Playing With Shadows II, for smartass_captain

[conjuredskies]

The darkness flows around him, a river of shadow beneath a moonless night. His hands are in agony and there’s a dull thudding pain in his skull, but he’s safe. For now. At least until Jim finds out what he’s done.

Which… is fuck up a ritual in their most hated place and let loose a powerful, bloodthirsty daedric warrior.

Felix utters all the Andorian words Norn’s taught him not to say.

“Are you just going to sit there, featherless? Don’t you know how to walk?” There’s a familiar harshness to the voice; Felix isn’t surprised to lift his head and see the crow sitting in a stunted tree close by. Though in his defence, he thinks, it’s a black bird sitting in a black tree in the realm of eternal night. It doesn’t exactly grab the eye.

“You’re… the Knave of Rooks, aren’t you?” The smallest of the Blackfeather Court, and one of the lowest-ranking, from his observations.

“Correct, mortal!” The bird puffs and preens. “Prince Nocturnal commanded that I should guide you through her glorious realm of Evergloam, in fulfilment of your contract!”

"You? So then..." She didn't set one of her phantom Nightingales to handle this errand. Even a former mortal must outrank the bird. But Felix bites his tongue hard on that. Not the time to start offending his guide with such observations, even if he's inadvertently learning something. 

The Knave cocks his head at Felix, the glint of his eyes a violet spark in the gloom. “Well? Speak! Where is it you need to go?”

“Uh-“ To the Enterprise, scream the white-hot nerves in his hands, the ache of his skull and ribs. To the ship and Dr. McCoy and all his wonderful shiny machines for making the pain go right the hell away.

Then he considers the look on Jim’s face when Bones immediately reports this, and winces. Anyway, there’s precious few shadows to fall out of on the Enterprise. He’d be as well going to their quarters and then he might give Jim a nasty surprise to his face.

“Iowa. My home on Earth.” He doesn’t know if that means much to the crow, but maybe that doesn’t matter.

“Very well. Follow! Hurry up!” The crow flaps off, leaving the mage to stumble after him, up the bank of the dark river and through a sparse wood Felix has glimpsed before. He finds his sight starting to adjust to the shadows as he picks his way over rocks and roots, trying to stick to what path there is. The bird calls to him again each time he drops behind, harsh and grating and peppered with commentary Felix can’t concentrate enough to be annoyed by.

The pain in his hands ebbs and throbs in turns. Eventually he musters himself to speak again, just to distract himself.

“Hey… Knave? You’re a servant of Nocturnal. A… a wise noble of this realm. Can you tell me… why the hood I wear didn’t protect my mind, from… from the foul place I delved into?”

The compliments seem to do the trick: the bird stops to preen instead of complaining about the question. He seems to hesitate, though. Felix nearly flinches when he flies down to the conjurer’s shoulder, leans over to tug the hood with his beak.

“The boon of Nocturnal? Her Gift of Merciful Shadow?" His voice is even harsher delivered straight into Felix's ear. "It softens the bitter edges of the light, veils the bones too sharp for mortal minds to bear.”

“Yes- I know that, but then why didn’t it work?” It didn’t stop Rielle from getting to him. Reminding him…

“How should I know, featherless? It makes things seem no more than the lies they tell, yes? Maybe you are a bad liar!” The Knave scoffs and flaps loudly away into the darkness.

A bad liar? That doesn't even make... Felix nearly laughs until the shooting pain in his ribs makes it a whimper. He doesn't have energy to waste on ruining what little dignity he has left; he shuts up and follows until the Knave circles a pool of shadow, cawing pointedly. The conjurer steps into it- and lands on the rug in a darkened living room.

---

He doesn’t dare look at his hands until he’s running them under cold water. The burns left by the backlash of the spell are… bad, the skin bubbled and raw. Conjurer’s burn is an occupational hazard but he’s never been so stupid as to let himself fail at a summoning this badly. Never felt the results like this.

He’s infinitely lucky not to be dead, of course. He knows that down to his bones. Lucky to be here - he couldn’t have worked a PINpoint like this.

