fandomhighdorms | The Lobby, Sunday Afternoon

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The Lobby, Sunday Afternoon

A rip opened in the middle of the dorms lobby-- but it was unlike any void the island had seen before. It didn't precisely shine, but white light did filter out, almost tentatively, like the rays of the morning sun. It did not pull or pluck at anything, and when it vanished, it would leave the dorms exactly as it had found them.

It was not a rift that would take; it was a rift that would give.

Give back the people it had taken, that is.

[[ for those who were formerly strewn across the multiverse, after they touch their part! come home, folks ]]

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Warren showed up again a little worse for the wear, his wings splayed out in wild directions, his clothing bloody, and clutching a wicked-looking hook in one hand as though it was a lifeline.

He... really, really wanted to do laundry. And shower. And nice, normal, safe things, while he worked on getting his head around what had happened, back there. And then maybe he'd fly and just never land again.

The blood got Raven's attention, of course, but there were so many little injuries around her it was hard to tell if it was Warren himself who was injured or just someone nearby. "Warren," she said gently as she approached him. "Are you hurt?"

She could see that Karla had arrived and thought for a moment maybe she should leave Warren to her, but on the other hand, she wanted to prove that she didn't bear him any ill will.

Warren took a moment more, just standing there with his shoulders heaving, trying to get his head around the fact that he was home again, before he realized that he was holding on to that hook with white knuckles, and he let it fall to the floor with a clatter that echoed in his ears.

"No, I--" He balked for a moment, not certain how he ought to go about explaining that he healed. Quickly. "I'm fine."

The blood was mostly his, of course. But he was as good as new, at least physically.

"Karla is right over there," she said, pointing toward her friend. "Unless there is anything I can do for you?" She could sense the trauma her friends had experienced, but she didn't want to push, not yet, until they'd had time to deal with it on their own.

"Not unless you can take away nightmares," Warren sighed, closing his eyes for a moment and running bloodied hands through hair that wasn't much cleaner, right then. "I'll be okay. I just have to..."

To start breathing again. Any moment now. Looking Karla's way certainly helped with that, at least. She was alright. People were alright.

"I'll be okay," he repeated, because he had no idea what he had to do.

"That is within my power, but it is best that you heal from such things on your own and learn from it," Raven said softly. "But should it prove to be too much, I would be willing to offer my aid."

[Hitting post helps, self.]

Dru didn't trust her self to go out and deal with any of the creatures that were still roaming the island, but she wanted to do something and staying locked up in the safe room wasn't an option. Instead she'd made herself useful making a few pots of coffee, and assembling a selection of other drinks for anyone that might need them.

"Welcome home," Dru said, keeping a step or two back out of the reach of that nasty looking hook. "You're back where it's safe." For a certain definition of safe, but it had to be better then wherever people seemed to be coming back from.

"Safe," echoed Warren, looking up and actually taking a moment to look around, now, to get his bearings. There were people he knew here. They were in the dorms. Home.

Okay. Okay. He was okay. And now the hook was on the floor, and he was turning toward Dru with wide eyes.

"You mean that, right? We're really here? They didn't follow us, did they?"

"You're really here," Dru promised. She was still a little unsure of exactly how that was, but she was certain that they were really there. "Some creepy stuff has come through in the last few days. But that's all outside. The dorms are safe." Although for the time being, to be on the safe side Dru did have her gun tucked into her waistband, hidden under her t-shirt.

"There's coffee if you want it. Or tea or water if you'd rather avoid the caffeine."

Warren did not beed the caffeine. He really, really didn't. He was jittery as all hell and still looked like he was a half-second away from just flying straight up into the ceiling.

And he was holding out his hands anyhow, because he hadn't had coffee in days, and nothing screamed sane civilization like a cup of hot coffee.

"Coffee? Please? Black is fine?"

He probably didn't have to sound like he was begging for it, but...

Fortunately Dru recognized the soothing and comforting nature of a cup of coffee, which was why, 4.6 seconds after Warren requested it, Dru was offering him a very large, very hot mug of freshly brewed coffee.

"Don't gulp. You seemed to be relatively unscathed. I'd had to see you wind up with a burned mouth in the lobby after surviving whatever it is you had to deal with."

"There is so, so much out there that is worse than a burned tongue," Warren replied, cradling the mug in his hands as though he'd just been handed a priceless relic.

At the moment, to him, it kind of was.

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

"I can only imagine," she replied. Given the experiences she'd had dealing with the Real World and Sergej Dru had a least a basic understanding of how horrible things could be.

She waved off his thanks. Coffee was the least she could do. "I'm just glad to see you back. There's a picnic you need to attend in a few weeks." Light-hearted was good right?

Light-hearted was amazing after this weekend, and Warren was going to cling to it with a gusto.

"I wouldn't miss that for anything, you know. Someone has to be there as living proof that this place is weird."

And that was said pretty fondly. This place was weird, but Rapture had been a nightmare.

"Complete with toga and harp," Dru agreed, happy to supply whatever bit of humor she could. "And cookies. Welcome to Fandom. We've got weird and cookies!"

"The cookies are the most important part," Warren decided, and then took a mouthful of coffee. He didn't even care that it burned. His mouth had healed almost as soon as he'd swallowed, anyhow. "I think I'll settle for just the cookies, this time around."

"Yeah," she said, looking around the room at the other students. "After this I think most people would be happy to pass on anything but the gentlest bit of weird for a while. Tiny fluffy animals maybe. Or Skittle rain or something."

"Tiny fluffy animals," Warren agreed. "I'll have to ask Hinata if I can borrow her kitten for a bit."

To cling. And cling. And cling.

Really, at this point, he probably ought to think of just getting his own, otherwise Hinata was never going to get Yei back.

Or he could cling to Karla. She probably wouldn't mind. Of course if Dru actually knew there was anything between Warren and Karla she'd probably feel that much guiltier about everything that had happened in the Magic Box on Friday.

"Kitties are good. And I've heard good things about stuffed bears." Personally Dru tended to cuddle up in her mother's quilt when things got stressful.

"You know, I don't actually have a stuffed bear," Warren admitted, and at that moment, that seemed like the strangest realization he had come to in his life.

Later, that fact would strike him as absolutely absurd. Standing there, caked with blood and grime and sweat, wearing torn clothing and still shaking in shock, and he was worried about his unfortunate lack of Teddy Bears.

"There's a store in a mall on the mainland," Dru replied. "They let you make your own bear. Stuff it and dress it and all. Maybe we need a field trip?"

Dru was filing this conversation right next to the one Ino about hair products. The heading of the file? Things I never thought I'd talk about.

It was on pretty much the same list for Warren, really!

"I think I could totally handle something like that," he decided. The silly outfits and the dorky bear-related music and being able to pick out a heart and a name for his own personal bear was sort of like excellent post-trauma therapy, really. "In... a few days, maybe."

When he could reconcile the concept of 'going to the mainland' with the concept of 'strapping down his wings for the day' again.

"I've got nothing but time," Dru told him, realizing that people were going to need a few days to recuperate and relax before being up for even the simplest adventure. "Whenever you're up for it."

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The Lobby, Sunday Afternoon

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