star sign ;

cypress jones. medic.

[cyprcss-blog]

LOCATION: wrotham general hospital  TIME: midday WITH: open to all!

The smell of sterile equipment filled his lungs as he vigorously scrubbed his hands clean of the flecks of blood that had been on them just moments before. When you’ve worked trauma for as long as Cypress had, you got used to the ins and outs of blood under your fingernails as you tried to save lives. But now that he’d been moved to easier work to shorten his hours so he could spend more time with his sisters, the novelty of the adrenaline rush had worn off. This injury wasn’t serious, just a cut that was left untreated and got a bit out of hand. He looked at himself in the mirror and gave his reflection a killer smile, trying to keep himself excited for the rest of his shift. Soon he’d be home with his family, and away from this place. But first he had to make his rounds. 

Walking down the hallways was daunting, he always felt a bit out of place in the general office areas, housing different kinds of specialists and regular doctors. He was a trauma surgeon still in his mind, the change having come too quickly for him to just... turn it off. He looked around every corner for tragedy, it seemed. He turned the corner and found something different, running right into someone and managing to smash his nose into the wall in the subsequent fall from grace. Blood immediately finds it’s way onto his hands, again. At least this time it’s his own. 

With a bloodied nose and that killer smile he’d worked on, he tries to squeak some words that don’t sound stupid. “Are you okay?” He starts with, knowing that he’s probably the one worse off. The pain on his face is dull, but the nose is definitely broken. He can fix it though, Cypress tells himself, he’s a doctor for chrissakes. 

[cyprcss-blog]

location: masquerade ball, balcony date: october 31 time: 10:27 P.M. status: closed to @orionthayer and @nyenashastri

Cypress had stepped away for just a moment to breathe, his head filled with too many thoughts that were quickly overpowering his rational mind as he worried. Leave it to him to overthink everything that happened, and leave it to him to step away at the same time Pyre’s message arrives on Cypress’ armlet, a reminder of the mission ahead. He breathes in the night air, and turns. He has a purpose now, a job to do. He turns to find Orion nearby, and stops dead in his tracks. Help would be needed, and even though Orion was nearly as stubborn as Cypress himself, he knew that Orion could be trusted for something like this. He smiles, and approaches. 

“I need backup,” he whispers, aware of those around him and making it look like they’re enjoying companionable silence, “Care to join me?” He asks, a bit louder than his last words, and a smile on his features. If everything goes well, maybe he’ll even be able to convince her to the mandatory checkup that she still hadn’t finished. He gestures towards the doors, and towards the Benefactor’s quarters, hopefully where they’ll find the DNA they need and avoid any form of disaster. 

[cyprcss-blog]

orionthayer:

At least Orion has the grace to look away when he argues, never accustomed to confrontation. For as long as they can remember, they’ve been the happy medium in between Cosima and Fox - the water to his fire, the voice to Cosima’s coding. It almost feels odd to be stood here alone, with just Cypress, as if the rest of the world has melted away - and they are entirely alone. It’s a silly thought, but they suppose it’s quite nice to be the fire - for a bit - anyway. They almost ponder giving in, reluctantly allowing Cypress to tug their arm and run stupid tests that let the Benefactor know more about them. The words of admission are almost on their lips, until Cypress speaks a final time - and they pause, suddenly wrapped up in the conversation.

“I didn’t know that.” But why would they? With certain members of the crew, they know almost everything - biographical and personal details. What it means when they screw their nose a certain way, or how their parents fucked them up. But Cypress - to Orion - is a blank slate, devoid of even the most basic of details. Suddenly, they’re guilty - for not finding out more, for taking all this time to have a real conversation. “I’m sorry.” They added, a gut instinct when someone explains impoverished origins. No matter how long it’s been, no matter the fact they are more Thayer than Voix, they will never stop apologizing for where they came from.

