Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

PERCEPTION- There you go now, blinking awake. There’s your ceiling. 

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT- Breathe, son. There’s something wrong with you.

ENCYCLOPEDIA- Albatrosses can fly for miles and miles without a single wingbeat. 

EMPATHY [Trivial: Success]- Time to head over to your friend’s house, and don’t call this time. 

PERCEPTION [Easy: Success]- It’s entirely silent as you enter. Apart from the faint scent of dried blood, the one you still haven’t managed to entirely scrub from the corners of the room, the atmosphere is entirely peaceful.

LOGIC [Easy: Success]- He must not have woken up yet, he would have called out a short greeting otherwise. 

EMPATHY- Good to check on him. 

1. Open his door and see if he’s doing okay.
2.  Make some coffee.
3. Sing a little song. 

KIM KITSURAGI- He doesn’t stir even as you open the door, and his chest rises and falls under the covers. Definitely sleeping. 

1. Leave the room.
2. Get a closer look. 

PERCEPTION [Medium: Success]- His face is a little flushed and damp, and he’s unusually slack-jawed. 

PERCEPTION [Formidable: Failure]- …

EMPATHY [Easy: Success]- Some discomfort in his expression. Still, he sleeps on. 

LOGIC- He must be too warm in the room. Best open a window. 

1. Open a window and let him sleep. 
2. Check him over more thoroughly.
3. Check him over, but wake him first so it’s less creepy. 

VISUAL CALCULUS [Trivial: Success]- Propped open about ten percent of the way. Should allow for a cool breeze to enter without chilling the room too much or letting in many bugs. 

1. Let him rest. 

PERCEPTION [Trivial: Success]- The now-routine 10:30 precinct call sounds out across the apartment; it shatters the measure of tranquility you’ve managed to find on his couch, paging through a magazine. It also forces the perception of time on you in one fell swoop, and the hazy period between leaving his room and now gains clarity and weight. 

HALF-LIGHT [Medium: Success]- He’s still asleep. 

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Easy: Success]- Sleeping in this late is unbecoming of a lieutenant. He doesn’t allow it to happen. In fact, he keeps an alarm by his bedside. 

LOGIC [Trivial: Success]- He slept through his alarm? 

HALF-LIGHT [Easy: Success]- That’s bad. That’s very bad. 

COMPOSURE [Challenging: Success]- Don’t panic, he was alive and well the last time you checked on him. Just check on him again, and you’ll see the same thing. 

1. Check on him. 

KIM KITSURAGI- He’s in approximately the same position you left him, only more flushed. A puddle of saliva has formed on the pillow, and he’s mumbling something too quiet to hear. 

LOGIC [Medium: Success]- Looking at it again, it’s actually quite strange that a man recovering from blood loss would have quite that much color in his face. 

PERCEPTION [Trivial: Success]- A quick press of the back of your hand onto his forehead confirms it- he’s burning up. 

1. Wake him.
2. Look at his shoulder. 

PERCEPTION- He doesn’t wake as you prop him up and roll up his sleeve. The bandage on his shoulder sticks as you wind it off of his skin. The discoloration you noted last night has spread, and gotten more greenish. 

HALF-LIGHT [Trivial: Success]- Panic. Bite something. He’s going to die. Sepsis. 

LOGIC [Medium: Success]- Actually, Gottlieb supplied you two with antibiotics for a reason. Give him some and change his dressings often, and monitor his condition. Keep the fever down. He should be fine soon enough, these things happen. 

KIM KITSURAGI- He opens one bleary eye, sees you, and closes it again. Sleep takes him again within a few seconds. 

1. Attempt to feed him some medicine.
2. Change his bandages.

KIM KITSURAGI- He does not rouse easily. But he’s cooperative enough and allows you to place an antibiotic tablet in his mouth without complaint. He even swallows the water you chase the chalky pill with. 

PERCEPTION- His cheeks are really quite hot. Maybe you should check his bathroom for a fever reducer? 

LOGIC [Trivial: Success]- And a thermometer. If it’s low grade it might be best to just let it be, but if it’s super high he needs Gottlieb. Seizures and all that. 

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Trivial: Success]- Seizures. Blegh. You remember those, and they’re spectacularly unfun. 

VOLITION [Medium: Success]- The problem wasn’t the lack of alcohol, it was the preponderance of it in your system and the resulting withdrawals when that state wasn’t being maintained. You can avoid those in future by keeping up your streak. 

