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Abolish had only been in the town of Oakhurst for a few weeks before it started. There were many strange occurrences that happened in this town, but this… this was different.
The first petals came in the night, when Abolish was curled on his bed, trying to get some sleep. He had been experiencing a sore throat and a cough for days beforehand, but he had assumed he had gotten a cold or something. It was autumn, and with all the tombs he had been splashing into, it was no wonder he hadn’t gotten sick before this.
But this was different. A cough he had once believed to be built of mucus turned out to be a petal. A petal that tore through his throat as he hacked, trying to dislodge the obstruction. Once the first petal fell from his lips, several more followed, joined by drops of blood that stained his white sheets.
This… was not good. Abolish wasn’t too familiar with things like this, but he had heard of this disease before. hanahaki disease, one of the few ailments that vampirism was incapable of curing.
A disease that was often deadly even with treatment, and Abolish doubted their doctor knew much about it.
The thought of Legundo brought fresh waves of discomfort that radiated through his throat.
He smiled to himself, gripping the uneven wood panels of the wall for support as he stood. He could handle this. Abolish could handle this. He just had to get up and act like nothing was wrong.
He could do that, couldn’t he?
Abolish had been avoiding people. He had been avoiding everyone, really, but mostly he had been avoiding the doc. He knew it was getting suspicious, but he had to remain functional for as long as possible, and getting anywhere near Lagundo only hastened the progression of the petals in his lungs.
Abolish wasn’t stupid, nor was he so out of touch with his own emotions not to have realised that the petals were for the doctor. He was, however, unsure of how such feelings had developed in the first place. Abolish didn’t often feel attraction towards people; it simply wasn’t something he had allowed himself, but somehow, his affections for Legundo had grown strong enough that, well, Abolish looked at the petals in his hands; he had those.
Abolish crumpled the purple petals in his hands, no matter. He still had things to do. Collecting more silver, as an example. He had to fortify the town. He had to protect himself and the town, petals leaving his lips or not.
He wasn’t sure if Avid’s crazed ramblings were true, but he wasn't reckless.
He wiped the sweat from his brow. He could still push through it. Even if it was notably getting worse, even as he tried not to mark off the series of symptoms he started experiencing that marked the progression of it. He just needed to survive long enough to build graves for his parents, find the things he came here for, and find his way out of Oakhurst.
He didn’t have time for lavender of all things to stop him.
Abolish ached. Everything in his body ached as he put on all of his armor and grabbed all his supplies. Vampires were confirmed now, and he had to be prepared. Oh, but it hurt. His throat burned, and he felt perpetually out of breath. The peels had only started a few days ago, and yet it already seemed to be affecting his ability to act normally.
He loathed it, but he would just have to deal with it. Just like he dealt with everything else he hated.
He still had things he needed to do. Priorities. Get more silver. Fortify the town. Fortify the beacon. Fortify himself. He had no time for his emotional issues. He was better than that.
Another petal. He should probably find something to do with them at this point. He knew they wouldn't be going away anytime soon.
“Abolish!” Legundo called. Abolish felt another petal rise.
“Oh… hey Doc, what's up?” Abolish’s throat burned.
“I wanted to check in on you,” Legundo said, a soft smile on his face. Abolish took a very deep, slow breath to stop himself from hurling. “Things have been… hectic recently, and I know how easy it can become to neglect your own health in situations like this.”
Abolish gave the doc a tight-lipped smile. “I’m doing fine,” he managed. The itch was building the longer he stood here talking to Legundo.
He gave Abolish a look that almost had him running away to cough out the petals that had suddenly invaded his throat. “Are you sure? You look tired,” Legundo asked with far more concern than Abolish deserved.
“Yup,” Abolish strained, “I’m going to go mining again, see you, Doc.” Then Abolish fled. As soon as he was out of sight and earshot of everyone, he allowed himself to finally release the petals that had been building at the back of his throat throughout the conversation. This was going to quickly become a problem if Abolish wasn’t careful. He still had a mission to succeed after all.
