post-snek recoveries

[neonleon]

[You know?

That weird temple wasn't good, but it wasn't the worst. Not by far now that he's back in this dimension. He floats a bit aimlessly, body broken, shell cracked and falling apart, some bones and insides shattered. His head aches in a way that he can't think.

All he can really do is hope Prime doesn't find him immediately right now. The light off his ring catches his eye and he looks at it, not fully registering that it's lit up.

A promise.]

Comments

[pyrighteous]

[ Hunter will lean over enough to make it easier at least. Gentle, cautious. ]

Any time you want.

[neonleon]

[He ends up just thumbing along one of the scar lines on Hunter's cheek, lingering there.]

You better be careful or I'll take advantage of that.

"Advantage of what?"

[Darius leans against the door simply watching for the moment as Leo freezes.]

[pyrighteous]

[ Hunter leans into that, just blissful for a moment - and then he jolts. ]

D-Darius! Hi! Um! Look, Leo's awake! Isn't that great??

[neonleon]

"Yes, it certainly is."

[He sounds ssssooooo unimpressed by this. Leo can feel the eyes boring into him even as he settles back onto the bed proper.]

"I do hope you've been resting. Hunter's said a lot about you."

Uh. Yeah, actually. Promised him I would.

[pyrighteous]

Yeah! He promised me, so now he has to keep that promise.

[ hand squeeze!! ]

I told him that you wouldn't grill him while he's still recovering as long as he rests.

[neonleon]

[Darius narrows his eyes at that. Of course Hunter made a promise like that. He's been trying to cultivate Hunter's independence, and that temple place did a lot but he has to keep it up.]

"Of course, I would wait until he's finished resting."

[pyrighteous]

[ thanks Darius. at least the temple did that much for him. ]

Exactly! So! He should rest until he's ready to talk to you. Right Leo?

[neonleon]

[Leo can't help but shrink a little as Darius stares hard at him again.]

Yep! Definitely, absolutely resting until I'm ready to talk to you, ha.

"Naturally." [Darius does finally move his gaze to Hunter.] "Don't forget you need to rest yourself."

[pyrighteous]

I-I'm resting! I rested last night!

[ Nevermind Darius never saw him leave, ]

[neonleon]

"Right."

[Darius sounds like he doesn't really agree to the same terms here.]

"And you happened to not leave here."

[pyrighteous]

[ Oops. Hunter pinks a bit. ]

I - well - n-no, I - I slept in here!

[ with no bed and a chair not nearly big enough, ]

[neonleon]

"Mhm."

[Darius is back to eyeing Leo hard. This turtle demon that Hunter put so much effort into saving and foregoing his own care to look after.]

"He must be quite some turtle."

[pyrighteous]

He - he is.

[ Hunter stays pink, gesturing in Leo's direction. ]

One of the first things Leo did was save me from Belos. A fragment of him came with me to the snake temple, and - and he used me to try to kill everyone I loved. Leo stopped him.

[neonleon]

[Leo kinda watches Hunter, a smile creeping on his face thinking back to that. Even before Belos took him, Leo would've done it.]

I'd do it again if I had to.

[pyrighteous]

Exactly.

[ He beams back at Leo. ]

You've saved my life in so many other ways since then.

[neonleon]

And you've saved mine a lot too, so don't go selling yourself short.

[Darius is still watching him, seeing the bandages and injuries, the way Leo is holding himself. So sure and confident.

He loudly clears his throat before they go too far down the back and forth.]

"I'll definitely be speaking with you once you... feel ready." [And there is so much derision in the way he says that.] "Don't forget to eat yourself, Hunter."

[pyrighteous]

[ Oh right, Darius IS still there. He can't just look at his fiancé all lovesick can he. He turns back to Darius.]

I - I will! I'll go get something now.

[neonleon]

"Oh good, I was just going to go find an early breakfast."

[Since. It is still pre-dawn here. But he waits patiently for Hunter just outside the door. Go on, say your goodbyes, lovebirds.

Leo kinda smiles at the door, then at Hunter.]

Go on, I'm not going anywhere.

[pyrighteous]

[ Hunter hovers for a moment? Doesn't even dare touch Leo, really, given his injuries...

Instead he signs I love you with his fingers pressed together, turtle-style. ]

I'll be back soon. Promise.

[ And then he goes to join Darius. ]

[neonleon]

[Leo looks almost stricken by the sign, in a good way. He gives a quiet little chirp back. Love. Then waves him off while Hunter goes to join Darius, who starts leading him down the hall.]

"I see he's at least capable of resting. From how you talked about him, I wasn't sure he'd know how."

[pyrighteous]

[ Hunter jogs to catch up and walk beside Darius, still beaming. ]

He - uh - usually doesn't. Which means he's either trying really hard, or really badly hurt.

[neonleon]

"Or both."

[Darius considers while they walk. It doesn't take much to take a turn down a different hallway to take them outside. If he can get Hunter to leave the university for a few hours and get some fresh air, it'll be for the best. It isn't good for him to stay cooped up in there for days.]

"I'm sure he'll be back up in no time."

[pyrighteous]

[ Hunter follows diligently, instinctively. He could probably be convinced, especially if an errand for Leo is involved. ]

I ... I really hope so. I don't know what I'll do if he doesn't recover.

[neonleon]

"Hm. Well. Luckily, you have the best healers on the Boiling Isles looking after him, so I'm certain he will."

[Though Darius does bookmark a bit of mental space on the off chance the turtle doesn't. That slim decimal of a percentage chance. While he's protective of his protégé from someone he doesn't know well, he also knows Hunter would be best to avoid the heartache.

Things to deal with in the coming days.]

"So, tell me again, I may have missed it. How exactly did you propose?"

[pyrighteous]

[ All of Hunter's mental faculties come to a screeching halt. DID he tell Darius?? He honestly can't remember - it was such a panicked whirlwind at first, and - well if Darius knows then it doesn't matter whether Hunter said anything at all - ]

I - um - it was a little weird? There was a conflict that involved aging up and down. Leo aged up and ... well, his future was pretty bleak. The monster he was fighting somehow got out and invaded his world.