ximilia | Video; UN: Wei Wuxian || Text; UN: jtd

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Video; UN: Wei Wuxian || Text; UN: jtd

[Even before the feed flickers into life, anyone literally anywhere in the sunlight room is probably aware that there is something going on thanks to one very shrill scream immediately followed by several minutes of panicked shouting. When the feed does flicker on, the view is oddly…tall? It's at height with the tops of the trees in the sunlight room which is because Wei Wuxian is making this post from the top of one of those trees.

The reason why becomes immediately obvious when he pans down to the familiar form of Jake barking up at him from the base of the tree. Jake's expression is partially obscured through the foliage, though a close study will find more fear in Jake's face than threat. Whatever he thinks he's looking at, it isn't Wei Wuxian.

Finally, the view shifts to Wei Wuxian who is wide eyed and panicked, his face completely bloodless as he holds onto the tree with one arm and gestures at Jake below with the other.]

Why? [He squeaks out in a desperate whisper, eyes darting back to Jake again before he lets out a soft whimper and returns his attention to the feed.]

Why is there a dog?

----

[ Jake's post comes through almost simultaneously, text somehow communicating volume as much as his urgency. ]

I FOUND THE GHOST. I REPEAT, I FOUND THE GHOST. GOT IT UP A TREE IN THE SUNLIGHT ROOM. PLEASE ADVISE ON NEXT STEPS AND/OR EXORCISM.

[ooc: please indicate in the comments which you're responding to!]

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[The voice draws his attention because it's the first gentle voice he's heard since this started and he hesitates for a moment before peering down at the man below. He's seen him around the station and he's pretty sure they've spoken before, but he doesn't remember his name.

After a weighted pause he gives a slow nod and the upon realizing it might be hard to see from down there, he clears his throat to speak.]

...alright.

[ It's been ages since Joric has climbed a tree, but it's not really that difficult and thankfully this particular one is nice and sturdy so he has no qualms about pulling himself up its branches until he's near enough to Wei Wuxian. ]

This will be sorted soon and he'll probably go away. Or want to speak with you to apologize, but you don't have to speak to him if you don't wish to.

[There's a kind of relief that washes over him at the sight of another person, even if it's someone he hardly knows. There's embarrassment there too at having made such a spectacle of himself, so much so that this near stranger had felt compelled to step in. He offers Joric a barely there smile, the best he can do to put on his regular smiling face.]

He didn't...do anything. I just...[He lets out a soft disparaging laugh and runs a hand through his hair before looking away.]

I have this thing. About dogs.

Mm hm. I could guess that much.

[ Joric is suddenly aware that he's really not great at just talking to people. He's a man of action. So now that he's all the way up here he's hoping he doesn't say the wrong thing. ]

I could tell it was more than the normal fear. Whenever I need a distraction I try repetitive actions: humming, braiding and unbraiding my hair, focusing on my breaths. Maybe you could try something like that instead of focusing on the fact there's a dog down there.

[He exhales softly, and glances down beneath them before glancing back up, his heartrate kicking up a pace. He doesn't think a distraction will work but...it's worth a try, isn't it?]

Repetitive action...[His go-to distraction tactic is array work, but it doesn't work with fear like this. Array work involved too much thinking to be effective against his dog phobia. Something simpler though...]

Gwen used to talk about breathing through it. [He says in agreement, apropos of nothing. He doesn't know if this man ever met Gwen, but the words slip out before he can stop them.]

She never saw me around dogs but she knew what she was talking about. [And she'd seen him panic for other reasons. She'd been there when he couldn't stop thinking about Shijie's death, she'd talked him through it. The memory sends an ache through his chest.]

How silly. Breathing shouldn't be so hard. [Its is though, and even as he tries to let out a laugh about it all, his breath stutters. Maybe he should focus on his breathing. After a second, his eyes fall shut and he begins to count the seconds for his inhales and exhales, forcing oxygen in and out of his lungs.]

[ He gives a brief nod since he'd had the pleasure of knowing Gwen for a short time. ]

She does. She is more than capable of a great many feats.

[ Leaping between treetops, outrunning wild animals, and eating just as much as he could. If she were here now, Gwen could probably soothe Wei Wuxian far better than Joric could, but that doesn't mean he's not committed to helping. For the moment however, he'll stay silent to give the man a chance to focus and count. ]

[He doesn't respond immediately, too busy counting his breaths. His expression softens though, and his lips pull up into a faint smile.

