.:: Just a Check-Up::.

[cindaquinn]

Quinn watched Alex as he thought. She hadn't meant to seem rude or anything, but her words and tone probably said otherwise. She hated getting sick more than anything in the world. She hated the way the heat affected her actions and emotions. She was so sorry that this man that didn't know her from Adam had to be the one to deal with her and her fever, on a visit to New Orlands, no less. She wanted to apologize, but she didn't know what she could possibly say. Nothing would be good enough. Maybe she could give him something that he needed instead? Barter could work, right? She stared at her feet shamefully. Her shoes were singed, yet another reminder of the traumatic day she was having. She listened to him when he said he would help her. Thank goodness. One last thing she would have to try to worry about. But he needed food for his cat...not so good.

"Maybe you should go get the food first, then come back for me. If you're going to take a taxi, I can pay for the trip. But I think the safest place would be here. The doctor will keep an eye on me for now.." The girl didn't dare look back up at the man, instead glancing at the small sink beside her. They were sure to have a lovely time together, her and that sink. But it was better than being in public right now. At least if she lost control for a few minutes no one else would see....

[m8d]

Alex nodded, yes that made more sense. He just hoped she'd be alright here. Well... the doctors probably had a better chance of treating her than he did at the moment so he left it at that. "Alright... It shouldn't take me too long." Alex answered and pulled his jacket on as he began to dial a number. Lot of good the damp jacket did him though. Oh well.
"I'll be back soon." he said, but it seemed to be mostly a mumble to himself. He finished the phone number and held the phone to his ear as he walked towards the door. He gave Quinn a light smile before leaving.

Alex only had to wait a total of five minutes before the cab pulled up. He had been waiting under the roof of the hospital so he wouldn't get wet. If he didn't get into new clothes he had no doubt he'd catch something. Two things to do... store, and hotel to change, before coming back. No doubt it would take at least a half hour. It had to be done though, so best just get on with it. Alex climbed into the taxi cab, "Where to sir?"
"Walmart." he replied with a simple answer and the driver nodded before pulling out of the lot and onto the street.

It took perhaps ten minutes to get to the store, "Mind waiting here? I'll pay extra, it'll only be a few."
"Of course sir. I'll be here." the driver said with a kind smile and Alex climbed out of the car. He watched the driver head down one of the aisles and park. He kept the position in mind as he turned and walked inside the building. he was quick as he headed to get some cat food but as he walked towards the checkout he stopped as his gaze caught the sight of a small drink stand with water in it. Perhaps he should? Would it help that much? Maybe not but it wouldn't hurt to try. He grabbed a few and tossed them in the basket and then walked towards the check-out stand. Thank god for the self-checkout stations because the store was packed.

One bag, back to the taxi and the hotel where he just dropped the bag on the bed. Chester was there and though he meowed in frustration as his head dug in the bag, pulling at the tab on one of the cat food cans, Alex didn't want to feed him until tonight because he'd only be hungry later. "Sorry Ches..." Alex said to the grumpy Siamese as he quickly changed clothes and grabbed a second jacket before heading back out to the taxi.
"Back to the hospital? What for if I may ask?" the driver said as he turned the car around back onto the road. "I promised a friend..."
"Why didn't you just take them earlier?"
"Doctor's wanted to check a few things first." Alex lied and that ended the conversation.

The car got back to the hospital in about 45 minutes since it first left and Alex got out, leaving the driver there waiting. The man didn't seem to mind though, more money in his pocket by the end of it all. He nodded to the nurse at the front desk who waved him through. He stopped outside of Quinn's room and gave a light knock, just being considerate, he didn't want to just barge in like he owned the place.

[cindaquinn]

With a quick assurance that he wouldn't take long and a mumbled 'I'll be back soon,' Alexander had walked out of the room. Quinn watched him for a second, suddenly sinking into despair. What if he didn't come back? He had only known her for what, 20, maybe 30 minutes? It wouldn't surprise her if he just decided to go on with his life and forget about her like she had told him to. But now that she was alone again, and the only person around who would get hurt was her, she was scared. She turned to the sink quickly and closed the drain, filling it up with water and submerging her hands in it. The water started to steam as soon as her hands had gone under the surface, and she had to turn the water back on again not long after to get the water back at the level it had been at before. After five minutes, she decided just to leave the cold water running, sinking to her knees and bursting into tears again. What if Alex really didn't come back...? What would she do then? She didn't lead him to believe that his...power had affected her in any positive way, but it had pushed the pain back enough for her to think clearly. Now that he was gone, her arm had begun to hurt a lot more than it did before. Ugh...just how soon would 'soon' be? The girl looked up at a clock in the room and took note of the time, gritting her teeth and hanging her head when her arm started to hurt more. She just had to hold on a little longer....

