#steviea

[he stares for a moment, processing]

Doc ttor . Tthat s fine , I lov e geeting run ov err . No t a p pro bllem .

Hey. Could you not talk about corpses in front of my customers? Here lets go back to the cooler...

[he lays almost still, trying not to thrash and squirm out of its own skin

Red veins trace complex paths under clammy, pale skin. Some appear to almost wrap around bone, bulging where they shouldn't and threading over ribs to reach the center of their chest, meeting in a horrible, dark red knot.

Any words they can muster without pain shooting through these unnatural veins is spat and growled through gritted teeth]

[neo freezes mid rummaging through her junk drawer (?), looks her in the eye and slowly nods]

Y yyess . Tt hannk yoyu .

[he slowly closes the drawer, never breaking eye contact.

They stumble over to answer the phone]

Neoptolemus tries to swallow panic back but he can't stop the tremble in their hands. With some effort, it manages to get out of bed and quietly shuffle to the door. Posture hunched over both to be stealth and because he's not so sure they can actually stand up straight. He peeks through the open crack to find nurses and doctors bustling through the halls, patients sparse among them, round up in their own rooms, most of them waiting. He turns back to the room they're in-- no, nothing in here will help him leave. He straghtens out as best they can, groaning at the aches pervading them, and slips into the hall.

It's loud, his head is throbbing, are hospitals supposed to be this bright? Is he dehydrated?

They look nearly undead, red veins stark against sickly pale skin, bleached hair sticking to its clammy face. Passers by give perturbed glances but no one stops him from stumbling into the waiting room. The receptionist takes notice and calls after them, "sir! Sir, you can't just walk out, sir!" They spare a glance at them and hobble faster towards the doors, and barely trip out of them.