PERCEPTION [Medium: Success]- Thermometer on that shelf there. Stick that under his tongue and see what’s up. 

1. On it, boss. 

LOGIC [Trivial: Success]- And while you’re in his bathroom, refill that glass of water. He’ll need it for the copious quantities of medicine he’ll be taking in the next day or so. Iron, antibiotics, fever reducers, those candy colored painkillers…

VOLITION [Easy: Success]- Which you are decidedly not allowed to take a handful of ‘for funsies’. We’re not doing that anymore. 

1. Head back into his room with the stuff he needs. 
2. Rummage through his cabinet for exciting pharmaceuticals. 

KIM KITSURAGI- He’s still technically awake, but judging by the lethargy in his eyes he really doesn’t want to be. 

1. Take his temperature.
2. Give him a fever reducer.
3. Give him a painkiller.
4. Try to cool him off. 
5. Change his bandages.
6. Feed him. 
7. Give him water. 
8. There’s so much to do, how do I decide which is first?

VOLITION [Medium: Success]- He’s going to need a lot of care over the next day or so. You are uniquely positioned to offer it, and you are not going to let him down. Just go down the list. 

1. But I barely know what I’m doing.
2. I’m totally confident, yeah. 

VOLITION- And? Do it anyway. 

1. Take his temperature.
2. Give him a fever reducer.
3. Give him a painkiller.
4. Try to cool him off. 
5. Change his bandages.
6. Feed him. 
7. Give him water. 

HAND-EYE COORDINATION [Easy: Success]- Right, just hold that thermometer like so and tilt his chin up. 

KIM KITSURAGI- He regards you with faint bewilderment. 

1. Try and pry his mouth open. 
2. “I need to take your temperature, Kim.” 

KIM KITSURAGI- He lifts one hand and presses the back of it to his own forehead, frowning. “Can’t tell. M’ tired.”

1. “You can sleep soon, I just need you to open your mouth for a second.” (Gesture at the thermometer)
2. Demonstrate what he should be doing.

KIM KITSURAGI- There’s a pause as he regards the little electronic gadget in your hand with something like concern. “That one’s… hm.” It seems like he loses his train of thought, because he shakes his head, sighing tiredly. 

1. “Please work with me here?”
2. Demonstrate what he should be doing. 
3. Just go for it and pray he’s cooperative. This is taking too long. 

INTERFACING [Medium: Success]- Okay, so just hook your fingers onto his chin and pull gently downwards. Then wedge two fingers between his teeth to keep it open and pray he doesn’t decide to bite them off. 

KIM KITSURAGI- He doesn’t bite you, only looks very startled by the proceedings. 

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Challenging: Failure]- This is weird. It’s weird and uncomfortable. 

EMPATHY- Yeah, well, he’s probably not happy about it either. 

1. “There you go, now just don’t crunch on the thermometer because it might break.” 

KIM KITSURAGI- He gingerly closes his mouth. It takes about a minute of awkward silence before the device beeps. 

INTERFACING [Easy: Success]- He’s got one of those cool new electric ones from Saint-Batiste. You know, as opposed to a glass tube full of mercury. 

LOGIC [Easy: Failure]- So the thermometer is currently telling you that Kim is running a 147 degree fever. Meaning he’s been lightly broiled and is therefore already dead by default. 

INTERFACING [Trivial: Success]- Oh… it’s broken. 

EMPATHY [Medium: Success]- Which is what he was probably trying to tell us earlier. 

HALF-LIGHT [Medium: Success]- Snap the fucking thing in half. 

VOLITION [Easy: Success]- Or don’t do that??

1. Visit violence upon Kim’s garbage broken thermometer.
2. Tuck the thermometer into your pocket and ignore your simmering rage. 
3. “Kim, can I break this thing?” 

KIM KITSURAGI- He squints at you. 

1. Take his temperature.
2. Give him a fever reducer.
3. Give him a painkiller.
4. Try to cool him off. 
5. Change his bandages.
6. Feed him. 
7. Give him water. 
8. Break the thermometer.

KIM KITSURAGI- He seems to have accepted that you just periodically need him to unhinge his jaw like a feverish snake. “Whatsit,” he mutters, processing the pill you’ve placed on his tongue and grimacing. 