The burns are nothing he couldn’t heal… if he only had the use of his hands. Felix allows himself to groan and swear with the pain- and the anger at himself. The house is empty, nobody cares. He does have a stash of potions, though the way his body complains he doubts he’ll have anything strong enough to fully tackle what he’s done to himself. He goes for the best one- the emergency elixir stashed in a cupboard, gingerly maneuvering it down to the counter with his seared hands. Hugging it in the crook of his elbow as he painfully gets the stopper off.

When he lifts the hefty bottle to drink- he tips his head back, there’s a moment of nauseating dizziness - it slips out of his fumbling hands, spilling across the counter as it bounces-

-rolls-

-hits the floor and smashes.

Felix stares at the ghastly mess over the tiles. At the ghastly mess of his hands. For some reason all he can think despite the despair and the burning pain is What am I going to tell Jim?

And oddly, that’s when something clicks. He understands, quite suddenly. Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Felix starts to do both. A painful, racking, sobbing laugh as he slumps against the counter and lets himself just… surrender for a minute.

What are you going to tell him? Idiot. You don’t even know what to tell yourself.

Comments

[conjuredskies]

"Nnngh-" He can't cling, has to lean into Jim as best he can and this time it's not his injuries that make the world shift dizzyingly around him. The sight of Jim in his leathers has all the terrifying implications sinking in and he sobs with relief as much as pain that Jim is here, he didn't go he's not going I won't let him-

Bones doesn't sound like he's arguing at the urgent demand. Felix is, though. Even despite the relief of knowing smarter people than him have this under control, the pain is going to go away soon enough - gods, he desperately hopes so.

"Jim i... it's okay I c'n, I walked back here I just need t'... sit for a minute." Sit and try to stifle his undignified whimpers. Even if Jim didn't stop him he wouldn't get far before Leonard arrives, entirely and unwillingly awake to face whatever the hell is going on this time.

[smartass_captain]

Jim's clinging to him well enough with one arm, anchoring Felix against his chest with his left arm the entire time he's fussing with his comm in his right hand. Doing everything he can to keep Felix supported and upright as much as possible where they're settled on the floor of their quarters. It's only now that Jim's even thinking about the potions back at the house and how Felix was trying to tend to his own injuries with one as the doctor terminates the call and no doubt flings himself out of bed and back into his uniform posthaste.

"Felix, stop squirming--" Jim's going to have to toss the comm aside too so he can get both arms around the Imperial to stop him from pitching himself sideways onto the floor. "You can't hold or touch anything right now just let me help you." He can't carry the mage all the way down to sickbay without hurting Felix more and possibly dropping him which would only make things worse for them both.

It won't take Leonard long to key open the door with one of his crew in tow to assess the situation. His frown deepens to see Felix and Jim on the floor, but one glance at Jim's attire (and Felix's) makes him hold one hand to stop his assistant at the door. Leonard turns back to the other and instructs him to go fetch Nurse Chapel instead. Someone he trusts to keep their mouth shut about whatever is going on here.

When he turns back to glare down at them Jim shrugs before nodding to Bones. "Come on, help me get him moved."

Leonard shifts his medkit so it's less likely to be in the way before squatting down to help. He's larger than Jim is and knows better how to grab Felix without touching his injuries.

"How in the hell d'you even...Easy there, Felix. Don't even start arguin' with me, we're gonna have to get those clothes off ya before too many folk start asking questions. Jim just goddamn change before you come running down after us, will you?"

It takes Jim a minute to even understand but when he glances down at himself he sighs.

"Right. Give me a second--"

"Not waiting around. Chapel will be here in a second and we'll get him down. You just follow after us when you're decent."

[conjuredskies]

He's too tired to squirm for long when Jim insists on holding him steady. Eventually he slumps into his husband's arms and lets himself be supported. He's in no state to argue and part of him is honestly happy to sink into the relief of having someone here to help.

He's fuzzy on what's happening until Leonard is there, an extra pair of hands hauling him up despite his confused flailing (he's trying to help, really he is). Something something clothes... right. Right, he can't go around the ship in his leathers, though he can't really help with the unclasping and unbuckling there.

"...'Kay." A deep breath, unaware of how very pale his face is. Focus, he needs to be lucid for this part. "Sorry f'r... getting you out of bed, doctor."

