The Causeway, Sunday Late Afternoon

[firstofitskind]

Liam had been holding himself together by, basically, the skin of his teeth ever since they'd left the Sour Nest. It was unfamiliar territory, he needed to be on guard, he could not afford to let himself fall apart.

Then the portal dropped them back off on the island, and everything just hit him like a metaphorical freight train.

He'd been trying so hard to keep the guard's- Tomas, he had a name- memories separate from his own but they were there, they were loud, and it wasn't just him, it was Robert, it was all the bodies Ha'gel had worn through his years of studying various cultures.

There were so many. So many voices, thoughts, memories, all coming through at once. He couldn't do this. He didn't want this.

He needed it to stop.

His face went slack, eyes blank as he retreated inside himself, away from the chaos and the noise of it all. He just wanted it to be quiet again, that wasn't too much to ask, was it?

[ooc: for anyone who might have reason to be around! pings will be slowish while i am at work.]

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[firstofitskind]

He nodded, slowly stripping off the clothes he’d been wearing- his own, at least, and not... not his, the person whose memories were mingling with his own.

(His weren’t the only ones doing so, of course, but they were certainly the loudest.)

[arboreal_priestess]

Seriously, there had to be a way to get this to stop happening. Verity wished Ghanima would come back from the desert and help him again.

She got the taps going at a reasonable temperature and came back into the room. "It's going," she told him. "You hungry? Thirsty?"

[firstofitskind]

Just the thought of food turned his stomach right about now, honestly.

“Could use a drink,” he admitted.

Not that kind of a drink.

[arboreal_priestess]

"I'll get you some water," Verity said, knowing very well that Liam was never interested in that kind of drink. "And put water on for tea."

On low, so even if they took awhile in here, the kettle wouldn't boil over.

[firstofitskind]

Well, there were times when he was, but on the bright side, he wasn’t at a point where drinking seemed like a good idea?

“Kay,” he nodded. “I’ll, uh. Just,” he nodded towards the tub.

[arboreal_priestess]

Verity shooed him on. "I added some lavender bathsalts," she added. "They're soothing, but you might have to swish the water around a bit to make sure they're all dissolved and you're not sitting on anything gritty."

[firstofitskind]

Liam made a bit of a face at ‘gritty’, but nodded, drawing his hands through the water a few times before stepping all the way into the tub.

He slid down, head resting on the edge and eyes drifting closed.

[arboreal_priestess]

Verity gave him a few minutes to himself, figuring a break might be something of a relief before she went back in and started making him work again.

She filled up the teapot, set the burner on low, and prepped a mug with some chamomile before filling up a glass with cool water and bringing it back to him.

"Hey," she said softly.

[firstofitskind]

Much longer and he probably would have started to drift again, which she likely knew.

His head tilted slightly, one eye cracked open as he gave her a tiny smile. “Hey.”

[arboreal_priestess]

"Bath helping?" she asked, handing over the water.

[firstofitskind]

“Yeah,” he admitted, sitting up and taking a long sip from the glass. “Thanks.”

If he’d been left to his own devices, he probably would’ve ended up collapsed on the bed while still fully-clothed.

[arboreal_priestess]

One of the benefits of being married was that he wouldn't ever have to be left to his own devices again.

"You're welcome," she said, perching on the side of the tub. She reached for a washcloth, dunked it in the water, and then rubbed soap into it before starting to slide it over his back.

[firstofitskind]

Liam let out a long, tremulous sigh as she did so.

“What day is it?” he wondered. Beau had mentioned time moving differently in her world, after all.

[arboreal_priestess]

"Sunday," Verity said, slowly washing his back in slow, easy circles. "The nineteenth. How long did you feel like you were gone for?"

[firstofitskind]

"It was- I left on Friday?" he checked.

Not only had the past few days been busy, but he had another set of memories insisting that was where he'd always been. "'Bout four days, I think."

[arboreal_priestess]

"Sounds like a lot happened in those four days," she said quietly, moving on to washing his shoulder and down his arm.

[firstofitskind]

Liam nodded.

“Molly’s dead,” he said equally quietly, voice flat.

Molly, who’d flirted with both of them, who’d also only existed for a handful of years. Liam had felt a sort of kinship with him over that, and now he was dead.

Liam hadn’t been much older than Molly when he’d died the first time. Only he got to come back.

[arboreal_priestess]

"Molly?" Verity asked, taking a minute to place the name. Mostly because she was trying to think of women they knew named Molly. Except that didn't make sense. "Wait. The cute guy from the festival?"

[firstofitskind]

“Mollymauk Tealeaf,” Liam confirmed. “He was- he’d tried to stop them, the slavers who took Fjord and a couple of their other friends. Got killed for his trouble.”

[arboreal_priestess]

"Oh hon, I'm so sorry." Heedless of the water, Verity leaned in, hugging him close. "So damn sorry."

[firstofitskind]

Liam hadn't even known him that well, but he'd thought maybe he'd like to. And now he wouldn't get the chance.

"Fjord, and Jester, and... Yasha," it took him a moment to remember her name, only because she had been the only one of Beau's friends he'd met at the festival that he hadn't really talked to. "Were being held in the slavers' stronghold. We were just going to take out the guards and sneak in, but I-" he stopped, staring down at his hands.

Why had he thought that'd be a good idea, again?

[arboreal_priestess]

"But you thought it would be better to impersonate one of the guards instead," Verity guessed.

'Guessed.'

[firstofitskind]

“Didn’t really think about it,” Liam mumbled. “Was just gonna hit him, knock him out, but then I...”

[arboreal_priestess]

"Then it just happened?" She thought that was how it had gone with Robert, but she'd been dying, so the memories were a bit fuzzy.

[firstofitskind]

That was definitely how it had gone with Robert, yeah.

“I did it on purpose this time,” he admitted. “Just didn’t really think about what that would mean.”