multiversallogs | all you have to do is breathe

Entry tags:

all you have to do is breathe

Who: Charity Burbage and you!
What: An arrival.
Where: The arrival rooms, Valhalla Inn
When: Shundi evening.
Warnings: aaaaftermath of horrible violence???

Her first thought is this isn't what I expected death to feel like.

The second is: what the hell is this?

She seems to be in a small room—small enough to be called a cell, really, with a single table and all done up in an inoffensive green color. It might be tile; her vision is fuzzy. If this is the afterlife, it's a bit disappointing so far.

And her head is killing her. It sounds like someone's saying in her ear, but she can't quite make out the words through the ringing and in any case, who would be talking to her? It must be her imagination. She tries to make a movement to get up, but her limbs still won't respond.

...if she's dead, shouldn't she not be Petrified anymore? Well—that's getting a bit into the metaphysical. But still, all the same, what that might mean for her: somehow...

—she's still alive.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Severus arrives a few moments later to find the door already open. Were he anyone else (or the arrival anyone else, for that matter), he would turn and leave. However, around Steph's body, he sees a face that is far too familiar and freezes. Were he anyone else, he might reel backward from the shock of it.

But he isn't, and she isn't, and he remains solemn and rooted to the spot, trapped in a body that refuses to turn and flee. His ethics won't allow it. That, and in the back of his mind, he knows damned well he owes the injured party far more than cowardice.

So he approaches slowly, intent on not startling the Steph or Burbage, steps around the body with care (avoiding the blood - an irrational desire not to track it into the house when he returns home because Martha would be furious, wouldn't she?) and asks sharply, "Is she conscious?"

Clearly she is, and so he can see for himself; she looks alert.

"It's okay, you're safe, you don't have to talk," The look of understanding was enough reassurance for Steph and she starts checking for visible injuries, ready to deal with anything that she might find. She starts with the throat, because she assumes the reason the woman can't speak is because of damage done there, and then searches for the source of all the blood.

She hears Snape when he arrives and casts a brief glance in his direction before turning her attention back to Charity, though she responds to the question automatically, "Conscious and responsive, but she can't speak. Are you a doctor?"

If he isn't, she'll try to tell him to go get one.

Most of the blood isn't fresh, running in trails down her arms and legs, but she's bleeding slightly from around her temples and some cuts on her face that look new. Cuts, not scratches—the kind that are made with a knife. The fingers on her right hand might be broken; Charity's not sure, since she can't really feel them. Her nerves still twitch, unable to move as she is, with the aftereffects of the Cruciatus curse. (Maybe it's for the best that she can't move, really. She has the feeling that when she does, it's going to hurt like hell.)

Another figure's come up behind the woman (girl?), though really from this angle all she can see is from the knees down or so, and her vision still swims. God, she hopes it's a doctor. That sounds really great right now. That, and some sedatives.

Wondering isn't really productive, though. Maybe if she tries wiggling her toes a little bit—it'll wear off in time, but she'd prefer sooner rather than later. No response, but maybe if she keeps at it...

In response to the question, he simply frowns slightly. There is a doctor he can contact, but circumstances being what they are, he's not certain he wants her involved. Neither does he want to contact his recent customer. So instead, he produces a pouch from one of his pockets and moves to kneel opposite Steph.

As he begins to produce vials from the bag, contents seemingly impossibly too large for the container and yet easily extricated from inside it, he replies curtly, "I am not. Are you?"

Without waiting for an answer, he holds out a cloth and one of the vials to her. "Apply this to the worst of her wounds. Not liberally - it isn't meant to be a bath." He says the words as though he thinks the girl can't be trusted to follow the simplest of instructions - which is precisely the case. He doesn't know her, and she is (probably) a Muggle.

She wishes she'd had time to get her first aid items out of her utility belt, but it had been hidden in its usual spot and would have taken too long; she hadn't wanted the woman to die while she searched for a few meagre supplies.

