Thorn in the Garden of Life

[losthunter]

Hunter paced his apartment, his phone in one hand, and a list of phone numbers in his other hand. He just got off the phone with Marcus, one of the six other people who had been given a gift by Kendra. And had learned that Marcus had been attacked by Austin.

Luckily, Marcus was able to get away, without any major side effects.

But Hunter was now worried about the others. And so he was making calls to everyone else who he had talked to, and warned them about Austin so they could stay safe.

And he knew it was time to face Austin again. But even though he felt like it was an emergency, Hunter knew that it would be better to make sure someone else came with him. He also knew exactly who he wanted to have by his side.

Jim. Austin attacked another person. I feel like I need to deal with this. Are you available to come with me?

Comments

[boldygoing]

Sitting down is good. And now that he has more physical sensations to help anchor him in the here and now - the couch underneath his legs, Hunter's hand on his back - he's able to calm down a little.

"It wasn't... it wasn't all eight hours. I don't think." He's genuinely uncertain how long it lasted, but it doesn't seem like it was the entire time. "You said fifteen minutes?"

[losthunter]

Hunter definitely doesn't like seeing Jim so disoriented. "Roughly. I was more concerned about watching you, than watching the time."

Luckily for both of them, Hunter hadn't started cooking anything for breakfast yet. He has a bunch of fruit on the counter, to prepare a smoothie.

[boldygoing]

That's certainly fair, because Jim doesn't like being disoriented either. He's getting back to normal, though, a little at a time. Especially now that it doesn't seem like he's going to go straight into more flashbacks, not right away anyway.

"Maybe a little longer." It's hard for him to really put a number to how long it actually lasted, but that sounds... roughly right. He doesn't quite shudder, but he does rub his hands over his face. "I don't think I dreamed while I was actually sleeping."

[losthunter]

Hunter frowns. "Maybe that is why you had all those flashbacks at once."

He heads back into the kitchen, to start preparing the fruit to make them both a smoothie. "I don't think you should take the second one, later tonight. I would rather deal with you waking up in the middle of the night, then you wandering around the apartment all zoned out."

[boldygoing]

"Maybe," Jim agrees uneasily. It's as good a theory as any other. And he can't help but agree with Hunter's second idea. "I would too. That was... fucking terrifying." He's not ashamed to admit that, not to Hunter. He's so far out of his depth here, and he can't help but feel like he's actually going insane, that small knot of anxiety and terror hidden away inside of him even when he's not in the grips of a flashback. He knows damn well why this is happening, and that the curse will eventually wear off, but... he still worries.

[losthunter]

"For a moment there... I thought I lost you to your memories..." Hunter frowns. "And I don't know what I would have done..."

[boldygoing]

Jim pulls the jacket a little tighter around his shoulders, staying put on the couch until he's more positive that he isn't about to relive yet another horrible experience from his past. "If that was what the curse was supposed to be like, then thank fuck we got Bill to make these for us."

[losthunter]

"No fucking kidding... if the curse meant for you to relive those memories over and over again..." Hunter shakes his head. He can't even think about losing Jim like that. Where he would be stuck in the past.

He starts up the blender, to mix up the smoothies, before starting up another topic for them to concentrate on.

"I am making a breakfast pizza with tomatoes, goat cheese, basil and eggs. Do you feel up to helping?"

[boldygoing]

The sound of the blender startles him at first, though not enough to spark any new flashbacks, thank goodness. He rubs his hands over his face again, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "I, uh..." He wants to say yes, sure, but he's rattled enough that he doesn't think he'd be able to pretend everything's fine either. "I gotta... freshen up first."

[losthunter]

"Go right ahead." Hunter knows that Jim can't really take a bath or a shower since he can't remove that jacket. But he can still wash his face.

[boldygoing]

Now that he feels relatively confident in his ability to get around again, Jim retreats to the bathroom to do what he can to make himself feel more... normal.

As if that were even possible.

Still, there's a lot he can do with a washcloth without taking off any clothes, and while he doesn't feel entirely refreshed, at least he feels human again.

He's in there for several long minutes before he comes back out, a bit less distressed than he was before, though the bizarre and awful awakening has already started his day off on the wrong foot. "So... breakfast pizza, huh?"

[losthunter]

When Jim comes out of the bathroom, Hunter has the eggs starting to cook on a frying pan. He looks up at Jim's comment, with a small smile.

"Yes."

"I thought it would be interesting to try."

[boldygoing]

If Hunter is willing to try to act like nothing's wrong, Jim can try to do the same. He needs that kind of normalcy right now, and he's sure he's not the only one.

"Sounds like it. I don't think I've ever had it before."

[losthunter]

"It is very much like an omelet, except you don't fold the eggs over. You place all your toppings onto the cooked eggs."