Abolish knew coughing up full stems of flowers wasn’t a good sign. He knew, if admittedly a bit vaguely, how hanahaki disease worked. It started as an itch in the back of one’s throat, easily dismissible, and then it transitioned to coughing up small amounts of petals. Followed by an increase in mucus production and a lack of energy. All blood at this point would simply be from the tearing of the esophagus, the petals could do while leaving. Those were the beginning symptoms. Abolish found he was quickly diving into the more serious symptoms of the disease. Full flowers, followed by blood, followed by insomnia, followed by an unrelenting fever, and the shortness of breath that came with the lungs being consumed by the disease.
Abolish knew it wasn’t a good sign that he was starting to cough up full stems, but it meant that he could now find a use for them. He gently picked up the flowers. It was in remarkable condition for having been in his body a few moments ago. It looked like he had just picked it. Yeah, he could use this. He supposed he might be able to turn it into a more useful oil before he gave it to Legundo. Abolish hunched over as another flower came from his lips. That would be much more useful to him.
He searched his chests, pointedly ignoring the shake in his hands or the semi-frequent coughing fits. He didn’t have a whole lot of olive oil, but it would work for what he was trying to do. He didn’t have anything fancy, so he couldn’t make good-quality lavender oil, but he could make something half decent.
He filled a bowl with water, dropping all the lavender he had in, even petals from days ago that still seemed just as fresh as the day he threw them up.
He carefully washed them of all the dirt, blood, or spit that may have been on the buds. He then pulled out an empty jar that he couldn’t remember the original contents of. This too got washed and dried before Abolish carefully started to pour his olive oil into it.
Next went the cleaned buds; he would let them soak in there while he slept. Abolish wasn’t sure of how it would turn out; he wasn’t that experienced in oil-infusing, but he was mostly sure he had done it right, and in any case, Legundo was sure to appreciate it, even if it ended up to only be good for its pleasant scent. Luxuries were hard to come by in Oakhurst, so even something as simple as that might have been nice.
The thoughts of Legundo sent Abolish vomiting more petals, his vision blurring as he dislodged them from his airway.
He gently washed the newest flowers to leave his lungs and set them out to dry by the furnace. He would give Legundo dried buds, too, just in case that was more useful to the doctor than the infused oil.
Abolish’s hands shook. He had other things he needed to get done, but for now, he allowed himself to trudge over to his bed and pass out before he was even properly under the sheets.
Abolish pulled his jacket closer; he was just so cold these days, and he didn’t know why. He had things to do, though. He had a jar full of lavender-infused oil and a decent amount of dried buds he wanted to get to the doc as soon as possible.
He knocked sharply on the doc’s door. The door opened quickly to reveal a tired-looking Legundo.
“Abolish, it’s good to see you!”
Abolish nodded, “You too. “ Abolish internally winced at how rough his voice sounded.
Legundo’s face twisted in concern, “Abolish, you don’t sound good.”
Abolish shook his head, “I’m fine, Doc, I just didn’t sleep well last night.”
Legundo opened his mouth as if to argue, but then just sighed and motioned for Abolish to come in.
Abolish followed him inside silently.
“So what brings you here, Abolish?” the doc asked. He motioned for Abolish to sit down on the cot set up in the corner.
Abolish sat down before pulling out the induced oil and dried lavender. “I found some lavender in the forest–”
“Lavender? Here? It’s far too cold and wet for it to grow…” Legundo’s face furrowed in a way that made Abolish lose his breath. Whether it was from the disease or just simply his own feelings, he didn’t know, just trying to take a slow, deliberate breath in any way.
“Oakhurst has many peculiarities to it,” he managed, “I infused some olive oil with it, and I dried some for you.”
Legundo looked confused, “For me?”
Abolish gave him a tight, small smile, “Yeah, I know it has,” Abolish had to push down a cough, "Medicinal properties.”
Legundo smiled at him as he took the lavender, “It does this will be useful, “ Legundo’s gaze met his own, and suddenly Abolish couldn’t breathe.
Abolish nodded before quickly standing and turning away to escape back out the front door.
“Where are you going?” Legundo asked, his fingers briefly brushing one of Abolish’s shoulder blades before he was out of reach.
“Mining,” Abolish struggled out before leaving and nearly sprinting back to his own house.
