un: plushiewarrior | VIDEO (in which alex sends a really powerful radio signal into the night)

[reincarnesiac]

( The wind's too loud to hear anything at first, catching the earpiece at exactly the wrong angle. Then Alex waves, smiling with that glassy eyed look that significantly tipsy people can end up wearing. It's dark behind her, but anyone very, very familiar with the skyscraper rooftops in Nova City will recognize she's on one of them. )

Hiii! Oh, it is... so not as cold up here as I expected!

( She laughs a little, throwing her hands up into the air and stumbling forward to likewise toss her arms around part of a metal structure, possibly a radio tower. Alex rests her head on it, her laughter trailing off as she smiles, a little bittersweet. )

I wanted to send a message. A big one! A big... message. So I thought, what if you had a lot... I mean a lot of power behind a radio signal? Won't that do something? We just want to be heard...

( Her eyes close, and it doesn't seem like she's doing anything. Then the tower starts to hum, lighting up with a soft sort of glow under her hands. Anyone tuned into its frequency will hear a humming too, almost like static feedback, that starts to sound more like a heartbeat. Hers. Then a clearer message with that beating in the background: Echo. Come in, Echo.

Then it really starts to glow, until the whole radio tower is a beacon of light. There is no way for the tower to handle that much energy for long. Alex's brow furrows as she's swallowed by the light, the overpowered radio signal shooting up a moment later, all the light abruptly going out as it fizzles upward, a misleading manifestation of what went without being visible to most eyes. Alex is left clinging to a partially melted structure, pushing herself away to stand, swaying. )

... Did that... oh. I don't... feel so good...

( Which is when she goes boneless, dropping out of frame to hit the rooftop in a muffled thud, close to passing out. Luckily her earpiece is still recording! ... About four feet higher than her current head level. Enjoy your scene of a warped radio tower and the otherwise unremarkable rooftop, Etraya. )

Comments

Un: frost - voice

[shadowsincryo]

…do you need help getting down? [Well that was a lot. He’ll process all of that in a minute.]

off screen but audible

[reincarnesiac]

...

...

...

... 'mmm down.

Voice - > action tag order Kaeya - Setsu - Alex

[shadowsincryo]

On the way.

[There is a rustle then something vast darkens the sky in colors of the depths of the sea. His feathers seem to reflect a starlit sea.

He arrives swiftly and his glowing eye narrows as he extends his front paw, palm up for Setsu to step off of onto the roof of the radio tower.

Possibly the hand is in the video or one glowing eye.]

un: gorgug, voice;

[tinflower]

[ Well, Gorgug saw that Kaeya's going over to find and meet Alex, but- ]

Aleeeeeex?

[ C-can she hear him? Maybe he can keep her company... ]

off screen but audible

[reincarnesiac]

( First there's a long pause. Her wheezing isn't really so much audible? Too much wind up here. But she does manage a: )

... Gorguuh?

( When she's forcing herself not to pass out, fight against the darkness, and tamp down on the pain. Still too drunk to really tackle the whys of it. )

[tinflower]

...Yeah, that's close! Gorgug!

[ He may have been momentarily haunted by a reminder of people being unable to say his name correctly, but nevermind that- ]

Are you okay? Are you dying?

[ How 'not good' is 'not good', here? ]

[backtostart]

Thank you—

[ Setsu doesn't know what they or Alex would do without Kaeya's dragon form or his willingness to help here—definitely not already at the rooftop, overlooking the melting remains of the tower. For now, they simply give a quick thanks before rushing off of his paw in a few quick, careful steps, unmindful of whatever video might be broadcasting at the moment. ]

Alex!

[ Kneeling beside her, Setsu curls an arm around her shoulders to gently ease her back up. ]

Come on... Can you get up?

[reincarnesiac]

( For some unfathomable reason, being asked if she's dying is a jolt to her system that gets her to sober up some. It's not an idle question, but she has to focus on herself, curling up a bit as her heart thumps painfully in her chest.

This isn't the kind of pain from when she'd been at the healing retreat, the one where everyone was getting incubated into monstrous wanderer-human hybrids, with no way of being undone. Then she'd felt the extent of her second core's instability. Right now it's... not that level.

Still hurts. Her breathing is measured around each short burst of words. That seems like it helps? )

Not... not that bad. Just tired. Hurts a little.

