Tayne Peregrine (hunterperegrine) wrote in downfallrpg, @ 2010-04-19 23:05:00 |
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Entry tags: | 2015-09-03, dhaval, dhaval and tayne, tayne |
Tiger Cuddles
Who: Tayne and Dhaval
Where: Dhaval's room
When: 4AM or thereabouts
It had been a hard night. After tossing and turning with restless, haunting dreams, Tayne had gotten up to throw up painfully again, bringing up the few crackers he'd managed to force down before bed. One moment, he was too hot and pushed the covers back; the next, he was shivering and trying to drag them back up and nest himself in them. The dreams didn't stop. At some point in the early morning, he managed to wriggle out of his clothes and find refuge from the dreams in a form that didn't dream: the tiger.
But even that was restless and he couldn't sleep more than fits and starts, plus his claws kept catching in the blankets, and he wound up pawing his door open and prowling the halls.
The familiar smell on the ground floor brought him to Dhaval's door, and he let out a little rumble of recognition and a whine of unhappiness, pawing at the door and sniffing at the bottom.
Dhaval hadn't slept at all. He hadn't been able to close his eyes without feeling irrationally claustrophobic, and every time he managed to endure that, the dozing before proper sleep came had been a series of increasingly vivid visions of violence, memories of the screams in the hall of his building, visions of horrors he'd read of or written tearing into friends, family, and strangers alike, and even oddly mundane nightmares of crashing spreadsheets with a looming deadline. He hadn't properly fallen asleep all night. Around two, he'd crawled out of bed and into his chair, almost tipping onto the floor, and wheeled to the desk.
Nothing he'd written really made sense, and the combination of sleep and his left hand made the writing almost unintelligible. He'd written something about a baby elephant whose mother had been eaten by a dragon and who was appealing to a rather disturbing deity in an attempt to get her back or get revenge. It wasn't consistent. He was really cold. Eventually he gave up and resorted to shivering with his arms folded in front of him on the desk, head resting against the cold pasteboard surface.
He was almost dozing again when Tayne scratched, jumping violently at the sudden sound and then wincing as his bad finger tapped the desk. Oh. Scratching. And sniffing. Like a big animal. If there was a monster in the building then he'd probably be the first to know, since it was still dark. But then... There was a big animal he'd love to see. And if there was a monster inside, he should find out and start screaming. He straightened up and rolled slowly to the door, bumping the side of the desk and bruising his good hand on the way. Dhaval opened the door slowly and then smiled, very glad to see a tiger waiting there. "Tayne..."
There he was. Much better than just having the scent wafting from under the door. Tayne grunted a little in response to his name, and butted his head into Dhaval's stomach. The familiar scent was comforting, after the awful dreaming and restless sleep, and he wanted more of it, up close and right from his skin, so he turned his head to find an arm and sniff at it.
He smelled like sick. And fear. And Dhaval, of course. But the sick and fear shouldn't have been there. That was all wrong.
"You came to visit me, huh?" He sounded hoarse. He'd drunk straight through the water Pepper had brought a long time ago, and his mouth and throat were very dry. Dhaval smiled and ran his hand slowly down Tayne's head, smiling at the soft fur under his fingers. "Thank you." He leaned down for an awkward sort of half hug, pressing his cheek to the splendid branching stripes of Tayne's forehead. "Uh, um, do you... do you want to come in? Let me get out of the door. Or, um, you won't fit. Just a second, I guess..." He backed up.
A brief, rusty-sounding purr came out on the exhale, at the hug, and Tayne shut his tired eyes while Dhaval's cheek was pressed to his fur. Then he was pulling back, and rolling back, and Tayne padded inside in the wake of the chair. Maybe he'd sleep better in here, was the vague thought. It smelled better, with Dhaval and his vitamin water and paper, and the slightly earthier feel of being on the ground floor. He hopped up onto the bed, making it creak with his weight, and stretched languorously, cat-like, since at the moment? He was definitely a cat.
And an ill, chilled-feeling cat, at that. He sat, flipping his tail around his paws, blinking down at Dhaval with a kind of sleepy expectation.
He wouldn't have expected Tayne to be comfortable on the bed at all, but it was a big bed, he supposed, built to be sturdy. Dhaval watched rather languidly for a moment, blinking, before he realized Tayne wanted him to climb up, too. Which was a wonderful idea. He might finally be warm if he could snuggle up to thick, soft fur, and sleeping beside a tiger would be wonderful enough that he might even feel a bit better. He watched for just a minute more. He'd been almost this close to a tiger at a zoo once, through a reinforced glass window, but he hadn't been able to lean in, to appreciate the wonderfully feline, powerful movements, the gorgeous fur and the eyes to get lost in. Getting into the bed would be hard, but he'd manage. Dhaval wheeled up, braced himself, and shoved upward. A wave of dizziness struck him and instead of landing clumsily on the bed, he collapsed painfully to his knees. He couldn't help a small whine.
