burnination | GENERAL OPEN POST/IC INBOX/WHATEVER IDK

[ Tris ignores the next few texts that come in, letting the phone buzz on the table softly as he gathers up everything. The cards will need to rest and he'll need to do the same. He feels it, a low and dull ache cradled in his bones and he knows sleep will come eventually, but only in shallow gasps.

He's halfway into more comfortable clothing (with less blood around the collar) when Max calls.

Tris hesitates a minute before picking up, sliding the phone unlocked and wiping at his mouth with a damp cloth. ]

Going. Promise.

Why're you calling? You have a trip to make.

I wanted to sing you a lullaby.

[ that is a joke, despite how flat it is. max has a bad habit of not changing tone when being funny. but no, he is not going to sing. no one wants him to sing. it's bad, okay. ]

I'm waiting on James to come get me. Takes a bit of him to set up. I already left the car - it's taken care of.

[ so hush. lay your face down and hush. ]

How's your head?

If you're singing me a lullaby I hope you brought a lot of bass to lull me to sleep.

[ The deadpan is what makes Max... Max. He doesn't care and can tell the difference in just the context and maybe there's a smile there. The floor is creaking a little, and there's the sound of a bed dipping, pillows brushing the speaker on the phone as Tris gets himself adequately comfortable for a nap. The throbbing behind his eyes is soft, a pulsing like his heartbeat and there's still the vague taste of blood on the air from his mouth, from his nose. He wipes at it a little. ]

My head's had better days.

But there have been worse ones as well.

[ He closes his eyes, letting out a soft sigh. ]

I just wanted to be sure I didn't make a mistake.

[ I know you're working hard to find him. I didn't want to waste your time if I was wrong.

I wish I was.

Maybe I still can be? ]

Fresh out. You'll have to settle for my boring voice.

[ talking. not singing. but he knows tris never does well with loneliness. people like max, or james, can go wandering alone for ages and be perfectly fine, but that's them. tris needs connection, needs closeness.

his voice quiets some, soft, as max leans up against a wall of some random building out in a tourist zone. ]

Thank you.

You're never wrong about this shit. I'm glad you told me.

[ he's not going to be mad or annoyed over tris looking out for him, ever. and he knows how painful it gets for him to push his powers more than they want to be pushed. he is, genuinely, grateful for what tris put himself through to figure this out. ]

Edited 2015-11-05 17:19 (UTC)

I can be wrong.

I hope I'm wrong.

[ I hope I can make myself be wrong. Tris rubs his temples slowly in little circles, trying to stifle a noise of ease when he feels it coming on. Instead, he just rolls over onto his side. ]

I miss him. I really do. And I'll pick up the slack while you're laying low a couple days, okay?

[ he's not often wrong, but max isn't going to argue it. the point was that tris saw it, and awareness is half of getting around something shitty. ]

We'll figure it out.

[ at worst, he'll deal with it. if nothing else in life, max has learned he's incredibly hard to kill. the things woven into his being don't much like having their window into the physical world closed. ]

You need rest, Tris. [ not spending half the time you're worrying about this cards thing also worrying about doing extra work digging for marco. as much as max hates not doing it, tris is going to drive himself nuts. ] Just rest.

I know where my limits lie. Blood doesn't scare me.

[ It does, but on his own terms. He knows how much he can give to the water before he's done, he knows how far he can go without muddling a session with personal desires and dreams and the pain that shoots through his head when it's too much--there's the real warning. ]

I'll rest now, alright? Pick up in the morning. And I'll rest more. I don't exactly live a life of grandeur and adventure, Max. Better me than you right now. Maybe I'll find something you can use.

Don't push right up to the line.

[ knowing your limits is nice, but it also means you know how far you can push, and most, like max, like tris, like to go right up to the line and kick it repeatedly now and again. that's asking for bad shit to happen to your mind and body. ] I can't lose you either.

[ which is not something he says out loud much, but losing any of them wrecks him, if this last month or so hasn't made that painfully apparent. ]

Maybe. Okay. I'll let you sleep. [ he wants to be there, to hold on to him and pet his hair and rub his back until he falls asleep, but max knows well enough he can't. ] Call if you need, okay?

You won't. Don't tell me what to do. I'm not the one with foul stars overhead.

[ His voice is firm, quick, dismissive. He means it and he's going to do it whether you pull the same "can't lose you" bullshit or not. He's not wrong to say it though, he knows exactly what Tris will do, he knows how long he'll sit for and he knows how badly he'll try because he wants it. ]

Yeah, I'll call, but something tells me you'll be a little busy.

[ This is not said unkindly, but moreso to ease the mood back. ]

Dani'll keep you busy. You won't even notice three days go by.

[ A soft beat. ]

So goodnight. I'll talk to you soon.

[ Tris doesn't wait, just pulls the phone back and hits "end" on it and tosses it onto the nightstand on silent. Getting the last word in is what he tries to do, particularly when he's in a defiant mood. He won't let the slack stay unpulled, undriven. He'll take it for now. ]

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