daybreakacademy

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Who: Hieke & You
What: Infirmary catch-all & a call for help
Where: The infirmary & elsewhere on campus
When: February
Warnings: Potential discussions of injury, probably.

a; the necessities

[The infirmary has seen a lot in the first month of the quarter alone - friends were born here and eventually taken away, people have been sick and injured and that's not even including the injuries people didn't go to the infirmary for. But come February, Hieke is a little bit more prepared for things. The infirmary is kept as tidy as ever, and he's even decorated for the holiday!

There are vases filled with flowers on his desk, and he's awkwardly taped some heart shaped decor to the wall. There was an attempt and that accounts for everything, even if he doesn't know anything about Valentine's Day.

However, the infirmary isn't only for the sick or injured. Students taking Hieke's class are more than welcome to stop by to ask for help or ask general questions - there's an office set aside for him, but he spends all of his hours in the infirmary anyways. It's the best place to catch him.]

b; the network (un: hieke)

Good afternoon.

I'm sorry to bother everyone, but I'm looking for something. A mushroom - native to the Outlands - that's not dangerous or anything, just a little mischievous. It managed to find out how to open the windows in my room, and now it's loose and locate and summoning magic were something I never spent much time studying.

It's about a foot tall, with a pale orange cap, so it should be pretty distinct. If you see it, please let me know! And mind the spores.

c; the wildcard

[If you want anything else or need Hieke for anything, let me know!]

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He's waiting for something. More questions, or maybe even a dismissal. But he supposes even being someone she wants nothing to do with, this would be a lot to process. He stays quiet and stays back. Even when her face drops to her hands, he doesn't move.

When she speaks his breath rushes out, catching on his relief, on the pain of needing ask this. "Thank you," He just barely manages. "Thank you. They'll... they'll take care of her."

It's not perfect security but at least they'll all be prepared. Oscar and Felipe were clever. They could outsmart a whole lot together. His daughter would be safe. And Imelda...

He sees her, her face still in her hands. His own hand finds his cane and he takes a step towards her. The soft tap of his cane, the shuffle of his feet, and her own breath are the only sounds.

"I'm sorry. For all of this," He says. He never wanted to be a danger. He never wanted a lot of things. "You'll look after yourself too, right? Just in case? You..." His brow furrows with confusion. "Imelda, are you... alright?"

She isn't alright, no. She hasn't been alright in a very long time, and she doesn't understand how he can even ask her that. Does he think she's just okay with all of this? Does he just not understand how much his absence had hurt her? How much happiness it had ripped out of her life? And the hole left behind is still there because she doesn't know how to fill it again.

She exhales something that sounds like a laugh, but she's not so sure that it is. It feels too fragile, too close to a sob to her ears. It scares her, being so vulnerable in front of him. She told herself that after all these years, if she ever saw him again, the one thing she wouldn't do is show him her tears.

"I don't want your apologies." Her throat is tight as she says those words, not answering his question and still not lifting her head. Rather, she drops one hand into her lap so that her voice can reach him clearer, while the other shifts to cover only her eyes, shielding them from his view.

"Just tell me... Was it worth it?" Anger and bitterness catch on in her voice, making it sound stronger than she feels. "Did you get everything you wanted? Was your... música worth dying for?"

He hears that catch of breath. The start of something painful and terrible. He doesn't understand this, no. She's made it so clear she hates him, it seems like he must be getting something wrong here.

And then just like that, just as he's making those last steps closer, the anger snaps back. He stops. That alone would've been enough, but she's not done. She wants to draw blood and she succeeds.

The room goes quiet. There isn't really anything to say but what single thing.

"...No."

She doesn't have anything to say to that. She didn't think it would make her feel better, and true to her expectations, it doesn't. The admission does at least dull her anger enough that she doesn't have anything further to say to him.

As angry as she is, she doesn't actually want to draw blood. Not really. Seeing him hurting isn't going to make her happy.

She breaks the silence with an exhale, this one less angry and more tired. More numb. "If you're done, then... Just go." She's not getting up like this. Not when she's half a second from breaking down into tears.

His gaze drops from her down to the floor. This time, her response doesn't surprise him. Feeling numb now himself, he makes his way to the door.

It's a minute or two trying to balance the cane against the wall so he can do this and watching it fall over time and time again before it stays. Then he gets the door open only to watch the cane slip over out of reach whilst his foot goes through the door. He tries again; cane on wall, door open, foot in door and turning so he can reach out with the one hand he's got. The whole production is noisy and embarrassing and he's almost certain it will annoy Imelda further. But he manages it and slips out of the room.