There's less swearing from Leonard than he was expecting, but Felix is grateful for the doctor's brisk attitude. His calm makes this feel more manageable, though no less awkward as they try to get Felix changed. The Imperial tries to focus on listening to Leonard like he's told, moving to help with the undressing. He still has to bite his lip hard to choke down the whine when they clip against one of his hands by accident.

Felix has never been quite so grateful that shipboard dress is light and - in the case of the meditation clothes Jim tosses over to the bed - loose enough to get on without so much trouble. It would be embarrassing to be so helpless, if his dignity wasn't sliding rapidly to the bottom of his concerns right now. At least he'll be pretty much decent when Chapel knocks on the door.

His eyes are on Jim, though. Jim who's unbuckling his own leathers, Jim who definitely isn't going back there. He's not sure what to say but when he catches his husband's eye Felix tries to look reassuring.

[smartass_captain]

Leonard frowns even harder at Felix's not entirely cognizant slurring but doesn't bother verbally flogging Jim any more right now. Not when Felix looks to be about a second away from passing out and Jim's barely holding himself together. Finding out what happened is far less important than getting Felix down to Medical in the moment.

"S'my job, kid. Just relax for me best as you can." Felix thankfully isn't fighting him nearly as hard as Jim would be and in fact seems to be mostly on the same page where it comes to undressing and redressing. Willing to behave enough that when Christine is let in Felix is ready to go. Bones doesn't even need to give her an instruction in this case--one look at Felix has Christine's expression thinning into grim focus as she moves to help Leonard get Felix secured. She at least has enough control to smile sweetly when Felix whimpers again.

"We'll get that taken care of, just hold on."

It leaves Jim lingering in the bedroom having kicked aside all of their otherworldly clothing and so very helpless to do anything more for his husband but watch. Jim nods when Felix looks his way.

"I'll be right down."

Just as soon as he catches their uncle up on what's happened.

[conjuredskies]

Felix tries to nod shakily, though it's interrupted by his getting maneuvered onto a stretcher whether he likes it or no. He's not really clear when Christine administers whatever it is they use, but he does exhale with relief when he feels the pain start to bite less and less until there's a genuine, wonderful numbness washing over him. For a while there's not much to do but lie back and hold still and let them cart him off to sickbay where they can scan and prod (gently) as much as they need to. Sometimes a question gets directed his way but he's getting less and less helpful with that so mostly Leonard and Christine make their own inferences from their readings.

The burns are most obvious. Second-degree and almost covering his hands, extending irregularly up part of his arms as if he stuck them into a naked flame, though the precise nature of the damage looks more like a plasma burn. There's some on his face too, especially his cheeks and nose, but that's much milder, easy to overlook until they're inspecting him under the clear light of sickbay. Then, they're both already sure he's concussed even before they find the welt on the back of his head. Kid hit it pretty good, which tallies with the bruising Leonard saw down his back. Fits the pattern that suggests some kind of explosion threw him back.

The rib fractures... Leonard's not so sure about that. He's seen enough crew members get knocked around in explosions to recognize when it looks more like a local impact. Besides, he helped get that leather chest-piece off of Felix. It felt pretty bent and torn up around there, but he doesn't remember a lot of scorch marks.

These aren't thoughts he'll be spending time on, though. Nowhere near as important as making sure Felix's skull is intact (and that he's got all the brains he started with); checking no bits of rib have gone astray to cause more harm; helping Christine clean up the kid's hands so they can get the regeneration underway. There's some nerve damage there (maybe more than the burns would suggest) but nothing Leonard can't fix up. The kid is goddamned lucky he's not relying on his medieval homeworld's medical knowledge.

It's gonna be a while before Felix is completely patched back together and they can all try to get some rest again. But Leonard pretty quickly has him safely strapped down ensconced in sickbay, out of danger and no longer whimpering pathetically.

---

Terentius, meanwhile, is oblivious to all this: he's been piling supplies on the kitchen table, torches and rope and blankets rousted out of cupboards and sorted to try and get a sense of what they'll really need. He looks up sharply at the sound of boots, frowning to hear just one pair before he actually clocks Jim's change of attire.

"Did you get Stratos?"

