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Topic: Day 07 [0345 hrs.] Mountain Mayhem with Madsen (Read 6831 times) previous topic - next topic
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Re: Day 7 [0345 hrs] Mountain Mayhem with Madsen

Reply #25 –
[ Drauc T'Laus | Blng'av Mountain Region | Qo'Nos ] Attn: @Ellen Fitz 
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While the adrenaline thinned out in his green blood, Drauc listened as Enyd spoke. He heard her offering a hypothetical situation and a question that might be difficult to answer since the fallout might depend entirely on circumstance. Still, he listened in quietude, and suppressed the thoughts he nurtured about what had almost happened, and how he began to resent himself for not having better control. He had almost desecrated her in the wake of battle, becoming the very beast he had fought. In a way, the difficult question she posed served to keep him from distancing himself and leaving in search for a combadge, ending the excursion before he actually hurt her or did something against her explicit will.

Feeling her cool hand against his warm skin had him swallow, and finally turn his head to look at her. Somehow, given what had just happened, he found the question about whether or not he'd be able to distinguish identity during a mission poignant. It made him wonder if there was an accusation in the query, or if she merely asked out of fear for her own safety. Moreover, he realised that the answer might determine whether whatever presided between them could continue or not. Still, he gave his honest answer, because any dishonesty towards her about a matter of such import would be a greater betrayal of her trust than what the temperament of the sabre bear had almost made him do.

"While I cannot shield myself entirely from outside influences, and I do not know how you could assist me in doing so," he rasped quietly as he looked into her eyes, "I have never been unable to differentiate friend from foe. Not even during the battlefields of the Dominion War. While influence might temper me, it doesn't break me, or turn me against my comrades in arms. What just happened it..."

He looked back towards the sky, his frown cutting a deep crease in his brow. "Mixed signals, between my feelings towards you and the ferociousness of the bear. They matched in degree, but not in nature," he grated quietly. He dared not look at her where he lay. "My apologies, for I would never hurt you. I didn't proceed, after all, because it would not be right. I can but hope that while I regret my lapse beyond my abilities to articulate it... you may find me equal to the challenges that my curse may pose. I understand, however, if you do not."

He wished to touch her, more than anything, yet he dared not given that her question suggested she might not trust him any more. Not like she had done before.

Re: Day 07 [0345 hrs.] Mountain Mayhem with Madsen

Reply #26 –
[Lt. Enyd Isolde Madsen | Blng’av Mountain Region | Qo’Nos ] attn: @Auctor Lucan

Though she was no mind reader, it was not difficult to imagine the myriad of thoughts coursing through Drauc’s mind as he contemplated her hypotheticals. Her fingers moved against his skin of their own accord, the movements soft and slow, the intent a mixture of reassurance and interest. Drauc’s husky voice still filled her senses with a delightful humming awareness when he spoke. But, through the chaotic circumstances that were their outing up to this moment, the frenetic lust that had driven her so strongly seemed to have abated to a consistent warmth of desire.

His explanation of how he’d “mixed signals” with the bear made sense and was accepted by Enyd without caution. While she was still learning about the man lying naked beside her, she trusted him. Even with the “near proceedings” of their status just moments before. Pulling her lower lip between her teeth, Enyd lightly bit down as she mulled over his words, weighed them with his actions, and compared them with her own set of insights and prior experiences. She probably would’ve continued pondering if the bear’s fur hadn’t begun tickling her in some very intimate areas, thereby reminding her of the absolutely terrible state they were both in.

“I think,” Enyd leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on the smooth skin of Drauc’s shoulder, “we should take care of our injuries and clean up. That’s the first order of business, at least. This bear fur is itching, and I have some leaves stuffed in areas I’d rather they not be.” Shooting Drauc a playful wink as she patted his chest, Enyd pushed herself to a seated position. Pulling her disheveled hair over her shoulder and spying the plentiful forest debris nestled within her tresses, Enyd snorted. “I may start growing a new forest in my hair if I don’t wash it soon.”

Glancing back at Drauc, Enyd’s smile was soft, her hand warm and equally soft when she reached back for him to sit up next to her.

“I understand, as best as I can, what happened. And I trust you when you say you were never intending on hurting me. You didn’t hurt me, in fact. Surprised, yes. Hurt, no.” Swatting at a buzzing insect with her free hand, Enyd took her gaze from Drauc to track the offending creature until it landed on her naked knee. “Now, do you want to wash in the river?” Swatting at the insect and missing, Enyd winced when she felt its stinger pierce the sensitive skin on the side of her knee. “Or would you rather we retrieve the last vestiges of our belongings, return to the ship, and seek real medical attention?”

Her question, or at least, Drauc’s intended answer, was slowly getting rejoined without his verbal response; however, as within seconds of the sting, Enyd watched with horrified fascination as her knee began to turn a strange orange color and swell.

“Oh, that’s not good.”

