savetheearth | 007 — handwritten & open action.

Entry tags:

007 — handwritten & open action.

Who: Banagher Links (

argents) & you!
When: January 8th, throughout the day.
Where: LCU hospital
What: Protagonists gonna protag. Banagher followed his destiny, chased a princess, and got shot up by a Blood Key for his trouble. Newtype hax means he's now rotting in the hospital, going stir-crazy. ~~Little does he know he's not the only one of his trope in this situation.~~

( HANDWRITTEN )

Got mixed up in something, at the hospital. Need a change of clothes / phone charger.

( ACTION, OPEN )

[ So he may feel a little stupid, sending out what amounted to an SOS. But he can only stare at the pale interior of his hospital room for so long.

Because he's only been here a day, and he's heard it a thousand times. Luck, luck, luck. It's beginning to get so old that he almost wants to say, no, it wasn't just dumb luck. But then again, he's not entirely sure he believes that either. Taking a bullet and living was a humbling experience. Taking a bullet and having it miss bone, miss his brachial artery... maybe he ought to start believing in miracles a little more, once it sinks it.

Not to say that miracles didn't hurt like hell.

In the end, it's all he can do to stifle his own focus on what landed him here, along with the pain that's still coursing through all his muscles. Sweeping beneath bruised skin, and delving into the bone. Frowning and setting his head back, he looks up at precisely nothing.

That'd really gone terribly, hadn't it? ]

(ooc. feel free to put the time in the subject for action!)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Doing stupid things and getting hurt was her thing, not his. So when she saw the post on the network, even if there wasn't a whole lot she could do - she brought an extra phone cable just in case someone hadn't already - she still wanted to be there.

That brought a certain dark-haired girl to his door, tentatively knocking, holding Raquel in one arm and shifting a plastic shopping bag back to the other hand. The hospital staff were used to her coming and going, thanks to her mother, though the request for a room was a little unusual, and this wasn't normally her mother's wing. But... meh. Winter was nice enough, they were okay with it. That was all she cared about, right now.]

[ When all was said and done, it was mostly an uneventful morning. ...All things considered. Somewhere throughout the night, they'd loaded his shoulder full of stitches, and by the time he'd come to again, everything was neatly squared away beneath a layer of clean gauze. Physically, he fared well. Mentally, it was rough, as the events that lead up to this slowly come in and out of focus. As it was, people have come and gone, and he's keeping his own IV for pain control on the lowest dosage he can get away with, wanting to be lucid for most of it. It was what he'd owed to those who wanted explanations, even if he's a little worn down by it.

So when the knock comes, he's already trying to prepare for what might be next. Putting the notebook he's been using to the side, wanting to conserve the little bit of charge on his phone, he pushes himself upright. ]

Hey, come in.

[She gently eases the door open, waiting until she's cleared it before she slides it shut slowly, making the click behind her as quiet as possible. Then she turns to actually look at him, and while she starts to relax seeing he's clearly okay, her eyes are drawn to the patch of snow white gauze at his shoulder. She hadn't known how badly he'd been injured, just that something had happened. Now... she knew, and she was worried, as was her usual. She doesn't say anything for a long moment, her fidgeting making the bag in her hands crinkle enough to create white noise to cover for her for just a moment.]

Are you... all right?

[...sure, that does need to get asked, though that's not the thing she wants to say.]

[ Regardless of what he'd actually been mentally preparing for, he thinks maybe he wasn't entirely ready for this. Surprise crosses his face, and, following her point of focus in an unguarded moment, he pauses to look at his own shoulder. As if he needed the reminder to answer right. ]

Yeah. I am now. I mean, considering.

[ It is in this moment he realizes he's not overly fond of appearing defenseless in front of her. But you reap what you sow. ]

...I don't remember a lot.

[Nobody is ever ready for this particular inquisition. Because it's fought with concerned looks, and worried pleas, and copious amounts of stubbornness. She walks a little closer, Raquel floating beside her once she's stepped inside proper, and reaches her newly free hand toward his shoulder, stopping just before she can reach - she's not supposed to touch that. Pausing, she shakes her head slightly, smiling faintly at him.]

