[day 198/closed] The moment I was born into the world, I screamed and wailed, "I want to disappear!"

[magisperica]

Who: Skyla, Aoi
Open: Closed
When: Day 198
Where: The Bastion, just coming in off the Skyway
What: Skyla continues her trend of being a self-destructive idiot and Aoi a befriending is overdue.
Format: I started with prose, but I'll match!
Warnings: Blood, language, possible references to suicidal thoughts (Skyla)


The forge was probably the place in the Bastion that Skyla hated the least, if only because there were weapons there and weapons were kind of useful. And they're not only useful but they're free. The only downside is that Skyla doesn't know how to use any of them, but whatever, that's fine. She ends up taking a machete of all things -- it's sharp and heavy. It'll do fine.

It shouldn't need re-iterating at this point that Skyla still holds the title of president of bad ideas.

Even with a weapon, she's useless on the Skyway and she's not that surprised. She's untrained, out of practice and unmotivated. She's desperate to be useful, to do something but none of it is working for her. So it's no surprise that when she finally returns from the Skyway, she's not in good shape.

Her nose is fucking bleeding, again, and she's covered in bites and bruises. At least this time she's managed to drag herself off the Skyway, but that's not much considering she doesn't have anything to show for it.

Angry with herself and everything, as is the norm for her these days, she sucks on her teeth and spits, trying to clear her mouth of the aftertaste of copper. It doesn't help in the slightest.

Comments

[amphibian]

Aoi doesn't have so much a routine as a to-do checklist: daily Skyway trips are on it, but never at a set time; eventually the urge to run, jump, strike, move gets too strong to ignore, and she packs up and heads out to whichever piece of the old city seems most alluring from overhead.

Today she approaches the Skyway bridge with the bow she's been slowly getting better at using slung over her shoulder, the quiver on her back, and her bottomless bag clipped to her belt. She's at the starting end of the bridge when someone else touches down—and all instincts in her turn to panic.

The girl is a stranger, but she's definitely hurt. There's a lot of blood on her, and—has she been bitten? How bad was it out there that she's been bitten?

"Hey!" she calls, and sprints forward. The girl seems as liable to collapse as anything, so Aoi moves to put a hand at her back and support her, but the stupid bow's in the way—as fluidly as she can, she pulls it around and over her and tosses it on the ground.

Arm around the other girl's back, Aoi says, "You're bleeding! Like, real bad! Can you walk okay?"

[magisperica]

For a split second, Skyla feels like her knees are going to unhinge and she's going to collapse like some ridiculous fainting delicate flower -- but she forces herself to steady and jerks away from the girl with a low noise of irritation that starts at the back of her throat.

"Magnificent skills of observation there, cookie." she mutters and her voice is thick with disdain -- directed more towards herself than anything. "But I'm fine. Will be fine. And I can walk--"

And of course just as she says that, that's when one of her legs decides that now is as good a time as any to fuck her over and she staggers for a moment, very nearly toppling over before managing to to steady herself.

Right. Well then.

"Y--yeah, see? Fine. Just like I said. I just... I'm fine."

[amphibian]

Aoi's pursed expression of doubt gives way to a short gasp as the other girl buckles, and she throws her arms out again to steady her.

"You're one of those real stubborn types, aren't you?" she asks gently. Her healing ability bought from the monument has only been used for her own mostly-minor scrapes so far, but she should be able to help this girl, right?

Out in the open right by the Skyway bridge is a poor place to try it, though; it's too busy, and she doesn't want anyone showing up and barging through. Aoi says, "The hospital's just over that way... Hey, I'll carry you over!"

There's no hesitation as Aoi kneels and, as carefully as she can, scoops the other girl up into her arms like a bride.

breakin in the new icons ayyyy

[magisperica]

Skyla isn't even half-done formulating her response (which may have included the words why don't you mind your own fucking business) before she finds herself scooped up in this strange girl's arms and to Aoi's credit, she's caught off guard enough that her initial response is surprise instead of anger.

"H--hey!" she splutters, both indignant and embarrassed. What the hell is this girl playing at? Does she fancy herself as some kind of freakishly strong mother hen or something? "What the hell is your problem?!"

Ah, there's the anger. She was starting to wonder why it was taking its sweet time to show up.

"Fucking-- put me down, you nutjob!" she spits, doing a great deal of wriggling and struggling. "I said I can walk by myself!"