Re: Day 7 [0345 hrs] Mountain Mayhem with Madsen

Reply #27 –
[ Drauc T'Laus | Blng'av Mountain Region | Qo'Nos ] Attn: @Ellen Fitz 
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The forgiveness and warmth shown by Enyd in that moment served to allay Drauc's fears about his conduct, gratified that she understood the manner in which he had emulated the beast and almost become one himself. Moreover, the way she touched him, along with the honesty of her thoughts, made him truly believe her. A faint smile touched his lips as he lay there, hearing her jocular banter, but he said naught in response. Rather, he was glad that she hadn't been traumatised by the experience they'd been through together.

After having been hit by the front paw of the bear when ramming the flare inside it, Drauc had been flung into the nearby tree, and it was when Enyd helped him sit up that he felt the familiar sensation of a rib or two being broken. The adrenaline and the presence of Enyd, along with lying still on the ground, had prevented him from feeling how hurt he was, but he grimaced at the sharp pain in his side when sitting next to her. Enyd offered a few options, and while he wasn't exactly self-conscious about his state of undress, he didn't recognise that the Klingon wilderness was an ideal place to be without clothing. Thus, gingerly, he began to rise to his feet.

"I would not mind washing in the river," he rasped, standing in front of her in the dawning light that crested the mountainside, and he was about to offer washing her her hair and free her of the thorns in her hair... when both her mind and the sight of her made him realise that she'd been stung by something. Frowning he looked at the manner in which her knee was swelling up, and he recognised the fact that they didn't have anything available to deal with her body's reaction to the insect's poisonous sting.

"I will carry you to our belongings," he grated, realising how she ought to not walk on the leg that had been stung. Without futher comment, he stepped up next to her - her health a primary concern that far outweighed any recognition of his bareness. He leaned down, and despite how his ribs hurt, he scooped her up in his arms. He bared his teeth at the pain, left his undergarments behind in the grass, and headed back in the direction from whence they had come. Their bundles of clothing were there, along with their combadges, and the means to return to the ship. He set a brisk pace, since he had neither tricorder nor personal insight that might help establish what manner of poison that was spreading below the skin of her knee.

"Tell me if you are feeling light-headed," he rasped through his teeth, ignoring his own pain, since he needed to know if he had to run the last distance to the river. "If not, keep speaking. Tell me what your plans were for this excursion... had we made it to our destination."

Wanting to keep her conscious, Drauc followed the path of broken twigs and stomped undergrowth that the bear had travelled with Enyd on its back, soon enough returning to the clearing. Once there, wrecked with pain down his side, he gently set her down next to her bundle of clothes and attempted to help her dress. At least enough to preserve her modesty before they'd return to the Theurgy.

Re: Day 07 [0345 hrs.] Mountain Mayhem with Madsen

Reply #28 –
[Lt. Enyd Isolde Madsen | Blng’av Mountain Region | Qo’Nos ] attn: @Auctor Lucan

“Tell ME if you’re about to keel over.” Enyd swatted lightly at Drauc’s shoulder as he hauled her up into his arms despite his obvious injuries and took off toward their makeshift camp area. “I mean, my knee hurts something fierce, but I didn’t get decked in the side by a sabre bear either.”

As he weaved through the broken ferns her sabre riding had destroyed, Drauc bid her explain her plans for their outing, if everything had, for once, gone according to plan. She didn’t mind the excuse to talk as her knee was getting larger, hot, and began to throb along with her heartbeat. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Enyd pulled herself tighter against him as she closed her eyes and took to imagining the could haves so Drauc could potentially benefit from the distraction as well.

“I was hoping we could make it to the summit before the sun came up so we could drink coffee and eat breakfast together at the peak, watching the sunrise wake up the jungle. I rather figured the process of getting there, the physical exertion of the rapid pace would help to get my head out of silliness and back into something more tangible and realistic instead of just girlish fantasies. That the journey there and back would allow us to share stories or opinions on things that weren’t forced or laced with the silly longings that had punctuated our every interaction up to then.” Enyd inhaled deeply, enjoying his scent despite her pain, before pushing the breath out through her teeth as a coping mechanism to work through the growing discomfort in her knee. “That was about as far as I’d rationally taken it. Of course, my irrational thoughts trailed down the more licentious route,” she giggled and allowed him a brief image of their bathing each other in the river as she earlier suggested but without injuries from their bear encounter, “but I did not have a firm motive to garner that as the end result. Greater intimacy and understanding, in whatever fashion available, was the foundational motive.”

While Drauc rummaged around looking for what was left of her clothing, Enyd shifted back to pull out a simple med kit from her backpack. There was no way of telling what sort of poison was in the sting, but at least she could give herself an antihistamine to help with the swelling. Having done so, Enyd pointed to the various scratches on Drauc’s body and held up the med kit in the air between them.

“The hypospray can be recalibrated for a simple pain killer, and some salves can get started on those cuts while we finish getting our gear together. I’d rather we put something on those right away to prevent infection. Knowing our luck as it’s panned out so far, a strange ionic storm has brewed up somewhere and may prevent our beaming back right away.” Enyd pulled her shirt over her head, though she left it unbuttoned while she sought to wiggle her legs and hips into the pants. However, her knee was so swollen by now that there would be no way of getting her leg through the pants without slicing them from the ankle up to the knee area. Mostly put together, at least enough to safe some dignity, Enyd looked back to Drauc with a question, “How can I help you right now, Drauc?” She assumed the Romulan was giving her the brave “game face” of things, but she’d watched the fight and knew he must be in great pain.

Re: Day 07 [0345 hrs.] Mountain Mayhem with Madsen

Reply #29 –
[ Drauc T'Laus | Blng'av Mountain Region | Qo'Nos ] Attn: @Ellen Fitz 
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Saying naught about his own pain, Drauc listened to Enyd's words about her unmet expectations of the day. At points, and despite the agony of her weight pressing into his ribcage, the corner of his lip twitched in a smile. Throughout the brief list of wishes for their excursion, her words were adjoined with the imagery from her mind - her vivid imagination one of Drauc's favourite things about Enyd. Her words painted an image as real as any actual experience, if judged by visuals alone, but he could almost feel her hands upon himself as they washed each other in the river, and he regretted that he would be unable to make her feel the same in kind.

Carrying her as he did, he was able to see the progression of the swelling in her knee, prompting him to keep the pace despite how he was starting to feel numb down his hip and thigh. She had told him to alert her if he was to keel over, but he had no such intention, and refused to do so since if he did, it could be that neither of them would make it to the combadges and back to the Theurgy. No, the pain was not going to deter him, for there was medical attention available on the Federation starship that had become his home. A cold sweat had formed on his furrowed brow, and he had a metallic taste in his mouth, but he did not let that break his stride for a moment.

By the time they reached the clearing and their bundles of clothes, Drauc had set Enyd down gently next to her own belongings. He realised he was unable to stand up again, and he doubted it was stamina-related, so he remained crouched down on one knee and began to unbind the bundle and free items of clothing for Enyd. This, while she busied herself with medical equipment, and did something for the pain in her swollen knee. She wished to address the shallow scratches in his skin, and numb his pain, but he shook his head, dismissing the import of such minor injuries. It wasn't until she had finished dressing that she asked what he needed specifically, and by that time, he had managed to gently lower himself down on the grass so that he could pulls his trousers on.

"I believe my ribcage is fractured," he rasped, and now his voice was thicker on account of the pain, "to what extent, I don't know, but I need proper medical treatment."

Having said this, he turned over so that he had both his scarred hands against the ground, and using that for leverage, he carefully put his feet underneath his frame and stood up. Whatever ire she might harbour towards him for carrying her there now, when she knew the extent of his injuries, was lost to his mind since he felt entirely too light-headed to sense what she was thinking about his folly. He took a stumbling step sideways, but caught his balance in the last moment - the vertigo clearing away soon enough. Frowning, he looked down his bared torso, and it was clear that he had internal haemorrhaging. Aside from the symptoms he knew of, including dizziness, weakness, almost passing out, numbness and the rise of a severe headache...

...there was also the darkened discolouration along his entire side, starting below his armpit.

"I... am unsure how far I can move," he grated, flexing his scarred hands to keep his focus, "but I need to return to the Theurgy... and to sickbay."

Re: Day 07 [0345 hrs.] Mountain Mayhem with Madsen

Reply #30 –
[Lt. Enyd Isolde Madsen | Blng’av Mountain Region | Qo’Nos ] attn: @Auctor Lucan

Enyd gasped at the horrid darkness spread along Drauc’s side. That he’d carried her despite the injury proved his goodness, but it also proved his stupidity. There came a point when the good of the one could be set aside to ensure the good of the both. Not that he was Vulcan and particularly cared for Vulcan idioms.

“Drauc!” Enyd tried to get to her feet but, getting tangled up in the shredded pantleg, faceplanted at his feet. She didn’t hesitate to try again, not wanting him to injure himself further in trying to help her again. “You beautiful, imbecilic man! You never should’ve carried me” On her feet, Enyd resisted the urge to touch him in favor of looking for her combadge. It was more important to signal their need for help than for her to reassure herself that he would be okay by touching the warmth of his skin again. “Damned stubborn,” she muttered her frustrations as she pushed discarded items around in her search, “sexy, infuriating,” catching sight of the metallic gleam, Enyd grabbed hold of the device and stood up straight, leveling her gaze with Drauc, “Romulan.”

[This is Lieutenant Madsen to Theurgy. Requesting two to beam out from the present location. Direct to sickbay.]

Not so much as a static crackle met Enyd’s ears after she signaled the ship. Nothing. Enyd inwardly groaned. She remembered one of the smaller warnings in the guidebook had been about something something this area because of something something that could lead to difficulty contacting orbiting ships. She really needed to pay more attention to that sort of thing in the future. Eyes traveling back to Drauc and the steady growth in darkened skin, signaling internal bleeding of some sort, Enyd grimaced. She had nothing in her pack for that.

Looking at their surroundings, Enyd imagined how much easier it would be to make a cot to drag him with if they’d still had the machete. But it had been lost in their sabre bear fighting. All they had now was a small pocket knife she always kept in her backpack, some twine, and the first aid kit that had nothing that would prove useful for the state of Drauc.

“We know the signal was strong enough for a beam down at our starting coordinates.” She bent to stuff items back into her pack, keeping her gaze half on Drauc as she worked. She didn’t trust him to stay standing for long. “Can you make it back?”

Re: Day 7 [0345 hrs] Mountain Mayhem with Madsen

Reply #31 –
[ Drauc T'Laus | Blng'av Mountain Region | Qo'Nos ] Attn: @Ellen Fitz 
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When asked whether or not he'd be able to return to where they'd come from, Drauc turned his head to look in that direction. Across the water, and through the thorny passage they'd cut. It was not too far, but just turning his head had given him a new spell of vertigo, so he was unable to say for certain.

"I have little choice," he rasped thickly, and waited just long enough for Enyd to ready their belongings. The urgency they were under meant that protecting their equipment entirely from water would be a moot endeavour, but by bending his knees and keeping his torso upright, he could pick up the loose bundle of his remaining clothing. He then threw it back across the water with an underhand throw, seeing how it landed safely on the other side. Next, they would have to support each other through the undercurrent, lest they'd loose their balance... and there was no telling where they might end up, and if the conditions for a beam-out may improve. Like Enyd had said, the only known factor was that beyond the thorns, they would be able to return to the Theurgy.

Once it was time, Drauc slipped his arm around her waist, and led the way into the water. The sensation of the stream against his clothed legs and his bare waist made him shiver, and he suspected it wasn't so much from the temperature of the water compared to the state of his health. Each step, in which he sought to support Enyd as best as he might, was a step towards survival, and he had fought worse odds on many battlefields. Even when that Jem'Hadar had skewered him as well as his brother, he had fought on - ceaselessly killing for hours in the maddening grief over the loss of Kraun. When his body finally gave out, he had been pulled from the frontlines of the Dominion War and shipped to Earth for treatment at Starfleet Medical Headquarters. Thus, as the remnant soldier that he was, he would fight for his survival and cross the distance he needed to.

In a way, the challenge seemed less insurmountable now, for he did not just fight for himself, but for Enyd Isolde Madsen, whom he would bring to safety. The poison was an unknown, and he feared for her - wanting her to survive more so than he cared about his own life.

So with bared teeth and ragged breath, head spinning, his field of vision had narrowed to the path through the water and the thorns that he had to traverse. He could not afford to listen or heed the emotions of his charge, this fair diplomat whom he meant to bring to safety, at the risk of being distracted and loosing his momentum. One wrong step, and they would both tumble over in the water, and he did not know if he could swim when his shattered ribs were like talons against his internal organs - already having drawn blood.

With his consciousness slipping, regardless his forward momentum, he felt himself entering an almost dream-like state. The jolting pain of supporting Enyd's limping steps kept him awake enough to push onwards, so he did, even as his mind began to escape him. Whether or not they had crossed the river or entered the passage of thorns ahead of him became unclear, finding himself having to rely on Enyd to guide them, while he became naught more than a crutch for her - bereft of thought.

He had long since forgotten his bundle of clothes lying beyond the far bank, and would make no motion to pick it up if they made it that far.

Re: Day 07 [0345 hrs.] Mountain Mayhem with Madsen

Reply #32 –
[Lt. Enyd Isolde Madsen | Blng’av Mountain Region | Qo’Nos ] attn: @Auctor Lucan

At their first few steps together, Enyd wasn’t sure who was supporting who. Drauc had wrapped a firm arm around her waist, and she’d returned an arm in kind around his own. Her Romulan hero had then led the way into the water, but somewhere along the lines, his steps wavered, and it was no longer clear if he was leading or if they were merely wobbling together. Despite his swaying gait, his determination never wavered based on the set angle of his jaw or the tunneled focus he’d set on their path. Without asking, Enyd deduced she was no longer Enyd Isolde Madsen to him but something to be protected or saved. An object more than a person.

The pain in her leg kept Enyd’s mouth closed as they waded through the river, but unlike Drauc, she was not so consumed with pain to lose awareness of their surroundings. Stumbling out of the water in unison, Enyd swallowed a yelp when Drauc’s insistent forward momentum caused her to bang a foot against a rock almost hidden beneath a fern. When he didn’t pause to retrieve his clothing, Enyd didn’t make mention of it. It seemed unlikely at this point that he’d even hear her. A steely determination about his persona alerted Enyd to the precariousness of their situation. He was far more injured than he’d let on, and this was the expression of a man in a desperate fight against losing consciousness altogether.

Pulling her arm from his waist just long enough to fish out the combadge from the mud-covered bag, Enyd began signaling the ship. They were still some ways away from the beam point, but Enyd wanted to start the efforts just in case. Even one step saved could be the determining factor here.

[Lieutenant Madsen to Theurgy. Requesting emergency beam out from the present location. Two to transport, direct to sickbay.]

Enyd could see the beam out location, her spirits lifting, when a painful explosion of pressure against the back of her legs had her sprawling face first on the jungle floor, ripped from Drauc’s grasp. Spitting out the bits of dirt and torn fern from her mouth, she rolled over to see a strange goat-like creature pawing at the ground where she’d been standing, head lowered as if to charge her again.

The frustration of the situation, combined with her concern for Drauc and the increasing discomfort from her leg, had Enyd rising on all fours, face red with anger. “Fuck off!” She screamed just as the goat launched itself at her, and she, in turn, launched herself at it.