[smartass_captain]

Leonard's certain Christine has her own opinions about whatever Felix has gone through but they're both in agreement almost from the immediate start that whatever's happened to Felix Jim probably wasn't involved with. The captain bore no injuries of his own and had been on the bridge until only just recently. It's almost unthinkable that Jim would be in one piece if he'd been anywhere near this. Half because of the nature of Felix's injuries and half because James T. Kirk has a nasty habit of putting himself in harm's way to make sure someone else is safe.

Though Leonard knows better he does make note of Chapel's suggestion that they send someone to inspect the lab he has clearance to work in to make sure there's nothing dangerous yet lingering for someone else to stumble upon nor any damage to the ship.

While it's surprising that Jim isn't pacing around already in the hallway just outside it's a blessing in and of itself. They needn't send someone to keep the captain busy while they do their work which is a relief. Jim tends to linger close to the people he cares most about whenever something goes wrong to end them up in here.

They're not wrong, either. If Jim didn't have a promise to keep a universe away he'd already be heading their way. As it stands Jim's haphazardly in his uniform once more as he exits their bedroom in Bruma to go find Terentius back in the family home. His hands are raised immediately when the old ex-soldier turns to look at him.

Calmer than he'd been before but somehow just as pale.

"I found Felix. We don't need to ride out tonight." That should be cause for relief but the fact that Jim's here alone and still sounds shaky has Terentius moving closer to Jim as best as his bad leg will allow.

"Where is he, Jim?" What's Felix done now? Why wouldn't he have come here to explain himself even a little? The last part he can at least suspect but surely they're owed that after the worry everyone's been through.

"He was at the house in Iowa trying to make use of the potions he keeps there..." With wet eyes and a tight voice Jim starts to explain how he found his husband in their home on Earth. Describes his injuries and mangled leathers and how terrified Felix was. Jim might sound unsure about what's transpired but those burns of his tell Terentius a pretty clear picture.

One they've all worried would befall their wayward youngest eventually.

"Conjurer's burn." Terentius murmurs, dropping his gaze from Jim's for a moment. The fate of a mortal playing with powers too vast for them to control. He's heard it described often enough to know Felix is lucky he's only burned his hands but even that could have such devastating effects on a mage. How will he properly cast ever again if he's hurt himself so severely? "Felix needs to see a healer immediately--" He starts but his newest nephew is already nodding.

"I have him in the care of Dr. McCoy. He's got...the best people in my plane looking after him right now. Of that you can be sure. I just. I needed to come tell you we'd found him." Jim's only looking more pale after the description of what's likely happened to his husband. "He went back after all and he's lucky to have made it out alive. I...my people will see to his injuries."

Jim swallows around a lump in his throat.

"We'll have to get answers after."

[conjuredskies]

However unsure Terentius might be about what healing in Jim's world entails, he knows for certain that Jim wouldn't allow any more harm to come to his husband. He remembers the man who introduced himself as a doctor at the wedding, the friends Jim brought with him. They seemed trustworthy, too. So no matter how much the older man wishes he could run to his nephew himself, he placates his ragged nerves with that knowledge. Nods slowly.

"Whatever he was doing, Jim, it sounds like an injury caused by magic. I don't know much about those, and I bet your people won't either. I know they're good at their work, but- you should let Stratos see him, too. Hell. You might not be able to stop him once he finds out."

He pulls a rueful, lopsided smile. Reaches out to clasp the captain's arm. "But you got him back. He's damned lucky you went looking for him, you know. And at least... he's not back there."

Though the fact that he went back at all... for the love of Stendarr, Felix, why?

[smartass_captain]

Terentius has a point and besides, Jim can't imagine Stratos having to hear about this of all things through the grapevine. Bad enough Jim had to find out about it second hand from one of his own crew Felix has decided to trust over his own husband. (Suspecting why Felix might have done this doesn't make the anger simmering beneath his skin any less intense, it just takes away his outlet to unleash it.)

"I'm going to let Stratos know right away. Just...once I'm back on the ship. Otherwise he's apt to go there without me and that wouldn't be good for anyone."

Stratos, in a panic, walking around a ship he shouldn't be on. That's sure to go well. Even in gamma shift that's asking for trouble.

"He's always been lucky. I...just hope that continues to hold, Uncle." Jim forces a bit of a smile at the touch. Trying to sound confident in Bones and their staff. But if the injury affected his magic too...what could any of them do for Felix? "When he's able I'll bring him here right away to see you."

