2019-09-14 - Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone

Lilith is asleep in a drug haze when Byron gets back from fetching Dog and her tablet and clothes for when she's released, along with some plant watering while he's there and whatever Byron things he had to do otherwise. It's probably a good thing she went back out-- the nurses reported she was 'cranky' which means Lilith was being a difficult kind of bitch whining to be released when she woke up the second time from a screwy semi-dream (the normal drug haze kind that suck). She got dosed again because of it and is just rousing while the man sits nearby.

There's a foil wrapped piece of cake when he returns too, untouched, some chips and some bottles of strawberry water near the tray that came from somewhere and she has left the room phone off of the hook and unplugged from the receiver. The first nurse that put it back got yelled at because it was deliberate, damnit. Therefore, they've just let it be disconnected. At least Lilith didn't break it, though. When she wakes up, she wakes up with a bit of a start and looks at Byron blearily for a moment before making a rather whiny, 'ugh' noise. The cute highs have passed and there's more and more pain during her waking moments, which she seems to insist on having because she's not liking having her eyes closed either.

"I can't reach Dog." Dog has been fall-knocked between her legs and she can't lean up to get it, arms reaching drowsily and helplessly.

The newly brought gifts are inspected and Byron has to wonder which visitor had stopped by and dropped them off. There were a few people who knew that Lilith was in the hospital, one of whom he was recently in a text conversation with earlier in the day. The first thing he looks for are flowers, both the kinds that Alexander tends to buy and also whatever he'd heard was sent to her last time. Her room, however, was not filled with plant life. Curiosity has him looking for a card of sorts. While these may not be an overflow of bouquets, it doesn't mean that one particular someone in Miami didn't send other gifts instead.

That's when he notices that the phone was unplugged. He's not about to question it. Not after the phone call he'd received last night.

While Lilith was still asleep, Byron sent out a few messages, desperately seeking out help because she was hardly doing any better than when he last saw her.

(TXT to August) Byron: Mister Roen. Lilith got hurt the other day and I was wondering, as you share similar abilities to her, do you think you could help her now?
(TXT to Byron) August: christ what happened
(TXT to Byron) August: how bad is she?
(TXT to August) Byron: An elephant seal mauled her. In a dream. Not a normal one. Her body was crushed pretty badly.
(TXT to Byron) August: is she in the hospital?
(TXT to August) Byron: Yes. The doctors can do little for her. But they are trying.
(TXT to Byron) August: okay. if you're there with her we can try something. and if that doesn't work, I'll drive in.
(TXT to August) Byron: Lilith was able to heal someone remotely. Can you do the same?

When Lilith begins to stir, he sets his phone down on the nightstand to go bring her Dog and to check and see how she was doing. With the plush husky in hand, he looms over her sleepy form with a smile, extending the fluffball within grasping range. "How are you feeling?" He doesn't expect her to be fully coherent. In fact, his eyes remain attentive on his phone right about now.

Once he sees his phone lights up to indicate a message, Byron reaches for it to review the text. The words that he reads makes him breath out this sigh of frustration and he quickly responds.

Lilith takes Dog from Byron and holds it like a lifeline, still kind of groggy and out of it as she looks at him, all healthy and clean and manly and put together and Byron. She makes a 'mmmrf' of noise as answered reply, then whines, "You know... I can't even bring myself to hardly... tell anyone 'cause they're all... ahhh murderer. And I'm all, fuck it was a whole seal. Which is stupid. And embarrassing. Who gets crushed by a whole seal? Why the hell didn't I dodge?" It's not like he didn't yell at her to move or give her the heads up or anything! She knows exactly why she didn't move, rationally-- stubborn overconfidence, just needed a second, isn't that what she said?

A second was all it took. It may have been an 'embarrassing' seal, but that thing was huge and not from the world they precisely live in and it crushed and clawed the hell out of her.

Poutily, not really knowing who he's talking to on his phone because he's always busy, she keeps her arms looped around Dog for a time and sulks after her complaint, "This sucks. I don't like it. Why wouldn't they just let me go home?" Because you were crushed, stupid. Then she pauses and she bats her lashes a few times before widening her eyes and breathing out 'woah' while staring at Byron, "... I think I'm high. I hear August and he knows about the seal. Uh. I'm supposed to say he's not going to stomp and look around. It's easier when he can see?" A pause, "I'm high, aren't I?"

She's new to this and is on drugs, okay?

