mortalcoil | IC INBOX

[ It's quite soothing, watching the rhythmic scribbling on paper even though he's got no idea what Coil's actually putting into writing. Doesn't matter, he enjoys how dutiful Coil attempts to be for a few more minutes. The hour is late, so it's not really a surprise when the other kid does give up. Carl's been watching, face propped up with one hand. When he sees the sign, he huffs out a laugh and takes that as a sign to sit up straight and stretch out a bit.

"That didn't take long." ]

[Coil, who is absolutely that kid who was pressured into settling for nothing less than perfect grades and all the advanced learning he could possibly manage, can't help but get defensive over that. He frowns, looking indignant and gesturing toward the nearest clock.

"Many hours already," he signs, as if Carl had outright called him lazy.]

[ Carl is quick to respond, raising his hands in surrender before signing "it was a joke" ]

I get it, man. It's late.

[ He nods out to the living room with its more comfortable seating. ]

If you don't want to go to sleep, we could always hang out.

[Coil buys himself a minute to try and not feel like a quitter for wanting to stop his studying before the point of falling asleep at the table, busying with straightening up the papers and closing his journal.

Normally, his guilt his more than enough to keep him working until he's ready to drop from exhaustion. But, even with that hanging over his head... he really doesn't want to go back to it right now. As much as he doesn't ever make relaxing a priority, doing nothing but hanging out with his roommate sounds very appealing.

So, with a frown--more at himself than anything--he shrugs like he doesn't care one way or another. Sure, why not?]

[ The good thing about Carl is that he doesn't need to pry about how someone is feeling. Some people don't speak their feelings or.. speak much at all sometimes, and that's fine. He's used to the sullen type, and they're more fun anyway.

Putting his bowl in the sink after getting up to crack his back, Carl shuffles out to the living room and makes himself comfortable on one end of the couch, leaning against the arm and folding his legs up. ]

[That's Coil's favorite kind of person, really. He can awkwardly agree to something he doesn't normally agree to, like 'hanging out,' and not feel too terribly weird about it.

He still feels a little weird, of course. It's close enough to socializing to feel strange. He grabs a cup of water from the kitchen on the way, just to give himself something to do. And once in the living room, he slouches down into a seat on the opposite end of the couch as if he's expecting at least one other person to take up space in the middle.]

[ Okay, now it feels a little weird, but there was a point to this. There's still a ton that they don't know about each other. He nudges Coil in the thigh with his foot to get his attention again.

'Want to play twenty questions again?' ]

[Again, it's not something he typically agrees to, but it's some kind of direction, and that sounds wonderful before the awkward silence can settle in. Because it's not like either of them are great at just striking up conversation on their own.

Perking up a little, he nods and asks, "You have one to start?"]

[ He doesn't, but it's not difficult to come up with one with how little they really know. He sits forward a little bit so he can sign better.

"S-i-b-l-i-n-g-s?" ]

[Coil frowns, hunching up his shoulders for a moment as if he's cold... but it's one of those things that he'd been told a long time ago he should be over by now, so he brushes it off pretty quickly.

"Sister. Younger." He shrugs as if it's nothing. "Dead."

And to try and keep things moving so he doesn't have to think about it longer than necessary, he points at Carl, wordlessly turning the question around to him.]

[ Carl frowns, his expression momentarily crestfallen. He knows how it is to lose someone like that, and he couldn't imagine losing Judith.

'Sister. Younger. J-u-d-i-t-h.' ]

[Coil's brow lifts briefly in interest, maybe surprised to hear that. It's another weird similarity at the very least. Except Carl gives him a name instead of a statement of death, and that in itself is a significant difference.

He takes a drink of water while he thinks about his next question, and motions for Carl to take another turn.]

[ He has to think about his next question, too. It takes him a little bit longer because he doesn't want to linger on family. It's painful for Coil for obvious reasons and doesn't want this to be depressing. ]

Did you know some signing before, or did you learn after?

[He frowns again because this topic isn't a great one either, but it's at least much less depressing than the previous one. To answer, he shakes his head and signs, "only after." It had been something he'd had to learn quickly and only out of necessity. So, the memories around it aren't great.

And that question is maybe what decides something for him. He has a question in mind, but he'd been on the fence about whether or not to actually ask it. But, with this line of questioning and the fact that this is the first time that he's been able to see even a small part of Carl's face without a bandage covering half of it, he makes up his mind.

"Why always g-a-u-z-e," he signs, and points at where Carl's hair is currently covering half of his face.]

[ He kind of assumed he learned after, but it's better to know for sure. Maybe he'd had family who knew, but it makes sense with some of the harder phrases Coil throws out sometimes that he has to spell out.

