The vial disappeared again. Don Juan was briefly disappointed, but like any of his thoughts and feelings at the present moment the sensation was slippery; it faded away momentarily, followed by the memory that there had been a vial at all, and eventually — as the silence and inactivity of the booth continued to stretch on — that there was any ongoing interaction at all. He was a point disconnected from space and time. He drifted, aware of very little until he was scooped up in someone's arms. Don Juan curled in towards the man's chest on instinct, and was struck by the alienness of it. The wrong set of arms, but he was in no position to protest. He used the man of his center of gravity, keeping the world from spinning as they moved by virtue of blocking out the entire world. The apparition caught him off-guard and made him retch, but there was nothing in his stomach to lose, so the stranger's coat was saved the indignity.
The other man held his jaw in a way that would have hurt if he was sober. Don Juan looked at his face and tried to recall if he knew what was going on. More drugs? He could hold something under his tongue, sure — he moved it sluggishly towards the roof of his mouth, tucked it behind his first row of teeth, and obediently opened up. The rest of the man's words didn't catch up with him right away. By the time he'd started to fully parse them, there was already a drop of something splashing onto the space beneath his tongue. Suffer, had he said, and sober? Don Juan wasn't sure he was onboard for this... and then the concoction hit him. There was lightning in his veins. His muscles seized and his heart pounded. He coughed, gagged, but the man was holding his jaw too firmly for his head to move with either gesture. He wanted to spit, or throw up, but couldn't manage either — and the bead of the potion had already soaked in to the tender area below his tongue, anyway. There would be no dislodging it.
The feeling started to subside and the world, still rendered thrice and still spinning, started to slowly come back into focus. Then the man gave him a second drop, and it started over again.
"Stop," he sputtered, forming the word with some difficult while he was trembling and the man was still holding his face. "Stop, I can't —"
The other man held his jaw in a way that would have hurt if he was sober. Don Juan looked at his face and tried to recall if he knew what was going on. More drugs? He could hold something under his tongue, sure — he moved it sluggishly towards the roof of his mouth, tucked it behind his first row of teeth, and obediently opened up. The rest of the man's words didn't catch up with him right away. By the time he'd started to fully parse them, there was already a drop of something splashing onto the space beneath his tongue. Suffer, had he said, and sober? Don Juan wasn't sure he was onboard for this... and then the concoction hit him. There was lightning in his veins. His muscles seized and his heart pounded. He coughed, gagged, but the man was holding his jaw too firmly for his head to move with either gesture. He wanted to spit, or throw up, but couldn't manage either — and the bead of the potion had already soaked in to the tender area below his tongue, anyway. There would be no dislodging it.
The feeling started to subside and the world, still rendered thrice and still spinning, started to slowly come back into focus. Then the man gave him a second drop, and it started over again.
"Stop," he sputtered, forming the word with some difficult while he was trembling and the man was still holding his face. "Stop, I can't —"
![[Image: 0hYxCaj.png]](https://i.imgur.com/0hYxCaj.png)
MJ made this <3