EVENT #010

[larkers]

WHO: Everyone
WHERE: New Amsterdam and any other megacity the Displaced happen to be in/travel to!
WHEN: May 28, 2512
WHAT: Golden-eyed monsters stream into New Amsterdam and other megacities the world over.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Violence, death, body horror, mind control, and transformation.

> EVENT #010

It starts in the middle of the night, when most everyone should be fast asleep in their beds, whether they're still taking up a cot in the safehouse or staying in their own apartment. One moment it's quiet, with most of the rest of the city having also turned in for the night, and then in the next? It isn't.

There will be mass confusion as the scope of the situation becomes clear. Monsters stream out onto the streets, thundering up the stairs of a train station, skittering out of construction sites, or climbing up the walls. Some of them fly. Others slither. Others run, loping forward with only one goal in mind: to find something to sink their teeth or claws into and to leave destruction in their wake at every turn. They are a horde, a swarm, a teeming mass of creatures that have no intention of stopping. All of them have eyes or bodies that shine gold and wherever they go, they seem to leave decay. Concrete turns black and porous where they step; plants wither and die.

There is no real preparing for an attack of this scale. New Amsterdam will awaken as the sound of these monsters crashing down on cars or bursting through storefronts or into homes forces people to run screaming from their dwellings or places of work. There is no discrimination in who these beasts might target, and no discernable pattern in where they go.

All that one can really tell is that they seem to want to spread out. They're constantly on the move, leaping from victim to victim, and they're relentless. No one knows why they've come, where they're come from, or what will make them stop. At least for now, the only option seems to be to cut down their numbers. It's time to fight the horde.

The first night will be utter chaos as everyone reacts to the monsters' sudden appearance, but by the morning hours news reports will start streaming in. This is not only happening in New Amsterdam, or wherever else a Displaced might be staying, but seemingly everywhere. Some cities seem harder hit than others, but practically every megacity is overrun with the creatures.

With no way of knowing who might have unleashed the monsters, all of these cities have essentially been turned into battlefields. Not many civilians are prepared to fight for their lives, and it will take a mobilization effort from the police, Morningstar, the Displaced, and anyone else who's willing to take up arms in order to survive.

◉ As a note, this attack starts simultaneously in multiple cities. While it's the middle of the night in New Amsterdam, the monsters will appear at other times of the day in other parts of the world depending on the timezone!

> BESTIARY

So as to not make this post overly long, we have compiled all of the monster descriptions into a Google doc here for everyone's reference!

> (NOT SO) SAFEHOUSE

For those Displaced who stay at (or spend any time in) the safehouse under the hoverbike shop or the Red Wings bar, they may become aware of the presence of the monsters sooner than others, due to the fact that at least a few of the giant mole monsters will end up burrowing up through the concrete basements to wreak havoc. The screeching noise of steel claws tearing through the floor will be sure to wake up even the deepest of sleepers.

This won't just be an occurrence on the first night of the attack, either. Unless something is done to deter them, tunnels leading straight into the safehouses will continue to be created, allowing even other types of monsters to find their way through (the smaller ones, that is). Where exactly they're coming from won't be entirely clear, though it's a safe bet to assume that they must have originated in the cave system somehow.

Suffice to say that El won't be happy about the safehouse being compromised in this way, though this isn't a possibility that ze or anyone else could have really prepared for. While ze can't do much to physically help with containing the invasion of the monsters, ze will offer whatever resources ze can—though Morningstar is going to be busy in plenty of other locations, as well, and they only have so many resources.

The Red Wings, being a Displaced-operated location, will also be in need of assistance, especially if it's meant to be a point of safety and a hub for handing out supplies. Speaking of—

> RED WINGS HQ

As things begin to deteriorate, Clarke Griffin and Stephen Strange sink their resources into Red Wings, adapting it into a base of operations for the Displaced. Clarke also called in PRESERVE to set up a checkpoint here, too, and anyone—from the Displaced to civilians—will be able to seek aid here. (Of course, Red Wings will be just one of a few locations throughout the city where they attempt to set up shop, but Red Wings may prove to be more fortified thanks to the talents of the Displaced.) Civilians will not have access to Red Wings' safehouse, however. That's still something that Clarke and Stephen want to keep under wraps, for now.