[conjuredskies]

Terentius makes a rueful noise. Stratos is generally adept at subterfuge but... perhaps not so when he decides his little brother's injuries outweigh discretion. He's certainly capable of causing havoc if he goes on the warpath.

"You do that. I need to tell him what I think of sneaking past me without so much as a 'how are you'." Terentius looks over Jim, gives him another pat before he steps back. "I'll be here. You just make sure you get some sleep. You're going to need it too." Don't think he hasn't cottoned on to your bad habits, Jim.

[smartass_captain]

To say nothing about how lost Stratos could get on a ship that large without Jim there to guide him. He was only ever aboard once before after all and that was...not even the same ship. Years ago at that. Jim swallows. Terentius is more right than he knows. Jim's already taken one of the stamina potions Felix had tucked away to help keep him on his feet for what's apt to be a rough and long night into morning.

"So long as you do the same. I...know how hard it's going to be to be left alone after finding out all of this. I'm sure Stratos will be by before I am. And...thank you for the help tonight. Felix might still be waiting for someone to find him back at the house if you hadn't urged me there."

Jim shudders to even think of his husband laying on the floor amid broken glass and the potion that could have helped ease his pain suffering all alone. It squeezes at his throat until it's difficult to breathe. He needs to get back and see Felix.

"We'll come back with better news." It's as much of a reassurance as Jim can give before he takes a step back and reaches for his PINpoint. The family home grows silent once more with the captain's departure. But what to tell Stratos? Jim paces in a circle around his quarters a few passes while he drags his free hand through his hair. There's too much to tell in a text alone, not nearly enough to give him a full story.

Jim frowns over the device before he stops to send out a message.

Are you awake? Can you get to where your clothing for my world is at the moment? There's been an incident and you're going to want to be here. Use these coordinates to get to my quarters. Erase the old ones you might have, that ship no longer exists and by now someone else has likely moved in to my old place in Yorktown.

[auspex_caelo]

Stratos tends to be an early riser and it's already starting to get light far to the north Haafingar. Still, he's expecting a good hour of sleep or more before the insistent pip of his hidden-away PINpoint prompts him to roll over and check it. Just in case it's not Felix sending him a picture of some ridiculous Earth outfit or Nekomata making acerbic commentary on her current assignment.

It's neither.

Jim has to wait a good ten minutes before Stratos is remotely awake enough to process what he's reading.

I can. What incident? Clothes. He needs to get his clothes, hidden away at the bottom of his trunk. He pulls off his outer clothes to dress hurriedly. He'll need to check those co-ordinates carefully... leave a note for his staff that he's on urgent business...

[smartass_captain]

It's time enough for Jim to both put away his gear for Tamriel and to lay out Felix's for him to inspect. He's gone and worried himself sick all over to tally the scorch marks, stains of blood that are undoubtedly Felix's, and the mangled leather where he'd been struck bodily. More than ever he has to repeat to himself that Bones has brought Jim back from worse before. That Felix is going to be okay.

But for his magic...

Jim stops to scoop the device back up. He's as prepared as he's going to get for what's sure to follow.

It's Felix. He's hurt, badly.

[auspex_caelo]

The strength goes out of Stratos's hands when he reads that message. Too many awful possibilities coming to mind at once. He's feared for Felix so much over the years but now, really? When he was so certain at last that his brother had a safe home and reason to have a care with the dangers he invoked? When it finally felt like the harshest lessons were behind them?

He wants to demand more answers immediately but typing it all out like this will only slow them down. Stratos jams the PINpoint into his pocket instead and jots a hurried note for his aide to find.

When he materializes in Jim's quarters, he looks more like his younger brother for how pale he is. Momentarily relieved to see Jim there and know he's in the right place- but there's no time for niceties.

"How bad is he?"

[smartass_captain]

Jim doesn't jump though he feels ten years older than he is when he lifts his head to look his brother-in-law in the eyes. At first all he does is beckon the older Imperial over to look at Felix's gear Jim's laid out over his work desk. His things from home that he'd never wear over here on Jim's ship.

