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 Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2012 11:35 am
The Infirmary had been a place Melvin had spent a good deal of time in, and unlike everyone else, it had never been for injuries. That was until now. He had to admit that being on the other side was the worst. When he was here to do Infirmary work and help the doctors and nurses out, he could stay busy for hours. In bed, he was just left twiddling his thumbs and watching time inch by at an unbearable pace. He found himself checking twitter more than he was used to or cared to admit, and when he couldn't sleep anymore, he was just left staring into space and wishing he had at least a ball to throw - though since it hurt to raise up his arm too high, he guessed that wouldn't have helped either.
The worst was he couldn't even have a decent shower. Sure, he had been managing to just go to the bathroom and use a washcloth (cause like hell was he not getting clean one way or another), but he knew he probably looked like a wreck. His hair was already starting to curl in odd ways and he spent his large amount of free time trying to occasionally flatten them down.
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Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2012 7:49 pm
Rep was normally impatient when he was in the infirmary, he hated being in the hands of the life techs and rendered useless to everyone around him. This time though, he was even more eager than usual to get the hell out of there. There was snow outside and he was really feeling festive for what had to be the first time in his life, honest to goodness goodwill to all men and a strong desire to throw himself into Christmas proper. It was bizarre, but not a bad feeling either.
It hadn't taken too long to get himself up and mobile, the wound hadn't been too deep and Tracey these days made light work of surface gouges. There wouldn't be much of a scar left when he was done by the looks of it either, his handiwork was getting tidier every time.
When he'd been asking about checking out for the fifth time that day, he had overheard one of the life hunters chatting to another about the patients in the other rooms and he was sure he heard a familiar name in the list they were checking against. He couldn't help himself, and rather than leaving the infirmary direct as he finally could, he poked his head in the various rooms along the way, halting when as he'd suspected, he found a familiar face in one.
"Goldilocks, man." he let himself in, looking the other man over. "You look a mess." A mess by standards of Melvin anyway. "The ******** happened to you?"
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Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2012 8:33 pm
Aww. You have your little friend here.
Melvin had been pretty much complaining mentally and Saliva had to hear the worst of it. Despite the bitching, he could tell she liked having his forced attention considering that he had counted the ceiling tiles too many times to even pretend he was otherwise occupied.
When he heard Rep, he turned to see the man to see him rather chipper and ....well, looking well. Considering Melvin had seen him on the battlefield only a day or so ago, swamped with horsemen pounding him into the ground, he was a mixture of surprised, impressed, and bitterly jealous. Whatever magic was at work, he wanted a piece of it.
Frowning, he went to cross his arms and then winced when he remembered - oh yeah, a lot of arrow wounds to the chest. "I got a bunch of arrows shot at me." He looked over at Rep as he checked him over. "Are you leaving? I thought you were worse off than I was. You had every horsemen on the field throwing everything and the kitchen sink at you."
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Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2012 8:46 pm
Rep positively beamed at Melvin, he didn't do fantastically at the whole sympathy for other people's pain thing at the best of times. "I dunno, maybe I was? I was out cold. I mean. I got bitten, scratched, hit by axes and s**t. But Tracey's getting good at this fixing my a** up thing I guess."
He sauntered over to the bed and sat at the end rather than bother pulling up a chair, it was Melvin, he couldn't be bothered with formalities and pretending that he cared if the other man flipped out at him. "You are going to miss the snow holed up in here. Snow on a tropical island, once upon a time that'd be the weirdest thing I could think of."
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Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2012 9:02 pm
Why can't you be as talented as HIS weapon?
How about you go get yourself beat up more and I'll get that practice in.
Melvin frowned before he watched Rep just help himself to sitting on his bed. The close proximity had him all but standing erect and tense, and he eased to the other side of the bed to give Rep and him some space. There were chairs after all, but hell if Rep decided to use them.
