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 hesitates a moment at the door, then pokes his head in. ]

Leo...?

[neonleon]

[Leo's head snaps up looking like he's seeing a ghost before settling to familiar. A little smile and a wave.]

Hunts, hey. Uh.

[The healers look at Hunter before moving to let him come in.]

I think they're just finishing up.

[pyrighteous]

[ Hunter hurries to his side then, looking him over. ]

How - how do you feel?

[neonleon]

Tired? Kinda wrung out, honestly.

[pyrighteous]

That's all? ... Does it hurt?

[neonleon]

Um. [He looks up at the nearest nurse who nods.] Not really? They did something that helped with the pain.

[pyrighteous]

Oh, yeah. There's different healing spells that can do that. Kinda like pain relieving medications.

[ He pulls up a chair to sit in. ]

[neonleon]

Pog. You guys really have something for everything, huh?

[But with Hunter this close, he moves his hand to hold out for him. Lucky makes a little noise and curls up against Leo's stomach nuzzling in.]

I'm- I'm sorry. That this happened.

[pyrighteous]

[ Hunter gladly reaches out to take it. ]

You don't have to be sorry at all. It's my fault for not realizing what was happening.

[neonleon]

[Leo squeezes his hand weakly but... Oh Hunter. Buddy.]

That wasn't your responsibility to know or check. So don't.

[pyrighteous]

It's not your responsibility either! If you don't blame me, you're going to blame yourself, a-and that's worse!

[neonleon]

[All of the Krang invasion was his fault. And he'll never not take responsibility for that. If he had just listened to Raphael in the moment-

This isn't Hunter's problem. It's his. It's his misstep not making sure he didn't have fucking Krang goop on him somewhere when Hunter pulled him out.]

Look it- It's gone. It's done with, that door is closed for good. So... Let's. Focus on now.

[pyrighteous]

[ HE CAN HEAR YOU BLAMING YOURSELF FROM HERE, LEO. ]

It's not your fault, Leo. You - you were in my care. I should have checked.

[neonleon]

[Hunter wants to keep it up then.]

...Hunter. I knew something was wrong. My arm, it. It didn't feel right since I got here. I just... I was scared to check.

[pyrighteous]

-- What? What do you mean?

[neonleon]

[haha.]

I mean. It was itchy, and it felt weird under the bandages. Like ..like something was crawling under my skin. I thought- ...I thought it was just the ointment.

[pyrighteous]

[ Hunter stares at the stump where Leo's arm had been. ]

It ... that's ...

[ Why didn't you check?? is the question that's clearly on his mind. He shakes his head a bit. ]

Y-you were healing. Everything was a mess. There was no reason to suspect that the Krang was still there.

[neonleon]

['Why didn't you check', because he was scared of what he'd find. He knew, deep down that it was wrong. That something was there that shouldn't be, but he didn't want to see it. And that's firmly, squarely his fault.]

It's-

[He deflates a bit, taking his hand back to pet along Lucky's fur. Comforting.]

It's over anyway.

[pyrighteous]

R. Right. It's ...

[ Hunter hunches in on himself. ]

There's nothing left that we could find. We burned the spot where it fell.

[neonleon]

[He nods, focusing on feeling that fur under his fingers.]

Good.

...They wanna keep me for a few days. Then home for bedrest.

[pyrighteous]

[ Hunter nods weakly. ]

I'll be here the whole time.

[neonleon]

You sure?

[Just... Watching him, reaching his hand out again.]

[pyrighteous]

[ Hunter takes it firmly. ]

Of course. I don't want to go anywhere else.

[ Except for when Darius inevitably kidnaps him for some fresh air, but that doesn't count. ]

[neonleon]

[Darius is smart enough to wait until Leo's asleep to do that. But Leo squeezes his hand again. He's... afraid. Really afraid. He thought the Prison Dimension and what happened at the Temple was the worst any of them had been hurt but. This is worse. This is permanent.]

Cool. Because- I. Would really want you to stay.

[pyrighteous]

[ Leo SURE is missing an arm now. And if it were easy to replace, the healers would have done it already. ]

I-I won't leave for even a minute! I promise!