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 Posted: Thu Jun 20, 2024 7:49 pm
“–but then we can…Huh.” A voice from the hallway. “...Okay.”
Amarynthos paused and looked around; he was still holding the bag of dried leaves and debris they’d just cleaned up. “I wasn’t expecting a trip out here today.” There was a question in his voice and he seemed uncertain but open minded.
Maybe the Code was just lonely? …Oh, but that was definitely blood.
Amarynthos stiffened and dropped the bag where they stood. He summoned his staff in one hand and took Ephesus’ in his other. There was an energy signature with the Code, and at first he thought it might be in danger, but–
It was a Squire. And it felt familiar, and–
He wasn’t expecting to see Reims there, and for a split second it was clear on his face. He didn’t notice the injury immediately but it was quick to follow.
“Reims,” he blurted. He dismissed his weapon and hurried over. “Where are you hurt, what happened? Effie’s got first aid, let us help.”
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Posted: Thu Jun 20, 2024 7:50 pm
While Ephesus certainly didn’t mind visiting the Code, he was immediately concerned when Amarynthos summoned his staff. He noticed the blood soon after his hand was taken, and he hurried quickly alongside him to where the Code was and--
“Reims!” he echoed Mary with a quiet gasp, nodding along with Mary’s comment about him having first aid. He didn’t know what was going on, but seeing their friend clearly injured and in distress was enough to have his heart racing.
“Are you here alone?” Ephesus asked, surprised because it certainly seemed like Reims was there by himself. He was so used to seeing Reims with at least someone else. Why hadn’t he contacted them? Reims immediately froze when he heard voices, and then groaned in frustration.
And then dramatically curled in on himself and put his good arm against the floor so he could hide his face against it. He was tempted to hide his injured arm as well, but he didn’t want to fight, and he kind of did need to get the bleeding to stop.
“I’m fine,” he hissed, his voice cracking with distress. It was just his arm! He hadn’t passed out from shock yet! But now he was mad and embarrassed and -- yeah, mostly embarrassed.
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Posted: Thu Jun 20, 2024 8:11 pm
Something was wrong outside of just Reims bleeding all over. Amarynthos was used to him being closed off and emotionally reclusive but he was obviously hurt and still trying to hide?
Amarynthos shrugged his cape off and draped it over Reims like a blanket. “It’s freezing in here,” he said, as if he wasn’t just trying to give him something else to hide under. He crouched down next to Reims, careful not to look at his face since he was making such a big deal about making sure they couldn’t see it anyway. “If I was bleeding this much, I probably would have passed out! You’re tough, Reims. What is this, glass? Effie,” he gave him a reassuring, albeit slightly stressed smile. He knew Ephesus was the best with first aid; he’d been practicing. They each had a well stocked first aid kit. Ephesus still looked a little stunned, so Mary pulled out his first aid box and set it down on the ground next to Reims even as he settled down too.
“Is it okay if we help, Reims?” He asked. He didn’t want to force assistance on him. He didn’t look good. But he was just so stubborn! “Just a little. You can do the rest if you want, but this looks like a really hard angle to get things yourself.”
He had a million questions he wanted to ask but he was worried about his friend and how he got here–and in this state.
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Posted: Thu Jun 20, 2024 8:17 pm
Ephesus was still a little stunned. He didn’t understand why Reims would be there, and alone. Although he supposed it was better than him going to his Wonder where he might not have access to help. Or maybe it was an accident. Or maybe something happened.
He blinked out of his thoughts when Mary offered him a smile, and he quickly eased himself onto the ground next to where Reims had curled up with just his arm out for them to see.
It seemed like a request for help, or at least reluctant acceptance, otherwise he would have hidden his arm away from them too, right?
Still… he let Mary dig through the first aid kit while he glanced up at the Code, as though trying to figure out answers that he didn’t know the correct questions to ask.
Effie waited until Mary pulled out the supplies he needed, and although his stomach felt unsettled at the sight of Reims’s arm, he steadied himself as best he could. A little magic from his staff would hopefully help Reims stay calm and have his pain subside a bit. “It’s not that much blood!” he groaned in frustration. “You don’t have to do that thing with me, you know. That trying to make me feel better about shitty situations thing? You don’t have to compliment me or say how much more I could handle than you. Save that for the others.”
