Tru Grit’s Fight Pit (Pt. 5) Show’s Over

--- Joshua ---

“Fuck.” He cursed with a shake of his head. “Yeah, I’m not going to be able to make it.”

“You sure?” Zaum frowned.

“I’ve got stuff to do next weekend and I doubt I’ll be able to handle both without half-assing them.” He admitted before shrugging. “I’ll just play it safe and try out for the next tournament.”

“Shit, well, I can respect wanting to give it your all at the very least.” The Inferni fighter assured him. “That said, I won’t be able to tell you when the next tournament is until next month, since the boss wants to see how these play out.”

“Yeah… I get that…” He sighed.

“Well, even if you aren’t entering the tourney if you ever want to try out the Bloody Ballroom or see if someone wants to pick a fight you’re free to come over as you need.” Zaum told him. “I’ll tell Anavi the monochrome kid passed his tests and she’ll let you through if she’s on guard.”

“Uh, thanks.” He nodded.

“It’s my job, kid…” The Traveler shrugged before looking at something on the other side of the warehouse. “Speaking of… I’ve got something to deal with… see you when I see you kid.”

With that the Inferni left him alone with Cameron.

(Did this count as canceling a date?) He couldn’t help but wonder as he found himself in an awkward silence.

(Technically we hadn’t actually agreed to a date so no? Then again my experience is with women older than her.)

“So… what exactly have you got going on next Saturday?” Cameron eventually asked him.

“Uh, I’ve got a… work thing.” He answered half-honestly. “They told me they were going to need me to help out with a thing like last week, so canceling on a two week notice is kind of a dick move.” (That and I need as much time to prep as possible if I don’t want to wind up in jail or something like that.)

(Eh, if we get caught we can just make a whole show out of our escape.) The devil on his shoulder assured him.

“Well, that sucks but… I get it.” The other teen shrugged. “If my, uh, job asked me to do something I wouldn’t be able to cancel either.”

“You’ve got a job?” He asked.

“Uh, yeah… It’s mostly a sort of freelance thing I can drop in and out of but every once in a while they get something set up they need as many hands as they can get.” Cameron explained, messing with her hair. “How about you, what’s your job?”

“I’m a performer… or that’s the goal.” He offered, knowing that while he could say he worked for his brother -(which I do)- it just… didn’t feel right to answer that. “Right now it’s more… helping out with things while waiting for a real shot at the stage.”

“Yeah… I can see that.” Cameron nodded.

He frowned curiously. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Cameron smirked. “You’re a theater kid if I’ve ever seen one.”

“Fair.” He admitted, before running a hand through his hair as he realized something. “Hey, uh, I know I said I don’t need to see the healer because of my healing factor but I actually think I need to ask them something.”

“Oh, sucking up your machismo now that you can’t fight me?” Cameron teased.

“A, I can fight you whenever. B, it’s more that the more I use my healing factor the more I get this sort of… empty feeling.” He tried to explain, before shaking his head. “Honestly, I just want to make sure I’m not like starving my soul or something.”

“Eh, fair enough. Though -going off rumors- that kind of thing only really happens to like Deadmen or Malcontent. But I guess it’s better safe than sorry.” The other Deviant told him with a shrug before waving for him to follow. “Medic’s this way.”

“Right…” He nodded following her back to where he’d first ran into her, and then into a small room with a white tiled floor rather than the smooth concrete of the rest of the warehouse. Several jarred plants lining the various walls, and a tanned woman with short dark hair sitting off to the side with a book in her hand.

“Don’t tell me you went and got herself hurt again, already.” The woman sighed, setting her book down on a nearby desk.

“No, here for him not me. Says something weird is going on with his healing factor.” Cameron told the older woman.

“Oh, and what seems to be the problem?” The woman -doctor- asked him with a curious look. “Healing factors are usually pretty straightforward if you don’t do anything stupid.”

“Uh, for the last couple of weeks I’ve had this building sort of… emptiness inside me that grows the more I use my healing factor.” He explained.

“I see…” The doctor waved a hand through the air and formed a small spinning circle of light filled with all sorts of scribblings he could not begin to decipher, especially once he realized he could feel a faint sort of cool-warmth spread over him before fading. “Odd… what’s your Deviancy exactly?”

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“I’m a… Wonderlander.” He answered, figuring that it was better to be honest with a doctor. (At least as long as it doesn’t involve Malice anyway.)

The doctor grimaced. “Ugh, Madness… that explains the oddities more or less. Now then how long have you been active as a Mask?”

“I’m not a Mask.” He lied with a frown.

The doctor gave him a look. “Problems with healing factors only pop up when you use it a lot. Masks use their healing factors more than non-Masks regardless of Deviancy.”

Rather than admitting he was a mask he instead told her that, “I… got into a bad fight on Halloween… then Cameron here talked me into trying out this club thing today where somehow I ended up sharing the stage with Puck of all Deviants.”

That explanation was of course ignoring everything else he’d done in the last month or so but he didn’t exactly feel keen on telling Cameron about all of his Deviant activities, cute girl or not. (Which reminds me whatever happened to doctor patient confidentiality?)

(That implies the doctor has a license and doesn’t work out of a back alley joint.)

