thewildone | 8th Note

Entry tags:

8th Note

[Accidental video post]

[The boy in the bed is smaller than Curt-sized and wearing a white hospital gown. He stirs and opens his eyes, only looking more confused as he becomes more awake.]

Where am I?

[He speaks quietly, to himself, but there's just enough of older!Curt in his voice that those familiar with him should be able to make the connection.]

Hello? Is there anyone here?

[He gets up and stumbles around the apartment, knocking over the device in the process, and it shuts off.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Curt.

[The noise of pressing random buttons]

Uh...yes?

Do you know where you are? Is anyone with you?

I dunno, I just woke up here and I shouldn't be here. I'm just in an apartment and there's no one here so I thought maybe it would be okay if I stayed.

Where should you be?

The-- [Pause] Michigan. Who are you?

I see. I should be in New York.

Adrian.

Hi. Why do you know my name? I've been...forgetting things.

Someone has to watch out for you when that happens, although it occurred to me forgetting your own name would be farfetched.

Well, that's partly why I'm not supposed to leave...I mean, well, it doesn't matter, I wouldn't forget something like that.

I hope whoever lives here doesn't mind if I eat their chips.

[It would have taken Penny a moment to make the connection had someone not already replied to the post. Well then.]

Hey, are you okay?

Uh huh.

I think so.

You don't need to be okay. I'd be pretty freaked out if I was alone in a strange place.

I don't...really understand what's going on. But nobody's come for me to make me go back so I guess it's okay for now.

It's kind of hard to explain...

Where're you going back to?

Not even home, not yet, so I guess I want to get back, but I'm not in a hurry.

That's... good. Not hurrying. But you'll go back eventually, I promise.

Do you need... I don't know. Anything? Leaving you alone in an empty apartment doesn't seem like a great idea.

Why are you trying to help me?

I mean, not that you shouldn't. I think I need food because the freezer is full of things I don't know how to heat up and the fridge is just full of beer.

Because that's what people do.

Okay. I have lasagna in the oven... you can have some of that, if you don't mind it. Can you tell me where you are, maybe? Or if you leave the apartment building, I might be able to find you.

[Curt can't look that different...]

I have no idea where I am but I guess I can go out and look for a street sign or something.

[Tiny!Curt can be brave and resourceful for food.]

I asked and I'm in building 9, I can wait for you in the lobby there if you want.

Building nine... gotcha. I'll be there really soon.

[Penny has the good sense to put the lasagna away before rushing off to find Tiny!Curt; it wouldn't do to burn down the Welcome Center. She enters the lobby of building nine and immediately spots the boy.]

Hey, Curt? I'm Penny. From on the network.

Hey, Penny.

[Curt is wearing his older self's clothes, a t-shirt that is too big and pants which are belted and cuffed up. He looks slightly nervous, but there's a little bit of the stubborn defiance that will eventually allow him to be Curt Wild, rock god.]

[Little Curt--okay, not that little, but littler--is adorable in the too-big clothes. He's taking this curse thing pretty well, too. Penny has gone on friend-collecting forays during curses only to find them in near-hysterics.]

How're you doing?

[She offers him a smile.]

Come with me and I'll get you some dinner, okay?

[Curt regards her a bit warily, but doesn't sense danger. She looks nice enough and not like a nurse--maybe like one of the church people, but less boring.]

Okay. I'm actually pretty hungry. I'm not really sure when I last ate, besides the chips I found, and that was the hospital food.

[He makes a face, forgetting he was trying to hide where he'd come from since he didn't really want to go back.]

[Sounds more like those were the chips in Curt's apartment, not hospital food. But Penny can go along with this. She starts towards the Welcome Center.]

Then you definitely need dinner. And maybe dessert. Do you like cookies?

[She's curious about the mention of the hospital, but that's something that can be asked about after Curt's had something to eat. She doesn't want to scare him off without feeding him.]

[Curt smiles a bit. Because maybe this is just a dream, and if it is, it is clearly going to be a dream about food, and that is okay]

Sure, I like cookies.

Is chocolate chip okay?

[The Center isn't too far away. Once they get there, Penny invites Curt to make himself at home in one of the mismatched recliners while she finishes the lasagna. She puts a plate of cookies on a coffee table in easy reach.

Curiosity is getting to her. Hopefully she can ask a few questions without scaring Curt away now that the boy has food in front of him. She keeps her question casual.]

What were you doing in the hospital, Curt?

Yeah, chocolate chip are the best ones.

[He looks at the cookies as if wondering whether they are a trick before grabbing one and shoving it almost completely into his mouth. He mumbles through cookie when he speaks next.]

Wasn't the real hospital.

I can't argue with that.

[The cookies ~~are a lie~~ are definitely not a trick. Just cookies. The lasagna isn't a trick, either, although it's kind of hot right now.]

What kind of hospitals are there besides the real kind?

[He stares at the floor for a moment, but he's getting sick of hiding things. So he decides to tell her the truth, but this requires another cookie.]

It was the crazy people kind. I'm not crazy, though.

[In many ways this is a much more believable statement coming from 13-year-old Curt than it would be from 27-year-old Curt.]

[Fortunately, there are a lot of cookies.]

Really?

[Penny sounds somewhat surprised, but, knowing adult-Curt... well. It makes some kind of sense that he would have had a weird childhood. She touches his shoulder in what's meant to be a comforting gesture.]

I believe you. I've known plenty of people who've been in those kinds of hospitals before. ...I was in one for a little while.

They're making me get ECT, you know, where they fry your brain, but I don't think it's doing anything except making me forget stuff.

[Curt jerks away, an automatic gesture that he tries to cover by reaching for another cookie.]

You were?

[This gets an intense look, like maybe there's someone who could be on his side.]

ECT? Like... for depression? It's not that dangerous, is it?

[Oops. Penny pulls her hand back awkwardly. She is, however, encouraged by Curt's reaction to her information. This isn't something she talks about a lot, but maybe it'll make him feel less alone.]

Mm hm. I was a little bit older than you, I think... fifteen. Things were really rough and I wasn't dealing well, so the people watching after me thought I'd be safer in a psych ward. [She makes a face.] I don't think it helped. I'm sorry you're going through that kind of thing.

Everyone says it's not. And that the memory problems are gonna go away after it's over. Maybe for depression it works, but...

[He shrugs. Penny's revelation gets a sympathetic face, though he's not about to tell her everything, even though adult!Curt would probably tell her most of it.]

Oh. I don't like it and I tried to run away once, but now I think I'll just stick it out so I can go home.

What're you getting it for, sweetie?

[That's okay. Penny won't be offended.]

That's a good idea. They'll let you out sooner if you just go along with it.

[Thirteen year old boys do not like to be called 'sweetie,' especially when they are doing their best to toughen up. Except, well, it's not actually that bad. He doesn't answer though, just shrugs in a non-committal way. The second thing she says sounds like actual good advice, though.]

Yeah.

[It was involuntary! Penny puts a plate of lasagna in front of Curt.]

What do they think's wrong with you?

I don't think it's wrong.

[This is said after a pause and in a rush, but said very emphatically, even if it is to the lasagna and not to Penny.]

Sorry! Sorry... I don't really think there's anything wrong with you.

So where am I, really?

[Curt has been trying not to think about that too hard, but he's willing to as a desperate attempt to change topics.]

[That's disappointing. Oh well.]

Really? You're in the City. It's a... giant, interdimensional... thing. I don't know. A bunch of worlds mix it up here.

[Curt thinks about this. He doesn't come to any useful conclusion, but does begin eating.]

Like some kind of Twilight Zone thing? It's...there were notes in my handwriting. In the apartment.

[ooc: If you want a bit more explanation, there's this thread. And it's public, so Penny could technically have run across it. Well, I mean, after this conversation.]

Yeeeeah... yeah, it's kind of like the Twilight Zone. Weird things happen and you just have to shrug them off since weird's the norm.

[Penny goes to putter in the tiny kitchenette, making a mental note to talk to Curt about this later.]

[ooc: Thank you! I don't think Penny would've seen it, but I'll have her ask Curt. ♥ ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

8th Note

no subject

voice;

voice;

voice;

voice;

voice;

voice;

voice;

voice;

voice;

[Voice] - Backdated like a crazily backdated thing

[Voice]

[Voice]

[Voice]

[Voice]

Re: [Voice]

[Voice]

Re: [Voice]

[Voice]

[Voice] 1/2

[Voice]2/2

[Voice/Action?]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]