Carter comes, eventually. After Dr. Cuddy's appearance in the Nexus reminded him of his responsibilities to the once-eldritch being. (He doesn't want to have to deal with this. He has far too much to cope with as it is, and far too many entanglements with these kinds of beings. But Hastur's fall was his doing. And he knows he's beholden to what human fragments still remain.)
He fills the doorway even in his most simple 'outing' garb, a plain white mask and simple tan robes.
It's been a while. Ivy's visit might have done him some good, but he's still in terrible shape, a central line snaking under the collar of his hospital clothing, a nasogastric tube leading into his nose. He's thin and paler than ever, eyes shadowed and hollow, and his hands and arms are bruised and reddened from IV sites.
Nevertheless, he's conscious, and his eyes (yellow irises) widen upon seeing Carter.
"You..." he stammers, his voice a stringy rasp. "Y-you where there... when I woke up.... You were there... weren't you?"
"Yes." A flat shadow of emotion in his voice, human contrition filtered through an insect's throat and mind. "I am -- Randolph Carter, of... Massachussets, and Yaddith." He approaches the hospital bed, black eyes glittering down at the Stranger.
"Randolph Carter..." he echoes, as though committing it to memory. Maybe he is.
"I'm ... not well, no. I'm sorry." He's not sure why he's apologising. Maybe because this man came all this way only to find him in this useless state.
There's a long pause while he thinks on this. Why he's the way he is, now? This man, Carter, was there when he first woke up. One of the earliest things he can recall, other than--
He ... did that? The lights and the pain? His breath catches, tightens, and he finds himself shivering. "You ... you took my memory? Made ... the lights and ... why?" He tries to look at the strange man, but his eyes refuse to stay still.
"You were... someone. Who posed a great danger -- to the Nexus, and those in it. A bringer of madness and fear. I wished... the problems you were causing resolved, as quickly as -- possible. I regret the pain... and confusion... that this has caused you -- now, but you must believe me when I say -- it was necessary."
His eyes can't focus at all, now. He can't look at the horrible masked form looming over him. He buries his hands in his hair. The sounds he's making are nothing compared to the scream that night--faint, breathless echoes.
His pulse and blood pressure skyrocket into a full-blown panic state that his body can't handle and alarms beep insistently. Doctors run into the room but he flails at them.
"Why are you here now?" Fear makes his voice crack and he pants for breath. "People kept saying... I was a monster... did they ... tell the man with the ... the ... razors to kill me...? Are you here to ... finish it...? I don't remember anything!"
Nz-kth! When the alarms start going off, he backs away, making a harsh buzzing noise in alarm. By the time anyone thinks to look for him, or demand he leave, he's already gone. As though he was never there at all.
Maybe he finds himself shouting this at no-one, then. They've snuck their sneaky Ativan into the IV anyway, so it doesn't last long, at any rate, fading into mumbling and then silence. He finds himself subsiding back onto the mattress, consciousness drifting out into a quiet darkness.
He does hear the brunette doctor mutter something about having security keep an eye out for that guy in the mask, though. And then he goes under.
He fills the doorway even in his most simple 'outing' garb, a plain white mask and simple tan robes.
"Lord."
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Nevertheless, he's conscious, and his eyes (yellow irises) widen upon seeing Carter.
"You..." he stammers, his voice a stringy rasp. "Y-you where there... when I woke up.... You were there... weren't you?"
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"How do you feel?"
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"I'm ... not well, no. I'm sorry." He's not sure why he's apologising. Maybe because this man came all this way only to find him in this useless state.
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Carter was a writer, once. Lifetimes and aeons ago. He knows how these things inevitably go, then terrible secrets are hidden and revealed.
"It is... my doing, that you are -- as you are now."
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lightandpainandtoomuchtoosmalleverycolourandeverysoundand...
He ... did that? The lights and the pain? His breath catches, tightens, and he finds himself shivering. "You ... you took my memory? Made ... the lights and ... why?" He tries to look at the strange man, but his eyes refuse to stay still.
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His pulse and blood pressure skyrocket into a full-blown panic state that his body can't handle and alarms beep insistently. Doctors run into the room but he flails at them.
"Why are you here now?" Fear makes his voice crack and he pants for breath. "People kept saying... I was a monster... did they ... tell the man with the ... the ... razors to kill me...? Are you here to ... finish it...? I don't remember anything!"
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He does hear the brunette doctor mutter something about having security keep an eye out for that guy in the mask, though. And then he goes under.
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