*/*/*
Techniques and Tonics
Time blurred and warped while Vesli was trapped into the Sanitarium. Granted, he'd spent most of that time kept unconscious while the medical ward's staff treated his rabies. Supposedly. Vesli would have to be forgiven for his distrust of this place. His hazy moments of consciousness were not helping matters. The room they kept him in was half grey and half sterile white with no windows. The sheer nothingness on the walls was almost enough to drive someone crazy. Leather straps at his ankles, knees, wrists, elbows, and throat kept him restrained. The restraints were necessary as any time a needle full of something or scalpel came close to his skin in his waking moments, It would rage and attempt to obtain freedom, prompting their return into unconsciousness. The unconscious state was not the blessing it should have been. Shadowy images of menace haunted his troubled mind. The Tower's doors swung open to welcome him back. Rat, now a mutilated zombie starting to grow fungus grinning at him. Up the Tower steps, resisting the motion forward, towards the Room where It had been born. Caillot had become a madman, never recovering from the Beast's influence. The door to the Room opened. Aela reveled with the cultists who had come to accept her as one of their own. He was forced into the shackles on the Room's floor. Bird picked up an ox skull and discarded her own mask in favor of turning into a Virago. The branding Fire touched their face again. "Cut back on the medicine. Patient responds poorly to large doses." The unfamiliar voice at least helped Vesli escape the mental hell. This whole scenario reminded him far too much of the tower. Especially the damned needles. Eventually, he found that the staff was allowing him and thus It to be more and more awake. Apparently, they were done with the needles. Vesli had to put serious effort into ignoring Its angry snarling nonetheless. He also had to keep from sprinting out of the doors once informed that he was free to go. His steps were a little faster than usual, despite his best efforts.
Breathing the outside air of the Hamlet had never felt so good. Vesli's eyes closed as he all but basked in the naturally dim light.
"Hello, Vesli. It is good to see you up and about," the familiar accent of Caillot had the man nearly sighing in relief at conformation that yes indeed he was truly free of the place.
"My thanks. What about yourself, though? Are you… well?" Vesli opened his eyes to get a good look at the Occultist. Caillot certainly didn't look like he'd spent time raving in gibberish thanks to the Beast he worshiped.
"There is a gap in my recent memory, but I suspect it is for the best. I may have asked too deep a question, or received too true of an answer. Either way, I am unharmed from anything that may have occurred in that time span to best of my knowledge." Caillot seemed his normal composed self and It neither smelled nor felt anything amiss. Vesli decided to take the Occultist's word. "Though I do hear you had quite a debacle in my absence. And had to be treated for rabies."
"Debacle? Of all the words to describe that, you choose debacle? Caillot, you have got to teach me the ways of the understatement," Vesli chuckled bitterly. "Seriously. Debacle. Who even says that? Besides yourself."
"I see you skipped over your need for rabies treatment," Caillot was not fooled.
"I only just escaped from being constantly unconscious. I don't feel like I am sick anymore. But I don't trust them not have injected me with something just to see what happened." The man shot a glare at the building and started to walk away, determined to put more distance between him and the hellhole. Caillot, seeming to understand, followed alongside him.
"Do you truly believe that you've been experimented on?" Arcane energy crackled along Caillot's arms.
Vesli gave it a wary look before responding, "No. I believe they would not risk the Heir's temper by compromising one of us. I simply hate such places and do not trust them." A beat of silence. "Should I ask or is it personal?"
"Fair enough," Caillot nodded. "And if you're referring to this," here the Occultist crackled with the energy again, "Friends are not a common thing here in the Hamlet. I have begun to consider you and the girls as such. I do not react well to those relationships being threatened."
Vesli blinked then grinned, "Yeah well, we missed you on that damned expedition. Even It commented you were better at that ghosty tentacle thing you Occultists do." His grin grew slightly wider "Careful though Caillot. Too much of that and Aela will think you're inviting all of us into your bed."
"I impressed It? My, that is a compliment," the Occultist huffed in amusement "As for that 'invitation', it does not exist. There is not room for five people in my bed."
"… five? There's only four in our team…" Vesli frowned in confusion. Then realization a half-second later as Caillot just gave a look. "I would've never suspected you had someone. How'd you manage that?"
"I am neither as open as Aela nor as cautious as yourself. I made observations, spoke, and then one thing eventually led to another," the other male simply shrugged.
"I'm almost certain no one is as open as Aela," Vesli murmured causing Caillot to chuckle. "Am I allowed to ask then about this mystery lover?"
"Hmm. That is a good question," Caillot mused. "Ask what you will. I make no promises to answer."
"You've already told me a lot, just with that," Vesli's hand brushed his hair away from his eye.
"Oh?"
"You're protective. And you likely care deeply about them."
"That is no secret," Caillot gave a soft smile. Vesli was glad that there was someone who could bring that look to the Occultist's face.
"Will you ever make introductions?" Vesli wanted to meet this mystery person.
"Maybe one day."
"You do know that Aela is going to find out eventually."
"Find out what?" Bird's voice caused both males to jump a few inches. "It is good to see you again Vesli." The man froze as Bird hugged him. He must've had a helpless look on his face because Caillot was gesturing for Vesli to react. Vesli was half convinced this was another drug induced dream even as he awkwardly returned the hug. "Find out what?" Bird's voice sounded again. Nope. If he was dreaming, surely he would've curbed Bird's curiosity. Especially considering she was still hugging him. Vesli's hand found its way to the top of Bird's head and he gave a jerky attempt at a soothing pat.
