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 Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2012 8:14 am
The infirmary, after two days, was really, really getting old.
Anyone passing by at random intervals during the day would hear a disgruntled sounding voice, perhaps a crash or two as something was chucked across the room, and the infernal beeping noises from the monitors of other patients. Not Gale, however, since at the moment he had managed to disconnect himself from all medical devices he had originally been attached to and was attempting to make a break for it.
Needless to say, he did not make it very far, and after being threatened to get tied to his bed if he didn't lay down properly, he climbed back into the sterile, white-sheeted cot, and complained bitterly to Jinhai.
<< You were basically electrocuted from the inside out, kid. Lay low for a while, they'll let you go soon. >>
My arm, Gale groused, is FINE.
Which, of course, was a blatant lie. His arm was most definitely not fine, and his hand even less so, which Jinhai made sure to point out when Gale was in one of his moods.
<< At least you made up with Bix. >>
Some of the tension in Gale's face eased a little as his expression softened.
Yeah, I guess. Though I would really like to be back in my own house right about now.
<< Patience, young grasshopper. >>
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Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 12:52 am
By this point, Eva was no longer surprised by all the yelling, crashes, and other sounds that she heard every time she passed by the infirmary. Being confined to the infirmary was never easy for either staff or patients alike--the latter were always trying to get out and actually do something other than lie around, and the former were always struggling to keep the patients in-check and resting. Being discharged from the infirmary was therefore always a relief to both the staff and the patient alike.
And so, the young woman did not seem particularly concerned by all the noise coming from the infirmary as she walked past it that afternoon. She had just returned from a few hours of training, and was eager to take a well-deserved break and grab a snack. However, on her way to the cafeteria, she passed by two hunters who were talking to one another. They turned to nod at her in greeting--a gesture that she returned with a smile--and then went right back to talking, their voices fading as they got farther and turned the corner.
"So as I was saying, apparently that blond death hunter--Gale?--is in the infirmary. I heard that he..."
Eva had come to a complete halt, her blue eyes growing round. She whirled around to face the pair of hunters, a panicked question already on her lips when she realized that they were already gone. She felt her heartbeat suddenly pick up.
Gale? Gale was...?
Calm down, Eva. Chara's voice was as even and composed as ever, though there was a soft, soothing undertone in her words, There's nothing stopping you from dropping by and visiting him.
And Chara was, of course, right. Turning around, Eva began to make her way back to the infirmary, her footsteps initially slow and even, and then growing increasingly quicker and more frantic. By the time she had reached the infirmary, she was panting, having sprinted through the last part of the hallway to get here. Without hesitation, she threw the door open and burst in.
"Gale--oops." The lady hunter in the cot right in front of her was clearly not Gale. With a sheepish smile and an apologetic bow of her head, she turned to sweep her gaze over the rest of the cots, her eyes brightening as she caught a familiar head of blond hair. She immediately made her way towards him, her eyes round with concern. "Gale. Gale! W-what happened? Are you okay?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 8:09 am
The clatter of hurried footsteps that announced the arrival of someone in the infirmary didn't register to Gale quite as fast as it normally would have. He was too busy having another mental squabble with Jinhai as he attempted to remind the dragon that he was, in fact just peachy, (a lie) that being in this infirmary made him irritable (mostly true) and that really what was the point (he still couldn't figure it out). It was an old argument, but one that Gale insisted on repeating because he just did not see why he had to stay here.
<< Gale. >>
WHAT.
<< I think you have a visitor. >>
Gale's head jerked up at the same time as he heard his name from a familiar voice, a hasty apology, and then Eva's face appeared from around the bed hangings, her eyes wide.
"Eva," said Gale in surprise. He made a quick mental note - yes, he was fully dressed, albeit in a pair of really terrible hospital pajamas - and then gave her a wan smile.
