Aftermath [Open to FITE NITE attendees, mostly for Bones]

[smartass_captain]

He remembers being caged.

Chained up, drugged. Bound to the other captain who couldn't have been more wrong about who he was. He was still funny from his capture, and hungry. Poor circumstances that lead to Jim's survival instincts going into overdrive. Whatever it took to not remember Tarsus IV.

Jim doesn't even remember losing. Just his pulse thundering in his ears and the rattle of the chain. Just getting swept away in a haze of violence and panic that left him mentally shut down. What he had wasn't a fight. Jim Kirk actually enjoys a good fight now and again. This had been something else entirely.

He hadn't been on control. Hadn't even been altogether present.

And now....

Everything hurts, but especially his head. His ears are ringing and it's difficult to keep anything in focus. There are voices, faint and vaguely familiar but Jim can't concentrate on them just yet. All he can manage is to groan and curl up on himself. He's on one of the many Nexus couches in the Plaza, where many of the captured and injured were taken for treatment after people had stormed the Arena to rescue those who had been taken against their will and put a stop to all of this.

Comments

[conjuredskies]

Felix favored the whole rescue effort, in principle. In practice he was only concerned with one very specific part of it. Still, the storming of the arena made it easy to recruit help getting Jim out here, just as Ice Bear's advice had helped him slip back to find the captain in the first place.

Getting Jim out was the easy part. Felix isn't sure what to do next. The bruises, the blunt force injuries, that's all simple to his mind. Blows to the head call for more caution, and worse, he just doesn't know what those space weapons do to the body. The signs of electrical shock aren't there, or else they're too subtle for his inexperienced eye.

What he suspects already, as he kneels beside the semi-conscious captain, is that he's not carrying anything strong enough for this. And there's only so much he dares try to heal right now. Not if it matters.

"Jim?" he asks, trying to speak as clearly as possible. Calmly. To pretend he's back in his lessons. "Can you hear me?"

Please tell me.

[smartass_captain]

It's warm.

The first sensation that comes back to Jim aside from pain. There's a familiar sound that he can't make out, but it makes him feel warm. Safer. He tries to speak, to ask it to stay or to help him. He's not sure which.

All that comes out of his mouth is a groan. Blue eyes flit open slightly but they're out of focus and they shut almost immediately.

He's alive. And reacting. That's got to be something, right?

[conjuredskies]

It's not much to take comfort from, but Felix is grasping at what he can right now. He swallows, then closes his eyes while he lifts a hand to Jim's head, fingertips - and magic - probing for any clear skull fractures.

He knows that's not an assurance of anything - he's heard stories he's trying not to dwell on right now, of people the healers cleared only for them to die of brain swellings or- well, something after - but he'll take what he can get. Good enough to know what kind of damage hasn't been done.

Besides, he needs a minute to think about how he'll even get Jim to swallow a potion like this.

[smartass_captain]

There are some sensations Jim will never misplace.

The jolt of connecting with a Vulcan's touch-telepathy, the drawl of a Southern accent covering desperate panic. The tingling warmth of Tamrielic healing magic at work is quickly becoming another.

"...'ey Feeelix." Jim's words are slurring slightly, but he quirks his lips up in a weak attempt at the beginnings of a smile.

[conjuredskies]

He doesn't know how hard he's failing to stay calm until he hears that voice. Until he feels his gut unclench suddenly, the relief itself painful. His fingers curl over Jim's temple of their own accord, turning the probing touch into a fond caress.

"Jim." He lets out a rush of breath. "I'm so glad you're awake. Just, um- just keep still. I'm trying to work out-" how bad it is, "what I need to do."

What he can do. He sighs. "This really wasn't your cleverest idea."

[smartass_captain]

Jim doesn't rightly know where he is right now, but having Felix use his healing on Jim means that something happened. Well, the fight happened. He remembers that. Going out to face Han Solo. It's kind of a blur after that.

A lot of unpleasantness surfaced. Jim knows he shut down a bit after that. One blue eye cracks open and tries to lock onto Felix. It's still bleary, but he's able to focus his eyes.

"Wha'...part? Din' choose t'fight..." Unless he means losing. In which case no, that wasn't super clever.

