towerofanimus | [OPEN][BACKDATED] Hold out I'll give a little piece of me

Entry tags:

[OPEN][BACKDATED] Hold out I'll give a little piece of me

Characters: (Jade!)Eridan('s blood) and you!
Setting: Fleeing from the infirmary and up towards the dormitory, so stairways ~~because Eridan's not reasonable when he's freaking out this bad~~.
Format: Action but I'll match your preference.
Summary: BACKDATED to Valentine's day. Eridan managed somehow to escape Dualscar's... "attentions", but not unscathed. So now he's leaving a very obvious jadeblooded trail as he flees towards his dormitory ~~so he can hide under his bed~~.
Warnings: Lots and lots of jade green and it's not grubsauce. Will add more as necessary. Feel free to add chocolate shenanigans too if you want.

[Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.

Eridan stumbled as fast as his legs could take him, which didn't seem to be enough. Maybe running after losing an arm, still bleeding from losing an arm, wasn't the brightest of ideas, no. And maybe if he had been thinking straight, he'd have headed for the elevators, rather than the stairs.

But fuck rational thinking, he's going on the sheer terrified certainty that if he stops moving, if he lets Dualscar grab him again, he's going to die.

He might still die, as it is, what with the blood loss that's also painting a very convenient trail behind him, or the cuts on his throat and his face. But the single important thing is that he's not going to die at Dualscar's mercy.

Fuck that. If he's going to die, he's going to find a nice, cozy corner and then ~~kick the bucket~~ die on his own damn terms. Which at the moment seem to be anywhere but here.]

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[Eridan gives Equius an are you serious look before he can help himself, feeling guilty for that. He was the one trying to make a joke, wasn't he. He joined Equius in his deep contemplation of the floor.]

...not really. It wwas. More of an.

[Extremely unfortunate close encounter with a not!ancestor who happens to be a jackass.]

Accident. Sort a.

[What... even was that he just said? A joke? Random thought? Some small expression of -- le gasp -- annoyance? Equius sure doesn't know. OH LOOK, A FLOOR. SEE HOW SHINY IT IS, ERIDAN. SHINY AND BLOODY AND GREEN.]

What happened? --If you don't mind my asking.

[He does mind. A lot. But it wouldn't do to say that. So! The obvious, reasonable choice is to lie. Through his teeth.]

...wwrong time at the wwrong place, I guess.

[Well, obviously. That's the only thing he's good at, har har har! ... oh christ, it actually is. BUT ANYWAY Equius is just going to drop the subject now. Eridan clearly doesn't want to talk about it, and as a Pitiful Lowly Yellowblood, he has no right to pry.]

...

[And then he suddenly thinks of something, and stands up just as abruptly.]

You need to get to the infirmary.

[WHY WAS HE JUST SITTING THERE FOR SO LONG. HELLO, ERIDAN IS MISSING AN ARM. OH SHIT--SHOOT. OH SHOOT, OH SHOOT, OH SHOOT.]

[Eridan startles as Equius stands up. And it takes him a moment to register what he's even talking about. But then his brain catches up, and he presses himself against the pew, as if to resist any attempts to pull him away from it.]

...no, not really. It's okay.

No, oh my God, yes you do. You're-- you're missing an arm, Eridan. Oh my god. It's-- it's probably infected by now or something. Oh-- oh god. Oh god. Come on. [And he promptly tries to grab Eridan by his intact arm and yank him up.]

[There is a fatal flaw in your plan, Equius. Two of them, really. One? Eridan is a stubborn mule. Two? He's stronger than you.

He will not be moved from that pew.]

Equius. Equius, breathe. It's. It's okay. Honest.

No. No it's not okay, alright, Eridan? It's not okay. I know you're-- you're-- desensitized to pain or something, but come on, you've been bleeding out your arm for god knows how long, ugh, you probably haven't done anything to it, we need to get to the infirmary right now or it's-- you're going to die. Please?

[Equius Zahhak, do not make him pap you. He will not be co-participant in moirail cheating, especially when he likes Nepeta. Calm yer horns, man.]

Equius. Listen to me. Okay. Listen to me, I'm not going to die. Promise. Just. Take a deep breath. Please. Calm down.

[Oh god, the irony is that he's been telling himself the same thing since the. Uh. Incident.]

Can we, just--

...