1. “It’s for your fever.”
2. Wordlessly proffer the glass of water. 

KIM KITSURAGI- Muscle memory takes over and he takes a sip, tossing his head back to down the pill with the water. 

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Easy: Success]- Wow, look at amateur hour over here. Can’t even dry swallow a single drug. 

1. I think he’s the normal one, actually. 
2. He is pretty amateur. 

ELECTROCHEMISTRY- Incorrect. Nobody’s normal. Least of all the people in this room. 

1. No, Kim’s normal. He’s like the definition of it. 

ELECTROCHEMISTRY- Hard disagree. This guy’s got all kind of sexy complexes that make it hard for him to interact with other people. 

VOLITION [Easy: Success]- It’s really strange that you’d use that adjective to describe his mental problems. 

ELECTROCHEMISTRY- It’s a good adjective. 

RHETORIC [Easy: Success]- Evocative, admittedly. 

1. Take his temperature.
2. Give him a fever reducer.
3. Give him a painkiller.
4. Try to cool him off. 
5. Change his bandages.
6. Feed him. 
7. Give him water. 
8. Break the thermometer.

HAND-EYE COORDINATION- Both of you know the drill at this point. 

KIM KITSURAGI- He’s watching you steadily, which is pretty unusual for him. 

EMPATHY [Challenging: Success]- He’s spacey from the fever literally cooking his brain matter. Eye contact doesn’t carry much social weight for him right now and he’s curious about what you’re doing. 

KIM KITSURAGI- He downs this pill too without much fuss. He hands the glass of water back to you. “Sleep now,” he mumbles, leaning back against the headboard and closing his eyes. 

1. “No- Kim, not yet, there’s still so much left to do.”
2. Tap him repeatedly on the shoulder. 

KIM KITSURAGI- He huffs, but opens his eyes again. “What.” 

AUTHORITY [Easy: Success]- Your power is severely diminished right now, Kitsuragi. And besides, it’s for your own good. 

1. Take his temperature.
2. Give him a fever reducer.
3. Give him a painkiller.
4. Try to cool him off. 
5. Change his bandages.
6. Feed him. 
7. Give him water. 
8. Break the thermometer.

LOGIC- Hey, wrong order. What gives? 

1. I don’t know. I’m worried that ‘cool him off’ might mean I have to do weird stuff he’ll hate. 
2. Oh, I forgot. 

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Medium: Success]- Standard methods of temperature regulation for fever patients include a lukewarm water bath (not cold, as that may cause shivering and raise core temperature again), changing into lighter clothing, cold compresses, and a thin sheet as their bedding. Chills should be treated as they occur, but bundling up patients throughout the entire course of their fever is counterproductive. 

1. But we can skip doing that, right? I gave him medicine. 
2. This makes me uncomfortable for reasons I cannot articulate. 

VOLITION [Easy: Success]- Fuck right off. He needs medical care, and you can get over yourself long enough to provide it. 

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Formidable: Success]- In the medical field, ‘implied consent’ is a term used for when a patient is unable to really articulate what they want, and the doctors are legally obligated to assume they’d like to stay alive and accept healthcare. 

HALF-LIGHT [Medium: Success]- He won’t want to be your friend anymore. He won’t even be able to look at you. 

EMPATHY [Trivial: Success]- Look, he’ll dislike being treated as a child, but he’ll dislike being dead or brain-damaged a lot more. 

1. Skip the ‘cool him off’ step.
2. Get the fuck over yourself and handle the situation. 

VISUAL CALCULUS [Easy: Success]- His bathtub was tiny, mostly just an accessory to the shower, but you could get him to sit upright in it and avoid getting the shoulder wet entirely. 

1. “Kim, I’m going to run a bath. We need to cool you off, and you’re already wearing pretty airy clothes, so changing them out won’t cut it.”
2. “Come on, up and at ‘em.”

KIM KITSURAGI- He blinks lethargically and looks down at the white shirt he’s wearing, plucking at it vaguely with his index finger and thumb. 

EMPATHY [Medium: Success]- Well, he processed most of that. 

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Medium: Success]- But he’s not moving. Alright, time to take matter into our own hands, and I do mean that literally. It’s Sack Of Potatoes Protocol time. 

1. Gently maneuver him, doing your best to make him feel like he has some agency in the situation. 
2. Seize him!!

KIM KITSURAGI- He goes along with you readily enough, despite mumbling periodically about wanting to sleep, and observes with mild interest as you run some room temperature water into his tiny bathtub. 