"I'm fine, really - "
<< Are not. >>
" - shut up Jinhai - really, Eva, I'm all right." He waved his good hand, but his other arm was wrapped tightly in a series of white bandages that went from the tips of his fingers, all the way up to his shoulder, and then sat in a blue sling.
He decidedly did not draw attention to this, though it was relatively obvious.
"How'd you know I was here?" he asked her. "I was, er...hoping to get out...soon."
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Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 11:07 am
Despite his attempts to reassure her, the worried look never left Eva's far, her brows drawn together and her lips pulled into a frown. Her gaze swept over him quickly, immediately focusing on his injured arm. Very carefully, she reached out to rest her fingers gently against the sling, her frown growing deeper as her eyes flickered to meet Gale's, her voice soft.
"...What happened?"
At the very least, compared to the thoughts that had been flashing through her mind on her way here, she was grateful that it was only the boy's arm that was injured.
A small, faint smile finally played on her lips at the question, and she made a vague gesture towards the door that she had just burst through. "Heard it in the passing from one of the other Hunters. How long are you stuck here for?" There was a pause, and then she hummed thoughtfully, frowning as she cupped her cheek in her hand, "Is there anything I can bring you? Books or something?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2012 8:30 am
He was apparently not getting out of saying exactly what had happened. Gale had been attempting to detract from the situation at hand with a bit of lightheartedness, but Eva was, well...Eva, and really there was no hiding things from her.
And no hiding an arm in a sling, which made it pretty dang obvious that something was wrong with him.
"Erm...well..." Gale fidgeted a little, half embarrassed, half angry at both himself and the two people involved in his little "accident." "Let's just say I tangoed with a bear and got bitten. It was my own fault."
The analogy was a pathetic one, but Gale was hoping to distract Eva. "Hopefully I'll only be here a few more days," he said, which was probably not true, but he was not going to be here forever, so help him. "And, erm...not that I can think of," he answered truthfully. "Though I could probably use some food that isn't hospital food..."
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Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2012 2:18 pm
Tangoing with a bear, huh? A spar gone wrong then, perhaps? Perhaps he had gotten into a bit of a scuffle with another hunter or a trainee. Grabbing a chair and sinking down in it, Eva leaned her elbow on her knee and set her chin in her hand. "Need I have a talk--or a friendly spar--with this 'bear', then? Because if you got hurt enough to warrant being confined to bedrest for a while..." Eva's protective instinct was no joke, and with Gale being one of the four who the young woman was particularly protective over, well...
She still managed to keep her tone of voice and expression relatively light-hearted and casual though, albeit with a serious undertone at the offer. At mention of food though, Eva lips spread into a slightly bigger smile.
"That can be arranged. I can always bring you some different food everyday, if you'd prefer. I'm no cook, and the cafeteria's not a high-class establishment either...but I'm sure it'll definitely be better than whatever they're feeding you here." Besides, it wasn't as if Gale was really ill or anything, right? He didn't need a special diet of hospital food for him to get better.
...It was just a broken arm or something, right? Nothing else? Eva's allowed her gaze to sweep over him again, searching for any other injuries.
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Posted: Sat Nov 24, 2012 6:54 pm
Gale, who had picked up the cup of water from his bedside to take a sip, choked mid-swallow and wound up in the middle of a coughing fit, Jinhai laughing in his head.
"What?" he said, eyes watering as he set the cup down on the table beside him. He cleared his throat, sighed, and realized he couldn't not tell the truth, for fear of Eva going to talk to the "bear." Things would not end pretty if she did, which meant there was no getting around this.
"...Caelius," he said finally, tilting his head back and sighing, a slight wry twist of his lips upwards. "It was Caelius. He's not dead, he's back, and he and I got into...an argument...of sorts."
Except not really.
"Please don't go after him, though," Gale said, reaching out to touch Eva's arm reassuringly. "Really, I'm fine. I just...said a few things I probably shouldn't have, and besides, Caelius's temper is well-known throughout Deus."