"I'm a nurse," its not true, she has go official training, but she's learned a lot from Leslie and Bruce that she's confident enough that she can handle this.

The vial gets regarded with suspicion, but she takes it and the cloth. She wants to know what it does, but if this man is someone bad, there's no guarantee he wouldn't just lie about the affects.

"If this hurts her, I'll break your arms," is all she says as she starts cleaning the wounds as per his instructions. Her tone of voice indicates it isn't an empty threat. "And her fingers need setting, do you have anything that would work as a splint?"

Momentarily she wonders if her head is fucked up worse than she thought, of if she's hallucinating, because there's no way she can be hearing the voice she's hearing. And when she sees his face, he looks slightly different than she remembers—older, maybe? And the woman responds to him, so he's not just some phantom of imagination or trauma. And there's no mistaking him.

What is Severus Snape doing here?

Which brings up a whole new flood of questions—did he change his mind? Did he take her here wherever this is... but, no, he would have been here from the start.

Am I in danger is also among the questions, although she rather figures if he wanted to kill her himself, he'd have already done it. And as the woman starts to dab his potion on her wounds, she can feel skin beginning to regrow and knit. For whatever reason, they seem to be on the same side once again. (Really, he's got to pick properly one of these days. A woman could get whiplash.)

Her eyes flick up to him, and if she could raise an eyebrow she would—ah, and it seems to move a little. She blinks, rapidly, to clear the stinging sensation of eyes left too long open. Her toes feel a little looser, too. Could someone use a Finite Incantatem here? I think she could, Severus. And she will (probably) not knee you in the groin if you do. Or at least she tries to communicate that via blinking and eyebrow gestures.

Two years in another time and place, spending his time breaking a Vulcan's arm repeatedly (and with the intention of mending it), has taught him to heal fractures. However, he doesn't immediately draw his wand to do so. Not only is Steph watching (old fears die hard), but he seems to recall Burbage's CiD recording up until he Apparated.

Protect his own somewhat thinly-veiled identity (and ease his own discomfort, because he is certain at least one person is watching who he would much rather wasn't) or heal those broken fingers? Interesting conundrum. He glances down at the woman between them and is immediately distracted by the message she is so clearly trying to stare into him.

Ah. No wonder she's being unnaturally quiet.

With an expression suggesting he's rather put-upon by this whole affair, he glances around for the CiD, then resignedly produces his wand from his sleeve. For a moment - just the space of a heartbeat - he considers Stunning her. It doesn't come, however. Instead, a muttered, "Finite Incantatem."

And he turns his attention back to the other woman before his old colleague can start shrieking. In an almost conversational tone, he asks suddenly, "Your name?"

Steph's eyes widen at the effect the potion has, although she knows she should stop being so surprised of stuff like this in Baedal. She's too distracted by looking up the wounds to notice Charity trying to communicate with Snape, so the muttered spell makes her gaze snap up, eyes narrowed before she looks back at her patient in anticipation of whatever the spell will do.

"Stephanie," she still answers his question; its not polite to ignore someone, "You?"

Charity coughs, and sound comes out; experimentally, she tries to bend her knees and they respond and oh ow, fuck you very much, Bellatrix Lestrange. "Finally," she breathes, hoarsely—her throat is raw still, so it comes out gravelly and dry and far quieter than she intended—and, because she values politeness, "And—thank you—Severus. And—Stephanie."

Wincing, she shifts, attempting to bring herself upright to lean against the wall. "What happened." She can't manage much inflection and unnecessary movement hurts, but the question is directed at her old colleague.

When she moves, Severus makes an almost imperceptible motion - not a flinch so much as a leaning away. His fingers tighten around his wand as though he expects an attack.

And with her words, it thus becomes unnecessary to introduce himself to Stephanie; he glances at her and gives a slight tilt of his head, an action which exudes more wryness and irritation than manners. With that, he directs his attention to analysing the situation. When is Burbage from? Not her death, clearly - not if she's looking to him to answer her questions. Some time before, then. In that case, he feel safe asking, "What do you remember?"

