Thinking Things Through

[Amber]

She was sitting in the middle of the forest that surrounded the house she was staying in, in the middle of a small clearing. There was a stream, that was almost a small river, running through it, and she caught fish from there whenever she was hungry. She refused to go back 'home', outright refused to.

She'd broken one of the home owner's most valuable vases, since it had been one that had been in the Fyrane family for generations, and honestly, she didn't want to face the woman's temper. She knew that the woman, Rowena, knew about the vase, since she had told her, but … she bolted before anything could be said or done to her; and that was a few days ago.

She'd been there for borderline a week now, and she was starting to feel it. Considering she was sleeping on the ground, she was starting to hurt. She knew she needed to go back, but she didn't know how well she would be accepted. She'd been an absolute bitch to everyone the past few days, and no matter what she did, or what others said to her, she couldn't seem to stop.

Although, one thing that she'd overheard Ash saying to his girlfriend stuck, and she was willing to bet that it was the truth. He was telling her that it was likely that this, her temper, was her way of dealing with the death of Linds, the death of someone that she had grown to love.

She really couldn't argue with that logic, since it seemed to make sense. Granted, the sole fact that she even fell for him needed to be explained. There were severaly points in time that she found herself wishing that she could switch the Lindsay's, have it so that she had Linds, and he was free from the hell that was his home, and they had the nearly indestructible Lindsay.

She even went so far once, when they switched so that Linds could spend some time with Casey, to almost refuse the switch back. Almost. She only did it because she didn't want to break Lindsay's heart. Sure, she'd fallen in love with someone else, but that didn't mean she didn't care about Lindsay. He still meant the world to her, and she would do almost anything to make it so that he was smiling. Of course, that was easier said than done at the moment, since he refused to talk to her and wouldn't look at her anymore. At least, that's how it seemed.

”I... need to go back...” She said with a sigh as she got to her feet before turning and heading towards the house again. It was late at night, or rather early morning since dawn would be coming soon.

”Oh... I hope I don't get attacked sneaking inside...” She said quietly as she started off towards the house.

It didn't take her long, only about an hour, to return. When she did, she noticed the sun starting to rise, and wondered if anyone would be up. She wouldn't have been surprised if either of the boys were, Lindsay because of his headaches, since she was pretty sure he had stopped getting up early to work out because of them. Or Ash, since he could have had a bounty to go for, she honestly had no idea.

”... please let me sneak in...” She muttered under her breath as she reached the back door and carefully opened it. She managed to get inside silently, and lock the door, before heading upstairs. As she reached the door to the room that she shared with Lindsay, she could hear him whimpering a bit.

”...” She was silent as she opened the door, snuck in and closed it quietly behind her before making her way over to the bed, where her boyfriend was laying. He was asleep, but obvious in pain.

”Hey, Lindsay.” She said lightly as she poked him a little. When that did nothing to wake him, she gently shook his shoulder a bit. She wasn't sure if the whimpering was because of physical pain, or mental pain since for all she knew, he could have been having a nightmare.

[Colin]

Lindsay continued to sleep for a moment or two, before he opened his eyes.

"Errrrgh..." he moaned as he sat up and clutched his head.

"My head...." he groaned, as the throbbing in his skull was almost visible from how much pain he was exuding.

He stayed like that for about a full minute, before his eyes glanced over to the woman with him.

"Casey." he said quietly and shortly, before biting his lip from the pain.

"Been gone long, enough, huh?" he asked her, but before she had a chance to respond, he continued talking.

"Vincent fixed the vase you broke. Did it about a day after you left." he said. "Since then, Mom's been worried sick about you, wondering if you'd been captured again, killed, kidnapped, or worse." he added, before yelping a bit in more pain.

"Argh, my head....!" he cried, before glancing to her.

"Get me some Advinol or something for this." he half-snapped, before sighing.

"Please...?" he asked in a softer, nicer, and more pleading tone.

"I'm seeing 3 times the things I should normally be." he added as his grip on his hair seemed to tighten by the second.

[Amber]

Casey didn't say anything to Lindsay throughout all that, and just got to her feet to retrieve what he'd asked for. She headed off towards the kitchen, the fridge specifically, since that was the last place she knew of what he'd requested being. She didn't know if he had taken any to the bedroom, and honestly, was rather surprised when she found it in the fridge.

She withdrew the small bottle and set it on the counter before filling a small bottle with water and dumping some of the contents from the previous bottle in. Almost instantly, the small capsules that Rene had done up for them vanished, blending with the water almost perfectly. In that light, it wasn't possible to tell that the water had anythign added to it, yet in natural light it would acquire more of a silver colour.

She put the first bottle back in the fridge and carried the one for Lindsay back up to the loft.

"Here." She said as she entered and closed the door. she made her way over to the bed and held it out for him.

"At least this usually helps for a couple hours..." She said with a small sigh.

[Colin]

"Yeah... a couple of hours..." Lindsay said quietly, before taking the drink and downing it quickly.

It was worrisome that it only worked for a couple of hours, actually. What Rene had made him was the strongest pain medication that he knew how to make up. It even had several Draydin elements in it, as well as mostly Lantha ingredients.

It was meant for soldiers with fatal and painful wounds, that wanted to continue to fight until their death. It nullified and dulled them to the pain, so that they could fight as though nothing was wrong, meaning it was seriously strong stuff.