EMPATHY- Well, seeing as he’s only wearing his sleep clothes, i.e, boxers and a shirt, you could just spare him further indignity and have him step in as he is now. 

LOGIC [Trivial: Success]- Sure, as long as you’re okay with getting him new clothes for after the bath, seeing as he can hardly be expected to wear damp clothing for the rest of the day. 

VISUAL CALCULUS [Trivial: Success]- That is true. You’d just be peeling the wet boxers off him later, which isn’t much more considerate. 

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Medium: Success]- Hey?

COMPOSURE [Easy: Success]- Absolutely not. 

HALF-LIGHT [Trivial: Success]- Something’s wrong with us…

1. Now’s a good time to panic about this, right? About how something’s clearly wrong with me? 
2. Help him undress now. (Don’t think about it)
3. Guide him into the tub as is. (Don’t think about it)

HAND-EYE COORDINATION [Easy: Success]- He is pretty heavy, but if you hold him tightly enough you can prevent him from slipping and falling into the tub. 

KIM KITSURAGI- He moves stiffly, brows deeply furrowed. The second one of his feet touches the water he draws back, hissing at the temperature. “Cold.” 

1. “That’s the point.” 
2. “For your fever.”

KIM KITSURAGI- He places the back of his hand against his forehead again. Then he exhales heavily and finishes stepping into the bath. He grimaces in discomfort as you guide him to sitting, tugging at the fabric floating around his thighs, but voices no further complaint about either the cold or having to bathe in clothing. 

1. Cool, cool. Uh, how long do we wait here?

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Formidable: Failure]- Don’t look at me. I don’t know. 

KIM KITSURAGI- His head droops forward. 

LOGIC [Medium: Success]- Well, maybe start by just trying to get more of him cooled off while avoiding his shoulder? You can’t dunk him entirely, which would be the most efficient, but maybe you can just carefully pour some water on the rest of him. 

VISUAL CALCULUS [Easy: Success]- Genius. Toss some water over half of his torso, the arm of his uninjured side, and get him to lean over so that when you pour water over his head it falls straight back into the tub instead of getting on his shoulder. 

1. Cup some water in your hands and get to work.

KIM KITSURAGI- He snores gently, but jerks awake again the second you start splashing him. He whips around, looking incredibly affronted. 

REACTION SPEED [Medium: Failure]- He just flicked water at you?? 

SAVOIR FAIRE [Easy: Success]- Aw. Now your hair’s damp. 

1. “Hey!”
2. Just ignore it and finish rinsing him off. 

KIM KITSURAGI- No further revenge on his part, but he glowers at you as you pour water on his chest and arms. It’s impossible to say what his expression is while you get his back, but the chances that it’s exactly the same are fairly high. He doesn’t speak again until you push him forward to get his head. “What are you doing?” 

1. “Please chill for a second. Metaphorically and literally, in my ideal scenario?” (Pour water on him)
2. “Pouring water on you.” (Pour water on him)
3. Just get it over with. (Pour water on him)

KIM KITSURAGI- Around half a minute passes before he finally gets the joke and huffs quietly. This doesn’t blend well with the steady stream of lukewarm bath water you’re dousing him with, and he sputters. “Yeah, alright, but why are you bending me over?” 

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Trivial: Success]- …

COMPOSURE- Okay, one must admit that he really didn’t have to phrase it that way. 

1. [COMPOSURE- Medium 10]- Don’t laugh.  
2. Being serious is for people who haven’t been running off a stress cocktail for two days. 

KIM KITSURAGI- He blinks the water out of his eyes, listening to you laugh at him. It doesn’t seem like he picks up on why you’re losing it, but he does smile with you nonetheless. Some of the red in his face has dissipated too- he looks significantly better than he had twenty minutes ago, even with wet hair. 

1. Help him out of the bath. 

HAND-EYE COORDINATION [Medium: Success]- It’s harder this time, because now he’s slippery, but you get him standing on the bathroom tiles after a bit of maneuvering. 

PERCEPTION [Easy: Success]- His skin is a good bit cooler. Nice. 

KIM KITSURAGI- He leans on you heavily as you lead him back to the bedroom and lleaves a trail of dark footprints behind him. 

