2020-04-30 - The Extra Mile to Fight Denial

Lucas is still recovering in the hospital, he's been here a couple days now and is starting to go stir crazy out of pure boredom. He has his little gift basket from his sister and it may be the only thing keeping him sane. He is curently working on a crossword.

Atli walks in to Lucas’s hospital room carrying a bag of things so y’all she can barely see over top of it. She is dressed in a pair of white shorts and a blue and white pinstripes, and tan strapped wedge heels. Stumbling to a side table in his room she puts it there, blowing blonde hair from her face. Atli starts pulling things out from the bag, first a deck of cards, then a pillow, some of his clothes. “I asked at the fire department what you typically wore on time off and you mentioned cards so there are some of those. I didn’t know what you would want to drink so I brought a couple options.”

Lucas chuckles softly, as the golden whirlwind blows in, "Well hello there Sunshine, what brings you here today?"

Cokes, sprite, Gatorade, tea all begins to stack up next to him. Each is opened and has its own bendy straw placed into it. When Atli finishes any takes the pillow to place behind him, touching his shoulder to lightly guide him forward. The pillow is some kind of memory foam and smells new.

Atli then moves to glide back to the bag still not looking at him. “Katy mentioned you were here. Said you were pretty bad off but that people were working on you. You weren’t there when I went to the fire station.” Her tone has fake cheer to it.

"They say it was acute Appendicitis, Apparently it ruptured in the middle of the night, caused me to fall out of my bunk, and bruise some ribs. Gave me some really weird dreams too" He lets her position him as she wishes, moving at her request "I am glad to see you"

Next a few books, sudoku, and magazines are all stacked neatly beside the drinks. The bag seemed to be borderline bottomless. Atli then moves to refold the clothes of his she had brought. She’s looking for a place to put them, rather than at him. “I don’t think that sounds entirely correct given some of the wounds mentioned.”

Her tone wavers, almost sounding like she may cry. Her eyes scan the room to try to find space for a tee shirt she has now refolded three times.

"You know they are going to let me out in less then a month right?" He watches everything she is unloading and leans over, catching one of her hands, "I am ok....I am going to live...its not that bad" He sighs, "They thought it was a lot worse then it was, the initial tests came out a little...wonky. But everything's going to be ok"

Atli does finally look at him when he grasps her hand. One of her nails is uncharacteristically rough as though bitten recently. Crystal blue pools fall to waterfalls as tears fall one at a time from her eyes. Her bottom rose colored lip quivers. She looks him up and down.

“You had some injuries that genuinely could have killed you Lucas.” In the years he had known her, she had never looked this afraid.

As she begins to cry he melts a little, "Hey" he pulls her into his arms, giving her a hug, holding her a few seconds, "Its ok...I am ok....Im not going anywhere."

This causes her to only sob harder, collapsing her small frame into his. She doesn’t seem to be able to form words for the moment. Her arms fling around him, and she buries her face in his chest. She hiccups for air every now and again, but refuses to let up her grip on him.

Lucas's rubs her back and just holds her, giving up on trying to reason with her for now. His arms wrap around her and embrace her, and he doesn't even wince a little at her pressure against his recently mended ribs.

After a few minutes she finally sits up, careful not to push on him further. Atli sniffles and pushes her blonde curls away from her face, dabbing at her eyes with the back of her hand. “I umm probably should have asked before opening all of the drinks which you actually wanted.”

She draws a few strands behind her ears and looks at him. What Atli wanted to say was that she couldn’t bare the idea of something serious happening to him. Moreover that she needed him to be honest, no matter how crazy it sounded.

Lucas leans up and kisses her softly, tenderly, "I'll finish them all I promise, Doctor wants me to stay hydrated anyway"

She kisses him back, lips soft and salty from tears. Atli grasps his hand sweetly, sitting up straight. “What really happened?” Her tone is serious. Whenever someone close to her got hurt, it usually wasn’t under normal circumstances, not in Gray Harbor anyway.

He smiles softly, "I was on duty at the fire station, On a rest shift so I was sleeping in my bunk. I had a really....weird …. dream, like super weird" He shakes his head, "Then one of the paramedics found me on the floor, no apparent wounds but labored breathing. Apparently my appendix burst, and I thrashed in the bunk and fell out, the doctors thought I had a couple broken ribs, but after a day in the hospital, the second X-ray showed they weren't broken after all just bruised. Eleanor came by, and so did your cousin, Erin" He smiles "All in all I have been very well taken care of"

Atli wants to start crying again, but she doesn’t. She wants to yell something at him about how her father was murdered by an intangible being so his appendix probably didn’t burst on its own, but she doesn’t. Instead, Atli just nods. She knew everyone that had come and gone in fact, she had kept tabs. Once she knew he was okay she had distanced herself, unsure of how to handle things.

Atli did not like uncertainty in herself. Taking a deep breath she focuses on him again. “Just out of curiosity, did you break a rib in your dream?” She was frustrated, but it wasn’t about her. If he was getting pulled places, there was significant danger to denial. She had to know he would be okay, aware.

He sighs softly, "In my dream there was this...freaky talent show beauty pageant thing, I juggled axes, and August and Katy were there, and the waitress from the fire house, and a couple others. At the end of the show the audience became...very unhappy and rushed the stage with baseball bats, I did my best to protect the others, but got hit...a lot. " He shakes his head "honestly if the dream had been real I would have a lot more then broken ribs, I would have had cuts and bruises all over my body, but the Doctors didn't find a mark on me, just the internal injuries"

That made it even more weird in Atli’d mind. If you fall off a bed there should be bruises. This did sound somewhat familiar to some things she had experienced as a child. She couldn’t explain all of it, that was the point almost. She nods more, trying to work out the beginnings of a questioning thought process. “So neither you nor the doctors think it’s strange that there were no outwardly visible injuries from a fall like that? Not a scratch?”

