She closed her eyes for just a moment, wincing with pain as the doctor applied yet another bandage to stem the flow of blood from her throat. Rebecca's voice faded away, indistinguishable
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This is starting to feel like a habit. Frozen with barely disguised horror, Paul watches her bandage a throat wound with a strip torn from her fucking pants. He's been at the beach, board-shorts and a t-shirt, but it's easy enough to slip into Doctor mode.
"Are you kidding me?" he asks her. "You do know we have a clinic?"
Riza whirls around, briefly regretting the action as her head spins. She holds onto the sharp rock, ready to throw it at the man if he seems like a threat. Not that that's likely -- judging from his physical build and how he stands, he doesn't seem like much of a martial artist, or the kind of person who would carry a weapon. But it doesn't hurt to be careful.
"Who are you?" she snaps, her voice cold but not afraid. "What is this place?"
He registers the rock in her hand, both eyebrows raised and both hands up in a gesture not unlike surrender. "I...you're in a place called Tabula Rasa. It's safe here. You're totally safe. And I'm a Doctor. Paul. Helinski. You look like you need some help."
"Tabula Rasa." Riza knows the phrase from her father's alchemical studies -- the blank slate. There is something ominous about that name. Nor does she really believe he can promise her safety, not after being abducted. The wound on her throat throbs, but her posture remains wary, ready to fight or flee.
Hawkeye usually stuck to the paths and the beach, but every so often he'd get an urge to wander into the jungle just to see if anything interesting could be found. At the very least, he usually managed to find things worth eating.
He was just standing and pondering the best way to pick a prickly pawpaw without hurting his hand, when there was a sudden movement on the edge of his peripheral vision. He turned, expecting to see a wild boar or maybe a large jungle fowl, but instead was faced by a woman with a bandaged neck.
He frowned.
"Are you alright there?" he said. "I can get you a better bandage than that."
Riza had been wandering the jungle for awhile. Her military training had not included jungle survival techniques -- who needed them when the main battlefield was the desert wasteland of Ishbal? She knew she had to find a source of water, but how was another question entirely. She could hardly hear anything about the noises of wildlife.
She was both wary and grateful, then, to stumble upon another human being. He didn't notice her at first, and she took a moment to hunt around for a branch or something that she could use as a weapon, if necessary. That movement caught his attention, though, and he turned to face her before she could find anything.
"What is this place?" She ignores the pleasantries; it hurts to talk. "How did I get here?"
"What is this place? Nobody knows. How'd you get here? Nobody knows that, either," he said, shrugging. "The only thing we do know is that once you're here, you can't leave. That's not so bad though, since as long as you don't mind a little occasional surrealism, it's not a bad place to be."
He smiled widely, hoping to convey that despite the strangeness of what he was saying, it really wasn't anything to worry about.
"Now, seriously, we ought to see about your neck injury. The Compound clinic's not far from here."
His smile was not particularly reassuring. There was nothing reassuring about being brought to an unknown place by unknown means and being unable to leave.
She hesitated a moment at the suggestion to go to the Compound clinic, but really, it was the only sensible decision. Her injury needed care, and she needed people in order to get more information.
She leaned over again and found a branch of sufficient size to be a weapon. Perhaps at the clinic she could find a real one, too.
She nodded slightly to indicate that he should lead the way.
At this point, Riza sorely wished her training had included jungle survival. In cities and the desert, she could navigate herself fairly well, but here every tree looked the same. Finally she started using a rock to mark the trees that she had already passed, but that would only tell her if she was going in circles. It wouldn't help her find water or humanity.
She heard footsteps and whirled around, coming face to face with a man carrying a spear. He looked almost like an Ishbalan, except without the red eyes. His posture was non-threatening, but the spear made her wary. She immediately took a few steps back and held up the rock, ready to throw it at him.
"What is this place?" she asked. "How did I get here?
The man did not seem threatened by her -- understandable, as Riza did not much feel like a threat at the moment -- nor did he seem inclined to attack. But Riza remained in a defensive position as she listened to his explanation. Tabula Rasa -- the blank slate, if she remembered her father's alchemical studies correctly. The name had an ominous ring to it.
