[log] don't try this at home, kids [closed]

[mrcreamsicles]

Characters: Davesprite & House
Location: Buildings 105, 109, 123 (the vet's office), and 106.
Date: Days 188 & 189.
Summary: Two depressed dudes quest together for ill-advised experiments.
Warnings: Existential issues aplenty, mild body horror courtesy of weird sprite anatomy, dangerous medical experiments.

105: A standard single-story house with a kitchen, living room, dining room, bathroom, and two bedrooms. One bedroom has been converted into an amateur photography dark room, and while most of the equipment and chemicals are gone, it's still pitch black with no windows. The dining room has chair debris all over the place and a scratched up wall, as if someone was smashing something against it. Upon closer examination, two legs are missing from the chair debris.

109: A standard single-story house with a kitchen, living room, dining room, bathroom, and bedroom. The house is empty, though; it seems like no one was living here even when the town was populated. "ALPHONSE ELRIC, STEPHANIE BROWN, EDWARD ELRIC, GREED, DAY SIXTY-ONE, TRAVELLING WEST" is written on the wall, alongside "DEAR FORMER RESIDENT, WE ARE FRIENDS, PLEASE DO NOT FEEL YOU NEED TO HIDE FROM US. CONTACT LELRIC." The following is written on the dining room floor in morse code: Duster, Day 124, Gwen, Melengar, Ratibor, Blackwater, brideeth. Beneath that, also in morse code, is "House annoying. Incredibly annoying."

123: A quiet veterinarian's office. The power no longer works here, and it's so quiet your footsteps echo on the floor, but it's very clean inside and smells faintly of disinfectant, as if it was only just cleaned. There's a waiting room with a few benches and a reception desk in the center, as well as two public restrooms off to one side, one for men and one for women. There are three small examination rooms; the first one has a dog mural, the second a cat mural, and the third many different sorts of animals all together. Pass down the hall beyond that and through the employees only area and you'll reach a main area with various shelves--maybe you can find some medicine here, though it would be for animals. There's a surgery room with two gleaming, perfectly clean metal tables, although all of the expected machinery is missing. There's a small kennel and a quarantine area, as well as an office for the vet that has a desk and chair but no paperwork. In the back there's a freezer; you can look inside through a small window, but it's very dark. There are black bags inside--this is where they keep the bodies of animals. Sometimes you can see the outline of them, if one has died recently. There is a message scratched into the wall next to the front door, reading "T. HAMADA, DAY 04, WEST".

The atmosphere only grows more suffocating here the longer you stay; if you try to stay too long (longer than one OOC day), you'll be forced to leave. Similarly, at 7PM, you will be forced to leave and not allowed to take shelter here.

106: Only the living room remains intact in this house. It seems like it still receives water, though, because there are ice stalagmites on the floor that increase drip by drip nightly, when the ceiling begins to leak and drip. "SHEENA FUJIBAYASHI AND ZELOS WILDER, DAY 63, TRAVELING NORTH-WEST" has been carved into one of the walls.

Comments

Day 188

[mrcreamsicles]

[rubikscomplex]

Can you read Morse Code? [House remembers watching Royce carve some of this. The last note is mildly amusing in its own way. He glances over at his traveling companion for the next few days.]

[mrcreamsicles]

[Davesprite as a travel companion is prone to monologuing nonsense tangents at a mumble. His paranoia has lessened since the night before without Bucky constructing thick layers of tension, but it's impossible miss how he checks over his shoulder now and then, or jolts a little if House comes up from behind.]

[Right now, though, he's crouched down to stare at the message that's been carved in.]

Nope. All that dash-dot scribbling is basically nonsense. What am I, the Titanic? SOS, this movie's hella melodramatic and all anyone remembers are Kate Winslet's boobs and the old lady not appreciating the money she could've got out of that diamond. What's it say? I don't recognize these names, either.

[rubikscomplex]

[It's a moment for House to mentally translate, and then:]

Duster, Day 124. Gwen, Melengar, Ratibor, Blackwater, brideeth. House annoying. Incredibly annoying.

Gee! Wonder who wrote that. [He rolls his eyes.]

nvm the names thing last tag herp

[mrcreamsicles]

[Davesprite snorts, then straightens up.]

