Much to the relief of Jerrik Rawn Deegan, Kevlan Sharr has slept reasonably peacefully during most of the day following Rhianna Turlough's visit, and her use of her empathic talent to calm his young friend. Oh, it hasn't really been a truly placid sleep - he's seen Kevlan toss and turn and mumble occasionally, but for once, the young Singer hasn't cried out in the grip of a nightmare. Good thing, too, Jerrik thinks. He knows the boy can use the rest, and that his symbiont - strong thing that it is - must surely be taking the opportunity to keep Kevlan prone while it works on making him mobile once more. And not only Kevlan is in need of rest - Tamber, too, has worn himself ragged lately. During this day's passage, Jerrik stays in the suite, wondering when Bernadette will return from Shankill Station - and wondering when his friend Kevlan will show more signs of recovery. Kevlan does show many signs of worry over Berni's continued absence, and frequently glances worriedly about the suite, but the disoriented Singer is still coaxed easily into continued rest. And it's during another bout of this rest that the suite gets another visitor.... ---------- To White Quadrant, Jerrik heads to the door, to stick his head out to see who's there, when he sees the light on the computer flash the signal of someone's presence at the door. Jerrik steps out into the hallway. Jerrik has left. Jerrik> White Quadrant Jerrik> This gleaming white strip blazes in rainbow patterns: not the absence of color, but the presence of all colors in the spectrum. The intensity of the whiteness does not hurt your adapted vision but soothes it in a subliminal manner. Several recessed doorways indicate the quarters of some singers. Jerrik> Contents: Jerrik> Rykos Jerrik> Obvious exits: Jerrik> Turlough Suite Kevlan's Suite Elissa's Suite Diamond's Suite Phil's Homebase Lifts Jerrik> To Kevlan's Suite, Rykos leans heavily against the door frame, shivering and trying to stand upright. Jerrik> Jerrik steps out quietly, and blinks around. Jerrik> Rykos is dressed in very drab and rough clothing. A murky beige shirt and pants hang loosely on his underfed and over exhausted frame. His face is unshaven and his hair still wet with radiant fluid. You would guess that he is in his early twenties. His bright blue eyes shine intensely and neatly cropped black hair is combed back off his face. He stands about 5'10" but it is difficult to tell unless he is standing still. Often he will be lost in thought, unaware of what is being said around him. As a result of massive doses of resonance in Alric's attempt to heal him, Rykos's symbiont has gone into overload. His injuries seem to be healing faster than his body can cope with it, racking his body with spasms. He occasionally coughs blood as his spine resets its self causing internal bleeding that takes moments to heal.. One can only speculate what may happen if the rapid healing it not stopped. Only a constant feed of drugs slows it as the symbiont tries to break down each drug in turn.The radiant fluid seemingly slows the resonance enhanced symbiont to almost managable levels. Rykos is constantly shivering and can barely stand up straight. His eyes seem almost devoid of life, though occasionally they dart about the room uncontrollably. Jerrik> Rykos almost falls over as Jerrik open the door. He looks up at him in surprise." I...I..came...to.to..see..Ma..master Kevlan.." Jerrik> Jerrik starts at the sight of the visitor. "Good gods... Singer, if you don't mind my saying so, you look like you need to be in the Infirmary." Jerrik> Rykos shakes his head quickly, "N.no..not..there...too...quiet...too dark...where's...ma.master Kevlan.?" Jerrik> Rykos reaches out with a shaking hand to steady himself on the door frame. His face winces in pain as his body shudders again. Jerrik> Jerrik frowns, looking the young man up and down, seeming surprised to see someone in as awful a state as Kevlan Sharr. And the 'master' part raises the sled tech's eyebrows. "He's sleeping, but I can't stay out here lest he wake up. And frankly I'm not sure if either of you are up to a visit... " Jerrik> Jerrik, concerned, reaches for Rykos, ready to catch him if he falls over. Jerrik> Rykos looks up at you desperately, "P..please..sir..j..just...wanted to..to see him." His grip on the doorframe slips and he beings