1. Select a new shirt and pair of boxers for him. 
2. Try to find something even lighter, somehow? 

PERCEPTION- Yeah, nothing here. What were you even expecting? A mystical garment made of woven air? 

1. It’s called procrastination. 
2. I truly thought he was an elf from ancient times. 

PERCEPTION- Well, it’s failing to produce anything perceptible, so I can’t help you. 

1. Select a new shirt and pair of boxers for him. 

PERCEPTION [Easy: Success]- Finally! Visible reality! The most suitable clothes in here seem to be a very loose and threadbare sleeveless shirt along with a pair of boxers boasting similar qualifications. 

1. “Do these look okay, Kim?” 

KIM KITSURAGI- He squints at the clothes in your hand, but makes no reply. 

EMPATHY [Medium: Success]- OH! He can’t see anything right now! His glasses are on the nightstand. 

1. Crouch by him and show him the clothes. 
2. His opinion doesn’t actually matter in this scenario, just help him change. 

KIM KITSURAGI- He takes in the off-white garments silently, then nods. 

1. “Cool. Do you think you can change into them without my help?” 

KIM KITSURAGI- He tugs at his shirt, but as he moves to raise it above his head he jerks in pain and drops his injured arm like hot coals. “Fucking shit,” he mutters. 

1. Well, now’s definitely a good time to panic. 
2. [VOLITION- Challenging 12]- Be normal and help him. 
   1. +1 Been diligently avoiding processing things the whole time
   2. +1 Not about to start now
   3. +1 Uninteresting machine
   4. -1 Strong general tendency toward panicking at bad moments

VOLITION [Challenging: Success]- He needs you, and I have been downright meticulous with your priorities. First and foremost right now is his comfort. Wet clothes cause shivering, so those need to be removed, and you’re perfectly fine. 

HAND-EYE COORDINATION- Easy enough to peel the shirt off him without jostling his wound, you’ve already half practiced this. 

KIM KITSURAGI- He’s not looking at you at all as you towel him off and help him put on the dry shirt. 

EMPATHY [Easy: Success]- Even fevered and confused, this is very embarrassing for him. 

1. “Hey man, don’t worry. I already saw you shirtless when you were bleeding out and dying, it’s no biggie.” 
2. Oh boy. Don’t say that. 

EMPATHY [Trivial: Success]- …Good choice. Who was responsible for that option being there?

LOGIC- To be fair, it is entirely true. 

RHETORIC [Challenging: Success]- You know, not every society considers nudity taboo. Why should you, or he? 

VOLITION- Yeah, but that’s the sort of thing you told people when they were angry at you for taking your pants off while on benders. And it really never worked. 

RHETORIC- Society…

KIM KITSURAGI- He shivers, once. 

HALF-LIGHT [Easy: Success]- Red alert! You’re running out of time to stare vacantly at the carpet while he drips on it! 

1. Suck it up and remove his boxers. You can handle the sudden onslaught of upsetting intrusive thoughts that are sure to result, he can’t handle being wet all day. 
2. Surely there’s more to think about before such a drastic maneuver? 

HAND-EYE COORDINATION [Medium: Success]- Sounds like you need to be on autopilot for a while. Sure, I can help with that. Tug the fabric over his hips, carefully looking in an another direction-

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Trivial: Success]- Fail to ignore the implications, or the distinct twitch of muscle memory in your fingertips-

HAND-EYE COORDINATION- Sit on the ground to get them off his feet, towel him off as brusquely as possible, help him step into the new ones, and get the waistband where it should be. Done, easy, another outstanding job from me. 

AU DESSUS DE DIÉGÉTIQUE- *Polite applause* 

VOLITION [Easy: Success]- Well. That wasn’t a complete disaster. 

HALF-LIGHT [Easy: Success]- Yes it was. The only available recourse to you after this is Kim’s window. It’s not high up enough to kill you, so you’ll have to jump out of it repeatedly and hope that does the trick. 

EMPATHY- Or maybe just look at his face and see if he’s actually upset?

KIM KITSURAGI- The grimace of embarrassment on his face is falling away into something neutral, and his eyes flutter closed for a few seconds. Abruptly, he starts hobbling over towards the bed. 

EMPATHY [Trivial: Success]- He’s too fucking sleepy to be mad at you. 

KIM KITSURAGI- He climbs onto it and crumbles vaguely into some semblance of a sleeping position. 