If Drauc had the sense of mind to note the situation, he’d have seen Enyd dodge to the side of the charging goat at the last second, wrap her arms around its neck, and dig in her bare feet as she let the goat carry them both forward. Using a twisting motion on its jaw, Enyd dislodged the goat’s footing enough to topple it to the ground on its side, her atop it. Before it could recover, Enyd slammed her elbow against its temple and then pushed off its body to stand. She pushed too far, however, and ended up falling on her bum again. The goat remained where it was and its followers, for it had been the leader of a small herd, appeared uninterested in pestering them further, veering around their location instead of moving directly towards them.

Eyes darting over the jungle foliage until she spied her companion, Enyd called out to him as she struggled back to her feet and looked back over the haphazard path she and the goat had taken. Though they were now closer to the beam out point, she’d lost a vital piece of the puzzle to their problem. “Drauc! I dropped my combadge!”

Re: Day 7 [0345 hrs] Mountain Mayhem with Madsen

Reply #33 –
[ Drauc T'Laus | Blng'av Mountain Region | Qo'Nos ] Attn: @Ellen Fitz 
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As a soldier, and later mercenary, Drauc was not unfamiliar to fighting beyond his means.

Whatever awareness that remained consciously behind Drauc's weary eyes centred on the distress that Enyd felt in regard to the new attack. Vaguely, as Drauc turned his head to look at the development, he knew he ought to intervene and assist Enyd, but as sluggish as his reaction-time had become, the bout with the creature and its little herd was over before he could bring thought to action. Swaying where he stood, he put a scarred hand against a tree for support, and tried to make out what Enyd was shouting. The relief he felt that she had managed to deal with the animal on her own distracted him from the effort to decipher her words. The sounds she made didn't sound like her anymore, even though he knew he ought to be able to understand her.

Combadge? he thought, finally grasping her meaning, and he knew they needed it in order to signal the Theurgy for aid. It was, ironically, just another set-back suffered in a long list of them since they'd beamed down. Loosing the means to return to the ship had to be the perfect ending of their failed excursion. Well, either that, or the ultimate fate in which he, she or them both died at the hands of the Klingon wilderness.

"I... cannot see it," he rasped thickly, and cast his dark eyes about in the undergrowth, meaning to spot the metallic object without turning his head too quickly - which would then result in him loosing consciousness. He already felt so tired, and wanted nothing rather than to just sit, or lie down in the grass. If he allowed such a notion take hold, he would be lost, so he steeled himself and continued to search. The only small consolation about the development was that the sunlight had increased, and the dawning light cast reflections off any metal at their feet. Unfortunately, the coat of morning dew did the same, so it didn't aid them much.

The prolonged act of remaining on his feet despite the poor state of his health was proving more difficult by the moment, and when balance failed him, he sunk down on one knee - refusing to topple over. Cold seat beaded his brow, and his field of vision narrowed down to a couple of feet in front of him. Where Enyd was, and whether or not she had better success than himself, was an unknown, and even remembering what he was looking for was hard to retain - his thoughts escaping him like sand through his calloused fingers.

Then, his lowered position allowed him to catch the glimpse of something hidden beneath a couple of leaves. The gold and chrome metal beckoned for him, only partially familiar, but he reached for it nonetheless. Once he had it in his hand, the backside of the object detected the surface of his skin, and once contact was made, a voice was heard through the static of the poor reception.

[I repeat, thi---- is Trans----ter Room 3. We have trouble lock---- on to your position. We are ----ing to compens---- for the presence of magnesite ---- the soil. Please stand by for emer----cy extraction. Remain close toge---- in order to improve beam-out conditions. I repeat, stand cl---- together for...]

Soil... Drauc thought, and he subconsciously reasoned that if he didn't get back on his feet, they would be closer to the ground, and then they'd never be able to return to the ship. Stand up...

Only standing up seemed a feat far beyond him at that point. His mind was reeling at the notion of such an attempt - the pain in his side beyond his means to suppress. Standing up might exacerbate his internal bleeding as well - the claws of his shattered ribcage digging further into his organs. Lying down or standing up might lead to the same outcome, with the latter having slightly better odds. Stand up.

Though he couldn't bring himself to do so. Not for his own sake. Yet the sight of Enyd entering his field of vision changed the last variable. For he wouldn't stand for his own survival... but hers. She needed him in order to leave the mountains, and for her sake...

...he somehow managed to stand up, perhaps with her aid. Still, the pain of the act pushed him into oblivion.

Though before he fell, they were gone - vanishing in twain shimmers of light.

Re: Day 07 [0345 hrs.] Mountain Mayhem with Madsen

Reply #34 –
] Lt. Enyd Isolde Madsen | Main Sickbay | D. 11 | USS Theurgy ] attn: @Auctor Lucan

Enyd screeched out incomprehensible words as Drauc fell the moment they were successfully transported back aboard the ship. Thankfully the transporter room had heard correctly and done a direct beam to sickbay. The sterile scent of the room was jarring to Enyd so soon after having breathed in the earthy scents of the planet.

“What happened?” An orderly whizzed into view, momentarily stunned at the state both she and Drauc were in. A second orderly bumped into the first, pushing her back toward Drauc, before they both quickly dropped to Drauc’s side, tricorders in hand as they began to scan the Romulan.

