#i could yap all day about andrew and harpers friendship that might be next oops look out!!

[zephyrusz]

i am. sick at the moment so in typical zephyr fashion i will now bestow upon thee uh. projecting my problems onto harper but they actually have. a support system. so. still dont know if i should call them headcanons or fun facts if i make up the canon but

harper sick headcanons (fun facts information blah blah blah) theyre sick. warning for vomiting, sick stuff, moldy food..... oops

- they rarely get sick. like ever.

- they assume their immune system is stronger than steel from their days spent eating dirt and rocks as a kid. really beefed it up.

- but when they get sick, they get sick.

- id imagine living as an unvaccinated kid in the late 1800s all on their own with no parents theyd catch the worst stomach bug and it would ruin them

- muscle aches, losing consciousness, the whole lot. poor guy.

- the first time they really got sick was a few days after their parents passed. they were still waiting for cassian to come back, and were still under the bed when they felt their hunger begin to eat them alive.

- so they crawled out of the dusty cover of the bed and took a bite of bread from a few days prior. their mother just took it out of the oven before the accident happened. it was hard and stale, but they never wasted food.

- it was fine, good bread before they felt a crunch. it was mold. the realization of what theyd been stuffing in their mouth set in and their stomach churned as they immediately rushed to their washcloset and vomited it all up.

- ever since then, theyve hated getting sick. especially before the manor, it was just too much for them to handle on their own.

- in the manor, they had more people to support them

- they often stayed nights in the infirmary with emily by their side for comfort, insisting a sleepover in the medical room to ease their worries

- fever dreams are rough, as well. they dont have dreams, more like weird memories of the past. often times theyre covered in blood during them. odd.

- being sick was never fun. but neither was being pitied.

- harpers young, yes, but they arent weak. before emily put herself out there to them, letting them know she could help, they braved it on their own

- it would be weak to ask for help. they dont need it, theyve lived five years on their own, they shouldnt rely on others to help them feel better.

- one who wasnt happy about this was andrew, oddly enough. he recognized when it was okay to ask for help (although he never asked for any himself) and felt a bit let down his closest friend couldnt come to him if they needed any.

- harper didnt want to be mean by pushing away help, but this is what they were used to.

- one time, they were so sick they could hardly force themselves out of bed before their body couldnt support them anymore.

- andrew helped them through it, kept them company ("not like he had anything better to be doing", as he said) and brought them food and water.

- they hated it. hated it with all their heart. not that andrew was helping them, they appreciated his care. they hated how weak they were.

- andrew only looked at them, and in a quiet voice, he murmured out a small, shaky plea. "i know you can take care of yourself. but.. its not what you need right now. im not trying to make you feel weak. and asking someone for help isnt going to make you such."

- that was maybe the first time in the manor they truly understood him.