faderift | (no subject)

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WHO: Cyril and OPEN.
WHAT: Merrick is suffering from the posion. This is the place for people to worry about him.
WHEN: During the Crow Plot
WHERE: Merrick and Cyril's room.
NOTES: Merrick has been poisoned, so there's that. Also; talk of grief and death as that brings back bad memories for Clan Ashara, and Cyril's inability to self-care.

Sam had brought Merrick in from the cold. The healers had done what they could. Now all that was left was to wait for the poison to make it's way through Merrick's body.

They knew by now that Zevran was missing. There was this strange ache in Cyril's chest when he thought about that, strong enough that he could notice it over the overpowering anxiety he felt about Merrick. He was aware they were coming up with a plan to get Zevran back, but most of that talk wasn't sticking when Cyril heard it.

It wasn't that he didn't care about the rescue. He cared a great deal about what happened to Zevran, it was that any new information just felt jumbled up in Cyril's head. He could only really focus on the way that Merrick looked. He was in pain, everyone could see that, but he couldn't wake or break free from it.

Cyril was stuck to the side of their shared bed. He sat in a chair with his legs folded up towards his body. He had reached out one of his hands clasped it over Merrick's. He wasn't planning on moving until his brother woke, not unless a healer needed the space by the bed. Nothing else really mattered to him. He didn't need to sleep, or eat, or do anything other than watch and wait.

Anyone who saw him could see that his body was very tense and stiff. He looked like someone who was just on the edge of a flight or fight reaction. His eyes were wide and staring down at the bed. Merrick's body was sweating and suffering. It reminded Cyril too much like how members of his Clan described the plague victims of past. He had no memories of that time, other than a dim impression of his mother's last moments, but it was enough to leave him feeling anxious and devastated.

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There's a soft knock on the door before Sam pokes his head in, not at all surprised to see Cyril still perched on his chair next to the bed, though nonetheless bothered by the sight. Sighing, he enters, making sure to close the door and make as little noise as possible, a small basket in his hand.

Peering at the bed he can see that Merrick was still suffering, but unlike before it was easy to see that he was breathing, even if it was labored. Looking to Cyril, he lightly touches his shoulder with the tips of his fingers, trying to grab his attention without surprising him too much, since he looked rather out of it as well.

"Cyril."

Cyril looks up when he hears his name and is surprised to see Sam there. He hadn't heard him come in. "Sam?" he asks. "You came back?" He looks pretty out of it, exhausted but unwilling to close his eyes for longer than a couple seconds.

The question earns Cyril a rather odd look, brows furrowed, lips pulling down into a frown, and his eyes searching the Elf's face in a mixture of concern and unease. "Of course I came back. Why wouldn't I?"

As concerned as he is for Cyril, Sam makes a point in checking on Merrick first, hand reaching up to touch his forehead. It was good that he was no longer ice cold from being out in the snow for so long, but now he was burning up, a fever brought on probably from both the poison and cold. Sighing he puts the basket down and removes the cloth on Merrick's forehead, already warm and dry, and moves to wet it again with the cool water from the bucket.

"Have you been sitting in the chair this entire time?" he asks, putting the cloth back on Merrick's head.

"I don't want him to be alone," Cyril explains by way of answering. "What if he wakes up and is still out of it? He could end up hurting himself." And now that Sam has seen Merrick undressed, he knows that isn't just an empty concern.

"He's in a lot of pain. I don't like the idea of just leaving him to deal with it alone." If he could take any of it onto himself, he would. Merrick would be angry at him for such a thing, but at least he wouldn't be forced to deal with all of it alone.

Cyril watches the way that Sam checks Merrick, waiting to see if Sam has any news.

Sam sighs when he hears Merrick groan a bit, whether from the pain or the comfort of the cool cloth though was to be seen. "He shouldn't be alone, but that doesn't mean you should be the only one watching him. Being out of it because of a lack of sleep isn't going to help if he does wake up and starts to hurt himself... or even you." He turns and looks at Cyril then, a mixture of personal concern and healer's duty on his face.

After a few moments Sam sighs, bringing a hand up to rub at his face at the way Cyril is looking at him. "He still has a very high fever. We need to make sure he's being cooled down safely. He's sweating a lot so we should wipe him down, and get fresh clothes and bed clothes."

"He would never hurt me," Cyril says automatically, and honestly he's a little offended that Sam would even say such a thing. He doesn't have the energy to argue though so instead he focuses on the directions.

"Show me what to do," he says. "I'll make sure it gets done."

"I'm not suggesting he would do it on purpose." Sam can see that Cyril is offended by that, but he's staying firm on what he said. It was clear to see how close Cyril and Merrick were, and he had no doubt that normally Merrick would not harm Cyril. Right now though? Merrick might not be of his right mind when he woke up, or might not be able to control his strength if he struggled like Cyril had suggested.

Cyril needed to get up and move, and eat something first. For a moment Sam stares, trying to figure out a way to say it that wouldn't have Cyril getting upset at him further. "If you could get a clean set of his clothes and another rag."

