driftfleet | pathstone mingle!!

[He really is like an annoying cat.]

Is there anything I can do? Herbs didn't help last time, but there must be something.

Well...

[and there's a pause--where he maybe stops and changes what he was going to say--and switches it out for a sigh and a pained sort of smirk.]

...Actually. Do you have anything for a headache?

Yes, actually. I have a tea that will help and oil that you can massage into your skin that should help relax you. Come with me.

[She's pretty used to dealing with headache symptoms because of Cullen, but that's certainly not something she's going to say out loud. And anyway, she gave Cullen his own mint plant, he won't miss what Jove uses to help Tek feel better.

And hopefully he's following her down the hall to her bedroom. This isn't weirdly familiar or anything.]

[oh, he's definitely following along--nicely at her heel. just as he had before, which had turned out just fine.

so, nothing to wonder or worry about at all.]

[When she gets to her door she waves him in ahead of her.]

How long have you been feeling poorly?

Since I've been awake.

[and he wanders in as silently instructed--taking the moment to glance around and take notice of... who knows what. just gathering up what visual details he can hoard in the span of seconds, really.]

...The headache is new, however.

[Not much has changed, really. The same plants, though some of the vines that crawl up the walls have been trimmed back. The cuttings went to others in need of a little decoration and now Solas' murals are the focal point of the walls, less so the plants. Once he had left, once Jove had been sure it wasn't like Solas would return, the plants on the walls became less important.

There's still the same worktable she had prepared his medicine at before, and she goes straight to it to start preparing his tea.]

Is there a reason you didn't say anything about it before now? You've been suffering needlessly this entire time.

Probably because I don't get headaches.

[he shrugs, facing her with hands in his pockets. as if none of this was worrying him. as if he wasn't feeling upsettingly unhinged over the whole thing. as if it was all fine.]

I was hoping it would go away.

[The hum that serves as her answer comes out sounding very unimpressed and quite unconvinced, but she knows better than to argue the point with Tek. Once she has the tea in the cup she fills it with water and curls her hands around it as she turns to face him. Slowly steam starts to rise from the cup, and once it's hot enough she passes it over.]

It doesn't have to steep, so just drink it now. I hope you like mint.

[again, he does as he's told, without argument. he does not seem terribly impressed by the taste, however. being that he's never really had a need to consume anything aromatic or medicinal, he mostly misses the point.]

...It tastes like a puddle.

[Her lips twist into an amused smile.]

It isn't meant to taste nice, it's meant to make your head stop hurting. Breathe in the steam.

[Satisfied he's going to take her instructions, she turns back to sort through the small vials collected on the table.]

The oil you'll massage into your temples and forehead. It may tingle, but that's normal. Ah, here it is.

[She'd been starting to worry she was out, but now she hands over a small vial with the word mint printed in a neat script on the side.]

Just a drop for each place should do. If you run out, I'll make more.

[he doesn't actually take the vial; he merely looks down at it while continuing to warm his fingers around the mug of tea. you can't honestly expect him to move one of his hands from that, can you?]

And what if some other place on my skull is hurting?

[She did, actually. He does have two hands after all.]

You can use it in other places, but it's going to do you the most good on your temples. Where else does it hurt?

[well, the smirk that he's been keeping up finally loses some power, and he turns his head to answer her question. he doesn't point to the exact spot or anything, but he does tilt his neck as he turns away, so as to show off the raised shape of his augment under his skin behind his ear.]

[And just like that, none of this is very amusing anymore. She reaches up to touch with gentle fingertips, feeling around the augment for any signs of swelling or heat that might signal infection.]

Have you ever heard of these being rejected, or causing any pain?

[as gentle as her touch might be, it still pulls a quiet growl of warning out of him. as touchy and high-strung as he is right now, he can't help it. and he shrugs up his shoulders a bit, trying to fight the skin-crawling sensation, fighting not to pull away from her.]

If I had, or knew anything else about it, I doubt I would be coming to you for dead plants and hot water.

[no offense.]

[She can't exactly hold it against him when he's in pain, though, so it's let go even as he's growling at her. She drops her hand to gently squeeze his shoulder instead, now even more concerned than she had been just moments ago.]

I'll give you something for that, too. It will numb the area, just don't... don't try to drink it.

[She hands over another bottle, this one labeled camphor.]

Oh, poisons don't bother me.

[this is more like it, actually. he actually reaches out for this one voluntarily. he likes the feel of it; he can sense the flavor of its toxicity through the bottle--however slight it is. it's almost enough to distract him from the hand on his shoulder.

almost.

he rolls the little vial around in his fingers for a moment. and the gears in his head turn along with it, triggered by whatever odd little things happen to make them tick. he looks amused, after a minute.]

I laughed, the last time you fed me herbs.

It's not just poisonous, it has other effects you might not welcome with a headache.

[Like raging boners and the urge to merge.]

And you ate them even though you knew they wouldn't do much. You're not a bad patient, all things considered.

[that really would be the very last thing he needs right now. but it's her second comment that really commands his attention.]

See... this is what made me laugh. [pointing at her with the little vial, while he just... has a seat on the edge of her bed, uninvited.]

You're very funny.

Well, they do say laughter is the best medicine.

[But she's pretty sure he's making fun of her, so she's really just going to move straight past all that. She doesn't mind him sitting, really, and she brings the mint oil with her as she sits down beside him.]

You'll want to apply these now, they take a few minutes to really start working.

You're not going to make your poor sick patient tend himself, are you?

[he's daring her, maybe. or just teasing. or something else entirely.

whatever is exactly behind it, being petty probably makes him feel better. so, he just casually sips his tea.]

[Her lips purse, but the expression of mild annoyance is mostly there because she's annoyed at herself. She really should have seen that coming, and it's with a sigh that she unscrews the bottle of mint oil.]

I could never be so cruel. Hold still.

[She tips a bit of oil out onto her fingertip and reaches up to rub it into his temple. It does tingle a little, but nothing uncomfortable.]

[he still squints one eye closed, unused to nerves there being so angry.

and maybe having given her a little preemptive hell for it is what gets him to tolerate the whole thing at all. he has admitted that there's something wrong with him, come very close to admitting that he's concerned about it, is now showing a little bit of weakness with how much it's hurting him... and he still has other things rattling around in his head that he hasn't even mentioned yet. he's got to do something to even out the scales a little bit, after all of that.

he keeps up the smirk for a little bit--because whatever makes her so 'funny' is still tickling him--but even that eventually fades. he has leveled things out enough to allow that one sharp edge to wear down.

because he's tired, he does hurt, and her touch with the oil is maybe beginning to ease that a little bit.]

[She's quite used to being overly concerned about her friends, to being protective and more than happy to go to any means needed to help them, and whether she likes it or not Tek has become a member of her inner circle. She doesn't like to see him in pain, but seeing this docile side to him is perhaps the most distressing part.

He must be in a great deal of pain to actually be asking for her help. Last time he had sneered at her through her trying to find some remedy for what was wrong, but now he'd actively told her his symptoms. He's taking the remedies seriously.

She can hold the vial of oil between her knees and she does, freeing her other hand to gently cup the side of his neck partly to keep him steady. Mostly, it's so she can lightly massage the muscles that connect between his back and neck, trying to loosen some of the tension there to ease the headache even more.]

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