As much as he'd like to stay firmly in one spot, Peter knew that if he stayed any longer, he'd be in danger of falling asleep right there and who knew what kind of weird creatures roamed around at night in this place. So when Claire made an attempt to get him up off the bench, he didn't put up much of a fight. After all, a bed sounded like a much nicer place to sleep than the forest floor had been. As soon as she stood him up he gently put an arm around her shoulder--not wanting to put much weight on her, but not really wanting to fall over either. It's a companionable gesture, also, because he really was glad to see her, even though the circumstances weren't the best.
Claire's words filtered in enough that he understood what she was talking about this time... Kind of. "I got back weeks ago?" That didn't make sense for a lot of different reasons... ones that he would undoubtedly think of later--he limited himself at that particular moment to putting one foot in front of the other while hoping that he didn't look like he was leaning on a teenager for support even though he was, kinda. Except, the thought of Rene pulling out his memories pulling out his memories again really bothered him to the point where it was overriding his main thought process.
"Why would Rene erase my memory? I don't get it." The first time he'd done it, was of his own accord, and that was to save Peter from the Company. There was no reason for him to do that again, unless... his mom had told him to, because that's the person that the Haitian seemed to get most of his orders from, but that's just silly--there was no way his mother would ever tell Rene to do that to him, because regardless of how many lies she'd spun in her life, she just wouldn't go that far. No, there just had to be another explanation. Think Peter, think. Wait... Oh, never mind. Godammit, that seemed like it was going to be an awesome thought right there--too bad it vanished so fast.
"I wasn't talking about the acid lake, though--there's a stream right outside." Well that was a random subject change--it didn't help with him remembering what he was about to think about, either, but sometimes Peter just needs to talk for no reason. This was one of those times.
For all five dollars in change she had to her height, she did a pretty good job helping Peter walk in the direction of some of the more promising buildings. There was something to be said for the strength that one built up through cheerleading after all, she supposed.
Either way, it appeared that in the distance there were cabins, and with any luck, there might be something moderately more comfortable than soil and grass in them to lay on, so she started guiding Peter in that direction, keeping close to him and keeping a hold on his arm so she could steady him and prevent him from trying to pass out in the middle of the unpaved paths that wound through the tiny fort.
"I can think of a lot of reasons Rene would be forced to erase your memory, Peter, but you're not going to like any of them. I'll explain once you've gotten the chance to rest some, I promise. I'll explain everything." Well. Most things. If she could help it, she'd probably leave out the part about Meredith dying, and wind up embellishing the part about her violently stabbing Sylar with a shard of glass.
Yeah. Peter would definitely be more proud of her, Claire concluded, if she focused on the things she'd done right instead of the people she'd let get killed, and thinking of her dead mother wasn't going to help her get through this situation any easier.
"Maybe then we can go back down to that stream and clean your burns out a little better." Or she'd work on finding a way to transfer her blood to him somehow. An injection wasn't going to work if there were no needles, and she'd rather not cut him open just to get it inside. After all, there was a chance that wouldn't even work, and then Peter would just be more beat up than before. But, she'd do something to take care of him, and the resolution she felt toward the idea built up her pride just a little more.
He just let her lead, not really paying attention to where they were headed to. Luckily for both of them, he wasn't exactly the tallest person either, and pretty light to boot from all those meals that he'd skipped and all the extra running around that kept his metabolism at his teenage level. Peter hoped that Claire didn't mind how she was getting soaked though--he really should've asked Lily to do that drying spell on him too. But oh well, it's not like he can go back in time for a redo... unless he can and he just doesn't know about it because he has no memory of having Hiro's ability--if Claire was right, then he might just have to re-discover all the abilities he got back when he did whatever he did at Pinehearst, which should be easy considering that he actually remembers what it feels like to have them, this time.
"I think me not liking the reasons a given, Claire, since it's my memories being stolen that we're talking about here." After a few seconds of pause, he added, "Again". He wondered for a moment after he said that, if Claire even knew about the last time that had happened to him--things had gotten so hectic immediately after he got his memories back that he had barely even gotten in more than a few conversations with her, and there was always barely enough time to get , never mind catching up with what they'd missed in the other's life. He wasn't even sure that it was something he really wanted to talk to her about--it felt almost like he would be telling her about a stranger, and it might just change her opinion of him, if it doesn't just confuse the hell out of her.
Speaking of being confused, it would be better if they didn't have this discussion right this very second, when he'd be likely to miss every nuance that she'd make and say some really off-kilter things. "Yeah, we can talk about this later, and you can tell me all about what I... missed, or what I'm missing, whichever." They would really have to make a clear decision on that one--if Claire was wrong about him losing his memory, then that would be a lot of wasted energy towards nothing. Energy that they could be using to get out of this place.
"That was a really nice stream... I don't know what kind of things are living in there, though." He was talking about bacteria, of course, which was what he was trying to convey, but four syllable words seemed like too much effort. "Hey--did you know that there're people from Harry Potter here?" That was an extremely unbelievable way of putting it, but he just assumed that since he accepted it without question, other people would too, even if it was told to them by their half-delirious eccentric uncle.
