The Creation of Diplomacy
Chapter XIV: Myxobolus
A yawn came out of Lazarus as he woke up from his slumber, having slept for almost the entire morning as he decided to check the time after stretching his arms and legs a little, noticing, that it read 11:39 in the morning. His eyes woke up a bit after he rubbed them.
"Damn, did I sleep that long?" He asked himself after managing to sit up, stretching his limbs out once more as he felt his body wanting to go back to sleep, while his conscious refused to until he decided on getting out of his bed instead of going back to sleep, looking at the pile of clothes he tossed onto the ground last night with the exception of his boxers and shirt.
The lukewarm smell of the room made the inkling head over to the window, pulling up the blinds, and opening it up before deciding to start his day off with some delicious breakfast with a sandwich containing salted anchovies, salmon, and some slices of cucumber that he left out for a salad that he began working on after leaving his bedroom.
Not long after, he managed to finish making his delicacy for the morning, examining some of its details as he began to feast on it. The taste felt just as great as it did the first time he made a sandwich like this, which made him go for another bite the moment he swallowed his first lump.
As he did so, he decided to check his phone, heading to the message app before tapping Chloe's name.
He felt like shooting her a message, tapping the area where ones message is written as he began texting her.
"Hey Chloe. Sorry if I woke you up, have to remind you about something." He waited for his message to be forwarded to her, when suddenly, his phone began to buzz for a moment, followed by the name of Thaddeus showing up.
He stared at the name for a while, wondering what his brother wanted before deciding to answer him, tapping the green icon before placing it on one of his ears.
"Yo, morning, bro." He began the conversation, heading over to the fridge to get himself something to drink.
"Morning to you too, Laz!" An audible yawn came from his end, followed by a groan. "What's up? You doing anything interesting?" His brother's voice came back, sounding like he had just woken up from his sleep.
"Not really, just got up a few minutes ago, got myself some breakfast..." He said as he poured some of the contents into his cup, placing the carton back into the fridge afterward.
"Really? Me too." His brother chuckled, letting out melody composed of his yawns as Lazarus smiled.
"Sounds like you're happy 'n all that, Thad! You feeling any better since yesterday?" He wondered, wanting to know if his brother still hadn't forgotten about their little argument they had.
"Yeah, don't sweat about our argument too much, bro." The inkling was relieved to hear this, knowing that what happened between them in the square didn't bother him too much. "That's besides the point, anyways. I wanted to call you for a reason, actually." Lazarus raised an eyebrow, curious.
"And that is...?" His brother remained awfully silent on the phone for a while, until...
"It's about mom..." He said, his voice quiet and still before Lazarus' phone dinged, noticing a new message from Chloe.
"What about her?" He tapped on Chloe's message, being taken to the messenger application.
"I can't talk about it now..." His brother replied, still whispering, in a more careful manner now before he continued. "I wanna talk about this at the manhole near Ammo Knights. Be there at 12, got it?" Lazarus looked at the time on his phone. He realized, that he'd only have 10 minutes to spare as Chloe's message came up.
"Can't we meet there at like, 12:30 or something, instead? I still gotta brush my teeth and all that." Lazarus responded, raising an eyebrow as he read the message Chloe had sent him.
"It's okay, Laz~ What is it?" Her message said as Lazarus began typing his in.
"Fine, sure thing..." Thaddeus responded, a bit irritated. "Could always get myself a burger or somethin' while I'm waitin'." Both brothers remained quiet as Lazarus continued texting Chloe, an awkward silence filling the conversation the two had.
"Bro? You there?" Thaddeus asked on the other end, confused.
"Y-yeah! Just busy... finishing my breakfast, that's all." Lazarus looked at his message he had written in, trying his best to cover up what he really was doing.
"I'm heading back to Octo Canyon. You feel like tagging along?" It said as he sent it.
