I caught Generic Anime Blood Coughing syndrome from all the animes.

[heromedal]

Who: Rex, medical dudes and anyone unlucky enough to talk to him.
What: Rex seeks medical help. Then is an idiot.
When: 27th Feb and some other times afterwards.
Where: Nurse's office and then the quad.
Warnings: Blood, talk of cancer,

[Sickbay]
The slowly building pain in Rex's gut had mostly been ignored. For three reasons. Because physical pain isn't something Rex worried too much about. Because he assumed it was somehow a side effect of the way his stomach squeezed and rolled when he did things he hated himself for. Which was pretty much everything he did. And because his entire body ached all the time so much that was his normal.

And then he coughed up some blood. His medical knowledge was exceptional for someone his age and education, but it was largely based on battlefield medicine. As evidenced by the way he was basically incapable of caring for himself. So he was forced to do the one thing you are never meant to do, google your symptoms.

"It seems very likely I have lung cancer," is how Rex introduces himself as he comes through the door and spots Hieke. Just getting right in there. It seems entirely in keeping with his life and luck so far. He's not even surprised. Calmly and collected, he spits into a tissue he's brought with him- some more red added to it. "But a second opinion would be appreciated."

By second opinion he means first opinion because he is not a doctor.

[Guess who's back?]
A while after being told he's not dying (or at least, not as quickly as he thought), Rex makes his glorious return for a check up. He almost spins on his heel and exits the second he spots Ekkehardt is the only one there. It's nothing to do with the forgotten moments that remain buried in the back of his head. It's because making a fool of himself as a masked weirdo had been embarrassing, at least once he'd finally collapsed and slept for a while.

Still, the mask did distort his voice. Though there were few of his stature around. But he hadn't had an inch of skin on show. So on and so on in a mental debate with himself. In the end, he steps in. Though doesn't open with some overly dramatic comment about his health. Just coughs lightly, in a quiet attention-grabbing way that isn't sure if it wants any attention at all. That way the onus is on Ekkehardt to possibly comment on his masked midnight escapades. Or not, for preference.

[Quad]
The revelation that Rex does not have terminal anything was a small relief. Only a small one- a part of him had already begun romanticising the idea of getting to peacefully pass away for reasons beyond his control once his mission was done. Another part was making plans to find ways to live after death. Both ideas made other parts of him feel even worse about himself.

However, one thing is for sure. Something even Rex cannot see a downside in.

Dairy is good for a stomach ulcer.

Rex loves dairy so much.

He's set up outside, on a bench and has got a huge stack of probiotics on his right and a slightly smaller stack of empty ones on his left as he just keeps wolfing them down. He's well aware this not how it works. He also doesn't care. He can't stop himself. He's probably gonna puke in a minute.

Comments

[inflictwounds]

It's been a quiet(ish) day in the infirmary, which is a rarity Hieke has come to appreciate. Which of course means that Rex bursts in when he's relaxed, and... Well.

The daemon blinks once, twice, before standing from his chair and motioning for Rex to take a seat. He's much, much shorter than him, and it's going to be hard to get a good read on him with the way he's looming. "Okay, just take a seat and I can check it out."

He's pretty sure it's not cancer - maybe it could be! But he doubts it. There's plenty of things that can make a person cough up blood, and he doesn't seem phased at all by the red Rex is spitting up. Maybe that's reassuring - or maybe it won't be.

[heromedal]

Rex being Rex, he considers the calm way his declaration has been accepted to indicate it's more likely than he thought. So this is it, huh? At least he might get to see mom again. Simulteaounsly, he's panicking, and his heart rate just tripled- but his face is no different either way.

He nods with a quiet sigh, taking that seat. It helps with the looming but doesn't deal with it entirely and this close it's possible to hear Bo En serenading them from his earbuds. He's not been in a doctor's care since he was seven, as a mostly disinterested formality before getting him as far out of the way as possible in the care system.

So he's not really sure what to do, aside from staring. A slow bead of sweat is running down his temple, although considering he's still wearing that large coat of his, it might just be warmth.

It's not, but it might seem that way to an outsider.

[inflictwounds]

"Relax," Hieke says, making his way across to where Rex is sitting. Could he tell his heart rate increased? That's a secret he's not going to give up any time soon.

(The answer is yes - the magic is subtle and nigh undetectable, but it's helpful enough. It'll help Hieke figure out whatever's wrong with Rex.)

"You're not going to die, it's okay." Though he's not sure what Rex is panicking about. Maybe he just hates medicine, maybe he's scared of doctors. (Not that Hieke is even close to being a doctor, but that's a minor detail.) "What makes you think you have cancer?"

And not, you know, something more reasonable.

quad

[deuteranope]

[Doesn't Rex know that it's usually just anime moms that get this disease? The stomach ulcer was definitely the better guess for him, but for Maverick? Would have gone with the lung cancer, yeah, with how he puts out one cigarette and switches to a new one as he crosses.

And...gets distracted...

how is the height or the weird cow monster not the weirdest thing he's seen about this guy]

What, uh... What're you doing? Drowning your fucking sorrows in food?