Ten minutes later, both handles of the faucet were pulled forward as far as they could go, and Quinn knelt silently on the floor, too tired to cry. Sweat dripped from her forehead onto the floor as her fever raged, held back only by the quickly- evaporating water in the sink. Her mind swam feverishly, her thoughts incoherent even to her. She might have been talking aloud, but she couldn't tell. It all sounded the same to her. She opened her eyes against her better judgement and shut them again quickly when she found that the floor seemed to be spinning beneath her. She definitely didn't need to add puking to her list of reasons why today had been one of the worse days of her life. It had been almost twenty minutes.... Where was Alexander?

Quinn sat with her back against the cabinet underneath the sink. She reached to her side weakly and picked up a cup of water, dumping in on her head and pulling herself up to refill it. She needed to eat something soon.... The girl gave up on the cup and practically fell back onto the floor, the water she had poured into her hair almost all dry. Her vision dimmed, focusing again a minute later. How long had it been since Alex left...? Forty- forty-five minutes? Longer? Maybe he wasn't coming back after all.... Despite her fatigue and her headache, Quinn felt herself begin to cry yet again. She trusted him with everything...had he really left her there to deal with her problems herself? She reached up and pulled herself to her feet once again, using the counter to support herself as she stumbled toward the door. If she was going to be handling this on her own, she needed to be alone, somewhere far away from people....


The girl reached the door and tried to get it open, eventually having to grip the knob with both hands to hold onto it tightly enough to turn it. She heard a knock just as she did, and pulled the door open, looking up, her eyes brightening a little when she noticed who it was.
"Alex...." Quinn said weakly, taking a small step toward him. "You came back...." Her legs gave out from under her suddenly and Quinn collapsed, too weak to try and catch herself.

[m8d]

Alex was quick to reach out, to grab hold of Quinn as she began to sink to the ground. He hadn't been expecting that at all, this made him even more concerned. He carefully hoisted Quinn back to her feet but continued to provide support for her, "Of course I came back... I'm sorry it took so long, I didn't expect the two things I had to do to be so far apart." he answered, his voice calm but held concern. "Come on... the taxi's outside waiting, I'll help you." Alex said softly and helped Quinn out of the room and out of the hospital, but not before filling out release papers. He signed his name with quick scribbles, and the nurse didn't complain, she knew the situation didn't need to linger here.

Outside, it was still raining, but it wouldn't bother them too much as the cab was parked just by the door. He helped Quinn in and then quickly walked around to the other side and got in. "Hotel, please." he said to the driver. He seemed hesitant to take Quinn away from the hospital from how she looked but didn't argue, just drove off. Traffic wasn't horrible, thank god, and soon the hotel was in sight. Alex paid the driver and helped Quinn out and inside, paying no mind to those in the lobby who gave them strange looks. He just headed to the elevator and up to the 5th floor and to room 508.

It was a nice hotel, certainly not a dump, and inside proved as much. Lush, clean carpet and a large bed with luxury sheets. Chester raised his head from where he laid at the foot of the bed as Alex entered, the cat's blue eyes locked onto Quinn but didn't linger as he got up and jumped off the bed to the floor where he sat by an empty white bowl. "Don't get your fur in a knot Chester, I'll get to you." Alex said to the cat who only meowed in hunger. He helped Quinn to the bed before letting her sit. "I might... have some advil in my bag but... I doubt it will help you." he said, shaking his head, not sure why he even asked it. "What can I do for you? The shower has a tub too if you need that... uhm... I got some water but again I wasn't sure if it would help. You hungry? I can order anything you want." Was he rambling? Probably, but he had never been in a situation like this before and was unsure how to go about doing it.

