❝No, no, I've been frail since birth.❞

[clinical]

[Jade is quietly working at a desk on the Plane. This is a little unusual for Jade; he much prefers to work at home, in his office. It is quieter there, and more people are frightened enough of him to back off when he smiles.

And yet he is here on the Plane in the science section of the library, with his desk and his work, a bottle of something homemade, and a slight cough.]

[Common colds: no world is free from them. And now this world is taking revenge on Jade for pretending to be sick all the time.]

Comments

[quecaneatit.livejournal.com]

[if Peony notices the cough, he doesn't seem to show it. Instead he has a book tucked under one arm as he sits on the corner of Jade's desk]

I was wondering where the hell you got off to. What are you doing that here for?

[clinical]

[oh my Yulia why]

[When it's your turn, Jade is showing no mercy, you imperial son of a consort]

[Jade clears away his papers so they're safe from Peony.]

I was hoping to help you do your duties, Your Majesty. It's lately concerned me that I'm just too distracting for you. [There is the vague sound of clearing his throat as he finishes the second sentence, the way people do when they're trying to bury a cough.]

[quecaneatit.livejournal.com]

What a caring guy, so concerned for [Peony pauses as Jade clears his throat. He looks Jade over for a minute, quietly assessing him, before his smile grows] Where was I? Oh yeah, a caring guy who's so concerned for the welfare of his emperor and nation. I know a guy like that wouldn't try working if he wasn't feeling well. Just think of all the clumsy mistakes he could make - on top of the ones he naturally makes. Plus, he'd end up infecting the entire palace on top of it all.

[clinical]

[He briefly considers throwing a book at Peony, but that would be Losing.] If mistakes are made, I have no doubts they're inspired by more animate distractions.

[And then. A shark smile.] So shouldn't you leave me alone for the sake of our nation? It would be terrible if you got sick.

[quecaneatit.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it would. It's a good thing you're not stupid enough to try working while you're sick. I'd be worried otherwise.

[clinical]

[He is sick and that means he cuts to the chase with nasty games.] Leave me alone or I'll give you my cold and take you seriously when you call for an assassination.

[quecaneatit.livejournal.com]

Stop working when you're sick. It's annoying and stupid. Even if it's your natural impulse to do things like that, it's a pain in the ass for everyone else involved.

[go home and get in bed B|]

[guyexplains.livejournal.com]

[Guy has a stack of papers and folders under one arm and a couple books in the other, so when he knocks on the door he has to do it with his elbow. He doesn't wait for an answer before using said elbow to operate the handle and nudge the door open with his foot.]

[He sets his burdens down before looking over at Jade with his usual smile of greeting.]

Hey. [This is unusual, Jade working here.] Don't you ever take a break?

[clinical]

[The answer is 'no.' Now, how does he outwit the Team Mom?] I could ask you the same. [He indicates the papers.] Researching the history of rappig care?

[guyexplains.livejournal.com]

[You don't outwit the Team Mom, you submit to the mother henning. Even if you're Jade.]

Ha, Just a few notes on this and that. [Light reading. There's so much stuff to learn okay, for all that sucks about the Plane he is a kid in the candy store with the information here.]

[clinical]

If you find anything interesting, make a report and send it my way. [And then Jade looks back down on his papers. Dismissed, Gailardia Galan Gardios.]

[explains]

[What is he, your secretary?]

.... [Sigh. Shrug.] Yeah, alright.

[But he's not going anywhere at the moment, he wants to finish sorting through his papers for what he was working on.]

[clinical]

[More like his servant.]

[Goddammit. Jade tries to swallow the cough that comes, but he does not completely succeed.]

You're also free to bring me a cup of tea.

[lamb_of_gold]

[Jade may look up to find an unassuming little teapot (and cup) on his desk. It is filled with whatever his favourite sort of tea is. It also never seems to run empty.

If Jade should choose to look, it's owner is around the corner, reading. Being able to teleport is awesome.]

[clinical]

[When did that appear there? He speaks to the empty air.] How kind. I'd be interested in the technology that lets it refill.

[lamb_of_gold]

[And lo, a pair of green eyes peek over the edge of the bookshelf]

I'm a bit more interested in how it knows what one's favourite sort of tea is.

[clinical]

A low-level telepathic field, perhaps. [This is why Jade shouldn't be allowed near the science of other worlds. He thinks it's fun.]

[lamb_of_gold]

It's an investigation for another day. You ought to be resting.

[clinical]

[He shrugs it off. The one time Jade doesn't play up how much a 'fragile constitution' he has.] The cold is minor.

[ofunity.livejournal.com]

[Nearby is Lloyd, having picked out a comic book to read. He even leans against the wall of shelves, a smile on his face as he reads a particularly exciting fight between the hero and the villain. Honestly, this is the only reason Lloyd would ever be in a library - he had discovered comic books here, and now he's scouring through them instead of getting on with his real life.

The cough breaks him out of it, though, and he glances up. Normally he wouldn't think anything of it, but...

He still edges around the wall to peek beyond the edge and see who that belonged to. Huh... That guy looked familiar. Lloyd hasn't been very social in the Plane, but he knows he met this guy.

...

Jane, or something?

Nah. He frowns for a second in thought, then he blinks as it comes to him.]

Jade?

[clinical]

[Jade has a fairly good memory, and he immediately recalls Lloyd: the one who didn't do his homework.] Do you need something? [It wasn't exactly friendly as a question, nor was it terse. It was very neutral, possibly because Jade was trying to see to it that it wasn't punctuated with a cough.]

[ofunity.livejournal.com]

[... And he still hasn't done his homework. Not really. He just made Genis do it.

The question makes Lloyd frown a little and glance away. What is it with people who think he needs something when he calls out to them?]

No... [He comes out from behind the wall, comic book under his arm as he steps closer.] I just saw you there and thought I'd say hey, that's all.

[clinical]

[Jade smiles lightly. Lloyd doesn't need help--why not turn it around?] Oh, good. Well, Lloyd, I'm afraid I haven't been feeling too well lately. It's hard to concentrate when you get to my age. Since you're here, why don't you help me a little with my work?

[ofunity.livejournal.com]

... You don't look that old to me. Are you sick or something?

[He does, at least, move closer to see what Jade needs help with. Why not? If the man really is sick, then he should probably lend a hand.]

[clinical]

I'm afraid so. A chronic hereditary illness. [No, it's not, and he is therefore exposing Lloyd to the risk of catching it. But on the list of terrible things Jade has done, exposing others to disease is painfully low.

Anyway, does Lloyd even know what 'chronic' and hereditary' means? Jade is sceptical.] I've been working on developing a theory for fonon usage that takes advantage of the conversation laws to minimise energy loss in a self-feeding cycle. Of course, some energy will always be lost to entropy, but our primary interest is in recapturing whatever energy we can. Unfortunately, the illness is making it difficult to be certain of the numbers I'm producing. I was hoping you could finish the calculation.

[He holds up a sheet of very complex looking equations. He appears to have forgotten that this is the kid that only did one of his homework questions? Yeah, 'forgotten.' That's it.] It's primarily mechanical.