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

[wise_maiden]

I'm --

[ Boom. It's lost, in the sounds of the building and Sheena's words. I'm not that person. I can't be that person.

But she's already there. Her free hand presses to her forehead, the heel pressing into the area between her eyes as her fingers crumple themselves into her bangs and squeeze into a fist. While Sheena hangs onto her, keeping her there, keeping her still, even as her trembles continue to dominate. ] This isn't --

[ Isn't the place, isn't the time, and wasn't that all ironic. ]

If I told you what happened, you'd ... I don't know. This isn't -- I can't be that person. I'm ...

[corrinesbell]

Someday I wanna hear what happened, but I'm not asking you to tell me now. [Sheena has a free hand, and it finds a place on Raine's shoulder. She's really shaken up, by whatever this is, and Sheena has the distinct impression she's getting a look at what happens when she herself panics this way.]

When I'm that person, you stick around and help me out and you don't let me take no for an answer. So I'm not gonna let you do it either.

[Maybe she's not the best at being comforting, but she will never abandon a friend in trouble. One knee on the ground now, she looses Raine's hand only in order to get the other one out of her hair.]

It's gonna be okay, Raine.

[wise_maiden]

[ People needed to be told about it. Certainly after they were back and had more time. The sheer... repercussions that could be faced by the population was another one of those strands, hanging there. And yet here Raine was, being faced by the same person who had once looked at her and told her that their efforts weren't good enough, saying words that weren't too dissimilar to ones that Raine had once said herself, even though it felt all too far away now. Gone, melted, drowned -

... What would Sheena have thought, or have felt, if it were her here, in this position? And yet here she was, telling her that it was okay, when it never would really be okay. Leaving Raine with the question, then, of whether the word "okay" still had any meaning. Even if in the village, things had a habit of drifting towards a "status quo" after enough time.

Wouldn't that be a laugh -- and she does laugh, suddenly, at the thought, at even trying to consider it, though it's pained and caught in her chest, which suddenly feels tight and awful because it was all wrong like a hideous joke. And the laugh turns into a choke, shortly after. ]

[corrinesbell]

[They don't have time to figure out whether it'll be completely right and okay again. It's something Sheena would've liked to hear, when she was losing control any of those times, so she says it because, in that position, she would've wanted to know.

The laugh is much scarier than Raine's panicked face. I've gotta ground her in something.]

I think we'll be safe here for a little while, and I've got some supplies with me. Do you need anything?

[wise_maiden]

[She doesn't answer immediately, caught up in that strange - hysteria? The laughter that breaks off into a cough, then back to laughter, except it doesn't sound like laughter anymore. Raine shakes her head and closes her eyes tightly, trying to catch her breath again in all of that.

Sheena was still there, holding her hands. What was she asking? Need? - Need? Because safe was an illusion. Safe was -- ]

... a d-drink. Something ... [ The words are all over the place, mumbled before the laugh tries to take over again. ]

[corrinesbell]

I've got some water. [But she's not going to get to drink it if she's halfway to choking all the time. Sheena drops Raine's hands to take her shoulders, hard.]

Listen to me. You've gotta keep it together for just a little while longer, okay? You can do it.

[wise_maiden]

[ The freed hands bunch back into the material of her robes, tight. ] ... water... yes. I have ... it's in my ...

[ It would be nice if she could finish any coherent line of thought, as she attempts to fight off another fit with her words. ] W-we don't have time for this! Just ... Just l-let me...

[ Let me what? Keep what together? That laughter rises again, taking away the words. ]

[corrinesbell]

Sure we have time. What else are you gonna do?

[The laughter is the scariest thing about Raine at the moment, and Sheena hurries to unstop her canteen and put it between her hands.]

Drink this, okay? Right now. [She'll be absolutely as firm as she has to be.]

[wise_maiden]

... Ah...

[That's definitely firmness in the tone, as she struggles to stifle that laughter enough to focus on the canteen now in her grip. Water. She has to sip that. Would it help with clarity? She didn't know.

After another nudge after contemplating the contents of the canteen for too long she finally begins to take those slow careful sips. It was water. She was drinking. She had to... calm down. ]

... that's ... a little better.

[corrinesbell]

[It's...probably warmish water, Sheena hasn't had a chance to Ice Seal it to keep it cold.]

Yeah, I thought so. When we get back to that other building you're taking a long break. [If it means Sheena guards the door (and someone else guards the window), then so be it.]

[wise_maiden]

[ Nothing could be worse than the taste of death, not even bland... room temperature water. Raine's thirst has her drinking more of it than she intended, which at least keeps her occupied enough not to argue in the prospect of resting more before they're out of here. Until she shudders violently, doubling over with a sharp gasp as the canteen slips from her fingers. ]

[corrinesbell]

Whoa-!

[Ignoring the canteen, Sheena grabs Raine's shoulders, trying to hold her up.]

You are hurt, aren't you? [What her voice loses in volume, it gains in intensity and care.] Can you heal it?