He knew Mary was just trying to help and keep him calm, but he didn’t like being raised up if it meant Mary, or anyone else, was made to look worse, or not as competent or capable. He knew Mary would only ever make himself seem worse off, but it didn’t matter. Reims didn’t like it, especially since he knew how strong Mary was.
Reims didn’t pull his arm away when he felt Effie gently lift it into his lap. He felt bad about bleeding all over him, but was silently grateful that someone could try to get the glass out. He tried expressing this by not moving or flinching when it hurt.
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Posted: Thu Jun 20, 2024 8:28 pm
“Are you sure?” Amarynthos asked. Of course Reims would find a way to nitpick something at a time like this. And yet, Mary found comfort in it. He almost smiled. “It’s probably at least a little true, you know.”
Reims was hiding but that was okay. There wasn’t a lot that Amarynthos could do; his first aid was far more limited than Effie’s. He placed a hand on his thigh to reassure him while he worked and looked around the room.
There weren’t many clues here, and the Code was silent. It didn’t seem distressed but Mary still had questions. Even if he couldn’t see Reims, he was glad he was talking. It meant he was conscious and they didn’t have to worry enough to call Sessrumnir up here or something.
He had faith in Ephesus and his abilities.
“Hypothetically, if I did want to make you feel better about a shitty situation, what would actually help?”
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Posted: Thu Jun 20, 2024 8:39 pm
The hand on his thigh was reassuring, and Ephesus worked as quickly as he could. He could see where several pieces of glass had been caught in the wound. He didn’t know what could have caused the injury other than Reims being cut with already broken glass.
But the cuts were deep. It was clearly done intentionally, and not just an accident. And from his own experience, they seemed more like defensive wounds than participating in a fight. “Hypothetically, you could leave me the hell alone. But we all know you like to put your nose into everyone’s business,” Reims grumbled, but there was no heat. “You’re always so ******** diplomatic and helpful and perfect--” “He just wants to help you,” Ephesus spoke up, despite his voice still being soft. He was unable to ignore Amarynthos being snapped at, even if it didn’t sound like Reims had much energy to put up a fight.
His cheeks immediately flushed, and he ducked his head down as if to prepare himself for being scolded or yelled at in return.
“We both want to help you. The Code does, too. That’s why you called us here, isn’t it?” he asked, this time looking up at the Code again, although he didn’t expect an answer.
“This is bad, Reims. Whatever happened to your arm. You might want to consider going to--” “I’m not going to some ******** hospital!”“--my Papa’s Wonder…”
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Posted: Thu Jun 20, 2024 8:44 pm
Amarynthos trusted Ephesus’ diagnosis. If he thought it was bad, Mary thought it was bad. Reims’ words might have been an attempt to bite but Mary felt rather unscathed. Thank goodness it was only a hypothetical what-if because there wasn’t any way he was just going to leave. He did put his nose in everyone’s business.
When he felt like he needed to. And, considering how badly Mary wanted to help his friends, he thought he showed exceptional restraint.
Ephesus was so sweet, though–standing up for him. A year ago, he wondered if Ephesus would have even been able to summon a voice to speak up for him. Now, Mary was just proud of him.
“Reims, it’s okay. We’re not going to force you to do anything you don’t want to do. We’re just worried about your arm. And you’re allowed to be, too. Sessrumnir’s got a healing spring, it’s where I went when I got all burned up by this Negaverse General. And where Effie went when he got stabbed. And his dad’s an actual medic, so that’s just a worst case scenario, okay? And if we really need to, we can ask Alastor if he has any more of those fancy healing items. There’s a lot of options between ‘here’ and ‘hospital’. Effie, I have faith in you, okay? Your magic’s strong. Do your best and we’ll go from there.”
Reims was making such a big deal out of things, which was okay, but it was going to complicate things if he was making Ephesus anxious, too. So, Amarynthos put in extra effort to try and stay calm and make a few extra backup plans. “Reims, why don’t you want to go to the hospital? It’s okay that you don’t, I get it. But I don’t want you to think that isn’t an option just because you don’t want us to know your identity or something. Because if that’s all it is, Effie and I could just head out before you power down. But that’s seriously ‘worst case’ scenario. I don’t think it’s going to come to that.”
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Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2024 5:33 am
Ephesus could feel the way Reims tensed, clearly not having expected what he had to say. But with how vehemently against going to a hospital Reims was… Well, Effie didn’t want to stress him out further.
“Mary, can you help me get his arm tied off, please? I just need to stop the bleeding long enough to get the glass out. Then we can get it wrapped up.”
