2019-09-13 - Gentleman Caller

Lilith is awake, though she really should be asleep because she's starting to really feel a lot of her pain. But she's lied and had some of the pain med dosage pulled back by pretending she's still dosed and high when the nurses come in, so her dose is a little weaned for clarity sake. Byron Thorne has been taking care of her ever since admit and generally watching her like a hawk, but after evening and overnight, and morning shift, with his phone blowing up and a need to go shower and change and go retrieve creature comforts for Lilith since it's looking like she's in for a while given the state of injuries, he's out at the moment too.

What Lilith had Corey retrieve at her shop from the counter help Katy is a transplanted and potted rare import saffron crocus worth a pretty penny, threads of saffron spice already ready to be harvested. It's ready to be planted and cared for instead of serving in bouquet form, like a plant guy got a hold of it and made it just so.

In Hospital Room 405, Lilith is hooked to all kinds of things given the serious state of her, especially breathing notification monitors. When he comes in, though, she takes the stupid oxygen helper tube out of her nose and tries to arrange her pillow-tousled hair some with smooth of hand, fine features pale with shadows under her eyes. The extent of how she's hurt is largely hidden by blankets and gown, but there's no natural shift of motion beyond that of her arms, which indicates her body is probably maimed and crushed pretty good, "... hi. Did you like it? I would have waited but I... thought it might make me feel better to see you come in glowing about something while I'm... here."

A brief trip to the pawn shop, and Corey collects the gift that Lilith mentioned. He spends a bit of time just sat in his car with it, stroking leaves and crooning to it, like most folks would with a baby or puppy. It gets taken home and carefully set up in his room, away from the haphazard hands of his housemates, and he spends far too long googling the care of a saffron crocus.

Thus he's a few minutes later arriving to Lilith's room at the hospital than he said he would, but is indeed practically alight with excitement. He's got a bag slung over his shoulder, and he comes on up to the table next to Lilith's bed, transferring from his backpack four bottles of strawberry-flavoured water, a few bags of prawn cocktail flavoured chips, and a large piece of cake wrapped in foil. Sure, she may not be able to eat it right now, but it's good for a few days. Though that may still not be long enough.

"Babe, when you get hurt, you really go all out," he notes quietly, flopping down in a chair beside the hospital bed, eyeing her with a criticcal eye. "I love it. I do not love this," he notes, gesturing to.. well, all of her. "Wanna talk about it, or want to be distracted with my rapier-sharp wit and charming, boyish good looks?"

"Well. Uh. We can do both. It's not... like this was a ghost or murderer or anything particularly traumatic to talk about. Just..." Lilith is a touch breath-winded with her words and she tries to shift up with push of her hands and ginger motion to look at the bottles and what Corey's brought with a slight smile at her lips. But she also seems somewhat embarrassed as she explains the extent of her injuries and what caused it-- the woman stops trying to move around to wince and put her head back against the pillows for a composing moment before those words.

"I got crushed by an elephant seal when I went to eat at a food truck on the beach." Seriously? Seriously. That takes talent. Or bad luck. Or a screwy ass Gray Harbor moment. Probably a combination that heavily includes the latter because she explains with a sigh, "I blew up a lot of other things before she got a hold of me. Shrimps and lobsters and crabs and... I don't know, they were speaking French and talking about a revolution, it was weird." A pause, "I swear that's not drugs talking."

Her hand makes a vague gesture, "Few crushed ribs, claw gashes, I... break easier than I realize. I didn't dodge, I thought... I could take her out before she got to me."

"Alright. Is talking okay?" Corey tilts his head slightly, noting the touch of breathy exertion when she speaks. "Also, do you want a hand sitting up?" Since she's shifting around uneasily and with limited success, and he's like right there and can help lift or move pillows and stuff. He does stand, moving back around to the table and cracking open one of the bottles of strawberry water, finding a straw from somewhere and dropping it in, so it's easier for her to drink without having to sit up fully.

"An elephant seal, shrimps, lobsters and crabs. Well, damn." It's unclear whether he believes or is just humouring, but Corey then eyes the chips he brought. Prawn cocktail flavour. "Guess you can get some revenge," he notes with a nod to the bags, then leaning over to brush the lightest of kisses against her hair. "Don't like seeing you all bashed up, babe. Isn't there anyone who can fix people like you do lamps?"

"Yeah. Can you... make a slushy out of the strawberry water and my ice chips the nurse brought and can I have a spoon and a straw? Throat is killing me from all that oxygen being pumped into my passages." Lilith goes needy the second Corey offers and she puts her hands up some and lets his adjust pillows behind her and work the bedframe leverage remote to settle her more upright for looking at him, facilitating conversation. "And can you get the cherry chapstick off of the side table by the phone for me, I can't lean to reach." There's a bucket with a lid on the arm tray with styrofoam cup and a wrapped plastic spoon for her to apparently have at at some point that a nurse brought, so it gives ammo for the concoction she requested. Apparently she was planning when she asked for the strawberry water.

