[PRP] Sad State of Affairs

[Suudonym]

Luke recalled hearing that Dove had been badly wounded in the fray, though he had heard nothing of the details of her condition. Eventually the curiosity compelled him to inquire after her, unsure of whether or not she was still in the hospital or even if she would receive visitors if so. The nurse he had assigned his curiosity returned before long with the requested information: Dove indeed had not yet been discharged, and she was willing to see him if he offered.

Luke had had more than enough of the room by now, confined to that bed at every given moment, and was initially enthusiastic about the prospect of having some mobility, even if only with the aid of the hospital's staff. Transferring into the wheelchair that was brought for him, however, proved far more of an ordeal than he would have imagined, and though he rejected the nurse's encouragement that he return to the bed and try again another time, he did take a length of time to wait for the screaming protests of his damaged spine and shoulderblades to die down.

Eventually, after longer than perhaps expected, Luke completed his lengthy and harrowing voyage from one room down the hall to another, appearing in the doorway to Dove's room alongside the nurse's knock and announcement. He raised a hand slightly in a meek greeting, unsure of what he could say.  

[Tori Honoo]

The circumstances into which she had been thrust found Dove anything put content. Trapped in a bed, in constant pain and the heavy weight of exhaustion as her body attempted to repair itself, the girl was absolutely miserable, and to anyone that approached, it would be pitifully obvious in both expression and how she now held herself-- and the number of things obviously wrong. However, when the nurse had asked if she would be willing to have a visitor, she did her best to perk up, even going to far as to try to lift herself to a seated position until the pains throughout shot her back down. The nurse, with a gentle expression of pity, inclined the bed, then disappeared to tell Luke of her ready consent.

Once the nurse was gone, the girl smoothed the end of the long plait that fell over her shoulder and brace, For a moment, she closed her eyes to wait until the knocking sounded throughout the quiet room, and despite the condition she was in, she put on the best smile she could muster as he waved, and offered her own waggle of fingers, careful not to dislodge the drip in her arm. Her voice came away far too small, though she attempted to make her greeting as positive as possible, as he looked as though he had certainly had the worst of it as well. "Hey, Luke...!"  

[Suudonym]

Luke gave a nod in reply to her greeting, disheartened that it seemed Dove hadn't fared any better than him in the aftermath of the Rocket confrontation. "I'd ask how you're doing," he said, wearing empathy in his expression and tone, "but I think I have a rough idea of the answer."  

[Tori Honoo]

Her smile softened a bit, and she shook her head a little at his expression, her brow furrowed as she listened carefully, for more carefully than she would have previously. "I've been better...but I'll live, I think..." she added tiredly, hoping the tone in her voice was teasing enough to convey the small bit of optimism she was trying to pursue. She would live, of course, but in the meantime, things were awful.

Falling quiet for a few moments, she looked down to the sheets over her, then lifted her eyes to him again. "How are you feeling...?" she ventured timidly, unsure of exactly what had happened to him. It hurt to think that he had found himself in the hospital again, but she reasoned that nothing about their mission had been safe... none of them could be blamed for it, unless they had done something incredibly stupid as she had, and even then it was debatable, at least in her mind. A larger portion of her begged to know what happened, but she couldn't bring herself to ask outright. At least, not until she knew how comfortable he was in talking about it.  

[Suudonym]

"The League already announced that there were no casualties, so I don't think we have any choice," he replied, matching her tone. Even if it were a joke, though, he had no qualms against taking it sincerely; no casualties was all they could really ask for, given the nature of the event they were all involved in.

As he opened his mouth to reply to the question, he paused, rethinking his answer. There wasn't any sense in being misleading. "Honestly," he said, the words tired and quiet, "pretty terrible. But it could be worse, I guess." Just… not by much.  

