[open] when you got nowhere left to go

[fintastic]

Who| Feferi and you
What| Feferi is hanging around the training center after her death, trying to distract herself by cheering other people up.
Where| Training Center, all around
When| end of Week 4/beginning of Week 5
Warnings/Notes| possible talk of death, violence, and mutilation in subthreads

It stings, losing. Feferi wasn't really prepared to lose. She's a troll, she should have had the upper edge, even without her powers. But she let guard down, and in the end, that was her undoing. It's not the memory of all the pain, the daily paranoia that someone might be lurking around the corner. It's that she knows she can't protect Sollux any more than she already has, and that hurts more than any broken bone ever could. She just wanted one of them to come out on top, to take away some of the worry.

She takes to the common areas of the training center, trying to find some of her fellow tributes who are lurking around, trying to find the ones who look like they're in need of a cheering up, even even some of the ones who aren't. There's no sense in moping. She's still upset, but she knows it will pass soon enough. She reassures her that in time, she'll see her nearly five weeks in the arena as a success. For her first time, she did pretty well-- or so she'll think when the initial bite passes.

Vaguely, she's aware that the power outage in the Capitol wasn't any more pleasant than it was in the arena, but she can't let that stop her. Others might need a cheering up even more in light of all the action. She'll walk up to anyone, flagging down her friends, and introducing herself to strangers with a big smile and a perk of her fins and a friendly-sounding "Hi there!"

Comments

[unconchonable]

"Fef--" his voice clearly shows his own exasperation as her foot serves to keep the door from closing like it was made to do. Then she's bowling herself against it, and he's far too tired to fight against her for long.

"It's nothin'! Ain't a thing worth takin' a gander at, that's for damn bloody sure!" He's saying it all too quickly, and perhaps it's because he's slightly panicking. What dignity and self sufficiency he'd like to believe himself to have is in jeopardy right now, and he's got to fight back, got to keep Feferi away so he can at least pretend he can take care of himself.

But considering she basically scraped him off the floor of the lobby, it's pretty obvious that's nothing but a fantasy at this point.

Sure enough, with Feferi pressing against the door as she is, he finally is forced back, the door opening more, allowing her entry. He takes a few stumbled steps back, his hand gripping at his towel to keep it on, while he's trying to slouch in a way that hides his sides from her. It doesn't really work, except for his free arm curling against his side, trying to hide the damage.

"As you can see, Princess, I'm fine."

[fintastic]

Finally in the door, she's already trying to fuss over him, even if he's doing his best to thwart her. She's a little more ginger when she actually touches him, trying to pull his arms away from his sides so she can get a better look.

"You do not give me that attitude, mister! Now let me look!" She can see some of the marks, some of the purple swelling blossoming out from the wounds. That's where his gills should be, and she doesn't like the looks of it from what she can see. "I'm trying to help you, will you let me, just this once?"

[unconchonable]

She's in the room, in his space, and she's not leaving any time soon.

Eugh.

She pulls at his arms, though the gesture is far more gentle than he's expecting, and after a brief moment of fighting it out of pure stubbornness, he finally lets her see it at her request. Fighting will only make it worse, and he hardly needs to piss off the one troll willing to help him at this point.

"There... there ya fuckin' go. You can see 'em in their fucked up bleedin' glory. Happy?" He sounds bitter and resentful, he isn't even looking at her as he lets her take in the swollen, bruised, and scabbed mess of a sight that are his gills.

"A fuckin' landdweller got me, injected me with some sorta paralyzin' swill, then she had a fuckin' landpicnic mutilatin' me, like she got the hatchright to do that to her superior." He's not even sure why he's sharing it all at this point. Though, it's probably because Feferi would try to pry it out of him anyway, and he's got no strength to fight anymore.

"Ain't shit you can do about it, Fef. So, can I hawe some modicum a dignity, or are you gonna coddle me like I ain't capable a lickin' my own wounds?"

[fintastic]

"Eridan, this is serious. And you didn't think I needed to know something like this?" She doesn't touch the wounds directly, but the skin around them. She's no medical expert, but she at least can check for infection, make sure that they're not getting worse. If he's been sleeping in the common areas, in those dirty clothes.

She's not going to chastise him for getting into the fight in the first place, as much as she wants to, and she's not going to yell at him for his language. At one time, it would have been her first reaction. Right now, it's not going to help anything.

"Make sure you keep it clean, a few times a day if you can." She wishes, so badly, that she had her powers back, even just for a minute, so that she could help him heal. "If you think it's getting infected, you will tell me, and I will figure something out. But we can keep it quiet for now."

She knows he's not going to let her go find one of the human doctors as it is; and to be fair, she's not entirely sure she trusts them, either. But if it's a matter of life, or death from infection, she knows what she would choose for him. He's not getting out of this truce that easily.

[unconchonable]

Eridan's fins pin back as she very nearly scolds him. He knows it's bad, he can feel how bad it is with every ragged and pained breath he draws. each inhale feels like the wounds are going to reopen, or that his respiratory organs may burst altogether.

"Look I know I shouldn't hawe hidden this I--I just. I don't know. I know we hawe our truce, but to be blunt I'm not exactly in the best states right now. Physically or emotionally, okay?" Meaning he's not sure who he can truly show his weakened state to.

At least Feferi is showing how true to their truce she really is. It's comforting, in a humiliating way.

"I'll take care of it. I would hawe before had I the resources to." He pauses, his face souring, "There ain't much we can do if it does get infected beyond what we can strive to do ourselwes. The one who did this to me was one of the human doctors."

He'd be damned if he went back to her for assistance.

[fintastic]

He doesn't trust her enough? That's what she's gathering anyway, and it stings. But she's just going to swallow it back and soldier on because putting up a fuss isn't going to help anyone in any way.

"I know another doctor. A good one. At least he seemed nice, and I could ask him-- I mean, I could have him tell me what to do, you would not even have to see him if you didn't want to."

She understands entirely not trusting human doctors. The idea of actually having institutionalized care for the sick and infirm is so strange to her, and it had always seemed like such a pipe dream. What if there's some kind of catch?