video | 003 | day 35

[rigging]

[ He means for the broadcast to be private, but his expression and the circles under his eyes are probably indicators that sleep deprivation is the cause for his mistake. He rubs at his face and curls up more tightly, hood pulled up over his head. ]

Hey, uh. Bruce. Y'there? I gotta talk t'you about something. Remember what I told you about? I think it might be happening.

Comments

[PRIVATE]

[onteamdyson]

How much is a bit? Because it's been already been a bit. [How dare you snap at her, Finch! So what if you're crabby. She's here taking care of your boy like you're supposed to.] Hey, I don't mind. I can do it. Just tell me what to do and I'll do it, but you guys are supposed to be in this together, remember? I can help you, too. You won't be doing it alone, dude, come on.

[Eye. roll.] Don't worry about it. I sleep just fine. [If she sleeps. If the bathrooms are blocked off.]

[PRIVATE]

[rigging]

[ Ow, right in the guilt. ] I just - [ No, she's right. He nods, biting his lip. For a second, he's quiet, and then, voice small: ] I can't do that whole thing again, alright? Kenzi, I can't.

[ His shoulders hunch. He has to, though. ] ... I'll be there in an hour, okay? Just keep him awake until then. Please.

[PRIVATE]

[onteamdyson]

You won't have to. [She points to her face] Secret weapon. Just trust me.

[Okay, okay an hour. She nods.] I'll just hit him with random objects if he starts to nod off. I got this covered. Look at me covering this entire situation with epicness and awesome. Are you seeing this?! Bam.

[→ to action!]

[rigging]

[ It gets a smile out of him. ] Yeah. Yeah, I see it - you're amazin', anybody tell you that? See you soon.

[ And he's off, but he'll sneak through the streets to get to the house, and he'll come in through a back door, and he'll just stand in the kitchen for a minute and try not to hyperventilate. Wow, this is stupid, he's really not okay with this whole thing. But it was awful the first time and he's not sure he has the ability to go through it a second. Kenzi might find him there, taking deep breaths and gripping at the counter. ]

[onteamdyson]

[She was on her way to the kitchen to grab some coffee to help with the whole keeping-awake dealio. She doesn't notice Jesse until she's passed the table while tugging the sleeve of her hoodie over her bandaged arm. Oh god, he looks worse in person.] Jesse, holy shit. You look like someone slugged you in both eyes. Dude, come here.

[Hugs fix it, right? They're at a hugging stage by now! When a guy almost dies via extinct wild cat and you realise, hey, we are totes friends, I like that dude a lot-- you get to the hugging stage!]

[rigging]

[ Hugging stage is good! He's very okay with this, and he's so relieved to just - not be afraid of someone that he melts into the hug and rests his head on her shoulder. He hasn't seen the bandage. Yet. ] Sorry, sorry. [ He mutters - he doesn't apologize, not ever, but this is different. ] I didn't mean t'leave you here with it.

[ He sounds exhausted and genuinely scared, in a way that he wasn't when they'd been running through the fucking minefield. Psychological terror is a bitch. ]

[onteamdyson]

Been left with worse. [Kind of an understatement. She holds him tight, trying to provide some kind of comfort. Even rubs his back a little. Hug can last as long as he needs it to. It's hard worrying about so much at the same time with a crazy old lady living in the bathroom.] Hey, you're okay. It's all gonna be okay. Promise. I handle shit like this for a living, okay?

[rigging]

I dunno, Kenz, I dunno. [ He mutters, clinging. ] I keep fightin' with him, m'so fucking scared of him. Of it. [ Jesse's been on edge for the past two days, and he's tired, and it just comes out. ] My head's all I got, right? And I got no defense, not really.

[ But he can pull away, because even that's a little too much for his frantic brain to handle letting out. He rubs at his eyes. ] Is he awake still? I can - I can watch him for a bit, he's gonna be mad at me but - but I can.

[onteamdyson]

[Oh no. Oh, sweetieface. She puts her hands on his cheeks, smiling as reassuringly as possible, before shifting over to make some damn coffee. Three cups.] Mhm, he's up. Doubt he can stay mad at you, so don't even worry about it. What you should really do is pass out for a while, though.

[rigging]

[ He gives her a weak smile back, rubbing at his face. ] I wanna. But I can't. I can't yet, I seen the dog right outside and I know it's gonna be lurking.

[ He wraps his arms around himself and leans against the counter. ] And I know I ain't the only one with skeletons, Miss Murder, yer scared of somethin' too, and y'won't tell me what it is. Yaga Baba or some shit? What else should we be lookin' out for?

[onteamdyson]

[Well that just-- she drops a mug in the sink. Oh good, not broken. Just gonna kind of... WHIP AROUND TO FACE JESSE WITH PURE TERROR ON HER FACE.] Baba Yaga. [Pronounced distinctly Russian] Where did you hear that name?

[rigging]

[ WAH. Jesse actually flinches and startles back at the noise, but the look on Kenzi's face makes him pause. He frowns, and braces himself, taking a step towards her, concerned. ] Guy told me, he said y'tackled him and told him t'be careful.

Look, c'mon, you gotta let me help. Yer doin' a lot here, lemme help.

[onteamdyson]

[She's shaking her head, just no no no no. No. He has no fucking clue, and--] You can't, okay? You cannot. That crazy bitch has a bone to pick with me, literally, and I'm not dragging you into this. Fuck that. No. No way. It's my shit, I'll handle it. Just-- just stay the hell away from the mirrors. Fountain. Calm water.

[And now she's pointing at him and glaring but still scared out of her mind.] You need to sleep. Stay out of trouble that way. I'll keep watch.

[rigging]

[ That gets a scowl. ] Me n' Galen dragged you into our mess, y'damn hypocrite, the least I could fuckin' do is --

[ Except she points at him, and her hoodie sleeve pushes up, and he sees the bandage. Oh, what's... what's that? Jesse tenses up, stumbling back. ] The fuck is that? What's with your arm?

[ Did she get bitten? She was bitten, something - the dog's been here, it was around here, he saw it outside, what if it's already been inside, what if it got to Kenzi? ]

[onteamdyson]

Wh- nothing.

[Fuck. FUCK! She pulls the sleeve back down and turns back to the sink. Nope. Not getting into this. She can't explain. She cant show him. It's infected as fuck. And she fucking knows what it looks like... ever since he explained about Galen.]

[rigging]

[ Haaa, no, that's not gonna fly. Jesse stumbles back further, trips and nearly brains himself on the counter, but he's picking himself back up and scrambling. ] It bit you, it ain't you, you're gonna --

[ And it's not really there, he's the only one who can see it, but there it is, the dog made of snakes and smoke curling around Kenzi's legs, watching him with bright eyes. ]

[onteamdyson]

[WOAH! Hey. She moves after him, realizes, stops. Hands up where he can see them in a non-threatening manner.] Jesse! Calm down. It's not what you think! Nothing bit me. I swear to god.

[rigging]

[ The dog weaves through Kenzi's feet, sniffing the air, and Jesse flinches, breath shaking. ] Don't. Don't touch me, don't -- [ He's not even looking at Kenzi anymore, eyes around her feet. The dog turns its gaze back on Jesse and takes a few dainty steps towards him, not growling, not doing anything but slinking towards him, and Jesse knocks over a chair in his attempt to scramble back. ]

Shit, shit, no! Get the fuck away from --

[onteamdyson]

[Maybe ... maybe if she shows him. No bite. Maybe he'll calm the fuck down. SLOWLY, so slowly, she reaches for her sleeve and pulls it up. Then she slowly unwraps part of the bandage. It's all purpley on top and red all over. Creepy, infected-looking, but no bite marks]

Jess, come on. You can trust me. We're friends, right? Dude, seriously. Don't-- just stay here.

[She knows that look. She knows he's gonna just fucking bolt.] Don't go.

[rigging]

[ It'd help, it would, but he's already seeing things, and it's not too much of a stretch to think what she's showing him looks like a bite. Like a bite made with human teeth, nasty and black and blue and red and gross, infected.

And she says we're friends, right? Don't go. Stay here, stay here, you can trust me, and all Jesse can see is the fucking dog, and this time, it snarls. Jesse flinches, and looks up at Kenzi, and she - isn't her, she's like Galen, when he was almost completely gone. Pale, and smirking, and Jesse can't.

He bolts. He stumbles to his feet and clips his shoulder on the door as he runs, as fast as he can. ]