(Untitled)

[ishbalriffs]

*bursts cacophonously through the door of the chateau, drenched and utterly out of breath; slams the door behind him with shaking arms and leans against it, gulping for breath; the knee of his jeans is torn and bloody, and his sunglasses are gone*

Comments

[songless_psiren]

*hears the door slam and goes to investigate, eyes widening* ...Mal! Oh my goodness, did something happen?! *takes in his appearance, heart dropping into the pit of her stomach*

((...Yeah, I'm gonna say that thread with Havoc happened earlier and she's home already. ^_^;; ))

[songless_psiren]

*seething, equal parts furious and terrified, putting her other arm back around him and clinging, because ohmigod he almost got SHOT* Thank God. Oh, thank God you're okay. Thank God. ...There will be a reckoning for this. *narrows her eyes*

[ishbalriffs]

*tries his best to steady his breathing, which is still coming in frantic, erratic gasps, trying to convince himself that he is safe here, surely no one would dare come into Clara's house looking for him... doesn't quite buy it*

*notices for the first time the stinging in his knee and touches it absently, surprised to see blood on his fingertips* ...I slipped. *isn't sure if he's explaining to Clara or just reminding himself; remembers falling and the terror of the flight floods back into him again; knows Clara hates swearing and so instead settles for hissing the worst Ishbalan profanity that will come to mind*

[songless_psiren]

*loosens her hold on him just slightly and turns to peer at his knee* Yes, I noticed that. You scraped your hand a little, too. You want me to get those cleaned up a little?

[ishbalriffs]

*closes his eyes very tightly, trying to reign himself in and calm down; shrugs, letting out a very long breath* Doesn't matter. *opening his eyes to glance at his hand, then pushes the wet hair off his forehead* Doesn't really hurt.

*detaches Clara's arms from him gently and pushes himself to his feet, a bit unsteady* Could use a drink of water...

[songless_psiren]

*also gets to her feet* Yes of course... come with me to the kitchen. *leads the way* We're going to want to get your scrapes cleaned up a bit in a few minutes, but it can wait. Just take it easy for now.

[ishbalriffs]

*follows her dutifully to the kitchen, regaining some of his steadiness as he walks, though his legs are exhausted; gets himself a cup from the cupboard and jams it under the sink, filling it to the brim and bringing it to his lips quickly, drinking it in big gulps until it is empty, then setting the glass down*

[songless_psiren]

*leans against the counter and frowns at her hands, thinking*

[ishbalriffs]

*looks over his shoulder at Clara, then walks to one of the chairs and sits down heavily, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and lacing his hands together, visibly calmer* ....I don't know what to do.

[songless_psiren]

...Well I know I'm going to lodge a complaint. *sighs, pulling out a chair for herself and sitting* ...Do you... do you think you could tell me more about what happened?

[ishbalriffs]

*feels skeptical that that will work so well, but keeps it to himself* Yeah, of course. *runs both hands through his wet hair brusquely, trying to remember the exact details* I was going to go to that store where you bought the turntable. I heard some guy yelling, but I didn't realize he was yelling at me. I look up and this guy's pointing a gun at me. Like, right at me. *swallows, losing his pace for a moment*

....He said, um. He was going to throw handcuffs at me, and he wanted me to put them on with my hands behind my back. And if I moved too much- he'd shoot me. *shoulders drawing inward almost imperceptibly* But I didn't put them on. I didn't want him to- I- he started to come closer and I freaked out and ran away. *brings a hand to the back of his neck, rubbing it unconsciously, looking at nothing in particular* I heard him running after me, and then h-he started to shoot.

[songless_psiren]

*...why am I indirectly involved in placing him in danger, everytime?!* ...Merciful Lord... that's it? Just like that? ...Did he say why he wanted to arrest you? And firing his gun-! *covers her face with her hands, angry and anxious and relieved all over again* ...You probably should've let him arrest you, although with what's happened in the past, I suppose I can't blame you. Oh, but what if-! No, it's not even worth thinking about. Thank God, it could've been worse. *frowns darkly* I just can't fathom... just completely unnecessary and out of proportion with... you didn't even do anything!

[ishbalriffs]

*tries to remember, but it's hard to remember those first few seconds in the face of what happened after* I don't think so. He just- *drawing in on himself a little further* Yeah, I know I know. If a cop tries to arrest you you're not supposed to resist or act like you've got anything to hide. *a muscle jumping in his jaw, willing himself to sound neutral* But that d-didn't work so well last time, so I just - I - I panicked.

[songless_psiren]

No, I completely understand... and I don't know, maybe you did the right thing... on the one hand, maybe he wouldn't have shot at you... on the other hand, he did shoot at you, so who knows what he might've done? I'm just glad you were able to get away unharmed. *sighs* ...I'm going to look into this. This is just completely unacceptable. ...Maybe you ought to stay home for a couple of days until I get this figured out.

[ishbalriffs]

*suppresses a shiver, doubts beginning to catch up with him at last* Maybe I... I should've demanded he tell me what he was arresting me for or... I don't know. Dammit! *pinches the bridge of his nose* Maybe I messed up. I wish I weren't so- so stupid sometimes. Running away from a guy with a gun pointed at me... *shakes his head*

Yeah, no worries- *rattling, humorless laugh* -there's no way I'm leaving the house for a long, long time. *closes his eyes briefly* You want to know what he looked like?

[songless_psiren]

...Hey... don't stress about it, you were scared. You're all in one piece, that's the important thing.

Yes, please. *clenches her jaw*