to fall towards the door. Occasionally, your thoughts turn to your claim sites. Non-singers around you see: Kevlan seems to be elsewhere occasionally. Jerrik> Jerrik sighs, and leans in to give you a shoulder to support. "C'mon, lad, get in here and sit down before you fall down." Jerrik> Jerrik mutters, "Where's Randale when we need him....?" as he nudges open the door into Kevlan's suite.... Jerrik steps in from the hall. Jerrik has arrived. Rykos steps in from the hall. Rykos has arrived. Rykos leans heavily on Jerrik, though there is near to no weight to him at all. Kevlan rolls over on his bed, roused at the sounds of entry into the room. He starts, and then blinks confusedly at Jerrik. A pleadingly hopeful look flashes into his eyes, to be replaced by evident confusion again as he spies Rykos. Jerrik escorts Rykos to the nearest chair, and helps him sit, before going quickly to Kevlan and looking the other young man up and down. "Galahad, I didn't mean to wake you up.... son, Rykos wanted to see you." Rykos's gaze flickers round the room, almost erratically, until it rests on Kevlan. He shudders against Jerrik, his knees buckling as he falls into the chair. "Ma..master..Kevlan..? Rykos looks at you for a moment. Kevlan for a moment reflexively jerks back towards the wall behind him, grabbing at the blanket covering his body as if using it as a shield. He then blinks, and blushes, at Rykos's form of address, even as he seems to realize that something's obviously deeply wrong with the other Singer. Kevlan relaxes a little, but doesn't scoot back to the nearer side of the bed. Jerrik, privately wondering when the Sharr suite became the latest branch of the Infirmary, looks at Rykos and says quietly, "He hasn't talked much lately. For your sake and his, you might want to keep this short." Rykos pulls his knees up against him on the chair, as though trying to take up as small a space as possible. "...they..they...said you..you were..hurt.." He peers over the top of his knees at Kevlan. Kevlan, his forehead creasing a little, sits up as he continues to stare at Rykos. He turns scarlet at Rykos's hesitantly stammered statement, though, and looks down, tugging the blanket around him tightly. Jerrik eyes Rykos, and then eyes Kevlan, seeming to be about to go to the fair-haired Singer's side to murmur assurances to him. Kevlan, though, glances awkwardly at Rykos and finally gives a heavy, hasty nod. Rykos shudders again, his face contorting and his eyes going blank. It passes in a breif moment and he reaches into a pocket in his shirt. Shakily ha withdraws a scrap of paper. "Ha...had..to..give this to..to you.." He holds out the paper and it rustles in his shaking hand. Kevlan slowly straightens again, looking at Rykos with an expression of bald perplexity. It's Jerrik that goes to get the paper, though Kevlan's blue gaze returns to Rykos's face. Scrawled in what looks like a child's script are a series of co-ordinates. Rykos withdraws his hand and wraps it around him kness again. "They..they said...crystal...mi..might make..things better. Ma..master kevlan is...singer..He..can use..it.." Jerrik blinks at the paper, and stares hard and thoughtfully at Rykos before he turns to offer the paper to Kevlan. Kevlan, though, suddenly pales. He starts shaking his head violently, scooting back even harder against the wall behind him as if in attempted escape. Rykos shivers and coughs, wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand. "I..I..can't..sing. At night..so cold..so dark...so alone...can't.." Rykos seems to forget there are other people in the room. Jerrik blinks, and stares hard at Rykos again, before giving Kevlan a strange look. Confronted with a pair of clearly distraught and shaken Singers, the sled tech frowns, and decides to deal with Rykos first as he's in obviously greater physical distress. Rykos pulls himself even tigher into himself, seemingly lost. Jerrik crouches by Rykos, and demands in as gentle a tone as he can manage, "Son, are you supposed to be in the Infirmary?" Kevlan freezes as Rykos mumbles about being unable to sing, and stares at the other man as if flabbergasted. Rykos shakes his head again. "N..not infirmary...alone..there...symbiont heals...if you..you..let it." He doesn't look at jerrick and answers as though he's speaking to someone else, far