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[swarmofbears]

[I threw an open lop level below, but feel free to hit me up with anything, I can adjust Dylan's circumstances if needed to fit a particular path. Or for anyone not from the Quarry, I'm definitely cool with Dylan just meeting a character at a random city or something.

I'm also open to most situations here at the random scenario meme. Just wanna avoid any sex prompts right now.]

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[caveout]

...Yeah. I can, uh... I can do that.

( any other time, he'd protest that he's pretty gross right now, but they're both covered in the horrors of the night, so that's not much of an excuse. not that he's looking for an excuse; he wants to hug dylan, but he feels like they'd both be good for a shower and some sleep and, maybe, a good crying session apiece. before any of that, though, ryan brings his arms around dylan's back and pulls him close, no doubt smearing him in viscera and other unmentionables that he'd rather not think about.

for a while, it's nice. ryan isn't much of a talker, so he's more than okay with a soft silence between them. the longer it stretches, however, the more ryan feels like he might crumble the weight of the warmth, and his own guilt. does he deserve to be hugging anyone, let alone dylan? after all he's done? )

I shot Chris... Mr. H. I didn't have a choice. I didn't want to. ( don't cry, don't cry. he can at least wait until he's alone to cry— ) I didn't know what else to do. ( his voice cracks with that last bit; so much for not crying. ) I'm sorry.

[swarmofbears]

[This isn't what he imagined his first hug with Ryan to be like, covered in blood and stuff that his mind doesn't really want to acknowledge. But as he feels Ryan's arms wrap around him, a choked noise leaves Dylan before tightly returning the hug. He's fine remaining quiet for once, letting the comfort of a friend soak in, and he knows that Ryan probably needs something like this as well.

Okay, he definitely needs this, as he listens to Ryan open up, confess to what happened.]

Shit. I, um, I'm sorry.

[Because Mr. H didn't deserve to die, neither did Caleb. Dylan knows that he wasn't as close to them as Ryan, but it still feels awful to know that they're both dead. Kaylee as well. The entire Hackett family gone in one night and fuck.

Of course he doesn't blame Ryan in the least bit, but it still sucks. Well, it's more than that, but thoughts are hard enough as is. And he's not so blasé to say that it was the right thing to do, but.]

I-I know you didn't want to.

[He tightens the hug, trying to support Ryan physically if he can't say anything comforting.]

[caveout]

...It's cool.

( if anything, everything is the entire opposite of cool right now, but that's not dylan's fault; he shouldn't apologize for anything.

at the end of the day, none of this is anyone's fault. ryan tried narrowing down the blame, but it gets too convoluted. he wanted to be mad at mr. h for keeping secrets, but he was only protecting his family. he wanted to be mad at laura kearney — and he was, for a bit, back when they were all working double shifts to make up for her absence — but it's not her fault she got kidnapped alongside max. even silas was only a child from the sounds of it; there's no one here in the wrong.

besides ryan, maybe.

if he'd hesitated, if he hadn't panicked and pulled the trigger, he'd like to think that chris could have broken through whatever spell he was under and recognized ryan for the 'favorite councilor' he was. he'll never know now, because he took the shot. it'd saved laura, but at what cost?

when ryan pulls away, he's wiping his eyes. )

Think I just need to sleep. Feels like this night has gone on for so long... doesn't even feel real.

[swarmofbears]

[He's not sure how they're going to explain any of this to the cops when they come over here, but.. one thing at a time, Dylan. That entire thought process is just another big source of anxiety and he's definitely not going to bring it up with Ryan right now. He's already dealing with enough shit, more than him. That's how he feels at least, because as awful as he feels about Mr. H, he knows that the other counselor is feeling way worse about it.

He pats Ryan on the arm, managing a small smile.]

A bed and a shower sounds heavenly right now. [But he is still worried about the others, which stops Dylan from just lying on any semi-comfortable surface and sleeping until next week.] Um, Kaitlyn is okay, and she's checking on Abi and Emma. The-they all should be fine. How... how is Laura?

[caveout]

Laura's, uh... she's okay. That cop, too. They're both okay.

( it was an odd team up in the end. ryan, a psycho, kidnapping cop, and the girl he imprisoned, all banded together up against silas. no doubt there's hard feelings all around. laura can't be too happy about being trapped in a jail cell for three months, and travis can't be too happy that ryan killed his brother. and ryan, for all his efforts, still feels some type of way over laura insisting that they kill chris in the first place.

so, yeah.

it's a mess. )

What about Nick? I haven't seen Jacob in a while, either. Should we... go look for him?

[swarmofbears]

G-good, yeah, that's good. Glad they're okay.

[A cop though?? Oh shit, is Ryan referring to the cop that Laura had to deal with? Well, if they're both okay and Ryan's okay... then guess it worked out. Course, Mr. H is still dead, but he's trying to think of the positives in a situation that's been hard to really deal with.

He spares a glance at his amputated arm, before nodding.]

I, um, I haven't seen Nick. Or Jacob. [God he hopes they're okay.] I-I think we should. Um, they have to be around, right? A-and there's definitely no bears, so we'll be okay.

[And no werewolves.]