VOLITION [Medium: Success]- Bandage! Bandage! He needs his wound cleaned and a bandage applied, do not forget that!

1. “Kim, wait a minute! I need to clean and bandage your arm again!”
2. Go to the bed and make sure he’s okay. 

KIM KITSURAGI- Thankfully, he’s not leaning on his arm in this position, and in fact seems to be avoiding doing so. 

PERCEPTION [Trivial: Success]- The little basin of water and the bar of soap you brought in is right on his nightstand where you left it, as are the bandages and the little tube of ointment. You might even be able to dress his wound without disturbing him at all. 

HAND-EYE COORDINATION [Easy: Success]- You manage to gently clean the wound with soap and water. A little spills onto the sheets, but that can’t be helped. 

KIM KITSURAGI- He stirs, making a tiny sound of pain, but doesn’t open his eyes. 

EMPATHY- Do not wake him. 

HAND-EYE COORDINATION- Working on it. The ointment goes on easy, and you’ve had enough practice by now that the actual bandage application is nearly automatic. 

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Medium: Success]- Easy enough to prop him up with one arm while you wind the fabric around his shoulder with the other. 

PERCEPTION [Easy: Success]- He does still seem to be asleep. That’s probably a good thing. 

VOLITION [Medium: Success]- Good work. But you aren’t done yet. 

1. Take his temperature.
2. Give him a fever reducer.
3. Give him a painkiller.
4. Try to cool him off. 
5. Change his bandages.
6. Feed him. 
7. Give him water. 
8. Break the thermometer.

HAND-EYE COORDINATION [Trivial: Success]- More cooking? Knife? 

LOGIC [Medium: Success]- Well, he still needs that iron, and he still hasn’t finished that soup you made. Lack of appetite due to the pain, probably. And you certainly weren’t eating any of it. 

HAND-EYE COORDINATION- Aw. 

1. Check out his pantry for something else to cook. 
2. Just heat up the soup on his stove and bring it back to him. 

PERCEPTION [Easy: Success]- Hm. Smells… okay. You really did add far too many of those bay leaves. 

KIM KITSURAGI- He doesn’t wake as you sit on the bed beside him with the bowl perched in your lap. 

1. Gently shake his shoulder. “Hey, Kim. Time to eat.”
2. Leave the bowl on the nightstand for when he wakes up. 

KIM KITSURAGI- He grumbles loudly and with utter conviction. “Time s’it?”

1. “About 11:55 in the morning.”

KIM KITSURAGI- Confusion passes over his face. “Oh. Day?”

1. “Monday.” 
2. “Uh…”

KIM KITSURAGI- He doesn’t press on your hesitance, and glances at the bowl in your lap instead. 

1. “You should eat this.”

KIM KITSURAGI- He starts shuffling into a sitting position, failing abjectly until you help him. Wordlessly, he takes the bowl from your lap with his good arm and sets it atop his thighs, and then sets to the long and thankless task of transporting dubiously spiced broth and ground meat to his mouth over and over again. When the bowl’s about half-finished, he places the spoon down. “M’ done.”

1. Take the bowl back.
2. “You sure? There’s still a lot left.”

KIM KITSURAGI- “Arm’s tired.”

1. Painfully consider the idea of spoonfeeding him. 
2. “Okay, I’ll put this back.”

KIM KITSURAGI- He nods and rubs at his temple with his good (and apparently tired) arm. 

VOLITION- You know the drill. There’s always more to do. 

1. Take his temperature.
2. Give him a fever reducer.
3. Give him a painkiller.
4. Try to cool him off. 
5. Change his bandages.
6. Feed him. 
7. Give him water. 
8. Break the thermometer.

KIM KITSURAGI- He obligingly takes a sip, and a few more when you tell him to, but after the fifth he sets the glass down with a definitive air. “I’m going to sleep.” 

1. “Can’t argue with that, man.”
2. “Wait, I don’t know if I’m done with my list yet.”

KIM KITSURAGI- He raises an eyebrow, though its power seems to be severely diminished.

EMPATHY [Medium: Success]- ‘You would argue with anything.’

KIM KITSURAGI- He flops onto his side and is asleep within the minute. 

ENDURANCE [Medium: Failure]- You could use a little nap, to be frank. 

PERCEPTION [Trivial: Success]- No can do. Phone’s ringing. 

