losthunter | The Stories We Keep Secret

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The Stories We Keep Secret

Hunter has received a few phone calls after completing his memorial to Kendra, and getting the opportunity to display the artwork in his dimension. His goal of finding the other people who might have had Kendra affect their lives had been successful. And now he is ready to go speak to them personally.

But first, he didn't want to go alone. And at the same time, he didn't want those he was meeting to know that he didn't trust them. So he called Faris to join him in the adventure. Hopefully he would be able to put more of Kendra's memory to peace by doing this.

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"I don't know that much about how magic works," Jim admits. He can think of a possible fairytale solution for Hunter being asleep, but it doesn't solve the thorn problem.

"Don't you?" Kendra turns to him, as if sensing where his thoughts went.

"My original spell on him, when we both thought it was a curse, was supposed to end with a kiss." She speaks it out loud. "But because Hunter was meant to be more, the kiss didn't break that spell. A kiss could break this one."

"What is the significance of this kiss?" Faris wonders.

"It's an old story from ancient times on Earth," Jim explains. "A woman was cursed to fall asleep until her one true love found and kissed her. But I'm not Hunter's one true love or anything," he adds, directing the last part towards Kendra. "Would it work?"

"That one true love bit is a little exaggerated." Kendra answers. She takes Hunter's hand in her own. She is very careful not to touch the thorns in the gesture. "It only has to be someone who has that affection, that concern, and has a level of attachment."

"It could be anyone he feels close to. That he holds in his heart."

"If I were real, and not a mental representation of myself, my true self would have worked. But I am not her."

"I am not capable of this kissing ritual either," Faris says apologetically.

Jim is wondering if maybe he somehow jinxed them both, with the commentary after he woke up from the coma. "Sleeping Beauty, huh," he says, approaching the bedside and looking down at Hunter. "This had better not become a running theme with us, you know," he says, and bends down to kiss the other man.

There is a warm glow of light around the bed as soon as Jim's lips touch Hunter's. The dark thorns quickly disappear. He is left laying in a bed of roses. And there is a slight movement from Hunter himself, as his free hand moves to wrap around Jim's waist. And the kiss is returned, softly.

As the dark thorns disappear, there is a small ball of darkness remained behind. Kendra manifests a small net to place over the darkness. "No you don't..."

Jim's worries are eased when he feels Hunter responding, proof that the fairytale solution worked.

Faris looks at the ball of darkness curiously and cautiously. "That is the source?" he asks.

The mental representation of Hunter is awake now, even though his actual body is still in a half-awake mode. He smiles at seeing Jim. Something about his smile would tell Jim that it is not unusual for Hunter to dream about him.

"It is." Kendra creates a globe to hold the darkness. "It can be removed from his mind now."

Jim smiles back at him. "Hey, handsome. I think it's time for you to wake up now."

"I think I can do that..." Hunter responds, moving into a sitting position.

"We will need one of you to take this out of the mind." Kendra holds out the globe with the darkness encased.

"I shall do this task," Faris volunteers, reaching out a forepaw to take the globe. The K'da isn't certain what will happen when they return to the real world, but a warrior does not fear the unknown.

They get the sensation of being pulled out of Hunter's mind. Within minutes, they are back in the physical world. April is still sitting beside Hunter, who is breathing normally now. She still has her hand on his chest, to keep him laying down until McCoy gives his okay for him to move.

Faris will actually being holding a globe with a deep darkness inside of it.

"I don't feel so tired anymore..." Hunter speaks, softly.

Jim blinks a couple of times to get his bearings. "You feel okay?" he asks Hunter.

McCoy's staring at his tricorder in mild befuddlement at the sudden improvement in his patient's readings. He'd been getting better, slowly but surely, but there's still little indication of the source. Except, of course, for the ominous-looking globe that the quadrupedal alien is holding.

"Much better..." He is still a little disoriented himself. He has flashes of what happened in his mind, as if it had been a dream.

"What is that?" April points to the ominous-looking globe.

"You can sit up now, just take it easy," McCoy advises Hunter.

Faris cradles the globe in the palm of his forepaw. "This is the curse, contained by the oracle within Hunter's mind," he answers April.

Hunter eases himself up, slowly, until he is sitting on the couch. He turns his attention to the globe that Faris is holding too.

"We have to find a way to destroy it." He doesn't want anyone else to go through what he just went through.

"May I?" April holds out her hands, for the globe.

"Certainly." Faris isn't being harmed by holding it, so he assumes she won't be either, and hands over the dark object with delicate paws.

April holds the globe for a moment. Then closes her eyes, using her abilities to make the globe smaller and smaller. Basically crushing the darkness until there is nothing left to crush.

"If Austin did that to me... he might do that to others."

McCoy is trying not to stare but it's hard. That is some weird, freaky shit. Jim takes it far more in stride, and turns to Hunter. "What can we do to help you stop him?"

"We will have to find him." Hunter doesn't think Austin will stick around the hospital, where they met. "And make sure that he is not hurting others with the gift that Kendra left him."

"Not tonight." April tells him, firmly. "You need to rest."

"Damn straight you're not," McCoy agrees. "If you just get yourself in the same situation again, I don't know that you'd fare as well."

"But he might hurt others..." Hunter tries to reason with the others.

April places her hand on his shoulder for a moment. She closes her eyes. And tilts her head, as if listening to something.

"No. You have no worries about that for a couple of months. He is still not aware of his abilities or their capabilities. He has no idea that he was able to affect you at all..." She opens her eyes. "But he would know, if you went after him too soon."

"I'll help you any way I can when you're ready to go after him," Jim promises. "But it won't do anybody any good to run off without a plan. Trust me." He learned that lesson the hard way, and he doesn't want to see Hunter get himself into more trouble.

"Okay... okay... I give..." Hunter lays back down on the couch.

April stands, checking her voices one more time. "I am done here."

"Thank you for coming," Jim says to her, meeting her eyes. They've only met once before, after all, and she didn't have to respond to his call. But he's very grateful that she did.

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