2019-09-28 - Good Advice

(TXT to August) Isabella : ((Phone call from Isabella's number.))

(TXT to Isabella) August : ((It takes a few rings for August to answer, but answer he does.)) This is August. ((He sounds...not great. Gravely voice most notably.))

(TXT to August) Isabella : ((Isabella sounds like death; her voice is barely working, though it clearly hasn't stopped her from calling anyone, and every breath rattles from deep within her chest.)) "Hey August, just checking in on everyone. How are you feeling?"

(TXT to Isabella) August : About like how you sound. ((A little morbid humor colors his voice.)) I think...this flu is messing with my Gifts though. And a couple of us wound up Over There but it was...strange, somehow. Like they weren't real, only I was. ((He coughs, deep in his chest.))

(TXT to August) Isabella : "Ugh. God. Maybe Alexander was right after all. I was hoping..." ((Isabella sighs.)) "I wanted to call you and let you know that..." ((She devolves into a fit of violent coughing.)) "...Erin and the Captain are accounted for, but the latter's undergoing some kind of house arrest of his own. His girlfriend called Byron and said he got handcuffed because he was slightly more volatile than usual. And Hyacinth's...almost done with the casket. I don't know if you've managed to talk to her lately."

(TXT to Isabella) August : Good. ((August sounds genuinely relieved.)) And, honestly, ((he clears his throat, it doesn't really help)) house arrest is probably the best option, for...someone like him. I saw her, yeah, she was one of the people who got...dragged in with me. ((A heavy sigh.)) We need to get Gohl in the ground as soon as possible.

(TXT to August) Isabella : "He's..." ((Isabella pauses, and whatever she is going to say withers on the vine. She switches tracks after another coughing fit.)) "Soon. We'll get him on the ground soon. His eulogy is done, and I think people are set on sacrifices. I mean, if nothing else, some part of this is a blessing in disguise, in a way. The fact that our timetable has shortened relatively quickly means a few of us won't be doing anything risky or stupid regarding our sacrifices, me included." ((She sighs.)) "Besides it's not like some of us don't have other things to deal with once it's done. You have a business to run, I have a thesis to write, Alexander has a case to solve..." ((After a heartbeat of silence, audibly swallowing something in the background, she continues.)) "So it's affecting your abilities also? Alexander said you couldn't heal him when you tried."

(TXT to Isabella) August : I would like to get back to my life, it's true. ((A sound like maybe August is running his hand over his face.)) And you all need to get back to yours. ((A grunt, another sigh.)) Yeah, it wouldn't budge. I haven't healed illnesses that much, but it still usually works, at least shortens it. On the other, ((a cough)) hand, I can feel my Gifts are weaker. And when we were Over There, yesterday, they weren't working at all. So maybe it was just that. Not sure I'd know the difference, honestly--between this, whatever-it-is being something I can't heal, and my Gifts just plain not working. ((He sounds sulky about that.))

(TXT to August) Isabella : ((Isabella falls silent for a very long moment, and when she speaks up, it's quiet.)) "August, I think you're the first person who's told me that your abilities are being affected by something. Could you tell me about what happened, with Hyacinth?" ((She exhales a breath.)) "I was thinking maybe it could be nothing, but after my conversation with Alexander last night and what you're telling me today, I'm starting to get a sense that it's probably not. I'm sorry, for peppering you with questions. But I think it'd be helpful if I have more of the picture before saying anything else. We're all under a lot of stress, I don't want to compound on it by being ridiculous and paranoid."

(TXT to Isabella) August : ((August succumbs to a fit of counting; it's muffled, as he's set the phone aside, but she can hear it.)) Yeah, let me get myself some tea here. ((His voice is particularly strained. A minute or so if puttering.)) Okay. ((His voice is markedly improved.)) She and Ellie came over, and right after they got here, I sort of dozed off. And... ((He's quiet a bit.)) It was like, they all became a cartoon. Does that make sense? Only I was real. And my Gift was just, not there. Or, it was there, but it was like when your phone's battery is dead. I couldn't sense things like I usually can. But I could see theirs. And, as soon as I wasn't Over There anymore, it was back. Weak, but, back. ((Much of this is interspersed with pauses for him to drink tea and keep his throat clear.))

<FS3> Isabella rolls Wits: Success (6 4 1 1 1)

(TXT to August) Isabella : ((Isabella listens attentively through the entire recounting, but she keeps coughing now and then.)) "Alright." ((Another pause, when she attempts to gather her thoughts.)) "Last night, Alexander told me about what you tried to do. About how strange it was that you couldn't heal him, and that this illness might not be from here. That it could have originated through the Doors. And then I started thinking about..." ((This time, there's the sound of her scrubbing her face, trying to focus.)) "....Alexander's looking into my mother's family later drove me to seek out an appointment in City Hall's Registry of Deeds. That's how me, Alexander and Byron found out about the Veil City Hall in the first place. But during our first and second visits with the Archivist, the Hall of Records was...you couldn't read anything. There were hundreds of maps, charts, books, but none of them were comprehensible to us. When Byron and I went in this most recent time, to ask him whether we could get some of Gohl's bones back, I managed to find one that I was able to read." ((She hesitates, audibly, but continues on.)) "It was about an outbreak."

(TXT to Isabella) August : ((Silence while she speaks, save for the occasional muffled throat clear, sniff, or cough.)) Hmmm. ((More silence.)) Don't suppose the, ah, Archivist was willing to let you have a look at it? They got a checkout policy, or a copy machine? ((There's wry humor in his voice, but only a little.))

