Voices and laughter float up from the boardwalk, announcing the approach of their friends. Draco turns toward the noise. “We’re about to be interrupted,” he says, surprised the world dares to exist outside of Harry’s kiss.
Harry nuzzles behind Draco’s ear. “You have a little heart-shaped freckle here that has been driving me mad for days.” He presses his lips to the skin.
Repurposed cover art cropped with recolorings for a trading card series. Extended legs. A fuller weed to the right of Archie. The girl on the right now without eye shade.
Norway moves in Veronica. And they change the improper grammar used by Jughead -- "too much swimsuits" -- "fix it", so to speak, to "many".
I had a really nice day on an island off the coast here in Germany with my parents & grandma today.
However this was the first really hot and sunny summer day I spent entirely outside since switching to my new antidepressants, so I wasn't aware how much more susceptible to heat they made me, especially compared to my last ones.
In the afternoon I started getting a headache, even though I drank a lot of water. In the car on our way back home after the ferry I felt like I was gonna throw up any second and just felt awful in general and hot and cold at the same time.
Turns out that's sunstroke. When I got home I looked up what to do, so I drank more cold water, laid down in my dark bedroom and put a cold pack on my forehead and took a nap. I feel better but still not super great.
So all my fellow antidepressant consumers, learn from my misery this summer and don't spend an entire day in the sun because we are way more susceptible to sun and heat strokes and that shit really isn't fun!!!
"I'll call out your name, but you won't call back"
@smellofsnoww
@myfriendcallsmeasickwoman19
@kurochan
@whumptober-archive
Kade pulled at the collar of his shirt. He felt hot and sweaty and more annoyed than before. His shadows twitched, sneaking forward, before withering back.
Killian looked back at him. "Are you.... alright?" he asked hesitantly.
Kade lifted his head, eyes narrowed at Killian in an annoyed and frustrated glare.
"Okay...." Killian said slowly "I'll take that as a no... You don't like the heat, do you?"
"Does it damn well look like it?" Kade snapped.
"Hey" Bella said as he turned towards the two "Don't fight"
"We're not" Killian said quickly "I'm just saying..."
"Well don't bloody say it" Kade shot back.
Bella closed her eyes for a moment. "Just keep your voices down" she said "And keep up"
Kade rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything.
Killian smirked slightly, as he fell into step next to Kade. He looked around. They were on a training trip. In the middle of a dessert. It was burning hot, almost suffocatingly hot. A few of the other students that used ice or water based magic were having a hard time here. Others that had power focused on heat or fire, were having a field day.
Even he could feel the heat affecting his water control.
"Kade" Killian said after they walked for a while "If you're not feeling well...."
"Shut up, Killian..." Kade grumbled, but tried not to smile at Killian’s happy expression. He kind of reminded him of a puppy.
Killian grinned, before taking off his glasses to clean them a bit. "You know... I'm not nearly as scared of you anymore" he said.
Kade rolled his eyes, as he kept walking and Killian just happily walked next to him. Everyone else in front of them, not wanting to be close to the shadow user. Bella stayed close, making sure that he could keep an eye on them.
"She does know I can't go anywhere, right?" he asked, looking at Bella.
Killian shrugged. "She does.... She just likes keeping an eye on everyone" he said "You should already know that"
Kade shook his head. "Don't know," he said, narrowing his eyes at the students in front of them. He could feel the sweat running down his spine. This was a new kind of torture.
After a few more minutes of walking in the blazing heat, they stopped.
Chronos turned so that he could look at everyone. "You will be divided into two groups. The group that has the most members standing at the end of this training gets the bonus points" he said, looking over the students.
Kade sighed. They were probably going to put most of the students that were affected by the heat in one group and the rest in the other.
***
"...Kill them..."
"This is their fault...."
"Kill them..."
"...Devour them...."
Kade tried to ignore the whispering snarls from the shadows. They've been getting louder and louder over the last few hours. Usually they weren’t this bad, but today seemed like just a bad day for him and the shadows.
There was a painful pounding in his head as he dodged to the side when one of the other team's members attacked him. His leg cramped, giving in beneath him and saving him from getting hit again.
"Let... us... kill him" the shadows whispered in his mind.
He ignored the voices. Immediately he rolled back onto his feet, stumbling back. For a moment he swayed on his feet, as dizziness washed over him.
"Come on... they don't care about you..."
