acatalepsy_rpg | video, after the caverns

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video, after the caverns

So, correct me if I'm wrong about this.

[Hank doesn't bother with an intro, just starts right on in. The angle he's holding his wrist shows both his face and the stick he's dragging along the wall behind him, which has been in a fire at some point in the recent past and leaves a long black trail of ash over the wall as he walks.]

But when all you heroes trooped into the haunted caves under the mysterious freaky lake the communication plan was along the lines of, 'gee, if someone gets their feet ate off by some freaky bullshit I sure do hope they yell real loud so I can get there before they bleed out' right? I mean, I trust you guys know to make a post letting us all know if you need backup, but what if this- [Here the screen shakes as Hank wiggles his wrist, indicating the watch] -gets busted, or stolen, or whatever?

I don't know, I was just thinking, next time a bunch of us, or just anyone, goes into something that might get bad there should be some kind of post stuck to the top of our feed that we could all check, just something like this-

[He stops walking, still talking as he starts to scratch a little list in ash onto the wall beside him.]

Hey, I wonder how little Suzy's doing. Oh, she checked in an hour ago, she's probably fine.

[He writes Suzy on the wall, and a checkmark next to her name.]

How about JimBob the Murder Bot? Oh, he hasn't checked in for about seven hours, I should take someone to go look for him.

[Next to JimBob the Murder Bot he doodles a little skull. Sorry Jimbo, it's hard out there for a figurative probably-dead robot. Better luck next time.]

Or maybe you guys would rather do some kinda daily role call like in school or, hell, maybe it's just more fun to lone wolf your way through all this world saving shit, what do I know. Decide amongst yourselves. I might be around, I might not. Just thought I'd throw this out there. I'm gonna go eat.

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Jesus christ, you little shithead.

[Hank rolls from his knees to his feet, standing up and reaching out toward Minato's shoulder. What he intends to do is try to grab him and pull him up. What he does, just in time, is remember to stop his hand before it actually gets to Minato and drop it back to his side. It hasn't been that hard not to touch anyone, he's barely even had to try, but when this kid's sitting right in front of him looking so goddamn pathetic it's harder.]

Come on, up. How long's it been since you ate, or slept or - I don't know, any of that fun human stuff you probably don't wanna tell me whether you've been keeping up with?

[ It's kind of hard to miss when somebody reaches for you and then backs away, and if Minato is optimistic enough, he can tell himself Hank just wants to give him the autonomy to stand up by himself. He's capable of it, but he doesn't move at all, and instead just leans his head back against the mattress and stares up at Hank. ]

I ate before we set out. [ not saying what, exactly, or how much ] And I've slept plenty, too. There wasn't much to do down there, once we got to the end and couldn't figure out where else to go.

[ That, at least, he can assure Hank of: he gets enough sleep. He probably gets too much sleep, all things considered, but it's better than not enough. ]

I wanted to come see you first, anyways. I can eat and sleep and stuff after.

Can you though? You sure?

[Fuck, is this how Connor felt last night when Hank refused to get the fuck up off the floor and get to bed? For a second he almost feels sympathetic for the little fucker. Hank runs a hand through his hair.]

Fuck, what time is it? There's probably nothing made in the kitchen right now. If I have to actually make you soup I might give you some kind of medal for, I don't know, being really fuckin sneaky.

Kinda hard to tell what time it is when it's stormy out, but midday...? [ Who eats meals on a schedule, anyways? The prospect of having soup makes him straighten up a little, though- not enough to actually get up, but it's the sort of perking up somebody might expect from a dog hearing mention of dinnertime. Maybe he is actually hungry. ]

Would you actually do that? Make me soup and give me a medal?

[Hank huffs a laugh.]

Don't push your fuckin luck. Can't promise it won't be shitty, been uh- It's uh, it's been a while since I cooked anything. So. But, uh. Would that make you actually get the fuck up, if I promised you shitty soup?

I'll get up if you promise me shitty soup.

[ And he holds Hank to it, even before he promises it, pushing off his knees to stand up and shaking the stiffness out of his legs before they cramp. ]

I'm not a terrible cook, either. I'll make something for you in return.

