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 Posted: Sun May 08, 2022 10:06 am
Of course the coward would leave when it was obvious that his little teleportation tricks and youma weren’t going to be enough to stop him or Alastor. Sessrumnir hissed with barely contained rage, held back only because he didn’t want to draw more attention to themselves.
He was relieved that Alastor was okay. But he was furious that Princess had been injured. She would be okay. She had to be. He held the fang in his palm, not knowing if she could feel his concern for her, or any kind of comfort that he wanted to give her, but he held it regardless.
And then he turned to Alastor to throw one arm over his shoulders in a quick hug. Nothing that lasted very long because they still needed to be on their guard, but knowing how close Alastor could have been to dying, or at least being seriously injured…? Sessrumnir was surprised his heart started beating again.
“Let’s go home,” he said instead of answering as he pulled away. It was easier that way, it was --
He didn’t want Alastor to worry. But he promised… if not to Alastor, to himself, that he would continue to be honest about things that he might otherwise brush aside. He gave Alastor permission to determine whether or not a hospital was necessary, and without him knowing the damage, he couldn’t make an informed decision.
Sessrumnir pulled his cape away from his side. A gash above his hip was still soaking into the dark fabrics of his outfit. He didn’t know how bad it was, but he hadn’t passed out yet, and he wasn’t falling apart at least.
“I should be able to stitch it up. Maybe. It’s at a weird angle. Might need your help,” he admitted, glancing away from Alastor so he could try and feel if there was anyone near them. So far, it seemed as though the General had no intention of returning.
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Posted: Sun May 08, 2022 10:19 am
The hug had been surprising but not unwelcome, and like Claire’s recent hug, Alastor found himself thinking that it ended too soon. But now was hardly the time to pine for some sort of physical contact that he didn’t understand why he needed so much–he’d gone all this time without any!
Sessrumnir had lifted his cape and naturally Alastor had leaned in to inspect it. He didn’t have to get so close to see that blood was already staining the fibers of his uniform. He swore under his breath, and his hatred for Bloodstone intensified.
He stood up quickly and put his hand on Sessrumnir’s back as if to make sure he had any support he’d need. “I’ll help. Don’t strain yourself if it’s at a weird angle. Can you walk?” It was needless fussing, probably. He knew Sessrumnir was tough, but this wasn’t about that.
This was about making sure he didn’t agitate an injury and make it worse.
“I can carry you, might be able to get us home a little faster. You might lose a little less blood along the way, too if you don’t have to exert yourself.”
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Posted: Sun May 08, 2022 10:29 am
The hand at his back was a welcomed comfort that Sessrumnir didn’t realize he needed. Or wanted. There was a difference between those who had fussed over him before. People he couldn’t show any weakness to, because if he did, they would think he was incapable of handling himself. They would think he was incapable of protecting anyone else. They might not trust him enough to ask for his help when they needed it.
Every instinct Sessrumnir had trained himself to feel was screaming at him to refuse help. He was strong enough to handle this on his own. He had managed this long on his own, so why not continue?
But he also trusted Devyn. He was torn between his trust for his friend and the self preservation he’d molded around himself. It was his armor. And yet, he didn’t need that armor around Devyn. Besides, Devyn already told him he had no expectations for him. He wouldn’t judge him or think him weak.
“We should find somewhere to power down. I don’t want to get within a few blocks of home like this,” he mumbled needlessly. He’d already told Devyn how he felt about protecting where they lived. Devyn knew. And Sessrumnir felt heat rise in his cheeks as he realized he probably sounded like he didn’t trust Devyn to remember something like that.
His side ached. He thought he could taste blood in his mouth, but he was probably just hallucinating it. He might have bit his tongue in all the worrying he’d been doing already.
The thought of being carried was absolutely ridiculous. He was Devyn’s size, probably a bit broader. Healthier, no doubt, since Devyn had been eating bark and shriveled mushrooms for who knew how long. He couldn’t remember the last time anyone had carried him.
Sessrumnir put some more pressure on his leg -- the side he was wounded -- and sighed. He was embarrassed, but he also knew Alastor was probably right. “You can’t make fun of me later,” he weakly muttered the request under his breath. He had no idea how Devyn wanted to carry him, so he just… waited awkwardly for direction, muttering even quieter to himself about how absolutely ridiculous he was going to look being carried.