Kade moved back, his thoughts in a jumble. He was having trouble concentrating on the training. There was a nauseating feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"Kill them..."
"Quickly..."
"Before more come..."
Again the voices from the shadows reach towards him. With one hand he wiped the sweat from his face. It was running down his face, neck and back. Even in this heat it felt a bit excessive.
His eyes flickered around, looking for the rest of his team. He couldn't see anyone. Most of them had already fainted or passed out because of the heat.
"They left you here..."
"None of them care about you..."
"Let's kill them..."
Kade shook his head as his shadows wrapped around him. They felt weak and slow. He couldn't do much with them and his concentration was to weak to use teleportation.
Without hesitation, he started running. He made sure to get as far away from the other team as he could. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see someone moving with him.
It took him only a few seconds before he realized that it was Bella.
She motioned for him to follow her. Immediately she started moving away, changing direction. A small group from the other team followed her. Quickly she took them out, throwing them away from her.
Kade clenched his jaw as he followed after her. His body hurt. He couldn’t decide if he felt hot or cold anymore.
The sweat was still running down his face. He was exhausted, more than he should be. This much running and fighting should not have made him this tired. He followed after Bella.
He threw a shadow blast at the guys behind him, before he took off full speed after the girl.
When he finally reached her, she nodded and led him towards another area. It had a bit of shade and a small tent with what looked like a bit of supplies.
Kade sank down on his knees, gasping for breath. It felt like the entire area around him was turning. He couldn't really focus on anything.
A hand on his shoulder made him flinch.
"Hey... It's just me," Killian said, smiling slightly at Kade.
Kade nodded slightly, trying to calm his heartbeat.
"You look terrible," Killian said quietly, looking at Kade with a frown. He was feeling worried, his friend looked pale, breathing a little faster than he should be.
"...Kill," Kade said slowly. His mind felt foggy and tired.
Killian nodded. "Yeah... I'm still here man" he said "Feeling like crap at the moment..."
Kade nodded.
"Kill them..." the shadows whispered in his mind "Now's your chance... Kill them... Quickly"
Kade shut his eyes for a moment, before looking at Killian and Bella. "How did you get this place?" he asked, careful not to let his words slur. His tongue felt heavy, making it difficult to talk normally.
"Here" Bella said, holding out a bottle of water to Kade.
"We took it from the other team" Killian said, pulling a bit further back into the shade "I have no idea where they got it from. Or where they got the water, but it's ours now"
Kade nodded slightly.
"And they are not happy about that," Bella said as Kade took the bottle.
"They... want it back?" Kade asked slowly, before he took a few gulps of water.
"Of course, and don’t drink so fast… alright?" Killian said, looking around.
Kade nodded, lowering the water bottle for a moment.
"They're coming again!" someone else called.
Kade shot to his feet, dropping the bottle. For a moment the world turned before he got his balance back.
"So let's kick them out..." he muttered, reaching for his power.
Killian smiled, patting Kade on the shoulder. "Alright... Let's defend our spot in the shade" he said.
Bella smiled slightly. "You two need to talk if you don't feel well" she said "Everyone's been having trouble... so we should be careful"
"Got it," Killian said.
"GET THEM!" a voice yelled from the other side.
More shouts sounded up.
"Let's go!" Killian said and started running to where the fighting had started.
Kade cussed before he followed after Killian and Bella. He did not feel like fighting anymore. His head hurt and everything felt like it was moving slightly.
Within seconds they were surrounded by fighting. It almost looked like everyone was trying to take out everyone.
Kade forced his shadows out.
"Can we kill them?"
"Let's kill them.... They don't care about you"
"They will let you suffer...."
The shadows whispered at him. It was almost all he could hear, struggling to keep his shadow under control. Focusing became increasingly more difficult.
"Kill that one... He looks weak"
Kade dodged an attack. His shoulder hit the ground, causing a sharp pain to shoot through his arm.
"Wait... that one... She seems like a fun one"
His shadows shot forward, throwing some of the other students away from him.
"Hold on... that one hurt us.... let's kill them"
"Come on... Why wouldn't you let us kill them.... they don't care about you.... They want you dead..."
"No they don't..." Kade muttered.
"They hate you..."
"I know..."
"They resent you...."
"I know..."
Kade clenched his jaw, blocking a fire attack from someone he couldn't see. It felt like the heat was drawing the oxygen right out of the air around him.
"....They will betray you... torture you...."
