It's fine, don't waste your energy, I did it to myself. [Explanation, what's that?
[He carefully gets to his feet, a hand on the crown of his head--it's still throbbing, but it's a dull, grainy ache now instead of that sharp stinging pain. Taking a slow, deep breath, he reaches down and offers a hand to pull Xion up.
[Glancing back into Roxas' empty room, he sort of stops short, the pan in his head and the exhaustion behind his eyes forgotten for a moment.]
There's something... [Once Xion's standing, he releases her hand and steps into the room. It's so still, so untouched, it's like walking into a tomb, and it sends gooseflesh up and down Axel's still-clammy skin beneath his wet sleeves. Moving to the bedside, his breath catches in his throat and he reaches out.]
Xion...
[He holds up his hand, two popsicle sticks caught in his fingers. They both say 'Winner' on them, and Axel has to sink to sit on the bed before his knees give out. There's no envelope this time, but... did Roxas somehow know he was going to be taken away?
[Somewhere along the way Axel thinks he's forgotten how to breathe.]
[Xion mumbles a 'thank you' when he helps her up, and her eyes follow him as he walks into Roxas's room.]
What're you--
[And then she sees what he's holding up. She almost can't make herself walk into that room, but she manages to walk forward, and reaches out to take the popsicle sticks from Axel.]
He...How would... [Had he known he was going to disappear? If...if he had, why hadn't he told Xion? She'd seen him only hours before, just before she went to bed, so...why hadn't he told her? How could he know he was going to leave and just keep them in the dark? Let them feel (feel? She doesn't have the brain power to thing about that right now.) like this?
Her fingers close around the sticks, and she has to to sit down again, staring at the little wooden things in her palm.]
He couldn't have--there's no way he would have left without saying something if he'd known. [Sure, if he'd been pissed off at him he could have seen it, but they hadn't had a fight, and he couldn't imagine Roxas just up and leaving Xion without saying goodbye.]
I can't explain it, but he wouldn't have done that. Not... not to you.
[He smears a hand down his face--Light he wishes his head would stop pounding--and then braces his palms on his knees, squeezing his eyes closed. He's quiet for a moment, then shakes his head and gets shakily to his feet.]
I gotta... I can't stay in here. [The room practically feels haunted. Heading for the door, he pauses to wait for her, pressing his fingertips against his temple.] Coming? I... I need to... Jeez, I feel like my head's gonna explode...
[He doesn't argue when she tells him to go sit down. He starts to protest the glass of water, then decides against it--he just really doesn't have the energy or presence of mind to bicker about it. Sinking onto the couch, he makes a noise of disgust--right, the coat's still wet, and it's gone from being somewhat uncomfortable to just cold and wet and really unpleasant--and quickly gets back up, rubbing his arms.]
I gotta go put on some dry clothes; I'm freezing. I... [He sighs, frowning at her and exasperatedly flapping his arms at his sides.] It was a lousy night. [Understatement much?]
[Dammit, his clothes are in Roxas' room. The apartment only has two bedrooms, after all, and he can't just keep a dresser in the living room by the couch, so he always just kept his things in the closet of the room Roxas slept in. Stepping into that too-still room, he makes his way to the closet and blindly grabs some pajamas before dashing back out of the room and into the bathroom to change.
[Sitting on the toilet lid in his boxers, he takes a moment to look at the stab wound on his thigh. Hissing through his teeth as he presses his fingertips on either side of the wound, he grits his teeth.]
Ow, dammit... [If he hadn't done this to himself he would have been really pissed off. The cut is clean, though--the benefits of summoned weapons is that you never have to sharpen them--and will probably heal without scarring. He doesn't have the energy to try a Cure spell at the moment, so it looks like he'll be going the old-fashioned way. When you're mediocre at restorative magic, though, you keep a stocked first-aid kit and know how to use it. Pulling it out from under the sink, Axel takes a moment to slap a few stay-strips over the puncture and then wraps it with gauze.