It's okay. I don't... really care what hurt you. You're going to be okay, and that's w-what matters.

[That's a baldfaced lie, and even if Banagher's silly ability to detect that isn't functioning, it's still plain in the false cheer on her face. She remains a somewhat terrible liar; some things never really change. Seriously, don't ever tell her the Blood Keys hurt you, Banagher. She's liable to join the genocide campaign. Putting that aside, though, she digs into the bag, seeming to remember something.]

Um, I don't think I have clothes that would fit you... I have a phone charger, though? [Her hand emerges with a familiar-looking cable and a wall plug for it.] This is the r-right one, isn't it? I had an extra at home, and... you need it more than I do, right now.

[Silence, for several seconds that feel like an eternity. She glances sideways, away from him, her face heating up ever so slightly.] There are a lot of people that worry about you, you know. [Like her, because he didn't have the luxury of a Precure costume to protect him, or the ability to jump onto buildings to escape. And she'd been worried from the moment she'd seen the post.]

[ And as much as he'd like to think he can contend with all of those things, the worry, and her persistence — the hundred heartfelt emotions all storming beneath what passes for a relieved smile, it just leaves him feeling surprisingly hollow. There's an ache inside that's not entirely a product of his raw nerves, and as much as he tries to ignore it, seeing the result of his decision embodied in her concern makes it real. Too real.

Despite himself, he doesn't shy when she moves to touch. Her decline to actually do so makes him look down, even if it's not for very long. ]

No, it's okay. I got clothes from someone else, but I haven't really worked up the nerve to change. [ It's a breezy enough admittance, for his part. He's never had stitches, and he's treating his kindly. Still, he reaches to accept the phone charger. ] So, thanks... this is a big help too. I borrowed one earlier, but I didn't want to keep it for too long.

[ Idle chatter does help to sort of soften the atmosphere, but he knew he couldn't avoid it forever. Her last statement, fittingly, makes his blood run a little cold. As calmly as he's able, he suppresses the feeling. For whose sake, he couldn't say. ]

...I'm sorry, Winter. I just didn't know what else I was supposed to do.

[ Doing nothing wasn't an option. It never was. ]

[She's starting to realize that she's kind of backed Banagher into a corner. And she hates that, but... she's worried! She's allowed to do that!]

I don't know, either. I mean... you h-have a hole in your shoulder. I still don't know why it's there, but that's not important. What's important... is that it doesn't happen again. You're not allowed to get hurt again, Banagher. I'm... [A pause.] I'm a hypocrite for s-saying it, but... you don't have superpowers, or armor, or regeneration, or whatever the hell else people use as justification around here. You're just you. You're going to get really badly hurt, if you keep doing this, and...!

[She's starting to work herself into something she's not going to enjoy, her tone ramping up slowly but surely. She's probably going to regret it later, but for now, she's not sorry. It's important to her that she keep him from being here again somehow, and if it takes her guilt-tripping him into hanging up his conscience, then that's what she'll do.]

[ Against better judgment, he finds himself not deferring. She's essentially taken everything that scares him about the situation, in hindsight, and thrown it in his face. Like that, he can't just escape it. Maybe it'd be an insult to her to even try, so he unwittingly matches her, pace for pace. ]

I know! ...Believe me. [ And despite agreeing, he doesn't sound thrilled about having to. If anything, he's always been just as bad of a liar. ] I know I don't have that — the kind of strength that actually helps people, when they need it most. When they're in danger. I can't protect them anymore, not without something like this happening.

[ "This" being illustrated with the movement of his free hand to his shoulder. Lucky, right. ]

But even if it blows up in my face, I can't do nothing about it! How can I let someone I care about just go into the Dead District, when I know? It'd be heartless, to not try!

