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[licensetocrane]

 "Hi, this is April.  If you're calling at 3am, you better be someone I know REAL well."

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[oweschildsupport]

That's the only thing I can think of, but I thought I accounted for that. [He clicks his tongue.] It must have been the Fox's magic, or whatever alter she goes by at that school. I have no other explanation.

[It was actually Rue's fae energy that got twisted with Draxum's mystics, but no one's told him that. From his perspective, he's fucked up and can't trace back the reason why, and it's been a massive blow to his professional pride.

A bit of a blow to whatever counts as his heart, too. He likes Hunter. He was trying so hard to do right by him.]

[licensetocrane]

You have no other explanation yet. [She corrects him sharply.]

Like who knows, maybe you can't work it out, but you're not giving up after your first attempt, are you? You're a scientist. Just do it within safe boundaries. You know. If at first you don't succeed, find out why.

[Look, she'll live and die by the words of Ms Frizzle, hush.]

[oweschildsupport]

[Yes! She gets it! And at the same time not at all. He is a scientist, that's what he wants to do, but:]

I can't.

[licensetocrane]

...why not?

[She's going on faith this is more than just being supremely negative about it, but she is winding up to verbally smack you, jsyk.]

[oweschildsupport]

[Hear that sound, April? That's his jaw clenching so hard it's just barely audible. After a moment, he exhales loudly through his nose.]

A mistake, on my part. What I did in the dream worked—we got the pin those trial-goers sought! But my handling of it deeply unnerved them.

[He speaks through clenched teeth.] So I promised to never touch their mind with magic again. Foolishly, I used magic to make the oath. I'm bound to it. My hands are literally tied.

[licensetocrane]

...eugh boy. [The stupid nightmares have a lot to answer for.]

Is this person screwed if the problem doesn't get fixed?

[oweschildsupport]

It won't come to that.

[He huffs and tries to stamp his foot, but nope. Still firmly stuck.] We've put together another way to tackle the problem, but it's time-consuming and three times as difficult. Ugh! If I hadn't let sentiment get the better of me, this would already be resolved!

[licensetocrane]

Yeah, but you did, and you were trying to help. Sometimes that backfires, Barry. Doesn't mean it was the wrong call. If you've found another way, it'll be okay. At least you have company to help it out. [He said 'we' after all.

...which makes her append two things to that.] I really doubt it, but if there's anything I can do, lemme know.

And.. uh. This isn't one of the guys, is it?

[She bounced around in Leo and Casey and Don's dreams, they're okay, right?]

[oweschildsupport]

[Draxum fails to see how it wasn't the wrong call, this is all so inefficient. He can sense April's concern, though, so he addresses that first, even though he sounds distracted.]

It's not, I assure you. I would not leave you out of the loop if it were.

[Unless someone, like. Asked him to, for some reason, or he thought he could resolve the situation perfectly without assistance. But the turtles are April's family; if they were in such a position, he'd make sure she knew if only to be there for them in ways he cannot.]

[licensetocrane]

[Draxum needs to stop equating efficiency with good outcome, but alas she cannot read the brackets. There's the softest sigh, which can probably be interpreted as relief. It means she can approach this objectively.]

Can the person you made this vow to release you from it, or are they still too unnerved?

[She assumes this is something that's already been covered, but humour her. She's trying to get a good picture.]

[oweschildsupport]

We've not spoken.

[Oh yeah, he sounds bitter about that too, but not enough that it wholly eclipses his anxiety. He's assuming still unnerved based on that fact alone, because why else wouldn't Hunter tell him himself?]

[licensetocrane]

Yikes.

[There's some sympathy to that offhand comment.]

Okay, so. You can fix it, it'll just take longer because you promised you wouldn't mess with their head more. Is that about right?

[oweschildsupport]

Basically. [The ground starts to feel spongy again—] Fine. You're right, yes.

[He haaaates whoever designed this stupid emotional swamp. He's not sinking-sinking, but he can feel its magic trying to seep its way into his heart and amplify the distress he's feeling about the situation. If he didn't have a resistance to mind-altering magic, it'd probably be working, but thankfully April gave him a good enough pep talk about his other concerns that he's buoyed enough to keep treading water for now, as it were.]