Enyd moved closer but stayed out of the way, her hands coming up to twist together in front of her body as she did her best to detail the events that had led to this very moment. She left out the whole passing out in Drauc’s arms when he first kissed her as well as the later almost-sex they’d had until he’d gotten control of himself again. Those were details best left between herself and the crumpled man at her feet.

“Is he going to be okay?” Enyd gripped her hands tightly as she watched the orderlies hoist Drauc up between them and move further into sickbay.

As more medical personnel crowded closer to start the process of taking care of the Romulan, one of the original orderlies remained behind and placed a hand on Enyd’s shoulder.

“He’s badly wounded, and it’ll take time to know all the details. I would suggest you follow me so we can see your injuries while they continue working on him.” When he saw her continued hesitation, eyes moving over the group around Drauc, the orderly used his grip on her shoulder to shake her lightly. “Lieutenant Madsen, they are professionals. You are as well. Let them do their job, let me do mine, and you do yours by complying with me now.”

His words were the cold water necessary for Enyd to drop her hands to her sides and let the orderly lead her into an adjacent room. Abrasions, bruises, beginnings of infections, and noisome parasites were all taken care of with clinical efficiency. The orderly's insistence that she discard her soiled clothing and don one of the medical gowns further helped her look less like a chaos victim and more like a recovering patient. Still waiting for news on Drauc, Enyd sat on the biobed, swinging her legs back and forth, unable to sit still.

What if her suggestion for this outing got Drauc severely injured? Enyd groaned. The only other men she’d ever been remotely intimate with—Victor and Javec—had ended up maimed and broken-hearted or dead. Was her desire a curse? Enyd’s mind continued to reel with an overactive imagination fueled with anxiety. What if her lust for the Romulan had doomed him entirely?

Re: Day 07 [0345 hrs.] Mountain Mayhem with Madsen

Reply #35 –
[ Vigenary Model I-9 Surgical Android | Recovery Ward | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Ellen Fitz 
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Heralded by the soft sounds of her metallic gait, V-Nine approached the patient on the biobed - fresh from post-surgery decontamination.

"Lieutenant Madsen?" she asked, even though she was quite certain about the identity of the patient given that she had uploaded the woman's medical record to her memory banks. V-Nine came to a stop next to the biobed. "I was informed that you were in the company of the Romulan named Drauc T'Laus when he was brought here, is that correct?"

Two hours had passed since the patient had arrived to sickbay, and V-Nine had been summoned to preform surgery immediately. The log had stated that he'd arrived to sickbay in company with Enyd Madsen via emergency transport, and one of the orderlies had told her that the woman might be interested in learning Mister T'Laus' fate. Therefore, as soon as the outcome was clear, she had taken the time to visit the Recovery Ward, wherein the woman was at. Madsen had been treated for her minor injuries already, and with a momentary glance towards the readings on display with her cycloptic lens, V-Nine could see that her condition remained unchanged from that of her medical journal's last entry.

"It was my duty to preform the surgery on T'Laus..." she said quietly in compassion for the woman, utilising proper bedside manner protocols. Wringing her metal hands, V-Nine lowered her lens towards the deck plating. "Knowing that you may wish to know how he fared... I came here as soon as possible."

Little did she know that her belated reveal of the surgery being successful may cause more distress than any proper bedside manner might.

Re: Day 07 [0345 hrs.] Mountain Mayhem with Madsen

Reply #36 –
[Lt. Enyd Isolde Madsen | Recovery Ward | D. 11 | USS Theurgy] attn: @Auctor Lucan

“What first attracted you to me?”

Javec’s lips quirked into a half-smile, “That is a bold assumption on my attraction to you at all, dearest.”

Enyd rolled her eyes, dropping into Javec’s lap uninvited, and wrapped her arms around his neck before he could attempt to move her off him and back onto the couch beside him.

“Consider me bold in my assumptions and answer the damn question, Javec.” She let go with one hand from its hold around his neck and lazily drew her fingers up and down his neck ridges. She knew precisely which ridge to exert more pressure on and which to lightly graze to get the greatest reaction from her fiancé. His responding glare, the expression tinged with desire already, had Enyd’s lips pulling back into a broad smile. “Please?”

Javec began his own subtle exploration of her body in the silence that followed. The fingers of his left hand tickled over the sensitive skin of her inner thigh while he cupped the back of her neck and massaged the base of her head with his right hand.

“Your fire.” He whispered against her temple, his lips pressing light kisses against her skin.

Enyd felt herself melting but managed another question, voiced in jest, “What if you get burned by it?”

“It will be worth it.” He cut off any further conversation with strategic touches that left Enyd moaning out her pleasure, the fires of desire burning strong between them.

A chirping alarm from a nearby room startled Enyd from her memories and dropped her mercilessly back on the cold biobed of Theurgy’s recovery ward. Irrational guilt ate at her stomach, churning the bile into another wave of nausea as she awaited news of Drauc’s condition. It was completely illogical to assume that her inner “fire” as Javec had called it had led to his death, Victor’s maiming, or even Drauc’s current condition—whatever it may be. And yet, Enyd was not a fully logical being. Pragmatic to a fault, of course, but not governed by logic alone. She suffered from irrational fears like the next human, especially soon after a traumatic event.