When Peter mentioned Harry Potter, Claire quickly determined that his burns had come with a side of delirium. Whatever was in that lake water had gotten into his system and he was probably feverish, though she wasn't about to grope him to find out while she was trying to help him stumble in the direction of what appeared to be cabins. It was better to just dismiss the comment than try to figure out what he was talking about, or what Harry Potter could possibly mean in this context. Given the talking animals, maybe he'd run into a witch, too? That was a scary thought.
At least he seemed to be relatively accepting of the fact that she was going to wait until he got his head screwed on straighter to update him. That was a relief. The walk to the cabins went faster than she anticipated, but he was moving pretty well as long as she didn't let him wander away. Up the steps and into the dusty cabin they went, with Claire getting the door and holding it for him. She peered around inside -- it was dusty, dank, and suffocating, but it was better than the forest and better than outside in Tombstone.
"I'm glad you're here," she murmured as a final though, shutting the door and going to check out the rooms in the back -- a creepy, uncomfortable looking but functional bed. That was something. "In here, c'mon," she bid.
Claire's words filtered in enough that he understood what she was talking about this time... Kind of. "I got back weeks ago?" That didn't make sense for a lot of different reasons... ones that he would undoubtedly think of later--he limited himself at that particular moment to putting one foot in front of the other while hoping that he didn't look like he was leaning on a teenager for support even though he was, kinda. Except, the thought of Rene pulling out his memories pulling out his memories again really bothered him to the point where it was overriding his main thought process.
"Why would Rene erase my memory? I don't get it." The first time he'd done it, was of his own accord, and that was to save Peter from the Company. There was no reason for him to do that again, unless... his mom had told him to, because that's the person that the Haitian seemed to get most of his orders from, but that's just silly--there was no way his mother would ever tell Rene to do that to him, because regardless of how many lies she'd spun in her life, she just wouldn't go that far. No, there just had to be another explanation. Think Peter, think. Wait... Oh, never mind. Godammit, that seemed like it was going to be an awesome thought right there--too bad it vanished so fast.
"I wasn't talking about the acid lake, though--there's a stream right outside." Well that was a random subject change--it didn't help with him remembering what he was about to think about, either, but sometimes Peter just needs to talk for no reason. This was one of those times.
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Either way, it appeared that in the distance there were cabins, and with any luck, there might be something moderately more comfortable than soil and grass in them to lay on, so she started guiding Peter in that direction, keeping close to him and keeping a hold on his arm so she could steady him and prevent him from trying to pass out in the middle of the unpaved paths that wound through the tiny fort.
"I can think of a lot of reasons Rene would be forced to erase your memory, Peter, but you're not going to like any of them. I'll explain once you've gotten the chance to rest some, I promise. I'll explain everything." Well. Most things. If she could help it, she'd probably leave out the part about Meredith dying, and wind up embellishing the part about her violently stabbing Sylar with a shard of glass.
Yeah. Peter would definitely be more proud of her, Claire concluded, if she focused on the things she'd done right instead of the people she'd let get killed, and thinking of her dead mother wasn't going to help her get through this situation any easier.
"Maybe then we can go back down to that stream and clean your burns out a little better." Or she'd work on finding a way to transfer her blood to him somehow. An injection wasn't going to work if there were no needles, and she'd rather not cut him open just to get it inside. After all, there was a chance that wouldn't even work, and then Peter would just be more beat up than before. But, she'd do something to take care of him, and the resolution she felt toward the idea built up her pride just a little more.
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"I think me not liking the reasons a given, Claire, since it's my memories being stolen that we're talking about here." After a few seconds of pause, he added, "Again". He wondered for a moment after he said that, if Claire even knew about the last time that had happened to him--things had gotten so hectic immediately after he got his memories back that he had barely even gotten in more than a few conversations with her, and there was always barely enough time to get , never mind catching up with what they'd missed in the other's life. He wasn't even sure that it was something he really wanted to talk to her about--it felt almost like he would be telling her about a stranger, and it might just change her opinion of him, if it doesn't just confuse the hell out of her.
Speaking of being confused, it would be better if they didn't have this discussion right this very second, when he'd be likely to miss every nuance that she'd make and say some really off-kilter things. "Yeah, we can talk about this later, and you can tell me all about what I... missed, or what I'm missing, whichever." They would really have to make a clear decision on that one--if Claire was wrong about him losing his memory, then that would be a lot of wasted energy towards nothing. Energy that they could be using to get out of this place.
"That was a really nice stream... I don't know what kind of things are living in there, though." He was talking about bacteria, of course, which was what he was trying to convey, but four syllable words seemed like too much effort. "Hey--did you know that there're people from Harry Potter here?" That was an extremely unbelievable way of putting it, but he just assumed that since he accepted it without question, other people would too, even if it was told to them by their half-delirious eccentric uncle.
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At least he seemed to be relatively accepting of the fact that she was going to wait until he got his head screwed on straighter to update him. That was a relief. The walk to the cabins went faster than she anticipated, but he was moving pretty well as long as she didn't let him wander away. Up the steps and into the dusty cabin they went, with Claire getting the door and holding it for him. She peered around inside -- it was dusty, dank, and suffocating, but it was better than the forest and better than outside in Tombstone.
"I'm glad you're here," she murmured as a final though, shutting the door and going to check out the rooms in the back -- a creepy, uncomfortable looking but functional bed. That was something. "In here, c'mon," she bid.
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