maskormenacelogs | He hit me and I knew he loved me.

[ Ellie hadn't heard the coversation on the phone, given that she was busy stuffing her face and playing with her new dog. She's eaten so much that she's forced to lay on the ground, which Lucy seems to enjoy. ]

[ But the mention of Joel steals her attention. ]

Joel?!

[ She rolls back up, standing fast. ]

He's here-- And he's okay?

I - I think so. I mean, he didn't say he wasn't.

[It's hard to say if the panic in his voice was justified or just Joel being Joel.]

[ Joel has no money on him that he can find. He's fucking dressed in stinky, old bloodstained jeans and a grimy, filthy flannel shirt, also covered in old bloodstains, with small frayed tears and holes. He is filthy, and covered in old bruises and some fresh bruises and fresh scratches, scabbed over cuts, red raw knuckles, looks like he's literally just stepped right out of some post-apocalyptic nightmare. Smells like it, too - old sweat and grime and stagnant water. It's like he was returned to his world and then wound up back up in Heropa - which is exactly what's happened, except he has no fucking recollection of anything like that happening.

The only thing that matters is finding Ellie, whom he hasn't been able to find anywhere. And so, with Jesse telling him that Ellie is with him - well, Joel hails the first cab he can flag down, jumps in, demands the driver take him to Xavier school.

About twenty minutes later, he's charging up the front steps, barging his way into the school, charging his way up to where he last recalled Jesse's room being in the school. His hard eyes are pretty wild and panicked looking.

There's a loud, thundering series of demanding pounding knocks on Jesse's door. ]

[Jesse rushes to the door as soon as he hears that pounding, throwing it open. He stands there for a half-second and stares up at Joel. He has to resist the urge to throw his arms around the guy, because he totally would, despite the smell and the grime and all of that. He missed Joel as much as he missed Ellie.

But Joel's not really here to see him, and Ellie's been waiting, so Jesse steps aside to make way.]

[ The pounding at the door startles the hell out of her, but it's obvious who it is immediately. Ellie's hands tangle together, staring at the door as Jesse opens it. When she sees Joel on the other side, perfectly together and seemingly fine? She's speechless. ]

[ Last she'd seen him was when he was lying on the ground, pale and on the verge of a septic fever. She'd told him she'd be back as soon as she'd gotten food and wound up kidnapped by a group of cannibals. And what was the end result still makes her sick to her stomach. ]

[ And now has her speechless and unable to move. He's fine. He's fine and he's not limping or comatose, which makes absolutely no sense but... ]

[ Suddenly meek and stiff, all Ellie can manage is one word. ]

...

Joel?

Edited 2015-05-06 07:33 (UTC)

[ Honestly, the first thing Joel sees is the mop of hair on Jesse's head, which for just a split second bewilders the fuck out of him because - as far as Joel is aware, he only saw Jesse a few days ago, not a few months ago.

But then he sees Ellie standing further in the room. Relief floods through him so strong it's almost dizzying. He forces Jesse aside with a shove his arm, barging into the room and past him, and charges for Ellie. He grabs a hold of her shoulders and grips them tight. ]

Ellie-- [ His hands release her shoulders, come up to quickly seize her face with urgent tenderness it in his palms as he stoops down to look right at her, worry and relief written all over his world weary face. ]

Jesus, where the hell you been?

[ Ellie doesn't move a muscle, other than those of her eyes when her gaze follows Joel storming on over to her. Her heart is beating so damn fast, her throat is burning, and her gut is churning with the pounds of food she'd shoved down her gullet just minutes before his arrival. He's okay; that's all she can think about, just as much as what brought her here and what had caused her absence with him. It might a well be winter again. ]

[ The question comes fast, as fast as the brief comfort that comes to Joel being in the same room and grabbing for her. It's the most stable she's felt in what might as well be decades the second his hands meet her face. ]

[ Just as much, it's a reminder of what she just left. The timing of what brought her here and the content of his question still has her confused, unable to figure out what is the right answer. Ellie begins to shake, her eyes go glassy when she recalls the moments before whatever brought her here. ]

You were unconscious, I had to find... To find medicine, and then--

[ Good god, she's already choking on her words. Tears fall down her face in a violent flood. ]

They came after us, they fucking came after us, so I tried-- and he-- I--

[ Nope. No way she can manage words after that. Ellie might as well relive the whole goddamn thing, but she'd rather shove her face in Joel's dirty and sweaty collar, slamming her small frame against him in desperation for that support. ]

Edited 2015-05-06 07:55 (UTC)

Hey, hey, hey--

[ Joel is so fucking confused, doesn't know what she's talking about other than it sounds like she's talking about... what happened during winter, if 'unconscious' and 'medicine' is anything to go by. What's making him way more concerned in that moment is Ellie crying, babbling at him. Seeing Ellie cry, he can never handle that.

