You hold your hand up - this isn't
easy and three friends arguing over it won't make it
easier - and wait for the others to acknowledge it. You think it takes less than a minute, but not by much.
"We might be able to get along without a caster; we
can't get along without a
tank, which you
aren't if you went 'Zerker," you say to Ace. "I can do... more intensive healing as long as we're burning time, I can hold out long enough to get Sekhmet to us
with a full party."
Ace frowns, but folds her arms and nods. Alesha lets out the breath she was holding in; you swear she lost an inch.
Hikaru is looking at his shoes and that's not
fair it's not
his fault this happened and you didn't call him first -
You shake your head. "We take an hour, not much more. Break out snacks, break out water, I'll get my healing supplies. Could you set up a medic's tent while I get Sekh on the line?"
(Rapport Success)
This is mostly so Ace has better things to do than worry, but it seems to work, at least - though she keeps
looking at you like she wants to say more and ugh.
You turn away from her, you have to, and shrug off your pack, and feel the weight off your shoulders. You gesture to invoke the Sendjewel, scrolling down to the name
Sekhmet Clanclan, and call her.
"New earring, who this," is the gruff reply; Sekh's voice is deeper and rougher than Jules', a deliberate choice. You breathe a sigh of relief.
"It's De-" You grunt, reconsidering. "It's Jake," you murmur, not quite knowing why. "I'm stuck here too."
A long moment of silence makes you worry the connection somehow dropped.
"That tracks. God, it's one thing hearing you in the same room, it's another to hear Busty Vixen's alto saying your lines. You safe?"
You hadn't even
registered that your voice was higher, and it distracts you from their question for a moment.
"
I'm fine," you assure them. "
...Hikaru is with us and needs some patching up, or I'd be meeting you right fucking now. Are
you safe, how long can
you hold out?"
"Bitch you know I can take care of myself," they say, suppressing a cackle.
(Empathy Success)
Which they wouldn't bother to do if that wasn't bravado. Jules is nervous; Jules is fronting. Even with Sekhmet's catlike tread, it can't be easy for them to stay hidden.
"I know you
can, but we're gonna help you out anyway," you insist. "That's what friends
do. You can pay it forward later, there's a noob here you should meet who was immediately down for murder if it meant helping my roommate."
"She cute?" You can
hear the grin.
"One hour, maybe an hour and a half," you promise. "Give us a sign then, we won't leave you hanging."
After a moment, you hear movement, and a sigh.
"Never thought you would. See you after my shift."
"Your
shift?" You frown.
"Inns cost money. Potions cost money. I'm just thinking ahead," they say.
"With some help from Winecatte. You'll see in two, Deedee."
Then Sekhmet cut the connection.
You take a deep breath. When you see the look of concern from Ace and from Alesha, you give them a thumbs-up.
"She's good?" Alesha asks.
"Trying to pay for our inn beds with potion ingredients, but that's normal for her," you reply, taking a pair of bottles from your pack.
Ace gestures toward the tent, expression more serious than you've seen before, and Alesha helps Hikaru walk to the tent. You waste no more time joining him.
----
Hikaru is a mess, with a lot of blood in his clothes. Most of the damage is to his side and leg; burns and cuts.
(Medicine: Failure)
You'll be damned if you know from what, but it's
very bad. If he didn't have absurd adventurer resilience he probably couldn't walk, and he probably shouldn't try.
You wish you had actual medical training rather than just camp counselor first aid and CPR certs from your teen years, right before everything went to hell. But that and magic will help.
"So on the one hand, this is probably going to hurt like hell," you warn him.
"Granted, but I'll pick a single instant of searing agony to lingering, debilitating pain any day," he said, as he carefully - carefully - levered himself to sitting.
You start by casting Healing Wind and putting a hand over his actual wounds until they stop bleeding. He grits his teeth and hisses in air through them, his wings flitting involuntarily... but then he exhales, and goes limp, and even laughs.
"Better?" you ask, hand still on his side.
"Much. Not
well, but
better." He looks up at you and smiles, and it makes you feel things.
(Composure Success)
Things you
absolutely refuse to let get in the way of helping this man who's been your friend for two years. You are not going to let feeling like you're at the fucking
prom again for
some reason fuck that up. Though given his sense of humor...
"I will heal your wounds and comfort your weariness," you intone, too solemnly.
"Close your eyes and concentrate on not getting a boner."
(Rapport Critical)
He laughs, and then winces.
"It never works, I know," you say... then sigh. "In seriousness, you're probably going to need to take your shirt off, and I'm not gonna let this get
weirder than it needs to be, and I'm sorry about that."
