[Complete]

[jewelofgardios]

Who: Guy jewelofgardios and Asch flameoflorelei
What: Asch is hurt, so Guy goes to lend a hand.
Where: The neighbourhood area near the school/Guy's bar
When: After Asch's arrival
Rating: PG/PG-13, at least. HOLY HELL NC-17.
Open: Nope!

Comments

[flameoflorelei]

Asch was sitting on the ground near one of houses. This was a far better position, in his opinion, than lying on the ground in a crumpled, exhausted mess. He'd woken up in the latter position, and pulled himself up enough to sit when he discovered Guy was coming. He didn't want to look as undignified as he felt

[jewelofgardios]

Within a few minutes, Guy passed the empty school, and gazed about the area once again, hunting here and there for his former master. Once more he found himself wishing for a seventh fonist, or at least a few curatives - if Asch was hurt, it wasn't as though he had any way to offer the redheaded general a quick fix. His first aid skills were acceptable, but nothing was more effective than a healing arte...

There was no sense in worrying about such things until he actually got a look at Asch's state of health, and he couldn't do that until he found the younger man. Finding Asch was easier than he'd figured it would be, however; a moment later he turned the corner of a building and sure enough, there he was.

"Asch!" he called, picking up the pace as he headed over to where the God-General was seated. His brows furrowed when he was close enough to see how pale and tired Asch seemed compared to the last time they'd seen one another. Just how bad was it?

[flameoflorelei]

For all of his being an incarnate of the seventh fonon, Asch had never bothered much with learning healing spells. Learning offensive spells had been a testament to patience that Asch rarely had, and so he'd only learned a tiny bit of magic. Asch usually had plenty of gels with him, and when he'd been an active God-General, he would have had other Seventh Fonists under his command.

He had none of this now, and he preferred not to think about how much he needed it. He needed to shut everything out, to calm his own nerves and deal with this reunion in an appropriately bitchy manner. "I'm over here, Guy," he said flatly, surprised at how much it had sounded like a croak. How long had he been out for? He sounded awful, and realized that it would be much harder to lie about his condition when his body was betraying him so.

[jewelofgardios]

Asch's tone and voice were more telling than anything else Guy could have expected to hear, in regards to the young man's condition. Lips tightening into a frown, he crouched down beside Asch, one arm resting on bended knee, and looked him up and down. "You don't look fine," he said quietly, a hint of a reprimand entering his voice. "How bad is it? Can you stand?"

He had no supplies with him, nothing to deal with any injuries Asch was apparently concealing. Giving the air a light sniff, he caught the sharp scent of blood, and that fact made him even more concerned. They needed to get back to the bar - at least there he'd have access to a first aid kit and fresh water. The only other issue was whether or not Asch would actually let him help...

[flameoflorelei]

For a moment, Asch was worried that Guy would say something about the change in his posture, and he was pleased for the subject change. Even better was the news that their destination was so close.

He made a noise of acknowledgement, and studied the sign and storefront. Though he was injured, Asch was already making plans to explore the area, and he wanted to make sure he knew where he could return to safety. That was under the assumption that Guy would let him return, which he hoped would be the case. Asch wasn't about to go demanding more hospitality just yet.

[jewelofgardios]

They were quiet the last few moments, and Guy wasn't sure whether or not he liked it. He was used to Asch being irritable (almost intolerably so) and insulting, though on some levels Guy couldn't blame him for it. Through no fault of his own, Luke had brought a lot of misery to Asch's life. Despite how he had planned for years to do just that, he found he didn't like it when it was staring him in the face, already accomplished. And seeing Asch so quiet and... well, calm, was a little disconcerting.

Shrugging off any morbid thoughts, he shifted Asch's weight against him as they reached the door, freeing his hand just long enough to open it, and helped Asch inside. The bar was still rather disorderly - okay, so that was an understatement - but it smelled clean, at least.

"It's not much," he admitted, glancing over at Asch, "But it keeps us off the streets."

[flameoflorelei]

Asch was full of irritation and venom, but he was also feeling worse for wear. The walk to Guy's bar had alerted him to many of the complaints his body was having. For now, there were worse enemies than Guy to be fighting.

He was about to reply to Guy's statement, but the state of the bar had drawn his attention. "...What the fuck happened here?!" He'd trusted Guy to bring him somewhere safe, but chunks of wood - Had that been a table? - and blood splatters were not pinnacles of safety in his mind. He was suddenly very happy to have his sword by his side, still.

[jewelofgardios]

Oh. Right. The mess.

Guy gave a slightly nervous laugh, scratching the back of his head, and dismissed the chaos half the room presented with a wave of the hand before gripping Asch's wrist to continue forward. "Oh, that? Don't worry about it, it was just a bar fight." Which was true. "I haven't gotten around to cleaning it yet." Also true. "It won't happen again, though." ...Hopefully true.

[jewelofgardios]

Guy was inwardly grateful that Asch wasn't going to start an argument about it - really, he had no justification besides "You're a reckless idiot and I'm babysitting you" or something, and that wouldn't exactly work. Asch was even more obstinate than Luke, which was an accomplishment all on its own. Remaining silent, knowing that any comments he made would probably earn him a sharp retort, Guy shifted closer and moved his hand behind Asch's head, tilting it up just enough to set the glass comfortably by his chin, pulling it back after a moment to let Asch take another.

"I don't know how strong they are," he admitted, "But it's better than nothing."

[flameoflorelei]

"I'll deal with whatever pain they leave behind." He was plenty accustomed to ignoring it. "The worst will be over when you're finished cleaning."

Asch opened his mouth and swallowed the water and pill. The water was refreshing and it was only then he realized how parched he was. When Guy pulled away, he spoke before putting the second pill into his mouth. "I want to drink the rest of it." He figured that a statement wasn't as helpless-sounding as a question.

[jewelofgardios]

Both amused and exasperated - honestly, sometimes it was like Asch didn't even know how to ask a question - Guy shrugged in response and lifted the glass again, slowly helping him drain the glass. It was no surprise, really, what with how Asch's voice had sounded when he'd first arrived. Dehydration and bloodloss were not a good combination.

Drawing back the glass when Asch was done and setting it on the floor beside him, Guy gingerly lay his head back down and shifted back to continue working on the wound. It had bled more since he'd left it, but it was looking cleaner, at least. "After I get you patched up, I'll make something to eat. You look like you could use a good meal."

[flameoflorelei]

Part of Asch believed that asking for help was tantamount to admitting you couldn't do it on your own. He gulped down the water gratefully, and rested his head as comfortably as he could against the cot. He was just barely starting to feel better.

He hadn't even noticed the extra bleeding. Asch was so used to it bleeding on its own that he hadn't bothered to point it out. His stomach gurgled as Guy spoke. "I haven't eaten since before I entered Radiation Gate." He liked the idea of eating, so long as his body allowed him to keep it in. He was so exhausted, from both the trek and the hyperresonance, that he wasn't sure just what it wanted to do.

[jewelofgardios]

It wasn't long before he finished; Guy made a few final stitches to make sure they didn't come loose, then cut the thread and set the needle aside. "There. Just give me a minute to set the first bandage, and I'll get you to sit up so I can bind it." He smiled, satisfied with the quality of his work; not professional by any standards, but acceptable, and it did the job. He gave the wound a little more disinfectant and set the gauze back in place, making sure it was completely covered before grabbing some adhesive to tape it down.

Once he was satisfied with that, Guy pulled back, curving his arm beneath Asch's shoulders. "Alright, let's finish it up so we can eat something; I'm starving." He pulled gently, starting to lift the God-General back into a sitting position, one hand resting lightly on the bandage to make sure it didn't move or fall off.

[flameoflorelei]

Asch relaxed his grip on the edge of the cot, though his eyes remained closed for a moment. It was relieving to feel the wound bound up and no longer bleeding. There was still some sting from the needle, but it was quickly fading.

After Guy had finished with the top bandage, Asch sat up with his help. He was surprised at Guy's gentleness even now. He opened his eyes again, wiping some sweat from his brow, and leaving his arms up so that Guy could wrap the bandages more easily.