Guabancex (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
loststorm) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
come_sailaway2022-04-12 11:29 pm
loststorm) wrote in come_sailaway2022-04-12 11:29 pm
Entry tags:
- !event,
- arcane: jinx,
- arknights: mizuki,
- generator rex: césar salazar,
- interview with the vampire: claudia,
- mcu: bucky barnes,
- murderbot diaries: murderbot,
- one piece: sanji,
- prodigal son: malcolm bright,
- sherlock holmes: john watson,
- sleepless domain: undine wells,
- supernatural: dean winchester,
- tales of the abyss: jade curtiss,
- the 100: clarke griffin,
- the locked tomb: palamedes sextus
APRIL EVENT PART 2: GUABANCEX
[it's around midnight, at the very start of the 13th, that the first wave rocks the ship.
winds howl against the windows, pushing the integrity of the glass. near-constant lightning lights up the sky like day, even with the punishing fall of rain, coming down in sheets of unnaturally icy water. it's not the only thing falling from the sky, though: shapes that anyone who has seen them can recognize as pretty much every piece of furniture on decks six and seven, tossed into the sea by the wrath of the storm. apparently. kinda. it's complicated.
should, for some reason, a person's first instinct during crisis be to check in on what Friday is up to, she is not at her usual spot at guest services at all. she is, in fact, on the sports deck, where she has been since she first scented the sharp ozone of Jenny's always inevitable shedding of her mortal form. she's clutching to a railing as a particularly strong (and almost targeted) gust of wind nearly throws her off the deck. she's shouting, probably, but it can't be heard over the storm.
Jenny is about still recognizable as herself, though being about 15 feet taller than normal is a little off-putting at first. expansive waves of her hands bring lightning from the sky and water from the ocean, both of which she uses to bombard the door to the bridge, which, as per usual, stays stubbornly closed. at least she only really seems mad at--]
Release them, liar! Cheat! I'll bring this whole realm down with me! I should have killed us all years ago!
[haha no this is very much a "you" problem. so. should probably. get. on that.]
winds howl against the windows, pushing the integrity of the glass. near-constant lightning lights up the sky like day, even with the punishing fall of rain, coming down in sheets of unnaturally icy water. it's not the only thing falling from the sky, though: shapes that anyone who has seen them can recognize as pretty much every piece of furniture on decks six and seven, tossed into the sea by the wrath of the storm. apparently. kinda. it's complicated.
should, for some reason, a person's first instinct during crisis be to check in on what Friday is up to, she is not at her usual spot at guest services at all. she is, in fact, on the sports deck, where she has been since she first scented the sharp ozone of Jenny's always inevitable shedding of her mortal form. she's clutching to a railing as a particularly strong (and almost targeted) gust of wind nearly throws her off the deck. she's shouting, probably, but it can't be heard over the storm.
Jenny is about still recognizable as herself, though being about 15 feet taller than normal is a little off-putting at first. expansive waves of her hands bring lightning from the sky and water from the ocean, both of which she uses to bombard the door to the bridge, which, as per usual, stays stubbornly closed. at least she only really seems mad at--]
Release them, liar! Cheat! I'll bring this whole realm down with me! I should have killed us all years ago!
[haha no this is very much a "you" problem. so. should probably. get. on that.]
cw: injuries (no gory descriptions but just in case)
There's blood matted in his hair from a wound to the back of his head and his left arm is crushed. However, a closer inspection will reveal that none of the wounds is actually bleeding, like it spilled out and then just stopped. His still breathing steadily though, and it's not long before his eyes flutter open and he groans weekly. And once some of the rubble is clear - that sure looks like a long, jagged piece of metal buried in his stomach.]