With a quizzical sort of mrow, deeper than that of a housecat but still surprisingly small-cat-ish, Tayne got up and moved to the edge of the bed, peering down with as much concern as a cat brain could really muster. That sounded like pain, to him, and Dhaval shouldn't be allowed to make pained noises. Tayne didn't know what he could do about it-- there was nothing to chase off or growl at-- but he could at least try and comfort. He mrowed again, and slid off the bed, ducking under Dhaval's arms and nuzzling into the side of his neck with his hot, dry nose.
Dhaval wasn't sure what happened now. He couldn't get back onto the chair by himself. It was hard enough with both hands working, and of course it had rolled a bit away. The bed was solid, but hoisting himself up all the way just wasn't going to happen. His legs weren't up to it. Wouldn't be at the best of times. His arms could only do so much. With his head painful and fuzzy and his balance off, he was stuck until Tayne turned back to help him. And didn't he have trouble with that?
He looked over his shoulder to try and plan a way back into his chair, then back again when Tayne jumped back down and nuzzled against him. He let go of the bed and leaned into Tayne, wrapping his arms tightly around the ruffed, thick neck and holding himself close. Dhaval always felt trapped in his body, but with the illness and new bruises and jolts to his spine, the frustration was almost unbearable.
There was unhappiness there, and Tayne didn't know how to fix it. He made a whining sound and sat down on the concrete floor, shifting so he could lick Dhaval's cheek a little-- his tongue was scratchy, so he only did it once-- before putting his head down on Dhaval's shoulder. He didn't have the brainpower in this form to actually think of a solution to get Dhaval off the floor, just to help once he understood what a plan in process was, but he could at least sit there and try to purr, the vibrating sound coming with each exhale.
"Mmm..." He was sick and in pain and stuck, but he had a tiger to hug. That meant something. He pressed his face into the coarse fur around Tayne's neck. "Guess we could just sleep here, huh?" He wasn't getting back on the bed anytime soon, was he? He'd wound up having to sleep on a floor twice before, once right when he'd first been in the chair (which had involved some screaming, but his parents had been out for the night) and once when one of his handrails had fallen out of the wall due to some dry rot. Dhaval could just barely reach the bed, and pulled the comforter down. Eventually Tayne would probably turn back and help him up.
But... here was cold. And the floor was hard. That wasn't going to work, at all. Unfortunately, he didn't have any way to think himself another option. Tayne shook himself a little, so that as the comfortable slid off the bed, it also slid off him. He didn't want buried in tons of heavy fabric, thanks. It felt uncomfortable and confining, and it ruffled his fur the wrong way. In fact, he had to twist his head around to press the fur back down again with his tongue, irritated by the way it felt.
Then he jumped up onto the bed again and whined down at Dhaval. They should be up here, not down there.
He watched Tayne's reaction to the blanket with mild interest, smiling slightly. A big house cat in a certain way. He reached out and petted the top of his head again, careful not to ruffle it too much if it would irritate Tayne.
Then he was alone again, just as he began to gather the blanket around himself. He blinked, feeling a bit abandoned. "...Or not." Dhaval wouldn't mind sleeping here, snuggled up to his tiger friend and pressed against thick fur. And he'd have expected a tiger to be alright, even if the floor was really cold. "Um..." He swallowed hard, working to ignore a lump in the back of his throat. A little too much constrained frustration was building up in his fevered mind.
Apparently he wasn't coming. Growling to himself, then coughing a little as the vocalization irritated his already-unhappy stomach, Tayne jumped down again, landing on the comforter as much as possible, to avoid the chill floor. For a regular tiger, maybe the floor would have been fine. For a feverish tiger? Definitely too cold. It was concrete, after all. And he was a spoiled tiger, too, after all, used to mattresses and blankets to wad up and curl up top of.
But he had enough of his own personality left to know it wouldn't be fair to sleep on the bed with Dhaval on the floor, not to mention affection for the man, so down he went again, butting his head into Dhaval's chest unhappily, and raising a forepaw up to wrap the leg around his shoulders, like a tiger-shaped hug.
"Thanks." He snuggled again. "You're a wonderful tiger." He leaned in and closed his eyes, resting against Tayne for a moment. It was cold. "I'm sorry. Is it... Are you not comfortable? I guess, um, I'm not either. I can't get on the bed, though..." He wondered how much Tayne understood like this. He still wasn't sure. Dhaval pressed a soft kiss to Tayne's muzzle. "But at least you're warm..."
Tayne responded by lifting his head and licking Dhaval's nose. It wasn't much of a kiss, back, and that irritated him, too. This wasn't working. He understood the words-- mostly, anyway; the words made sense, but the concepts didn't entirely compute in his head-- but figuring out what to do with them just wasn't happening.
He needed to not be like this.
He needed--
--oh. Okay, right. Human shape. He fell into it almost by accident, and all but fell over from where he'd been on all fours, tiger-form, landing against the bed with a wince before sliding down onto his stomach onto the floor.
"Oh, god, this is really fucking cold," he growled at the chill of it seeping into his over-heated skin, but he couldn't quite muster up the energy to move. "Ow."
"Oh!" At first he was just concerned, holding his arms out to help Tayne back up. "Y-yeah, um, it's nasty cold. I, um, can't get warm to save my life." He was trying not to pay attention to the fact that Tayne was naked. He would not stare. Not even glance. He tried to rally his strength to move over a bit and give Tayne an arm up, but he was feeling even weaker and slower than before, after his fall. "Here, um, lean on me a little? I guess I, well, owe you that much... Which isn't to say I wouldn't help just because. I mean..."
"I'm okay, I'm okay...." Tayne got his knees under him, which helped keep the rest of him from freezing, though his skin felt like it was trying to shrink away from the chill. "I'm th'reason you're on th'floor... you d-don't owe me nothin'." He grinned wanly, though he was flushed as much from embarrassment as the fever, and piled a bit of comforter onto his lap for modesty's sake. His voice was a little less precise than usual-- not that, that was saying much, but he was dropping more vowels and endings than usual. "Y'okay? You didn' hurt nothin' going down, didja?"
"Just landed on my knees." And he'd kept falling. There were bruises, but life would go on, and he wasn't going to waste time complaining. "At least my finger's okay. So, um, yeah, I'm fine. And no you aren't. ...The reason, I mean. I stood up too fast." Dhaval sounded even less confident or collected than usual, partly because he was sick and exhausted, partly because, even with the comforter, Tayne was something of a visual distraction. "Did you know that farm-boy twang is really cute?" He scooted over slightly and kissed Tayne's cheek. Yes, that had been disconnected, but Dhaval wasn't strong on logic right now.
Since neither was Tayne, he just blushed a bit more and laughed a bit, pulling Dhaval into a hug. "Well, uh, thanks? I always get tol' it made me sound like a hick. But hey, if you like the hick thing...." He shrugged and dropped his face to Dhaval's shoulder tiredly, closing his eyes. "We gotta get you back up on th'bed 'fore we freeze. 'Less we wanna bear th'cold and break th'fever, or somethin'." He didn't really like that idea. They weren't dangerously overheated, right?
Ah, even nicer than cuddling a tiger. He nuzzled Tayne's cheek softly and began to stroke his hair. He looked no better. Dhaval had been just the slightest bit wounded not to see him the night before, but known full well that was irrational. Did he like the hick thing, he wondered? He wouldn't have expected to. He was pretty sure it came down much more to liking Tayne. "I thought you sweated out fevers. But no, let's not do that..." Dhaval looked up at the bed. It seemed very far away. "...Only way I'm getting up is with a lot of help." Tayne didn't look up to hoisting him all the way, especially not when Dhaval could hardly assist.
"Now that I'm not a tiger, maybe I c'n even come up with a way t'manage it," Tayne assured him, settling Dhaval against him more comfortably while he tried to make himself focus on the problem. "If I get back in t-tiger shape, I'll be stronger an' can lever you up better.... Jus' gotta figure out how, 'fore we do, cuz I doubt I'll r'member how once I'm back in th'other shape. Brain don't work as well, then." Tayne snorted lightly. "Not like it works too well now." Maybe he could even get Dhaval up on his back. How hilarious would that be? Riding the tiger, literally.
Dhaval forgot to think about what was to be done at first as Tayne pulled him close. He felt oddly safe like this, protected from the world outside and from being all alone with himself. He almost kissed Tayne before he went back over what the other man had said and nodded. "Well, um, that could work, maybe... Hard to envision, though." He had to think arms would be a better bet, but if Tayne had a plan, that was more than Dhaval had managed. "Maybe if I just hold on and you get your front paws up? I'd drag you down a little, but you're much bigger than me when you're a tiger."
"S'what I was thinkin'... getcher arms 'round my neck, throw a leg over my back... then jus' let me do th'work, long's you can hold on." He'd probably bash his ribs and scramble with his hind legs, but it sounded like the best idea, to Tayne. "In a minute, I'll see if I can figure out how t'change back... keep doin' it on accident, more'n on purpose." He wasn't quite sure how he'd managed it this time, either. But getting back into tiger form had to be easier, since he at least realized he needed to change. Right now, though, he was really very comfortable with holding Dhaval. It was comfortable, even if his knees were cold.
"Hmm, maybe you should rest for a little bit more, first." He brushed a few strands of hair off Tayne's forehead. "You look so pale." More so than usual, even. Dhaval smiled and his fingers slid a little ways over Tayne's shoulder, a tired, idle exploration. "Oh, um, thanks for coming to see me. I was... about losing my mind, actually. Couldn't sleep even a little." Maybe he could sleep now, though. Tigers were good defense from monsters, he'd found, and he suspected that a handsome, cuddly Tayne beside him would be excellent against nightmares, as well as a wonderful source of heat to chase the chill out of his bones. He was going to be hopeless in winter.
