video | un: fotia

[burningfree]

[Lio had never really used the video feature on his phone before, but he figured this was probably the best way to showcase his, uh, problem.

So he was laying down, with his phone pointed down at his face, and he looked absolutely miserable. His face was bright red, dark circles under his eyes, and his hair was stuck to his forehead with sweat. Anyone could tell just by looking at him that he had a nasty looking fever.]

Hey. [He swallowed, his mouth dry and his voice all nasally.] Something's wrong. I'm somehow burning hot and freezing cold at the same time, and I can't breath through my nose. I thought I was just tired this morning but it's getting worse. I think I might be dying.

[Of course, in actuality, Lio Fotia had gotten sick for the first time since childhood, and he didn't know what was going on. Galo was out at the moment, otherwise he wouldn't have bothered with a network post and would have just grabbed him, but being slightly delirious, this was his next best idea.]

Comments

[unhappy]

Yeah. I only managed once. I would've stayed all winter but some neighbor must have spotted me.

[ But she definitely wasn't trackable. Even with her face plastered on the news she hasn't been arrested yet. Hopefully it will stay that way. ]

Yeah. People can survive without food for weeks, but even healthy it's only three days without water. You need more when you're sick or you'll get dehydrated and make it worse.

[burningfree]

I know that.

[Even Lio needed water to survive when he was burnish, especially out in the desert. Granted, he wouldn't die without it as quickly as most other humans - he had survived a week in a volcano with no food or water, after all, and came out the other end mostly okay...

The adrenaline had helped.]

I just... didn't know being sick made it that much harder. Galo says I don't drink enough water as it is. [Survival instincts made him ration water even when he didn't need to.]

[unhappy]

Yeah. I don't really get how it works but if you have a fever you're hotter than normal so you need more water I guess.

[ She's not a doctor but you need more water when it's hot so if you're hot, by extension it makes sense. ]

Measure out the water at the start of the day and make sure you drink all of it. It's easier to do if you measure the whole thing out to begin with.

[burningfree]

[Made some sense to him, except being burnish hadn't made him any more particularly thirsty than now, and he used to always be hot. Like, internal body temperatures of over 700 farenheit hot.

The measuring out water thing was a pretty great idea, though.]

Where'd you learn that trick?

[unhappy]

Trial and error.

[ Mostly, she just realized that she was so used to conserving water as best as she could that she would wake up in the middle of the night parched or she would get headaches in the middle of the day, so she tried to get on top of it once she learned how much she was supposed to be getting... ]

I do better when I have clearly set goals, so I try to set little ones.

[burningfree]

I'll try doing that... I think Galo would appreciate knowing I'm not dehydrated. I just, used to conserve water a lot when I was growing up, since I lived out in the desert. And I don't think we burnish needed as much as non-burnish.

[Maybe if he weren't so dehydrated he wouldn't feel so awful right now, either. Damn. Well, this trick ought to help.]

... Sorry for being dramatic. I... I'm not used to this.

[unhappy]

You probably need the same now then, right?

[ Since he's not all flamey any more. ]

Plus some for being sick. I think it's only 8 when you're healthy.

[ She shrugs though. She's definitely not the same but. ]

When I first met Sei, we were neighbors in another world. I was up all night pissed off and banging cabinets because I couldn't sleep and had a lot of nightmares. Instead of reporting me to the landlord he came in and made me warm milk with vanilla, which helped calm me down enough to sleep again. Everyone has different problems and sometimes needs someone to tell them how to do what everyone else can do all the time. I don't think it's dramatic.

[burningfree]

I mean... you were the one that called me a baby.

[Lio was smiling though, obviously not actually taking any offense despite still being kind of embarrassed about all this. Will he ever make a not-embarrassing post on the network? Probably not.]

Thanks, though. For the advice and for treating me like, a normal person.

[unhappy]

[ That's because she likes teasing and calling names. ]

To be fair, you're supposed to go take a nap as part of your treatment. Doctor Emerald says so.

[ She has absolutely zero medical training. Not that anyone here would care, they have no way of proving she doesn't. ]

[burningfree]

[Sigh.]

You know, I've never had a good experience with a doctor before.

[But he was leaning back into all his pillows anyway.]

Alright, I'll take a nap before Galo gets back. I'll talk to you later, Emerald.

[unhappy]

Sleep tight.

[ She waves and then hangs up. ]