driftfleet | Glitch

Entry tags:

Glitch

Who: Randolph Lyall and OPEN
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: On the SS Blameless and the Iskaulit
When: Sometimes after the crew of the Blameless got curious and opened the first cargo they were entrusted with.

CONTENT WARNING: All prompts will contain mentions of physical and potentially sexual abuse. I will put everything under cuts so it is easy to avoid, but please consider the whole post and comment threads as potentially containing this content.

[Broadcast/Action for people on the Blameless]

[Lyall isn't sure what has woken him up. It's still early and anyone who is not on duty is probably still asleep. All that he knows is that it hurts everywhere right now. It even hurts to breathe, his ribs tender and some of them probably broken.

He drags himself out of the bed so he can get to the bathroom and get some water to drink. Even in the low lighting of the bedroom, it is relatively easy to see that he's covered in bruises. He's walking with an obvious limp and there are marks on his back that look suspiciously like some sort of beast used him as a scratch post.

He manages, with some effort, to get to the sink and to gulp down a bit of water, but even that simple effort seems to have robbed him of what little strength he had and he sinks to the floor with a small whimper of pain.

If only he could be unconscious again.]

[Action] SS Blameless / Iskaulit

[If you have met Lyall before, it will be very, very obvious that something is wrong with him.

He is dressed to the nines as he always is, and with his customary suit, very little of the bruises actually show. But the ordinarily discreet werewolf seems to try and be even more inconspicuous than he normally does. He is making himself as small and unobtrusive as possible when out and about. The limp is still there, even if he tries to hide it, and his face doesn't let anything show even though he is pretty much in constant pain.

He is also very, very skittish right now. He is avoiding crowds, and any loud noise is likely to make him jump quite badly.

Aboard the SS Blameless, he will attend to his duties as usual (or attempt to at least, if no one tries to stop him). Otherwise, he will pretty much navigate between the kitchen and Biffy's room, because he still needs his tea.

Aboard the Iskaulit, he will be doing his usually rounds to sniff out new people, although much more slowly. He probably will end up at one of the places that sell alcohol at some point, although since he can't get drunk, any attempt to drown out the hurt will unfortunately be a failure.]

((OOC: If you would like a starter specifically for your character, PM the journal!))

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[He doesn't believe that. Not for one moment. Ulaz frowns at how easily Lyall accepts that being beaten is normal, that it happens all the time. He wonders how it happened considering he doubts anyone on the Blameless would do it... at least he hopes no one would]

If you are hurt, I should at least look. We can get you something to help relieve the pain and make sure its nothing more serious.

[He offers Lyall his hand, an offer of assistance in getting up]

It'll make sleeping it off more bearable.

[And maybe he could find out who]

[It is normal when your Alpha goes loopy in the head, Ulaz. Somewhat, at least.

If he were a bit more gathered and less in pain, he might be more stubborn about it. But he's tired. So after a few more seconds of just staring at that hand, he takes it and gets up with a wince.

Just... point him somewhere, Ulaz. He's a bit too tired to brain right now.]

[Ulaz helps him carefully get to feet. He sees how he winces, trying to make observations before they get there]

The lab is this way.

[He starts leading the way, though he was slowing his pace to walk beside him, letting Lyall hold onto him if he needed to or felt unstable. But now that Lyall is up, he can see the marks on his back. Claw marks. Those need to be cleaned up.

When they get to the lab, Ulaz gestures towards one of the tables, following in case Lyall needs help getting up]

What happened?

[Under the harsh lights of the corridors, more damage becomes visible. There are marks around his wrists from what looks like shackles, whip lashes on his thighs... and maybe more under the bruises but that's hard to see.

Once in the lab Lyall just stands next to the table, leaning on it. Normally he would be cagey about this. He's spent so much time hiding from everyone, including those closest to himself. Mostly, it's the pain that makes him less cautious.]

My Alpha.... not Biffy... the one before... no even before that... I don't know...

[He knows where he is. This is the space ship. The Blameless. And what happened was more than thirty years ago, so how is he in this state now.]

[Ulaz was no stranger to seeing others with marks from fighting in the arena, from being forced to work by the Galra, but even though he could keep it off his face, it didn't get easier to see. He hated it and it pained him to see Lyall is such shape too.

When Lyall decided he'd much rather stand next to the table, Ulaz obliged, letting him stand as he went to get something to clean and bandage his back and any other marks that might have needed some protection until they healed a bit more.

