. They don't attack and they can be easily avoided. The group arrives relatively unscathed and might break up between the two available houses, if they will, whether to talk to the others already here or simply to claim a room to sleep in.

Perhaps it's best that they get away from each other's company after such a trying week.]

Comments

House 34

[rubikscomplex]

[Most of this house is in ruins--to get to the door requires walking over some rubble of the ruined house, although it seems like someone has moved the worst of it, allowing easier access to the house. The intact door leads to two intact rooms, and therefore it can be used as an overnight shelter. The door opens to a master bedroom with a large mattress and a thick comforter--too thick to carry without trouble, but nice for staying overnight here. The master bedroom is attached to a functioning master bathroom; the most important thing to note here is that it has a working shower with about ten minutes of hot water every day. One nightstand has been broken apart and burned. Written on the wall is "EMERGENCY RATIONS IN NIGHTSTAND. MEETING DAY 67, HOUSE TO NORTHWEST. CONTACT @CMDRSHEPARD". One of the cabinets is marked with an X made of blue painter's tape.]

cw: withdrawal and drug addiction things

[rubikscomplex]

A - Closed to Haurchefant (and potentially Enoch if he wants to stick around)
[There is precisely one person House wants to see when Enoch helps to half-drag him into the hot shower house. The doctor is using a splintered piece of wood for a cane, but having to lean heavily on the other man until they're inside and he can use the wall. Enoch is waved away, whether he actually goes or not, and House makes his way to where he can see Haurchefant.

House is already a thin man, but the inability to hold food down hasn't helped over the past week. His eyes look sunken, and his movements are slow, lethargic. At least he's been trying to keep hydrated. His skin is sallow and he's nauseous, but holding that down as best he can. The limp is hardly faking at this point with muscle aches and pains through his entire body.]

You still got my meds, Ears?


B - OTA
[Once he's swallowed a pair of pills, just the psychological relief is enough to have House looking and feeling marginally better, though there are a few hours still spent hovering near the bathroom and dry heaving a bit. He's being careful not to take more Vicodin, though. Overdose is common enough after withdrawal that he's very conscious of the potential.

Later, it's easier to concentrate, and he reads through the latest message from Winter while sitting propped up on the bed in the master bedroom. He's sipping from a child's plastic sippy cup in the absence of having his proper water bottle, and slowly nibbling his way through some rations. That's somewhere else he's being careful, though, not wanting to set off another round of nausea.

When he gets to the point where he see Jack is threatening to murder someone, he can't help tsking and muttering under his breath.]

Oh, come on. Like that was gonna work.

[silverfuller]

[Haurchefant walks towards House as he enters and hands over the cane first.]

By the Fury...

[His blue gaze looks House over with obvious concern.]

You look wretched, my friend.

[With a sigh, he unshoulders his shield and backpack.]

Aye, I still have your medicine.

[rubikscomplex]

[House just drops the spar of wood and takes his cane. Faking the limp once he's back in better shape will be easier with something familiar. He doesn't respond to the Elezen's words. What is there to say? He looks like hell. But almost as soon as Haurchefant has his meds out, House will reach for and take them. It's a familiar motion, hooking his cane over one arm, popping the top, and tapping out a pair of pills. He dry swallows the pills straight up and the look of pure relief that overtakes his features is likely one Haurchefant's never seen before.]

Thank you.

[He's honestly grateful and sounds it as he places a hand on the Elezen's shoulder to steady himself and sags a little.]

B

[inruins]

[House's grumbling about Jack's network behavior is soon interrupted by the door to the master bedroom opening, revealing a very large goat monster peaking in.

Toriel if anything is very tall and broad, white fur a sharp contrast to their surroundings. Her expression is apologetic as she speaks.] Ah- my apologies. I did not know anyone was in here. Sorry to disturb you, dear.

[rubikscomplex]

[House is still trying to overcome the visceral that can't be real reaction he feels when he sees someone so obviously not human. There's silence for a second or two when he looks up, expression neutral. And then she calls him 'dear' and it clicks that this is Frisk's 'mom.' Great.]

It happens. And I'm sure you get this a lot, but what are you?

