hadriel_logs | the morning after

Entry tags:

the morning after

Who: Josh Washington and Emily
What: The weirdest "morning after" these two could ever have imagined
Where: Hope's temple, possibly moving outside
When: March 1st
Warnings: Language, nudity, Emily's attitude, and references to cannibalism and violence with possible gore. Will edit if others come up.

[This fucking bed. It feels hard as rock, which Emily can confirm because she spent a fair amount of time on the freezing, rock floor of the mines on the mountain. At least she's not in any pain from it. Though really, what a shit thing for these gods to do on top of feeding them human goddamn meat and bringing them here in the first place.

Wait a minute.

She'd eaten some of that meat. She'd started to change. She'd been locked in her room by the others for their own safety in the most ironic fucking occurrence she can think of. A wendigo had possessed her after all. Hilarious. Fucking hysterical.

She remembers the others warning the city of the curse, and she remembers Chris telling her Hope could cure them. It's hard to be sure of much, though. Her memories get foggier the more she tries to conjure them up, a mess of anger and hunger and terror assaulting her even now that it's clearly all over.

Pressing her palms against the stone surface beneath her, Emily opens her eyes.

She can see. It is over. And this isn't her room or her bed.

That fact makes her bolder. She sits up, swaying a bit from the change in position, and breathes deep as her brain quickly adjusts to the change, and to being human again.

That's when it registers that she's in Hope's temple (how did she get here?), she's naked (Hope you fucking pervert), and she's not alone (who's that?). She turns to look at the other person coming to in the temple, trying as best she can to cover up her chest (not hard, but don't you dare say a goddamn thing about that) when she recognizes him.

That fucker.]

Jesus fuck, Josh!

[Emily immediately slides off the altar and hides behind it, breathing deep to try and slow her heart rate back to normal. She's not sure if she's more scared or angry, but one thing is certain: the hopeful atmosphere of the temple isn't doing much to temper her rather violent emotions.]

You fucking dick, what the hell! [she says from her hiding place. Her cold, stony hiding place, where she's sitting with her back to the altar and her arms strategically arranged to preserve at least some of her modesty in case Josh decides to wander over.]

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[Josh has definitely woken up feeling worse. He's had hangovers that made him want to lay down and die, and comparatively this is actually not so bad. Whatever he's laying on is pretty uncomfortable, and he's kind of chilly, but his head doesn't hurt and his body isn't sore.

He remembers some things, and then he deliberately stops remembering, because he doesn't want to go there. What's the good of remembering the things he did - the things he ate - all of that? A lot of it he doesn't really remember anyway, it's all foggy and distant and confused, and hey. That's fine. That's great, actually.

He's just kind of laying there, coming back to himself, when the sharp sound of Emily's voice jolts his eyes open. He sits up, looks around, catches sight of her, realizes neither of them are wearing any clothes and what the hell.]

Fuck!

[Because that seems the only appropriate response. Josh isn't the overly modest type, really, he'd be okay walking around with it all hanging out, but - well, clearly Emily does not feel the same way. So he slides off the altar too - on the other side - and half-heartedly tries to cover up. Not much point, really. Pretty sure she saw it all, and hey. There's nothing to be embarrassed about.]

What, like this is my fault? Chill, Emily.

[There are some things you just never want to see, or you just want to unsee once you've seen them, and Josh naked is both of those things. Goddamnit this is some seriously fucked up shit, what the hell. He probably got an eyefull of her, which is disturbing on several levels. Her body is a temple, okay, a sacred thing that she works hard to keep looking so good, and she has only ever bestowed the privilege of seeing it to two people.

And now this asshole got a front row seat to it and she feels almost sick enough to throw up because come on, it's hard enough getting intimate with a boyfriend, and Josh is so not even close to that, and yet here they are.]

You expect me to believe it's not, you perv?

[She kind of does. Emily never trusted these gods in the first place. After all the shit that happened last month, she's pretty convinced they're determined to make everyones lives hell.]

I'm going to kill you. [As soon as she gets dressed.] And if you tried anything while I was out, I'll kill you again after you get revived.

[Now how the fuck are they getting out of here? The temple is as bare as she is, at least on this side.]

Where are my clothes?

How could it possibly be my fault? I just woke up here, same as you.

[He's more aggravated than anything, and it's not quite tipping over into actual anger - not when Josh is just as confused about this whole situation, if considerably less horrified. Sure, he didn't have any real desire to wake up naked next to Emily, or to have her see him like that, but it doesn't bother him too much. How it happened, though, and what happened before - that's a little more concerning.]

'Course I didn't try anything, I was out cold. Anyway I'm pretty sure I don't wanna get my face clawed off.

[Which Josh is fairly certain would be the reaction if he did try anything. Which he wouldn't. Come on, it's Emily. He likes his balls where they are.]

For all I know, you did this. Where are my clothes?

I don't know if you've realized this, Josh, but it is really hard to trust anything that comes out of your goddamn mouth.