In the bar proper, there will be medical aid, supplies, and even weapons for those who can use them. During rare moments of downtime, the gang at Red Wings will also work on reconnaissance missions to find safe spots throughout the city to provide much needed protection and safety for the people of New Amsterdam. This task may be much easier said than done. Gathering intel on the monsters is a high priority, too, and for anyone who tries to capture a monster to learn more about them, the basement might be a good place to hold them. If the Displaced are going to be able to fight back, they need to know exactly what it is they're fighting.

However, the truth of the matter is that this attack happened quickly, and in the middle of the night to boot. As much as the group at Red Wings tries, resources are stretched thin, and they didn't have time to prepare as much as they wanted to. Supplies need to be rationed, bandages and stitches used for wounds that really need them, and if you're not a great shot, it might be best to let someone with more training take that gun you're eyeing.

More than anything, despite the difficulty, this is a way for the Displaced to help out as many people as they can, and a way for them to cement their humanitarian efforts and affect the population's opinion of them. The citizens of New Amsterdam are sick of this cycle of destruction, and are just waiting to be empowered. Now's the time to teach them to fight back and help them protect their city.

Red Wings' safehouse underground will be damaged by burrowing monsters as well, and will need protection. The bar itself will escape relatively unscathed.

> INVESTIGATING / GATES

Maybe the best way of dealing with the monsters isn't violence at all. Maybe there's a more strategic way to deal with this.

The monsters will be moving from city to city via the gates, just like the Displaced do. There might be a way to keep them from spreading, or at least slow them down, by shutting down the gate network. Of course, with the mag trains shutting down, getting back home could be an issue. One option is the delivery network of hover trucks. They'll still be running to get supplies from city to city, but their batteries don't run indefinitely, so these will be relatively local trips only. No getting from New Tokyo back to New Amsterdam with this method, unfortunately, and convincing a driver to let you hitch a ride might be a challenge, but it's doable.

Of course, there's also the question of where these things are coming from. Intrepid characters might be able to track them back to their nests, which are tucked away in wildly different places depending on the city. In New Amsterdam, they might be in the caves below the city. In other places, they might not be in the city proper at all, but just outside of it. It's important to keep in mind that the nests are far away from any of the action taking place elsewhere. Tracking these origin points may provide some answers, but the cost would be less involvement in the crisis taking place.

And then there's the matter of the monsters themselves. How can you fight an enemy you know nothing about? For those determined or crafty enough, capturing them might be an option, although this will take some creativity. Once these creatures are captured, they'll need to be kept contained, and kept alive. Just because they're monstrous doesn't mean they don't have to eat, after all, and some will need special environmental considerations as well, such as the mind control slugs.

What happens after that is up to the Displaced. Is dissecting them the best bet? Their internal anatomy won't be wildly different from most "normal" animals, with the exception of some creatures who have strange appendages or the like. Still, this might give the Displaced a better idea of how they operate and what their weak spots are. Sending samples to a lab is another possibility, if the Displaced can figure out how to safely store those samples. After all, the world is in a crisis, and no one is running tests at the moment.

All monsters, though, seem drawn to the blue light. When a Displaced uses a power or activates the empathy bond, the creatures will lock onto it, utterly transfixed, and if this is done enough times, that gold glow of theirs will intensify. What does it all mean? Maybe figuring that out will be a pathway to stopping their attacks.

> PITCHING IN

While all of this is going on, it certainly won't be just the Displaced who are heading out into the streets to try and stem the flow of the monster attack. These creatures are certainly not holding back, and no matter how much work might be put in, their numbers are overwhelming. Plenty of people will end up dead as a result, ripped to shreds or dragged off somewhere to be eaten. Yet, for some reason, these monsters are not as vicious toward the Displaced. They'll engage them in a fight and injure them, but they never go so far as dealing a fatal blow.

Seeing how that's not the case for the rest of the populace throughout the world, however, some groups and organizations will be rising up to do their part.

