bakerstreet | Only one bed

...Don't promise me that, too...

[It's less of a protest and more of a lament, but, fortunately, he doesn't fuss beyond that, falling slowly back into a shallow sleep. A life without the mask? What is that even like?

[...Is it anything like before? Seeing him, able to really see him...

[He can't really think too hard at the moment. A proper sleep drags him back under before long.

[He's a still sleeper, only his back rising and falling with steady breaths.]

[ He wants to say that he'd promise him the world, but he restrains himself and just watches him fall asleep. This time, eventually, he does actually fall asleep as well. After a long night, it's necessary.

He curls closer to him in his sleep, automatically drawing towards warmth and the smell he's already so fond of. ]

[Alivian eventually wakes up... at some point. The pain is back down to dull aches that come and go - his new normal as of a few months ago - and doesn't move as he slowly focuses on his surroundings.

[Logan's scent is first as he opens his eyes, the blankets around him. He flexes his hands first, testing his body for its limits.

[Eventually, he sits up, blinking slowly and sluggishly as he looks over his surroundings.]

[ Logan doesn't wake up so immediately. He may even have to be shaken awaken, now that he's asleep and around someone he is trusting for once, he is sleeping very soundly.

He may even be snoring. It's kind of a silly, deep sound. His scent is very calm. ]

[Noticing the snoring, the deep breaths, and all, Alivian regards Logan thoughtfully, and just... indirectly watches him through the corner of his vision as he looks around, contemplating his next move here in this place.

[He could just... stay in bed a bit longer, right? He doesn't want to risk going too far and getting caught by some sort of predator. But at the same time, he's awake, and he's not about to fall back asleep anytime soon. Probably.

[Though he opts to shift a bit, he just tugs his tail onto his lap to start working on the tangles in his tail by hand, starting with the very ends.

[It will at least help him wake up a little while he works. And... hopefully not cause any sort of alarmed feelings for either of them. Better, safer, to move around at the same time, and know where the other is going.]

[ As he shifts, Logan automatically moves even closer, trying to lessen any space gained. He's a clingy sort of sleeper and it's reflecting in his unconscious actions right now.

He kind of reaches out in his sleep, grasping at Alivian's thigh. ]

[A little surprised by the closing of the gap, Alivian just lets him reach out, lets him touch, and calmly resumes grooming his tail.

[Yep. Staying in bed right now was the right call. He'll just do this and... just rest and try to think of their next moves to try to leave this place, until they're both awake.]

[ Logan is in such a deep sleep that it's risky. And it means eventually, as all his deep sleeps do, it will get disturbed by what tends to plague him - nightmares.

It becomes clear soon enough when he starts furrowing his brow in his sleep, and turning this way and that. He kind of seperates and curls in on his own body, letting go of Alivian altogether. ]

[The sudden separation is strange, but Logan's scent tells him more of the shift than his body language does. Distress, for sure. Pain too, probably.

[Uncurling his tail, he shifts a little, contemplating the safest place to touch. The shoulder probably isn't safe, he thinks, if his own experiences have merit in Logan's.

[Reaching out, his touch is feather-light at his elbow, and then slowly firms, but he doesn't grab.]

Logan? Hey....

[Shit. Can he even do this? Can he wake Logan comfortably? Will his words be even remotely good enough?

[But letting Logan sit in a nightmare is unthinkable.]

Logan. Logan, come on....

Ugh -

[ Logan's hand grasps at his arm, all of a sudden, with strength behind the gesture. Like he's thinking that whatever is touching him is an intruder and he needs to show his strength to protect himself. At the same time, his claws shoot out of the back of that hand, a display of dominance and power. He's completely doing all of this in his sleep.

He will be so mad at himself when he awakens. ]

[Alivian's senses concentrate in the wake of such danger; there's no time to regret this path. He releases Logan's elbow immediately, but as those claws come out, they graze over his arm, and cut deeper than he expects. IT doesn't hurt as much, however, as the hold on his arm. His bones creak in warning, overriding the medicine running in his veins and leaving what feels like shards digging deep.