"Mm." The idle petting, almost, was soothing, though the rest of him was starting to tense up a little with the start of shivering. "I was havin' rotten dreams. S'why I went tiger, I think. Don't dream, then. Threw up 'gain, too. Ugh. Wish this was all over... feel so useless, like this." He dropped his head against Dhaval's shoulder and actually shivered, now. "Sorry I never made it down las' night. Fell asleep upstairs...." It was probably a good thing, anyhow, since otherwise they'd have wound up with him throwing up over the side of Dhaval's bed. Not pleasant.
Dhaval was struck with a very new emotion and it took him a moment to realize he felt protective. He wrapped his arms more tightly around Tayne and squeezed. "You're cold. Let's get into bed so I can warm you up, alright?" He could sympathize with all Tayne's complaints. He'd had the terrible half-dreams, the queasy weakness, the inability to get warm, and he couldn't blame Tayne for falling asleep. He'd have been asleep before sunset if he could have been. "And... and then we'll worry about dreams."
"A'ight." He needed to get tiger again, then. Tayne nudged Dhaval up again, unwrapping his arms and leaning back a little. "Off y'get, man. I g-gotta change, an' then we'll get you up there." He gave Dhaval a quick kiss on the forehead, and then tried to scoot back and figure out a "tiger" sort of mindset. How he was gonna do this, he had no idea, but he'd figure it out. It was a part of him now, right? It couldn't be that hard, or what would be the point of him having it?
Dhaval leaned against the bed, watching. He'd take the chance to study the change. Would it be something he could see? Tayne shifting to a long, powerful beast, or would it just be over in a blink? He remembered Tayne saying he didn't quite know how to change, but he had no idea what advice to offer. Think tigery thoughts? What would those be, visions of sambar and sunbeams? Interesting questions, those. Maybe that could fit into his story about the elephants that ate dragons. ...Well, other way 'round.
After a moment, Tayne settled on trying to remember what it felt like to be a tiger. It was surprisingly easy to remember, right down to the slightly fuzzy, very black-and-white way that the tiger thought and felt things-- perhaps because he already felt slightly fuzzy. Getting from the memory to the real thing took doing, though, and it took Tayne several long minutes of thinking hard, eyes closed and expression one of the best concentration a sick man could muster, before he started to change.
It was something Dhaval could see: fluid, easy and not full of any kind of grinding or cracking as bones and muscles and skin shifted around, but not at all instantaneous. Especially not at the moment, when Tayne wasn't feeling his best. It took a good thirty seconds to finally happen, and by then Tayne felt like all he wanted to do was curl up on the floor and sleep, there. He sat, mouth hanging open in an undignified sort of pant, but unable to really help himself.
"Ooh..." Dhaval smiled, tired but almost wide-eyed. He could be rather unguarded now. The whole scene seemed dreamy and unreal, Tayne's handsome face to watch at first and then the surreal, wonderful transformation, and finally the huge tiger. He was in no state of mind to worry about seeming silly for gawking at what really seemed to be magic. It was a shame he seemed so drained once it was over. Dhaval scritched behind his ears, smiling. "Poor Tayne. It's a lot of work, huh?" Even having seen Tayne become the tiger, he found himself a little prone to talking to the animal like a pet. "You can just put your head in my lap for a minute and rest, unless you're too cold."
Making a slightly more happy rumble at the eat-scratching, Tayne didn't even bother to open his eyes. Dhaval could keep petting him. Yup. Petting was good. The words washed over him, and he took in the tone and affection more than the meaning, that time, just leaning his head into Dhaval's hand, probably not making it any easier to talk to him like a human rather than a cat.
... though wasn't he supposed to be doing something? There was that niggling in the back of his mind, and he flipped his tail with it, though didn't quite move yet, either.
Dhaval didn't like to complain, but he was really cold and his vision was starting to go a little swimmy again. He was hoping that had stopped happening. He really needed to curl up and be warm. And preferably not be burdened with keeping his head on straight. He couldn't help noticing Tayne had already forgotten the plan. Maybe he could be reminded? Dhaval wrapped his arms tightly around the tiger, trying to hold on around the broad, muscular chest and not the neck. Just for comfort's sake. "This is nice, but are you going to, um, help me up? Because if not, I'm going to have to just lie by your fuzzy tummy to keep warm..." Alright, he was a little too feverish now.
Oh, right, that would be what he was supposed to do. Get Dhaval up onto the bed where it was warm and they could sleep. Tayne grunted acknowledgment and dropped his forequarters down, half putting his head in Dhaval's lap and half offering his back for Dhaval to climb up on. He couldn't get Dhaval up there himself, but he could at least make it easier for him to get himself up there.
He didn't think he should really try and get onto Tayne's back. He wasn't a horse. He wasn't built for that. But maybe if he sort of half clambered on? He petted Tayne a few times before he sort of half wormed his way on, holding on with both arms mostly. He managed to brace his knee on Tayne's back but not much more than that. "Um, alright, I think if you help I can push myself up enough to get onto the bed... Ready?" Even if this didn't work, he was enjoying the attempt. Tayne was such a sweetheart, helping him out like this.
"Rrrowr," Tayne agreed, and gathered himself up, eying the bed and gauging the distance. He wasn't feeling nearly as strong as he should, but he thought he had the strength for that. It'd probably be the last damn thing he did all night and morning, but that didn't matter in this form. It was just "get it done". So he hunched himself up, with Dhaval attacked, and surged up onto the bed. As he'd expected, he wound up banging his middle on the edge of the bed, but there was a mattress there so it wasn't so bad, and his hind legs kind of clawed the blankets and sheets up a bit, and Dhaval's legs dangled a little until he scrambled up the rest of the way, but at least he got up there.
And then he flopped down, panting tiredly, to let Dhaval handle getting himself situated and getting the blanket back up. He was done.
Dhaval let go and practically lunged for the bed. He wasn't winding up on the floor again. He landed roughly and sucked his breath in hard. No damage to the bad finger, or at least nothing new, but he'd definitely knocked it against the mattress. He breathed hard for a moment before he dug his hands in, ignoring that new little irritation, and hualed himself into place, squirming back to he was against the wall. It would be hard to leave room for Tayne if he wanted to keep being a tiger. "Thank you," Dhaval whispered, tossing the blanket over himself messily and quickly applying more ear scritches. They seemed Tayne's preferred mode of reward in this form. "You look so tired. Sorry."
Once Dhaval was settled, Tayne wriggled over, too, staying in the tiger shape and trying to nudge himself under the comforter, too. It seemed like the thing to do. And Dhaval was under there, which was a bonus. He wound up getting his head and shoulders under, anyhow, but that was the best he could manage without scrunching the rest up, plus he'd gotten his head up against Dhaval's stomach. Then he muttered something feline-ish and shut his eyes, figuring that was good enough.
Dhaval smiled and tried to arrange the blanket to cover himself fully and Tayne at least a little, since all of a sudden he seemed to like it. Of course, he'd had to fall. They could have been comfortably snuggled in ten minutes ago otherwise. He pulled the blanket up to his shoulder. Finally, with the heat from Tayne and the heavy comforter insulating them both, he was a little more comfortable, a little less weak. His hand rested on Tayne's neck gently, occasionally scritching a little. "Goodnight, Tiger."
Sleeping in tiger form was a little less restless than sleeping in human form. The semi-dreams were unformed and more prone to make his hind legs twitch and his tail flick back and forth under the blankets, tangling occasionally with Dhaval's legs, rather than wake him up or make him toss around. Tigers didn't really toss well, anyhow. Too big. He half-woke once or twice, hearing a voice, but it was just Dhaval mumbling something or another, so he just fell right back into sleep again.
What finally woke him for good, though, was the feeling of needing to throw up again. The problem was, there wasn't much else left to throw up. He managed to drag himself to the edge of the bed, making sounds like a giant cat trying to hock up a hairball, but all that came out was spit and bile from his empty stomach. At least it landed on the floor rather than the bed.
Dhaval hadn't been able to really fall asleep. He'd been dozing more comofortably, but he was alternately hot and cold, his head hurt, and he was so dreadfully thirsty that just trying to swallow was enough to startle him out of a deep sleep. At least the mad, fragmentary bits of dreams had stopped. Having his fingers pressed into soft tiger fur made it much easier to be calm, it seemed. At the rather inescapably horrid sound, he was startled wide awake, eyelids sticky and as tired as he'd been lying down. Oh... poor Tayne.
Dhaval pushed himself up slowly to a sitting position. It was beginning to be light enough that it was clear his vision had gone, just for a moment, but a frightening one. The black patches disappeared and he hoped they wouldn't come back. He ran his hand gently down Tayne's back, speaking softly. "Oh, poor Tayne. There, it'll be done soon. I'm right here. Poor Tayne..." He didn't really need to make sense, he figured, just be soothing and soft and let his tone convey the softness.
Leaning half-off the bed, waiting for the tremors of his stomach and throat to subside, Tayne felt nothing but miserable. The hand on his back was soothing, but only a little, and definitely not enough to stave off the general misery. His whole body was trembling, and the fur on his tail and down his spine felt like it was standing on end.
When the heaving finally stopped, he just leaned back so he was more fully on the mattress, sank down onto his stomach, and dropped his chin onto his paws. His mouth tasted disgusting, and there was no water anywhere. He couldn't smell any. There was definitely water needed here... but it would take so much energy to go find some!
Dhaval did have half a bottle of his favorite red vitamin water on the desk and within reach. He didn't know if Tayne would be able to keep it down, but maybe he should offer the bottle? How would a tiger go about drinking from a bottle? And what happened when he went completely mad from being thirsty, which felt like it might just happen? Dhaval continued to stroke slowly, soothingly. He felt that odd protective stirring again. Tayne was even worse off than he was, and as beautiful as the tiger reminaed, he didn't seem quite so untouchably majestic right now. More like he needed to be fussed over and snuggled. "Poor Tayne..." Dhaval tried to lean down to nuzzle him, but he almost fell and abanoded the plan. "Um... maybe you should change back? Then you can drink this... Full of electrolytes. You need to, um, replace those. I forget why, but you do." He picked up the bottle and unscrewed the top.
Oh. Oh oh oh oh. Water! There was water! Tayne lifted his head to sniff hopefully at it, but it was in a plastic thing, confined and with a tiny little top on it, he had no idea how to get at it. He made an unhappy whine and moved his head to Dhaval's lap, looking up at him with some big puppy-eyes. He wasn't thinking clearly enough-- even for his tiger form-- to figure out how to change back.
Maybe he'd have to expend that energy to find water. In a moment, anyhow. He was keeping his head on Dhaval's lap a moment longer.
Could he get any of the bottle into Tayne's mouth without spilling the lot? This would also mean no fluids for him at all until he next managed to get into his chair, or Tayne was human again and up to fetching the last bottle from across the room. Dhaval enjoyed for a moment that there was a tiger's head in his lap. He scratched Tayne's muzzle gently and told him he was very handsome. Dhaval glanced at the drinking glasses Pepper had brought, but they weren't much wider than the bottle. At a loss, he cupped his hand the best he could and poured a bit of the sticky red stuff into his palm. "There."
Though he was as comfortable as his misery would let him be, soaking up the compliments and petting as some small consolation to feeling so sick, Tayne immediately lifted his head at the pouring liquid and shifted up to lap thirstily at it. It was awkward, and in the back of his mind he was thinking it was a terrible waste of something that the human part of his mind was sure was important to Dhaval.
It did taste nice, though, after the bile that'd been in his mouth a moment before, and he did lap it all up without stopping. Not that there was much there, but even that little bit helped.
Dhaval kept pouring, as careful as he could be. A few drops definitely escaped from between his fingers no matter how tightly he held them closed, but he wasn't that worried about little pink spots on his pajama pants. These things happened. "Is that any better? Seems inefficient, but, um, whatever you want. You'll have to be sure and lick my fingers clean. Not too much sugar in this, but... yeah." He wasn't really making sense, and his voice was all the more hoarse. Dhaval was pretty used to the gamut of bedside manners, and was trying to imitate some combination of his favorite doctors and nurses and maybe his mother. Mostly in tone. It didn't seem to matter a lot what he actually said to Tiger-Tayne.
It was a little better, but he still had that feeling that he was drinking something he shouldn't be drinking. Tayne lapped up the second handful, licking Dhaval's fingers clean as requested, then bumped his hand away and heaved himself up off his stomach, sidling aside on the mattress-- stumbling a little with the strange-feeling, cushioning ground under his paws. He needed off, and off away from the bile on the floor so he didn't get it on his toes, so he could get outside and find actual water.
Dhaval blinked in confusion a few times. That was rather sudden. He supposed Tayne didn't have a way to really communicate with him right now, so any decisions would seem pretty sudden, but moving from lounging and getting some much-needed fluid into his system to pushing Dhaval's hand away and leaving. "Tayne? I, um, I doubt you're suddenly feeling well enough to walk around... Come on back to bed and, um, finish this, okay? Or... just change back so you'll actually absorb this? That... that could work, too." He loved snuggling with a tiger, yes, but conversation and opposable thumbs were huge advantages both.
Since he still wasn't entirely sure how to change back, or even what changing back meant, Tayne just grumbled wordlessly at Dhaval and slid off the bed-- pausing once he hit the ground to get his bearings and spin his tail back and forth wildly for balance. He could do this. Four feet were more steady than two, and he needed to get out and find water. Real water, and more of it than Dhaval had. He paced somewhat unsteadily to the door and reared up to paw at the handle, half-leaning on the wall beside it for support.
"Tayne..." He couldn't help being worried, though logically Tayne knew perfectly well what he was capable of. Running a high fever meant getting some funny ideas into one's head. Dhaval had had a few himself, and was pretty good at watching for such irritating side effects. He got sick all the time, something he doubted was true of Tayne. He couldn't resist any longer taking a long swig of his water. Ambrosia and nectar. Didn't help with Tayne, but at least his mouth briefly stopped feeling like a desert. "You look like you're going to fall over. ...Come right back?" What plan did Tayne have, exactly? Did tigers make plans? "Don't you dare try and go outside. You... You wouldn't be able to defend yourself right now..." Was that a likely plan? No, but Dhaval found the idea horrifying. "And not the basement, either. No one will hear you if you fall." Did he have all the important bases covered?
It took several tries to get the door open, but since it wasn't locked, and the handle was curved rather than round, he managed it finally. Tugging it open inward took another few tries, because it required more coordination than Tayne really had right then. After growling warningly, though he didn't know whether it was at the door or his own clumsy paws, he finally got it pulled inward enough for him to slip out. It closed behind him, and he weaved his way down the hall towards the nearest scent of water: the public bathrooms through the gym.
It was definitely an interesting sensation to shift back, quite on accident and without expecting to, with his head hovering over the toilet bowl.
" ... ew," Tayne said, staring in disgust at the water he'd just been drinking. ... though at least his mouth felt less gross now. Apparently toilet water wasn't that disgusting. To a tiger. But now that he had hands, he could get something a little less psychologically disgusting-- like a sink! Or a shower. He stood under the shower-water for a long moment, alternately drinking the warm water down too sooth both his sore throat and his parched body, and trying to let it soak away the shivering.
It was fifteen minutes later that he stumbled, towel-wrapped and with dripping hair, back into Dhaval's room. Even better, probably for Dhaval, he came with two plastic cups from the gym, full of water.
Dhaval had fallen mostly asleep again, though he hadn't tugged the blanket back over himself very far and was shivering. His mind had ceased to make a lot of basic connections. He'd felt quite helpless watching Tayne struggle with the door and worrying over what a feverish, stubborn tiger might decide to do. No help for it. Dhaval couldn't even reach his chair. So he'd sunk back to the pillows after he downed the bottle, his mouth a bit red. His hands had been a little shaky and more had escaped than he liked.
His eyes fluttered open again and he smiled for a moment. At least Tayne was back in one piece, though he'd mostly forgotten his elaborate theories about why the man might have been imperiled. "You're soaked. Um, better get back under here..." Dhaval realized he wasn't covered at all and grabbed the blanket again. "Right. ...Oh, you brought water..." Man was a lifesaver.
"Sure you don't wanna drink th'water off my hair?" Tayne said with a tired sort of grin. "I left it wet jus' for you...." Actually, he'd left it wet because it hurt to try and dry it-- his head hurt, and that translated to his hair hurting. He was weaving a little again on his way in, but he at least made it to sit on the edge of the bed without spilling the water. He offered a glass to Dhaval, and set the other on the desk for when one of them got thirsty later. He, for the moment, was good.
Dhaval sat up slowly again and accepted the cup, downing it with the same thirst as the bottle he'd just emptied. This time he was sure not to spill a drop. "I must be feverish, because that doesn't sound bad." Dhaval moved close and caught a few drops sliding down the back of Tayne's neck on the tip of his tongue, realized what he was doing, and coughed, turning his head aside a little. That was just weird. If oddly nice. But he didn't move back at all, out of tiredness and so he could lean lightly against Tayne's broad back. "Well, under the covers. Before, um, you freeze."
The tongue startled Tayne, but not in a bad way, and he shut his eyes with a little groan, leaning his head back against Dhaval's when Dhaval leaned into him. "You need to do that when I don't feel like throwing up," he chided fervently. Part of him wanted to turn around and pin the other man to the mattress... but the rest of him thought it was way too much effort. And then he'd probably wind up dry-heaving in the middle of a make-out session, or something. So... bad idea, overall.
But he really, really wished it wasn't. Because that tongue felt like heaven.
"Yeah, I do." He wrapped his arms loosely around Tayne's neck and rested his chin on the other man's shoulder. Dhaval's mind was similarly occupied, and he had half expected and definitely wanted Tayne to turn and kiss him. A terrible idea, of course. He got dizzy sitting up, and those drunken kisses from Tayne had thrown his balance off in a much different and far pleasanter way. The two definitely shouldn't be combined. "I'll, uh, have to remember. You make cute noises." He should probably stop calling Tayne cute. Dhaval was pretty sure he didn't like it. But the word was just so... apt.
"Cute?" Tayne repeated, playfully incredulous and grinning a bit, though Dhaval couldn't see it except in his voice. He did finally turn half-way around, and wrapped an arm around Dhaval, pulling him closer and a bit more to his front. "I'll show you cute...." And, bad idea or not, he did kiss him, warm and hard on the mouth. He could keep from throwing up for a minute or two for a quick kiss, right? Or a semi-quick kiss? He felt like he hadn't actually kissed the man since they were drunk, and that was way too long ago.
There'd been small kisses on cheeks and forehead, but this was the first real one since that night. Hardly based on sound mind this time more than any other, with both of them sleepless and feverish, but closer. What would a kiss be like when they were both themselves again? He'd wonder later. Dhaval nearly tumbled over again, forced to tighten his hold on Tayne for a moment to keep his balance. Dhaval surrendered passively at the very first, letting out a soft, high little groan, but then returned the kiss with equal enthusiasm. Spending time cuddling and comforting was nice, of course, but nothing like this.
The noise Dhaval made wasn't cute-- it was electrifying. And wonderful. And probably would've been arousing, had Tayne's body had the energy to respond properly. As it was, he just turned a little more into him and leaned into his mouth with all the energy he could muster, making the kiss deep and long. Then he pulled back with a brief, softer kiss to his lips and said, with the air of someone who thought he was making a stupid joke, "So. You have any pants I can borrow, or am I c-climbin' in naked?"