Police departments will be mobilizing in every megacity to put the monsters down, and while they are armed, it's not on the same level as the UNA. They also don't have any sort of training that's prepared them to fight monsters, but they'll still be putting their lives on the line to put a dent in the monsters' onslaught. When it comes to enforcing regular law and order, they certainly won't have the bandwidth for anything like that. Then again, most people won't be in any position to take advantage and commit crimes either, given the chaos that will be a constant everywhere.

Morningstar will also be jumping into action around the world. The New Amsterdam branch will be most likely to work alongside the Displaced and share some of their resources, particularly with those who are signed up as official agents or those who've supported them in the past. In cities like New Prague and New Beijing where the Displaced have made some contact with Morningstar before, they'll also be open to working with the Displaced. However, their resources are by no means robust. Morningstar is an organized rebel group, but they're hardly an official army in any sense of the word. They might be able to hand out a weapon here or there and they have a safehouse set up in almost every city, but beyond that, they'll mainly be getting boots on the ground to help with the fighting.

UNA soldiers who have been left without any sort of purpose or guidance will now have an opportunity to put some of that training to use. Their involvement will be much more scattered, though in some cases small groups of these soldiers who used to work in units together will reconnect in their effort to fight off the horde. However, having been cut off from the UNA in an official capacity, they won't have much in the way of gear or weapons. They're still formidable fighters, though, and now might be the perfect time to reach out and make a connection with some of them.

Mercenaries belonging to various different outfits, depending on what city they're based in, will also be joining the cause. Whether they're acting out of a basic desire to survive the attacks or if they're actually being paid by someone to go out there and risk their lives will be less clear, but they're some of the best-equipped fighters (other than the police). They also won't really find much reason to protest any of the Displaced pitching in to fight with them. The more firepower, the better, right?

A group of regulars from the New Amsterdam fighting rings will be rising up to add their fuel to the monster-fighting fire, as encouraged by Hawke and whoever else might know them well enough to reach out. Given that some of these people have illegal mods to enhance their strength or cybernetic attachments that can do impressive amounts of damage, some of them might hold their own against the monsters. Hell, some of them might even ask the Displaced to demonstrate some of their powers if they end up fighting together, as word of their abilities has become more known among their ranks. Either way, they'll be jumping into the fray with quite a bit of gusto.

PRESERVE will be involved on the other end of these efforts and will be doing their best to tend to the wounded and the dead, along with finding shelter and safe spots for people to barricade themselves from the attacks. It's not like the grand majority of civilians could stand a chance against these monsters, after all, yet not all of them can rely on their homes to be safe enough to stay in. They'll be quick to accept an offer of Displaced help, as they'll be doing their best to try and drag the recently dead to hospitals to get them put into medi-units before they're too late. Along with what's set up at Red Wings, they'll also be cobbling together other relief spots throughout the city for taking care of wounded and offering up what supplies they have (food and water, medical supplies, etc).

And what are the corporations doing in all of this? Well, suffice to say, mainly just panicking. Unsurprisingly, they're not much help during a crisis like this, with most of the super-rich opting to hide away in whatever highly secure bunkers they might have. Too bad that these bunkers might not prove so secure in the face of these attacks. Could that prove to be an opportunity if someone went looking?

> FINAL OOC NOES

Please refer to the OOC EVENT POST for all OOC info, including suggestions for directions on how to engage with the event. Given the spread out nature of this event, as well as the amount of additional details provided here, please direct all questions to our QUESTIONS thread below. This is, naturally, a huge event in terms of scale, and so we're certain there are aspects of it we haven't covered and questions that have yet to be answered. We do encourage that all of our players use the event planning post for any additional ideas and for touching base!

Please do not begin to thread out any aftermath until AUGUST 8, 2020, which is when we will put up the aftermath log and OOC post. If this date changes, we will provide a gamewide update as needed! As a note, the August calendar will be posted alongside the aftermath!

As a reminder, there is one power level up available for this event, granted for a thread of at least 5 log/action comments containing your character utilizing their power in some way during the event itself. They will need to reach the 5 comments required by SEPTEMBER 11, 2020 to be eligible. Submission will be handled on the wrap up post.