This knock that August sends Byron's way is more like an intrusive jackhammer to his mind, attempting to break down all the walls and barriers, setting off this mental security system that he had built up over the years. It's unnerving and frustrating and so difficult to ignore. This is what it's like. This is what he went through. And unlike Byron now, his father could do little about it. A deep breath is drawn in through the nostrils, then exhaled, then inhaled again, just before he's about to send off another text: I ask again, how is this easier?

Then he hears Lilith beginning to babble, his attention slowly turning her way. What she initially says sounds normal enough and makes some sense, but as she goes on, partially blaming herself for her own stubbornness, what follows next makes him all the more wary. "You didn't dodge because that thing was coming at you like a freight train and no one else seems to give a shit about the fact that /you/ nearly died." There's some anger in his tone when he says this, still fending off this intrusive knocking at his mind.

Then she brings up August suddenly and it makes him bristle. "Son of a bitch." Though the message was delivered it STILL TAKES A LONG WHILE for Thorne to open up his mind. He's watching Lilith there on the bed. The medical team were working round the clock to keep her comfortable, but the road to recovery was taking far longer than he'd like. It didn't seem like she was getting better.

Finally, at some point through all of this, if this was the only way that he would be able to help her, he'll relent, begrudgingly. The opening is narrow and his mind is full of darkness. He doesn't even respond at first when August is let in, but the other man can feel him simmering. This was not Okay.

"You care. S'all I need." Lilith tells Byron, looking on his agitation she can see and sense with his familiarity even through her drug haze. She tucks Dog next to herself on the hospital bed and reaches for the remote to shift herself up a few leverage degrees with the bed frame at motion. It makes her nose screw up some as her body is readjusted in that limp crush of bound up, bandaged, and gowned lay. Then very slowly, she starts to understand, at least a little bit, because she's apparently accepting maybe she's not high and she was hearing August.

"August cares. He knocked, I think." Okay, that kind of makes sense. Honestly, she's not that high with pain lacing through and sobering her a little bit, so with the groggy wearing off, she's catching on more and her voice is soft. Then she reaches her hands out for one of his to bring up toward her lips to soothe whatever agitation is on him with brush of kiss against the knuckles, "Hi. Don't be mad." She has no real clue quite what's going on yet, but she's probably about to find out.

Suddenly her eyes widen and she does understand because it seems she's attuned to what's going on, suddenly, due to some kind of mental explanation. Lilith repeats up at Byron, "August cares. It's hard to do it like this. He avoids it like me, kind of, I think. But different reasons, probably. Byron? Tell him I said 'please'. I'm tired of hurting. I've always been better at dishing it out than taking it."

No matter how much August tries to keep his distance and be respectful of his mind, Byron's paranoia runs rampant. Something prowls in that darkness, its presence shifting from looming ever so close to that window screen, before withdrawing completely, as if locking itself away, before it returns. August is still greeted with silence even after giving Thorne an explanation on the why he was needed. His body remains still, ever muscle in his form tense as he complies to the instructions given him.

What Lilith is met with at first is this intense look within Byron's eyes, turning his gaze to her at first, then scanning the room as he's instructed before resettling in on Lilith once more. There's this constant sensation that the small opening that he'd allowed was about to close. Even more so when feeling that turbulent emotion coming from the guy on the other side of this link. This makes his own darkness grow, remaining petulantly silent.

But Lilith was talking and trying to convince him that August cared. Through gritted teeth, he murmurs, "Just... let's get this over with." This was hard for everyone all around and in Byron's mind, hardest for HIM. With all of his negative emotions, there's some spark of electricity crackling through the darkness, being soothed every so often by her voice alone.

<<Permission Granted.>> It's cold when those words come out, as if he were gritting his teeth when just thinking about it.

While keeping a captive hold on Byron's hand between both of her own smaller ones, she continues to brush lips at his knuckles, watching the man's tension and the cool steel of his gaze while he focuses. And she understands gradually that this is just as hard for him as it is August, maybe harder, for whatever reason, which clicks a little bit later. And how many times did she make him watch her favorite Disney movie at their younger points (even older) points in life? She starts to hum a theme from Sleeping Beauty there against the skin and bone push of his knuckles, old and familiar and sweet.

After a few moments, though, there's a crack of a smile and an interruptive noise of 'uh huh' as if she's answering to a question or accusation there in the middle of humming for Byron. Then it picks right up again. At least... until she draws in a soft gasp and stills her mouth and noise of reverb hum there against Byron's hand. Her lashes flutter down to close and she's very without motion for a long few heartbeats.

