jumpthegun | IC Inbox (v1.0)

[It's the first time he's heard John's voice, and there's a slight lull before he seems to catch himself and regroup. John's human, it's fine, fucking stop—calm down.]

C-cat. The—the talking cat? It's him.

[Does John even know about the Cat? Because explaining that is so incredibly low on his priorities right now it's bored straight through the center of the Earth, come out the other end, and is now careening through the void of space. Fuck explaining.]

I, uh... h-here, maybe I should...

[There's a few more muffled sounds while he wipes at his face with his good arm, then the feed switches over to video and he very carefully angles the tablet toward him. He's shed his coat and made the (tacky, red, awful) jersey he'd liberated from the sports shed into an incredibly haphazard sling, but he still has his sweater on and the arm itself (his right) is still covered.]

I didn't want to move it.

[The confession is (almost) hushed, maybe slightly ashamed, because yeah, so about how this really fucking hurts. He should probably have a higher tolerance for pain now, right? But he doesn't, so.]

[He does know the talking cat. So, his name is Pounce. All right. That's fine. John looks at the arm in the sling. It's good Karkat knows enough to do that.]

Okay. I'm gonna prescribe you some medicine for the pain, Karkat. You won't be able to get it until tomorrow in the next house you search, though. That means we need to deal with the things we can right now. I know you're in a lot of pain right now, but like I said, to set a bone, you need someone with hands to help.

Can you let me know about the hot water? That'll be very important for you and Pounce. If you don't have access to it, we'll have to come up with some alternatives.

[Hands. Why did HANDS have to be the deciding factor here? Karkat smacks his left over his face because this couldn't possibly be more ridiculous, but at least the anger is familiar. It's better than being scared.]

Okay. Medicine tomorrow.

[It had better be there tomorrow, John, or he'll have to find something worse than Sherlock to harass you about and you do not want that.

At least getting words out seems to be presenting him with less difficulty now, and he rubs his eyes again before shaking his head.]

There's no water; I checked. There's nothing hot in here.

[That he's aware of, at least. Knowing his luck, he's probably right.]

Edited 2017-01-26 07:08 (UTC)

[No water is not good.]

Where is the frostbite located on your body. Is it your hands, your feet? Depending on where it is, we can use your body's natural heat. Or Pounce's if you're not a very warm species. The basic idea here is that we need to warm up the skin that's been frostbitten before it becomes severely damaged. Warm water is best for that, but we can use natural body heat in lieu of that.

[Blame Norfinbury's shitty plumbing, Mr. Neener-Neener-I-Have-a-Warm-Bath-and-You-Don't.]

Uh, both? I've been trying to warm up my hands, but feet are...

[He trails off, shrugs without thinking about it it, and immediately winces. Fucking ow, he needs a better sling, but maybe he can adjust this one later. The point is, he's not a contortionist, so how the fuck is he supposed to keep his feet warm?]

What about Pounce?

[Should he stuff the Cat in his sweater or something. Actually, maybe he would be able to warm up his backpack enough by himself, small as both it and he is. Karkat is honestly sort of jealous.]

Edited (wow) 2017-01-26 19:50 (UTC)

[Look. He didn't ask for this.]

Again, it depends on where his frostbite is. If you can produce heat, I'd say hold him close, use your breath to warm up where he has frostbite as best you can. Make sure neither of you try to rub over where the frostbite is, though. You're liable to damage the tissue further.

For your hands, try tucking at least the one that isn't attached to a broken arm, between your legs. Any where you can create a natural pocket of warmth. For that broken arm, you'll also want to keep it iced and elevated.

Can you tell me which house you're in particularly, as well? I can direct you to the nearest location with hot water. What we're doing now is a stop-gap measure to get you two to the point where you'll be relatively safe to travel.

[A guilty look soon crosses Karkat's face because guess who's probably rubbed at his frostbite when he shouldn't, but he gives a firm nod to show his understanding.]

