Alexander Aftermath

Alexander Aftermath
Date of Scene:	21 April 2013
Location:	The Airship Alexander
Synopsis:	A rattled psyche is stirred, not shaken back to life.
Cast of Characters:	Riku, Zargabaath, Eclipse Behemoth

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Riku has posed:
Riku had quietly gone into the Atomos as instructed. When asked a direct question, he would provide a direct answer but there were very few of those remaining before he simply passed out, turned off like a lightswitch. Thankfully, somebody caught him before he crumpled like a marionette to the metal deck of the Atomos.

Now on the Alexander and many hours later Riku was no longer asleep. A combination of healing magic and healing technology had cleaned and sealed the worst of the damage to his arm and shoulder, though it was still bound up tightly once the bones had been reset. His chest was also bound but the wounds there were not so deep and would heal more quickly.

Riku lay propped up in bed, one hand over the token around his neck as he stared into the middle distance, his eyes lifeless and dark. Again, when asked a direct question he would provide an answer but would not offer questions of his own.

Zargabaath has posed:
Judge Magister Zargabaath has not given himself a chance to rest, coordinating the recovery efforts as well as ensuring that the 12th Fleet is making best speed back to Archades. He had cleared out a hangar and had instructed the Atomos carrying the behemoth to dock there, but had not unloaded the behemoth. Instead, white mages and medics boarded in shifts and have been working tirelessly to heal the injuries sustained.

At least partially convinced that the behemoth is not in danger of dying, if not the chances of permanent injury lessening by the moment, the Judge of Reason next heads to the medical bay. A quick conversation ensues with the medic-in-charge, then Zargabaath removes his helm and places it on the table before moving through the bay proper.

He does not stop moving until he reaches Riku's bedside, and concern wrinkles his brow as he looks into the boy's eyes. "Riku." His greeting, though warm, has no hidden questions. If anything, it is a rumbling call for some life, some recognition, to return to that darkened gaze.

Riku has posed:
Riku looks up at Zargabaath and no recognition passes across his eyes.

He looks past him, eyes scanning the medical bay and watching other people go about their business with a mild interest. When that interest passes he looks back up at the ceiling, taking in a shallow breath that is highlighted by a cough.

"Yes?"

Zargabaath has posed:
Judge Magister Zargabaath does not react to the lack of recognition in the boy's eyes, though he is left to silently question just what happened that would cause this. He cants his gaze to follow Riku's, but remains patiently silent in the long pause that follows.

Only when Riku actually speaks does he return his full attention back to the boy. "I came here to check on you." And a good thing too.

The Judge of Reason pulls some panels like curtains to block them from the rest of the medical bay, providing privacy and negating distractions. He himself pulls up a chair to sit at Riku's bedside. "What happened down there?"

Riku has posed:
Riku furrows his brow as his eyes unfocus almost completely.

He blinks several times and then inquires. "Check on me?" he looks at Zargabaath again and blinks several times very slowly, brow furrowing again as if trying to see him from the other end of a dark corridor.

The animation leaves his face and his gaze drifts away to the ceiling again. "We captured the behemoth."

Zargabaath has posed:
Judge Magister Zargabaath nods slowly. "Indeed." His brow remains furrowed, trying to figure out what happened without pressing too hard. Unfortunately, it seems Riku is not all here at the moment.

"Aye, so it was." He reaches out and gently rests a gauntleted hand on Riku's forearm. "But that does not answer my question, Riku. What happened?"

Riku has posed:
Riku looks at the hand on his forearm as he talks.

"I don't understand what you mean. I took Evja and myself to the mark location. Several mercenaries and adventurers were also present. Some were injured pretty bad, including Avira. I made.. several mistakes, which is why I am here now. " he furrows his brow again.

"It's not our fault it's almost too late. His honor had to prepare."

Zargabaath has posed:
Judge Magister Zargabaath frowns as he listens. It is not an indication of anger, but more concern and confusion. "'It's almost too late'? What do you mean?"

Riku has posed:
Riku closes his eyes, letting them drift close as he falls quiet. A vague aura of darkness seeps away from him. Not a chill and biting cold but more like a draft had slunk into this contained space.

There was a faint pressure in the air, something about the quality of the air that reveals itself only in it's absence. It pops like a soap bubble, releasing that tension as the feeling of darkness and cold retreats almost in the space of a single indrawn breath.