Her color improves a few degrees, as does the groggy grump of constant pain or drugs in her eyes, the blue coloring alight with some sense of relief when they reopen with a bit more light. And while the bandaging and gown is covering what's happening gradually beneath, her posture, while not completely eased, it's not all limp and dead bound weight. In fact it shifts some, testing sorely like she's relishing the shift of pain response she's bidding there for a tick, then she smiles, "Kickstart felt good."

"Thank you."

It seems to be for both August and Byron when Lilith speaks, such weighted gratitude exhaled as she takes a good breath without the oxygen tube at her nose. She doesn't sound all breathless and faint anymore either.

Whether his tall, lean frame is filled with the tension of discomfort or not, Byron will play the part that Lilith needs now, giving her hand a light squeeze just as she raises his up to her lips. With her bright blue eyes upon him, it was difficult for him to mask that anxiety from his features, just how unnerved he was feeling and though their eyes meet, he doesn't realize it at first, too absorbed in making sure all of his dark thoughts remained locked away, despite the darkness that clouds his mind. There were darker things to be found within. However, when he does take notice, he'll flash her one of his gentle smiles.

The melody is very familiar, he actually knows the song by heart know though he's not inclined to sing along.

She was looking somewhat better and was being cheerful about it, so that bring some form of relief to him at least. To send forth her response to the man who had healed her, he takes in a deep breath. <<She seems to be doing much better.>> At least it doesn't sound like he's growling this out, but there's something about his words that tend to be just as guarded as his mind. <<I think we can take it from here.>> A pause. <<Thanks...>> He may be calmer, his words showing some form of gratitude, but for whatever reason, his mind remains as closed off as much as possible, the darkness never clearing.

"... I do feel better. It still hurts, but it's not all... collapsing in on me with searing breaths. It's more like constantly sore bruising, which the drugs are... it's okay. I still need time, and probably another round of attention if I can get out at some point to make it less obvious... but I'm not suffering." Lilith tells Byron with a lift of his captive hand to bite at his knuckle with mild pressure, like she's doing a demonstration of how much better she feels in comparison... despite still seeming fragile to so many degrees.

"You alright? It's strange, I've never had that happen. Just you fluttering around inside that time or so." The woman pauses and theorizes, "Drugs probably helped me take it in gradually. Mm."

Though Byron may not like it, he has no problems with feeling other people's discomfort. He's read so many objects and so many emotions that, while a disturbing emotion will always be difficult to deal with, it's something that he's used to. Having someone else's mind lingering in the backdrop to your own, however, that in itself was nervewracking. Though he didn't realize that he'd been expressing any of this. He's good at concealing things from others, but when he's busy playing watchdog to his own mind, he might not take notice at just how anxious he'd become.

"What do you mean?" He asks, the edges of his lips tugging into this subtle look of annoyance that he even looks away from her as she's seated close. He'll force his hand to relax within hers, even after she'd bitten at it, but perhaps a tell-tale sign is that he doesn't react with his usual playfulness immediately following, which he tends to do.

"Someone in my head. Hearing without hearing. Weird, I guess. I don't know." Lilith tells Byron with a lowering of his hand and a release to give him a little backhanded space for continued unwind or subject shift. After drawing in a lungful of air for testing her lung capacity at current state, she hits wince level, stops, then slowly exhales before giving Byron a slant of smile, "Thanks for doing my running and getting some air to take care of you too. I know... it was probably hard to see. You called out, so... you no doubt have it stuck slow motion for a bit now." She sounds like she knows what she's talking about, all the ways she's dreamed for him to die probably has something to do with that, actual terrible occurrences and what-ifs all mixed through as well.

"Is everything okay and on track with planning in the outside world? I feel so helpless now. It could be any time and I'm... ugh."

"That was Roen." Byron will come out to say, leaving it at that for now. "He was communicating with you the way," He then stops himself. He was about to say 'the way people like me do', but August wasn't like him. Well, he was one of those with multiple powers. Enough so that Byron would've gotten a sense of his abilities. But August was not someone like him. "Don't worry about it. I messaged him because, because you needed it. You deserve the help, Lilith."

The rest of what she says, he has no idea what any of that is about. At least this gets him to turn back to look in her direction, the tension and slight ire beginning to fade. He was still in recovery mode himself, but he finally felt like he had the whole of his mind all to himself again, without the worry of what others may sense. He's able to take in his own deep breath now, lending a gentle hand to stroke at her hair, then the side of her face. While he may be confused by the odd banter, he says nothing about it. "Just relax." He's telling the both of them this.

