xp_logs | Xbalanque - Awakenings

Julio wakes up and can't remember the past two days. Terry fills him in. He really doesn't believe her.

The bed was hard, and the sheets scratchy, but Julio wasn't inclined to move or open his eyes. Not when the birds outside his window got too loud. Or when he could hear children shouting and running in the halls. What did wake him up was when the square of sunlight moved directly into his eye. He groaned and lifted a hand to shield his face, feeling stiff muscles protest. The it came back to him.

The night, the forest, being knocked down...

"AH!" he jerked awake and sat bolt upright. "Big cat! Big--" he trailed off when he noticed two things. One, though stiff, his shoulder was completely fine. No gaping wounds, nothing. And two, he wasn't wearing any clothes under his sheet.

And now he was confused.

In the rickety chair next to the bed, her feet propped up on the end of the bed, Terry put down the book she was reading and gave him a considering look. "Pop quiz, in the event of a full moon, you should a) get a telescope, b) sing amore or c) turn into a giant cat and attempt to kill everyone in the general vicinity?"

Julio stared at Terry like she'd sprouted two heads. "...What? I mean. There was a giant cat and..." he felt his shoulder. Yep, still in one piece. "It bit me. I know it bit me. And... where are my clothes?"

She'd had hours to come up with that particular greeting and similarly hours to come up with a decent explanation for what had happened to him. "Your clothes are being used for rags. Or possibly to stuff quilts. I'm unclear on their exact fate. You weren't in much need of them at the time given that you'd chosen option C and turned into a jaguar. By the way, you owe Monet a new outfit."

The boy blinked slowly. He stuck a finger in his ear and made like he was cleaning it out. Then he looked back at Terry. "I'm sorry, what? Are you on drugs? Drunk? You are drunk, aren't you?" he recalled that he was naked and he pulled the sheet up to his chest looking at Terry accusingly.

The Irish girl rolled her eyes, "Don't flatter yourself. Though after the week I've had -- including missing my own bloody anniversary I'll have you know and my darling husband will have a fair bit to say about that I can bet you -- I think I deserve to indulge in any manner I chose." She lifted her book and displayed the trashy romance novel cover, "So you see. In any case, how are you feeling?"

Julio groaned and rested his head in his hands. "Like I've been hit by a bus. Now seriously. What happened? Last thing I remember is that thing taking a chunk out of me. I know I didn't hallucinate that." Or, maybe not? He could understand that maybe he didn't get bit. But that didn't explain the naked part. Or the feeling like he had somehow achieved a full body sprain.

"Right. You got bit, were dying and then you turned into a jaguar and tried to eat Monet." Terry picked up her book again, figuring that if he wasn't going to listen to reason, she'd go back to the reformed thief Philip and his not so reformed lady love, Princess Adrianna. "We've been waiting for you to wake up. Couldn't leave you alone just in case."

"Okay, say I believed you," Julio steepled his fingers beneath his chin. "Hypothetically. I turned into a jaguar, correct? And then I tried to ...eat Monet? So... then what happened? How did I end up naked in bed?" He had a sneaking suspicion that tequila was going to be involved. Kevin had somehow found out what the phrase meant that he'd taught him, and got him drunk and stole his pants in revenge. But Kevin wasn't that smart. Julio's head was starting to hurt.

Terry raised her eyebrows at him, "Not hypothetically. Actually. You were very much a jaguar. Thank god, not a drunk one. That would likely have been a bit hard to explain to the powers that be. 'Julio turned into a jaguar so we got him drunk' just doesn't play very well in a report." She spoke like she had a lot of experience in that. "I'm still not sure how we're going to explain the part where you broke the man's neck."

"Terry please," Julio said, rubbing his temples. "Be serious. I broke a man's neck? After I turned in a jaguar? You can see why I'm having a hard time with this," he winced when he tried to run his hands through his hair and it snagged on his torn left thumbnail. He held his hand in front of him and examined it, hissing in pain as he pulled on it to see how far it had been dislodged. A flash of memory came to him and he paled.

"...What else happened?" he said, suddenly quite serious.

Where to begin? "Ah, that's a bit complicated. We stumbled into the middle of revenge, it seems. Invading force oppresses local culture, that sort of thing. Same the whole bloody world over. You apparently agreed to take on a jaguar spirit in order to right wrongs." Terry appreciated revenge on a great many levels. She sketched out the rest of the story for him--the history, the curse, the corruption of it by Duarte. She left out most of the deaths -- they weren't Julio's fault and she wasn't eager to recall them. "Then the spirit left you and we brought you here."

Julio listened intently. Now Terry was making half-sense. And that was scary. When she finished he leaned back on his elbows with a sigh. "I miss unconsciousness now. It was less confusing." He chewed on the inside of his cheek. "Did the crazy woman say it was over? This is not going to be a re-occurring thing, yes? It's not something I would want to do on a regular basis. Shapeshift and eat people."

Terry shook her head, "We're not sure. Doña Teresa said that it wouldn't but she's the same one who made you into a giant cat to begin with so we're taking her word with a bit of a grain of salt."

"Yeah," Julio said faintly. "Yeah we should get that checked out, just in case. You know. Where ever it is that you go when you've been possessed by a freaking jaguar spirit." He still wanted to disbelieve what Terry was saying. But Terry had no reason to lie to him or screw with his head. And the bits of fragmented memory that were starting to come back to him were backing up Terry's story.

"I turned into a jaguar. Huh." He said, looking troubled.

Terry gave him a sympathetic smile. "We'll be keeping a close eye on you for a bit. Just til we're sure. In the meantime, are you hungry at all? There's food."

Julio's stomach growled in response, and he rubbed it sourly. "I think yes. That would be good. Also? Ah. Could I have my clothes, please?" Before anything else totally weird happened. He didn't think he could handle much more while still naked and on an empty stomach.

"Aye. Be right back." Terry shoved her book into her jacket pocket and got up. "Should I get you a saucer of milk? Perhaps some nice fish?"

Julio groaned and leaned back on the bed, covering his face with his arm. "I'm going to kill Dayspring for this. Somehow, it is his fault. I demand fucking hazard pay."