The white-haired boy in the squirrel suit did not respond to Linka's call of his name. The girl knelt down to nudge him only to immediately retract her hand with a gasp. Lincoln was burning, and the fact that he was lying facing down and not responding isn't making him look any less sicker.
'What on earth has happened to him?' Linka thought to herself in worry as she began to flip Lincoln over to further check him up…
The boy's face was pale, flushed with the red shade of fever and his forehead was hot to the touch. Judging by how soaked he is, Lincoln had been sweating to the core and Linka cringed upon setting her gaze on the squirrel suit's body being worn. "Omg... Lincoln why are you wearing this thing at night?"
Having experienced wearing an identical costume to entertain Lexx at one of his 'roleplay' games, Linka knew being inside a mascot suit can be very humid; She felt it all and not to mention, there was a time where Lynn, who had volunteered to be team cheerleader in the past, actually developed a light heatstroke from wearing it for too long. This immediately caused Lynnard and Rina to complain to the school's mascot provider and Lexx never made Linka wear the suit again in fear of getting her sick like poor Lynn.
From that day onward, mascot suits are not taken kindly within the Louders. So for Linka, seeing a sickly Lincoln wearing one at night is a huge worry.
"Loki! Guys! I need your help over here!"
A scurry of legs and panicked word exchanging later, Lincoln was stripped out of that squirrel suit (he was found bare in his underwear and covered with red patches much to the Louders' horror) and now laid to rest in the Louder household's guestroom; Aka, the closet that must have been the counterpart of Lincoln's room. The poor boy looked very frail, weakened greatly from the fever. Even his breathing is ragged from sickness and it made the two Louders currently surrounding him feel great pity for Lincoln.
Lynn was the most affected for seeing Lincoln like this reminded him of when he got ill wearing a costume. "Dude, he looks awful. I think he looked even more sicker than me," He watched the white-haired Louder sister dip the hand towel in chilled alcohol before she wrung it to get rid of excess liquid. "Why was he even wearing that dumb suit in the first place Linka? Did he say anything to you?"
Linka folded the towel into a small rectangle before gently putting it on Lincoln's forehead. She shook her head sadly at Lynn's question. "He was already passed out at the door, Lynn, and he was really burning up." She held up the thermometer that was used to take Lincoln's temperature. She cringed - The meter showed a worrying temperature. She turned to Lynn. "I gotta go check on the soup. You keep an eye on Lincoln!"
After a nod from Lynn, Linka ran downstairs to the kitchen to see how her other brothers are getting on. Loni was already on the stove making hot soup for Lincoln while the rest sat at the grownup's table looking worried for the boy they had to bring in. They immediately stood up when Linka went in the kitchen.
"How's Lincoln doing? Is he okay?" Loki was the first to ask, sounding very anxious.
Linka shook her head with a sigh as she sat down. "I don't think 'okay' is a good word to describe him right now. He's got those blotches all over him and his nasty fever isn't making him sound any better,"
The brothers cringed at this and Loni was prompted to work on the soup faster. Among the five of them, emotion was at high and they were unusually quiet - Not the obedient kind of quiet they usually display, but the kind one would emit while waiting outside an ICU after hearing of their loved one's condition. And Lincoln wasn't even their sibling; But the Louders have met him on occasion and they developed their liking to him.
Linka did especially, for she and Lincoln had so much in common. They are literal peas in a pod, relating to each other in more ways than one. As far as she knew, Lincoln, similarly to Linka herself, was the only opposite gender among ten and life was practically a struggle for him. But despite this, he still found ways to cope and Linka was amazed in the brief times she's seen that occur. Basically, Lincoln was a fighter, and Linka could see it in his eyes. But tonight definitely didn't turn in Lincoln's favour at all and she wondered what had happened to him; They all did.
"The soup's ready,"
Loni held the tray containing the said meal. Aside from soup, the ditzy brother had prepared some water and medicine tablets for Lincoln's fever, apparently having overheard his sister explain about Lincoln's condition. Linka gave him a satisfied nod with a small smile. "Good thing you made it chicken soup. Lincoln loves that,"
With that being said, the eleven-year-old guided her brother upstairs with the rest following suit. When they reached the guest room, Lincoln is still in uneasy slumber. But the uncovered parts of his body, the areas containing red blotches, are coated with lotion-like substance. Lynn had been the one to apply it on Lincoln's red areas after Linka had left. "His sunburns look awful, I had to put some of mom's sunburn treatment on them," He winced. "Where he got them? Must be from that stupid suit," This caused an uproar of comments from his brothers and sister.
"I knew it! Something literally did happen while the Louds are at the beach and this just explains it!" Loki sounded angry, causing the rest to turn his way. They looked confused at their oldest brother's statement. "And where did you get that wave of thought bro?" Lane questioned.
The oldest Louder brother gazed at the younger comedian, and then at the rest in silence that contained controlled rage. He took a deep breath and began to explain. "Okay, you guys are definitely gonna not believe this.." The seventeen-year-old paused to find the right words. "But I think the Louds screwed up big time. And by screwed up, I mean, literally screwed up."
