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+---- Thread: fallout (/showthread.php?tid=11022)
fallout - Isla - 03-29-2025
Isla hadn't said much when they'd arrived back at her apartment in Haulani. Directing Remi to set Ever down in her (their) bedroom, she'd gone straight to work with the same clinical precision and expressionless efficiency as when the aviator had first come back to himself on the island. Her conversation with the Bastion had been clipped and lacking in emotion, though she'd been very careful not to touch her friend, lest the brewing storm beneath her skin escape to the surface and lash into him.
Only once Remi leaves does she allow herself to cry, and even then it's only for a few selfish, self-indulgent moments, before she moves into the bedroom to wait for the man she loves to come around - if that's something he's even capable of doing, beyond basic consciousness. It's with guilt weighing down her every movement that she arranges the bedroom into something quiet and cool and dark, drawing the drapes across windows that are only open a crack to allow the soft sound of the sea inside.
Having checked Ever's temple to make sure there had been no lasting damage from Remi's strike, Isla has a number of things to hand for when he comes to - pain medicine, sedatives if he'd prefer not to be entirely present, and a pitcher of cool water.
RE: fallout - Everest - 03-29-2025
The darkness clung to him, as if even his unconscious mind knew what was waiting on the other side. But the black didn’t last. It began to fray—slowly, almost imperceptibly at first—with threads of awareness unraveling it stitch by stitch. A faint sound, the hush of waves. The low creak of something shifting nearby. A breeze that smelled like sea salt and linen.
And then came the thoughts.
The panic didn’t burst—it bled. Creeping in around the edges like ink dropped into water. Too quiet. Too many textures. His fingers twitched before he realized they had. The bedsheets were soft—too soft—and the light through his eyelids was wrong, too filtered, too dim. He couldn’t orient himself. Couldn’t place the sound of the wind. Couldn’t feel the silence that had once cradled every thought he had like a glass wall keeping the world at bay. Becase there were no walls anymore.
Everest gasped—too fast, too sharp—and the breath turned to a choke in his throat. His heart was racing. His palms were clammy. His brain was screaming. He couldn’t think—he was thinking too much—he couldn’t, he—And then it hit.
The memories. The boat. The kiss. The betrayal. The flower. Isla’s voice. Isla’s choice.
[say]"No—"[/say] he rasped before his eyes even opened, hands jerking at the sheets like they might anchor him. The ceiling swam into view, but it was too bright. Too close. Or too far. He couldn’t tell. His limbs felt wrong. His mind felt wrong. Everything was too loud. He curled onto his side, arms clutched to his chest like he could hold the panic in, but it was already pouring out of him in uneven, stuttered breaths.
He wanted to shut it all down again, but it wouldn’t go quiet.
RE: fallout - Isla - 03-29-2025
The second Ever's gasp hits the air Isla is on alert, shifting to sit closer to the bed and schooling herself against reaching for the aviator's hand. She'd heard from Remi about the tangled mess his mind had been in, and whilst it's been a long time since she's experienced the aviator of old, Isla does remember Everest pre-infection. And gods, she'd liked him even then, but now?
Well, there probably wasn't even anything like a now between them after what she'd done.
But the least she can do is make sure he's as alright as he can be.
[say]"Ever, it's me,"[/say] Isla says softly as he curls into himself. [say]"You're in Haulani, in my apartment. I'm so sorry - I didn't know else to get you off the island safely."[/say] Unconscious versus panicking to the point of cardiac arrest? The choice had been a comparatively easy one. [say]"Just listen to the sound of my voice, and breathe. Slowly, with me."[/say]
Her voice is a calm and yet foreign sound to her ears as she counts in for a beat of four, holds it, and then out for the same, until Ever is able to at least become a master of his own breath again.
RE: fallout - Everest - 03-29-2025
Her voice reached him like a rope thrown to a drowning man.
Everest clung to it—not because he could process the words, not really, but because it was her. Because she was the only fixed point in a world that had suddenly shattered into a thousand unfiltered pieces.
His breaths were short, high in his chest, like a bird trapped in a cage. But Isla was counting now—in, hold, out—and even though his mind screamed at the confinement of a pattern, it also needed it. He matched her rhythm, at first shakily, his chest hitching on the second exhale, but then again, a little more evenly.
Still, he didn’t uncurl. Couldn’t.
[say]"Too much,"[/say] he whispered, voice tight and small against his knees. [say]"Everything’s—too loud—I can’t—my head won’t stop—"[/say] His hands clutched at his arms, nails biting in. He swallowed hard, eyes squeezed shut as if the world behind his lids might be more manageable than the one she’d brought him back to.
[say]"You—you said—"[/say] The words cracked out of him before he could stop them. But whatever she’d said didn’t matter anymore, because whatever betrayal and assault had followed, he was back to being imprisoned inside of himself once again. The only difference, was that he now knew what was on the other side, and gods but it was so much worse for knowing freedom.
