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 Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 4:56 pm
Jerry went silent, staring at the cream slowly swirling in his dark coffee, brows knit in careful contemplation. He huddled down lower at the table, his shoulders hunched, "I... I'm not sure... not sure what to do about it. I mean... if... if there's something wrong with me, I don't know how to stop it if I don't... um. Know it's even happening... Everything's so... so insane here, it's hard to... to digest what's really happening sometimes, I suppose... To... to me it's just... flickers, I guess. I don't know. But... but if you think... if you think I'm doing something wrong or... or something's wrong with me..." He trusted Jordan. He trusted his life to him. If he said something was amiss, then something must have been. "Do you think I'm crazy?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 5:05 pm
Jordan flinched, the tight knot of sick worry in his chest clenching tighter. "If anything," he said quietly, "it's the rest of us who are crazy, handling all this impossible, deadly stuff without collapsing under it. Pretty sure Hunters don't die of old age. If it weren't dangerous, I wouldn't say anything about it. But - " he hesitated, then made himself say it - "what if you were sparring with Candace, and she couldn't snap you out of that haze to get you to recognize she wasn't an enemy?"
He paused to let the thought sink in, then added, "I don't know for sure how you can get around it. Maybe Roar can help, or one of the Life Division doctors." He rubbed a hand over his eyes tiredly. "Do you see why I'm concerned, though?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 5:22 pm
"It... it's never happened in... in a spar before," Jerry tried to press, but it was clear the panic was on his face, his eyes getting watery, "I... I... I suppose I could bring it up to Dr. H next time I speak with him," His voice got quiet, his coffee getting cold as he fidgeted with pressing his fingernail into the Styrofoam. "I... I didn't realize... it was so bad. Well, that... I mean... I did stop, though. I mean... I saw it was you and..."
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Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 5:25 pm
"It might be a good idea. To bring it up." Jordan folded his hands on the table, stared down into the red stone of Ferros's ring. "I'm sorry," he said, very quietly.
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Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 5:30 pm
"Th-thank you," Jerry sniffed, wiping at his eyes under his glasses, "I... I'm... I'm glad I've got you to look out for me, Alpha." He gave a watery smile, his face still pale before he cleared his throat, "And... um... j-just... just don't mention this to anyone? Please? I mean... if they don't already um..." He fidgeted, "I don't want Candace to find out anyway." Although she did seem to like it when he was... a bit unhinged. Even so, he didn't want her to worry.
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Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 5:38 pm
"I won't. It's nobody's business when it's not affecting them." Jordan managed a small smile. "And it's not my place to be saying anything to anyone else, particularly now that I know you know what's going on. I've got your back, you know that." He looked up to meet Jerry's eyes, glanced away again.
Ferros rumbled quietly, but said nothing. Still, Jordan was grateful for the dragon's presence.
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Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 5:46 pm
"I'll... I'll get this fixed, don't you worry," Jerry reached out to take Jordan's hand, trying to give an encouraging smile that hid how he was really feeling about it all, "Thanks... for being a good friend. Seriously. It... it means a lot to me. I never really had... people looking out for me like this before... before recruitment."
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Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 5:55 pm
"I'm mad, you're mad, we're all mad here," Jordan answered, falling back on literature for something, anything to say. "I didn't either," he admitted a moment later. He pushed his chair back, feeling almost claustrophobic; he needed to leave now, while his control over his voice and expression still held. "I'm going to go get that shower I was headed for before Robert texted," he said.
A moment's hesitation. "Make sure you check your stitches too, all right?" Then he was headed out of the cafeteria, head down, walking in quick, long strides.
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Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 5:58 pm
"Er... y-yes, sir," Jerry said quietly, watching Jordan practically bolt from the room. It didn't make him feel better, not at all.
Something was wrong with his brain, something more serious than he had originally feared, apparently. Serious enough it apparently made Jordan not only worried but run from him.
Fantastic.
First step is admitting you have a problem, Roar piped up helpfully.
"I have a problem, alright," Jerry sighed, content to slump at the table for now quietly.
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