"We have to move the minute we get back." Maybe Spectre meant to push her just that little extra, but all Hanne felt was the stress weighing her down. Moving to find the sore spot on her head, she pressed her fingers too hard against it, and a sharp ache radiated through her skull. Ears ringing from the pain, she squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated against it. She could feel the healing come from a place deep inside her brain - it wasn't a painful sensation, but rather an uncomfortable one, as though she was slowly pulling a thread through her head that unravelled the damage done as it went along.
"I'm not going anywhere." She and Vlad passed a few minutes in silence, with little distraction aside from the rain falling around them, and when she felt she'd fixed enough she put her hands down. Now to see to Vlad. She scooted over to his side, folding her legs underneath her. When they were back in the facility she'd stitched the external wound up, to stop the bleeding, but no doubt there was still damage going on under the surface. But with the outside wound closed off, she had a little trouble figuring out where to direct her senses.
"Where does it hurt?" she asked, fingertips skittering over Vlad's abdominal area. She needed a better visual, but she really didn't want to...
"I'm just going to, to get a better look," she whispered apologetically, pushing Vlad's jumpsuit out of the way and his undershirt up so she could place one palm against his bare side. Now even if she couldn't even see the part where she had knitted his skin together earlier, she could feel what was going on inside.
The best way, Hanne decided, was to direct the healing from the rest of the stab wound all the way up, and fix anything else along the way - she could see the blood on Vlad's lips, and it worried her. "Keep breathing," she directed. Under her palm, his flesh began to pull together, sealing closed where it had been split open before; and she couldn't help it, more blood was being pushed upward. As long as the wound was fixed Vlad's body would generate more blood to sustain itself without her help, but it was a necessary evil at the moment. Vlad would probably cough more up, but he'd be okay.
In the closet, Hawke's breathing had almost slowed to a normal rate. In the small space, he could almost feel the beating of both his and Ivy's hearts, but he tried to focus on being in that moment, on the both of them squeezed into that tiny closet. He saw the images in her thoughts as clearly as if she'd been holding drawings up in front of him, and even in his anxiety he felt amused at her attempts to envision the outside. With any luck, they'd know what it looked like soon.
Footsteps outside jolted Hawke's hopeful thoughts to a halt. Ivy, her entire being radiating trepidation, moved to stand between him and the door. Hawke instinctively raised a hand to touch her shoulder, to reassure her that he would be there with her no matter what, but drew back right before his fingers made contact with her bare skin, remembering.
Something was different about the presence outside the closet, though. Hawke wasn't familiar with all the guards in the facility, but as a general rule their minds were so violently loud that they might as well have yelled all their thoughts into a bullhorn pointed in Hawke's direction. The minds on the other side of the door were different, much quieter; but Hawke couldn't get a fix on them. Ivy's singular focus drowned out everything else.
A hand slid through the door, and Hawke jerked back in surprise. Ivy followed suit, and Hawke was forced to do a quick shuffle backwards to avoid touching her. All the same, her shoulder bumped his still-outstretched hand for a moment, and he quickly pulled it back to his side, clenching his jaw to avoid hissing in pain.
Novak followed Specter into the closet, the four of them crowded in the tiny room, their back pressed to the solid-again surface of the door. They felt Hawke pull them into a mental link, and Specter outlined the situation quickly. [ Hanne and Vlad are safe outside the facility. But we have to go, the halls are filled with guards... They have guns. Can you get a portal to reach? Or do we need to get closer? ]
A portal to the outside from here would be hard. Novak shook their head. [ I can try. But it may not be far enough. ] They turned around in the closet, maneuvering carefully to place their palms flat on the door. Envisioning the place where they'd left Hanne and Vlad, and then the path they'd taken to get back here, they opened a new portal, and waved the others through—Specter, Ivy, and then Hawke, and then Novak hopped through, closing the portal behind them.
When Hawke stepped through, he felt the air change. Inside the facility, it was always coldly static, feeling like the whole building was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen. But outside... there was wind blowing across his face, rain falling from the sky, and when Hawke exhaled he felt like he'd been waiting his whole life just to take that breath. It smelled rich and fresh, like nothing he'd ever smelled before.
He wasn't aware he'd stopped in his tracks until Novak fell into his back. He turned, reaching to grasp one of their hands in his, staring wildly down into their eyes. He couldn't speak, couldn't express what this feeling was. They understood immediately, mustering a small smile. "I know."
Hanne had almost finished Vlad. He'd coughed up more blood, quite a lot more than she had been expecting if she was to be honest, staining the front of his jumpsuit a nauseating purple in the poor lighting. "You'll be okay," she whispered, trying to be reassuring. Really, as long as she closed up the wound Vlad's body would work to manage the blood loss, and even if he was feeling lightheaded he'd be okay fairly soon. She was pretty certain.
Over the pattering of the rain she thought she heard footsteps moving in their direction, and jolted in shock. Her first instinct was to draw back, but she looked down at Vlad, and realised she was the only one who could do anything to protect them in that moment. So instead of backing away, or even hiding, she stood up, holding her hands out, unsure what she could do but ready to fight nonetheless.
Novak wasn't sure where exactly in the forest they'd come out. It was outside the facility, that much was true, but they'd misjudged the distance from the closet and now everything looked the same in the dark. The rain dripping into their eyes didn't really help either.
They could have wandered through the woods for ever, but in a moment of luck they turned a corner, and found themselves back in the same copse of trees. A strange scene was waiting—Hanne was standing over Vlad, who was lying on the ground, very bloody and still. Hanne's eyes were large in her pale face, and she looked as though she was ready to attack Novak. The moment their gazes locked, however, she seemed to relax, putting her hands down. "Over here!" Novak called to the others, hoping no one else was around to hear them.