"He's in our medical unit now. We'll go down in just a moment. I needed. I need....Bones can help him get back on his feet but if his magic's been affected..." Jim brushes his mussed hair out of his face. Forces himself to take a deep breath.

"Conjurer's burn, Terentius called it."

Jim shakes his head again, fingers curling tight into white knuckled fists at his sides as he lets the mangled chest piece fall back onto the desk. He doesn't know how to explain to Stratos when he barely knows what's going on himself.

"I don't...I don't know how it happened. Only that he was already hurt when I found him."

[auspex_caelo]

Felix's armor. Somehow the sight of it alone is more ominous than seeing Felix himself. Stratos closes his eyes a moment and tells himself that Felix must be in no more danger- the healers have him, Jim isn't rushing them to his side. He needs to help Jim understand what happened, since it's plain the captain wasn't there.

"Conjurer's burn... that wouldn't surprise me." The faint signs of burn marks on the armor tell a tale themselves. "I assume there wasn't much left of his gauntlets, then. It's an injury that happens when a mage loses control of a summoning spell - from the backlash of the released energies. Typically because they tried to summon something far too powerful for them."

He's making himself look at the chest piece abstractly, just a piece of evidence with a story to tell. His fingertips brush over the gash and dent in the midsection of it, reading more than trace magics.

"...Something with a weapon, by the look of this. Assuming that wasn't what interrupted the spell and caused the backlash." He knows he's predisposed to expect recklessness from his brother but Felix has generally been careful about what he summons before. Maybe something else interfered this time. Then again, why would Felix set up a summoning ritual somewhere unsafe?

"Where was he, when you found him?"

[smartass_captain]

"At the house, back in Iowa. I think he went for a potion, but couldn't get at them with his hands. I found him..." Jim swallows roughly. "Collapsed on the floor. Brought him right back here and got him to sickbay so Bones could look him over."

"I know...a little bit of what happened." He tries to recite what Kav told him as best as he can remember it. How Felix has been worried over something he'd borrowed from a friend at a mage's college that he desperately needed to return lest the other end up in serious trouble. That Felix wavered over what to do about it for some time which meant they weren't easy to retrieve if possible at all.

Why he couldn't come to Jim or Stratos for help.

"....I think he went back to Rielle alone. That he's lucky to have made it out at all."

[auspex_caelo]

Stratos is grimly quiet up to that point, nodding slowly here and there. It's such a typical tale for Felix. Exactly his kind of trouble and precisely his kind of scheme to try and get away with it without anyone else finding out.

Up until Jim says Rielle, and several of the pieces snap into place. Stratos swears softly.

"And that's why he wouldn't have told us, of course. Mara's sake, how could he be so foolish?" What was he trying to do with this spell? Surely not more necromancy, not there. Stratos looks down and shakes his head, wishing his little brother was here so he could shake the man. Which is how he notices something on the floor, a soft shadow blending with that of Jim's desk. He stoops to pick it up; a bit of silky grey cloth, a hood that must have been dropped beforehand.

"Whatever he took, it must have been something he was using for... the runeblades. It hardly speaks well of the item's nature."

[smartass_captain]

"Stratos..."

Jim's so tired. So worried. So angry, though if it's with Felix or himself more Jim isn't sure anymore. Everything is raw and too sharp to think about for long in the moment. It's taking everything Jim has to stay calm.

"No, but it does that he'd try to help a friend he wronged." Jim glances at the hood in Stratos' hands but he has no ability to sense what power emanates from it. Even if he had an aptitude, this spell is subtle and difficult to grasp the feel of. "Even if he was an idiot about how he did it. I could have helped him. He shouldn't....have to face that alone."

His sigh seems to fill his quarters.

"I'm going to go see him. Will you come?"

[auspex_caelo]

Stratos sighs as well, some of his anger exhaled with it. It's hard to work up a fury when Jim puts it like that. Maybe Felix was just trying to do the honorable thing, though why he had to start doing that now...

"Of course I will. Do you need me to..." He pauses, frowning at the hood in his hands. It's subtle, but there's something oddly potent about the slim, elegant garment. He's seen Felix wear this before, hasn't he...? "Do you know what this is?"

