[log] Event: Howl [open]

[snowblindmods]

Characters: everyone
Location: The sort of location M.C. Escher wishes he'd thought up.
Date: nights 211 & 212
Summary: I hunt for you with bloody feet across the hallow'd ground
Warnings: potential for violence, death, and psychological horror; please note in subject lines if any specific warnings come up!

like some child possessed, the beast howls in my veins
I want to find you tear out all your tenderness

Comments

[rattlingthestars]

[ It's Steph's hair that catches Jim's attention first in the jumble of madness that they're traveling through. A flash of blond, and for a moment he thinks -

It's not, but he's still incredibly relieved to see a friend. He approaches cautiously, not yet sure of what might happen when two people meet in this place. ]

Hate doesn't seem strong enough. Loathe?

[ Jokes! Jokes are better than panicking! Even incredibly lame ones. ]

[spoileralert]

Despise?

[ She doesn't even jump at the unexpected sound of a voice. She's been ignoring the moving lights around here, knowing that if an enemy comes along there's not really anything she can do about it in this position.

Now she looks, and is unspeakably relieved to see the color blue. She thinks she recognizes the voice, but it takes her a minute to place it. ]

Is that Jim?

[rattlingthestars]

Execrate.

[ Jim relaxes a little at the recognition, watching Stephanie closely. ]

Yeah, it's me. I know you usually text, but you do know what i look like, right?

[spoileralert]

Abhor,

[ occurs to her suddenly and she can't just pass that up. ]

Yeah, I know what you look like. I mean, you look like a rather large dot of blue light right now, but besides that.

I'd get up and greet you properly, but. [ She raises her splinted leg just a centimeter from the ground and lets it drop, rather more painfully than she had intended. ] I can't figure out how to.

[rattlingthestars]

[ Jim glances over the leg and winces when it drops back down. Blind and hobbled is a bad combination, especially when the ground's currently showing a worrying tendency to disappear at random. ]

Don't think you can stay here. Think you can hold onto my back?

[spoileralert]

[ She knows she can't stay here, prone and vulnerable to attack from even the weakest of enemies. It's just that getting up seems so incontrovertibly painful. ]

I can try. You're going to have to help me out though, all I can see is where I think your center of gravity is.

[rattlingthestars]

This is going to suck.

[ That's not a complaint. He's just trying to prepare Stephanie, in case she was under any illusions at all about this being a comfortable ride. Jim takes a knee and then reaches back to grab her hand and put it on his spine. ]

Can you feel that?

[spoileralert]

I don't see any way for it not to.

[ She steels herself. The painkillers she's on still make her leg feel distant, if not totally painless. It won't be as bad as it was when she first broke it.

She reaches up his back for a good place to get a grip. ]

Okay, I think I've got you.

[rattlingthestars]

Where's the break?

[ Jim starts to hook his arms under her thighs and realizes, belatedly, that he has no idea where to grab. ]

If I make it worse, don't kick my ass, okay?

[spoileralert]

Right calf. It's splinted, shouldn't be too big a problem.

[ And by that she means it's going to hurt, but getting off the floor is infinitely more important right now. ]

On the plus side, kicking your ass would be absurdly difficult right now.

[rattlingthestars]

I'd have to stand still.

[ He braces her and stands as smoothly as he can. ]

You know, to make it fair. You good?

[spoileralert]

[ She lets out a strained groan of pain as her bad leg shifts and twists. She holds tight, though, and is on her good foot in no time. ]

I'm good. We've gotta get out of here.

[rattlingthestars]

Right. Quick as we can.

[ That's still very slowly, judging by the way Jim's moving. He's not going to risk making her leg worse when any delay in healing could be deadly. ]

See anything yet?

[spoileralert]

A few people a little ways off, I think. There's a monster, but it's upside down. I'm not sure how to get to it.

[rattlingthestars]

We need to try.

[ That comes out more forcefully than Jim thought it would, but he's sure of it down to his boots. ]

I think... whatever we're doing, I think it's helping.

[spoileralert]

[ She blinks at the outburst. ]

Yeah. I mean, I'm not sure why. But it does seem like the right thing to do.