A Pull of Threads

[Jared Vanders]

Jared smiled. Having a somewhat normal conversation was refreshing. The mention of high school was something that brought Jared way back. He started at age twelve. Barely out of the 'girls are gross' phase and still extremely awkward. He had never really had many girlfriends in high school for that reason with the girls in his class being two years older.

"Nah, I was quite the nerd in high school. Hard to believe I know."
he smirked. "Started at an awkward time and the girls in my class were two years older than me. I didn't really start that whole shindig until college. Enlisted after I got my bachelor's degree."


There were memories there too. "Found out about magic during a training exercise when a fellow Marine was injured. Wound completely sealed up - wasn't even a scar. No idea what happened until my Sergeant told me. He taught me how to use it and all that. Shit that was five years ago. Time flies."


The conversation was helping. The screams were completely gone from his mind. At least for now. Jared had no doubt they would come again eventually. He could only hope it wasn't during a critical time.

[Jay Carpenter]

Jared mentioned college again. It made Jay wonder if he had made the right decision. Nah, dumb thought. He clearly remembered growing sick to his stomach every time he even thought about college applications. What did he need some degree for anyway? A piece of paper wasn't Kevlar, going to bounce bullets off his chest. Or anyone else's.

Wait. Jay blinked at the opposite wall. Every ounce of him went perfectly motionless. Jared's magic. "You patched someone completely up?"
He looked Jared in the eye. Not even a scar. "What the hell man?"
He gestured at his leg. "I could use some magic glue right about now. Give it a go!"
He started untying his boot like that was going to help Jared somehow. His leg ached still, but it was tolerable. Having a more functional lower half on the other hand was needed much more.

[Jared Vanders]

Jared smiled a bit, but at the same time felt bad. He hadn't even thought of using healing magic on Jay. Whatever reason that was, it still didn't excuse the fact that he hadn't offered even though he would never work magic on someone without permission, with the exception of combat of course.

"You got it. I can't heal everything, but I'll give it a try."


Jared summoned mana and formed the healing spell together. It was one he could do well. He had sparked with it after all. After the forces worked together, he laid it over Jay. Soon enough they would see if it would work.

((Ooc: it is beyond his ability to heal everything, but he is able to heal most typical battlefield injuries - the non-mortal ones. I would say this should work unless the healing would have had to occur closer to the actual wounding. I'm not 100% sure on that.))

[Jay Carpenter]

Jay finished removing his boot and rolled up the modified pant leg. The cast beneath was a bone-white web printed off and molded to fit his shape. He absently scratched at a spot on his calf and looked to Jared for what to do next.

It wasn't like he knew what to expect. This was half-crazy anyway, but why not? He'd seen Vanders conjure weirder stuff out of thin air.

Something covered him, like a fine mist or a silk sheet, but as soon as it settled into his skin, he shivered despite the stifling African air. The cold intensified, and Jay wrapped his arms around himself. He hunched over like he thought he was going to be sick. Jared's power did this? And it was suppose to heal him up? Jay hated to see what that same power did to someone on Jared wanted to harm.

As quick as it hit him, the chill lifted. Jay's hands went limp at his sides and his shoulders slumped low. He felt weak like he hadn't felt since the first week of basic training, like every muscle hanging on his limbs was a soggy sack of tissue.

"Remind me never to be on your bad side."
As soon as he said it he realized that for as wiped out as he was, one sensation was missing.

He looked at his leg. He couldn't bend it of course. But the ever-present ache that grew so familiar was gone. "Hand me my knife will you?"
He pointed to where he'd unloaded his kit nearby.

He felt stronger as soon as his palm wrapped the hilt, but it was anticipation giving his grip strength. He went to work sawing apart the netting that imprisoned his leg all this time. It fell aside and he gingerly bent the ankle first, then the knee, then lifted the leg in the air and moved through both simultaneously. A surprised grin slowly split his face. "Well. Huh."


He pushed himself up, despite his skeleton willing him to lay down and go to sleep.

"Now that's a hell of a thing."

[Jared Vanders]

Jared smiled as he saw Jay go through the healing process. He had see it before, but personally had never felt it. Obviously Jay felt cold during apart of it as he huddled up and shivered. But it was the bad side comment that made him actually chuckle. "You've witnessed me stopping a bullet in mid air and healing. Wait until I start throwing fire around."
Fire was just plain fun.

