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"Pooter, there's no ducks here! Just take the medicine!"
"Noooo...!" Ras shoves Lizzie's hand away with a snotty voice. "Wan' Ducky!"
Lizzie groans. She's been at this for over an hour now, and he still won't take the stupid medicine Forsythe told her to make him take. This would be easier, usually Raz isn't afraid of medications (a bit weird for a 10 year old but she won't question it), but right now? He won't take anything. No liquids, no pills, he won't even drink water. Not, apparently, without his Ducky. If Lizzie knew what this "Ducky" he keeps talking about was, she'd get it for him.
But...
"Alright, then where is Ducky?" Lizzie asks, looking at Razputin with a frown. "I'll get it for you."
Once again, Raz shakes his head. "I wan' Ducky..." He mutters sadly, pulling his blankets further around his bundled up body, making Lizzie bury her face in her hands in annoyance.
He keeps talking about this "Ducky", but he won't tell her where it is! And it's nothing in his dorm, because she's turned this place upside down looking for any sign of a stupid stuffed duck or a blanket or anything like that, but nope. Nothing. Not a single damn thing. And he still keeps whining, a sad, sick 10 year old whine that tells her he's this close to breaking into tears if he doesn't get what he wants soon. And honestly? Lizzie doesn't want to know what Razputin's temper tantrums are like if he can throw things with his mind. (she remembers when her and Norma were younger. Lizzie broke so many plates, and Norma set off the fire alarm so many times. she can only imagine what Razputin can do with how strong he already is.)
Lizzie lets out a sigh, running a hand down her face, totally smearing her makeup even more before she sits herself on his bed, frowning as Razputin scoots further away from her. Ouch. Child rejection. The worst kind of rejection. "Look, Pooter, you gotta tell me where Ducky is. I can't know what you want if you won't tell me." She's already tried probing his mind, but his mental defenses are air tight as always. Even when he's sick. (maybe Forsythe should know about that...)
Razputin sniffles, eyes brimming with exhausted tears. "Jus'...Ducky...wan' my Ducky..." He mutters sadly, making Lizzie's cold heart ache just a touch. He uses his little hands to wipe his face. "Ducky always takes care of me..."
Lizzie sighs. "Well, will you tell me where Ducky is?"
Raz hiccups as the tears roll over his cheeks. "Ducky..."
That's it. She's giving up. Lizzie groans, leaning away from the sick boy. This isn't her area of expertise, it's really not. She's no good with kids. That's more Adam's thing. Especially when it's crying kids. So, with that in mind, Lizzie stands up and heads for the door to find Adam-
Only for the doorknob to turn, and Gisu to poke her head in. "Yo. I think we figured out who Ducky is."
"Seriously? Alright!" Lizzie can finally get him to take that stupid medicine. "Hand over the toy or whatever and i'll get him set up."
Gisu snickers. "Nah, it's better then a toy." Turning away, she leans out the door. "Oooh, Ducky~!"
"Yeah, yeah...you're never gonna let me live this down." The door pushes open wider to reveal Dion Aquato, in all his circus boy, blue outfit glory, looking at Lizzie as if she were some kind of enemy. "You gonna move?"
Lizzie blinks, an amused smirk rising to her face. "You're Ducky?"
Dion huffs. "Unfortunately. He won't let that stupid nickname go, so i'm stuck with it. Now scoot." He mutters, before leaning around Lizzie and finally getting into the room. The goth watches his face go from annoyed to stupidly soft as he takes in the sight of his brother all bundled up under his many blankets, softly crying. "Oh, Razzy..."
A shake of his head. Dion turns to Lizzie and holds out a hand. "Let me take care of this." He says, nodding in approval as Lizzie palms over the bottle of liquid medicine and the spoon she's been trying to use for the past hour.
With control finally being relinquished, Dion walks over to the dorm room bed and settles in next to Razputin, carefully removing his helmet with a small smile. "Hey, Mousey. Look who it is." He says softly.
Raz peeks up, letting out a small whimper. "Ducky..."
Dion nods, carefully wiping away Raz's tears. "Yep. I'm sorry it took so long to find you, Mousey. I got a bit lost." He chuckles. "This place is pretty confusing, y'know. There's way too many twists and turns." A sigh. "Plus, i'm no good at that Levitation stuff. That's more your thing."
