🌙 Inbox - Marc Spector's Dead Drop

[reflectedlight]

If he's told you how to find it, a loose ceiling panel above the Lyfe Boat on the first floor is where you can leave hand-written notes inside of library books if you're trying to reach Marc Spector.

If he hasn't told you how to find it, you shouldn't be here. Marc doesn't exist. You want Steven Grant's Inbox.

This functions like a normal inbox, but it is mostly text which can lead into spam.
Put date in the header, please!
Marc tags from reflectedlight
Steven tags from de_nile

Comments

[mercurialize]

He grimaces a little with the mention of the kid. Maybe he shouldn't have brought up the twins at all. "I don't know enough about it to really say." Is all he really has to say to that. It is the truth.

"Put the powder on your tongue and swallow. Just use your saliva. It'll be a bit bitter though, but even kids can handle it, you'll be fine."

[de_nile]

Serious nod. Okay. Do not snort it like cocaine. Got it.

(Steven has only ever seen cocaine in movies.)

"I've had worse than a bit of bitterness, not to worry. This is very sweet of you. Are you sure you're alright?"

[mercurialize]

"Yeah... fine."

"Are you?" He thinks he should be looking for something but the issue is that he has no idea what he should be looking for. "In case you forgot, I'm not the one who—" How is he supposed to describe it? Just keep it to sleepwalking? "who's been struggling to sleep." Lies. But not the point.

[de_nile]

There it is.

"I did something, didn't I?"

He closes his eyes, balls his fists up on his knees while he's still seated. Tries to keep his breathing calm.

"Do I even want to know?"

[mercurialize]

"What? No, you didn't do anything." How can he even explain the concerns in his head without blowing Marc's cover? How the hell is there even a cover to begin with?

There's a temptation to just glance up. Just look Steven in the eyes for two seconds. It's not out of malice, it's out of a need to understand what he's dealing with because he grasps none of this. But it also feels wrong and it feels.. risky. He doesn't need to get demoted over this.

"Never mind I said anything. If you say you're okay, then I'll take your word for it." And remain completely and utterly suspicious of the whole thing.

[de_nile]

Steven is very suspicious and very afraid of what shit his body gets up to while it is sleepwalking.

Like, it's not like he's not aware of it? He just. Doesn't think about it. He's pretty good at not thinking about it.

He smushes on a grim kind of smile and takes Kylar's word for it, because that's just... easier. It's easier.

"I'm okay. Promise. Should I take this now, or later on?"

[mercurialize]

"Now. And then any time this seems to happen again. No more than once a day." He might've made it a bit potent. "If you take anything else beforehand, let me know so I can figure out if you can still take it or not."

His hands get shoved into his pocket again. What to do, what to do. He feels inclined to keep an eye on him. He's just been a bit spooked with temps for no particular reason. There's an exhale through his nose. May as damn well.

"You mentioned tea.."

So much for that free will.

[de_nile]

"You don't have to, mate, I promise."

The smile's gone weary. Steven squints at the bag, tries to figure out how to dose it.

[mercurialize]

"Yeah, I know I don't have to. You taking back your earlier offer?"

He watches him squint at it, deciding to fill in the blanks.

"One smaller bag, that's all you need."

[de_nile]

"You taking back that you don't really do tea?"

Gentle teasing.

"Look, what do you like. Coffee? Can do coffee."

Steven opens a smaller bag, pours it onto his tongue like a pixie stix.

????

[mercurialize]

He shrugs. He is aware he walked into that one and it's his own fault. "Maybe I am. But sure, coffee."

Kylar watches Steven take the medicine. It probably tastes awful but at least he's not doing it wrong. "Uhhh... you gotta swallow it, you know." There's a rotating gesture with one hand like 'go on..'.

[de_nile]

Steven does, makes a face at the taste, then quickly wipes his mouth on the back of his hand self-consciously. Ick.

"Well, I know that. Come on, then, I think counseling will let me borrow their machines a moment. Ought to help get the taste out of my mouth, at least."

Steven can't imagine Will and Malcolm minding a borrowed use of the coffee maker.

[mercurialize]

A gesture toward the door with an: "after you."

It's probably only a few steps later before he asks, "how do you know the office? You working there?" Sure, Marc doesn't or couldn't have a job around here but maybe Steven does? Is that how this works?

[de_nile]

"Oh! No, Will and Malcolm are friends. Lovely people. I'm in the Library with Carl and R and the others."

He scurries around setting up coffee once they're inside. He gets distracted a moment by his own sleeve - huh, he didn't know he owned a shirt this color...? - but the thought goes right back out of his mind once he's ducking into a lower cabinet for coffee filters.

"Did you learn medicine at home from someone? I never would have guessed."

[mercurialize]

Kylar's never stepped foot in this place and for a while he just stands in a corner. It's habit. He doesn't want to get caught sitting down yet. He watches Steven set up the coffee, another habit. He doesn't usually accept food or drinks from people for arguably obvious reasons. He's breaking a lot of his own rules here and Steven's never going to know that.

"Yeah." He says it easily, even if it seems unexpected for a question. "Apprenticeship." Not a lie.

"Wait. What do you mean you wouldn't have guessed?" Should he be offended? He thinks maybe yes...

[de_nile]

"Um," says Steven, who doesn't want to say you seem like you are out of your depth when you have to try to deal with people who are suffering and also depending on you. "D'you know, it's only just occurred to me that I've got no idea what time it is, do you think you'd prefer decaf?"

[mercurialize]

"Whoa. Hey. Don't avoid the question."

Nice try, my guy! But he's not that dumb.

Sometimes.

[de_nile]

"I don't - ... well, it's not mean, but it's not polite, either. And I was serious about the decaf.... You don't quite have a bedside manner? Which isn't required to practice medicine, obviously, I, there's plenty of talented doctors who don't have any of that, but I'm not sure taking care of people is something you particularly, er, like?

Again, could be fine. I don't know where I was going with it, honestly."

[mercurialize]

"Oh." Bedside what? Seriously? "I ran an apothecary for a couple months but that's not actually my profession. Usually I kill people for a living." He says it so casually that the meaning could be easily overlooked.

"And you can just give me whatever you're having."

1/2

[de_nile]

"I'm having caffeine on purpose, so I don't go back to sleep and sleepwalk again toni-"

2/2

[de_nile]

"-did you just say you kill people?"

Steven twists around and nearly gets the hot water on his shoes.

[mercurialize]

"Yeah." He replies without missing a beat. "Caffeine's fine for me, then."

[de_nile]

"Why on earth do you do that? That's sounds terrible."

You're a warden, but like, dude. Literally why. This is like you saying that you eat thumbtacks for a living. Bro, stop.

[mercurialize]

"It is." Terrible. He completely agrees. "I wouldn't recommend it."

He debates a moment, still standing and watching Steven. This is... so jarring considering Marc and... all that he saw just a little bit ago. He doesn't mind playing along, the repetition. But it's weird, this whole disconnection isn't something he's seen or dealt with before.

[de_nile]

Steven is at least: a little smarter than Marc! He can put together I wouldn't recommend it and I'm still doing it as there's a third element here that means I'm stuck.

"Oh, mate," Steven says, sympathetically. "Isn't there any way out of that?"

Little coffee pod is being popped open in the machine. Very satisfying noise.