destinystrings | I've broken every law

Who: A very burnt Sam Erstwhile and YOU.
Where: Right at the bank of the river bisecting the city, in Gemini Ward
Summary: After horribly suffering injuries due to Anoli at the end of the Closing Ceremonies, Sam Erstwhile decides to crawl off and nurse his wounds at the river instead of going to the hospital. Because eldritch horrors in the disguise of guys don't go to hospitals if they don't want their secret to be found out.
Warnings: Mentions of serious burn wounds, as well as some body horror because secret eldritch abomination here, hello.

(Also, Sam won't be in the best shape, so he'll probably be relying on telepathy to talk to people who approach him- please fill out his permission post about that if you haven't done so already!)

It's hard to breathe.

The events that happened before seem almost a blur to him. He was running away, ready to escape, and then the world around him had burst into flames, and then...there was pain. Nothing but pain and fear and anger, and never before had the concept of death had come close to being real than in that moment.

But he had somehow escaped all that. And now he was here, near the only place which could distract him from the throbbing pain throughout his body: the river. Water had always been such a comforting thing for him, especially considering the fact that his other half had lived in a lake for millions of years. So, he sits on the bank, bare feet dangling in the water idly (or are those tentacles? It's hard to tell) as the pain flits through his shirtless chest every time he tries to catch a breath.

And people passing by might notice in just what sort of dreadful state he's in- first of all, huge patches of his skin are blackened, looking like burnt paper, some of it peeling off. If you take a closer look, you'll find its even more horrible than one suspected- there are tiny yellow octopus-like eyes opening up haphazardly on his body, blinking wearily, and some of them are even closed and wounded for good. And at times one can see his entire form shuddering like a plate of jello, for to keep looking human the way he is takes energy, and boy, does it hurt to do that. Surprisingly, there isn't any blood.

Sam lets out a weak cough. Oh, he was mad, he really was, but now was not the time for that. He needed to keep himself from letting his life slip away, and the only way to do that is to let himself heal far away from prying eyes...

Too bad some prying eyes might have found him like this already.

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She just looked at him a moment, not fully understanding what he was getting at. Did he really not understand where she was coming from? What had his life been like that he didn't even understand that sometimes people care about you. "It was my problem, I care about you and don't want you to be in pain. I was able to fix it so I did. That's what friends do, Sam."

She offered a small smile, hoping that would sooth things a bit. "Plus, maybe I don't want to be normal! If there's something you didn't want me to see I'll just pretend I didn't." Kind of like how she was definitely looking at his eyes and not the ones she didn't want to think about right now. It wasn't so much that she was freaked out by them she just...didn't understand, she couldn't figure out why they were there and Sam didn't seem to want to explain so she just wasn't going to worry about it right now. He'd tell her eventually, right?

When she says the word "care", something quite unexpected happens: Sam starts to laugh, a low throaty chuckle that seems quite out of character for someone who was practically whimpering with every syllable before.

"You? Care about me? Oh, what a joke. What a joke."

He turns to her, and even though he seemed to not able to smile before- well, he's definitely smiling now, even though it's not at all a nice one. It just cuts across his face like a dagger, while his eyes glimmer darkly as he stares back at her.

"Oh, as if you can just up and forget about this! How nice life would be if we could just pretend that everything wrong had never happened...but no, you'll remember this. You always will." And he tilts his head to the side. "That memory is already tainted, isn't it? How can you care about me when your mind is practically screaming at you that something is wrong? No, you don't care. Not really."

She didn't understand, this wasn't the Sam she knew or, well, thought she knew. That laugh and the expression on his face hurt more than his words and she didn't know how to react, how to fix it; she just wanted to help him. She'd always been told patience was the key, especially for people in pain, and having patience for those you cared about was the best thing you could do for them.

That was why she couldn't just go, Sam was clearly still in pain and if she could help somehow, she had to! Maybe she just wasn't thinking of something...but one thing was clear: he was trying to push her away and she was having none of that.

"Of course I care! I might not know what's really going on here, but that doesn't mean I don't still care! If I didn't, I would have gone by now...but I want to help. Maybe if you just explained it to me...no matter what you say, I'm still going to care about you."

She's still going to care about him. Even after all of this, of seeing him the way he is, she still wants to help him.

The first reaction is to insult her more, continuing to push her away, but a question rises in the back of his mind to stop him. What...what if he could use this somehow? Even with her knowing the monster he is doesn't mean she really knows what exactly goes on in his mind. He's a monster, yes, but to her, he could be the friendliest monster ever, a person who regrets what he has become, who needs a shoulder to lean on to cry his (very crocodile) tears.

No, this was something he could use, for sure. Oh, what a flaw kindness was! To give yourself and your time so willingly to a person who is so clearly not one you should associate...how naive could you be.

So, he just stares for a second at her, mouth open as if to retaliate, but he lets the words pretend to touch him and turns away, voice suddenly choked up with emotion as he reaches his hands up to cover his face.

"I...I don't deserve it. Your care. I mean, nobody has never cared about me before, and...I mean, who would? I wouldn't care about myself if I were you..."

And he starts to shudder, producing sounds that almost sound like the mixture between a cough and a sob. "God, Femi...just go, okay? I'm a horrible monster, and I didn't want anyone to find out, and...you'll just abandon me like everyone else, because that's the right thing to do..."

The words do exactly as what he'd been hoping for and Femi's expression turns sad pained and sorrowful. She scooted a little closer and wrapped her arms around him, carefully.

Her tone was soft, but firm when she spoke. "No, I won't go. And I won't abandon you, either! You say no one's ever cared about you, well I'm going to change that starting right now. I don't think you're monstrous, you're just...Sam. I won't leave, no matter what, I promise."

He got her. He got her good. Hook, line, and sinker.

He winces slightly as she wraps her arms around him, but eventually relents when he realizes he isn't going to be leaving that spot anytime soon. Ah, such nice words- he nods, as if they've touched him somehow, but in reality he's just letting them flow through one ear and out the other. His voice is still hesitant, still choked up with emotion that isn't actually there.

"B-but why? What do I have to offer you? I just cause harm to everyone around me, and...why?"

She didn't answer immediately, too many answers came forward at once and some of them she actually didn't want to say, so she paused and waded through them to find the right one. "Because...everyone should have someone to lean on. And I like you, is that so bad? You don't need a reason to be friends with someone."

Carys had never approved of some of the friends Femi kept but, for some of them, she was the only friend they had and that had always seemed far too sad to her. Life was too short to have no one at all.

He doesn't know how to answer to such kind words, but he does his best to make it seem like they've touched him reaching up a burned hand to touch her arm as he leans into her hug.

"You really think so...?"

I've broken every law

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