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“How are you feeling?” Master Attendant asked, crouching down next to Salad, who laid curled up in his basket.
“Okay,” Salad mumbled, opening his eyes, so that he could look up at them, “what time is it? Did I miss-”
“Hey. it’s okay,” Master Attendant interrupted, resting a hand on his forehead, “we got everything covered. You want to tell me what’s going on?” He was burning up a fever, but they needed them to admit they weren’t feeling good before proceeding. They weren’t just going to start medicating if there was no reason.
“I don’t feel good,” Salad admitted, allowing his blanket to slide down, as he stretched his arms out towards Master Attendant.
“How do you want me to help?” Master Attendant asked, wrapping their arms around Salad and picking him up out of the basket.
“Will… Will you just hold me for a bit?” he asked sheepishly, resting a hand against Master Attendant’s chest.
“Sure, but I’m going to need to sit down with you,” they said, carrying Salad over to the recliner in the corner of the room.
Salad didn’t respond and instead opted for wrapping his arms around Master Attendant’s neck, as they sat down. He shifted in their lap, so he was nestled perfectly in between their legs, before letting out a yawn. Was he physically tired? No. Was he mentally drained? Without a doubt.
“What are your symptoms?” Master Attendant asked in a soft voice, rubbing Salad’s back in small circular motions, as the young food soul tried to get closer to them.
“I’m hot… then I’m cold. Earlier I couldn’t breathe through my nose, before that I had a headache, and last night I couldn’t keep dinner down,” Salad explained and Master Attendant didn’t doubt him for a second. His nose was rubbed raw and the night before Sakuramochi had come up to them and expressed her concern about Salad… that now everything was aligning with what they had been told.
“Would you like some medicine?” Master Attendant offered, brushing a lock of hair out of Salad’s face, as he let out a cough. It sounded painful, full of fluid, yet somehow dry at the same time.
“I don’t kno…” Salad trailed off, looking up at Master Attendant through watery eyes.
“The worst that can happen is it doesn’t do anything,” they reminded, bringing their hand to his cheek to wipe away a tear. “I know it tastes stronger to food souls, but it would be the best route in this situation. However, even though I’m your Master Attendant I cannot force you.”
“What medicine would it be?” he asked nervously. Out of all the food souls they had met, Salad had to be the most anxious about modern medicine, because they never got sick Yet, what he had heard about it from other food souls had solidified his anxieties around it.
“I’m thinking about two pills, maybe capsules and then some kind of syrup,” Master Attendant answered, running a hand through Salad’s hair.
“Okay,” he said nervously, neither agreeing or disagreeing with them.
“Would you be okay with-?”
Knock! Knock! Knock!
“Who is it?” Master Attendant called out. There was silence for a moment, before the voice of Milk answered them.
“It’s me! I came to check on Salad,” she called out from the other side.
“Come in,” Master Attendant said, watching the door swing open.
“Master Attendant,” she greeted bowing slightly, “how is he?”
“We were just discussing medication options, do we still have that crate?”
“Yes, would you like me to go fetch it for you?”
“I’d appreciate that,” Master Attendant said, watching her scurry out of the room, leaving the door slightly open behind her.
“Master Attendant?”
“Yes Salad?”
“I’m scared,” he whispered. Master Attendant glanced down at him, a frown forming on their face. He was scared. He had removed his hands from around his neck and had them held against his chest, while one of his legs had moved up, almost like he was shielding himself from some type of projectile.
“It’s okay to be scared,” they assured, “you’re not in the right state of mind and are being exposed to something new… you’re allowed to be scared.” Salad nodded his head at Master Attendant’s words, but he wasn’t entirely convinced, as he shifted again, ending up in a less comfortable position.
“Master Attendant?”
“Yes?”
“Can I sleep in your room?” Salad asked, as his eyes fluttered shut.
“Absolutely, once we’ve got you medicated, I’ll carry you upstairs and get you settled,” they promised, as Milk entered the room with the crate held against her hip.
“Here you go Master Attendant, I did do a brief once over and nothing appears to have expired,” Milk explained, setting it on the floor next to them. “Did you want me to pull out any particular medication?”
“We trust you,” Master Attendant started, “I’m looking for something for congestion, something for fever, and then some sort of syrup for his throat.”
“Couldn’t have given me a challenge at least?” Milk asked jokingly, as she crouched down and began to dig through the medication.
“Master Attendant?” Salad whispered.
“Yes?”
“I think I might…” Salad trailed off, but they followed.
Master Attendant stood up, guiding Salad towards the trashcan in the corner of the room. They mumbled something apologetically to Milk, after kicking her basket, but no sooner had them and Salad reached the trash can, he was throwing up. Master Attendant held his hair back and rubbed his back in small circular motions, as he did, and they couldn’t help but let out a noise of sympathy, as he made a choked noise..
