Dictation - 4 [Text] (Forward Dated to the 7th)

[drabsolutelynot]

[When he had blinked back into life upon Hope's altar, Rosen had felt neither joy nor sadness at the fact. He had stared dumbly at the ceiling, noting with vague surprise and disappointment that death seems to do nothing for alleviating a person's mental and emotional exhaustion. They, or at least he, simply felt the same heaviness and dull discomfort that seems to come with owning mortal flesh. Mortal flesh that has aged and withered, had grown gaunt and grey.

There was no ceremony or eagerness to the way he pulled himself up, sat for another moment or so, and gathered himself onto his feet. 

There was a slight haze. A disorientation that felt like heavy fingers gripping lazily at the back of his brain, just tightly enough to be a constant drain but not an actual impairment, and with the same slow, apathetic demeanor he had begun the trudge back to the spires, climbed the steps, opened the door, then tucked himself away inside his apartment, slumped into a chair at his kitchen table. 

What now? 

Should he call someone? Inform someone that he was back? In his tired fog he couldn't really see a point to telling anyone. What difference would it make? Was it even important? His empty apartment almost felt, in that moment, like evidence confirming that no, it was not. 

At some point his fingers crept into his sweater pocket and fished out his phone, and at last he typed out a simple and emotionless text]

Has anyone seen my satchel? 

Comments

[drabsolutelynot]

[And that is almost instantly the first thing Rosen thinks of as he follows Lance inside]

We will need to go grocery shopping

[He doesn't even need to look in Lance's fridge to know this]

[lifetothefullest]

[Well at least Rosen's still himself in there somewhere.]

I'm not sure if that's the term I'd use, but yes. Probably.

['Shopping' is not exactly what happens here, after all. He did find some cans of stuff that's reasonably decent, but he knows Rosen has slightly higher standards than he does for this sort of thing.]

[drabsolutelynot]

[Rosen hums a bit distractedly at Lance's comment, setting his back down and wandering over to the counter]

What have you been eating?

[He had been dead for over a week, after all, so he's not sure how desperate the situation has gotten]

[lifetothefullest]

[Lance feels a sudden flash of annoyance at the question, for a few reasons, but he's not going to address any of the issues just yet. And if it makes Rosen feel better at the moment to fuss over him, then he'll allow it for now.]

Standard college fare, mostly. I even found something that vaguely resembled spaghetti-Os.

[Which you're never too old for, just like boxed macaroni and cheese. He's also mastered the stove top as far as reheating stuff goes, so that's a thing.]

But I know the elderly can't handle that sort of thing without heartburn, so...

[He has to get the light-hearted jab in there.]

[drabsolutelynot]

I probably should have guessed as much

[For the moment he still can't really be riled enough to swap jabs with Lance though he tries a small laugh to acknowledge that something humorous was said.]

So...what have I missed?

[He stands now, blinking at Lance, arms hanging at his sides]

Not with the gods, i mean, but with everything else.

[lifetothefullest]

[Lance gives a small shrug at the question, stepping closer to the counter to straighten a few glasses that need to be washed.]

Not a lot. People are quiet, for the most part.

[No real surprise after the stress of the event. Pretty much all people have been talking about has been the Null's post, but Rosen's not interested in that at the moment, so he doesn't mention it.]

Will and I and the others have been watching the Clinic, but it's been pretty deserted as well.

[drabsolutelynot]

[At the mention of Will's name, Rosen grimaces]

I should apologize to Will. I didn't realize he didn't know.

[Some things have just become accepted as part of the norm here, it never even crossed Rosen's mind that Will hadn't known about the impermanence of death here. Although, in his own defense he had been dying at the time. Still, he owes the boy an apology.]

[lifetothefullest]

It might be a good idea to talk to him, yeah.

[But he says it without judgement; the situation had been a mess, and considering the conversation Lance had with Will about the subject he thinks the discussion itself might end up being a little more complicated than Rosen's expecting anyway.]

But that can wait, for now. Getting some rest is a little more important.

[drabsolutelynot]

[Rosen huffs, its almost an actual emotional response. Almost.]

Isn't it a bit ironic that you need to rest after death?

[lifetothefullest]

[Lance offers a small grin at both the reaction and the comment.]

A bit.

[He grows more serious again, though.]

But considering it's not permanent, it probably shouldn't be too surprising; in practice it's a lot more like having a close call but ultimately surviving something traumatic.

[Which is almost always exhausting mentally, even when there are no physical effects.]

[drabsolutelynot]

I am beginning to think that death here is just a grandiose coma. The only difference is your body tends not to disappear during a c-

[His voice drops away when he comes to that point. Dammit. His body. If Will didn't know about death being temporary, then dealing with a corpse would have had a whole different effect.

A hand comes up to rub over his face before roughly combing back his hair]

It would be too much to ask for something not to end up an absolute mess in this cave, wouldn't it?

[lifetothefullest]

Not too much to ask, but probably unrealistic.

[It's a subtle distinction. Lance watches Rosen for a few moments, before making a vague gesture toward the spare room.]

You should get settled in.

