[come_sailaway inbox]

[prince_of_beasts]

A synthesized woman's voice picks up the call.

"Your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice message system. Two - Zero - Two - Nine - One - Eight - Two - One - Three - Two -- is not available now. At the tone, please record your message. When you've finished recording, you may hang up or press the # key for more options."

Dimitri hasn't figured out how to customize the thing yet.

Comments

[lightconductor]

Meet me in the infirmary. -JW

[prince_of_beasts]

Dimitri attempts to compose a protest, but his phone and hands are really not cooperating.

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Fuck it. He tears a few strips of fabric off the sheets of the fold-out for a makeshift bandage -- which hurts a little, remembering Rich doing this for him in the rover -- and sets off for the infirmary. Sword unsheathed, this time. He's not taking any chances.

Whether by luck, or because whatever's taken Rich isn't looking for a second confrontation either, he makes it to the infirmary without incident, and slides through the door -- wary and bristling, in case this is an ambush, or Watson's been replaced too.

[lightconductor]

Watson looks up from where he's at one of the cupboards, faintly wary. He looks tired, more than anything else, but perhaps he can be forgiven for sleeping poorly just at the moment. Still, he's done more in worse conditions, unfortunately. He looks Dimitri up and down, trying to work out just how serious it is.

"Your arm," he says. "Come, sit down, let me take a look at it. He attacked you?"

[prince_of_beasts]

"Not exactly." It had seemed the natural way to explain it with his heart still pounding, his blood still hot. Now that he's got a clearer view of the situation ... "I was the one to escalate. I tried to question him, but he wouldn't tell me what had happened to Rich, just that he was 'sleeping' somewhere and wouldn't wake up. I can only pray that doesn't mean 'dead'."

He pulls away the handful of bedsheet he's pressed over his injury. The cut itself is maybe four inches long, diagonal across his bicep, and deep enough to bleed freely, but it hasn't bled through the makeshift bandage.

"I tried to restrain him. I was cut in the struggle, and he ran." Dimitri grimaces. "In hindsight, that wasn't the wisest way to handle the situation."

[lightconductor]

"That's actually somewhat reassuring. There is a difference between an attack and a panicked response."

Watson frowns at the cut for a moment, then reaches for some antiseptic and a bit of gauze. "And this is certainly not as serious as it could have been, considering what we know he's capable of. Perhaps we can take this as a sign that he's not actively seeking to do harm to anyone. Though, of course, we still must try to apprehend him."

[prince_of_beasts]

"I expected him to be more ready for violence. He told me that César wasn't 'supposed to die', but honestly, I didn't believe him. But he only lashed out when I tried to stop him from fleeing. He acted like a child ... I don't know how much of that was façade, but he did seem genuinely panicked."

Dimitri takes a seat on one of the infirmary cots, offering his arm. The antiseptic sting draws out a sharp breath, but he doesn't move. He's got experience.

"It wasn't entirely unproductive. He claimed to be a former passenger. And he told me there are others -- I'd suspected, but the confirmation is helpful. He didn't say how many, or who they might be." Dimitri releases his breath. "And ... when I said that Rich's family should deal with him, he said ... 'They're my family too, and I won't let you come between us.'" He gives Watson a worried look. "Be careful. I don't know what he wants with you, but it sounded like you and Mr Summers may be targeted next."

[lightconductor]

"A former passenger?"

Well, the ghosts are acting odd. This is a level of odd he hasn't been prepared for, to be sure. Watson dabs gently at Dimitri's wound, frowning thoughtfully. "If he thinks of us as his family, well. I can hardly claim to find that flattering, under the circumstances. Honestly, panic is something we can work with. Panic is a very long way away from genuine menace."

He's silent in his work for a moment, turning this over in his head. "That there are others, though. That's very worrying, indeed."