( As soon as the feed cuts - and to be honest, she'd be wondering what the fuck was going on with that thunder and the roar, if she wasn't too busy focusing on Em - Ellie disregards the Vine.
She shakes her head, trying to push her own hair back with her shoulder so she doesn't wind up smearing Em's blood over her face, but it keeps falling forward. A minor thing, really, but it's frustrating when she's trying to see properly, keeping the pressure firm. ) I'm fine.
You gotta quit fussing over me. Bloody drama queen. ( Tense. So very, very tense. And suddenly, a surge of anger, because how dare she get shot? What right did she have to that?
It was childish, but she didn't care. ) What the Hell is wrong with you, telling me to get in the tent?
( And that bothers her too, but it's only bubbling up because she's scared and she quite literally doesn't know what to do. She remembers Lee describing gunshot wounds as having barbed wire slowly pulled through you, and that's all she can imagine now, barbed wire pulling and clawing Em's insides. What she'd give for her brain to shut up, sometimes. )
[ Em would roll her eyes if that didn't take too much of an effort. Instead, she just groans over Ellie's stubbornness, which makes her wince at the same time. ]
What the Hell is wrong with you for not getting in?
[ Like that makes sense. Really. Arguing at a time like this. To be fair, though, it had been seriously the only thing that occurred to her to protect Ellie. ]
Oh, yeah. Go into the dead end with no escape route. That's a bloody great idea.
( She can't help the reaction. Or, she can, but she's terrified, and if Em is fighting that means she's okay, right? It gives her something to focus on?
[ She doesn't really answer to that, too busy keeping herself trying not to writhe in pain, trying her best to control herself - because that's what Em does and because she really doesn't want to worry Ellie.
She breathes out shakily and reaches up a little blindly, laying her hand on Ellie's cheek. ]
I'm getting blood all over you. [ BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY THAT'S THE BIGGEST CONCERN. ]
( No, Em. Come on, she needs Em to keep fighting. Keep being fired up. ) Get over yourself. This isn't even that much blood.
( For all that desire for combat, her voice is a bit softer. Gentler, and reassuring. She's a bit disgusted at herself for finding some comfort in Em's hand on her cheek, though. She shouldn't be the one getting comforted. )
[ What comes out is half of a laugh and half of a cough, groaning in pain as she does so. ] Zut, Ellie. [ Kind of French there. ] Don't make me laugh. [ She grits her teeth. ] It hurts to laugh.
[ She closes her eyes, frowning, wiping her sleeve on her forehead. It's fine to rest just for a bit, right? ]
Sorry. ( Laughing better than just about any other reaction. She looks flat, can't manage a smile, let alone a laugh, with fear-sweat pouring down her back as she tries to stave off the shakes.
And her thoughts are hopping about like a roo on an obstacle course, because for a second she gets hit with s'truth, if I can make someone with a gunshot to the gut laugh, I should be a comedian.
That doesn't get much chance to stick, though. Not when Em's eyes are closing, and it drags scary things to the fore again, makes her think of Corrie, how her eyes closed and never opened again. ) Em! Wake up! ( Though she's keeping that bloodied shirt clamped down tight as she can, despite slipping, her one hand strays away for a sec to grab Em's shoulder, hard, fingers digging in. ) Open you eyes, right now!
[ Em winces at the fingers digging in her shoulder, shrugging them up at the pinch, and she groans slightly. She's pale, sweaty and bloodied and everything is going the wrong direction. ]
I'm awake. [ In a tiny voice, strained by pain and the exertion of keeping focused. She opens one eye, too tired to open the other. ] I'm just tired and sore. [ And scared and everything else. She tries to hold back a sob, but she can't. She's not one of those brave people that can keep their façades to the end, that aren't afraid of the crushing feeling of hope slowly slipping away.