[This is the guy who set up a horror movie in revenge for an accident. Set it up with blood and gore and fake deaths and like... god. Just. No, man, she doesn't trust you. At all. She doesn't feel like he did anything, but she's still grossed out by waking up naked next to him oh god what the fuck. You bet she'd castrate him if he ever tried.]

Why would I take your clothes, you jerk?

[Shivering, she hugs herself as best she can while keeping herself covered, kind of (as best she can, anyway). She has to get out of here. Has to get to the house and... oh god. That means she has to walk clear across this fucking cave.]

God damnit. [Now the anger is subsiding a little, making way for an anxious kind of fear that makes this seem all the more impossible. Why couldn't Matt be here instead? Matt would've found her clothes by now. He would've walked her back. He would've protected her.]

Well, do something already! [Yep, she's whining a little. Okay, more than a little.]

[God. This is why he generally avoids being stuck alone with Emily. Josh is a pretty easygoing guy most of the time, but he's not at all fond of being bossed around, and that's kind of what she's best at. How did this become his fault?]

Come on, Em, it's not like I've got your clothes stashed up my ass or something.

[He rolls his eyes and considers his options. Option one: stay here and argue with Emily, immediately dismissed. He really doesn't have any desire to do that. Option two: leave and let Emily deal with her issues on her own. Tempting, but Josh's burgeoning guilt over - well, everything - makes it hard to pick that one.

So option three it is.]

Fine. Stay here, I'll find something.

[He stands. There's gotta be some shops nearby, he can find one with clothes and get something for himself and for Emily. He doesn't much care if some stranger gets an eyeful of his bare ass. It's a pretty good one, if he does say so himself.]

Oh my god, Josh, do not waste time saying useless shit right now!

[She's a lot more relieved than she wants to admit when he agrees to go for it. Thank god. Not any of these gods, though.

Oh god but he's got to walk to the door and that means he might see her. Emily pulls her knees up and tuccks herself almost into a ball, just to be sure she's as covered up as possible. Fuck this stony altar and ground, though, scraping her skin here and there when she does so. This is not how exfoliating is supposed to go oh my god.]

Yeah, you go ahead and do that. I'll just-- yeah. [Smoooooothly said, Em. Good job. Not like she can threaten to kill him, since that would mean, you know, pretty much putting herself on display to accomplish that. She doesn't want to go anywhere near him like this, and Josh knows it, so if she hopes to get out of here anytime soon, she shouldn't keep badgering him.]

Don't take too long, though.

[Much.]

[He rolls his eyes again, but he's turned away from her, so she can't see. She's even bossy when he's trying to do something nice for her. How fair is that? Not fair at all, as far as Josh is concerned.

But he does go, making his way through the streets of Hadriel all on his lonesome, naked and kind of cold. Luckily, he doesn't run into anyone - Josh isn't too keen on the idea of explaining to someone else that actually he isn't some pervert, he just woke up like this.

He wonders where his clothes are. Gone forever, probably. Wendigos don't need that kind of thing. Then he stops thinking about it, because he'd just - rather not.

He finds a shop with clothes in it, after a bit, and gets dressed himself first, jeans and a plain gray t-shirt. Then he looks for stuff that seems to be about Emily's size, though he doesn't bother trying to find nice things. He's doing enough already.

He heads back to the temple, clothes in hand.]

Hey. Still here?

[Guess what, Josh, life's not fair. Suck it.

To her (slight) credit, Emily doesn't say more after that. Once he's gone, she relaxes a little and does a quick mental check to make sure she's all in once piece. At least Hope didn't fuck that up.

Why would he bring her back with Josh? Did they die at the same time? How did they die? She almost wishes she had her memories from being a wendigo, but then-- maybe not. She doesn't want to know if she killed someone, or what it was like to be a creature of anger and hunger and goddamn fucking cannibalism.

Luckily, Josh doesn't take very long at all. His voice cuts that train of thought short. Emily almost forgets she's naked, starting to stand when she heard his footsteps. As soon as she remembers (easy enough, since the air here feels colder when she pulls away from the altar), she goes right back to her defensive position.]

About time. [she mutters. She is in fact showing gratitude okay. Her voice is a lot less sharp than normal.] No, I went streaking while you were gone and never came back. [She rolls her eyes.] Just toss the clothes on the altar.

[He puts the clothes on the altar, steps away, and turns his back. He's not going to risk life and limb by looking, and he doesn't have any real desire to, either. Not that Emily's not attractive - she is - but Josh has seen naked women before and doesn't have any reason to try to catch an eyeful of one who doesn't want to be looked at.

He might not be a gentleman, but he's not a total asshole, either.

He looks around that side of the temple, making sure there's nothing there, but not at all surprised when it turns out there isn't.]

Hey, you don't have your phone on you, do you?

[It's doubtful. Josh's is missing - actually, he's pretty sure he knows where it is. Back in his own room, knocked under the bed after he threw it against the wall in a fit of rage brought on by losing yet another game of Pong. He hopes it's not broken, hopes it's still there somewhere. He has no idea how to get a replacement phone here.]