Jared remained silent after handing Jay's knife over, letting Jay cut the cast off and then trying to move his leg around. "It really is. Good as new I hope."
Jared agreed.

But his curiousity couldn't be sated by what he saw. He wanted to know what Jay had felt. He had some idea from what others had said, but he had never had the chance to get feedback so immediately. "Tell me. What did that feel like.?"

[Lawrence Monday]

Laurie had bad days in her time, but this one was about the worst in living memory. She literally ran through the jungle, scooped up kids, and hid anywhere they could find. The foliage had been thick, and never mind the needle-trunk trees, low-hanging snakes, and poisonous spiders, the scariest part of the jungle was the buzzing of bullets flying from no where, shot by men they couldn't see. In the end, she only made it out with two children. One was about five years old, the other twelve or so. She shuddered to think that some of the monsters running them down were teenagers or younger. Burly, monstrous men were easier to accept as evil doers. A child demon was harder to hate.

She'd never been so happy to see Zander, her skinny intern, in all her life when he met her at the edge of Freetown. She even hugged him, although the intimacy made him duly uncomfortable afterward. During the ride through town she relayed the experience, including how she lost her sunglasses. Thankfully, everything they recorded was uploaded and safe. Zander had the rest of their equipment stored, so as soon as she was ready to write, the internet was waiting.

"First I need a change of clothes and a wash cloth."
She had no illusions about hot bubble baths. She could clean herself up fine enough with a sink and towel. Meanwhile, he explained the ride back to Freetown from the soldier's perspective. They'd all heard the very gunfire chasing down Lawrence and the children, but nobody turned to intercept it. He had video too. It was disturbing to watch, to say the least.

In Freetown's central district, the Legion let her and Zander past their checks. It seemed Jacques Danjou wanted some press, and given how few foreign reporters were on scene, Laurie was it. The strangeness of walking through an elaborate mansion stripped down to pure utilitarian functions was not lost on her as Zander showed her to the room they were given to share for the next few days. Or until they were kicked out. Considering the story she was thinking about writing, she mentally prepared herself to find new accommodations on a dime.

As she only had a single change of clothes at a time, she made sure to wash out what she had on and hang it up to dry before leaving to wander around. That left her in a spare tank top, dark blue with gray pants. She had a smart jacket with about ten pockets, temperature controlled lining, and a sleeve link to her watch but she left it in her room. She wouldn't be leaving the Legion's compound, and bare arms were hardly a problem within their patrolled walls.

She left Zander to edit video crops for the story she'd likely write later that night and went off in search of quotes from the legionnaires. Chatter wasn't hard to come by. Most of the men and women she came upon were friendly enough, but most clammed up as soon as they realized she was there. She'd smile and move on. There were no shortage of people to hit up, meanwhile.

She only caught snippets. Oddly, people were talking about one Legionnaire in particular almost as often as they spoke of Jacques Danjou or the refinery massacre. She remembered meeting him on the grounds earlier that day, and nothing noteworthy stood out in her memory.

"Can you tell me where to find Legionnaire Vanders?"
She asked in her most authoritative voice. Either the seriousness wasn't needed or nobody cared, because she was pointed his way promptly enough.

She knocked and let herself inside in time to hear Jared's question. Jared had this sad, distant look on his face. His company was a legionnaire that Lawrence immediately recognized from the refinery, although she didn't know his name. She noted the broken cast discarded on the floor, as well as the absence of one boot, and the fact he was walking quite smoothly.

"You look like you're feeling better."
She leaned on the door frame, letting her own thoughts go unsaid. Her eyes shifted back to Jared. "You remember me, right? We met earlier. Lawrence Monday. I keep hearing the strangest things, and oddly, they're all about you. Care to shed some light on that?"

[Jay Carpenter]

After a few test steps, Jay took a proper walk around the room. He stomped. He kicked. He did a lunge. "This is incredible. I won't even hold it against you for waiting so long!"
His smirk turned into a shrug as he thought about what the voodoo felt like. At least, he hoped that's what Vanders meant. His gaze distanced itself as he thought. "Uhh. I don't know. Cold I guess. Uncomfortable. A little painful actually, but in a good way."
He regretted putting it that way as soon as he said it. If it was anyone but Vanders, he'd probably get shit for it for weeks. Least, if the stakes were reversed, Jay wouldn't let someone live it down.

"I think I could sleep for twelve hours straight."
Considering he was lucky to get a couple good hours of shut eye, that was saying something. "And kind of familiar. Like magic healing voodoo deja vu."
He immediately waved the thought away. "Though that doesn't make any sense. I'm pretty sure I've never done that before."
He laughed.

Knocking and the door opened to admit the last person he expected to see. Jay remembered her, definitely. How could he not? Granted, he hadn't thought about her since seeing her, but now that Lawrence was standing there, it seemed like she was the only thing that should be occupying his mind the entire time. The way this woman stood, her smirk, even the ornery gleam in her eye reminded him of Natalie, which was dumb. The two women were nothing alike. Maybe it was the way they held themselves. Like the room was suppose to revolve around them. And in a way that they deserved.

She noticed his leg, so he immediately buckled his weight and limped back to the sleeping pallet on the floor. Actually, it felt great to sit down. If he had a pillow, he'd be plopping the back of his head on it right then. "Yeah. I'm feeling a bit better."
She'd already seen the cast, so there was no point hiding it. "Glad to get that damned thing off."


But she was there to talk to Vanders. How much had she heard of his answer? It couldn't have made any sense to her. Thankfully Vanders got to deal with it.

[Jared Vanders]

Jared smirked, the double meaning not escaping him, but was glad that it had worked. He was sure that Jay felt significantly better knowing he could now climb stairs without breaking a sweat. Jared, however, didn't respond.

A knock on the door and suddenly the frame of Lawrence Monday was in the door. She made a remark to Jay about feeling better and then turned to him, and got straight to asking reporter questions; the woman was a hero from what he had heard - couldn't she take a night off from asking questions!?

Jared was too tired to be irritated though, and it was his exhaustion that brought out the less serious side of him. "I couldn't forget such a pretty face Miss Monday, of course I remember you."


Jared turned to face her and patted the area next to him. "Come on in and join us. I saved you a seat, Laurie. Can I call you Laurie?"
He smiled.

Her question remained unanswered at first. Jared could have been snarky about it, but he didn't feel in the mood to do so. He also really didn't want to play reporter games. The question she asked wasn't specific and he had no idea what she would have heard about him after the attack unless she heard what Jay had said. "What sort of 'strange things' are you hearing about me, Miss Monday?"

[Lawrence Monday]

Laurie eyed the spot Jared patted. Granted, there weren't many seating options and the two soldiers were sprawled out on the floor. Legionnaires, she mentally corrected herself. Soldiers were members of a standing army not a for-profit company.

That Jared asked to call her Laurie was surprising. She shrugged. "Sure, everyone ends up calling me Laurie."
She moved into the room, although she stayed by the door. She was tired enough to join them, but she liked the view from where she stood.

He was playing coy, though. She appreciated the attempt at deflection. It meant he had something to hide. "Strange things like the other guys calling you a wizard. That if you're there, they can't lose. Its like you're a lucky charm. A nuclear lucky charm."
Her gaze flicked briefly at Jay in case he gave something away.

[Jay Carpenter]

Well well. Jared was something of a ladies man after all. Jay kept his smirk hidden, but he was plenty entertained by the flirting going on between Jared and Lawrence. He even pinned down a pet name.

Jay wasn't much for political stakes, but a reporter digging into Jared's secrets was probably not the best for the Legion. Although Danjou seemed keen to make sure Lawrence was given full access to all things Legion, even inviting her, and a few other reporters, out to the refinery. To do what? Document the massacre he was planning? Was it part of his plan to unveil secret-weapon Jared Vanders to the press all in one day?

Nah. That was far fetched, even for Jacques.

Jay's laugh cut in. He had the perfect excuse for Vanders. "Sorry to tell you this, but you got it all wrong Laurie,"
he added a wink to her nickname. Although he kind of preferred Lawrence. "Vanders is Wizard. It's his name. We all have names we go by. I'm Hollywood,"
he flashed a grin and nodded. "Otherwise known as Jay."


That should do the trick. "But you'll have to ask him about how he earned the nickname."
His smirk cut toward Vanders.