Atli bites her lip and passes a drink to him with her free hand. She tries to wait patiently, having summoned the courage to come here. Then she adds, “Have you seen August since?” Her gaze has a labored attempt at neutrality. Having grown up with an expectation to glow, this was not her strong suit.

Lucas takes a long drink of whatever she hands him and smiles "You know...it is weird, to have broken, or even bruised ribs without any outward sign, I mean I would have expected some...you know...bruising on the skin or something," He shakes his head, "Ellie said August has had bad experiences with hospitals so didn't want to come, outside the nursing staff, and the paramedic who brought me in, and Ellie of course, I haven't seen anyone"

Sounds begun to drift into the room from down the hallway. Sounds of unrest. Sounds of a revolt. There was probably some shouting, the sound of plastic hitting tile as things are being angrily thrown, an entirely unruly patient giving the nurse staff the riot act in a voice high pitched and sharp. There's even a brief 'Attica! Attica!' chant.

What fresh hell hath been rolled into this hospital ward? Was the revolution in progress? Was it being televised? Briefly, the fluorescents flicker along the walls. A hush falls over the hallways soon after, broken only by one brief shouted epithet.

Lucas looks between Atli and the door " umm what was that?"

“That was an injured game shop owner who lacks social skills.” Atli says, recognizing the mangy woman’s grating tone. “Abitha I believe her name was when I looked into it.” Atli is almost dismissive of the concept, not surprised by the light flicker or behavior. She then remembers that Lucas still did not either know about or accept magic powers.

“Did Eleanor say how August was doing?” She asks in curiosity. Maybe if she just kept poking, she would lead her stallion to water. He was way too handsome to just be a horse.

He looks confused, one eye staying on the hall where the loud voice is coming from, "August? She just said he didn't like hospitals because of some things that happened when he was deployed, and that's why he wasn't visiting me. Why did something happen to him?"

‘If you saw him in a dream probably’ was not a fair answer. Instead Atli just shakes her head, curls bouncing. “No, just know he wasn’t feeling well a while back.” There was truth to this, she had seen him take quite a few hits at the garden party. “Actually, I’m going to check in on Abitha really quickly if that’s alright. She was found at the bottom of the stairs around the same time you were admitted...terrible circumstance...” Atli Kisses his cheek and rises to her feet. “I’ll be right back!”

She doesn’t wait for his response, this was a gamble anyway. Though, it was coincidental...Atli read the paper on the daily however so she was abreast of the ‘situation’. Walking up to the door in the direction of the shouting she knocks politely, even though the gremlin’s form is visible. “Hello Abitha!”

Having quieted significantly since whatever power swell had caused the flicker, Abitha was lying back on the bed she occupied. Mangy wasn't an inaccurate description of the woman, given her current condition. Unlike some people, she still actually looked wounded. A bandage wrapped her head, one side of her face reddened and puffy. Other bandages could be seen peaking from below the neckline of her hospital gown.

With one clear, unswollen eye, Abitha locks gazes with Atli as she enters the room, her face turning to one of horror... Well, she looked horrified, her fave was already a bruised horror show.

"Aa-addington..." He voice sounded a little slower than usual, her brows lowering in a glare. "Isn't it bad enough your name is on the building... Do you just roam the halls too?"

“Oh Abitha, you look simply dreadful! I read in the paper that you fell down some stairs, but that does not do justice to how terrible your injuries appear! My dearest Lucas is actually checked in just down the hall, I surmised from your shrieks you may be in need of some company. Tell me, did you fall down the stairs after a dream of sorts? Lucas mentioned one and you were admitted around the same time.” Atli says this all with an overly cheerful sincerity, ignoring the negativity. Some of the words didn’t quite match her tone’s quality of care.

She begins to twirl a strand of pale blonde hair innocently, blue eyes in a calculating stare. The enemy of your enemy...

A young woman is wandering down the hall. Peering into rooms she passes, but clearly looking for a room. In her hands she carries a couple graphic novels, Sandman looks like, as well as a gift-wrapped something roughly 8x10 in size.

Kailey stops outside the room and nibbles her lower lip. Then she knocks and pokes her herself in just enough Lucas can see her. And she him. There's a nervous toothy smile on her face and an awkward, "Hiiiiii...?"

Lucas looks confused from where he is sitting in bed, a couple care baskets next to him, and a half dozen open drinks he seems to be trying to finish before Atli returns, "Umm...Hi" He cocks his head "Have we ...met...." He looks like he remembers Kailey, but is not sure where from.

Abitha looks confused and suspicious at the sickeningly sweet tone of Atli's words, her one good eye narrowing. The other was already kinda squinty. She mouths the words, 'Dearest Lucas', a further indication the Addington was throwing things at her she wasn't quite sure how to deal with.

"Yeah, it was a Dream..." she admits, but goes on to add, "Are you... taunting my appearance... When I'm in the hospital?" is all the little gamer can manage, trying to piece together the thick layer of bullshit Atli was spreading.

