The Necropolis [Conway]

[Kari Muffin]

Conway was watching Javaid like a hawk. The path was fairly clear so he rarely looked back to see where he was going. It was impossible to miss that the Jackal was getting increasingly nervous. The wolf bit his lower lip. Perhaps this had been a dumb idea? Exploring alone probably would have been a better option.

"Yes, the Necropolis is fairly large but you should get out a bit more? Even if it's one step at a time." His eyes widened at word "agoraphobia." Why hadn't someone bothered to mention this sooner? Why had Javaid actually told him the truth. The Joker looked in wide eyed surprise for a moment before returning to his neutral curious expression.

The increasing panic was enough for a knot to form in the back of Conway's next. "Phobia?" Conway said with a questioning voice. "Don't you think you should have told me about it a bit sooner?" He refrained from whining. Acting nervous was only going to make the panic attack worse. He just had to be supportive, and he had to get the Jackal through this.

"You have me to protect you, so it's safe. I mean if I've been able to live this long, you should be just fine as a Queen of Spades." Conway gave the man a reassuring smile. He offered his hand, like he offered June hugs when she was frightened. Physical contact did wonders for her, he could only hope it helped a little.

[Vyn]

Javaid wanted to break down in tears. His chest was tight, his heart was pounding, and his breathing was growing increasingly rapid and shallow but he was trying as hard as he could not to collapse on the spot. He didn't want to humiliate himself in front of Conway any more than he already had...

"I'm sorry... I had thought that Mehdi had told you." If his blushing could have gotten worse it would've, but as it was Javaid's cheeks were at the very limit of their redness. "He's avid about me conquering this and has tried to get others to help on more than one occasion. I... shouldn't have assumed."

For a moment he feared Conway was going to hate him for this but the wolf's hand was suddenly being offered to him and the Jackal let out a relieved whine. He murmured thanks and tried to nod an acknowledgment but, even with that blissfully reassuring hand, the panic was getting increasingly harder to ignore. His thoughts were becoming more muddled and despite his desperate attempts to remain composed his trembling and sweating was getting harder to control.

[Kari Muffin]

Conway was absolutely not prepared for this in the slightest. He reminded himself about the panic attacks his sister hand gone through. Hers had been downright awful, and Javaid's was just a drop in the bucket in comparison.

But he was at a bit of a loss. He had never seen Javaid like this.

"Don't apologize," Conway said as he tried to smile. "Mehdi didn't tell me everything. And I'm sorry he didn't. I suppose he didn't want to invade your privacy or he assumed you already told me."

They weren't even that far away from the gate. Hell they were only a few steps away and he was getting worse. A frown crossed Conway's face. There was no way they were going to make it to the market no matter what Javaid did.

"Just take slow deep breaths. We don't have to go if you can't make it," Conway squeezed the other canine's hand. It was more important that Javaid was happy and safe.

[Vyn]

It was too late for deep breaths or rational thoughts; their time had passed long ago.

Javaid felt like he was dying. His chest was tight, his stomach knotted, and his whole body felt like it was on pins and needles. His hyperventilating jumped between anxious gasps and fluttered breaths and, honestly, Conway's hand was the only thing keeping him on his feet anymore. He didn't want to look like a fool in front of Conway, but he could see his own hand trembling within Conway's and he knew it really was too late.

He could taste his heart in his mouth, feel it pounding through every inch of his body.

What would Conway think of him? Would Mehdi be ashamed when he didn't arrive? ...Why the hell couldn't he make it? He glanced back, trying to gauge how far he'd come from the gate, and was hit by a wave of dizziness that was stabilized with his staff. He'd only made it a few feet, nothing. He wasn't going to make it to the Market.

"We need to go back." A thin whine escaped him and the jackal slumped a bit in his defeat though, by no means, had his panic seemed to lessen. His chest still heaved like a terrified bird and he muttered a soft barrage of apologies. He was a fool. "I'm sorry..."

[Kari Muffin]

That went to hell rather fast.

Conway found himself wide eyed with fright. They were barely outside of the gate and Javaid was having a full blown panic attack. Would a few steps fix his problem or would he continue to border on hyperventilation? Conway choked back his own anxiety and tried his best to keep Javaid calm.

"You don't need to apologize, let's just go back," He said as he offered his continued to hold the jackal's hand. Hopefully Javaid would calm down. The Joker ushered the jackal towards the gate.

It was kind of terrifying to see his friend in such a state. He probably should have been more careful when he suggested a trip to the market. If he had known it was this bad he wouldn't have even entertained the notion. It was too late to think about that. He had already screwed up and hopefully Javaid wouldn't be embarrassed about the entire matter.