I... yeah. I know that. I know that better than almost anyone else. I've been... in your position, not too l-long ago. But you have to know your limits... and accept that there are things you can't do. There are so many of us... someone has to be able to help! That's why Annie, and Kari, and me, and the rest of us formed a group to be able to do something about it! Because I...

[Her voice is a little smaller, a little less forceful.] I can't stand to see someone in t-trouble, either. It's... gotten me hurt before, and I'm just as stubborn as you, but... I still can't stop. But I have power... enough to keep me safe. I don't want to be mean, but... you're only human, Banagher. You need to leave the heroics to the p-people that can handle it without getting themselves killed. I would... I would miss you too much if something happened to you. I'll fight anyone, if it'll keep you safe. [The words come out before she can really process what she's saying, and it's far too late - and the atmosphere all wrong - to argue that away. So she'll settle for her face coloring somewhat, but she's trying to stand her ground. There's a pause, and she's calmer when she talks next.]

You've got a big heart. I know how it feels to watch someone important to you do something dangerous, because I'm the same way. But... sometimes we are not the right people to keep the ones we care about safe. Please... I need you to understand that.

[ For a long moment, he's left not knowing whether or not he wants to fight her on it, or agree with her. He's never quiet felt as though he could do both convincingly before until now, and it manifests as a heavy silence where he's just left looking at her, wondering what to do. Or if he even had the energy to do much at all; there's strain in his voice, steady as he is. ]

It's so irresponsible though. Leaving it to someone else — [ He pushes himself up again, moving his IV out of the way. ] ...not seeing it through myself, even if I am only human. It's because of that! Someone who can't do that... doesn't have any right to go putting others in danger!

[ Banagher looks about ready to pick himself up out the hospital bed to prove it, but an impasse is the last thing he wants with her.

Even if she's already drawing lines, "I'd fight anyone" being the sentiment that sticks with him, despite himself. ]

Look, if I just accepted that... that there was nothing I could do about any of this, when I knew I wasn't going to get powers, when I didn't even want a weapon to begin with, how could I look you in the eye? And tell you that you wouldn't be alone?

[ If there's one thing he doesn't want to do, it's give up. ]

Trying to convince me like that is unfair.

Edited (i english very goodly) 2014-01-26 08:59 (UTC)

[He'd said it. Those who can't, shouldn't- but then, where did that leave him? With Bakura, she felt like she was being convinced to give up her life's ambition when they talked about dialing her heroics back... was it the same for him?

But then he said something else, and it tripped a nerve she didn't know she'd had. She breathes in sharply, and her pitch raises, cutting off the very tail end of his plea.]

I never wanted any of this!

[Wait, what? But she keeps going:] I could have k-kept going as I was, kept being miserable by myself, and I would have been okay with that! I'd have just depended on my own strength to keep going, and at the end of the day I'd wonder if there was something else, and that would be the end of it! And then I got numbers, and I met you, and I'm confused! I- I worry about people now, I wonder what people are doing, I don't know what do to when I'm alone anymore! And I blame you for it! It's all your fault...!

[Far too late, she realizes she's been too loud for much too long, and she's dumping things on him that she really shouldn't be dumping on anyone. Her face goes red, and she looks away from him, not sure what else to say. Idly, she begins to start twirling a lock of hair around her finger; after a moment of that, she speaks again, in a smaller voice.]

I know it's unfair. But what else am I supposed to do? I can't... I can't lose a-anyone. Not anymore. Everyone has... ruined me for spending time alone. It's okay if you can't do anything as you are now. Let me handle it... okay?

[ Her sheer force of personality renders him silent, long enough for everything to come careening out in a big mess. A big mess that was his fault. ...Which was an angle he hadn't thought about, let alone expected to have thrown at him. It wasn't an impasse that he wanted, but it's an impasse that he gets, and in a big way. Even when she quiets, the sound her voice sticks everywhere, weighing on him by telling him exactly what it is that he'd done. It's a kind of responsibility that plays opposite to one he's thinking about.