Hikaru immediately nodded, slowly, and undid the buttons on his shirt. "I'm not sure what you have to apologize for," he said in that level voice of his. "Circumstances aside, I don't think a lovely lady laying hands on me is quite the ordeal you imagine it is."
"Which would be great if we could find one," you say, looking at the ceiling of the tent. "I'm a lot less lady IRL. Mom says I'm lovely, so there's that."
"Ah," Hikaru says. Then - without missing a beat - he adds, "Your mother is not wrong."
You roll your eyes. There's no point talking about it, so you stop, and help him with his shirt, and lever him face down onto a blanket. The wounds themselves have closed, but you need to give him back energy - the
Pneuma - to regenerate quickly.
Man, you'd pay money to see what an MD makes of healing magic here.
You press hands coated in a warm, enchanted oil into skin, muscle and tendon and he allows you to press into the earth. You knead it in, drum it it, let the both of you zone out and feel and heal. And, yeah, you're enjoying this for reasons above and beyond being able to help. But also for those reasons.
It takes you a moment to realize Hikaru said something and you stop, hands on his shoulders. "Say again?" you mutter.
"...and on the second hand?" Hikaru murmured.
You flushed. "Just... I've been distractible lately. Everyone is hot." why are you saying this how have you not combusted "I don't know why I'm like this."
stop. cease. do not! "I mean, you're
cute, but I'm just... I'm
definitely not normally like this and I hope you don't
mind, I'm trying not to let it get in the way and -"
He holds up one hand and you shut up..
"In case you haven't noticed, we all have proper art direction now," Hikaru mumbled, rolling his back. You find a trigger point and he grunts, before sighing into his pillow. "Also... how do I say this?"
You purse your mouth and frown but let him speak.
"Go on."
"I imagine that most of the playerbase is fairly sedentary," he observes, "as most of our avatars are not."
"...yeah, I'm kind of a fatass back home," you say. "That... actually makes sense. I'm practically in my 20's again here."
Hikaru nodded, quiet, as he let you work, but you could tell he wanted to say something else.
Right now you trusted it wouldn't be unkind. Even if you didn't have him at your mercy, Hikaru would try to be... charitable, at least? And it was nice, being able to do this for him.
To heal him. That's what you mean.
You finished his back and he rolled over, very deliberate with where he placed his wings.
...He had abs.
Shitty, Vigor 1 abs, but you weren't really expecting a pixie to look like an... adult. Maybe you should have? It's not helping you deal with being twentysomething and in better shape than you'd ever been.
Somehow you do not say that aloud, panic, or stare: you just do what you need to do for his wounds and healing.
"But on the
gripping hand," he says,
very softly.
"We're telling three-fisted tales, now?" you say, keeping your breathing square and even, the way Dad taught you.
"On the gripping hand," he repeats, locking eyes with you for just a moment, "in
my case, at least... finally having the proper endocrine system helps."
You... don't know what to say to that. What he's saying to you.
He chuckles. "I'm not exactly pleased with my, hmn, loss of stature, but I will take what testosterone couldn't quite give me as a consolation for the inconvenience."
"...you're trans?" you realize.
He nods. You're...
Flattered. Touched. Jules, uh, made it clear that wasn't something to dropped on a presumed friend lightly. But...
"I'm not sure why you're telling me this," you say, "but thank you."
He looked at you for a moment, then nodded. "I see," he said. "Shall we say I'm an expert at not feeling quite myself, if you need one?"
"I'll let you know," you sigh.
He nods.
You rock back to your knees, and he blinks, and stretches.
"I'm... a bit stiff. But mostly better," he says. "Thank you."
"Sure," you say.
After a moment's consideration, he hugs you. You're surprised at... the lack of surprise, really, but it's not
unwelcome, and you put an arm around him for a moment.
"Let's find your roommate," he says, grabbing his shirt.
"Gladly," you say, exiting the tent.
----
You see the smokebomb as you exit the tent, blinking at the light; thick, a toxic bilious purple cloud further down the beach and up into the green part of the island.
"...how long were we -"
"Exactly one hour," Aurora says, waving off your concerns.
Ace blinked. "How do you - "
"Auroran Boon," Hikaru said, buttoning up as he exited - no longer hobbling. A fact you're proud of. "Perfect sense of time in daylight, among other benefits to working in the light of her sun."
Your ears twitch. "Right. Let's get this done."
You put out your fist, and it's met with three others.
----
All of these include coordination with Sekhmet.
Operation Cat Rescue
[] Come in hot, ready for a fight.
[] Make some noise and let Sekhmet slip away.
[] Those who can be stealthy, scout ahead before the strike.
[] Sneak ahead and help her slip away.
Vote opens at 9.