When Rep gave the news, he all up brightened up. "There's snow?! I though that was left back with the horsemen." He turned and grabbed his blanket, about to get out of bed, before he stopped. Oh right, he was still wearing a hospital gown until he got a response back from Rin. Damn.
Easing back into bed, he set the blanket back in place. "I'll...check it later. I shouldn't be here too long, I'm sure." Though they didn't say when he would be released.
"At least it will feel like the holidays even a little bit." Though he doubted he would feel much in the spirit much else.
Then he thought of one thing that had made him feel festive. "Thanks for the sweater. It's really nice."
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Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2012 9:49 am
Rep noted Melvin's discomfort at him parking himself on his bed, but immediately dismissed it, he wasn't trying to irritate him on a Sasha scale, but there was some small joy in at least unsettling him. "Aye, there's snow. I'm not questioning it, I just want to get out in it." There was a childish desire to build some snowmen - and probably a massive snowdick too, but some traditions he just wasn't willing to let go of.
He did grin though at him raring to get up. he offered sympathetically, there was nothing he hated more. "Take my word for it though man, its there. White Christmas in the middle of wherever we ******** are. Not too shabby."
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Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2012 10:04 am
He sighed, flopping back against his pillow. "At least outside will feel like Christmas. Don't suppose anybody plans a damn thing around here for this holidays too, right?" He had wound up exhausted during Thanksgiving, and he found that he didn't feel that...warmed inside as he felt. It had been a disappointment, but Christmas was even worse if he couldn't even see a tree or some decorations. Holidays were important and, though he'd never say the word to anyone outloud, magical to him.
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Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2012 10:38 am
Rep shrugged. "I don't know man. I wasn't here last Christmas." A sore point for him. Other people had been here, wen it rolled around there'd be memories together, involvements, traditions he wasn't a part of. His memories of Christmases past had been rushing to meet game orders for people with new consoles, chipping brand new consoles so people from those poor families could afford to give their kids the games they sorely wanted to play. He hadn't done it out of the goodness of his heart, money was money, it was only now he was even thinking about the wider implications. He wasn't sure why he was feeling so ******** festive.
"Your thanksgiving thing was the first like, gathering thing I've ever been to." it was a grudging admittance - he was never very happy to admit inexperience in anything. "I'm sorry if I like, ******** that up for you by the way."
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Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2012 11:26 am
"Well that hissy fit really wasn't what I wanted, but at least you didn't take someone and thrown them on the table. I guess I should happy that it didn't get as bad as it could be, not only from you. Could have dealt with less of the drama, but that's the holidays." He breathed out, wondering if he could sneak out once he got some clothes and watch the snow from a window somewhere. He wondered if it was still falling. One of the best parts of snow was watching it fall.
"I just had my expectations too high, comparing to back home. Gotta get used to the fact it won't ever be the same." His first Christmas, just like his first Thanksgiving, spent with no one from his family. With these strangers who, more often than not, wanted to strangle, stab, or screw each other.
"I don't think I'd even have enough time to organize anything if I wanted." He was exhausted and just wanted to relax. Organizing a holiday took lots of planning.
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Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2012 11:39 am
"I wanted it to work you know." he said, "I mean, I didn't have s**t to compare it to, so I guess my expectations were too high too." He shrugged, he always fell foul of his own rather over-active imagination. "I kept expecting it to be like in the movies and s**t. I dunno, I guess like with all the monsters and s**t we fight that are like straight out of Hollywood sometimes its like you wish that the good stuff was real too - not just the ******** flesh eating bugs and hell ponies."
"Maybe Christmas will be different? I mean. The snow's a good sign." Snow on a tropical island, it had to mean something. "Maybe s**t will work out without organising, I dunno."
He had intentionally ignored the mention of the sweater when it was brought up, scandalised that Melvin even realised who'd made it, but it was the elephant in the room he couldn't ignore. He had to address it lest Melvin assumed he was some nancy who knitted for his own personal enjoyment. "And you are like, welcome about the ******** sweater. Tracey likes to knit."