[After hanging his wet clothes over the shower curtain rod and getting dressed, Axel emerges from the bathroom with a towel over his wet hair, refusing to limp as the stay-strips pull painfully on the puncture wound with each step. He kind of just wants to sleep for a week. Flopping down onto the couch beside Xion, he just leans back into the cushions and tugs the towel over his eyes.]
[Xion looks up when Axel comes back out, and Elan is sitting in her lap. The kitten seems to know something is wrong, too, and she crawls out of Xion's lap and into Axel's, lightly bonking her head against his stomach with a pitiful little mewl.
Xion smiles a little at that, but reaches out to pick up the glass of water she'd gotten for him, and she gently taps Axel's arm, trying to get him to take it.]
What...happened tonight? [Aside from Roxas disappearing. What happened to his leg? And why was he wet? She had quite a few questions, but she figures the one she asked covers them.]
[Lifting the towel from his eyes and peering down at Elan, he lets one big hand fall on the kitten's head, then sort of mechanically accepts the water. He doesn't drink, though, and just lets the glass rest on his knee. Dropping the towel back over his eyes, he shakes his head.]
Just... got into a situation I wasn't prepared for.
[He's still rubbing Elan's head, still avoiding looking at Xion. There's a beat of silence, and then he sighs. Tugging the towel off his head he looks at her tiredly.]
I dunno what happened to him. I think it's got something to do with the weird curse that seems to be affecting some people this week. Riku's a dog, you know? [A weak chuckle and he clears his throat.] Anyway, he's... totally off his rocker, on about how he's gonna 'fix' things. He said he had to get rid of Riku, so I went to try and stop him. I owed Riku that much.
[A long pause, and he figures he might as well explain.]
I dunno what happened... It's like as soon as I got anywhere near Lea my whole grip on reality just started to slip. [A shake of his head and a sigh.] I... can't explain it. It's like suddenly every single thing that had ever made me look over my shoulder was so real I could smell it. It was affecting Riku, too--I dunno if Lea was causing it, or if he was just completely overtaken by it, but I wasn't interested in seeing what the advanced stages felt like.
[He hesitates a moment, then flaps his arms helplessly and lets his hands drape between his knees.] So I stabbed myself with my chakram to clear my head. Pain's a great way to clear your head, you know? I figured losing a little blood was better than losing my mind.
[Xion winces sympathetically. It was...a good idea, admittedly, if not painful.] Is Riku okay? What happened to Lea? [She hoped this would clear up when the curse was over, but...the fact that it had happened at all was worrying -- and she didn't doubt Lea would feel awful about it later.]
[He carefully gets to his feet, a hand on the crown of his head--it's still throbbing, but it's a dull, grainy ache now instead of that sharp stinging pain. Taking a slow, deep breath, he reaches down and offers a hand to pull Xion up.
[Glancing back into Roxas' empty room, he sort of stops short, the pan in his head and the exhaustion behind his eyes forgotten for a moment.]
There's something... [Once Xion's standing, he releases her hand and steps into the room. It's so still, so untouched, it's like walking into a tomb, and it sends gooseflesh up and down Axel's still-clammy skin beneath his wet sleeves. Moving to the bedside, his breath catches in his throat and he reaches out.]
Xion...
[He holds up his hand, two popsicle sticks caught in his fingers. They both say 'Winner' on them, and Axel has to sink to sit on the bed before his knees give out. There's no envelope this time, but... did Roxas somehow know he was going to be taken away?
[Somewhere along the way Axel thinks he's forgotten how to breathe.]
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What're you--
[And then she sees what he's holding up. She almost can't make herself walk into that room, but she manages to walk forward, and reaches out to take the popsicle sticks from Axel.]
He...How would... [Had he known he was going to disappear? If...if he had, why hadn't he told Xion? She'd seen him only hours before, just before she went to bed, so...why hadn't he told her? How could he know he was going to leave and just keep them in the dark? Let them feel (feel? She doesn't have the brain power to thing about that right now.) like this?
Her fingers close around the sticks, and she has to to sit down again, staring at the little wooden things in her palm.]