Our Activity Check will be posted AUGUST 1 at 12 AM UTC. It will run for seven days and close on AUGUST 8 at 12 AM UTC.

Have fun and fight some monsters! Or … whatever else you might do with them. 😉😏 Your secret's safe with us. 😙

> NAVIGATION

Comments

[acheless]

Yeah.

[ Short, but he's not dismissive. Or: doesn't mean to be. Home, as if they're from the same place, and Nathan doesn't start. He knows what that shorthand is for. It's the one thought he returns to, every time, all the time. Nathan squares his shoulders and reaches an arm out -- to gesture her along, not invite to contact. ]

C'mon, Mayfly.

[ Let's get moving, he means. Best not to linger out too long.

He's looking basically anywhere but directly at her — fucking bug, fucking rubble, the goddamn fucking constant danger that could pop up — that it takes him a second to note the lack of follow through.

No quip. No response. His head turns quickly, brows pushing into that steady frown he carries. ]

Kyna?

[evocation]

[By the time he turns, her shoulders have already hunched, her head bowed. That frustration is twisting within her, congealing. Suddenly, she can't think, and her vision goes sideways, black edging in on the corners. Maybe it's lucky that there's no room for fear in her—just anger mounting into black rage like nothing she's ever felt before.

Her breathing goes ragged and unsteady, and he might have just enough time to catch her eyes glowing gold as she throws herself at him, her hands reaching for his throat.]

[acheless]

—the fuck!

[ Is about all that he gets out. Knee-jerk, loud— not loud enough, hopefully, to attract any other monstrous attention. Nathan stumbles and yeah, she's tiny, but he's not ready for shit.

She knocks him down; back hits gravel and pavement. There's a remaining shard of awareness that tells him to remember not to goddamn touch her, the constant mandate he's been obeying in his time here so far on a constant loop. It's what makes him so uncoordinated, backpack knocked off of him, rebar flung uselessly out of arm's reach. One hand pressed against her shoulder to try and keep some distance, the other curled defensively over his head, crook of bent elbow touching his ear. ]

Kyna, what the fuck!

[ That's about when his mind catches up with his limbs. Helpfully supplies that flash of gold in her eyes.

Shit. Shit. ]

[evocation]

[Kyna scrambles on top of him immediately, straddling him to pin him down, apparently completely unaware or uncaring of their size difference. As careful as she usually is about the empathy bond, she has no such compunctions now, apparently. Her hands close around his neck, the blue glow flaring up in their chests. Instead of feeling his shock, the contact burns and she cries out, yanking her hands back.

Not even her name gets through to her. She barely reacts to it. The pain from the empathy bond only intensifies her anger somehow, and her jaw locks as she bares her teeth, expression almost animalistic. She can't touch him, but that doesn't mean she can't hurt him. Kyna tries to push his hand away and shove her forearm down against his windpipe instead, the sleeve of her jacket protecting her from skin-to-skin contact.]

[acheless]

[ She's gone. Frenzied out, taken over by something else. Nathan tries to twist from underneath her, get enough leverage to elbow her in the goddamn face, pry her off him, something. But he's not goddamn interested in hurting her seriously, and he's not expecting that familiar blue glow to spark something different. No slowing down of time, no accelerated perception. Just something that fucking burns the both of them.

Remembers something Dean had said. Hug it out. Yeah, real good advice, that one.

Alright. Fine. Forearm comes down and Nathan stops trying to protect his head and grabs her elbow instead, shoving her away from himself. Not enough to dislodge her off completely, but enough to fumble and use that same hand to clumsily strike out. Quickly thrusts the heel of his hand upward to catch the fleshy spot on the underside of her chin, heel of his hand knocking jawbone, palm wide and fingers spread. His digits wrapping around almost like he's cupping her entire jaw. Fingertips press hard enough that it dimples the skin there, at the rise of her cheekbone, and it's not flattering -- it's ugly, clumsy, fastest point from A to B. Makes him feel like shit, actually, to force something like this. ]

Stop goddamn moving! [ He hisses out, even though he wants to yell it, even though that kickback of sudden pain feels like he's holding living flame in his hand. ] Kyna, stay still—

[ Cuts himself off. Less about exertion and more about a grunt of pain that replaces it. He keeps his arm tense, taut, pushing her head back as far as he can so at least she'll stop trying to strangle him to death. ]

[evocation]

[Her jaw is going to hurt like hell later, but right now, she barely registers it. She's incandescent with fury, and it doesn't matter. None of it does except hurting him, making him feel just a sliver of what she's feeling.