Cyril nods. He's not so offended that he won't do what Sam says. Honestly, Sam's suggestions are one of the few that could get him to stand up and move. He trusts Sam's expertise in the manner and trusts that Sam will only do what is best for Merrick.

Getting a new pair of clothes and rags is simple as well. His body aches a bit as he moves it because he's been in one spot for too long. It feels good to stretch for a bit.

He brings the clothes back over to Sam and looks up at him. "Should we change him?" he asks. He frowns a bit. He knows that Merrick wouldn't really want someone to see him exposed over and over. Sam had already seen him once, but seeing him again might be too much. "Or maybe I can and then you can help with the cloths?"

As Cyril moves to grab the items, Sam purposefully moves the chair back away from the bed, half because they would need the space and half because it would not tempt Cyril to sit back down once he came back. He's slow to answer at the question, noting the way Cyril frowns after doing so. Clearly there was something about stripping Merrick that had the Elf concerned.

"He needs to be wiped down, cleaned up from all the sweat he's been building up. You're going to do that?" Alone? Cyril doing something would help with how inactive he's been, but he doesn't look all that steady himself.

Cyril thought about that for a moment and then nodded. "Yes," he said. That's what Merrick would want. He doesn't care how shakey he feels, he wants to protect his brother. "But you should stay close, in case I need help. That and you can check him over after."

If Cyril isn't careful and doesn't start taking care of himself, he's probably going to end up on a bed unable to take care of himself or Merrick. Even so Sam gives a sigh and a nod of his head. Seeing as Cyril said 'close' but didn't say 'outside' Sam simply grabs the chair and moves to the far end of the room, turned so that he can still see Cyril alright, but Merrick was out of his sight.

Cyril makes sure that Sam really is turned to the other direction and then focuses on undressing and cleaning Merrick. It does require a lot more work than he thought, but he manages. He needs to be the one to do this. Pel or Beleth might be able to help if they were here, but for now it was just Cyril.

He wipes Merrick down carefully and then works to get him back into the new clothes. "Okay," he tells Sam. He also sits down on the edge of the bed and bows his head to catch his breath.

"What else?"

To pass the time, Sam works on balancing the chair on the back legs, and listening in case Cyril needed help. It sounded like he was struggling, but still getting it done. It isn't until he hears the 'okay' that Sam makes a move to look at the two of them, tilting his head backwards to take a glance before setting the chair down and rotating around.

"We need to change the bed clothes. Normally I'd suggest rolling him, but moving around too much might be uncomfortable at the moment. We could pick him up and change the sheets quickly," he offers, leaning against the back of the chair, watching Cyril trying to catch his breath.

Cyril gathers himself and nods. "Do you think you can get him?" he asks, because he isn't sure he can support Merrick's entire body right now. "I'll yank off the sheets and replace them."

"Yeah." He's honestly thankful that Cyril is not insisting that he be the one to pick up Merrick. Sam gets that they've protective of each other, but there was no way Cyril could pick someone up, not when he was struggling as it was.

Picking Merrick up is hardly a chore though he's still careful on how he holds Merrick. "Alright, all set for you."

Cyril watches carefully and then moves forward to strip the bed and replace the sheets quickly. It's easy to not think when he has a task to complete.

Well at least Cyril is up and moving around - he'll have to consider coming back once and a while just to get the elf to do just that.

Once the sheets are down, Sam carefully places Merrick back on it, making sure not to jostle him too much during the process. "That should probably help a little bit. Have you been able to get him to drink anything?"

Cyril presses his lips together in thought. "Some water? That's about it. Should he have something else? I get worried that he's going to drown."

Shortly after he's set back down on the bed Merrick starts to seize. His body jerks on the bed, going completely rigid, his eyes rolling back.

"You should consider maybe getting some-" That's about all Sam is able to get out before his attention is quickly taken by Merrick suddenly moving. "Shit-" Had moving him done something? Quietly muttering that word under his breath, Sam is quick to make sure Merrick had at least not bitten his tongue before feeling for his pulse.

Cyril automatically goes to Merrick and tries to hold him. He doesn't know what else to do. "What's happening?!" he demands of Sam, terrified this means that Merrick is getting worse.

Having Cyril panicking certainly was not helping, but for the time being Sam ignores him so that he can figure out what they should do. He's only seen this happen a couple other times, but at those times it had been because of some sort of head trauma.

Seeing as he hadn't bitten his tongue, Merrick isn't in danger there, which was one good thing for the most part.

"Cyril don't hold him down. Trying to force him will only end up with one of you hurt. Help me roll him over on his side then make sure he doesn't fall off the bed."

Cyril lets go automatically once Sam directs him too. He then moves to help Sam move Merrick, though his panic has subsided completely. He's terrified this means that Merrick is dying but he trusts that Sam will keep him alive as long as possible.

He watches Merrick continue to thrash and pays attention to anything else that Sam might tell him to do.

There are no other instructions after that just simply waiting until Merrick stops shaking. Once that happens, Sam reaches over and checks to see if Merrick is alright.

"It's over. We can let him lay back down. Has he done this before now?"

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