He just...Did he know, Axel?
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He couldn't have--there's no way he would have left without saying something if he'd known. [Sure, if he'd been pissed off at him he could have seen it, but they hadn't had a fight, and he couldn't imagine Roxas just up and leaving Xion without saying goodbye.]
I can't explain it, but he wouldn't have done that. Not... not to you.
[He smears a hand down his face--Light he wishes his head would stop pounding--and then braces his palms on his knees, squeezing his eyes closed. He's quiet for a moment, then shakes his head and gets shakily to his feet.]
I gotta... I can't stay in here. [The room practically feels haunted. Heading for the door, he pauses to wait for her, pressing his fingertips against his temple.] Coming? I... I need to... Jeez, I feel like my head's gonna explode...
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Right.
He wouldn't.
She watches him get to his feet, and when he pauses at the door, she nods, getting up to follow him.]
Go...sit on the couch or something. [She presses the popsicle sticks into his other hand.]
I'll get you some water. [If she can just...keep herself slightly busy, she can't focus on the tightness in her chest.]
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I gotta go put on some dry clothes; I'm freezing. I... [He sighs, frowning at her and exasperatedly flapping his arms at his sides.] It was a lousy night. [Understatement much?]
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She can ask him about what happened when he's back and dry.
Xion, however, takes the opportunity to flop down onto the couch, because standing has become a bit difficult at this point.]
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[Sitting on the toilet lid in his boxers, he takes a moment to look at the stab wound on his thigh. Hissing through his teeth as he presses his fingertips on either side of the wound, he grits his teeth.]
Ow, dammit... [If he hadn't done this to himself he would have been really pissed off. The cut is clean, though--the benefits of summoned weapons is that you never have to sharpen them--and will probably heal without scarring. He doesn't have the energy to try a Cure spell at the moment, so it looks like he'll be going the old-fashioned way. When you're mediocre at restorative magic, though, you keep a stocked first-aid kit and know how to use it. Pulling it out from under the sink, Axel takes a moment to slap a few stay-strips over the puncture and then wraps it with gauze.
[After hanging his wet clothes over the shower curtain rod and getting dressed, Axel emerges from the bathroom with a towel over his wet hair, refusing to limp as the stay-strips pull painfully on the puncture wound with each step. He kind of just wants to sleep for a week. Flopping down onto the couch beside Xion, he just leans back into the cushions and tugs the towel over his eyes.]
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Xion smiles a little at that, but reaches out to pick up the glass of water she'd gotten for him, and she gently taps Axel's arm, trying to get him to take it.]
What...happened tonight? [Aside from Roxas disappearing. What happened to his leg? And why was he wet? She had quite a few questions, but she figures the one she asked covers them.]
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Just... got into a situation I wasn't prepared for.
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Elan wiggles under his hand, rubbing against his fingers with weak purrs.]
Does your leg need to be healed?
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Did you see the weird entry Lea made on the network yesterday?
[He'll ignore the injury question for now. He's had far worse.]
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I dunno what happened to him. I think it's got something to do with the weird curse that seems to be affecting some people this week. Riku's a dog, you know? [A weak chuckle and he clears his throat.] Anyway, he's... totally off his rocker, on about how he's gonna 'fix' things. He said he had to get rid of Riku, so I went to try and stop him. I owed Riku that much.
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You said...you did that to yourself? Why?
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I dunno what happened... It's like as soon as I got anywhere near Lea my whole grip on reality just started to slip. [A shake of his head and a sigh.] I... can't explain it. It's like suddenly every single thing that had ever made me look over my shoulder was so real I could smell it. It was affecting Riku, too--I dunno if Lea was causing it, or if he was just completely overtaken by it, but I wasn't interested in seeing what the advanced stages felt like.
[He hesitates a moment, then flaps his arms helplessly and lets his hands drape between his knees.] So I stabbed myself with my chakram to clear my head. Pain's a great way to clear your head, you know? I figured losing a little blood was better than losing my mind.
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Are you okay?
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