It's weird when the rambling gets mixed with something that he thinks he understands, even though she calls outside of the hospital the 'outside world'. "I think so. Everyone is taking the time to figure out what to sacrifice. I think Izzy was meeting with Doctor Kosimar to discuss the exorcism ritual." All of this is stated as fact, there's very little in his voice to even hint at whether he's skeptical on whether this will work or if he's hopeful. "You just need to get better. They've got Erin and whatever it is that your kind can help her with, Roen will be there." He really has no idea what spiritualists do besides heal, fix things and destroy things.

Lilith nods her head some while listening to Byron speak and explain, her eyes stuck fast on his features. Then his reaching touch to stroke hand over her hair and the side of her face eases her out of worry or thought. Automatically, her head keens some with tip into the touch and she closes her eyes for a moment to still rest. Then they re-open to look at him after she's taken a moment to sort the jumble of her thoughts which aren't real clear when given in piecemeal. She seems to be debating something then with focus visibly on him once more.

"Good. Just... frustrating. I'm sure it's well in hand, but..." Lilith casts a meaningful look over Byron as a whole, seated there nearby and she sighs softly to herself, "I can't expect to protect you if I can barely stand when the time comes. And I hate it." After a tiny sigh, her eyes slide over to the phone and she wonders more softly and cautiously curious of Byron, internal debate apparently decided with the question that comes out.

"... what did Turner say to you when he called?"

Slowly but surely he's beginning to relax; he can sense the security system lights blink within his mind, those walls doubling, tripling in a more immediate reaction to what had happened. At some point, this obsessive need to wall himself off will fade, until a new threat comes a knocking. As all of this is going on, Byron is mostly attentive to Lilith's well-being, taking note of her pillow is fluffed just right or that her blanket is draped over her in such a way. It's fussy work really, something for his hands to do while his mind continues to do its thing.

"I don't need protecting, Lilith." He says firmly, only realizing just how harsh that may have sound when he softens his tone, "And I wanted you to stay out of it anyway. I think we have everyone that we need, we don't need you sacrificing a damn thing." Unless what everyone else is giving us doesn't measure up to Gohl's desire to make everyone miserable.

Then it happens, just that mention of Grant Turner's name. That's why the phone was unplugged, something which he suspected. His attention looks in the direction of all the goodies on the table. He hadn't found a card and he figured Turner would want her to know that these gifts were from him.

"Nothing of any real importance." Byron says easily enough, leaning back slightly, his weight being supported by one hand behind him that he uses to keep him propped up. "Though I should have unplugged the phone earlier once the call was over with." It's his turn to look curious, "What did he say to you?"

"Maybe you don't, but I want to protect you anyway." Lilith tells Byron a hint a stubbornly, clearly feeling it, which is probably another sign she's perhaps feeling less disabled and somewhat better. Then she's soft admittance again, head tilting some against the pillow before she reaches her hand over a few inches to rub over his arm being used as prop lean, "But you know how that goes. There's a point where the limits just have to be damned." She pauses, then, considering and then says, "We'll see how it plays out." She's not quite counting herself out yet because maybe she'll get more mending attention and time is on her side. Then she can be near Byron. Then again, maybe not, so... she ends the sentence with a bit of a sigh.

Then she considers exactly what Grant did say to her on the phone. Lilith's fine, fatigued features are a little strained with recollection quite visibly, and she admits, "I was asleep and drugged, so I'm not entirely sure, but I caught on eventually. He started with a bunch of small talk. And I did the thing where you just... respond because you're half-out-of-it. But..." Her brows knit, as if she's just figured out what about the conversation bothered her more than the caller, "He said he was glad to finally get to speak to you. Like... he knew you, or thinks he does." She pauses, mildly confused, "Then he asked how often you were rough with me and I thought... he meant during sex, but... he sounded serious too."

Her hand lifts with slide up and down Byron's forearm, rolling her eyes upward toward the ceiling with a sudden show of exasperation, "Imperious ass. I'd rather him flood the room with flowers than go bothering you too." When she looks back down and level, she looks at the table after his eyes do and she makes a noise, "Those aren't from him." She feels the defensive need to clarify that she's not taking gifts from Grant.