The question catches him off-guard, and he turns his head away a bit more so his hair is completely obscuring his missing eye. It takes him a moment to respond. ]

Nobody should have to look at it.

[There were a couple of answers Coil had been expecting, ranging from why Carl uses gauze instead of more typical cloth, to maybe some description of what's going on under there, but this response surprises him.

He blinks a bit and leans forward--more to try and catch Carl's eye than peer at his missing one--and draws a question mark in the air with one finger.]

[ He catches the motion and does turn a bit more toward Coil so he can watch him sign. He lets out a breathy laugh on the edge of self-deprecating. ]

It covers more. It took a long time to heal, then it was sensitive, so it's.. just habit, now. Hide as much as possible and people's questions aren't as invasive.

[Coil doesn't ever look sympathetic--that's one of those expressions, like smiling, that just don't ever really happen. But he does press the scarred-up line of his mouth flat in thought, almost frustrated on his friend's behalf.

After a moment, he asks, "can I see?"]

[ It's not that he's not expecting the question.. eventually, curiosity gets the better of most people, but his heart doesn't seize the way it does when anyone asks him to show them his biggest weak point. He's been comfortable enough around Coil to not wear the bandages at night, so there's got to be some part of him that wants to share it, right?

He lets out a breath, long and slow before he nods and moves to tuck his hair behind his ear so Coil can see. His heart is beating a mile a minute against his ribcage, and he can't help it, he thinks about what Negan had said.

Thankfully, this doesn't feel quite like that, but he can't help but feel self-conscious about it. ]

...Gross, right?

[Coil is certainly one of the most understanding people in this circumstance, but he's also lacking in general tact. He doesn't hide how his own eye widens in surprise when he sees the old wound, and he doesn't hesitate to scoot over on the couch so he can get a much closer look.

He also raises his hand to begin reaching for Carl's face before he realizes he should probably ask first. So, pausing and meeting Carl's intact eye again, he wordlessly checks for permission.]

[ He's a little startled by Coil coming into his space, but there's not really room to scoot back anymore. Carl lets out a breath he didn't think he was holding and gives the barest nod to give him permission.

It's definitely something he's never let anyone else do unless they'd been around just after the injury and needed to help. Still, the butterflies in his stomach don't go away. He's apprehensive, but he really doubts Coil would hurt him on purpose. ]

[Hopefully all the talk of medical knowledge that Coil had just done explains some of why he wants to take such a close look at this big vulnerability of Carl's. He is a little alarmed and fascinated by what he sees, but it's because he actually knows what he's looking at, not because this is some kind of spectacle for him. He had been the resident science and medical officer on their ship for a reason, after all.

He at least tries to be nice about it--keeping in mind that this is someone he actually likes and not a test subject or patient being manhandled by him for medical reasons--gently tipping Carl's head to the side a little bit so the light can better reach of the depths of the wound.]

[ He'd forgotten that Coil was in charge of the medical bay on the Red Fish- he hadn't really ever needed it, so it was one of those places he kind of ignored. Carl lets him tip his face, taking a calming breath through his nose.

Once Coil gets a closer look, he can see the burn scars surrounding the empty socket in more detail and the way it extends past where the socket should be on the exterior of his eye. Tendons and muscle litter the inside, scarred over and still an angry red. ]

[There is a visible wince on Coil's face when he gets a better look at all those nasty little details, but it's not the same way most people probably recoil or grimace. This is again the closest Coil gets to something like sympathy, knowing all too well what damage like this is really like. He can't help but seem a little pained himself as he carefully pushes (lightly, in case what remains had healed badly) where Carl is missing bits of bone around the edges of his eye socket.

Whatever he's mulling over in his head, whatever he ultimately thinks about the whole thing, it slowly pushes his expression toward something a little darker. The wince eventually flattens out into a frown, and by the time he sits back into his own space again, his jaw is tight. He's not visibly grossed out, but he doesn't seem exactly happy either.]

[ Carl closes his eye at the press of fingers around his socket, his brow furrowed in worry. The touch remains gentle, though his fingers clench into the fabric of his sleep pants for something else to focus on. It's not painful by any means, though it is sensitive. It's been healed for quite some time, but every once in a while, the phantom pains happen- which Denise had said might happen.

He doesn't know whether he's relieved or anxious that Coil isn't grossed out by it, though the expression he wears resembles something akin to the look his dad occasionally got. Maybe not quite so gutted. His dad always took the loss of his eye as a personal failure which.. Carl doesn't really blame him for. Shit happens, and he survived.

It takes him a moment to compose himself enough to look over at Coil. ]

..Are you okay?

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject