I am not delusional and so I know I am not Marvel. I am just having some fun in their proverbial sandbox, is all.
TapTap
Stephen found himself waking up in his own bedroom, but he couldn't at all recall how he'd gotten there. His cloak was with him, having tucked itself in around him like a crimson, overprotective blanket. It lifted its collar as it felt him moving, and he suddenly started to remember his own feverish struggles.
Somewhat gingerly, he sat up in bed, finding pillows propped up all around him. He doubted that it was the work of his cloak. As he could also remember - even if absurdly vaguely -hands steadying him in his fever, he assumed the cloak had gotten a little bit of human help anyway.
What he did not expect, was for the door to open and a young woman to enter the room. The cloak didn't react, so apparently it knew her. She, very insightfully, he noted, ran a hand over the fabric of his companion as she passed. It looked like a greeting of sorts.
"Hello there, Master Doctor Strange," she said, putting down a glass of water on his bedside table. "I am glad to see you're awake. We found you passed out cold on your study floor two days ago. You haven't really been coherent since. Until now, I mean. Oh," she added after a second, "and I am Elice. It is nice to properly meet you. We've never been introduced."
"We?" he questioned, reaching out to take the glass, hand even more unsteady than was common for him. The cloak helped him steady it.
"Me and Wong," she explained in a soft voice which didn't hurt his head. He might be the one who was a doctor, but her bedside manner was excellent. "Apparently Crimson here knows how to use the portals between the Sanctum and Kamar-Taj. It came and fetched Wong when it couldn't wake you. He searched for a magical disturbance but found none, so he came here himself and brought me along to be sure. He and Crimson settled you in bed, and once the cloak had calmed you down, he left again to attend to his duties. They've been checking in about twice a day, and I've stayed here to assist Crimson in taking care of you, on Master Librarian Wong's request."
Taking a moment to digest all that information while he drank, Stephen eventually nodded, putting the glass back down. Or he tried to, only to have it snatched away and put in its proper place by his seemingly endlessly overprotective cloak.
"Well, that's neat," the young woman smiled, giving the cloak another gentle pat. "So how are you feeling, Doc? Up to eating some soup?"
Making a mental run-through, he slowly nodded, deciding that his body probably needed a bit of energy at this point. "That would be good. Thank you. And thank you for accompanying my Cloak while I slept," he added, much more courteous than he'd ever cared to be before, but he had changed after all. He remembered seeing her around Kamar-Taj, just at the end of his apprenticeship. Though Novices came from all over the world, places closer to them were more common compared to places far away, and so her blond hair and far skin had stood out somewhat.
"You're welcome," she answered with a smile, flickering out the door with an energy which made her remind him just a little bit of his Cloak.
When she'd gone, he looked to his companion, murmuring softly to it. "Thank you. But you seem to have had a good time. You really like her, don't you?" The Cloak wound itself around him protectively in reply, and Doctor Strange was far too tired after his brief encounter with sitting up to fuss about being fussed over, and so he allowed it. Besides, being cared for by a Cloak didn't count. He trusted his cloak not to tell on him or mock him. "Crimson, is it?" The Doctor added as an afterthought, lying down again and curling up under his guard dog of a cloak. He could have sworn that it snickered, as he fell back asleep.
Sorry that this chapter is a little bit short - I am just setting up the story, more will happen as I get a tiny bit further along. It will be a nice and long story in the end, so it takes a fair bit of buildup to get to the plot bits. :) I might also mention while I am at it that updates will be a few days slower in December, as I am writing an Advent Calendar which is updated dayly and thus eating a fair bit of my writing time.
Also, eagle-eyes readers might spot that Elice's grammar is far from perfection - it is because while speaking fairly faultless English, she does have a bit of an accent and does get the odd word progression wrong.
TapTap