Hunter nods to a couple of large cups that are placed on the counter. "Could you pour the smoothies?"

[boldygoing]

"Sure." This whole can't-use-sharp-objects-or-heat-sources thing is getting incredibly irritating, and he reminds himself that it's just one more day, give or take. Besides, it could be worse.

"What's in this, anyway?" he asks as he gets two glasses out of the cupboard.

[losthunter]

"Blueberries, oranges and spinach. And I added a tablespoon of protein powder." It is a typical breakfast smoothie for Hunter.

[boldygoing]

Jim's usually a coffee guy, but he's also up for trying new things. "Sounds interesting."

He pours the smoothies, wishing there was something else he could do to help, instead of just being a burden on Hunter. But he doesn't voice that, because he knows Hunter will just insist that he isn't, and then they'll just start the whole cycle of guilt all over again.

So instead, he acts as casually as he can manage. "So, what's the plan for today?"

[losthunter]

It is a weird situation right now. And Hunter can't wait for it to end. He doesn't know how to spend the rest of their day, without causing more memories to be triggered. He is slowly running out of ideas.

And he hates how they are getting stuck in that cycle of guilt too.

He raises an eyebrow at how casual Jim is pretending to be. "I have a few books that we could read."

[boldygoing]

Jim doesn't sit well, when it comes to things that keep him from his normal duties. Taking time off when he has a say in the matter is one thing. Forced downtime is a different beast entirely. He thought he'd had enough of it during his long recuperation from the warp core incident, but now it seems he has to deal with it again.

Reading is one of the few things that let him escape reality for a bit, both then and in previous hospital stays. He can only hope that such escapes will continue to be metaphorical. He smiles faintly back at Hunter. "I think I can handle that. I'm sure you've got something that won't... set me off."

Under normal circumstances, it'd be nice to just spend quiet time with a friend, without any pressures of command waiting for his attention. But he can also tell that Hunter isn't quite buying the everything-is-fine act either. "You holding up okay?"

[losthunter]

"Not really." Hunter sets out a couple of dishes for them, with a few slices of breakfast pizza each. They can eat at the counter top.

"I feel like I have all this pent-up anger and hostility. And I can't do anything about it." Mostly because he doesn't want to trigger any memories.

[boldygoing]

Jim nods in understanding, and in agreement. "I know what you mean..." They've never sparred before, and now that it's come up, he wonders if Hunter even does that sort of thing. But now isn't a good time to find out. Jim's been in more than his fair share of fights over his lifetime, not all of them in a carefully controlled environment or against an opponent that didn't want to hurt him. There's a lot that could go wrong, if he summoned up the wrong memory.

He takes a sip of the smoothie, not really sure what to expect from either flavor or texture. It's enjoyable enough, even though it isn't coffee, but maybe having him handle steaming hot liquids right now isn't the best either. It'll do.

"The whole... fight-or-flight thing isn't helping." Jim's having enough trouble coming back to reality in the middle of some traumatizing shit and no longer having a target to punch or yell at, on his end of things. And to Hunter, he's sure that watching him struggle is just as frustrating, helpless to do anything to stop him from acting like he's lost his mind.

[losthunter]

Hunter has also been in his fair share of fights. None of them as intense of what Jim has had to face, based from the memories that he has had so far. But at the very least Hunter knows how to fend for himself.

He just never thought he would need to use those skills against Jim.

"I know... especially since we can't do either." There is no place for them to spar. And Hunter would agree that it is not the best idea right now. And due to Hermione's magic, they can't leave the apartment.

"When the curse is gone... maybe we should hit the boxing ring."

[boldygoing]

"I'd be down for that." Jim's done a fair amount of boxing, though his martial arts repertoire has expanded a lot since then, incorporating Vulcan moves and a few things he's copied from sessions with Samus. Either way, a structured kind of fight is the best kind, to keep his skills sharp and work out the muscles involved.

He turns his attention to the breakfast pizza. It's unfamiliar, but pretty good, all things considered. Privately, he wonders if Hunter is trying to choose things that Jim probably doesn't have memories associated with, but if he is, that's a damn good idea. Aside from the ration bar incident, he hasn't had a freakout over food yet, and that was less because of specific foodstuffs and more just... regular old trauma response. The same shit he's occasionally had to deal with over the last thirteen years.

"Too bad you don't have a treadmill or two," he comments through a mouthful of pizza. "We could try to run it out."

[losthunter]

"No treadmills..." Hunter chuckles lightly. "But I do have a small trampoline. And a weight set. So there are workouts we could do, that might be okay..."

[boldygoing]

Jim's not sure trampolines are his thing, but weights sound okay. "Worth a shot. Maybe we can finish our paintings later too... things were going okay until... you know." He doesn't want to dredge that up again, so he doesn't get any more specific.