Conclusion

[voidtreckermods]

Thank you.

For those inside the system the voices of the Great-Seasons ring out around them once the red mass has vanished and the blue plinth it was smothering is freed once more. They don't have all that much time to reflect on that before they find themselves waking up once more in their bodies around the tree trunks.

Or at least, around the tube that is the Great-Season they entered through. All illusions have vanished now, all that is left are pipes and metal.

The Great-Seasons allow them passage out from the centre, no sentries or pipes attack them this time. Everything seems to have been put to rights, the walls in the Autumn sector have stopped moving, there is no strange weather effects in the Summer Sector, no engineering problems in Winter and all the camaloid creatures in Spring are calm. Any Helpmates they come across are doing their jobs and no longer malfunctioning.

After a small amount of time, enough to check that all is well, their SCA's light up. All Passengers are to return to the Voidtrecker Express.

Considering the vast distances involved it is probably best that they use the evacuation function to return to the Luggage carriage.

Once all Voidtreckers have returned the train returns to the Void once more.

Comments

[bakegarasu]

".. It's hard." But he'd worked hard for other things, hadn't he? It's not as if he started out wanting to train - and sure, a lot of it hadn't been optional, but he's worked for what he has. "... I'm going to need a teacher." He squeezes Ryo's hand and then takes it, lifting it to his arm to touch one of the old burns.

It's strange, the pale skin against the dark burn. But it's... better. It's better than the burn, isn't it?

"Okay. I... okay." There's still the memory of mocking laughter, of insults and jokes at his expense, but... that man is dead. And the rest of those men will be sooner rather than later. "... It's okay. Just... you need to rest after this."

[fivemilesdeep]

He squeezes Otoha's hand back - gently, briefly - before Otoha places Ryo's hand on his arm. "I can do that," he says with a smile. Lesson one: see yourself as a person who deserves friendship.

He's honestly a little amused at Otoha's insistence that he rest after this, but it's overshadowed by sheer relief that Otoha's letting him help at all after everything that's just happened. Unless Otoha is terribly injured and neither of them know it, Ryo should be fine after this; that said, with everything that happened during the mission, he'll take the opportunity to rest where he can get it. "I will, and you should too." Press the advantage? Him? Absolutely. "Now, jacket off, please." The last thing he wants to do is seal fabric into flesh - that's not fun for anybody.

[bakegarasu]

"Didn't realize you wanted to see my skin so badly -" No. No, Otoha. That's a joke that's leaning bad and impolite places. He shuts his mouth and shrugs his jacket off.

His shirt is definitely stained. There's cuts in multiple places from animal claws, bruising from helpmates visible through some of the tears in the shirt, and a number of burns from the laser eyes. Most of the burns seem to be on the arms, and the cuts on the shoulders. The bruises are all over.

[fivemilesdeep]

"Yes, yes, you're very pretty." He's heard that joke, or something like it, a whole lot since he left Eloe - nothing shuts it down like a blithe, practiced reply.

(It shuts him down too, when he needs it - sometimes a teenage disaster bi really needs a moment to find his focus. This is not one of those times, but nonetheless.)

He takes a look at those wounds and sighs. "And on that note, the shirt, too. I do not want to heal fabric into an open wound."

cw: many many scars, abuse implications

[bakegarasu]

He hesitates before letting out a long breath. "All right. Just... try not to freak out at my scars." He pulls his shirt off, and... well. There's a reason he warned Ryo.

There's heavy scarring all around his left shoulder. His left arm is smoother and largely free of injuries, bar the new ones, while his right arm, now more clearly visible, carries a number of small burn marks that look like they're probably from cigarettes or cigars.

A large amount of scars litter his back and torso. Most of the older scars are bullet wounds, but there's some slashes as well. They largely all look like they're from fights, bar a few very old ones that look intentionally cut.

[fivemilesdeep]

He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. Gods, but Otoha has been hurt throughout his life. And if he'd been treated as a weapon instead of a person-

Well. There's someone out there who hadn't had a godsforsaken clue how to treat a weapon or a person well.

But they're not here, and Ryo has priorities. Multiple wounds means central contact. "You know how this works," he says, placing one hand gently on an uninjured part of Otoha's chest and reaching around to place the other on the back of his neck. "Don't break the connection." He gives it a moment to settle - someone like Otoha probably isn't too happy with these points of contact - then reaches out, finding Otoha's life and easing into it. Skin knits back together, burns ease, and bruises fade, and Ryo eases the connection and pulls away when he feels his magic start to double back on itself. "There. How do you feel?"

[bakegarasu]

He flinches slightly, but doesn't pull away. It's... fine. He's not being hurt or attacked. He lets out a long breath and watches the wounds close. It's okay. He's safe.

Once it's done he reaches up and puts a hand on Ryo's shoulder. It's safe contact. It's fine. "... I'm all right. I... uh. I don't take my shirt off around most people, even when it's warm. Scars kind of put people off."

[fivemilesdeep]

He smiles and places his hand atop Otoha's. "Scars mean you survived. I can't speak for other people, but they don't bother me." Injuries don't bother him; scars don't bother him; the fact that Otoha has been so abused in his life absolutely bothers him, but his anger there would be useless at best. Better to approach that with compassion instead; it's what Otoha needs and deserves.

[bakegarasu]

"It... wasn't really a problem." He shrugs uncomfortably and pulls away. "I got used to it. It's not a big deal."