Raz giggles tiredly as he's helped into a sitting position, leaning against Dion's chest and making himself comfortable in his lap. "Milla said 'm a nat'ral..." He slurs, making Dion chuckle.
"I believe it. I've seen you fly all over the place with that ball thing."
"Though Bubble."
"Yeah, that." Dion nods, easily balancing the spoon in one hand as he pours the purple medicine into the spoon. "I know you hate this stuff, Mousey, but can you open up for Ducky? I promise, it won't taste as bad as you think."
Raz lets out a small whine of denial, making Dion frown. "Aww, not even one spoonful?" A hum. "...would you take it if I made you tea?"
Bleary teal eyes blink up at his brother. "C-can I have honey...?"
"All the honey you want, Mousey."
Raz's face scrunches up in thought, very deep and complex, before he finally nods and opens his mouth. He's not happy, but that's all Dion needs to slide the spoon inside and pour the medicine down his throat, making Raz shake his head as he pulls the spoon out. Little hands go to cover his mouth as he cringes at the feeling and taste on his tongue.
Dion simply rubs his back. "C'mon, Mousey, you gotta swallow." He says softly, letting Raz finally tilt his head back and swallow the purple medicine, Dion uncovering his mouth with a smile. "See? I told you it wasn't that bad."
"Icky..." He grumbles, burying himself deeper into Dion's arms.
"I know it was, Mousey. But it's over now, and you did such a good job." Dion says, smiling softly. "Now, do you wanna go to the Caravan? I'm sure Birdy wants to cuddle, too, and I can make you some tea to get that icky taste out of your mouth. Does that sound good?"
Raz simply yawns and buries himself into Dion's chest, easily curling himself up with a star patterned blanket lingering around his shoulders. Dion easily tucks the blanket further around him and presses a kiss to his forehead. "Gotcha. You close your eyes, Mousey. I'll take care of you."
"Mmhm..." Raz mumbles. "Lov' y'u, Ducky..."
"I love you too, Mousey." Dion says softly, before finally standing up. He turns to look at Lizzie, face falling to the usual disgruntled expression he always has. What a tough guy. "I swear to god, if you start calling me Ducky-"
"Relax, circus boy, i'm not gonna do that." Lizzie says with a roll of her eyes. "At least, not around the others." A shrug. "Not too sure about Gisu, though."
Dion sighs in relief. "I'll take what I can get." He mutters, shifting the sleeping Razputin in his arms. "I'm gonna head back to the Caravan with him. We've got stuff to take care of this."
"Seriously?" Lizzie's brow furrows. "You sure that's safe? The Motherlobe has a whole medical wing."
Dion shakes his head. "Raz hates doctors. Anything white and sterile freaks him out, and it's worse when he's this sick. The campsite's safest." He says. "Besides, mom's gonna wanna look after him. He's the family baby."
"I thought that little guy with the cape was the baby?"
"Queepie's the youngest, sure, but Raz is the baby." Dion says. "He showed up earlier then he was meant to. His body couldn't get a proper immune system working, so now he gets sick a lot." He looks at Lizzie with what could be considered a half-smile. At least by Dion standards. "Don't worry about it, alright? We've been taking care of Raz for years now. We know how he gets, and we know how to handle it."
Lizzie frowns. "Alright..." Something tugs at her heart strings as the two exit the dorm room. "You want me to help you outta here?"
Dion shakes his head. "Nah, i'm good. Took me a minute to get a layout of the place, but i'll just use those weird tunnels." He says, pointing over to the sewer door that leads to a system of tunnels underneath the Motherlobe created by Otto. How anyone can understand that is beyond her. "Raz gave me the uh...the print thingy awhile ago."
"Thinkerprint?"
"Yeah, that. It's easier to use those then levitate everywhere." He shakes his head. "Still not used to it."
Lizzie chuckles. "You can have Pooter teach you when he's better."
Dion just groans. "Oh, don't give him that idea! Last time he tried to teach me something, I ended up tangled in ropes for three hours. Gave me the worst migraine."
With that being said, Dion turns away from Lizzie after giving her a small nod and finally leaves, heading down the hall to find the sewer-like system of tunnels that lead all over the place, Razputin in his arms and laying his head against his shoulder. Bleary eyes open back up just enough for Raz to wave weakly at Lizzie, before he promptly falls back asleep.
Lizzie sighs. Then, she turns around. "Hey, Gisu! Tell me more about Ducky!" May as well distract herself to avoid stressing over Pooter all night.