ofmisfortune | ♝ i . c. i n b o x

[He gives the orders, she follows them. Once she's placed the items, she hesitates for a moment.]

What am I to do about—

[Echo awkwardly trails off. Figuring out how he wanted her to wash his back was one thing, but with those unusual growths on it, she really didn't know what he expected.

She wasn't supposed to try to get them off, was she? She'd probably need her swords for that...]

[ There’s a lingering moment of silence, as Vincent weighs his options. Pressing the cool cloth to the other side of his head, his sigh drawls into a hiss. ]

Tempting as it is to remove them, I don’t entirely know what corruption has in store for me… [ For all he knows, he might require his wings to function, at some point. For now, they’ll need to stay, even if removing them could lessen his pain in the long term. ] Just… clean them. We will wrap it.

Yes.

[She remembers seeing wings on him when she first encountered him in Kelesis, though she was compromised at the time.

Echo pulls some antiseptic wipes out of the first aid kit. Then she kneels behind him on his bed and starts running the cloth down his back. It's awkward when she gets to the growths, but given that they're the source of a lot of the fluids, she takes her time making sure it's all clean. If the solution on the wipes is bothering him, she isn't letting that affect how quickly or efficiently she does this.

So long as nothing else comes up, once that's done she shoves the wipes back into the packet they came from, wrinkling her nose. This was probably far from the grossest thing she'd had to handle around him, but it was still icky. She'll fish the bandages from the kit next unless she hears otherwise.]

[ The muscle around the new growth is tender enough to labor his breathing, but it doesn’t compare to the sensation of alcohol on the open and new flesh. Hunching over, he digs a hand into his hair, incapable of keeping himself from hissing in pain.

If he’s to be honest with himself, he’s relieved that Echo doesn’t hesitate, fuss, or spare him any pity. It’s been quite enough, playing nice and pretending that everything is getting better - he’s been far out of his comfort zone, and he’s exhausted by it.

With a shaky hand, he reaches out to grab the box of gauze pads, holding it up for his valet to take. ]

Pad— them with these, first.

[ Staring down at the floor between his knees, he muses that this is almost cathartic, in a way. ]

Yes.

[She swiftly takes the pads and positions them on top of the bones as best as she can. So long as he manages to stay still, she can probably wrap the bandages around him fairly easily at this point.

That part is, unsurprisingly, pretty weird. Echo keeps draping her arms around him from behind to complete each loop. Well, this sure is an interesting turn of events, isn't it?

She secures the pads first, but it's still a bit tricky to complete it without brushing him with her clothes or nearly losing the roll of wrappings in her sleeve. She quietly finishes and secures the who bandage.

...She really hopes he can still move his back. Echo didn't try to squeeze tightly or anything, but she didn't exactly check, either.]

[ The entire process is uncomfortable. Setting the pads atop the growths wasn’t much worse than the fabric of his shirt rubbing against them - but the added pressure of the wrappings securing them in place is different. It earns a groan from him, knuckles white as they press against his mouth.

Each press of her body has Vincent drawing a deep and unsteady breath, but he won’t stop her. It isn’t until Echo has sat back that he shifts. With his movement comes a labored pant, hands ensuring that the bandages are secure as he moves to sit up.

Despite his pained face, he reaches back to take her hand and give an appreciative squeeze. ]

Good.

[ It is with some effort that he leans over to grab his pillow, so that he may shift his body into it, forehead buried against the fabric to rest. ]

Just a moment.

Edited 2025-09-18 13:01 (UTC)

[What...just happened? Echo dislikes him randomly touching her, and she certainly scowls as he does it. But something about that was different. Like he wasn't touching her for the sake of touching her. All is most definitely not right.]

Yes.

[Echo folds her legs under herself and sits on them on the mattress. She stares at Vincent if only because there's not much else to look at. She's wondering what exactly is going on with him, and trying to remember what exactly she'd seen in Kelesis. Those feelings she had there were really overwhelming, though. She might not remember it quite accurately.]

[ Echo is correct, all is certainly not right.

Weakened by the shifts in his corruption, Vincent can feel his body dying more now than ever. Pain leaves him burning from the inside out, the sort of agony that feels as though it will ever end.

It would crush Gilbert to see him like this, and he couldn’t trust anyone else. In this moment, it feels like Echo is all that he has. ]

I need something to eat. Savory biscuits, or bread… water. Ice.

[Echo quickly gets off of the bed and stands in Vincent's line of vision. It's like she's a soldier at attention, only without any feeling at all.]

Is there anything in here, or do I need to go to the dining hall?

[ Weakly, he shakes his head against the pillow. ]

You’ll need to go to the dining hall.

[ Peering up at her from beneath his heavy blond lashes, he finds himself wondering if she’s been experiencing ill effects at all. She seems completely unaffected... Though, she’s always been stronger than him.

Sighing, his lids fall. ]

Go ahead.

[She's not strong enough to lug him around easily when he falls asleep in the middle of the floor...]

Yes.

[And off she goes. As much as she wouldn't mind taking her own sweet time to delay getting back, he truly isn't doing well. It's certainly not something she'd wish on him. ...usually...

