From now on, I do more than survive.

[calicoway]

[OOC: This is Luke's last post where he's not dying. The dying post comes on the 30th of March. This is your warning if you want your character to interact with him. Holy mug, he's been here since the start. Fff.]

Luke Roberts is going to die soon. All the drugs in this world cannot save him. He's never had much of an immune system. The life that

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[torchwoodsheart]

Gwen noticed the limp and the awkward way a person holds a broken arm before anything else - she's already speeding her steps, moving to see if she can help, before she realizes that it's not just any injured person, that it's actually someone she knows.

"Oh, god, Martha!" Gwen jogs the rest of the way to meet her, glancing from her arm to her forehead. She reaches out automatically with one hand to grab Martha's uninjured arm gently, to steady her. "What happened to you?"

[smithnjones]

Martha shakes her head at the sound of Gwen's voice. It isn't a big deal, though she appreciates the concern.

"Monster," she answers, breathing heavily and gesturing to the alley behind her. The carcass of the thing is lying there collecting blood beneath it. "It's alright. It's already healing. I'll be fine within the hour."

Her arm is a bit slower, but it's a more complicated wound. Her healing powers haven't been up to snuff lately as it is.

Martha manages a strained smile in her direction and wipes the sweat from her face. "How are you?"

[torchwoodsheart]

Gwen glances past her to the body of the creature, and grimaces a little. "Bloody hell..." Most days, she doesn't mind Chicago being... well, like it is, but she draws the line at it trying to kill her friends. "I'll have Owen pick that thing up in a bit."

She can't help but laugh a little at that question. Like it's perfectly normal to be standing here having an ordinary conversation while Martha's got broken bones and there's a dead monster in the alley. Gwen's not sure if it makes it better or worse that it almost is perfectly normal, for them.

"I'm alright. Just out for a walk, and... do you need anything? Paracetamol? A drink?"

[smithnjones]

Martha grimaces as she follows Gwen's gaze to the body of the creature. Her arm hurts, but it's nothing she can't handle. After everything, she hardly notices the pain in her arm. The grimace strains into a bit of a smile.

"I'm sure Chicago will appreciate having one less monster corpse to have to clean up and explain away," she says, rubbing her forehead with the back of her hand. The cut there has already healed.

She smiles a little more easily at the sound of Gwen's laugh. Martha has an idea about what's funny. If they couldn't hold normal conversations by now after the crazy, they'd be in for some real trouble.

"Funny. I was just out for a walk, too," Martha says, and her smile widens. "A drink sounds brilliant. A drink... or two or three."

[torchwoodsheart]

Gwen nods firmly, grinning at Martha. "Good," she says, and offers Martha her arm, on the side of her uninjured hand. "First round or two's on me." Gwen figures that broken bones earn you a few free drinks. It's the sort of philosophy that's necessary when you're a part of Torchwood.

"So, how was your day before the sudden Riftcreature?" she asks casually. This is absolutely acceptable normal conversation. Really.

[smithnjones]

Martha gladly takes that offered arm. It will be nice to have some time spent with a friend. She has been rather focused on the hotel and basement lately. It would be nice to have a night off to relax. She's certain that Gwen would agree.

"Oh, it was fine. Filled with busywork at the hotel. Nothing out of the ordinary," she says, and then smiles brightly, pushing through the pain in her arm. It's already starting to fade into the background, more like a dull, continuous burn. "How have you been? How are things with Torchwood lately?"

[torchwoodsheart]

Gwen sighs a little, and shakes her head. "Complicated. As always. But no one's trying to shoot each other at the moment, so I think we're alright." She kind of wonders when 'not trying to kill each other or ourselves' became a measurement of how well Torchwood's doing. Still, it tends to work.

[smithnjones]

"As always," Martha agrees, glancing at her arm as it sorts itself out. "Complications that you'd like to talk about or be distracted from? I can help with either."

There's a soft laugh when Gwen says no one's shooting each other. It's not funny, not really. It's too relevant to be funny, but she laughs anyway. It's easier to laugh sometimes.

"That's something at least. One less complication to worry about for the time being."

[torchwoodsheart]

Gwen considers for a moment before answering. "Another time, talking about it might be a good idea. Right now seems like a good time for distractions, though." She pauses for a second as she realizes she doesn't actually know where they're going, and then glances over to Martha again. "Um... you know the way to the nearest pub, don't you?"

[smithnjones]

"It's far too often that we need distractions, isn't it?" There's a knowing, understanding look in Martha's eyes. Distractions are rather important for people like them, living in a world like this. She's relied on them more than a few times in her years here.

She laughs softly, making a little face that involves wrinkling her nose. "Yeah, I do actually. I promise I haven't got them all memorized. I'm not an alcoholic. I just enjoy my... drinks and have had a need for them at various points around the city. We'll be there in less than five minutes."

[torchwoodsheart]

Gwen laughs and shakes her head a little. "Trust me, I understand. I think I knew every pub within a couple miles of the Plass after a while in Torchwood..."

Not always because they were drinking at them. Also because for some reason, alien oddities tended to gravitate towards pubs, and it was probably best not to question why that was...