[PRP] Shiny Happy People

[TawnyAngel]

Escaping from his bed had been easy enough, he knew all the rules inside out and back to front and as such didn't have any trouble getting himself discharged after a couple of days. Lyn, who had been in charge of him, had even been happy to let him go on the proviso that he take proper care of the injuries. Mostly they were simple cuts now the shrapnel was removed and though there were a lot down his torso and in his legs they were relatively shallow. The only vaguely problematic thing was the... the face thing. It still wasn't a subject he could quite look at head on....

Dith groaned internally at what could be taken as an oblique pun, though it had been unintentional. Well, anyway, that issue was one difficulty and the other was his parents. He knew they meant well, they were worried, but they had been hovering ever since he'd been lucid enough to realise. He'd been planning to make a getaway to his apartment but had spotted the pair of them in the lobby, between him and the door, presumably waiting for visiting hours. It was visiting hours now and they would have discovered that he'd discharged himself, and thus probably gone to look for him at home.

Instead of going out into the street therefore Dith had decided to put the time of day to use. It hadn't been hard to find out where his friends who were still hospitalized were, but the information had led to yet another problem. He hadn't liked the expression that flickered across Kelly's face when she informed him of Luke's location. Something was wrong, badly wrong.

Clad in loose sweatpants and a loose t-shirt Dith came to a halt in front of the door to the little private room where his young friend was. He paused outside, raising a hand to touch the dressings covering the right side of his face as trepidation churned in his stomach. How bad could it be? He knew a lot of different very unpleasant answers to that question and wished fervently that he did not. Ignorance was bliss sometimes.

Letting out a slow breath he smoothed a hand over his hair and then knocked on the door.  

[Suudonym]

It had been out of nothing short of obligation that Luke had finally given in and phoned his father, preempting the call he would undoubtedly receive once the hospital started posting bills to the family account. He had explained only the bare minimum - that he'd been wounded in a confrontation against Team Rocket and would be hospitalized for a time. He had caught an earful for it, as expected. 'Politicians don't fight on the front lines.' 'Stop putting yourself in harm's way.' And then the harsher reprimand, 'Don't waste your brother's sacrifice.'

He'd given no retort to any of it, taking it all with the silent assurance that he wouldn't - couldn't - fight anymore. There was also the understanding, or at least the suspicion, that his father disguised fear and concern as anger. And for that, Luke was left feeling guilty. He was, after all, his father's last remaining family. How close had he been to robbing that man of everything he had left?

A knock on the door drew his thoughts from overseas, and he looked to the door for a moment to see if it would open. No - a visitor. "Come in."  

[TawnyAngel]

Well Luke was awake, able to speak and able to process information. That ruled out the worst possibilities at least. Dith pushed the door open and stepped inside. "Hey there." Giving a wan worried looking smile he closed the door behind him and crossed the room. Luke was hooked up to this and to that but honestly didn't look as bad as he had been expecting... so what had Kelly's look been for?

"Good to see you awake," Dith added as he eased himself cautiously into the chair beside the bed. His caution could be attributed in a fairly even split to soreness and a lack of initial trust in the chair, the last thing he wanted was to break it and end up on the floor.  

[Suudonym]

Luke replied with a tired smile of his own and a slight raise of his hand in greeting. He didn't know much of what had happened in the desert from the time of the explosion onward and had learned most of what he knew of his comrades' conditions from visitors. He knew that Dith was alive and not in critical condition, but it was still a relief to see the man. He nodded in acknowledgment, replying, "Good to see you too. You're doing all right?" It wasn't difficult to see that the older man hadn't gotten out unscathed, at least...  

[TawnyAngel]

Dith thought about the question. It was difficult to answer because... well he still didn't really know. He was pretty sure he ought to be more upset than he currently felt, losing an eye was a major thing as were facial injuries that he knew perfectly well would scar impressively. Maybe it hadn't sunk in yet properly, or maybe he was just feeling lucky to be alive and vertical.

