Despite this, Jean Denim had sent him to the hospital after he’d stumbled out of the house fire coughing up a lung. He had assured her it wasn’t anything, his mask had malfunctioned for a few seconds, but that was all. She wasn’t hearing any of it and had practically boxed his ears into an ambulance where he had sat sullen until the doors had opened and he had hopped out.
There was a part of him that was glad for the ambulance and A&E distraction. It meant he couldn’t think too long or hard about how he’d failed. That was the funny thing about Swynlake: most of the time the calls he get ranged from medium urgency to rather low urgency. Since coming here, he’d put out a few minor fires, yes, but mostly he’d saved cats and dogs from trees and delivered a handful of babies...
Not today. Today, Tom had gone to a house fire that had burned the house down to its floorboards and amongst the rubble there had been two bodies. Two people that Tom hadn’t been able to save. And sure, there had been others and it wasn’t all on him, but it felt like it was. He’d tried hard, spent too long in the smoke and embers--
Now, he was standing awkwardly, a little shell shocked in the lobby of the A&E, refusing to be taken to a bed every time someone came to grab him.
“They can go before me,” he kept saying pointing to person after person in the A&E. They were all here for a more legitimate reason than he was. He’d be fine. He was tough. Didn’t even to smoke, unlike Philly. He felt a little lightheaded and his throat was burning, but that was all.
“They can--” he said as he saw the shoes of the next nurse approaching, but stopped when he looked up at the rest of them and recognized them “--Nurse Minnie?” The surprise in his voice was probably unjustified, considering that she worked her, but nevertheless, he was surprised to see her.
A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day🐾 Rita&Minnie
Inspiration had hit Rita Saluki in the wee hours of the morning. She’d near jumped out of bed and grabbed her notebook and pen and began scribbling at lightening speed. It’d been a long time since such inspiration had hit. Months. Even when she’d go to the little studio she was able to rent at the University, she only sang things she’d already written. Often times just tweaking things here and there. It was never anything new.
But the melody, words, and timing had come to her almost instantly.
A few hours later, once the sun had risen and the birds began singing, she’d kissed Roscoe goodbye and told him that she’d be going to the Court. They owned it now, it only made sense to use the place for her own personal gain. At least until the rest of the staff began coming in for their allotted shifts. Then it would be practice for all the entertainers.
The time passed quickly as Rita played her tune over and over, muttering mostly under her breath. At first she had thought it was a song for Roscoe, the chorus feeling like a promise to him. But as she continued, the verses flowing from her lips in broken bits, she began to realize that it was a song for their child. About their child.
She was lost in it, singing softly to herself, when the first of the employees came in. Each one greeted with a smile and a wave, except, of course, Ken. She blew him a kiss and waved, followed by a wink. She’d have to get with him in a bit to go over some inventory things and talk about the order. But first she needed to get everyone gathered for the typical before work meeting; just her way of going over the plan of action for the night and what she expected from each person there.
It happened in a blur as she stood. For a moment her vision swam, her head feeling light and her body feeling as if it didn’t belong to her. Faintly she heard Ken’s voice, louder over the rushing in her ears, and she wanted to respond, to tell him that she was fine. Just needed a moment to sit down. That was happening more often as the baby got bigger. Those words never did come though. Her eyes fluttered once, twice, a third time before it all went dark.
Summary: Where I really wanted like four of my characters to go down under all for their different reasons and so brilliantly decided to bring them all together and just do one big journey!!! I still have no fucking clue how I’m pulling this off.... buttttttttt I’ll figure it out as it goes along haha
Trigger Warnings: None
Warnings: It is looonggggg. My forever warning for every single one-shot (or will this be like a four-shot since it involves four of my girls??????) that I do, buttttttt in my defense, I had to bring all four girls together!!!!!! That like automatically makes the beginning long!!!
Sally had many reasons to be where she currently was. She could tell you all of them, lay out the paths that would intertwine into what would become the journey she had ahead of her. She had seen all that would befall her, each puzzle piece before they all have even begun.
Funny... she had always tried to stop her visions from occurring, but she has begun to learn that each puzzle piece shown to her was a string in the grand loom of fate.
It all was going to happen. It was what was meant to be, she was only to help it move along, become the weaver that adjoined each string together.
She was to weave together four different stories, one including her own and they all began at the bottom of the crumbling steps Sally was staring before her. The entrance to the Underworld.
The air around her was still, branches didn’t sway and life seemed to cease. The soft running of the Kahaku River was all that was heard echoing against the thickened bark of looming trees. All was lit in a soft aura of bright blue, even Daniel as he hovered beside her seem to glow in a gentle blue.