[To not just the apartment, but being back in general.]

I'll make a trip to the shops and see what I can find.

[drabsolutelynot]

Probably a good idea

[Rosen turns to gather up his bag again before moving towards the spare room. Its strange to think that in the great span of things, it really wasn't long ago at all that he had stayed there before.

Which reminds him-]

Lance [He pauses, halfway to the spare room's door] Your hyoid. How has it been?

[lifetothefullest]

[Lance isn't expecting the question and blinks once in surprise, and then there's just something about the wording that makes him laugh a little. Sure, the subject's not funny, but it's almost like asking how a pet's been.]

Still present and accounted for, and so far not re-broken.

[Both positive things, right? But he's quiet a moment, idly reaching up to press his fingers against the side of his throat almost curiously, before giving a more serious answer.]

Since I've been being more careful, it's hurt less and my voice is more stable.

[Not totally back to normal, and he's definitely too timid to try shouting--let alone singing--yet, but significantly better than it was.]

[drabsolutelynot]

[Rosen's brows draw upward in a 'really, Lance? 'present and accounted for' expression before his expression drops back to serious]

And eating and drinking? It isn't painful?

[lifetothefullest]

[He crosses his arms loosely and offers a small shrug, both at the look and at the question.]

Not as much.

[It's a dull annoyance now, as opposed to the more pronounced ache he'd been ignoring the first two months or so that he'd been here.]

I'm feeling a lot better overall.

[So there's no need for the worrying.]

[drabsolutelynot]

Ok.

[Rosen finally relents, though he'll file the information at the back of his mind earmarked to look into at a later date. A date when, ideally, he won't feel more akin to a zombie than a medical professional.

He then turns to push the door open to the spare room]

Deja vu.

[lifetothefullest]

[It's less deja vu for Lance, for a few reasons, but he gets why it would be for Rosen and nods at the comment.]

I'll be back as soon as I find anything worthwhile; anything in particular you want me to look for?

[Food-wise. Since Lance, of course, is not quite as picky as Rosen, so leaving it up to his judgement alone might not be for the best.]

[drabsolutelynot]

[Rosen sets his bag on the bed, thinking over Lance's question as he undoes the drawstrings]

Whatever fruit and veg might look appealing, flour...

[Bit by bit he sets out some things on the bedspread]

...maybe some meat if it doesn't look too questionable.

[Lee straightens then]

I can go with you if you'd like

[The last statement is said out of a sense of guilt for having Lance go when he's already offering up his spare room]

[lifetothefullest]

[Lance makes mental note of all of that, and shakes his head.]

It's fine. Just kind of relax for awhile and I'll be back.

[Going out gives Lance both something to focus on and a bit of exercise, and Rosen seems like he could really use a little time to collect himself anyway.

And before he can argue, Lance heads out on his little mission. It takes about an hour and a half before he's managed to find and collect everything on the list, and then another short detour to get some coffee to bring back as well.

So he returns about two hours later, entering the apartment and setting everything on the counter in the kitchen before seeing if Rosen is up and around.]

[drabsolutelynot]

[Rosen is sitting at the kitchen table, similar to the way he had been at his apartment, eyes gazing intently downwards. However, this time there is a slim stack of papers beneath his hands and he's actually sketching. They are a few technical drawings, one of the bones in the hand, and another of the muscles in the shoulder and upper arm, and he is now scratching out a detailed sketch of a skull, focused in this moment on the jaw. His drawings lack the emotion and creativity of Danielle's. Rosen is less an artist than he is a copyist when it comes to his drawings: technically skilled, mechanic, but only copies of things that already exist. Textbook. As most things are with him.

When Lance comes in the door, he lifts his head to greet him]

Welcome back.

[lifetothefullest]

[Better than Lance can do so he's impressed, and more than that it's good to see Rosen doing something like drawing. It's a creative outlet, and it's something other than staring at a wall.

He offers a smile at the greeting as he sets everything down, then picks up one of the coffees and sets it next to Rosen's stack of papers.]

Coffee is therapeutic. Professional opinion.

[Trust him, he's a doctor.]

[drabsolutelynot]

[Rosen manages a small smile, setting down his pencil and reaching for the cup]

And what medical journal did you read this in?

[He lifts the cup near to his lips, blowing on it gently]

[lifetothefullest]

I didn't; I know it from real world experience.

[Lance is glad to see the smile, returning to the counter to take a drink of his own coffee before beginning to put stuff away.]

I'd say we should start some sort of medical or science journal here, just to give us something to do, but no one would read it.

[It'd be like maybe four people doing all the writing and reading.]

[drabsolutelynot]

We could always pin it to the wall in the clinic.

[Lee doesn't entirely hate the idea, honestly. In fact the more he rolls it around in his mind the more it seems appealing. He is that type of person who misses the tedium of publishing regular medical papers and giving lectures as a visiting specialist.

It is an unavoidable fact that although he has become very invested in the clinic, he also feels a constant sense of being unsatisfied as there is really no opportunity to utilize his actual specialization here in the cave. Neuropsychology is not exactly a high priority in the Murdercave]