1. Let it ring out. Kim probably won’t wake up anyway. 
2. Go see who it is. 

JEAN VICQUEMARE- You don’t get a chance to say so much as ‘hello, how are you’ before an abrasive voice makes its presence known on the line. “Hey, what’s going on over there?” 

1. “Kim’s feverish, but I’m taking care of it.” 
2. “Nothing. Asshole.” 
3. “Jean… I had to give Kim a bath and it was really weird.” 

JEAN VICQUEMARE- He’s silent for around half a minute. “Why the fuck did you do that? No, better question, why did he let you?” 

1. “Look, why did you call?” 
2. “Disease and stuff.” 

JEAN VICQUEMARE- “We’ll get to that. Is the lieutenant okay? Surely he can’t be in his right mind, if what you say is true.” 

EMPATHY- You’ve been insulted. 

LOGIC [Trivial: Success]- No, not really. There genuinely is no real reason why Kim would ever allow that to happen, save under circumstances of extreme duress. It’s weird that you’re taking that so personally. 

INLAND EMPIRE [Challenging: Success]- True for now. 

1. Deeply interrogate these internal ravings.
2. “No, he’s kind of not. He got an infection, and I had to lower his fever. He’s doing better, but still not too hot.”

JEAN VICQUEMARE- “Oh.” 

1. “Yeah.” 

JEAN VICQUEMARE- “Well, I know it’d be a nightmare to explain to Gottlieb a days-old infected wound with this time loop bullshit going on, but if he gets worse you have to bring him in. Keep force-feeding him medicine and hope it works. Also, don’t open like that.”

1. “Why not?” 

JEAN VICQUEMARE- “You buried the fucking lede, you ass! I don’t give a shit about your personal feelings, so keep them to yourself. And don’t talk to him about them, either.”

1. “But I’m not supposed to repress my feelings.”
2. “Okay, okay. What did you call about?” 

JEAN VICQUEMARE- “I need you to solve this shit.”

LOGIC [Challenging: Failure]- What? 

1. “What?”

JEAN VICQUEMARE- “More people are calling into the station with every new loop. People are telling each other to look at the sky, congregating, what the fuck ever. It’s not a mass panic- yet. But it’s going to be if you don’t figure out why the hell its happening. As soon as your new partner can so much as string a coherent sentence together, I need both of you back on the beat.” 

HALF-LIGHT [Easy: Success]- Okay, fuck you too. 

LOGIC [Easy: Success]- Why isn’t he investigating this, then? 

1. “Why aren’t you solving it?” 
2. “Kim needs some time, man.”

JEAN VICQUEMARE- “Because I’m not the bullshit para-normal super extraordinaire apocalypse cop, that’s why. I’m not fucking equipped to handle time travel paradoxes, Du Bois, you know damn well only your psychotic substance-addled brain can. You solve nearly every goddamn case the precinct throws at you. So figure it fucking out.” 

1. “Kim needs some time, man.”

JEAN VICQUEMARE- He sighs loudly. “I know. Obviously, don’t let him fucking die. But check on him tomorrow and see if he’s fit for at least some modicum of fieldwork. If the fever’s faded by then, he should at least be able to walk.” 

ESPRIT DE CORPS- The city’s at stake, he doesn’t say. 

1. But- 

ESPRIT DE CORPS- And you’re the dream team. 

VOLITION- Today, be watchful. Feed him, force medicine down his throat, change his bandages, make him drink. If he’s to be in fighting condition soon, it will require all that the two of you have. 

1. “Alright, Jean. I’ll try.” 
2. “Do some investigating on your own, too.”

JEAN VICQUEMARE- “I don’t know where I’d even fucking start. But fine.” He hangs up the phone, leaving you damp and friendless in the light of midday. 

KIM KITSURAGI- He sleeps on, his brow finally cool under your searching palm. 

You pick your way out of your shell, shivering and wet. Your large webbed feet stumble over a piece of it. Your tiny belly rumbles with the fiercest hunger you’ve ever known, suddenly incapable of being alleviated with protein-rich yolk and albumen. 

The larger bird, the one that’s been watching your progress with interest, dips its head into a black pool of water, and you crane your neck to watch. Inside the black pool are countless tiny orbs, blue and black and brown and grey and all infinitely complex. They are alternately shaded and lit by small balls of fierce light. 

It’s showing you how to eat.