Imaginary Worlds

"'M fine. I's just a headache." Koschei asserted stubbornly, batting at the man a bit. He didn't want to be sick. Sick would mean being stuck in bed and he didn't want that. He wanted to relax and be happy. He wanted to have fun. Having to be in his room all the time wasn't fun.

"'M not sick. 'M fine. See?" Koschei asked pointedly, smiling in a sarcastic manner before sneezing again. Right. He wasn't going to take well to being sick. At all. And what kid really did?

{Gonna be slow today. Cleaning.}

"You'll be fine, Koschei. If you do get sick, I'll stick by you and you can have the TV in your room and we can read or make some models," the Master offered, just to try and cheer Koschei up because from the way he looked, he probably wouldn't be out of bed much longer. The main worry was, of course, Marnal.

He'd have to keep the younger boy away from Koschei so he didn't catch ... or piss big brother off even further. The Master took the route to the train station slowly, keeping an eye on the boy in the backseat. "Just tell me if your body starts to feel achy."

((Righto!))

"Define achy?" Koschei mumbled dejectedly, leaning back in his seat. Really? The Master expected him to admit to anything. For all the other knew, this wasn't new. This could have been an ongoing issue. Koschei was really good at hiding things when he needed to.

"I just wanna go on the train. An' I don't wanna miss school. 'M fine. 'M just...Sneezy." Koschei muttered softly, getting out of the car upon arriving at the station. Did it matter if he was a little on the sick side? Really?

"As in your arm and legs hurts, your back aches... the moment you feel awful, try to tell me," the Master complained as he got out of car and waited for Koschei. He took the boys hand as they brought tickets and headed onto the first cabin, letting Koschei take the seat by the window so he could watch everything. The Master had taken a bag with him, there was food inside it as well as a new book he'd brought specifically for this.

Flipping through the book, he settle beside Koschei, letting the boy next to him just enjoy the train ride. He had to keep an eye on him, of course, but that was all he could do. "So Koschei, what are you studying at school lately? Anything fun at all? Anything with Epsilon?"

"Not really. I dissected frogs. We learned to harvest venom sacs." Koschei said lightly, smirking. And here Marnal was going to be getting a let frog. How lovely. The Doctor would need to keep an eye on that one. Because Koschei would sink that low.

"Epsilon is skipping a grade." Koschei murmured softly. And he hated that. His one friend was goin to be skipping at least one grade and Koschei was going to be left behind. "He wants to grad..Grad...Finish by thirteen." he informed.

"First of all, no. Do not dissect frogs at home," the Master started, and it wasn't just for their youngests sake, it was also for the Doctors sake. Who wanted to pick up bits of frog off the floor. It wasn't exactly fantastic. The Master sighed and gave Koschei a sideways look. Losing his best friend from classes was not going to help him at all.

"Let him, me and the Doctor-- well, mostly me, took 90 years to finish school. I was top of my class and I'll always be smart than Epsilon... so don't let it get you down that he likes he'll be out of their in no time. You're 7, you're not meant to be graduating," And to him, he was a genius. Koschei was a brilliant little boy with a clever mind. that was about it. "Plus you'll make new friends eventually."

"indont want a new friend. I want Epsilon. I...Epsilon wants an apprenticeship." he murmured. And nobody would take a kid still in school. But Epsilon couldn't just drop out either. That had never been an option for the kid. Especially with Varica in the picture.

Shaking his head, the kid smothered a cough and whined. He didn't like that at all. "Can I skip a grade if 'm good?" he asked softly. What? It was a valid inquiry. Koschei couldn't help himself. He didn't want to lose Epsilon and be stuck with Theta.

"Koschei, you can't skip a grade. Its not about being good, you're being very well behaved. But ... you have to be like Epsilon to do that. You're not really like him, I mean you have a lot in common but you're doing great where you are," the Master promised him, trying his hardest to tactfully say that he wasn't as smart as Epilson.