[reincarnesiac]

( They'll have found her curled up on her side, just shy of fetal position. Her eyes opened when she heard voices, but it's not really until Setsu is helping her sit up that she gasps and sucks in a deeper breath. Which is better for her, really: Gorgug helped her sober up some by asking point blank if she was dying.

It's a horrible question. )

Just... give me a sec.

( Her heart isn't hurting as bad as it had been, but she's spent too much energy at once. The second core isn't stable in the first place, and lacking the stability of the first core, has her breathing in a wheeze.

She might try to stand. She will not, at present, be able to manage it. One hand presses against her chest as she breathes in sharp through her teeth. Augh. )

... Sorry. I need another minute.

[tinflower]

That looked like it would hurt. My eyes hurt watching it.

[ The engulfing light part, that is. He wants to offer something, but it's pretty difficult-- there's no point offering to come get her, and he can't exactly heal or offer support from far away. ]

Are you-- if you live at the apartments, I live close to here. If you want to rest up. There's free beds.

[ Good for tiredness. Good for hurting bodies. ]

[shadowsincryo]

[He watches for a moment and then dives down, shifting from vast beast to a tall man with sharply pointed ears and dragon horns. His long tail swishes as he walks past the camera and kneels down on the other side of Alex.

Deep blue threads of water swirl around his fingers. His hair is left unbound across his shoulders.] Take your time. If you need some help recovering, I can do something about that.

[backtostart]

[ Wheezing? From smoke inhalation or a preexisting condition? She didn't sound like this earlier... Setsu's concern grows deeper, so they force their voice calmer. ]

... Mm, take your time. If you don't feel steady enough to walk afterwards, we're here.

[ They look up at Kaeya, then back down at Alex. ]

In the meantime, I really think you should let Kaeya help.

Voice; un: Wolfman

[will_chase_balls]

Uh...are you okay? That looked...not good.

Can you hear me?

[He's glad someone else is offering to get her down, since he's not even sure how he'd even be able to ge tup there to help her down.]

[reincarnesiac]

( Alex is fairly sure she's seeing things at first, brow furrowing. She has the weirdest sense of dejavu, as if she's seen horns jutting from someone else's head, a tail that flows from the back down toward the ground, but the impression fades almost as it comes. Of course she hasn't. She's just lightheaded and making herself breathe evenly through the breakthrough pain. )

Is it... energy based? I don't know if that's wise.

( Her brow furrows, her weight fully on Setsu. Explaining feels difficult when her vision is swimming, dark and red at the edges. Her brief sentences are between steady breaths, slightly less wheezy than before. )

The hospital...? There should be a shot there. Medical supplies for Protocore Syndrome.

[reincarnesiac]

Oh... Tower isn't doing well. I think. Looks wrong now.

( Side effect of the engulfing light. Alex briefly wonders why she's not as blinded... until she recalls her eyes had been closed the whole time. )

You're so nice. ( Disconnected and honest thought. ) I should probably... ugh. Visit the hospital. The doctor knows — there should be medicine. A shot for Protocore Syndrome.

[reincarnesiac]

( Oh...! She's a bit sobered up from being asked if she's dying, but there's no energy to sit up. She does recognize that voice though. Another kind person her brain parses, not much useful beyond that. )

Hi. I hear you, yeah. I'm... laying down. For a while.

[will_chase_balls]

Oh. That's good. And you're laying down somewhere where you should be laying down, right?

[In a bed or couch, not the roof of a building or somewhere equally unsafe, he means.]

[shadowsincryo]

[The threads vanish. She knows what she needs. He rolls his shoulders once and walks back to the edge of the tower.] Alright.

That's a quick flight. [Most things are for a dragon. He hops off the edge, and the massive dragon is suddenly once more beating at the air with his feathered wings. He sets his massive hand down on the top of the tower, giving them the platform as close as he dares without scooping them up himself.]

Better to go with what you know works.

[reincarnesiac]

....... the roof?

( She lets this sound like the question it is. Kaeya and Setsu are on their way, but they're not here quite yet, and she's... on the roof. Which is better than off the roof? )

[backtostart]

[ Setsu holds her steady. ]

Protocore Syndrome. Understood.

