|
Post by MP on Mar 20, 2023 19:01:00 GMT -6
When Aaron spoke, it was always with a certain softness, as if the consonants might break if he dropped them too harshly. Most coworkers had never heard louder, when they could get a full conversation out of him. So the voice in the hallway, rising over that of the other agents in what was nearly a shout, was like a stranger's. Something jagged and violent.
"I don't need an examination. Just let me -"
"Qué tarado, you canNOT be running around after casting that kind of-"
"I didn't cast anything. I can't go down there and just -"
"Ease up."
"No one's sitting around. We'll pitch it to Bradley first thing tomorrow, but right now you need to -"
"Do not. Do not do the medium thing with me."
"You're going to burn out if you -"
The volume crested, boots scuffing and fabric rasping. There was the sound of a struggle. A hasty impact. A stream of cursing, from multiple voices. They drifted, but did never quite reached the elevator. The voices stuck in the hallway, drifted back and forth there like flotsam, drawing wary glances from surrounding offices.
|
|
|
Post by Sharei on Mar 20, 2023 20:45:19 GMT -6
"Aaron?"
A shadow fell over the agents in the hallway. Koji's single eye, the other empty socket covered with a bandage and the fall of his hair, moved from Aaron to the injured Todd, then to Nora, and then back again. But whatever his thoughts he didn't seem particularly surprised by the scene he'd stumbled on. Lin and Sohl had both warned him about the commotion.
The commotion, as well as the reason behind it. Koji winced internally, choosing not to focus on the fear and pain that swirled around his worry in favor of more constructive activities. Like helping. Because for all his own emotions, if Koji was feeling this way, Aaron could only be worse off.
It was no wonder someone had gotten punched.
|
|
|
Post by MP on Mar 21, 2023 2:31:22 GMT -6
None of the raised voices or insistent reasoning cut through the tension like that lone voice. As Aaron glanced over Nora's shoulder, he caught the genasi's single gaze and faltered. The hard set to his shoulders remained, but it was more like something cast in resin, unwittingly preserved. The violence had drained from it. It wasn't relief or comfort at a friendly face. Aaron looked stricken to see him. Uncharacteristically vulnerable.
Todd, looking up from nursing a bruising cheek, shook his head at the agents at Aaron's back. Then again, a silent but insistent warning. Nora's nostrils flared, and whatever she was reading in that look, it was clear she didn't like it. But she took a step back, as did the other agents, with varying degrees of subtlety. It didn't matter to Aaron. He was only aware of the extra breathing room. The breathing room and the genasi's stare. How was he going to tell him? How could he tell him?
As the mood shifted, Todd stepped into Aaron's peripheral. He reached out a hand, testing the waters, and patted Aaron's shoulder.
"Alright, no medical. But how about your desk? So they know where to find you?"
Aaron's gaze turned to the medium, held his gaze for a long moment before he seemed to really see him. He put a trembling hand to his hair, the old unconscious gesture.
"Shit. Todd, I'm -"
"Hey, it's all good." Todd flashed him a lopsided smile. "Really."
Nora, in the meantime, had subtly stepped nearer to Koji. She checked that Aaron was distracted and leaned closer.
"Second degree burnout and a concussion," she muttered sideways. "He's manic. We can't get him to rest."
|
|
|
Post by Sharei on Mar 21, 2023 18:22:23 GMT -6
The genasi's bi-colored eye flickered to Nora. He didn't nod or say anything back, but the shared look suggested he understood.
And he did. While genasi were in less danger of entering burnout at all, stage two burnout was no joke for a mancer - especially one like Aaron who didn't have a deep reservoir of mana to begin with. If proper care wasn't taken the condition could quickly turn fatal. And then there was the damage an untreated concussion might cause. The grey pallor of his skin. The bruises. At least Atol hadn't done worse.
"Medical wants to see you," Koji said. There was nothing pleading or insistent in his tone, just his usual forthright manner. He hiked a thumb over his shoulder to indicate the elevator.
