[CLOSED]

[tattooedredheads]

Who: Kay and Souji eatsyourscience
Where: The Diner
When: 6/8
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Kay returns to Wonderland with a serious wound. Luckily, Souji is there to help.
The Story:

The Diner
[Between one blink and the next, Kay goes from sitting in a train to sitting in a diner.]

[Wonderland, his memories inform him, but Kay doesn't waste time dwelling on it. He's no longer in the train, which means he can get medical assistance. He needs that as quickly as he can. He's loosing blood from the wound in his abdomen and he can taste it in his mouth as well. Breathing hurts. Talking, he knows from experience, will as well. He can talk despite the pain, but if he tries to shout, he'll end up coughing instead.]

[The table has items on it. Kay sweeps them off the table so that they clatter loudly to the floor. That should catch the attention of anyone nearby. In case there isn't anyone nearby, he starts reaching for the phone in his pocket to send a message on the network.]

[He growls at the phone when it slips from his blood-coated fingers.]

Comments

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji is, inevitably but also luckily, in the diner's kitchen, going through some items in a cupboard. There hasn't been anyone to serve so far today, which isn't entirely out of the ordinary. It's been kind of nice for things to be quiet.

This have just taken a turn for the decidedly un-quiet, however. The sound of items hitting the floor certainly gets his attention, where he's standing in the kitchen. Putting down the cans in his hands, he goes to peek his head out and look around the dining area. He's a bit cautious, just in case someone with a pickax is here to kill him again, but when he spots Kay, he hurries out into the open.]

What happened?

[He knows he hasn't seen Kay around in awhile, and had had the thought that he might have gone home. If he did, then clearly something terrible is happening on that train, and if he didn't, something terrible is happening in Wonderland.

Without waiting for Kay to respond, however, he summons Ishtar to heal Kay, casting Salvation over him. He casts it twice, sure that will be enough to at least stop the bleeding. It should do more than that, he hopes, but Wonderland isn't always consistent with his healing magic.]

[tattooedredheads]

They shot the -

[He instinctively attempts to scoot back, eyes wide from surprise, when he sees Ishtar. The movement aggravates his wounds, making Kay gasp and more blood leaks from the corners of his mouth.]

[At the same time, he can feel the difference as the magic takes affect. He tenderly prods at the area his injury had been, still expecting to feel the hole he can no longer see. His clothes are still damaged and stained with his blood, but there is no sign on his skin that the injury was ever there.]

You're a great doctor.

[And now he can consider how terrible his blood tastes. Kay needs to find some place to spit out the blood still in his mouth.]

[eatsyourscience]

I have a little help.

[Souji ushers Kay to his feet and starts to lead him back to the kitchen where he can clean up.]

Tell me what happened.

[tattooedredheads]

Wonderland sent me home for a couple of days. [He remembers Wonderland more clearly now and with those memories come the certainty of what must have happened. It's almost unbelievable that he hadn't remembered Wonderland back on that train.]

And the short version is that the train I was on got shot off the tracks and I ended up getting injured in the crash. Right at the very end, too.

[He doesn't sound upset about that, though.]

[Kay spits the blood that still in his mouth out into the sink - finally! - and washes his mouth out with water. Then he starts washing the blood of his hands. And he'd thought waking up on the beach had been bad.]

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji hands him a cloth he can use to wash up. He notes that Kay doesn't sound too upset about what's happening at home.]

You were in pretty bad shape.

[So...why is that not a big deal?]

[tattooedredheads]

[No, really? Kay lets out a small chuckle.]

Yeah. Not really the ideal way to die. Still, it is better than becoming a monster or some kinda puppet.

[After saving his life, Souji does deserve more of an explanation than what Kay's provided already. But Souji lacks even the basic knowledge anyone from Sakia would have.]

I told you about Estancia, right?

[eatsyourscience]

I remember a little about it. I know you were on a train going there.

[He knew a bit more than that, but a refresher wouldn't hurt him. But first...]

...Did you actually die?

[tattooedredheads]

Not yet. I will once I go back. [He's not looking forward to that.]

It's said to be a place where all your dreams come true. The train leaves from Sakia twice a month, but boarding it to leave is illegal. Everyone on that train are fugitives. But aside from the rumors, we don't hear anything about Estancia because no one who boards that train ever comes back alive.

[eatsyourscience]

Is this why? [Souji gestures at Kay's bloody clothes.]

[tattooedredheads]

Mostly it's because the Estancia we know about doesn't actually exist. Estancia was a fictional country in a popular short story called Off to Estancia. There is a city called Estancia but it's more of a war zone than a place dreams come true. The train isn't meant to take us anywhere. It's purpose is actually to take us away from Sakia. As fugitives rather than citizens, our government can't be held responsible for anything that happens to us.

The government runs experiments on the fugitives to create weapons that they can use. If we survive the experiments, we get the chance to fight for them. But if the government decides that the risk of keeping us alive is too high, then they kill us. We broke through their final measure to keep us contained so the government shot the train itself to stop us.

[He finished cleaning as much as he can, but the shirt is unsalvageable. He'll need to grab another one from a closet later.]

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji takes a moment to turn all of that over in his mind. It sounds straightforward when Kay explains it, but he's sure that finding all of that out wasn't straightforward at all.]

And you know you're going to die?

[tattooedredheads]

Yeah. There aren't any doctors around and my world doesn't have magic to help out.

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji frowns, nodding slowly. He doesn't like that idea, but clearly there's nothing either of them can do about it.]

...I'm sorry.

[Really, what else do you say to the knowledge of someone else's imminent demise?]

[tattooedredheads]

Hey, thanks to you, I didn't waste a death over here. And who knows how much time Wonderland'll give me.

[Kay knew, as soon as he boarded that train, his time was limited. He's grateful for any extra time he manages to get.]

[eatsyourscience]

I'm glad I could help.

[If Kay had arrived anywhere else, he really might have died.]

And under the circumstances, I hope you stay for awhile.