@hafid.alghul

[batricide]

[ there are a number of smarter and more eloquent things one could ask as they awaken, months after they fell asleep, in bed with a pair of strangers. damian considers those things as he leaps out the window and makes a break for it.

instead, damian does this: ]

What the HELL did you all do this time?

Comments

[batricide]

Hicks.
Glad to see someone stayed sensible in my absence.

[ he approves. thanks bud. ]

I'll be fine. I planned for the possibility of both an exit and return.

↪ private

[preseance]

Ah, there's a few of us around if you squint.

（ he slides this on over to private just for the sake of mentioning his work here — ）

You know, given what I know of you lot on account of Jay, that don't surprise me much at all.

You can use the dance studio I work at if you need a base of operations that ain't overrun by assorted flora, I cleared out the worst of it before I left the city.

[batricide]

I do have a secondary location I can go to, but judging by the overgrowth it probably isn't habitable right now. So thank you, I might take you up on that.

[preseance]

Ain't no nevermind. It's stocked up, use what you need.

（ look, he hails from the depression and has been through two wars, as well as the cold one that hangs over everyone's head like the sword of damocles. he ain't quite a doomsday prepper, but it does pay to be prepared. ）

Jason's gonna be real glad to see you.

[batricide]

How has he been holding up?

[preseance]

（ he is, in a word, 'protective'. he keeps secrets, ain't inclined to gossip or any other such thing. but he's also a medical man, an' he ain't gonna sugar coat it for jason's family, neither.

he works his jaw off to one side, decides that jason will probably forgive him for nothin' else but the truth of it, and continues: ）

Frankly, like shit.

He left around the same time as you, but came back sooner by a couple weeks. He's holding it together, but I won't say your being gone didn't exacerbate him some.

[batricide]

[ that figures. ]

Thanks for looking out for him.

[preseance]

Ain't no nevermind, he's as close to family as I've got here.

（ the implication bein' that he'd do that an' more, without requirin' thanks of any coat or colour for it. ）

You look after yourself, now. Let's meet up when I'm back in New Amsterdam, and I'll walk you through some of the other things you've missed.