ArchivedLogs:Not Sharing

Not Sharing
Dramatis Personae Sebastian, Shane, Micah, Jackson, Spencer
In Absentia	17 November 2013 A little family reunion and trying to get Shane back to better health.
Location <XS> Lake
Bright, bright, bright; the lake glitters wide and expansive here, stretching off into the distance. Sunlight, moonlight, starlight, it catches them all. Lapping at the rocky shore, its deep waters are frigid in winter and cool even in summer. A stone pier stretches out a ways into the water, wide and smooth, though often icy in winter. The water teems with life nevertheless, home to myriad species of fish that provide for ample fishing or just lazy watching on a slow summer day, for those who want to take a boat from the boathouse out to the center of the lake, or perhaps lounge on the pier and try their luck. The school has feasted, for dinner today, fresh venison and Kelly’s fresh-grown vegetables spicing up their roster of legumes and rice and canned vegetables. There’s a plate rested now on the end of the pier, a mix that would probably be unappetizing to /most/ people -- a large portion of the roasted venison from the kitchen lying side by side with a just-killed walleye and half of a raw deer liver. For a time the plate of delicious foods sits untouched, but then there is a stirring from the water. Sebastian has one arm looped around his brother, tugging Shane up towards the pier to help him out towards the food. And he needs the help, that much is clear; his skin hangs looser on his frame, shed of much by way of flesh to fill it out. Both twins have taken on a considerably darker hue in the cold waters, their blue deepened almost to black. Sebastian drapes a blanket around Shane once they are out of the water, though this seems more for modesty’s sake than anything else; the cold does not seem to be bothering them much, at the moment. Micah has followed ‘Bastian back out to the lake after a Very Long Day focused on obtaining and preparing food, in hope that the offering of meat will bring Shane out. And maybe the underfed teen will even /eat/ some of it. He is dressed much the same as earlier in the day: bright orange Jayne hat, green jacket, hiking boots, blood-spattered pants switched out for rainbow-patched jeans, and gloves swapped for a softer pair striped in gradient from black to light green. He has a messenger bag slung over one shoulder and a borrowed blanket draped over the opposite arm. For now, he just stands and waits quietly on the pier, trying to make the transition up as gentle as possible for Shane. Not wanting to interrupt any potential for the boy to eat. Sebastian pulls the plate of food close to Shane once he has gotten his brother situated, staying close as well with an arm looped around Shane’s shoulders. “Sit,” he invites Micah quietly. Shane reaches for the liver, first. He doesn’t bother with utensils, just picks up the large hunk of meat to take a small bite, chewing carefully before swallowing rather than his usual hungry dinner ATTACK. He offers Micah a small smile. “... I guess you don’t want. This.” Another small bite of liver. “Did /you/ eat, Ba? When Pa and Spence get here it’ll be --” “-- almost like normal.” Except for how restless Bastian’s gaze is, this far from the mansion, watching the shoreline and the nearby woods warily. At the invitation, Micah spreads his blanket out over the cold pier and sits on it, smiling quietly at the boys. “No, that’s definitely for you. Raw meat is /usually/ a bad idea for folks as don’t have an exceptional metabolism.” The smile broadens, glad both to hear Shane speaking /and/ see him eating. “I ate back up at the school. Believe me, folks was insistent. Got enough caretaker personalities about this place for sure.” He suppresses any questions about his concerns for Shane...for now. Let the boy eat in peace first. The forest and the water might hold their own dangers, but the figures making their way down from the school building in the distance are definitely not /shambling/; Spencer is working his way up to more of a /hurtle/ once he is unleashed into the wide school grounds. It’s at least a hurtle that is beelining straight for his brothers down at the pier. He does, at least, refrain from tackling them, though it seems to take a concerted force of will -- he eyes Shane with a deep frown, fidgeting before plopping himself down on the blanket beside Micah. And continuing to eye Shane; apparently /someone/ has been told to be careful with his brother just right now. He sits on his hands, instead. “I ate your fish,” he tells Micah and Sebastian. “Next time can I come?” Jackson is not quite so hurtle-y. He only manages enough of a relaxed jog to keep Spencer in sight, slowing back to a walk once the boy is on the pier with the