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Posted: Sun May 08, 2022 10:35 am
Alastor never questioned the reminders, nor did he take the suggestions as if they were any sort of insult or criticism. He had no experience with leaving a Negaverse battle but trusted that it was smartest to leave and travel a bit before powering down. Michael knew what he was doing.
“Why would I make fun of you?” he asked, genuinely curious and with a bit of worry he tried to keep from being too obvious. He wondered again if Michael had been harassed for accepting help before. “I want to get you home as soon as possible so we can get you taken care of. It’s practical. The next time I get hurt, I’ll let you carry me, too. Even if it’s just a papercut.”
He looked at the injury again, and he couldn’t see much of it, but he knew that he didn’t want to agitate it. “I’m not going to throw you over my shoulders, though. If I carry you in my arms, I’m pretty sure I can carry you without agitating it, if that’s your only injury. Or I can carry you on my back, they’re both easy. What would be more comfortable for you?”
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Posted: Sun May 08, 2022 10:53 am
Sessrumnir opened his mouth to somehow explain why someone would make fun of how ridiculous it would look for Alastor to be carrying around someone like Sessrumnir, but Alastor’s voice and expression was so sincerely and genuinely curious, that Sessrumnir ended up shutting his mouth and shook his head instead.
He didn’t know what to say about the offer to carry Alastor, and if he hadn’t offered as genuinely as his question was, Sessrumnir might have thought he was teasing him.
He wasn’t used to this. Wasn’t used to someone being so open and kind and sincere. He knew Alastor was capable of joking around too, so it wasn’t just because he was always serious. Maybe Sessrumnir had just never met someone who knew how to read him so well.
When Devyn looked at the injury again, Sessrumnir took a moment to open up his subspace to grab his medical kit and some gauze. The least he could do was not bleed all over Devyn.
The idea of being carried in Devyn’s arms made Sessrumnir’s heart flutter stupidly, and he gave his chest a little tap in frustration as if that would get his starseed to calm down. Because that was obviously the reason why he felt that way. It was probably also the reason why his face felt hot again -- so he must not have been losing as much blood as he could have been.
“I can ride on your back, if that’s not going to hurt you more,” he nodded to Alastor’s stomach. He knew he’d been kicked and didn’t want to injure him.
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Posted: Sun May 08, 2022 11:13 am
Alastor had been so preoccupied with Sessrumnir that he’d forgotten about his own injury, and it was only when it was mentioned that he rested a hand over it. His idea of gauging how badly he’d been damaged was pushing into it, but it was a short lived test and he clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth.
“I might bruise. Might not. Didn’t kick me hard enough to knock up dinner, so I’m fine. We should take Princess a steak or something when we go back up. She’s such a good girl.”
He looked at the medical kit and the gauze, and he didn’t seem as worried about the blood getting on him as he was about getting home to patch the thing up. “Do you want help with that now or do you want to wait until we’re somewhere safer?”
It would probably only take him a minute to get the gauze around the wound if Sessrumnir was just willing to hold up his shirt for it, and then he could just get him on his back and they could figure out what they needed to do to get him patched up. Sessrumnir didn’t look pale, so he couldn’t be losing enough blood to be totally worrisome, but the better off he was, the better off they’d both be.
He seemed willing to work with whatever Sessrumnir was willing to offer and even if there was a time he’d have just done things his way to make progress, he trusted Michael enough to respect his guidance now.
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Posted: Sun May 08, 2022 1:39 pm
Should they take the time to patch the wound up? Probably, even if it was just temporary. But Sessrumnir had no idea if Bloodstone was going to come back, or if they were already pushing their luck by standing around out there.
“This should be fine for now. I don’t want to stay here longer than we have to,” he grunted as he poked at his own wound. It could have been a lot worse.
“We’re going to bring Princess as much steak as we can carry,” he agreed, and sighed, because he did not want her to get hurt. He didn’t want Devyn to get hurt.
With some lingering reluctance, he nodded to Alastor to indicate that he was ready whenever Alastor was. Even if he still felt a little weird about being carried.
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