They're not wrong, dude. Own it. But if you know you'll have to tell me. I don't recognize the rest.

[rubikscomplex]

Duster--Royce. Whatever discount Elfagorn wants to call himself. No idea about the rest of it. Blackwater sounds like a town. Or a plague.

[mrcreamsicles]

Yeah, see, I've never heard of him either. Only elves I know are Francel's group. I'd ask if you two got history, but you kind of piss people off on principal.

[He motions broadly at House.]

But okay, the message isn't important here. Noted.

[rubikscomplex]

The message here could be very important if you have a principle of pissing people off. And you're not much better, Tang. [House taps the code that spells out Gwen.]

This is important. That means the rest of it might be to him.

[mrcreamsicles]

Have I ever denied it? [He motions back at himself.] Feathery douche.

I'm just saying it's got no meaning to me personally. Don't know the guy, don't care about him, doesn't tell us anything about this house or why we're fresh out of furniture.

[rubikscomplex]

It was fresh out of furniture the last time I was here with him. [House shrugs, and then looks toward the door, the memory of what happened coming back to him in a rush.]

We need to bar the door until lockdown. [It's not a suggestion so much as a demand. House is suddenly tense.]

[mrcreamsicles]

What?

[He picks up on the tension, and his own paranoia reacts with it immediately, feathers raising. He looks to the door, the windows, ears listening.]

How? The best I have is a spoon and piling my stuff in front of it, unless we go prying up planks of wood from the rubble, and I'm guessing that's not on the table. What's out there?

[rubikscomplex]

Anomalies. One broke in through the door before lockdown last time I was hanging around Elfagorn and his posse.

[There's a pause as he considers the options.]

I'm sitting against it until lockdown.

[And so he is, indeed, heading over there.]

[mrcreamsicles]

[He lets out a breath.]

Good enough for me. Budge over, I'm sitting with you.

[He can set some of the things he's carrying against the spaces between them, and if the bulk of his tail ever had a use, surely coiling it up will mean more weight for hypothetical anomalies to have to shove out of the way first.]

Day 189

[mrcreamsicles]

[rubikscomplex]

[After they've had their fun on the network for the night and House has worked up his general nerve for the potentially fatal blood poisoning, he pulls out his syringe and a camera strap he picked up yesterday.]

Blood draw first, then you can stab yourself through the middle.

[mrcreamsicles]

[Davesprite's poked around the network earlier, but as the evening drew on (and namely after they found that syringe earlier) his nerves have drawn too tight to really keep at it. Tense anticipation. It's hard to be comfortable when he might not be real, and House might fucking die.]

[He really doesn't want House to die.]

[It's reflected itself in his demeanor in quieting him down, mumbles absented and demeanor gone from coolkid evenness to something more restrained. He glances over the equipment. He wondered what he'd taken that camera strap for, but this makes sense.]

Fine by me.

[As much as any of it is. He opens up his coat and pulls his left arm free of its sleeve. It's easier than the hassle of taking it off entirely when he's got these wings. The t-shirt sleeve beneath is too short to be in the way.]

cw: mentions of drug abuse

[rubikscomplex]

[House tries not to pull a face at the massive amounts of orange going on here. Why are you so freaking orange, Davesprite? He ties the camera strap around the sprite's upper arm like a tourniquet and then pulls out his hand sanitizer. Some of that goes onto his own hands, some goes to the crook of Davesprite's elbow.]

Look away if you're squeamish.

[He's been eating more while on the quest for the dolls, which has helped with the tremors in his hands. House holds steady, finds a vein and draws the blood, bright yellow coming out in the syringe.

When he's done, he quickly tosses Davesprite a few cotton balls and a bandage.] Over the wound, press down hard. I need to inject this before it starts to clot.

[If Davesprite has ever encountered a regular heroin user, he might make note of the ease with which House flips the syringe, locates his own vein, and injects the bright yellow blood into his own body. And then waits.]

[mrcreamsicles]

[Sprites are ridiculous is why, House. At least he's not the walking seizure his future self is.]

[He goes along gamely with the process, moving his arm or keeping it still as needed, but saying nothing throughout. And while he doesn't turn his head when House goes to do the part with the syringe, he may notice that the light of his eyes winks out behind his shades. He doesn't like blood. He's seen enough of his own as it is. They only open once House's hands are off him.]