off. Thoughts of your claims pass through your head every once in awhile. Non-singers around you see: Kevlan seems to be elsewhere occasionally. Rykos looks directly at Kevaln, his eyes suddenly becoming clear and alert. "It's dark in there...alone...no music." His head bows again and his eyes cloud as he body is wracked by another convulsion. Jerrik's mouth tightens. He looks between the two younger men, suddenly seized with the uncomfortable thought that he's looking at a pair of dopplegangers, or two broken pieces of the same person. Uncertain what to do about it, he sighs, and turns to Kevlan... Kevlan stares at Rykos wordlessly. An odd look of fascination has come into his childlike gaze. Jerrik reaches over to nudge Kevlan gently. "Galahad. Hey, son. I don't think your friend can go very far. Can he stay here?" Rykos sits quietly, curled up into a ball on the chair. He continues to shiver and mumble about the darkness. Kevlan looks plaintively up at his friend, and then back at Rykos. His bruw furrows as he considers the question... and at last, he slowly nods. Kevlan then shifts a little... uncurling his tall frame to straighten out some of the tangle of blankets on the bed, and tentatively, he tugs at one. The motion catches Jerrik's attention; the sled tech keeps a steady eye on Kevlan until Kevlan finally holds up a bit of the blanket, looking at Jerrik gravely. Jerrik then comprehends, and smiles crookedly. He tugs the blanket free, and turns round to Rykos. "Here, son... " Jerrik gruffly and a little awkwardly tucks the blanket around the dark-haired Singer... while Kevlan studies him plaintively. But still, Kevlan doesn't speak. Rykos clutches at the blanket, pulling the corners around his shoulders. "All..gone..." he murmmers "..darkness..took..them.." Rykos continues to mutter, his eyes unfocused and staring at the floor. "Nothing..darkness...buried alone Everyone..gone..left...dead..." Kevlan sits up again, carefully, stiffly. He frowns at Rykos's mutterings - looking disturbed. Rykos shudders again and whimpers as his entire frame shifts beneath the blanket. He coughs softly and uses a corner of the blanket to wipe at his mouth. Faint speckles of blood seep into the fabric of the blanket. Jerrik watches Rykos as well, frowning at the young man's obviously strained condition. He goes to the computer's terminal, and quietly activates the console, keeping it on screen-and-keyboard status only rather than vocal. Rykos settles down again, only shivering slightly, "Have to...can't...sing...only sing to..to the dead." Rykos mutters, "The dead...Alysin...father ... Tela...not dead...gone Like crystal..gone ...into darkness.. Kevlan, at Rykos's words, finally scoots towards the nearer end of the bed. Rykos mummbles, "Quiet darkness...peaceful." His eyes flicker vaguely. "Cold darkness...alone ...buried ...dead..." Jerrik keeps a frequent eye on his two charges as he types in a discreet inquiry to the Infirmary - letting them know of Rykos's whereabouts, and asking after his condition. Jerrik turns the screen at an angle so that the text that comes up can't be seen from across the room. Kevlan studies Rykos, blue eyes darkened, turned earnest and reflecting a mingling of puzzlement and empathy. Thoughts of your claims pass through your head every once in awhile. Non-singers around you see: Kevlan seems to be elsewhere occasionally. Rykos shudders violently and briefly, his eyes changing to a wilder, though still unfocused state. Rykos's mutter continue but at a more desperate tone, pleading. "Tried to save her...tried to sing..to cut.." his voice becomes softer again, "..tried to love her..all gone.." The text on the screen before Jerrik informs him that CS Rykos Knight was placed immediately in a radiant bath following an explosion on level 7 in which he recieved a sevre overdose of resoncance There is no trace of the parasite in his system. Jerrik wrinkles his nose as he reads the data on Rykos's condition - and he glances over his shoulder to study the Singer in question, before turning back to tap in a query for a recommendation: does the Infirmary want CS Knight returned to their care ASAP or can he be permitted to remain in CS SHarr's suite for the time being? Kevlan gets a strangely fervent expression, honestly sitting up now, one bare foot off the side of the bed. Awkwardly, he