He was trying not to sound too stressed about it. He was flustered, and his hands were shaking a little, but only because he could tell that Reims was losing a lot of blood. And his grip hadn’t been very good for a long time, so using tweezers was already difficult. But he would do what he had to.
“I think just right here,” he indicated on Reims’ arm above his elbow. It looked like there was some medical elastic they could use. He wasn’t sure of the technical name, but he knew he’d seen them used before.When Ephesus started talking about tying his arm, Reims finally lifted his head to see what they were doing. He didn’t pull his arm away, but he also suddenly felt guilty for dripping blood all over Ephesus as he tried to get him fixed up.
But to Mary, he clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. His ears were still burning, but he was afraid if he kept his head down like that, he might actually pass out.
“You think I won’t end up with something worse than this if I showed my face at a hospital?” he scoffed and nodded to his arm before he could think any better of it. He was grateful for the blood loss otherwise he was certain his face would have turned red.
“No thanks, I’d rather not deal with all the questions. I’ll just rub dirt on it, it’s fine. Or stick it into the Code, or whatever it was going to do.”
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Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2024 7:50 am
Tied off? Oh, man. Reims, what did you get yourself into.
“Yeah, I got it, Effie. No trouble. Reims, you are crazy, man. If our positions were swapped, would you rub dirt in my arm?”
He was only partly teasing, but that was just to cover the fact that he was getting progressively more worried about this. He grabbed the elastic and tied it off as best he could, just like Michael had shown him.
He could see Effie’s hands trembling but he believed in him. It wasn’t because he didn’t trust him that he picked up the tweezers Reims had been using. He had some bottled water so he uncapped it and placed it next to Ephesus, but he immediately went to work at picking out what glass he could see. He tried to be gentle but he was getting a little desperate, too. He picked at the glass when he could see it and was careful when he couldn’t.
No wonder there was so much blood, it was like Reims’ body was rushing to get rid of it all. Amarynthos wanted to ask more questions, like what did he mean by getting something worse if he went to the hospital, but it seemed like a sensitive subject and he really needed Reims to calm down.
“Don’t answer that, I know you wouldn’t. Can you spend the night with someone you can trust, Reims? After we get you all fixed up, I bet you’re going to be pretty exhausted. You can stay with me if you want but I know how you are with your identity, so no pressure. You want a snack while we do this?” he asked, as if his hands weren’t already covered in Reims’ blood. He hadn’t taken his eyes off of his arm and was looking for glass like his life depended on it. Well, his life, or Reims’.
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Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2024 12:37 pm
“Oh yeah, because I definitely want to get extra attention from your dads in class,” he scoffed, but like it or not, he was pretty sure his adrenaline was pittering out and he was feeling more light headed than before.
“I was just going to stay here,” he huffed, making himself remain sitting up, but having to use his other arm to brace himself against the ground. He sneered at the offer of a snack, even as his stomach gurgled and whined, but didn’t say anything in response. Even if he was hungry, he wasn’t sure he could keep down whatever he put in his mouth.
He didn’t know what he was going to do. Evan would have a heart attack. So would Julian. Dawn was probably busy. Maisie would probably agree to rub dirt in it. Énna would probably also worry, but if he knew who he was, would he tell him that he deserved it?
The thought of Énna finding out and having that reaction had his stomach twisting. Maybe he did deserve it, after everything. Maybe a little pain was good for his character, or something like that. Good to keep him humble or remind him of his place or any of the above. Ephesus quietly thanked Amarynthos as he continued to work on cleaning out the debris. His eyes were hot and he could feel them filling with tears that he quickly blinked away. He didn’t know how else to convince Reims that he would be safe with them, or that he didn’t have to hide what happened. Knowing what happened would help them help him.
He didn’t miss how Reims commented on Mary’s dads. Not his dads, but specifically Mary’s dads, and in class.
To make sure he knew Mary heard as well, he briefly caught his gaze, before focusing back on Reims’ arm.
With both of their efforts, it seemed mostly clean. So Effie took the bottle of water and carefully started pouring it over the wound, a little at a time, hoping to wash anything else away.
“I don’t think you should stay here, Reims,” he said quietly. Not because he wouldn’t be safe there… at least in terms of there not being any danger. But he needed someone to look after him and make sure he had something to eat, and somewhere comfortable to sleep.