What, no sucker for good behavior?

[He catches the things easily and sets to bandaging himself, a more complicated task when he only has two hands to work with, but he manages. House's ease with injecting himself holds no meaning to him, though. He's a doctor, right? Of course he'd know what he's doing, he figures, and it means he doesn't have to help or watch closely.]

[He only really looks back at his face once he's got his arm back into its coat sleeve.]

You got anything that might help me prevent a case of tetanus?

[If he can just focus on the other thing, maybe he won't have to freak out about how House might just die on him. Maybe he can keep that part inside. Because, really, what's the point of making a big deal? It doesn't change what might happen.]

[rubikscomplex]

The sanitizer. And everything in this place being radiation-baked. I'm more likely to get tetanus than you, kid. You got the needle fresh.

[House pumps his hand a few times to ensure the blood is moving through his system, then stands and heads over to the bathroom to start washing the syringe. He'd tossed the last used one he had, but that had had blood sitting in it for an age. This one could still be reusable.

He keeps talking as he uses the water in his canteen and some dish soap to rinse the syringe.]

Have you got your piece ready for this?

forgot to mention the tablet earlier, whoops, so I'm bringing it up here

[mrcreamsicles]

[As House moves off he clicks off the recording on the tablet. Not much to show for it, but he wanted to record it just in case. Video proof, check for distortion, a way to show other people what happened. It seems important.]

[He goes back to his stuff, ignoring the backpack and tote with the extra food he's been sharing with House in favor of a plastic bucket.]

Hey, man, I'm just not eager to jab up my insides where I can't wash out the wound or bandage. I've got a bunch of screws and nails I picked out of the rubble yesterday, but I'm going to need some way to keep from losing them inside me. I try to fish them out with a finger and I'd run the same risk with my claws.

[Stupid bird hands.]

[He's listening as he speaks, though, for any sign of distress from House. Lost balance, pain, changed breathing, whatever he can.]

[rubikscomplex]

[House considers it as he rinses the syringe. Perhaps sadly for the dramatics, there's absolutely no sign that he's growing ill.]

My pack, front pocket. There's a roll of tape. Use it like a wrapper. And I've got tongs or tweezers if something gets lodged in your hole.

[There had to be at least one joke.]

[mrcreamsicles]

Gross. Nobody puts stuff in my hole but me.

[But he heads over to his pack to check, and there it is. Tape. Like a wrapper, he said? He brings it over, listening still even if House sounds find so far, then takes a moment to consider the logistics of how it ought to work.]

[He ends up settled on the floor with the end of his tail stuck through the roll to keep it steady, one hand on the end of the tape itself as he pulls a strip free. His other handles the rubble, laying down nails and screws in a straight, end-to-end line down the middle. The thinner the better, he figures. It feels bizarre doing it, knowing that something this ridiculous is going to be the tool to prove how real he is.]

This should work for it.

[He doesn't say 'good idea' after the fit House threw last time.]

[rubikscomplex]

[House finishes up what he can for cleaning the syringe in silence, then comes out to inspect Davesprites progress. It's dark, so he has to crouch down and use his tablet for the light.]

No symptoms on my end. Should've seen something by now for blood poisoning. Which means the glowing yellow lemonade is a lie.

That looks fine. [He motions toward the packet of rubble Davesprite has created.]

[mrcreamsicles]

[It feels like being embraced just to get a knife in the back. The relief sours and sinks, pinging guilt as it does, because he shouldn't feel nauseous at the thought that House probably isn't going to die after all. He had looked up as House came near; now his head drops, gaze to the tape.]

Save the dramatics until we know about the rest of me.

[He tries for nonchalant and manages a rough mumble. He can't quite stay the nervous tremble from his fingers as he tears off the tape and seals the sticky side against itself around the line of nails and screws.]

[After, he grabs his own tablet to get the camera going again, and props it against his things to give it the right angle.]

Just point the light at my chest. I'll do the rest myself.

[rubikscomplex]

[House is good at seeing the worst in things. He'll always be there with that knife for you, Davesprite.

He does, at least, pull out his penlight to light up the sprite's chest.]

Stop if you feel any resistance.