June catch-all and Return of the Boy (OPEN)

[azurestar]

Who: Lance (azurestar)
What: June catch-all. Return from deer-hood.
When: All June. Boy returns first week.
Where: Forest, around town.

Content Warnings: depression, ptsd, nightmare demon, throat wound, house fire, will add as they appear

( ooc: Lance has spent most of April and May in his deer form, for those unfamiliar: the ability to transform into a deer is something some characters from Deerington obtained via death and a special event. There are consequences to transforming too often: you lose yourself more and more. This is what has happened to Lance over the course of the last 2 months. Pulling Lance out of this state is reserved for Keith alone, but there is a prompt to interact with him in the midst of this predicament. )

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WEEK 1

i. [This is the last time he was human. For a brief few hours at the start of June. The constant retreating into his deer form to escape from the loss of Hunk, of... just, so much, has increasingly caused him to become detached and not all there even when he's human. He's having trouble figuring out what he is, where he is, when he is... sometimes he feels like he's straddling two worlds at once, or drifting between spaces in time. He can be found on the first day of June for a short handful of hours wandering at any random hour of the day or night, looking almost like he's sleepwalking. It'll be difficult to get him to focus on you as he seems to keep staring off placidly at something else in the distance. He may even struggle to remember you. If there's any danger from beast or villain about to harm him, he doesn't seem aware at all no matter how much noise is made, even when you swoop in to save him.

And when those short handful of hours pass, he's slipping back into the form of a deer. If you've interacted with him in this form before, you'd have noted there was a sentient self awareness behind his big eyes. Now they are dull, he looks and acts so much like a real deer that it's likely disturbing and frightening to those who know better. He can be found mostly on the outskirts of the city in Trenchwood, and much like a real deer, he's rather skittish so approach carefully if you come upon him in this form instead of as a human.]

ii. [It's the end of the first week of June, and he's been pulled out of his deer fugue. If you'd happened upon him in his disconnect and/or or as a deer at any point in the last two months, the difference is striking. He's self aware, he's more present, but he's not completely back to himself ether. There's a lot of holes in his memory, things completely missing and slow to return, or in some cases, perhaps never to return. And he still has moments where he stares off at something far away or through someone. But it's momentary and he shakes his head to clear it of his own accord here and there.

To keep himself present and grounded, he's trying to go out to public spaces and engage. So of course, that means he'll be all over Willful Machine and Cellar Door especially. Catch him in the markets either noticing a thief trying to steal or falling into one of his detached moments and a thief taking advantage at that moment. Or find him in Earworm at the bar partaking in a little bit of alcohol and watching people dance, and after a few drinks, he'll get into a breakdancing contest with someone, but he's kind of fumbling a bit like Bambi, which is uncharacteristic, it's almost like he's still trying to figure out how to walk on two legs...]

( ooc: feel free to assume he wanders into any venue if you have an idea for a prompt. You may also assume/handwave that your character ran into Lance while he was in a similar state to prompt 1 at any point in the month of May. Including the Karate Tournament because he was involved in that. )

DREAMS and HOLES

i. [But of course yanking himself out of the deer dream, nightmares return in full. At first, he doesn't think much of it because he has them all the time anyway. But he seems to be more prone to waking nightmares now, they come on when he has his intermittent fugue states that still come along in the wake of nearly losing himself to being a deer. That's… not so usual.

Find Lance around town, sometimes seemingly frozen in the middle of a task and seeming to stare placidly into the middle distance. Maybe he was already talking to you or just saying hi, or in the middle of checking the hooves of the horse he's taken for a ride through town. Try to shake him out of it or perhaps come upon him as he's coming out of it with a strangled gasp on his own and shakily rubs at his face, trying to stay on his feet. His voice is hoarse, tone a weak attempt at dark humor.]

