We're more than carbon and chemicals

[lucetimods]

Who: All Draftees
What: Fighting Third Party
When: 26th, 27th, 28th, 1st, and 2nd
Where: The Southern Farmlands
Summary: See here for overall details.
Rating: Probably gonna be gorey in places :|a

DOESN'T NEED A CUT. People should know how this works, if not, just follow other people's lead. I'm gonna set up some strategist threads at the top, for the four strategists to use if they want to, otherwise people should start their own threads.

((Mod Note: Since this has been asked a few times, just fyi, the livestock do not talk. Happy hunting!))

Comments

[herotypical]

[ a dry smile. ] I heal fast, not instantly. The bone broke -- it'll take a little longer but it'll be soon. [ although her cuts were closing over and her bruises were lightening. ]

[all7seas]

Right.

...

Soon.

[herotypical]

When I met you...oh, Gosh. Bones was just starting to let me out of the house after some long-term healing. I had only bruised up my ribs but -- deslayered? It took forever.

[ she doesn't know how people could do that. especially those in a similar business. ]

[all7seas]

[It does hurt too much to talk. Jack takes her hand--not the one on her splinted-up arm, of course--and squeezes it.]

[herotypical]

[ she squeezes his hand back and opts to just keep on babbling, careful to avoid questions that might bait him into speaking again: ] I thought a life of leisure and breakfast in bed would be amazing but mostly I just got bored. Really bored. Border than bored. Borderline catatonic. [ and with careful allusion to a conversation 'lily' had with 'will' ] I maybe picked up a book or two -- briefly.

[all7seas]

[Jack swallows more rum so his voice will sound less like gravel.] Because you were alone. [This is followed by a lot of silent laughter. Dirty jokes: he is still going to make them.]

[herotypical]

[ she takes the joke a little more to heart than she should. kadaj had injured her during a love experiment -- one that had taken place only a week after kirk had gone home. alone is a very good word for what she was. but she smiles and rolls her eyes and gives him this time, getting indignant in order to not get sad. ]

Duh. Alone sucks.

[all7seas]

[Another swallow of rum, and Sparrow manages:] Not so bored if I'd been there, darling.

[herotypical]

Hush. [ she admonishes with a smile. ] I spent most of my time not even able to sit up without wanting to burst into tears. I'm not sure...[ and then realizing that the suggestion hadn't explicitly been made, she backtracks: ] I guess you could've at least regaled me with stories and tales and I wouldn't have had to do all that reading, instead.

[all7seas]

Precisely that. [He changes hand position, threading his fingers through hers, now.] Always leaping into the gutter, your mind.

[herotypical]

If I'm leaping there, it's only 'cause that's where I expect to meet you. [ she watches their fingers, thoughtful. ]

[all7seas]

I'll be there, Annie. If you need me.

[herotypical]

Don't you think that might be...[ the problem? unfair? a little too tempting? she shrugs it off. ] You're not supposed to be talking.

[all7seas]

[herotypical]

Not that I wouldn't...[ because she would if she wasn't also worried about falling into old, bad habits. buffy doesn't actually enjoy being that much of a user. ] I probably shouldn't be talking either or I'll manage to get my foot in my mouth and from this angle, it doesn't look that appetizing.

[ she runs her thumb across his wrist. ]

[all7seas]

[herotypical]

You've been...freakishly good to me, all things considered. [ buffy remains attached at the hand. ] You probably deserve better than being someone's rebound and...and so do I, you know?

[ there. her anxiety half worded -- that whatever feelings he's gained for his valentine's match have trumped older ones and now they're really just unruffling each other's feathers.

all this him-not-talking business leads her to just...continue, honestly: ] I like you, Jack. I don't want to do wrong by you.

[all7seas]

[Jack, unfortunately, misinterprets all of this. She doesn't want him, not in that way. Perhaps in the...friends sense. And, he has to admit, that is something she has always been clear about. The game has always been his.

His feelings about Jilly continue to be confused and murky, like looking into a pool where everything on the bottom has been stirred up. But somehow his heart is hurting more than his injuries, now.]

Oh.

[herotypical]

[ buffy, blind to the misinterpreting, feels better for having said her piece. she meant only that they should slow things down and think about this and...and, well she craves confirmation about whether she is playing rebound girl to him. never mind that logic should tell her otherwise; buffy summers defies logic on a daily schedule.

she doesn't say anything else. just squeezes her hand and leans sideways -- setting her head on his shoulder. ]

[all7seas]

[Jack clears his throat. Bruises are beginning to darken on his skin where the soldier had hold of him, and he is beginning to wish there WAS a glass of water near at hand.

Then she lays her head on his shoulder and his heart breaks a little more. So being friends is going to involve her use of his shoulder, and the holding of hands? He shudders, slightly. Tenses. This is going to be very difficult for a man with exactly zero female friends. This is like relearning everything he knows about how to treat a woman.]

[herotypical]

[ truthfully, this isn't so far off from how buffy would be with a close friend. xander's shoulders were always there to laugh and cry and lean upon; however, it certainly isn't her intention in this instance. instead, buffy has had the full story of archie's plans to court her sister from dawn herself. that kind of slowness impressed her. she had rushed into things with spike because he was there and familiar and they cared about each other and it had been nice, yes...but ultimately not the right fit. ]

Let me know when you think you can go on -- we'll get you back to base in one piece.

[all7seas]

Now. Now. I can go now. [Jack reaches back for a purchase on the tree, putting his full weight on the right leg. Dragging himself up to standing.]

[herotypical]

[ she makes a point to swoop in and settle herself on the side of his hurt leg, offering an arm. ] If you let me help, we'll get to safety faster.

[all7seas]

[He doesn't have much choice but to accept, so he puts on a tight, winning smile.] Aye! Erm...friends!

[herotypical]

[ she first tries to hand him her scythe -- she won't be able to carry it and support him considering her busted up arm; although she can feel it mending. ]

...What? [ it sounds like a non-sequitur, to her. ]