no subject
A cursory look on approach does confirm a lack of head wound or thorough crushing of the chest cavity, early indicators that it isn't actually immediately fatal, but...that sure is blood all the same, and terrible angles for some limbs to be in. Jade ignores that sinking twisting thing in his chest--utterly unhelpful, at the moment, and objectively insignificant enough that it's debatable whether he'll even remember to properly examine it later--no, instead, the entirety of his focus is honing in on the terrible debacle before him. The speed of Jade's arrival is such that he nearly skids to a halt beside Natsuno, kneeling down immediately beside this general pile of wrecked signage and teenage boy half to mitigate the continued swaying of the ship as well as possible and half to immediately start reaching for rubble not immediately stuck in the boy. Fortunately for the both of them, Jade isn't particularly prone to panic in most dire situations, far more given to put any developing nervous energy immediately towards action--and this particular sort of action could only help, at the moment. The metal pieces are heavy but mobile, tossed aside in such a way as to ideally not slide right back into the both of them with subsequent keels of the floor; even as his hands move, Jade's mind is already racing, picking up and sorting and discarding through all possible routes to take from this point, because time is surely going to be of the essence here. These are thoroughly grievous injuries--Natsuno can't be left like this for long--Jade has his phone, habitually tucked in an inner pocket of his uniform these days. He already knows of Watson as a potential doctor, but at this rate immediate stabilization with healing artes may very well be necessary first. If only he could access any, he could--
No, no. A thoroughly unhelpful thought tangent in itself, summarily chopped short in his own head. Jade clears away the last movable piece of metal, and finds himself confronted with the proper sight of a particularly large and jagged piece running right through Natsuno's stomach; a sharp sigh presses out. ...And is accompanied by a groan that's not his own? It actually takes a second for Jade to realize the noise is actually coming from Natsuno, accompanied by a flutter of eyelids--and that's thoroughly startling, to say the least. Jade's reaching to very gently grasp one of his uninjured shoulders, more in a bid to try minimizing any immediate sudden movement than any particular attempt at assurance. (...Well. Maybe just a bit of an attempt at assurance too, but. He's not thinking about that. More importantly--)]
Yuuki--can you hear me? Try not to move too much; you're critically injured. [Tone even but terse; Jade leans over him a bit more now, trying to get a better look at the point of impalement. Is it passing all the way through...? Hard to tell at this sort of angle, short of outright turning Natsuno over--] --I'm reaching out for help shortly. In the meantime, you should... [...Hold on, though. Here Jade had been figuring that perhaps examining the amount of blood loss from the stomach wound in particular might help with determining the depth of the metal, but...
There isn't actually any more blood coming out at all...?
Inadvertently, Jade's words trail off. Frowning, he's looking back over the other open wounds, and--all the same. Bloodstains on the floor, and on his clothes, and yet...nothing new actively flowing?
Wait, but that isn't right--]
no subject
Everything hurts, everything is dizzy - he has no idea if it's coming from inside his head or from the rocking ship. It takes him a few more moments to register the blur of colors and muffled sounds above him as Jade. Oh, right, he tried to make a run for it and then the sign -
" - critically injured."
Natsuno's head rolls to the left and - oh. Huh. Somehow doesn't even look like it belongs to him, let alone an arm. With the weight of metal removed, the wounded arm starts knitting itself back together - slowly, way too slowly. He didn't drink blood even once since waking up on the Serena Eterna, and his body has to work hard to fix the damage. He's going to be so hungry after this...
Next, a look to the right. Everything is fine there. But his stomach hurts -
Well fuck. Also, something Jade just said makes alarm bells ring in his head.]
...no help.
[The last thing he needs is to bring more people into this. This is bad, so bad, now there's gonna be questions he doesn't want to answer. It's hard to think straight through all the pain - all Natsuno knows he needs to get out of this situation (and get the situation out of him).]
I'm fine -
[He grabs the metal shard with his uninjured hand and pulls, causing a fresh surge of blood that immediately stop flowing. The pain is so awful Natsuno has to stop, unable to bite back a choked scream. He has to brace himself and just do it, rip it out like a band aid, it won't heal when it's stuck like this...]