[Tori Honoo]

She frowned a little, then shook her head a bit, her look apologetic. "There weren't any casualties?" she asked, slowly reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. The gauze had been removed, but the ear itself was red. She had heard that somewhere...or read it, maybe, in a note, but the past few days had been such a blur, and her more recent memories hazy. And she wasn't entirely sure she had heard him right, given her troubles. Hoping, however, that she had been correct, she offered a little shrug, immediately wincing after with a small shudder; well, that gesture was out. "That's good, at least. Tomorrow should be better."

Her smile faded completely at his response, though she accepted that she shouldn't have expected any differently. "Yeah... I know what you mean." A pause, considering he was at least being honest, and then "So what are you in for...?" she asked, serious and curious, as she had only been told he was admitted as well.  

[Suudonym]

He nodded in confirmation, "Lots of injured, but none dead." He recognized the reaction she had to her shrug, understanding the pain such a simple gesture could cause but unable to do anything about it. "We're young, at least," he offered. "It makes for quick healing, from my experience."

The question as to what caused his condition was oddly difficult; he had heard stories of being struck with something but retained no direct memory of it. Instead, he generalized, "Wrecked my back." Mentally, he gave an accompanying shrug. "I guess from a big piece of shrapnel? I don't know the details."  

[Tori Honoo]

She smiled a little more at his confirmation, and nodded tentatively, glad when it did little to the rest of her. "That's good... I'd like to at least be able to move around again without cringing...which also hurts." A pause, a moment to recover her breathing. "I just... I hate this place." Both the physical location and her point in healing. The reminder that not everything could be healed was even worse, though, and her expression suddenly became distant. A shaky deep breath, though, and she pulled herself back to the room and Luke and their conversation.

Wrecked his back...? She gave a concerned look, but said nothing for a moment. "Oh... Remembering is hard..." she admitted, looking down once more. "All I know is what the doctors and Yuri told me, myself.... maybe a few flashes of things that I think were real? I don't know." Maybe it was best that they were forgetting... She only recalled an overwhelming sense of stupidity for getting herself so close to the blast.  

[Suudonym]

"I'd say you get used to it, but," he shook his head, "really, it's better if you never have to." He'd been at the hospital frequently enough that everything was familiar, from the staff to the decor to the pain that accompanied healing. It was wearisome, and he really hoped that no one else had to end up with such a thorough understanding of the place.

His response to her question went without any further comment, which was a small relief. Discussing the complications of his condition was still a difficult idea, though he didn't want to avoid it simply because it was difficult. If it was going to become a permanent part of his life, it was something he would have to get used to. Abandoning the thoughts, he nodded in understanding, "Something to do with the body's survival mode, I think…? Like instead of forming memories, it focuses on self-preservation." He frowned thoughtfully. "I don't know if I read this somewhere or if I'm just making it up, though…"  

[Tori Honoo]

"Yes, I think I'll fight it. I really don't want a round two..." Because really, trying it once was bad enough. "At least they're letting people stay with me now... It was creepy waking up alone with a ton of wires... everywhere..." Another long pause, and a few more shaky breaths. Talking was still hard...

She listened carefully, if with some difficulty, to his reasoning, contemplating it before agreeing. "That... makes sense. I don't know that I want to know what happened first hand... you know?" Her hand ghosted along her newly damaged side, her eyes following the absol scars on her arm. "Guess I'm...walking out of here with a... few extra reminders, though..." The thought made her throat almost visibly tight, and she fought the tears that pricked at her eyes yet again.  

[Suudonym]

He nodded, remembering waking from the brief coma that had accompanied his heart troubles before. All the mechanical sights and sounds were daunting, as well as the constant hovering of various medical staff. "I'm sure they try to make it as comfortable as possible, but it's really just… uncomfortable," he agreed, frowning slightly. "Not much that can be done about it, I guess."