Hawke was the next to appear, his eyes moving from Hanne to Vlad, lying on the ground. In an instant he had sprinted over, dropping to his knees beside his brother. "Vlad? How are you feeling? Talk to me."
"I'm not going anywhere." She and Vlad passed a few minutes in silence, with little distraction aside from the rain falling around them, and when she felt she'd fixed enough she put her hands down. Now to see to Vlad. She scooted over to his side, folding her legs underneath her. When they were back in the facility she'd stitched the external wound up, to stop the bleeding, but no doubt there was still damage going on under the surface. But with the outside wound closed off, she had a little trouble figuring out where to direct her senses.
"Where does it hurt?" she asked, fingertips skittering over Vlad's abdominal area. She needed a better visual, but she really didn't want to...
"I'm just going to, to get a better look," she whispered apologetically, pushing Vlad's jumpsuit out of the way and his undershirt up so she could place one palm against his bare side. Now even if she couldn't even see the part where she had knitted his skin together earlier, she could feel what was going on inside.
The best way, Hanne decided, was to direct the healing from the rest of the stab wound all the way up, and fix anything else along the way - she could see the blood on Vlad's lips, and it worried her. "Keep breathing," she directed. Under her palm, his flesh began to pull together, sealing closed where it had been split open before; and she couldn't help it, more blood was being pushed upward. As long as the wound was fixed Vlad's body would generate more blood to sustain itself without her help, but it was a necessary evil at the moment. Vlad would probably cough more up, but he'd be okay.
In the closet, Hawke's breathing had almost slowed to a normal rate. In the small space, he could almost feel the beating of both his and Ivy's hearts, but he tried to focus on being in that moment, on the both of them squeezed into that tiny closet. He saw the images in her thoughts as clearly as if she'd been holding drawings up in front of him, and even in his anxiety he felt amused at her attempts to envision the outside. With any luck, they'd know what it looked like soon.
Footsteps outside jolted Hawke's hopeful thoughts to a halt. Ivy, her entire being radiating trepidation, moved to stand between him and the door. Hawke instinctively raised a hand to touch her shoulder, to reassure her that he would be there with her no matter what, but drew back right before his fingers made contact with her bare skin, remembering.
Something was different about the presence outside the closet, though. Hawke wasn't familiar with all the guards in the facility, but as a general rule their minds were so violently loud that they might as well have yelled all their thoughts into a bullhorn pointed in Hawke's direction. The minds on the other side of the door were different, much quieter; but Hawke couldn't get a fix on them. Ivy's singular focus drowned out everything else.
A hand slid through the door, and Hawke jerked back in surprise. Ivy followed suit, and Hawke was forced to do a quick shuffle backwards to avoid touching her. All the same, her shoulder bumped his still-outstretched hand for a moment, and he quickly pulled it back to his side, clenching his jaw to avoid hissing in pain.
Novak followed Specter into the closet, the four of them crowded in the tiny room, their back pressed to the solid-again surface of the door. They felt Hawke pull them into a mental link, and Specter outlined the situation quickly. [ Hanne and Vlad are safe outside the facility. But we have to go, the halls are filled with guards... They have guns. Can you get a portal to reach? Or do we need to get closer? ]
A portal to the outside from here would be hard. Novak shook their head. [ I can try. But it may not be far enough. ] They turned around in the closet, maneuvering carefully to place their palms flat on the door. Envisioning the place where they'd left Hanne and Vlad, and then the path they'd taken to get back here, they opened a new portal, and waved the others through—Specter, Ivy, and then Hawke, and then Novak hopped through, closing the portal behind them.
When Hawke stepped through, he felt the air change. Inside the facility, it was always coldly static, feeling like the whole building was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen. But outside... there was wind blowing across his face, rain falling from the sky, and when Hawke exhaled he felt like he'd been waiting his whole life just to take that breath. It smelled rich and fresh, like nothing he'd ever smelled before.
He wasn't aware he'd stopped in his tracks until Novak fell into his back. He turned, reaching to grasp one of their hands in his, staring wildly down into their eyes. He couldn't speak, couldn't express what this feeling was. They understood immediately, mustering a small smile. "I know."
Hanne had almost finished Vlad. He'd coughed up more blood, quite a lot more than she had been expecting if she was to be honest, staining the front of his jumpsuit a nauseating purple in the poor lighting. "You'll be okay," she whispered, trying to be reassuring. Really, as long as she closed up the wound Vlad's body would work to manage the blood loss, and even if he was feeling lightheaded he'd be okay fairly soon. She was pretty certain.
Over the pattering of the rain she thought she heard footsteps moving in their direction, and jolted in shock. Her first instinct was to draw back, but she looked down at Vlad, and realised she was the only one who could do anything to protect them in that moment. So instead of backing away, or even hiding, she stood up, holding her hands out, unsure what she could do but ready to fight nonetheless.
Novak wasn't sure where exactly in the forest they'd come out. It was outside the facility, that much was true, but they'd misjudged the distance from the closet and now everything looked the same in the dark. The rain dripping into their eyes didn't really help either.
They could have wandered through the woods for ever, but in a moment of luck they turned a corner, and found themselves back in the same copse of trees. A strange scene was waiting—Hanne was standing over Vlad, who was lying on the ground, very bloody and still. Hanne's eyes were large in her pale face, and she looked as though she was ready to attack Novak. The moment their gazes locked, however, she seemed to relax, putting her hands down. "Over here!" Novak called to the others, hoping no one else was around to hear them.
Hawke was the next to appear, his eyes moving from Hanne to Vlad, lying on the ground. In an instant he had sprinted over, dropping to his knees beside his brother. "Vlad? How are you feeling? Talk to me."