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No, we are getting help, because I am not just leaving you like this. [Again with this...what even is this, honestly? Teen brattiness can stretch a long way for a lot of situations, perhaps, but at a time like this it really is quite beyond the pale. Jade's not sure whether to be more impressed or irritated that this would be the first thing Natsuno tries to think of upon regaining consciousness--mistaking it for some sort of bizarre sacrificial streak as he still is, anyway...he sighs.] Transport would be unwise, but--
[--Oh, but no, time to put that tangent away rather promptly too. Because Natsuno very clearly isn't actually listening, seeing as he's now--moving--and grabbing the metal shard in his stomach, and pulling--
The result is no surprise whatsoever, but the sight of the attempt and the noise Natsuno makes to accompany it sure isn't pleasant all the same! Eyes widening as a flash of something genuinely between surprise and a mortified sort of concern crosses Jade's features, he's automatically reaching to grab the wrist attached to the uninjured hand trying to pull out that shard for a fact--] --Hold on! Don't--you're impaled! Pulling this out of the wound will only accelerate the loss of your--your...
[...There's still barely any blood coming out. A small renewed surge, perhaps, accompanying the slight budging of the shard, but again right after--nothing more. It finally does start to sink in as Jade nearly says it, even if he's still gripping Natsuno's wrist in the pause that falls, staring from his stomach to...that crushed arm, a slight movement at the corner of his eye, as the horrible angle it's in seems to be--slowly--starting...to right itself...?
Well now.]
...Your blood. [Practically a second statement, by the time the tail end of that sentence finally finishes. A frown settles anew on Jade's features as he returns to eye contact with Natsuno. Thoughts are still whirling, trying to make sense of this brand new data, but the first and most likely explanation being formed is...] Wait. Are you healing?
no subject
...yeah.
[It's clear he can still feel the pain, though, and he hardly has the strength to struggle with more than words - Natsuno stops pulling at the shard the moment Jade grabs his wrist.]
It's not safe here. [Jade isn't entirely wrong about that bizarre sacrificial streak - Natsuno is well aware that a fonist colonel or not, Jade is going to have a much worse time if he got hit with another sign, flying furniture or one of the many deadly scenarios deck five has to offer.] I'll be fine. But this thing -
[He squeezes his eyes shut and groans when an especially violent wave rocks the ship and irritates the wound.]
Has to get out.
no subject
...But the context of the situation has most certainly changed all the same, when Natsuno confirms what truly does seem to be the case. Open wounds very gradually starting to close, his ruined arm just as slowly assuming more of an actual arm shape, and blood continuing to be far too sparse--yes, this surely must be healing in some sort of sense, for all that Jade detects positively nothing in the way of any kind of healing arte being activated at the moment. Not exactly as if Natsuno seems to be in much of a state to actually cast anything, either, clearly just barely able to speak through the pain as he currently is...if anything, Jade can only assume it must be an involuntary sort of regeneration, which is...
Well, that could be a lot of things, now couldn't it? But now isn't the time for further questioning, or further pondering, when the ship's still rocking and this shard of metal is still embedded in Natsuno presently. ...All aspects currently considered, pulling out that metal might indeed actually be the better option, if healing really is occuring here...even if it goes against every kneejerk sensibility of human anatomy and injuries of this nature that Jade has. He might insist he's not a qualified sort of medical doctor, if asked, but he is intimately familiar with these sorts of things all the same.
--Still. He's also very familiar with far more unpleasant things, too--like setting your teeth and going through with an extremely difficult sort of motion. The pause that follows Natsuno's last words is only a very brief one, in which Jade's expression eventually shifts from concern and confusion to...well, not much of anything, really. Blank, with a grim sort of touch, as he exhales a bit and then moves to close a hand around the end of the metal himself.]
...Very well. But you aren't going to be able to pull it out on your own--so I'll need to do it. [Doing this sort of thing on your own, at these evident levels of pain...it's doable, perhaps, but not by everyone, and not always on demand. From what he can tell of Natsuno's state at the moment, leaving him to keep attempting it himself would be more of a cruelty than anything. So, the only other option...] Apologies; this will be very painful. On my count of three you should brace yourself. One, two--
[--He's pulling before three, actually, sorry Natsuno! Because the trick is to not actually give yourself any time to brace at all, if you can help it!! Fortunately(?), Jade has quite a bit of experience in pulling sharp objects out of impaled bodies; it's the most common sort of wound you can inflict with a spear, after all...and while a jaggedly asymmetric piece of metal might be rather different, enough similarities remain. This is less a tug and more like a very controlled yank, a singular motion of exceptional force and little hesitation.