She doesn't want to die. She isn't ready yet, she isn't. ]
( The sob kicks into her massive guilt, Ellie shaking her head and keeping her hold. ) Fang and her friend are on the way. She's got-- she can heal, or something. Okay? You're gonna be good as new, you just gotta hold on 'til they get here.
( She can help it, but panic is setting in. She can be brave, sure, hold herself together and act like a soldier with Homer, but she's still a kid, really,. The fear setting in is close to overwhelming, tears running silently down her cheeks from the stress and panic that she's doing her utmost to ignore. She can't even recognise that she's crying, or accept it. ) Come on. Just stay awake, all right?
[ This is terrible, everything is terrible. She wishes Ellie didn't have to see this, but at the same time, she's so glad she's here - she doesn't know what she would do without her, if she had to be alone, and she knows that selfish, but she can't help it. ]
All right. [ Although she sounds unsure, as if she isn't certain that she can do what she's being told to. ] Her friend isn't a snake, right? [ Not that she's trying to be funny, but it's the only thing she can think of.
She presses the stained shirt against her wound almost as if lazily, but more because it's getting harder to get a grip on it, mostly because of how her fingers seem to lack the strength to. ]
No. She's really cheerful. ( Like she doesn't know how to handle that information. Cheerful people, they're a bit beyond her.
Glancing down, she notes the weakness in Em's hand. A moment, a quiet, ) Just a sec, okay? I'll be back in just a sec.
( She's gone, rampaging through the tent for a moment, dragging out a sleeping bag, making soothing sounds as she raises Em's neck a bit, easing the folded up sleeping bag behind her head to rest her back, giving her support so that Ellie doesn't feel the need to support her and try to hold her up. Maybe it was stupid. Maybe whether or not your neck hurts is a stupid thing to think about, right now, but somehow it seemed like a good idea.
The shirt against Em's belly is soggy and stained red, but she isn't going to chance moving it. Instead she just presses her hand over Em's. Her hand feels cold - blood gets redirected from extremities to vital organs when you lose a bunch of blood, she's pretty sure a science teacher said that once in Biology. Ellie just squeezes Em's hand with both of hers, pressing down harder on the wound. ) They're from-- some weird place. Not Australia. ( Grand something? ) Or, Fang is. I don't know about the other one.
( She just wants to keep Em talking, keep her conscious. Like it's the only hope she's got - and it could be, for all she knows. What the Hell does she know about treating gunshot wounds? ) Tell me something. Come on.
[ Right, cheerful. Okay, that's not bad. Not too bad. She really doesn't care at the moment, she just wants someone to save her because she feels useless and can't really do it herself.
She's so grateful, too, for her little monkey being there. She knows she shouldn't, should wish that she was safe, but she can't help it. Her hands are trembling a little as she grips one of Ellie's, squeezing back weakly, but at least squeezing back. ]
I don't know. [ She breathes out in pain. ] Hum. [ Wincing, frowning, trying to focus on anything. Something. ] I don't know. Ah, I guess, if you would let me, I would take you home with me? Would that be fine? [ She doesn't quite know why is she saying that, but she figures it's easier to focus on Ellie rather than herself right now. ]
Oh. But then she's speechless. For a few seconds, she resembles a fish out of water, opening and closing her mouth with no sound coming out. ) But I've got to go home. ( Homer, Kev, Lee, Fi. They all needed her. And her parents were back there. The reasons that kept her going, most days. Her response comes out as a reflex, honest and blunt as ever, before she can think of softening it, making it positive because her friend is bleeding a whole lot. )
You don't want to take a money home. We've got diseases and stuff. It's heaps nasty.
[ She laughs just a little bit, not too much because it hurts, and she squeezes Ellie's hand again. ]
I know. Sorry. [ A little ruefully, but she still can't help but to think Ellie would be much better off with her, back where she could keep her safe, because all these people suddenly disappearing without saying a word, all of them just... gone. It worries Em, sometimes. Sometimes she worries she will wake up and Ellie won't be there. ]
God, this hurts so much.