He was exhausted, too hot or too cold by turns, afflicted with a stomach that felt like hollow lead at the moment, sweaty and headachey, and he still wanted to keep kissing. Dhaval acquiesced to the cessation only out of common sense. "Um, I didn't bring too much. Two pairs of jeans. Not that comfortable." Tayne would probably fit in his clothes, he guessed. Might be a little tight. "So, um, unless you want to sleep in denim? Naked..." He hadn't been aware enough to think about that before Tayne had kissed him so splendidly, but he couldn't avoid it now. Dhaval had to work to keep his eyes from wandering. A towel was only a minor obstacle.
"Mm." Tayne dropped another brief kiss on his lips. "Then I'm g'nna lock th'door this time...." That would be even more of a problem, if Pepper came barging in again. ... which might happen any minute, since from the shadows on the window, it was well past sunrise. He still felt like he could sleep another several hours, though. "Once I conv-- convince myself to move." This time he dipped his head to nuzzle into the side of Dhaval's neck, shutting his eyes and just inhaling. If only there wasn't so much sick-smell in the scent, it would've been really lovely.
Dhaval shivered a little. He hadn't realized his neck was so... ticklish, was that the word? No wonder Tayne had reacted so strongly to that little lick. Which was another train of thought that wasn't sustainable this ill. "Mm-hm... thanks for weathering the plague with me." He'd been a hundred times more wretched before Tayne had shown up. His fingers went wandering lioghtly over Tayne's back as Dhaval held him, enjoying this protective instinct he apparently had. "So yeah. Um, the door. Go lock it and then get under the covers and keep me warm. Or... I'll bite you." Seemed like a good warning for a tiger.
"That sounds kinda nice," Tayne said with a growling little laugh. "You c'n bite me all you wanna. But... yeah. Door." He lifted his head again and made himself let go and push himself to his feet. The door needed locked, so he could spend a couple more hours asleep. Then he could... try to find Zane, maybe. And see what the hell he could do about this. He hitched the towel up-- since it was trying to fall down-- and shuffled to the door to flip the lock shut.
Dhaval considered that and decided he agreed. A little gentle nibbling sounded like fun. Another of those things to file away for wellness. He lay down again, close to the wall if not crunched up to it this time. If Tayne was more comfortable being a tiger, that was fine with Dhaval, and maybe even preferred for purposes of comfiness. For purposes of cuddling, he was pretty sure he still preferred the two-legged Tayne. It was nice to be hugged back. "Fine. Get into bed or I won't bite you." There, that was certainly firm.
Chuckling, Tayne came wandering back and sat down. He eyed the spitty mess on the floor next to Dhaval's chair with disgust-- it smelled terrible, now that he noticed it again-- and unwrapped the towel to cover it up, and probably soak it up, too. Maybe he'd wait until he was sure he wouldn't do that again before finding some rugs for the floor....
Then, feeling a little bit self-conscious about being naked now, he turned and slid under the covers.
Dhaval was trying not to stare again. He couldn't help a quick glance, quite despite himself. How was he supposed to help it? Tayne was just about as much a feast for the eyes like this as in his tiger form, funny a thought as that was. Not to mention Dhaval was feverish enough to impede rational thought, and he registered a rather shyly admiring look before he thought to just close his eyes. As Tayne climbed in beside him, he decided to try and ignore the lack of a second layer of cloth between then and snuggled in again, wrapping his arms around Tayne and pressing his face into the other man's shoulder. Warm. And very comforting.
It was probably a good thing that Tayne was so sick, too, or this might've been a problem. Cuddling naked probably would've quickly led to other things that Dhaval had already said he wasn't ready for. Tayne blushed-- more-- at the look Dhaval gave him, embarrassed despite feeling gratified that he was attractive, and tucked his head under Dhaval's chin again, wet hair and all. He sighed and shut his eyes, trying to relax. "Here's hopin' we actually sleep, huh?" he said tiredly.
As it happened, Dhaval was beginning to feel pretty ready. He knew it was silly, but he felt like he knew Tayne well at this point. Slogging their way through this illness together had made him feel very close to the man, after only a little time. But that was all moot while he felt like sitting up would be a major operation. "Yeah, we can hope." Tayne was such a kitten when he was sleepy. Dhaval was beginning to be very fond of his habit of curling up that way. "If you have bad dreams, um, just wake me up, since I'll probably be having them, too."
It would be weird if he was anything but kittenish: after all, the tiger did blend now and then into his human form, and when he was tired and sick was prime blending time. Tayne made a little, "Mm," of agreement, murmuring, "Th'tossin' around'll p-prolly wake you up, anyway...." He just hoped it didn't happen, at all. He needed sleep, almost as much as he needed food, and at least sleep he couldn't throw up again.
Yes, he definitely did like what Tayne called "the hick thing," Dhaval decided. It was... charming. "Then, um, I forgive you in advance." Dhaval didn't have much hope that he'd get any real sleep, but at least he could calm down and rest. He'd been prone to insomnia for a few years, and had discovered that even just lying still with your eyes closed was a pretty good way to rejuvenate. As long as you weren't hallucinating monsters out of the corners of closed eyes.