"Mmmh, I would give myself a four out of ten maybe." Smiling wryly now the over-sized man made a 'so-so' gesture with one hand. "I will feel better soon though I'm sure.... And yourself?" He dreaded the answer; either he would find out something unpleasant or Luke would just join him in the mild 'I've been better's.

None of this should have happened, it had all been fine and then... Lucy. He knew that wouldn't really be her name but it was the only one he had to call her by. What if he had done more to try to have her taken in? What if he had reported her as soon as he found out what she really was rather than after seeing her at the festival? Things might have been different, would have been different if she hadn't been there. Luke, Ty and Dove and all the others might be alright if it had been another Rocket there instead of her. He hadn't thought about that before but it couldn't be denied. This was, at least in part, his fault.  

[Suudonym]

He would have liked to shrug - he rather missed shrugging - but easily abandoned the thought. "Four out of ten sounds about right," he said, fidgeting absently with the bedsheets. "My father's giving me a hard time, though," he added with a quiet frown at the memory. "Saying I'm not a warrior… that I should give it up…" He deflated slightly under the understanding that it wasn't really a choice anymore.  

[TawnyAngel]

Nothing? Well, alright, now wasn't the time to push. Dith sighed and give a sympathetic nod. "He doesn't think that it should be you fighting this fight. He wants you to be safe. My father has been the same, 'leave all of this and Kodo and come home'." He shrugged his broad shoulders, smoothing a hand over his hair and avoiding touching his face again. "I can understand his feelings, and I hate to worry him... but it's my life not his, just as yours belongs to you." Dith gave Luke another smile, still a little strained but warm and genuine. "We can't live only to make other people happy. You only get to live once so I think you, we, anyone really should do what they want to do and... just try to make the world a bit of a better place."

He didn't like the idea of his young friends fighting either but who was he to stop them? Most of them were over the age of eighteen now, he might wish to keep them from harm but he didn't have any right to try to deter them. They were all wise enough to know the risks and they chose to take them because they thought it was right. Couldn't really argue with that in the end, not without being a huge hypocrite anyway.  

[Suudonym]

Luke gave a slight nod. "He's been at it for a while, trying to get me to go home. He doesn't seem to be planning to force me this time, at least." Idle hands fidgeted absently. "I guess I can understand it. I don't really like that the people around me are putting themselves in danger, either, but it's not like it's my place to make anyone stop." Oh had he tried, but it seemed his friends all shared in his sentiments, each willing to carry the burden of protecting the region and one another. The most he could do was try to defend them from harm, but even that probably wasn't possible anymore.

The absent fidgeting took on a more anxious quality, an uncertainty coming into the trainer's features. "What do you think you would do if you couldn't fight anymore? Would it be better to just go home if you couldn't contribute anything to the fight?"  

[TawnyAngel]

He had been about to reply in agreement to Luke's sentiment of not liking to see others risking themselves but then Luke kept talking and what he went on to say felt rather more important. The young man looked anxious, unsure of himself. He still hadn't said what was wrong with him... not another problem with his heart?

Dith sat back in his chair slightly - it creaked - and rubbed the back of his neck. "Not being able to physically fight doesn't mean you have nothing to contribute," he said after a few moments. "If something happened to stop me going out and fighting like we did the other day I would find another way to make myself directly useful I think. This is too important to turn my back on, I couldn't leave the cause... and I could not leave my friends either." Now what did he do? Did he ask Luke what was wrong? "What about you?" Maybe he should have asked directly but finding out what Luke thought about this point before moving on seemed important too.  

[Suudonym]

Luke smiled faintly, "Well, you're a doctor, right? So it's not like fighting is your only skill…" What about him? He still wasn't sure. "I… don't want to leave. I mean, even just on principle; when I hear 'home,' I think of Kodo, not some house on the other side of the ocean. And this battle is important to me, you know? Team Rocket has affected so many of my friends, it destroyed my family, and it's terrorizing this island. I don't want to just say 'oh well' and leave it all behind. But I don't-- I wouldn't want to become an inconvenience either. If my staying turned more into a burden than a benefit… that would probably be a really difficult decision."  

[TawnyAngel]

He really didn't like how this conversation was going. Cold dread coiled inside him right down to the bones. Sooner or later he was going to find out something he didn't want to.

