07 // Action/Accidental Voice

[rain_of_bullets]

[Haine is feeling mostly better after his weekend in the rainforest.  The only outstanding injuries are on his wings, though they appear to be on the mend.  Still, it isn't what bothers him most.  There's the odd quiet in the house; something he used to appreciate, but now?  It's strange.  Badou's doorknob never did get fixed and his bed hasn't

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[manmade_angel]

[The house may be quiet and dark, but not everyone has left. At least, not voluntarily

[backthreading forever ;A;9]

[rain_of_bullets]

[Haine bristles at the sound of footsteps in the empty house, hand immediately reaching for his pistols as he creeps toward the door to his room and back to the hallway. The footfalls are hardly those of an experienced killer or even an ordinary human. They're erratic, weak, stumbling, obvious. He wastes no time in stealth and quickly pushes the door open, though once he sees who waits for him in the hall, he's uncertain if he should be relieved or angry beyond the point of reason when he gets a good look at the state she's in. As it stands, he can only watch numbly for a moment or two before his feet catch up with him and he moves toward her, arms there to steady the girl.]

You're still...

...the fuck did they do?

[FOREVER. oAo9]

[manmade_angel]

[Yes, she's still here. Even everyone leaving couldn't get her to leave without Haine. As long as he's here, as long as he needs her, Nill will be there. Even if it takes her a little bit to get home.]

[She stumbles into Haine's arms, relieved that she can take a rest from walking. Haine won't let her fall down. Nill clings to Haine's shirt and presses her forehead into his chest. Whatever was done to her, she can't remember all of it, but she can remember enough to put things together.]

[Nill's fingers pull at the bandage around her neck, trying weakly to get it off. It wasn't there before, and she doesn't know what's under it, so she can't answer Haine just yet.]

[rain_of_bullets]

[His actions feel clumsy, but he won't drop her, won't let her fall. He holds her tightly for a moment, as if it'll keep her from falling apart, even if he wants to tear whoever did this to her to pieces. He hasn't seen her so weak and shaken since they first met. It isn't until she tries to tug at her bandages that he loosens his hold, hand still on her shoulder for support as he inspects the damage.]

...what are these?

[He doesn't dare pull at them, for fear of hurting her in some kind of frantic motion, but helps where he can to take them off.]

[manmade_angel]

[Nill doesn't know what they're for either. She just knows they're there, and she wants them off. But with their combined effort, she and Haine finally get them loosened to where the half-healed stitches closing her neck up are visible. Obviously, she can't see what's there, so she tries to feel.]

[rain_of_bullets]

[When he can finally see what the damage is, it's with a sense of relief and anxiety that he inspects it. Relief because as fucked up as it was that someone had taken her away to experiment on, at least it wasn't a collar that she'd returned with. Anxiety because... what the hell was it

[manmade_angel]

[Nill jumps slightly when Haine takes her hand, ensuring she won't touch whatever was under the bandage. She can tell Haine is nervous, but something tells her that he was expecting something else. Maybe he had thought she had whatever was on his own neck. But they were only stitches. Stitches that closed her up after...]

[She shifts her hand and holds it, looking into Haine's eyes with a sense of urgency--because of anyone in Luceti, he'll know what this experiment meant to her. Nill's other hand hovers over her neck to start, then she opens her mouth and moves her hand to indicate something coming out. Then she moves her hand back to her throat, makes a fist and moves it away. Even if Haine told her she didn't have to remember, she always would. It would be easier if he knew, too. So she wouldn't feel so alone.]

[rain_of_bullets]

[Even without words, Nill has never had trouble communicating. While her answer is vague, it's enough.]

They were trying to make you talk?

[Even if they were both broken, he didn't want them trying to fix him. There wasn't a way to fix what he was. But maybe it wasn't the same for Nill. Maybe that was what she wanted. She'd spoken before, during another of their experiments, but that was hardly the same. ]

That's not- It doesn't make it alright. It doesn't make a fucking thing alright for them to steal you and all the others away like... like a bunch of broken toys that need to be fixed.