He tried to block the voices. They were making it so much harder than usual to control his power.
"You cannot trust them..."
"They don't care..."
"Shut the fuck up" Kade growled as he kicked another student away from him.
"See.... they want to kill you...."
Kade stumbled slightly as his vision blurred. He blocked an attack, before being thrown back. Something hit his chest. He gasped, coughing, trying to breathe.
"There... that's your chance... Kill him"
Shadows wrapped around him, weakly trying to protect him. He did not have much strength left. It felt like his chest was being squeezed. It hurt. He needed to breathe, but he couldn't.
"If you kill them... you'll be able to breathe"
"KADE!" Killian's voice yelled.
He tried to figure out where the voice was coming from. Only everything felt like it was moving and he couldn't pinpoint anything.
He couldn't focus anymore. His concentration kept on slipping. The pounding in his head made it hard to do anything. Nausea rose in the back of his throat.
"If you don't kill them... they will kill you"
The heat burned through him. Darkness crawled over the edges of his vision. Everything started to fade. All he could make out was figures moving around him.
Clenching his jaw, tried to focus on getting up. His shadows started moving out of his control.
Shouts and screams sounded around him. He couldn’t make out what was being said, it was just a rushing in his ears.
"They're pulling back!"
The voice was close to him, making him flinch.
"We won!"
Another voice called out.
Kade scrambled to his feet, immediately his knees buckled and he sank down on one knee.
"Kill them..."
"Hurry... before they get away...."
"They don't care about you...."
"They hate you.... They want you to die...."
"Kill them so they can't hurt you..."
Kade gasped for breath, one hand clutching at his chest. This was too much... Even for him.
Shouts went up around him. He could barely make out how the people moved around. It looked like they were celebrating something. It all felt so confusing. He didn't have the energy to move or care what was going on.
Slowly he started pulling his shadows back. They disappeared much easier than usual.
“...we’re sorry…” the shadows whispered.
***
A hand touched his shoulder and he flinched away. Immediately the world turned and he had to steady himself with one hand on the hot sand. There was a rushing in his ears. A person knelt in front of him.
Kade lifted his head slightly, with his free hand he wiped more sweat from his face.
"Kill?" he asked, winching at how he was slurring the word.
"Yeah... It's me..." he said, before putting his hand against Kade's forehead. Immediately a frown formed on his face and he turned towards Bella, who just reached them. "He's cool... and clammy"
Bella frowned slightly. "That's not good..." she said "Let me get some water"
Killian nodded and turned back to Kade. The other guy looked pale, eyes barely focusing.
"Kade... Are you feeling alright?" he asked, knowing what the answer was going to be.
"...don't know..." Kade slurred, still gasping for breath.
"Just hold on a bit, Bella will bring some cold water" Killian said and Kade nodded.
Looking around Killian noticed that a lot of their team's members were down. Probably heat exhaustion or heat stroke. He wasn't feeling that well anymore either.
Bella quickly came back, giving out water to others as she walked. When she reached them, she knelt next to Killian, holding an open bottle of water out to Kade.
"Drink a bit of water," she said softly.
Kade's hands shook as he took the bottle. He stared at it for a moment, before lifting it. He barely had enough strength left to lift his arms as he gulped down the water.
It felt cool.
As he finished the water, he just lowered the bottle, staring down at the sand. It took him a moment to catch his breath, before he slowly listed his head, only for everything to start turning and the nausea rose again.
A hand caught his shoulder, holding him steady.
"Kade?" Killian asked.
Kade blinked a few times, before he looked at Killian.
"The paramedics are coming through... Everyone that needs help raise your hands" a voice called out. Immediately Killian lifted his hand.
"What... are you doing?" Kade muttered.
"Letting the paramedics take a look at you" Killian said, sounding worried "You're not looking very well"
"I'll be... fine..." Kade managed to say.
"I'm going to stay with you here" Killian said nodding at Bella "You can take care of the others"
Bella nodded. "Alright.... but make sure to stay in the shade...." she said "And call if you need anything"
Killian nodded.
The paramedic walked over to them. "Are the two of you alright?" he asked, eyes flickering over them.
"I'm a water user, so I'm not doing that well in the heat" Killian said, with a slight smile "He's a shadow user that doesn't do well... with how bright it is"
Quickly the paramedic nodded. "Alright. You should go get some water" he said, motioning towards a big tent that's been set up on the one side "I'll take a look at your friend... You can walk, right?"