The others are silent in not getting it. Loni raised his hand. "Wait why did they screw up? Did they do something wrong?" When Loki nodded, the others looked confused. "What makes you think that?"
Loki mulled silently for a moment. And then he raised his head, looking dead serious. "You guys didn't happen to see Lincoln in that suit before, haven't you?" The rest shook their heads. Loki sighed slowly. "Well I did, and it's been several times now."
Now the others gasped, and Linka went up to her brother in upset state. "Then why didn't you tell us before?! If you did then Lincoln wouldn't be in this state!" She cried, grasping onto Loki's shirt. "Don't you remember what happened to Lynn?!" Loki cringed from the action, and from the unpleasant memory.
"Of course I remember Linka! I never forgot!" Loki looked guilty even as Linka lessened her hold. "Look, I know mascot suits aren't good and all for us but this is between our family! With Lincoln I didn't think it would be an issue for him…"
He winced under the now disapproving gazes from his siblings. Loki sighed. "I'm sorry guys.. That was literally a huge mistake on my part. But I didn't think back then. I mean, how many families freak out over mascot suits while majority of others don't? I didn't think it would be a serious issue."
"That makes sense.." Luke murmured to the rest, who began to see Loki's point. Linka released Loki's clothing and gave a word of apology before returning to the topic on hand. "So Loki, when were the last times you saw Lincoln in that suit?" She slowly asked with any trace of upset at Loki now gone.
The oldest teen gazed at Linka as he recalled those times and place he's often found Lincoln wearing the squirrel suit in; Places ranging from Lynn Jr's games to Royal Woods' best university. And in all those places, Lincoln was with each of his sisters, including Lori, who is Loki's counterpart in the Loud family.
After his flashbacks, Loki relayed this information to everyone else. The more he spoke of it, the heavier the feelings looming over them grew. Now, the Louders felt dread for they have realised why Loki snapped the first time - And it was not a pretty realisation.
"No way.." Lynn was incredulous. "So you mean to tell us, that every time you see Lincoln in that suit, he is always at a place where his sisters always are?" The sporty brother growled. "Ooh they're so gonna get it from me! Their own brother is sick because of them making him wear that stupid costume!"
Loni gasped and held his brother back. "Woah you can't just say that Lynn! Maybe they didn't know.. What?"
His voice fell upon the scowls on his siblings faces. Loki was pinching the bridge of his nose in trying to hold in a bubble of anger that's threatening to burst. "Loni, Lincoln came to our doorstep, in that suit, at damn night! Something really crazy must have happened to make Lincoln run out like that!"
This shut Loni up, and the ditzy teen felt a pang of horror. "Think the girls did something awful to him?" He suggested worriedly, his words being greeted with horrified looks. Siblings hurting another, especially a gang of them against one, is never a good thing. The silence received answered Loni's question and the sixteen-year-old was plunged into pity for Lincoln. All six pairs of eyes cast on Lincoln.
How could his sisters do this to him? And where's their mom and dad when he needed them? Questions like these ran through the Louder siblings minds. Some of the older Louders considered the idea of getting answers from their respective girl counterparts. But they changed their minds - That will have to be done a later time. Right now they had Lincoln to focus on, and perhaps in time, he could give the Louders his side of the story…
"...W-Where am I?"
A weak voice came from the white-haired boy in the bed. The Louders all turned to the source of the voice, their eyes widening and gasps came out from some. Lincoln was breathing uneasily still, but his eyes were open into narrow slits due to illness weakening his body greatly. Even though he's partially awake, he still looked sickly. So sick that one could literally see the fever coming out of him. It was a heartbreaking sight for the Louders who hated to see one of their siblings ill.
"Oh my gosh. Lincoln you're awake.." Linka greeted him first, and the boy seemed to recognize her.
"...L-Linka..."
Even the sound of his rasping voice saddened Linka greatly. She hushed Lincoln as to stop him from speaking more. "Hey, none if that. Just rest some more, okay? My brothers and I will take good care of you," Her gentle voice soothed Lincoln even through his sickness and the boy slowly closed his eyes with a shuddered exhale. Before Linka could leave him to rest, she felt Lincoln grab her wrist weakly.
"...Please stay with me…"
Linka's eyes widened with pity-filled surprise. To her, Lincoln sounded an awful lot like one of her younger brothers and she couldn't refuse. She looked at her elders seeking for their approval. To her joy, they all looked in agreement. "He needs you after what happened tonight," Loki smiled sadly. "It's one of the least you could do for him until he gets better,"
The Louder sister smiled at this, and she climbed to get into the extra space beside Lincoln. It was small, so Linka laid on her side facing the boy. Now with his hand holding hers, Lincoln looked more comfortable and he was sleeping instantly. Linka could only smile sadly as she sighed. They have a lot to find out from Lincoln after tonight. But until then, she'd lie down beside the boy until he is well enough.
"Good night Lincoln,"