Is he ...afraid? Of her? Hah! As if she could start a fight in this state, although part of her would like to.

"Last thing I remember was being about to, you know, die, Severus, in case you've forgotten, and you just standing there." She pauses to cough, and closes her eyes and leans her head—gently—back against the wall. "And yet here I am. And here you are. And this isn't the manor.

"What. Is going. On."

"Careful," at first she had tried to stop Charity from moving, but realizing it's a futile effort she just helped her get upright, doing her best to make sure Charity didn't aggravate any wounds.

She puts the stopper back on the vial and places it carefully on the floor as she watches the exchange between Severus and Charity. When Charity mentions that he was there at her death, Steph tenses, shifting to put herself slightly between the two of them, her hand resting on the floor next to her right boot so she can grab her bo staff from where it's hidden if she has to.

She's never might either of them before, so it's possibly that if they were fighting, Charity was the bad guy in the situation. But she's also Steph's patient for now, and that comes first. She doesn't speak, though, waiting to hear Severus's reply.

Well, there it its. So she had been about to die - and such an accusation to make. Publicly. Rather than focusing on what Burbage might do to him, Snape's eyes flicker toward Stephanie when she moves. He notes the way she tenses, and though he doesn't know whether she has a concealed weapon, he suspects.

"I wouldn't," he warns quietly, ignoring Charity for the moment and mindful that Baedal is probably watching. There is an almost imperceptible movement of his hand, an angling upward of the wand to point in Stephanie's direction. And that's all the warning he gives her before slowly tearing his eyes off of her and glancing down at his old colleague.

"You've been abducted. So have we all." Dismissive and cold. She's injured, and first concerns should be preventing her from meeting the same fate she had three years before.

She flinches back on reflex at the raised wand, even though it's not aimed at her, and bites her lip and reminds herself that she probably isn't in danger at the moment. The scene has been considered; despite her prior situation, there is little to be gained from Severus putting on some charade for her. Therefore, she can take him at face value. Except—

"—abducted."

...yes indeed, she's got nothing. What even.

The look she gives Snape is withering, she's not even remotely scares of him. When Charity flinches, Steph says softly, "He won't hurt you." It's a promise, not just a reassurance. She won't let him hurt her.

"This city is called Baedal, its population is over two million, all consisting of abductees, or the descendants of them. The government is in control, but they seem to have no interest in harming anyone so long as we accept our new home," she doesn't want to say too much more on that, its not important right now, she'd just wanted to give Charity a little more information, "If you're feeling up to it, I'd like to try to get you somewhere more comfortable, so we can get a doctor to come look at you."

She's not sure if Charity has injuries other than the visible ones, so she doesn't want to risk moving her too much.

"But that's—" Completely nutters, but Severus isn't disputing it and it's all she has to go on right now and dear God would she really like a good lie-down and the proper story can wait for that. And some morphine. And no dreams. "Yes. Doctor, yes, good. Good plan. Tell them to bring lots of painkillers."

And, yeah, her ribs aren't feeling real solid right now on the whole, and heaven knows what else; Bellatrix Lestrange may not be sane, but she is well thorough.

He doesn't immediately intervene; there is a distinctly dangerous line he's walking now, and Burbage has already said enough to put him in a questionable light. So he remains silent, meeting withering stares with an arched brow and taking to the idea of foisting the woman off on a doctor quite well.

A doctor not at Hellsing. If there are two paths he would like to prevent from crossing one another, it is Burbage's with Martha's.

He produces a second vial, presses it into his ex-colleague's hand; it could be something for the pain - is probably for the pain - but at the moment, he rather would like it to be poison. He then stands and collects her CiD from where it lies, turns it off with more ease than should be attributed to a wizard with no knowledge of technology, and holds it out to Stephanie. Were Charity anyone else, he might shoot a challenging glance at her. However, it is Charity and regardless of her eleventh hour rescue by Baedal, in his memory he did exactly that of which he stands accused. Thus he avoids eye-contact entirely.

