Leo's mind spins for a moment, trying to push away the last of the fog. He opens both eyes and takes a better look at the room, just a second before his eyes return to Huvrye's face.
And then he realizes he must have fallen asleep.
Oh no. This was exactly what he'd been trying to avoid.]
Uh. Hey.
[Maybe Huvrye will be chill and not ask about the whole panic attack he just had on his couch?
[Okay. Leo's fully awake. They're going to need to talk about that - because that was bad - but it doesn't have to be right away. For now, he picks up the blanket from where it had fallen to the floor and drapes it around Leo's shoulders.]
Stay there, okay? I'll be right back.
[He straightens up and heads to the suite's small kitchen, getting a glass from the cupboard and filling it with water from the fridge. He never really leaves Leo's eyeline - the suite has too much of an open floor plan for that - but he still figures it's better to have warned him than just walked away. He returns fairly quickly.]
Mind if I sit next to you?
[He doesn't know how Leo is after a nightmare - whether he needs closeness or space, someone to talk to or time to think - so there's going to be a few questions so he can make sure he doesn't make anything worse. What he does know is he's not letting Leo spend the night alone tonight. Not after that.]
[Running away is tempting. But his portals aren't working right and Huvrye is fast - if Leo makes a break for the door, he'll get caught.
He also just... doesn't really want to run away. He feels safe here, even if he absolutely does not want to talk about it. And Huvrye will probably want him to, because Huvrye is the kind of adult who actually cares.
He's still sluggishly weighing the pros and cons of trying to escape when Huvrye comes back with water.]
...Yeah, it's fine.
[The cons are bigger than the pros.
He scoots over a bit on the couch, pulling his legs up and draping the blanket over them. Balling himself up. But he'll take the water, if it's offered.]
[The last time he'd seen Leo sit like that, Huvrye had been ready to yell at him over stolen pizza. This is definitely worse.]
[He offers Leo the water, then settles in next to him after he takes it, resting his arm along the back of the couch behind Leo. He gives it a little time - time enough for Leo to have some water and for him to try to figure out his approach - before he speaks up.]
I do want to talk about what happened - I know the kind of thing that causes nightmares like that, and that was a bad one - but we don't have to do that yet. If you need some time to breathe, or more water, or a hug, or anything, tell me and I'll do my best. I'm here for you.
[He doesn’t say anything at first, sipping on the water. His throat is dry, so it’s appreciated.
He mulls over the options given him, taking that time to breathe by default. Huvrye says he knows what causes nightmares like this, but Leo doesn’t know how anyone could understand this. Though, this is a different world, and Huvrye is from an even more different world, so maybe…
He’s still apprehensive, but finally he looks back at Huvrye and clears his throat.]
[Leo falls silent and Huvrye doesn't push, letting him sort his thoughts out. He wants to know - he wants to help - but he'd offered Leo time to breathe, and he needs to stick to that. So he waits as Leo gathers himself. The song on the radio ends; a soft-spoken DJ announces the time and the station ID; and the next song begins.]
[And then Leo speaks up, and Huvrye turns towards him and opens his arms with a gentle smile.]
C'mere.
[Leo can take this at his own pace; after a nightmare like that, he's not about to do anything Leo isn't comfortable with.]
[Leo hesitates only a second longer before he scoots closer, uncurling as he goes. He leans into Huvrye, sliding one arm around him.
He feels a little awkward doing this, but man, he hasn't had a hug in over a month. It's weird to think about, with how touchy-feely (most of) his family is.
He feels like, by accepting this, he's dooming himself to Talking, but he is slowly resigning himself to it. Besides, he wants this, so he's taking it.]
[To be fair, Leo was doomed to Talking the second he woke up from a screaming nightmare on Huvrye's couch.]
[Leo leans in, and Huvrye wraps both arms around him, holding him gently. The wings follow, resting loosely around them both. He doesn't say anything - just holds Leo for as long as he needs, and lets him make the next move.]
[Leo didn't realize how much he needed this until it's happening. The edges of the nightmare recede, and the last of the tightness in his chest eases with it.
He's not stuck in the prison dimension. He's stuck somewhere else, but this place isn't so scary. He's okay, mostly. He's safe.
