rattlingthestars | IC Inbox II

[ Seconds drag onto minutes. Half a hour lapses, before Zell finally responds. ]

Hey, Stars! [ Other than tired, he sounded fine. ] Sorry about that. Seifer scared Mochi and Morph.

[ Jim is restless. He doesn't want to leave his hiding place - too much risk of being caught - so he paces between rooms and desk, knocking into things and knocking them over as he goes.

The sound of an incoming message hurts his ears and he wants to curl back, but he's never been so relieved to hear that voice. ]

Seifer?

The anomaly from before, but he's... [ He stops as he looks at the different pieces all stitched together. His stomach drops as he matches them to people he knows. His voice drops with his mood. ] He's different, Jim.

Different how?

[ Jim hates the sound of sadness in Zell's voice, hates whatever's going on now even more for making it worse. ]

Did he hurt them?

He didn't hurt them. Morph is sticking by me and Mochi is now under some furniture.

[ He tries to figure out really how to say what's different without saying that he thinks Seifer took pieces of his friends... swallowing hard. ]

He's like Ecks.

[ Overly literal? Kind of cute in a strange way? Or - ]

Stitched together?

Yeah. That.

{ He heaves a sigh as he looks at the pieces again. The bright yellow, the blue, the pinkish color... the way there is another scar on his other cheek with a blue eye... Swallowing as he can feel nausea rise inside of him. ]

What about you?

I can't tell.

[ Because he can't see anymore. ]

I think it's him again.

[ Muttering a curse under his breath, before getting an idea. ]

Turn on the video, Stars. I'll let you know.

-Right.

[ Jim's not actually sure he wants to know. He's on edge, able to feel the monster close by but unable to see it or do anything about it. Knowing that it's him...

Jim fumbles with the camera anyway, and points the tablet in the monster's direction.

It's like Seifer, stitched together and terrible, but the head is familiar. Not from the faceless nothing-monster a few weeks ago, but because it looks like Jim, here and there. The eyebrows, the nose, the way his glance cuts up to meet the camera before the video rips and distorts completely. ]

[ He can feel his heart pounding with both dread and excitement. Jim is actually going on video for him! However, it's not even aimed at his boyfriend...

or well his full boyfriend. Making a noise as he already picks out his Jim from the stitched together creation. ]

Y-yeah. It's him. He's like Seifer. All pieced together randomly with others... [ His mind is already trying to figure out why they look like that. Was it because they saw Ecks recently? Did it have to do with their fears? ]

[ Jim can't help but shiver as he imagines whatever must have happened to make them like that.

As Zell watches, eyes all over Jim's monster's body open and shine little laser-lights toward the camera all at once. Jim doesn't react to it. ]

G-Great. Exactly what we needed, right?

[ He can feel something in him twist at that. ]

Did it hurt?

[ The words stumble out on their own before he can think of it. Rubbing the back of his neck as he looks Jim over again, trying to pick out what's familiar and what's new. ]

[ Jim reaches up to rub his eye, more of a habit than anything else. ]

It ... does't feel like anything, on my face. Like nothing's there.

[ Tracing against the screen of the tablet. ]

It's not bad. It looks like there are stars on your face.

[ He's trying to reassure Jim he doesn't look grotesque ~~yet~~ ]

You know the pic you sent me? It's my wallpaper now.

[ Oh, that hurts. Like Zell punched him in the chest. It catches him so off guard that he's forced to admit: ]

I think the only reason I'm not a complete wreck is because everything is so bad I can't focus on one thing.

[ He can feel something inside of him drop at that. ]

I- I'm sorry Stars. [ Wincing as he says the nickname. It seems cruel to say it now. ]

Remember when we were split up before?

When everyone was scattered?

[ Or when Jim had died? ]

When everyone was scattered.

[ It didn't even occur to him to specify which time, but thankfully Jim could figure it out. ]

At that time, I focused on you. I replayed old messages, found stuff on the network with you in it...you know that kind of stuff.

[ If it wasn't such a shitty time, it might sound lame or even a little embarrassing. ]

Did it make it easier?

[ Jim thinks it might've just hurt more, but back then he'd been focused on moving as quick as he could. Now, when he's stuck in one place and waiting for whatever happens next... ]

It reminded me what I had waiting for me. I know this is different, Stars, but I think maybe focus on what's waiting for you. Focusing on what you want to work towards might help. [ Pausing as he rubs the ring on his finger. ] I will wait for you. I'll try to fix this, but I will also wait for you. However long it takes, Stars. I love you.

I love you too.

[ Focusing on what's waiting for him also means focusing on what he'd left behind. Morph and Mochi, the brother that's no longer responding and the one he'd argued with, and most of all Zell, and the promise they'd made and Jim had broken. ]

You know that, don't you?

Yeah. [ Swallowing as he runs his fingers through his own hair. ] I know you do. That's why you left...

[ And he's not sure if it's right or good still. It's complicated, but it's not the time to worry about it. ]

Yeah. It is.

[ If he were just a little bit more selfish, he'd have gone back to Zell and curled up with him, let everyone stay ignorant of the consequences a little longer. ]

You can read me the riot act when I get back. Promise to sit still for it.

That's...

[ Not really what he has in mind at the moment. ]

I'm not much of a reader. Pretty sure I'll have other priorities first, Stars.

[ Like hugging him and never letting go. Or sitting on him to make sure he doesn't vanish again...

Just as he was getting better about not waking up to check if Jim is alive. He already knows he may start checking to be sure Jim hasn't vanished on him again. All of that is in the future though. Right now, he has Jim on the other side of his tablet's screen. ]

We'll worry about that when we see each other.

Re: @jphawkins, audio

Re: @jphawkins, audio

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