[cindaquinn]

Quinn held on to Alex as he carefully helped her out of her room...although really he was doing most of the work in making sure she didn't fall again. He signed the release papers for her and got her outside and into a waiting taxi. Her eyes fell on the hospital and stayed there as they drove off. She felt like she was drowning- they were leaving the safety and anonymity of the hospital to go somewhere that she wasn't sure would still be there by the time she left. It took all she had not to set fire to the seat she was sitting in. But Alexander was so close...she had to make it just a little longer.... Then maybe she could rest.

Alex seemed to ignore all of the people that they passed by once they had gotten into the hotel. He just half-carried her to the elevator and to his room after that like it was totally normal. Once they had gotten into the room, he helped her sit on the bed. She had barely noticed the cat when they first went in, but now that she wasn't on her feet, she saw him. What a beautiful Siamese cat he was.... Alex seemed to ignore him while he hovered over her, talking almost too quickly to comprehend. She struggled to focus on him, eventually catching the gist of what he was saying. Now she had to figure out what to tell him to do.... Great.

"Food..." No. Wrong. Quinn shook her head a little and pressed her hand into her temple. "No.... Fill up the tub..and put me in.... Then food...." She still needed something.... Water! To drink.... She had seen him carrying a bag of what looked like water bottles. Her head fell forward as if she were nodding off to sleep, and she fought to bring it back up again. "W,water..to drink...." she managed to whisper, starting to fall forward off of the bed instead of back or to the side, like a normal person. She hoped hazily that poor Alexander knew what he had gotten himself into....

[m8d]

Alex nodded, alright, alright. Tub first since that would take the longest. But hot or cold? Perhaps warm would be the best? He caught Quinn starting to fall forward and quickly righted her. No... Alex reached for the bag beside the bed and snagged a water bottle, there were three left. He unscrewed the cap for her and offered it. "Here, drink this and I'll go start the tub." he said handing it off and making sure she wouldn't fall forward on her face before getting up and walking to the bathroom. The sound of running water filled the room as Alex adjusted the temperature. It was just a tad bit on the cold side to help with Quinn's fever, but had just enough heat so it wouldn't be uncomfortable.

He left the bathroom and pulled his phone from his pocket. Okay, now food. What kind of food? He wondered what was best for someone that was sick but realized it was a bit pointless when it came to fast food. There was a burger joint that delivered not far from here. He picked up the phone book from the night stand and flipped through the yellow pages, finger trailing down the lists, his eyes occasionally looked up to make sure Quinn wasn't setting anything on fire or if she was falling over or something before returning to the numbers. There it was.

He dialed the number and ordered. He kept it simple, not sure exactly what Quinn liked so he kept it to their bacon cheeseburgers. He ordered fries with it as well and Coke, but it was mainly for him since he was sure Quinn would finish off those water bottles before it was all over with. It would take thirty minutes. That seemed like a good amount of time. He set the phone down and made sure to put the phone book away from Quinn.

He walked over to his suitcase and looked around for some clothes, coming back with a simple black T-shirt, no doubt too big for Quinn, but it was better than the clothes she had on, all burned and smelling of ash. Besides, who wants to come out of a bath to get dressed back into ashy clothes. Along with the t-shirt he pulled out a grey sweatshirt. "Here... you can use some of my clothes until you're well enough, then we can get you something else." he said and walked briefly to the bathroom to set them on the counter before shutting off the water. The tub was full enough, but not too full in case Quinn passed out and sunk.

"No doubt they're too big for you but... I'm sure they're better than burned clothes..." he said, though he didn't want to remind Quinn of what had happened today. He offered her his hand to help her up and to the bathroom.

[cindaquinn]

Quinn carefully took the water from the man and brought it to her mouth slowly, tilting it up to drink. It was cold and refreshing after her feeling so warm all day long. Luckily, she didn't start feeling any worse once the water was inside her. In fact, she felt a little better.... She downed half of the bottle before reaching for the cap that Alex had left near her on the bed and clumsily screwed it back onto the bottle. She could hear the water running through an open door, and sighed, closing her eyes and holding her head as her head swam. When she looked up again, Alexander was holding a cell phone up to his ear. It sounded like he was working on getting food for them. She tuned out of his conversation and tried to keep her breathing steady, groaning quietly at the growing pain in her arm. The water had cooled her down a little, she thought, but her temperature was rising again quickly. Hopefully it would stay down long enough for her to get somewhere where she could sleep....