Lindsay continued to look to be in pain for a minute more, before his expression softened drastically.

"Good... it's working... for now..." he said, before sighing.

"So where did you hide off to?" he asked her.

"No-one's seen you for a week or so, you look like hell, and you honestly don't smell the world's greatest." he told her honestly.

[Amber]

"Lindsay... you have to figure out what the cause of the headaches is." Casey said, not answering his question as she sat on the floor.

"When you die, and regenerate, you're supposed to be in perfect physical shape, right?" She asked

"the sole fact that this is transcending even death, is rather worrisome."

[Colin]

"Yeah, I know." he said to her.

"But Rene, Vincent, all of them can't figure a damn thing out, so it looks like I'm stuck with my head feeling like it's going to explode." he continued.

"But you didn't answer my question." he informed her.

"Where in the blue blazing hell have you been for the past week?" he repeated.

[Amber]

Casey looked at him when he said that, and he would be able to tell that she had an idea floating in her head.

"Lindsay... humour me... please?" She asked as she got to her feet and walked over to the bookshelf. She grabbed her glasses case and tossed it over to the bed, with it landing beside Lindsay.

"Try them on, and let me know if there's anythign different. I just realized something, the constant headaches and such, could be because you're forcing your eyes to work harder than they ever had to previously." She told him, again, ignoring his question.

[Colin]

He growled at her for continuously avoiding his question.

"Fine... don't answer me." he muttered angrily, before looking at the glasses.

"Alright then, fine. I'll try them on if it'll get you to answer my damn question." he spat, before opening the case and slipping the glasses on.

They were a tight fit, seeing as his head was a bit larger than hers, but they seemed to go on without major stretching.

"......." he was silent for a bit, as he looked around.

"Huh. Seems you may be on to something. I can actually see a little better... emphasis on -little-..." he said to her, unaware his speech was a little more... sophisticated and smarter than his usual.

[Amber]

"I'm getting ahold of Rene in a couple of hours then, get him to get you an appointment with Kalin's optometrist" She told him simply.

"And... I was in the forest, hiding." She told him honestly.

"I couldn't come back... I was too scared to."

[Colin]

"You do that then." he said, in regards to her first statement.

When she made her second one, he shook his head.

"You know, you really go too far with things." he said.

"Some of us honestly thought you went and killed yourself because you thought Rowena was going to snap and add you to her soul chain." he informed her, before getting out of bed.

"Of course, Ash came up with that one, so one should immediately dismiss it as bunk and shit." he added.

"I'm going to get some food. I'm starving." he informed her.

[Amber]

"Lindsay... you know I'm not that bad anymore." Casey said quietly as she got to her feet. Before he managed to reach the door, Casey had her arms wrapped around him, and holding tighter than she had for awhile.

"Lindsay... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry." She said quietly into his back, since he wasn't facing her.

"I shouldn't have shut you out as I had the past few months. It's just... ever since Linds died..." She started, stopping partway since she figured that she didn't need to go any farther.

"I... I was thinking... while I was hiding... that I should move out."

[Colin]

Lindsay was quiet for a full minute, before sighing.

"Casey, that's stupid, and you know it." he told her.

"You've tried it before, and you almost ended up dead." he reminded her further.

"If this is about how you've been acting, then all you need to do is open up to us." he went on.

"I know I'm not Linds, and I know I have the I.Q. of a kumquat, but I at least can understand that you're grieving over him, and that he was something special to you... something I can never be." he said to her.

"However, I -do- know that no matter what, you are welcome here, and this is a safe haven for you. It's your home... it's where we love you and understand you... for the most part." he added, trailing off some, before clearing his throat.

"And I know you're not that bad anymore. Like I said, the theory came from Ash, so you know it's an alarmist one, a half-baked one, and one probably dreamed up from extreme generalizations with no basis of fact... or even if it was, it's too much of a stretch to even be viable." he informed her.

"Regardless, I'm hungry, and judging from the noises your stomach is making, you've probably been subsiding on the few fish that can be caught in the forest, along with twigs and berries and shit." he said to her.

"You really ought to put some... oh, I dunno.... actual food in you." he suggested.

All this time, he was still completely unaware that his way of talking had grown slightly more educated... almost to Ash's level, and that was saying something big. Normally he used small words, and any larger words were used incorrectly.

Now it seemed he was speaking coherently, correctly, and was able to piece basic things together... although they would have been extremely complex for the Lindsay that Casey and the others had come to know.

[Amber]

Casey was silent as she listened to what he had to say, and by the time he finished it, she was standing a few feet behind him, an extremely puzzled expression on her face.

"Wait... waitwaitwait... what?" She asked him as she shook her head.

"I just... Lindsay... what happened to you?" She asked him, honestly curious.

"You... you're talking more like Linds, you're using terms and words that last I checked, you didn't even know. what happened?"

[Colin]

He just raised an eyebrow at her.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." he said to her.

"I know you're grieving, and I can sympathize with that, but I'm not Linds." he continued.

"Regardless, I'm going to get some food before the meds wear off and my head is left pounding again." he added, before turning and heading out of the room.

[Amber]

Casey followed him.

"Lindsay. Last I checked, you didn't know what someone's 'I.Q.' was, and you sure as hell had no idea what a 'kumquat' was.... " She told him simply as they walked down the stairs.