Riku takes in that gasping, indrawn breath and coughs at the apex of it. He groans faintly, the first indictation of pain he's shown since he boarded the Atomos and his telemetry spikes accordingly.

He soon calms, furrowing his brow slightly as he raises his head. "..your honor?" Riku opens his eyes and blinks several times. He then abruptly startles, whipping his head around with a clear expression of not knowing where he was. The memory filters in a moment afterwards and then the fear hits like a sledge.

Although one arm is bound up, he's not chained or in any way restrained. "..so.." he murmurs quietly. "..at least I didn't hurt anybody." he looks at the judge magister, small short breaths taken in from aching lungs. "Right?" he frowns, puzzling together the last few minutes. As if he were on a time lag and everything had to catch up to him, though clouded and indistinct.

"..Right. I'm.. I'm sorry, your honor. I lost my temper." he sighs and makes a futile and hopeless gesture. "Have I--" he trails off, then shakes his head. "Nevermind. Just.. give me a minute."

Zargabaath has posed:
Judge Magister Zargabaath weathers the implied changes in atmosphere without notice or complaint, his eyes locked on Riku in silent patience.

Patience that is quickly rewarded by life literally breathing back into Riku from within.

He smiles faintly, subconsciously tensed shoulders relaxing as he leans back in his chair. His hand still rests on Riku's arm, though could be easily removed or shrugged off if the youth exhibits one of his more chagrined moments of teenager toughness.

His chin dips in a faint motion of agreement. "Take your time." He is in no rush.

Riku has posed:
Riku notices this and then looks at Zarg quizzically and then sighs, frowning vaguely as he gathers his thoughts together. "Okay." he breathes after about five minutes of just quietly putting his life back in order.

"Sometimes I black out when I use my abilities too much or get hurt really bad." he explains to Zargabaath. "Or.. well.. just as good as black out. I've.." he nods and looks at the hand then shakes his head. "..You've already been here for awhile. So I guess you already know. Okay." he takes in a breath and lets it out, moving back into the bed and disengaging himself from the Judge Magister as he puts that hand up to grip the token around his neck.

"I lost my grip because he's not in there. At least not right then. During the fight. I looked and I didn't see anything and.. " he shakes his head. "It just hit me wrong." he chuckles direly.

"Breaking my arm and tearing up my shoulder and nearly having my head split open didn't help much."

Zargabaath has posed:
Judge Magister Zargabaath pulls back his hand without so much as a flicker of expression changing, instead interlacing his fingers and resting his folded hands on his lap.

"Aye, that makes sense." His gaze shifts briefly to the clasping of the token, but it's a brief flick of attention that is simply noted and nothing more. "You looked to his heart and found nothing, so you gave up hope and relinquished control. And up until but a few minutes ago, you have been in a state of lethargy."

He lowers his gaze slightly. "I am sorry for putting you in such a situation, Riku."

Riku has posed:
Riku shakes his head. "I thought I was ready for something like that but.." he sighs, shrouding his face in a hand as he rubs at his eyes.

"Well. At least I didn't run off and break something this time." he mutters dourly under his breath. "It's okay. That was the whole plan, remember? And Cirra as there to knock me senseless if needed. Avira too. So.. there wasn't anything to worry about. One way or another, things would have turned out."

Riku takes in a breath and meets Zargabaath's eyes for maybe the first time in the conversation. "..but I have to know. I have to see it for myself when I'm not half crazy." he pauses then gestures with a snort. "Well. More than half." he sighs.

"..he has to still be there. He has to." but the expression on his face is one that knows that reality does not have to give him any such thing.. and in fact he really isn't expecting it to.

Zargabaath has posed:
A corner of Judge Magister Zargabaath's mouth lifts as his eyelids relax over his gaze a bit. It is almost a knowing kind of partial smile, as if he was expecting this at some point. "That can be arranged."

He rises out of his chair, picks it up, and moves it back to where it had previously been. He then moves aside one of the panels, creating a 'doorway' of sorts out of their seclusion. Once that is done, he turns back to Riku. "The walk will do you good, and none will attempt to stop you so long as I am at your side. So then," he offers a hand to Riku, "shall we go?"

Riku has posed:
Riku grunts softly and grumbles as he moves out of bed, looking around and then finding his duster to throw over his shoulders.

"Yeah.. it will." He shoves his undamaged arm through the sleeve, hissing at the soreness as he steadies himself against the edge of the bed for a moment.

