[Open] We're Going Down Down In An Earlier Round

[doubled_speed]

WHO: Tommy Shepherd and You?
WHERE: Temba, The Warrens
WHAT: August Volcano Event Catch-All
WHEN: August In General
WARNINGS: Panic Attack in second starter

I. Heroics Of Course | August 10th, Temba

There are just some types of people made for emergency situations. One of those, likely to the shock of very few, happens to be one Tommy Shepherd AKA Speed. Who was absolutely putting on a full showing of why he had been given that name by a good friend back home. From the moment the first warning comes in from Jon, Tommy's a rush of activity. It's not hard to spot him in the city, given he's a blur of green and silver racing everywhere.

Usually when he shows up he's even got something in his mouth that he's chewing on, or something in hand about to go into his mouth. There are a lot of calories that are going to be burned during this period of time, getting all of their stuff ready to go.

But now they're down to merely hours rather than days, and that's got Tommy on extra edge. No matter who it is, he stops by every single person he passes in the streets.

"You going to be okay to get down on your own?" he asks as he appears at their elbow. "Anything I can do to help?"

II. Walls Closing In | August 10th, Path to Warrens, CW: Panic Attack

Truth of the matter is that Tommy's one of the last through the door the little Mushbros open for them. Coming down into the mines, over and over, to help move things or make sure people arrived safely had been trouble for him each time. And now... Now he looks at the door and the darkness and shivers.

"You can do this, Tommy," he mumbles to himself. What other choice does he have? He takes a deep breath, hikes up one pack on his back, grabs bags under each of his arms filled with all the preserved food he could squeeze into them, and starts into the darkness. And he's fine, at first.

But by almost a half an hour in he's clearly shaking and shivering as he moves with uncharacteristic slowness down the steps. And by the time they get to their break point and the little Mushbros are happily taking things from another bag Tommy had brought of what fresh produce he could grab to spread out to people, he has to sit. Sit right down on the floor, knees pulled up to his chest, head pressed against them. He isn't eating. He should eat. He's blown so much of his body's reserves and he's shaking and he cannot breathe.

Fuck. Fuck.

III. Episodes of Manic | Rest of August

All confinement and no distraction make Tommy Shepherd... Well, go crazy was not exactly the proper term for it? Because, like, he was distinctly not crazy. Probably the sanest Maximoff alive. Probably. He'll ask Luna some day (he will in fact not ask his empathic cousin some day are you mad?). But damn, he'd barely been out from under the ground for a month when things went wrong and now here he was.

And at least in Calibrations there had been something to do. Showers to take. Game boxes to rifle through. Dressers to break (or watch really fit dudes break for him). And most importantly, a distinct lack of his powers. Which, strangely enough, was a benefit when he was trapped underground. Because at least he could experience it all at normal human speeds and not have a seemingly infinite amount of time to think about it. And you never had to question whether you'd get a full night of sleep.

So yes, he's desperately in need of a distraction. Which would be well and good if he knew how to find a purpose while trapped down here with the Engineers and the Funfronds doing all the work or something.

So yeah, all confinement and no distraction make Tommy Shepherd very annoying. Like, distilled down to his most annoying qualities. Which include curiosity, a need to be around people, and something like ADHD to deal with. So he might apologize later to whoever it is that he's currently following like a curious puppy, with his hands in his pockets, a dried piece of jerky hanging out of the corner of his mouth.

"Whatcha doing?" he asks, tapping them on the shoulder. "Is it interesting? You need help? Need me to find someone to help you?"

IV. Episodes of Depressive | Rest of August

All confinement and insufficient food makes Tommy Shepherd... Something something. Not a good something something either. At least at the moment he isn't following people around aimlessly. Probably because it's closer to a mealtime now, and so he's sitting just around the corner from the large open space the Funfronds had brought them to.

He sits on the floor, carefully placed so he's not blocking any of the Funfrond constructions or burrows or whatever, fingers tapping on his knee in a deliberately slow rhythm matching the slow swing of a pendulum set in front of him near the other wall. Focusing on the moment, clearly. And maybe his body is shaking a little bit.

His stomach? It's definitely growling. There was a reason he wasn't helping out with the cooking right now after all. He couldn't trust himself the raw ingredients, or to serve out fair proportions, not when there were other people who needed to eat and he couldn't create more food.

When he hears someone approaching, though, he does look up from his seeming attempts at self-hypnotism. Though he might flinch a bit before he does.

"Sorry, I can get out of your way," he mumbles, something... fragile about his words. Nervous even. From Tommy?

Weird shit.

Comments

IV

[spinsandneedles]

Wow, Tommy sounds as miserable as Sonic feels.

He doesn't reply yet, but he does flop uselessly onto Tommy's shoulder, and just remains draped there like an overly dramatic cat that wants attention.

"Tommyyyy, this suuuuuuucks."

[doubled_speed]

Yeah, it really does. Tommy doesn't even flinch at the weight on him. Just sighs and reaches up to... Well, he was going to pat Sonic's head but he realizes he's not sure if that would hurt or not?

"Ir really does man. I hate it when this happens. And there was Calibrations before too, which you missed."

Month two in hell for him. And the intervening month hadn't exactly restored Tommy's sanity.

[spinsandneedles]

It's fine, the quills go straight back, they don't point up. No puncture wounds for Tommy, though Sonic probably wouldn't have known how to respond to being patted on the head like someone's dog??

"Ugh, that's right, most of you are gettin' double whammied down here. This planet is seriously messed up."

[doubled_speed]

Yeah, he's very anti-puncture wound. And patting people on the head is perfectly normal.

"It really is. At least we have our powers this time. Though..."

His powers with insufficient food was hell.