Worst case scenario, as Enyd walked herself through situations, Drauc was dead. Secondary to that, he was in a coma and would require a long recovery time. Best case scenario, he would walk into the room fully recovered and take her to his quarters where they could clean up and rest together from their morning adventure. The door opened, and Enyd looked up, the hope having never reached her heart enough to feel anything other than expectancy when V-Nine appeared at the doorway instead of Drauc. Enyd had never interacted with V-Nine before, though she’d seen the droid and heard of her medical prowess. She certainly wished it had been under better circumstances, this first meeting. At the droid’s approach, Enyd sat up straighter but refrained from getting off the bed altogether. She nodded at V-Nine’s question. To her, it seemed obvious she’d been with Drauc, considering the amount of jungle debris she still had nestled in her hair. 

“Ssurgery?” Enyd stumbled over the word and was at a momentary loss for words. It took her a few blinking moments to recover enough to continue, “May I know what sort of surgery you had to perform? What is the projected time frame for recovery?” Enyd’s mind raced forward into many more questions, but glancing over V-Nine’s shoulder, she decided upon one more. “May I see him now?”

Re: Day 07 [0345 hrs.] Mountain Mayhem with Madsen

Reply #37 –
[ Vigenary Model I-9 Surgical Android | Recovery Ward | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Ellen Fitz 
[Show/Hide]
The barrage of questions washed over V-Nine, whom remained standing where she was. She decided to answer the last one first, since that made the most sense.

"I am afraid you cannot see him," she said, and instead of giving her false hopes of when the first visiting hours were, V-Nine moved on to answer the other question. Little did she know that her initial answer may lead to premature conclusions about Mister T'Laus ultimate fate. When she spoke, her lens softly flared with each syllable, and she put her metallic hands on her hips.

"When Mister T'Laus was brought to Surgery Suite 01 and I was summoned, he was suffering from life-threatening internal haemorrhaging. I immediately prepared intravenous fluids and blood transfusions to prevent or correct an unsafe drop in blood pressure at the point where I'd begin the procedure. My scans identified the localisation of the bleeding. Sometimes, internal bleeding from trauma stops on its own, but the damage was far too substantial. First, I had to do an exploratory laparotomy, doing what I could with subdermal regeneration."

Whilst explaining, V-Nine slowly paced in front of the biobed, gesturing with her hands, and while she usually jested and giggled, this was a serious matter, making her refrain from such social conventions. "Unfortunately, the range of our available medical equipment forced me to make a large incision in the skin of the abdominal and thorax region. Doing so, I could begin to seal the ends of all leaking blood vessels. The prioritised part of the surgery was a multi-stage thoracotomy, treating the bleeding around the heart or lungs. This, to protect the heart and lungs from pressure caused by excess blood. The blunt force trauma caused by the... sabre bear? It also required me to do a fasciotomy, treating the internal bleeding in his thigh area. The high pressure prevented blood flow to his leg, and I had to regenerate some of the tissues."

She stopped, continuing to address the problem with his leg. "The pressure was just one problem, however. See, with blood loss, the body often 'clamp down' on blood vessels in the limbs to re-direct blood to important organs. The loss of oxygen to a limb would normally just cause tingling in the hands or feet, but Mister T'Laus has a prior injury. His medical journal stated that it was residual internal scarring form a Jem'Hadar weapon during the Dominion War. While repeated high-temperature treatments, like the usage a steam-room, alleviated the symptoms of his prior injury... I am afraid that the attack he suffered today exacerbated the damages."

Simulating a deep breath, mostly out of mimicked organic mannerism - since she didn't breathe - V-Nine then answered the question about his recovery. "I regret to inform you," she said quietly, and came to a stop next to Lieutenant Madsen, "that while Mister T'Laus will recover, he may have a pronounced limp. Regular high temperature immersion treatments may mitigate his condition to a certain extent, but it will take weeks, possibly months, until he may move without a modicum of pain. When he wakes up, I will recommend that he does not preform any high intensity cardiovascular exercise for at least a week, so that the  seams of regenerated tissues and blood vessels have a chance to fully heal before they undergo any increased stress. I will also keep him here for observation for three days. You may, of course, visit him in the Recovery Ward when he is moved there. I will ask that you are informed about the visiting hours."

After speaking about Drauc's condition, V-Nine tilted her head and had her index finger and thumb fold back - scanning the woman in front of her. "As for you... I believe your readings remain unchanged. Unless you have any further questions, I will discharge you now. You are free to leave when you wish. As for what happened," she paused, her hand returning to standard operation mode, and she put it on her shoulder. Her lens searched her eyes. "...how are you feeling? Do you need to talk to someone?"