So at least, probably--that piece of metal sure is coming out, now??]
no subject
Natsuno nods weakly when Jade all but declares he'll get the offending metal out, face set in a similar grim blankness. The shiki's out of the bag, so to speak, and there's no reason to draw it out because of pride and teenage attitude. He closes his eyes when Jade starts counting, not wanting to look at it. Don't scream, don't scream, don't -
Yeah right, of course he screams. This is the worst pain he felt in his life (well, physical at least). Once the metal is removed there's yet another flow of fresh blood that stops as quickly as it starts, the wound already starting to close.
Natsuno is already sitting up, trying to draw enough breath to talk. He needs to get up, needs to go - ]
Thanks -
[He coughs, spitting something small and round into his uninjured hand.
A metal nut.]
1/2 WHY AM I LAUGHING GDI.........
The awkward half-second pause in which the both of them probably stare at it is, truly indescribable, no doubt. But.
Alright he's not saying anything about it if Natsuno doesn't say anything about it, anyway--]
2/2 also ofc lmk if i should change this lmao...
Jade's promptly casting the (not nearly bloodied enough) shard of metal aside, blank expression of moments earlier pinching back into something of a frown as he canvasses Natsuno for any other signs of foreign objects possibly stuck in him. None immediately visible, at the very least...and now the kid's already sitting up, which is plenty jarring too. Jade doesn't quite push him back down with the hand still on his good shoulder, but it's a near thing, and his grip on said shoulder is tightening a bit all the same in a bid to ensure he's not just immediately slumping back over. Still aggressively putting all thought of that metal nut aside--]
Careful. You're surely not quite healed enough to stand as things are right-- [--now, with how the floor's still pitching underneath the both of them as the ship continues dipping through the ocean's stormy swells outside, but--well, Jade's sentence is proven before he even gets a chance to quite finish it! Because there's another rather sharper shift in gravity happening, about now, as a particularly loud peal of thunder cracks outside and--
Well, it was only a matter of time before this small window of luck ran out. There's a clatter as the floor tilts anew, and a promenade table starts sliding their way, immediately accosting Jade's attention. Promptly, with a sudden-half-raise of his free hand to accompany another very brief thrum of hastily-gathered fonons:] O mighty explosion--Energy Blast!
[--The table explodes! In a contained but abrupt sort of fashion, several yards before it has a chance to reach them; Jade's leaning over Natsuno with an arm angled to shield him from the much smaller pieces that tumble past them instead. No time to fuss too much, though, as far as Jade's concerned--the floor starts to tilt the other way, and he doesn't exactly need to look up and around to figure out what the source of a larger amount of clattering might be. There really is way too much furniture on this deck--]
Here--come on, we're moving! [Ah, this is going to be pretty rude, and perhaps also kind of painful on Natsuno's end, and Jade would almost be inclined to apologize about this too if they weren't quite so strapped for time...! As things stand now, though, they need to make a break for those stairs nearby and Natsuno's clearly not going to be able to do it on his own.
So! Unless he already has enough strength to effectively fight it, Natsuno may very well find himself being scooped up in a very approximate sort of bridal carry; not exactly the lightest thing Jade's ever lifted, but urgency and adrenaline can get you a long way, and he isn't actually the more noodly sort of mage archetype--isn't that lucky? If there's not too much struggle, perhaps they'll even be able to reach the alcove to the stairs before that additional furniture arrives to flatten them...!]
you're good! glad you enjoy my dumb slapstick humor
He's just gonna... drop that nut to the floor and say nothing. In fact, the next moments are blissfully sass-free - all Natsuno can do is stare at the exploding table because, well, flashy magic is much more impressive when it's meant to help instead of blowing up a waterslide when he's still inside it. Natsuno hisses in pain when Jade scoops him up, but doesn't struggle. He knows he's too weak to make it on its own, and he better cooperate if the two of them are going to make it.