Then she admits to Corey in the middle of everything, taking a moment to just be winded and breathe for a long moment, lifting up the oxygen tube to her nose for a moment to cheat with instead of putting it on, like a booster shot so she can keep talking, "I'm tired of being drugged and quiet and it hurts, but I don't care, I wanted to go home, not here. I-- someone came by and tried to fix me better, but uh. I'm pretty bad off and it takes... a lot from a person when... someone's in a state. I know firsthand what it's like, not everyone can quite... do it without risking pushing me the other way when it's somewhat critical so I think... she was too nervous to try again. And the person they called uh. Never quite showed, I don't know. Probably got busy or something. Byron's probably out trying to wrangle someone that might be able."

Moving pillows and adjusting the bed until Lilith is comfortable, Corey then considers the ice chips. There's a slight frown, and he digs into his bag, pulling out a wrapped set of kitchen tools. Pulling out what looks like a large garlic press, positioning a cup under it and begins to crush the chips into slush. Sure, it's probably not the most efficient method, but then again he's also not using a hammer or hardback book to crush them, saving on noise. It does take a few minutes for him to make a good inch or so of slush, adding the strawberry water, spoon and straw and passing to the patient, then continuing with the crushing effort into a separate cupafter also passing over the chapstick.

"Take the drugs, babe. It's better than being in pain, while it hurts badly. Worry about being off them when you've healed up a bit," Corey murmurs quietly while working, then quirks a brow. "Who did they call? I can go out and find them and drag them here, if you like." It's not quite a joke, he seems at least partly serious in that offer.

"I don't... remember. I was pretty high and dosed because I was throwing a fit in the ambulance, I think. It's okay." Lilith says, applying a layer of pinkish flush chapstick to moisten and color her pale lips to a degree, giving her a little less an impression of looking injured and drained from pain and mending fatigue. It helps too, which is the real reason she put it on before slushy starts to happen. She gives Corey more of a felt and genuine smile with the pull out of tools to crush the ice and hand the concoction over.

"I'll hit the nurse up for more when she comes back around. I was just... closing my eyes so much in drug haze wasn't real pleasant in spells either, I get afraid I'll be... pulled into bad things while hurt and unable to defend myself." She pauses and sighs then, spooning in some of the slush to let it melt in her mouth before swallowing, "I guess awake doesn't matter that much, though. Things do what they do around here."

Eyeing Corey then once she's settled, she wonders, "If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?"

There's a solidly thoughtful expression on Corey's face as he works on crushing more ice, listening to Lilith and her worries about being dream-attacked while she's incapacitated. "Is there anything that can keep you from being pulled in?" he asks quietly. "Or, maybe if you weren't in Gray Harbor?" It's an experimental question; he doesn't know much, but working with the little he does know, there's logic there. Once he's managed half a cup of the slush he adds in a bit more strawberry water, setting this second cup within reach for when she's done with the appetiser.

Returning to his seat, he tilts his head slightly at the question. "Probably Paris. To try some of the cuisine in person rather than the knock-offs we get over here. Or maybe back to Canada, live the good life up there, disconnected from everything." He scratches his fingers back through his hair, then flips it. "What about you?"

"That... isn't a bad idea, to take a trip over to the next town or so, but unfortunately... I can't even go home to lie in my own bed, let alone on a road trip. And I doubt they'd just ambulance transport me over there because I want to stay at a different hospital, at this point. But something maybe to consider... for next time I'm hurt if I can avoid the hospital." Yes, Lilith is very much just assuming there will be a next time at some point in the nearish future and beyond, and it's perfectly conversational while her features and words work through the logic of it. After a few bats of her lashes, she drinks from the straw to take in more slushy liquid in lieu of scooping it in with the spoon. That, she's now using to play around in the cup while she considers how to answer the question in return.

While considering, she bylines with drag of commentary to Corey while she looks into the cup and the way she's agitating the slush around while he finishes up crushing reserve ice and re-seats himself, "I think I expected Paris for a chef, but the total off the grid thing for you? You seem to like company, I think it'd drive you nuts if you didn't do it in like... small seasonal spells. Though the idea is neat and I can kind of see it on you." Lilith pauses to cheat with the oxygen tube at her nose, remembering something delightfully morbid because it's just her, "Did you read or see Into the Wild with... that guy who wanted to live disconnected in Alaska and... he did it in a van camper and he died of rabbit starvation? I learned something. Don't do that."

Then after a slight smile to go with the ending dry wit there that's very Lilith through the smashed state of her, she finally decides, "I want to go to Rio during Carnival. I might be murdered, but the idea of cutting free and just letting all that happen around me, I don't know. I like it."

