empathicfault | IC Inbox

[ Will is half-asleep by the time Malcolm comes back and slowly blinks his eyes back open when Malcolm returns. He lets the blanket slip from his shoulders as he leans forward to take it. ]

Smells good...thank you.

[ He takes a sip and makes an appreciative 'mmm' noise. ]

This is a ways from the pine tree tea I remember having last.

Doesn’t sound delicious. Does sound nutritious. I always have a selection of herbal teas on hand, if you’re in the mood for one. I only drink caffeine first thing in the morning.

Considering our last session, I'm wondering if I shouldn't have the stimulants and you should go caffeine-free.

[ It's an easy joke. He's pretty sure Malcolm well understands anything he puts in his body. ]

I'm feeling...like I can at least identify some edges, now. Differences to notice, if that makes any sense.

[He’s not offended; he laughs concession.] Now you sound like my doctor.

[The observation sobers his expression again, but he’s pleased.]

That’s good! Do you want to talk through any more of it, or can I offer something in a distraction? For example: both breaches I’ve been someone pretty well adjusted and I felt calmer unmedicated than real me does on a heavy daily dose of sedatives: discuss.

[ That gets a laugh- almost a giggle- out of Will. None of the many psychiatrists he worked with would ever get so blunt. But he really likes it. After all, he knows a lot of the 'tricks of the trade', so to speak. ]

Hmmm...I think if we talk around it some, observe it from the outside, it'll help ground me a bit. So sure.

[ He'd go with the offered topic. ]

I'm assuming, on your end, that both of your breach selves didn't have to deal with any murderous version of your father. If so, the cPTSD is likely gone, and- from what I'd been reading, that changes all sorts of things in the body. So yeah, I'm not surprised.

For me, instead of a semi-neglectful father, I had a protective brother. But I also didn't go through any of the...targeted abuse I had the past five years or so, and mental health care was pretty much nonexistent, so- [ He shrugs. ] It was kind of a wash. I felt...delicate, at the time.

Edited 2023-03-21 12:05 (UTC)

We both got protective older brothers out of this one. Who was your brother? Someone from the ship?

Yeah.

[ His smile is soft and genuine, but he does have to pause for a moment to remember to say the 'right' name. ]

Think you said his name was Sweeney? The one I drank with, during the last flood. Right after I got here.

Giant former Leprechaun king? That’s Sweeney, yeah. Good guy to have protecting you. Mine was Raylan, the US Marshal.

[ Will's face scrunches up at the description in confusion. But the whole 'king' thing- he expressly had envisioned Harkin as a king wearing gold, shining in the sunlight. ]

A- a what now? He was a king?

He doesn’t love talking about it… well, with me. Maybe he will with you. I think he was two different kinds of kings at least. Or maybe one king and one god. Anyway, he’s super ancient.

[ There's a sharp spike of annoyance as Malcolm mentions that- Will is experienced enough to recognize that's (probably) not him. What he's not sure of is if that's from the breach- wanting to protect his brother- or spending that time around Harkin earlier.

He frowns, masking it as headache. It might as well be. He takes another sip of tea. ]

Yeah, I- I got that impression. Good to know I wasn't 'on the fritz', it was just...outside my current realm of knowledge.

I'll have to talk to him, huh? Is there a- an etiquette for this sort of thing?

[Malcolm is pretty sure it is him, actually. Sweeney is pretty upfront with his feelings on psychology and psychologists and on Malcolm, specifically. Will might have more luck, because they have a bond now. Breaches do hand those out sometimes.]

Not really. Just... drop by and say hi, maybe. He frequents the greenhouse. It's sort of his happy place, as far as he has one.

Good to know. [ He heaves a sigh. ]

Don't think either of us are going anywhere for a bit, though. Since I got him killed back there and all. At least- at least that one wasn't intentional.

How was it being the little brother? You fight with Mason on the Guardian issues?

We had some philosophical differences, but he also pulled my ass out if the fire. He was a good big brother.

What do you mean you got him killed?

I got infected and bit him the next morning. It was like I didn't even know what I was doing. It...usually didn't happen that fast. The total loss of control.

[ Will leans his head back and closes his eyes, briefly. ]

He might've had some years left, but you know how Guardians are- were supposed to handle things.

Yeah. The Underground was pretty against it. So they killed you both?

No. Harkin got me out. But then I was seeing things and got away from him. Ended up with the- there was an infected group led by a man named Marcus. Killed and...infected people while invading the city.

[ He stops for a moment, thinks, and then lets the air out of his lungs in a rather more dramatic sigh. ]

One of the Guardians I killed is new around here, so- that's a new type of awkward I'd never expected.

I guess they got the crash course on how things go here. Who was it?

Dimitri. No idea if that's his name here, I've just seen him around. He was my commanding officer in the breach. I didn't like him much.

[ He considers leaving it there, taking a big sip of tea. ]

I ate his heart. It seemed...appropriate, at the time.

I can see that.

There will be more breaches. Do you think dealing with that is going to get easier or harder for you?

[ Will considers this. ]

I think....if the next one has something to do with cannibalism, I'm going to start taking it personally.

Can you tell me more about the previous breach? You said it was futuristic?

Yeah. It was a futuristic city. Some people were bounty hunters and, um, I know Thomas Blanky worked at a bar. And I think Raylan owned one? Pagan was a rich guy that threw fancy parties where I did fundraising for my free clinic. Neal was an artist who just found a patron.

That definitely sounds like more fun.

[ And it is appropriately distracting him away from his recent horrible actions. ]

Neal's your inmate, right? Not a temp one? Is he an artist here, too?

Yeah, he started as my temp and then they put us together permanently. He knows how to paint; he's been giving me lessons, but back home he was consulting on while collar crimes for the FBI as a CI. He was an art thief and forger before that, apparently.

Oh, an art thief. Much less gruesome than what we usually get into, but still exciting. -or at least, that's the little I've heard about it.

Sounds like it was a good breach for him too, if he found a patron in it. Did you help a lot of people, in your clinic?

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