(no subject)

[hot_mess_express]

Who: Heroes
When: Day 36 night
Where: Back outside the train

[Well. You’re all in some kind of. State. A rather chagrined voice mutters on the wind;]

That isn’t quite how I envisioned it going…

[At any rate! There are new stars in the sky in ginger goldenrod, thyme apple and senna terracotta.

Well how are you all doing?]

Comments

[schrodingerscockroach]

[He breathes in sharply again. U G H]

[Just get her to Ginger.]

Maybe you'll know better later....

[bluediligence]

[ Reaches up ... ]

[ Pats vaguely, and very, very clumsily, at his face. ]

Don’ worry, Dusk. S’all gonna be fine.

[schrodingerscockroach]

[Staring at her hand.]

[So close, so close-]

[He's starting to shake.]

It's. Fine. All fine. [Tight and squeaky.]

[bluediligence]

Gonna be. [ Even sick and feverish, she knows that’s an important distinction to make. ]

[ ... Is he shaking? Pats his cheek again. ]

Dusk...?

[schrodingerscockroach]

I-

Ah-

[He just kind of makes aborted sounds, staring at her arm. She's so warm and close and smells so good.]

[bluediligence]

[ Cracks her eyes open, peering blearily up at him. She’s sure she can feel him shake now, and the little noises he’s making, like he’s trying to speak but ... can’t? ]

[ Her other hand, the one now made of gears and clockwork, curls into his shirt over his shoulder. ]

Dusk. S’okay. All gonna be okay. Don’t worry, ‘kay?

[schrodingerscockroach]

[Maybe]

[Maybe if Crow hadn't drawn blood before, he'd have managed. Maybe if Faito hadn't been so warm, he would have been fine.]

[But in the end, he wasn't fine and her arm is too close and he jerks forward before he can stop himself, biting into her forearm.]

1/3

[bluediligence]

[ ? ]





[ ??!?!!!!!! ]

2/3

[bluediligence]

[ that ]

[ that hurts, blunt teeth digging into her, drawing blood - she howls, wrenching her arm back ]

[ and that hurts even more, leaves her bleeding even more, even if she doesn’t succeed in yanking it free of him, but that’s okay - ]

3/3

[bluediligence]

[ - because she immediately punches him right in the mouth with her clockwork fist, with every ounce of desperate, panicked strength she can muster. ]

1/3

[schrodingerscockroach]

[Luckily Faito is a very strong teenager girl and used to trying to hit Dusk]

[And luckily Dusk has been fighting to keep control so as soon as the fist connects, the pain hits, it drags him back into control because he must be in control, you are being hurt, you must control-]

[There is blood and flesh and the girl, the girl who he knows-]

2/3

[schrodingerscockroach]

[He drops her]

3/3

[schrodingerscockroach]

[There is blood in his mouth, flesh, he wants to swallow, he wants to eat-]

[He stumbles back and he forces himself to spit it out, gagging and shaking, trying to get himself to throw up, to not swallow, DO NOT SWALLOW]

[bluediligence]

[ She lands hard, lands wrong, too winded to cry out. The new pain is fresh and burning hot; blood runs thick down her arm. It hurts. Fuck, it hurts, and between the shock and the fever it’s hard to think beyond instinct. ]

[ So she lashes out with her legs, kicking blind and hard as she scrambles to get some distance. ]

[schrodingerscockroach]

[He's not on stable footing so when he feels the kick in his side, he pinches over, hitting the ground with a grunt.]

[He looks back, sees the fear and-]

[No]

[Nononononononononononononononononononononono]

[He scrambles back to his feet and he just RUNS.]

[bluediligence]

[ B...YE ]

[ She stares after him, heart pounding in her throat (in the raw, open wound torn into her arm). It chokes her. She can't call out after him, can't chase him down - can't ... ]

[ The tears, when they come, burn hotter than the fever. ]

[schrodingerscockroach]

[He will apologize]

[So much later]

[He's gonna buy her fifty million cute clothes and just]

[Be a disaster.]

[Looks like he's got a star for the renewal of nightmares.]

[bluediligence]

[ She will come for him. ]

[ ... Later. Much later, when she's done being a Mess. For now she just sits right where she is on the ground, crying, clutching at the wound. Eventually it may occur to her that she should try to get back to Ginger. E...Eventually. ]

[survivaltricks]

[JUST WHAT FAITO NEEDS RIGHT NOW: another clover]

[it's the smell of blood that hits him first, slamming right into his senses like a truck. his stomach flips with want and desire and need, but he wrangles those down quickly. and once they're locked away again, his more sensible side realizes that the smell of blood plus the gentle sound of crying is. . . a bad combo]

[SO HERE IS CLOVER'S NEWEST, rushing towards the noise, unicorn hoodie pulled over his head]

Hey. . .!

[and he darts towards her, crouching down, hands balled into fists into his pockets so he isn't making it obvious how many non-human instincts he's fighting back right now]

What happened? Are you okay?

[bluediligence]

[ It's a pretty sad scene, all told. ]

[ She looks up blearily, hazy-eyed and flushed with fever, her face all gross and wet and splotchy from crying. She's still crying. It's hard to focus through all of that — the lingering pain from her transformed limbs don't help — but she's Doing Her Best, ok. ]

I-I, my … m-my friend bit me and left me here, and I don't — [ She sniffles, gulps. Clutches herself tighter, a shiver wracking through her. She doesn't sound mad so much as lost ]

I don't k-know why or if he's o-okay, and the floor won't stop spinning.

[BOND]

[survivaltricks]

[BIT. . . HER. . .]

[swallows thickly, shoving aside another wave of hunger to focus on her. she's bleeding, she's hurt, she's crying—]

Was it someone from Clover?

[he doesn't need an answer to that]

Nevermind. Let's get you back to your team's train car, okay?

[bluediligence]

[ She is so sad ]

My … M-My friend, Dusk … [ That would be a big fat unsurprising yes on the Clover. ]

[ And it's hard to see this new person's team colours through her bleary tear-filled eyes, so - ] Do you know him? If h-he's okay? [ What happened to make him do that?? ]

[survivaltricks]

[. . . . . . . HAUUUUUGHAJSDPO]

[he hesitates, his hand extended towards her, ready to take hers in his own so he can help her up. but. . .]

He's-- [mmmmm]

We've been better.

[UNDERSTATEMENT]

But focus on yourself for now, all right? I can check on him later for you, but you need some rest and bandages for that wound.

[he wags his fingers a little bit, urging her to accept his help]

[bluediligence]

[ UNDERSTATEMENT ]

… I'm sorry …

[ God. Fuck. She swallows thickly against nausea, and … sways a bit where she sits, grimacing. ]

… [ He's right, though. There isn't much she can do like this. She grimaces again, dropping her gaze to the arm that isn't her arm. Slowly, shakily, she places her (bloody, sorry about that) hand in his. ]

[survivaltricks]

Don't apologize. You have nothing to apologize for.

[if anything, he feels like he should apologize on behalf of his teammate, but. . . he won't say that just yet. for now, he grasps her hand tightly and hoists her back to her feet, sliding an arm around her shoulder so she can lean against him if necessary. though if she doesn't need to, he won't force her]

[. . . the scent of copper is stronger with her standing up like this, the source of the blood much closer. he can practically feel her heart thrumming, her veins coursing with life-giving scarlet, and he. . . once again shoves aside all vestiges of a craving he cannot-- will not-- pay attention to]

I've got you.

[a pause]

What's your name?