13th Aura | Action

[aurabble]

[Action | Genessia Hospital]

[At some point, Jaune managed to convince the hospital staff to allow him to be unrestrained once he proved himself to be cured and not prone to violence like his worse half. By now, the wounds on his shoulders have been stitched up, but he's sporting something other than sutures on his neck: a small WS is scrawled in sharpie on the wound that's begun to scar over. Despite his healing speed, they insisted he remain under observation for 24 hours, which is just depressing when he re-discovers hospital food. Which are actually hospital liquids. He might seem disappointed by the lack of chicken nuggets, but he's mostly preoccupied by the severity of what happened and almost happened.

All the people he hurt, many of them who he cared about deeply.

He'll keep poking at the sustenance without eating it until he finally gets up to try and escape for a little while.]

[Action | Genessia Hospital Lab]

[Okay so the food sucks.

And as awkward as it is, Ed is one of the few people he doesn't feel ashamed to look in the eye.

Ed is his friend and Ed means pizza.

Jaune is navigating through the corridors to find Ed. Where was his lab again? He distinctively remembers a drink machine being nearby.]

[Action | The Next Day, various locations around Nova City.]

[Jaune was allowed to leave after being given specific instructions, and right now he's walking his pet white golden retriever, Snow, to gather his thoughts on how to approach it. His favorite hoodie was ruined in the fight against Emerald. That's okay. He can always get a new one. If being split into two extremes made him realize anything, it was that for all this time, he hadn't been moving forward. He was just as stuck as he had been for half a year. His negative side had seemed to realize that more than his positive did. Moving forward wasn't as simple as making a decision and sticking with it, but he was acknowledging it. There's still a lot of damage left to repair with his friends, acquaintances, even some enemies. That's one step he can take right now. The next step is one he's impatient to get started on, but it will have to wait.]

Comments

action; hospital lab

[acrostic]

[ Looking for this guy, Jaune? The lab sure is across from a drink machine. One a lab-dressed Ed is thankfully in the hallway near to make finding this easier for him. Ed just got some pretzels out of it. Mm. Pretzels. ]

Mister Arc. [ hi friend. a grin - that flips upside down in about two seconds ] Should you be walking about?

action; hospital lab

[aurabble]

Ed! [Jaune looks so happy to see him. His whole face lights up and he starts to wave--wincing because that was a bad idea.

He frowns stubbornly at his question.] I'm not going back in there. So, uhm...are you okay after everything?

action; hospital lab

[acrostic]

[ aw jaune. ed folds his hands in front of him. then looks down and holds the pretzels he just got out to him. want one? ]

Were I in your position, I would likely agree. Hospitals can be... uncomfortable. [ a nod ] I'm fine. [ an apologetic look ] Sorry it didn't work out. And that I cured you without permission. [ looking up ] And that I may have aided in your predicament in the first place by providing means and pizza.

action; hospital lab

[aurabble]

[Ed you are Jaune's source of hope. A mix of bafflement and wariness flickers in his eyes. Pretzels seem too good to be true right now. He stares at the pretzel bag, taking one and humming in delight.] Thanks. Earlier they tried to stick one of those needle tube things in me and gave up when my Aura kept rejecting it.

And you're the one working in one. Did you take the cure? You seem...not fractured. [Grimaces.] Actually, it's better it worked out this way. I'm sorry I got you involved, I was being selfish and-- Wait, what? Pizza didn't contribute to anything, it just made me less hungry.

action; hospital lab

[acrostic]

It rejects things that may be useful? [ unfortunate. ed holds a finger up at him before jaune eats that. ] Chew. Thoroughly. Or I'll have to rescind any future offers. [ and he drops the hand ] Salt is a natural antiseptic. You may find it soothing for the throat. Pretzels aren't the best method to go about it but it's what I'm holding. Also good for nausea you may be experiencing due to any pain killers they may have given you. [ with that, he's eating one. mm. ] I'd suggest doing a salt rinse later.

I'm on the other side of things. It's different when you're the patient. Fractured... Yes, I took it. Ed. Singular being. [ pause ] You didn't use pizza as an unorthodox torture tool?

action; hospital lab

[aurabble]

[He looks a little sheepish.] I don't really like needles. [There's a flash of fear.] Please don't. Emerald took my wallet so I don't have any money on me. So pretzels can be kind of medicinal? That's cool. [He chews. Thoroughly. It tastes so good he might cry.] Is that why I feel like something hit me in the head multiple times and the world keeps being really rude and won't stop spinning?

...Can I ask why you took it? [He looks down uncomfortably.] I tried. It just didn't work. That poor wasted pizza.

action; hospital lab

[acrostic]

Anything you dislike, it goes against. I see. [ curious look ] Emerald? Is that the person who ended up- ? [ runs a finger across his throat ] That could be a reason. You may want to sit.

[ he doesn't have to think about the answer. it's immediate. ] I like myself better whole. Both ends were in complete agreement. [ a thoughtful hum ] Well. No matter. That's that.

action; hospital lab

[aurabble]

No. Yea--no. It's more like, if I see something as a threat, sometimes I just...reject things. Like a forcefield. [He starts to nod, but ends up making a face, whimpering and stops.] No. It's cool. I'm fine. I've sat enough.