"I can bust you out, all you have to do is say the word," Corey volunteers, though he's not completely confident of that being the case. Still, bravado and willingness counts for something, right? He doesn't move from the chair however, recognising she's unlikely to take him up on it if she's still hooked to oxygen and things. "How often does this happen, babe? You talk about it like it's a regular occurance." Which it might well be, but he's not that far down the rabbit hole, yet.

He smiles briefly as she anticipates Paris but not Canada, explaining, "I did exactly that for a year before college. Lived and worked on a commune farm; used their solar panels to recharge my cell, everything else was super manual. It was really good. There were like thirty of us there, and I could still call out if I needed to, so it didn't get lonely."

Lilith makes a 'huh' of surprised noise at Corey's explanation of where he took a year before schooling, then thinks back visibly to the offer of busting out and the question of how often things happen and go strange. After breathing a little more oxygen and drinking from her slushy water, she's silent for a time, though the moment is thick with 'hang on' while not quite saying that. It's kind of written on her features, which are highly expressive when she's not in a dry or casual state of habit to play it cool.

"I... sometimes it takes a while, but... fairly often, I guess, now that I've done the tally of days back versus occurrences I know have happened since spring. And that's not even including where I ah, had a bit of a spiritual parasite possessing me." Jesus Lilith. To be fair, she doesn't quite realize she said that part, because it's a bit as if she's thinking through things as she says them. Which probably... makes it unnervingly realistic as a possibility given the tone. After pushing her spoon around in the cup again, she looks at Corey sidelong and scoops in another bite of ice slush before setting the cup aside.

Putting her hands down against the blankets, she sits still and doesn't dare to turn her actual body, but her head and attention is fully and intently on him now, "The thing I've gathered from what others have mentioned and what... happens to me... is that I'm very attractive to bad things because I'm..." She pauses and tips her head toward Corey indicatively, a dark tousled piece of long bangs falling over her brow at one side with the gesture, "Look at me. Really, really look at me and into me. See how... strong it is?"

Likewise quiet while Lilith is quiet, Corey grabs a bottle of regular water from his bag, sipping it and letting her think through whatever she's thinking through without derailing that train of thought. His brows raise somewhat as she admits to this not being an uncommon thing, and then his eyes narrow a tad at the thing about the spiritual parasite. "Come again? A what?" he asks, looking uneasy. Though she's saying it in the past tense, so he's not freaking out quite as much as he did about the toe thing. Yet.

Then as she explains why and invites him to look, he can't help but flex his glimmer, a faint shine or shimmer or whatever she sees around him as he gently exerts his will to push that lock of hair back from her face. "There's a lot of movement around you," he admits quietly. "Like asphalt under the summer sun. A haze like a mirage."

Lilith cracks a sudden blossom of smile as Corey flexes that glimmer with such finesse to brush her hair away from her face, her head tipping a bit upward and into the feel of it as much as she would an actual touch or caress. She probably shouldn't encourage such extraneous habits so, but she hasn't really made that particular connection yet, and from the look of her, she knows what it feels like, perhaps, for him to do that, inside himself. Sometimes the things she does aren't all destructive, pulling pieces together feels like heroin for her in a tiny hit, which is no doubt part of why she's giving answers like this to Corey.

But.. for now, she nods to the inside and helpless shine that Corey details there in his own words, considering it before speaking, her smile still lingering from the non-physical-yet-physical gesture he made to manipulate her hair, "Yes. If shadows and bad things are moths... heat and light. I think I just... have to pay for what I am. Like some weird cosmo rule of metaphysics." Then she draws in a breath and gets a bit withdrawn with smile fading, "Oh. I said that, didn't I. It's... I touched something cursed and it got in me. It's done now, but... it was a bad, bad month."

It should probably not come as a surprise that Corey's talents are in finesse rather than brute force. Cooking requires a lot of fine detail work - at least, his kind does - and so he's as careful with his use of glimmer as he is when using his chef's knives. "Okay. I mean, it's not just you though." He says that with some confidence. "Other friends of mine are plagued with the dreams." He doesn't say that he is too, but he doesn't deny it either. Though surely if his got overtly dangerous, he'd say something.

"I'm glad it's out of you, whatever it was. I prefer my women without parasites," Corey then murmurs, teasing lightly. "You really should avoid touching cursed things, Lils. Even demonesses are not immune." Apparently.

Lilith nods her head and looks a little bolstered, "It's not. It varies for everyone, seems, not in favorable ways a lot of the time. So even when it's not my direct issue, it's something with my friends, or others need me for something else, or... you know. It collects, so. That's why I like your company, even though I make it weird and creepy, sometimes. It's... pretty easy. Which is probably why I need to disclaimer the shit out of the general state of existence when it comes to me." A pause, her hand lifting oxygen cheater tube again to breathe through.

Then Lilith reclaims her slushy to start drinking from after telling Corey with helpless dark humor, "I really think I can stop that now. I've probably efficiently scared the shit out of you a time or two or three, so. Probably enough. At least you're worst-case prepared for screwy happenstance of whatever color. At least, as much as you can be."

Then as an afterthought, she says, straw slipping from her mouth, "It feels a little good to talk about it or relate it, though, doesn't it? The things we do, the way things feel because of it... catharsis behind the scary?"

"Pretty and easy pretty much describe me to a tee," Corey responds with a slow, lazy smile in Lilith's direction. "And yeah, you've disclaimered heavily. Not going to say that I'm completely fine with everything you've said, buuuut.. I'd rather know than remain in the dark, since this seems to be a wider phenomenon than just us." He nods a little bit to the sentiment of feeling good to get shit out in the air. "Yeah. You're also pretty informative, so the friends I have who don't know much - and, well, me - have something to go on now."

He pauses a moment and adds, "I've never mentioned your name, by the way. Not as the person I ask questions about all the creepy stuff. I'm guessing that's still pretty private."

"Good. I'm glad you don't want to be blissfully ignorant, it pisses me off when I try to warn someone so they can be informed and weigh risks and be ready in an eventuality and they just... stare at me like I'm pretty and shrug or something like they have it under control. Because if things go wrong, control goes out of the damn window." Lilith gets just a touch huffy there for a moment and she hits her oxygen like an asthmatic with an inhaler fix. Then she seems to look just a touch prided while catching her breath and going quiet for a moment, someone finding her fuckery of conversation informative.

"Honestly... take only a few things I say as law and leave the rest as hole-pokeable theory because... I just have a lot of unfortunate experience and observations... and things I've cobbled together to help make sense of my life. I'm far from an expert. But that doesn't matter so much, I guess, so long as it makes sense to you and helps." The brunette woman pauses, then to consider his mention of privacy, "I already... kind of have a reputation that varies among people, so it really doesn't matter. I mean you can say I told you whatever so long as they understand I'm not Einstein or a great Sensei of these things. I imagine you're mostly talking to your sister anyway. I liked her, pretty spunky."

"More of an expert than I am. Than anyone else I know, to be fair," Corey admits openly, taking another sip of his water and noting, "Also, if you're hungry, I could go see if they've got any strawberry yoghurt in the refectory." Complete change of subject there; talk of the spooky stuff is done, and he's back into 'pretty and easy' boy-toy mode, with a dash of helpfulness.

"I'unno how much time you're gonna be awake between doses of drugs, but if you're jonesing for some decent diversion, I can loan you my laptop and Netflix account?" he then adds, knowing from prior experience how boring hospital can be. "I'd offer other things too, but you're in no fit state to enjoy them," he adds, that slow smile of his returning.

"I asked Byron to get my tablet with clothes for when I get out, and Dog. Otherwise I'd say bring it. But no, I'm not hungry, I hurt a lot and... I think... it's from talking so much." Lilith finally de-prides herself and fesses up to Corey after a helpless half-laugh in exhaled breath at his last bit, even that making her wince. She reaches for the bed remote to hit the nurse button for more drugs to be pushed through whenever the person arrives to check her over and administer.

"Thank you, though. I needed the distraction since closing my eyes was unpleasant and Byron needed to do the running and calling and fetching. He was there and... I think he feels bad he didn't stop it. Was my fault, though. Stubborn. Go plant your flower and get your spice to show off, mm?" She reaches out one of her hands for his after taking a last drink from the melting cup of ice crush and strawberry water to set aside on the tray, "As always, you've been pleasant as hell."

There's a nod as Lilith explains how she's being cared for by Byron as a sop to his guilt, and Corey takes the offered hand, squeezing her fingers (and not any line in that hand, should there be one) before leaning over to kiss her chapstick-and-strawberry-slush lips lightly. "I'm usually free between work ending at eleven and classes starting at two. Or after classes, around seven. Let me know if you need anything, even if that's just some company," he urges quietly.

Straightening, he promises, "I'll send a picture of Mellow Yellow in her new home, once she's settled." Yes, apparently Corey has named his crocus plant already. Go figure.

"Good. I named my leafy plant I got back from August... named it Audrey. And the orchid is Seymour." Lilith tells Corey, starting to drift not long after he gets up to say goodbye, smiling some after the light graze of leaning kiss. Because the nurse is pretty prompt about coming in and getting her drugged for some reason. Then again, she did say she was throwing a fit in the ambulance and there may well be rumors about her that has the population that knows a little better... a wee bit just-in-case cautious.

"I have my phone, I'm not afraid to whine. Take care, you."