It was mostly Conway's fault.

[Vyn]

Even after returning to 'safe ground', Javaid took roughly ten minutes to fully return to normal from his attack.

The jackal slumped on a pile of pillow seats in the open pavilion where he usually entertained guests that he wasn't willing to bring into the temple proper and slowly waited for his breathing to return to normal and the gripping sensation of anxiety to pass. He still felt like the biggest fool in the world and thinking more clearly wasn't helping in the least.

Conway was there and Javaid... Javaid had made a fool of himself. "I'm sorry, about all that... I didn't mean... I.. hate to be a burden like that..." He shook his head and then leaned back against the wall, peering out at the desert beyond so that he didn't have to risk looking at Conway and seeing shame quite yet. "Thank you for accompanying me out, even those few steps." Javaid had tried to go out on his own, but the sense of fear always left him hovering right at the edge of the temple's boundaries. This was more than he'd managed in years.

[Kari Muffin]

Conway was at a loss of what to do. He found himself crouched a little ways from the Jackal, watching and waiting. He still looked rather awful even after a few minutes of recovery time. Had he pushed the Jackal too far? Was he going to be okay?

A small whimpered would have escaped Conway if he hadn't suppressed it. He slowly slipped to a sitting position on a set of pillows as he continued to watch the man silently. He was happy that the Jackal wasn't looking at him. His expression probably wouldn't have helped to alleviate the situation. Even on a human face blatant worry was obvious.

"It's fine, Javaid," he said when the other man finally spoke. "I'm sorry I pushed you when I didn't know the entire situation." The Joker looked like a kicked puppy. He wanted to tone down his expression, but it was difficult. He felt silly for even attempting this when the Queen was so terrified he had a phobia of leaving.

[Vyn]

The more time passed, the more 'himself' Javaid felt and the more guilty he felt for what he'd put Conway through. Even now the Joker looked terribly awkward and... he was apologizing? Javaid could barely believe his ears. How could he possibly be sorry for Javaid keeping secrets?

"You don't need to apologize, I should have told you the truth. I let myself believe you knew more than you did because I was too afraid to approach you on the subject myself." Secrets weren't good between family, Javaid should have known better than to hide something from Conway that was so important. The jackal shifted over to sit down beside Conway, offering him a faint smile. "And it's better to be pushed than to keep sitting here. I'd like to be able to go out to the Market with you eventually."

He swallowed a little at the thought but pushed the nerves down for now. Now, he should probably let Mehdi know they weren't coming.

"Regardless, would you still like to go to the market with Mehdi? I can send him a letter with Ma'at and let him know that plans have changed."

[Kari Muffin]

Conway found himself giving Javaid a rather timid look when the Queen spoke. He shouldn't apologize, but it seemed appropriate given that Javaid had had a panic attack. It could have been far worse, and because he hadn't poked the man to double check his actual fear this whole ordeal had happened. He was normally far more careful when it came to taking chances with any person, and he had slipped with Javaid. It was an error that could have resulted in the man getting hurt.

It didn't sit well with Conway.

At least it didn't show too badly on his face.

"Well... okay... as long as we come up with a better plan than trying to get you to step outside of the gate. There has to be a better way that doesn't actually involved a panic attack." He shifted into a more comfortable position.

He did still want to go to the market. But would Javaid be okay if he was alone? Conway felt slightly guilty at the idea of running off and exploring without him.

"I... would like to go if it's okay with you. I could bring back something and uh... try to cook for you? I've been practicing a bit." He tried not to blush. "And I could see how far my mental ability can reach, so I can talk to you while I'm at the market."

[Vyn]

"If I can handle anything, it's being here on my own. Don't worry about me. You should go out and have fun." Finally he gave into his urge and leaned over to briefly hug the wolf. "Thank you, again, for being so kind to me." His tail gave a gentle wag as he leaned back. "I know this was a lot to absorb..."

Javaid hated knowing that he had startled Conway so intensely that he was still shaken but he understood. He doubted Conway had ever been exposed to that sort of panic attack before, of course it be hard to take in. It had startled even laid-back Mehdi to see Javaid do such a huge personality flip.

As for the Market though. "Dinner sounds great and, I'd love to see if your ability can reach that far. It's not too long a trip." Javaid hoped it did. Even if he didn't particularly need company, he would enjoy hearing Conway's voice and knowing he was safe out there. "I'll send Mehdi a message and let him know to pick you up."