“No, no! Never! I just know that somehow, his injuries were patched up and he may not be entirely accepting of some very real dangers. Seems to think his appendix just burst at the firehouse. Perhaps if you happened to have encountered a similar danger...someone could find it in their heart to help in the same way he was. You do so seem like you desire a shorter stay. I’m sure you understand how dangerous denial could be to someone’s health.” It is unclear as to whether Atli refers to Lucas, the idea that Mac’s lack of cooperation would leave her in her current state, or even further injury. That was going to be up to the mangy lady to decide.

For Atli’s part she has given nothing away, her voice remaining smooth and overly sweet like the buttercream of a tourist bakery. She smiles and whispers to a passing nurse that a wheelchair was required, waiting for the answer Atli was already sure Abitha would give. While this was entirely manipulative, it also was a way to help as many people as possible. Altruism through a Machiavellian approach. One blue eye winks at Abitha, possibly an additional taunt, nothing that could truly be proven if pressed.

Kailey opens her mouth and then closes it. There is a moment of confusion on her face. "Uhm...you helped me out. At the pageant thing. You gave me time to escape," She keeps her voice low from where she stands. "I saw you fall and was worried. I'd have come sooner, but I was a bit freaked out and..." Kailey might continue but does stop to draw breath. "Here. Hospitals are the worst and these books helped me last time I was stuck in one," And she takes a jerky step to the bed and holds the stack of gift and comics out rigidly. The smile remains awkward.

Lucas blinks once, twice, the only thought behind his eyes is : Am I being punked right now? He takes a few moments to process as he finishes his coke, and starts his sprite, his hands come up to take the gift and comics, he smiles softly, "Yeah,,, no problem....I" He looks around the room for a camera and then reaches over to pinch himself a second, "Your...like...the girl of my dreams...." He isn't sure if it was a statement or a question.

Kailey doen't quiet seem to know how to take that for a moment. She reaches up and rubs at the back of her neck with a confused frown. "Ummmm..." She glances back out the door and back. "That's one way to put it I suppose..." She pauses and squints at the firefighter turned patient. "OH! Oh. Is this...this is all new to you isn't it?" Dawning understanding spreads across her face and she puts her hands over her mouth. Those green eyes go wide. "Was that your first time?!" She is so not helping.

'First time in the hospital...no" He still seems a little slow on the up take, "Look your not going to believe this, but you look exactly like someone I met in a dream the other day....have we maybe met before?" He looks over the Graphic Novels, "Oh these are super cool"

Kailey can't help it. She laughs at Lucas' reply. Shaking her head as she tries to control the mirth bubbling up. "Sorry...sorry, I shouldn't laugh," She says and clears her throat. "I -am- the girl from the Dream. And no, you're not crazy." A pause and her eyes drop to the comics. "Yeah, they're good ones. I really like Delirium and Death, but really the whole universe that Gaiman portrays is good. Makes me wonder if he can't see or visit places too. You really never been to a Dream before?"

"I have had lots of dreams, I've never had a girl walk out of a dream and into my hospital room before" He finishes his Sprite and starts on the Gatorade "Personally I always had a soft spot for his devil character" He grins a little and shakes his head, "Your starting to sound like my sister...or my girlfriend" wait did he just call her that?

"Welcome to Gray Harbor. Where all the weird shit will actually happen to you," Kailey says with a sort of ta-da shake of her hands. "I'm Kailey, by the way. And Devil is pretty cool," She says before laughing a little awkwardly. "Really? Heh. Well, there are an awful lot of us here in Gray Harbor," She admits with a bob of her head. The way she looks at Lucas is thoughtful now. "So you don't look too bad. What do you remember? Do you remember the spray paint dragon?"

Lucas finishes the Gatorade and reaches for the Tea, "I... remember going to sleep in my bunk. Then a weird dream where I was on stage at a beauty pageant, juggling axes, and watching your light show and all, and then being beaten up by a bunch of goons with chair legs and holding them off with the force. Then waking up with a burst appendix and bruised ribs having fallen out of bed, and being rushed here to the hospital"

Kailey raises a brow and tilts her head slightly. "Huh. That is some crazy good rationalizing there," She comments, still smiling. The awkwardness has left now that she has a sense with what is going on. "Kind of sucks the bubble is gonna burst," She actually does look regretful. There's a glance back out into the hall and back. Looking troubled for a moment she shrugs and flicks a finger at one of the comics in Lucas' lap. It flips open, lifting off his lap slightly, riffling through pages, to the part where Delirium is leading their pack of misfits through a chaotic vision-land. "That's sort of what makes me think Gaiman knows."

From a few rooms over, Abitha is still staring Atli down, the implacable nature of the Addington agitating the shop owner. Had she just been threatened? Her mind reaches out covertly, but meets enough of a wall she reads nothing.

"Fine," Abitha breathes out in a frustrated sigh after a moment, looking away from Atli, out the window. What was she gonna do? She'd nearly fried the hospital wing's system just from being angry. She wasn't in control of anything at the moment. "What do you want..." She asks in a low voice.

Lucas blinks at the moving pages, he puts his hand above the book, in that way you do to check for wires, he flips the comic over, "Umm" He looks around again, "Am I on like tv or something...is this a prank or something?"

That makes Kailey giggle. She can't help it. Shaking her head she says softly, "Naw. No prank. All very real." For a second she gets a sly look on her face. Then she wrinkles her nose when her mental scratching at Lucas' mind goes no where. "Wow, you really got the whole rationalizing down. Well, I suppose being a fire fighter you gotta," She smiles and shrugs. The comic book doesn't struggle in the man's grip, but once it loosen she holds open her hands and the book flies into them. She looks down at the page and then back up. The sly look returns and she tosses it back and it slows and very neatly slips itself back between the other comics. "This isn't another dream either. Real world. But I should probably stop playing around. I don't even really know what I'm doing. I always knew about this stuff. Never had to, like, introduce anyone to it."