Re: Day 07 [0345 hrs.] Mountain Mayhem with Madsen

Reply #38 –
[Lt. Enyd Isolde Madsen | Recovery Ward | D. 11 | USS Theurgy] attn: @Auctor Lucan

Enyd had passed her anatomy and physiology class with a good score, same too with her biology classes, and she’d always been an apt learner for medical practices in the field for emergencies. But this one, two, three punch of information thrown at her in quick succession by V-Nine left her mind addled and her mouth dropping open in a mixture of confusion and shock. A simple hike. That’s all she’d wanted, and all fate had given her was a Romulan could-be paramour, could-be friend sitting on near death’s door in sickbay. Gripping her hands into fists, appreciating the pain her fingernails inflicted on her palm as it grounded her, Enyd brought herself back to the conversation at hand. There would be no use pitying herself or lamenting the could haves or should haves. What was done, was done. Drauc was in recovery, not dead, and she had duties to fulfill until she could see him the next time. Simple as that. Now if she could just get her pesky self-pitying emotions to come along quietly with her pragmatic reasoning…

V-Nine’s hand on Enyd’s shoulder startled her out of the inner war between emotion and pragmatism. It took a moment to comprehend the android’s question and then also to understand why she’d ask it. Enyd’s eyes widened, and she shook her head vehemently.

“I’m fine. I mean, yes I’m addled and bruised and still in a state of ‘oh my,’ but that’s normal considering what we lived through. As for anything else that happened down there, I am not traumatized, nor do I feel victimized. I always felt more at risk from the bear than from Drauc.” Enyd wasn’t quite certain if that was the direction V-Nine was going, but she dropped the truth statement just in case. “I appreciate your concern, but all I need is time and rest. Perhaps a dark, quiet place where I can stretch and meditate away the growing irrational fear that the goddess of chaos is out to get me.” Enyd winked at the android then, realizing the joke may be taken literally, quickly added, “I’m joking about that last part. After I’m discharged, I’d like to write something for Drauc for him to have when he wakes up. May I bring it back to you or give it to an orderly? I may be on duty when he wakes up, but I was hoping a letter from me could be one of the first things he sees.”

Re: Day 07 [0345 hrs.] Mountain Mayhem with Madsen

Reply #39 –
[ Vigenary Model I-9 Surgical Android | Recovery Ward | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Ellen Fitz 
[Show/Hide]
When Lieutenant Madsen had said she had felt more threatened by the bear than Drauc, V-Nine quirked her cranial unit in confusion, not understanding her meaning. Why would the Romulan patient be some kind of threat to her? Clearly the aggressor in the situation, as far as she knew it from the report, was the sabre bear?

She didn't ask about the distinction Enyd had made, however, since it held little relevance. She removed her metallic hand and stood straight. "Very well then," she said, glad that both the Starfleet specimens were safe and sound, and that with some rehabilitation, the male wouldn't have any permanent means from his injuries. The joke about some deity of chaos was completely lost on her, not finding any meaningful references of the kind in her memory banks, nor her uplink to the shipboard database, but she dismissed the compulsion to analyse it. Since the deity had been unnamed, she was confident any further research would be an exercise in futility.

"If you want," she said, and cleared a PADD lying next to the biobed and handing it to the Lieuteant, "you can compile your message and place it here on the biobed before you leave. I will make sure Mister T'Laus receives it when he wakes up. Please don't hesitate to contact sickbay if you need any further treatments for your injuries, and if you find yourself in need to talk to someone about your experience today, the Counselling Department is available as well. Have a good day, Lieutenant Madsen."

Stepping away, V-Nine accessed the running medical log of individual patient needs with her uplink to sickbay's medical database, setting her whirring steps in the direction of the next officer she needed to talk to.

Re: Day 07 [0345 hrs.] Mountain Mayhem with Madsen

Reply #40 –
[Lt. Enyd Isolde Madsen | Recovery Ward | D. 11 | USS Theurgy] attn: @Auctor Lucan

Enyd accepted the PADD with a smile and waited until V-Nine moved on with her rounds before she set about writing the letter to Drauc. She adjusted the settings so she could draw out the words, her fingertip like ink on a page, and in scrawling green letters, Enyd wrote:

Dear Drauc,

I believe saying “welcome back” would be in poor taste at this moment, but truly, if you are reading this, it is because you have recovered enough to do so, and for that, I am thankful.

Words truly cannot express how terrible I feel about what happened on our outing. Rationally, I know neither of us did anything wrong, and I also know that no one is to blame—as much as I’d like to blame myself. However, I also know that you never would’ve been put into that position with the bear or at the edge of your control if it had not been for me. Please accept my sincerest apologies for the pain you went through and the pain that this recovery will also hold.

I completely understand if you’d like to take some time to recover more, perhaps process through everything before we meet up again. Know that I am still keen on pursuing our friendship without any expectations or demands for more. One step at a time. If or when you are ready to talk and move forward, let me know. I will come find you as soon as I am able.

Until that time, please take care. Don’t push yourself too hard, or else V-Nine will come after you.

With the warmest affection,

Enyd Isolde Madsen

Enyd finished the letter with the cheesiest cliché in the book, she drew a kiss in the margin of the page. When she handed it over to V-Nine, Enyd couldn’t help but blush a little under the android’s scrutiny. Fighting the urge to push through to the back to see Drauc for herself, Enyd nodded her thanks to the android and orderlies before excusing herself back to her quarters for a well-earned nap. Of course, her dreams were haunted by angry bears and sexy Romulans, but at least she wasn’t being actively mauled by either.

FIN
 
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