Paradise Lost (JSAB)

HALF-CHAPTER Tetra High on Morphine

So technically the chapter "Chapter where Trist makes CTM his bitch" (I should really change that title) isn't 100% accurate, because the doctor administered morphine to Tetra while he worked on their stitches and it hadn't worn off for at least a few hours. And technically, Tetra should be high as a kite. It was just that they were sober for plot reasons.

So

High Tetra!

The doctor came out into the waiting room, telling Close that he was finished and could see them if he wanted to. He offered to watch over his cats when he visited them, the offer which he accepted only because the voice told him to. The cats were a bit upset that their dad was gone, though. So they waited by the door.

Meanwhile, Close stared at the little curtained off section of the otherwise empty infirmary, taking a deep breath in. Once he exhaled, he walked over to where Tetra was, and shyly pulled the curtain to the side, looking in.

Tetra was lying in bed, on their back, wearing a hospital gown over fluffy white bandages. The collar and shackles still remained on their body, which the doctor could understandably do nothing about. They stared up at the ceiling, eyes wide and pupils dilated to the point where their eyes were just blackness. It was like they were focused on something, an invisible light or something, yet at the same time nothing at all. Close sat on the foot of their bed, and they ignored him. Their lips were half-open, and... Oh god are they drooling? Close stared at them. Oh yeah, the doctor said that he gave them morphine. So... Are they high right now??? They continued to stare into the distance, at a drama that only they could see.

Minutes passed in silence as Close awkwardly debated whether to wait until they woke up or to get their attention himself. He hovered a hand over Tetra's face, and they did not respond to the visual stimuli. They hadn't blinked in the past five minutes. Just... Stared at the ceiling as they slobbered all over the pillow. Close got some tissues and wiped it off their face because- ew. Still no response. He continued to just sit there. He stared blankly at the curtain.

Then, Tetra mumbled something. Their voice was slurred and all of their vowels merged together with its neighbouring consonants. He turned to face them as if to say "what?"

They mumbled what they just said again, but Close still couldn't figure out what they were saying.

With no warning they repeated themselves one last time.

"My rice..."

What? My rice? What does that mean?

"My rice is being kidnapped..." They continued, but the way they said it made it sound more resembling a "Meh resez bing kimab."

Close just stared blankly as Tetra groggily dragged themselves back up to a sitting position like a rag doll with no support. They stared at Close, deep into his eyes past his opaque goggles with their own dilated pupils. Seriously, their eyes were like 90% black. They looked like a cat at 2am. If this were Trist, he would be laughing his ass off. But Close just stared.

They then slapped him across the face. Or rather, lifted up their lead-filled hand and brushed it against his face rather forcefully. It didn't hurt. It was a sad excuse for a slap but they were trying their best. After that, they spat rather loudly into Close's face with bloodshot, wide eyes: "IZ STAK TO MY SHULDAR!"

What? Close blinked. Droplets of their saliva had landed on his face and he wiped it away.

"MY RICE-" Tetra hollered, dragging both their arms back up and placing their hands onto his shoulders as if to give him a pep talk. They took a deep breath in as they threw their head back, prepared to shriek something incoherent, but it never came. They remained in that weird position with both hands on Close and their head leaned back at an almost perfect 90 degree angle for a while. They then started snoring and drooling once again.