[say]"I would like to go home, please."[/say]
RE: fallout - Isla - 03-29-2025
[say]"I know,"[/say] Isla whispers, blinking back the tears that threaten to spill down her cheeks. She knows what it must be like because he'd told her, knows what she'd said, and yet at the moment Remi had appeared, she'd fucking done it anyway. [say]"I'm going to help fix this, Ever. I promise."[/say] Sitting up a little, she glances to the pitcher of water and the sedatives - not enough to put him to sleep, but enough to take the edge off the world.
[say]"I've got some medicine that will help, if you want it,"[/say] she tells him softly; at least while they make arrangements to get him home. [say]"I've written to Mateo, and to your parents as well,"[/say] she confirms. [say]"I know Mateo is in Stormbreak for a few days anyway, so he could meet you off the ship at the Skyport?"[/say]
For now though, for better or for so much worse, Isla is all there is, the Remedy raking her hair back out of her face and pulling it into a high, messy bun atop her head. [say]"I got you some fresh clothes as well, in case you were uncomfortable."[/say] Something that seems impossibly silly now, given that even existing is evidently uncomfortable for Ever.
RE: fallout - Everest - 03-29-2025
Ever didn’t respond at first.
He heard her—every word, every syllable—but they jumbled the moment they hit his ears, echoing strangely in the spaces between his thoughts. Words like medicine and Mateo and parents were too large, too bright in his head. Even clothes felt like a decision he wasn’t ready to make. His body was already the wrong texture—he couldn’t add anything to it.
But Isla was still there. Still talking to him like he was someone she knew.
Slowly—like unpeeling something delicate—Ever lifted his head. His eyes were glassy, and overwhelmed, ringed with exhaustion. [say]"You wrote to my parents?"[/say] he asked, voice soft and laced with anxiety. Tobi and Finn had finally found a life that was comfortable to lead, and now here he was, once again weighing them down.
The tremble in his hands hadn't stopped, but he nodded once, sharp and mechanical as the word medicine pressed itself behind his eyes. [say]"Medicine. Please. Just—just make it quieter."[/say]
RE: fallout - Isla - 03-29-2025
[say]"I only told them the basics,"[/say] Isla promises, already hearing the fresh anxiety cracking through his voice. [say]"And I told them that you were safe, and that you would probably be coming back to Stormbreak soon."[/say] Nothing to cause immediate alarm or for emergency skyship journeys to be arranged, though of course with Tobi and Finn as parents, there's no telling what might already be underway.
Resisting, again, the urge to reach for his hand, Isla instead turns to the pitcher of water, pouring a small glass of it and stirring in a powder that will taste faintly of peppermint when it hits Ever's tongue. [say]"Here - drink all of this,"[/say] she says, holding it out for him. [say]"It should only take a few minutes to work. I can... well, I can get you more to have with you in Stormbreak, but I imagine your mother will be able to help if you need any after that."[/say]
Letting her gaze drop somewhere off the edge of the bed, when Isla speaks again it's only soft, but her words are earnest. [say]"I'll go with you as well, of course, if you want me to. I just... I assumed you would want space."[/say]
RE: fallout - Everest - 03-29-2025
The glass shook in his hands as he drank, the rim clicking softly against his teeth. He didn’t look at Isla—couldn’t. His eyes darted from the edge of the bedside table to the wall to the floor, searching for somewhere safe to rest that wasn’t her face. Everything around him was too much: the texture of the sheets, the faint salt in the air, the sound of waves outside the window that felt like they were crashing inside his skull.
He rubbed at his temple with one trembling hand. [say]"I appreciate… that you told them I was safe,"[/say] he murmured, voice quiet and precise, like each word had been practiced. Another flicker of movement crossed his face, not quite a wince, not quite a frown. [say]"You didn’t have to come with me to Stormbreak,"[/say] he added quickly, almost automatically, like it was the polite thing to say. [say]"You’ve done a lot already."[/say] Overstepped, some might say.
His breath hitched slightly, but he forced it steady again. His thumb rubbed over the inside of his wrist, a repetitive motion he didn’t seem aware of.
RE: fallout - Isla - 03-29-2025
[say]"Of course,"[/say] Isla says softly, sitting by to accept the empty glass back from Ever when he's done. [say]"And I... yeah. You're right. Whatever you need,"[/say] Biting hard at the inside of her cheek and forcing herself to take one of those long, steady breaths she'd mirrored with him, the Remedy has to pack away the parts of herself that feel any sort of way about the situation, at least until she knows Ever is safely on his way home to Stormbreak.
[say]"Let me know if that medicine makes you feel well enough to get up. I can walk you down to the dock, or arrange for a cart to come and take your things, or..."[/say] Or whatever else. Having ruined his life completely - and her own in the process, though that hasn't really had a chance to properly filter through just yet - Isla can't be Everest Hart's girlfriend now, but at least she can try to be useful.