Quinn looked up when Alex started to talk from in front of her. He was holding some of his clothes, it looked like. He confirmed her assumption a second later, walking into the bathroom and returning a moment later. The water wasn't running any more. The tub was probably full, then. When he walked back out, he mentioned the burned state of her clothing, a description that almost made her cry again. She managed somehow to keep the tears in and reached out weakly, putting her hand in his and slowly trying to get out of bed without falling. She stood and grabbed onto his arm when she felt herself start to collapse and steadied herself with some difficulty, looking up at the man with a small, sheepish smile before trying to walk forward.

[m8d]

Alex carefully helped Quinn to the bathroom where he made sure she had the counter for support before letting her go. "I guess... if you need anything just holler. I won't be going anywhere." he said as he took a few steps back out of the bathroom, glanced at Quinn briefly before he closed the door. He let her be as he walked back to the bed where he dug through the Walmart bag and pulled out the can of cat food. Chester started to meow like he was pleading and begging. "Alright man, alright." Alex grumbled as he popped open the lid and then set the can down. Chester's meows ceased as he practically dug his face into it. Alex gave a single chuckle and shook his head before dropping the lid in the trash.

The only thing left to do now was wait. Wait for the food, wait for Quinn. He hoped she'd be okay in there. He had to admit this was a very... interesting but awkward moment right now. The first weird, but interesting thing, was that he had discovered someone else who could control fire. Were there others like Quinn and himself out there? What about other... creatures? Were all those fantasy stories really true? Alex was new to this enchanted world, he didn't even know his own strength and power yet. What was awkward was the fact there was a woman in the same room as him, which was... different. It didn't bother him, but he wasn't quite sure how to handle it. Alex sighed as he sat on the bed, his mind continuing to trail off as the hotel grew silent except for the smacking of Chester's mouth as he ate.

[cindaquinn]

Will plenty of focus and effort, Quinn managed to get her burned clothes off and got into the tub. She fell into the tub a little hard and bit her lip to keep from crying out, relaxing after the new pain subsided and letting out a quiet sigh as the water covered her. She took a breath and submerged her head quickly, coming up again once her head was completely soaked. She was already feeling much better, but she could barely move her right arm without it hurting. The thought caused her to sigh again, and she rested her head back again the wall and closed her eyes. Images of the fire flashed through her mind and she found herself starting to cry quietly again when she finally opened her eyes up. Hopefully Alexander couldn't hear her.... Was she really so scared of fire now? So much that she couldn't close her eyes without reliving the horrifying event? How disgraceful could she get? She may have been beaten by sickness one time, but she was older and stronger now. She needed to stop acting so scared and just deal with it! The girl looked at the water, half expecting it to bubble and boil with the burst of self-directed anger she had just let out. But surprisingly, the surface of the water was only disturbed by the ripples that her own movement caused. She smiled a little and let out a breath that she hadn't realized she was holding, relaxing again. So that aspect of this nightmare could be controlled....

Quinn fell asleep and stayed that way for a while, jolting up almost an hour later and looking around frantically. "Le-" She almost yelled out for her brother when she remembered- hotel. Alexander! He was probably still up in the main room. She could smell food..had he eaten? She brushed her hand over the sides of the tub to find a way to drain the water out and stood up shakily, stepping out of the tub and using one of the towels to dry off. Once dry, she pulled on her own underthings and glanced at the clothes that Alex had given her, pulling the shirt over her head. The fabric brushing over her burned arm made her cry out quietly, so she bit on her lip while she put on the sweatshirt to keep from making any more noise. She picked up her clothes and folded them neatly, hugging them to her chest and walking out of the bathroom. She glanced at Alexander then back at herself, blushing a little. His clothes came down to her mid-thigh, but she still felt a little awkward. She probably should have put back on her pants, but those were burned too.... She looked down shyly, running her left hand through her still-wet hair.

"W,Where can I...put my clothes..?"