[spinsandneedles]

"For all the good they're doin' us down here."

Sonic isn't normally so negative, like at all. He doesn't manage to catch himself before whining, but can you blame him? He hasn't seen the sun in days, man.

[doubled_speed]

Yeah, he gets it. A lot. So much.

"I know, right?" he says, laughing bitterly. "I guess you could go off exploring? This place looks like a maze?"

[spinsandneedles]

"I would, but I think I've already squeezed myself into every nook and cranny that I could find. Found some doors I couldn't open, bounced off them for a while. Real exciting stuff."

Nowhere to run, nothing to fight, hardly anything to eat. It's some nards, man.

[doubled_speed]

Yeah that sounds about right. Tommy wants to scream in frustration because what Sonic has experienced he feels in this whole vicarious way.

They aren't meant to be bound up, especially if there is nothing to do!

"I'm going to go crazy down here, man."

[spinsandneedles]

"I'd suggest we race up and down the corridors, but--" Sonic starts, but is cut off by the sound of his own stomach growling. How's that for comedic timing? He groans dramatically and and slowly slides off of Tommy's shoulder, flopping onto the floor next to him.

"That. That's why it's a bad idea."

[doubled_speed]

Tommy’s own stomach does a sort of rumbling almost as if in response. He gets it. He gets it so much.

“I can’t even trust myself to help with the cooking, man,” he says with a sigh. “I get it. This shit here is why I went with farming when we first arrived. To make sure I could meet some of my needs without depriving everyone else, you know?”

[spinsandneedles]

"Oh yeah, I totally get it. After all this, I'm even more on board with helping you out with that. Pretty sure the volcano probably wiped out whatever was already grown, though..."

He's no expert on plants, but he knows they don't tend to do too well in LAVA.

[doubled_speed]

Sonic might well be his favorite if he does that. For the first time since getting here he might be able to truly eat his fill at a meal beyond those few feasts the Agrii had given them. Well, fill without it having to all be protein gel.

“I’ll definitely take you up on that. But fuck, we’re so screwed for the winter at this rate. Like, if all the plants die. Though I guess the Sh’Ka greenhouse will still be fine, so we’ll need to make ends meet off of that.”

And maybe more foraging parties.

[spinsandneedles]

"It's better than nothing, at least. If we could actually go explore beyond a couple dumb cities, we'd probably be able to find more resources. Risking the storms would be worth it at this rate."

Couldn't be worse than being trapped underground with next to no food, right?

II. Walls Closing In

[wearingthestars]

Similarly pushing it with how late he arrives, Billy's struggling with his own anxiety when he finds Tommy, silently sitting down next to him and leaning against his to try and help ground him. He breathes as slow and even as he can manage, trying to give Tommy something to follow. It helps distract him from his own fears, able to shift his worry to helping Tommy.

[doubled_speed]

Billy is barely there at his side and leaning against him before Tommy's curling into his brother. He buries his face against Billy's neck and he can't stop shaking. Maybe he can focus on Billy's breathing just a bit, and he's trying not to spin himself up toward a higher anxiety, but fuck.

Fuck.

Calibrations space he'd gotten used to. It was lit. It was relatively large. He could still eat enough. It wasn't so dark and close. This light level, these walls, all of it is too much like Super Juvie.

And so he just puts a hand in Billy's shirt and holds him close.

Please tell no one he's this weak.

[wearingthestars]

Billy's arm slides round his brother, petting through his hair and keeping his own hold loose enough that he doesn't add to that trapped feeling.

"Shhh-" he soothes softly, trying to borrow from his mother's tool box, "I've got you. You're safe here. Just breathe."

[doubled_speed]

The loose isn't as good as he might want it to be. But Tommy isn't going to complain. Someone is bothering to care for him. To be his supporter.

"Nothing safe about this, B," Tommy whimpers as he curls closer to his twin. "Add a collar around my neck and it's..."

It's there. It's the place that broke him more than even Frank had.

[wearingthestars]

"We're not there, Tommy. They can't get you here. You still have your powers. I still have mine. No one's going to hurt you. I won't let them," Billy assures, making promises he maybe can't keep, but they're important in this moment.

[doubled_speed]

No, they aren't there, but he still fears what he's known. What he'd felt. What he's remembered.

"No," Tommy says, shaking his head. "Protect you first. You're important, B."

[wearingthestars]

"I'm fine, Tommy. I'm here. I don't need protecting," he says, as calmly as he can manage. He doesn't feel especially fine. Not emotionally. He can't find Soldier, and he's terrified he left too soon, even if he's waited until the last moment to retreat. But he's here. He's alive.

[doubled_speed]

And now he's nuzzling in closer to his brother, just try to take the comfort he is allowed. As much as he's allowed.

"I hate how dark it is. It makes it... harder."

[wearingthestars]

Billy's hands glow almost immediately, offering Tommy the comfort of that light, and with a murmured smell there's a small electric lantern conjured for Tommy to be able to carry that light with him.

"It's just for a while," he promises, "We're all here together. You're not alone."

[doubled_speed]

Damn but he almost cries over the lantern. It matters so much to him, and he hates that such a small thing did such heavy lifting.

HE's a fucking adult, why should he need a security blanket?

"Still trapped, Billy. The maze is just larger."

[wearingthestars]

Adults get scared too. A lot.

"We're just...hiding in the basement. Like people do with tornados," Billy offers. Just...on a larger scale. "We're going to be okay. You're going to be okay."

[doubled_speed]

Yeah, maybe they do. But Tommy hates to admit to shit like that. He's supposed to be stronger than that. He's supposed to be a hero.

"Dude, neither of us has ever lived anywhere with tornadoes," Tommy points out.