He lets it last a few minutes, then pulls back. Wiggles out of Huvrye's hold, but doesn't leave his spot on the couch.]
...Thanks.
[His eyes are shiny, but he isn't crying. He reaches for the blanket again and covers himself in it, before sighing.]
[He lets Leo go when he wiggles, pulling his wings back in and letting an arm rest along the top of the couch, ready to drop back down onto Leo's shoulders if he needs it. He's not moving away. He's still there.]
No problem.
[He takes a few seconds before speaking. He'd turned questions over in his head while he was hugging Leo - he wants to know what's wrong, but he also knows he wouldn't want to tell just anyone about- about what causes his nightmares. About his torture at Kyriena's hands. About Joba.]
[So he goes for something else. It's all going to be terrible, but hopefully easing in will help a little.]
When was the last time you got a good night's sleep?
[His expression falls a bit at that - not sleeping for a month when you're someone who needs to sleep every night can't be good for Leo - but he reins it in a bit and sighs. Okay. The picture's starting to form.]
Is the nightmare about coming here or something that happened before that?
[The picture sharpens. Whatever went sideways entails, it had to have been bad to give Leo nightmares like that. He knows the memories that give form to his own certainly are.]
[...maybe that's the in. Maybe that'll help.]
I've had nightmares like that before. Not about the same thing as yours, probably, [hopefully,] but- the kind where your body wakes up and your mind doesn't for a bit. The kind that take your worst memories and trap you in them.
So I know it's probably the last thing you want to talk about, but I also don't think you should be alone in this.
[It's one thing for Huvrye to carry the weight of his memories alone; he's an adult, and much of what happened were his choices and his fault. Leo's a kid, stuck a dimension away from his family. He shouldn't have to be alone with whatever is keeping him from resting.]
[Leo listens, eyes on his lap. Huvrye says he's had nightmares like this too, so he must get it - why Leo doesn't want to sleep, at least not sleep so deeply that he dreams, because whenever he dreams it always ends the same.
Part of him wants to give in to that, to tell someone and maybe actually have one good night of sleep. Another part thinks that this is his punishment for being such a colossal screwup that he very nearly ended the world.
Part of him doesn't want Huvrye to know he's that much of a screwup.
But he thinks he also isn't being given a whole lot of choice here.]
...Well... I mean, if you want to know my tragic backstory so badly I guess I can tell you.
[He says it with overdramatic flair. Like this is just a joke. Like it's not that serious. Maybe that's how he can play this: get it off his chest, while making it sound like it's nothing really to worry about. Yeah, that'll work.
(He knows it won't work.)]
It's... a lot to explain, though... I'm not sure where to start.
[The more time Huvrye spends with Leo, the more he figures out how the teenager works. The jokes, the redirects, the confidence - a lot of it is natural, but sometimes there's something else. Something beneath the surface that Huvrye hasn't tried to dig into, because Leo deserves his space.]
[He's pretty sure they've hit the Something Else, especially since there's another joke on top of it. A little dramatic flair, like Leo hadn't woken up screaming ten minutes ago. Yeah, this is going to be bad.]
Start at the beginning of whatever caused this. If I have questions, I'll ask.
[Leo takes a deep breath. Lets it out slow. Okay. He can do this.]
So, uh... there's these... aliens, called the Krang. Their whole deal is that they go around to different planets and destroy whatever civilization is there, and then they... well, I don't know what they do next. Strip mine for minerals, maybe? Pretty cliché MO, if you ask me.
[He says all this lightly, but Huvrye may notice that when Leo says the word Krang, he stiffens up.]
Anyway, they showed up to Earth centuries before I was born, and some mystic - uh, magic warriors locked them up in a thing called the Prison Dimension. Kind of like how this place is a different dimension from both of ours? Except the Prison Dimension isn't populated, it's... [Cold, desolate, ruined, smells like rust and rot-] a prison.
And for whatever reason no one ever destroyed the key, so... someone tried to steal it.
[He listens, and he definitely notices the reaction to the name. That's what's in his nightmares, isn't it - these Krang things.]