…Remind me why I didn't just stay a deer again…

[Or perhaps he happens upon you in the opposite predicament after he's been rid of his own demon, or is suffering the same. He'll approach with a slight notch in his brows, not looking entirely sure of himself in his own body, but not able to ignore your obvious plight.] …You okay?

ii. [He was a deer at the time when the earth started to shake and standing right where one of the ice cavers opened. He was so terrified on all levels both human and animal, he bolted so far out into the forest that he got lost for a good while. More lost than he already was, anyway. And if anyone tried to enter in the holes in that first week and he was nearby, you would have heard a loud elk screech in protest echoing through the trees. But he wouldn't come anywhere near that hole from where he stood watching you from afar, moving restlessly in fear, like the hole is a rabid bear.

Once he's human again, his reaction is not so frightened, and he doesn't seem to remember the holes at all from when he was a deer. He comes upon one for the first time as a human closer to town. He stops, stares, seems frozen and caught in another fugue. Then he turns on his heel and starts to walk away.]

Nope! no, nah-uh. No way. Not happening. Bye.

[Perhaps you really want him to come down there with you because you've been bitten by the adventure bug, or you agree. Regardless, he has very strong feelings about holes and there is a story there. Whether he will tell it or not probably depends on you. The real challenge is getting him in there if you're looking to try.]

SPIRITS

i. [At first he thought the spirits were his usual hallucinations. He tends to see people he loves and misses and has regrets of all the time in flashes and lingering moments all the time anyway. But just like the nightmares that started to get more harrowing and happen during the day, he does eventually figure out this might not be just his usual crazy.

It's more vivid than usual when he sees Hunk going through the food stalls like any other day in Willfull Machine, picking out the best crops out of what scarce ones there are. He hasn't hallucinated in that much vivid detail or color or in such an ordinary way in… it's hard to say, his memories are still messed up since he nearly lost himself to his deer form. After staring hard for a long moment, he'll reach out without looking to the first person he can, gripping their ar,]

Do you see a big guy with an orange headband over there or am I losing my mind? …Again.

ii. [It's not just Hunk, he also sees pretty much everyone else as well. The hardest is Allura, because of course Allura is there. Of course, she appears as the ghost she was in her last moments caught in a loop. His memories are a patchwork of of holes, and the ones around that time in his life… one of the worst times, are the most shattered. But that image he will never be allowed to forget in full, it seems.

It's when he's out and about when he sees her against a building wall and he has to stumble back into another wall as it knocks the breath out of him. Tunnel vision takes hold and he can barely breath, breaths short and shallow. He looks like a frozen terrified deer caught in headlights just waiting for the oncoming collusion and unable to think enough through the terror to move.]

iii. [If he still had lingering doubts about if the ghosts are a product of his own mind or something else, they certainly dissipate when Chloe's ghost starts wrecking his living room. Bolin's not at home, thankfully, or he's pretty sure his friend would freak out and make it a lot harder to calm her down. He doesn't know how or why he knows what to do, but when she throws a table outside the front window and he trips over himself falling out of the window as well, he gets up, ignoring any glass piece in his skin and just starts talking.

To a passersby, this might look like a domestic dispute and his parter is inside the house throwing all his things out on the lawn after he cheated or something. He dodges an old musty lamp getting tossed out onto the street and people are starting to stare…]

H-hey, Chloe. Remember… remember that time I came over to your house and flew the Red Lion to your window? I offered to show you the world, but you were too cool to get on my magic lion carpet ride… or I think that's how it went.

[His memory is still such a mess, so he's not entirely sure. But maybe that is indeed how it went because there's a pause in the throwing of things. Is that a good thing or bad thing he wonders…]

Comments

Near the end of the 1st Week - Deer Rescue

[tempredmental]

[Keith had been prepping since talking to Manabu about exploring further away from Trench. He was curious enough, and, frankly, this adventurous itch he'd gotten when the new month started was pushing him to head out there and go looking. So, he was hanging around the edge of town, working on some of his drills with Kosmo and getting familiarity between himself, Kosmo, and his Nightmare steed. The oddly bloodthirsty black unicorn would be a good battle companion for an exploration out into dangerous woods, and Keith realized that it seemed to like being around him. He'd been spending most of the first week out there.

But there was a reason he'd picked this particular section of the city's border. He'd been worried about Lance since their encounter on the beach after Hunk disappeared. He'd noticed how much Lance had been retreating, and had spotted that deer form around a few times as well. After the situation at Blue's place, when he'd first seen Lance's deer form, he'd gotten the explanation about it from Shiro, and seeing it again was concerning. So, having heard people talking about a glowing deer with three stars in its antlers, he'd headed out this way to see if he could spot him. He only had Kosmo with him this time, and he was hoping to talk Lance back into being human...

As if. Keith was bad at words, and he was honestly afraid of making it worse, but he had to try. He didn't have many people here from home, and he didn't want to lose any of them... especially not in this way.]

Hey, bud. [He crouched down, giving the thick fur around Kosmo's neck a rough rubbing.] Let's see if we can find Lance, okay? [The wolf's ears twitched, and there was that look in his eyes like he understood. When Keith stood back up, Kosmo began sniffing and led the way further into the woods. The Paladin followed, armed with his blade and his bayard, which were both currently stowed away as not to startle another Sleeper that might be out here, and soon, they were following a very specific trail.

It didn't take long for Kosmo to pick up Lance's scent, and then, after some time, Keith spotted that familiar glow from Lance's deer form. He put his hand out to get Kosmo to pause, and they slowed their approach. Rumors were that the 'deer" was skittish and would run on sight, so Keith tried to be careful.]

[azurestar]

[Kosmo may sense another wolf's presence nearby as Edelya, the giant white direwolf approaches from their right. She's quiet on her feet, but she's also massive and heavy and that is impossible to keep out of her steps. Her ears are perked in excited interest at Kosmo, though by now she has gathered he does not remember her and has lost a couple years in age and size, she is not spurned by this.

She has been out here at a distance, knowing the deer is Lance and aiming to watch out for beasts. It's the best she can do and she is glad to see them both here, because maybe they can do more. In times past when Lance was a deer, he'd have his coyote omen out and watching the area along with Edelya. But as he's lost himself more and more, the Omen has retreated into its place within his soul.

Edelya sits next to them, then looks over to the "deer" who is now staring at them, tense and frozen. If it wasn't for the glowing stars and the faintest of flickers of humanity in his eyes, he'd look like any other deer caught in headlights.]

[tempredmental]

[Keith was definitely wary of the massive wolf, but he just got the feeling that she was waiting for something. She definitely wasn't attacking, and Kosmo, while on guard for not recognizing her right away, stayed calm. He didn't get an aggressive feeling from her, and Keith used Kosmo's attitude to reinforce his own feeling about her presence.

That said, the deer was a different story entirely. Keith took a deep breath. He gingerly put a hand out towards Lance, trying to be careful. He had an innate sense when it came to animals, and he was being cautious, watching for any sign that Lance might spook and run again. He didn't want that.]

[azurestar]

[Edelya slowly lowers herself to a laying down position to watch the situation unfold. She knows Keith and Kosmo even if they don't really know her, and she knows what they mean to Lance. She is not worried, just hopeful and aware of her size and presence enough to shift her stance to show she wants the same as him.

Lance tenses visibly, watching Keith like he's wounded, and he is on one back leg, but nothing immediately serious. But it's not the pale blood leaking from the meat of his upper thigh and the way he's favoring it that feeds that wounded aura. There's the distinct wariness of emotional and psychological wounds that have him looking like that. Big, sad deer eyes are in full effect as he watches.]

[tempredmental]

[Keith worked hard to avoid projecting that he was nervous, continuing to approach... slowly... carefully... waiting to see some sort of recognition in those eyes. He'd worry about the favored leg once he could get some sort of connection with the Lance inside the deer...]

Hey... [He kept his voice quiet.] You okay? Do you understand me right now?

[azurestar]

[He recognizes him and also doesn't. It's instinct and feeling and a gnawing sense of familiarity in painful way… but also a good way. It's confusing and frightening and he stumbles a little as he takes a couple steps back and his head dips.

But he's not running. And he understands in a distant sort of way, yes and no. It's a little like Keith is speaking another language that he learned a long time ago and hasn't practiced recently.]

spirits iii; i deserve this

[retsuden]

[ Usually when things are chaotic around lance, Sasuke is learning he just makes them worse. But that doesn't mean he isn't about to stop when he sees him fall out of a window while some blue-haired woman is making a mess of his home. He wonders if it's a ghost, but honestly, he wouldn't have been shocked if Lance had just pissed some girl off, too. He seems like the type.

Seeing her start to calm when he talks about the past, though, that's enough for him to get that it's not the latter. He watches for another moment, before going to step tentatively forward. Maybe he can at least try and stop the bleeding from the glass wounds while he talks if nothing else. ]

Talking about the past calms them for a little while. Keep going, don't worry about getting it all right.

[ At least, that's what he's experienced himself, and a break from getting his shit broken might be good, right? He hasn't done a ritual yet, only vaguely heard about them, so this should be... an experience. They'll be fine. Probably. ]

damn right.

[azurestar]

[Lance looks over at Sasuke as he's picking out a small piece of glass from his arm like it's more of a slight annoyance he's brushing off without looking than a sharp object piercing his skin. On the bright side, they're shallow.]

Uh… yeaaah, about that…

[He's interrupted by a small table getting thrown out and he has to duck to avoid it. Damn, he doesn't have a lot of furniture to begin with…]

My memory's kind of a mess right now, man. I wasn't even sure if that was totally accurate.

[retsuden]

[ He cringes slightly as he watches him avoid the table, staring up at the girl again with a small sigh. If she's anything like the women he's known (all... like three of them), this would've been a pretty typical reaction to being pissed even if she wasn't a cursed ghost. ]

Like I said. Don't worry about getting it right. Just trust your gut.

[ He goes to step out of the line of fire of a glass or a vase, whatever it was that just shattered on the ground, and then goes to grab his wrist. He wrinkles his nose at the glass that's stuck in it. ]

If you can just keep her calm enough to not throw things for a few minutes, I can get that out of you.

[azurestar]

[He blinks at that 'trust your gut' advice and opens his mouth, trying to do just that. But he finds himself struggling even still.]

Uhhh…

[Then he looks down at Sasuke's hand on his wrist and heaves a sigh, raising his other hand to cover his eyes so he can concentrate.]

Alright, uh. Remember that time you took body shots off my abs? And when you… sent me coffee because I said you got a taste of Cafe Cubano?

[retsuden]

[ Sasuke notes that it's definitely doing the job to get the ghost to calm down a bit more as she listens, clearly remembering some... interesting sounding memories. He raises a brow, before going to carefully check where the glass is stuck in to be sure that when he pulls it out, he won't get squirted with blood. ]

Sounds like an interesting ... friendship.

[ He has definitely assumed Chloe is an ex now. ]

[azurestar]

[The glass pieces just leave beads of blood in their wake, some rivets, but nothing gushing. He side-eyes Sasuke and gives him a bit of a squint at that comment, picking up on the faint emotion coming off of him that he can't put a name to. Then he huffs and sticks his nose up.]

We had fun. I'll explain what that is when you're older.

For Sansa

[azurestar]

[This nightmare problem of his has started to really become a concern. Not that it wasn't before, but he's dealt with so much worse and also has nightmares a lot anyway, sooo. It's been within his threshold of tolerance so far, but now he's actually getting injured, and he's mentally fatigued enough that his powers are fritzy. Not great. But what can he do?

The demon has become so attached and coiled on his back that when he is suddenly frozen in place somewhere in a more sparse part of town by a waking nightmare, finding a way to get it off is not easy. He's standing partially facing the wall of a building and his eyes are rolled into the back of his head, breathing fast and a wound starts to open around his throat.

Shaking him out of it won't get a reaction and attempting to physically hurt or get at the demon will result in the demon using its grip on him to yank him in the way of any attempts.]

[dohaeris]

[how does one person constantly end up in so much peril? she supposes it comes with the territory of being a knight. sansa actually sees him as a raven, sweeping the area for potential enemies and/or lost siblings, and immediately returns to her own body, chasing down his scent with lady. she is out of breath from running by the time they reach him.]