[m8d]

The food had arrived about twenty minutes after Quinn had went into the bathroom. He had thought about eating his share, but... he felt rude thinking about it, so he rolled the bag up tight to keep it as warm as he could before settling on the bed, arms behind his head as his eyes stared at the ceiling. She had been in there a long time, Alex had begun to doze off a bit but he heard a startled noise from the bathroom that jolted him awake. What was that? Was Quinn okay? He was about to get up and check but then he heard the water draining. She must have either enjoyed that bath or dozed off like he had. At least she hadn't drowned... Alex waited patiently, Chest jumped up on his chest, his heavy weight making the situation a bit weird, when the door to the bathroom opened.

He looked over to see Quinn, he couldn't help but smile slightly at how long his clothes looked on her. They made her look so small, but it was kind of cute. He gently pushed Chester off, who gave a growl, as Alex sat up. At Quinn's question, "You can put them by the bathroom door if you'd like, or if you really don't want them anymore, there's a trash can by the door." Alex said and ran a hand through his hair, which was no doubt a bit fluffy in the back since he had been laying down. "The food came, it should still be warm, but if it's not I can run it down to the lobby and warm it up." he said as he stood up, nodding his head towards the small table before looking back at Quinn. "Heh... I might have some sweat pants or something if you want pants to wear." he smiled a bit more, "But they might fall right off." he teased, but then seemed apologetic, he wasn't sure right now was a good time for teasing, even if it was just to try to lighten the mood.

He turned to the table and opened the bag to pull out both Quinn's food and his own onto the table. There was still more water available, but Alex and asked for a few more. Two sodas sat beside the hamburgers along with a basket of fries that he pulled out of the bag. "Well it still feels warm." he mumbled though it was mostly to himself. Looking back at Quinn, "When you get better I can take you to get you some new clothes." he smiled, "Or I can go tomorrow if you know what sizes you wear." he finished. Was it too weird to offer to buy a woman her clothes?

[cindaquinn]

Quinn blushed even more when she saw Alexander smile a little bit at her. She felt her hair start to warm up and dry out and she shook it with her hand a little, looking toward the trash can that he had mentioned. She started to walk toward it a little shakily, smiling a little as she thought about how she had just found him, with his cat on top of his chest. She threw away the clothes and the bad memories along with them and walked to the other side of the bed, listening to him talk about the food. Her stomach rumbled quietly and the colour in her cheeks deepened. Oh, I hope he didn't hear that, she thought to herself, crawling into the bed beside him. She blushed more when he made the comment about the sweatpants and giggled, smiling a little.

"Haha ... you're probably right," she said with a hint of cheerfulness in her voice, watching the man as he pulled out what smelled like hamburgers. Quinn's eyes lit up and she smiled again, reaching innocently for one of the burgers as he brought up the idea of shopping. Her mouth tightened into a thoughtful line, and she shook out her hair again, glancing at the man. "Let's go when I'm better .... That way I can buy everything and you'll only have to hold all of my bags." The girl smiled again, taking a bite out of the burger that Alex handed to her. There was a scratching sound at the window and she looked up, eyes widening when she saw a black and orange cat meowing at the glass. "Is that ... Ember?" She stood and walked to the window, opening it with her left hand and laughing when her cat jumped into her arms. "Hey, you," she said affectionately, shutting the window with her elbow and carrying Ember back to the bed. It probably wasn't okay for him to stay in the hotel with her, but he had no where else he could go. Hopefully she'd be able to keep him with her for at least a little while. And Alexander had his cat with him after all. Quinn sat down and rubbed Ember's head, raising an eyebrow when he looked at Chester. She turned his head to hers carefully and gave him a look that he knew meant that he needed to behave and he complacently curled up in her lap and closed his eyes. She looked at Alex, then back at her cat, smiling a little.

"This is Ember. I hope you don't mind, but he kinda has a knack for finding me ...." Quinn picked up her burger again and took another bite, looking back at the man sitting near her.

[m8d]

Alex smiled, glad to see Quinn was a bit livelier that she had been earlier. He hoped she'd be okay during the night, but he wouldn't count his chickens before they hatched. He watched Quinn start to eat before he soon did as well, but he paused when he heard the scratching on the window. What could that be? When he looked he was surprised to see a cat. It was obviously Quinn's from her reaction and he smiled more, good... she had her friend back. He watched her pull the cat into the room and take a seat again. He chuckled, "It's not a problem at all. Chester, despite his looks, it's quite a sweetheart, I'm sure they'll be buddies before this is all over with." he chuckled and went back to eating.

