Gilded Bay always had high, high hopes

His sense of time is warped and blinking; he doesn't notice the figure's absence, only the change in position as if it'd been sudden. It speaks to him, and somehow he's surprised to understand the words. He opens his mouth to reply, but he can only cough more, and belatedly he notices the herbs and food. Rather, he notes their presence; what they are does not register for several more moments, and when it does he manages an odd, brief sort of croak, as if trying to speak and promptly realizing the ability has escaped him for now.