Prompt: Sensory overload

Technoblade didn't know being dead would be this painful.

Which was probably a good indicator that he wasn't actually dead because if he was dead he wouldn't feel a thing but damn that made it so he was close to wishing he was. Because at the moment every inch of his skin felt like it was being flayed off repeatedly and stitched back on by dull needles, only to repeat the process, and this left him in constant agony.

Breathing hurt. Moving hurt. Having his eyes open hurt.

Existing hurt.

Yeah, he wanted to stop existing for a while if that was at all an option.

His head pounded in tune with his heartbeat and he put his hands over his ears, curling up with a low groan. The water was too cold and he couldn't remember what had happened. Until a few minutes ago he'd been blissfully unconscious (the state he was desperately wishing he could return to) and his memory from before was all scrambled. The world was moving, swaying. Noises were echoing through his skull. But Techno kept his eyes closed because it was better than the piercing pain of the light.

This was worse than when somebody stepped on him.

Oh yeah, that happened. Techno couldn't really recall, but one of his ribs had broken, right? He pressed one hand against his chest, flinching beneath his own touch. Definitely still tender. The taste of iron stuck on the back of his tongue. Not broken anymore, though? Somebody had given him a potion.

He kind of wished they hadn't. Not being alive almost sounded like a desirable thing if it would end the pain.

There was more nausea swirling in his gut when he pressed his hand down lower, on his stomach. But he hadn't eaten anything in a while so there was nothing to puke up. He was hungry, but in that strange detached way where he didn't think he'd even be able to eat something. He just knew he should, because he was getting weaker. He was tired. He wanted to sleep.

Maybe if he closed his eyes even tighter, he could sleep.

With a sudden bang and an unpleasant jolt that made him cry out when the impact shook the container he was in, it was put down on a hard surface. Uselessly, he curled up even more and pressed his side against the bottom. The glass felt somehow warmer than the water, maybe because of the hands that had been held against it. Maybe Techno had a fever.

As if the thought occurring to him made the rest of his body catch up with reality, Techno shivered violently. Great, because that's what he needed on top of the physical injury: to also get sick.

The lid was screwed off the container and somebody was talking to him but Techno couldn't really understand what they were saying. It felt as if they were talking an entirely different language. They probably weren't, Techno was used to hearing Common dialect. His brain was in no state to interpret words right now.

When the container shifted beneath him, Techno panicked.

And in his panic, he did something he hadn't done in a long time. He screeched. The sound came out of his throat by nature, shrill and high-pitched to such an extent most human ears would be hurt by it. The distress call was intended to travel well through water and was used by mermaids both to scare off predators and serve as a cry for help. Techno hadn't used it in a long time, but he was scared and hurt and he wanted somebody to come help him for once.

His family would come. They would come and they would save him so he didn't need to be carted around anymore from one small body of water to the next even smaller one where he'd have to endure people tapping the glass or prodding at him or trying to kill him.

They had to come help him. Please.

The tilting didn't stop but it did slow down. Water flowed from the jar but before Techno could go with it, the person tipping it moved it and when he rolled out it was onto the comfortable surface of a towel. Techno coughed as his lungs adjusted to breathing air. At least the rib had been fixed so he didn't need to choke anymore. Something warm pressed against his tail.

Techno hissed, but it pulled away as quickly as it had come. Only to press against his chest a moment later. It was soft and he latched onto it, digging his claws in. The person did not try pulling it away, allowing him to cling to it. Techno dug his face into it gratefully.

He still hadn't opened his eyes and he wasn't going to because the darkness was the sole thing keeping all the stimulation he had to endure from becoming so overwhelming he'd break down. But he did recognize Phil's voice when next he spoke.

"Okay, stay put for a bit. Don't go anywhere."

If Techno could, he would have asked the human where he thought Techno would go. He could barely move a muscle. He hummed his affirmative, beating his tail against the table once to show his agreement. It hurt, but it was worth it.

He wouldn't go anywhere. He was perfectly happy where he was, shaking as he tried to burrow deeper into the soft thing. It was moist too and Techno finally realized it must be a second towel of some kind. Phil had soaked it in warm water and then wrung out the excess.

Techno had no clue how Phil would know that was a good idea, but heck it definitely was so he wasn't going to complain about it.

He was pretty close to nodding off when Phil returned. "Don't go to sleep yet," the man said, nudging him with one knuckle. Techno growled slightly, but strangely it only made Phil laugh.

"I'm glad you're in a good mood, but I really need you to stay awake a little longer," Phil joked.

Techno huffed. Was Phil taking his annoyance as a sign he was not dying anymore? It definitely was a sign he was still alive, he supposed. Was Phil scared he'd be dead then?

Phil came to get him, Techno knew. That hadn't really sunk in until the thought unfolded in his head and then it just left him confused. Grateful, but confused. Wasn't Phil hurt? Wasn't Phil planning to eat him anyway? He cracked his eye open and winced at how bright it was.

Bad idea. Sensible reasoning was too much effort. He'd store it away for another day.

Gently, Phil nudged him again, prompting Techno to roll onto his back. "This is uh, yeah I don't know if this is ideal but it'll work? Probably?"

Phil looked tired. Techno could relate.

He was holding a weird tube with an opening at the front. Techno had never seen something like that before, leading him to assume it was a human invention. The translucent plastic showed it to be filled with a shimmering red fluid. Was it the same thing he'd been forced to drink before?

"It's a healing potion," Phil said, able to interpret Techno's confused squinting. "It'll make you feel better."

With a nod, Techno opened his mouth and allowed a small trickle of the potion to be delivered into his mouth that way. It was a bit awkward, really. Maybe if he wasn't in pain and his brain wasn't floating somewhere outside his body Techno would be embarrassed about it.

It didn't taste bad though. Sweet, like the fruits that fell from the tree into the river sometimes.

Pulling up the towel, Techno buried his face into it again, managing to suppress a sob with an almost herculean effort. He missed the river.

He missed when everything wasn't too much all the time.

"I haven't had time to fix your aquarium," Phil said, "but I warmed the water in the bowl this time and tried to make a cave so you'll at least be comfortable for now?"

Techno whined a bit when the towel was taken away from him, but he was too weak to hold onto it when Phil pulled it off with a low noise Techno took a moment to realize humans saw as comforting. Carefully, two palms were cupped beneath him. Learning from previous experience, Phil kept all his fleshy bits far away from Techno's teeth. Despite them not being enemies anymore, Techno was stressed and in pain, not entirely lucid even. Phil was smart for not giving his instincts another chance to revert to biting as the logical next step.

Like last time, Phil lowered him with great care - even if it meant he had to dip his own hands so deep into the water that his sleeves got wet. The bowl wasn't big enough for a proper cave, but Phil had tried his best to make some construction out of rocks that Techno could hide in. He was too hurt to move though, so Phil went as far as to lay him down in it himself. The bottom was covered in moss. Phil hadn't been lying about heating up the water so it left his fever-recked body trembling less than before.

Then Phil must have picked up some type of dark cloth to drape over the bowl because everything became darker - cutting out that harsh and horrid light. Techno sighed, tucking his fins into his side and flaring his gills.

It didn't exactly fix anything. His skin still felt too tight for his bones and his headache hadn't let up and his eyes stung and he was starved yet at the same time the mere thought of eating made him want to wretch.

But he was safe.

Phil had come for him.

And that was enough for Techno to fall asleep to.