heavyhitter | IC CONTACT (futuro & prisma)

[ That firm line manages to cut through her businesslike distraction, and with a sigh, she concedes: ] We'll figure it out.

[ It's a relief that he's willing to help even with that part, if she stops to think about it. But that will come later. She hops up onto the bathroom counter for a little height, and studies the gash with increasing dismay. If his insistence on helping had jogged her the first part out of her efficiency mode, her usual squeamishness beginning to trickle back in does the rest.

(Some part of her is grateful she's still squeamish about it, rather than, say, hungry.) ]

Yeah, we got some. Fugo made sure, I think. [ She leans past him to root around as well, and is rewarded by the white rectangle of a 1990s first aid kit. ] Wash it out, I'll take it from there.

[ So long as she agrees. He isn't even remotely sure what they're going to do, but so long as Fugo doesn't come in and trip over the body, they've got some time. Once she's settled with the first aid kit, he nods, leaning over to scrub his hands in the sink and wait for the water to warm up. Once it feels as comfortable as it's going to get, he cups some to splash over the bite, flinching as it hits open flesh. ]

[ He repeats the gesture a bit more stoically, but as soon as he makes an effort to rub the half-dried blood away from the edges of the wound, his shoulders hunch and tense over the sink, a long breath forcing its way out through his nose. ]

This is like— the opposite of tickling yourself. How's it hurt so much worse when you can see your own hand doing it... I should just jump in the shower at this rate, just— beat it all off and get it over with, I'm already soaked...

[ The words amble out, punctuated by the odd painful hitch as he rinses, his own personal distraction from the stinging discomfort yowling in his neck. Eventually he straightens up, most of the red scrubbed off his shoulder and neck, the bite itself clean as it's gonna get with blood still stubbornly beading at its deepest. ]

[ Tugging a towel off one of the racks behind to dry his hands and chest, ] Alright, your turn...

[ She shifts around as he works, sliding an arm around his waist for a little moral support. And, well, snagging another dose of oxytocin. She's back in place on the counter again as he finishes, and she eyes the deep gouge unhappily. ]

I really never thought I'd be happy you're already infected.

[ Because man, that sure would have done it. Her eyes find his again, and it's readily apparent she's softening again. Which is unfortunate, because she's really going to need that hardness to tackle the final step to cleaning up after this whole mess. She sighs, takes a second to lean in and steal a quick kiss, then turns her attention down to the medkit.

It's so retro that it takes her a few seconds to identify everything. The disinfectant is just a simple gel, ridiculously easy to just rub off, but — well, you work with what you've got. She readies one of the gauze pads with it, presses it carefully into place with minimal wincing, and goes next for the surgical tape. It's a pretty quick process, at least. ]

Yeah, kinda takes the insult out of the injury, at least...

[ He returns the kiss, grateful for all the fight that has left her eyes in the past few minutes. They aren't out of the woods yet, but at least she's still easy to cool down... Not much thought has been put into the future and how to cope with her, honestly; currently the game plan has just been more of the same. As long as the rest of them can still whip up a cure, he'd lie in bed with her dawn to dusk and back if it kept her sane. ]

[ Which isn't a long-term solution, but it's all he's got. One day at a time. ]

[ His eyes follow her as she works with the no-doubt ancient artifacts in the kit, and when she tapes the gauze into place, he can't help a little squirm where he stands as the disinfectant stings some more, but he holds his ground. Once she's got it all taped up, Sigma doesn't hesitate to scoot in and put his arms around her, let her rest her chin on the good shoulder, get her head as good and cleared as they can with a proper hug. ]

Thanks, [ mumbled against her ear before he pulls back to cup her face in his hands, concealer be damned, ] Front door next?

[ Moving along her list. Once they finish hers, they'll start with his. ]

[ She's happy to take the few seconds she can get once he's bound up as well as she can manage, and loops both arms lazily around his waist. He smells good, with her cheek leaned against his (good) shoulder and nose at his neck. He always smells good, even now. It's with some reluctance that she lets him draw away, and sighs from the frame of his hands. ]

Yeah. Let's see how those assholes got in.

[ Back to it. She pulls away and starts down the hall, stepping over the body carefully on the way. And once at the door, it's apparent: a crucial board had been pried off. She makes a face and skips the need for a hammer, just pressing each nail into a new hole with a thumb. ]

We're gonna need one more. Is there anything lying around still?

