[log] scrap wall shenanigans [closed]

[armoured]

Characters: Al, Steph, Vasquez, House, Ecks, and Castiel
Location: WW8 - the scrap wall
Date: Day 234
Summary: Al and co join in the attempts to get over the scrap wall
Warnings: Possible blood and injury

[Oh no, the scrap wall is big and sharp!

Make your own top levels in here.]

Comments

[spoileralert]

Al!

[ Steph had a bad feeling about this to start with, but it was worth a try. Now, not so much. She rushes forward to pull him away from the wall on instinct, not really concerned with his size or the fact that he's probably backing off on his own. ]

[armoured]

[He wouldn't have tried this with her watching if he knew it would go south so quickly, the tentative peace after the grief feels so fragile and he doesn't want to be the one to break it.

Except he is.]

H-Hey-- it's okay, I'm okay.

[spoileralert]

[ She turns him around to look at his hands. Injuries she can cope with, especially when she's well supplied for them. ]

Jesus Christ. Okay, I've got bandages in my bag. We're gonna need to stop the bleeding and I have no clue how clotting works for you.

[armoured]

I'm not sure it works at all, and I don't exactly have skin to grow back over the cuts.

[His stupid body is a hindrance even here.]

It's okay, Steph, I'll be fine. I'll ask Dr. House, he's a jerk, but he's a doctor, he won't let me keep bleeding.

[spoileralert]

You'll be fine, once we get your hands bandaged.

[ She lets him go to pull her bag around and dig through it for her cloth strips. ]

For now, hold them together. Apply as much pressure as you can.

[armoured]

[He tries to press the palms of his hands together, but the pain is sharp and keen, enough to have him pull them apart again on instinct.]

I-- I can't, I'm sorry.

[They're cut up too much, he can't use them to put pressure on one another.]

[spoileralert]

Just try, okay? It'll just be a second.

[ She has to pull out some of her rations, but she finally produces the first aid kit. Inside, among other things, are several long strips of cloth.

She takes one of his hands and starts wrapping it, having very little mercy for the sensitive cuts. She needs pressure and she needs it now. ]

This is gonna hurt. I'm sorry.

[armoured]

[He grunts quietly when she takes his hand and applies pressure to it, the sharp metal that's been cut away probably at danger for cutting her too if she's not careful about how she wraps his hand.]

It's so strange.

[His voice is quiet, a mixture of awed and tense.]

I keep forgetting what real pain feels like, even with how different I am here. Isn't that stupid?

[spoileralert]

[ She's careful. More careful of the cloth, but she gets away without more than a couple of nicks.

Once she's done with the one hand she moves on to the other. ]

It's not stupid. I've broken dozens of bones. You never remember exactly how much it hurts until it happens again.

[armoured]

I guess I keep forgetting that I can even feel pain and bleed here.

[Even after all this time, it still feels like an impossibility brought to life whenever it happens.]

[spoileralert]

[ She hums thoughtfully as she finishes wrapping up his hands. ]

It was important to try this, but... don't forget you're not invulnerable, Al.

[armoured]

Don't worry, Steph, I'm not about to leave you.

[He knows he's not invulnerable, even if he forgets that he can bleed sometimes.]

But this-- what do you think the wall is made from? Nothing should be able to cut through so easily.

[spoileralert]

[ Once she's done wrapping his hand she just holds it for a moment. She wants to hug him, but it's far too cold for that right now. He won't die from the cuts on his hand, she doesn't think, but the thought of losing him cuts her. ]

It must be the stuff the houses in the west are made of. Nothing I could do would even scratch it.

[armoured]

It has to be a metal that I don't even know of, then. I wish I still had my alchemy, I could deconstruct it and figure out what it was made of.

[He wishes he had it for a lot more than that, but...]

[spoileralert]

It has to pre-date whatever happened here. It may be extraterrestrial, or a new alloy.

[armoured]

I wonder if the Admin would tell us what it was called if we asked?

[spoileralert]

We can always ask, but I don't think knowing the name will help much.

[armoured]

We never know, there are people here from all sorts of places, maybe one of them will recognise it if we get a name.

[spoileralert]

I guess. [ She shrugs. ] Worth a shot. I can ask, if your hands hurt to use.

[armoured]

Uh... yeah, do you mind?

[He tries to keep his voice light, but there's an undercurrent of worry. He's going to be useless with his hands like this.]

[spoileralert]

Don't worry about it.

[ She smiles, and takes out her tablet to send a quick text off. ]

[armoured]

[He leans over to watch the replies come in.]

Have you heard of that metal before?

[spoileralert]

It's not a metal so much as a concept. They're supposed to be a lot stronger than simple alloys. They haven't really been perfected yet, that I know of?

[armoured]

I've never even heard of it, but if it's being used here then it sounds like it's gone beyond the conceptual stage.

[spoileralert]

For sure. But then, it's the same with nanotechnology.