From: hardluckwoman	Date: February 2nd, 2011 02:08 am (UTC)		(Link)

Erica had been in the midst of doing homework when the light on her desk had gone suddenly dim, and then out. She had even been absorbed in the essay, something that didn't happen often with her. She had even been mid-sentence, and as if losing her train of thought wasn't irritating enough, groping around in the dark for her wand was even worse.

Once she had given up on finding it, she had felt her way around for another few moments, before ending up under her computer desk. There was a storage bin she kept there, mostly for a foot rest while at the desk, but also filled with various little odds and ends that had no other real place to go. It was in here that she kept her spare lightbulbs for the lamps in her room, although finding them in the dark was easier said than done.

When Brian began pounding on the door, Erica jumped slightly, hitting her head on the underside of the desk. "Fuck," she hissed, one hand instinctively going to grab the top of her head, and the other still grabbing around for the bulbs. "One second!" she called loudly, once she felt her hand pass over the right box.

Climbing out, she opened the box of bulbs, taking just a few seconds to switch it around now that she had found her way. The room was once more lit up enough to function in, and she tossed the dead bulb into the trash as she made her way over to open the door with her free hand. Her other one still held her head, as if holding the skull together or something. Damn, it stung.

She recognized the distress on her brother's face almost immediately. He didn't even have to say a word, something was up. "Bri?" she questioned cautiously, eyebrows furrowing. "What's up?"

	From: littleredd	Date: February 2nd, 2011 04:09 am (UTC)		(Link)

"That thing, that thing in the Sonnier dorm. It probably had fleas, and...and Ben. He's probably got the black plague, and I can't stop, I can't stop thinking about it."

He took a breath, thinking. He needed to do something. He needed to fix everything and then he could stop. If he could just stop thinking about it for five minutes, he'd be alright.

	From: hardluckwoman	Date: February 4th, 2011 03:25 am (UTC)		(Link)

At first, Erica didn't even one hundred percent follow where Brian was going with this. She didn't even realize he was talking about that monster that had the teachers in such a fuss, until she connected the Sonnier bit. "Wait, Ben didn't-- Brian, that thing wasn't near him. We don't even know if it was able to have fleas. It wasn't even the same floor," she reasoned, unsure what else to say. There was really no comforting him in this state. She could only lay out some facts, try to ease it off.

"Ben's fine. We'd have heard by now if half of Sonnier was running round with the plague, it wouldn't just be him," she added, stepping back some from her door. She removed the hand cradling her head, using it to wave him inside instead. She was glad she had just did laundry and tidied up her room just a day or so ago. It wouldn't do to have anything laying around that might upset him further. Maybe a dirty dish or an old tissue, something with microbes or whatever it was he was so terrified of.

Sometimes, her heart did ache for what he was going through.

	From: littleredd	Date: February 13th, 2011 01:06 am (UTC)		(Link)

"You don't know. It could be a slow moving strain." Oh Merlin. It could be some of those things that would be dormant until Ben got angry. Then suddenly it would explode in all their faces! "It could just, I know it lived in the woods. Anything living in the woulds would have fleas! It has fleas, and fleas have germs. Europe got the black plague because of fleas on rats!"

He moved into her room with a bit of an anxious glance about the room.

"You wouldn't know you had it until it was too late. We should get him test."

	From: hardluckwoman	Date: February 14th, 2011 03:36 am (UTC)		(Link)

"He's not going to let anyone test him. Though, he probably has half of the supplies to go it himself in his room," Erica suggested, not exactly helpfully. She shut her door when Brian was in, turning the latch for the lock. It wouldn't be worth it to have any friends stopping in unexpectedly when she had a meltdown to deal with for the time being.

She moved over to her bed, sitting down on the edge, and patting the mattress beside, offering to let him join her. He might calm down faster if he took a seat instead of pacing a track in her floor. She even scooted to make more room, giving him his space. "Just had laundry done yesterday, blankets and sheets are all totally clean," she added. "Sit, breathe deep."

	From: littleredd	Date: February 15th, 2011 06:20 pm (UTC)		(Link)

"He can test himself. He should, he could have it and then everyone could die. It would be like the middle ages of Wizardry because he didn't test himself." He sat on the bed, staring at his hands as he bit his lip. Yes, logically Erica was right, but the thought was right there! And no matter what, he was unable to think about anything else. Just images of sickly sores peppered across faces, oozing and people dying.

How could he not think about it?

Taking a deep breath, he lifted his head up and swallowed. In past experiences, he knew that sometimes he just needed to think purposely about different things. Anything. Something.

"I think I like someone. She lives in Sonnier.....what if she gets it too?"