Someone in the group has been sick for a few days now. They've been keeping it well under wraps, excusing themselves from rooms, volunteering for the tasks that can be done alone, getting up and going to bed earlier. And god they're so exhausted. But sickness is weakness, they know this.
By day 5, it's getting pretty rough. Their sneezes are getting so thick and heavy that stifling takes everything in them. Their chest is starting to ache from the congested pressure and their bones are growing cold from days of running feverish.
But then, someone else in the group comes down with the cold. Not knowing that it's really original character's cold. This second character has no qualms about admitting when they're sick. The group bands around them, making sure they rest and are well looked after.
This of course means additional chores for original character. They trudge their feet along the ground, feeling their fever growing higher and higher as day slips to night.
As they lug something heavy, nose dripping, head swimming, they look over at the crackling fire. Second sickie, whose cold is mild, is bundled in blankets, sipping something warm. The others are bunched around them, laughing, passing handkerchiefs, faces golden by the blaze.
And as original character turns to keep walking through the silent, glacial night, some quiet, desperate part of them wishes they really would collapse, so the others would take care of them too.