He watches the little tricks and he sighs, "What kind of pain killers are they giving me?" He asks slightly under his breath, he then looks back at her, "So your saying the beauty pageant dream wasn't a dream but a real beauty pageant?" Yeah lets go with that for a second.

Kailey finger-guns Lucas with a big grin. "Yup. Except it wasn't here. It was another place. Where the laws of reality as we know them don't apply. Mostly," Her shoulders shrug and her hands fall onto her growing belly. "How about this...-you- try your 'Jedi-tricks,'" And queue her doing air quotes, "On the comic there." And she nods at the top of the stack.

The wheelchair arrives at that precise moment, a nurse moving past Atli to Abitha’s bed. The angelic creature side steps gracefully, not taking her crystal blue gaze from her. “I just want you to speak to him briefly, and perhaps act as a demonstration for how one may feel better so darn quickly. Besides, I’m sure some amount of socialization will do wonders for your complexion.” Atli winks irritatingly twinkling her fingers after giving the nurse a room number. “See you soon Abitha!”

Yet another one of Atli’s sure to irritate quirks, the pure use of full first names. The blonde bounces back down the hall, a look of confusion crossing her face when she found more than one occupant. “Oh, hello!” She says with surprise.

He looks like he is just about to "try" to concentrate on the books, but then saved by the devil again he smiles and looks up, "Atli….this is Kailey...she...thinks I helped save her life....in my dream"

Kailey turns at the sound of footsteps. A brief look of surprise and she smiles pleasantly. "Hello," She says to Atli with a slow nod. For a brief second she seems worried. But a hard few seconds stare at Atli makes her relax again. "He's not wanting to believe me. Even after I showed him. The resistance of the human mind hmmm?"

Oh goodie. Abitha's new favorite thing since being in the hospital... Moving. What did this hay-headed cheerleader want with her? No fucking clue, but now there was a nurse even here at her beckon call. Well, maybe she'd just roll her right out the window, that would put a nice bow on everything. Abitha moves as gingerly as she can, gripping her side. The nurse is given a withering stare when she tries to take the blanket off of her, Abitha careful to keep it around her as much as possible, as well as adjusting her gown for the maximum coverage she can attempt. Making a little noise as she finally flops back into the chair, she tucks her blanket under her feet and submits to being rolled down the hallway a couple minutes after Atli. Into whatever fucking mess this was.

Atli nods pleasantly in understanding to Kailey. “I very much appreciate your efforts!” Is her polite and cheerful response. “Lucas, Ms. Abitha also says she may know you and wanted to visit!”

This is not quite a lie. Abitha did confirm possibly knowing him, and the woman did want something Atli could give to her...even if the level of enthusiasm the injured woman had was not entirely in seeing Lucas. Atli moves to a chair at the table with the bag and pulls it out for Kailey. “Why don’t we all just have a lovely chat?”

She reaches into the seemingly never ending bag she had brought for Lucas and reveals some cookies that are placed on the table. Atli would not have to wait long for Abitha, a perk of her volunteering and love for charity investment.

"I am pretty sure I don't know anyone named " He looks confused "abi…." And then the other stranger from his dream gets pushed in, "You..." He looks around a little more desperately "OK , come clean, Where are the cameras? "

Kailey grins warmly, even amused again, at Atli. Moving over she doesn't quite flop down. From her new vantage she peers curiously at the next person who joins them. There is vague recognition and then delight. Followed by concern. Her face, ever-expressive, sweeps them all.

"Oh! Oh you got hurt bad too. Oh wow," Kailey looks at Lucas and back, biting her lower lip briefly as guilt settles for the moment in her eyes. "Thanks are in order to you too!" She says to Abitha with a sincere nod. When Lucas demands to know where the cameras are she just smirks and shakes her head. "None in here. Well, I have my phone so I guess there's that, but it's in my pocket."

Abitha gives Atli a side-eye at the line that was quite a lie. 'Side-eye', singular, not because that's what you call the expression, but because with Abitha's face a swollen as it was, only one got to see Atli when the gamer looked at her like that.

"What are we chatting about? Bro-seph's floating flamey axes? Near death beatings? My missing cat?" Abitha looks like she was raising her arms to make an expression, then immediately regrets it, gripping her ribs. She waves off Kailey's thanks. "Girl, you gotta fight together to get out alive. Tactics. Never split the party."

Abitha then refocused on Lucas, taking one look at him, then narrowing her eyes, looking to Atli. "What the fuck, he's not even hurt? Raw deal, Barbie." The camera comment gets another skeptical squint. Again, looking back to Atli, muttering, "'Dearest Lucas?' Do you like 'em dumb or something?"

“Now, now Abitha! Not my doing in fact. Here have a cookie.” Atli brings a chocolate chip delight, that she very much did not make, to Abitha’s reach. She smiles kindly, yet dismissively to the nurse who is more than eager to leave the rude woman in Atli’s hands.

Atli moves to shut the door casually, not something everyone could get away with here. Looking back to the injured woman, Atli moves beside her. “His injuries being fixed were not my doing, happened primarily while he was unconscious I believe. That is why he doesn’t know.” It is almost never that Atli even attempts to hide her glimmer when used, today was no exception. She concentrated on what she had read of Abitha’s chart, placing her hands gingerly on the brunettes’ head. “This is why I am fairly certain you are fine, Lucas.” Then a halo of light builds around Atli’s head, followed by several sparkling white lights about her, moving to her hands. What is visible of Abitha’s face is far less puffy.