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Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2012 11:54 am
"It depends on how big your family is. It's...kinda like the movies, but with more swearing, crying kids, and the lighting isn't as good." He smiled, looking distantly at his lap as he thought of his family, his heart feeling like a lead stone in his chest but tender as it ached at the thought of another holiday without them. "I thought that with everyone fighting as long as they have had together, that you guys would be....closer. That the holidays would have less bickering and be like..." How it was back home. Like a family. "I don't know. Wow, these drugs must be getting to me." He was talking too much.
Other topics, quick!
Smiling, he thought of a angel knitting and found it funny. "Tracey might like to knit, but he doesn't have hands. I can tell you took a lot of time with it. I didn't see a single knot or part where you missed a loop." It wasn't the most orthodox design, a deer with glasses, but it was made well. "I wouldn't have know it was you if I hadn't seen your handwriting before."
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Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2012 12:13 pm
"That's what I was hoping too I guess. I figured people could just put all their s**t on hold for a while and be happier." He picked up on the distant wistful look as Melvin seemed to be recounting past experiences, almost jealous in the moment that he didn't have functional memories to compare things to himself. The lingering joy on the island was having an odd effect on him, void of a solid idea of what Christmas even meant, he was left simply with a deep longing for things to work out, to find out. "I don't really understand why people hate each other so ******** much here either, so I can't help you with that. I just do my job and hope no one stabs me in the ******** back because I told them to their face what I think of them."
He cleared his throat and looked away self consciously at the compliment.
Rep wasn't so sure.
"He doesn't knit but he makes me do it, and he's ******** picky as s**t. I ended up making way more than I could use so figured I might as well make them for people. Least it might be useful now its snowing."
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Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2012 1:25 pm
"Maybe there will be a high point one of these days when people just let things go for a moment and just enjoy being alive as long as they have here. Here people kept telling me I'd be dead by now. Nearly was." He said, touching his chest. If it wasn't for everyone else, he'd be trampled into the dirt. "I just appreciate that people don't let their bickering matter when they fight. Just can't see why they don't feel an overwhelming appreciation that someone helped them live a little longer." He certainly did. He owed a lot of people his life in the short few months he was here.
And me.
And you.
He could feel Saliva's surprise that he didn't hesitate at that.
"So, what do you usually do during Christmas back home? Or your plans now? Set a minipet on fire and roast some chestnuts over it with your guys?" He joked.
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Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2012 1:50 pm
"Back home, I was either out stealing in the run up to Christmas - a lot of ******** stupid people hid their presents in obvious places. One guy had them in a shed. Not for long. On Christmas itself though, I'd usually just be up late copying CDs and s**t, or if I'd somehow caught up, I'd go out to one of the clubs, get high and pass out in some skank's house or a hotel. Festive." It wasn't the kind of Christmas most people spoke fondly about but it was what he knew.
"This Christmas I dunno. Probably stay out of people's way. Let them reminisce. " he couldn't keep the edge of bitterness out of his voice.
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Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2012 2:19 pm
He gave a heavy sigh, not wanting to be depressed during this season but finding it hard not to be. It wasn't like him, and he knew if he let himself get into a funk, he'd wind up wallowing in it for a week and not getting out of bed, being the most unproductive lump of life around. He wouldn't let that happen to him because of the holidays.
"That's no way to spend the holidays, and considering what everyone just went through.." He took a breath. "I'll try and work something out. Maybe just setting up a room where people can hang and chat. I don't think I'd be able to do more than that." He thought about it. "Maybe if I had some construction paper, I could at least make some decorations....." He was already thinking of it like a project, and seemed to have adopted the idea despite saying he wouldn't.
He caught himself when he noticed he was trailing in thought and returned to reality. "What about your guys? Shouldn't they be including you in stuff?"
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