Okay. Seems pretty straightforward.

[Mostly, anyway, although he does wonder how the fuck he's going to be able to talk Pounce into letting him breathe on him. Whatever, he'll figure something out. As to the rest—]

We got turned around, so we're back in the... fuck. Near the school? In the house with all the romance novels.

[Erotic romance is still romance, shut up, John, you cannot police his reading habits. He'd even say as much if things weren't so dire, but since they are, he merely frowns.]

I think I remember something about a house with hot water around here, but I don't remember where it is.

[Besides that it's also near the school, but what isn't? The school is huge.]

The clinic. It's Building 52 on Dr. House's map. [John sends over the map with the building highlighted.] It's only got about 10 minutes of hot water each day, but you can space it out. Find something like a bowl and you can soak your hands and feet in the hot water.

[He's not going to comment on the romance novels. It's not the time or place.]

[He opens the file instantly when he receives it, then spends a second or two staring at the highlighted building.

A plan. There's a plan in place, he has somewhere to go, he has something to do. Everything will be fine.

He takes a deep breath, in and out, then nods again.]

Yeah. I mean, right. Got it.

[He glances off to one side, then back to his tablet.]

The pain medication just... turns up?

[Not that he's. In excruciating agony or anything. Haha. Ha.]

It'll turn up when you search a house. I think the Admin uses the spiders to get things around. It's gonna be okay, Karkat, all right? I know you're in a lot of pain right now and if what you went through is anything like me, Dug, and Sherlock, it was a hell of a thing that did that to you.

D'you want to talk about it at all?

[Ugh, spiders. He grimaces faintly, shrugs, then grimaces harder because yeah, ow. Maybe he should switch off video, this is getting kind of embarrassing.]

I'll be okay. It's not that bad.

[Also, he's a terrible liar, but anyway.]

Uh, not really? I mean, it chased us, caught us, and then tried to... I don't know.

[He shrugs with one shoulder this time, clearly uncomfortable and trying to hide it.]

Suffocate us? But it let go, for some reason.

[It is that bad, but John isn't going to shoot down Karkat's facade. Not for this.]

Yeah. The one we ran into just sort of... tore a hole in the air and screamed at us. We've got little nicks all over, but nothing worse than that. Did you stay on the path? We got pulled off by accident.

[Because Sherlock is an idiot, he doesn't say.]

[Tore a hole in the.... ugh. Karkat shudders.]

No, we... same here. It was an accident.

[He's still not really sure why Pounce had run off like he had, but it had to have been an accident. At least they're both still alive.]

Do you think a lot of people got hurt?

Hmm. [John wonders if the people who had stayed on the path encountered those things. That's a question for someone else, though, not Karkat.]

I think it's likely that if both of our groups encountered somethings, others will have. I'm hoping most injuries are more like mine and less like yours, though. We'll just have to see. Thank you for contacting me about this, Karkat.

[If only. Inclined toward pessimism as he is, he sort of doubts, but he's distracted from saying so because seriously, John, what the fuck.]

Uh, you're welcome? But I should be thanking you for the help.

[Is this a human thing. It's probably a human thing. You know what, whatever, not his problem.

He sighs.]

And, uh... speaking of, thanks. For the advice.

It's not easy to ask for help here from a relative stranger. I appreciate it. Honestly.

And you're welcome. It's what I'm here for. Try to get what sleep you can and remember to keep your arm elevated.

[Well-timed reminder, that; he'd completely forgotten. Shit, how is he supposed to keep his arm elevated when sleeping? Argh.]

Okay, got it. Um, thanks again. I guess I'll catch you later? Or whatever.

[How does interacting with adults work. What the fuck is he supposed to say here. Help.]

[John can hear and see the awkward, Karkat.]

Of course. Goodnight, and keep warm, Karkat.

[He'll hang up after that to spare Karkat any further fluster.]

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