Not today you fuckin won't.

[His arm twitches - just kind of twitches, this time - and instead of putting his arm around the kid's shoulders Hank goes to open the door for him, waving Minato ahead of him with a gesture loaded down with sarcasm to make up for the gesture.]

You're gonna eat your weird shitty soup and give me my little souvenir and then go- I don't know, I don't know your life, but you're not making shit for me until you got some sleep.

[ Minato steps out of the room, but not without lingering at the doorway and throwing a glance over his shoulder— not at Hank, but at Sumo, to see if he's awake and wants to come with them. Maybe the dog will eat something he makes if Hank refuses to; it doesn't really feel right to be taken care of when he feels like he didn't do anything to deserve it. ]

Alright, alright... The plan was to sleep for forty-eight hours after this, so I needed to see you first. We can have lunch whenever I wake up next.

What, you want him to come? Sumo, come on bud, want some food? We can go feed you some more shit you probably shouldn't be eating.

[Sumo's watching Hank, ears up, and Hank sighs, encouraging him again before glancing at Minato.]

Food? Come on buddy. Sumo.

Fourty-eight hours? Thought you said you slept a lot down there already.

Let's go, Sumo... Want to try curry?

[ Not that he can make curry, but maybe Akira has some left over in the fridge from before; he can hope. He pats his knees in what he thinks is an encouraging, but likely ineffective gesture— Koromaru's always eager to get up and go wherever Minato is, so coaxing isn't his strong suit. ]

I slept a lot, but I can't really call that rest. The ground was hard and bumpy, and cold, and wet, and crowded.

Don't promise him what you can't deliver, Sumo remembers that shit.

[It works, though. Sumo lifts himself up and off the bed and heads over to them, sniffs briefly at Minato's legs, then starts walking ahead. Hank huffs, watching him, then closes the door and starts walking kitchenward.]

So why the fuck are you visiting some old asshole, you should be in bed.

[ He'll make it a quest then: next time he comes across curry, the first bite goes to Sumo. ]

I promised I'd come see you while I'm still alive, didn't I? Otherwise, I wouldn't be answering any calls for two days.

Well, you could just tell me that, or call on your way back, or something.

[Hank frowns at Minato for a second, then speeds up to catch up to Sumo and bury a hand in his fur. It's harder not to touch, he's finding out, when he's worried. Damn it. But it's not like his stupid power turning on would help the kid. Like, even a little.]

You really think you can pull that, two without waking up? That's pretty ambitious.

[ It's probably for the best that Hank pick up on Sumo's happy curry thoughts instead, if that's something his powers can even do. For Minato, all he allows to show on his face is some quiet musing to himself- he's always been good at that, keeping things off his face, but it doesn't change the way his slow pace slows even further when he's thinking.

Whatever he's thinking, though, he shakes his head at. ]

I've done a week, before. But I was really messed up then. This feels like just a two day nap.

Yeah, well, at least you can tell, I guess.

[Hank keeps working his hand through Sumo's fur, absently. Maybe it'd be cool if he could feel dog emotions. Maybe that would make this whole thing less terrible. But that would mean that Sumo might - somehow, in a weird dog way - feel his, too, and he wouldn't even be able to pet his dog. Now that would be hell.]

You need me to uh, walk Koro or something while you're out?

[ Dogs are like that, though, even without magic of their own, sometimes they're able to pick up on the emotions of people around them. It's why Minato and Koromaru aren't that close friends, likely, even though they would fight for and die for each other. ]

Yeah, thanks. He's used to walking himself, but I bet he'd like the company. He'd stuck with Natsume, for the most part, when I was gone, I think. I can't imagine he did a lot of walking.

Well if he can walk himself maybe I should just pair him up with Sumo and let them go do their thing. Sumo doesn't uh, like going that fast these days, though.

[Oh hey, the kitchen. A good distraction from the topic of his dog getting old. Hank looks around, frowning, and the first thing he does is check that the stove has wood in it.]

Thank god, we don't have to like, go chop down a fuckin tree. You have any idea how to start this thing?