stretches forth one thin hand for the other Singer. The text goes on to say that CS Rykos Knight's symbiont seems to have gone into some kind of overload in an attempt to deal with the severity of his injuries and the massive doses of resonance. It has been noted that he has been moved to .his own quarters in an attempt to make him more comfortable. It is hoped that time and perhaps frequent soaking in a radiant bath will calm his symbiont to more managable levels. Jerrik .oO (Well, Galahad _does_ have a radiant tank in here... ) In response to Jerrik's question the Infirmary asks that Jerrik use his best judgement. There is nothing that can be done for him in the infirmary, though it is vital that he does not injure himself any further. Rykos's muttering decreases in volume and his eyes flicker to Kevlan's outstretched hand. He stares at it, his eye focusing and unfocusing uncontrollably, but makes no movement to take it. Kevlan finally pokes a little at the blanket around Rykos, as if trying to tug it around to make him more comfortable. It requires Kevlan to get to his feet to do this, though, and he's rather unsteady as he does so. Rykos mutters, all the while watching Kevlan's hand, "Way out...out of darkness...no..into pain...everything in the darkness...should stay in darkness...safe and cold and alone..." Kevlan blinkblinks, though, as the passing contact with the other Singer seems to makes his palms itch. Jerrik glances around - and does a double-take at the sight of Kevlan moving. But after he stares for a moment, he decides that this is actually a _good_ thing, and so he lets Kevlan move as he will. In the meantime, he informs the Infirmary that until they hear an update from him, those already keeping tabs on CS Sharr will be keeping an eye on the other Singer as well. Rykos's murmurings become more pleading again, "..want to sing..can't ...hurts people ...never good ..no music ..drives them away ...makes them die..." Kevlan sits down stiffly beside Rykos, childlike gaze fixed on the other young man's face. There's an instinct niggling at the base of his skull that suggests that contact with this person is a good thing... so, tentatively, he stays nearby. Rykos no longer sees aynone or anything. His murmurings turn into faint sobbings whilst he shivers and shakes. "Don't leave me...not in darkness...not dead...darkness..dying" Rykos instinctively pulls the blanket even tighter, his faint sobs spoken into the fabric and muffled beyond comprehension. His eyes screwed tight in a denial of his surroundings. You realise that all of the resonance is now gone from your blood! Non-singers around you see: You notice that the thoughts of Kevlan seem to wander every now and again. Kevlan scoots a little closer, touching Rykos awkwardly - again feeling the subliminal tingle in his fingertips. His mouth works silently for a few moments before he finally mumbles softly, "Y-y-you stay heah." Jerrik, finishing his communication with the infimary, then sends a note to Tamber... and another one to Bernadette, to notify them of the developments. His occasional black-eyed glance over at Kevlan has taken on a look of approval. Rykos's sobbing fades as somehow the words seem to penetrate the haze in his mind. He still doesn't acknowledge either Kevlan or Jerrik's presence but faintly he murmurs, "Stay ...stay here ...out of darkness..." Rykos blinks once or twice until his eyes finally stay closed. He continues to shiver quietly, his symbiont buzzing even as he sleeps fitfully. Kevlan, in an awkward motion rather like that of a small child trying to soothe a wounded puppy, pats Rykos a bit, studying him quietly until the other Singer drifts off into slumber. [Added after Rykos's player disconnected... ] Jerrik comes up behind Kevlan carefully, not wanting to startle him, nor startle Rykos back into wakefulness. Kevlan looks up wide-eyedly at the sled tech, and says - his voice still thickly slurred, but for once, quietly firm - "He gon' stay heah." Jerrik's dark eyes narrow as he peers closely at Kevlan's lips, at the ... yes, alert look that has come into his young friend's eyes. Seized by the sudden hope that his, Tamber's, and Berni's weeks of vigil are finally starting to yield reward, Jerrik starts to smile. "You got it, Galahad, anything you want. We'll make room for him!" [End log.]