Nightshift 31; Courtyard

[small_fortune]

[From here]Climbing up the wall was about as dignified as he'd expected, although it could still have been worse. The garden trowel as a climbing tool actually did help a little, and while he would regret the entire decision to go on this insane mission by morning, for now his muscles weren't aching too badly as he made his way to the top. He did

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[kagurazuki]

"O-of course!" she squeaked, grabbing one of the vines that wound down the wall and testing it with a few hard tugs before deciding it would hold her weight. It took some effort, and she scraped her elbow a little bit trying to get over the last bit, but she made it to the top.

Kagura couldn't see very far in the darkness, but it looked like they should be able to just start running once they both got over the fence. "I'm okay," she called out. She wasn't sure if she dared jump over to the other side alone though. It was way too scary! And what if whatever had hurt Bridget came back? "I don't... see anything..."

She tried to steady herself by straddling the top of the fence. It was fairly thick, so she could probably hold more weight without worrying about falling over that way. As she tried to put her leg over, however, she felt a jarring blow to her side and stumbled off the top. Her left hand still held the vine for a moment, burning as it slid through her fingers, but slowing her fall at least. She fell in a heap at the base of the wall.

"Owie..." she whimpered.

[roger_hug]

Stumbling forward, as he hadn't quite gotten to his feet yet, Bridget hurried to her side, Roger dangling from one hand. "Miss Sohma! Are you alright?" A silly question really, but he couldn't help himself.

Kneeling down beside her, he set his bear to one side and moved to help her up. He had no qualms about touching her.

[kagurazuki]

Her hand really hurt, and her bottom from falling so hard right on her rump. But she wasn't too bad for all that'd happened. It could have been much worse!

Kagura was pushing herself up just as Bridget arrived, but when he set his hands on her, she stiffened and pushed him away, a reflex more than anything else. "N-no!" she cried out. Unfortunately, she still had trouble judging her own strength. What seemed a little push to her might be a heavy blow to anyone else.

It took her a moment to even realize what she'd done. She edged away, back against the wall. "I-... I-...I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to- Ah- I can't-" Unlike many of her intended victims in the Sohma family, she honestly hadn't meant to hurt Bridget! This was terrible! He was going to think she was a horrible brute now! Her hands covered her mouth as tears threatened the edge of her vision.

[roger_hug]

Bridget found himself on his back yet again, farther than he thought he should have been from Kagura. It took him a minute to come back from the dazed place he'd been in and he sat up, wincing and again bringing his hand to the back of his head. Still bleeding, but head wounds always bled too much.

He looked up and offered a warm, bright, slightly shaky smile. "That's okay Miss Sohma. I shouldn't have gotten so close." He tried to get up, sitting down hard when the ground tilted under him. He frowned and looked over at Kagura with concern.

"Are you alright Miss Sohma?"

[kagurazuki]

"I... I'm fine, I just-" she couldn't remember the last time she'd been so flustered. And her parents wondered why she didn't go outside much! She felt terrible. And... was that blood?

Her tears spilled over, running down her cheeks. She wasn't even sure she could face poor Bridget. "I... n-no, no, it's my fault... I'm not... supposed to get too close to boys..." She rubbed at her eyes, trying to ignore the stinging pain in her hand.

[roger_hug]

"Miss Sohma!" Bridget didn't want her to cry. He didn't even have a handkerchief to offer to her. "Really, I'm fine. Don't worry about it." His smile brightened. "If you did that because you're not supposed to get close to boys, well, then..." He hesitated before pushing forward. "Then that makes me happy. Nobody's ever really looked at me and thought I was a boy. Thank you, Miss Sohma."

He edged a bit closer, seeing that she'd hurt herself. "Your hand..."

[kagurazuki]

Kagura sniffled, trying to clear her vision at least. Her eyes were going to be all red and puffy tomorrow and she'd just look awful! She didn't even have any make-up here!

What Bridget said surprised her though. This time when he got closer, she didn't flinch away. Why would someone think Bridget wasn't a boy? It didn't make sense to her. Sure, he was pretty, but so was most of the Sohma family. Yuki, Momiji, Ri-chan, Aya... much as she hated to admit it, they made as good or better girls than she did! But she still knew they were boys. That was just silly.

She smiled a little bit through her tears, "That's... I... but..." What could she really say to that, "y-you're... welcome." She wasn't sure what to make of it. Boys just didn't... treat her like Bridget did. Boys were supposed to run away or yell or fight like Kyo always did. She didn't know how to react. Her cheeks flushed a slight red.

When he noticed her injury, she looked down at it for the first time as well. A big ugly scrape ran across her palm, bleeding in places, raw and red over the rest. Definitely not pretty. "It's ok..." she told him, moving her right hand to cover it.

[roger_hug]

Bridget didn't hesitate. He quickly stripped off his shirt and sat back on his heels. The back was dusty and the collar spotted with the blood that was matting his hair, but there were still clean spots on it. He put the garmet to his teeth and started to tear off a few long strips of the cloth.

