forum Stone and Flesh /OxO/ Closed! Please Stalk, PM if interested!

Started August 04, 2020 by @ElderGodSwimwithGamers group

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"He sounds really cool," Sev said soothingly. He wrapped an arm around the trembling figure. "How long did you know him for?"

"I-I… We've known each other since we were children in school," Alex said. He smiled a bit at the memories, tears still falling occasionally. "He-he always plays the stupidest tricks on the teachers…"

"Were they really good tricks?" Sev asked softly, trying not to let an ounce of pity slip through. This guy needed a listener, not a pity party.

Alex nodded.
"Yeah…" He smiled some more, giggling a bit. "His favorite one to pull is- he loves to shift everything around just the smallest bit. Everything, everything in the room, a-and then when the teacher comes in he keeps bumping into everything with the most confused expression!"

Sev laughed, trying not to make it sound forced. His mind wandered. That poor guy… what was going to happen to him after this?
"Was the teacher blind, then?" He asked, forcing his mind back to the subject at hand.

Alex shook his head some.
"Henry used it as a point- he's always been fascinated with how people work, and it seemed to prove his theory that people really don't pay attention to where their body is taking them. He always goes on about how the body has a separate memory from the soul…" Alex smiled softly as he thought about his lover.

"That… that's a surprisingly complicated thing to think about," Sev said with surprise. "How did he think of something like that?" It was an interesting theory, something that seemed to make more sense to study than the dumb theories they were coming up with these days.

"Well, he first thought of it when he saw how many people who do continuous, routine work every day are able to do the work without actually looking at it. Like a baker, knowing just how to fold the bread while chatting with his latest boyfriend." Alex laughed softly, smiling fondly at the memories.
"He wanted to see just how much we do without actually thinking about it, including walking around."

"Isn't that just instinct and muscle memory, though?" Sev asked. And then he thought of a theory that might make Alex happier.
"Did he believe in the rebirth of souls?" He asked cautiously, hoping this wasn't a trigger for the frightened man.

"Muscle… memory?" Alex tilted his head some. "You- you mean Henry is right?" Alex beamed at the thought, grinning at the revelation.
"And yeah, definitely. Well, if someone is deserving of it." Alex put his finger on his chin, humming some.

"Yeah, that's what I mean," Sev said. "I dunno, when the baker is kneading the bread, wouldn't he know how to do that already, from experience?"
He smiled slightly down at Alex. "Well, if anyone is deserving of soul rebirth, I'd say that Henry is, from what I've heard of him. I hope you find him again."

"Right! But Henry always said that the memory of how to do it was in the baker's hands, too, so he wouldn't have to think about it." Alex had calmed down quite a lot, sitting up in the hospital bed and folding his legs under himself.
"I… I do too. He was the best lover I could ever ask for."

"Hmm. That's an interesting idea." Sev smiled at the thought. It was something he had never considered before. This Henry guy seemed way ahead of his time.
"If you want, I could try and help you find him, or at least what happened to him," he said after a moment's silence.

Alex thought a moment, looking up at Sev then.
"I… yeah, I think that would be good…" He offered a smile, folding his hands in his lap. He was still sore, but he was more than ready to get up and leave.
"Can we go?"

"Alright," Sev said with a warm smile.
He glanced around. "I don't know. I don't think the doctors want you to leave until you're fully healed, and you need to get a bit more sleep. I'll do my best to sneak you out, though, before anyone tries to come and interrogate you. I heard that it was going to happen from one of the nurses."

"I must agree with needing more sleep," Alex said, nodding a bit. He shifted on the bed some, looking up at Sev with innocent eyes.
"And is it bad they want to interrogate me? I haven't done anything wrong, have I?" Alex didn't know just how people who'd gone through something like he had were treated in the current age. He assumed he would be taken care of after such a horrible thing.

"Well…" Sev rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and glanced at the floor. "Maybe interrogate is the wrong word. But you came from a statue, a statue that dates back for a hundred years. There isn't any sign of breaking, and so they want to know why you're in the statue, and things like that. It's not necessarily an interrogation, but the media makes it feel that way."

"Oh…" Alex looked at Sev for a moment, curling up a bit again. "Well… if you think it's safer if I leave now with you, then I'm okay with that. Shall we get going, then?" The man moved to the side of the bed, letting his feet hang down the side of the bed.

"Woah woah woah," Sev said hurriedly, holding up his hands to stop the man. "Do you want to leave now, or get a little bit more rest? Your body isn't in the best of condition. I can wake you up before the press gets here, if you'd like to sleep a little bit more."

"I…" Alex thought a moment, then shook his head. "No, I can rest later. I think leaving now would be a good idea, so no one is coming to stop us." Alex did his best to stand up, shaky on his feet. He did eventually fall, onto Sev, with a small sound.

"If you say so." Alex looked to be in really bad condition. Sev didn't try to dissuade the man, though, and caught him with ease. "Hey, careful." He smiled down at Alex, helping him stay steady. The other man was so small, it was a miracle he could even sit up, let alone stand.

Alex nodded, leaning into Sev's help.
"Thank you," he said, holding onto one of the other's arms with both hands. "So, what's the way out?" Alex coughed some, the now wet plaster coming up in tiny globs.

"Woah, woah, be careful," Sev said worriedly. "Don't strain yourself too much." Helping Alex keep steady, he motioned to the direction of the exit. "It's that way. Or we could try to climb out a window, but that might not be best for your condition."

"I, ah, I don't think taking the window would be good right now," Alex admitted. He tried to hold back another cough, but it just ended up worse, a thick mucus-like glob of plaster hitting the ground as he choked it out.

Sev glanced at the man worriedly, and then, grabbing a tissue from a box on a nearby counter, handed it to him. "Here, cough into that. It might help you feel cleaner." He glanced around. "Well, then, let's go to the exit, and pray we don't get caught." Starting slowly, he helped Alex out of the room and down the hall, trying to look like he was allowed to do this.