At least your ends kind of got along. Sounds like you have a pretty good psyche. [Awkwardly shifting on his feet.] Yeah. It's like nothing even happened.

action; hospital lab

[acrostic]

If I warn you I'm going to slap you, does that count as a threat? [ that's unfortunate. ed kind of liked her. there's obviously such an intense grudge match happening here. he might not have offered up anything if he knew who they were for. guess that's what happens when you don't bother asking. all well. ]

It does, doesn't it? [ a small smile. probably up for debate back in gotham. ha ha. ] Not nothing. Clearly. Do you have to be concerned about further retaliation?

action; hospital lab

[aurabble]

Probably not, because I don't really fear someone slapping me.

Yeah. I guess that means you don't really fear any facet of your personality. I think that's a good thing. No. Clearly. [He does finally sit down. He's quiet for a moment. His voice probably sounds more hoarse than usual.] I don't think so. Not from her. It's weird, but I'm actually glad she stopped me before I could do it. I think we're at a truce now. Ed, I have to confess something to you. I didn't really murder that body I found.

text; probably while he's wandering around nova.

[whiteas]

Hi.

[ Articulate af. ]

text;

[aurabble]

Hey.

[There's nothing awkward about his text or anything.]

text;

[whiteas]

I'm not really sure how to go about this, so I'm just going to say it: I was going to have you hold me hostage by manipulating your feelings for me until I came back and put myself in a coma so the part of me with a conscience didn't ever wake up. I also didn't talk to you or Nora about Mercury before making a decision, along with about a hundred other horrible decisions made possible by the eight-tenths of me that's not a terrible person wandering around worry about whether or not my friends were safe instead of doing something about it.

I'm sorry.

text;

[aurabble]

You were really planning to go through with it?

I think we all have sides of us that we'd rather pretend don't exist. Without both parts to balance eachother out, I guess your...house-purchasing Weiss side wanted to get rid of the kinder parts of you. Maybe it was because she, I mean you, were scared. Maybe she thought you were weak, even though you weren't. I don't know.

What I do know is that you don't have to be sorry, but you're going to be anyway. So I forgive you. I said some terrible things to you and about you, because that part of me didn't care about you, only about how bad I felt. Weiss, I was going to frame you. I was going to murder Emerald. And I wish I could say I'm not like that, that I would never do that. But this whole time I've been so focused on how I've been hurting, that I haven't thought about you.

So I'm sorry. Not just what happened with the water, but everything. I want to try to be better this time.

text;

[whiteas]

Jaune, most of that side is what I get from being my father's daughter. Some parts of what she said, I'm not even sure if I disagree with now that I'm whole. She wasn't wrong that I haven't been taking care of myself... she just went about fixing it the wrong way and neglected that others have as much right to be happy as I do, or that part of what makes me happy is being around people I care about, not luxuries. Those are nice, but I'd put throwing food around with friends over a luxury bath tub with jets any day. But that part of me wasn't wrong that I haven't been doing anything besides forcing myself to move forward and focusing more on not losing what little I had left than anything else.

I can see how trying to murder Emerald turned out for you. :( I'm glad though, that she was able to stop you.. And it looks like she didn't kill you. (You were sleeping when I visited.)

I think.. both of us have a lot of considerations to make. I forgive you too, though.

text; 1/2

[aurabble]

...





You used a frowny face. :)

text;

[aurabble]

She

You're

You know what I mean. She was right. You deserve to be happy. I want you to be happy, even if all my one side cared about wasn't your happiness, but his own. I don't think how you feel is wrong, and I know I can't talk, but is it really moving forward if you're just focused on preventing the same stuff from repeating? But like I said. I can't talk. I just think she might have a point.

It's cool. It's fine. You...visited me?

Yeah. We do, and it's going to be tough. I wouldn't blame you if you don't want me as your Deputy anymore.

text;

[whiteas]

I use emotes all the time!

[ She doesn't, but she used to more before she had to deal with all this pesky depression and just didn't feel like being playful in texts anymore. ]

It's not moving forward though, you're right. That's been one of the things I've been caught up on for a long time. I know Battler's still out there, but worrying if he's going to show up at every party, and frankly the way the house is set up that we can't even bring guests over without clearing them... I don't think that was moving forward.

Well Whitley didn't sign your neck and my idiot self arrested Winter.

I still do if you want to be. But we're going to have to make some changes.

text;

[aurabble]

Then why don't I see them???

[He debates about telling her what he almost did. What he would have gone through with if Dave hadn't been there to stop him. But Weiss has been burdened with enough.]

I don't know about you, but I don't want to lose the person I am to this. Speaking of the house, do you know what you're going to do?

You signed my neck

You signed my neck! I'm never washing it again. :)

You did free your sister, right?

I think I want to. ...What kind of changes?

text;

[whiteas]

You haven't earned them.

I signed a contract so I have to keep it. Whitley seems much more comfortable not having to share too. Also I did miss having a pool.

Wash it right now.

Of course I did!