others. He’s also traded out apocalypse-gear for clothing more like his normal; sky-blue UFO pants and a purple-and-silver tank beneath his black fishnet shirt; over it is a cheerful rainbow hoodie. His metabolism is nowhere near as much in overdrive as the twins’, but even so he’s showing the strain even more than the average New Yorker right now, too much /bone/ and too little colour to him. It doesn’t seem to dim his smile at all, though, at the sight of Shane eating. He also commandeers a bit of blanket to sit on, tucking himself at Micah’s other side -- there’s a warm radiant heat around him that drives back some of the nighttime chill. “Bet you could learn fishin’ just fine,” he allows, though he adds a teasing, “-- s’a whole lotta sitting still an’ /waiting/, though, y’think you could handle that more’n three minutes?” “Three minutes?” Shane sounds intensely skeptical. Bastian grins at Spencer. “I give it one and a half.” “If you tie him into the boat,” Shane agrees. He relaxes a little more at Sebastian’s side once the others join them, something almost like a smile on his face as he continues working his way through his large hunk of liver. “You guys should stay here.” Sebastian says this quieter, more serious. “You can go fishing. Or hunting. Help feed people.” “Not get eaten by zombies,” adds Shane. “That part’s important.” Micah wraps an arm around Spencer’s shoulders when the boy sits beside him. “You can definitely come fishin’ with us if you’re around next time we go out. But it /is/ kinda borin’. You have t’be pretty still an’ quiet t’keep from scarin’ the fish away. An’ it is a lotta waitin’.” His other arm claims a half-hug from Jax, with bonus stolen body heat! “Y’know m’pops used t’threaten t’/gag/ me when we went fishin’ an’ I was Spence’s age…” He chuckles softly, still keeping an eye on Shane’s progress through his meal. “Mightn’t be a horrible idea for me t’stay up here helpin’ out with this group. Gotta work out goin’ t’the clinic once a day. But I don’t guess it’s any more complicated gettin’ there from here or from home. Can’t exactly /drive/ either way. Hm.” He looks over to Jax, thoughtful. “Spence’s school ain’t startin’ back up, either, wouldn’ think. Is it?” Jackson leans into Micah’s hug, his hand resting at the small of Micah’s back and his other braced against the blanket behind him. “Joshua could bring you t’the clinic an’ back,” he volunteers immediately, jumping rather quickly on the notion of Micah and Spencer remaining at the much more secure school. “An’ Spence won’t have school again till the city’s a bit more cleaned up, I imagine.” Spencer just scowls -- fiercely! though he’s not quite managed /sharktwin/ levels of ferocity yet -- back at his brothers. “/I/ can be quiet. When is /Shane/ ever quiet.” The idea of staying at the school makes his expression light back up, though. “-- Really? Can I go to school here, too?” Shane’s teeth bare in a grin -- a bit of a gory one, he’s still working his way through a torn-off bite of liver. “I’m quiet,” he informs the others, “when someone /gags/ me.” Sebastian huffs out a snort, resting his chin down on Shane’s shoulder. Shane finishes his next bite of liver, but then puts the meat down still mostly untouched, closing his eyes and leaning in to Sebastian. “You /should/ stay here. All of you. Not /disappear/ again you could have been /dead/.” His tone is creeping towards accusatory, now. Sebastian cringes. “I know. I’m not -- going anywhere. Now.” “Sounds like a good plan, then,” Micah confirms with a nod when Jax volunteers Joshua. “I mean, we’ll have t’check with the school-folks t’be sure they’re okay with us stayin’ here, but I think they’ll be fine with it since we’re plannin’ on helpin’ t’keep things goin’. I don’t know about actual /classes/, though, hon. I think it’s mostly much older kids here. They’re prob’ly not doin’ the same kinda things y’do at your school.” He shoots a grin over to Shane. “Well, y’/must/ be feelin’ a little better. Already back t’the...vaguely inappropriate we’re used to.” Micah winces slightly, in time with ‘Bastian’s cringe. He nods at B, his look certainly more /sympathetic/ than Shane’s, still planning further discussion on the topic but holding it for later. “You’re my family. They gotta be okay with it.” Jackson just seems quietly confident about this. “Even moreso since you’re helpin’ out too.” He gives a small smile at Shane’s quip, fingers rubbing absently at Micah’s bag. “S’worse things than bein’ gagged, for sure. Less talkin’, though. More eatin’.” Spencer just looks mildly confused at the inappropriate comment. “You can’t gag him if he has to eat,” he volunteers. And to Bastian, “-- Where /did/ you go? Dad says Lucien says you were saving people.” “You are more than welcome to gag me any time.” Shane directs this comment to Jackson and Micah both. He looks down uncomfortably at his plate of food afterwards, though, smile fading. He picks up a slice of the roasted venison, nibbling at that too. “All just -- makes me feel kind of. Sick.” “It’s okay. Eat slow. But eat. You won’t get used to it if you don’t --” Sebastian fidgets, also uncomfortably, at Shane’s side. “... some people,” he affirms to Spencer, but guiltily. Micah does his best to stifle amusement at Spencer’s confused observation. “No, honey, he’s...gonna try t’eat some more. Just slow-like.” He just shakes his head at Shane being...Shane. “Lucien did say he was gettin’ some kids out of a house where they were trapped.” Though Micah is looking at Spencer, this reply has more the sound of a reminder directed at ‘Bastian. “We’re not gagging him,” Jackson assures Spencer. “He’s gotta eat.” His levity fades into a small frown at Shane’s declaration. “It’ll take some getting used to again. Does anything help? I could make you some -- ginger tea, maybe.” He reaches out to squeeze at Sebastian’s shoulder. “Some people’s the most you can do, honey-honey, there’s /always/ gonna be more people as need helpin’. You do what you can.” Shane just grimaces, nibbling more slow bites of venison. “Is there ginger? That -- might help.” Sebastian still looks uncomfortable, dropping his gaze to the stones as the others speak. He plucks at the blanket he’s draped around Shane, pulling it around his own shoulders as well. “Please don’t, I really wasn’t --” His face turns to hide against Shane’s arm. “... like you guys.” He closes his eyes, staying there for a moment huddled under the blanket, but then stands. He grabs his bundle of clothes off the end of the pier, pressing kisses to each of his family’s head in turn. “I’ll get you tea. Pa, Ba, stay.” This is preemptive before either of them try to go /help/. “We could try makin’ a soup next time instead of just bringin’ slabs of meat down. Weren’t sure what y’needed, though, so we kinda went /simple/ for this round. Y’think that’d be better?” Micah nods at the request for ginger, though he doesn’t get the chance to stand before ‘Bastian is on it, well-calculatedly. He offers ‘Bastian another smile at the kiss. Once the boy is off, back toward the school, he leans his head against Jax’s shoulder. “He’s been...real troubled ‘bout somethin’,” he informs in a low voice. “Almost told me while we were out huntin’...but it wasn’t safe t’stop an’ talk then.” “Oh, if that’d help --” But then Bastian is already on it and Jackson, too, remains in place. Spencer hasn’t been commanded to stay, though, and he’s been sitting in the same place for ten whole minutes by now; he’s bouncing to his feet to scurry off after Sebastian. Jax traces his teeth against his lower lip, looking off after the boys. “I mean, he was gone for a week,” he says with a frown, “with how the ci-- with how things’ve been who /knows/ what he’s been through.” “The liver is great,” Shane assures them. “This is good. It just.” He hunches closer under his blanket when Sebastian gets up, shivering now for the first time since he got out of the water. He puts the chunk of liver back down, shoulders tightening. His head tilts, acute hearing perhaps picking up on those low words. His eyes flick after Sebastian, and then drop to his plate. One claw pokes at the remaining liver. “He looks like he did fine out there.” Micah’s eyes track Spencer to be certain he reaches ‘Bastian’s side (and supervision) safely before turning back to the conversation at hand. “You’re right, that’s just the issue...could be anythin’ an’ we /don’t/ know. I told ‘im we’d talk on it later, though, I just been tryin’ not t’push. He does...look like he did well /physically/, hon. But he’s got some kinda heavy weight on his mind. S’hurtin’ over somethin’.” He frowns, watching Shane poke at his food. One twin emaciated and the other in tears in the woods. Not a good thing by far. Jackson glances to Shane, studying his face thoughtfully for a moment. “D’you need t’get back in the water, honey-honey? You’re startin’ to shiver.” He starts to reach a hand for Shane, still carrying an ambient warmth with himself, but then drops his hand back to his lap. “He’ll talk when he’s ready.” He’s a little bit hopeful here. Shane shakes his head at Jackson’s offered hand. “Back in the water soon,” he agrees, picking up the liver to nibble at it again. “Not yet.” Slowly, slowly working his way through more bites of meat. “That’s what I mean, Ba. He looks like he did well physically.” He tears off another mouthful of liver, slowly chewing it and forcing the bite down. “You’ve been out there, haven’t you? What do you think it /takes/ to do well out there?” Micah watches Shane's shivering with a clearly worried