[ He doesn't skip a beat, falling in step behind her on her way back to the door to survey the damages. For what they've got left to work with, it isn't a good estimate. ]

Nnnot really... [ Mumbled as he glances around behind them, eyes glazing over the body still sprawled smack in the middle of the apartment. They really should... move her... Steeling himself, he steps past her for the second time in as many minutes. ]

We kinda went all out the first time, so unless we wanna start ripping out the floorboards... Maybe there's some plywood in the couch or something.

[ He makes his way to the living room and yanks off the seat cushions. Jackpot. Shame about the couch, though, but they've all still got beds. ]

Yeah- You wanna come take this apart?

[ She steps back in, pulling the door shut behind her, and aims a mournful look at the couch. They had some good times on that couch. Movies watched, etc. But, with a sigh, she nods. ]

Yeah, I'm on it. Grab me a couple nails?

[ Rest in peace, couch. And rest in pieces, too -- she pulls it apart like the whole thing is Styrofoam, and in just a minute or so she's worked out a board about the right size that she needs. The rest of the couch lays in its shallow grave in the corner of the room, ranked even lower priority than the other body, while Ramir steps back outside to finish off the door's reinforcement. ]

[ Well, at least they've still got the cushions for a blanket fort. Everything just keeps getting a little more like camping as time goes on, doesn't it? A quiet, baleful sort of laugh escapes him. ]

Maybe if it gets bad enough out there, we can give it a viking funeral if not enough stuff is on fire.

[ The couch. While she goes to town on it, Sigma digs through the last of their meager building supplies for a handful of nails and screws. They'd probably do too, if they're long enough. He'll eventually follow her back out to the door and pass them along. ]

What'd they even bust in here for, anyway? Do we really look that special?

[ There's a reply forming that she knows better than to let out -- something about who knows, by the time she understands the thought process she won't be able to clue him in on it. So she keeps quiet under the guise of being busy with the door, once again substituting a thumb for a hammer. Good enough.

Her eyes finally fall on the small, bloody elephant in the room as she steps in, door swinging shut behind her. ]

Okay. [ A few spare nails and the remaining chunk of couch-board she didn't need are set on a shelf next to the door. ] Now that. I'm really not feeling calling the cops about it.

[ Cops and her circles don't typically get along that well. She rubs a hand through her hair, sighing. ]

...Unless it's one of ours on the force, I guess. A good one.

[ Her silence doesn't bother him, but it does just give him a longer moment to contemplate the last item on her list. Their list. Now that they actually have to face it, it's starting to feel properly heavy, like a dense, frozen lead weight in the pit of his stomach. He folds his arms instinctively against the mental chill, likewise taking a measured breath before starting in on this, ]

Ramir, we have to tell someone about this, [ Wow that still comes out a little more shaky than he'd wanted it. He swallows, tries again. ] If we don't and she gets found, that's gonna be a whole new mess even if it was an accident, and if she doesn't, then... then, she just goes missing.

[ And no one deserves that, period. He mulls in silence for a second, biting his lip. ]

We can tell one of-- We can tell Lucina. She's good. She'd understand better than any of them...

Edited (botches entire phrases while tagging at work I guess) 2017-03-14 00:11 (UTC)

[ She leans back against the door and takes a second to scrub hands over her face. They don't have to tell anyone about anything. Anyone that goes missing — well, a lot of people are going missing right now. It's just one more body. And if she's found, there are about a hundred things that could've happened to her. Who's even going to have the time to open an investigation?

...But that's probably not going to fly with Sigma, and there's a tiny part in the corner of her mind suggesting that if that were her on the floor, she'd want a better end for herself.

Finally, with a breath out: ] Not Lucina. [ She's probably lovely, but Ramir prefers to stick with what she knows and trusts personally. ] Koltira. I'll call him.

[ Trust him, he's well aware everything is probably going too completely insane to ever open a proper investigation while they're around, but on top of the possibility the native police might nose their way in and become an unpredictable element, honesty is just... the best policy. ]

[ His turn for a breath, more of a groan when she rejects his idea, and it doesn't feel too much better when she replaces it with her own. It's the converse issue of trust now, a good friend versus an acquaintance at best, but it's definitely knee-jerk—Ramir should be choosing whoever she'd feel most comfortable telling after all. ]

Okay— Koltira, just... as long as you tell someone... [ He concedes, running fingers through his hair before letting his arms drop altogether. The twinge of relief her agreement had sparked in his chest is quick to flicker though. ] He's not the kinda guy that's gonna want you locked down for being dangerous, is he?