"woooah" He shakes his head as Atli lights up like an absolute angel, literally, "Um...Sunny" how apt that name, "I think I might have had too many of those little green pills they have been slipping me for pain...because" he waves at the spectacle.

Abitha's eyes just roll up in her head at the feeling of release as the pain and pressure in her head just ease and fade to nothing. She could even breathe now, drawing in a deep pull through her nose... Then instantly coughing, bending over and groaning. Nope, ribs still broken. Head feels better. Ribs, nope. She holds up a finger, as if asking for a moment, while she tries to recover from the shooting pain, snatching the cookie from Atli's grasp.

Hospital food was awful.

She rests back gently in her wheelchair, arm held in at her side and opens both eyes now to look at Lucas. Her face held no more swelling or color that didn't belong. She did look a bit flushed though.

"Dude, why are they giving you painkillers? You are perfectly fine. Are you retarded?" She waves at Lucas's body. "Your appendix burst? Where's the surgical cut? Poke yourself in the side. Wake the hell up."

Kailey watches with wide-eyed wonder as the healing process commences. It's almost like she had never seen anyone be healed before. "I never knew we could do that!" She exclaimed softly in her excitement. "I knew there was more...but...wow," The young woman shakes her head before Lucas gets another look. Again amused, but less so.

Then her mind says to his, ~Resisting the truth in front of you still?~

Kailey adds with a mental giggle that sounds like bells, ~Use the force, Luke!~ It can be funny twice.

Atli turns her lips upward sweetly at Lucas’s extreme clinging to normalcy. She had warned him about Abitha’s social skills. At least Kailey was impressed with her abilities, this actually makes her feel better. Atli steps away from Abitha and towards Lucas. She sits on his hospital bed gently touching the side or his face. “You know how those fires happen on days with clear skies?”

Mentally she reaches out to Abitha, <<If you can pull off helping with this I’ll fix your ribs too...>> Oh the deals Atli was making today...It would be worth it if she could make him believe, it meant he would be more protected in the future. Super worth debilitating night terrors and further anxiety.

Lucas looks at Abitha like there is something wrong with her. "Umm I am not in this bed for fun" He moves enough of his blanket and gown to show where his ribs are taped up and there is a rather large surgical bandage on his lower abdomen, "I guess they had the three hour surgery just as a practical joke?"

He looks over his shoulder and then back at Kailey, shakes his head, "Your a ventriloquist too?" He seems to be starting to look a little overwhelmed at everything. Then Atli sits down, and takes his face in her hands, he searches her eyes carefully, staring into them for several heart beats. "Yeah lightning fires, happens all the time....what about it?"

"Yes, blondie, I get it. He's just kinda being a dumbass about it." Abitha turns and looks at Atli as she talks, not feeling like the effort of returning the thought, especially as she's tapping into a different side of her powers. Things usually got wonky that way.

Still looking at Atli, Abitha's hand lifts and makes a fist, then jerks the hand toward herself. This of course was the mental focal point as her telekinesis reaches out, grabs hold of Lucas' exposed bandages and unceremoniously tears them off.

She splays her hand and sweeps it, her eyes now following the progression as she mentally deposits them in the trash. Biohazard, people.

Atli presses her lips to his cheek, and almost jumps in surprise at Abitha’s irritated display. Her tone remains calm, even if her gemstone gaze does wander to his ribs when they are exposed briefly. “Lightning strikes here most often, and there are going to keep being people who need your help. It’s not fair, and it’s not easy, but you have gifts that can protect other people even more than you do now.”

Atli’s eyes move to Kailey and she nods her head at her, “Just like Kailey came to thank you for.” She kisses his forehead trying to keep him from being too shocked by what was likely overwhelming. “I have to know you are prepared for some very dark situations, even impossible ones. If you aren’t, they can kill you...”

Despite Atli’s general disposition, she had at least come to respect the fact that Abitha was good to her word. This probably didn’t mean she liked her more than before, but she was grateful. Atli smiles a sickening butterscotch smile in the girls direction, also approving of the conscientious biohazard disposal process.

Lucas winces, hard, when the bandages are ripped away, taking the stitches with them, and revealing a pink little surgery scar. It's not quite the fresh open wound one would expect this soon after surgery but more like a few months old one. He looks like he is about to react when Atli keeps his attention tightly focused on her. "I've never backed down from a challenge, and I have never been the one to stand by when someone needs help Sunny." He sighs, "But what you are saying...it is just so... out there." He does take a moment to look down at his scar, hey it is there...but he knows enough about medicine to know that it doesn't look quite right either.

Abitha sits back in her wheelchair and shrugs, watching the melodrama play out with a skeptical slant to her eyes. She saw the seeds of doubt, the hedging. There's a frustrated sigh as she makes a thousand yard stare out the window of the room,

"Yeah, I'd tell you two to get a room, but were in one and I really don't wanna be." She tries to turn her wheelchair to get at the door, but its a lot harder than it looks, yaknow? She turns right, turns left, bumps into a chair. "Gah, fuck..." She's muttering, trying to angle an arm to knock on the wooden blockade to freedom, raising her voice, "Guard! Can I be returned to my cell?"

Maybe she could make a break for it when they were moving her...