"Spirits, you're back! Finally!" Aela arrived with her usual boisterous air. "Aww, Doctor~! He's letting you hug him! You have no idea how jealous right now! Though, he looks a bit clueless. That return hug could use some serious work. This is how you hug!" She promptly scooped up all three of them in a single motion to squish them together.
"Aela… air…" Vesli gasped out. The Hellion released the group and the others had to spend a few moments to regain their breath.
"Find out what?" Bird insisted once she'd regained her composure. At least this time she was no longer hugging Vesli as her insistent curiosity asserted itself.
"What are we talking about?" Aela's head tilted.
"These two were having a discussion. Vesli's last comment in it was 'You know Aela is going to find out eventually'. I want to know," Bird answered.
"Find out what?" This time it was Aela questioning. Vesli gave Caillot an apologetic look. Caillot pinched his nose for a moment before shrugging.
"The fact I will never accept your constant offers because I am spoken for," apparently, the Occultist was going blunt.
"What?! Who?!" Aela reacted just as Vesli suspected she would.
"I might introduce you eventually. I will consider it," Caillot's tone offered no argument.
"Fiiiine," the Hellion sulked, not wanting to vex the resident healer.
*/*/*
Vesli had made his way to the training ground. After spending so long confined in the hellhole that was the Sanitarium, he needed the physical activity like a starving man needed food. Sitting there tending to his equipment, like some sort of living gargoyle, was Face. The veteran soldier looked up, sensing Vesli. "Thar ya are whelp. Was wonderin' if ya got yerself killed." The greeting was as gruff as usual, no signs of caring one way or another.
"You must've missed me, old man," Vesli drawled in return. "I know it must upset you, but as you can see, I am quite alive. Just spent a portion of my life I won't get back in the Sanitarium, getting rid of a rabies infection."
"Rabies? Yer dog bite ya or sumthin'?"
"No. One of those undead mongrels in the Weald did."
"Ya kill it?"
"Of course."
"Good," Face stood, "Ya goin' ta spar wit' me or what?"
"I am at your service," Vesli gave a mock bow, not taking his eyes off Face as the spar began.
"How's that puz'le o' yers goin'?" Face asks, swinging his mace down with a slow lazy swing, testing the waters of the spar.
"I suppose you could say there's progress." Vesli sidestepped the swing, lashing out with his chains like a whip as he did so.
"'S that so?" Face seemed more focused on their conversation than the fight as the veteran effortlessly batted away the chain with a shield.
"It is a both large and small, depending on the way you look at it." Lashing out with his right arm Vesli aimed at Face's face and, when the man moved the shield to block, used it as an opening to lash his other chain around Face's ankle and pulled.
"That makes 'bout as much sense as anythin' else ya say." Face grunted, spitting gravel while smashing the chain around his ankle which reformed after being broken.
"And yourself? Have you done anything while I was occupied? Aside from badger everyone that came to the training grounds, I mean." Bringing the chains back to him Vesli flicked them so they wrapped around his fists and arms to form the makeshift gauntlets.
Face barked a laugh, even as he sidestepped an admittedly sloppy punch. "Ya know me, whelp. I like ta be a pest. Plus, tha boss seems ta think I should only go on certin mis'ions."
"Must get boring." He caught a shield bash before grunting as Face slammed a knee into his chest, dropping him to the ground.
"Sumtimes. 'Snot all bad. I get ta beat sense inta yer skull, when yer not dyin' o' rabies." Giving one last effort he tried to uppercut between Face's legs, it was admittedly underhanded but the knee hurt damn it. Face just sidestepped and smacked him in the face with the shield. "Yer learnin' to fight dirty. S'good, means I get ta stop holdin' back when I fight ya."
"I was hardly dying," Vesli answered, even as he gave a motion of surrender. Being inactive for so long had him getting tired, even from this spar.
"Ya need ta get yer wind back up. Take five. Then I'm makin' ya work," Face holstered his mace.
"Making me?" Vesli arched an eyebrow.
"Don' test me, whelp." Face narrowed his eyes.
Vesli felt fear skitter across his spine. "Yes, Face."
*/*/*
It was Bird who found Vesli attempting to hobble/drag himself back to the barracks. It was like one of the damned spell wielding monsters had turned his feet into weights and then turned the rest of him into a snail. In other words, his attempts to make it back to his bunk were not going well.
"You pushed too far," the scolding tone only a Doctor could achieve got a wheezy chuckle out of the man.
"Yes, yes. I am aware," Vesli made an attempted apologetic gesture. His hand just sort of flopped.
"Recovering from sickness a process. Should not have let you wander without supervision," Bird muttered even as she drew closer.
"Is that so?"
"You clearly cannot be trusted to take care of yourself." Bird hovered about him, clearly assessing his capacities.
"I'll have you know, Doctor, that I can take exemplary care of myself. Today is simple not an example of that fact."
"No, it most certainly is not. Left leg unsteady. Likely to give out with much more stress." Bird grumbled and moved to put his arm over her shoulder. "I cannot carry much of your weight. But this should be enough to get you to your bunk. Where you will rest."
"And if I do not?" Vesli didn't feel like doing anything besides getting some much needed not trapped in the Sanatorium sleep. He just couldn't resist poking to see what would happen.
"If you do not, then upon your inevitable collapse into exhaustion I will ensure that you either wake tied to your bed or missing parts of yourself. Possibly both."
"… yes ma'am."
"That is what I thought."