Setting his now ruined shirt aside, and trying not to think about the chill in the air, he held out the strips in his hands. "May... may I help treat you Miss Sohma?" He didn't know if she would object to him touching her, but he didn't think she would be able to bind the scrape very well with only one hand.

[damned_monsters]

They didn't move fast enough, the bit of blood drawing things near that would do much worse than a simple scrape. The buzzing of their soft wings was faintly audible in the night, small creatures that from a distance might not be seen as so bad.

But night touched them, twisted and warped them just like anything else in the halls or out. Five of the bugs, a small number for their kind, but more than enough to feast on these two. They drew closer, circling down towards their prey, following a path that might seem randomly innocent until they were ready to strike.

[Tad (so so sorry about the wait!)]

[kagurazuki]

"You're... you're far too nice to me," she managed in a quiet voice. "Thank you. Very much."

He was being so kind again. Kagura hesitated, but held out her hand, palm up after a moment. If she made him wait, he'd just be in pain longer too, so... so it was alright, wasn't it? She did feel guilty though, if it was a head injury, they did bleed a lot and... and it could be serious if they didn't get it treated fairly soon. He probably had a concussion. Kagura had given Kyo enough of those to know a little bit about how to take care of one.

"We should probably rest here for a bit a-anyway," she suggested. "If... if you have some left over cloth when you're finished, we can get you cleaned up too." She offered him an optimistic smile. There was a lake not far from here. She didn't know how pure the water was, but it couldn't be so bad that they couldn't use it to wipe up a little blood.

Kagura glanced up, meeting Bridget's eyes when she heard the beginnings of the buzzing noises. If the night weren't so still, she might not have noticed, but... if there were mosquitos and other creepy crawlies out here, maybe they ought to stay inside after all. "Did... you hear that?"

[roger_hug]

Bridget smiled happily and set about binding up the injury with the remains of his shirt. "I"ll be fine," he said. "It looks much worse than it really is." Of course, he had no idea what his back looked like and he was certain that were it light out he would look like a real mess, but here maybe he could at least reassure her that he would be fine.

He met Kagura's eyes for a moment, the refocused on his task. "Yeah," he said softly. "I did. Miss Sohma," he reached over and picked up Roger, "we might have to run. Can you?"

[damned_monsters]

It didn't matter if she could run, if either ran. The things were there, and with feather-light touches the first landed on each, on the girl's shoulder and the boy's forearm. And then they revealed their most wicked feature, the mouth full of teeth, sharp as needles, that so efficently tore a lump of flesh from each.

One bite, then the things flew again, but not away. No, all the creatures were determined to have their fill, and even as the first two rose, more threatened to take their place, to rip and tear more.

[kagurazuki]

She wasn't sure she trusted Bridget's assessment of his own wounds, but she nodded, planning to look them over once they were inside. If there were things out and about, she wanted to be as far from them as possible. Kagura started to pull herself from the ground, when she felt the thing land on her shoulder. She might not have noticed it if not for the buzzing and the fact that one landed on Bridget as well.

Her eyes widened and she let out a terrified scream as it pierced her skin. But before she could so much as gather her wits about her enough to try to strike it, it had flitted away, leaving them both bleeding and in shock and pain. "You stupid BUGS!!" she screamed, fists balled at her sides when she got to her feet. If she had something to throw, she would have done so in a heartbeat. As it was, she held her flashlight in front of her, as though daring them to come closer. It was hard to decide if she should run or try to fight, both were tempting choices. "It's not fair!!"

[roger_hug]

Bridget winced and bit back a cry as the bug tore a chunk from his unprotected back. He was on his feet almost instantly, Roger in one hand as he reached out with the other and grabbed ahold of Kagura's wrist. The one not holding the flashlight.

"Miss Sohma, come on!" He started for the doors, ignoring the pounding in his head which was quickly being over ridden by the pain in his back. He manuvered around the young woman so that he presented the better target, his back to the swarming (how many where there?) insects. Hopefully, they would go after him rather than Miss Sohma.

[damned_monsters]

The bugs were simple things and so Bridget's plan was rather effective. Two more of the creatures alighted on his back, but only briefly, long enough for their tiny teeth to rip away whatever skin they could reach. Bruised, broken, bleeding, it didn't matter a bit. Their bites were small, but sharp, and a mounting danger should they continue to go unchecked.

Yet the simple things were so greedy, and as Bridget dragged Kagura off they followed, trying still to get at them both, always picking the target that seemed easier.

[kagurazuki]

The decision of fight or flight was decided for her as Bridget pulled her wrist and tugged her along. She didn't need to be told a second time. Her legs moved on their own, faster and faster, fear and adrenaline pushing her onward. She couldn't feel any new bites, but she could hear them buzzing low nearly every step she took. Luckily the door to get back inside wasn't too much further.