[amphibian]

"Hey! Hey!" Aoi's mid-stride towards the hospital when Skyla finally gets it in her to start writhing. She's strong, but still rather small, and anyone would struggle to keep coordinated. "Cut it out! You're not—"

She cuts off with a yelp as she starts to teeter forward. Clutching at Skyla in a desperate attempt not to drop her, she leans backwards—and falls on her back with Skyla on top of her.

It's better than landing on top of the injured girl, but Aoi still needs a moment to catch her bearings. The first thing out of her mouth, of course, is, "Ah, are you all right?!"

[magisperica]

The impact with the ground, though softened, still rings through Skyla like a discordant note, bouncing off every single ache and pain in her body and she hears herself let out a sharp yelp of pain that she's immediately angry she didn't silence. Fuck fuck fuck she does not need to give this stupid girl any more excuses to fuss over her.

She hastens to her feet, brushing herself down, cringing and clenching her teeth when something crunches in her wrist and sends agony burning up through her arm. She lets out a thin, angry hiss, and doubles up, shaking and furious.

"What did I fuckin' tell you?!" she spits, furious. "I said I'd be fine by myself!"

[amphibian]

Of course, Aoi hears the crack, too, and she winces and gasps before Skyla even reacts herself; she's been on more than enough sports teams to recognize such a common injury. Despite being yelled at, her worry isn't any weaker.

The instinct to dish back what she's being dealt bubbles up in her and mixes with the concern she couldn't get rid of if she had to and, stepping forward, Aoi shouts, "Listen to me!"

Anger tinges her tone, but her expression is still writ with fretting. "Who do you think you're helping if you stay hurt like this?! You aren't impressing anyone! You aren't doing anyone any good! So please, let me help you!"

[magisperica]

"WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I'M TRYING TO IMPRESS ANYONE?!"

She yells before she even thinks about the words coming out of her mouth and takes another step back, clutching her burning wrist, teeth gritted in a grimace of pain. She's too angry, in too much pain to try and filter her words and they come out without her thinking.

"But what the fuck else am I supposed to do in this shithole?! I can't do anything, I don't have any magic, I can't dick around with whatever invention's supposed to make our lives easier this week -- so yeah, getting the shit kicked out of me for Shards? Right now, that's all I'm good for. So take your lecture and shove it til you choke."

She's panting by the time she's done and there are tears of pain and frustration in her eyes that she can't bring herself to wipe away.

"I'll go with you. But I'll walk. I'm not letting you carry me like some goddamn Disney princess."

[amphibian]

Certainly, Aoi knows how to yell back and get in an argument, and her immediate instinct is to bristle, shoulders hunched and fists balled—but the girl's words mean more than her tone, and Aoi falters.

She thinks of Touko, whom she couldn't help worry about despite her nastiness. It's similar, right, even if this girl gives anger instead of cruelty? The point is, Aoi at least is being given an opportunity to extend help, and she takes it: carefully, she puts an arm at the girl's back, just to keep her steady, and doesn't say a word as she walks her to the hospital.

When they pass through the front doors, she finally speaks: "Take a seat, okay?" She pulls a chair forward; they don't need a proper room if Aoi's going to use her ability, and they're probably in short enough supply with half the hospital taken up by the quarantine. "What hurts most?"

[magisperica]

Skyla stays stiffly and angrily silent the entire way to the hospital, her expression drawn tight into a scowl. She's holding her injured wrist in her other hand, trying to keep it straight like that might kill the pain a little. She's been hurt before, she should be able to handle this, and handle it by herself -- but for some reason she can't bring herself to tell this girl to just leave her alone.

With a glower that wouldn't have looked out of place on a sulky toddler, she throws herself into the chair pulled up for her and sits there, still glaring, still huffy.

"My hand. And my arm." she mutters, holding up her injured wrist. "Feels like it snapped or something."

[amphibian]

With a nod, Aoi crouches in front of the other girl and cups her hands around her wrist, carefully hovering them as closely to her as she can without risking bumping her. There's her focal point—it's worse than the sprains of her own she's healed before, but still, same principle, right? The magic, so far as she's seen, seems to know what to do on its own.

Still, she takes an extra moment to focus. A faint white light glows at Aoi's fingertips and leaps to Skyla's wrist, dancing up her arm, over her chest, up and down each of her wounds, sealing her cuts and mending her bones as it passes and pauses. Aoi waits until the light fades completely until she stands up again, grinning.

"How's that feel? Better?" she asks, and holds a hand out to help Skyla up.