Only to almost immediately slump against the wall. It's done. Imelda knows. She finally knows after so many years. Her brothers will know-- if only so they know what to guard against. And Coco...

He can't think about this right now. He gets up and starts his way out of the infirmary alone, eyes far away and unaware of any stare he gets on the way out.

It takes forever for him to leave. More than once she considers just getting up and shoving him out the door herself, but in the end decides against it. The tears have already started leaking from her eyes, making tracks on her cheeks, and if she gets up now, he'll surely see them.

But once he's gone, the annoyance ebbs away again. There's no reason left to restrain herself, so her sobs fill the silence quickly enough. She didn't think anything could hurt this badly again, but he's managed to find a way.

All of the years that he'd been gone, she'd at least found some small solace in the thought that he was still alive somewhere. Even if he didn't want to be a part of their family, the man she loved was still out there. A part of the world somewhere... And she had never wished ill on him. Not even once. And maybe, since the day she'd found him in the banquet hall, some small traitorous part of her still hoped that things could work out... Not that she had ever let herself trust in that part.

But those hopes are all but dashed. If he's been dead all this time, then he must be living on borrowed time. Sooner or later, he would just have to leave again. And this time for good.

[ Kano had kept quiet throughout all of this, eyes closed and pretending to be asleep when Imelda had glanced over- a silent request on her part for him not to poke his nose in, but closing his eyes isn't the same as averting them. Privacy, while being something he's more inclined to respect when it has nothing to do with him- relationships between two people? not really something he wants to touch- but Héctor said it was something about here and now and he's missing an arm and Kano can't let that slide in case it's something out there ripping off people's limbs. He has to know. There are more important things than privacy, like safety and that of the people here and now. His people.

He hides himself, quiets himself, and is grateful for the fact that it's much easier to overlook him when people's emotions are running high and focused on each other rather than their surroundings. He doesn't go inside the room, choosing to stay outside, a single layer of privacy is all he can afford and all he will grant. But hearing about the monster is validating. Hearing about everybody else's encounters, hearing that Héctor is dead-- it makes him wish he had covered his ears and not just shut his eyes to all of this, gut twisting and it's a good thing he doesn't see Héctor letting his body fade and reform, because that's an illusion even more high stakes than all Kano does to hide things about his own body. He hears about Coco- thinks to the photos of the girl in Imelda's room- can hear Imelda fighting back the urge to cry in her voice (what a familiar struggle... one that Kano had always lost, before he learned how to mask even his voice), and hears- feels, winces, even if he doesn't understand, at the anger in her voice.

And he can't be relieved enough when Héctor turns to leave, relieved he's given ample warning to flee back to his bed and pretend he had never left-- only to hop right out after Héctor leaves the infirmary and Imelda still hasn't come back. He pulls his boots on, and this time, when he approaches that back room, he doesn't hide the way his boots fall on the ground, slow and heavy, a courtesy head's up to Imelda that somebody is coming. But that's all he had planned, coming to a stop in front of the door. A distraction is his first inclination- something to make people laugh or get angry and explode- but this is a case where anything he does would be too much, not a welcome distraction, so instead of throwing the door open and bulldozing through the room, he lets it swing open just a crack, half a face peering through the gap. ]

Imelda...? [ ... ] I'm hungry.

[ He'll wing it. He's always been good at thinking on his feet. ]

[It's not the sound of the boots that really gets to her as the silence of them stopping outside the room he's in. Hastily, she tries to wipe her tears away--tries to compose herself to something at least partly dignified, and not the mess that she feels like right now.]

[By the time the door opens, she's at least no longer sobbing. The tears have been wiped away, but her eyes are still that telltale red and puffy. The distraction that he offers is a painfully familiar one--but that works in his favor. She immediately, almost instinctively, switches into caretaker mode without suspecting a thing.]

Sorry. I'm coming. [Her blanket is still pooled on the floor where it fell, so she stoops to pick it up before she stands, wrapping it around herself and pulling it a little closer to her chest than necessary. Maybe he won't catch the way that she takes a deeper breath, as if trying to force everything down and back into place. The faint smile that she gives him when she turns towards the door--the way that the smile doesn't quite reach her eyes... That's harder to hide.]

There should be a vending machine around here--or did you want to go to the banquet hall? [That would be a longer walk, but they're probably fine to leave by now. She could check with Hieke, just to be sure.]

[ He breathes out a sigh when he hears her voice and watches her get up, relieved he'd chosen the right words for a situation he's never been in before and has no idea what to do. He'd never really had anybody else to be concerned over to this extent other than his two sisters, and their unspoken agreement was to ignore and pretend and distract- so he won't address any of this with Imelda either, not here and now.