"Sounds like you're doin' somethin' else, bro. You watching some-"
"I'M NOT!" The inkling yelled, taking the phone off his ear. "Goodbye, I'll see you at the Square with Chloe!" Lazarus finished, heavily blushing before hanging up on his brother. Just as he did so, however, his eyes widened upon realizing what he said, right before getting Chloe's response.
"Damn it, you idiot!" His subconscious told him, before his eyes were drawn to the message Chloe had sent him. What it said, caused his irritation to go away the second he read it.
"Can't, Lily's feeling sick. Soz. :(" He had his eyes glued to the message. His irritation was now that of concern, and the message wasn't some kind of joke, either. Lily's behavior from last night confirmed, that there was something wrong with her, the inkling immediately shooting a message back to Chloe after taking in the message.
"She's sick?" He asked her as he finished his meal, proceeding to drink the remains from his cup before getting a reply from her.
"Yeah, Some kind of stomachache. She's sweating a lot, too." From the description alone, Lazarus already assumed, that it was just a cold she had caught, nothing too big as he placed the plate and cup onto the counter.
"Mind if I come over, Chloe?" He asked her as he went to the bathroom to brush his teeth, grabbing his purple and black-colored toothbrush, as well as putting a small line of paste on it.
"Lily says yeah. Would be great to have you here." Her message said as he looked back at himself in the mirror, making sure to scrub each and every one of his teeth before he spat the white paste out with a look of confidence on his face, grabbing his phone once more.
"Alright, I'll see you in a minute or two." He replied before closing his phone, heading over to the front entrance to put on his gear for today. For today, he decided to wear some headphones, a chilly mountain coat due to the potential winds at Octo Canyon, as well as a pair of blue and black-colored squidkids before he left his apartment, locking the door behind him.
He walked down the corridor, reaching the entrance to Chloe and Lily's apartment before knocking on the door. He could hear some footsteps from within, stopping right in front of the entrance seconds later. Lazarus waited, until the door was opened as Chloe came into view, happy to see him as he smiled at her.
"Hey, Laz!" She greeted him, looking to be somewhat tired, thanks to her tentacles being untied, as well as wearing nothing, but a plain, white t-shirt along with short, black pants.
"'ey, Chloe! How's Lily holding?" He asked as he hugged her, taking a peek inside the apartment.
"Not so well, but whatever! Come on in!" She stepped back, allowing him to step inside while he looked at where their living room was, spotting Lily eating from what looked to be a bowl of soup by a table near the television. "Lily, Lazarus is here!" Chloe announced his presence, followed by Lily looking at them. Her expression being just as tired, if not, more so than Chloe's along with a sick look on her face.
"Oh... hey, Lazarus..." Lily smiled weakly at him, coughing out a bit of the soup as Chloe ran over to her.
"Hey, you don't look so good..." Lazarus walked over to her, even more concerned than he previously was as he could now smell the odor and sweat coming from Lily.
"Yeah, I know..." Lily answered, sighing before letting out another series of coughs, taking another spoonful from her soup afterward.
"You weren't kidding with that headache last night, heh..." He folded his arms as he sat next to Chloe, looking over to her friend as they rubbed their head, resting their head on a pillow.
"You don't have to point out the obvious, Lazarus..." She responded, annoyance emanating from her tone as she finished her bowl while Chloe was watching her, an arm over her shoulder. The television was turned on, displaying a live action program that Lazarus wasn't interested in, looking at his phone instead as he saw the time. He still had some to spare before he had to go meet up with Thaddeus at the square as he put it back in his pocket.
"How're you feeling, Lil?" Lazarus inquired, to which she responded with a tired sigh.
"Not good..." She clutched her stomach, tilting her head towards him and Chloe. "...I think, one of those salmonids bit me during our shift yesterday..." She burped, her face turning pale as she looked like she was about to throw up, covering her mouth as she did so.
"Lily?!" He and Chloe saw her stand up from the sofa, only to fall onto her knees as she began to burp multiple times in a row, gripping onto the edge of the couch. Lazarus analyzed her, noticing a bite mark on her back leg, noticing she was drooling an excessive amount of greenish-orange ink.
