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

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[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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[In his defense, he's usually a lot less. Clumsy. Or bloodied, for that matter. Today has just not been his day. When they come to a stop, Eridan lets out a low, tired whimper and flinches at Equius' voice.

At least, it's just Equius. It does take a longer moment for it to register, what with the pain and the bloodloss and the still lingering fear that he's going to get culled any moment now. But then it registers that it's Equius, so he'll probably not try to cull him. Unless he asks nicely. Eridan has a mildly hysterical mental image of very politely asking Equius to finish Dualscar's handiwork. He'd snort, if it didn't hurt.]

Fuck. Everything.

[Yeah, he's not. Moving for a bit.]

Oh. Uh. Um... uh. Uh. Er. Um.

[This ridiculous spluttering he's doing is Equius' last-ditch attempt to prevent himself from cursing or doing something equally stupid, because he's actually rather close to Flipping the Fuck Out right now, despite the fact that there's currently an Eridan lying at his feet and whining like an injured purrbeast. He then notices, vaguely, that the blood doesn't seem to be coming from Eridan's chest, like he thought it did; it's smeared all over the place so it's kind of hard to tell, but, uh...]

[...oh hell.]

[He realizes in a form of vague, faraway terror that Eridan Ampora is MISSING AN ARM. But he's also... well, obviously exhausted. Somewhere, vacantly, Eridan is reminded of the mutantblood's condition sometimes when she showed up in his hive; it wasn't exactly the easiest place to sneak into, and at the end of the day she came in exhausted. Multiply that by several thousand degrees, and one would probably be close to what was happening to Eridan's thinkpan right now.]

[So he just stands there, looking down at Eridan and just... letting him lie there for a while. Er. Um.]

[Eridan will just. Continue to stare at Equius' shoes - oooh, nice ones - and bleeding, and seriously contemplate just lying there to die.

He's so tired, fuck it all, and it's not like someone will mind. With his luck, there'll be a party.Eridan Ampora is dead! And it's the alpha one, not a doomed one this time! Hurray! Thinking uncharitable thoughts is one of Eridan's greatest talents, but then it occurs to him that Kan had mentioned death wasn't permanent in the tower. So if he died and they made a party, he'd be enough of a jerk to pop up in the middle of it.

How rude, Eridan, you can't even stay dead long enough for people to enjoy celebrating your death?

Eridan passes air through his teeth in a low hiss, the closest to a snort he can get without feeling too much pain, and closes his eyes for a moment. Just a little moment. Fuck. He is thinking nonsense and that isn't productive. Also, he's probably ruining Equius shoes with all that not-grubsauce blood. Okay, Eridan. Get it together. Now.

...this might take a bit longer, damn. Getting up is such a bother.]

[Eridan, that’s a great plan and all, but you forgot one little thing: Equius Zahhak is involved in this equation. And even if you are, he’s absolutely not about to let y—a jadeblood die.]

[After a moment, during which Eridan closes his eyes in preparation for shutting down, Equius decides that maybe he should be doing something other than standing there like an idiot. So, slowly, he attempts to bring himself down to a kneeling position. It means one green-coated foot will be moving away from Eridan, and replaced by his knee as he peers down at the troll.]

Eridan. Uh. Here… is not the place to be lying down. Let’s… just get you up to floor thirteen and you can stop there? Alright? [He’s speaking quieter than usual, as if this somehow negates the fact that he is currently giving orders to Eridan Freaking Ampora.]

[Meanwhile, his mundane fails spectacularly at puns.]

[But look at him, he's already got the face-down, now-just-wait-to-expire position downpat! He's a pro at this, I tell you. He's watched himself die so many times he could die in his sleep!

Eridan lets out a soft huff, taking a moment to get his breath back. And his guilt. He can't die here, not with Equius watching. It's Equius. That's probably one of the dickishest things he could possibly do. Unfortunately that means he ought to get up. His body most emphatically doesn't want to get up.]

...yeah. Yeah, okay. Just givve me a--

[...Dangit.]

moment.

[Oh ~~bitch~~ gurl NO. You wouldn't die on poor little Equius here, would you? Ha ha, oh man, that would be a sight to see. Maybe if we're lucky he'll put the freakout over the network and people can watch it when they're feeling blue! Hours of entertainment, this kid is.]

...Come on.

[Still speaking quietly, and trying to ignore the nagging feeling that this situation is so damn WRONG, he just... puts a hand against Eridan's side, the one with the intact limb. He wants to use what little remains of his STRENGTH to get Eridan up, but if he's aching to the touch, then obviously some other plan needs to be established.]

[...and then the second verse, coming from Eridan straight out of revival. The Tower might run out of popcorn if that happened...

Eridan flinched at the touch, just on principle alone, nothing personal, Eq. He groaned as he forced his weight on his good arm, raising slowly. It was awkward, he kept tilting the wrong side.]

...fuck.

[But hey, after a few moments, he manages to sit up! That's progress, right.]

[OH MAN, OH GOD, OH MAN... oh, looks like he actually can hold his weight. Thank God. Equius thought that he might have fractured something -- and then realized that there was no way that could happen, because he's just too WEAK. If he had been any STRONGer then he probably would have accidentally killed Eridan by now, whoops!]