It's when he grabs her face that she reacts, trying to pull back like a trapped animal. She lets out a desperate noise, trying to shove him off, nails scrabbling at his wrist. At the very least, she's not choking him anymore, but now every fiber of her is focused on getting his hand off.

She lets out a desperate, strangled sound when she realizes he's far too strong. One hand gropes along the asphalt for the rebar he dropped. It's spun out of reach, too far for her to grab.

Her fingers curl around something else instead. There's a shard of glass close enough to reach, and she doesn't hesitate before she drives it into his bicep, heedless of how it slices into her own palm.]

[acheless]

[ A switch flips. He stops trying to fucking speak.

Instead, Nathan focuses in on the hurt. That burning underneath his palm, that feels like it's only getting hotter, spreading up from palm to the bones in his hand. The last thing the old injury at his wrist needs is more aches to complain about, but he sets his jaw and takes it. Because pain is temporary, it's always temporary, if this is the way it's going to be it's gonna be tough. But it's gonna be survivable. Always been the case, right? Everything's survivable if there's something on the other end that'll work.

Which is about when the pain spikes. Lances up his entire fucking arm. He registers it, that flash of real hurt that isn't just the raw burn of it a microsecond before a loud sound escapes through gritted teeth. Might've been a cry of pain, if Nathan hadn't set his jaw. Forced the sound to die early, locked up somewhere in the back of his throat.

Pain is temporary. All pain is temporary. It's been a little while since he's been stabbed, and some vestiges of old, worn training kicks into gear. His other arm goes flying to her arm -- barely clocks what the fuck she just used to stab him with -- and wraps tight around her wrist. Digs in painfully to twist at her grip.

Doesn't fully realize she's hurt, too, until he feels it. Blood welling over her palm, wrist, then over his fingers.

The hand at her face slips, falters. It finds purchase again at the side of her face, steely and unforgiving, thumb pushing into the hard bone of her skull below her eye. Blue shines between them, anger and frustration and adrenaline and pain messy inside his head.

You in there, Kyna? Anywhere at fucking all? ]

[evocation]

[It aches, up through her jaw and into her skull, like some sort of burning, pulsing migraine. He grabs her wrist and twists, and he's too strong for her to resist the movement. The shard of glass drops, and she tries to squirm away. He has her head, though, and she can't.

It's agonizing, every second an age, but eventually she stops struggling, going slowly slack. That overwhelming sense of peace hits her first, utter whiplash after the all encompassing rage. Her breathing evens out, the glow disappearing from her eyes, leaving her looking utterly disoriented.]

[acheless]

[ Every agonizing second. Nathan focuses on gritting his teeth, on the breakneck rhythm of his heart in his own chest, and he forces his world to narrow. The pain breaks through sharply and often, but enough time passes until it just feels like white noise. He stares at Kyna the entire time. Every slower blink, every muscle that slowly relaxes, he catalogs. Doesn't let up. Not until, at least, the glow fades.

Worry. It slips past him and through to her, as clear as a bell, riding the waves until it's submerged by that strange flood of peace.

They're alright. She's alright. Nathan's not sure how he knows, but it— it helps him focus. Helps his breathing steady. The way he's holding her head slackens, fits a little differently as he replaces pressure with firm touch at the side of her neck. ]

You back? [ Not willing to let go completely, until he's sure. ]

[evocation]

[As if to answer his question, the slug slips out of Kyna's ear and falls to the ground, curling up on the asphalt. Kyna recoils from it, but doesn't pull away from Nathan, each breath unsteady.