The offer of doctors and medical facilities sounded almost too good to be true. It was hard to believe any kind of real civilization could exist in this jungle.
"How was I brought here?" she asked, not moving. The wound on her neck throbbed, but she wouldn't budge until she got a few more answers.
The pain of her injury, in addition to exhaustion, made it difficult for Riza concentrate, otherwise she probably would have noticed the man's approach before he called out. She had not exactly been given time to recover from her injury and the battle in Central before arriving...wherever this place was, and she had been wandering for hours.
She whirled around, immediately regretting the action as the world swam. She was down to her last reserves of energy, but somehow she managed not to stumble and obviously betray her exhaustion.
"Who are you?" she snapped, her voice a little hoarse, and her face betraying just the slightest expression of pain.
A clinic. How could there be a clinic in the middle of the jungle? A hut she could imagine. A small village, yes. But the idea of a real clinic here seemed suspicious.
"What is this place?" she asked, anchoring her feet in an effort to keep herself from swaying. She knew she didn't really have a choice but to trust him, but it was a leap of faith she didn't feel capable of. Not just yet. "How did I get here?"
Comments 78
"Are you kidding me?" he asks her. "You do know we have a clinic?"
Reply
"Who are you?" she snaps, her voice cold but not afraid. "What is this place?"
[ooc: what is this notif fail? /kicks LJ]
Reply
Reply
"How far are we from Amestris?"
Reply
He was just standing and pondering the best way to pick a prickly pawpaw without hurting his hand, when there was a sudden movement on the edge of his peripheral vision. He turned, expecting to see a wild boar or maybe a large jungle fowl, but instead was faced by a woman with a bandaged neck.
He frowned.
"Are you alright there?" he said. "I can get you a better bandage than that."
Reply
She was both wary and grateful, then, to stumble upon another human being. He didn't notice her at first, and she took a moment to hunt around for a branch or something that she could use as a weapon, if necessary. That movement caught his attention, though, and he turned to face her before she could find anything.
"What is this place?" She ignores the pleasantries; it hurts to talk. "How did I get here?"
Reply
"What is this place? Nobody knows. How'd you get here? Nobody knows that, either," he said, shrugging. "The only thing we do know is that once you're here, you can't leave. That's not so bad though, since as long as you don't mind a little occasional surrealism, it's not a bad place to be."
He smiled widely, hoping to convey that despite the strangeness of what he was saying, it really wasn't anything to worry about.
"Now, seriously, we ought to see about your neck injury. The Compound clinic's not far from here."
Reply
She hesitated a moment at the suggestion to go to the Compound clinic, but really, it was the only sensible decision. Her injury needed care, and she needed people in order to get more information.
She leaned over again and found a branch of sufficient size to be a weapon. Perhaps at the clinic she could find a real one, too.
She nodded slightly to indicate that he should lead the way.
Reply
Reply
She heard footsteps and whirled around, coming face to face with a man carrying a spear. He looked almost like an Ishbalan, except without the red eyes. His posture was non-threatening, but the spear made her wary. She immediately took a few steps back and held up the rock, ready to throw it at him.
"What is this place?" she asked. "How did I get here?
Reply
Reply
The offer of doctors and medical facilities sounded almost too good to be true. It was hard to believe any kind of real civilization could exist in this jungle.
"How was I brought here?" she asked, not moving. The wound on her neck throbbed, but she wouldn't budge until she got a few more answers.
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
She whirled around, immediately regretting the action as the world swam. She was down to her last reserves of energy, but somehow she managed not to stumble and obviously betray her exhaustion.
"Who are you?" she snapped, her voice a little hoarse, and her face betraying just the slightest expression of pain.
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
"What is this place?" she asked, anchoring her feet in an effort to keep herself from swaying. She knew she didn't really have a choice but to trust him, but it was a leap of faith she didn't feel capable of. Not just yet. "How did I get here?"
Reply
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