Maybe it was just never a very fair fight to begin with. ]

You're not going to lose me.

[ It doesn't solve everything, not by a long shot, and he doesn't precisely think of himself as anything out of the ordinary — anything apart from that "everyone" that's wormed its way into her heart. That assurance feels more like a drop in the bucket, even if he says it with all the truth he can dredge up. He sighs. ]

Do you want to know? Why I got away like I did. Why it was a clean shot.

[ It's the last gamble he's got. ]

Edited 2014-01-28 03:12 (UTC)

[She finally looks back at him, if only slightly.]

I want to believe that. But... our city isn't s-safe. Not for us. I'm tired of my friends getting hurt because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Because they were trying to protect... their precious people. Both of us... have found out h-how that can burn someone. And someday, someone will push too far. I'm certain of that, now. I just... don't want it to be you, Banagher.

[That last question, though. Did she want to know? This was the kind of thing in anime that changed your life when you found out... and her life had changed enough already. But... no, that wasn't a question. She had to know.]

I'm... I'm listening.

Edited 2014-01-28 14:43 (UTC)

[ He listens without the intent to gain the upper hand. There was no point in arguing, or in speaking at all, really. They'd made their wishes known, and even in wanting the exact same thing, he can't make her promises like that in good conscience. Out of all the ones he's made so far, that's not one he's going to put into the world only to break.

So he eases back finally, no longer looking like he's going to try and stand. And what he says next isn't an admittance, but a request. ]

I want you to think something at me, as hard as you can. Whatever you want. A word, a name, a feeling. Anything.

[She'd been expecting him to argue, or to give some kind of mind-blowing explanation. Although... thinking something at him? Then, was it a mental power? Oh God, could he read minds!? That... that was kind of cool, but there were specific things she didn't want him to read in here, like- wait, no, can't think about that if he can read it! Aaaah, what to do about this...! Um, um, um... banana! Wait-!

Did I mention her expressions moving through all this because she's transparent as hell? Surprise, followed by shock, followed by utter panic, ending in closed eyes as she tries to transmit a word, and her eyes snapping open as she realizes the foul she's committed.]

[ Well, he was ready to try and pick up on whatever she decided was important enough to think, in all seriousness, but watching the wreck of emotions go flying across her face means he doesn't even really have to. Instead, her sudden fix on the word she hadn't meant to say makes it... well, clear as day.

And probably for the first time since he was admitted, he laughs. ]

...Again?

[ Oh, yes. He remembers that typo. ]

[She goes even more red, clasping her hands at her waist and looking down.]

I-I'm sorry... um... it was just the first word that came to me...

[ Leaning forward, his brows lift. ]

But you didn't say it out loud, right?

[Blink, blink.]

N-no, I didn't... then you really...?

[Her shock broadcasts well, but on some level... she's impressed rather than scared. Sure, there are things she doesn't want let out, but... it's quite a power. It makes "magical girl" look kind of mundane in comparison.]

There's a lot about it I still haven't figured out.

[ Yes, yes he really. Looking away again, he collects this thoughts as well as he's able. From the approach, it's obvious he still doesn't really have the best handle on how to describe it.

But he tries, at least. ]

But I can sense a lot of things. Innocent stuff like that, or... not so much. Like when things are about to go wrong, I know it. I can react to it — right down to knowing how to take a bullet, and come out like I did. [ He touches his shoulder. ] So it's not just feelings, but reflex, too.

[On the surface, she's attentive and taking this in well. But Winter's thinking back to a few things that didn't quite make sense. The fact that it seemed to be easier to convince him of things in person. How he just had that knack for knowing exactly what was wrong. That time in the rain, when nobody should have known she was out there... actually, that one really stood out, because it meant he hadn't "found" her there at all. He'd purposely left his house and run into a storm, for her. All those times at the library, he came out to talk to her because he knew she needed it.