[That's certainly a place to stop the story, and Huvrye can put the pieces together.]
I'm guessing they let the Krang out.
[Why else bring up prison and a stolen key? He doesn't think a near miss with civilization-destroying aliens would get the kind of reaction that Leo's had so far, nor would it make for screaming nightmares. A close encounter, however...]
[He'd like to think the answer is no. He's pretty sure it's not.]
Yeah. Don't ask me why, some people are just crazy.
[He has no idea what the Foot Clan's obsession with unleashing horrors on the world is, all he knows is that his family keeps having to deal with it.]
But that's... they wouldn't have even had the key, except I...
[He shivers. Pulls his knees up close and props his head on them.]
I was acting stupid. Being a show-off. My older brother, he grabbed the key and I knocked it right out of his hands. Sent it flying right to the enemy.
[He curls up tighter, and he wants to stop, but he's on a roll now.]
Then this guy shows up from the future, and tells me hey, great job idiot, you doomed the whole planet and your family with it! [Casey hadn't worded it like that, of course. But Leo's head did it for him.] So we tried to stop them before they could let the Krang out, but I was... cocky, and stupid, and my big brother had to save me, and they... they turned him into this thing. Infected him with some kind of goo, and they had control of him.
I... was supposed to be the leader, and I just kept screwing up, and everyone got hurt. Especially him. That was... that was on me.
[Leo curls up, and Huvrye drops his arm off the back of the couch, wrapping it gently around Leo's shoulders. Hopefully it'll help anchor him while he recounts an event that just keeps getting worse.]
[The Krang get out, and it's because Leo accidentally gave them the key. He couldn't have known it would doom the planet, but I messed up and it ended the world is a lot to carry.]
[Especially when it sounds like the Krang carry corruption with them-]
[There's a soft, sharp intake of breath, and then he gets control of himself again. Leo's world couldn't have turned out like his. He doesn't want to believe that.]
…The Krang couldn’t be fought. They had to be imprisoned again.
So I kinda, uh… [He looks nervous to admit it.] teleported myself and the Krang back into the Prison Dimension. And I held him there.
And then I had them close the door.
[And then, because he can feel himself zoning out, feel the dark corners of the room pressing in on him, he reaches for his most used coping mechanism.]
It was pretty cool, actually. Big explosion. I even got to drop my new catchphrase. “You’ve been portal-chopped.”
[And there it is. Trapped in a prison with a monster that couldn't be beaten, on top of everything else that had happened. Of course he's having nightmares.]
[He doesn't go for the deflection - the explosion, the catchphrase, the bravado - and stays at the heart of the matter, arm still around Leo's shoulders.]
How long were you there?
[Did anyone get him out, or did he go straight from the prison dimension to this one? How bad is it?]
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Leo's mind spins for a moment, trying to push away the last of the fog. He opens both eyes and takes a better look at the room, just a second before his eyes return to Huvrye's face.
And then he realizes he must have fallen asleep.
Oh no. This was exactly what he'd been trying to avoid.]
Uh. Hey.
[Maybe Huvrye will be chill and not ask about the whole panic attack he just had on his couch?
He doesn't pull away, though.]
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[Okay. Leo's fully awake. They're going to need to talk about that - because that was bad - but it doesn't have to be right away. For now, he picks up the blanket from where it had fallen to the floor and drapes it around Leo's shoulders.]
Stay there, okay? I'll be right back.
[He straightens up and heads to the suite's small kitchen, getting a glass from the cupboard and filling it with water from the fridge. He never really leaves Leo's eyeline - the suite has too much of an open floor plan for that - but he still figures it's better to have warned him than just walked away. He returns fairly quickly.]
Mind if I sit next to you?
[He doesn't know how Leo is after a nightmare - whether he needs closeness or space, someone to talk to or time to think - so there's going to be a few questions so he can make sure he doesn't make anything worse. What he does know is he's not letting Leo spend the night alone tonight. Not after that.]
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He also just... doesn't really want to run away. He feels safe here, even if he absolutely does not want to talk about it. And Huvrye will probably want him to, because Huvrye is the kind of adult who actually cares.