"Well yes," Dith nodded, smiling a little again, "but I was not when I was your age. I have had a long time to develop different skills, there would be nothing to stop you learning something new if you had to give up what you do now." After a brief internal debate he lent forward again to touch Luke lightly on the shoulder; not knowing where his injuries might be he didn't dare do more. "I cannot imagine you being a burden Luke under any circumstances, you would be missed terribly if you were to leave. Besides, you are a bright young man, courageous and determined. No matter what might happen I believe in your ability to find a way forward."  

[Suudonym]

"I… guess." He'd been reminded so many times, of course, that plenty of people who were paralyzed managed to live independent, productive lives. Most buildings were required to be made accessible, even some vehicles could be operated without the use of one's legs, and there weren't so many opportunities off the top of his head that would be impossible for him to pursue. Were he to chase after a normal life, he would by and large be able to obtain it. However, "I think the battlefield became the most important place for me," he said. "Fighting on behalf of the people that can't, and protecting the people willing to put themselves at risk. It's kind of scary - or depressing, I guess - to think that all of that's closed off to me. I mean, maybe not all of it, but something but the desert, or the mountains, or just a building with stairs…" He raised his hand on the reflex to rub at the back of his neck but failed to reach high enough. He was starting to be kind of cryptic about the whole thing, he realized, but the words to explain properly were like poison in his thoughts. It wasn't fair to keep up this awkward dance, though. "Just in general, things like standing, or walking, are kind of… impossible, now."  

[TawnyAngel]

Sometimes there was simply nothing you could say. Lost not just for words but for coherent thought too Dith sank back into his chair, his usually expressive face unreasonable. It couldn't really be said to be his fault but that didn't stop the guilt from starting to press down on him.

"Luke I... I'm sorry." Small pathetic words, but he didn't have any better in his own language. What else could you say? Some things were easier to cope with than others and so far as he had seen using the use of your legs or a major sense were just about the worst.

Sitting forward again he gave Luke's shoulder another squeeze, his hand lingering there unless an attempt was made to shrug him off. He knew it would be of no real comfort but the gesture was all he could think of to do. "Have they explained exactly what the problem is?" It didn't sound as though he had been given much hope of recovery, if any at all.  

[Suudonym]

He shook his head slightly, wearing a meek but honest smile. "It's not something anyone should apologize for. Rosie said that she believes I saved her life. If that's true, then there's not really anything I would have done differently." If that was true, then he had nothing to regret - or so he continued to tell himself every time he felt near the verge of breaking down over the sudden and complete change facing his life. So far, it was working.

He made no move to deter the companionship Dith offered, accepting the slight solace it provided. "I don't really understand it very well," he replied. "Something to do with the shrapnel and the spinal cord and inflammation. No one's outright said it's definitely permanent, but all the therapy has failed." Speaking of it like this, it almost felt as though he were reciting someone else's problems. It was surreal.  

[TawnyAngel]

Under the circumstances the word 'inflammation' was good, he'd been fearing 'severed'. It still wasn't good though by any means at all: some people recovered, some recovered some level of function and sensation and some... well some just weren't that lucky.

"I... wouldn't be able to say anything without knowing specifics but I can say that with inflammation of the spinal cord - traumatic or due to disease - it is... it's difficult to give much of a prognosis." No doubt that was what Luke had already been told, though he knew some of his collogues were prone to technobabble so who knew what had actually been communicated.

Luke might well have saved Rosie's life and if so in Luke's position he liked to think he would feel it had been a fair trade, a decision he wouldn't change either. That didn't make it an easy thing to accept by any means, he'd seen similar things enough times to know that.

"I know it's not something to apologise for, but I wish I could change it." Still leaning forward with his hand on Luke's shoulder Dith watched the young man carefully, sorrow written plainly across his face. "Perhaps at least we can keep people from being harmed this way in future." Team Rocket had to be stopped, prevented from doing this to anyone else... by any means necessary? The idea of trying to kill or even serious injure another human, Rocket or otherwise, still wasn't something he felt able to seriously contemplate.