RE: fallout - Everest - 03-29-2025
He nodded, a small, bobbing motion that didn’t match the stillness of his shoulders. [say]"Thank you,"[/say] he said again, because it was the only thing that felt safe to say. He held the empty glass out toward her carefully, making sure their fingers didn’t touch.
His eyes tracked back to the window—still open just a crack. The salt air made his teeth feel strange, like they were humming. He wanted to say he’d be fine to walk. That she didn’t have to go out of her way. That she didn’t have to do anything else. But the truth was, he wasn’t sure he could get up yet. His limbs felt heavy in a way he couldn’t quite explain, like they belonged to someone else.
[say]"I’ll let you know,"[/say] he said eventually, voice still a little tight around the edges. [say]"I just… need a few more minutes."[/say] Or a lobotomy. As for his things? His mind was a sudden catalogue of everything in Isla's apartment that he'd bought or acquired over the last few seasons; things that were once so familiar and cherished now appeared in gawdy colours with labels he didn't know how to make sense of.
RE: fallout - Isla - 03-29-2025
[say]"Any time."[/say] Sitting back and smoothing her hands restlessly across the fabric of her sundress, Isla has never felt this sort of silence stretch between them before, not even before Ever had become infected. At his needing a further few minutes, she nods and slowly rises to her feet. [say]"I'll just be in the other room, then. Take as long as you need and come out whenever you're ready, okay?"[/say]
Carefully collecting up the rest of the medicines she's brought to take them with her, Isla glances fleetingly over her shoulder towards Ever before she leaves, then slips out of the bedroom and back down the hall. If and when he eventually does emerge, it will be to her meticulously arranging small doses of the sedative and packing them into a small paper envelope, easy to slip into a travel bag but difficult to leave behind.
RE: fallout - Everest - 03-29-2025
The moment Isla’s footsteps faded down the hall, something inside Everest seemed to snap—not loudly, but with the slow, hairline crack of something splintering under pressure. He sat still for a moment longer, his fingers digging lightly into the edge of the blanket, eyes fixed on the pattern of light playing across the wall.
It didn’t make sense. None of it made sense. The weight of his own thoughts pressed against his temples, everything louder now, colours wrong, angles too sharp. Words echoed inside his head in the wrong order, like hearing a conversation underwater—his, hers, someone else’s. The sheets were too soft, the air too salty, the light too fractured. He took a shuddering breath and curled forward, hands pressing to either side of his skull, trying to compress the noise into something manageable. Too much. Too much. Too much.
Shifting felt like relief. Felt like release from the cage he'd been thrown back into.
Bones stretched and reformed without resistance, and the quiet whimper that left his canine throat was almost inaudible. As a shepherd, Ever’s world was still saturated in scent and sound and sensation—but it was simplified. Prioritized. He didn’t have to speak. He didn’t have to explain. The dog shook once, hard, and padded down the hall with practiced care, claws ticking softly against the floor.
When he reached the edge of the main room, he sat—back straight, tail tucked neatly around his side, ears slightly lowered but attentive, waiting, politely, by the door.
RE: fallout - Isla - 03-29-2025
Brow furrowing to hear the click of claws rather than the pad of footsteps down her hall, Isla blinks around towards the front door and finds herself smiling despite all else at the sight of Ever shifted, politely waiting for her to open the door for him. [say]"Let me just make sure I put this in a bag you can carry,"[/say] she tells him softly, rearranging the things she'd been packing for him - the medicine, some sunblock, a neatly folded light jacket and so on - and putting them in a satchel bag with a handle Ever will be able to easily grab hold of.
[say]"Do you want me to walk with you to the dock, or will you be alright?"[/say] she asks hesitantly, though she already knows the answer in truth. Everything about Ever screams that he wants to get away from her, away from Torchline and away from all that had happened as quickly as possible, and however Isla might feel about it, she won't stand in his way. Crossing the room to click open the front door, sending another stream of warm light flooding into the room from outside, she offers him out the bag to take.
RE: fallout - Everest - 03-29-2025
Ever gave a soft huff of acknowledgment, ears twitching at the rustle of Isla moving about the room. He didn’t look at her—not directly—but his gaze followed her hands, precise and efficient.
At her question, his head tilted slightly. But when she opened the door and held out the bag, he rose to his feet. The shepherd’s gait was controlled, his posture reserved, and he took the satchel gently between his teeth. His tail remained still, not wagging, not tucked, but there was no sound from him, no indication either way in response to the Remedy's question.
But at the threshold, he paused. One dark ear flicked back in her direction, and for just a moment he lingered there, caught in the golden light spilling in from the street. Then he stepped forward and out, disappearing without a sound.
~FIN