He takes firmer hold of her face, trying to make her focus as he crouches down with one knee resting on the floor. ]

Ellie, c'mon. C'mon, it's alright now. Look at me--

[ And then she's slamming into him like she's terrified and trying to bury herself in his arms, and his arm quickly grips her to him in a fierce, worried hug, other hand coming up to cradle the back of her head to him. ]

Honey... [ He murmurs this against her hair. ] Babygirl, c'mon, I gotcha. Everything's alright now.

[ He grips her tighter to him, starting to rock her soothingly in his arms while holding her, and then turns a sharp look at Jesse. 'What the fuck?' is the dangerous look he's giving Jesse. It hasn't yet occurred to Joel at all that Ellie has been gone and come back again, from a different point in time this time. ]

Edited (missing words kdfg) 2015-05-06 08:17 (UTC)

[Jesse watches this whole scene in silent concern, keeping back like he's trying to become wallpaper. He feels like he shouldn't even be here, and he doesn't want to interrupt, but when Joel turns to look at him, it's his turn to step in.]

She didn't remember me.

[His voice cracks a little when he says that, despite all his best efforts to keep his tone neutral.]

Or anything else here. She doesn't remember all of last year. When I found her, it looked like she just got here. From your world, I mean.

[ Joel stares at Jesse. What he's saying doesn't really compute at first, almost rebounds off his ears like his mind can't comprehend that Ellie wouldn't remember anything. It then starts to slowly sink in, though, like a slow creeping dread.

Ellie clutching at him, crying against his shirt distracts Joel's attention back to her for the moment: he gently eases her away from him just enough so he can look at her, hands coming up again to take her face in his palms. He wipes away a stray tear running down her cheek with his thumb. ]

C'mon, it's alright now. [ He murmurs this, along with a few other quiet, soothing words. After a few moments, he pushes himself up to his feet and draws Ellie up with him, wraps an arm around her shoulders and begins steering her over towards a chair. Urging her to sit down, he crouches down in front of her, a hand reaching up to push her hair away from her face with a fatherly tenderness.

He glances warily over his shoulder at Jesse. After murmuring for Ellie to just sit tight for a minute, assuring her he's not going anywhere, he's back on his feet and moves quickly over to Jesse. ]

The hell you mean, she don't remember anything? [ He says this to Jesse in a low voice so as to not alarm Ellie, staring right at him with hard, worried concern. ]

[Jesse keeps his voice low, too, though he feels bad about whispering over here like she's not even in the room.]

She pulled a gun on me. Took a while to convince her I wasn't gonna hurt her. When I took her out to eat, it was like she'd never seen half that stuff before. She doesn't remember this world, Joel. Any of it.

[It pains him, but it's not her fault. Anyway, she remembers Joel, which is what's really important here.]

It happens to people sometimes when they go home. Nothing we can do about it.

Ellie pulled a gun on you.

[ Joel echoes this disbelievingly, skeptically, like he can't believe Ellie would ever try to shoot Jesse.

It happens to people sometimes when they go home. That's what has Joel suddenly swallowing, though. He glances over at Ellie with a dart of his eyes, watches her as that sinking feeling of dread grows heavier inside him. It shows on his face, the way a subtle dawning despair starts creeping into his hard expression.

Suddenly… it clicks in his head what Ellie was babbling at him about: 'they' coming after them both, him being unconscious, medicine…

He shifts on the spot, hands balling into nervous fists at his sides. He darts his eyes back to Jesse. ]

She, uh. She say anything to you? 'Bout… the last thing she remembers?

[ Asking because… he doesn't want to believe what his gut is telling him about what Ellie had been babbling at him about just before, and yet… Well. He sure as hell isn't going to ask Ellie, not in the state she's in. ]

Nah, man. She was scared. I took her mind off things. Figured we could talk about it, you know, maybe after she got it outta her head I was trying to kill her. Hunt her.

[Which struck him as a disturbing assumption. "Hunt" implies something worse than killing, to Jesse's mind.]

What is this, Joel? What happened to her?

Oh, Jesus.

[ Doesn't matter that she didn't say anything to Jesse. That right there - Ellie having acted like she was being hunted, trying to kill Jesse - is all the confirmation he needs.