[If he moves, though-- he risks getting hurt worse, he realizes. With the angle of the claws, one wrong move and he could lose his hand if they're strong enough, and Alivian's own bones are already compromised.]

Logan-- Hey! I yield! I yield! Charles!

[Hopefully even a small part of Logan hears him. Telling him to stop, even if the safest option, isn't the safest for Logan.

[All he can do is watch Logan like a cat staring down another cat, waiting for the first sign to take a drastic move. He doesn't have the space to feel fear right now.]

Edited 2024-09-04 07:11 (UTC)

[ He does hear him. Maybe if the Command hadn't happened, he wouldn't have, but he's attuned to this already. Feels it with every fibre of his being, even when not conscious. The claws withdraw and he falls back again, back against the blankets, back into deep sleep. His hand releases its grip. ]

[Everything in Alivian relaxes as soon as Logan withdraws. He lets out a quiet breath, but doesn't let himself actually sit back, for now. He's certainly bleeding, his arm stinging in that distant way before the full force of the pain can hit.

[For now, he hurries out of the nest to avoid dripping too much blood on it. The cleanest thing he has his is shirt, unfortunately. The material of his coat is too dense to properly tear apart even if he had to.

[Aside from borrowing a very small amount of that cognac for his wounds to make sure they don't get infected, he tears up a long strip from the bottom of his shirt and works to bandage it.

[Well. Waking Logan could have gone much better. All things considered, though? It could have gone even worse.

[His thoughts aren't his priority, though. Wrapping his arm and putting on as much pressure as is safe is his priority, even as the pain from the scratches worsens. They're deep enough that he partly wishes he had a needle and sutures on hand. Oh well.]

[ And soon enough, Logan wakes up on his own. He smells... blood? Why does he smell blood? Taking an inhale of breath in, he tracks it and Alivian down. ]

What happened?

[ He's quiet and scared. It's a dangerous combination for him and his mood. ]

Did I -

[ He knows what wounds from his claws look like. He knows. ]

[Alivian is in the middle of wrapping a part when he looks up from hearing Logan's voice, part of a shorn length of his own shirt in his mouth.]

I tried to wake you, is all.

[Calm, not judging.]

You were having a nightmare, so I tried to touch you awake. You calmed down after I gave a Command, so, the damage isn't severe.

[He looks away, continuing to wrap his arm up. Aside from his body's reaction to the pain, he's quite calm - all the way down to his heartbeat.]

I'll be more careful next time.

That's not -

[ He's angry at himself. His eyes flash and he exhales with a severe frown. He's trying not to show his anger too much - he doesn't want to frighten this person off - but it's so, so clear in his entire stance and how tight it is. ]

It's not acceptable. Not to hurt you. It's not about you being careful. You shouldn't fucking have to be.

[He gives a one-armed shrug and carefully continues to wrap his arm up, and then ties it off and tucks the knot under a layer of wrapping.]

Reality won't change just because you wish it was different.

[His tone is careful and even, and he gives his arm and fingers an experimental flex to see how well it holds.]

I know you wouldn't have lashed out if you could have helped it then. I'll live. It doesn't hurt that badly, and it'll heal.

[It'll probably scar. It'll certainly be the first mark from someone that didn't mean to, for once.]

I'm not saying it's alright, but I'm not angry.

[Though clearly, Logan is.]

We should find something to eat, and then consider next steps. My plan is to find a way to escape this place.

Are you sure you won't need stitches?

[ Not that Logan knows how to manage them here. He shakes his head to try to get stupid thoughts out of his head. No, getting out of here is best. Immediately. Then tehy can get him treated. ]

We probably fucking want to skip something to eat and find a goddamn exit. There has to be one. Somewhere.