Especially not here, where there's reminders abound— infirmary, injury, death, Héctor— so even though he's sure Imelda would like the time and space to just hide here, it'll be better the further away she is. Somewhere indoors out of the cold, but somewhere without a lot of people because not everybody has the luxury of hiding a crying face like he can. ]

If you're up for a bit of a walk, there's someplace good I can show you~ How 'bout it?

[She's not keen on going too far from the infirmary, but he's right about not wanting to stay here among all the reminders of the day's events. She's never been one to handle sitting around and doing nothing very well. The best thing to get herself back on her feet has always been to keep moving. Keep distracted, until the pain dies away into the background.]

Alright. Let me check us out with Hieke first. [She's not going to just leave without letting their nurse know where they've gone--but she does keep the exchange brief. Just checking that their clear to leave and returning the blankets they were using.]

[The she turns to Kano at the door and braces herself for the cold.] Alright... Lead the way.

[ They could have just stolen the blankets; he's sure Hieke wouldn't have raised too big a fuss about that. But their clothes are dry enough that it's not too terrible outside, even after Kano shrugs off his hooded jacket— thin and short sleeved and not doing anything for the cold so much as he just likes wearing it— and throws it over Imelda's head, tugging the hood down over her eyes. ]

It's a bit of a secret, so don't peek, alright? Won't you indulge me for a while? I'll hold onto your hand, so you don't have to worry about bumping into anything~

[From what Kano might be able to see of her expression, Imelda looks startled when he tosses his jacket over her head. This is awfully familiar--and might be how they ended up in the pond in the first place. Some of that uncertainty shows.]

How far is it? I could just close my eyes, couldn't I?

[ He catches her uncertainty and takes her hand anyways. His hand is cold, but only at the fingertips. ]

Not too far~ Isn't it more interesting, in this way?

[ Also, having her close her eyes while he guides her through campus would raise more questions than her with a black jacket thrown over her head, it has nothing to do with trust, one way or an other. ]

It's less than half an hour, for sure, but I know shortcuts we can take!

[There's no resistance when he takes her hand. Her own wraps easily around his, and it's still somewhat chilly--but together their hands are sure to warm right up.]

[She hums thoughtfully to herself, weighing her options here. Honestly, having Kano's hand in hers is already weighting her decision. It feels like such a rare gesture that she's not willing to undo it and tell him no. So she sighs a little.]

Alright, I won't peek. But let's walk quickly. I don't want to be out here for very long.

[ Kano has no problem with walking quickly, trusting Imelda to keep the hood over her eyes and only be able to tell where they're going by context clues- the way their footsteps fall from pavement to uneven stone, how the wind cuts off and they're apparently indoors somewhere, a gentle downward slope during which Kano slows a little to make sure Imelda doesn't slip, and then darkness so that it doesn't really matter whether Imelda peeks or not.

The entire time, he hums tunelessly next to her, just as an added indication that he's still there, outside of the hand that urges her along, and eventually- close to fifteen, twenty minutes- he slows to a stop. ]

Here we are~ You can take that off now!

[ But he doesn't let go of her hand. Because when she takes the jacket off, it's to pitch black darkness, there's nothing to see. ]

[She listens to the sound of the wind--and then the lack thereof. Feels the change of the surface beneath her feet. Fifteen, twenty minutes is a long time to trust someone to lead her blindly through the town--if they're even in the town anymore. She's not really sure. But at the same time, she's not too worried. She has her magic, and there's nowhere that Pepita can't find her.]

[So when Kano finally tells her that she can take the jacket off, it's also the first time that she gets a glimpse of where they are... or it would be, if not for the complete darkness. She blinks, like that might clear the darkness from her vision, and then holds her free hand out to feel around her.]

Kano, where are we?...

[ With her hand outstretched, her fingers might brush against something that feels like stone— and then there's light, dim and warm from a lighter Kano holds in his hand and holds up high enough so that Imelda can get her bearings again, illuminating what looks like a small underground cavern, a dead end no more than ten feet high and wide. ]

Hm~ It's something like a safehouse? Here, hold this for a sec-

[ He hands the lighter over, since he knows where things are and she would probably feel more secure with the lighter in her possession. Plus it's warm.

There's a little cache he uncovers, bottles of water and a cardboard box half filled with snack food- crackers, dried fruit, nuts, other non-perishables, the aforementioned promised "meal" he'd brought her here for.

It's a safehouse. This is one of the many hidden places around campus and the town that Kano had carved out for himself to feel safe, where he goes when he disappears overnight and just wants a place to be. ]

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