expression. “You sure out here's still the best place? I don't like y'bein' where it's hard for anybody t'check on you, when you're unwell. I'm sure we could set up a tub inside somewhere if we needed to. Would fret less if we had eyes on you. An' medical attention.” His brows stay knitted, lips pressed thin at the ongoing discussion of 'Bastian. “I don't know. Somethin' about it's troublin' 'im paticular. I'd just assumed that Stark had access t'more resources. Or he broke into a cold locker nobody'd gotten into yet.” “I think --” Jackson hesitates. His eye lowers, a small shiver passing through him despite his radiant heat. “-- I think B’s good at survivin’.” His fingers drum absently against Micah’s back. “Though maybe sometimes t’the detriment of him actually livin’.” Shane grimaces, a soft growl rasping in his throat; with his gills starting to flutter again erratically its uneven rasp sounds eerily like the rattly un-breaths of the zombie moans. “No doctors,” he insists stiffly. “I’ll be okay. In the water it’s colder. Metabolism slows down. Regulates better. You know,” he explains to Micah, “our bodies are only crazy stupid when we’re always back and forth here. When we just stay in the water we do fine. And B can check on me just fine.” He tentatively ventures another small bite of liver, though he shudders faintly as he eats it, and then just sets it down, glancing back towards the mansion briefly. For a moment he is quiet. He moves over near his parents instead, curling up in front of them on the blanket, half-draped across both their laps with his blanket loosely pulled over him. “I think we’ve all had to get good at surviving.” Jax's pronouncement is met with silence and a slow nod. Micah's frown deepens slightly at Shane's insistence on avoiding doctors, but he doesn't argue the matter. “I just don't like...what if y'need help an' we can't get t'you?” He reaches out a hand to pet down Shane's gills when the teen moves closer, encouraging air-breathing while he's out of the water. “Just wanna keep you boys safe an' I feel like I haven't been able to with Spence poof-ing all over an' B run off an' you out in a lake now an' me holed up in the clinic for so long.” The hand brushes back over Shane's gills each time they begin to flutter again. Jax reaches down, too, fingers scratching absently through Shane’s spiky-hard hair. “Been worried ‘bout you,” he echoes Micah’s sentiment quietly. “We jus’ wanna make sure --” He draws in a slow breath, fingers curling in to scritch harder. “{I’m sorry,}” he says, in somewhat stilted Vietnamese. His fingertips trail downwards, touch a little shaky as his fingers trace over the gaunt sharply-defined lines of Shane’s face. “Don’t always take care of you like I should. It ain’t hardly fair to you. But I want to. Do better.” Shane’s eyes close. Under the petting he relaxes with a soft happy sigh, gills pressing flat down and his head nuzzling up. “-- Man, fuck you guys.” His mouth twitches upwards; somehow Shane manages to make cursing sound like an endearment. “You both do so much and -- holy shit, you’ve just maybe saved the fucking /world/. I mean,” he admits a little softer, “-- sometimes I don’t want to share you. Except I kind of do because you’re also both amazing and the world should have that. But you do good.” He lapses back into silence, just absorbing the affection for a time. “I think another ni -- I think sleeping out here till tomorrow would help. My body doesn’t /eat/ itself so fast. But if you’re staying at the school I’ll move back into the building tomorrow, okay?” He cracks one eye open to squint up at them. “-- But only if I get more petting. And no doctors.” Between the cursing and smiling, Shane has the corners of Micah's lips tugging into a small smile, too. “I'm gonna credit the actual research team on the whole world-savin' front, but I take your point, regardless.” He leans forward to wrap an arm around Shane's shoulders and pull him closer to the little huddle on the blanket. “Oh, hon. Ain't gotta share me for a bit. Who knows when work's even gonna start again. Gonna be here just t'take care of you boys an' keep up the food stores other than once-a-day clinic visits. For a little while, anyhow.” His fingers are quickly back to stroking at Shane's gills. “Deal. All the pettin's. No doctors /unless/ it's an emergency.” Jackson brushes his fingers down against the gills on Shane’s neck, leaning down to press a kiss to the boy’s temple. “You’ll get more pettin’ than you can -- okay actually I don’t know if there’s no such thing as more petting than Shane can stand,” he admits with a crooked grin to Micah. Shane just smiles wider, at this. He curls in closer to the others, nestling in comfortably against the others. To enjoy not-sharing them for a while.