[ She doesn't even have to put any thought into it to shake her head. No, he's not the sort to want her locked down if she's dangerous — he's the one she asked to kill her. But she trusts his judgment as to when to put that request to action more than anyone else, and it's not going to be in question yet. ]

No, it's fine. I'm more worried he'll have no idea what kinda cop-paperwork goes into shit like this.

[ And she glances to the side, unconsciously touching the studded bracelet on one wrist as she activates a network connection for a quick conversation. ]

[ Well, probably for the best she's kept that to herself. ]

Yeah, fair. [ The guy was way too ye olde knight-y to know what a taser was. Granted they'dve had the same paperwork issue with Lucina, so. Why did all the medievals go into law enforcement... ]

[ As she falls silent for a separate conversation, Sigma falls back to staring arms-crossed down at the body. It's either this or pacing wildly, and she's dead (fuck) center of the best path in the house, so stock still it is. His head had begun to ache over the past few minutes, and hardly in a productive way. Probably just a side effect of the sharp stiffness in his neck. Carefully, he rubs away an itch at the edge of the tape and gauze, letting his head hang slightly in an effort to stretch. ]

[ Whenever she seems to come back to her senses, his eyes immediately dart for her. ]

You good? [ As in, everything taken care of? Because if she's done, he's not going to waste time squaring up to her and taking her by the arms. Almost as if to brace himself, considering how the next question bursts out as if it's been pent up like scalding steam for the past twenty minutes, ] Are you okay?

[ His first question gets a faint nod. She can count on Koltira, she trusts that. The second one takes a little more thought, though. She leans into him, head tipped to lean against his chest as she considers it. Is she okay? ]

I could be worse, [ Is the eventual conclusion.

It was self defense, just like she'd told Koltira. The woman wouldn't have been here in her right mind, and wouldn't have wanted to hurt them — but this situation doesn't account for wouldn't haves anymore. Her arms thread slowly around Sigma, resting with fingers hooked around each other at the small of his back. ]

I keep wondering what Jolanda would do. [ And with a little breath of a laugh: ] She'd be a whole lot smoother about everything, I know that much.

[ That's barely an answer, but he'll take it for starters. When she leans in, he immediately envelops her in a hug, one hand rested at the base of her neck to hold her close. As she goes on, however, he can't help a weighty sigh, nor can he help slumping to prop his chin on her head. ]

Yeah, with her like... forty years of experience she's got on you.

[ He's heard plenty of praise sung for her grandmother, and he'd never doubted that she was an incredible woman for a second, but WWJD isn't a fix-all solution for everything in the here and now. ]

Ramir, I think I've lost track of how many times I've thought about my old ass and what he'd be doing right now, and every time I come up with that... he'd have this virus figured out in a month with his hands blown off, but that isn't me. Whatever he'd do, I don't... have the stuff to do it.

[ Tangent. He leans a little to better peek down at her propped against him. ]

She left you with all she could. You're not gonna get textbook answers if all you have are the cliffnotes, so all we can do now is just... wing it with all we've got, okay? We'll figure it out.

[ She can feel that peek down, but she doesn't look up. Not right away, anyway. She listens quietly, and eventually her huffed laugh makes a stronger return. ]

That's the nerdiest fucking analogy, Sigma...

[ But she gets it, and he's not wrong. The fact is that Jolanda isn't here; this is something for Ramir to handle. Well, Ramir, with Sigma's help. And Koltira's, inevitably. She turns her head to press her face directly into shirt for a moment, tightens her hold, and finally releases when she leans back to meet his eyes. Her smile is small and crooked, but in place. ]

No, I get it. Thanks. [ The smile fades out again. ] You know I had to though, right? And I'd do it again if the alternative was letting her chew on you.

Whatever, it worked didn't it?

[ He pulls a face, even if she doesn't look up to see it right away. But when she does, her brief little smile smooths it out like an iron, just as brief before draining into something morose. There's nothing more than a matter of personal investment separating his life from the woman's in terms of importance; had the roles been switched, if Ramir could ever be put in such casual danger, he would have undoubtedly done the same, but... dwelling on it twists his stomach into knots. ]

Yeah. [ It stays short. Not unappreciative by any means, just... when thoughts stick around long enough to turn into what ifs, what ifs are like hives when your brain is supposed to be on the same highway as a million other possibilities. ]

Maybe if I'd just seen it coming, y'know, you wouldn'tve had to at all...

