Her eyes were usually the only thing expressive about her, but right now they were as glassy and unreadable as a doll's. As a trade-off, her expression was much, much easier to read. Worryingly so. Her brow furrowed as she tilted her head to look up at him. "In the past, when I was ill, moderate physical exercise followed by fluids and rest worked well." Well. For the last few years, at least.

It hadn't been this bad for years.

Her voice was rough enough that it almost hid the bone-deep weariness within it. "If the choice was between dying on my feet and dying on a medic's cot, then yes. Th-that's hardly the c-case n... now. Ugh." Her pulse picked up as another coughing fit overtook her. Her hand had more red on it when she looked and her mouth tasted like copper. There was probably blood on her lips, she realized, and she clenched her teeth against the trill of fear that slid down her spine.

It wasn't the case now. It wasn't.