abraxaslogs | july catch-all

[ The first place he goes when they release him from his cell is the North Wing, back to his room. He's not thinking whether or not Jack or even Jerry might be there, he plans to find them soon either way - but he wants to get changed and take a bath before he sees anyone. Even though they were treated well enough and not made to rot in the same clothes the entire time, he wants to wash the scent of the dungeons off his skin.

He opens the door to the room, and fails to dodge out of the wall of a ball of fur and claws that launches at his chest, scrabbling around his shoulders and scratching his limp, unwashed hair. ]

Shit!

( Rita is, and has always been, kind of a manifestation of Jack's inner-most feelings. In the case of Kyle, she's always done an excellent job representing his attachment to the other man — if, perhaps, a bit more feral than Jack would ever be. He would not, for instance, hide eggs in Kyle's sheets or sleep under his bed. The way she scrambles up Kyle's shoulders and grips at his limp hair does, actually, kind of accurately represent how much he's missed having Kyle around in the room.

Not that he recognizes the metaphor. Not that he'd acknowledge it if he did. Jack sits in the middle of the room, several books cracked open around him, some chalk lines etched into the floor around in him a sort of ritual circle, and a few arcane tarot cards sitting at the points of the star of the sigil he sits in the center of. It would paint a very interesting picture, very solemn, were it not for the prosthetic leg he cocks back like a baseball bat before he recognizes who it is that came waltzing into the room.

After a beat, when he recognizes Kyle, he sighs and lowers the leg-bat. )

Oh. Hey.

( He gestures vaguely at the raccoon on Kyle's shoulders with the knee-stump of his fake, detached leg. )

She missed you.

Did she?

[ He'd hate to see how she responds to actual intruders. At least he's stopped squirming, deciding it's better not to make her think he might be trying to grab her and throw her across the room (he wouldn't). That leaves Rita to continue sniffing his head and combing her strange, human-like fingers through his hair while he tries to hold still. It might even be soothing, he thinks, were it not for the fact that his heart is still racing from the minor jump-scare of it all.

He's dreading looking under his bed later.

Kahlil's gaze shifts from the improvised weapon-leg to the chalk symbol on the floor, nodding to the latter. ]

What's that for?

What's what for?

( He asks, from the center of his very elaborate and objectively theatrical occult chalk sigil of occultiness. After a beat, he glances around himself and then it clicks that Kyle's probably referring to- all that. )

Oh. Right. It's- nothing, really, not important. Just- since Yennefer left, I've been trying to fill in the gaps with- independent study, I guess.

( It hasn't been nearly as effective as working with somebody with her knowledge and experience, and her teaching ability, but he's still determined to continue improving. To keep learning, to get better, to be better so that next time something happens--

Maybe he'll actually be competent enough to be able to help, or make even the slightest noteworthy impact during a crisis.

All the same, it's a useless endeavor now that his concentration's broken, so he makes to stand. And promptly forgets he's still holding his own leg in his hands, and almost immediately bites it. Then catches himself on the post of his bed, and starts reattaching his prosthetic again absently. )

So they finally let you out? Is there a catch? Parole, or something?

[ Kahlil properly steps into the room, letting Rita flutter off his shoulders to do Rita things. He winces as Jack almost loses his balance, taking a quick step forward as if to move to catch him - and stops when Jack manages on his own. He frowns, then paths around the ritual circle, eyeing the arcana cards. He's no true mage like Istredd or Yennefer, but in his three years he's paid attention enough to be able to recognize the nature and intention of the symbols used in Academic Magic, as well as fragments of the dead language it uses. ]

Probation. I can leave the castle, but I have to ask for permission.

[ His mouth twists. Even if it's not unexpected that, it's still an annoyance.

He crouches down at the edge of the circle, lifting his gaze. ]

Have you been to Nott?

[ To see Yennefer. ]

( The runes and symbols Kyle may recognize all seem protection-based. They're in combinations with cards that seem defensive, passive. Not quite shielding, not quite fire-proofing, but echoes and hints at both of those things. He's not... entirely sure he's gotten it right, but he doesn't think he's gotten it wrong either. He could ask Istredd, of course, but Istredd is busy and he really wants to be able to start doing these things on his own. Self-study. He's always been an avid reader, books should be able to teach him plenty. There's an entire massive library of knowledge here for him to tap into.

He finishes affixing his leg and stands upright, some vague confusion in his features. )

Why would I go to Nott?

( In other words: no. He doesn't know she's there; he hasn't asked anybody where she is. It didn't seem safe to mention her name around the castle, and, truth be told, he's been doing what he always does: his preferred coping mechanism. Pointedly repressing the things that hurt to think about, putting them in a try and forget box, and furiously turning his thoughts toward literally anything else so that the passage of time has become a blur.