For one thing, you're going to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

Private to Pyrrha | Backdated before the fight against Mercury(s)

[aurabble]

[Contrary to how he acted, Jaune didn't hate Pyrrha. How could he? He understood on some level why she had done what she did. There were people he would have gone to the same lengths for.

Including her.

It was the people who used Pyrrha that he blamed, but they weren't here. The closest he could come to having justice was to murder one of the ones who played a part in her demise. So he had no doubts or regrets about what he was planning to do. It was the right thing, after all.

He didn't opt to wear anything particularly dressy. It wasn't in his nature. What he had done was rearrange the furniture in the living room to give them as much space as possible (Who was going to stop him? Half the house was gone or hiding), and texted Pyrrha with a simple:]

I'm tired of avoiding you. Can we please just talk? In person.

-Jaune

[Now he was just waiting, ready to let her in so she didn't get shot a second time.]

[action; genessia hospital]

[offwithhishat]

[ Jefferson had no idea what to expect once he stepped into that hospital room. Of course he'd dropped everything the second he'd heard where Jaune was, but waiting for the okay to actually visit him was just as painstaking as figuring out what he was going to do once he could see him. He'd made such a big mistake. Like always he thought he could manipulate things into working out if he just tried hard enough, but it seemed more and more he was realizing that not only did he no longer have the skill to pull that off but he had once again proved himself unworthy for the role he had in Jaune's life. Had? Maybe he'd never want to speak to him again. Jefferson couldn't blame him for that if it was the case.

But he still had to try.

After gently knocking on the door frame to no answer, he sharply inhaled and looked into the room to find Jaune's sleeping form. He'd already cried half a dozen times, but just the sight of him brought water to his eyes again. Placing the flowers he'd brought on the nearest surface, Jefferson couldn't stop himself from moving the space between them and holding Jaune as close to himself as he could manage without moving him. ]

Jaune, I... I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. It wasn't supposed to go like this. I-I thought if I could -- [ It didn't matter. He couldn't. The only thing he could do was bury his face in the boy's chest and sob, muttering on and on about how much he regretted that he couldn't be good enough, that he hadn't loved him enough, that he hadn't been the father he deserved. It didn't matter how many times he tried again. He'd fail everyone eventually, just like he had Grace. ]

[action; genessia hospital]

[aurabble]

[A weight had settled on Jaune's chest. The sensation wasn't unfamiliar, but normally it didn't move, and the motion as well as the faint sound of voices is what made him realize, once again, that he wasn't dead. Bleary eyes slowly opened as he became re-acquainted with his surroundings, a sigh dying before he could finish when he remembered how much it hurt to do so.

Nothing could possibly come close to being as painful as realizing he hadn't been imagining the voices, and that the pressure was actually Jefferson. He blinked, frowning at the IV for just a moment (they must have managed to do it when he was too out of it to panic over the needles), and reached to put a hand on Jefferson's head in a dazed attempt at a hug. He hadn't heard why he was crying, but it wasn't difficult to speculate. The guilt hit him all at once, stunning him into motionlessness. He stared at Jefferson numbly, the tears not quite flowing but glossing over his eyes. All the terrible things he had said to Jefferson, because he knew they would hurt him. It didn't matter if that side had been his worst qualities, they were still a part of him.

He had left his father devastated.]

I-- [Talking was literally painful. But he had to try.]

I can't believe, those things I said, I didn't mean them I wanted to make you mad please don't cry. I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that...

[action; genessia hospital]

[offwithhishat]

[ He hadn't meant to wake him. He really hadn't. If he'd been thinking clearly or had an ounce of restraint he would have thought things through before doing what he had, but -- well, it was too late for that. He was trying to calm himself enough to look Jaune in the face when he felt his hand on him and that was all it took for Jefferson to falter and choke out another sob. For a few moments all he did was grip the blanket far too tightly, but the sound of Jaune's straining voice make him raise his head. He just didn't know if he could look at him yet. ]

Jaune... [ His voice was raspy and hoarse, and he slowly reached to grab the hand on his head to hold it close to his own chest. ] I forgive you. I always will. But... [ He exhaled shakily. ] I haven't been doing the right things, have I? Maybe I did deserve it. Maybe I really haven't shown my love enough. I'm -- I'm actually a really terrible dad. [ He laughed, but it was so weak and pathetic that there was no way he actually thought it was funny. ]

[action; genessia hospital]

[aurabble]

[Slowly, his fingers threaded in Jefferson's hair, tracing circles on his scalp in an attempt to comfort him because he couldn't be. He hated that part of him now. Whatever terrified thoughts his worse half held when Emerald had him helpless didn't compare to the hollow sensation he felt now. It felt like his whole heart had been doused in ice water.]

I really screwed up this time, didn't I?

[He let him. Even if he had been less medicated, he found he didn't want to move away. But his doubts had him scowling.] Don't say that. You're better than that. What I said...it was just because I was so angry. I was so mad at everyone, everything-- myself. It was just easier to say that to you not because I feel that way, but because you're one of the few people I can trust and because you care. [His voice cracked. He wished he could look away more easily, because he might break down.] I'm so sorry, Jefferson.