Are you sure you want to do this, Sals?
Sally didn’t move her eyes away from the steps in front of her simply nodding her head in return. “I’m certain. It’s what I have to do.”
Then... why aren’t you moving? You know that I will go with you every step of the way.
A small smile softly touched her features, her gaze drifting over to her dearest friend. “I know, but this journey isn’t mine alone. It belongs to three others as well.”
Daniel seemed confused, but Sally’s line of vision moved over to the forest that was stretched out behind her to see the figure of a woman approaching her, skin tanned, luscious dark brown hair that flowed down to a slightly swollen belly.
Raksha hadn’t thought that she would be finding anyone near the entrance of the Underworld and seeing another person, well a woman with ginger hair merely standing there and smiling over at her... that made her weary. Why was she here just standing around, and at the entrance of the Underworld of all places? That, however, mattered little in the end. Raksha was determined to find her son and if this woman wanted to linger by the entrance of the Underworld then so be it. It wasn’t going to stop her.
Sally smiled, feeling the strong beating of that determination filling her own chest. “Don’t worry, I’m not here to stop you from finding your son, but you might want to wait before heading down. There are still two others who are shortly behind and we’ll be needing them.”
Raksha eyes filled themselves with shock. This woman spoke about her son, but... how?! No one knew of Rahil save her pack, and husband. She was about to force the information out of her if need be when the sound of footsteps caused her to quickly turn around. In front of her stood a girl, whom Raksha recognized thoroughly from the memories that were placed in her from this world.
“Violet?! What are you doing here?”
Violet simply grinned those smart-ass smirks that she loved placing on her features. “The same as you I’m going to guess. ....You’re going down there... right? Because I’ll go down with you. I can be of... value. I... can’t stay up here. I’m not a fucking Priestess and my brothers... they’ll be okay... trust me... I can be of use.”
“She’s right.” Sally chimed in. “She will be of great value.”
Raksha gave Sally a piercing glare from the depths of her dark brown eyes. Violet quirked a brow. “Who the fuck is she?”
“You have a foul mouth for someone your age.” Raksha reprimanded in a low growl, but she’ll be damned if she had to become responsible for the life of such a young girl who still had so much to live. “You should not be here. There is no reason for you to be traveling to the Underworld. Return back to your house, or the Temple.”
“Curiosity is hers.” Again Sally chimed in, her eyes now falling over Violet. “Curiosity killed the cat you know.”
Violet blinked lost of words in shock at how this redheaded woman knew the reason for her desire to travel down under. See, Violet had a love for Dante’s Inferno, was always fascinated in such things since a young age and this... this was her chance. The hell she was going to let it slip away to sit on her knees and pray some boring ass pointless prayers. Violet was about to retort, when Sally suddenly gave a little clap of her hands, her smile growing big and wide.
“Oh good! Number four is here!”
And right on cue appeared Minnie, a look of confusion decorating her features as her eyes fell over a group of three ladies all hovering by the entrance of the Underworld. She paused in her steps. “I-uhh.. number four..? I’m sorry... but I don’t really think I know any of you....” There wasn’t a face Minnie recognized between the three ladies, but she wasn’t here to recognize faces was she? She was here to pull some bloody crazy stunt that she wasn’t exactly sure, nor confident could be pulled off, and travel the Underworld to find her loved ones.
“Yes, number four. We were all waiting for you.” Sally answered as both Violet and Raksha looked at her with straight disbelief coating their eyes.
“We?” Raksha exclaimed in a bit of a bite as Violet simply looked at Sally with her head cocked to an angle. “Again.... who the fuck are you?”
Sally simply smiled her eyes traveling over all three ladies, ladies in where she will be aiding in weaving their journeys.
“I’m Sally. I’ve seen all of our journeys, each one’s path down in the Underworld. It’s my magic. I have visions, and each of you have your own cause for needing this journey, but without the other it will all fail. We each offer a piece that is needed to become successful. We all do: myself, Raksha, Violet, and Minnie.” Sally’s eyes were glittering now with a weird wonder and sense of fascination as she purposefully spoke each name to prove her point in seeing what has yet to come. “So, what do you say? Will you all fight me? Or—”
Sally began to walk towards the stairs taking the first initial steps into the dark gaping hole that lead to the Underworld. “Follow me? It all up to you, but as we are all heading to the same place.... what is there to lose?”
Nothing, because you were willing to lose it all coming down to the Underworld as it was, no? And all three women must have thought the same as they each stepped forward.
In which Tibbs and Sweet catch Minnie breaking the law, and argue about who is going to take the fall for her...