Generating nothing but a loving warmth, Atli squeezes Lucas’s hand in reassurance. “We can talk more about it after I help return Abitha to her room.” Atli stands grabbing a second coke from the bag and another cookie which she places in Abitha’s hands. Carefully she crouches down as lady-like as she can. “It will be way easier for me if I touch your ribs so don’t be alarmed, through the blanket should be fine though.”

With the warning given, French manicured fingers lightly place themselves on the outside of the hospital blanket. The overly-showy Instagram filter display repeats, this time on the gamer’s ribs. Atli removes her hands and stands by pushing off her own thigh. Opening the door she nods to Abitha, “I can take you back if you like, but it should at least be easier now if you prefer the autonomy.” She steps to the side, leaning on the doorframe with a sudden twinge of exhaustion.

Lucas watches Abitha throw her fit, and Atli go over and repeat her little light show. He looks between Kailey and the two women at the door, and then decides to do the one thing he can to try to control the situation and call their bluff. He opens his present.

Tearing the wrapping paper off, he reveals a framed painting. It shows Lucas, climbing a ladder, the ladder in the dream, with golden glimmering lights of the stage around him. He is dressed in his dress greys, the same thing he wore in the dream, and has a fire axe in his gloved hand.

"How the … what the...This..." he looks toward Kailey, "This is my dream"

Abitha freezes, looking suspiciously at Atli as if skeptical the woman would ever help someone. But this was a contractual thing, so... She straightens, raising an arm and holding still for Atli to touch her. It is clear by the sigh and the way Abitha's eyes drift closed for a moment that it was working. After she was healed, she rests back in her chair, letting the warm feeling go, riding it out. When she finally opens her eyes again, she looks down at herself, stretching her arms out, and bending to the side, testing, "Oh, fuck yes." she hisses.

She looks like she were about to stand, then immediately reconsiders. Gown, blanket, people, those were the three points she seemed to glance at, before looking to Atli. She was slightly flushed. "Thank you, uh... Please take..." she pauses, noting the exhaustion, "Oh. That's tough, huh?" how else do you ask?

Kailey has been a quiet observer from her chair. Just smiling bemusedly at talk of ventriloquism. Again she watches the healing with a sense of wonder and says, "I wonder if I can learn to do that...?" Mostly directed at herself. The sound of paper being ripped has her looking at Lucas again. The bemused smile changes to a grin and she says, "That was -all- our experience. Well, except your girlfriend," She shoots Atli a glance. "I know some people call them Dreams. Because they sure act like it sometimes." She pauses and looks at the painting then the firefighter's face. "Do you like it?"

Atli's eyes wander to the artwork and a smile returns to her face. "That's really good! I am almost jealous I wasn't there to see how dapper you looked!" Her gaze then returns to Abitha and she straightens, having forgotten herself. "No! Not at all! I would be more than happy, thank you for joining us." Atli takes a visible inhale and moves behind the wheelchair to begin pushing her back to her room. To Lucas and Kailey she calls back, "I am going to take an up close look when I get back!"

Pushing the chair down the hallway, Atli moves slowly. "Not that I would ever admit this fully, but in case you ever decide to try expanding your horizons to healing others...You should be aware it is one of the more trying things one can do. It also seems to glow more brightly to the dark. Just make sure it's worth it to you...I know today it was for me." Coming to a stop inside Abitha's room she pauses in the doorway, after placing her near the bed. "Thank you." With that the bouncing blonde heads back, plastering a smile on her face once more.

"Its...it's amazing....your...really gifted" he answers Kailey, and then watches as Atli Wheels Abitha out of the room. He looks down at his side again and then at Kailey, "So...my sister isn't....crazy?"

Abitha was deposited in the other room, so likely isn't coming back. She watches Atli leave with a blank look, blinking, mouth open for a moment like she were going to comment, then closing it. She's quiet for a few more moments before whispering to herself, "What the fuck am I supposed to do with that!?" She throws her hands up in frustration, then carefully deposits herself back in bed, pulling her blankets around herself.

Then she eats her cookies.

Kailey watches the blonde wheel Abitha back. "I'll keep that in mind. Something to do when I'm not growing another being if it takes a lot," She says thoughtfully as she shifts in the uncomfortable hospital chair. Turning back to Lucas her smile is gentle, a faint blush on her cheeks at the praise, and she says, "Thank you. It's the one thing I'm good at. Art." There's a soft chuckle before she says gently, "No." The woman shakes her head. "And neither are you."

Atli makes it back to fully observe the painting. “This really is phenomenal. We have that new art gallery in town, have you considered selling your pieces there or doing classes?” She makes a note to mention Kailey’s work to Erin.

Out of the corner of her eye she watches Lucas warily. She had gone through this as well, it had just been when she was five. “Very good likeness,” she adds. “Kailey do you think your baby will be special too? I mean obviously all babies are special, but I mean more like Gray Harbor’s brand.” Atli strokes the side of Lucas’s head absently with her nails, as though this is plenty casual.

"Wait so....everthing Ellie has said over the years, all those conspiracy theories?" He shakes his head, "Big foot, and the haunted saw mill, and aliens, and the JFK assassination, and Freddy Krueger, all of it is real?" He leans into Atli's hand

Kailey blushes a little more and grins lopsidedly. "Thanks. I actually met Hera the other day. I'm supposed to bring my work by. I actually focus on spray paint art, but I love watercolors and gouache painting too," She says with some amount of cheer. The question surprises her, but the smile doesn't change. "I...don't know. Probably? I mean...my mom was, and I am. I can't say if any of my other relatives were because I never met them. And couldn't trust my moms stories. She had...issues," She briefly wrinkles her nose at the end. "I...you know what? I've wanted to reach out, mind to mind, to her. But I've also kind of been scared."