"C'mon. We'll talk on the way."
|
|
|
Post by MP on Mar 21, 2023 19:33:56 GMT -6
Aaron shook his head, as if to shrug out of a constricting collar. He couldn't go down there again. He couldn't sit and let the emotion creep up on him. He could feel it clutching at his heels, threatening to drag him under. He wanted to run from it, to fight, find some way to help - anything but lie down again and let the seconds tick away. The gaze he turned over the group was stubborn, almost pleading.
But Koji's single eye stared back. Even through the suffocating weight on his chest, through a haze of desperate plans and to-dos, he felt shame. Koji had endured more, with better grace. He understood what he asked of Aaron, better than anyone here. The agent's gaze lowered. The silence stretched. Then at last, he nodded. He couldn't go back down there. But he couldn't say that to Koji, of all people.
The agents walked with them a short way, too discreet for security, yet pressed too close to be a casual group. Aaron didn't look at them. Sweat beaded on his temple, and his hands shook like an old man's. But when it was clear he'd fallen into step, Todd glanced sideways at the help, and they gradually peeled away. Nora's jaw tightened as the last of them left. She watched Aaron's progress out of the corner of her eye, her stride as solid as a bulldog's.
|
|
|
Post by Sharei on Mar 21, 2023 20:09:55 GMT -6
Koji placed a hand on Aaron's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. The touch lingered, but only so long as to be welcome, before he dropped it back to his side. Whatever the tension or the awkward silence that lingered over their heads, there was nothing but companionable quiet from Koji's corner. He radiated a calm, patient presence, even if the emotions under the hood were less than pleasant. But Koji could fall apart later, on his own time, when Aaron was less at risk of tripping over himself.
Once they'd gotten into the elevator and the doors had shut behind them, he spoke again.
"I heard about the attack," he murmured. "But only scraps. Will you tell me what happened?"
|
|
|
Post by MP on Mar 21, 2023 23:01:33 GMT -6
The touch at his shoulder told him everything. He'd already heard. Aaron felt sick to his stomach at the thought. Sara had been a constant and a comfort in Koji's new life for almost as long as any agent. Of course he'd heard.
He lowered his eyes at Koji's question. As did Todd, in almost the same movement. Aaron's throat clicked as he swallowed, and Nora took a subtle step closer as he swayed. But Aaron steadied himself. Stared at the floor, shaking as much with dread as exhaustion. He tried to think of it like another debriefing. Imagined the flat light of the overhead lamp. A light that whined with a dangerous edge. The elevator doors slid open, and still Aaron said nothing.
"Atol-"
His voice rose faintly over their footsteps. Became a soft but steady monotone as Aaron forced himself to answer.
"He met us at our stop. Acted like a lost passenger. I didn't recognize him until -" Until too late. "Until I saw his gloves. He wanted Sara's help with the director. He was - was willing to take us both."
He should have accepted. he should have gone with her, if only so he could make sure she'd be alright.
Like you did at the station?
Aaron's anguish was in the hoarseness on the last syllable. But it smoothed out as he continued. Like any other statement, he told himself.
"He claimed we were trapped in a pocket dimension." A claim Aaron hadn't thought to test. Signals could be jammed, electronics disrupted. If he'd urged them to run instead of fight, spent Atol's energy on maintaining it a little longer - he'd been so stupid. Wasted so many options. "He tried to negotiate our surrender. I blinded him with the lamp light and fired three shots from my sidearm. They didn't pierce his barrier."
The walls were the pristine kind of white he'd always hated. Even the air smelled sterilized. Aaron described in the same flat detail. How could he not? He'd played it over and over in his mind: the blast of dragon's lightning that had shattered the barrier; the directional shield Atol had used to deflect the shot; the laser lights he'd fired and dismissed just as easily when Aaron tried to wrest away control.
"He threatened to kill us both if we resisted further. Sara surrendered. And I -" It sounded like an excuse to his ears. It had felt like an excuse then too. Aaron glanced up at the hallway lights in a convulsive motion. "I complied. Sara was going to him, and I was standing there, and then I - there was a - a light."
He shook his head, as if denying the memory. He'd been wrong. It was harder than the first debriefing. Aaron drew in a shaking breath, the monotone cracking for the first time.