Some days Koschei was a right little bastard, some days he was just like any other little boy and those times were the times where the Master found it hardest to talk to him. "Don't over think it, you two will still see one another."

Koschei may not be a genius, but he knew well enough when he was being insulted. And that? That was insulting. "I can do it. Please? I can handle it." he murmured softly with a frown. He could pull it off. "An' I won't see him!" he added firmly.

"Epsilon will skip a year an' then he's gonna. Go to the science course an' 'm not." Koschei said softly. Because that's how the academy worked. There were a few years of general studies and then the students were divided up into specialized courses food specific fields.

"But you can't follow him just because he's a friend. I mean... do you even like science? Would you like science as a career? Do you want to do what the Doctor does all day?" the Master asked with a critical look because he knew hand on heart that Koschei was sabotaging his own life just by following a friend he could lose anyhow.

"You don't have to do science, you're good at puzzles! At creating, building, debating. Look, you have to look at this brutally. Forget friends, don't like them interfere. What do you like and what do you want to do?" the Master asked point blank, and yes, don't know was a perfectly fine answer.

That was just the thing. He did know. "I wanna skip a year to be with Epsilon. Then I wanna take an archi...Arch...Building course." Koschei said firmly. But he wanted to skip so that he could do the last general studies year with Epsilon. Was that so much to ask for?

"I wanna design things. But can I pleases up a year?" Koschei asked softly. He wasn't going to follow Epsilon into science. But he didn't want to miss out like this because his best friend happened to be some genius.

"Architecture? So an Architect? Fantastic choice but ... look, let me talk this over with the Doctor and we'll decide together if we think its right for you," the Master informed him, making zero promises either way at all.

"Look, we may say no but don't take it to heart, all right? You know I'm not spiteful and I don't hate you... I love you and that will be why I'm here to help," the Master reassured, giving Koschei a pat on the back. He didn't want him to get stress out, especially not when he was feeling rather sick.

Koschei nodded softly, hesitantly curling up to lean against the Master. He only wanted to rest his eyes for a moment. And the blur of the passing scenery was making him feel sick. A thing that probably wouldn't end well for either of them.

But it was a testiment to how he was feeling when he blinked his eyes open slowly to the Train coming to a stop. Right. He'd only missed most of the ride. It was probabl for the best though. "'M sleepy." he murmured softly, not willing to budge.

The Master had been concerned the moment the boy slumped against him and had swiftly wrapped his coat around him while he slept. The train had pulled up and knew he couldn't force the kid to get up and walk the trek to the car. Lifting the boy up, he carried him awkwardly off the train. They were lucky that they weren't going anywhere and just in a total loop or it would be a hell of a ride back.

"You need to go to bed, you're getting worse-- Oh Kosch, your temperature is getting higher," he'd just drive Koschei home, get him settled and call the Doctor, ask him to come home and help because the Master had never dealt with a sick kid!

"'M fine. Was sneezy yesterday too." he pointed out softly. But yesterday was school and he'd wanted to go. Which is why he kept his mouth shut. Koschei didn't mean to fall asleep like he did. It was just...He was tired. Nothing more than that.

"I don't wanna go to bed. I wanna play an' do puzzles. You said museum." he mumbled, even as hecurled up in his seat to doze off through the ride home. Oh, who could honestly blame him? He was tired. But he was also stubborn.

"We can go when you're better but you're sick," the Master left him be to sleep while he raced home, trying his hardest not to wake Koschei. He even tried his hardest to pick the poor lad up and carry him out of the car. He really didn't look very well.

Heading upstairs and leaving the car unlocked in his rush, he carried Koschei gently up the stairs and set the boy down on his bed. "Kosch? Did I wake you? Look, I need you to get some sleep and handle the rest later."

Koschei did stir when he was moved, shifting about on his bed with a miserable pout. "No...I don't wanna sleep." he protested, sitting up pointedly, only to lay back down once more. Great. Now he was more miserable than he'd been before. Because now he was being confined.

