005 [Action]

[fabrecation]

[It's late in the day when Luke finally returns from his kidnapping. He's on the edge of the forest, just slightly buried under the autumn leaves, and the only sign of life is his steady breathing. It's almost as if he's deep, deep sleep, or perhaps even a coma.

But that probably won't be the first thing that others might notice. No, most prominent of all are the scratches along and around his ears thanks to his own fingernails, but also lacerations, as if made with a sharp tool. This seems to be the worst injury in sight, and the cuts are already dry, so it's not as if it's a danger.

Yet underneath a pile of leaves are his wings, and that's where the most damage is. Not only are they cracked from being thrown against the wall, but wrapped tightly around them is a thin wire. The feathers stick out rather jaggedly as a result, where they were once so smooth and well taken care of. It'll take a lot of work and patience to get all of the wire out, and it serves as a punishment for those who ended Luke's torture prematurely.

Hopefully someone will trip over him, because Luke isn't going anywhere on his own for a while.]

Comments

[dissonates]

[Asch grimaces and shifts Luke's weight again when the replica starts to slide; he's carried him for a while now, and the weight is starting to take its toll. It'd be nice if Guy took over :|]

He's with me. Sending him back now would just make it harder to heal him.

[fabrecation]

[And now that Guy is actually here-

... Luke feels kind of awkward. These two love love each other, don't they- No, no, no no no, don't think about that right now, focus on your body.

And that overly concerned look on Guy's face.]

"Guy..."

[count-gardios.livejournal.com]

[When Luke starts to slip Guy reaches out to steady him on Asch's back. He waits for Asch to regain his balance before wordlessly attempting to take Luke onto his own shoulder.

The scratches were mostly healed by Asch, but Guy knows what a freshly-healed wound looks like; the skin is always pink and shiny. Something clawed the hell out of Luke's ears.]

[dissonates]

[They're certainly not acting all love-love; if Luke wasn't still joined with his mind, Asch would have delivered Luke to Guy and been on his way with barely another word. As it is he just carries him into the house with Guy's help, beelining for the couch to lay Luke down. He's sure as hell not carting his replica up the stairs.]

Where's Natalia?

[count-gardios.livejournal.com]

[And Guy was going to take Luke up to his room but apparently since Asch is not down with it they'll be going to the couch instead. All right.]

I'm not sure; I wasn't home for long before I got Nephry's message. Hold on, I'll go look for her.

[dissonates]

If she's not here, there's no helping it. Get me a med kit first if you're going to leave. [Asch crouches beside the couch, rolling Luke over to start plucking the broken, bloody feathers from Luke's wings.]

[count-gardios.livejournal.com]

What-

Stop it! [Guy flings out a hand to grab Asch's wrist.]

[dissonates]

[Asch lifts his gaze to glare at Guy, annoyed by the interruption.] They're already broken, which means they're dead. Better to get them out of the way and heal the wings while he can't feel it than let them tear out on their own.

[fabrecation]

[Really, now that Luke's been with Asch for a constant several days, he finds himself agreeing with him. Thus, he feels a little annoyance over the interruption, too.]

"Just let him work, Guy!"

[Guy isn't going to hear that, of course, but he at least hopes that Guy backs off and lets Asch do his thing. He'd rather not be awake when the feathers decide to fall off, after all.]

[count-gardios.livejournal.com]

[Guy, thankfully, doesn't hear Luke and pulls Asch's hand back anyway.]

Just because he can't feel it doesn't mean you should just rip them out. It'll get sore and he could feel it when you put him back in his body.

Let me do it.

[dissonates]

[Asch jerks back, yanking his hand away from Guy's.]

Fine. If you want to take care of it, go ahead and do it all yourself. Contact me when you want me to send him back.

[count-gardios.livejournal.com]

Fine, I will. [Guy, for the most part, ignores Asch and grunts as he hefts Luke up into his arms. He can't carry him like this for long but he can at least make it to his bedroom down the hall.

Sometime later he might reflect back on this exchange and realize he's being a jerk to Asch, but right now all his thoughts are focused on Luke and making him as comfortable as possible, whether or not he can really feel it.]