[ Maybe it was his tone of voice, maybe it was Jake's lingering guilt never quite letting up, or maybe it was some sort of ancestral instinct to listen when a human spoke to him with such command in his voice... whatever the reason, Jake feels his scattered thoughts coalesce into something solid. ]
Yeah. Yeah, I hear you, man.
[ His slow steps pick up into faster ones, before Jake gives up the ghost entirely and starts running on all fours. Any passers by might glimpse the little yellow blur speed past, sprinting as if he were a pup again until skidding to a stop at the infirmary entrance.
If there was more Jake wanted to say to the man, he'd get his chance soon enough. ]
Where is he? [ Jake barks, bursting inside with adrenaline fueled urgency. He sounds out of breath and scattered, but a far cry from the numbness Wei Wuxian heard over the phone. ] Where's--
[ Jake stops cold, looking ahead a the humans gathered around the bed. Something about the sight felt so distinctly wrong. Maybe it was the time of day. Feeling your heart fall to the floor, that was a sensation best reserved for late at night, not mid-morning. Seeing your little brother -- the kid you'd grown up alongside, who you'd raised through bad dreams and bedwetting and his first crush and his worst crush and the all the disappointments and triumphs that came with growing up -- beaten up to the point of unrecognizability? Not exactly pleasant brunch conversation. ]
Finn, buddy. [ There's warmth to the statement, as if he were comforting Finn himself. He's at the boy's bedside in a moment, paws up on the bed to get a better look. If anyone around him had a reaction to his presence, Jake didn't notice. All that was secondary right now. ]
1/2
Yeah. Yeah, I hear you, man.
[ His slow steps pick up into faster ones, before Jake gives up the ghost entirely and starts running on all fours. Any passers by might glimpse the little yellow blur speed past, sprinting as if he were a pup again until skidding to a stop at the infirmary entrance.
If there was more Jake wanted to say to the man, he'd get his chance soon enough. ]
Where is he? [ Jake barks, bursting inside with adrenaline fueled urgency. He sounds out of breath and scattered, but a far cry from the numbness Wei Wuxian heard over the phone. ] Where's--
[ Jake stops cold, looking ahead a the humans gathered around the bed. Something about the sight felt so distinctly wrong. Maybe it was the time of day. Feeling your heart fall to the floor, that was a sensation best reserved for late at night, not mid-morning. Seeing your little brother -- the kid you'd grown up alongside, who you'd raised through bad dreams and bedwetting and his first crush and his worst crush and the all the disappointments and triumphs that came with growing up -- beaten up to the point of unrecognizability? Not exactly pleasant brunch conversation. ]
Finn, buddy. [ There's warmth to the statement, as if he were comforting Finn himself. He's at the boy's bedside in a moment, paws up on the bed to get a better look. If anyone around him had a reaction to his presence, Jake didn't notice. All that was secondary right now. ]