It comes flooding back into his mind in a sudden jolt of horrible snapshot memories: trudging through a scathing blizzard, frozen to his bones, in weary, agonising pain from the wound in his abdomen, panic coiling up his chest and clawing up his throat when he'd come across Ellie's backpack in that meat locker with all the bodies dangling upside down and bled out. The thick smell of smoke filling his mouth and his nose as he broke his way into the burning restaurant. Finding Ellie on top of that guy, slamming a machete over and over into his mangled face with a frenzied terror so blind that Ellie had almost tried to attack Joel when he'd grabbed her off him.

His hand comes up and rubs anxiously over his beard as he shoves the intruding memories aside. He snatches Jesse's upper arm, drags him further from earshot of Ellie. It's only because he knows Jesse well enough after all this time that he's even going to tell him anything. Joel keeps his voice low so only Jesse can hear him. ]

A buncha guys… cannibals… Kidnapped her. I found her just after this guy was gonna try an' r-- [ Oh fuck, just thinking about it makes him feel sick. He can't even make himself say it. It shows in the way he gives a small, pale shake of his head, jaw clenching. ] You don't wanna know what he was gonna try and do to her.

[Jesse allows himself to be dragged away without argument, and when he hears what Joel has to say, he understands why. What he's hearing is too horrific to bear. His stomach twists into knots and he can't breathe. His hands curling into fists, he's overcome with the desire to kill, to avenge Ellie - but those sick bastards aren't here. Thank god they aren't here, for her sake.

He takes hold of Joel's arm to steady himself, suddenly feeling weak on his feet, and turns a glance back in Ellie's direction.]

She's... She's okay, though? Right? Is she okay?

[ Joel just gives a grim nod. Yeah. Yeah, she's okay. Most importantly, she's here and she's safe, even if Joel doesn't know how the hell he's going to deal with the fact that she doesn't remember anything about this place. He's gonna guess if she doesn't remember Jesse, if she doesn't remember Heropa... then she's not going to remember the life she and Joel had here, too. The mere thought fills him with a despair he couldn't put a name on even if he wanted to.

Just keep pushing forward. That's the only way to deal with this. ]

Look-- I don't... Guessin' I got sent back home, too, though I don't got any memory of it. Got no money on me. Can't find any of our stuff. Don't know what the hell's goin' on. Ain't no way I'm taking Ellie back to the apartment I've been assigned.

[ You know, because. Sharing with other people living in the same apartment. Fucking screw that. ]

Edited (spelling fff) 2015-05-06 11:38 (UTC)

[Jesse sucks in a deep breath and slowly exhales. Time to focus on the business of getting Joel up to speed.]

It's May now. I thought you guys skipped town months ago. When you didn't come back, I put all your stuff in storage. Your money and everything, it's all safe.

Um, you guys can stay here, if you want. There's like a hundred empty rooms. Nobody pays any attention to who's living here. I can put you on the payroll as security.

[ May?! A blank, incomprehensible look of '...what the fuck' crosses his face. It was December literally only yesterday to him. Yeah, well, just... let him try and wrap his head around that disorienting, jarring piece of information. He casts a wary glance up to Jesse's hair. So, that sure explains why Jesse was bald yesterday and has a full head of hair today.

As for putting him on the payroll as security... ]

...You can do that? Sure that won't, y'know. Raise suspicions?

[ Because he's still doing the meth thing... right? ]

[Not so much.]

It's over. I haven't cooked since you were around. Me and Skye smoothed things over - I mean, as much as we could. She never wanted me in prison, she just wanted me to stop. And I stopped, so...

[He shrugs. Things aren't that simple, but that's the gist of it.]

If Ellie's going to school here, it makes sense for you to work here. It'll be fine.

[ ...Huh. He sure wasn't expecting that. Christ, was he expecting any of this? Joel is frankly starting to look completely lost and in over his head in how to process all of this. There are only certain types of insanity he's capable of coping with. This whole time changing and moving on in one huge chunk of several months insanity isn't one of them.

Joel looks over at Ellie, trying to size up what the best option is. He's pretty sure Ellie wouldn't give two shits about attending the school, and he's not going to enforce she goes. That's not the point, though. Only person Joel really knows in this whole place is Jesse, and if Joel does anything, it's stick close to those he trusts. Sure, he's familiar with Heropa, but... Well, with Ellie the way she is, probably freaked out by this place on top of how freaked out she already is, it's probably smarter to stay close to someone Joel knows he can rely on. ]

...Alright. [ A small nod as he looks back to Jesse. ] Think you can sort something out now?

[With no headmaster around, Jesse can do anything he damn pleases. He also glances back to Ellie before nodding.]

I can go downstairs and get you a key right now, if you want.

