citylogs | the past haunts the present [closed]

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the past haunts the present [closed]

WHO: Wanderer (

featheradrift), Altria Caster (

excaliburden) & Tsuruno Yui (

fanstheflames)
WHAT: It's a competition between who can fuss over Altria more--
WHERE: Altria & Tsuruno's apartment
WHEN: Jan 6, some time later in the day
WARNINGS: Descriptions of injuries

Altria was hurt. They'd left the memory space and contrary to his expectations, she was still hurt. It's at this point that he falters and panic starts rising within him. The last time he had to deal with an ailing human was centuries ago—a nameless, ailing boy who didn't even have a year left in him—but illness and injury are two different things and he has never dealt with a mortal's injuries.

First, he needs to find her a place to rest. That's an easy choice—her apartment would be ideal. So with some directions from Altria, he makes his way there as quickly as possible, careful not to jostle Altria's injuries any further. The trip is unbearably long. He is hyperaware of Altria's shallow breathing, and the hitches betraying the pain she feels. Her injured hand is cradled against her body, but it is still covered by a glove. He doesn't know how extensive the damage is.

He barges into Tsuruno and Altria's shared apartment without announcing himself, and then pauses. Where should he set her? On the couch? In her room? He stands in the doorway, conflicted.

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They've really got to start locking the door if people are just gonna barge in without knocking. And Tsuruno is definitely not fully recovered from the last time she'd had to deal with being locked in her own apartment and things haunting her, so as soon as she hears the door, she's skidding out of her room to confront the intruder. Or say hi to Altria, maybe.

There's a barking fluffball that's not far behind her, but for a moment, Tsuruno stops in her tracks, taking in the sight of Hat Guy standing there and holding Altria.

This doesn't exactly feel like a "princess carry for the hell of it" type of situation, and despite her initial reaction to ask what's going on, Tsuruno isn't exactly an idiot. Something happened, but more importantly--

"Put her on the couch. Altria, what hurts?"

Really, despite the fact that Altria looks a little pained, it is somewhat overshadowed by how plainly sheepish she looks. She's being princess carried into their apartment by someone who doesn't like to acknowledge his more sentimental feelings at the best of times, so isn't this kind of A Lot for the both of them...?

Regardless, Tsuruno is there (what a relief to see her safe), and Altria just smiles at her, a little chagrined.

"I'm mostly okay...!" she starts with, hoping that she can sell it when she's got too very focused sets of eyes on her. Actually, that was probably a pipe dream.

Best to just be as straightforward as possible, huh. "It's just... my hand and my ribs."

Had this been any other regular day, he would have been embarrassed having Tsuruno see them this close to each other, but none of that is on his mind right now. Altria's injuries are far more important than his pride and need to keep a distance from others.

At Tsuruno's words, he moves towards the couch and gently sets her down, making sure not to place pressure on her broken ribs. Once she's settled on the couch, he steps back for a moment. What now? He should— he should—! Well, he should calm down, first. Panicking was going to get him nowhere.

He closes his eyes for a moment and takes a deep breath. Altria is safe. She's hurt, but safe. They had time to deal with her injuries.

He lets Tsuruno handle things for the moment.

How fortunate for all of them that Tsuruno isn't thinking suspicious romantic thoughts! She likely wouldn't anyway, beyond lighthearted confusion, but Altria is hurt and...

Hat Guy looks like he's Going Through It. Okay. Competent Mode.

She turns to him first, tilting her head in the direction of the hallway. "The bathroom's on the left. There's a first aid kit under the sink--can you grab that? We can call Daan-san, too, but he can only really only speed up healing and we can get a head start on things."

A sage nod, glancing at Altria now.

"We're in luck! Busted ribs was the last injury I had, so I'm a pro at wrapping 'em now. Did you sprain your wrist? Break anything?"

Details, roomie. Details!

Altria responds to Tsuruno, but her eyes are still on Wanderer. They're on him much in the same way one would watch a feral cat that is likely to flee when it still needs help; she doesn't want him to go, not when she is still working her way through untangling all of those emotions behind the few short, clipped words he's said to her.

Still, she very carefully tugs off her glove, revealing her hand, which is a bit of a mess; the bones in the middle of it have been crunched, though Altria barely spares it a glance.

"I think maybe it might be broken." You think, Altria? It's pretty obvious. "I'm less sure about my ribs. I just know that it hurts to breathe a little."