[ This, she can sense, is definitely where their moralities differ. She'd made the conscious decision to lean away from the merciless route she's sure her grandmother could have taken, but that doesn't make her completely averse to doing what needs to be done. So she studies Sigma for a few serious seconds, searching for the words it would take to explain what she knows.

Finally: ] You know, the guy we put outside — he's just gonna attack someone else. We didn't do anyone any favors by not killing him, except maybe his hypothetical family.

[ Despite the realization dawning on his face, it only manages to get darker. She's totally right. In the heat of the moment, the other man's involvement had gone very out-of-sight-out-of-mind, but he wasn't taken care of, he was just... somewhere else. They've only helped themselves out here. And maybe ruined a couple other days down the street. ]

He's gonna run into a helpless house and kill everyone, or a house like ours and kill himself... So if we were real good people, we'd run back out and dust him too?

[ He sounds a little incredulous, probably because it actually sounds like the smartest hypothetical action to take. Smart thing and murder are two wires that just don't connect in his head. And the fact is starting to make it ache. ]

Where's that stop though? What if he was just... having a bad day like you almost did? And if someone goes on a mercy killing spree, we could find the cure tomorrow. If we sit on our hands while they keep attacking everyone, we might not find it for weeks.

[ Running his hands through his hair doesn't do much for the nonexistent cool he's about to lose. ]

We can't lock them all up, we can't let them all loose, we can't kill everyone, there's-- There's not a right answer for any of this...

[ There's a twinge of irritation in her gut that he just doesn't get it — but that's not her, and that's not his fault. That's just the virus eating at her patience. So she listens carefully (with a few deep breaths to soothe herself), and reaches to take those hands, pull them down to where she can better give them both a reassuring squeeze. ]

You're looking at it too big, Sigma. You couldn't lock them all up, let them all loose, or killed them all if you tried. All we can handle is us and ours, one thing at a time. Between you and me, that's all the resources we got right now.

[ And as Audentes, true, they have a wider range, and they might have to come together and make a decision like this... But Ramir's scope is significantly narrowed lately, and immediate friends are all she can manage while she's also managing herself. ]

[ He's run off with the conversation and he knows it, but that doesn't make helping it any easier. Hell, the entire deal back home was balancing big pictures and minutia, and he'd never been terribly good at it without someone to smack him back in line. This is all just the same. They're all fighting something, but until there's a breakthrough they're powerless against it. So all that's left to be done is to simply go through the motions and survive. And he trusts this one a thousand times more than anyone he'd been stuck with back then. Sighing, there's little resistance when she reaches for his hands as if to drag him back on course. ]

I know that. I know, I do, just... [ It sounds resigned, almost grating, but it's not for her. It's for himself, or more accurately this godforsaken universe they've been dumped into. After a deep breath of his own, he picks up her hands to press them to his own temples, block out his peripheral vision. ] Alright. Blinders on, okay?

[ Because that'll keep working for now, right. Dropping their hands, he turns his eyes back to the body slowly cooling in their hallway. ]

So is Kolts on his way now, or should we... move her out of the way for the time being..?

[ Blinders, yeah. That's a way to think of it. Probably the best way for the immediate future. ]

Yeah, he's on the way.

[ She casts a look as well over at the body, briefly considers lifting it to move her, and decides she's not quite done with Sigma after all. She steps between him and their unpleasant guest and lifts both hands, one going to either side of his face. ]

Hey, c'mere. [ She leans up to brush a quick kiss against his lips. ] I love you. Thanks for being here.

[ Whatever gets them through the day. ]

Cool.

[ Distinctly not cool, but that goes without saying. Honestly, he's grateful for her shuffle over to block his view and the kiss that follows. It's about the best blinder out there. He allows its briefness, if reluctantly, and lets out the smallest breath of laughter. ]

Think that's more on Audentes than me... But I wouldn't wanna be anywhere else, so I guess we can thank them too. [ He leans in to rest his chin on the top of her head, pull her into a better hug. ] I love you.

IC CONTACT (futuro & prisma)

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject