[PRP] Helping Hands OuO (Melvin/Kostya)

[MoonKitsune]

lurks beneath

There was plenty of work. The island was still in shambled and everyone was in short supply of anyone who could clean here, fix this here, or help this person here. Without a weapon, he had ample time to do menial work, and to be honest, he felt useful. It was good to be out of his room since, without his weapon, without diving, without Saliva in his head, he felt out of place, raw, and vulnerable.

The runic department was reapplying touchups to old equipment and adding new ones to replacements, and Melvin was following an assigned listing as he went from tent to rooms to do whatever he could manage.

With a runic case, he found himself in one of the Death tents, kneeling down in front of a radar as he set to work slowly applying a set of runic symbols slowly on a line of equipment that needed taken care of for that evening. Occasionally a Death Hunter would peer over his shoulder, look impatient, ask him how long it would take, and leave unsatisfied with his "slow" progress.

 

[its me debz]

Slow was the name of Kostya's game, too. His duties-- notably, little to no portal watching-- were now mostly of an observational variety. The underwater observatory, the jungle outpost.

Now was no exception, as Kostya entered the area quietly, and proceeded to struggle in his attempt to gather up paperwork strewn before him on a desk, left behind by a Death hunter that had been summoned to a base on short notice.

As it turned out, the simple act of shuffling folders and files together had grown difficult for Kostya, and so he sat at the desk, leaning over it. His stump was pressing down as an anchor as he scooted pieces of paper towards the stack, so that they might collect easier. It was imperfect, but...

It was that, or move them one at a time, and there were just so many. Death division did love its paperwork.

After a few moments, he heaved a frustrated sigh, and swore in Russian under his breath.

MoonKitsune

 

[MoonKitsune]

When Kostya came into the room, he glanced at him and glanced back again, trying to resume focus as he looked at the metal panel he was working on. He hadn't seen the other since the night of the Lighthouse incident, and he hadn't stuck around long. It had been messy and he was still unsure of where the other man's loyalties actually lied, let alone what had gone through his mind when he kept them from the portal.

Just the pair of them, Melvin worked on his slow engraving but more and more aware at the sound of paperwork being rustled about unceremoniously about the place. Despite his best efforts to keep his concentration on his own work, he couldn’t help but become quickly distracted and glance at the other from time to time – until he saw what the real problem was.

It was that second guessing yourself when you saw a missing limb, wondering when and how, and if he had just never noticed, that something was missing. He first though Kotsya just had his arm tucked in oddly or maybe he was angled in a odd way, but when he saw how he moved his arms and the clear LACK of one, he started to watch more and more.

Gray cashmere was pulled up and pinned over the shorter limb. Just above the elbow, a very handsome length. There didn't seem to be any braces either for any broken bones so it must be, to some extent, a clean enough cut. The soft fabric of the sweater, which he might add he did appreciate his taste in style, left too much to his imagination. Melvin was left simply staring before the Death Hunter sighed and swore something in a language he didn't understand. At least, it sounded like a swear word, but for all he knew, he could have been saying 'butter kittens.'

"Um…..are you………..do you need some help?" He asked, setting his tools down and rising up, wincing as he felt the pinching at his back from kneeling down too long.
 

[its me debz]

Remarkably, Kostya had stayed somewhat oblivious to the degree of staring Melvin was....doing. Inflicting, perhaps.

"No," he snapped, hackles raised like a cagey animal, teeth bared in a snarl. And then he sighed, sitting back in the chair, running his good hand-- his only hand-- through dark hair. "That is...not correct." he tried again, Russian accent evident. "Yes, I vould like assistance. It is hard, to pick up everything vithout...both hands."

MoonKitsune

 

[MoonKitsune]

lurks beneath

Melvin tensed at the tone of voice, stepping closer to the machinery before Kostya sighed. But the tone changed quickly and it seemed the Death hunter more surrendered to the offer than anything else.

Smiling softly, Melvin moved over, trying to not move too fast or make it seem too easy for him to start making the paperwork into piles. "Rin had a hard time too when she was adjusting. She worked hard at it over and over but even she would get tired and ask for help. After a while, she could work in the greenhouse all day without coming home frustrated. I even find times where Jan needs me to help him in the Infirmary. He's still wwwaaayyy more skilled at it than I am with two hands."

Getting an idea, he turned and looked around before he picked up a clipboard and took the paperwork, setting it into the board and clipping it. It would make it less likely to spill out all over and be able to be flipped through with one hand.

Staring back at the arm, he looked up at Kostya. "Did it....happen during a mission?" How did he lose the hand? Was it scarred badly underneath the soft folds of the sweater or was it smoothed out with a light paling?  

[its me debz]

"Good to know it can be...vorked around. I have consider prosthetic, but it vould not verk very vell, for combat. And then I vould be handicapped by familiarity vith some crutch. So, for now, there is much falling on face and failing at ...simple tasks."

Kostya's bitterness shone through as Melvin, so easily, cleaned up papers, noting that he was helping in his own small way with a clipboard, and then stared blankly at Melvin.

"It happen after you get stab. At lighthouse. Poof. No more arm." Kostya did not in particular want to mention the crystals-- so he didn't.

"Thank you. As vell. For the help."

MoonKitsune

 

[MoonKitsune]

lurks beneath

He moved over to the machinery and took a smaller, handheld device off the counter and grabbed his bag. Sitting at the table, he set his things down and went to work on the next project on his list.