Then, they smile. “In my defence, Voix education was never much about biology. I guess that happens when you’re pre-determined to become a Synthetic. Get a disease? Here’s an expensive drug that will cure it!  Infected lungs? Lets get you a new pair! A paper cut? Better get you a new finger.” Their voice crawling in sarcasm, a bitter laugh leaves their chest. “Sorry. Ranting.”

“I didn’t expect you to know, I don’t just run around screaming out my origin story at people, I’m not like... I don’t know, a super-villain.” Cypress states, throwing an award winning smile in there to push off the awkward moments that always follow people discovering where he’s from. He puts up a front, all the time, trying to keep people on their toes so that he stands out from the crowd and doesn’t simply fade away. This mission and the idea of everything was... far out of his comfort zone. He’d never belonged in medical school or at the hospital, not when he walked home and took shitty commuter trains instead of having the money to afford luxuries like the others. 

His camouflage didn’t seem to work as well out here, in close quarters with the rest of the crew. The Benefactor, to be honest, scared him. It was more than difficult to understand the motives of someone he didn’t know. Like he understood Orion, standing in front of him and defying everything that he said, because they cared. That’s why. And Orion could respect that, when it didn’t completely impede on his job. “It’s nothing to be sorry for.” 

“Voix education sounds awful. You at least know how to put band-aids on, right?” Cypress jokes, trying to lighten the mood, “It’s okay. But if you don’t want to randomly become a synthetic you should really let me do a checkup.” He’ll continue to push, until they finally give in. He’s got a job to do, and he’s more dedicated to this. If Orion were in his hospitals back on Wrotham, there would be no issue, he would’ve left ten minutes ago and let them rot, but here with such a small amount of people, Cypress had an inflated sense of importance for each crew member. 

[cyprcss-blog]

Visit Original Link

[cyprcss-blog]

ravenayres:

Well. I hate to be the one to tell you, but you’re still Raven.

She felt the world around her moving like a sail boat set adrift on open sea. The waves were high, her body shook. Fluorescent lights and Cypress’ voice made her head split, a hand went up to block her eyes from the light. It took her a moment – maybe two – to shake herself out of sleep; the drugs were making quick work of them all at the cost of utter exhaustion. 

“That’s a pretty dire prognosis. Could be worse though, I could be you,” her voice was tired and sluggish; each breath a quiet wheeze. 

Raven watched him for a moment and as her eyes adjusted to the brightness, she let her hand drop. His potential was palpable, it hadn’t taken her long to piece that together. He was eager to learn, ready to help. But when she looked at him, she saw eyes too gentle, eyes too kind. What would he do with blood on his hands? What would he do when the dying turned dead?

Maybe that’s why she was so hard on him. His softness frightened her. After all, it was softness that ruined her; a heart that bled too much. 

Cypress gathered the necessary tools to clean her up, she lifted her gown gingerly and took a peak down at what he was going to be working with. 

“You didn’t do a bad job with this,” she paused and squinted at him for half a second, “all things considered.”

His joke hit. That didn’t have near often enough in this med bay, and Cypress was just glad to see a little bit of a smile on her face. She’d been injured far worse than he could have ever imagined, and Raven was the one who was truly in charge of the medical portion of the missions, leaving Cypress in a bit of a frenzy and partly in the dark. His training served him well, and all the time spent as a trauma medic had helped immensely with the traumas that had plagued the group that week. 

The snap that she delivers right back is as expected: only a bit hurtful. “Oh, you’ve wounded me.” Cypress states, his voice sarcastic and tone more whimsical than usual. He’s a little bit sad, knowing Raven’s words should be more snippy and biting, but still glad she’s speaking at all. 

“I am not that bad of a medic,and you know it.” Cypress tells her, “I’m sure I’ll be done changing your bandages as soon as you’re able to do it yourself.” He smiles, “At least, that’d be nice. I have all these other invalids in here, too, so it’s notjust the Raven show any longer.”

[cyprcss-blog]

orionthayer:

There’s a part of Orion that would like nothing more than to admire Cypress. He matches them word for word, conviction for conviction - stubbornly asserting that he is right. For a brief moment, Orion even sees something of themselves inside of him - and can’t help but think that the rebellion might have been all the better for having him among their ranks. But then he speaks once more - and the sensation fades, replaced again by a weary - but enduring - obstinate attitude, one they know will endure. They’re a practiced fighter - especially when it’s war by attrition. They blush, ashamed at having compared their confrontation with Cypress to the battle they waged against their parents - and have the grace to look away. One party heals, whilst the other only ever made the world bleed.

“I wish I could share your convictions. I’m not sure that the Benefactor places that much value on our lives.” Not before that mission - and certainly not after it. It seems extraordinary that a person of their stature - with that wealth and power - had no inkling of what would strike them, or how difficult it might have been. They all survived - but who said a member of their crew wouldn’t fall before the last hurdle? An image floats before their eyes - a coffin out in space - and they quickly brush it away, cursing its ugliness. Orion wants to be optimistic, confident that they will have learnt from this experience - that the next time will be different - but it somehow feels as if the danger has just begun. “Even,” They continue, a little softer, “If you do.” Because no one could argue that they didn’t. No one could argue that his convictions will change. 

“Seriously though - you shouldn’t. Better people deserve those five minutes.” I’m not worth it. Their next words come out as half a joke. “I’m the spawn of evil. They always make it to the end - genetics will protect me.”

Cypress sighs, again. He knows that he’s likely to be dragging Orion kicking and screaming into the med bay soon. He’d expected no less. The way that Orion seemed to be wired was similar to Cypress in more ways that he was comfortable with. From the way they threw back more every time he presented a point, intent on getting their point across faster and better than Cypress ever could. Perhaps they would succeed, but the tense air turned him away. Normally, he’d let everyone decide their own fate, swearing that patients who didn’t want help could not be helped, but this was important. If Orion didn’t trust him now, would they ever trust him when they truly needed him?

He wants to turn, to shout that it doesn’t matter what the Benefactor wants as long as Orion and the rest of the crew remain alive. But the truth is that Cypress is the one who wants to keep them safe. The Benefactor just wants to know how many fresh bodies to send, and Cypress hopes he never has to replace a member of this crew. “I know you really don’t want to do this.” Cypress starts, “But it’s more important than you’d think.” And instead of launching into the lecture he knows he has inside himself, he stops. He breathes, using an old trick that Kimber used to, when she was filled with anger boiling over and just wanted to be right. He counts to ten, and lets the air out.

“I don’t care where you came from,” He looks Orion right in the eyes,”I mean look at me I’m from the slums, I’m not even sure why I was chosen for this.” His gaze holds, barely blinking. “Genetics don’t matter when it comes to ailments, Orion. You know that. It’s kindergarten stuff.”

[cyprcss-blog]

“BUT WHAT IF? WHAT IF THE WORST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO YOU NEVER HAPPENED?”

The winds are quiet, almost as if something awful was supposed to be happening. It was a chilly Thursday afternoon, and the world hasn’t yet spiraled out of control. Cypress sat at the tiny kitchen table that they’d kept,  years and years of history in that table and he felt as if he were going to fall asleep right then and there - a night shift had turned into a training session for the time when he decided to make the jump from medic to doctor - but his rest was stolen by a soft knock on the door, and then a quicker one. No one knocked on the door like that unless something was wrong, He jumps, expecting something awful but he’s greeted by Nina, her face covered in tears.

That tiny misstep never happens, and Nina lives through her life. The worst thing that ever happened, never does. Cypress is allowed that little bit of happiness. 

That happiness blossoms into something unexpected. He powers through, earning another degree and caring for his sisters as well as he can. The money that comes with being a real surgeon pushes them high enough to nearly be considered middle class. They’re allowed comforts, something that could once only be found in each other is now allowed everywhere. The Jones family begins to t h r i v e . They make their way to the top, slowly but surely. Each sister graduates and finds a rewarding job, no matter how many missteps stood in the way. 

They stay close, but never return to that awful building, the one their parents burned in and the one they held their family together in. Instead they meet at moderate homes, bringing families and children to celebrations of birthdays and constant contact. They never truly grow apart, but growing up is the same thing. And when little Eliza is given every chance and follows right in Cypress’ footsteps, he assures that she never ever has to worry to pay her tuition fees, that she gets the chance to just be a young person. As Cypress ages he thinks that’s his biggest regret: growing up too quickly. 

[alloftheprompts]

Character Question #022: Where would your character be more likely found? #001

[cyprcss-blog]

alloftheprompts:

in a forest or on a beach? in a mall or at home? at a bar or at a party? at a library or at a theater?  in a park or in a garden? at school or at mall? at a hospital or in prison? at an airport or at a gym? at a hotel or in a tent? at a cinema or at a coffee shop? at a library or at a coffee shop? at a train station or at a hospital? at a store or at a fair? on an island or in a desert? at a museum or at a zoo?

[cyprcss-blog]

orionthayer:

I’m just doing what I’m told. And if Orion hadn’t been reluctant to before, they had certainly made their mind up now - knowing they would have to be dragged kicking and screaming, on principle alone. Being stubborn for the sake of it wasn’t in their nature, but when it came to proving a point - and that one at that - they were unable to shake themselves out of it. After all, those words struck at the core of them - an uncomfortable identity they had fought to shake. How many people had uttered those words as they carried out horrific deeds? How long had that been used as a justification? Somewhere, it had to stop. Someone had to break the chain. And whilst Cypress might not have been the Benefactor - or their Father, who had once yelled those words at them - it shook Orion to their core.

“You shouldn’t always do what you’re told. Doing that has historically made the world a pretty shitty place. And we know next to nothing about the Benefactor.” No good can come of it. Not this individual it, but the collective it. “The world needs more goats and less sheep.” It was an old metaphor, one they had repeated time and time again as they drifted off to sleep, steeling themselves to prepare for the next day. You can do this. Somewhere along the way, they had. And then it had stopped being hard. “I mean, if the Benefactor told you to jump off a cliff, would you?” At those words, Orion knew they were being irrational - and letting personal histories affect their judgement. Shaking their head, Orion lightened their tone. “Sorry for the tangent. I know you’re just…trying to look out for everyone.”

Maybe that was what was wrong. They hated not being able to look out for him return.

Suddenly, they wanted to get out of there more than ever. “Look, this is a waste of time. I promise not to die. Cross my heart.”

Cypress watches them, like he watches literally anyone else. He studies them, stares at the crease of their brow and the underlying anger sitting just below the surface. Is it anger? Perhaps Cypress is confusing it for frustration. He stares and hopes they don’t notice, and they tell him that no, he’s wrong. Orion insists the world would be better if Cypress just... rebelled. Maybe they don’t understand him at all. He didn’t exactly expect them to, but the words still hurt. He’d done what he was told and it hurt, but the moment that he stepped out of line, everything could be over for him. And that wasn’t just him, but also four - three, he has to correct himself again - girls who depend on him. He doesn’t expect them to understand something he doesn’t communicate well, but he takes a second to suck in a breath. 

“I do what I’m told because it keeps people safe, Orion.” He sighs, “Medicine isn’t something I play with, and making sure everyone is alright would be my priority even if I was told to do the opposite.” He looks up, “Probably not, but we’re not talking about cliffs here. We’re talking about your safety.” He frowns again, the disdain written across his face. He’s never like this, but the mission has pushed him to the edge of everything he’s been able to handle before. He won’t lose Orion over something small and unnoticeable. He states, “This already would have been done if you’d just... come along and gotten it over with.” 

Cypress walks towards them again, and frowns, “You can promise not to die once the checkup is over and I can make sure you’re not going to drop dead.”

[cyprcss-blog]

location: inside the med bay date: august 29 status: open to all

Cypress was, to put it frankly,exhausted. He didn’t remember a time when he wasn’t so tired he could fall asleep standing up, but he knew it must have happened in the past. The last few days reminded him of his first years as a medical student, all the hours spent studying and trying to be the very best, the hours spent in a library where voices grated on his last nerve. But here, there was no mishaps with brownie baking and no moments of laughter with the people he was supposed to protect the most. He feels alone on the ship, more than he ever has. Cypress puts his head in his hands, that memory threatening to put him into tears. 

He missed his sisters, more than he could have ever imagined he could. All the excitement could only distract him for so long, he knew it, but as soon as things quieted down, it was like everything came to the surface. His mother would have scolded him for not taking proper care of himself, while he took care of every other member of the crew. His arms slowly fell down the desk, leaving him with his head cradled on top of his arms, as if he were back in primary school. 

He doesn’t notice anyone come in, doesn’t even think to look around and see who could arrive, or even lock the door to keep unwelcome intruders and noise out. Instead, he falls asleep there, his eyes falling shut. He didn’t notice anyone arriving, only startling awake the second a noise was made. “Huh?” He states, and then sees who has awoken him, “Shit, sorry. Must’ve passed out for a second.” 

[cyprcss-blog]

orionthayer:

Ah, shit. It wasn’t as if they had deliberately been avoiding Cypress - knowing he had only the purest of intentions and was probably acting on Raven’s orders - but the plain fact of the matter was that they had better ways to spend their time than undergoing a routine - and useless - check up. They felt fine. A little tired perhaps - but it would have been strange of them not to be. Besides, their place was at Pyre’s side - until he woke up, at least. Because it was a when not an if. He had taken a bullet for them, saving their life. This was the least they could do - and they wouldn’t let Cypress drag them away, not even for a moment.

But instead of being bluntly rude, they chose a different approach - hoping to shake Cypress off their path of his own free will. “Benefactors orders?” Hardly hiding their disdain, Orion scoffed. “Because they’ve worked out so well so far?” They would probably never know how much the Benefactor had known about what awaited them - whether they had known of the aliens, the riddles…the fact that so many of them would end up injured. Probably. Even if they did, they wouldn’t care. Anything for the mission right? Bitterness swelled inside of them - both at the Benefactor for putting them in this situation - and themselves, whose job it had been to scout ahead and anticipate danger and who had failed so dramatically. 

So, when Cypress began walking, Orion remained rooted to their spot, perfectly still - arms folded. “There really isn’t a point to this. I feel fine. Not a scratch on me. Didn’t even take my helmet off.” Even if they had, they’d want to be treated last - to make sure everyone was put before them. “Everyone else needs your help way more.” You should be with them. With Raven out, this ship needs you.

Cypress looked them up and down, promising that he wouldn’t lose his cool no matter what they said in return to his demands. No one on the ship seemed to understand that while they were spending their time doing things, the Benefactor had instructed him to do this, to check in on each team member. No matter how bad or good they were, and to report back. He was heartbroken writing up the reports on Raven, something she should have been doing with him. But Orion was the last on the list, the last person who hadn’t arrived or reported, and Cypress needed to finish this task today, before the Benefactor grew testy. 

“Orion,” Cypress starts, with a sigh. “I just do what I’m told. And this was what I was told to do.” He hopes that they’ll listen to him. He just needs to take a vial of blood and scan them, that’s all. Then Orion can go about their way and Cypress can return to doing things that actually make sense. “Come on, it won’t take but ten minutes, tops.” Cypress knows that’s pushing it, but the only way to get Orion to follow along and do as their told seems to be in lies. And if he has to fudge a time, so be it. If he gets this done, he’ll feel much better about the status of the entire crew. 

“I just listen to my superiors. I know you’re probably fine, but the quicker you come along and get it over with, the quicker I can return to helping Pyre and Raven and everyone who needs me more than you do.” Cypress answers, and he hopes that Orion will finally listen. “Come on, you’re the last left.” 

[cyprcss-blog]

augustustullett:

Pain was something that Augustus wasn’t very familiar with. Hunger, he understood. Loneliness was familiar to him. But this kind of pain, the one that ripped through to the bone, was something he wasn’t expecting. Sure, he had gone into the mission thinking about the reality of getting shot. Though he tried to play the wound off whenever anyone visited him, the reality was that he was relying on the medicine to get him through. 

Of course, he knew that Raven wanted to leave her place in bed to help the wounded. It was obvious by the way she was insistent on re-wrapping her own wounds, tending to her chest. She was antsy, ready to get out of bed and help the others. It was a sick twist of fate that she was one of the worst injured. The only person that could really help him was Cypress. The man had been stretched quite thin, with more than half of the first group being injured. However, after they had all been stabilized, his presence in the med bay had been more and more sparing. 

When the medic entered the med bay this time, however, Augustus could tell he seemed more tense than normal. It wasn’t that shocking, if you thought about it. Though all of them were stabilized, there was still too many people in the med bay for anyone on the ship to be at ease. ”Hey, Cypress?” he called, his voice carrying to the man’s desk. It wasn’t far away, and the medic turned around almost instantly. “Nah. I mean, I guess I could use more medicine, but other than that, I’m doing alright,” he said. He still hadn’t looked at the wound whenever anyone changed the bandages, unsure if he could stomach the sight of it. That’s what the medics were for, right? “But, uh, how are you doing? Have you been getting any rest?”

Cypress knew how to read people. His eyes were always searching, trying to find the root of other’s problems in their expressions. When that answer did not arrive, often he would inquire into the minds of others. But that was on the outside world, in Wrotham. This was the Concord and things were meant to be different than home. They were different, in every conceivable way that Cypress could tell. From the way people treated each other, to each person’s background. Everything was so unique onboard the ship. 

Which is why Augustus was someone he regarded differently than any other man he’d met in his life. And now, as a patient, it was Cypress’ job to figure out what exactly was wrong with him and how to fix it.  He always felt like he had a knack for figuring things out. He takes a few stabs at it in his head, and medicine refills were something on that list, so he gives himself a menal high five, and walks towards the pharmacy that they keep onboard, getting ready to refill his bottle. “Of course, yeah, let me grab some more pills for you. Don’t want you to run out, that shoulder’s got to hurt without any painkillers.”

He pulls the pills off the shelf and hands them to Augustus. “I’m... okay. Raven won’t quit telling me I’m doing things wrong and insists on bandaging herself, but other than that I’m okay. Not much rest for me, though. Everyone else is on required rest, it seems.” Cypress smiles, “Do you need someone to change the bandages?” He knows from years of experience as a nurse or medic that people are often queasy with wounds, “I know how gross it can be. Trust me, I’ve seen worse.” 

[cyprcss-blog]

location: med bay date: august 28 status: closed to @ravenayres

Raven was still asleep. Cypress could at least appreciate that. From the moment she’d been brought in, Raven had been insufferable, ordering him around and stressing him out more and more. Why, exactly, was the head doctor so easily put in harm’s way? That question rattled around in his head for hours, and yet he only had moments to think before another crisis arose. It reminded him starkly of his time working emergencies, constantly running and the 9 hour shift passing far too quickly for comfort. Within the chaos, he’d taken little time to tend to Raven, who kept insisting she was “fine” every time he came nearer to her. Cypress finally got a moment to check over Raven’s bandages and swap out her IV, as the chaos seemed to taper off into soft snoring and darkened lights. 

He knew she’d wake the moment he began changing over the bandages, and knew that it probably wouldn’t go over well if he were working on her when she woke. So, he flipped the florescent lights to start, and raised his voice just a bit to announce, “Wake up.” towards Raven’s sleeping form. Once she was awake, he looked down at her and thought about every moment that she’d taught him something on this already short mission. He wanted to smile, but knew that giving up a grin could start another round of a lecture. 