[licensetocrane]

[There's a briefly confused silence, and then--]

Is someone there with you?

[oweschildsupport]

Just some dumb spirits who won't mind their business!

[Emphasis to sell the lie, but also to whatever's animating this swamp, likely Thirteen herself. Fuck you, lady, he's talking to you.]

I'll throw salt at them later.

[licensetocrane]

[Snort.] Yeah, you tell 'em.

[Something doesn't seem right here, but she has no idea as to what. Shelve that for later, it's probably not important.] Gettin' involved in your midlife crisis like that.

[oweschildsupport]

Midlife crisis? [He has no idea what that is.] Sounds fake.

[But they were talking about Hunter. Or well, he was talking about Hunter. Either way, he doesn't think he can get out of here until he stops feeling sad about that situation, which is kinda hard to do when the swamp's magic is enforcing negative thoughts. Draxum has enough resistance to mind-altering magic that cognitively, he's aware he can still turn things around with Hunter, but the swamp is definitely doing its damndest to make that relationship feel irreparable.]

Anyway, that's the gist of it. [...] How would you handle a mistake like that?

[licensetocrane]

[SNORT. Well, someone will explain it to him eventually, probably.]

Well, first and foremost, I'd apologise for screwing up. But you were doing it for the right reasons, and you were also doing it assuming, you know, the laws of magic an' all that were the same as they've always been. That isn't on you.

You made the oath to make them feel safer, so double down on it. Do it the long way. Do it carefully. Most mistakes can be fixed if you don't waste too much time wallowing about it.

And last, people do make mistakes, you know. Even you. And sometimes life just sucks and drags things out of your control. Get used to the fact, give life the finger and keep moving forward.

[oweschildsupport]

[Hm.] I have experience with the latter, if nothing else.

[Despite that being all he says, he's chewing over the rest of her response, too. If there's one thing he appreciates about April, it's that she gives it to him straight. Whether he wants to hear it or not, her blunt criticism is typically constructive in a way that makes the bitter pill easier to swallow.

It means more than he expected, too, when she says he's not at fault for the spell getting twisted. Casey got nasty with him, and Draxum got nasty right back, but the boy's words definitely got to him.]

[licensetocrane]

Making mistakes or giving life the finger?

[Yes, she's a little shit. You can hear the smirk in her voice.]

[oweschildsupport]

[He snorts.] Both, apparently. But one's much more fun than the other.

[licensetocrane]

You still stuck?

[She means it metaphorically, jsyk. She's not secretly spying on you.]

Because unless I have more context I probably can't offer more advice. But like... you can always ask for help. That's a given.

[oweschildsupport]

[She might mean it metaphorically, but that is the question. Time to put it to the test!

Draxum lifts his leg, and this time it finally—finally—tugs free. A surprised noise comes through his side of the call, before it's promptly drowned out by what sounds like a strong wind as he uses his vines to yeet himself high into the trees and out of harm's way.]

No, that covers it! [That's some whiplash, but in the space of those few seconds, he sounds a lot more like his usual self again.] You can go back to whatever it is you were doing before I called. Don't tell me if it was boring.

[There's still some things Draxum has to work out for himself, but this has greatly helped with getting his head on straight once again, and overcome that sense of crushing despair.]

[licensetocrane]

[Please imagine her 8|?? face while she listens to all these weird fucking sounds on the other side of this call. Should she ask?

Nah. He was clearly being secretive to begin with. She can pester him later if she remembers.]

I was watching painted toenails dry. Wanna hear about the precise levels of different colour I was mixing to get that sheeny, pearled finish?

[She's full of shit, but don't tell me if it was boring just made her reach for the most boring thing she could think of. It's either this or taxes.]

1/2

[oweschildsupport]

[HE WOULD HAVE PREFERRED TAXES, ie. she absolutely chose correctly.]

Ugh, I'm hanging up now! I will not be party to any toe-based conversations—beings with hooves get a free pass on those.