[smartass_captain]

Maybe hanging around Jim for this long has worn off on him. Jim wishes so very much that it hadn't. Not when it's left Felix broken and mangled down in sickbay and looking so horrified to have seen Jim at all. His heart aches to know he's caused Felix this much pain unintentionally even as his anger simmers with nowhere to go. It's a mess of ugly emotions and Jim is just....so very tired.

"Hm?" He almost misses the garment Stratos is holding at first. His brow furrows slightly. "It's his mage's cowl, isn't it?"

[auspex_caelo]

"I thought he usually wore the blue one." Well, blue-green. Well-cut but made of much simpler cloth than this silky cowl. "I don't recognize the enchantment on it... but it is powerful, and there's a strange feel to it."

He shakes his head and sets the hood atop the battered leather gear. "It's probably some artifact he obtained in the Nexus. We should go to him. Should I conceal myself on the way?"

[smartass_captain]

"It's gamma shift. That..." But even at this time there are still some people about working. And Stratos has no uniform. It's been over a month since they've been at any base for resupply. Questions would raise if someone nosy caught sight of him.

Jim clears his throat.

"Yes. Stay close to me. We can pull a curtain around the bed Felix is at once we get down there for some privacy. So long as you don't drop the illusion in front of Bones it'll be fine. He's...still acclimating to the magic thing." A very kind stretch to say even that much but Jim knows he is trying in his own way.

[auspex_caelo]

Stratos almost, almost smiles at that. Instead he nods, and with a gesture vanishes from sight. All that's left is his voice, oddly muffled when he says, "I'll be your very shadow, then."

Though there won't even be a shadow cast behind Jim as he strides down the corridors of the ship. Only a touch at his arm when he looks back questioningly. Stratos half takes in the subtle differences between this ship and the one he saw before, though his mind is elsewhere. And this time they're taking a very different route into the ship.

At least Felix won't be quite such a mess when they reach the sickbay. He's sedated and dosed with painkillers that ensure he won't be making those awful little noises any more. Lying back in a daze as he's patched up bit by bit. It seems that it's been a while since he's seen Jim but he doesn't know if that's good or bad.

[smartass_captain]

The touch is difficult to even pay much attention to but Jim nods softly before he leads them through the Enterprise-A to where Stratos' brother is being kept. Stratos still has to work harder to keep his boots from sounding on the hard floors. Keep himself hidden from sight in these brightly lit corridors. Casting is still as difficult here as it ever was.

Jim makes no comment as he holds the door of the turbolift open once he's stepped inside until Stratos touches his arm again.

"Hold on." A soft murmur before they descend deeper into the heart of the ship--his ship. It's a thought that usually brings Jim comfort but right now all he cares about is seeing his husband again. If Stratos says anything while the lift drops Jim makes no mention of it.

The barebones staff in Medical is expecting Jim when he finally strides through the door. One of the nurses gestures toward a bed set up in the back near Dr. McCoy's office. It makes Jim exhale sharply through his nose in not quite a snort. Usually the spot reserved for himself when he does something stupid and Leonard wants to hover nearby. It works out in their favor all the same.

"I'd like a minute alone with him."

"Just try to be quick, Captain. He needs to rest..." A token effort but they know they won't dissuade him now. Best to go alert Dr. McCoy that Jim's come and let him have his time with his husband.

"Come on. Over here." Jim keeps his murmur quiet as he leads Stratos over to where Felix is laying. He makes himself turn to draw the thin privacy curtains around the bed before he sighs heavily. "Alright, we should be good." He glances down at his husband, unsure if Felix is even awake after he's been so sedated. "...How're you doing, Felix?"

[conjuredskies]

His eyes are flitting open at the murmur of Jim's voice followed by the familiar tread. He swallows hard but doesn't speak immediately, too stuck for words. The pain and overwhelming fear have been replaced by the haze of sedatives and the guilty knowledge of what he's done. The knowledge that now he has to face Jim.

"...Feeling like an idiot, but at least it doesn't hurt so much now." He tips his head to peer at Jim better, though it makes him wince and roll back again. That's far too much work. There's more color in his face now, though, no ragged edge to his breathing.

"As you should." Stratos drops the veil, eliciting a soft groan from Felix though the elder Imperial's face is lined with worry as he leans over and gently brushes Felix's bangs from his eyes.

"Hey Stratos... didn't expect to see you."