![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xp_legion posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
xp_logsOn New Year's Eve Haller makes the characteristically unwise decision to push himself a little too hard too fast. Fortunately Maya is around to bail him out.
This had been a mistake.
Head out late, put in a brief appearance, leave early. In theory this shouldn't have been a problem: Kirby's wasn't a big place, some of the other residents would be there, and even Jim felt the need to leave the mansion grounds on occasion. It would be a good step in acclimating himself to the outside world again.
In retrospect deciding New Year's Eve was the appropriate time to do this should have been an obvious indicator of just how reliable his own judgment was right now. It had been too much almost from the moment he walked through the door and just kept compounding. The laughter and conversation was at once happening too close and yet heard from somewhere high above his own head. The room had taken on the slightly distorted, unreal quality that told him he wasn't entirely synced with himself. He watched himself order a drink (non-alcoholic), and exchange a word or two (mind-numbingly superficial) with a stranger. To all outward appearances he was acting perfectly appropriately. He'd had a lot of practice. He could ride it out.
Then someone dropped a glass.
In that split-second after impact the bar held its breath for just a moment, and within that moment Jim's heartbeat filled his ears. Then conversation resumed and he could hear the clink of glass being pushed across the floorboards. Someone trod on a stray fragment, and the grind of glass against shoe sole crawled up his spine and into his hindbrain.
His body went hot, then cold as ice. All he could think of was . . . breaking . . .
And suddenly the voices outside of his head were inside his head and . . .
A hand gripped his shoulder as Maya pushed through the crowd, directing them towards the front door and into the cold night beyond, pausing to close the door behind them as she pulled a beanie out of the pocket of Haller’s jacket and popped it on his head.
“I think you need a timeout, don’t you?” she noted as her warm breath made puffs of mist with each word, her hand still gripped to his shoulder as a point of reference in the world. “I’m surprised you thought a bar on New Year's Eve was a good idea.”
Her words received a look of absolute blankness, as if no one was behind the eyes looking back at her -- and then, suddenly, his face changed. The slack expression suddenly grew focused, and the man straightened. The change of posture made him appear even larger than Haller's already 6'4" frame.
"Echo." Jack inhaled slowly, pulling the cold air through his nose before holding it in his lungs for a few beats before releasing it in a cloud. When the alter turned back to her his grey eyes were clear and sharp. "Thanks. Yeah, not his best call. Think David will be going home now."
Maya noticed the changes in body language and deduced who she was talking to via a number of sources, not just her own senses.
“Jack. Will you let me hail us an Uber and see you home?”
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Jack to get them back just fine but you didn’t let your teammate who had just gone into a fugue state wander off on their own.
"Whatever gets us home." The telekinetic quirked an eyebrow at the young woman. "You sure you want to miss the party? I can get us back."
“Crowds that big? Not exactly my scene but thanks for the thought. I’m sure Darcy can give me the rundown of any gossip tomorrow if I miss anything juicy.”
Maya pulled out her phone and quickly ordered an Uber, making a note of the surge price with a wince. It was better than trying to catch public transport however, especially when both you and your teammate were definitely over people.
"If you insist." Jack watched the young woman flick through the app, noting with an extreme lack of amusement that this was only the latest of several incidents where Jim's poor decision-making had required the assistance of people almost half their age. Maya may not have minded sacrificing her night for this, but Jack minded that it had become an issue at all.
Still, there wasn't much to be done for it now. They needed to get somewhere less overstimulating, and Maya was committed now. At least they were getting back before anything worse could happen.
This had been a mistake.
Head out late, put in a brief appearance, leave early. In theory this shouldn't have been a problem: Kirby's wasn't a big place, some of the other residents would be there, and even Jim felt the need to leave the mansion grounds on occasion. It would be a good step in acclimating himself to the outside world again.
In retrospect deciding New Year's Eve was the appropriate time to do this should have been an obvious indicator of just how reliable his own judgment was right now. It had been too much almost from the moment he walked through the door and just kept compounding. The laughter and conversation was at once happening too close and yet heard from somewhere high above his own head. The room had taken on the slightly distorted, unreal quality that told him he wasn't entirely synced with himself. He watched himself order a drink (non-alcoholic), and exchange a word or two (mind-numbingly superficial) with a stranger. To all outward appearances he was acting perfectly appropriately. He'd had a lot of practice. He could ride it out.
Then someone dropped a glass.
In that split-second after impact the bar held its breath for just a moment, and within that moment Jim's heartbeat filled his ears. Then conversation resumed and he could hear the clink of glass being pushed across the floorboards. Someone trod on a stray fragment, and the grind of glass against shoe sole crawled up his spine and into his hindbrain.
His body went hot, then cold as ice. All he could think of was . . . breaking . . .
And suddenly the voices outside of his head were inside his head and . . .
A hand gripped his shoulder as Maya pushed through the crowd, directing them towards the front door and into the cold night beyond, pausing to close the door behind them as she pulled a beanie out of the pocket of Haller’s jacket and popped it on his head.
“I think you need a timeout, don’t you?” she noted as her warm breath made puffs of mist with each word, her hand still gripped to his shoulder as a point of reference in the world. “I’m surprised you thought a bar on New Year's Eve was a good idea.”
Her words received a look of absolute blankness, as if no one was behind the eyes looking back at her -- and then, suddenly, his face changed. The slack expression suddenly grew focused, and the man straightened. The change of posture made him appear even larger than Haller's already 6'4" frame.
"Echo." Jack inhaled slowly, pulling the cold air through his nose before holding it in his lungs for a few beats before releasing it in a cloud. When the alter turned back to her his grey eyes were clear and sharp. "Thanks. Yeah, not his best call. Think David will be going home now."
Maya noticed the changes in body language and deduced who she was talking to via a number of sources, not just her own senses.
“Jack. Will you let me hail us an Uber and see you home?”
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Jack to get them back just fine but you didn’t let your teammate who had just gone into a fugue state wander off on their own.
"Whatever gets us home." The telekinetic quirked an eyebrow at the young woman. "You sure you want to miss the party? I can get us back."
“Crowds that big? Not exactly my scene but thanks for the thought. I’m sure Darcy can give me the rundown of any gossip tomorrow if I miss anything juicy.”
Maya pulled out her phone and quickly ordered an Uber, making a note of the surge price with a wince. It was better than trying to catch public transport however, especially when both you and your teammate were definitely over people.
"If you insist." Jack watched the young woman flick through the app, noting with an extreme lack of amusement that this was only the latest of several incidents where Jim's poor decision-making had required the assistance of people almost half their age. Maya may not have minded sacrificing her night for this, but Jack minded that it had become an issue at all.
Still, there wasn't much to be done for it now. They needed to get somewhere less overstimulating, and Maya was committed now. At least they were getting back before anything worse could happen.