(TXT to August) Isabella : ((There is a long and palpably guilty silence.)) "...I didn't ask. I mean, I didn't take it. ((The last said in a rush.)) "I wasn't about to jeopardize Byron's efforts, or his working relationship with the Archivist, but I took a peek." ((Another long silence.)) "And I'm paying for it in the worst way. I'm not sure if it's permanent. If it is, Alexander was thinking of going to Miss Lake to see if it can be cured. All I see when I try to read are..." ((She exhales a breath.)) "Anyway. It's why I can't text. I can't...read...anything." ((And while she doesn't say it, the horror is probably very real. A scholar and academic, rendered illiterate for god knows how long?)) "Anyway I remember what it says, what I was able to read. I told Alexander that once this was over, the two of us can look into it. It was a book of the dead - Grippe Outbreak, volume 2. Deaths 2000 - 2999."

(TXT to Isabella) August : ((On a sigh.)) Christ. ((A low grunt, the sort that implies 'well what's done is done'.)) So, you couldn't read anything the first two times. But then you could. And now, those are the only words you can see. ((Silence while he mulls that over, had some tea.)) Well, if anyone can find out how to fix that, it's Ellie. So I'd talk to her soon as you can. Grippe Outbreak...wait. It was a death record? Of a flu--this flu? ((She can almost hear the frown in his voice.)) You don't think you got infected while you were there, do you?

(TXT to August) Isabella : "That's the thing, after talking to Alexander, I'm not sure if it's an actual death record." ((The sound of a thump, Isabella probably flopped on something soft, like a mattress or a cushion. There's a soft groan, before she continues.)) "I told him about it last night and he said that grippe was an old name for the flu, and he suspects that if I can't read anything from that room before, and now I can, and it's that particular volume, that I might've only been able to read it because I was already infected. And what he said when he dismissed him and me." ((She pauses to remember.)) "...he told us to get well soon, and that was a couple of days before we started showing symptoms, so we were probably already sick. He also said..." ((She groans.)) "Oh god I need to stop thinking for an hour..." ((She can't. She won't.)) "...something about it lasting ten to eleven days from exposure to recovery."

(TXT to August) Isabella : "But I told him the things I remember...there was only one death per year. And Alexander was quick in saying that's too few, that there's at least some children and elderly who die of the flu every year. So it might be something else. He suspects a sacrifice to stop the outbreak and I know we might all be infected by Gohl on top of everything right now, but things around here have been so dark and strange that wouldn't surprise me at all."

(TXT to Isabella) August : Well...if she was saying that, sounds like you were definitely already sick. ((A pause for some tea.)) I guess that's survivable. But, is it's not a death record, what would it be? ((No pause for her to answer, though.)) Maybe you should. Stop thinking, I mean. Take some Theraflu, get some rest.

(TXT to August) Isabella : ((That's the million dollar question, isn't it?)) "I don't know. But once I'm well enough..." ((Isabella groans.)) "Anyway, I'm sorry, I wanted to ask, because I didn't want to box at shadows, but it looks like Alexander might be right if it's starting to affect the Talent, also and that you can't use it at all in the Dream." ((After a moment, she speaks up, almost hesitantly, and even awkwardly.)) "How's he doing?" ((No specification as to who he might be, but really, she doesn't need to.))

(TXT to Isabella) August : No worse than I am. ((A dry laugh.)) I know that's maybe not reassuring, but, being out here seems to keep him a little calmer, maybe. The goats aren't going to get him riled up, or anything. We're both doing a lot of sleeping and reading and staring blankly at Netflix. ((A rattling breath in, out.)) I'll ask Ellie to look into this thing you're going through. Maybe it's just temporary, but it wouldn't hurt to know sooner rather than later.

(TXT to August) Isabella : ((It isn't much, but Isabella's smile can practically be detected through the receiver.)) "That's good, I'm glad to hear it. I was joking to him the other day that I'm going to need to send you a gift basket or something to make up for this." ((After a pause, she speaks up again, a little more quietly.)) "Thanks, August. For taking care of him, and for asking Miss Lake for me. If it helps to give her my number, please do. You'll look after yourself also, yes? And...if you need any help with anything that I might be able to provide, let me know?"

(TXT to Isabella) August : Eh. No need for that, it's not a problem. To be honest it's nice to have someone to commiserate with. ((He barely gets the receiver aside in time for the next cough.)) Yeah, I'll give her your number. And, I will. Also, summer hires will be heading back to school, so if you know anyone looking for work that likes to climb trees or dig in the dirt... ((A sneeze.)) Just send 'em my way.

(TXT to August) Isabella : ((Isabella laughs - and it sounds like it hurts, but it doesn't stop her from leaning into it anyway.)) "He really likes your goats. And you." ((Another fit of coughing.)) "I teach some classes in the community college to keep up with my lecture hours requirement, and students are coming back in the Fall. If anyone's looking for a job, and students often are, I'll send them to you, for sure." ((She groans.)) "And maybe I'm going to go and take your advice, now. One more call and then I can close my eyes. I'll talk to you soon, August. If anything else comes up, I'll call you. Please say thank you in advance to Miss Lake for me."

(TXT to Isabella) August : That's good, considering how Gohl has us feeling. ((There's the sound of a faint smile in his voice.)) Thanks. And, will do. You take some Theraflu, or at least some cough syrup. ((More coughing of his own.)) And I guess I should take my own advice. Talk to you later, Isabella.

(TXT to August) Isabella : ((Another hoarse laugh.)) "I will, and you should. You give good ones. Advice, I mean. Talk soon, August. Have a good afternoon."