She liked to think she could serve as someone that could help people with their problems. Draw out what was wrong. But she'd lost before she'd even begun. To this person... this amazing person with a heart as deep as the sea, and the (ill-gotten) skill to use it to its fullest. She respected that. She admired that. She... admired him, really.

And somewhere deep inside, the argument between the part of her that wanted to keep their relationship the same and the part that didn't mind exploring... came to a sudden and decisive halt. A halt that gives her a warm feeling inside, because maybe she could make this work after all. If he cared this much about someone he'd barely been getting to know over the last six months... maybe she could find the courage to take the next step.

And that's probably a strong enough feeling for the Newtype in question to pick up. Belatedly, she realizes that it's going to happen... but she's not sure she cares enough to rein it in. After all... just because he's an empath doesn't mean she has to hide how she feels, right? So she's standing there with a dumb smile on her bright red face, not sure what else to do.]

I think... I understand.

[ Four words, and already there's an immeasurable weight off of his shoulders. It's a special case, since he's become so used to hearing her speak over the months — listening to everything that meant anything to her all come rushing out from where it'd been held for what he suspected was years. Maybe it was unfair of him when he knew so much about her, to keep what he was capable of carefully off the radar. Maybe he'd just been wary, or even a little afraid. Empathy was touted as a virtue, and yet it terrified him, to come off as anything less than genuine. Sometimes he'd needed help in reading her, or a nudge in the right direction, like the rain that day, and other times... well.

Other times, like now, he didn't need anything at all to understand.

Already, he looks a little more alive than he had before, less a victim of the unfortunate circumstance that landed him here in the first place. It's a distant flicker in his mind, at this point, making him appear a little softer, and less on the offense. Funny, how maybe he'd just needed to butt heads with her to finally see it. Courage, and happiness, and a multitude of other things he doesn't care to name, and he's happy he doesn't have to.

It just is.

In response, he smiles, like she's bleached away everything that scared him about himself. Maybe he's the one that should have been thanking her, this whole time. ]

I think I've been waiting for someone to say that. I'm glad.

It's an amazing power, you know? You don't have to depend on p-people being able to say what they mean. Not when you can just... understand.

[She glances over at Raquel a little wistfully.]

All I can do is hit things with my power... granted, we n-need that, too, but it's not anything that flashy. I'm a little jealous, honestly.

[She pauses. How much did she want to say...?]

And I'm glad I could help. You... looked like you could use it, Banagher.

Are you saying I look bad?

[ If there's any indication that she had, in fact, actually cheered him up, it's the fact that he can turn around fire back a harmless quip. It's something he doesn't linger on long though, following her gaze over to Raquel. ]

If I'm being honest, I didn't know what to think of it. Whether or not it meant I was genuine with anyone, when I suddenly had that perspective. It's almost scary, how much the world opens up like that... and I wondered what everyone would think, if they knew.

[ Which played a factor in his decision to play it down, if he admitted to it at all. At least now there was someone important to him that he didn't have to hide it from. ]

You shouldn't be jealous though! Not when I know you're right. Your power actually lets you protect people, as Diamond.

[ Not that he's seen it for himself, but it was an obvious shift in her whole demeanor. ]

Even if you can still overdo it.

[ Another tease, because yeah, he knows. Birds of a feather. ]

I'm s-saying I was worried...!

[Meanie. But she sighs all the same.]

You... even before all this, you were a kind person. All this did... was give you the tools to understand everyone better. I don't think you c-could be anything but genuine with the people that are important to you. And... I know I'm a little biased, but I think the others could be convinced to see it that way, too.

And I'm just jealous because... before I g-got my power, all I was good at was talking. And you've got such an advantage there, now... but I'm not giving up. There are t-things that I can do, and I want to keep doing them, as long as I can. So I'll let you take care of the people I can't reach with my words, and I'll fight to protect them.

[She colors a bit at the end; she knows she can't deny that remark.]

Or at least, I can try to be responsible about it. I just get s-so passionate about this, sometimes...

007 — handwritten & open action.

[early afternoon]

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