And I don't want you getting hurt because of me, was the unspoken sentence that would have followed this, but Gale said nothing, instead giving Eva a look from beneath his lashes.
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Posted: Sat Nov 24, 2012 9:09 pm
At the coughing, Eva instinctively reached out to rub Gale's back, her brows creasing with worry. "Be careful, Gale," She told him, unaware that her comment had anything to do with his choking, "I don't want you to--what?! ...W-what?"
She suddenly dropped her hand, her eyes growing round at the name that left the boy's lips. Caelius? Caelius was...ha, well she really shouldn't have been all that surprised. After all, despite the fact that she had (admittedly, though it had kind of made her feel terrible) been hopeful that the man was actually gone, there was no way it would be that easy. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she had always known that Caelius wasn't dead--couldn't be dead. No matter how powerful of an attack that Halloween creature had unleashed on him, of course it wasn't enough to kill him.
...So even with that knowledge, why did Eva suddenly feel the burning urge to storm into the man's office and swing her fists at him, as if she could do any damage to the division head? He was back, fine, whatever, but when the first thing that he did upon coming back was land Gale in the infirmary, then that was just too much. Why, she ought to--
Eva's blue eyes had darkened, but they suddenly brightened again when she felt a gentle touch on her arm. Blinking rapidly, she turned to glance back at Gale, and slowly, her tensed shoulders relaxed slightly. Not completely, but enough so that she no longer looked like she was ready to spring out of the room at any moment. "A-ah. I...yeah...I guess." She murmured, a weak smile on her face. As she continued, her voice became a little tighter, "Though frankly, I don't think whatever you said warranted that," She gestured towards his arm, "But..."
Seeing the look that he was giving her, the young woman let out a sigh and forced herself to sink back into her chair, the corners of her lips turning upwards in a slightly bigger smile. When she spoke, her tone was chipper. "So, what kind of food do you want me to grab you? Sandwiches? Fresh fruits?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2012 6:16 pm
He waited a beat for her reaction and then -
- sure enough, there it was. A wince flashed across Gale's face as the realization of what he had just said sunk into Eva's mind. Her expression went from worried to surprised to shocked to (Gale was both gratified and worried to see) anger - though once he touched her arm, she snapped out of it, looking back at him.
Gale gave a resigned sort of sigh.
"Well, here's the basic rundown, since I'd rather you hear it from me," he said. "I went to Mark - bad idea - asked if I could be up for Death Division Assistant. He said yes, gave me a list of ridiculous tasks to complete. Caelius decides to return with his grand entrance, clobbers Mark, and then decides to give me the insane task of killing Mark. I refused, and, well...it didn't go so well after that."
His eyes flickered briefly towards his injured arm.
"Let's just say Caelius and barrier daggers are not a good combination."
He sighed again, tilting his head back to stare up at the ceiling, counting the cracks.
"Sandwiches are good," Gale admitted. "And fruit. Just not coffee. Or anything sticky, really."
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Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2012 5:37 pm
Locking her fingers together, Eva set her hands in her lap and gave Gale her full attention as he let her know what happened. Although she tried to keep her expression even, by the end of the explanation, her lips were pressed into a thin line. "Caelius did that to you because you refused to kill someone who didn't deserve to die?"
...
"Are you sure that I can't punch him?" There was a faint smile on her face to show that she was (probably...or at least, half) joking, but it was clear that Eva was not at all pleased by this revelation. Sure, she knew that Caelius' temper could be triggered by even the slightest of misdoings...but that was just ridiculous.
Of course, even Eva knew that she would end up in the infirmary--or worse--if she actually tried to pursue what her gut was telling her to do right now. Letting out another sigh, she reached out and gently pat Gale on the shoulder. "Sandwiches and fruit--got it! Just leave it to me, okay? And you," She emphasized this word by pointing at him and lifting her brows, "Rest and get better."
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