Welcome to Gaia! ::

Maebe was awake when Jude came to see her, but her eyes had been closed, because it was easier that way. She was lying in a gurney, uncomfortably close to another one - but the curtain separated the other patient from her, this time around.

When she heard Jude's voice, her dry lips rose in a weak smile, and her eyes opened, fluttering to adjust for the bright light. "Jude." She whispered out, legitimately happy to see him. "How'd you know I was in here?" Nobody would have ever told him, and she certainly hadn't called for him - or anyone. The quiet moments she sat alone, in the gurney, unwatched by any melancholy presence, were her favorites. Shiloh had Ian watching him day and night. Maebe had no one.

It was a relief.

But she still smiled when she saw Jude sitting there. She couldn't move yet, but she could feel, and everything hurt. She turned her head and gestured her chin at him. "Could you adjust the bed? I want to sit up when I talk to you." His question was, for now, left unanswered.

Maebe appreciated the sarcasm. It made her feel less like a cripple, and more like two people having a conversation in a normal setting. The adjustment of her bed also helped, and she relaxed against the cushions. The covers fell away, but she had a hospital gown on. The thick layers of bandages that wrapped around and around her stomach and chest made her look pregnant underneath it.

"A friend." She chuckled out faintly. That was the last thing she wanted, but what Jude offered her was better. Jude never seemed emotional when he tried to keep Maebe safe. There was professionalism in him that soothed her worries.

Jude would not mourn, she told herself. It made her smile again.

"Can't drink that." She warned him. "Can't put anything in me yet." She couldn't move her arms to show him any of the bandages, but they were thick enough to be obvious. "You're right, though. I would kill for some water. But they said I'd die for it, too. Can you do me a favor though?" She licked her lips. "Put some on my lips. They do it with ice chips, but waters fine too I'm sure. Just can't drink it."

She pursed her lips out and made weak, but still sarcastic kissing noises.

"Nobody should."

Maebe watched his expression changed, and tried to push through the drug induced haze to read it. She couldn't tell for sure, but something about the melancholy in his eyes worried him. Don't disappoint me now Jude, Maebe thought to herself silently. He'd been so perfect until that moment.

"Jude. I'm always hitting on you. Right now, my entire body is just hurtling towards you at the speed of no, trying to climb up on that train and ride it to nosville. My ticket's in my panties. Can you reach down in there and get it for me? I can't actually move."

Her smile turned slow and smug.

She was very confident that Jude was meticulous about cleanliness. When his fingers pressed against her lips, her eyes fluttered closed, and she sighed in relief.

"God. Thank you." She huffed out. "Is it just me, or does licking your lips make your lips even dryer a few seconds later?"

Maebe groaned as Jude did not even so much as give her a blush. He was such a disappointment. She knew that Ariane had that train locked down, but she could have at least gotten him to look away.

Nothing. Jude was a rock.

What a d**k.

"I remember everything until the end," She figured the conversation would turn to this, eventually. "My first real mission. I think it was a rousing success." She smiled, and her teeth gleamed white with pride. "Up until the part I was stabbed in the chest with a Hunter weapon. Though, hey, I'm alive, aren't I? I consider that flawless."

"Ha." She huffed out dryly. "I could probably take you. Even dead." Sheyawned, and shook the sleepiness away. She was brushing off his warnings because she didn't take them seriously, she refused to take them seriously. Jude felt obligated to say things like that, because he was a good guy. She understood the way guys like him worked. He probably felt guilty for not being there, but that was just what good people did when others were hurt.

She would have patted him fondly on the arm, but she couldn't move.

"Oh. Uh. I guess, not exactly a Hunter weapon, what of the runic daggers - I mean, that's technically a Hunter weapon, right? He had one. Well no, he had a real Hunter weapon too, he used it to sledgehammer me across the room, wiped my shield right out. Poor Thaw's still brooding silently over his incapability to protect me, haha."

She felt the angry, overheated grumble, and welcomed him back. It had taken a while to restore him, as well.

"Another Hunter." Maebe mumbled out sleepily. Her head was turned to rest on the pillow, but her eyes, heavily lidded, were still trained on Jude. "He said he wasn't on our side. That much is obvious, huh." She strained to keep talking. "I didn't recognize him. He uh.." Her memory was getting a little fuzzy, but she could still remember the details. "Two fingers missing on one hand. And a big O on the back of the other. Maybe he got branded or something. Does that sound like anyone here, to you?"

She struggled to remember more, but there was little to pull from. "And sledgehammer weapon. And.. I don't know. Maybe he was working undercover." She looked down at her chest, where he'd stabbed and then electrocuted her. "Deep undercover."

"Oh. Don't worry." Maebe's voice had gone quiet, and the look in her eyes had cooled to icy disgust. "I'm well aware of how common the violence between Hunters is." She looked away, sullenly brooding over the loss of her best friend to none other than another hunter, himself. If she'd had any idea that Shiloh, AND Rep, were somewhere in the ward with her, no pain medications in the world could have kept her on that bed.

"I don't get it, Jude." She whispered. "I don't get the point. What are we doing here?" She turned back to him, her eyes pleading with unanswered questions. "What are you doing here?"