"I didn't cast. I'd swear to god I didn't, but he was standing under the light and it - it knocked him down. It was - draining. I don't know what it was."
A fresh tremor. Whatever he'd done, he could've killed Sara. Could've provoked Atol into revoking his promise of her safe return, if there had ever really been one. Aaron forced himself over the last few details, not because he wanted to, but because he couldn't bear to stop on that terrible possibility.
"He summoned a blade, like - smoke. Cold smoke. We struggled. He stabbed me, and I couldn't move after that. He immobilized Sara. I think she was asleep when he took her." He hoped it was only that. Only a painless kidnapping. "That was all I saw."
|
|
|
Post by Sharei on Mar 27, 2023 18:21:08 GMT -6
They passed an endless row of doors as Aaron walked them through what had happened at the station. Koji listened silently, his calm presence never wavering. He slipped his hands into his pockets, now past the point of being surprised by the lack of sensation in his right hand. It was just another thing Atol had taken from them.
Their footsteps filled the lingering quiet after Aaron had finished speaking. Koji tipped his head back to look at the overhead light. Was it just him, or did it seem to have an edge?
"I've thought so for a while," he said suddenly, his tone conversational. "But I don't think you have normal photomancy. I think it might be celestial-based, and if it is, that explains a few things. Like that 'spell' you cast but swear you didn't. I've observed it a couple of times, particularly when you get pissed or feel desperate. The lights whine."
He wasn't turning the conversation away from Sara, not necessarily, but he thought Aaron could use a change in topic. Let him regain his bearings after having to talk about such a personal experience. Koji, who had had his own encounter with Atol, understood how difficult the sense of helplessness could be.
"And not in the normal way, either. It's like the light gains weight to it. I think you're instinctually using the technique called 'smite'."
|
|
|
Post by MP on Mar 28, 2023 0:06:38 GMT -6
"Never heard of a smite, but that would be consistent with Dabrowski's condition."
Todd, at least, had picked up on Koji's intent. His voice was a little more focused, more business-like than usual.
"Oc-Forensics found trace ether at Atol's position, too. Could be something to look into for dealing with that barrier."
Aaron's expression was still dangerously wooden, fixed on something in the middle distance as they walked. Only the slight turn of his head showed that he was listening, and even then the medium wasn't sure that they registered.
Nora's gaze had gone similarly distant. She was conscious enough of Aaron to keep her features composed, but Todd could feel the boil of protective anger under the skin - the sick, tarry feel of a grudge - just as well as he could sense Koji's anguish. The entire hallway was a cocktail of black, ugly emotion.
|
|
|
Post by Sharei on Mar 29, 2023 15:36:24 GMT -6
"Dabrowski?"
Koji's head turned in Todd's direction. Sara and Aaron were hardly forgotten, how could he? But the mention of Casmir drew his attention in a sharp way.
"What does he have to do with this?"
|
|
|
Post by MP on Mar 29, 2023 18:11:19 GMT -6
Todd took a moment to read the air before answering. But when he spoke, it was with plain honesty. He knew better than most how his coworker hated delicacy - even for the sake of kindness. He did, however, shoot the genasi a cautioning look past Aaron's glazed stare.
"He was on the scene when Lin and I got there. Says he wanted to stop the kidnapping, but he didn't get there in time. He and Aaron had a fight on the platform - which wasn't your fault."
That part was directed at Aaron, a preemptive reassurance as the medium felt guilt start to spike.
"And I'm glad you got a good hit in," Nora spat. Todd missed exactly what she muttered after that, but he felt the sentiment loud and clear. The witch was never one to hide her feelings - especially where her team was concerned. He continued quickly, trying to smooth the explanation over.
"Mr. Dabrowski was upset by the situation. Tensions were pretty high and he caught a second - smite, you said? - in the process. The first one was aimed at Atol, so that's twice Aaron's managed it today. Pretty good for a spell he didn't know about."
