002 [ Video ]

[doctoral_bird]

[ It may be an unfamiliar face to many! Malkus is actually appearing on the feed without his signature mask. Even a plague man like him needs fresh air now and then. His sickly facade wasn't far from the norm! That's just... his face. ]

Greetings fellow residents. It has been some time, but with the lull in disturbances I feel now's a better time than any to- ah-... discuss...

[ He scratched his claws against the wood of the bench outside, trying to remember what the hell he was going to say. As the pause grew, he could feel his social anxiety build.

Don't give them dead air, Malkus! The people hated pauses! ]

I am sorry, sleeping outside has left me- e-eh-... melancholic. I'd forgotten what I wanted to bring up. Ah! Yes!

[ He moved the feed to the mask sitting beside himself, placed daintily on a heap of papers and glassware. ]

As it often becomes a point of conversation, I would like to ask my fellow residents if anyone has actually had an epidemic ravage their land. I've come to realize I may be alone in this topic.

Comments

[doctoral_bird]

Some claimed the ocean, or the coastal regions. But those were tales from mad men that had lost nearly all of their wits.

[ Malkus lowered his tone, almost as if he was telling a spooky story. Talking about his dead world was pretty spooky, he figured. ]

Those blessed with masks like mine still roamed the wastes, harvesting the resources left behind. It's a pretty important duty for the settlers underneath. It ah- leaves a mark though. After awhile.

[ If his teeth weren't enough of an indication, Malkus could show the carapace covering his arms. Those claws certainly weren't human, as civil as the doctor still acted. ]

[hot_mes]

[hey, his navigator is a polar bear, he can't judge]

I see. But such prolonged exposure - would it kill you, eventually?

[as his mind cross-references his own lead poisoning with radiation sickness and all kinds of other accumulative afflictions...]

[doctoral_bird]

[ ... ]

[ ... ]

Hm.

[ Death was something he hadn't considered. The mirrors revealed Malkus turning into something far worse, but simply dying could also be a possibility. Maybe he knew, deep in his heart. Every morning, Malkus observed his face and arms and wondered how much further his corruption would progress once he returned home. ]

My gear may be imperfect. So it's a possibility. I suppose me and my flock are rushing to complete our work before that happens. When we return enough supplies to the city, we were promised shelter within.

[ It was probably a lie, he thought. A thought he did his best to suppress. ]

[hot_mes]

[It always is, Malkus...]

I wonder how long living here will affect it in the inverse.

I've studied terminal illness and cumulative effects in depth. If you'd be interested in trading notes, I would. Well, from memory, that is, since my actual medical notes aren't anywhere near here.

[doctoral_bird]

That's something I've wondered myself. The progression of my decay has halted now that I've begun to eat this realm's somewhat cleaner array of food. If nothing else, this place gives me the time I need to look into options for my own land. When I return, of course.

[ Malkus was investing so much into the notion that he would keep his memories once he makes it back to his homeworld. This all has to be for something! This suffering can't just be for nothing. ]

Mine are gone as well, but I've had the chance to rewrite them in some empty journals from the library. I'd very much enjoy exchanging information!

[hot_mes]

We should, then. I'm in the clinic more often than not, you can find me there.

[he'd be happy to talk shop, even with someone with a more primitive sense of medicine. It's far more entertaining to discuss disease and plague and possible concerns about taking treatments back to other worlds than it is to talk about, eh, favorite things or what "back home" is like.]

[doctoral_bird]

[ Ah, the clinic. Malkus didn't frequent that building as much as others did. But still, it wasn't as if he had anything against the place. He adjusted the straps of his mask and pulled it back over his face. [

I can stop in for a visit! Short while before I go about scavenging a bit more. I can properly introduce myself if nothing more!

[ A loud shuffling could be heard as Malkus pulled a tarp he'd found over his pile of things. There didn't seem to be rain, or any foul weather in this cave, but he wouldn't put it past the gods to change this. ]