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

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

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

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[ 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. ]

Edited 2014-07-11 21:06 (UTC)

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?

[ 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...?

[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.]

[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.

[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.]

[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.]

[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.]

[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...

[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.

[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 ...

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.

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. ]

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.

[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. ]

Edited 2014-07-27 14:49 (UTC)

Your time perception's just off. [Truth be told, Sheena doesn't know how long they've been here. It isn't her top priority, isn't even in her top three. It's ten times worse to try traveling with Raine not up to speed, so hiding out is gonna have to work for them for as long as possible.

Sheena listens to Raine just breathing for a while, staring at the ruined ceiling.]

...That breathing thing doesn't really work for you, does it? Every time something like this happens and you try to calm yourself down that way, it doesn't do much.

[ Hits the nail on the head, this time. Because there were only two people left in the enclosure that she couldn't pretend around. Not that she could, in a situation like this, being thrown mentally off balance and her stamina whittled down. Without the steady boosts of energy from her magic her body felt like it could all go to pieces. Unravel. She shudders at the thought, her free hand pressing to her face once more.

No... it wasn't helping at all. ]

... it's not as if there are other options right now. I -- we -- we can't afford for me to be hit by all of this right now.

The funny thing about that is that you don't get to be in charge of what we can afford today.

[Sheena is worried, really worried, about the poison and any other injuries she might not have noticed and the blank-out reaction to the sounds of battle, and she never has been good at all that tender concern stuff with most people. It's easier, better, to be all business and as confident as she can for as long as she can; the lessons of Luceti are harsh but serviceable.]

Actually, from here it looks like the only option for us both is to sit here for a while, so yeah, I think we can afford it. Unless you wanna talk about it, and I'm not dumb enough to bet real money on something like that.

[At least Raine isn't getting any worse.]

So, go ahead. I'm still here.

[And what she meant to say was 'I'll be here', but the kinder, intensely worried version came out instead. Sheena doesn't try to correct herself.]

Sheena...

[ She has to trust her. The hurdle, of course, was the world itself. Everything that had happened just the previous month, with the possession didn't help, and now ...

Sitting and breathing quietly wasn't going to make those feelings go away. Neither would talking, but it might make it easier. Distracting, if anything. Even if it still wasn't easy to, in these conditions. The seconds pass, a minute, maybe more before she shakes herself out of it to speak after lightly coughing. ]

... yes, you are. I'm glad you're here now. I'm glad, that, you weren't here... before.

[ It's a very clear thought, even if she feels that she could fall apart again at any moment, at any unexpected sound. ]

Not the first time I've heard somebody be glad I wasn't there. What happened before?

[That was a sorry attempt at a joke and she's glad she had a question to cover it with quickly.]

[ Her hands tightly clench again in her robes as she gasps, then tries to focus on her breathing again, before shaking her head slowly. Trying to calm herself. ]

... what... were you told before you were sent here?

I'm not answering that. I wanna hear stuff from you, whatever you can tell me.

[Giving away what she does and doesn't know already will change what's important to Raine. Since they're waiting out the antidote and probably waiting for her to get some mana back, too, she might as well go from the start.]

[What's important to Raine at this moment is the attempt and the desire to shield the person next to her from those awful truths as long as she could in this situation. Protective instincts. It perhaps, is not fair, since Sheena is an adult, though she just doesn't like the idea of exposing Sheena to the harsh reality of the draft while they're still on it. Even though she could very well learn the truth from another.

Although with how she feels, Raine doesn't know how long she can go without something slipping out unintentionally. There's nothing logical to cling to, her thoughts and emotions are too scattered to patch that front of hers back together.]

... we've been here for nearly a week.

[It feels longer than that, all the same, as another shudder runs through her. The protective instincts were screaming out, crying out, clawing, don't say a word, don't, don't- and she takes a breath, though it doesn't keep the tremble out of her voice.]

They... gave us more time.

[A week? It's only been a couple days. Sheena comes close to saying it, so close, and then she remembers that weird hiccup, the feeling of spinning very fast and very short. Something did happen.]

Okay. They gave you more time, even though that sounds weird. Why?

[She squirms at the last word, the why, as she feels it echo around her skull. Why, indeed.]

... it was our only chance to change things.

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