He's still sluggishly weighing the pros and cons of trying to escape when Huvrye comes back with water.]
...Yeah, it's fine.
[The cons are bigger than the pros.
He scoots over a bit on the couch, pulling his legs up and draping the blanket over them. Balling himself up. But he'll take the water, if it's offered.]
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[He offers Leo the water, then settles in next to him after he takes it, resting his arm along the back of the couch behind Leo. He gives it a little time - time enough for Leo to have some water and for him to try to figure out his approach - before he speaks up.]
I do want to talk about what happened - I know the kind of thing that causes nightmares like that, and that was a bad one - but we don't have to do that yet. If you need some time to breathe, or more water, or a hug, or anything, tell me and I'll do my best. I'm here for you.
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He mulls over the options given him, taking that time to breathe by default. Huvrye says he knows what causes nightmares like this, but Leo doesn’t know how anyone could understand this. Though, this is a different world, and Huvrye is from an even more different world, so maybe…
He’s still apprehensive, but finally he looks back at Huvrye and clears his throat.]
A hug might be nice.
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[And then Leo speaks up, and Huvrye turns towards him and opens his arms with a gentle smile.]
C'mere.
[Leo can take this at his own pace; after a nightmare like that, he's not about to do anything Leo isn't comfortable with.]
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He feels a little awkward doing this, but man, he hasn't had a hug in over a month. It's weird to think about, with how touchy-feely (most of) his family is.
He feels like, by accepting this, he's dooming himself to Talking, but he is slowly resigning himself to it. Besides, he wants this, so he's taking it.]
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[Leo leans in, and Huvrye wraps both arms around him, holding him gently. The wings follow, resting loosely around them both. He doesn't say anything - just holds Leo for as long as he needs, and lets him make the next move.]
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He's not stuck in the prison dimension. He's stuck somewhere else, but this place isn't so scary. He's okay, mostly. He's safe.
He lets it last a few minutes, then pulls back. Wiggles out of Huvrye's hold, but doesn't leave his spot on the couch.]
...Thanks.
[His eyes are shiny, but he isn't crying. He reaches for the blanket again and covers himself in it, before sighing.]
Okay. Ask your questions.
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No problem.
[He takes a few seconds before speaking. He'd turned questions over in his head while he was hugging Leo - he wants to know what's wrong, but he also knows he wouldn't want to tell just anyone about- about what causes his nightmares. About his torture at Kyriena's hands. About Joba.]
[So he goes for something else. It's all going to be terrible, but hopefully easing in will help a little.]
When was the last time you got a good night's sleep?
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Oh, well, you know…
[He wants to stall, but he doesn’t have a way to escape that direct a question without lying.]
Proooobably… back before I came here?
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[His expression falls a bit at that - not sleeping for a month when you're someone who needs to sleep every night can't be good for Leo - but he reins it in a bit and sighs. Okay. The picture's starting to form.]
Is the nightmare about coming here or something that happened before that?
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Something before that. Things back in my world... kinda went sideways. Right before I came here.
[That's one way of putting it.]
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[...maybe that's the in. Maybe that'll help.]
I've had nightmares like that before. Not about the same thing as yours, probably, [hopefully,] but- the kind where your body wakes up and your mind doesn't for a bit. The kind that take your worst memories and trap you in them.
So I know it's probably the last thing you want to talk about, but I also don't think you should be alone in this.
[It's one thing for Huvrye to carry the weight of his memories alone; he's an adult, and much of what happened were his choices and his fault. Leo's a kid, stuck a dimension away from his family. He shouldn't have to be alone with whatever is keeping him from resting.]
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Part of him wants to give in to that, to tell someone and maybe actually have one good night of sleep. Another part thinks that this is his punishment for being such a colossal screwup that he very nearly ended the world.
Part of him doesn't want Huvrye to know he's that much of a screwup.
But he thinks he also isn't being given a whole lot of choice here.]
...Well... I mean, if you want to know my tragic backstory so badly I guess I can tell you.
[He says it with overdramatic flair. Like this is just a joke. Like it's not that serious. Maybe that's how he can play this: get it off his chest, while making it sound like it's nothing really to worry about. Yeah, that'll work.
