Nowe stopped. He'd noticed the shivering. Again his eyes flickered to the doorway. Sora wasn't here yet. Of course Sora wasn't here yet. He was supposed to go help Kurosaki first. What could Sora do for Renji, anyway? Hopelessness was starting to fill his heart. Renji was still babbling nonsense. There was no way that was a good sign.
He had to keep Renji warm. Looking down at himself, he realized he didn't really have any more supplies on him besides the shoelaces tied around his wrist and the clothes on his back.
Wait a second...Nowe peeled his shirt off. It was sticky with blood, but maybe it would help. He couldn't afford to be a pessimist about it. He laid it over Renji, then continued his story, though with considerably more difficulty this time
( ... )
"It's not like I could do much better. Thank you for coming to help us," Nowe said to the man quietly, knowing his words probably wouldn't mean much coming from a complete stranger. He wasn't sure what Renji's mumbled words meant, but he mentally saved them to ask him (or Kurosaki) about them later. He let Renji hold onto his wrist, though, barely wincing when it tightened.
"Relax, Renji," he murmured, seeing that Scar probably needed more bandages and reaching for his own shirt that he'd laid over Renji, starting to tear it up into more strips of cloth. Once it was effectively shredded, Nowe reached out, carefully moving some of Renji's blood-soaked, matted red hair out of the way so it wouldn't get caught in the dressings.
Renji did relax, for now, his brow furrowed with thought. "They took... him," he said. "Feel so empty. That's... why I'm so... weak."
He breathed as deeply as he could; not very. For the moment, he seemed more lucid, his eyes clear and steady. He looked at Scar. "Thank you," he said. "Just have... to make it... until morning." He managed a decent enough smile, though it was a shadow of his normal cocky grin. "Not too long." A shiver ran through him.
Scar simply continued his task, glad, at least, that now the tattooed man wasn't fighting back. Still, even as he worked, his mind couldn't seem to let go of the memories that had been jarred from the very bones of his memory, the core of his conscience.
It had been frighteningly easy for those things to fade over the course of so little time, he now realized. This place could do that to a person--make them worry so much about getting out that they forgot what had brought them in. His life was fresh in his mind, his failures in focus, and he found himself wondering where Lust was and if she was okay. She'd said she had plans...
Before long, Scar found he had finished the roll of bandages, and it was all he could do to look down at his empty hands until he saw what the kid was doing.
"I hope not. There's really no sense of time in this pl--" Nowe stopped, flinching as the intercom screeched on and a woman's voice came through. He listened to the announcement, raising an eyebrow once it finished.
"What is 'Valentine's day'...? Is it just an occasion for drinking?" he asked Scar, keeping his hands on Renji's shoulders to keep the man from moving in case he slipped into his delusional state again. He was glad to hear the coherency, at least. Feeling they'd done about as much as they could for now, he held out his hand to Scar.
"Thank you again for coming to help us. I'm Nowe. What's your name?"
Renji wasn't certain what the Valentine's day thing was either. Probably a modern thing... he was fairly certain he'd seen something about it at some point. It had involved some very odd decorations (red and pink and white things) and girls giving chocolate to boys. He wanted to share this, but didn't really have the inclination to spell it out, a few words at a time. Maybe tomorrow, during the day. Maybe he'd feel better.
...well, either he'd be better, or he'd be dead. And it didn't matter all that much.
He looked at Nowe. "Did Rukia... get away?" he asked. Suddenly that seemed very important. "Traitors..."
"Guys?" A voice called around from the corner of the rising steps, accompanied by soft and limping footsteps. "...I'm sorry."
Ichigo appeared, carefully winding his way down from the upper floor, his yet unbroken hand placed up against the wall to keep himself steady. His head, hung low, flashed his stunningly bright orange hair in a contradictory display of shame.
One of his legs lagged weakly behind the other, one of his arms hung lifelessly down at his side, and one of his eyes had swollen completely shut, surrounded by blackened skin. However, his posture was straight and true; Ichigo wouldn't display his pain outright, not until every last ounce of strength was gone from his body.
It took some effort, but Ichigo was able to kneel down beside Renji, staring at him with soft, lulling eyes. "Take it easy, Renji. She's fine."
Once they got safely into the room, Sora could tell how eager Kurosaki was to get to Renji, so he left him go, wincing as he watched the way his leg dragged awkwardly behind him.
Renji didn't seem well at all, but hopefully he would improve when he saw that they had both made it back safely. The boy stepped up to the group, making it his priority to thank Scar.
"He's up there now, fighting for us," he said. "Thank you so much. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't..." He stopped there, imagining the man would be able to infer the rest. It looked as if he'd bandaged Renji up as best as he could.
Turning his attention to Nowe, who looked more than a little shaken up, he managed a small smile. "I told you I'd be back," he said quietly, mindful of how many injured were present.
And suddenly, Ichigo and Sora were there; it was alright. Renji grinned at Ichigo; his teeth were filmed with blood. "That's... good," he wheezed. He didn't even really remember what it was he'd asked.
Everyone was safe now, with Kurosaki there, and this other man whose name he couldn't remember, or even remember if he'd been told. The relief swept away the last of his resolve. Renji's eyes rolled back into his head as he completely lost consciousness.
(OOC: Sorry for skipping posting order, but this is my absolute last opportunity to post before the end of night shift. Renji is down for the count, feel free to manhandle him around however you'd like. See you in the morning!)
It looked like the cavalry had arrived, as much as Scar had come to despise military terms. The orange-haired boy and Sora seemed to be alive enough to survive, and even though Renji now fell into unconsciousness, Scar felt that he'd at least bandaged the man up enough that he'd hold out until morning.
However, as Scar's red eyes scanned the dim light of the room, something seemed to be missing. He was about to ask where Dias was when Sora gave the answer and Scar found himself gritting his teeth as his eyes narrowed.
"You left him there?" Scar said in a low, dangerous tone. True, he knew Dias was an excellent fighter, and the kind of man who would make sacrifices for the sake of the well-being of others, but for these people to ask for their help and then abandon him, especially to a monster that had already done so much damage to those in this room who had fought against it...
The Ishbalan stood up, fists clenched in anger as his bare chest heaved.
Nowe grimaced as Renji lost consciousness. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, but the man still seemed to be breathing, so he decided not to worry for now. It looked like he needed the rest. He looked up as the door open, eyes widening in surprise as Kurosaki stumbled in, followed soon after by Sora. His shoulders sagged. They were alive, and basically in one piece. Nowe couldn't help but smile.
"Welcome back," he said, relief etched on every corner of his face, though it faded when Scar's cold question seemed to echo in the room.
Nowe wasn't sure how fair of an accusation that was. Sora was a kid. A capable one, certainly but how many times had he summoned his weapon already? Scar couldn't possibly expect him to have stayed back with whoever he'd found to help, could he? He stood up, flashlight grasped in his hand. Renji might kill him for this, but
( ... )
He had to keep Renji warm. Looking down at himself, he realized he didn't really have any more supplies on him besides the shoelaces tied around his wrist and the clothes on his back.
Wait a second...Nowe peeled his shirt off. It was sticky with blood, but maybe it would help. He couldn't afford to be a pessimist about it. He laid it over Renji, then continued his story, though with considerably more difficulty this time ( ... )
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"Relax, Renji," he murmured, seeing that Scar probably needed more bandages and reaching for his own shirt that he'd laid over Renji, starting to tear it up into more strips of cloth. Once it was effectively shredded, Nowe reached out, carefully moving some of Renji's blood-soaked, matted red hair out of the way so it wouldn't get caught in the dressings.
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He breathed as deeply as he could; not very. For the moment, he seemed more lucid, his eyes clear and steady. He looked at Scar. "Thank you," he said. "Just have... to make it... until morning." He managed a decent enough smile, though it was a shadow of his normal cocky grin. "Not too long." A shiver ran through him.
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It had been frighteningly easy for those things to fade over the course of so little time, he now realized. This place could do that to a person--make them worry so much about getting out that they forgot what had brought them in. His life was fresh in his mind, his failures in focus, and he found himself wondering where Lust was and if she was okay. She'd said she had plans...
Before long, Scar found he had finished the roll of bandages, and it was all he could do to look down at his empty hands until he saw what the kid was doing.
"Morning shouldn't be long away," he murmured.
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"What is 'Valentine's day'...? Is it just an occasion for drinking?" he asked Scar, keeping his hands on Renji's shoulders to keep the man from moving in case he slipped into his delusional state again. He was glad to hear the coherency, at least. Feeling they'd done about as much as they could for now, he held out his hand to Scar.
"Thank you again for coming to help us. I'm Nowe. What's your name?"
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...well, either he'd be better, or he'd be dead. And it didn't matter all that much.
He looked at Nowe. "Did Rukia... get away?" he asked. Suddenly that seemed very important. "Traitors..."
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Ichigo appeared, carefully winding his way down from the upper floor, his yet unbroken hand placed up against the wall to keep himself steady. His head, hung low, flashed his stunningly bright orange hair in a contradictory display of shame.
One of his legs lagged weakly behind the other, one of his arms hung lifelessly down at his side, and one of his eyes had swollen completely shut, surrounded by blackened skin. However, his posture was straight and true; Ichigo wouldn't display his pain outright, not until every last ounce of strength was gone from his body.
It took some effort, but Ichigo was able to kneel down beside Renji, staring at him with soft, lulling eyes. "Take it easy, Renji. She's fine."
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Renji didn't seem well at all, but hopefully he would improve when he saw that they had both made it back safely. The boy stepped up to the group, making it his priority to thank Scar.
"He's up there now, fighting for us," he said. "Thank you so much. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't..." He stopped there, imagining the man would be able to infer the rest. It looked as if he'd bandaged Renji up as best as he could.
Turning his attention to Nowe, who looked more than a little shaken up, he managed a small smile. "I told you I'd be back," he said quietly, mindful of how many injured were present.
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Everyone was safe now, with Kurosaki there, and this other man whose name he couldn't remember, or even remember if he'd been told. The relief swept away the last of his resolve. Renji's eyes rolled back into his head as he completely lost consciousness.
(OOC: Sorry for skipping posting order, but this is my absolute last opportunity to post before the end of night shift. Renji is down for the count, feel free to manhandle him around however you'd like. See you in the morning!)
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However, as Scar's red eyes scanned the dim light of the room, something seemed to be missing. He was about to ask where Dias was when Sora gave the answer and Scar found himself gritting his teeth as his eyes narrowed.
"You left him there?" Scar said in a low, dangerous tone. True, he knew Dias was an excellent fighter, and the kind of man who would make sacrifices for the sake of the well-being of others, but for these people to ask for their help and then abandon him, especially to a monster that had already done so much damage to those in this room who had fought against it...
The Ishbalan stood up, fists clenched in anger as his bare chest heaved.
"Where the hell is he?"
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"Welcome back," he said, relief etched on every corner of his face, though it faded when Scar's cold question seemed to echo in the room.
Nowe wasn't sure how fair of an accusation that was. Sora was a kid. A capable one, certainly but how many times had he summoned his weapon already? Scar couldn't possibly expect him to have stayed back with whoever he'd found to help, could he? He stood up, flashlight grasped in his hand. Renji might kill him for this, but ( ... )
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