Koromaru keeps trying to race everybody, but he's not a puppy anymore, either.

[ The dog just doesn't care, enjoying being able to run around the places he loves most; it's a little enviable, because Minato's on Sumo's side in that he'd sleep around all day if he could. ]

He could probably light this stove too, if he were here... [ With his magic bs, though, so Minato looks around properly to see if he can find a match stick or something. ]

Some sort of match, or striker, or if we have to steal a lantern from somewhere, that'd work too. Or find Mako, I dunno.

Nah, you need to sleep, we need to get this done. We'll just find the damn thing. Since you're the one who knows what a fuckin striker looks like I nominate you to, uh-

You know what, you go for the pantry instead. Maybe the guy who can keep his hands still should be the one to light the fire. Just uh, toss out anything you find in there that looks like soup food.

[He gets to his knees and starts looking around the stove. If Minato does go to the pantry, Sumo will probably follow, looking like he's expecting something.]

[ That's something, coming from the guy who couldn't even feel his hands the first time Minato had spoken to him. But Minato has never been one to argue against direct orders, so he leaves the fire to Hank, turning to the pantry and whatever cabinets are around the kitchen and opens all of them up at once before looking to see what they have. ]

Sumo, [ he murmurs under his breath to the dog so Hank can't hear unless he's trying to. ] You pick out stuff you like too.

[ He leaves it at that, as if the dog can understand him, and then starts rooting around for potential soup food. Potatoes and carrots, what Koro had liked from the curry. Meat from unknown animal sources, although they're more like jerky instead of fresh cuts. No onions, because he remembers Hank telling him dogs can't eat onions. He finds some rice, though, and heaves the bag onto the counter- Barabas had said rice was fine. No salt or spices, because he'd been advised against that too. ]

[When the bag drops onto the counter Hank looks up at the stuff Minato found, standing up. The oven is lit, and he didn't even burn himself. So that's cool. There's pots under the old sink and Hank picks one up to rinse it out, already looking unhappy. ]

I guess there's no chance of finding uh, broth or bouillon cubes or something, huh? We'll just use water, uh- you finish washing this, I'll find a uh, a knife. A cutting board, all that jazz.

[He sounds distracted, and moves around the kitchen confidently, for all his bitching about having to survive off ghost-butler meals and raw fruit. Sumo, for his part, is more interested in following Minato around to sniff at whatever he picks up rather than finding anything on his own.]

[ Minato would rather not be on washing duty, because that means rolling his sleeves up so they don't get wet, and having those cuts all over his arms a clear reminder of his inability to be careful, but he does what he's told and works quickly- it doesn't really matter if things aren't clean if they're just going to be boiled right away, right? Cooking is so much easier if he could just microwave everything, or throw fruit and juice into a blender and call it a meal. ]

I still have one of the kitchen knifes from here, if you can't find one. For a cutting board... you can just wipe down the counter top and use that.

Uh, yeah.

[Hank glances over and frowns, jerked out of his unhappy cooking thoughts by the sight of Minato's arms.]

Shit, I forgot, water probably makes those sting doesn't it? I'll uh, I'll take care of it, you just sit down and try not to go to sleep yet. Can't go into, like, a two day coma thing without eating, I did that when we were all sick and it was hell to wake up to.

Edited (clarity) 2018-11-01 02:51 (UTC)

[ Minato pulls a face, and shifts his body a little to block Hank off from the sink. No way, he was put on washing duty and he's going to finish the job. ]

I can handle it. I'm not entirely useless...

[ He doesn't like feeling useless- in a way, it's a lot worse than his stinging arms, which aren't going to scab over and heal if he keeps getting them wet, but he's stubborn in this matter and he's glad that Sumo's sticking by his heels still so Hank would have to get through the dog first if he wanted to pull Minato away from the basin.

Turns out Sumo does make a good guard dog. ]

What?

[Hank frowns, takes in the way Minato's shifted around, and gives himself a second to just rub the heel of his hand hard against an eye. Hangovers mornings should not ever be as busy as this morning's been.]

Where the fuck is this coming from? All I said was I bet doing that kind of hurts cause, you know. I bet it kind of does.

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