[And he just kind of. Looks at the floor again. And sloooowly sinks back down. Fortunately, one of the upsides to ridiculously unkempt hair is that you can easily use it to hide your Shame of a Thousand Burning Suns.]

...oh my god. I'm sorry. Shit.

[Head in hands. WAY TO GO, EQUIUS ZAHHAK. YOU ARE THE MASTER OF SELF CONTROL. IT IS YOU.]

[...does he have to do this? He doesn't want to do this. He's not good at this. Eridan closes his eyes for a moment to take one deep breath to convince himself of what he's about to do.

Oh god, oh god.

Okay.

He can do it. He can.

Fuck.

Alright.

Equius Zahhak.

You're officially being hugged. Okay, it's a one armed, kinda awkward hug, but it's a hug.]

It's okay. It's okay, breathe.

[Now whether that's aimed at you or at himself, it's kinda hard to tell, though.]

[B1UH B1UH IMPROPER CONDUCT--]

[Because yeah, basically as soon as Eridan slings his arm around him, Equius jumped about a foot in the air and twisted unnaturally in a valiant attempt to GET IT OFF OH MY GOD AAAAAHHHHHHHHH.]

No--stop, you can't-- get off!

[He may or may not be screaming hysterically.]

[Oh boy. Yes, this is working out so well. Eridan hates to be assertive, Equius, look what you make him do. But at least he knows how to handle a crisis. ~~In a way that doesn't involve curling up into a little ball and panicking.~~ So he doesn't let go, grabbing Equius by the back of the neck and forcing him to look at him in the eye.]

Calm dowwn, Zahhak.

...

[He does allow himself to be pulled around, and does actively look Eridan down; unfortunately, his eyes are wide as saucers, and the general look on his face is akin to a deer in the proverbial headlights. The two remain like this for several moments before, slowly, Equius lowers his gaze.]

...Yes, sir.

Equius. Eq.

[Eridan sighs, but doesn't let go, though he softens the hold a bit. How. Did he ended up being the one doing the comforting here?]

I'm okay. And you're okay. And we're both okay and neither of us is going to die.

[He tries to speak with certainty, which he really doesn't feel, but he's a good liar and good at pretending to be okay. He ducks his head to try and meet Equius eyes again, though the next sentence is emphasized oddly. With a hint of desperation in it.]

And Neither Of Us Is Going Anywwhere Near The Infirmary. Okay? Now, sit down, take a deep breath and calm dowwn.

[If he concentrates on keeping Equius calm and non-panicky, he can ignore the fact his arm is killing him. He can even ignore the fact that the arm that's hurting so much isn't there anymore.]

...W-why? Why don't you want to go to the infirmary?

[Zahhak no comprende.]

[Ampora will use small words. Eridan sighs.]

Remember howw I said this--

[He half shrugged, looking at his. Well. Missing arm.]

--had been a wwrong time at the wwrong place kind a thing?

...Yes...

That's because the infirmary wwas that wwrong place.

[He gives Equius a long look.]

I'm kind a not in a hurry to see if it's still the wwrong time or not. If you knoww wwhat I mean.

...Y-yeah. I do.

[Equius meets it, somehow. Not easily, but somehow. And then he... finally follows the advice Eridan has been babbling for about six or seven tags now, and stops to just. Take a breath.]

I'm sorry. That was... [How do you even find a word for what that was...] ...pathetic. I'm sorry.

[Eridan offers a small smile.]

It's okay. I'm kind a rusty at the wwhole calm-someone-dowwn department.

[There's just this sliver of bitterness there. It's blink and you miss it. The smile remains, though.]

I'm sorry I yelled at you.

...You had no reason not to. You're higher than me and I was acting completely worthy of a culling. There's no need to apologize for merely raising your voice.

[Suddenly, reverse-hemobigotry. We can't have him talking reasonably for too long, after all.]

[Well, without the sunglasses you can actually see Eridan roll his eyes at you, Equius. But he's still smiling. Yeah, you're good, you'll survive.]

You're not cullable material, Eq. And I apologize because I feel like it. So there.

What do you mean? Of course I'm cullable material. I'm practically the most cullable material there is. [Pictured: Equius Zahhak, completely missing the point. As usual.]

[Eridan just gives Equius a long, flat look. Take advantage of the fact he's lost his sunglasses and isn't carrying a replacement. You get to see all those expressions that are usually hidden away.]

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