[MINGLE] Worried/Sick 2: Snake Expedition & Recovery!

[sixthiteration]

WHERE: Anywhere; multiple locations
WHEN: Apx. 19-27 November
OPEN TO: ALL - MINGLE
WARNINGS: Serious illness and reactions to such, snakes, hallucinations

IMPORTANT NOTES: This is the second of two mingles. Please see the timing and general event details here.

Not putting any mod top-levels in this one — Just make sure you label your own top-level clearly as to whether it's Expedition or Recovery, and as always, whether it is OTA or not!

Please keep in mind the established plot details, but creative license is welcome and encouraged as long as it doesn't step on toes.

Comments

Recovery

[tothefly]

Natasha's been sitting with Wynonna for a little while now. After the first few really bad hallucinations, she'd figured it might be best if someone stayed close by who could handle it if she got violent again, though so far she's mostly just been unconscious. It's fine. She'll stay, anyway. It gives her time to read, and that's what she's doing when Wynonna starts talking.

It's immediately obvious that Wynonna isn't talking to her, or that she thinks Natasha is someone else. That's fine. She knows from experience that trying to talk someone out of a delusion is only likely to confuse them, to tilt them over into panic or anger. So instead, she keeps her voice low and soothing, reaching out and placing a hand on Wynonna's forehead, cool and soothing as she checks her temperature. "It's okay. You did what you had to," she says, a gentle murmur. She doesn't know the details, but she knows survivor's guilt when she hears it.

[unraisehell]

"Didn't do anything. You said it yourself, Will. We just stopped looking. Buried a coffin full of rocks next to Daddy," her voice is slurring more as she speaks, and her eyes are refusing to focus entirely.

"All those years, locked away. Turned you into something else." Her eyes close again for a few seconds this time, and she speaks without opening them. "Killing you was the hardest choice I made until Alice. But she's safe, and the curse won't find her, promise. I won't let it hurt another generation of this family. She'll get to be a little girl, not a weapon."

[tothefly]

More names. Will. Was Will the sister she'd mentioned at the party, the one who got hurt? There's a lot to unpack here, and none of it is her place. But she's good at keeping secrets. She'll keep these, too, until Wynonna's ready to talk about it. "You didn't know, she says, that hand still on her forehead, pushing back strands of damp hair. "There isn't always a body to bury." Something she knows from personal experience.

Alice is new, though. Alice, a child, safe from the curse--the same curse she mentioned at the party, maybe? She's smart enough to connect at least some of those dots. "I'm glad Alice is safe. You just rest now, rest and get well. You're stronger than this, aren't you?"

[unraisehell]

"My little girl's gonna have everything we didn't, Willa. Alice is gonna be safe, the monsters will never find her. Figures sending my kid away was the best thing I could do for her," she murmurs. "Broke Doc's heart, but we always knew I was gonna do that."

[tothefly]

Ah. There it is. The thing she'd been expecting, and her heart aches unexpectedly for Wynonna. She doesn't often think about what could have been, if not for the practicality of the Red Room and the minds behind it. Often when she does, she's glad she'd never been able to bring another into this life, but sometimes...she's never been much of one for regret, but there are moments.

"You did what you had to to keep her safe. That's all you can do. And he let you, because he knew it was what had to be done. You didn't make the wrong choice."

The words are all she can offer her.

[unraisehell]

"Shit, Waves, I must be really out of it," Wynonna slurs. "I'm hearing you but seeing Willa."

A pause.

"You're not Waverly either, are you?" there's some clearing in her gaze, and she focuses. Red hair- Haught, Mercedes- no. Not here.

"Fuck, this stuff's worse than whatever I took at Burning Man."

[tothefly]

Natasha waits for Wynonna to process whatever it is she's seeing, or thinks she's seeing, waits for her eyes to focus in on what's actually there, or who's actually there. There's no rushing things like this, and it isn't until Wynonna seems to actually see her that she offers a small shake of her head.

"It's Natasha. Not your sisters. It's okay. The hallucinations will pass. They found a cure for the sickness that's been going around. You'll be fine in a few days. Just rest. Can you drink some water?" Her voice is soothing, quiet. She says nothing of what Wynonna's been talking about. If she doesn't want to share any more, she doesn't have to.