[wise_maiden]

[ She needs a moment, to think. Think? It shouldn't be so hard. She needed to lock down on that hilarity in her head before whatever that was happened again. ]

... I don't know what .... before we got here I was fine. I - healed myself, so what ...

[ But there's something off. Something almost... numb, in one of her legs, above her boots and creeping toward her knee. Mages didn't really have too much in the protective gear department. ] ... m-my leg...?

[corrinesbell]

[This particular mage lives across the way from an armory and can learn to address it in the future.

Sheena's not really thinking about that, backing off enough to look at Raine's legs, since she pointed them out.]

What? It doesn't look like you're bleeding. [They ran far and hard, what if it's broken or something? Sheena's panic kicks in, low-level but intense. She won't know what to do about it if Raine passes out.]

[wise_maiden]

[Even with Sheena holding her up, she keeps her arms huddled to her chest and her head lowered, struggling against the nauseous feeling. Breathe. Think. Think. The hilarity pushed forward, but she pushed it back, keeping her eyes squeezed tight as she desperately searched for the words for Sheena. ]

It's... it's numb? And ... spreading.

[corrinesbell]

[Some pieces click together for Sheena; seconds later she plucks a small dart from Raine's leg, cursing, drops it on the floor and digs through her bag of supplies. That means letting go of Raine completely but it has to be worth it in the end.]

Guess you can't use Recover while you're sitting there? It'd save me a lot of worrying. [Not too sure Raine can hear and understand her at this point, Sheena keeps digging.]

[wise_maiden]

[Using a spell required concentration, and she needed what precious little she had of that to keep herself together. She blinks, blearily in confusion as Sheena seizes the dart. How had she not ...?

No. No time for that now. She bows her head lower, trying to brace herself against the sensation of nausea.]

[corrinesbell]

[Buried deep in her disorganized bag of stuff, Sheena finds a half-empty panacea bottle; the only good thing about it is the previous use makes it easier to open.]

You're drinking this too. [Whatever was in that thing, it's not doing Raine any favors. She'll keep her hold on the bottle while Raine drinks it, just in case, with her other arm back around her shoulders.]

[wise_maiden]

[Another drink? She doesn't fight Sheena when she comes over, though she resists the urge to throw her off, forcing herself to recall that yes, it's only Sheena and she's there to help, not make whatever this was worse, or anything like that. And she needs the support there so she can get through swallowing without dropping the bottle. She can't quite place what it is she's drinking now, either; there's a bland sort of familiarity to it, not quite water but something... thicker. It rolls down smoothly, though it takes a few minutes, once all is downed, for it to sink in and start quelling at least the nausea, and eventually, the numbness...

She's still shaky and light-headed, and suddenly uncomfortably aware of how uncomfortable she was, after days of getting used to the sweat and the grime and the dust and all of it.]

That was...

[corrinesbell]

[Once the bottle's empty, Sheena drops from a crouch to sitting, letting Raine rest her head against her shoulder until the antidote part kicks in. The sounds of battle feel muted and far away at last.

Raine talking surprises Sheena enough to make her jump.]

Whoa. Feeling better? [One of her arms is still around Raine's shoulders, half keeping her still and half there in case they need to bolt and she can't stand on her own.] I dunno how well that's gonna work, and I don't have another one.

[wise_maiden]

[Her voice still is frail and cracked, even as she swallows for moisture.]

... it's helping. I... I didn't realize...

[Didn't realize I was poisoned, that I let this all get to me and I allowed myself to be compromised, and who knows if it's going to let itself be beaten that easily-

She squeezes her eyes tight, counting down and breathing.] I... should have ...

[corrinesbell]

Hey, hey. Slow down. [She's not good at this, not really, even when nobody else is watching. With Sheena's luck she'll just make Raine's freakout more intense, if and when it happens again.] Worry about letting it all get out of your system before you say stuff like 'should have'.

[Sheena will keep an ear open for approaches, and eyes on the door, and her hand almost protectively holding onto Raine's shoulder.]

Better yet, let me do all the worrying and you just rest for a minute.

[wise_maiden]

If they come... you... you'll have to get away.

[And leave her there, is her implication, though she doesn't get the rest of the sentence out. If she's to rest then that involves trying not to say too much. ]

[corrinesbell]

What'd I just say about worrying? We'll get out of here when we have to, no problem. Hopefully you'll be able to stand up by then.

[wise_maiden]

[Those words aren't exactly inspiring to the not worrying department. "Hopefully"? And if she couldn't??

No... she had to believe in Sheena. It was bad enough that she had to look after Raine in these conditions. Her worries weren't going to make it any easier for her friend to get through this. Even if it still felt ... hopeless.]

I'll -- try. I trust you. Just stay alert... we've been here for too long already, haven't we...?

[ Those sounds in the background weren't anything comforting, even if this location still was reasonably safe. She closes her eyes, trying to focus on her breathing. ]