They don't get pancaked - hooray! And the stairs are even usable.]
never stop with ur slapstick humor ok, a treasure....!!
Really though, it's a shame Natsuno didn't catch the Thunder Blade of earlier; even more flashy and exciting than an Energy Blast, which is in itself about as basic as a fonic arte can get! But, well, in the future there may yet be better occasions for such demonstrations--you know, without the looming risk of getting pancaked by cruise ship amenities.
No, right now the priority is getting to the stairs--and they do! But it's a couple of flights down to deck four, and while it's a small blessing that the steps are still usable...well, this whole situation sure is still Challenge Mode with stairs in general, now isn't it? Between the rocking of the ship and the fact that Jade's arms are now fully occupied with Natsuno's weight...
Yeah, it's rather precarious! Honestly, even Jade would admit it's a bit of a miracle that he manages to bring Natsuno down the first flight without missing a step and sending them both tumbling down the rest of the stairs altogether--in the end it's a hasty balance of pausing just long enough before the stairwell to wait for the ship's gravity to align just a bit, and then taking full advantage of that small window to practically sprint down two steps at a time. Pretty strenuous, for the record! His poor back will be killing him after this!!
...But really though, it is kind of unsustainable, and Jade's leery to take the risk of being so lucky twice. He staggers to a halt on the first landing, and leans back against a portion of wall without a stair rail as the ship starts keeling sharply once more, huffing out a terse sort of breath. His arms have remained rigid around Natsuno up to this point, but...]
Hm--I think--I'm going to need you to stand. [Alas, there isn't any fonic arte for levitating people...but Jade's not actually going to put down Natsuno until he gets some sort of confirmation first, at least, even if he has to brace his elbows back against the wall a bit to keep from sliding with another tilt of gravity. The only good thing about this awkward setup is that it's pretty easy to look down and check how Natsuno's actually faring, at the very least--] How are you feeling? Still healing? I think, if you lean upon me, getting down the last flight should be less of a risk...but do you think you'll be able to walk?
no subject
Once asked to stand, Natsuno slides down wordlessly, stumbling toward the rail for support.]
I'm better. [It's the truth, even if he still looks and feels awful. The stomach wound is healing and his left arm looks almost human now, though it still hurts to move it.] I can walk. [And because they're out of immediate danger, he tries again:]
Just – take the stairs up. People are out there. I can get down to the theater myself.
no subject
Jade simply gives Natsuno a Look, for a protracted moment or so.]
Are you really going to make me carry you again? I'll do it, if you're going to insist like this, but I am giving you one other option here.
[Emphasis on "one other", though--because the concept of heading back up the stairs off the bat is one that's being quite clearly and firmly discarded--and would that really be so surprising? Surely Natsuno could at least take a guess as to why. The last time you went ahead you nearly got squashed by a sign, kiddo, at this point he's not letting you out of his sight until you're firmly seated in a theater chair or so help him...!
Jade's moving to stand beside him next to the rail, and holding a hand out. Come on, put an arm here, let's go.
(And alas, the only real injury Jade's probably taking away from Hurricane Jenny this time around is a new array of bruises and perhaps some dents to pride here and there--not nearly so bad a time as Natsuno's, this time around. At least the tables will be turned next month, though...!