As Lucas begins to ask questions Kailey tilts her head. "I dunno about all those, I've only experienced a few things here. But I would bet they all are. Heck, even I heard about the saw mill and was told to stay away," She says softly.

At the mention of the sawmill Atli’s hand stops moving. “I would absolutely recommend staying as far from the mill as possible at this time.” An image of Thomas in his last moments crosses her mind, the bone dust souls, what her family had done...

Taking a deep breath she seems to recover. “I’m sure it would be very reassuring to your child to hear from you that way! Lucas, I’m not sure about every conspiracy, but Glimmer may have contributed. Not a ton is known, likely plenty of miracles too.”

He nods slowly, running a hand through his hair, his other arm moves around Atli, "I am just happy to have one miracle right here in my arms. " He shakes his head, "As for...this" his free hand waves at the air, "Magic stuff I am willing to admit something is going on that I don't understand, and I am willing to admit that you know more about it then I do" he smiles, "if you say it is dangerous, I will accept that, and if you say people need my help, you know I am going to offer it." He nods, "So tell me what I have to do"

There's a bit of a sluggishness to Katy's movements as she walks up to the doorway to Lucas' hospital room. She doesn't seem to show no signs of injury, having most of it sorted out by some intervention from her cousin Erin, but she still feels sore, as though she'd been hit by a truck. There's a bit of hesitation as she sees who's assembled around Lucas' bed while slowly opening the door. Seeing Atli, she recalls sending a text before passing out from exhaustion and she wonders how her cousin's doing. The pregnant girl from the Dream. Hopefully, she's okay too. "Knock knock," she says, announcing herself as she actually knocks on the door, slowly opening it.

Kailey nods her head to the two and then slowly gets to her feet. Belly and all that. "She may try it. But for now I'm going to slip out. I'm glad you are okay," She says as she walks to the foot of the bed. Smiling between the two lovers and their banter. "I'd say feel better, but you're already there. So instead, have a wonderful day. I'm sure I'll see you guys around." And she turns to leave, passing Katy and giving her a nod. "Oh hey! Hi. I'm going, but he's awake." And then she is, off down the hall.

Atli waves to the departing Kailey with a genuine upturn of her lips. “It was very nice to meet you! Thank you for your help!”

She is giggling at Lucas’s flirtation, snuggling into him. Several sweet kisses are deposited onto the side of his face before the ever ill-alert Atli sees that Katy is in the room. Sometimes this was taken as Atli being selectively rude. More often it was just that she was a rather unaware person.

“Oh hey Katy! I’m terribly sorry I didn’t respond to your text, I have been rushing about at the fire station and then gathering supplies. Lucas, I can leave if you need time...”

"No, I came to see how you were both doing, don't leave on my account, Atli, please. I...I just didn't get any texts back from either of you and I got worried." Katy's voice sounds tiny in its concern. Whatever their differences are, they still the share the same blood, and Katy still cares. "I'm just the best friend. I just, I wasn't sure what to do. Uh...I brought you guys real food. I had Jonathan cook up some extra pasta. Fettuccini Alfredo, it's got shrimp. I figured you'd be starving."

He smiles softly, as he returns Atli's affection, then looks up seeing Katy, "Hey...my phone is still at the fire station I think....apparently I am just being flooded by vistors and presents." He waves to the painting.

“Oh!” Atli says, standing up and going back the the bag of many things. Seriously the Tetris that went into packing this...Atli reaches in and brings his phone over to him. “That probably should have been the first thing I passed you...” She leaves out the aspect of ‘if I wasn’t having a breakdown when I first got here’. The time flashes on his phone as she passes it. “I charged it and brought a charger too. Thank you Katy that is very kind. I have a meeting with someone about countertops for the house I can still make if I hurry. Never say ‘Just the best friend’, he values you a great deal.”

Knowing he was okay and at least more knowledgeable of what lay ahead, put Atli at ease to whatever degree she was capable of doing so. “Lucas Dear, have them reevaluate when you are cleared to leave. I would be happy to talk more about whatever you wish, but you have been through a lot today.” She presses her lips gently to the top of his head, giving Katy a squeeze on the shoulder on her way out.

Katy watches Atli as she speaks and moves. She isn’t the closest to Atli but seeing her with Lucas somehow seems help give her some perspective. And her words that follow mean more to her than anything else, not just the validation from Atli, but the fact that Lucas values her.

When Atli squeezes her shoulder, Katy gives her hand a light pat. “Hey don’t forget to eat, hydrate,” she says to Atli’s retreating back before she approaches Lucas with her food offering.

“Hungry?”

He nods, "Ravenous, I just had to drink like 8 cans of soda to make Atli happy" He grins, "Did you say Fettuccini?"

"Yeah, my favourite. You know that. What I go for when I need comfort food, oddly enough." Katy sighs as she surrenders a container full of said pasta and a fork. "Did Erin check up on you at some point? She recently started working as a nurse."

Lucas digs in to the pasta and nods, "Yeah she checked in on me...yesterday I think...time seems wonky when you can't go do anything or see anyone"

"How long are you stuck here for?" Katy asks casually as she watches Lucas eat.

"I am supposed to be being held for just one more night, given how...speedily I have recovered"

"Erin's...gifted like that." Katy hadn't directly asked Erin, but Erin's the type who would do it, knowing how upset Katy had been and how concerned she was for Atli's reaction. "I'm glad you're better." She goes to say something but she stops herself. She doesn't want to argue with Lucas, knowing her previous warnings seemed to go unheeded. "Do you remember anything that happaned?"

