Welcome to Gaia! ::

Everything in the last few weeks for Jan had been complete and utter upheaval. He was normally used to being able to control his exposure to other people and social situations, able to seclude himself in his home and turn off his phone when he felt like it was all too irritating. Since arriving at the prytaneum he had found both privacy and control of his life were commodities that were growing more and more scarce. This trip was yet another step in that loss of control and the danger involved was a little steeper than he had counted upon. He wasn’t a hero, nor was he a fighter and even with the few weeks weapon training he had received he neither felt confident nor safe wielding a weapon and was in no way capable of taking on anything dangerous. Every day much younger and fitter people surrounded him and it was somewhat concerning for his chances of making it out of this intact.

Still, he just had to keep his eyes on surviving above all else, surviving and getting back to his life before with the maximum amount of money and possibly superpowers – if this physical durability thing he’d been experiencing was to be believed. Everything else was someone else’s problem, especially the whole protecting and saving other people thing. Other people could frankly rot for all he cared, what mattered was Jan. After all there was only one of him and the world would be utterly devastated without him.

Even when it started to get late people were still making themselves helpful and organizing fortifications, helping to treat the wounded and so on. He instead was looking for somewhere comfortable – preferably with a shower – where he could sleep. He wasn’t paid to work nights and it was actually a need that was somewhat important if he was honest. His back had always been pretty bad and it only got worse when there was nothing soft to sleep on. Mercifully a conversation with one of the hotel staff informed him there were some empty rooms they were welcome to use, provided they stayed two to a room to accommodate for numbers.

This was good enough for Jan and he duly went to update Rodney that he’d cunningly secured them a place to stay the night if he wanted to share some space with him. If the other man declined he’d have plausible deniability to say that he thought he’d be there eventually and he just hadn’t showed up if anyone questioned him having the whole room to himself the next day.

All of this accomplished he retired for the first night, taking a long (and very hot) shower, completely unphased by the dangers that pressed in all around them. He had never been very emotional overall and it helped in places like this, where everyone else might sleep lightly, on edge, he’d be sure to sleep sound and proper, as awake as he was going to be the next day. Staying stripped down to nothing but his underwear and jewelry he sat on the bed and flicked through the bedside table’s bible idly. It wasn’t that he wanted to upset Rodney with his nudity, he simply wanted to keep the rest of his clothing as fresh as possible for the next day, who knew how long they’d be stuck here.

"Come in." Jan said politely and noted that it actually felt nice to have some control however briefly of who came into his life and when. There was a moment when he considered covering up and then dismissed it. Rodney wasn't some sprightly young thing and probably wouldn't care anyway.

He was privately pleased that the other man showed up.

The room itself was spotlessly tidy apart from one side table which had a mostly deconstructed bird on it in a pool of not-blood.

"Oh thank you." he said, trying to sound enthused about food when food was almost always the thing he was least enthused about navigating. "And no, not at all, I took my clothes all off before doing anything, then I had a shower. I wanted to keep my clothes clean for tomorrow."

He wasn't sure what to make of the other man avoiding his gaze but simply chalked it up to a very british sort of politeness. He assumed he'd relax in due time if he kept up the reassuring act that nothing was actually wrong.

"I'm not vegetarian." he said. "Though I do try and eat healthily."

"Not at all, I'm glad you brought something." He wouldn't have eaten anything really if he didn't have it in his lap now. He opened the bag and took a small nibble.

"I think we all thought it would be brief." He inclined his brow at the other man. "Well we have not yet and I am getting fairly adept at fighting the birds." Rodney was so strange and sad and it fascinated him.

"The bed's comfortable though." he said helpfully.

Jan ate very slowly, very very slowly, one tiny bite at a time. "Hurt in the sense that I could feel it." he said. "But short of that, not a scratch on me."

He looked pleased about this. "I think I could fight one if it got in here."

After eating a small square of his own sandwich he neatly re-folded the bag and set it aside. "I've been exhausted all day though, quite a bit of stress in addition to more exertion than usual. I am not cut out for it."

"No." he said. "I don't quit so easily."

Firstly he wasn't sure it was an option (that wouldn't end up with him being killed) and secondly, the whole being almost immune to harm thing was something he could get used to also.

He moved to stretch out on his side. "I'm just tired right now."

Rodney got a blank sort of look for his question as Jan had to assume that the suggestion to turn out the lights was some sort of attempt to avoid having to look at him. It made him bristle somewhat, indignant that something he fundamentally couldn't help warranted avoidance and equally indignant he could not have his way or a Rodney who could just speak without being distressed about ..whatever it was he was distressed about.

"I have questions too." he said. "Though likely none they'd be able to answer. What would you ask?"

He still was somewhat offended by the suggestion. "And I can sleep anywhere, but if you want to you can turn the lights out."

Jan closed his eyes with a sigh, still irritated in his restless way about the implication about the lights. It was difficult to let things go or to slide and even Rodney's assurance he didn't want to sleep didn't alleviate it.

"I usually read." he said. The idea of needing a deity to tell you about marriage was also strange. 'Marriage?" he asked. "I'd think most beings are all right with that, it seems a pretty standard staple of humanity."

It hadn't worked out for him, but he had his own opinions about what that said about him.