(He knows it won't work.)]
It's... a lot to explain, though... I'm not sure where to start.
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[He's pretty sure they've hit the Something Else, especially since there's another joke on top of it. A little dramatic flair, like Leo hadn't woken up screaming ten minutes ago. Yeah, this is going to be bad.]
Start at the beginning of whatever caused this. If I have questions, I'll ask.
[Simple and straightforward.]
no subject
So, uh... there's these... aliens, called the Krang. Their whole deal is that they go around to different planets and destroy whatever civilization is there, and then they... well, I don't know what they do next. Strip mine for minerals, maybe? Pretty cliché MO, if you ask me.
[He says all this lightly, but Huvrye may notice that when Leo says the word Krang, he stiffens up.]
Anyway, they showed up to Earth centuries before I was born, and some mystic - uh, magic warriors locked them up in a thing called the Prison Dimension. Kind of like how this place is a different dimension from both of ours? Except the Prison Dimension isn't populated, it's... [Cold, desolate, ruined, smells like rust and rot-] a prison.
And for whatever reason no one ever destroyed the key, so... someone tried to steal it.
no subject
[That's certainly a place to stop the story, and Huvrye can put the pieces together.]
I'm guessing they let the Krang out.
[Why else bring up prison and a stolen key? He doesn't think a near miss with civilization-destroying aliens would get the kind of reaction that Leo's had so far, nor would it make for screaming nightmares. A close encounter, however...]
[He'd like to think the answer is no. He's pretty sure it's not.]
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[He has no idea what the Foot Clan's obsession with unleashing horrors on the world is, all he knows is that his family keeps having to deal with it.]
But that's... they wouldn't have even had the key, except I...
[He shivers. Pulls his knees up close and props his head on them.]
I was acting stupid. Being a show-off. My older brother, he grabbed the key and I knocked it right out of his hands. Sent it flying right to the enemy.
[He curls up tighter, and he wants to stop, but he's on a roll now.]
Then this guy shows up from the future, and tells me hey, great job idiot, you doomed the whole planet and your family with it! [Casey hadn't worded it like that, of course. But Leo's head did it for him.] So we tried to stop them before they could let the Krang out, but I was... cocky, and stupid, and my big brother had to save me, and they... they turned him into this thing. Infected him with some kind of goo, and they had control of him.
I... was supposed to be the leader, and I just kept screwing up, and everyone got hurt. Especially him. That was... that was on me.
no subject
[The Krang get out, and it's because Leo accidentally gave them the key. He couldn't have known it would doom the planet, but I messed up and it ended the world is a lot to carry.]
[Especially when it sounds like the Krang carry corruption with them-]
[There's a soft, sharp intake of breath, and then he gets control of himself again. Leo's world couldn't have turned out like his. He doesn't want to believe that.]
Oh, Leo...
[It's quiet and sympathetic.]
no subject
He doesn't pull away, though.]
It... it ended up okay, though. We got him back. And... we couldn't beat the Krang, but we found a way to stop them.
I... made sure they were safe. So... so it's okay.
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[Especially since it sounds like Krang corruption isn't permanent, which is a miracle in and of itself.]
[But the story isn't over. It can't be - there's a chunk missing, and something tells Huvrye that's where the nightmare resides.]
How? What did you do?
no subject
So I kinda, uh… [He looks nervous to admit it.] teleported myself and the Krang back into the Prison Dimension. And I held him there.
And then I had them close the door.
[And then, because he can feel himself zoning out, feel the dark corners of the room pressing in on him, he reaches for his most used coping mechanism.]
It was pretty cool, actually. Big explosion. I even got to drop my new catchphrase. “You’ve been portal-chopped.”
no subject
[He doesn't go for the deflection - the explosion, the catchphrase, the bravado - and stays at the heart of the matter, arm still around Leo's shoulders.]
How long were you there?
[Did anyone get him out, or did he go straight from the prison dimension to this one? How bad is it?]
no subject
[He shivers under Huvrye’s arm, contradicting his light tone.]
If it hadn’t been for the Alliance healers I’d still be one giant bruise right now.
[Does that answer his question?]
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