[ They repeat the term just to commit it to memory. As Kaeya walks away, Setsu already has an idea of what he's doing before they even hear or feel the rush of air from his wings, and they hook an arm under Alex's legs and scoop her up into their arms as they stand. Setsu has no idea what Protocore Syndrome is, so the best they can do right now is try not to jostle her too much as they climb up Kaeya's offered hand and ensure nothing is compressing her chest as they carry her. ]

We have you. [ A little reassurance as they sit down, placing their full trust in Kaeya. ] You'll be okay.

[ They hadn't put much stock into the hospital thus far, but it was their best bet right now. ]

[reincarnesiac]

( Before Setsu picks her up, Alex does try to rally again, tensing and wheezing and almost this time making it to seated. She may even get to that point just by hanging around, but Setsu wisely doesn't give Alex the option. Instead, she finds herself lifted and widening her eyes a touch, a soft: )

Woah.

( Slipping out with her next breath. Clumsily enough, she gets an arm around their neck, letting her head fall against her shoulder after. Is this actually helpful? Alex doesn't know. )

Sorry. ( Inhale slow, exhale slow. Breathing exercises as her eyes close again. She trusts Setsu, and if the very pretty dragon (?) person that is definitely not a Wanderer is Setsu's friend, she trusts them too. ) For troubling you both.

[shadowsincryo]

Oh, consider it you owe me a drink some time. [He laughs, it sounds like the crashing of the waves. He tucks his hand close to his chest. His passengers are precious.

It still feels so jarring to be this size and connected so deeply to the sea. He flies away from the ruined radio tower and heads for the hospital. With the way he has tucked his hand they are shielded from the worst of the wind.

In no time at all he is descending to set them down before the hospital. Once they are safely on the ground he shifts, flowing down and moving to help Setsu with Alex.

How fluid his body is when he decides to be dragon and not human is hard to deal with sometimes. He doesn’t let himself think about it.] Besides. A little excitement never hurts so long as you live through it.

[backtostart]

[ It's dark, and less cold than it could be when his hand closes around them and holds them close. It's likely only because of his size and proximity that they can hear him joke like that.

Anything Setsu has to say, to Kaeya or to Alex, would probably be drowned out by the whistling of the wind. They hug Alex closer, and tilt their head to the side to gently tap Kaeya as a silent thanks.

And once they land, they quickly hop off to give Kaeya some space and Alex some fresh air. To Alex, they gently add: ]

You understand, right?

[ That means she can't be doing things like this...and that's about as far as Setsu can go in reprimanding her right now, carrying her through the doors to the hospital as Kaeya opens them. At any time of day or night, a hospital should be staffed, though right now, there's only a single bot milling around the lobby. ]

Excuse me—Protocore Syndrome, where are the supplies to treat it?

[ And hopefully the bot knows and Alex doesn't need to attempt to direct them. (Or worse: Setsu and Kaeya have to just search for them.) ]

[will_chase_balls]

Oh, uh...that sounds...not good. But you shouldn't try to move! Someone's coming to get you, right? Because I have no idea how to get up there. I have no idea how you got there. Do you have one of those flying brooms or something?

[reincarnesiac]

( Alex has closed her eyes since they left the rooftop, the pull of seeing what was happening fading into the odd comfort of being carried (by two vastly different persons at the same time). She forces them open once the sense of gravity returns in predictable ways, slitting them at least halfway and numbly nodding her head.

The pain's settling into a throb, not as dangerous as when she'd been fighting with Zayne against the man running the Fountain of Atai project. She can't exactly tell either of them that — too much context, and she's focused on breathing evenly to pull enough air into her lungs.

The companion bot Setsu approaches turns to them attentively, wearing a stethoscope as a belt around its narrow waist. The diaphragm of the stethoscope is attached over where a human would have their heart located, slightly off to the right of the chest. )

Cardiology.

( She states, clarification as she tenses in Setsu's arms, bearing with the pain. Note to herself, as already implied or stated by Setsu: do not do this. She hadn't realized how much she was pouring in, and it's not like it's all her power — but that second, unstable core in her heart had been upset.

The bot lights up and leads the way to the elevators, guiding them to the cardiology 'wing' and subsequently the locked medical cabinet where the shot — and it is a substantial looking injection — sits in a carrying case. Alex isn't quite tracking events clearly by then, breathing in and out as steadily as she can manage, which is not as steadily as she thinks. If she's asked, she'll flop one arm out as an indication for where it should go... and murmur about veins. )