voice :: in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me

[oneofthequick]

"This is Uther Doul. I would like to make contact with someone out there in Taxon."

His voice is a good deal gentler than usual and there seems to be something of an echo to his transmission.

Comments

[faderbroderson]

"Uther?" Here's a voice Godric hasn't heard in a while, and there's something off about it. He can't help but sound a little concerned.

[voice]

[oneofthequick]

"Godric. It is an unexpected pleasure to hear your voice." Doul pauses here to rest as the static seems to get louder. Perhaps if Godric's hearing is acute enough he might be able to make out just what the static really is? "Can you track a man with your tablet?"

[voice]

[faderbroderson]

Godric's eyes narrow slightly at the static. It sounds like words, the harmony of phrases, but not altogether in languages he knows and all at once like a crowd. He can't make out anything coherent.

"I can. What do you need?"

[voice]

[oneofthequick]

"A fresh set of clothes, some water, and a little assistance getting to a proper bed." Another pause while he recouperates. "After that, dignity would be nice but unlikely."

...Doul. You are so weird.

[voice] --> [location: some seedy hotel]

[faderbroderson]

Brow furrowed, Godric moves to the hatch to gather the requested clothes and a bottle of water. He sees the dot on the map that represents Doul. It isn't far, but little in Taxon is.

"I'll be there shortly."

It only takes a few minutes, and then he's in front of the hotel the map leads him to. He puts his tablet away, intending to track Doul by scent, but something is wrong. He can smell Doul, but it's overlayed by other, subtler scents. They all smell like the same man, but there are differences, as if Doul all at once smells drunk, ill, healthy, freshly bathed, and covered in grime. It's confusing, and concerning, but every scent leads to the same place. Godric knocks on the door.

[location: Hotel d'Sleaze]

[oneofthequick]

As Godric approached the room in question, it's possible (hurf durf) that he's noticed there is something subtly wrong about the hallway. It's nothing obvious, but there is a definite sense of something 'off'.

"Don't come in. Leave what you've brought and I'll make my own, slow way out," he calls out from the room. "I am not contagious, but this area has become dangerous for a time."

[location: Hotel Cockroach]

[faderbroderson]

If Godric had hackles, they'd be raised. He doesn't, so instead, he's very still and very silent and very wary. He places the clothes and the water next to the door and backs away, a little farther down the hallway than is strictly necessary. He has no idea what's going on, but his senses are on alert, and Doul's words do little to reassure him.

[location: The Dew Drop Inn]

[oneofthequick]

The door to the hotel room opens and quickly shuts as Doul steps out into the hallway. At first glance, his clothing looks fine, if rumpled; still, there must be more to it. Moving with deliberate slowness, he leans against the wall to put on the new kit and haphazardly leaves everything but his sword behind.

Carefully, Doul makes his way toward Godric and the doorway, "We'd best be going. I'm not sure where-to, but anywhere will do."

[location: The Dirty Sheets Motel]

[faderbroderson]

Godric nods, placing himself next to Doul in a silent offering of support, if Doul finds it difficult to walk unaided. It's obvious he's unwell, but Godric finds it impossible to tell why or how. His senses are still screaming at him that something is terribly wrong, but they can't seem to decide what.

"You are ill?" he asks, testing.

[location: Fleabag Towers]

[oneofthequick]

"It is an old condition that acts up; much like ague." Or malaria, if you're not up to speed on your archaic medical terms. "You cannot be infected."

While he generally loathes touching another person, especially the ab-dead, it is a testament to how unwell he has been that he accepts the offer of support without any show of pride.

[location: Leaving the Hotel California]

[faderbroderson]

A condition that undoubtedly has nothing to do with illness in the traditional sense. Whatever it is stinks of magic, but if Doul assures Godric it isn't contagious, he won't press. Still, it seems to have somehow affected Doul's surroundings, if not the people Doul encounters.

"If I take you to my home to rest, will it be affected as the area here has been?" Godric supports Doul's weight as if he weighs nothing more than a feather, carefully steering him out of the hotel.

[location: Puttin' on the Ritz?]

[oneofthequick]

It may be magic or it may be a highly refined sort of natural, scientifically explainable phenomenon. If asked, Doul would explain it in terms of wavefront collapse and obscure, non-Euclidean equations.

"Your home will be safe and this area will, in time, return to the way it has been."

[location: Cruisin' at Daytona]

[faderbroderson]

Godric doesn't ask, despite his curiosity. He has a long history that's taught him that things like this are private to the point of secrecy. The magic of each individual race is held closely guarded, and if something about one's nature can leave one vulnerable, one does not generally wish to reveal the details. In the same way that neither Godric nor Eric would voluntarily reveal their weakness to silver, neither does Godric expect Doul to explain the hows and whys of his strange illness unless he must in order to ensure survival.

So Godric remains silent and physically supportive as he leads Doul to the nearest train stop. It's lucky that the nest is so close to one of the stops along the red track; they won't have too far to walk.

[location: Drivin' Miss Doul-y....dear god no]

[oneofthequick]

Since he left High Cromlech and its necrocracy, the chief reason that Doul has grown to be more tolerant of the ab-dead is that they are more comfortable with an absence of noise. It's rare to find one of the living willing to be still and silent.

Until they reach their destination, Doul will rest when and where he can. He intends to explain his 'condition', not just because it is fair, but because there may be some slight side-effects on Godric's home and it's best that he has all the information possible.

[location: Trainspotting]

[faderbroderson]

Godric does expect to be kept apprised of any consequences he may face due to bringing Doul home, and with that, comes a thought.

"You say your condition cannot infect me. Can it infect the living?" Sookie is under his protection, and he won't bring something into the nest that may compromise her safety. If Doul answers yes, Godric can always find another comfortable place for Doul. That other Sanctuary people keep mentioning, for example.

[location: Throw Momma from the Train]

[oneofthequick]

"No. It is an old illness brought about through very specific circumstances." Like being a youthful idiot and travelling to the edge of the world (and/or reality). "It may alter probabilities for a short while - glasses put down where you might've left them but didn't and card games that don't follow the rules. I shouldn't harm anyone."