Ser Lance! Ser Lance?

[he doesn't appear at all responsive. she checks the surrounding area for an omen (he has one aside from edelya, she knows that) or, well, edelya. she knows what to do, she's gone through this with lazarus before, but, well, she can't do it here. so she braces herself against the nearest wall, and her eyes go white as she slips her mind in with lady's, and howls.]

Edelya!

[azurestar]

[It also comes with the territory of being Lance. His luck is just that bad. Edelya is at this point very attuned to Lance, though their bond is not like a Stark's with their wolf. She is very independent, goes hunting on her own and isn't at his side constantly, but she has a sense for when there is trouble.

She is running in that direction from farther off and howls back.] Coming.

[Lance jerks abruptly like he's trying to claw his way awake, back to control. He then hunches over, hand scrabbling on the nearby wall. He'd heard Sansa faintly, and Edelya's responding howl.]

Holes 2: Electric Holealoo

[onekindsoul]

[As Lance walks away from the hole Ruby will give a bit of a disappointed sort of whine. She was adventurous on a normal day and the adventure bug had only dialed that up to eleven. She follows and gently tugs at his arm.]

Awww! Come on Lance, It'll be fun! Plus the both of us are super tough- Nothing can mess with us down there.

[azurestar]

[Lance slows, somehow actually feeling and looking conflicted, because she is so enthusiastic and he's making such a good point. They are tough, and he's always been a sucker for having his ego fluffed, no matter how much he grows as a person. But then he flashes to other holes and shakes his head.]

That's what we all always say and it never works out. There's probably some brain sucking demon down there!

[onekindsoul]

[She sees that she's getting through him just a little and there is an urge to push him, but she's also aware enough of how reluctant he is that she's not going going to just drag him in down there.

Especially when he mentions the brain sucking- And she feels like she may at least have an idea what he might be referring to.]

Look- If we catch any sign of fleshy walls or weird insects then we bail.

But it might be a good idea to confirm if they're that dangerous or not, right?

[azurestar]

[He fidgets and trembles just a little, eyes flickering to the hole and how it doesn't have an ominous smell coming out of it. It's clearly not like the sinkhole in deerington, but the catacombs were also different and also awful and… closed in.]

I-if they're dangerous, then all the danger can just stay down there. Problem solved!

[onekindsoul]

[She notices that she might have hit the nail on the head in this situation and it doesn't feel great.]

I don't disagree with you. But we've also got a responsibility to warn people if it's dangerous. Make sure that people don't get messed up like we did in the dream.

[There's a moment where she reaches back to gently touch the back of her neck. It was mostly hidden behind hair but she remembered when a similar sort of bug had gotten to her when they were in Rapture.]

Dreams - i

[onerthes]

[She had a worried look on her face as she was standing there, resting a hand on his shoulder. Her eyes scanned his countenance and she frowned, visible concern etched there before she made a lame attempt at a joke right back at him. Why? Because humor is medicine, damnit.]

Now, now. Do you really want to spend your days at salt licks all the time? It does get old after all.

[azurestar]

[Humor certainly is medicine, especially to him, so he appreciates it. He huffs a weak but appreciative laugh and shakes his head of the cobwebs.]

We- …deer don't just eat salt licks, you know.

[onerthes]

[She grinned and leaned in to give him a wicked little smirk and wink.]

Do you really want to think about the time you've had to eat grass that badly? Do you, Lance? Let's go with those lovely salt licks. They taste much better.

[azurestar]

[A weak and hoarse chuckle briefly escapes him, there's a dark quality to it and he shakes his head slowly.]

It wasn't that bad… but I guess I did miss Hunk's- [He sucks in a sharp breath as his mind belatedly recalls that Hunk was and is gone…]

…cooking. [He finishes with a quiet tremble and then swallows and tenses, steeling himself against those feelings.]

[onerthes]

I... miss him too.

[She closed the distance and wrapped her arms around her friend, pulling him in close. Hunk... had a gift for holding people together, and being the calm voice of reason and the only one who seemed not lost in anger no matter what.]

We should get you some good food, though. In his memory.