Edited 2012-01-27 11:29 (UTC)

"My room's just upstairs, I'll bring a doctor to you."

She's glad Severus doesn't argue, she has no interest in fighting with him just to get Charity looked after and she's perfectly capable of keeping her stable until a doctor can get to them. Which is... a problem she will deal with when she comes to it. For now, she's focusing on helping Charity stand up; Steph is stronger than she looks, and should be able to support Charity's weight well enough.

The CiD is accepted and slipped into a pocket without comment, but she shoots a suspicious glance at the vial. She has no idea what it's supposed to be and doesn't like the idea of letting Charity use it, no matter how useful the other potion had turned out to be.

But he has been helpful, and while Steph might not trust him, that doesn't mean she needs to be rude, "Thank you for your help, Severus."

Edited 2012-01-27 11:44 (UTC)

The vial Charity considers for a moment before she slips it into a pocket. She doesn't know what it is; she'll wait to examine it until she's more clear-headed. It's probably something to help, but she doesn't like taking things when she doesn't know what they are. She's always been good with potions; unless he's being tricky, it'll be identifiable to her.

She accepts Steph's hand up, and support on her way out, with a nod back to Severus; she'll be back with questions for him later, whether he likes it or not. The young woman supports her easily enough, though it is a bit of slow going for Charity herself, and they climb the stairs.

For now she reserves her words unless asked questions; she is tired, thinking is difficult, and she's still trying to work out her surroundings and whether this is even real or not.

If it weren't for the stairs, Steph would just princess carry Charity to her room, but she wouldn't trust her balance with the extra weight, so they have to take them slowly.

She's glad she left her door unlocked; it means she doesn't have to fumble with the key, she can just open the door and walk Charity inside, sitting her down on the bed. The room is well kept, the bed made and only a few articles of clothing are lying around.

"Have you ever been given morphine before?" There's a syringe full of morphine in one of the pouches in her utility belt, but she won't give it to Charity unless she knows there won't be any ill effects.

"Yes, fine." Not eloquent, but it'll do. It's a good question; most witches wouldn't have, but once as a young girl attending muggle primary school, she broke her leg on the playground and was rushed to the general hospital.

"Okay good. That's good," It's been a while since she's had to practice her bedside manner, but she gives Charity a reassuring smile before she turns to the closet. Fortunately the pouches of her utility belt detach, and the three that keep first supplies in them are marked with little red crosses, so she has them off the pouch and on the bed in a few moments. They're still a little odd looking, but not quite as bad as a whole utility belt.

The syringe she pulls out is more like an epi pen than an actual syringe, but it means Steph doesn't have to fuss around with finding a vein, "This'll only hurt a little." As gently as she can, she pushes the needle into Charity's upper arm and depresses the button on top to administer the morphine.

It'll take a while to work, but just having the morphine is a bit of a relief, though she does flinch a little bit at the needle—living in the world of magic means you don't get used to them.

"Thanks," she says, sighing. She's still working on catching up to the fact that against all odds, she seems to be safe now. "You a nurse, or something?"

"Or something," Steph answers with a smile, carefully putting the needle away so she can dispose of it properly later, "I volunteered at a public clinic for a few years, and I spent a year in Africa working as a nurse."

"I'm going to put a splint on your fingers until you can get an x-ray. I don't want to risk moving them too much if they're broken," She wishes she had some actual finger splints, but she'd never bothered to keep them in her belt. But she's got medical tape, a credit card she doesn't need in Baedal, and a pair of scissors. With the credit card cut into strips, they'll make a decent temporary splint.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

all you have to do is breathe

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

breaking order hope that's okay /o/

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

that moment when you use the wrong account.

at least it was still a Snape account?

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject