Wake Me Up When It's All Over

Chapter 13

Logan woke up to rain. It hadn't been raining too badly, but it had rained nonetheless. There were just a few puddles, about the same size as Roman, and the ground was rather damp and muddy, but besides that it wasn't too bad. Rain was in too small of individual droplets to do actual harm to him, or for him to even notice for a while

His mind drifted to Roman, and how, for someone of that stature, rain was probably a lot more noticeable, and probably a lot more damning. They may get drenched in water even staying in rain for a few minutes, which, if he remembered correctly for most mammalian animals, could lead to sickness if left untreated or if not dried off correctly. Suddenly, he was a lot more concerned for his little friend, and uncurled from the tree he was draped around

Remus and Patton were sat outside the den, whilst Roman was inside, looking quite soaked. They seemed to be pouting about it, grumbling something in their native language

"Good morning. Is Roman okay?" He greeted them, before peering into the den

Remus shrugged, but before he could speak, Roman started "No, I'm not okay! I'm soaking wet!" They pouted, crossing their arms and looking away

Logan leant down, concerned "Are you okay? Would this cause any problems for you in the future?" Roman stayed silent for a few moments, looking a little confused, likely trying to figure out what exactly was being asked

"Might make me ----, but that's it. Not too bad" One of the words, Logan didn't understand, as it was in their native language. He parroted it back to them questioningly

"----, um, not well?" They tried again, with a little uncertainty. Logan nodded

"Sick? How do we stop you from getting sick?" He leant down, and Remus pushed him away slightly.

"Logan calm down, they said it wasn't a big deal, okay?" His eyes were vaguely threatening, and Logan relented, seeing the nervous expression on Roman's face. He supposed that he may look a little frightening like that

"Apologies, Roman. I am simply concerned for your wellbeing" Roman nodded at him

"It's fine" They were fidgeting with their hands, and looking down. Logan recognised this as a sign of nervousness and/or intimidation, and backed away. He nodded to show his respect and went back to his tree. Virgil soon awoke, and went to check on Roman as well

Roman insisted that they were fine, and only relented when Virgil offered a small spell to dry them off. Logan was glad for that, he hated seeing the human in such a state

It was a few hours later, after they all had eaten, that he got concerned once again. An odd noise had come from Roman, and it had drawn his attention, especially when the same noise had come three times after that as well. Even Remus looked a little concerned. Roman's eyes were watering, but not how they usually did. They looked to be leaking out of the majority of holes in their face, which was quite concerning.

"Roman... Are you okay?" Janus asked, and Roman nodded

"Just a little-" They were interrupted as they made another of those noises, with their face scrunched up "-Just a little sick is all, I'll be fine soon"

Remus reached out to touch Roman's arm, only to draw his arm back "You're a lot warmer than usual, is that normal?" They slowly nodded, looking like they weren't very okay

"I-I'm okay, I just need to.. I just need to lie down, don't worry" Their words were slightly slurred, and they shakily lowered themselves to the cold ground, starting to sleep.

Logan looked at his friends

"I hope I'm not alone in thinking that is not normal" he stated with little hesitancy. Everyone else nodded, still staring at the sleeping human. Remus was moving forms with the same fluidity that a river had, looking pretty nervous, skin and form in general switching between shades of black and green

Logan slithered a little closer, leaning down

"I am going to do a quick medical evaluation to see how sick they truly are, and what can help cure them" he said, reaching out to perform the spell, stopping a few inches from the human. This close he could tell that they really were a lot warmer than usual

The results came back a little different from the first evaluation, instead of stating of a curse, but otherwise healthiness, it was saying about not-so-healthiness but no curse.

They had something called a 'fever', a symptom of sickness in which their body would heat up in order to try kill the virus that was infecting them. Overall, the sickness was referred to as a 'cold', which, given the circumstances, seemed fitting. Making sure the human was warm enough and drinking enough water was on the list of things to help, as was sleep.

Roman already seemed to be on that part of the recovery, he noted with a little amusement, seeing the sleeping human when he opened his eyes. He started preparing everything for Roman.

"Roman might need someone to help them drink some water when they need to. Their illness may make them weak and shaky, so they may not be able to properly raise the water to their mouth, so Remus, would you be able to help with that? I am going to be trying to think of ways to keep them warm"

-

Roman hated being sick. He hated not being able to do anything. His brain started to fog up, and he couldn't think clearly. He sneezed a few times, and was vaguely aware of someone asking if he was okay. He thought he might've answered, but he didn't remember, only remembering laying down

His dreams weren't very pleasant either. He kept remembering and replaying the memory in which he first found out his friends didn't like him.

He was walking through the market, looking at things he found interesting. He had stopped at a stall to buy things for his friends, they were always so nice to him, so why not? They had carried on walking without him, going into a building to wait for him. He didn't mind, they did that a lot

He went to the building, stopping outside when he heard his name in passing conversation

"Ugh, why is he so clingy? I wouldn't actually hang out with him if he didn't have the power to have me executed" The others laughed, clearly agreeing. Roman blinked back tears, carrying on listening

"Yeah, I know, he's probably so used to being the centre of attention every second that he can't bear to stop being the topic of conversation. If he did, he'd probably go back to his Mommy and Daddy and throw a tantrum" They all laughed, very obviously mocking him and he mentally debated confronting them, or running away.

Was that really what they thought of him? A spoiled prince who got everything he wanted? He eventually settled on acting as if nothing had happened, announcing his arrival as if he hadn't heard everything. They seemed to love their gifts, and thanked him with what seemed like sincerity. Roman wasn't sure anymore

They left and Roman went back to his bedroom, thinking on what he had heard. Were they right? Was he too clingy? Was he too spoilt? He tried not to be...

He awoke with a start. He didn't know if his eyes were opened or closed. He was sweating, but he still felt cold. He could barely register his surroundings. He heard a voice beside him, and tried to turn his head.

Why was his head so heavy, and why was it so hard to think?

"Roman, can you sit up for me, buddy?" They were saying. His brain helpfully supplied him with a name; Remus. He attempted to push himself up, only for his arms to give out beneath him

"Okay, that's okay... I can help," He could feel some sort of limb supporting his back and helping him up. He was leant on the stone wall surrounding his house, trying to stay sat up.

"Can you open your eyes?" Roman attempted. but shut them immediately at the harsh light of the sun.

"That's okay, I'm gonna help you drink some water now, so open your mouth please. If you want me to stop, just shake your head or close your mouth, okay?"

Roman opened his mouth, and felt cool water fall in. He swallowed, only just becoming aware of his sore throat. After a few mouthfuls, he closed him mouth and tried again to open his eyes. He did it slower this time, letting his eyes adjust. His vision was a little blurry, but other than that and the immense pressure inside his skull, he didn't mind his eyes being open

"Thank you" He wasn't too sure if the words came out right, but he said it nonetheless