Bad Luck

[wetandbothered5.livejournal.com]

~ Time becomes indistinguishable when shredded bits and chewed up pieces of you are slowly meandering through the intestine of a gigantic tentacled bog monster. Or at least, it does to Regulus. When you come from Five, being eaten by things hiding under the water is just a situational hazard, but it doesn't mean Regulus finds the process any less horrific.
During his digestion he is reminded vaguely of goldfish and how they apparently have very poor memories. Because Hell has a funny way of never letting you die, instead of being able to quietly become mush with everything else the creature has eaten recently, Regulus' consciousness flares into alarm and his mashed up bits of body follow into a fit of excruciating pain before it's clear he cannot stay alive separated and masticated as he currently is and all the bites of Regulus collectively lose consciousness for a far too brief moment before the process repeats itself.

On one such flare of reanimation and pain after countless tries and failures, Regulus finds himself finally back in one piece, discarded and finally fully reassembled half buried in a pit of mud somewhere on Five. The first thing he does is vomit up what feels like his entire organ system all over himself and after looking down at his cracked and blistered form he resigns himself to glaring up at the canopy of acidic green and rotted foliage and doing what Fives do best: Lamenting. ~

Comments

[wetandbothered5.livejournal.com]

Well I'm much more careful now that I know what not to do.

[madlymirthful9.livejournal.com]

[wetandbothered5.livejournal.com]

*looks down at his fingers despairingly*

[madlymirthful9.livejournal.com]

*Barty's observation is true, it's terrible on its own, of course, but compared to his fingers - the radiation doing a very sorry number on his already skeletal, blackened digits - Reg has it a great deal better*

[wetandbothered5.livejournal.com]

They are. What happened to us? Didn't this only just happen? I miss having normal fingers.

[madlymirthful9.livejournal.com]

*Barty finishes this statement by half choking on another round of vomit, it's not even real vomit any more, just blood and stomach acid*

[wetandbothered5.livejournal.com]

*wrinkles his nose but carefully cleans Barty's chin with one of his sopping wet sleeves, trying not to scrub away any skin* Eugh - don't do that, it makes me want to.

[madlymirthful9.livejournal.com]

[wetandbothered5.livejournal.com]

Don't be snippy.

[madlymirthful9.livejournal.com]

[wetandbothered5.livejournal.com]

It will grow back.

[madlymirthful9.livejournal.com]

[wetandbothered5.livejournal.com]

Not if we stay here until something finds us again. I've had quite enough of digestive tracts for the rest of eternity, thank you.

[madlymirthful9.livejournal.com]

[wetandbothered5.livejournal.com]

Even with my flaky hands?

[madlymirthful9.livejournal.com]

*Barty shoots him a strained smile*

[wetandbothered5.livejournal.com]

Shut up and hold still.

[madlymirthful9.livejournal.com]

*as far as holding still goes, Barty hasn't much of a choice*

[wetandbothered5.livejournal.com]

*working with his rather hideous (not to mention pained) fingers, Regulus uses a stick to the best of his ability to try to chip away the mostly frozen mud and goop and vomit that stubbornly have attached themselves to Barty's body*

[madlymirthful9.livejournal.com]

*though the ice gives the occasional promising crack, it's the sort that needs a heavy boot heel or a proper tool to break, the soft, rotting stick standing no chance against it*

[wetandbothered5.livejournal.com]

*Regulus is patient, but when his swamptwig breaks he throws it away*



We need something... We need garbage.

[madlymirthful9.livejournal.com]

Oh yes. Why don't we all just pop down to Seven and pick something up.

[wetandbothered5.livejournal.com]

No - something hot. If we go to Six all this will melt off you.

[madlymirthful9.livejournal.com]

*Barty voice is scratchy and weak, and hearing him raise his voice is almost as cringe inducing as seeing him vomit* I CAN'T GO ANYWHERE!

[wetandbothered5.livejournal.com]

Shhhh...

Stay here, I'll be back. *crawls away from the direction he came from*