[ She was trying not to complain, but it's a little impossible. She would have agreed with Lee about the barbed wire comparison. Only a bundle of rows of barbed wire would be her assessment. ]
I'd go with you. ( She's pretty sure that's true. If it weren't for those people back home who needed her, anyway. ) I just need to find my parents. Okay?
( Saying no like that feels bad, but at least it's the truth. )
Come on. Obviously you've never eaten my friend Homer's cooking. I thought I was going to be throwing up until my eighteenth birthday. ( God. That was the worst day. ) It'll be okay. Just keep your chip up. You're not doing too bad, for a Frenchie. I reckoned you'd be heaps soft.
[ Probably the only reason she isn't doing bad it's because she's a little too tired to complain. And it hurts to move and to do anything other than just lay there. ]
Thanks. [ Kind of sarcastic, of course. She is trying very hard to keep her one eye open, but it's starting to get tiresome. She leans back a bit and turns her head up to the sky, staring at the clouds. ] It really is a beautiful place.
[ Like she's apologizing for bringing all of this to it. ]
She shakes her head, trying to push her own hair back with her shoulder so she doesn't wind up smearing Em's blood over her face, but it keeps falling forward. A minor thing, really, but it's frustrating when she's trying to see properly, keeping the pressure firm. ) I'm fine.
You gotta quit fussing over me. Bloody drama queen. ( Tense. So very, very tense. And suddenly, a surge of anger, because how dare she get shot? What right did she have to that?
It was childish, but she didn't care. ) What the Hell is wrong with you, telling me to get in the tent?
( And that bothers her too, but it's only bubbling up because she's scared and she quite literally doesn't know what to do. She remembers Lee describing gunshot wounds as having barbed wire slowly pulled through you, and that's all she can imagine now, barbed wire pulling and clawing Em's insides. What she'd give for her brain to shut up, sometimes. )
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What the Hell is wrong with you for not getting in?
[ Like that makes sense. Really. Arguing at a time like this. To be fair, though, it had been seriously the only thing that occurred to her to protect Ellie. ]
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( She can't help the reaction. Or, she can, but she's terrified, and if Em is fighting that means she's okay, right? It gives her something to focus on?
Loose straws. ) Moron.
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She breathes out shakily and reaches up a little blindly, laying her hand on Ellie's cheek. ]
I'm getting blood all over you. [ BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY THAT'S THE BIGGEST CONCERN. ]
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( For all that desire for combat, her voice is a bit softer. Gentler, and reassuring. She's a bit disgusted at herself for finding some comfort in Em's hand on her cheek, though. She shouldn't be the one getting comforted. )
You owe me a new shirt, but.
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[ She closes her eyes, frowning, wiping her sleeve on her forehead. It's fine to rest just for a bit, right? ]
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And her thoughts are hopping about like a roo on an obstacle course, because for a second she gets hit with s'truth, if I can make someone with a gunshot to the gut laugh, I should be a comedian.
That doesn't get much chance to stick, though. Not when Em's eyes are closing, and it drags scary things to the fore again, makes her think of Corrie, how her eyes closed and never opened again. ) Em! Wake up! ( Though she's keeping that bloodied shirt clamped down tight as she can, despite slipping, her one hand strays away for a sec to grab Em's shoulder, hard, fingers digging in. ) Open you eyes, right now!
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I'm awake. [ In a tiny voice, strained by pain and the exertion of keeping focused. She opens one eye, too tired to open the other. ] I'm just tired and sore. [ And scared and everything else. She tries to hold back a sob, but she can't. She's not one of those brave people that can keep their façades to the end, that aren't afraid of the crushing feeling of hope slowly slipping away.
She doesn't want to die. She isn't ready yet, she isn't. ]
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( The sob kicks into her massive guilt, Ellie shaking her head and keeping her hold. ) Fang and her friend are on the way. She's got-- she can heal, or something. Okay? You're gonna be good as new, you just gotta hold on 'til they get here.