And clearly this freaky blood thing absolutely should happen anyway, at some point down the line...! Yikes anime vampirism sure is something else--)]no subject
Still, he leans on Jade with his good arm without another word. Looks like the best way to get it over with is to do as he's told...! And this time, he truly won't argue or cause trouble until they make it to the theatre.]
no subject
Hm, that's the odd sort of catch, isn't it? They're certainly not friends, exactly. Barely even agreeable roommates, honestly. Yet all the same, perhaps by the simple virtue of the fact that they've had to tolerate each other's existence for at least a few hours a day every day for the last month or so...Jade does know Natsuno as some form of acquaintance by now, at the absolute least. And it's not as if there's any particular hatred here. Brattiness yes, rudeness nigh-constantly (if not equally dished on both sides), a perpetual seemingly unnecessary sort of caginess around certain oddities in habits that are just now finally starting to make a bit of sense. Perhaps in another time--before the lowering of the Outer Lands, back home--Jade would have been more than happy to leave Natsuno to his own risky devices after the first attempt at breaking away. But now...
Well, Natsuno is still his roommate, after all. ...And he's a teen, besides. About the same age in some ways as...
Hm. Anyway.
Glare is matched for deadpan glare in turn--and it's a vague sort of relief, really, when Natsuno does eventually lean on his arm without much in the way of further protest. (He would have actually gone through with carrying Natsuno once more, if he tried being particularly stubborn about all this, but you know. Considering the terrain...and also his back.....yeah--) A begrudging compromise finally achieved, the journey down the rest of the stairs is a slow and staggering but successful one. Though they probably very nearly mutually wipe out on the floor yet again a couple more times--or perhaps even do, here and there, making for a great head-start on new bruises for Jade and Natsuno both--in the combined time it takes to emerge from the stairs and close the struggle of distance to the theater. At least there's a great deal less furniture to contend with on deck four, though, and...
Eventually--finally--they're pushing through the doors already half-swinging loose, and they're there, and sure enough the theater in itself is still decently intact through the perpetual gloom it already maintains by design. Just as Jade had guessed, the bolted-down chairs don't yet budge even as the floor continues swaying to and fro; by the end of it all Jade's all but pushing Natsuno into one of them, before standing back with a weary sigh. Ah...he's really almost about as covered in blood as Natsuno is, by this point, but oh well. It's not his, and the downpour outside's probably going to end up washing off most of it before the night is out anyway, and--]
Right. As hoped--seems things are more stable here. ...You are going to stay in here, yes? I don't know--how long the duration of your healing might be... [A slight and rather harried sort of pause, as Jade's glance falls to the spot where that stomach wound had been in particular; multiple questions still want to form somewhere in the back of his throat, a number steadily growing from the moment he'd yanked that sign piece out earlier. But, no, still...] Regardless, you should take this time to recover, and either way--this is most likely the safest place you could be on this ship currently. Although, you'll want to keep an awareness for any signs we might start sinking...I will try to message you to warn as much, if I can. But if you find the floor listing to one side and not righting itself, I would recommend seeking out higher ground regardless of lightning at that point.
[Another pause. Jade draws in a breath, very clearly still wanting to say rather many more things, but he also seems to be visibly stopping himself too; ultimately, he's only letting one question out after all, terse and a bit...wary. Still sort of expecting some form of argument, really.]
...Is that clear?
no subject
He stares up at Jade, his face a stony mask. There will be questions later, but for now - ]
Crystal. [A pause, and he adds, sincerely:] Thank you.
[Maybe there will be crosses and stakes later, he thinks. But right now Natsuno appreciates the concern, as unnecessary as it feels.]
no subject
But instead Jade's expression seems to pinch a bit, as something very nearly...uncomfortable? Discomfited? Flickers across his features for just a moment. Because truthfully...the actual clear sincerity here may be catching him a bit off-guard.
(......It's a funny thing, really. People don't thank him much, in general, and that's a trend for a reason. But.)]
...That's-- [Well, the moment's there and gone; Jade's expression closes just as quickly, to something rather more neutral, in the same sort of way he's stopping that start of a sentence short. But he does shake his head a bit. --Honestly. Natsuno will not be half so inclined to thank him in a few hours, probably, should they all happen to make it through this alive, and should a lull in the chaos finally settle...] We need to talk, later. Assuming, of course, that we're not sitting at the bottom of the sea by that time...
At any rate, I'm heading out to the deck. [And head out he does, leaving Natsuno to the theater.]