If you want to change then... that's for you to decide dammit. Not me, not some fucking doctor, not anyone else.

[He looks aside for a moment, jaw tight. The spine was his own decision, at least he'd had that much choice, even if the rest was out of his hands. But he couldn't stand the thought of them playing guinea pigs to this place. Not again.]

[manmade_angel]

[Truth be told, Nill never wanted to change. When she was younger, Nill had realized that she would probably never speak--and that wasn't the end of the world. She still lived a happy, healthy life that was full of good things, though. Her life was hard in some areas, but nothing that made it not worth living. And that was how she had come to terms with her inability to speak.]

[Nill knows that Haine is trying to be angry for her, because he's been angry over similar things for years. Being different, being 'changed', belonging to someone else... she doesn't want him to be angry, though. She's alive and home, and that's all that matters right now. She steadies herself with one arm, which clings to Haine's elbow, and reaches up weakly to hover her hand over the side of his face. Half of her usual gesture.]

[rain_of_bullets]

[Though he may not understand the intricacies of her thoughts, he can understand the gesture well enough to know that she's going to be alright. That she means to reassure him and doesn't want to see him upset.

He frowns, but covers her tiny hand with his own, looking down at the floor. This wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to be careful, he was supposed to watch out for her. Was she even safe with him? Dammit.]

[manmade_angel]

[Haine's still upset, Nill can tell. He's looking at the floor, thinking this is his fault no doubt. She didn't want to worry him like this, ever. Not after everything he'd done for her, not when he was already upset about being trapped in Luceti. But she couldn't stop Haine from feeling bad--she just had to show Haine that he could help her now.]

[She squeezed Haine's elbow again, barely, just to get his attention, and then looked back at her room. Nill needed to rest, but she was so unsteady on her feet maybe Haine could help her there. And she needed her neck rebandaged, which Haine did for himself all the time, right?]

[rain_of_bullets]

[The touch on his elbow is enough for him to look up. Did she still need something? The bandages were probably old, and it wasn't doing her any good to stand here, looking like she did. He frowned a little, more in response to her condition than anything the girl could've done, but he rests his hand on the small of her back and bends to sweep up her legs. She doesn't weigh much, and it's not as if her nearness bothers him anymore. It's a comfort more than anything, and one he's been acutely aware of being absent.]

C'mon. You need to rest.

[He doesn't wait for a response, but starts carrying her to her room.]

[manmade_angel]

[It's alright that Haine doesn't ask: Nill is perfectly fine with Haine holding and carrying her. It's happened many times before, after all, and it gives Haine some sense of power over Nill's situation if he's actively helping.]

[Nill wraps her arms around Haine's neck and nods into his shoulder. She's sorry she left, but now they're both here for each other--like before.]

[rain_of_bullets]

[It doesn't take him long to carry her to the room, then set her carefully on the bed, like a doll that might break. After the last few weeks, he's not taking any chances. Nill is smart, she can take care of their mangy asses as well as herself, but recent events are enough to make him wary.]

Do you need a drink? Medicine?

[The bandages, right. Those stitches need to be dressed and- do they have any ointment? That's what people usually use, isn't it?]

[manmade_angel]

[Nill sighs softly in relief as she's set on the bed to rest. Until now, she really didn't realize how much effort she was expending trying to stay standing up. She smiles weakly at Haine when she realizes Haine's never actually had to deal with being sick or injured. He must not know what to do to make long-term healing more comfortable.]

[She mimes that she needs water, a blanket, some new bandages, and rest. Hopefully that will put Haine at ease.]

[rain_of_bullets]

Drink, blanket, bandages, and sleep.

[He recites the list and nods, pushing himself up from the bed and returns a few minutes later, tossing the blanket on the bed and handing her the water glass before he pulls the bandages and a small knife out of his pocket and starts trying to find the end of the gauze.]