kayakking | (no subject)

[ Guilt makes his voice thick. ]

"Not great."

[ Oh. Oh, that poor thing. Algric turns from the door for a moment to hover close to the cat as he lies down. The biting cold of his hands may be uncomfortable, but he has to try. ]

Good. Poor little guy. Let me ... let me see if I can do anything.

[ Gently, delicately, he presses fingers to the worst of it, trying to soothe. ]

[There's an uncomfortable whine at the touch, immediately tensing and trying to squirm away. But then the cool hits the burns and numbs it, soothing the pain suddenly. The cat settles there, breathing slowing a bit.

When the frost starts to catch on his fur, he starts to stand again. He's shaky and tired, but. Improvement. After a second he looks up at them both and sits waiting.]

[ He lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding when the cat perks up and sits up. ]

God. Good.

[ And then, lower and humbled. ] Thank you.

Of - of course. I wouldn't let you come down here alone. And of course I'm going to help ... well. Any cat, but. Especially this one.

[ He gives Joncat a gentle scritch between the ears. ]

[If the situation wasn't quite so dire, the cat would give in to how touch starved it is. As things are, he leans up into the scritch, moving to rub against Algric's legs soaking up that cold happily.

He'll look a little worse for wear for a while, but for the moment? The dream cat seems fine.]

[ Tim keeps himself a little bit back for now, just... real happy to see that perk back up. And not willing to risk doing any more damage. ]

So... forward?

[ Good. Good kitty. Algric spends just a moment giving the cat all the love he could want. ]

Forward. Yeah. I'm ready if you are.

[ He may, in fact, wait for Algric to give a really good proper petting before answering. ]

Yeah...

[ And steps around them to check out the door. ]

[It's a quiet little mrrp from the cat.

The door itself is nondescript. A simple door to a flat with no peep hole. Otherwise, it is set in solid darkness around it. Once inside, though...

It opens to a living room, a bit empty save for a coffee table and a set of very, very uncomfortable looking chairs. There is a small breakfast bar with the Archive breakroom kitchen on the other side, and a hallway leading to a bedroom and bath. A fairly normal, amalgamation of a house-breakroom-flat.

The fog is drifting through slowly, obscuring some parts. But the real problem is that the room is almost completely frozen over. A layer of ice covers everything - the chairs, the counters, the knickknacks and tableware alike. Even the photos framed on the wall are frozen to it, hard to make out the faces. The table by the door has a small frozen pile of a black hat, gloves, and scarf. And on the coffee table sits a pair of unadorned rings, frozen solid. Someone, at some point, had been cooking in the kitchen because here and there are ice encased plates of scones, muffins, mugs of tea untouched and frozen solid. The icicles hanging from the light fixtures would be a problem for anyone too tall, making the rooms seem a bit smaller than they really are.

The cat moves to stand more between Tim and Algric for the warmth, but lets them enter first.]

Edited 2021-07-11 17:56 (UTC)

[ Oh. Oh shit.

As soon as the door opens, Algric knows for sure which power this is, and where they are. He's not completely sure as to what the logic of this place is, but he can guess, can't he? This ... must have something to do with how Jonah feels about him. About how he feels about having been left behind.

(God, he owes the man so much if they get out of here. He hopes forgiveness will be quick.)

Algric moves to those rings first, doing what he can to melt them away from the table. (But he's so cold, isn't he? He's not producing nearly enough heat.) ]

[ And now, really. He's starting to see themes. It had been just... well it had just been Jon before, hadn't it? Or easy enough to attribute too, but the last next to this one paints different colors, certainly.

Tim radiates heat here, still... And makes the area between Algric and Tim particularly a safe haunt for their feline guide. Two rings. Algric and Jonah's...

He puts his good hand over Algric's. ]

Edited 2021-07-11 21:33 (UTC)

I wouldn't do that.

[It's a sharp voice that comes from the hallway. A small boy standing there, peeking from around the doorway like he isn't sure how to approach yet.]

You shouldn't be here.

[ Algric lets out a yelp at that. God, he was not expecting a - that - um - ]

J-Jon? Oh god.

[ THAT is Jon? He looks down, quickly, to see if the cat is still there, then... ]

Hey. Do you know where here is? Or why doing that would be bad?

[The boy Jon steps out a little more, a little closer. His eyes are focused on their hands on those frozen rings while the cat is sitting just fine at their feet, trying to clean his face.]

Because it's part of him. All of this is.

I - I know. We're in his dream, yeah. We're trying to help him right now.

[ Starting by trying to claw up the ring that Tim had started to thaw. ]

[ Tim's hand lifts away, you know. Heeding that warning. It unintentionally makes it easier for Algric to do what he's doing. ]

Okay, we'll be careful.

... Come over here? It'll be warmer.

[He doesn't come closer yet, but as the rings start to give a bit and start coming off the table, he presses one hand to his shoulder. Somewhere is the sound of muffled ice cracking.

After a breath, he does finally step closer, one hand out.]

Please stop.

[ Sorry, kid. Algric is delicately prying up the other ring too. Holding at least one (if not both) with absolute reverence. ]

It's all right. I'm looking after them, okay? It can't be good to have them frozen over like this.

[ Secretly, he hopes that warming them up will help Jonah forgive him a little faster. That should work, right? If they're really having some kind of an effect... ]

[ Tim starts at that crack, and the pleading from the kid. ]

Algric! He just said-

[ He grabs Algric by the shoulder and attempts to pull him back. ]

Edited 2021-07-12 01:28 (UTC)

[Once he's close, the cat moves to jump onto into the kid's arms, sniffing at him before licking at his shoulder as another crack breaks the silence. He looks uncomfortable for a moment, but settles to watching both the rings loose in Algric's hands.

A fresh layer of ice starts to creep into the room at their feet and over the table now.]

You said you're trying to help him? Then - then you should put those back.

[ Algric is pulled back easily enough, but he clutches both rings close to himself, unwilling to back down from this mistake just yet. ]

I - we don't know that, all right? And this -

[ He gestures at the frozen over room. ]

This can't possibly be right. It's - it's so miserable and Lonely in here.

[ Now that he's started to track patterns ~~now that it doesn't require self reflection~~... ]

Algric... taking them made it colder...

Look, maybe... maybe he needs that from you to keep it back.

But it's awful in here! Even with the rings in place! This - this can't possible be how he feels about us right now.

[ And yet. AND YET. Is that guilt in his voice? ]