[ A flicker of doubt crosses his mind - how could it not, when the last he remembers of Jesse living in this school is Jesse freaking out about cooking meth while being around kids? - but then he remembers... well, Jesse has never let him down before. And as much as he would be loath to admit it out loud, he knows Jesse would never put Ellie in a dangerous or precarious situation.

A gives a single affirmative nod. ]

Ellie and me'll wait here.

[ The whole first half of Jesse and Joel's conversation sort of flies over her. She's aware they're talking about her-- who else would they be talking about? Obviously Lucy isn't the one having a traumatic flash back and bursting into tears.]

[ Ellie sniffles, calmed down as Lucy walks to her and props herself up standing, paws in Ellie's lap. Ellie rubs the heel of her palm under her eyes. ]

That was embarrassing.

[ She scratches Lucy behind the ears, allowing her to lick whatever is left of her tears before she sees that Jesse has left. ]

Looks like I'm popular here, huh?

[ Ellie speaks directly to Joel, still bearing a crack in her voice and a weakness in its delivery. ]

Too bad I apparently don't remember shit.

Edited 2015-05-06 15:16 (UTC)

[ When Jesse slips out the door, Lucy, who'd been waiting outside in the hall, pads into the room ~~because mun completely forgot about the dog while tagging, PRETEND SHE WENT OUT FOR A PEE JUST BEFORE JOEL SHOWED UP~~ and if this whole situation wasn't goddamn strange and bewildering enough, seeing Lucy fully grown makes Joel stop short. Another unsettling, disorienting sense of feeling completely out of sorts washes over him at yet another reminder of how much time has gone by.

Maybe it's because of how different Joel smells at the moment, nothing like how Lucy would be used to, that she doesn't recognise Joel at first, just heads straight for Ellie. He watches the way the dog lifts her paws up onto Ellie's lap and is hit with a sudden aching pang that Ellie wouldn't remember the day he brought that dog home. How ecstatic she'd been, overcome almost to the point of tears. Very nearly bowled Joel over with a hug so fierce it made Joel's heart ache with a deep, sentimental fondness.

Joel isn't sure what to say in response to anything she says. He hesitates on the spot, awkward and stilted in his nervousness of not knowing how to deal with the whole situation, and then lets out a small sigh and starts across the room. When he reaches Ellie, he stretches a hand down and gives Lucy's scruff a quick scratch, which gets her attention. The dog looks up at him - and her ears suddenly prick up.

Next thing Joel knows, Lucy is a fierce bundle of overwhelmed excitement, tail wagging madly, jumping up at him like she's never been so excited to see another person before in her life. He staggers slightly against her heavy weight, uttering a gruff, "Nrgh, whoa now--" as she tries to lap at his face with her tongue. The only way to stop her from jumping up at him is to crouch down beside her, which results in her attacking his face with licks and dizzyingly happy nuzzles. He screws an eye up, cranes his head away from the assault of dog tongue. ]

Alright, alright, calm down, calm down-- [ He caves for a moment, though, lets her lick at his chin while he gives her head and the back of her ears an affectionate ruffle. God, she's too much, though. Dog fur getting in his face, dog tongue constantly trying to lick him. He soon manages to make her calm down enough that he can finally turn to Ellie, though. He shifts closer to Ellie until he's crouched down right in front of her, a hand coming to rest on her knee. ]

You alright, kiddo?

[ In the midst of her own internal struggle, Ellie is easily distracted by the visual of Lucy practically tackling Joel to the ground. It's a crying shame that she doesn't remember being gifted a dog, doesn't remember Jesse... Who apparently is one of the more trustworthy people here, according to Joel. The moment she witnessed Joel so quickly pulling Jesse aside, briefing him like he'd done Tess before, she felt sick to her stomach for pulling a gun on the poor guy. But could you blame her? The last man she'd had contact with tried to... ]

[ Ellie shakes out of it quick. There's no use thinking about that right now. Clearly, she's in good hands with not only Joel, but with Jesse. ]

[ Whatever glimpse of a smile had been there watching a dog attack Joel with kisses, it's gone in a flash. Her brain is so fried right now. ]

[ She sighs to Joel's question, gaze shifting to him briefly only to go back to her hands which she now has fussing with the hem of her new shirt. ]

Well, I blacked out halfway through hacking someone's face in to being held down by three dudes in a lab, told I had super powers, and then pulling a gun on what looks like a really good friend of yours-- ours.

I don't remember anything anyone is fucking telling me, and apparently I'm the only one.

[ But she pauses, pursing her lips a moment before trying to put on a brave face fo Joel. It wouldn't help anyone for her to keep being upset, not now. ]

But I just ate an entire pizza, two tacos, and a burger. Which are way tastier than what I've read about.

So I... Guess you could say I'm hanging in there.

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