“I got you,” Master Attendant assured as Salad leaned back against their chest.
“I’m sorry,” Salad cried out, tears streaming down his face. Master Attendant made a surprised noise, before resting a hand on his stomach.
“There’s nothing to be sorry about, you’re sick and you don’t feel good, so your body is trying to make itself feel better,” Master Attendant explained, pressing a kiss to Salad’s forehead. “The medicine Milk is looking for will make you feel better,” they promised, as Milk walked over to them with a glass of water and two pills.
“Master Attendant?”
“Yes?”
“These are the pills and whenever you're ready, I have a dose of cough syrup ready,” she explained softly, crouching down next to them and Salad.
“Thank you,” Master Attendant said, running a hand along her arm in appreciation, before turning their attention back to Salad. “Did you hear her?”
“Yeah,” Salad whispered, curling up in their lap.
“I promise it won’t be that hard, all you have to do is drink a bit of this water and tilt you head back and I’ll drop the pills in, so that you won’t even taste them, and then you’ll drink a little bit more water,” Master Attendant explained grabbing the glass of water from Milk.
“Okay,” Salad said, helping Master Attendant guide the water to his lips. He took a small sip of the water and moved his head back, so it sat at the back of his throat. Master Attendant could tell that he was uncomfortable, so they made quick work of dropping the pills into his mouth and having him swallow.
“Good job… you’re doing so good,” Master Attendant praised, rubbing his stomach in an attempt to comfort him, as Milk handed them the cough syrup. “Okay, so now, this is the part that will suck. Because you have to drink this, but as soon as you drink it, you can drink some water to counteract it,” they explained, holding the 1 oz cup up to Salad’s nose.
“I can’t really smell it,” Salad admitted, as he grabbed the cup from them.
“You poor thing, you’re so congested,” Master Attendant said, as Salad went straight for it.
“This is terrible,” Salad whined, not even halfway done with the cup when he pulled it back.
“I know,” Master Attendant said hastily, “please just finish it.”
Salad stared at them for a moment. The nervousness surrounding modern medicine reappeared, but after a moment of quiet consideration, he tilted his head back and finished the rest of the little cup.
“Good job, you did it,” Master Attendant whispered, picking the cup of water up and holding it next to his lips. Salad guided the cup the rest of the way, before taking quick shallow drinks of the water, as Master Attendant glanced over at Milk. “Thank you, I think I have it from here,” they whispered.
“I completely understand, feel free to come find me if you need an further assistance,” Milk said, standing up.
She was lonely and Master Attendant knew that. Black Tea had been out on a mission with a couple of other food souls. Leaving Milk with Milk Tea, much to her overall dismay. Milk could tolerate a lot of things, she was strong like that, but without Black Tea, that confidence that made her strong seemed to disappear.
“Are you ready to go to my room?” Master Attendant offered, as Salad handed them the glass.
“ Yes .”
Master Attendant reached behind them and sat the glass on the table, before picking Salad up, swaying so hard at first they was worried that they were going to fall, however after gaining balance quickly, they started towards the door.
“And my sheets were just washed too, so it’s going to be so soft for you,” Master Attendant assured, as they entered the hall, making sure to look both ways beforehand.
Salad made a noise of acknowledgement as he nestled against their chest. He was content with this. One of the medications had to be kicking in already, cause he was getting sleepy. Master Attendant swiftly ascended the stairs, acknowledging Red Wine and Steak, as their bickering ceased at the sight of them carrying Salad.
“Do you want to change clothes?” Master Attendant offered. If that was the case, they’d leave Salad alone for a moment to run back to his room, however Salad shook his head, as they entered their bedroom.
Master Attendant’s bedroom was grand, but humble at the same time. A circular bed sat in the middle of the room, while in each corner was a desk, dresser, and workstation that fit perfectly. The room had been custom maid for them, and Salad knew it too. He had heard the story so many times, that he could almost recite it, if it was needed.
“I’m going to set you down,” Master Attendant informed, after managing to pull back one of the blankets.
Salad reached for one of the pillows the second he was put down put it under his chin, as Master Attendant dragged the blanket back on top of him. Salad let out a sigh as he watched Master Attendant bustle around the bedroom. He watched him disappearing for a moment and reappearing with a glass of water that was promptly set on a nightstand next to the bed and then he pulled out a loaf of banana bread, the aroma almost sickening to Salad.
“Master Attendant?”
“Yes?”
“Will you leave the loaf somewhere else? It smells too strong,” Salad said, advocating for himself, despite how weak he sounded.
“Absolutely,” Master Attendant said, resting a hand on Salad’s forehead momentarily, before moving the loaf over to the far corner of the room. “Is there anything else I can do for you… or are you just ready to sleep?”
“A story?”
“What kind of story?”
“A story I haven’t heard.”
“Okay, so a while back…”