It dawns on her slowly, exactly what's happened, and she puts the pieces together just in time for the despair to hit, mingling with guilt and shock.]

Oh my God.

[Despite all the monsters and spirits and curses she spends every day dealing with, this has never happened to her before. Through some combination of luck and skill, she's always avoided it, being manipulated or controlled by something that isn't her. That brutal helplessness twists at her, mingles with the horror of what she's done, and she sucks in a sharp breath, totally unaware that she's trembling.]

I'm sorry. Fuck, I'm so sorry. Are you okay? I didn't—

[acheless]

—Kyna.

[ Interrupting, before she goes off on her own clip. He feels it. Distantly, like an echo, and then closer, like a pulse. His pulse. Despair, guilt, shock. All familiar animals. Nathan's first reaction is to let go— sever the connection. Doesn't feel right, sitting front and center at her own private horror show, being privy to the flood of feelings that feel more like his own than hers.

Instead, his touch cements. Just a little. Thumb finds the dip behind Kyna's ear, cradling her skull in a way that's altogether different from moments ago. He keeps her still — keeps her looking at him, anchored, so he can look directly back. ]

I'm fine.

[ Firm, flat. Wholly honest, even if it isn't wholly true, considering his fucking arm is bleeding. The adrenaline's fading, and the pain's coming back in stark relief. She's trembling. His hand drops down to her covered shoulder as he frowns, intently studying her face. ]

Are you?

[evocation]

[The touch helps, gets her to shut up, at least, and suck in an unsteady breath. She doesn't seem focused on the fact that she's still sitting on him, that she's still trembling, that little rivulets of blood are dripping slowly down her wrist. Her hand is throbbing in a way she's certain means she fucked it up badly.]

You're bleeding.

[It's not an answer to his question, because what does it matter if she's okay right now? She stabbed him.]

[acheless]

So are you.

[ He says it like it annoys him. It does, a little, but it's not for the clearest reasons. Fingers curl into her hair, just a fraction, before they let go completely-- he grunts as he pushes himself up with his uninjured arm, works up to sitting. If it jarrs him, how easy it is for the bond to settle and how quickly you can sever it, he doesn't say anything. ] 

You gonna need stitches? [ Hand's a fucking shit place for them. Nathan clamps his own palm over his bicep to staunch some of the bleeding. Hisses, a bit, with the pain of it. ]

[evocation]

[She's apparently so unbothered by this sort of closeness that she doesn't think to move away. Instead, when prompted, she finally looks down at her hand. It's a pretty decent slice, but it's bleeding too much for her to get a great looks at it. Experimentally, she opens and closes her fingers, gritting her teeth at the pain. No loss of motion, though, so maybe it isn't too bad.]

Shit. I think so, maybe.

[The problem is, with one hand, she can't really help him with his wound, either, which triggers a fresh wave of guilt. She hesitates, then leans forward to hug him, one-armed and impulsive.]

[acheless]

[ She's unbothered by it, but Nathan's waning adrenaline is circling the drain of his own discomfort. He doesn't sit up fully when she doesn't clear back, so there's not a lot of room to see that fucking hug coming, either.

Limbs tense. The line to his shoulders stiffens, squares up. Minutes ago, he was determined to keep touching her, undeterred even if it felt like holding onto a live wire; now, Nathan hesitates for a minute before pulling away. No returned arm around her shoulders, just a slow shift of his weight. 

He stares at her, for a bit. The short spike of his lashes jumps once, twice. ]

Stop bleeding on me.

[ Short, flat. As in get the hell off him, probably. ]

[evocation]

[Kyna tenses up at the reprimand, letting go of him instantly. She's suitably chastised, suddenly embarrassed, and she pushes herself off of him awkwardly. She doesn't apologize, because she knows how he'll react to that, so she just... doesn't meet his eyes, doing her best to focus on wrapping her hand with the hem of her shirt and putting pressure on her wound.]

[acheless]

[ Ah, fuck.