"That's a good mentality to have. It's not failing at things. It's learning through trial and error. Trust me when I say that soon you'll be managing very well." He looked down, taking a small chisel and scrapping at the metal's surface. "Anyways, prosthetics aren't all that great." It would take away from the aesthetic.

Looking up from over the brim of his goggles, he pressed his lips tight at the memory. "Yes…..when you tried to keep Jan and I from going on vacation and then attacked him."

And yet…

"…you really shouldn't have bothered taking me out of there. Jan needed the protection more."

He paused a moment before adding.

"...but....thanks for letting me not die in such a useless way." He managed.  

[its me debz]

Kostya grunted, clearly not believing Melvin. He probably wouldn't till he got more used to it, and even then...

He sighed, rolling his eyes to the heavens. "It vas more complicated than that. There vere other forces at stake. Clearly." Kostya demonstrated with a waving of his stump. "He vas fine. Svims very good, it seems. I really vas not trying to hurt him, just stop him. It vas imperative no vun leave."

All the same, he nodded at Melvin's thanks. "You are velcome. I am sure you can take vacation sometime soon."

With Lawrence. Kostya refrained from making a face.

MoonKitsune

 

[MoonKitsune]

lurks beneath

His eyes darted to the waving arm, like a dog catching a tennis ball being waved in front of him, but he shot his attention back to Kostya soon after.


"He could have fallen onto the rocks. Plenty of people have thought to do that to get rid of themselves. It was lucky he didn't. "

Yet it was done, past, and Jan was still here. Thinking about what could have happened would only upset him.

"I'd like to hear your side of things if that is okay. Unless you are busy." He glanced to the papers. "One moment you were siding with that insane woman and doing her orders and the next you weren't. What happened?"  

[its me debz]

"He has a shield," Kostya replied, flippant. "They are good for something, after all."

At the request, though, he shook his head. "Is not matter of busy or not busy. Much is classified. You understand the nature of Death division, da?"

Kostya put down his pen. "I can say, at the least, you do not remember correctly. Is understandable, given trauma. I did not follow her orders."

MoonKitsune

 

[MoonKitsune]

lurks beneath

"Shields can be broken easily. Mine was." He said, teeth gritting a moment before his jaw loosened.


With a sigh, he leaned his head into one hand. "Yes-Yes. The age-old motto of the Death Division. Our lips are sealed."

"Well, I can't say I'm mistaken or not unless you refresh my memory." And Kostya wasn't going to tell him anything since it was all under wraps.

Seeing as that meant that part was at a standstill, he looked back to his arm and back to him. "So....poof it was gone. That's a very strange thing to just happen so suddenly. I hope you weren't in the Infirmary long. Are you being taken care of?"  

[its me debz]

Kostya tapped his chin.

"Point. Leona Tavish vas very strong. Do you remember the crystals, covering her? How her eyes vere dark like oil and tar? That vas...given to her. A gift, from Revenge." That much would be fine to say; Melvin had seen it himself.

And it had come to him, too. And it had felt good, that purpose. A gift that came with a price, one that became too high to pay, too late.

"It vas necessary. I am fortunate it did not...take more." He had been under the influence for a long, long time. Kostya closed his eyes for a second, pushing the memories away. "I am fine, thank you. Just hard time to adjust in verk place."

And cooking. And dressing. But he was self-reliant -- or at least, he had been, before America. And now he had to relearn the pieces of who he used to be.

MoonKitsune

sorry crying RL ate me

 

[MoonKitsune]

lurks beneath

"I was bleeding a lot so I wasn't really able to focus on a lot of things once I was stabbed.....past my shield? I am very confused yet curious how she managed to get past the first stage of hunter personal security. But.....I do remember the crystals. It covered Saliva entirely before she was harmed." It had tried to get a hold of him too, but he was left with all his limbs, unlike Kostya.

Drumming his fingertips against his lips, he was thoughtful a moment before he dared to ask. "I've worked in the Infirmary for a while but I haven't seen anything dealing with crystals. Did it leave any unusual scarring or any residual crystals left?" His eyes went to the missing limb, curious among - many other things.

"I have no doubt that a person who can survive an attack like that, an exploding building, a falling lighthouse, and carrying a bleeding hunter out can find a way to pull through." He hoped that would help Kostya have some more perspective on his abilities.  

[its me debz]

"Understandable. She vas...Augmented. Something more than just a hunter."

Kostya reached to untie the sleeve, pulling it up to reveal his half-there limb. It had some scarring, but was fully healed over, no crystals to be seen. "There vere no crystals, and it looked like this vhen they fell."

He let out a dry laugh at Melvin's assessment. "You are too kind to me. I did vhat vas necessary, and only too late. It never should have gotten to that point-- but I am veak, and human, and now I must atone."

MoonKitsune

 

[MoonKitsune]

lurks beneath

"Atone? You make it sound like you committed some great sin against humanity. At least you managed to save someone, even if it was the wrong choice. I couldn't even manage that much." He did keep the woman distracted, but he had failed to carry Jan out of danger.

"I usually wind up getting in the way. Getting hurt and needing to be rescued seems to be my only skill. That and hurting others." Which he then considered the arm and Jan as well.

"If anything, you are in good company here. No one would find you as anything less than a soldier for what you have gone through." It wasn't like there wasn't plenty of people who were injured in some way at Deus Ex.

It was also very flattering.

"Do you mind if I lightly examine your arm?"