"Lily, are you-?!" She noticed the slimy, green liquid drooling out of Lily's mouth, the ink dropping onto the floor as her friend gagged. "LILY!" She yelled, running to look for a nearby trash can in the kitchen as Lily retched, followed by her throwing up some of her contents onto the floor. A mix of the soup coming out along with some of the ink.
"LILY, HOLD IT BACK! HOLD IT!" Lazarus ordered as a foul stench began to fill the air, smelling like stomach acid mixed with rotten food as Lily covered her mouth, tears filling her eyes before she vomited again before Chloe came back, holding a black, plastic bag.
"Everything's gonna be okay, Lily! Come on!" Chloe and Lazarus went over, helping her up to her feet as Lily coughed out some of the liquid still in her mouth, wiping it off her as she and her friends walked over to the bathroom together.
"Oh cod, this is not good!" Lazarus began to panic, scrambling through his phone's contact list while Chloe was supported Lily, who ran, and threw up once more into the toilet the second it came into view. "I'm calling Mr. Grizz! See if he's got something for this stuff!" He tapped his employer's name, waiting for an answer from him while Chloe was taking care of Lily. It took a few rings, before the other end was eventually picked up.
"Hello, this is Mr. G-"
"Hey, Mr. Grizz?! This is Lazarus!" He frantically cut him off, running over to Lily and Chloe as the former of the two girls was seen holding back her tears.
"'ey, 'ey, wow, slow down there for a sec, kid! Why so quick to the point this morning?!" His boss asked, mildly irritated in his tone as Lazarus looked at the duo of girls.
"I don't have time for this, sir! Lily's sick, and she needs help, now!" He answered as he watched Lily clutch her stomach, sitting on the floor as Chloe went to find a set of napkins for her.
"Sick?! What do you mean, sick?!" Mr. Grizz questioned on the other end, his previous attitude having been replaced with concern.
"S-She told me, that..." He was panicking too much, not knowing how to re-iterate her explanation. "...that... I, I-!"
"KID." Mr. Grizz's voice came back, demanding, but devoid of anger in his tone as Lazarus stopped."...take a few deep breaths, calm yourself, and tell me what's goin' on there, alright?" Lazarus did what he was told, deeply inhaling and exhaling before he felt his composure coming back, all the while his supervisor was helping him calm down.
"...R-right, sorry about that, boss..." The inkling apologized, clutching both hands onto his phone. "...a-anyways, Lily said, that... that she was bitten by one of those salmonids at the spawning grounds during our shift yesterday, and... and she's been having this headache, and stomachache since last night! Do you have some kind of thing that can fix this?!" Lazarus cringed as he heard Lily cry and throw up a bit once more, feeling pity and concern over his friend as Chloe came back.
As though Mr. Grizz could hear her throwing up as well, he mumbled something on the other end to himself that Lazarus couldn't hear. "I do! Get 'ere to Grizzco Industries at once, I might have somethin' that'll fix 'er problem!" He said, worried in his tone as Lazarus perked his head towards the door separating the bathroom and the rest of the apartment.
"Got it! I'll see you in 5 minutes!" He immediately turned to look at the girls after hanging up on his employer, noticing Lily's tentacle color losing its saturation as hints of snot dripped out of her nose. "I'll be right back, you two! Gonna get something that'll help!" He ran out of the bathroom to the front entrance, not caring about closing the door behind him as he rushed down the stairs to the complex's entrance.
The inkling boy dashed down the street to the square, noticing dozens of others inklings looking up at the screen as the latest news from Off the Hook was displayed. He didn't have time to listen to them, only caring about getting what he needed from Mr. Grizz as he arrived to the Grizzco Industries entrance.
As though he was expected, the gates opened for him as Lazarus stepped inside, sweating profusely from all the running before hearing the entrance shut itself behind him, just the moment he passed under them.
"'ey there, Lazarus." The inkling turned to look at the statue the voice emanated from, noticing a small bottle next to it with what looked to be pills in them.
"Hey, boss! This is the stuff right here?" He quickly grabbed it after wiping some of the sweat from his forehead, examining the contents inside before reading the label plastered onto the canister.
"Sure is. This is guaranteed to help your friend with her illness for the next couple of days." Without hesitation, Lazarus put the medicine in his coat's pocket, looking back at the radio with a smile.
"Cool! Thanks, Mr. Grizz!" He excitedly began running to the front entrance, only to stop in his tracks as a sudden wave of curiosity came over him, beginning to question what was actually inside the bottle before popping it open, immediately being treated to a peculiar smell of something that smelled like salt with a mixture of sweetness to it.
He looked, and headed back to the radio with a curious look on him. "Um, sir?" He asked, hearing his employer emitting a sigh along with a: "What is it?", sounding tired.
"What are these? It... smells kinda weird..." He took one of the pills out from the bottle. It looked transparent, and had an orange-looking color to it along with the smell accompanying it.
"Oh, shoulda mentioned it earlier, but those are Anti-myxobolus pills, made to help against the Myxobolus disease spread by salmonids." Hearing this information, a spark of interest came to Lazarus as he found nearby chair, sitting on it.
"Myxobolus disease?" He raised an eyebrow, staring at the radio while Mr. Grizz on the other end remained quiet. The inkling was about to ask him if he was there, only to be cut off momentarily beforehand.
"Never 'eard of it before, kid?" Mr. Grizz asked, dumbfounded by Lazarus' lack of knowledge.
"Not really, first time I've actually heard of it." Lazarus smiled awkwardly, gathering a hum from his boss as the sound of a drawer being pulled open was heard, followed by paper being sorted through.
Mr. Grizz appeared to be thoughtful in his voice, Lazarus analyzing the lobby around him as he admired the golden eggs he and his co-workers have collected from yesterday. "Say, ya wouldn't mind learnin' a little 'bout it, right?" The boy heard a grunt come from the radio, followed by a gruff cough.
After thinking for a while, Lazarus reached his conclusion.
"Sure, why not?" The inkling boy answered with a smile, wanting to know a little about the disease as he placed the bottle of pills back into his coat.
"Hrmph! A-Are you serious?!" His superior's voice resonated with excitement, although, not to the same degree as when Mr. Grizz yells at him and his friends to collect the golden eggs like a raving lunatic. Instead, it sounded like he was actually happy for once as Lazarus nodded along with a hum, still interested in learning about the salmonids.
"T-that's great!" Mr. Grizz laughed a bit, sounding nervous on the other end, almost as though he was a teacher educating someone for the first time. "...Well, um... I guess for starters, it usually ain't too common for inklings to catch it these days. Before we begin, do you know those outfits you and everyone else are given before a shift?" Lazarus looked over to the Grizzco outfits he usually wore during his salmon runs, then back at the radio.
"Yeah, what about them?" He raised an eyebrow, curious about Mr. Grizz's question as his boss fumbled over his words a bit.
"There's a reason why those overalls, gloves and boots are made out of strong, elastic rubber, and not anything else, kid. And that is to prevent those salmonids from sinkin' their teeth into your skin, and injectin' any sort of poison they might be carrying. Usually, they were made with silk and some sturdy metal, but I had to redesign 'em after several complaints I got from some of my employees' families, who were affected by the weight of the outfit, as well as several diseases they had gotten." The inkling listened to each, and every word that came out of his supervisor's voice, wanting to learn even more about the salmonids that he had been tasked with taking care of since the day he began working at Grizzco, as well as learning about his company's history. Any other inkling at his age would usually just walk away, not wanting to be educated and learn a little, only caring about playing a game of Turf Wars, Ranked Battles, or just looking at their phone, texting, sharing their stories on social media, or playing games on it.
"Go on..." He requested after hearing nothing but radio silence, being all ears at what Mr. Grizz explained to him about.
"Right, glad you're still there. While the new outfits certainly help decrease the possibility of getting affected by the illness, there's still a chance for one of those freaks to use their teeth instead of usin' their weapons like usual. And, if you aren't wearin' that outfit, or your suit's badly damaged as those teeth chomp through your skin... Well..." Mr. Grizz paused for a moment. A single, morbid chuckle came from him as Lazarus' interest steadily turned into fear, the way his employer laughed a bit at the disease made him feel afraid of him, wondering if he actually found the disease funny in some kind of sick, twisted way.
"Um, sir...?" Lazarus interrupted, inciting a sound of interest from him.
"Hm? Oh, yeah, what is it?" Mr. Grizz asked, curious.
"Y-You're kind of making me a bit uncomfortable..." He paused, looking away from the statue.
"Oh, sorry about that, kid. Didn't mean ta scare ya." His supervisor assured him, waiting for Lazarus to look back at the device he talked from. "Anyways, let's get back to what we were talkin' about. When you get infected with the Myxo flu, which, I'll remind you, is an infection that MUST be treated as soon as possible, nothin' will really happen during the first few hours or so, until the day after. That's when the effects start showin' up, the symptoms includin': Migraines, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, fatigue, dehydration, excessive sweating, loss of color, difficulty with breathing, unconsciousness, and, in the most severe cases: Becoming comatose, mentally insane, displaying violent behavior, lung failure, heart failure, respiratory failure, and worst of all: Death." That last symptom, along with the dark, brooding delivery in Mr. Grizz's tone caused a shiver to be sent up Lazarus' back as he gulped, picturing Chloe nearby crying over an ink puddle along with several clothes in it as he was still in his seat, nervously so as he stared at the scene his subconscious made.
"W-wait, you're saying, that... this illness, it... it can kill someone...!?" Fear overwhelmed him as he continued imagining the scene of Chloe next to him, almost feeling her tears and arms wrapping around him as his imaginary love interest hugged him for comfort.
"Yes, but thankfully, that's rarely ever happened." Mr. Grizz snapped him out of his thoughts with his change of tone, causing the inkling to focus his eyes on the radio once more as the imaginary Chloe and the puddle of ink vanished. "If you didn't know, it takes a while for the disease to get into its later stages within an inkling, but it must be treated ASAP once signs of it show up. Which, I may remind you, is why you should get going now, and give those pills to your co-worker, NOW." Lazarus realized this, turning his head to face the front entrance as he did what his employer told him, getting up from the chair.
"G-Got it! Thanks again for the medicine, boss!" The inkling waved at the statue before running towards the gate. He was joyful, happy to get something that would fix Lily's current predicament along with learning something new as he left the Grizzco building.
Immediately as he stepped out, the gates behind Lazarus closed by themselves, the inkling being treated to the sound of the urban city and its inhabitants, inhaling the fresh, city air around him before letting it out.
"Alright, Lazarus, now to just get back to the apartment complex, and-" He suddenly stopped, surprised at what he saw.
"Hey, bro!" Standing by the manhole near Ammo Knights with their arms and legs crossed, was his brother, having seen him walk out of the Grizzco building. Just like the last time Lazarus saw him, he was wearing the same inky rider, along with his aviators on his forehead. The only difference being the shoes, which were a pair of icy down ones.
"Thaddeus?!" Lazarus' eyes widened, happy to see him as he walked up to him, the two brothers doing their usual signature greeting, grabbing each other's hands, arm wrestling a bit with each other. "Dude, what are you doing here?! I-!" The younger of the two asked as he let go, gobsmacked by his sibling's sudden appearance until he remembered the time they were supposed to meet.
"Kinda wanna ask the same question to you, lil' bro. Saw you enterin' the Grizzco building from Headspace earlier." He rested on the building's wall, looking at Lazarus suspiciously while his brother looked at the direction to his apartment complex.
"Oh! Well, I... just came to get some stuff for Lily, she's become sick after yesterday's shift." He began walking towards the building, telling his brother through body language to follow him as he did so, looking interested.
"Wait, she's sick? What happened?" Thaddeus asked, which seemed a bit unusual for him to do, even for Lazarus' standards in which his brother would often crack a sarcastic one-liner, or a joke.
"'pparently she's gotten the "Myxo" flu from being bitten by one of the salmonids, as Mr. Grizz told me. She didn't have a problem with it at first, until me and Ch-" He cut himself short, looking at Thaddeus, who had a smug look on him for a second before it was replaced with his previous expression.
"Go on?" His brother requested, raising one of his eyebrows that Lazarus responded with confusion.
"Wait, you're... not gonna make a joke, Thad?" Lazarus questioned him as they stopped, puzzled by his behavior.
"Not when one of your friends are sick, Laz. I guess, that you and Chloe went on a date, or something?" Thaddeus responded, serious in his tone as Lazarus whined a bit, slightly embarrassed as both brothers resumed their walk.
"That's none of your business, bro..." Lazarus murmured as the shape of the complex came into view. Seeing it, Lazarus suddenly began to sprint towards it.
"Hey, wait up!" Thaddeus called out as he ran to the building as well, which Lazarus arrived to first before his brother. "Dude, what's the hurry?! Does Lily need those pills?!" He complained, watching Lazarus opening the door while holding the pill bottle.
"Yeah, like, right now! Come on!" He gestured, frantically so as the older of the two stepped inside, quickly following his sibling up the stairs to the floor he and his friends lived in. He let out a groan, pausing halfway through the flight of stairs to take a break.
"Lazarus, I swear, you're just giving me a freaking workout here for all I care!" Thaddeus puffed after climbing the stairs, breathing heavily as he was treated to the view of the city.
"Oh, says the one that's Level 50, and is S+ at every ranked mode! Let's go, already!" His brother from above answered as Thaddeus groaned at his comment, slowly following Lazarus to where he was.
"That was 2 years ago, bro! Jeez, at least go easy on me..." Thaddeus folded his arms as the two inklings stood before Chloe and Lily's apartment, Lazarus rolling his eyes at his sibling's comment before knocking on the door.
"Chloe, I'm back! Open the door!" He announced, knocking once more as the door swung open a few seconds later. Lazarus was treated to Chloe, who looked relieved to see him, as well as bombshelled by Thaddeus' sudden appearance.
"T-Thad?!" Her mouth was agape, surprised to see him here as Lazarus stepped in. "Laz, what is he doing here?! Did you bring him with you?!" She asked, stepping back as Lazarus' brother entered with him, just before taking his aviators off to inspect the room around him.
"Yeah, I did. Was kinda concerned about Lily when I told him about it." Lazarus stuck a thumb towards him, glancing over at his brother examining the fridge for food. After that, he walked over to the aforementioned inkling, who weakly cocked her head at the sound of his footsteps.
"GIIIRL, you got pizza here?!" Thaddeus greeted Chloe with a pizza box he found inside, containing only three slices with anchovies within, both inklings oblivious to the sound of his brother popping open the pill bottle behind them.
"Hey, give me that! That's mine and Lily's!" She went over, attempting to snatch the box from him as he sat down by the table, ripping off a slice for himself.
"It's yours?" He asked with a curious, smug look on him. This was obviously Thaddeus trying to tease her as she groaned, managing to steal the pizza box from him while he was busy chewing on a slice. "HEY!" He said with a mouthful, reaching out to her, trying to grab the pizza she had taken.
She was too fast for him as she walked away to his brother instead, holding the pizza box. "That's our pizza, Thad! Get your own!" She smirked at him, much to his inconvenience before they heard Lily whimpering from the couch, noticing Lazarus holding the pill bottle in his hand, trying to calm his friend down as she hesitantly placed the medicine in her mouth.
Both inklings watched, as Lily consumed the medicine she was given, swallowing it along with some warm contents from within a cup. She looked at Lazarus for a while, her eyes starting to turn a little heavy after half a minute or so.