Killian nodded as he looked over at Kade, feeling worried.
"Go" Kade muttered, lifting his head "It's fine"
"Alright..." Killian said quietly. He did not want to leave Kade there on his own. He could remember how the nurses treated Kade when he just got here and got sick.
They refused to treat him.
"Come on... go" the paramedic said quickly "Get out of the heat..."
Reluctantly Killian left Kade with the man.
The paramedic turned back to Kade. His eyes narrowed slightly.
"How are you feeling? Hot, cold? Dizzy? Confused? Nausea?" he asked as he pulled out his thermometer. He handed it to Kade, who just stared at it for a moment.
"...Hot..." Kade mumbled "... dizzy..."
"You are not doing so well.... are you...?" the paramedic said quietly, "Put this in your mouth while we get you out of the sun and into a cool place"
Kade nodded slowly as he put the thermometer in his mouth with shaking hands. He flinched slightly as the paramedic helped him up. Everything around him turned and he almost fainted right there.
If it weren't for the paramedic catching him, he would have fallen.
"You really have it bad..." the man grunted, holding on to Kade "But don't worry.... I've got you man"
They moved towards another tent, this one was a lot different from the other one. It was completely closed off, with less people moving in and out of it. Every now and then someone would step into the tent, zipping the tent closed again.
Kade just stumbled on next to the man. His mind did not want to focus anymore. At least the shadows stopped whispering to him. He didn't think he'd be able to resist them much longer.
As they reached the tent, the paramedic paused and took the thermometer from Kade. Immediately a frown formed on his face.
"Oh... that's not good..." he said quietly "Let's get you inside...."
Quickly he zipped open the tent and helped Kade inside. The cold was like a hit in the face.
"What are you doing?" a woman asked, standing next to the entrance "Why did you bring him here?"
The paramedic blinked at her.
"His temperature is about forty degrees" he said quietly "He has all the symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke..."
The woman shook her head. "He's probably faking it" she said "I'm not wasting any medicine on him"
The paramedic blinked at her. "What the hell?" he asked "Fine then... I'll take care of him myself... but I'm not leaving him there in the heat to get worse"
"...we told you.... they don't care about you..." the shadows whispered, flickering slightly at Kade's feet.
"Come on, Kid" the paramedic said, helping Kade to one of the beds. "I'm going to get you some boosters to drink... and some cold packs, so we can bring your temperature down"
Kade lay down on the bed, his eyes slowly starting to close.
"Don't worry..." the paramedic muttered "I'll take care of you..."
I saw nature’s force today
Bee on bee in motion
Smashing into the
Patio door then
A fist fight on the
stone floor
Neither happy with
Other not yealding
Tumbling into cracks
Between rugged slabs
Silence
Silence
Reappearing moments
Later
Small on large
Stillness
A fluttering of wings
Stillness
Lifting off apart
A meeting of two
Nature’s force
The Bee’s knees
Consummated
This picture post was originally a text post (see natures-force) and was automatically converted to a picture post. Contact and follow @wizard-of-posts for more information if you find this concept attractive.
Tips for you: - Drink water (sugary drinks no no) and lots of it. - Suncream (everywhere your skin is exposed) and apply it every two hours. - Shade, if possible. - Run cold water over your wrists or a cold cloth on them will cool you down. - Wear a sun hat if you have one (I know they don't look cool but it might save your life). - Wear loose clothing. Tips for your pets: - Provide extra water and change it regularly for cold water - Provide shelter/shade - Take caution if walking dogs on the pavement (they can get super hot and will burn their feet, test it with your hand/foot first) - Cold damp towel to lie on - Ice in water or to eat or cold foods they are allowed The signs of heat exhaustion include: - headache - dizziness and confusion - loss of appetite and feeling sick - excessive sweating and pale clammy skin - cramps in the arms, legs and stomach - fast breathing or pulse - temperature of 37C or above - intense thirst The symptoms are often the same in adults and children, although children may become floppy and sleepy. Heat exhaustion can lead to heat stroke if left untreated. If suspected : Move to a cool area, remove excess clothing, drink lots of water, lie down and raise feet slightly, cool skin (sponge or spray) particularly armpits and neck. If no improvement after 30 minutes, temp over 40c, confused, shortness of breath, dial 999! Please please stay safe and be careful. Share this (and add tips of you have any)
