Who: Heartman and OTA, plus a few closed starters
What: Good News: Heartman knows how to make warding amulets against the Darkwalker. Bad news: he's got Pneumonia because of it.
When: Just after the latest darkwalker attacks + just before the town meeeting
Where: Heartman's makeshift lab + cabin

Content Warnings: TBD

i. closed to Fraser;

[ To say he's grateful to the Mountie once he sees him would be the understatement of the century. To Heartman's credit, he's managed to walk most of the way to his cabin by himself before he has to lean against the nearest wall, out of breath, the room spinning. It's not an unfamiliar sensation but it is a very, very unwelcome one.

He doesn't regret it. Heartman's sweating in the cold, his coughs are painful and his heart feels like it's working overtime despite his issue being a lung infection--he suspects he may still be immunocompromised in Milton as well, considering his condition--but if he just takes a few minutes to rest...

He looks up after trying to stop the dizziness, pushing off of the wall only to see a familiar sight: clean shaven, square jaw, red uniform. He half-waves. ]

Is it safe to presume you're rescuing me a second time? [ His smile is faint, face pale as he fights the urge to fall--best he lean back on the side of the wall again. He's clearly visibly relieved despite his small, tiny joke. ]

ii. OTA - visits while ill;

[ The door to his cabin and makeshift lab remains unlocked as it always does. Courtesy of a few kind people looking out for him, there's a constant fire as Heartman stays underneath thick, warm blankets on the couch. He's no stranger to falling in and out of sleep, although it's perhaps a sign he really is sick when his body completely stops its natural 20 minute cycles and he remains napping for a long, long while, only his own coughing or someone entering waking him up.

He keeps busy: he reads books, some found in his place already and some from the library if he can sucker a poor soul into going for him. He's always welcoming guests, even if he's drifting in and out of it. Dief is curled up at his feet or on top of him at times, clearly a very important part in healing.

That's not to say he isn't bored. Restlessness comes easy when he feels like he can do something--should be doing something--and a visitor who gets him on one of these moments may get him attempting to sit up, speaking after a flurry of coughs. ]

Please, stay--company would be wonderful. I'm in dire need of someone to fill me in on what I've missed. What happened while I've been gone?

iii. OTA - darkwalker warding;

[ When he feels well enough--at the very least when he can actually concentrate on something other than a few pages at a time in whatever book he's got on him--he'll get to work. After the town meeting, if anyone comes in there will be two small piles of stones on the coffee table by where he's lying or sitting down. Heartman, knife in hand as he's in the middle of carving something, will raise it slightly in a greeting. ]

Do forgive the mess.

[ It is rather cluttered. Asides from the two piles of stones and the stacks of books scattered around his spot there is also an absurd amount of scraps of paper strewn about with his handwriting as he theorizes and tries to put together pieces of a puzzle he's unsure if he'll ever solve. Stranger or friend alike, the half-smile is the same. ]

Did Fraser reach out to you about the talismans? Please, have a seat.