"That's not how it's supposed to work." Byron says with little cheeky grin despite her stubbornness. "I'm the one who is supposed to be protecting you. Even with how frightening your powers can be." The smile will linger for a bit, though fades slowly, his tone beginning to sober from the playful banter of just moments ago. "The less people involved the better, I think. Why should everyone suffer for something that we could have ended early on?" When he looks at her next, he can't help hide his concern, "Do we really believe that the more people who can contribute lessens the sacrifices needed to be made than if there were only a few chosen to do so? Like if twelve of us all sacrificed something, due to the sheer amount of sacrifices, it lessens the burden of how impactful our sacrifice needs to be? Or... If we had twelve individuals willing to sacrifice, but because a few out of that twelve have offered something sub-par to Gohl, would that make our endeavors fail? Is it all or nothing?"

On this topic of Turner, Byron eagerly listens to what she has to say. While he may wear a mostly calm demeanor, the displeasure that Turner got ahold of her is evident in those dark eyes. "After I'd answered the phone, he addressed me by name. So yes, he's done his homework." There's this look of interest that comes over him, shifting even more now so that he's facing her directly, "What did you tell him? Did you just hang up?" He hopes that she just hung up, even if he knew that she had a barbed tongue when presented with the opportunity to give someone a much needed tongue lashing. Lilith was still drugged though.

"We'll see what the doctors say once they look you over again after Mister Roen did what he could. Maybe they would be willing to release you, because I'm sure you won't want to stay here one extra day if you needed need to." When the goodies are addressed, he considers something, before moving to rise from the bed. "Did you want a piece of cake or anything? Something to drink? Someone thinks that you have a sweet tooth." He reaches for a plate to fill with some of the goodies.

"I guess it is hard to be a prince or a knight when the princess is always trying to kick the dragon's ass..." Lilith tells Byron with a hint of a grin on her own front in response to his own, though his theorizing does put a certain amount of wondering on her face, "I was actually worried about that. How far the sacrifices would compare in say, someone that is overachieving and maybe doing more than its worth compared to someone doing themselves an inconvenience... or numbers alone, would that be enough, regardless? Mm. I don't know."

With a little bit of pained effort, she scoots on the bed to make more room for Byron while he speaks on Turner, a serious expression on her face. She nods to the cake bit, but then clarifies, "I want four bites of cake in bed, with you, for the sake of having cake in bed together. Then I want to fall asleep to a little bit of hair petting. That stuff's from Corey, guy I know. He packs snacks like a toddler mom, this occasion warranted it just as much." She delays saying what she did or didn't do in regards to the phone call, apparently waiting on cake terms before she does.

But when she does, she tells it backwards after all that delay, "And yes. I hung up. But... I told him you fuck like a beast before I did." She pauses, "Maybe I shouldn't have said that."

"You're not the only one." Byron follows those words up with a heavy sigh. "It's like people think they are actually superheroes when we could have just left instead. It's as if people lack a sense of self-preservation." Not that he always has a good sense of it, especially at the end there. That was fueled by anger. This sacrifice thing is something that they'd all need to discuss, he knows that much. "I gotta wonder how many people they are actually planning on doing this. I mean, Easton Marshall texted me, seems like he'll be helping out. I'd say that he doesn't need to, but, it was his Uncle Monty who was murdered when trying to tell Vivian of Gohl's time at the Asylum, so.. Yeah."

With a plastic fork in hand, Byron slices into the cake, cutting out a piece that's about double the size of four bites, because he wants some himself! He'll bring some of the flavored water with him as he resettles down on her bed, setting the drinks on the nightstand. At this moment, he's still not certain how comfortable it is for Lilith to move, so rather than have her shift in bed to make room for him, he just turns to face her with one leg curled under him, the other draping over the edge of the bed, his foot touching the floor. Cutting a pretty large piece of cake with a fork, he tries to carefully feed it to Lilith without it dropping back onto the plate or worse.

An edge at the corner of his lips lifts into a smirk, the forked cake still extended, "I'm sure he was really happy to hear that." He knows of some other things that Turner had said, about Seattle, but now is not the time to bring that up.

Lilith is true to word about the cake and sleep thing, and she doesn't seem to want to talk about Grant anymore after fessing up to pissing him off with words of her own before hanging up. Because... it worries her that he had checked up on Byron and wonders how much he's arranged or checked other things too. The woman seems a little charmed to be eating cake straight from the fork he guides, though, and seems to forget about it while listening. And when she gets the hair pets, whatever she was about to say about much of anything just goes right out of the window after cozily eating cake in quiet with him. Or at least, as cozy as she can be while in a hospital bed.

Apparently whatever August did caught up with her and her body to put her straight out to sleep in short order after all the doting, and even after she's out, she has a hand out around one of his wrists in loop hold, Dog also tucked nearby. Her and that silly stuffed animal she bitched about during the first hospital stay... they sure are getting a lot of traction together on principle.