He could've just asked her, of course, which is a thing that literally has not occurred to him at all, whatsoever. He's just slotted her into some nebulous, unattainable, other side of the world place a thousand times more distant and less visitable than Nott. )

[ Wards and defenses are actually the kind of spellwork that Kahlil is most familiar with, and once he recognizes what Jack is attempting he makes some small adjustments, swapping the placement of two cards and erasing an unnecessary line. He had studied all this with Yennefer himself two years ago when he first arrived, with the intention of deconstructing the wards that blocked his way in the Gray Space.

He glances up at Jack with a curious look, eyebrow raised, then shrugs: ]

To visit old friends.

[ Did he really not know or ask? It seems that way. Kahlil himself didn't confirm the location of the escapees for those early weeks, but even having not been told - it seems the obvious place. Everyone he's ever asked had always said Nott was the most likely to shelter Summoned. He wonders about the new king allowing it though - surely he must know that's where they escaped, unless he believes it's Hayle that took them.

He glances over his shoulder at the closet: ] Where's Jerry?

( To visit old friends; hilariously enough, it's on the tip of his tongue to return with "but I don't have any friends". This is a thing that was true once, a few years ago, and he's startled to remember rather abruptly that he does, actually. Quite a few of them, too! For some reason, there are now people in his life who have chosen to be there voluntarily, and who have elected to stay there despite being perfectly aware of what a damaged suitcase full of fucked up weird insanity masquerading as a human being he is. Wild.

But that brings him back to, who the fuck is in Nott? Didn't Kell used to live there for a minute with Rhy? But he's pretty sure Kell moved back? He can't remember. He did say he wanted to work on a book with Kell. But that's not-

He's immediately distracted watching Kyle tweak one of his lines. )

Oh, shit. That's right.

( He muses, impressed and maybe just a little deflated. Man, he was so close. Damn it.

Anyway, about Jerry --

He heaves a sigh, and tiredly rubs at his eyelids. )

He... somehow got elected as representative, so I think he's out petitioning for things wildly outside of his purview. Something about the dick garden and paternity leave? I don't know why I'm surprised, I mean, I voted for him and everything. I just didn't think he'd actually get it.

[ Kahlil carefully steps over the outer lines to stand next to Jack, giving him a light, encouraging pat on the shoulder. He wasn't too far off - Kahlil probably wouldn't have even noticed except that they shared the same teacher.

As Jack explains what Jerry's been up to, he squints. ]

Oh. [ Hmm. ] That sounds right.

[ It's Jerry, so. Without knowing exactly what paternity leave must entail, he assumes it's about as useful to the Thorne Summoned as a dick garden. Although - ]

Is there a dick garden?

[ Did that happen already? ]

( Jack wouldn't be surprised if about half of what Jerry suggested was useful, and the other half was absolutely batshit insane. He probably has some kind of tactic about asking for too much, that way when they compromise you actually get everything you want, or something. He doesn't know, he isn't asking. He does not have the mental energy to even remotely try and keep up with Jerry's political career. )

There's a dick garden. It's kind of like a... zen rock garden, except all the rocks are... well, you know.

( Dicks.

Frankly, it's surprisingly peaceful there. The statues aren't half bad — certainly less grotesque than Jerry's normal statue art of half-melted Christmas lawn decorations dressed in people-clothes, arranged like the Weeping Angels from Doctor Who. )

[ He doesn't know what a zen rock garden is either. Kahlil stares at him nonplussed for a handful of seconds, then starts laughing. Okay. Yeah, all of this makes sense. It's actually heartening, in a way, to know that things have remained as bizarre as usual while he was 'away'. ]

I think I'm going to wash up - and then you're going to take me to see the dick garden.

[ He gives Jack another light pat on the shoulder before stepping back out of the circle to gather some things from his side of the room, quickly going through his little nightstand to be sure everything is still there the way he left it.

He's pleased to find that the area around his bed doesn't stink like rotten eggs left for a month. ]

( Despite Jack's frustration, it's good to see Kyle laugh. It pulls a wry twist to his lips despite himself — and it sinks in, then, how much he's really missed having Kyle around the room. It's crazy, he used to go months without talking to people, without missing people. Kyle was only gone for a few weeks.

But then, he feels more now than he used to. Just, in general, about other people and the world around him. After five or six years spent in a detached sort of fog, he can't pinpoint when exactly it started lifting, but his time in Abraxas definitely furthered it along.

Kyle's back, and Jerry's here, and for the first time in a while, things feel kind of... almost right.

Almost.

And in the places where they don't, well, there are always things like the dick garden to distract him. )

Edited 2024-08-14 20:36 (UTC)

july catch-all

jack pt. 2

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