2. Because we're terrible.gurielMay 23 2012, 20:10:46 UTC
[This was not supposed to happen. All the danger they get into (okay, and if we're honest, the danger they get themselves into), but this still never, ever occurred to Guriel as a possibility.
[The cave had been infested with bats, and when he'd been bitten several times, Ben hadn't thought much of it. He'd never fallen ill since he'd been wolfed all those years ago, after all, and had gotten out of the habit of disinfecting wounds.
When he started exhibiting flu-like symptoms a couple of weeks later, it was disquieting but not alarming. And just because his bad leg was working worse than normal was no reason to think anything was drastically amiss...
[And by then it was too late. Rabies is, even after all the advances mankind has made since the early days, still pretty much incurable once the symptoms start to show.
Right now? All Guriel can do is keep Ben away from anyone he might inadvertently infect, and pray for a miracle.]
[Alex has been absolutely wild, fueling himself with scotch and caffeine, but there's no time to research this, even on the backs of people who have gone before. And by the time they figured out what this is, it was too late to run the Milwaukee Protocol.
Ben's lucid moments are fewer and farther between, and right now he's attacking anyone who comes within reach. The paralysis means he's only able to half-wolf, and saliva runs down his chest in an almost continual stream. He can't talk like this, but he can snarl and ram himself against the bars of the extra-strong cage.]
[And Guriel? He sits unearthly still outside the cage, keeping watch, praying without ceasing, singing even though Ben is half-out of his mind and can't follow the words of the Psalms.]
[Exhausted, Ben collapses to the floor, whining on his exhales as his head clears a little. He blinks and tries to swallow, but swallowing hurts. Everything hurts.]
Ben. [Guriel gets up and shifts closer to the cage, reaching through the bars to lay a hand on Ben's burning-hot forehead and pouring out Grace.] Shhh. I'm right here.
[His head is foggy and he can't think. He's not even sure--] Where... what happened? [He blinks, and his vision clears a little.] Am I in a cage? Guri-- [There's a panic reaction hovering right at the edge of his consciousness.]
[Ben stares at his arms in fascination. The wolf hair is growing and retracting, growing and retracting. He can feel the bones in his face shifting in and out, and it hurts. The Change hasn't hurt him before...] Sick? I don't... remember. I can't breathe. I hate it when I can't breathe. [The paralysis is slowly but surely affecting his lungs.] Haven't felt this bad since I had that vampire thing and nearly die-- [He goes cold. Colder.] Am I dying? [And he wonders just how many times he's asked that question.]
[Guriel squeezes his eyes shut and Moves himself through the bars, gingerly gathering Ben up in his arms. His brother's skin is radiating heat like an oven, and Guri pushes a little Grace, trying to bring that fever down even a fraction.] You remember the cave, the bats, you got bit?
... never thought I'd go out that way... [He tries to swallow, unsuccessfully.] Sorry about the mess. I haven't... haven't hurt anyone? Have I? [He's not tracking at all, and doesn't realize he's already asked the question.]
[Ben makes a noise down in his throat.] Werewolf healing, though, right? I'll be. Okay? [But he's so tired. And thirsty, and hot and cold and he can't breathe and he wants to throw up but there's nothing in his stomach.
He recoils violently.] Oh, God, what's that...?
[There's nothing there. But Ben can see it anyway.]
[But that tightening wing means he feels even more restrained than he is by the paralysis, and now he's surrounded by those things, coming at him with ropes and chains and syringes, and there's his panic attack right on schedule. He flails and struggles, trying to get away, to curl around himself, to make them stop, and it's a completely automatic fight-or-flight response that makes the claws and fangs come out and flash toward the nearest thing tormenting him.
Unfortunately, to his fevered delirium, the nearest thing tormenting him is Guriel.]
Guys like Ben don't die like this. Do they?]
Reply
When he started exhibiting flu-like symptoms a couple of weeks later, it was disquieting but not alarming. And just because his bad leg was working worse than normal was no reason to think anything was drastically amiss...
Until the hallucinations started.]
Reply
Right now? All Guriel can do is keep Ben away from anyone he might inadvertently infect, and pray for a miracle.]
Reply
Ben's lucid moments are fewer and farther between, and right now he's attacking anyone who comes within reach. The paralysis means he's only able to half-wolf, and saliva runs down his chest in an almost continual stream. He can't talk like this, but he can snarl and ram himself against the bars of the extra-strong cage.]
Reply
Oh, brother, brother of mine . . .
Reply
Gur--
Guri?
Reply
Reply
Did I hurt someone?
Reply
Reply
Reply
You caught rabies, Ben.
Reply
Oh. [Ben's head drops against Guri's chest.]
... never thought I'd go out that way... [He tries to swallow, unsuccessfully.] Sorry about the mess. I haven't... haven't hurt anyone? Have I? [He's not tracking at all, and doesn't realize he's already asked the question.]
Reply
Just worrying about you.
Reply
He recoils violently.] Oh, God, what's that...?
[There's nothing there. But Ben can see it anyway.]
Reply
Reply
Unfortunately, to his fevered delirium, the nearest thing tormenting him is Guriel.]
Reply
Leave a comment