[heromedal]

Despite the way his face never betrays much of anything, Rex’s heart never lies- figuratively and literally. He doesn’t bother to reply to the calls to relax or the assurance he’s not going to die, because he never relaxes and everyone is going to die. Sooner than later, if he doesn’t get back to work.

“Well. This, mostly.” He holds up the tissue, damning evidence that it is. If it were anyone else, he’d be carefully considering possibilities but for himself, the worst is the only option. All the same it sounds ludicrous once he’s saying it.

[heromedal]

[ It’s that, or villains who are trying to escape their fate. So it’s possible Rex could get it.

He stops, spoon halfway to his mouth, frozen in place for a full five seconds before he recovers from the unexpected interruption. He finishes his spoonful before he replies though. ]

I suspect that doesn’t work.

[ Not that he’d know. He doesn’t normally eat this much, or much at all. ]

[deuteranope]

How the fuck should I know? Do I look like I got sorrows to drown or a habit of eating my fucking body weight in yoghurt?

[he's got issues, but clearly not sorrows.]

You, though? Yeah, you're a bland, emo-looking fuck, I could see it. Guess this is a test, now.

quad

[suddenlybees]

[ If dairy were the secret to Rex's height, maybe Kano would start eating yogurt too, but as it is, he just sort of slows, stops, and stares... ]

If you buy the huge gallon-sized containers, it'll be more economical.

[ Why wolf down several dozen tiny little cups when you can eat out of a bucket? ]

But what's all this about? Are you sick? Taking drugs?

[spelleton]

"Are you here for treatment or for questions? Either is fine," Ekkehardt says, after giving him a cursory glance. He has no idea why Rex is just hovering there and not saying anything. "But loitering about and coughing indecisively won't get you either of those."

[heromedal]

[ Rex thoughtfully sucks his spoon, contemplating Maverick's question as if he actually expected an answer and provides one. ]

The former, I'd say so.

[ Mav all that aggression probably stems from some sort of deep-rooted misery, if you ask Rex, who you should ask because oh boy does he know all about that. ]

But I just like dairy products.

[ A whole fucking bunch 'cos he's just popped open another one. ]

[heromedal]

[ Well it didn't hurt. His probably has more bone than Kano has Kano. Distracted from his yoghurt for just a moment, he narrows his eyes at Kano and looks him over scrutinisingly. ]

Oh. It's actually you this time.

[ Doesn't come with any further admonishment and he's honestly only 60% on it anyway. ]

I was planning on rationing them but then I got hungry.

[heromedal]

"Oh."

Well, so far so good- though actually coming in probably just emphasises his height more as he ends up in the classical unintentional looming pose. Up close it's possible to hear his music, a suitably sad remix of something much happier, just a little.

"I was here a while ago and was told to come back. So I have," he explains, making useful illustrative hand gestures, such as pointing downwards to mean 'here' and out the door then back down to show he was here, then he wasn't and now he is again. It's the only indication he has any nerves about being connected as the Masked Moron, unaware he should probably be more worried about being connected as the guy who vivisected a member of the Academy. "Stomach ulcer. Apparently."

[spelleton]

"I see." There are enough tall people in the Academy that he's hardly going to pay it any mind.

Fortunately for Rex, at this point in time Héctor is still recovering and he's hardly going to shake the man down for details about what happened, so Ekkehardt isn't quite aware of the whole picture for now. He turns his attention to his laptop briefly to pull up the appropriate record.

"Let's see. You came in for a checkup a little while ago...diagnosed with a stomach ulcer...Ah. There." There's a few decisive clicks from his keyboard as he checks through what's been recorded.

"You must be Rex Arany," and there's a slight, perceptible change in his expression when he says the name, a short flicker of something like surprise, because the surname is familiar, "then. And it says...you thought you had lung cancer?"

He sort of sighs. "Well, sit down. I'll check you over to see how you're healing, and then I'll talk to you about preventative measures."

[heromedal]

"Yes, I must," he says in his deep deadpan, making one of his grim jokes that's just for him- he must be Rex Arany, he doesn't have a choice in the matter. Unfortunately.

Never letting anything slip past, especially not with someone who he might already have made an enemy of^*, the spark of surprise is noted. Has Ekkehardt heard something about him? He knows a few people are aware he's... a little off and that people talk.

His poker face cracks however when it's revealed Hieke saw fit to put his ridiculous notion into the notes. He sputters a 'pffftpft' before he can reply, a little sharper than he would like- "It seemed more likely at the time."

It does mean when he sits, arms crossed, he looks like he has a little bit of pout going on. Just a shade of it.

*Disagreement of any sort is grounds for someone to fit into the potential enemy category for Rex. Refer to his entire life for more details.

[spelleton]

He notes the joke, but doesn't comment on it. It's something for thought, at least.

He's not thinking of Rex in that moment of familiarity; he's thinking of a woman he last met at least a decade before, in a different guise - in what most people would have considered a different life than a school nurse. But it's impossible to tell that from that brief change of expression.