[It's a few seconds before Emily reaches up for the clothes, and even when she gives up on being able to get dressed in the cover the altar provided her, she peeks out from behind it first. Josh isn't looking, though, his back to her, his stance terrible for making a sudden, asshole turn to try and catch a glimpse of her.

Damn right she'd rip him apart if he looked.

Satisfied with the shred of decency he's showing her, Emily stands and makes quick work of gettig dressed. The outfit isn't exactly to her taste, but she can go find another one now that she's sufficiently covered up. Or maybe she'll just head back to the house like this.]

Yeah. It's stashed between my tits. [She rolls her eyes.] Of course I don't. Like I was going to think about my phone when I was turning into a wendigo?

[She'd been too busy going blind, thanks, and thinking about all her choices, and wishing for Matt.]

Edited 2016-03-10 19:27 (UTC)

Figured.

[He sighs, but doesn't bother to roll his eyes this time. Maybe she'll chill when she has some clothes on. No, this is Emily, so that's not very likely at all.]

We can't call the others and let them know we're back, then.

[And maybe that's for the best. Josh isn't sure he wants to face them yet. This time, what happened wasn't his fault, but it still feels like it was. It still feels uncomfortable and shameful, and like he could easily have serious hurt or killed any of them and not even cared. And he thinks he would have cared, even before, even through everything. He didn't want to hurt anyone.

He runs a hand through his hair.]

You... remember anything?

I'm pretty sure they're not expecting texts or anything.

[Emily, meanwhile, doesn't so much want to get back to the others as she just wants to get back to the house, her room, her bed. She wants to crawl under the covers and hide for a while. Or maybe take a long, hot bath. She wants to sleep, she wants to eat. For the moment, she isn't really feeling anything but the basics, nothing deeper than annoyance and hunger (not the wendigo's kind of hunger, just normal hunger) and grogginess.

And then he asks his question.

She smooths the front of this t-shirt out, frowning at the way the fabric feels: average. So average. It's easier to think about that than the memories flickering in and out of her conscious mind, some of thtem clear as day, some of them cloudy and dark save for flashes of light.]

A bit. Mostly from, you know, being locked in my room.

[He'd shared her fate in that. Prisoners in their own house, contained because they were lethal. She shivers.]

You can look now if you want. I'm dressed.

[He turns around, more because it's awkward talking with his back toward her than because he was patiently waiting to see her. Neither of them were in bad shape before - whatever physical toll becoming a wendigo took, it didn't remain once they were brought back. But Josh thinks on some level they're actually both in pretty bad shape - or maybe that's just him. Maybe Emily is more resilient.

In any case, he does kind of feel better now that they're both clothed. Like maybe things can sort of go back to normal, if they ever were.]

Yeah, that's about what I remember. That and that Pong game.

[Which entertained him, until it started pissing him off. Which hadn't taken that long.]

Guess we should head back.

[He's not sure he really wants to.]

[She'll certainly pretend that nothing has changed, but her head is a mess. Her body not so much. In fact, the resurrection took care of the bite on her shoulder, leaving behind a smooth, neat scar. (Hope couldn't be assed to go full-on plastic surgery, apparently. Whatever.)]

You actually played that loser's game? [Wait, she's not surprised at all actually.]

I wonder how bad it got. [Terrible, given what happened on the mountain, but... it's weird, not remembering. It's probably for the best, though.

God, she hopes none of their friends is dead.]

Um, yeah. Let's go back.

Hey, it was pretty good. Kept me distracted for awhile.

[And Josh probably doesn't need to explain how valuable that was - even if, in the end, it didn't matter. It still helped for a little while.]

I might... go for a walk first.

[He's not sure he wants to head back immediately, to face whatever he'll have to face. He doesn't know if they'll blame him or be angry or if it'll just be more awkwardness and uncomfortable silences. He hasn't quite wrapped his head around everything that happened, or what all of this means to him. Wendigos are real, apparently. That's big.]

[She just rolls her eyes at that. Whatever gets you going, Josh.

Getting back separately might be better, actually. Emily isn't sure what the others will think if the two ex-wendigos show up together like they're in some weird, cannibalism-induced alliance or some shit. She may not be aggressively angry at Josh anymore, but that doesn't mean that she trusts him.]

Whatever. [It's not as sharp as it could be. Maybe it's a side effect of the resurrection.] I just want to get the fuck out of here.

[She starts for the door. It feels good, moving like a human, like what she is. She remembers the unnatural curving of her spine far too well.]

[He understands that desire. But he needs a little air first, a little time to settle back into himself and remember that this body is his, that whatever he remembers from before is nothing - a bad dream, something that doesn't matter now.

Well, it does matter. But he can't let it drive him crazy. Crazier.

He raises a hand, waving farewell. Josh will make his own way home.]

See ya.

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the morning after

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