But first the obligatory pain medications, which he offered to Lyall with a glass of water.

But the explanation he gets surprises him more than he could have thought]

So these aren't something that happened here? They just... reappeared?

[Good, he didn't have to go beat someone up (and good, it wasn't Biffy which he had hoped it wasn't) but it just brought up more questions, like why would someone do something like this to someone else? He didn't actually need that answered, but it still shocked him]

[Lyall stares blankly at the medication for a few seconds.]

I don't think... this will have any effect on me...

[A werewolf body being undead, there are many substances that they don't metabolize anymore. Alcohol is one of them, and most drugs as well. Some of them are still effective as weapons against them, but when it comes to pain relief...]

It was... more than thirty years ago. Can this happen here? Going back like this?

[If it can, it would be hard to see on Lyall. He looked much the same thirty years ago. The only differences would be his hairstyle, really.]

I just woke up like this.... Like I did all those years ago.

[Back then it was nothing unusual to wake up in this state, and then try to limp along all night hoping no one would notice.

[Ulaz pauses for a moment when he says that then sets the medication aside]

If you want to try and see if it will work, it is there. If not, that is your choice.

[Maybe the medications are different here than where he is from and it would have some effect, but it is his choice to try it]

People have reverted in age. I wasn't aware they could revert in time... to different states of well-being.

[The augment's glitch just seemed cruel, making him do this all over again. He notes the comment about having woken up like this before. He's used to this and had so easily slipped back into it being normal.

Ulaz moves to put on gloves, for the moment just assessing the number of injuries he had. Bruises, friction marks, claw marks, and he had noticed the limp coming in here. As much as he hates to see this, there is some guarantee there was no confrontation needed for this (since one isn't possible) and healing should be all that's required. But it doesn't discount another glitch bringing them back again.

As he moves to start cleaning the marks on his back]

If you want to talk to me about it, it won't leave this room.

[If this didn't seem to be a glitch, then he would have at least told Shiro since Lyall was their crew, but it would solve nothing in this case]

I might have... reverted in age. I just looked the same thirty years ago.

[Because immortal. He'll stay off the drugs for now. He went through this once and powered through it, he can do it again.

Lyall shivers but doesn't shy away too much from the attention on his back. The wounds are rather deep but they have started knotting themselves back together already.

Talk about this? He did it once, and it caused pain. But... his brain isn't very clear right now, and Ulaz... well, Ulaz feels like him, to be honest. So he feels like he would understand.]

When Alpha werewolves get too old they get... bad, in the head. Most of them get killed by a challenger before that happens, but when one is really strong...

[And Lord Woolsey was strong. One of the strongest wolves in Europe.]

I was looking for way to make sure the pack could transition to a new Alpha. And in the meantime, I...protected them. I made sure they wouldn't get affected by his madness.

[He couldn't do much about what transpired through the tether, but at least he could ensure none of the other pack members had to suffer through the abuse by having it be focused on him only.

The extent of that protection will only become more apparent under scrutiny. There's a trail of blood oozing down Lyall's leg that doesn't see to have been caused by any of the wounds there, not the claw marks, not the lashes, and it's quite apparent where that is coming from.

But he's not complaining at all, his face carefully neutral as he lets Ulaz clean up the wounds.]

[Ulaz is pleased to see that the injuries on his back are already starting to heal despite how deep they are. Even if he did naturally have increased healing, this would likely help in case of possibility of infection as well as get some of the blood off his skin, allowing him to see more clearly, but also it will probably feel better to Lyall.

He continues tending to Lyall's injuries as the other spoke. Lyall had said once about how they tended not live as long as he had and now he is seeing, at least with Alphas, there's a reason to not want them to live forever.

Given the placement of some injuries, Ulaz could have made the guess of what that madness meant, but he got the confirmation himself. While most of his senses are dulled by being in a human body for the moment, he was still observant; in the course of cleaning Lyall's back, he notices that trail of blood going down the back of his leg, not connected to any other wounds. He doesn't need to ask. He knows what it means]

I'm sorry that you had to experience the darker side of that nature. Your own nature is strong that you have come through this.

[He means it. He saw too much in his time. The fact that Lyall can handle this as normal is sad that he had to, but also impressive that he can]

It looks like a number of these are already starting to heal. I'd like to cover the claw marks until we can be certain they are no longer bleeding.