Nathan scowls, but it's directed down to the ground more than at her while he breathes. And, yeah, for a second it's probably kind of awkward -- him staring at the ground, sitting upright, eyes skirting along to the left to stare at that dead, curled up slug. Her staying there, suddenly quiet. He claps his palm a little more firmly against his wound. Exhales loudly. Way to go, Lowell, making her feel like shit.  ]

Let me see your hand, Kyna.

[ It still comes out a little like he's pissed off at her. Hard to maintain that tone, though, when he's suddenly trying to shrug out of his plaid overshirt, the pull of wound and muscles making him wince. ]

[evocation]

[She glances up briefly, looks away again, as though very focused on getting this bleeding to stop.]

It's okay. You don't have to.

[Which is easy enough to read as: She thinks he's doing this out of some sense of obligation, when really he doesn't want to. She's withdrawing a bit, trying to shove all that guilt and budding embarrassment down.]

[acheless]

[  It's an effort, but he shrugs out of his plaid with a short exhale of pain. It isn't likely to be that hygienic or even worth saving after this, one arm already half-wet with his own blood, but. Bound to be something that can help her out, if worst comes to worst. Stitches, antibiotics. Somebody with some bullshit power to do something miraculous.

He exhales again. Louder, with a little more force behind it. Nathan tries to will the tension in his jaw to soften a fraction. ]

Mayfly, give me your goddamn hand.

[evocation]

[Well, he's trying, but Kyna's nose still wrinkles. It doesn't seem fair that he's helping her when she's the reason he's hurt, and especially not when he seems so frustrated. At her? Maybe at her. Maybe just at everything.

Not for the first time during this bullshit, she wishes Sam were here. He has such an easy way of making this sort of thing seem like no big deal, especially with injuries like these.

Reluctantly, she untangles her hand from her now hopelessly stained shirt and hands it over, tensing instinctively. He's going to have to touch her again, and she doesn't really want to feel whatever he's feeling towards her right now.]

[acheless]

[ He's careful about it. Blood still oozes from the jagged line. It's a loose cradle, fabric of his shirt making a convenient barrier for direct touch as he wraps it around her hand with his good arm. ]

I'm not mad at you. [ The last thing he fucking wants to do is just touch her like that's gonna be some magical goddamn shortcut. Jesus, he's an asshole. ] I'm fine. You're not the first person to stab me.

[ Comes out a little too stiff to really land the joke. He looks up at her; smiles, almost, even if the expression is kind of crooked and stilted. ]

[evocation]

[It's a relief when he manages not to activate the empathy bond again, but she still watches carefully, shoulders hunched. It's the joke—attempt at a joke—that gets her to ease up.]

Thank you.

[She says it softly, thanks for the rescue, first aid, and his attempt at calming her all at once.

Kyna flinches involuntarily when the fabric presses against her wound, but she tries to ignore it, eyeing his injured arm instead. How is she going to patch him up, exactly? What a fucking mess.]

[acheless]

[ Nathan doesn’t reply. Probably something to the sincerity in her voice that he’s trying not to look at too closely. He’s finished, but his good hand stays there over her hand, firmly providing pressure even when it hurts. ]

Wasn’t even you. [ Voice dipping. Matching her tone a bit, even if his frown reappears. Nathan’s knowledge of first aid is rusty at best — what’s a goddamn bandage when you can knit flesh back together? — so this is going to have to do, for the both of them, until they can limp back to a relief station somewhere. Red Wings, even. ]

We’re square.

[ He retracts his hand. Gingerly stands up, blood pounding loud between his ears, now that the pain really sets in. ]

[evocation]

[How many times has she said that exact same thing to someone she helped after they were possessed or influenced? More than she can count. She'd never realized how that loss of control feels, though. She's still shaken by it.

He stands and Kyna follows suit, adjusting the fabric around her hand absently. Then, quietly, she adds,]

Can I see?

[His arm, she means.]

[acheless]

[ He hesitates a beat. Nathan stares down at her, mouth twisting unhappily. ]

Sure you want to?

[ Not always easy, looking at your own handiwork. He relents, though — trusts her question more than an answer he doesn't actually wholly wait for — and angles his arm towards her. Lifts his palm a bit from the site over his t-shirt, swallowing back the wince. ]