“Okay, then that might explain why you haven’t already figured it out.” The doctor sighed, clearly not believing that was all there was but also not pushing the matter. “You Wonderlanders live off Madness and use it for everything. Including healing yourselves. Odds are whatever stash you store for healing has run low because of these fights, and what your feeling is that.”

He considered it for a moment before nodding. “That makes sense.” (Especially since the last refill was from the GM’s own Madness heal.) “So all I’ve got to do is store away more Madness for my healing factor then.” (Which really sucks for my Madness plans…)

“I don’t know I’m not a Wonderlander.” The doctor shrugged. “That said, if you want I can try healing you with magic and seeing if that’ll restock your ‘healing resources’ or whatever. Usually works for the Gamer’s Guild but their system is built for hybridization. No telling if yours is the same.”

“Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained.” He told the doc. “Go ahead and heal me or whatever.”

“Alright… That’ll be fifty bucks.”

He gave the doc a flat look, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his wallet. “Just so you know, I am going to be very pissed if this doesn’t work.” (That’s the usual feeling when you get played.)

“You’re a Madness user. No telling what works for you and what doesn’t.” The doc reminded him once more as she accepted his money. “Now just hold still for a moment.”

The Arcane Doctor made several gestures with her hands before a spinning circle covered in arcane scripts appeared spinning above him, shining down with a faint light. One that made him feel all warm and tingly inside.

“Okay, so your body is accepting the magic despite your body having no injuries, so let me know if this is fixing the emptiness or not.” The doctor told him, her eyes narrowing as the light began to shine a bit brighter.

“Uh, I definitely am feeling something.” He assured the doctor.

“Good.” The doctor nodded, keeping the spell up for a few more minutes before eventually killing it. “Alright, that seems like the limit of what your body will accept. It solve your problem?”

“Just give me a second.” He told her as he ran a mental hand over his various internals before nodding himself. “Yeah, I think that solved my problem.” (Shame it didn’t refill my Ink Well though.)

“Great. Now while I’m sure a non-Mask won’t be needing to see me any time soon, if you decide you need another top up just come back here and I’ll do the same thing for another fifty.” The doctor told him, shooing him off with a hand as she picked her book back up.

“Sure thing, I’ll keep that in mind.” He assured her. “Especially since you're a lot more effective than my usual doctor.” (Though that might just be because I’m more his guinea pig than his patient.)

“Whatever.” The doctor yawned, clearly done with him.

“So feeling better?” Cameron asked once they’d left the makeshift doctor’s office.

“Definitely.” He groaned, rolling his shoulders. “Didn’t even notice how bad those aches were getting.”

“That’s good…” Cameron nodded, looking away for a moment. “I’m guessing that Burning Man did a bigger number on you than I thought, huh?”

“Uh, yeah… fire and I… don’t mix.” He admitted with a grimace. “It’s the whole reason I ran rather than fighting him head on.”

“Yeah, uh, thanks again for that.” The other teen told him kicking the ground. “Honestly thought I could take an upstart Deviant on there given how long I’ve been on the block.”

Not liking where her head was going he assured her that, “To be fair I’m pretty sure that guy spiked himself with some M.A.D. stuff.”

Cameron gave him a frown. “Heard something about a Deviant Drug going around, but those pop up every few months from what I’ve heard. Must be something to amp that guy that far.”

“True, but I’m also pretty sure it’s the reason he went berserk like that. Definitely not worth it.” (Well, unless you’re immune to whatever the fuck caused that problem.)

(Heh, hypocrite.)

Cameron raised her hands. “Hey, I’m not looking to take any drugs myself. From what I’ve heard that stuff does not play nice with my kind of Deviant.”

“Good.” He didn’t care for the idea of anyone else being forced under the Malice Doc’s thumb anyway. (Just need to stick to the long game… Put on a few shows and then bust out…)

Feeling that he needed a change of topic he turned back to Cameron. “Hey, uh, I think you said something about the Doc telling you to avoid fighting for the day, right?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Well, uh, since I’m pretty much done with everything here… I was thinking about leaving.” He explained. (Almost there, don’t bitch out now.) “Unless you, uh, wanted to do something else?”

Cameron seemed to consider it for a moment -(which is good!)- before eventually shaking her head -(which is bad)- “Normally I would, but I’ve had a sort of building headache ever since I got my head fixed. Think it might be best to call it early and just crash at home.”

“Ah, that’s… fair.” He told her, trying to not let his disappointment through.

(There, there… These things happen… Just got to accept it and move on.)

“Though if you give me your number I can let you know when I’m feeling better.” Cameron continued, not quite meeting his eyes.

(Nevermind! Kid, give her your number! Give her your number!)

“Uh, yeah, sure.” He nodded, pulling out his phone and exchanging numbers with the cute girl.

“Cool.” Cameron nodded back as she read his number. “I guess I’ll call you in a few days then.”

“Or whenever you’re feeling better.” He told her, before adding. “Don’t rush if you’re still out of it.”

“I won’t.” The other teen smirked before turning to leave. “Guess I’ll be seeing ya soon enough.”

With that he watched Cameron walk away for a moment -his eyes trailing a bit- before eventually shaking his head and pumping his fist. “Yes.”