To see a cat so devoted to his human, it was a nice site to see, you didn't see it too often. Chester... hell, Alex was sure the only reason that cat followed Alex around was because he'd always get a good meal. There were times though where Alex felt Chester really seemed to care for Alex. After a few minutes though, "Hows the food?" he asked, waving a french fry in his hand with a smile.

[cindaquinn]

Quinn smiled in relief when Alex told her that the cats would probably get along. That was one less thing she would have to worry about that night. She watched the man's Siamese cat study her own carefully before turning back to his food. Oh food ... had Ember eaten? He didn't seem to be hungry now, but then again, sometimes she had to box him in a corner with his food to get him to eat. She would have to ask Alex if he had any that he could spare to feed her cat with. She looked at him when he asked about her food and smiled, nodding. "It's great. Thank you so much for buying it. I'll pay you back once this is all over, I promise ...." The girl took another bite of her sandwich, offering a small bite to her pet who gobbled it up without much hesitation. Poor thing .... "Alexander, do you have any more cat food that Ember can have?" she asked hopefully, picking up a few fries and sharing them with Ember. He jumped off of her lap and carefully approached Chester after a few minutes, and she finished her burger and sat against the top of the bed, taking another fry and munching on it thoughtfully.

"So ... Draconian, huh? Can you tell me more about your race?" Quinn asked, rubbing her temples gently to try and get rid of a headache that was forming. She suddenly felt tired and hot and dehydrated all at the same time, and a quiet groan escaped her as she rubbed her temples harder. Her water bottle was sitting on the bottom of the bed- she reached forward and grabbed it, draining the rest of its contents within seconds. At least she wouldn't have to complain about thirst for a little while ....

[m8d]

As Quinn asked if he had cat food to spare he smiled, "Of course, I probably bought more than enough, I'm sure Chester won't mind either." he had chuckled and Chest glanced up from his spot on the floor at the sound of his name, but seeing that there was nothing of interest going on, he just laid his head back down. Alex stood up and dug around for another can of cat food, which he opened and set on the floor for Ember. Chester seemed uninterested it in, but that was probably because he had just eating the other can Alex had gave him earlier... all of it. He tossed the empty can in the trash before returning to the bed.

It seemed perfect timing because Quinn then asked about what he was. He rubbed the back of his neck, "Well..." he began, though paused as he tried to think on how to explain it all. "To put in simply... Draconians are... dragon shifters. Depending on our element, you know; water, fire, earth, wind, we look different. Me, being a fire draconian, I obviously control fire. I've... yet to actually get to the shifting part. I've never been able to yet." he shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. "We have two forms, as I'm led to understand, not counting our human form. A more... humanoid dragon, and then the actual dragon itself." he explained, glancing at Quinn to see her reaction to everything he had just told her.

"What of you? I mean... I know you can control fire, but is there more than just that?" he asked, head tilting slightly.

[cindaquinn]

Quinn watched as Alexander got up and set out some food for Ember. Her cat looked towards the food and walked to it, starting to eat eagerly. Quinn smiled and cleared off a spot on the bed for her to lie down. It hurt too much to lie on her back, so she turned onto her left side, facing Alex, and looked up at him. Her burned arm throbbed painfully, leaving her uncomfortable even with her new position, but she didn't know what else to do .... She listened as the man beside her told her about his race and nodded slowly. She knew that it had sounded familiar when she first heard it earlier that afternoon. It was nice to have that information about it, though. Hearing that he couldn't shift yet wasn't surprising- she was sure that it would take a lot of energy and skill to do so, and he had said he could control the fire for ... was it 4 years or 5? Either way, Quinn was sure he'd get it eventually.

"I'm a Solaris," the girl responded when he asked about her. "We can create and control fire, and kind of ... mold it like clay if you're good enough. I've been able to make swords of fire and keep it in that shape even while fighting. It's hard, but pretty cool once you've got the hang of it." She shut her eyes hard against her pain and continued. "Only downside is that I can't use any of my power if I get wet. Unless I have a fever, it seems. Hopefully someday I'll grow out of this weakness, but I doubt it." Quinn looked at Ember again, smiling when she noticed that he and Chester seemed to be getting along just fine. She looked back up at Alexander and sighed quietly, dropping her eyes. "So I have to ask .... Why did you help me? Nobody else would have ...."