Message 01. Technicolor Animals 101

[unrecovered]

[The video flickers on to show both Wash and North in what looks like one of the hotel rooms. It’s far enough away that it’s obvious they’ve set it up on a flat surface somewhere. Wash is still wearing his helmet; old habits die very hard.]

Hey. Does anyone know anything about these Dream Eater things? We know they can fight and that you can make them from little rainbow pieces; aside from that, I’ve got nothing.

[There’s a squeak from offscreen, and Wash looks over-] Hey, get over here. [-and leans out of the frame.]

[North, meanwhile, has his helmet off, because all things considered, this area’s probably safe and he can let his guard down a bit. ]

Also, do they all carry loose change or something? It’s an odd way of making money.

[He glances over at Wash.]

Everything alright, Wash?

Yeah, fine, just- c’mere!

[There’s more squeaking offscreen, and finally Wash leans back into the frame, pulling his bat into his lap. The bat squeaks piteously, and it’s pretty obvious that one wing is bandaged.]

Is there a vet around here, or someone who knows how to take care of this? [He gestures at the bandage.] I can do this much, but that’s about it.

[Responses will come from both Wash (unrecovered) and North (brodakota).]

Comments

[unrecovered]

You can heal it.

[There's a good amount of skepticism in those words, because 1) odd word choice and 2) he's a kid. There's a moment's pause, and then Wash shrugs, because why the hell not?]

Sure. Can you get over here in one piece?

[salvagedlight]

[Hey, he's fifteen! Not exactly a kid.]

Yeah, why couldn't I? [...No, he's not being silly.] You're in the hotel? I'll be there soon.

[unrecovered]

[He's fifteen. Totally a kid.]

If you say so. I'll come out front to meet you.

[salvagedlight]

[They can have this debate later.]

Okay! I'll be there soon.

Action from here on out, I think

[unrecovered]

[Not exactly on Wash's priority list.]

[He meets the kid at the door to the hotel, bringing him back to the room and gesturing to his bat, which had stayed curled up on a pillow on the bed. It squeaks once, a pretty pitiful greeting from something usually so full of energy.]

Do you think you can fix it?

Nevaaaar!

[salvagedlight]

[And Ven will follow the strange man in a full suit of armor. This doesn't feel like a good set up, does it? The hotel is easy to navigate, and he glances around curiously as he steps into the room, but then his attention is caught by the bat on the pillow. His own Hebby Repp - he's still working on a name for it - follows him in, hopping around as usual and then leaning in to sniff the bat.]

Hey, cut it out, he's injured. [The lizard backs off with a wordless murmur, and Ven leans in to very carefully touch the bandage, just to see how bad it is.] ...Yeah, that should be pretty easy, it's not really deep or anything. It should just take a moment.

[And with that, he holds his hand out to the side - and a giant key appears right in his grasp, wtf is that shit. Ven seems completely unperturbed by it, holding it like a backwards sword, then spins it in his hand to point at the little wounded bat. A green light surrounds the key and the bat as Ven calls out.] Heal!

[unrecovered]

[Wash brings the kid back to his room, eyeing the lizard suspiciously. It makes sense for there to be friendly lizards when there's also friendly bats and cats; that doesn't mean he has to like it. He tenses slightly as the lizard gets near his bat - and when the hell did that happen? When did he start getting protective of a partner he kept insisting he didn't want?]

[Now wasn't exactly the time for that train of thought, but he did breathe a little easier when the lizard backed off.] Good.

[He'd already seen someone pull a shield from midair today - a key wasn't too different, even if it was slightly more ridiculous as a weapon. He'd also seen magic before, but that was ice from nowhere and this looked completely different.]

[Only a moment after the spell goes off - at least, Wash assumes that's what happened - the green glow fades and the bat is back in the air with all the energy it had before it was injured, hovering in front of the boy's face and happily squeaking its thanks before making a beeline for Wash, flying circles around him and squeaking nonstop.]

Jeez- wait- calm down-

[After a few missed swipes, he manages to catch the bat in midair. It calms down a bit when he's holding it, long enough for him to unwrap the bandage. The spell did its job - there's no evidence of the burn that had been there a minute ago.] Wow.

[The bat hops up to his shoulder and perches there, rubbing against his helmet affectionately. Wash, however, is still looking at the boy.] That's a pretty useful trick. Thanks.