( She can help it, but panic is setting in. She can be brave, sure, hold herself together and act like a soldier with Homer, but she's still a kid, really,. The fear setting in is close to overwhelming, tears running silently down her cheeks from the stress and panic that she's doing her utmost to ignore. She can't even recognise that she's crying, or accept it. ) Come on. Just stay awake, all right?
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All right. [ Although she sounds unsure, as if she isn't certain that she can do what she's being told to. ] Her friend isn't a snake, right? [ Not that she's trying to be funny, but it's the only thing she can think of.
She presses the stained shirt against her wound almost as if lazily, but more because it's getting harder to get a grip on it, mostly because of how her fingers seem to lack the strength to. ]
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Glancing down, she notes the weakness in Em's hand. A moment, a quiet, ) Just a sec, okay? I'll be back in just a sec.
( She's gone, rampaging through the tent for a moment, dragging out a sleeping bag, making soothing sounds as she raises Em's neck a bit, easing the folded up sleeping bag behind her head to rest her back, giving her support so that Ellie doesn't feel the need to support her and try to hold her up. Maybe it was stupid. Maybe whether or not your neck hurts is a stupid thing to think about, right now, but somehow it seemed like a good idea.
The shirt against Em's belly is soggy and stained red, but she isn't going to chance moving it. Instead she just presses her hand over Em's. Her hand feels cold - blood gets redirected from extremities to vital organs when you lose a bunch of blood, she's pretty sure a science teacher said that once in Biology. Ellie just squeezes Em's hand with both of hers, pressing down harder on the wound. ) They're from-- some weird place. Not Australia. ( Grand something? ) Or, Fang is. I don't know about the other one.
( She just wants to keep Em talking, keep her conscious. Like it's the only hope she's got - and it could be, for all she knows. What the Hell does she know about treating gunshot wounds? ) Tell me something. Come on.
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She's so grateful, too, for her little monkey being there. She knows she shouldn't, should wish that she was safe, but she can't help it. Her hands are trembling a little as she grips one of Ellie's, squeezing back weakly, but at least squeezing back. ]
I don't know. [ She breathes out in pain. ] Hum. [ Wincing, frowning, trying to focus on anything. Something. ] I don't know. Ah, I guess, if you would let me, I would take you home with me? Would that be fine? [ She doesn't quite know why is she saying that, but she figures it's easier to focus on Ellie rather than herself right now. ]
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Oh. But then she's speechless. For a few seconds, she resembles a fish out of water, opening and closing her mouth with no sound coming out. ) But I've got to go home. ( Homer, Kev, Lee, Fi. They all needed her. And her parents were back there. The reasons that kept her going, most days. Her response comes out as a reflex, honest and blunt as ever, before she can think of softening it, making it positive because her friend is bleeding a whole lot. )
You don't want to take a money home. We've got diseases and stuff. It's heaps nasty.
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I know. Sorry. [ A little ruefully, but she still can't help but to think Ellie would be much better off with her, back where she could keep her safe, because all these people suddenly disappearing without saying a word, all of them just... gone. It worries Em, sometimes. Sometimes she worries she will wake up and Ellie won't be there. ]
God, this hurts so much.
[ She was trying not to complain, but it's a little impossible. She would have agreed with Lee about the barbed wire comparison. Only a bundle of rows of barbed wire would be her assessment. ]
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( Saying no like that feels bad, but at least it's the truth. )
Come on. Obviously you've never eaten my friend Homer's cooking. I thought I was going to be throwing up until my eighteenth birthday. ( God. That was the worst day. ) It'll be okay. Just keep your chip up. You're not doing too bad, for a Frenchie. I reckoned you'd be heaps soft.
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Thanks. [ Kind of sarcastic, of course. She is trying very hard to keep her one eye open, but it's starting to get tiresome. She leans back a bit and turns her head up to the sky, staring at the clouds. ] It really is a beautiful place.
[ Like she's apologizing for bringing all of this to it. ]
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