It takes him a while before he can inhale and exhale slowly the way he knows he's supposed to, and he knows if he tries to leave the tree the panic will return, but eventually his breathing does even out. When he feels confident enough in his voice to speak again, he fixes Joric with a searching look.]

Ah...thanks. You didn't have to come all the way up here for me. Not that I'm complaining.

[ He gives a shrug. ]

Seemed to me this whole thing was going on for too long. And I thought maybe just voices in your ear might not be enough.

[ Looking down below them a moment to see how things are progressing, he swears he sees a teen whap Jake with something and Finn rush over a moment later. Weird. ]

Sometimes people don't understand that you can't simply get over something by trying to will it so.

[ And he definitely has experience with that. A magic spell can't be dispelled for good simply because he puts all his mental will behind it. ]

[Not enough was one way of putting it. Most of them weren't any help at all, though a few of them had been exceptionally kind. (He isn't going to forget the kindness.)]

If I could, you'd think they'd realize that I would have by now. [He sighs, still exhausted by everything that's been going down, and frustrated by his own fear.] As if anyone would endure this if they didn't have to! [The last part veers into a whine, but it doesn't last long. His gaze lands back on his new companion and he furrows his brow.]

It sounds like you're familiar with fears like mine.

Mm.

[ He's agreeing with everything being said, but he does elaborate a moment later. ]

I was a soldier. I saw firsthand the reactions people would get to things. It would be little things - like a noise or smell - and suddenly they'd think they were on the battlefield again.

[ A pause. ]

It's never been like that for me, but I have nightmares sometimes. I think all soldiers must. And sometimes on awakening, I need to remind myself that the battle is over.

[Oh. He knows exactly what the man is referring to. He hadn't experienced it as vividly as some, and he knew the resentful energy that he'd made his body a vessel for had a lot to do with the nightmares and memories, but he'd experienced it too.

It's just...]

I fought in a war. [He admits softly, the memory of it somehow still preferable to thinking about dogs.] I know what you're talking about.

But...this isn't war. [he looks away, his eyes drifting to the ground for just a second before he closes them, feeling childish.] It's just...dogs.

[They aren't the same. Battle was horrific and nightmarish and it made sense that men and women came away from it with scars of the mind. But dogs are just dogs. It doesn't make sense that they could be the same.]

It's just dogs, yes, but fear isn't rational. If it was, there would be very few things people ever feared, and those might be getting mauled by a bear or falling off a cliff. But people fear the dark, and the unknown. They fear possibilities and not definites. Perhaps one day you can conquer this fear, but having it in the first place is not a failing.

[He snorts softly under his breath, unsure what to do with this sort of understanding but warmed by it all the same.]

You're very good at this you know. Talking to near strangers who've hidden up in trees. [A little of his usual spark returns and a hint of mirth lines his words.] Do you do this often?

[ His response is to look a little surprised, but he too makes a soft sound like a laugh a moment later. ]

Not at all. I rarely speak when situations are important because I think I'll make things worse. But I saw the state of you and figured I couldn't possibly make this worse, so here I am.

You certainly didn't here. [And he's grateful, even if it is a little embarrassing.] Maybe you're better at speaking then you give yourself credit for.

[He glances away for a moment, his gaze distracted as he receives a text message, and then glances back.] Ah, someone is coming to leave with the—uh, with...Jake.

You don't have to stay, I'll be coming down in a minute after he's gone, and there's something I need to take care of first. [He gestures to the angry redhead below, his gaze growing immediately fond.]

But first, aiya, forgive me, I've got a terrible memory. I know we've met but I can't remember your name. I'm Wei Wuxian.

Joric.

[ He gives a brief nod of his head and looks down between the branches at the new development below. The angry redhead appears to be a friend, so Joric will leave them to it. ]

All right. I'll head down. And don't worry; someone will do something attention-getting soon enough and this will be forgotten. My money is on Newt. Farewell.

[ And with that, he starts climbing down. ]

[And he'll be climbing down that tree to the sound of Wei Wuxian's laughter.

Joric isn't wrong, alright.]

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Video; UN: Wei Wuxian || Text; UN: jtd

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