Another nod in agreement, "Not remembering - it's probably for the best sometimes." If that fear and pain and desperation never returned to his memories, he would have lost nothing. His immediate response to her comment was unfairly bitter, and his gaze fell suddenly, as though wounded. Lowered eyes found only the offending legs, though, forcing his attention upwards again. "At least you haven't lost anything, right?" he said, his smile forced and absent of enthusiasm. "I mean, you're alive and whole. The scars are just proof that there's something out there you're stronger than." Autonomously, his hand raised partway to his chest, having shifted his thoughts from his immediate circumstances to ones that he had already overcome in the past.  

[Tori Honoo]

"The other room was worse, though, I guess... I was apparently in ICU?" she guessed, laughing weakly, though the sound lacked the humor she wished and only added a few jabs to her middle. Waking up connected to everything had been terrifying at the very least. She was just thankful she hadn't been awake long. "At least the staff is nice..."

His reaction surprised her, and immediately worry and regret flashed through her expression, the heart monitor off to the side betraying her fear. She had stepped onto something tentative, and wasn't entirely sure how to go about moving away from it, especially as it seemed to affect him too, maybe even moreso. Instead of answering the first half of his response, she offered only a nod. His question demanded an answer, though, and she nodded again. "I haven't lost anything I shouldn't... have been prepared to give up..." she offered tentatively, finding it somehow harder to make eye contact. His eyes flashing away from his legs, though, caught her eye, and paired with what he had asked, worry sparked again. "I think I have a new path to follow anyway..." Her answer left her feeling somewhat vain, as she pulled attention again, but what else could she do? To ask him right out about what was bothering him seemed to be a terrible idea, considering her past with him, and yet...

"I'm sorry, Luke... but... what's wrong...?" A small shake of her head soon followed though. "If you don't want to tell me, that's fine, too. I-I understand."  

[Suudonym]

A hum in agreement; if nothing else, Camphoreon hospital's staff was top tier. They had always been kind and supportive, from Luke's experience, though they did sometimes say things he didn't appreciate hearing.

A nod in understanding responded to her comments. Things changed, and life moved on. He was alive, and so perhaps he should have been thinking about finding a new path as well, but he didn't want to admit that his days of fighting in this war were likely behind him. What could he find to do for the cause that was anywhere near as meaningful?

He regarded her with a mild expression as she spoke, green eyes betraying a turmoil that didn't reach his other features. "Don't want to tell," he repeated, the words so quiet they were nearly mouthed, though his volume returned to a more audible level as he continued, "it's nothing like that. It's just… hard to say?" As if leaving the words unspoken could render them any less true. "It's, uh… paralysis. It… probably won't heal. I'm worried, about the future." His hands were tensed, he realized, his gaze having fallen distant.  

[Tori Honoo]

Though she completely missed the words he repeated, she picked up immediately that he was uncomfortable and withdrew a little, watching him carefully now, more as a caution to herself not to do anything stupid. Not that she had the strength. She shook her head in protest as he continued to try to explain, then fell silent and still when he was finally able to muster the broken words.

Paralysis...? No. Now way.

Just keep going, one step at a time...one step a time.

The heart monitor to the side beeped again, just once, displaying a slightly raised heartrate. There was no way Luke could be paralyzed. That wasn't even possible.

She shook her head a little, realizing how dejected and scared he looked. The words she spoke were small, and soft, but genuine. "It'll be okay, Luke."  

[Suudonym]

His breath remained shallow, his features mildly pale, as he relaxed and clenched his hands intermittently in an absent effort towards occupying himself somehow. He offered another nod - a small one, insincere - in response to Dove's words. "It'll be okay," he echoed, "but just okay? Tolerable? Not as bad as it could be?" His hands pulled loosely into fists and remained that way. "I want to be okay with it, I really do. If I regret it, Rosie will just blame herself, and she doesn't need to feel guilty over something that was my own decision. I feel like a damned hypocrite, but this is just-- I don't want this." The distress that had creeped into his expression was cut off abruptly by a brief but intense wince of pain that forced the trainer to relax. His thoughts calmed with his posture, and apology came into his tone, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to start ranting." As if Dove really needed to hear about his fears and grievances.