Tsuruno gives him commands, further settling the turmoil in his mind. She knows how to handle this. He can just obey her and things will be fine.

He turns and sets off down the hallway to retrieve the first aid kit, and returns in a few minutes.

"Here," he says quietly, placing the kit next to Tsuruno. His eyes glance over Altria's uncovered hand. It's clearly misshapen, slightly crunched in the middle, purpling and swelling quite badly. Would this even be possible to fix with the limited resources they had here?

He determinedly crushes down all his emotions. He could deal with them later.

"Is there anything else you need?" he asks Tsuruno, voice calm and devoid of emotion.

Tsuruno sucks in a quiet breath at the look of it. Altria isn't a Magical Girl; she probably can't turn off her sense of pain. But at the same time, she seems remarkably calm about it.

She makes a silent note of that, but nods with a quick "Thanks" to Wanderer when he returns, and opens the box to start pulling out bandages, ointment, and a few enclosed pills.

"Can you also go to the kitchen and get me a glass of water and fill up a bag with ice? She's definitely going to need a healer, but those'll help take the edge off."

And she frowns at Altria's hand.

"What even happened here...?"

Altria focuses on setting her glove aside to buy herself a moment to think. Her thought processes are a little fuzzy right now, after all; if she focuses too hard, all she can think about is the pain, and that's not useful at all.

(Then she goes down that rabbit hole of how nice it would be to be able to live a life where she didn't have to expect pain, but--)

She drags in a deep breath and offers Tsuruno a shaky, somewhat pained smile.

"Oh, I ended up in a bad situation in those weird memory doors. That's all."

She ducks her head a little, taking a moment to breathe.

"I was kind of hoping that it would all be better when I get out of there, but..."

She couldn't have been that lucky.

He does as he's tasked, going to the kitchen to retrieve the requested items. He returns just as Altria answers Tsuruno's question.

"It was me," he admits readily when Altria doesn't reveal the truth. "She encountered my memories. I was the one that did this to her." His voice is steady, but there's a hint of resignation, like he expects Tsuruno to get angry at him.

He places down the glass of water and bag of ice and steps back, awaiting judgement.

There's a pause, and then Tsuruno breathes out a sigh, as though that's a sign that she's processed the truth of the matter. Honestly...

Before she responds to this information, she holds out the pills for Altria to take with her good hand and has the water at the ready.

"Here, they're pain-killers. They'll take that edge off and then we're gonna ice your hand. I'll bandage your ribs too, but that can wait until the pills do their job."

And with that, she glances at Wanderer, expression mild.

"This was before either of you showed up, but back in October, there was this party that... made some people turn against each other. A--Alhaitham, for example, tried to kill me. Threw me against a wall. And this other lady broke my ribs. I had to knock them out myself and honestly, a big part of me still feels bad about it. But that's..."

She shrugs. "That's how this place is. I'm pretty sure you didn't mean to hurt her, or you wouldn't have brought her back and stuck around. Now if you'd come in with some big speech about how pitiful she was and started gloating, I would've set you on fire. But you didn't, so it's fine! At this point, I think we all sorta expect we might end up hurting each other and trying not to let that ruin how we feel the rest of the time."

See, this is why Tsuruno is the best roommate. Altria's lips curved down into a frown when Wanderer so bluntly said it was due to him, without any explanation or details--but Tsuruno rolls with it beautifully, understandingly.

Not that Altria's happy to hear about what happened to her, of course; it sounds gnarly in the worst of ways. But it isn't the sort of violence that makes her flinch, and she's quiet in the way that she takes those painkillers and tosses them in her mouth, and then reaches for the water.

It's after she's swallowed that she nods a little, moving her gaze back from Tsuruno to Wanderer again, and then softly, "Besides. You were a different person then. The you I saw back then isn't the same."

That distinction is important too, and she won't let him pretend it didn't play a role in this whole mess.

Something like that happened in October, huh... Right, that's just how this place is. Forcing emotions on them as well as twisting them in ways they wouldn't normally bend. Except what Altria encountered wasn't a twist of himself, it was him. What he once was. What part of him still is.

"He's still a part of me, even now. I haven't forgotten that rage," he says, unwilling to absolve himself of responsibility. But Tsuruno's words spark a thought. Instead of wallowing in his emotions, he should focus on what he can do for Altria now. That's how he's been handling his sins. This is just another one to add to the pile.

