chatime | ✧ — peach iced tea.

[ that is

not the right thing to say! he gets up. or it's more like he staggers up, gaze unfocused. it's as if he doesn't register thorns at all, even if he's very well using him as leverage to come to a stand. ]

I can see…?

[ … not that it matters much in the grand scheme of things. even better that he's able to, as it's about to become clear that he's looking for something. ]

Elysium?

[ he gets up to his feet, wondering what he's doing. the timeline where he was blind feels like so long ago that thorns is making zero connection at all here. ]

What are you doing?

I'm fixing things. You should be on your mission. I know you aren't real…

[ so, leave him alone, is what goes without being said. in the meantime, his flag. where the hell is his flag. he isn't supposed to trust what he sees, so his hands search blindly, brows knitting tighter as his hands trace the wall. ]

… This isn't Rhodes.

[ countdown to thorns needing to knock elysium out.

for now, though, he just follows after him slowly. ]

Because it's not. We're in Higashi on a mission together.

[ as much as he wants to ignore this thorns, convinced he's nothing more than a hallucination come to haunt him, the contents of what he says halts him in his tracks. a throb splits through his skull, forcing him to catch himself against the wall.

…

wait. being in a dream would explain why he can see, why he is no longer at rhodes, and why thorns in particular is currently here and talking to him in a tone that is more reminiscent of when they were lovers than when they were friends. maybe thorns should duel mantra for real? 'scrambled' doesn't quite cut it as a definition. hmm.

he decides the best way to wake himself up would be to pierce his palm with his sword. wahoo. ]

[ WELL. ALRIGHT.

he just grabs a vial from his pocket, opens it, and shoves it up elysium's nose. get knocked out, loser. ]

[ there is absolutely no reason the thorns in his imaginations need to be so ic. why can't they be bbbbs who let him bully them around. instead, he is the one getting bullied. okay.

down he goes, betrayal crossing his features at the last second. goodbye. ]

[ thorns cannot feel bad about this because elysium was being crazy. fuck off.

he will move quickly to catch him, and then sets him back on the ground. he wanders back to where the group is and asks for medical supplies. they ask him if something happened and he needs a medic, but he repeats he only needs supplies.

mantra is going to k word him. ]

[ mantra is most definitely going to kill him as by the time he returns she is just standing over elysium's body wondering if she should finish the job herself? why is there blood everywhere. thorns had one job… this isn't very convincing…

she stares at thorns again. explain. ]

... He was having a nightmare. And then he woke up but still thought he was dreaming.

[ which clearly lead to there being blood everywhere.

thorns realizes this looks insanely bad after he just said that he would look after elysium. he is trying to act like this was just a tiny oopsies... but he will move forward to start to tend to elysium's hand. ]

[ isn't it hilarious how violence somehow isn't the problem here.

the look on her face tells him to try again. there are literally medics right outside the door. thorns!!!! ]

[ okay. thorns thinks he is fine to do this because everyone in medical tells him he is amazing at it, he just prefers to blow things up... he realized it would still be better to let someone with actual healing arts to do it though but he's being clingy after elysium just had an episode.

it's fine. ]

... I got it.

[ okay.

she leaves again after picking up something she'd forgotten one talks too much, the other talks too little; they deserve each other. but just when it seems like she's finally willing to let them be and they're awarded privacy again, a medic steps in, originium wand in hand.

wrong answer, thorns… ]

[ this is a violation of his rights.......

fine. they're just going to have to deal with thorns glaring at them and not moving away from elysium. mantra is going to have to write the worst report of all fucking time after this.

[ the medic's just like. if thorns is going to loiter around he can at least make himself useful by cleaning up? this is an actual squad of veterans, so. thorns cannot bully them like he can 90% of the people he has thus far.

sometimes you are cruelly reminded that you are not a boss in this au…. ]

[ thorns has never missed being a captain more than in this specific moment. life was so much easier when if he told people to leave him alone that they'd actually listen to him.

but he will be helpful even though it's obvious he thinks this is unnecessary. it's funny because if this was a normal squad he'd be more fine but since it's specifically mantra so many warning bells are going off in his head. somehow one of the few people who could tell something is deeply wrong with them is here. ]

[ it's almost impressive they haven't run into more trouble than this and that it's taken them this long to get into any trouble of this kind at all.

the medic patches up elysium's hand, dresses the wound, and leaves virtually nothing for thorns to fuss over. with the work finished, they simply tell him to move the patient to a proper room. now he's the one being ordered around… the price of failing his one job. this is who they want to leave bodyguard detail to? seems unreliable.

but they'll leave after that. sorry thorns. ]

[ well, thorns doesn't really care if they think poorly of him. he'd only put up a fuss if they actively try to separate him from elysium.

but at least, he will pick elysium up and go to take him back to their room. he's told in the way out that they still expect to get a report from him later so he isn't allowed to wander far. while this is true, thorns is aware it's also just probably that mantra is suspicious that the two of them are just going to try to run off the second eyes are off of them.

this sure is a headache. but to the room!!! ]

[ should've agreed to run away with him the moment he brought it up… now they're likely going to have to stage an entire prison break. fun.

but it'll be a while before elysium wakes. mantra hadn't fully knocked him out, and before she could press further, thorns had interrupted proof enough that both of them are under strict surveillance, even if it might not seem like it. unlike elysium, mantra can't read thorns just by looking—and she isn't about to use her arts on him without solid reason.

so here they are at an impasse. others are sent out on the field, but for the most part, mantra lingers, her attention fixed subtly, or maybe not so subtly, on the two of them. thorns better write an extremely compelling report or he's next up for questioning!! haha!!! ]

[ thorns, at least, is good at writing extremely boring reports that are too detailed with extra information no one asked for so he will try to bore mantra to death.

he actually starts writing it while waiting for elysium to wake up. thorns checks on him every now and then, fussing over his healed hand like an overprotective hen. his baby.....

but he's mostly curious if elysium will remember anything that happened when he comes to. ]

[ thorns is giving her more and more reason to choose violence. die.

when elysium wakes up, almost an entire hour after the fact, he just stares at the ceiling… thorns' guess will be as good as anyone else's, it seems. ]

[ !!! his baby

thorns pours him a glass of water and sets it on the nightstand next to him. ]

Are you okay?

[ does he seem alert after thorns speaks... ]

[ thinks about their actual babies that are probably going to die back in the hotel. tears up a lil

elysium… does not respond. instead, he takes his arm and covers his eyes with it. he's feeling a lot of things at the moment—emotions and memories from distant times brought to the surface, boiling over after he'd once forced them down.

it makes him feel incredibly volatile. not to mention, the pounding headache he's currently nursing. if he stays like this, the hope is that thorns returns to his report. ]

[ this is actually worrying thorns more than anything... his yapper isn't even giving the tiniest of yaps of confirmation? this is wrong. ]

Drink water.

[ hydrate, beautiful... ]

[ if he starts yapping how he is now, thorns may change his mind about the wedding and want elysium admitted.

so it's safer to just keep to himself… he sits up and inclines his head very slightly to nod. he drinks his water? he's behaving. ]

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