[conjuredskies]

The words are slurred, rough with pain, but Felix catches them and pauses.

"You didn't?" Maybe this isn't the time to make Jim explain, but he can't keep himself from asking. "It looked... I mean... Someone forced you?" His eyes narrow at the thought, mouth twitching with the first spark of deep displeasure.

[smartass_captain]

"Drugged me." Jim shifts, trying to sit up and meeting nothing but a full body soreness that comes from being stunned. He groans some intelligible swears and decides that wherever he is is probably good enough for right this second.

"Woke up in'a cell...." His words are coming easier the more awake he becomes. "Got cuffed to Solo and drug out t'fight."

[conjuredskies]

"I said to keep still," Felix reminds him urgently, hand moving to catch his shoulder. As for the rest... well. Now he can't be quite so angry at Solo, if the pair of them were kidnapped in the first place. But he has a whole new set of people to bear a grudge against.

"If it's any comfort, the arena was getting thoroughly trashed when we left... and at least they don't seem to have cracked your head open. And you're focusing... Do you feel sick? Can you tell?"

[smartass_captain]

"Sorry.." Jim's murmur is equal parts that and a soft groan of pain. He doesn't remember being told to be still. Also doesn't think he's ever listened to that advice in his life. Including now.

"...I lost it a bit. In there." Hit too close to many a buried memory that Jim never wanted to relive again. He's pretty sure he broke Han's arm. Wrist. Something. It's hard to remember the details when the pounding in his ears was so loud.

The last question makes Jim start to shake his head, and then stop immediately. "No more so than usual when I get stunned. Kinda nauseous--whatever tech they use to do it from his world hits like a cattle prod." Felix doesn't know what that is, Jim. "Hurts. Is what I mean. Getting stunned is never fun, but.."

[conjuredskies]

"I saw. You were... different. I... It thought you really wanted to hurt him."

Felix settles back a bit, trying to weigh the number of places Jim seems to be hurt in different ways against his limited options. "...So you know what he did? I mean, do you know if it's bad? What I need to do for it?"

[smartass_captain]

"I sure as hell didn' care if I did at th'time."

Everything was second to getting out of there alive. Jim's not even entirely sure he'd have hesitated to kill someone in that desperate state of mind. He most certainly would have before had others not stopped him and brought him out of it.

"Dunno what set me off. But..I don't take to being chained up or starved. Or drugged. Very well." Jim looks anywhere he can to avoid looking at Felix. Now that he's out he feels the familiar creep of shame trickling in underneath his skin.

"Stunned me. Similar to tech my phaser has. Locks up the muscles. Most people pass out from the brief cutoff from oxygen. It's a weak field and used as a defensive nonlethal alternative to blaster fire." Jim blinks, finally meeting Felix's gaze again. "It's the difference between choking a guy out and strangling him more or less."

[conjuredskies]

He nods at the first part without seeming troubled; it would have been inconvenient, but he takes no issue with Jim's willingness to preserve his own life... for once. It's not the principle that's troubling, it's how uncharacteristic it is.

"I'd hope not," Felix murmurs - though there's something unpleasantly familiar about the way Jim's eyes won't meet his, something that provokes an uneasy sensation in his gut. It's going to nag at him as soon as he's not fearing for Jim's life. He runs a hand over the captain's bruises; his first impulse is to ease as much pain as he can, but he wonders suddenly if that will just let Jim start jogging all those injuries and making them worse.

"Hmm. I see why that hurts so much." But permanent damage is out of the picture, so that's a relief. "If we get you sitting up, do you think you could drink a potion?"

[smartass_captain]

The fact that Jim doesn't remember or care about the details of what went on in there are chief among the reasons for the shame creeping up and seeping into his skin. He doesn't like being reduced to that sort of state. Doesn't want to admit how satisfied and desperate he would have been if he'd won the fight. Desperate to escape.

Desperate to hurt anyone that got in his way of escaping.

The adrenaline is no longer in his system, leaving JIm tired beyond reason and ashamed of how he's acted. If he didn't have such a lidtight control over himself when he's trying, he might have started crying. As is, his blue eyes turn wet but he keeps control over himself.

[conjuredskies]

Jim's silence is an answer itself. It takes a few seconds for Felix to realize he's not speaking - he's not able to speak right now. The Imperial looks down at him uncertainly. "Jim..."

No potions, he knows that much. In the moment Felix just slides up and perches on the couch beside him, curling an arm around the captain.

"You'll be all right now," he murmurs. "I'll take care of you." He'll concentrate on healing what he can, until he runs out of energy himself.

[smartass_captain]

"It's always like this. Why's it always like this? I'm not..." Weak? Pathetic? A wreck?

Yes you are, Jim. You are all of these things, all of the time. That's why Felix always has to see you like this. Stewing over it in self loathing won't help anyone right now. All it'll do is make you weaker. Pull yourself together captain.

"I'm fine, Felix." He's not. "I will be, anyway. Thanks...for looking over me. Gettin' me outta there."

[conjuredskies]

"Some people just aren't fated for a life of ease." And Jim is definitely one of the. It's no fault of his, in Felix's eyes - to the contrary, if he were weak or pathetic he surely wouldn't have survived half the things Felix knows he has.

"I'm just sorry I didn't track you down sooner. If I'd realized you weren't there by choice..." What could he have done? Something stupid, most likely. He sighs, finding another injured spot to coax into healing.

"...You fought well, by the way. Despite the circumstances." Despite how hard it was to sit around watching him get hurt. His hand curls over Jim's shoulder. "...But next time you're in a fight, I'd rather be at your side from the start."

[smartass_captain]

This time Jim does manage a smile. The captain swivels his head to look up over his shoulder, fingertips touching the back of Felix's hand.

"I can't think of anyone better experienced to have my back."

If he can make ambiguous jokes then surely he must be getting better, right?

[conjuredskies]

"Hmm." Felix flashes an answering grin, be "I'm glad to know he didn't hurt your memory." It's not solely a joke, of course. Any signs that Jim is thinking straight help make him feel better.

[smartass_captain]

"Have to hit me a lot harder to forget some of the marks you've left me with." Jim muses, quirking the side of his mouth up into a small smile. "I swear one of these days I'm going to be the one taking care of you."

He owes Felix so many saves he's lost count, truthfully.

"Sorry..for worrying you."

[conjuredskies]

"There's no doubt," he murmurs, unable to drag his eyes away from that quirk of a smile. "But you'd have to catch me being an idiot first. And I've been doing so well avoiding that."

His free hand strays up to touch Jim's cheek, the conjurer quiet for a moment before he answers. "I got you back. That's all I can ask."

He might feel differently next time he has to see Jim get hurt, but here and now relief has won the day.

[smartass_captain]

"Yeah so far that has decidedly been my job." Jim gives a weak laugh and lean into the touch of Felix's hand against his cheek. "Foolishness and bravery do seem to go hand in hand."

"What happened after...after I fell?"

[conjuredskies]

"Mmm, I'd better avoid acting brave. Though you've really had your turn at it by now."

He pauses for a minute, humming while he decides how to condense the story down. How much to omit.

"You were dragged out of the arena. I had an entrance to the back rooms marked, so I wrangled my way in to look for you. Luckily I wasn't there long before the guards got caught up with bigger problems. I gather some rather well-armed people had had enough of the show." He smiles wryly, shrugging. "And once there was a general heroic rescue attempt underway it was easy enough to get you out. After that... well, it was just a matter of checking your brains weren't scrambled."

[smartass_captain]

"Good job ghost doggie." Jim has no doubts on how Felix tracked him and makes a note to himself he's not entirely sure he'll remember later to give the familiar lots of pets. Since he's not sure if it can even eat to get treats.

Hearing that several Nexus goers had trashed the place isn't all that surprising. Jim could easily see himself volunteering to do the same if he hadn't...

"Thanks, Felix. I mean it. What would I do without you?"

[conjuredskies]

"It knows your scent very well by now," Felix confirms with a smile. "Better than almost anyone else." The fact that Jim actually appreciates the creatures he summons - that Felix can call them up regularly enough that they start remembering the captain... it's just one more thing to love about the man.

"Do you want the literal answer, the inappropriate answer or the humble answer?" he teases. 'Truth' is not on that list, one might note. Felix knows better. Or doesn't really see it as important.