"Googled your symptoms, did you?" he says dryly. "Well, you'll be pleased to know you're not the first person to have made that mistake, and you won't be the last. And you'll possibly be equally pleased to know that a checkup won't take long."

He reaches out - for something simple like this, he doesn't even need to touch his patient - and white light dances at his fingertips. The sensation of being examined isn't entirely unobtrusive - there's a slight, chilly feeling - but it is over quickly.

"Well, it's not life-threatening by any sense of the word, and it's easy to fix. How long have you been feeling pain?" Ulcers don't just pop out of nowhere, and if he's assessed Rex correctly, he seems like the type to just ignore things until they become a direct problem.

[heromedal]

He takes a breath to reply to the googling accusation but gives up before he formulates a single word. That's a complete and utter defeat right there, but he's made a note to study medicine more after this debacle. If he can stand to be in the presence of the two medics he's made himself look a complete idiot in front of, he might be back just to learn something.

And not treat the many medical problems he has due to overwork and stress, because that's his problem.

"I'm not sure." Which is a horrendous sign. Ekkehardt has got his number- he aches all over all the time, being awake and active five days in a row usually, not to mention lingering pains from old wounds. "About since the start of term, if I had to make a guess."

Because he's felt like a lone spider crawling around in an ant nest, just waiting to be discovered and swarmed.

[spelleton]

Ekkehardt makes a 'tch!' sound at that, but he doesn't exactly sound surprised. "How much do you sleep? How often do you eat and drink in a day?"

From the tone of his voice, he doesn't expect the answer to be a positive one.

[heromedal]

"Regularly for both." 'Regularly' is not actually an answer and he suspects Ekkehardt will pick him up on it, but no one is going to believe he sleeps eight hours a day. So Rex is going to lie badly first so when his second lie is wheedled out of him it won't be as bad as the truth.

He's been eating a lot more recently though, now he doesn't need to choose between bullets and food and also do you know how many types of cheese you can get in France? It's a lot. It's heaven. Rex is actually putting on weight, if slowly.

[spelleton]

Ekkehardt doesn't even dignify that with a verbal response. He just fixes Rex with a look. It's not particularly menacing, but it is the blank, patient stare of someone who is willing to wait as long as it takes to get a less dishonest answer.

[heromedal]

Such a look has little effect on Rex in reality- if he didn't want to answer at all, he wouldn't. He'd just get up and go, which would be a very Helen move.

Instead, he lets his eyes drop and uncrosses his arms, huffing a little.

"I get an hour or so of sleep a day," he 'confesses', which is terrible but not nearly as bad as what he actually gets. "But I eat at least two meals a day!"

He says that with a bit more enthusiasm, a 'see, it all works out' kind of statement.

[spelleton]

"I would definitely prescribe more sleep," he says dryly, with another glance that suggests he doesn't quite believe that answer either, but isn't pushing it. "And what does your diet consist of right now?"

[heromedal]

'Doesn't quite believe' is better than pursuing the actual truth at least. He doubts Ekkehardt would assume it's as bad as it is anyway. It's a testament to his fortitude he can function at all, let alone as well as he does. For a given value of 'well.'

"I'll try," he lies as naturally as breathing. Doesn't actually matter if Ekkehardt doesn't believe that one though, as long as he's not prescribing tranquilisers. No chance he's taking those- not risking getting hooked. "Uhm."

The 'uhm' is also prepared as he has done the usual Rex thing of thinking up possible threats (questions for his own good) and the proper responses (lies to let him keep being garbage).

"Whatever I can get, I suppose."

[spelleton]

"If you don't, I suppose I'll see you in the infirmary after your body inevitably gives out from lack of sleep. So we'll see."

He exhales (a completely unnecessary gesture) and raises a hand to his forehead for a moment, before lowering it.

"You do realise that if you keep giving evasive answers, I can't advise you properly, Mr Arany. Do you think you're the first student who's tried this on me?"

[heromedal]

Bah. Rex is quite certain that he has found the exact human limit for sleep deprivation and therefore any more sleep would be a waste of time. Not to mention unless he’s at his limit it’s just too hard to get any sleep anyway.

“I’m not being evasive, just don’t keep track of what I eat.” Yes he does, in case he needs to know which one poisoned him at some point. He makes a show of trying not to sound too defensive, it’s a cyclical thing because he’s having to force himself to sound defensive. “I eat whatever’s served at the hall dinner and usually some lunch somewhere.”

Of course, he takes it and eats it somewhere private whilst working on something, but that’s not actually a dietary thing.

[inflictwounds]

It'll be fine. Unless he doesn't relax, because Hieke's going to get concerned that he might, you know, have anxiety and should see someone way more qualified than he is.

"Just the fact you're bleeding?" A lot of things can cause bleeding, and it doesn't seem like there's anything cancerous in Rex's body. Not that Hieke can find, anyways, and he's doubtful that he wouldn't be able to find any evidence. "You know, a lot of things can cause that. Not just cancer."