Zompania Draft - Draftees and Reinforcements, mid-day 4-early 7

[lucetimods]

Who: Draftees and Volunteers
What: The draftees and the reinforcements must hold against the Third Party army until rescue arrives
When: From May 23 through the wee hours of May 26 (days 4-7)
Where: Zompania
Summary: Draftee information and Volunteer information
Rating: Varies on thread, please mark explicit material.

This post is for the rest of the draft, beginning when the volunteer reinforcements arrive. Look up in the sky--your friends are parajumping in! Be sure to use the above info post for any plotting needs you might have. Enjoy!

Be sure to tag this post appropriately: [canon] character name

Comments

[musubi]

[Frowning deeply at this, Isamu moves closer and reaches for Richard's hand to place the water bottle in it himself.]

You shouldn't be out here. Not with your eyes this bad.

[ledbythewind]

Do you think I'm here because I want to be?

[He outright snaps it, his control slipping for a brief moment. He's already on edge, and having his weakness pointed out to him when he's all too well aware of it himself stings more than he'd like to admit.

Isamu's hand touching his causes him to jump until he realizes what his friend is doing and he closes his hand around the bottle, though he makes no move to open it yet.]

... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you. I shouldn't take my anger out on you when none of this is your fault.

[musubi]

I'm not upset with you. [His tone is only slightly more harsh, but not much. He knows Richard has to be terribly stressed.] I'm upset with them for sending you.

[He pulls out a granola bar next. It's not much, but it's a little bit of something to keep his friend going.]

[ledbythewind]

[Now Richard will open the water and take a gulp, then pour a little out into his palm and attempt to wipe the worst of the grime and blood off of his face. It ends up smearing it more than actually cleaning it off, but at least he tried]

They never allow us a choice in these matters. We might as well be chess pieces to them for all the autonomy they give us.

[musubi]

Hold still.

[Isamu pulls out a rag to help him. It's not the cleanest, but it's better than nothing.]

Yeah, that's why it's called a draft. Not that we got to choose to live here and serve this place either.

[ledbythewind]

[He does as Isamu says, though he can't help but grimace a bit. Ugh, this is so embarrassing...

Still, he remains quiet as Isamu wipes off his face, not wanting to make the process more difficult by talking. It isn't until he's sure that the other man is done that he speaks again.]

How bad is it?

[Not his face-- the entire situation.]

[musubi]

[He thinks of making a joke, some comment about Richard's face in reaction, but decides against it. Things are too serious. He glances back the way they'd come from.]

... It's pretty bad. I mean, I've never been in a real war before, but I figure it'd be something like this.

[Hopefully it wouldn't go on as long as real wars were known to.]

[ledbythewind]

I don't know if it's better or worse that I can't see just how bad things are.

[He closes his eyes and inhales slowly in an attempt to steady himself. He'd known things had to be ugly; he'd been in enough skirmishes to be able to guess at just how much carnage must be surrounding them right now. As long as he couldn't see it, he could tell himself that maybe his imagination was just running away with him, even though his heart knew otherwise.]

Just being able to smell the blood is more than I'd wanted to experience. No matter where I go, the smell won't go away...

[musubi]

Better, I think.

[He's still looking Richard over for any injuries the other might not have told him about.]

We still need to figure out what to do about your eyes. This is all wrong.

[ledbythewind]

[He won't find any, at least-- Richard was in fact telling the truth about that much.]

Not even Nala's healing has been able to do anything about it. Whatever it is, it isn't something we can fix right now, and we have more important things to worry about besides.

[musubi]

Your eyesight's pretty important in my book, but sure.

[He leans back, listening to the going-ons nearby.]

We lost your pursuers for now, at least. I can stick near you. Be your eyes.

[ledbythewind]

I can fight as long as someone tells me where to cast my spells.

[Blind though he may be, he isn't completely helpless, and he doesn't want people thinking that he is.]

I just wish I could do more. I feel like such a burden to everyone like this.

[musubi]

You're doing more than enough.

[Especially since Isamu doesn't want him to be here in the first place.]

I'll help you out, though. I'm at least capable of pointing out targets.

[ledbythewind]

Enemies or not, I... I don't want to kill any more people. There is already so much blood on my hands...

[And there it is-- the real source of what's been bothering him. Richard is and has always been a pacifist at heart. Conflict of any sort pains him, but he can deal with it as long as it's things like the Nova Monsters in his world.

Killing people, though...]

[musubi]

... Yeah. I understand.

[He reaches over to lay a hand on his friend's shoulder.]

We can... find an excuse for you to stop for now. If you want.

[ledbythewind]

[There's a momentary flinch at the contact before his entire body relaxes almost on command.]

I'm sorry...

[It's an apology to all of the people he's killed as much as it is to Isamu.]

[musubi]

It's not your fault. Stop that.

[He wouldn't have gotten far fighting against the Malnosso's draft. They all know that.]

[ledbythewind]

I know. I know, but that doesn't make it feel any less my fault.

[To his credit, he's at least trying to keep himself together despite the stress and exhaustion. Not that he has the time to fall apart, not when everything is still a mess around them.]

[musubi]

What are you gonna do? Let them kill you instead?

Because they would, and I guarantee you they wouldn't feel as guilty for doing it.

[ledbythewind]

No.

[He takes a deep breath, and for a moment there is in his eyes a glimmer of that determined king who had set out into battle several days ago.]

There was a time when I would have said yes, but I realize now that the only thing that would accomplish would be hurting the people who care about me.

[And then that moment passes, and he looks sad and defeated once more.]

Even though I can't help but feel like I deserve it...

[musubi]

I'll slap you. [This is said in all seriousness.] Don't make me slap you.

You don't deserve it any more than anyone else here, so I won't let you consider it.

[As if he can actually stop his friend from thinking about it.]

[ledbythewind]

It might help if you did that.

[He both is joking and isn't. He's self-aware enough to know when his mind is spiraling down into dark places, and at this point, he's not so sure that a good hard slap might not be what he needs to knock some sense back into him and keep him from wallowing.]

I hardly feel like myself right now after the last few days.

[musubi]

[He doesn't slap him, but he gives the blond's shoulder a shake.]

I know, man. But you gotta hold onto you, you know?

I'll try to stay close by.

[ledbythewind]

[The shake is much appreciated, as he tries to show with a little half-smile.]

What about you? How have you been holding up through all of this?

[No doubt it must be worse for Isamu with his ability to see the carnage surrounding them.]

[musubi]

Yeah... I mean I haven't been here as long as some people. You guys've got it worse so it feels lame to complain.

[He might do that later anyway.]