cagedinflesh | IC Contact

Henry, my man.

[ sam's - in a bad way, as is immediately apparent from the ragged sound of his voice and the sheen of sweat across his face. one wing is drooping lower than the other behind him, and pain flits across his expression with every inhale. still, he's halfway between a grimace and a smile. ]

I really hate to ask, but - if you got the time, I could use your help.

[None of those tells escape him, Jekyll is immediately concerned, and would travel anywhere to offer help.]

I am glad you would ask for me. Where are you, I shall be there immediately.

[ sam's smile widens just a little bit, even tired and pained, because henry really is a good guy. ]

Yeah, that's ... kinda part of it. I'm not really sure. Somewhere east, maybe southeast, of the eighth spire. If you know the area.

[ in ... unseelie territory. yes, he did a dumb. :c ]

I do. I will keep an eye for you, if you can, try to stay out of too thick a clump of trees as I'll be watching from the sky. But if it is too difficult to move, do not trouble yourself, of course.

[And indeed he's already making his way to get his Cleg. And, being at the ninth spire, it's not long at all before he touches down only a few metres from Sam. Immediately dismounting, he grabs a bag of supplies to carry with him to Sam's side.]

May I ask what happened?

[ at henry's instruction, he found a slightly more open area to wait, slumping against a tree from exhaustion. relief lights his face as henry arrives, his presence pulling sam closer to wakefulness. his left wing is a tattered mess of feathers, a few of the bones broken along the primary arc. all things considered, he's really not in bad shape. ]

You can, but you aren't gonna like the answer.

[ a soft sigh. ]

We got handed a mission we didn't really wanna complete, but instead of not doing it and going home like smart folk would, we botched it instead. Intentionally. Took a little token home with me, to remind me that I'm a dumbass.

I can understand that a little better than you might think. Unwise, but sometimes for the better - especially in keeping up appearances. They will be less suspicious of a mission simply failed than one abandoned outright.

[He kneels down at Sam's side and starts inspecting the left wing immediately with a healthy amount of surprise. Out comes a roll of gauze and a splint.]

...From the sky I had not thought these were truly attached to you. Is this something new, or that you had even at home...?

[ sam only sighs again, a little more lofty with amusement. he gets the why, but damn, if it ain't dumb as hell anyway. ]

I had wings back home, but they were something mechanical I could take off at the end of the day. Guess the monarchs figured this is a good enough substitute when I asked for them.

...They certainly have quite the sense of humour.

Would you like to take a pain reliever before I start on this?

[ and that, finally, gets a solid laugh out of sam. he winces a little for how it jostles his tired body, but it's a welcome ache. ]

That's not a half bad idea, yeah. It's been a long time since I've broken a bone. I'm getting too old for this shit.

[ lies, all lies. ]

[Jekyll laughs in turn, shaking his head as he takes a phial of liquid from his bag and offers it to Sam.]

Too old? You are practically a boy still - that is, I should place you at thirty at most! I must be twice your age!

[Even if he looks no older than twenty himself now(and more than likely a little younger still), he's really in his fifties, he's still within his rights to talk like an old man! At least, that's how he sees it. And often he forgets how young he appears now anyway.]

[ sam accepts the phial gratefully and, to his credit, only eyes it questioningly for a second before shrugging and downing the thing. henry probably wouldn't poison him with weird magic joojoo, right? ]

I wanna say you're messing with me, but I seem to be running with a lot of older-than-you-look folk these days. You're gonna give a brother a complex.

[ adding him to sam's list of geriatric babies. ]

[Don't worry, it's purely science, no magic there. And it isn't cocaine or any other such hard drug Victorians liked to use for medical purposes! Really!

He laughs, nodding.]

There are indeed quite a few around. I would be 52, or...158 depending on how you want to look at it. Although I believe the former is more accurate. Unlike some others, I did grow old originally, however - no need for a complex.

[Even as he speaks, Jekyll gets to work setting each fracture, pushing them into place before placing a splint along it, and then wrapping it in gauze. He might fumble more than he would normally, but then, he's never worked with wings before. Even so, a bone is a bone, so it's really just about working around the other parts of the wings.]

[ if it works, it works, and sam tries to relax into it so he doesn't interrupt henry's work on the fragile bones of his wings. the idle chatter is a good distraction. ]

I'm telling you, I didn't start feeling my age until you baby faced grandpas started cropping up all over the place. Do you mind if I ask what your secret is?

[ he means that genuinely, rather than the default courtesy. if jekyll didn't want to answer, sam would never push the point. ]

[In its way, chatting helps him to focus as well.]

I died and around one hundred years later, my soul was summoned back to temporary life by a mage. As a sort of familiar. Although I never had children, so I cannot possibly be a grandpa!

[ his death is so casually mentioned beside the dumb joke of him being a grandpa that sam chokes on startled laughter. ]

No? You're doing an awesome job of looking after my dumb ass, maybe we can count that.

[ just gonna ... casually move the conversation for now, because he's realizing that henry is essentially saying he lived to fifty-two before dying and being resurrected as a pet of some sort. he may ask about it later when this isn't such a weird situation to be in. ]

Which - thank you, man. Seriously, I can't thank you enough for this.

[Casually talking about crazy things at crazy times. Wise decision to move it along, Sam.]

You strike me as the nurturing sort, I am quite sure we shall quickly find it is the other way around! Besides which, you've no need whatsoever to thank me, I am simply glad to be of help to you.

[He pauses a moment to offer Sam a smile before carrying on with wrapping a bone.]

[ sam grins and shakes his head quietly, terribly endeared. ]

Y'all are unreal, you know that? I am keeping every last one of you crazy jackasses.

If that is what constitutes insanity in myself and others, then I believe you would be included among our numbers. Which I will therefore take as a compliment - cool, thanks!

[Modern slang, aw yeah. He is one of the cool kids.]

[ oh no. oh no, you adorable victorian baby. sam bursts out laughing, maybe a little over-enthusiastic between the passing pain, exhaustion, and just how much he genuinely enjoys henry's presence.

goddamn, is it good to be alive. ]

That's - perfect. You are so welcome. [ still laughing, #sorrynotsorry ] I've been saying it forever, but I swear I'm gonna start teaching a class.

Oh, please do, I would be your most enthusiastic student!

[He laughs as he finishes up with caring for the broken bones, and gives them a final inspection.]

My Master was a highschool student, as you can see, I may have picked up a few things.

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