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Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2024 3:19 pm
Though Amarynthos respected Reims’ identity, he was a curious creature by nature so he couldn’t help but speculate. Every now and then he let something slip and Mary might not have said anything at the time but he filed it away to consider later.
Like the way he’d already known who Elliot was when they were meeting up, or the way he’d handled his sword like it was a baseball bat. Now, he knew about Elliot's fathers. Which–to be fair, Elliot was not really shy about his parents. He’d talked about them, it wasn’t really a secret that they taught at Azure.
But it meant that Reims went to Azure, too.
He caught the look Effie gave him and smiled.
“Well, if you’re determined to stay on the Moon, maybe we could at least convince you to go somewhere a little more private? You want to come back to Amarynthos or Ephesus? We’ve got beds, it’s comfortable at least. We can have a sleepover. You don’t have to power down. And you know we’ve got everything you need to spend the night. Food, water. The works. And bears, but they like you so they might as well just be dogs.”
He wasn’t going to force food down Reims’ throat but he was obviously hungry. Just sick. Mary didn’t blame him; the smell of blood was pretty thick in the air. He’d clean up around here so Ephesus didn’t have to. Obviously they weren’t going to make Reims do anything.
It was lucky that they packed cleaning supplies for their Wonders; he could probably get this all straightened up pretty easily. No one would even know.
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Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2024 7:00 pm
For some reason, Reims was prepared for them to pressure him into powering down. He wasn’t certain he could have resisted in his weakened state, but he would have been frustrated and upset about it.
Lucky for him, Mary told him more than once that he didn’t have to power down. Reims was trying not to react to his arm being handled, but with all the stress and pain, it was difficult for him to ignore the response to his physical ailments. And probably his emotions.
He didn’t know what to say for a few moments, but watched as Ephesus used a towel to pat his arm dry. He must have been satisfied with his and Amarynthos’ work because he set everything aside so he could start pulling apart some butterfly bandages to close some of the cuts.
Now that the blood had mostly been cleared from his arm, Reims winced at the sight. The glass had clearly done a number on his arm, and he could already see Ephesus struggling to figure out how to fit some of the little bandages to close everything, since it wasn’t just a single gash.
But it looked like Effie and Mary had things under control, and he was too tired to really argue how it was done. There was pain, but after everything he’d already experienced, it was nothing. Well… not nothing, but he was trying to keep everything together.
“I don’t want Evie to know,” he confessed in a moment of exhaustion, staring morosely down at his lap. “I haven’t been able to talk to him yet. I don’t know how-- I don’t want him to hate me.” Reims didn’t deny the offer for him to stay at Amarynthos or Ephesus, so Effie took that as him agreeing. Surely that was what he meant if he didn’t argue against it.
The comment about Evie was strange, and once again Effie glanced up to look at Mary. If he knew they would be in this situation, he would have seen about wearing their earrings. It would have been better than just guessing what each other were thinking.
“Why would he hate you? He always seems happy to see you.” A bit jealous of others, maybe, but that was okay. Ephesus could understand shrinking away from people when they seemed too distracted by others. It was why he hadn’t tried talking to Elliot sooner.
Well… he hadn’t tried talking to Elliot at all. Elliot was the one who ended up seeking him out, to his surprise. Although finding him in a dumpster was probably enough to pique Elliot’s curiosity.
He did his best to get the wound closed. He didn’t want to leave the makeshift tourniquet on Reims’ arm for too long, but it was a relief to be able to work without constantly wiping away blood. He just needed a few more butterflies and then he could start putting bandages on.
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Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2024 7:16 pm
Though Amarynthos’ face briefly looked serious, he hid the deepness of his thoughts behind an easygoing smile. As soon as Ephesus finished bandaging him up, maybe he could work some healing magic on him.
“You and Evie know each other when you’re not powered down?” he assumed. Who did Evie hate? Mary didn’t know much about Énna’s private life but he never got the impression that he hated a lot of people. Out of everyone he knew, there was like, one person, who–
Was also on his short list of candidates for Reims’ secret identity. Amarynthos looked at him briefly but didn’t want to stare so he kept the glance short. Ephesus had this under control for right now so he pulled out a wet wipe and cleaned off his hands. From subspace, he pulled a little lunch box. There were a few different treats in there but he pulled out a candy bar, looked at the back for a second, and then passed it over. “You should eat something with sugar. It gives you a quick pick-me-up. And I’ve got some juice. And beef jerky. Because you’ll want some iron too, I bet. You don’t have to eat it all right now but you should try to eat a little. I don’t know if you care, but it doesn’t have coconut oil.”
Maybe it mattered. Maybe it didn’t. He handed them over.
He didn’t have to check the labels; he’d seen Riker eat the candy bar before, and the only reason he had this was because he’d begged his parents to get some snacks that he could offer all of his friends. He and Riker were on the same baseball team and saw each other often enough in school. Of course Elliot carried some. Riker was cranky all the time, maybe he was just hangry.
It was mostly fluke that it wound up in his lunchbox, but he’d had suspicions about Reims for a while. Unfounded, but none of that mattered right now.
“We don’t have to tell Evie anything if you’re worried. If you need to talk to him about something, that’s up to you. We just want to make sure you’re okay, Reims. We care about you and you’re hurt. And you won’t tell us how it happened, so of course we’re going to worry extra. You’re important to us, that’s just how things work.”
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Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2024 8:58 pm
Reims didn’t respond to Effie’s question or comment, nor did he say anything about knowing Evie when powered down. He felt like he’d already said too much, and yet… telling them was on the tip of his tongue.
What was the worst that could happen? They weren’t pressuring him into telling them, and they were trying to help him, despite him being difficult.
He looked up again when Mary pulled out some snacks. He didn’t think too much of them. They weren’t anything he was really concerned about.
But Mary’s comment had him sucking in a breath of surprise, and he stared at him with wide, fearful eyes.
How long had he known? It couldn’t have been a coincidence that he made a comment about coconut oil.
No. He was being dramatic. He didn’t need to let his heart race like it was. He needed to calm down. It was just the fatigue settling in.
But it wasn’t until Mary said that he was important to them that he laughed. It was a quiet bark, and there was no humor in it. He immediately looked away, biting the inside of his cheek hard enough to taste blood.
So what if they said they cared about him and he was important to them. It had to be true, at least in some sense. He wanted so desperately for it to be true. But time and time again, he was let down. He didn’t want to get used to kindness like this. It was hard enough when it was from Evan or Dawn or Julian or Evie. Especially Evie. Because he didn’t want things to go back to how they were before he got to know them better. He knew he ******** up, and even though he tried apologizing it hadn’t been enough. He didn’t expect it would be. Ephesus continued to work, although he looked from Mary to Reims, a quiet understanding settling into his expression as he watched the two.
He might not have known Riker very well, but he’d heard Michael talking to Devyn once about food allergies people had to look out for on Earth, and how maybe Devyn should get screened for allergies, just to be safe. He was pretty sure it resulted in them both laughing about it. He didn’t know if Devyn ended up agreeing, or if Michael was serious. Although his Papa rarely suggested something he wasn’t serious about. He may just drop it if it wasn’t received well.
He remembered Michael talking about one of his classmate’s food allergy…
The same one Mary mentioned.
And the fact that Reims wasn’t saying anything made him wonder if he knew Mary had guessed.
Ephesus finished gently wrapping Reim’s arm, and then picked up his scepter once more to cast the magic over his wound.
“We do care about you,” he confirmed when it seemed as though Reims didn’t believe them. “You’re always willing to rush into danger for us and the others. We know our friends are safe with you. You keep an eye on everyone, and you’re always willing to listen, and you’re patient and understanding. Whatever is happening outside of being a Knight… I get it. Being yourself when no one can tell you that you can’t…?”
It was all speculation. But if Reims was Riker, there was such a stark difference between them.
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Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2024 9:05 pm
Amarynthos felt some level of success when Reims didn’t think it was weird for him to notice, but he didn’t push beyond that. He might not have had a concrete answer but he didn’t need one. He sat by Reims for now. He could clean up soon. Maybe Reims didn’t need anyone there with him, but Mary was going to stay, anyway. It wasn’t like he thought Reims would ask if he did want company.
“Effie’s right. And he said it pretty much how I would have, I think. A little better.”
He nodded approvingly and smiled at Ephesus before again turning his attention to Reims. He made sure the snacks were still being obviously offered, for whenever Reims was ready for them.
“No matter what else is going on, we know this is the real you. I think you’re great, Reims. I trust you, and I know I can count on you for anything. I know you’ve always got my back, and everyone else’s. You’re a good friend and a good teammate and you mean a lot to us. I’m sorry if it’s tacky, I’m not trying to be embarrassing. I like having you around. I wouldn’t trade you for anyone else.”
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