The moment the door was closed, Abolish fell to the floor, hacking up flower after flower. It was getting worse. He couldn’t let anyone know. He needed them to believe in his competence, and they couldn’t help him anyway. Lagundo couldn’t help him.
Abolish curled up on his floor. He hated this. He couldn’t move how he wanted to, he couldn’t breathe how he wanted to, he couldn’t even think how he wanted to because every time he thought too much about a certain person, his lungs filled with lavender!
He used to love lavender. Now, if he never saw it ever again, it would be too soon.
He hated how his eyes filled with tears he refused to let fall. He hated how he couldn’t tell anyone.
He just hated it. He felt sick and weak, and watery in a way he didn’t have any of the right tools to understand or deal with.
Abolish planned to get in and get out, kill all the vampires’ cattle, and then leave. That was the plan, at least. In reality, he got about as far as getting into the castle’s courtyard and swinging his ax once before the disease protested, badly. He had felt the itch all day, forcing him to find excuses to leave so he could cough up the petals that kept growing. The itch had now turned into a fit of rattling shakes as he tried to expel the long stems full of lavender buds.
Of course, it had to happen now, at the worst time imaginable, in enemy territory, on a mission that required stealth. Abolish tried to hold them back. He really did, but holding them back just made it worse, and he couldn’t breathe. So he let go of the vice grip of self-control he had held in the town, because while this may get him found out and killed, it would be a much less painful death than suffocation.
He felt his knees buckle beneath himself as he let out one shuddering cough after another shuddering cough. His hand was wet. That wasn’t good. He was coughing up blood along with the infernal pellets. Abolish curled into himself as he tried to hack out a pathway for air to travel to his lungs.
Abolish flinched as he felt an ice-cold hand touch his back, but he couldn’t think about it very much as another whole stem of lavender buds came up. It hurt. It tore through his throat, and his head pounded from the lack of oxygen.
Someone was talking over him, higher-pitched, frantic, Shelby? Why would Shelby– Another whole stem came up, along with what should probably be a concerning amount of blood. He could take a breath again.
His throat burned as the frigid air rubbed like sandpaper on his destroyed esophagus, but it was life. He just let himself breathe. He savored that fact.
“Abolish?” he heard Shelby’s trembling voice.
Why was she here? His mind was just so foggy as he tried to look at her. She was all blurry. Why was everything blurry? Oh, he was supposed to answer, wasn’t he? But his throat hurt at even the thought of speaking. The most he managed was a small hum that made his abused throat tingle unpleasantly.
“Abolish? What was that? Are you okay?” Hmm, she sounded worried? She was always nice. Out of all the castle vampires, he expected her to be nicest to him. “Abolish? Oh, you’re crying,”
Was he? Why would he be crying? He hadn’t cried for years. Cold fingers swiped across his face, and suddenly things were less blurry. He closed his eyes. Things were less blurry, but they were still too blurry for comfort.
He felt his chest tighten again. He hated this. He hated these stupid flowers. He would have to clean as many as he could to give to Legundo. Abolish let out a choked gasp as he felt another flower bloom in his chest.
He heard Shelby gasp and felt her grab his hair as he heaved another flower out. That was nice of her. “Sorry, “ he managed to say between flowers.
Abolish felt the hand on his shoulder clench, “There’s nothing to be sorry for, Abolish,” Shelby said. Abolish liked Shelby; she was nice unless you hurt those she cared about. He could respect that.
“What’s happening here?”
Abolish’s whole body tensed. That was Scott. Scott was dangerous. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t breathe. Another flower tore itself out of his throat, this time triggering his gag reflex, and along with the petals and blood, his last meal came up. Hot tears dripped from his eyes as his stomach clenched and his body spasmed. Vomit. Bile. Blood. Lavender. His throat burned. His head pounded. And the rest of his body shook uncontrollably. He hated this. He hated it. He hated it. Everything. He just wanted it to stop. Why couldn’t it just stop?
His vision darkened as more petals and blood left his throat. Any recovery that had happened before was gone now as his brain was once again starved for oxygen, as he shuddered under the force of his own torturous love.
Why did his traitorous heart do this to him? Abolish didn’t want to die.
He didn't want to die.
Cold hands gripped his body before it could hit the ground.