Echo manages to find both a few biscuits and a respectable chunk of the bread, then gets some ice water. She gets back in the amount of time that would probably be expected. Once she stands by his bed, she holds the tray toward him.]

[ In Echo’s absence, he has managed to lay himself down on his stomach. Upon hearing her enter, he blearily raises his head.

Vincent reaches to take one of the crackers, taking a nibble off of it, to start. He eyes the ice water, noting that he hadn’t been specific enough about keeping the two separated- but he doesn’t have the energy to complain about it. He simply takes the glass, to sip - and then, hold against his temple. ]

You seem - [ Ugh, he can’t tell if his body appreciates the nourishment or plans to reject it. ] - unaffected by all of this. Are you not uncomfortable.

[She's just going to let him do his thing until he gives her another order.]

I've experienced discomfort, though at present it has not been to this degree.

[Maybe if she still let him molest her on a daily basis he could have noticed where she was developing an exoskeleton. Then there were the intense emotions she could pick up around her sometimes which she found quite painful.]

There have also been changes to my body, but they are not currently visible.

[ Vincent leaves the glass against his head as he closes his eyes. Listening to her speak. At first, he only hums in acknowledgment, before moving it to hold against the horn nib at the other side. ]

What are they?

My skin is hardening gradually. I am also..."feeling" more. I recall you saw me in Kelesis when it was at its worst.

[Though whether the physical attributes are the same remains to be seen ~~almost like someone is very indecisive...~~.]

It is not physical, but still quite painful...

[She pauses, having been watching him move the water around his forehead.]

Did you need something for your head?

[ Vincent up at her once more, intrigued. ]

Yes… I suppose that it is.

[ He might envy her, for being capable of avoiding those emotions for so long, despite all that she’d experienced.

His perfect little doll has become a real girl, after all. ]

Ah… [ And she continues to surprise him. ] If you could grab that medicine you’d set aside, I’ll take double what it recommends.

["Avoiding" them. Keep telling yourself that, Vincent. Tools weren't supposed to be allowed to feel anything.]

Yes.

[She picks up the bottle and reads the label. Hopefully it's not one of those super long ones because Echo's going to read the entire thing. Once she's at the end, she opens the bottle and shakes four pills onto the tray.]

This is double.

[ Though he could probably use the medicine sooner rather than later, he finds himself amused enough by this behavior that he allows it. Just to see if she would, in fact, read the entire thing. He keeps himself busy by finishing his cracker, and a corner of his lips is just barely quirked up into a smirk as he beholds the pills on the tray. ]

… Perhaps triple.

[She shakes out two more. She's your dealer now, Vincent.]

[ Oh, sweet Echo, you’re his fix.

Exhaling in something of approval, Vincent scoops up the pills to take, washing them down with some water. He vaguely winces as he reaches to set the glass on the nightstand. ]

Tell me - [ Resting his cheek atop the pillow, his mismatched eyes drift tiredly. ] - what are you learning from these new emotions? Are they all painful to you?

[Honestly, Echo thinks the personality difference makes the fact that he's not doing well far more obvious than his gaunt appearance or the bones sticking out of his back. She has to take a moment to think over the fact that he asked such a strange question before thinking over her answer.]

No. I am not sure what to call many of them. The pain is not exactly a physical thing; not in the sense of a wound. It is...

[Finding the names of the emotions is already hard, describing them isn't much easier.]

...the intensity. I do not know what to do.

[ Vincent’s lashes flutter with mild annoyance, that Echo feels the need to clarify the difference between emotional and physical pain to him. Closing his eyes, he halfheartedly snerks beneath his breath. ]

I’d suppose you left that to Noise, mm?

[Alas, this means he misses Echo wrinkling her nose and pulling her head back a bit. He may even miss the angry and confused frown he's getting.

What did he mean, that she just left all of her emotions for Noise to feel? Somehow, the fact that he was apparently clueless as to what she'd been through made it feel more offensive.]

I did no such thing to her. As an echo, I was not permitted to have feelings. I had no right to anything human.

[She continues in a mutter.] You of all people should know that.

[ The tone tells him everything that he needs to know, really! ]

You ultimately failed at that, didn’t you? Failed her. [ Lazily peering over at her, his smile pulls taut. ] I’d thought that I taught you well, and yet, you unraveled so quickly.

[ Really, he doesn’t care if she’s upset with him, but that sour face she makes is pretty cute. He’ll tilt his head to watch her fondly. ]

I’m curious to know where I went wrong. There’s still much about you that is a mystery to me.

[...If she kills him right now, would that just end this whole process for him? Echo doesn't know if she likes the thought of shortening his misery at the moment.

She's fighting to keep her irritation below the level where she'd snap. Vincent doesn't know what he's talking about; if he didn't know they were dead, that much was true. It seemed like he was doing that thing where he annoyed people until they made a mistake and he could take advantage of it, whatever that was called. She might be wrong, but that's the hypothesis she's going with.

So, ironically enough, she needs to try to dial in her emotions right now. If only to prevent Vincent from gloating. Just because he was suffering didn't mean she wanted to brighten his mood. He does get to keep enjoying the expression on her face, though.]

.....

Did you need anything else, Master Vincent?

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