Aaron's expression hadn't changed through the whole explanation. Todd could feel the tug of exhaustion - a looming fog as his coworker's adrenaline faded - but it was brittle too. A knot of frantic emotion just below the surface. If it meant they could get Aaron to sit down and rest, he'd roll with it. But he didn't think he'd like where that emotion ended.
|
|
|
Post by Sharei on Apr 1, 2023 13:43:51 GMT -6
He and Aaron had a fight on the platform.
Koji's gaze alighted on Aaron's injuries. On the bruises and cuts, the signs of struggle, and realized suddenly the reason that the injuries hadn't made sense to the retelling. Atol hadn't made them, Casmir had, and the genasi's normally docile temper flared hot and bright. The air in the hallway smoldered, and if the ex-asset had possessed any less composure, there might have been sparks. The emotion that lay beneath the heat was black and rotten, a hate and protective anger so fierce that it threatened to swallow a person whole.
But Aaron never felt the heat. It didn't so much as brush him, aware - always aware - of the phobia, of his own mistakes, of the tenuous trust. And so, though the urge to let the flames curl at the walls was high, Koji restrained himself. Eventually the heat and the violence drained away.
There would be time to find Dabrowski later.
"It might be worth looking into," Koji agreed. "To learn more about it, if nothing else."
|
|
|
Post by MP on Apr 2, 2023 0:42:17 GMT -6
"Alright, no, no, no."
Todd's interruption made sense a second later as he abruptly steered Aaron sideways toward the nearest seat. 'Almost there' would have to be good enough. Whatever stubborn drive had kept Aaron upright was leaving him. He teetered and collapsed into the chair, gripping the armrests to keep himself upright. The medium looked just as sick. Grey-cast, he patted Aaron on the shoulder and looked to Nora.
"I'll bring them here," she answered him, nodding. "Could you get him some witch's eye? Got a spare brew in my office. Might tide him over until they can get his ether normalized."
There was an unspoken understanding in their exchange. Gratitude flashed in Todd's eyes, there and gone again, as he turned to go. Nora knew from experience that it'd be slightly longer than just the sprint to her office.
"I'll have them down here in a few minutes," she said to Koji in a quiet aside. "Stay with him?"
She only needed the smallest nod before she was off, her strides brisk and purposeful. The worry in her eye lingered as a whine in the overhead lights. It was a mosquito drone, a pressure behind the eyes and temples, that intensified as Aaron put his head in his hands.
|
|
|
Post by Sharei on Apr 2, 2023 10:39:08 GMT -6
Koji sank down into the chair next to Aaron's, as glad for the rest as Todd was the escape. His legs still weren't up to any long period of travel, and that on top of the heightened emotions was starting to make him feel the strain. It was only the indignant anger, formless and hungry, and concern for his distraught friend, that kept him from relaxing back into the chair to make the most of it.
The genasi's orange eye turned to the top of Aaron's head as the quiet stretched. Koji listened to the sounds of the other patients, of distant nurses, the noise as familiar to him by now as the rustle of the underbrush. He listened to Aaron's unsteady breathing, the whine of the overhead lights. Lifted a tentative hand. Put it back down again.
What could he say? It'll be okay seemed like a hollow promise, and not one he could expect to keep. His hands fluttered uncomfortably in his lap. He wished Sara were-
Koji stopped himself with a mental wince. He couldn't finish the thought.
Eventually Koji's arm rose one last time. It settled around Aaron's shoulders as the genasi brought the agent into a gentle side-hug.
|
|
|
Post by MP on Apr 3, 2023 19:08:21 GMT -6
With that touch, the brittle silence finally gave. Aaron drew in a harsh breath, the sound threatening a sob. The fever could be felt even through the uniform, and the shivers wracked his frame in small, intermittent waves. But the whine of the lights had faded.
"I let her go." His voice was a patchy whisper. "I just - let her go."
The hunter's accusations stuck in his mind like a knife, echoing his own thoughts so closely. I am going to release you in a moment, Atol had said, and you are going to lay there and do nothing. Nothing, after all his unspoken imaginings and preparations. He'd wanted that chance. Deep down, he had.
"I couldn't -" It stuck in his throat as he tried to say it. He might have killed her with his inaction. He might have killed her with his final act. He heard the excuse in his voice. "I - I couldn't -"
|
|