...Yes. Good.

[And now he's standing up, clothing smeared with green. Despite this, he's still bending down -- and is holding out one hand to Eridan. Looks like he wants to help him up, but even then, either he doesn't want to harm him further or doesn't want to look disrespectful by taking the first move and basically yanking at the remaining arm.]

[Eridan looks up at the hand and at Equius and lets out a soft sigh. He does reach for that hand, but he doesn't pull his weight on it, not really. He can stand up. He can, he just really doesn't want to.]

Yeah.

[He can't be a burden, he shouldn't be a burden. So what if he's hurt or tired or anything. It's his own damn fault and no one should have to pay for it. Fuck, they always end up paying for his screw ups. Eridan offers Equius a very vague twitch of lips, as if to smile.

Please don't notice the fact he's half dead. Okay?]

Yeah, it's okay.

[It's progress. So he finally does take Eridan's hand, the other one hovering nearby in case it is needed to steady him. But upon pulling gently -- very gently -- it becomes apparent that he either can't or doesn't want to go along with this after all. Sigh. Just say what you mean for once.]

[Meanwhile, in a slightly less hypocritical statement:] ...Eridan, we look ridiculous. Help me here. ...Please?

[And he pulls again, a bit stronger this time. Hopefully Eridan decides soon that lying with an open wound in the middle of the staircase landing isn't the best place to be.]

[Eridan snorted very quietly, which he regretted immediatly, because it hurt. He nodded.]

I'm sorry.

[It takes a moment longer, and he pulls himself up, trying not to drag Equius down with him. That would be mean. Eridan looks at his feet.]

Ah. I got blood all ovver you, sorry.

[SUCCESS.]

[Though yeah, he nearly did drag Equius down for a moment there; it seems even Eridan is STRONGer than him. But somehow they both came to a standing position, and once that happened Equius quickly returned his hands to his side.] The clothes can be washed... can you walk?

Sure, it's okay.

[Watch him lie, Equius. He's a professional.]

I'm okay, I'm sorry for running you ovver like that.

It's fine. We'll sit down on the next floor, you must be tired... [And suddenly, staircase! Though he does try to get Eridan to go first, either because of more ridiculous hierarchy respect bullshit or because he wants to be behind in case Eridan's legs spontaneously give out. In which case they would probably both fall spectacularly down the stairs -- we warned you, dawg -- but whatever.]

...a little.

[He just wants to kneel over and die. Can he? It'd be nice. But oh, there are stairs. So many stairs. Why didn't he run for the Elevators instead? Damn.]

I hate stairs.

[It's just a general statement, though. He dutifully forces his body to keep going up, trying not to stumble too hard. But hey, he's gotta keep up a front now, so he'll try.]

[And as they went, Equius suddenly realized that this was a very long staircase, much longer than it absolutely should have been, because he kind of had a one-armed jadeblood on the verge of collapse hanging off of one side. But eventually they somehow did get up to the next floor, and within moments he set Eridan down on the nearest pew of the cathedral. Green blood was everywhere, but Equius didn't terribly care -- he didn't know the meaning behind this place, only that it was large and empty and had a place to stretch out.]

...Here.

At least we aren't blocking the staircase.

[He may or may not be panting. Stop being so heavy...]

[~~So they're basically decorating for the GHB's next visit?~~

Eridan lets out a sigh of relief as he lets himself down on the pew, taking a much needed rest. He doesn't see why his perch on the stairs was so problematic, per se, but he supposes Equius is right.]

Sorry about that.

[~~Yeah, basically. "Have fun, Highblood! Love, your favorite roomie." Oh god why did I even write that.~~]

[He flopped down, uncharacteristically without ceremony, next to Eridan on the seat; it appears that he really only half-tried to stay a respectable distance away. And, yeah, now that he's not standing anymore, Equius is definitely panting. Curse you, physical activity, curse you...]

...It isn't your fault.

[~~Because you're awesome that's why.~~

Eridan gives Equius a sidelong look. See, he's the only one allowed to go on guilt trips here, okay. He has a monopoly.]

Pretty sure that's my blood on your clothes. And my blood I slipped on. And my blood in general drippin' down the stairs.

[...but hey, he's trying to joke. Jokes are good, right? Funny, isn't it? Oh god, please find it funny. He's running dry on ideas to make this not awkward and it's pretty damn awkward already.]

[Are you serious? We have here Eridan Ampora and Equius Zahhak, the former with their arm chopped off and the latter covered in blood. Do you seriously expect this to be anything other than piles of ~~adora~~awkward?]

Did you cut your own arm off?

[There is a pause before Equius realizes what he just said and suddenly develops an extreme interest in the floor.]

[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.

Don't let my wit leave you stumped.

Okay, this is just getting lame.

Snrk.

Okay, that last one was a bit... grafted.

Do you want me to give you a hand with those puns?

Well, I'm not the best at them, but on the other hand-- ... :|b

You just need a little elbow grease.

I don't want the Pun Police to catch me with my hand in the cookie jar.

Fuck the police, this is a call to arms!

Oh my god, I can't hold these two. I can't.

T__T Neither can I.

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