War watched him start to dab at her injury, noting just how deep it was. She flinched from the slight pain every time he made contact but, for the most part, she remained silent and still. The wound would definitely leave some kind of scar but, with any luck, it would heal up just fine. Lucky for her, her left arm wasn’t as bad. It had been significantly smaller compared to the one on her right arm.
War took serious note of his warning and immediately put the whistle down, not wanting to pass out on the floor while Price was trying to fix her up. That would just be another fuck up for her to add to the list and she didn’t wish for it to get any longer than it already was.
She took his rather stern words to heart, but she wouldn’t let them get to her. The young soldier would just have to adapt. “Yes, sir. I’ll work on it. I promise.” She wasn’t in the infantry anymore. People weren’t expecting anything major out of her here like they were there. She hadn’t quite gotten used to that yet. As one of the few female Marines to make it into infantry, she always felt like all eyes were on her. War was always the one supposed to go above and beyond all the others just to prove she was just as capable. In the 141, people already knew she was good enough, otherwise she wouldn’t even be there in the first place. It was a major change in mindset.
A sharp hiss escaped her lips briefly as he started the sutures, but they died down rather quickly as she adjusted. Her head lifted slightly in an attempt to peer over and watch Price stitch. War had a pretty good idea how to do it herself, but she wanted to see how Price did it to see if he did something differently than her. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she focused on his work, noticing how clean his stitching was. How the hell did he do that? His looked so much better than her own, causing her to feel just a little bit jealous…
“A truck? Eh, not quite. The guy was built more like a minivan. You see, some of the guys and I went out to the bar for a while…” That seemed to be how most stupid stories went around there these days. “We were there for about an hour and a couple of drunks got into a fight and, somehow, one of our guys got roped into it. Of course, then all of us got pulled into it and, long story short, some fucker got in a lucky hit with a bottle. Or maybe two.” Half of the crew in the infirmary were rolling in with some kind of injury from the fight and the other half were just miscellaneous. All the injuries had been pretty minor though. War’s was probably the worst one. “I didn’t think he got me that good at first but after we all got in the car I saw how deep it really was.”
Price was a man that could impart suffering on others that most would consider crossing the line, but that level of bastardry was one reserved for his enemies. Subordinates had and always would be people that Price was duty bound to look out for and protect, the rigors of military life having installed that in him the second he began climbing up the ranks. A good leader claimed responsibility and safeguarded his men. A bad one safeguarded himself.
War was a strong lass. Hard-headed, with a few more lessons to learn, but that was simply a hallmark of age. She was young, new to this close knit circle of the elite Special Forces. Guidance was what she needed, not a hotly tempered bollocking, and Price already knew his message had resonated. There was a look people tended to have around him when they were hanging off his every word, and he could see it. Amongst the grimaces and curiosity lingering in glassy eyes.
Each flinch was telling. A warning that he was causing no small amount of pain, but Price ignored it. Not because he was a cold bastard, but because the kindest thing for him to do in this situation was to be quick. Some things were always going to hurt. He couldn’t change that.
“Having a piss up at a local pub, eh? I expect I’ll hear about that in the morning,” Price finished up with the sutures, seating the last one delicately in her skin before cutting the surgical thread. “Probably not the kind of thing you should be telling your commanding officer, love.”
As one of the men in charge, it would fall to Price and Soap to enact any discipline Shepherd saw fit to deal out. It wouldn’t be the first time the General had received a call from a pissed off bartender – the establishment of the 141’s base having tilted the locals a long time ago. The money and broader dating pool from the natives had been a brief respite, but rowdy drunken soldiers always caused a stir.
“… Next time you get into close quarters combat, put your back against a wall. Stops the wankers from flanking your arse.” Price dropped the needle, wiped his hands and reached for some bandages – unrolling the white fabric. “I expect you lot left the bastards a little worse for wear, but there’s better ways to win a knife fight than with your fists.”
He eyed her knuckles, bruised and scraped. Most likely from belting someone in the jaw.
“Once you’re done mopping the mess halls floors tomorrow morning, you can come down to PT. Riley and I will show you how it’s done.”