Empyrean Iris Story Collection Vol. 4

Uneasy

Krill didn't need a lunch hour, but the practice was standard for all employees at his hospital, barring there was some sort of emergency, Many of the people he worked with chose to eat in the cafeteria where they had plenty of options to choose from, weather it be a salad bar or a a number of chain restaurants.

Krill on the other hand preferred the quiet atmosphere of his office, which he could now admit was a shameless museum dedicated to his time and adventures with the humans. pictures lined the walls, all of him in various places meeting various people. The shelves that housed his medical textbooks also sported a myriad of souvenirs, but his favorite collectable pieces were all the different puzzles he had been gifted over the years.

He could put on some sllow, rhythmless music in the background and just relax.

And if he wasn't busy, Riss would often joint him during thai lunch hour, coming to meet Krill from his office down the hallway, and usually he would bring with him a hypothetical scenario or topic about which they could argue shamelessly. Riss was already waiting for him, primed with a thermos of tea, and an expression krill recognized as someone gearing up for war.

However, he would never find out what Riss's chosen topic was, as, at that moment, the door to his office burst open.

At this point he wasn't even surprised to see who it was.

He was even less surprised to find that Adam had gone and disobeyed his direct instructions. The man was panting and leaning against the doorway fit to burst, by all rights he should have still been on bedrest gearing up to physical activity through weeks of gentle PT, but here he was panting and sweating like a man who had just run several miles at a dead sprint, missing his armor, and from what Krill could see, wasn't even operating the SE exoskeleton.

Adam must have sensed his outrage, but clearly didn't care in the slightest holding up a hand to stop krill in his tracks.

"Krill, its Sunny....."

Adam didn't have to hear the rest of the sentence to understand the loaded meaning behind those words. He stood abruptly, and so did Riss , the latter immediately pressing the call button, "Can I have someone bring a wheelchair to Dr. Krill's office please."

Krill made brief eye contact with Riss and thanked him before turning to Adam, "Where is she?"

"She's almost here, I-"

"Ran ahead." even as he spoke, krill could hear the sound of a nearby orderly making their way up the hall, as punctual as any one of krill's employees ever was, and stopped behind Adam with the wheelchair.

Adam turned to look, "I don't think she needs one, she'll be-"

The orderly shook his head, "This is for you, sir."

Adam frowned and turned to look at Krill, "But I."

"Sit in the damn chair. I will take care of Sunny, so this means I am going to have to leave you for the time being, and judging by the look of you, you've already overdone it, so sit down and shut up."

To his pleasure, Adam didn't protest, hesitating just for a moment as he took a step back and sat down in the waiting chair. He reached down to the wheels, ready to take over from the orderly, but the man didn't budge. He knew his boss as well as anyone in the hospital did, and at this moment, Adam was going to have to rest weather he felt like it or not.

Krill on the other hand neatly wrangled his concern and scuttled out of the doorway.

The orderly followed with Adam in tow as they headed down towards the lobby. Krill might have appeared calm on the outside, but at this point everyone should have been aware he was just a functioning ball of anxiety and rage. Were it not for his focus on Sunny, he would have been eager to stand there and throw things at Adam.