“Well, the good news is you’re not going to die.” Cypress announces, and he lets the smile slip onto his face as he stars collecting the items he’ll need to clean Raven’s wounds. He turns his back to her, “And the bad news,” He stats, and nearly begins laughing on his own, “Well. I hate to be the one to tell you, but you’re still Raven.” 

[cyprcss-blog]

location: a random corridor of the concord date: august 27 status: closed to @orionthayer

Orion had been one of the few to escape Cypress’ grasp. He’d been through every member of the crew, checking them over for injuries and asking questions, making sure they weren’t just going to recover physically, but also mentally. Orion had disappeared the moment Cypress got close to them, and had kept escaping him every moment after. But finally, Cypress was catching up to Orion’s slippery ways. Here they were, right in front of him.

“Orion, you never checked in with me?” Cypress starts, knowing it could have very well been a mistake, but after being around the crew for a while, it seemed those only happened with the stakes were raised higher than they could handle. “I know you’re not hurt too bad, but I’m supposed to check up on everyone. Benefactor’s orders.” He grins at that, the idea of the Benefactor giving out orders to him directly a bit a strange. 

“Anyways, I can scan you in the med bay right now, if you’re not busy. Just to check for like, internal bleeding or flesh eating viruses. You know, usual stuff.” He throws with a joking tone, and turns, hoping that they’ll follow him to the bay. If not, he can check on Raven again. Which could be an awful five minutes. “You coming?” He throws over his shoulder, not bothering to check, just living on pure hope that things will work out his way. 

[adoremesweetly]

I’M    TRYING    TO    BE    BRAVE    BECAUSE    WHEN    I    FEEL    BRAVE    OTHER    PEOPLE    FEEL    BRAVE    (  BUT  I  FEEL  LIKE  MY  HEART  IS  CAVING  IN  )    @cyprcss.

[cyprcss-blog]

location: infirmary on the concord date: august 28 status: closed to @augustustullett​

Calling home was a bad idea. Not right after everything that had happened, and no matter how much he whispered that he shouldn’t. Kimber had answered, seen the bandage across his head, and absolutely lost it. Her cries of “I told you so,” hurt even before because it was the truth. Kimber had whispered that he’d be wounded, maybe even killed. And so had everyone else, their brows furrowed and eyes filled with tears, each terrified that the end of their family was near. He sat around, talking to his sisters and pointedly avoiding any mention of his injuries, hearing their stories and breathing in each laugh they shared. 

He shouldn’t have called, yet he did. The world felt righted the moment the girls finally hung up, their goodbyes tearful and their sniffles audible in the silence before he finally hung up. He turned away from the monitor and looked at himself in the mirror. For a moment, Cypress didn’t quite recognize the person staring back. It was him, but a bit sunken in and scared. He thought back to his parents funeral, and that image matched the man in the mirror far too well. He shrugged it off, and looked away. That comparison was not what he needed right now. 

The infirmary was the only place he could honestly think to go. He always seemed to be more calm when he was helping someone, and he was sure that the crew would need their medic working a bit of overtime, especially after the mission they’d been on. He rushed there, his footsteps quick and his strides long. The infirmary was uncharacteristically quiet, especially for how easily it could be completely full. 

His desk is on the other end of the room, and he santizes his hands in the contraption that his sisters had bought him for his seventeenth birthday, looking around and hoping someone would arrive soon. Augustus was the one to break his silence, just as he was wishing for a patient. Cypress turns around quickly, and looks at the bandage on his shoulder, “Just checking in or is something wrong? I mean, other that the hole in your shoulder.” 

[nadiamock]

I could get killed. Or even worse. Cypress might give me a lecture on responsibility again.

Every member of the crew, at some point on a mission. (via mockcypress)