[He's giving Lyall the option to say no, but he does think that would be better, especially if traditional medications didn't work on him]

I did what I had to do for the pack. I didn't endure it that long. A little under 10 years, until we had a new Alpha.

[And ten years when you're 450 is just a blink of an eye. Especially when during half of those you were actively plotting to get whoever was inflicting this on you murdered.]

I just...

[Lyall's voice breaks a little here.]

I don't want Biffy to see me like this.

[But there's no way he won't. Once he wakes up, he'll seek Lyall out, and that much damaged won't be healed until then.]

[Ulaz also understands this. In the grand scheme of things, ten years to him was nothing. Lyall just looked so young it was easy to forget that he was actually hundreds of years old.

As Lyall says that, Ulaz frowns, knowing Lyall doesn't want to worry Biffy, but even with increased healing, it probably wouldn't happen in a night. The claw marks were only beginning the healing process]

I'd offer for you to stay in here, but I doubt that would worry Biffy any less and its not as comfortable as one would think it is.

[It's a joke. A very dry one, but its a joke]

We can cover them for now. It'll protect them and give you a chance to heal with less attention on them until you are ready to take the bandages off.

[It's a way to allow them to be less dramatic before he shows them to Biffy]

[Lyall lets out a snort of laughter. It sounds about as mirthless as you'd expect.]

... He'll know anyway. He already knows what happened. He was present when I had to... inform certain parties in rather a lot of details. But I'd never imagined...

[That he would get to see it with his own eyes. In this at least he had been glad Biffy had been spared by not even having been alive when it had happened. But now...]

He'll probably be looking for me as soon as he wakes up. But... thank you.

[He can appreciate the cleaning up and the bandaging, even if in the grand scheme of things it probably won't do much. He can appreciate the dry, deadpan humor even more. It's better than pity or commiseration.

But now all the tension seems to bleed out of him and his legs start to shake a little. he's not sure he'll be able to stay upright much longer, but the thought of sitting down is making him shudder. His whole back is hurting so much...]

Of course. You two have some sort of a bond if I understand correctly.

[Unfortunately, it is essentially impossible to hide the injuries for longer than Biffy is asleep based on that information.

Even if he has the feeling the bandages aren't going to do so much, he wants to ensure he has done everything possible just in case. Also with a glitch, there is no telling if it will act differently than normal. The bandages will at least let them see the bleeding has stopped when they are removed.

But before he could, he notices Lyall's legs starting to shake. He is so bruised and battered, Ulaz doesn't exactly want him collapsing because he will pretty much fall somewhere that would hurt and trying to catch him will hurt too. Ulaz is quick, grabbing the rolling stool that he uses and some towels to add extra padding, bringing them both over to where Lyall is standing]

Please sit.

The tether, yes.

[And it is already unusually strong under normal circumstances, but with only the two of them here, it is even more so.

Lyall's eyes only widen a little as he is being offered a seat, padded for comfort. Clearly Ulaz isn't asking this time, and anyway it would be worse to just collapse, Lyall can agree on this.

He sits gingerly, trying to make himself as comfortable as possible, and sighs once he is, rubbing his face with his hands. This is messing with his head something fierce.]

... You look like you might want to have a very stern word with whoever is responsible for this, but I assure you they met their demise a long time ago. I saw to it personally.

Edited 2018-09-16 20:25 (UTC)

[No, he is not asking. He is however being polite about it by saying please even Lyall didn't have much of a choice. He wants to make sure he's done everything he can to help Lyall, which also allowed him to assess injuries in case they didn't heal as Lyall thought they should. But either way, if Lyall is beginning to shake from the effort of standing, then he needs to sit.

Ulaz stays nearby in case Lyall needs to use his arm for balance or if anything of the like. Luckily, because this is a moving vessel, the stool's wheels can be locked to prevent it from rolling at will, so he had done that to make sure it didn't try to move away from him.

Once he's stable, Ulaz goes to retrieve the glass of water, figuring Lyall may want some. He can see its bothering him. There is only so much he can do, but he'll do what he can]

Yes, that would have been might intention if the person who had done this was here. I can't guarantee that "words" would have been the limit of it. I suppose, all things considered, "demise" was the only option.

You are brave for having taken on such treatment to keep others from facing it for ten years.

[Water he can do. Probably. He takes the glass and takes small sips from it to make sure he's not going to throw up.