[ Look, he spent times around Charles, who makes the impossible happen by infusing reality with hope. He can do it too if he tries, surely. ]

If you know where the supplies for that are, I could use them. I can sew myself back up. If not, then it's not something we should worry about right now.

...We can scavenge or hunt or something while we look for a way out. I can't be too careless with my health. Some of my body's functions are closer to someone in the final cycles of life rather than my own age bracket, by comparison.

[He clicks his tongue and finally gets to his feet, looking at Logan thoughtfully.]

There's bound to be another barrier somewhere, at some time. Walk through, and pray we find ourselves, well. Your home.

Not that those things are visible to the naked eye. It's how I got here to begin with. For those, we just have to walk and pray we both walk through it.

Because if we find one of those things, we won't know until we've hit the other side. It's really a "needle in a haystack" situation, except even the needle looks like hay.

[While he speaks, he picks up his dropped mask, and brings it over to the remaining scraps of his shirt to wipe the inside of the mask with the new, higher hem.

[And then, it goes back onto his face. At once, the ever-present weight of his stare fades entirely. So too does the whole of Alivian's expressiveness.]

Edited 2024-09-04 21:54 (UTC)

I have a few supplies. [ But Logan looks... hesitant. And then he clarifies why. ] There's no antiseptic, just a needle and thread. It's probably not any fucking better in the end.

[ He doesn't want this guy to get infected, and he's not thinking of using other things as an alternate source. And then he pauses. ]

Why are you putting the mask back on? It's just me.

[ He'll address their luck, or possibility of it, on getting a way to his home - after. This is more important. ]

...Hm?

[Mouth a steady line, one ear flicks. His touch reaches the lower rim of it, and, after a moment, he removes it again. He has enough grace to look distinctly self-conscious.]

...Oh. Habit. I usually put it on as soon as I wake up.

[He considers and then pockets it into his coat.]

...If we had refined animal intestine, or something similar, for thread, it would work, but thread normally used for clothes isn't acceptable to me. And you do have antiseptic. I used a little of the cognac for the cuts. I'll pay you back for the whole bottle once we get out of here.

[True to his word, there is only less than a mouthful missing from the bottle.]

I want you to forget that habit.

[ He's stern, as if one can do so immediately after being instructed to. He's really underestimating the meaning of habit. ]

You don't need it anymore.

[ As for the rest, he shakes his head. ]

I have sewing thread. It's just a regular repair kit. Nothing medical.

[ He looks perplexed at the idea of being 'paid back' for something he scrounged up and found, especially when it was necessary to use. But he says nothing about that. ]

Edited 2024-09-05 01:58 (UTC)

[The comment about forgetting the habit gets an eyebrow raise.]

If we find a way out and we head back to my world, I can't afford to do that. There's a risk of it killing someone.

And if we enter any other world, I don't know how others will react to my Glare.

[Alivian next moves to gather his socks and boots, and starts to put them on, tucking his pants into the tops of them like before while he reties the footwear.]

That you don't fall down and writhe despite it making damned near anyone else do that? I'm not going to accept that as the given reaction.

...right.

[ He shakes his head. Stupid of him to forget about that. But he tended to centralize his experiences - what he felt was obviously what everyone felt. It always took reminding to figure out something else was true. ]

At least fall out of the habit while we're alone. I can handle it. It gives you a break.

[ He'd be saying the same to any student who was similar. ]

[If nothing else, Alivian doesn't blame him for forgetting. They've known each other for maybe 24 hours-ish. There's only so much one can retain!]

You may have to remind me a few times. Takes awhile for a pup to learn a new trick.

[His next move is to pull on his now-shorter shirt, and he frowns slightly at how it slightly comes up above his belt line. Still, not missing a beat, he starts to button it back up again. The movements of his wounded arm are only slightly hesitant by comparison to the other arm, but he doesn't seem to fully register that it's painful.

[And in a way, that's the case. It's such a non-issue compared to his usual aches that it just... doesn't really matter to him, aside from keeping it clean and wrapped up.]

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