exsilium | four ♙ video

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four ♙ video

[ the video's not all that well focused or held, mostly getting her shoulder and part of her face except for the moments she readjusts it back to focusing on her face temporarily. the light is dim, wherever she is, and between the blood drying on her and the way her voice keeps hitching as she stumbles over words, the unsteadiness of her hands holding the tablet, and the way her head tips back against the wall she's leaning against every so often as if she can't quite hold it up - she's not in great shape. ]

You know, someone should get to work on this machine's timing. Adjust it a little bit. Make it stop being a fucking piece of shit. Or taking people who don't want to be taken. Or - I don't know, what else is it up to lately? How long's it been.

[ breaking off. she's forgotten what she needed to say, is looking off at nothing in particular for a long moment. abruptly - ]

What's that story about the lady and the tiger? With the princess whose lover has to pick one of two doors as punishment, and one has a tiger and the other has a woman he'll have to marry. And she makes a gesture to tell him which one to pick, but the story doesn't tell you which one the door had behind it.

I guess a little closure's too much to ask for.

[ blood loss: good for clarity. ]

I could use a doctor.

[ ooc: charlie cutter & tempest get providing aid rights, but if you would rather action it up she'll be wandering around the area for part of the day and can be run into most anywhere just checking everything out. ]

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Good. She'll fix you up.

[Which doesn't exactly give up much of an answer to the question they're both asking themselves: why he bothered coming at all. The likelihood of his bleeding out before someone with some proper magical skill was slim to none, particularly so close to the transporter pad. And even if she had-- well, it wouldn't have been the first time Max had to rely on the Aristaes equipment.

But that's a cruel kind of line of thinking, one he doesn't have the patience or interest to bother with as he kneels down next to her.]

How long have you been out for? [He's all business, looping a length of medical tape above the wound in her arm so he can tourniquet it.] Move your hand.

I know.

[ If it was her, she's not sure she would have come. Not with the knowledge of the Aristeas tech, not with knowing someone else would be coming - she doesn't know why he's here. She can't help but watch every motion he makes like a hawk, not entirely sure she trusts him at the moment. ]

Three years. Ran my clock out. [ There's a long moment of hesitation and then she pries her hand loose. There are two slugs buried in the arm, the bone has to be shattered from impact, but it didn't kill her. ] You didn't say why you're here.

[He jerks the knot of the medical tape tight over her arm.] Because I don't know why.

[Honesty - a very rare breed of it. He shakes out a packet of gauze, stripping the paper wrapping so he can press the sterile sheet over the wound. He's not gentle about it, but there's no rough handling either.] Hold that there.

[And then he digs through his kit again, pulling free a roll of bandages.]

I haven't any pain killers on me. Sorry.

[ Fuck that hurt. There's a hissed exhale of air, the only concession to pain she's willing to make in front of him, but her eyes are squeezed shut until she opens them again to find out what she needs to hold, clamp her hand over it. ]

Awesome. [ Short, because she doesn't have energy for much else right now. But she shakes her head just a little bit at that last bit, tries to lift her shoulders in a shrug and immediately thinks better of it because that hurts too, fuck this shit. ]

Doesn't matter. I've had worse.

Yes alright, you can knock it off with the toughened bitch act. Everyone's very impressed. [He picks free the beginning of the sticky sided bandage and then shifts his hand back over the gauze - bumping her own back out of the way. Pinning the end of the bandage down with his thumb, he begins to wind it around her arm.

Compared to Tempest who was probably going to roll in here and knit her skin back together, it was hardly expert work. But in the real world - the one without magic or elves or women who could shove emotions into the front of your brain -, it was the sort of thing to hold for long enough to get to a hospital or a back alley doctor willing to set you up, no questions asked at the low price of your left nut or an equivalent sum.

In other words: he's clearly done this before.]

[when Tempest arrives and finally spots them, she's relieved that Charlie got there before her; it meant that someone was looking over Max's injuries, and at the very least she wouldn't bleed out. She had no idea about Charlie's first aid skills, but given his line of work she figured he at least knew something.

She's still a bit out of breath from the run when she joins them, kneeling down to get a good look at the damage. Focusing her magic was much more efficient then just casting without, because it meant the healing went where it was needed, rather than all over the place. But that looks like a gunshot wound, and those were . . . tricky. Especially since she'd never healed one before and she was pretty sure things stayed in the body sometimes and that was just a mess in and of itself]

Sorry it took a bit—[she glances at Charlie and smiles briefly - a wordlessly "thank you" before turning her attention back to Max]

[ That gets him one middle finger raised succinctly into the air for a moment before she lets it drop, teeth snapping together hard to keep herself from making any noise. There are things she wants to say - if all you're going to do is be an asshole why are you here, or tell him to just go, she's changed her mind, if he's only going to be here out of some weird sense of obligation to help her he can go, it doesn't actually matter if she bleeds out that had been the point before she got dragged back here, but the fact of the matter is that she doesn't really have the strength for any of it.

So she lets her eyes drift shut with the dizzying mix of failure and pain that seems intent on swallowing her. She knows that it's a bad idea to let herself fall asleep, but she's really - really tired. She won't sleep, she'll just rest. She'll just rest, and she can hear Tempest now so it doesn't matter anyways, right? ]

Sorry. [ It's a little slurred, the words feeling like they don't quite fit her mouth. ] Thanks.

[All things said and done, he doesn't want to get into a fight with her. He doesn't have the energy for this nonsense, don't have anything to give in return for that raised middle finger save for a narrowed sidelong glance and a thinning of the mouth.

Luckily, he doesn't have to figure it out. The moment Tempest shows up, Charlie goes hands off. Literally. He finishes tying off the bandage and then shifts up to give Tempest some space to work.]