B

[warriorscribe]

[Enoch parked himself in the space next to the bed the moment they got there and he was assured House would have his meds. He may be psychologically prepared for going four days without food, but that was blessed with heightened physical abilities, that was traveling largely desert climates. Without his blessings, in constantly cold weather, his body is telling another story.

He's exhausted, a deep exhaustion he hadn't planned for, one that made him want nothing more than to sleep for days. He's almost asleep, too, when House's mutter breaks the moment of complete silence he'd had to get there.

He looks up at him, without resentment for that. He wasn't trying, after all.]

What is it?

[rubikscomplex]

Jackie decided to run our favorite season off by threatening to murder people.

[He flashes his tablet at Enoch before actually taking a look at him. When he does, the doctor's eyes narrow.]

It doesn't matter anyway. Get on the other side of the bed and go to sleep.

House 35

[rubikscomplex]

[The second floor of this house has collapsed, but it forms a good seal against the elements and the ceiling of the first floor has yet to collapse, so it's still serviceable as an overnight shelter. There is a small kitchen and living room with basic furniture, though no electronics or appliances. There are some small dents and scuffs on the walls of the kitchen. A small snow fort has been built outside. One of the cabinets is marked with an X made of blue painter's tape.]

[lacecase]

[If anyone wants to find her, Ginger will be spending the night here. It's not necessarily that she wants to be alone, but she does crave a bit of different company. That, and this house has more reminders of Clayton for her. Perhaps that's something that should be avoided, but she just can't help herself.

It's also very unlikely you'll find her sleeping at any point during the night. She hardly moves at all, though her body fidgets with restless, manic energy. Sometimes she checks her tablet, but for the most part she can either be found hand-stitching something or other, or she can be found drawing out designs in her sketchbook.

Her face is tired and her eyes are red, and half the time she looks like she's about three seconds away from crying...but that won't stop her from smiling at anyone who comes near.]

Hello!

[She's trying to sound cheerful, move past that miserable waver in her voice. If she can't stay positive, what else does she have? Ginger's never felt this sad for this long before!]

I hope I'm not making too much noise. I can go sit in the kitchen if that would help.

[giant_killer]

[ It's a little while yet before curfew, and Raoul is starting to think about saying something to Ginger. He had planned to spend the night in the next house over, but he knew that Clayton had died recently and that he and Ginger were involved, somehow. He was trying to figure out what exactly to say when his sparrow left him to perch on Ginger's shoulder.

She tweets sympathetically. ]

[inruins]

Ah, you're quiet as a mouse, dear. Don't worry about it. [Toriel offers the young woman a gentle encouraging smile. The boss monster comes in early on in the evening.] I hope I'm not disturbing you.

[She needed the time to stretch, walking around seemed like a good enough idea before everyone started to settle down in their respective spots for the night.]

[silverfuller]

[When Haurchefant sees Ginger he approaches with a warm smile, though there is sadness behind his eyes.

He says nothing but opens his arms, inviting her to a hug, if she would like one]

OTA

[inruins]

[The sudden influx of people all arriving at the clinic is a relief as much as it is a surprise. Toriel does her best to smile and be friendly. People she can handle. The mixture of travel and the rush of people makes her feel unsteady.

Eventually she trails off to the kitchen for a breather from... everything. Mid-day she finds herself drawn to the familiarity of a kitchen. The kitchen may be on the small size, but it reminds her of home. She shifts through cabinets half heartedly, barely searching mostly focused on distracting herself. She wants to cook something desperately. Going through the motions would be enough to steady the unease.

Anyone who wanders in the kitchen will find Toriel skimming through her book about snails, leaned against a kitchen counter idly. When she notices the company, she offers a faint smile in turn.] Ah- hello. Do you need anything from the kitchen? I would offer to make you something, but I'm not sure just what.

[bonefriend]

[ and Sans will be... right there in the kitchen with her! leaning lazily right at the same counter, albeit at a considerably shorter part of it.

Toriel's putting up a good public face, but he could recognize the tiredness and that desperation to try to keep busy. ]

Hey, Tori, maybe I could whip up something for you. [ wink. ] I know Frisk is a big fan of my bro's cooking, but did they ever mention mine?

ota

[bonefriend]

[ before night falls, Sans might be chilling in the snow fort near the front door. at first sight, he might even be mistaken for a snowman wearing a hoodie and house slippers. one with... strangely large socket-like eyes?

and then one of them winks and he waves a hand at whoever happens to be approaching! ]

Heya.

You know what I like to do when my ice house is falling apart? [ he pats the snow with a skeletal hand. yeah, that's a real skeleton. talking and trying to crack a joke, apparently. ]

[despiteeverything]

Chill?

[Says the grinning kid who built said fort. And even now is patting an extra layer of snow over the top of the walls. Building it a little higher. maybe they'll be able to make a roof if they curve it inward? Like an igloo...]

[giant_killer]

[ Raoul has been watching the shadows more than he would like. Normally he doesn't get so distracted just staring at things, but it's hard to resist. Maybe, he thinks, it's just hunger and dehydration. He hasn't been on rations these small in a long time, and it's wearing on him.

You wouldn't know it from looking at him, though. He rises early, exercises in the morning, after lunch and before bed, checks his gear for damage. In the idle hours of the day he seems perfectly satisfied to sit in silence, watching out the window for approaching threats.

The bird seems more distressed than her large knight. She perches on his head or back as he exercises, and spends much of the day flying around the room looking for scraps to eat. She is shameless, though Raoul feeds her actual birdseed and some of his own rations. She will endear herself to anyone at all in order to get more food. ]

[rubikscomplex]

[When the bird perches on his tablet, House flicks his gaze up to it. It's been a few hours since arrival, and he's evening out with the addition of the Vicodin to his life once more.]

I dissected a sparrow a couple of weeks ago. Twice.

[It seems like relevant information for an overly-friendly bird.]

[giant_killer]

[ The bird considers him carefully. She remembers Raoul saying something about a dead sparrow. It had seemed important, on account of being a bird. But he had assured her that she was perfectly safe with him. She glances at Raoul, then back to House. Her human is much larger than this human. She sees no reason to be afraid of him.

She tweets at him, loudly, scolding. It's not nice to threaten people, even if those people have big humans to protect them! ]

[despiteeverything]

[Well, there's one kid here who's perfectly happy to be endeared to. In fact, seeing the sparrow flit around fills them with a sort of awe. It's the first time they've seen a living thing that wasn't a human in over a month.

The buttering up is more than effective too. Frisk has a pretty respectable amount of rations, having just come from the cafeteria the day before. So, sitting next to their backpack, they pull out something that... they think should work for birds? And they crumble it up in their hand before holding it out for the sparrow hopefully.]

Hey there.

[giant_killer]

[ The little bird is delighted to have found another food ticket, and immediately flies to perch on their hand. She inspects the food, and decides that she is really far too hungry to care at this point if it's Good Food or not. She is happy to eat straight from their hand, making sure not to catch too much skin in her beak.

She pauses briefly to sing her gratitude. ]

Closed to Brian and Haurchefant - Day 90

[rubikscomplex]

[House has been meaning to contact Brian like he requested to see what the kid actually wants. Now that he's been medicated for a while and Haurchefant is back with food, House is inclined to check in. He'll sit on the bed in Building 34, Haurchefant next to him to watch the tablet while they call Brian.]

@totheark; voice
Hey, kid. The elf and I are here. Functional tablet, full sight and sound. What'd you want?

@totheark; video

[0thingsonmymind]

*He doesn't bother to add any commentary or explanation, he just sends a copy of Backett's video Rydia's stay in the funeral home. Its been fixed so that it won't break the tablets; there's no sound and the video cuts off shortly after the doors all open, before the light has a chance to get too bright.*

action

[rubikscomplex]

[House doesn't turn off the tablet, but Haurchefant might notice the way he freezes, his grip tightening until his knuckles are white, his breath coming shorter, faster. He does not want to have an anxiety attack in front of the Elezen. That's going to cause problems. He hadn't been prepared for this, though. If he had been... well. Who knows? House is fairly sure he could have eliminated the visceral, panicked reaction welling up in him. Everything turning red. The sound piercing his ears, his eyes, his head.

The doctor passes the tablet fully to Haurchefant while he pops a pill and dry swallows it, trying not to let himself tremble, to suppress everything, instead. This is a classic trigger reaction to a traumatic event and he's aware of it; he just wishes that would translate to being able to shut it down immediately.]