Riku rakes a hand through his hair and makes a visible attempt to pull himself together as he follows the judge magister out of the section.

Zargabaath has posed:
Judge Magister Zargabaath leads the way, holding a short conversation with one of the medics before retrieving exiting the medical bay entirely. He walks at an easy pace, slow enough for Riku to keep up without overdue stress, and largely ignores anyone they happen to pass in the hallway.

The amount of personnel they pass decreases notably the closer they get to the hangar, until the Judge Magister pauses at a specific doorway flanked by on-duty guards. A quiet status update is given between soldiers and Judge of Reason, then the doors are opened and both are allowed through into the hangar and the Atomos within.

Eclipse Behemoth has posed:

The Behemoth has been kept down once most of its injuries have been attended too. Mostly it had chains around its front legs, back legs, tail and two on each horn. Though it was free to move its head around, it was all to keep the massive beast from bolting.

For now though the Behemoth seems content to actually sleep. It was almost in a ball, minus the fact that the tail wasn't fully curled around cause of the chain keeping it from doing so. Its breathing was also much more relaxed and not sounding so, raspy.

Riku has posed:
Riku walks very slowly and with very measured steps. Knowing he's still vulnerable right now he keeps a little distance between the judge magister, the behemoth and himself. He ascribes this not only to giving himself a little space but also giving some reaction time if he just shuts off again and goes berserk.

He didn't particularly feel on the edge of his control, but he hadn't up until his control had shattered like thin ice and he'd only now clawed back to consciousness. He doesn't look at anything but at the behemoth once they come into view. He takes a few steadying breathes before he takes a few steps forwards and sits down in front of the behemoth, not really all that far away.

The bound shoulder and chest give him ample reason to be afraid, but from the expression on his face he knows this and doesn't really care. Recklessness or feeling of invincibility possibly.. He doesn't comment on it.

"..Gabranth?" he says very softly. The thread of a very shaky hope in just the single word. One that might crack and splinter if handled too roughly.

Zargabaath has posed:
Judge Magister Zargabaath stays just outside of the Atomos, at the bottom of the ramp yet still able to watch the Behemoth and Riku both. He is well within range of charging in if needed but not providing a possible distraction--or worse. He watches carefully, his stance neutral and gaze impassive, as he simply returns to patiently waiting.

Eclipse Behemoth has posed:

There was an ear twitch as Riku said 'Gabranth' softly. Before the chains could be heard shifting. The massive dark purple beast slowly raising up his head a bit, before it flops back down on the ground with a huff of air. Those gold eyes only opening slightly as the Behemoth attempts to roll his head just slightly for one of his eyes to gaze at Riku.

There was also a soft 'mrrhp' rumbling down from its throat, before he seems to look away once more. Only shifting his body weight slightly, as if trying to stretch, but yet the stretch seem to interrupted with a loud growl and a minor bit of shake of the one paw where a bandage had been wrapped around it.

Shortly after the demonstration of annoyance, the Behemoth goes back to be still only hefting out a huff of what could possibly be a sigh. Much like dogs do.

Riku has posed:
Riku nods very slowly to himself. "Well." he looks fragile enough to break for about fifteen seconds before relief filters into the cracks and his aching body relaxes somewhat. "Yeah. I'm all kinds of sore myself." he says to the behemoth quietly.

"That happens when you get run over and mauled. I looked away. I deserved it." he continues to talk quietly, canting his head very slightly to one side. "We'll be back home soon. So I think.. I'll reserve.. every bit of snark I can muster up for when you can understand me. When you are better." he nods again very slowly.

"I think I will make a list."

Zargabaath has posed:
Judge Magister Zargabaath allows relief to ease his expression, though his eyelids sag a little from exhaustion he hasn't let rise to the surface until now. He stays back outside the Atomos, just letting the moment be exactly what it is and nothing more or less.

If nothing else, he has kept the promise. They were not too late. And that lifts a great burden off his shoulders.

Eclipse Behemoth has posed:

The Behemoth rumbles softly, as perhaps in acknowledge what Riku perhaps say or at least somewhat acknowledge. He moves a bit, as if trying to roll over, so he actually looks at Riku now. Those gold eyes training on the youth as his ears are directed right toward him.

He actually moves his head side to side a bit as if using the metal plates to scratches his chin, before huffing again. His eyes do look over to Zargabaath, before going back to riku. A gentle rumble emits from the Behemoth before another soft 'snort'.