"I'll take care of you until you heal," he declares, having made his decision. This is the only way he can make up for the damage he's caused, he thinks. He would ensure the healing process goes as smoothly as possible for her.

"Just... for the record..." She's not sure what he means about taking care of her roommate until she's better, when Tsuruno, a very competent and Mighty Magical Girl, is also right here, but she doesn't look all that perturbed by the... suggestion?

No, it's more of a declaration, isn't it?

"If you're gonna keep coming over here, knock first? It's not like I won't be helping out, too. It doesn't have to be a Feel-Guilty-So-Atone-For-My-Sins-By-Helping kind of thing. It's just something friends do!"

"... Huh?"

Altria is left blinking owlishly at his declaration. Thankfully, Tsuruno parses it and reacts first, because she's just staring at him. Surely, he's already helped her enough? He saved her, and then got her out of there, and then carried her all the way here in his arms.

(So warmly, so kindly--)

But now he's going to... take care of her? Tsuruno too? That's so strange. Why would anyone want to do that? It's just a few injuries, isn't it?

"Um... I'll be fine now," she pipes up, as if either of them is the sort of person to buy that.

There's a gut instinct to argue that he'll do it alone. It's how he's operated for a long time, and he's never preferred teamwork. But this isn't about him. This is about Altria and her health. And in this case, Tsuruno is more knowledgeable than him, a mere puppet who knows naught about the wounds of organic creatures.

After a short moment, he nods at Tsuruno. He still has every intention on caring for Altria for that reason, but... yes, he would have done it anyway if she'd been injured by any other cause, he realizes. He simply wants to see her safe and healthy.

"What is a good time for me to stop by everyday?" he asks Tsuruno as he turns to Altria and gives her a look that says, 'the hell you're fine.' "I can help with food or picking up supplies."

It would have led to a brawl, honestly. Thankfully, she can tell he only briefly debates arguing before he concedes, and Tsuruno lets her shoulders relax and pulls out her phone to text Daan.

In explanation--

"I'm letting Daan-san know; he should be able to speed up Altria's natural healing, so it won't take months. But if you want to show up... maybe late morning or early afternoon? You can come in the evening if you want, if you want to eat dinner with us?"

She's definitely glossing over Altria's insistence.

???

????

Did she just get ignored? They both just ignored her, didn't they? Well, Yuu looked at her, obviously, but then he didn't respond.

... .. ....

She sinks down a little more on the couch, expression a little sheepish. It's hard for her to pinpoint why she feels sheepish in this moment, just that she does. She's... not used to being the focus of attention in this way, where two people she cares about are trying so hard to figure out how to take care of her. It's... warm, but also strange.

"..."

She truly has no idea what to say or do. She has been Confused. Carry on, people with the brain cells.

Tsuruno knows a healer. This is more than he could have hoped for. Even if the healer can't fully treat Altria's wounds, it reassures him to know that she wouldn't have to suffer for very long. Until then, he would do what he can to keep her comfortable.

"Lunch and dinner, then," he replies. "I'll handle dinner today."

He should also help with cleaning, and any other errands that need to be done, he thinks. Altria and Tsuruno both shouldn't have to worry about anything during this period.

As for dinner... some foods were said to boost natural healing, he recalls. Unfortunately, it was something he never paid attention to, being a puppet who didn't think he would end up responsible for someone else's health. Altria also only has one hand to work with. The dish needed to be something that could be consumed with one hand. Light and nutritious as well... Pita Pockets or a Shawarma Wrap might be good, so long as it wasn't stuffed to the brim.

He continues to ponder potential dinner choices.

"Well, if you really want to..."

She doesn't mind handing over cooking duties to someone else, on occasion. And someone should keep an eye on Altria, to keep her comfortable.

Tsuruno's gaze lowers to her roommate now, eyes thoughtful.

"Altria, can you sit up as straight as you can? I'm gonna bandage your ribs. Daan-san will be along in a little bit, but he's probably going to also tell you what he told me--bandages off when you're sleeping, unwrap them every hour or so to let the ribs breathe."

Well. She promptly forgets she was being ignored in favor of thinking about the fact that he's the one cooking dinner. She beams, chipper and cheerful, and without thinking about it, exclaims, "Yay, yaaay, Wanderer's cook--"

Ow.

That's too much enthusiasm for her state, and she winces a little as she cuts herself off, dragging in a slow, shaky breath. Right. Okay. Phew!