"Fine. I'll rest but don't leave." Koschei asserted, grasping hold of the Master's wrist pointedly. He didn't want to be left alone. No matter what the reasoning might be. He didn't want to be left alone and bored with nothing to do. It didn't matter if he was already falling back to sleep.

Koschei was definitely an annoying brat but the Master could make allowances for the sick boy snivelling in bed... they'd have to buy a box of tissues for him. Stroking Koschei's hair, he smiled at him and grabbed the book off the side and flicked to one of Koschei's favourite tales, offering the boy a small smile.

"Just relax and I'll read to you," the Master spoke in a soft tone as he read the short story to the half asleep boy, waiting for him to fall asleep so the Master would have time to plot his escape.

Koschei wasn't going to make this easy for the other. He didn't want to be alone, shifting to cling onto the Master rather pathetically. It wouldn't be nearly as bad if he hadn't developed a fever. Because it just made him more pathetic than before.

It wasn't too long before Koschei fell asleep once more, sniffling softly in his sleep. He was beyond pathetic by this point. But he deserved a break. He felt horrid. Beyond horrid. He was so going to blame Marnal for it.

Moving away from the boy and leaving him sprawled out, the Master pulled out his phone and rant the Doctor, waiting just outside the door. He didn't get an answer so he left a voicemail instead.

"Doctor? Come home, would you? Koschei is very ill and I could use a hand. Oh and keep Marnal out of his room, we don't need two sick kids. Bye," the Master said before hanging up and heading into Koschei's room again so he could sit with the sick boy and keep an eye on him because he was sweating quite a bit now.

The Doctor didn't get the voicemail for another hour and it took him an hour and a half to carry Marnal home. Not to mention the damn frog. He was able to create a container and the works for the creature, using the excuse that he'd just dug it out, before leaving Marnal to his pet.

Right. And next? The Doctor slipped into Koschei's room and frowned softly. "Hey. Have you actually taken his temperature?" he asked softly, moving over to feel the kid's forehead. Damn. He did feel bad for that one.

"No, I've sat here panicking for an hour and a half. I couldn't find a thermometer," the Master told him with a small shrug and besides, he didn't know how Koschei's biology worked. He didn't even have a bloody heart in his chest. "I don't know how it all works, you'll have to do it and I'll ... I don't know, make dinner."

The Master left the Doctor too it and took Marnal and the frogs off his hands. He left the boy and his frog to play in the kitchen... without removing the frog, of course, and microwaved some spaghettios for both boys to eat... though he didn't know if Koschei would eat them in his current state.

Well. That implied the master couldn't make it. That was just a little unsettling. He produced a thermometer before taking the kid's temperature and cursing softly. Right. That wasn't good. He stood and headed down with a frown, ruffling Marnal's hair lightly.

"Can you handle things if I took him to a doctor? His temperature is high enough to worry me." he murmured softly. And it did. The Doctor was worried that Koschei would have mire than just a few problems. The kid was young. Which made this a bit of a problem.

"Koschei's that bad? Right, well, borrow the car and I'll watch Marnal. Or do you want us to come with you?" the Master asked but it seemed taking Marnal was a bad idea because he was already eating dinner and trying to push spaghettios through the air holes for the frog to eat in his little box. The last thing the Master wanted to do was leaving Koschei though.

"he'll wonder why I'm not there," the Master muttered, cursing somewhat because he had promised not to leave Koschei but he couldn't hardly just leave Marnal behind or pull him from his dinner.

"His fever is 102. He won't even notice what's going on. Watch Marnal. I'll have Koschei home soon. And I not? I'll bring you to him as soon as I can." he assured, heading up to grab Koschei. He didn't need to worry abou Marnal or the Master as well as Koschei.

And it didn't take him long at all. He just needed to make sure Koschei was cared for and the fever was down before he could bring the child him around four the next morning. He even got medication to help with the poor thing. That wasn't something he needed. Not with another kid. But at least he wasn't really contagious.