"You mean the beauty pageant and the whole evil dream thing that hit me like a mack truck? Or do you mean the fact that Atli has healing magic and Jedi powers really exist?" He nods to the painting at the end of his bed.

"If you get stabbed in the Dream, you get stabbed in real life. I learned that the hard way," Katy comments casually.

"Apparently if you get beaten to death with a club in a dream it doesn't work out well either"

"I figured if you wouldn't believe my warnings before, you'd believe them now." Katy shrugs again. "All this bad stuff strikes without warning, Luke. The stronger you get, the more your abilities draw attention to you."

"And where do these abilities come from, how do I even know I have them"

"I couldn't tell ya exactly where. I know they're strongest in Gray Harbor though. Back home, I showed signs, usually during intense emotional outburst. It wasn't until I came to Gray Harbor that I started to learn to control my abilities, focus my mind. Once you do that, you'll realise that, you can sense something different about me, about Atli. That something you sense that you've written off as just something odd, that is what lets you know there's something special about a person. And how you know you have them? You can ask someone to check for you. I can check for you."

He nods and takes another bite of pasta "You want to check me out do you?" He chuckles, "Well then give me the evil eye once over"

Katy closes her eyes for a moment, concentrating on Lucas, and when she opens her eyes, she gives her best friend an appraising look. “Telekinesis. You can move things with your mind,” she explains quietly. “Seems to be the main focus of your abilities from what I can detect.”

"Well I could in the dream at least. But I've never done so in real life, seems....weird that I would have force powers and not know how to use them"

“I didn’t when I first started off. My abilities started off being triggered by strong emotions. But eventually, you learn to focus your mind to channel the energy within.” Katy closes her eyes again, and this time, Lucas sees his phone float away from him and stop right above his feet, moving it to keep it just out of Lucas’ reach should he try to make a grab for it.

He nods slowly, "Kailey did something similar with the comic book when she was showing me." He watches his phone float there. "And the girl in the wheel chair ripped my bandages off rather violently as well."

When she hears this, the phone falls with a violent thud at the exact same moment Katy begins to turn red with rage. “What!?” she says between gritted teeth, her fists curled up in a ball. She looks ready to tear someone in half.

"She was trying to prove that I didn't actually have to have surgery, she was wrong, but the scars from the surgery had healed over more then expected...."

“She stepped out of line!” Katy hissed under her breath, and then she took a few breaths to calm herself, going to retrieve the phone, which thankfully was still in one piece. Could have been worse.

"It's Ok she was trying to help...." He smiles a little, "Your getting kind of protective momma bear you know?" He chuckles, "I see you and Atli are doing better"

“Whatever personality clashes are happening, whatever I feel aside...she’s still my cousin, she’s still family. That has always meant something to me, no matter how much I don’t fit in. I’ve always known how important she is to you...but now, I can tell how important you are to her.” Katy hands the phone back to Lucas with a sigh. “Don’t mock me, Lucas. Atli may be too proper for it, but I would defend anyone I care about.”

"I am ecstatic that you two are working on your relationship" he smiles, "And I am not mocking you, " he puts the phone to the side and takes a couple more bites of his pasta.

“There are more important things in life than petty disagreements,” Katy says quietly as she sits at the foot of her bed, trying to calm down and steady her breathing while she stretches. She doesn’t speak for a few minutes but is still listening to Lucas, and will respond to him should he steer the conversation.

"So how are wedding plans going?' He smiles softly, leaning back in the bed.

“They’re great, still trying to figure out how to work out some of the details and stuff. Not sure when to even set the date, to be honest.” Katy says quietly. “It’s complicated stuff. We considered a destination wedding. I considered elopement.” She looks like she’s struggling with her stretches, like it hurts for her to move.

Lucas leans forward, "Were you hurt in the dream?" He frowns as he watches her twitch when she moves, "And you know your family would never stand for an elopement."

"Me? Do I look hurt?" Katy asks, and in her skinny jeans and 3/4 length sleeved top, no apparent bruising, nothing, just a lot of soreness. She wavers between trying to convince him of the truth and just lying about her well-being.

He nods slowly, "You would tell me If you were right?" He sighs, "Now I am the one sounding paranoid"

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Katy explained flatly. But she relents. “I had Erin come over to fix me up so I wouldn’t have to go to the hospital. Everything’s been healed, just sore, like I got hit by a truck.”

He nods slowly, "Ok...if your sure" He smiles, "So what else is on your mind?" He finishes his noodles.

Katy looks concerned and when Lucas asks her what’s on her mind, she struggles to form a sentence to explain at first. “You need to figure your abilities out. I’ve said this before but you never know when you’ll get pulled into something else. I’ve seen so much, especially since I moved here back in January. It gets dangerous, even for someone who knows exactly what’s going on...now that you’ve experienced the danger, you have to believe that there’s more going on than you can rationalize...you saw me get attacked, didn’t you?”

He nods slowly " so far I've only been able to do things in the dream though I've never been able to use my powers outside, in the real world"

“I’m not really good at teaching but...I don’t know. It’s easier when you have a clear mind to do it intentionally, at least that’s what I’ve learned.” Katy shrugs. “I should let you rest, Luke.” She gives her best friend a kiss on the forehead.

"Drive safe Kit-Kat I will see you soon." He pulls out one of the comic books and begins flipping through it.