Obediently, she sits up, nodding as she looks over at Tsuruno and pretends that she didn't just embarrass herself some more.

"Mm, okay. I think I can handle that."

He looks at her sharply, frowning. He'd have to be careful not to make her too excited, lest she forget her own wounds and hurt herself like this.

And, it's a bit strange, hearing her call him Wanderer, after calling him by his actual name for so long now. He hadn't even realized he'd gotten used to it. More than getting used to it, he preferred that she use his name. It just... sounded right.

"It's fine," he says to her. "You don't have to hide it." Maybe it was a little silly that he tried to keep it close to himself anyway. Names were given to be used by others. But it was something he wanted to reserve for those he approved of.

He moves towards the kitchen. If Tsuruno was intending to bandage her ribs, he ought to give them privacy. He could learn the layout of their kitchen while they were busy with that.

"Hide it?"

Tsuruno just looks perplexed as he heads towards the kitchen. Well, she thinks, "Wanderer" is a little less weird than "Hat Guy" but all the same...

These two seem to be close. Very good friends? Good, she's thrilled her roommate has someone else like that, and she grabs the bandage roll, gesturing for Altria to lift her shirt up a bit.

"It's going to feel Not Great, but it'll help. Sorry..."

Oh. So that's how it is.

It strikes me that Altria is wearing a dress so, uh. Altria lifts her entire dress up as best she can with one functional hand and few functional ribs, nodding a little as she drags in a shaky breath. Don't come back in here yet, Wanderer, it's dangerous.

So. It's okay if she tells Tsuruno? Yuu has come really far, hasn't he?

"It's okay!" First, she has to reassure Tsuruno of that--and then she follows it up with a quiet but simple, "Since he said it's okay... he was talking about his name. Which is Yuu! So... now you know too, Tsuruno!"

At least talking about this is a good distraction from. Everything.

The Wanderer stays in the kitchen, because he's not a romcom protag who lacks common sense. He knows full well that it'll take time for Tsuruno to handle the injury, and he can hear their conversation through the crack of the door anyway.

He spends the time memorizing the layout of the entire kitchen and where each type of ingredient is stored. In particular, he pays attention to the sweet ingredients. Dark chocolate, sugar, milk, marshmallows, whipped cream... after what Altria has suffered, she could probably use a sweet treat. He also spots a container of matcha powder in one of the cabinets and automatically brings it out, before remembering that this is Altria, who loves sweets and probably doesn't like bitterness.

He decides to include it anyway. There had to be a limit to one's sweet tooth. Maybe she'd find the hint of bitterness to be intriguing as well. It would offer an interesting contrast to the decadent richness of the chocolate. So he sets about creating a very decadent matcha hot chocolate, bring out a pot and turning on the stove to do so.

Tsuruno is efficient when she has to be, at least, taking what knowledge she's learned from Daan to bandage her friend up. Nice and steady, bandages snug against her poor ribs but not to the point where they're too restrictive.

It won't be the most comfortable until she starts healing in earnest, but most methods of care for injuries really are. At least they've got pain-killers.

"Yuu, huh..." Sounds like his name might share its origin with hers. But she knows so little about the guy still, so it's hard to state that as fact. Still...

"I'll have to ask him if that's okay to use or if he wants me to go with a nickname... I don't know, it sounds sort of like a big deal to him."

A few careful tugs to ensure the bandages are secure.

"Aaaand we're good!"

As soon as Tsuruno gives the go-ahead, Altria tugs back down her dress, leaving her once again presentable. Phew. No Otome hijinks here today.

She smiles at Tsuruno in response, though, knocking shoulders with her affectionately and very, very carefully.

"Thanks. That sounds good to me." The thanks, of course, is partially for her help with her ribs--but even more so for Tsuruno's consideration towards Yuu, something that's incredibly important to her.

It's only a short moment before there's a light knock at the door, sounding not from a hand, but something else. A mug, because both of the drifter's hands are occupied by them.

"You good?" the Wanderer inquires from the other side, asking for permission to enter. "I have hot chocolate."

"We're good!"

There's a chipper call of affirmation from behind the door, but also Tsuruno will move to open it again, because that definitely was not the sound of a hand against the door. Probably the mug, then?

"She's all bandaged and good to go until we get the doctor here to look at her!"

Hot chocolate! Hot chocolate!

Altria has realized by now that she needs to remain as still as possible so as to not jostle... well, anything, but she still has it in her to smile brightly at the thought.

"Yay, yay...! That sounds so good! Thank you for making some, Yuu!"

With Tsuruno's reassurance, he enters the room carrying two mugs of hot chocolate. Both are topped with marshmallows and matcha powder and have spoons, but the one with the higher stack is handed off to Tsuruno while he takes the other one to Altria.

He doesn't quite give it to her yet though—knowing that she's limited to only using one hand, he uses the spoon to shift and mix the marshmallows so it'll be easy for her to drink the concoction without spilling. He also sets the spoon aside once he's done fiddling with the drink, since it'd only get in Altria's way.

It's only after all that that he hands it off to Altria, making sure to shift his grip on the mug so the handle is facing her and holding it out closer to her good hand—every motion he makes is done in consideration for all of her injuries.

"It should be cool enough to drink immediately," he says as Altria takes the drink, and turns to Tsuruno after. "Yours is hotter. Careful."

Altria will find her hot chocolate quite sweet, but with a hint of bitterness from the matcha powder that topped the drink, and the dark chocolate the drink was made from. Tsuruno's is less sweet, as he opted to allow the flavours of the dark chocolate and matcha powder express themselves instead of be overwhelmed by sugar.

The mugs are big enough to be satisfying, but small enough not to be so filling that they won't be able to eat dinner later. It's clear he's put a lot of thought into making this tiny little delight for them.

It's honestly kind of impossible not to notice the effort he's put into this. Not that she knows the slight difference in flavor profiles here because she's not about to snag her roommate's drink, but she notes the difference in marshmallow height and also observes the way he stirs Altria's drink and moves the handle so she can easily grasp it. And of course Tsuruno's is hotter; she doesn't require the same kind of care right now.

So she hums her appreciation with a tinge of thoughtfulness in the sound, bringing the rim up to her lips to take a sip.

"Thanks! Um, I know you said it was fine for Altria to tell me, but if you want me to stick with calling you Hat Guy, I can."

Altria also notices the effort that he puts into it, but she's kind of used to it, also. It's Yuu, after all. Of course he's going above and beyond. That's what he does!

So she takes the drink with a grateful little smile, admiring the toppings and the sweet smell.

"Wowwwww... this looks so pretty and delicious." In deference to her injuries, she's very careful, voice much softer than it usually is, when she continues, "Yay, yay, thank you!"

She takes a sip, finds it to be perfectly sweet and at the perfect temperature, and melts into a little puddle of contentedness right then and there, despite her injuries. She's a simple girl, after all.

The expression on the Wanderer's face softens in fondness for Altria's excited response, but it's only for a moment before he glances at Tsuruno and then turns his head away with a quiet noise of displeasure.

"Do as you please," he says, an answer Altria knows all too well that means he doesn't mind if Tsuruno uses his actual name. That he's already allowed Tsuruno to know his name is more than explicit permission for her to use it.

He takes a moment to fully look over Altria, to make sure she's fine, before he looks around the room, and then back to Tsuruno.

"Anything else that we need? I'm going to pick up ingredients for dinner and more medical supplies for Altria's injuries."

But he clearly doesn't look thrilled about it, as opposed to the way he's all but gently emanating affection in Altria's direction.

Ah.

Tsuruno opts not to point that out, capable of something like subtlety, and offers Wanderer (Yuu?) a shrug.

"We should be okay! Daan-san's on his way but I've still got a bunch of medical supplies on hand from past... uh. Adventures."

It's probably fine.

"And I always keep things stocked in terms of food!"

Altria is just happily enjoying her cocoa, so she's very much missing Tsuruno's realization, as well as just how differently Wanderer treats her. It's sweet and delicious, a nice distraction from the throbbing in her ribs and her hand. She knows she's going to have to drink it carefully, but...

Having a treat after something so brutal is unusual. She wants to bask in it.

So she's just humming quietly to herself as she takes a careful sip, not at all focused on the conversation. Tsuruno and Wanderer are talking about logistics anyway. She doesn't have it in her at the moment.

Then he would only have to pick up ingredients for dinner. Still, couldn't hurt to pick up medical supplies anyway right? But he's not entirely sure what might be helpful in this situation... He'll pick it up later then, once he has a better idea.

"Then I'll be gone for only a moment," he says, and turns to exit the apartment for his grocery dash.

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the past haunts the present [closed]

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