[slurring is never a good sign, but with Charlie's patch job it means she can take that moment longer to assess. She frowns for a moment, her hands hovering like they're unsure as to where to go, before she drops them and glances up at Max]

I need to straighten your leg out - do you know if it is broken or not? [she glances up at Charlie, briefly] Don't go far, dear.

Really. Broken.

[ She doesn't open her eyes at all, one hand scrabbling for purchase for a moment as she pushes herself back against the wall, and then she stills again. Easier like that. Tempest will fix things up, or she'll die, and either way she'll be fine again soon. ]

Might be better to just let me bleed out. You know. Closure. [ A deep breath in and out, and then she opens her eyes, though what she's looking at doesn't seem to be either of them. ] Where's Michael?

[Charlie falls back, but obediently doesn't stray far - hovering just behind Tempest.]

Nonsense. [Which is either a kindness or callously dismissive; said in that low, growling tone it's difficult to parse the difference. He glances from Tempest's hands to Max's face - her closed eyes, the set of her mouth.]

Who'se Michael?

[If he's stuck here, he can at least keep her talking.]

[it's probably for the best that Charlie keeps Max talking while Tempest focuses on healing - it's been a long time since she's had to heal a broken bone, and it would be terrible to screw that up.

Gently, her hands feel along Max's leg, seeking out where the break and how extensive it is - and then she very carefully starts to straighten her leg. It might be painful, but it has to be done. She makes sure to be as quick as she can about it, though, and before she's let go, she's already casting the first of what will probably be a series of healing spells]

Gonna tell me you didn't think about it? [ She regrets saying that almost as soon as she's actually said it, but she had to be talking while Tempest was straightening her leg or she was going to scream and it was the only thing she had to say at that moment. It comes out strangled despite her best efforts, but it's clear enough.

Watching Tempest work right now is off limits, so when she manages to focus her gaze again it's on Charlie for a long moment, processing his question before she lets her eyes drift back shut and stay like that this time. ]

Doesn't matter. [ Of course he's not here. She'd known that, so why had she even asked? Wishful thinking, maybe. The dream that if she'd gotten some kind of sick temporary reprieve at least they'd granted the same to someone who actually deserved it. ]

[He purposefully doesn't dignify that with an answer, expression gone momentarily flinty. Not that's she's wrong - the thought had occurred briefly before the raw, emotional part of him had chased it off. Less pain to just kick off and come back clean and good as new, but that doesn't actually mean being brought back is the easier thing.]

Someone from home, then. [She doesn't want to talk about it? Too bad.] The prick who did this to you, maybe?

[while they talk, Tempest casts a stronger spell, this one meant to mend the bone in Max's leg; it doesn't hurt, at least, but may feel strange, as bone knits back together, as any muscle damage is reversed. She sits back for a moment when that's finished - it takes two spells, in addition to the first one she cast - before she frowns, just catching what they were talking about]

[ She settles a little bit as the spell knits in, some of the worst of the pain easing at least. The lines are still on her face - they'll always be on her face - but she looks a little better now, a little bit more at ease. ]

Michael wouldn't do that. [ Floating a little bit, because god that's a relief. ] He - he's gone. I thought maybe if I got saved. [ She drops it. ] But I guess not.

So a friend of yours then.

[Keep talking, damn you. He grins and despite the words that come out of his mouth, there's little about his expression that's as cutting:] I thought you didn't have many of those back home.

[Tempest shifts to take care of Max's arm next, reaching up to carefully remove the bandage Charlie had put there. Briefly, before she covers it up again to put pressure there. She purses her lips, then glances at Max directly]

Is there anything in this wound, Max?

I don't. [ Simply, and she lets her eyes drift back open as she looks at him, nothing obscuring her expression right now. It's not anger, or even really sorrow. Just a quiet defeat. ] Didn't.

[ To Tempest. ] It was a small calibre handgun, I don't think the bullets went all the way through. Probably still in there. [ And then looking back up between Charlie and Tempest. ] Got a few here, though.

[He shifts back onto his heels, the line of his shoulders shifting. He drops his gaze to Tempest, to the blood going slowly dry on Max's arm and clothes. Friends. It's worth noting, but nothing he can put words around - so he doesn't bother with it. Skips straight over to:]

It's probably against bone. If you can... purify it or some nonsense before knitting it all back up, the bone'll set around it just fine.

[there's a lot of terms here she doesn't understand (weren't all guns the same??) but she glances up at Charlie and frowns. It's also easier for her to ignore the friends comment, even though she absolutely agrees with Max on it]

What do you think I am, a bloody cleric? [she's insulted by the very thought] I could heal it without taking it out, but it could do more damage in there, purified or not.

[ Tempest at least is her friend. Tony, Donny. Charlie at least was, whatever he is now.

Whatever it is, he came even if she's still not sure he wanted to or she wanted him to. So there's that. She has people who care enough about her well being to not let her die, here. For now she'll just let the word friend stand. She snorts a little, shifts. ] I'd rather it not stay in, but they can handle that at the clinic so long as it stops bleeding soon.

What, not keen on setting off metal detectors for the rest of you life?

[It's a mild kind if humor and barely sounds it given the flat tone of his voice. There's blood all over the floor. He scuffs his knuckles impatiently at Tempest's shoulder.]

Just knit her up for now.

[she frowns, but lifts a hand and casts a spell, knitting up the wound just enough so that it stops bleeding]

They would be able to handle it better than I could at the clinic.

Seems like a shit way to avoid detection, at least.

[ She clenches her teeth at the spell, and then one hand splays against the wall as she slowly starts to push herself up to standing. ]

See? All better. [ If she's avoiding their eyes it's because she's concentrating very hard on her feet to make sure they're steady before pushing off from the wall. ]

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four ♙ video

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