But he shakes his head at being called brave. He's heard it before, but he still can't comprehend it.]

I did what I had to do to keep the pack together. That's it.

He was going to die one way or another. But not for what he did to me.

[That, in the grand scheme of things, was completely inconsequential. It was revenge, yes, but not revenge for himself.]

Whether it was what you had to do or not, I can tell you that not everyone would do it. Others would have allowed the pack to suffer for their own selfishness. You actually did it.

[Now that Lyall is stable again, Ulaz moves to start covering his wounds. He's careful to do so in way to not interfere with other injuries or put too much pressure on his back]

Is what he did die for something you can share?

[There is a long silence after that question. Lyall is still hiding his face in his hand, taking shallow breath because anything else hurts his ribs.

Ulaz said nothing would leave this room, and Lyall wants to trust him.

When he finally speaks, it's barely over a whisper.]

He killed my lover.

[Ulaz said nothing to push it while he took care of Lyall's injuries. It was his decision after all and he didn't want to make him uncomfortable. This was already rough enough.

He didn't answer for a moment after he got his answer from Lyall]

I am sorry that is something you had to deal with. I can understand how that would inspire a desire to be rid of him.

If I had had the strength, I would have done it myself on the spot.

[But as his injuries clearly show, he definitely wasn't strong enough for that, which is saying something about how powerful that were wolf was given how old Lyall is.]

It took me... four more years after that until I managed to get rid of him.

[Four more years of madness and torture and abuse that he'd had to face alone, knowing he'd failed to protect the one he loved.]

And I... I wasn't with anyone else until... Biffy came along.

[And even then it hadn't happened instantly.]

[Ulaz has yet to see Lyall in action aside from the full moon when they are locked up and he has little comparison, but he's used to people not being what they appear. Even without that he can see Lyall was not a match for the Alpha who was hurting him. If he was the abuse surely would have stopped with the death of someone he cared so deeply for]

Someone was able to take care of the issue though; that's good even if the fact you had to deal with it at all is not good. And I can see Biffy cares deeply for you.

[Finishing with the bandages, he went to get an ice pack, offering it to Lyall]

This will help with your bruises. I know it hurts, but try to take deeper breathes.

[Speed healing or not, it could make him feel worse to not enough air]

I had to find someone to take care of the issue. That's why it took so long.

[He does relax minutely when Biffy is mentioned.]

Yes, he does. There are many days Where I think I don't deserve him given how good he is to me.

[He does obey the instructions with the sad resignation of someone who knows he has to, because he's had to do this many times before. And he applies the ice packto his side with a soft hiss.]

I don't think my ribs are broken this time. Just bruised.

Either way, rest and ice will help them until healing works on them. There's not much that can be done one way or the other; treatment is the same and if pain medication will not help, those are your options.

[Bandaged and with an ice pack, there wasn't much more Ulaz could do. Especially if he couldn't take medication, but he wasn't going to kick Lyall out, let him rest for a bit. Besides, he didn't exactly wandering off on his own in his condition just in case so he wasn't going to suggest it. Biffy would probably know soon enough]

He does speak fondly of you when I've talked to him. It sounds like he has been good for you and you for him.

I... did something wrong to him too.

[Changed him against his will, stole the immortal life he wanted to give him one he initially hated... it's nothing short of a miracle that things somehow managed to work out.]

I guess we just found each other at the right time, somehow.

[He makes no move to get up and leave. Honestly, now that he is seated, it feels like a lot of effort to get back up, and he knows Biffy will come and investigate as soon as he wakes up and finds Lyall not there anyway.]

... Thank you.

[In truth, the only reason why Biffy hasn't come sooner? It took positively ages to figure out how to do his hair with these cat ears and figure out how to manage his pants and shirt when he suddenly has a damned cat tail. He really is utterly distressed about what this does for his appearance but he's managing as he makes his way through this. Somehow.

Ugh. Why this glitch?

But honestly, he senses something is wrong with his mate so that is the first place he is going to go. Which means that as soon as he smells him, he heads that way and...

That's...Ulaz? But his scent is...wrong?

Knocking before entering, he steps inside to find the reason for Ulaz's scent. And then the reason for Lyall's state. Concern in his eyes, he goes over to him, ears shifting to show the concern already all over his face.]

Oh Lyall...

[He doesn't need answers. If everyone is glitched then he's already got a good guess for what is going on with this particular glitch.]

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