#lasthail

[askrossiel]

rossiel , my hand is up . drop that venus !

The were-Elf stops, drops into a polite sit with one paw raised in mimicry, and after some hesitation relinquishes the planet. Grace will simply have to deal with all the tooth-punctures and wolf slobber.

[cseavers]

[ sms ] : you were the first person i thought to text. :}

he's at home , for once . actually , it's his first day back home from set -- he's been filming out in florida of all places for the last six months . his plane landed last night , and he had blissfully collapsed into bed in a completely alligator free city -- thank god . and now he's still facedown in bed , hours after waking up , thankful to just lay there and exist without being hurled into the swampy dirt . but his heart does a little kick -- and not a second later his phone buzzes , because of course it does , so he already knows the name on the screen before he slips it off his nightstand

[ sms : ry - guy ] i better be [ sms : ry - guy ] do you have any idea how mad i'd be if you texted someone else about this first [ sms : ry - guy ] tell me about the new job ry

[feinic]

@lasthail

it's  rare  that  he  gets  a  chance  to  work  on  cases  like  this.  joshua  tends  to  spend  his  time  in  the  deadlands.  he's  the  one  of  the  resident  doctor's  at  the  free  clinic  and  it  fills  his  cup  in  ways  he  never  thought  possible.  he  always  wants  to  help,  always  wants  to  use  his  inherited  wealth  to  better  the  world.  

but,  he  didn't  graduate  from  the  best  medical  school  in  the  world  with  honors  for  nothing.  when  he  was  contacted  to  do  a  physical,  he  didn't  quite  to  expect.  it  must  be  for  someone  serious  if  he  was  contacted  and  whisked  away.

as  he  steps  into  the  exam  room,  he's  a  bit  anxious  in  a  way  that  he  cannot  explain.  he's  so  used  to  those  in  his  home  clinic.  those  who  tease  him  for  being  clive's  baby  brother  and  about  his  lanky  build.  

joshua  stops  to  knock  on  the  frame  of  the  door  before  stepping  in.  'mr.  grace?'  he  looks  up  from  the  chart  in  his  hands.  'i'm  dr.  rosfield,  and  i'll  be  looking  over  you  today.'

[cseavers]

“ you’re shaking . ” <3

it hurts . he hurts . its like a constant loop in his mind . pain , on pain , on pain . a circular misery he can't seem to find his way out of . he's been wedged into this corner -- all tangled up in those always drifting , racing thoughts . but they're all bad now . and he can't get out . he hurts , so bad , and he's miserable -- he's sad , and he's so fucked up and . . . and it's only been a week since he got out of the hospital . a week where his brother has been firmly , and stubbornly by his side the entire time . no matter how many times colt lies and says he's okay , that he knows ryland has work , that he'll be alright on his own ( he won't . and this is proof enough of that . that he's laying there shaking , and nearly in tears . that not only is his back screaming in agony but there is a crushing weight on his chest and a voice in his head that whispers failure , failure , failure -- )

" huh ? " ryland's voice is like a lifeline , like a light through his darkest thoughts . and he's so grateful for it , he's so grateful he can't even think of something smart to say back to him . he wants to cry , and keep crying , and never stop crying . because he feels like he's ten years old again , and he broke his wrist because some asshole kid pushed him off the top of the slide and he's gasping for air and the only thing in the world he wants is his big brother holding him together .

" oh . . . oh -- it's , um , " it's the incision site -- spinal fusion surgery . the place where they had to cut him open , had to carefully move around his spinal cord to make sure the crack in his spine didn't permanently paralyze him ; the place where he will forever have metal rods and screws holding him together . and on top of it , he gets a back brace that colt can only describe as ' industrial ' every time he sees it . the real issue is he's being forgetful , and left the very important bottle of prescription painkillers in the bathroom , and didn't take them when ryland stuck his hand in the door and shook it at him until colt put his out and accepted the bottle . and now he winces , fights to draw in a breath , and even his hand shakes when he lifts it and waves towards the bathroom . " it's -- fuck -- left them in . . . there -- "

[cseavers]

knock knock

now , there's one of two things colt could do . he could accept his fate and let his brother tell what's sure to be some science joke that both goes right over his head and is so bad colt's going to remember it on his deathbed . or , he could . . . you know . . . yeah he's for sure going with option two .

. . . who's their

[cseavers]

i call dibs on hot fudge !

" okay , well i call dibs on the waffle cone . " his nose scrunches , hand in the air , his entire body a fault - line that says ; are you serious ? the kind of attitude that can truly only come with knowing someone since before birth . they were probably in the womb arguing with each other , colt trying to drag his poor brother into some kind of headlock . ( he's not gonna say shit about it though , god knows ryland would start telling him how impossible that is -- like he doesn't know . maybe he just thinks its a nice thought . not the strangulation . the knowing . that he got to have someone so great from the very start )

he's still squinting through his sunglasses , staring up at the sort of crumbling board full of flavors while the california sun beats down on the back of his neck . he kind of thinks san fran is a special kind of hell , and he's pretty sure if his brother wasn't basically holding him by the sleeve that he'd get lost in five minutes flat . but he's worth it , even if he's being drug to . . . what was this place called again ? he can't remember . shit . maybe he hit his head a little too hard on that last shoot after all .

" don't play with me ry , you're gonna lose and you know it . better cut your losses now . " tongue clicks , a grin that can only be described as horrifically annoying pulls the corner of his mouth . he acts like he's not gonna share it anyways . like they haven't shared and stolen and split food a thousand different ways before . colt's head tilts , turning his gaze back to ryland , " oh my god , what kind of flavor is sunset harmony ? where the hell are we ? "

[savestcrs]

grace , holding up a microphone to rocky's carapace : how do you feel about the ALL NEW rocky road mcslurry ?

@lasthail || ryland mcdyland AMPLIFIES

Right.

This does seem to be something everyone is obsessed with currently. And if Rocky wasn't already convinced long ago that humans are supremely weird about their eating habits, this would've made it transparent in every possible way.

It's. Eating. It's how they acquire their nutrients. It's a necessary survival skill. It didn't need to be anything more, but there they go.

Maybe Rocky would be more annoyed by it if he wasn't actually endeared to a certain extent.

(A certain extent! There are limits.)

His carapace sinks a bit when Grace holds that microphone up to him, some amalgamation of hum and grumble pealing out of him first and foremost. “This makes you happy.” It's an observation, not a question. He can tell Grace is excited about the whole thing. Maybe that's all that actually matters.

So, Rocky straightens back up, bounces between his feet. “Good! Perfect. No notes!” He doesn't know who he's speaking to, if anyone. But he can play along. “Expect Blip-Mac in the future!”

[redfieled]

" you have no idea , do you ? " ( and neither do i !! )

a prompt that i've lost.

“ uh  …”   she  reasons  that  this  is  not  an  acceptable  time  to  tell  him  that  they  were  lost.  “  i've  been  this  way  before,  so  i  have  no  idea  why …  but  being  in  the  dark  doesn't  help.  ”   luckily,  her  flashlight  is  still  strong  battery.  they  could  easily  see  a  good  distance,  but  she  had  planned  for  them  to  be  on  a  road  where  they  could  attempt  a  ride  from  a  friendly  stranger.  “ let's  keep  walking.  it  shouldn't  be  too  far. ”  when  in  doubt,  she  continues  to  walk  ahead  of  him,  silently  praying  that  she  is  right.  she's  never  been  this  unlucky  with  directions  before.