"L... Lapharus..." Lily reached her hand out to him and Chloe as her best friend approached, her voice slurred beyond recognition as her eyes were on the verge of shutting themselves, slowly tilting her head away from them. "...w... whaph... ha...ppening?" Her head collapsed on the pillow, gathering the horrified look of her best friend while the boys watched in mixture of curiosity and shock, not knowing what to do to help.
"LILY!" Chloe ran over to her, placing her hands on the inkling's arms as she began shaking her. "LILY, WAKE UP!" She simply remained motionless, not moving despite Chloe's best attempts as Lazarus and Thaddeus looked at each other, concerned of what the pill actually did to her.
Chloe eventually gave up trying, looking over at Lazarus with an angry glare, unsure if this was because of the pills he gave her being dangerous, or it was just her being tired.
"What did you give her...?" Chloe whispered, shaky in her voice as Lazarus raised an eyebrow.
"Wait, what did you-"
"WHAT DID YOU GIVE HER, LAZARUS?!" She took the boys by surprise with her voice's sudden increase in volume, snatching the pill bottle from the younger of the two as she read the contents contained within to find out what they did.
While she was reading what the effects were, the boys noticed Lily's skin slowly, but surely returning to her normal color, going away from its sickly pale look as her tentacles' healthy, vibrant color gradually came back as well over time before Chloe slammed the pill bottle back down, turning to face the boys.
"The shell are "Anti-myxobolus" pills?! Tell me, now!" She yelled, only managing to get a response in the form of Lazarus shakily pointing at Lily as his girlfriend turned around, her anger turning into sheer confusion upon noticing Lily's change in appearance. She looked healthy and normal in contrast to her weak and sick appearance before, almost smiling even in a relaxed manner as she breathed normally.
Despite her healthy appearance, though, she still seemed to be suffering from kind of fever along with copious amounts of sweat running down her forehead, her breathing as well still being somewhat hoarse despite its consistent pattern.
"I... should probably explain, Chloe. Courtesy of Mr. Grizz, of course!" Lazarus finally managed to speak up after initially being silenced by Chloe, nervously smiling at her as she turned towards him with a worried expression.
He began explaining what the pills were made for, trying his best to reiterate what his employer lectured him about as Chloe listened, glancing over at Lily once after being told about the Myxo disease, who was fast asleep while Thaddeus was watching what the television displayed, more interested in the channel it displayed than Lazarus' explanation.
Just as he finished telling her what the pills were made for, as well as the effects of them...
"NEEEEEERD! You're just like dad, bro!" Thaddeus said after listening to his brother, which caused Lazarus and Chloe to turn their attention towards him, his sibling having an unamused look on him.
"Thad, shut up!" Lazarus growled, which Thaddeus simply chuckled at.
"Bro, I'm just messin' with ya, take a chill pill!" He eyed the pill bottle before looking back at the screen, watching a game of ranked battles showcasing a female inkling, watching them splatting an entire team on their own with their Splashdown.
"Ugh, point is, the pills are made to cure this disease spread by salmonids. Lily's okay for now, but she'll need some time to recover." He looked at her, Chloe doing the same as she hummed understandably at him.
"You could of told me that earlier, Lazarus..." She mumbled, looking down at her legs as Lazarus sighed, feeling bad for having made her upset and scared. His thoughts, however, were soon cut short, just as he remembered something.
"Carp..." He got up from his seat, looking at time on his phone. It was past 12 now.
"What's up, bro?" Thaddeus asked as he looked up at him, noticing the look on his face.
"Gotta go, now! You two make sure Lily's okay, okay?!" He ran to the front entrance, much to his brother and girlfriend's perplexity as Thaddeus stood up from his seat.
"Wait, DUDE, I GOTTA TELL-" He was interrupted by the front door being slammed shut, followed by him lowering his shoulders and hand as he sighed. "...you something."
"Tell him what?" Chloe asked as she caressed Lily's tentacles, causing the older of the two siblings to set his eyes onto her.
"...oh, um..." He stuttered, sitting back down in front of Chloe, watching the screen again as the inkling next to him kept a hand over her best friend's head. "...just... something, that's all..."