@exsgttibbs, @sweetheart-minnie
[tw for--i dont think there are any]
TIBBS
Tibbs was feeling sort of at odds. He had been drawn to the Agora with the rest of them, and had sworn his allegiance to their new Queen, but now - well, after the massive earthquake and the speech and all of that, things were winding down, and he had a little time to think. He knew he wasn't a doctor in this life (was being a doctor even a THING in this life?) and whilst he was content to keep his head down and work, the work felt sort of... Lacking. Pointless, maybe?
He was sure it would pass. He just had to get settled, and keep out of trouble.
MINNIE
Minnie had truly gotten sort of use to the whimsical throwing of tricks Swynlake threw at it's residents from time to time. After living here for almost her whole existence it became less and less of a surprise. However, this whole... "new world" thing... where she had been drawn to the Agora like the rest of the town, no this was something the brunette knew she wasn't going to simply get use to. A queen? A two-class system? She was a slave?! Granted, according to this new path that was fleshed out for her, her masters treated her well and kindly, but even that part of her didn't like the queen's regime. As it was, both parts of her wasn't keen to staying with their fingers crossed. She had met another slave in her house who was willing to teach her how to fight and defend herself.
It was after everything had winded down, and the sun was setting leaving the town hidden under the shadows of the dark that Minnie was quietly moving with some weapons in hand. She hadn't expected to find anyone that was until she accidentally ran into a familiar figure.
".....Tibbs? Or err Dr. Tibbs? Or... not...? I'm sorry still trying to get use to it all...." She laughed a little nervously, trying to sneakily hide her weapons from sight.
SWEET
Sweet was not stalking. He just happened to have been out--heading to "his" flock on the edge of town for the evening shift, when he caught sight of Tibbs heading across a broken street. Abandoning his post with ease, he started following the man. Mostly to make sure his friend wasn't being an idiot--it seemed like something Tibbs might do. Be an idiot, that is.
And then, out of nowhere--Minnie appeared too.
His strides got quicker, coming up beside Tibbs, arms crossed. It looked like he was wrong about who was being an idiot.
His eyebrows jumped up on his forehead. "Minerva, what on /earth/ are you doing?"
TIBBS
Tibbs had looked up when he heard his name, and upon seeing a familiar face, had allowed a small smile. He wasn't sure he had seen anyone he knew all day, so seeing Minnie was a relief, even if she was looking rather... Twitchy.
"Yeah, me too. It's a big change--" he didn't get to finish, interrupted by Sweet (he didn't have to turn to know it was him).
He spun round on his heel, jumping back a step. How long had he been there? "Sweet? What the hell--". .
MINNIE
Minnie had not seen Sweet at all! In fact, she had been fine with merely speaking with Tibbs and hiding the weapons from view when Sweet had appeared out of no where! She looked up at the man biting her lip nervously as her fingers clung tightly around the weapons.
"I'm not doing anything." That was a bold face lie, but she wasn't about to implicate anyone on what she has been doing.
"In fact I was just... taking a walk. The only wrong thing here is that I was walking alone, which I know isn't clever, but it isn't like all of this could be taken in so easily." It was a bloody lot to take in. "So I forgot an escort." A male babysitter. "Lucky you two popped up then."
SWEET
Sweet would chuckle at both of their surprise, if this wasn't such a high stress situation. He was good under pressure, but Hell opening itself up was an entirely different beast than the warzones in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Minnie's sweet smile did nothing to calm the pressure in his heart that was telling him this was Very Not Good.
"You shouldn't be going anywhere so soon to dark, it's dangerous," he chastised her, gently, but firmly.
TIBBS
Tibbs knew that Sweet had a point, actually - Minnie probably shouldn't be roaming the streets at night on her own, not without an escort, and with demons and ghouls and god knows what else flitting about town. Looking from Sweet to Minnie, Tibbs gave a soft frown.
"He's got a point." He nodded. "But she's not alone now." he added, looking to Sweet, trying to find some kind of middle ground. "We can walk you back to your house."
MINNIE
Minnie looked from Sweets to Tibbs as they both took turn reprimanding her actions, even if it was done lightly. She knew they meant well for her, was sort of looking out for her, and that was sweet, it truly was, but now wasn't the time for that. Logically speaking, what both men were saying was true, she shouldn't be out wondering alone at night in this new world of theirs.
It would be smart to simply oblige by the rules, keep your head low and wait till it all blew over. That, however, was the problem. Minnie wasn't so sure if all of this would blow over. It wasn't a spell they were under after all, all of this was entirely different, and she couldn't just stay still with her arms crossed doing nothing about it.
Again she looked at both men, her teeth gnawing at the inside of her cheek. If she moved now... they'd see the weapons... but what other choice did she have? "Oh, my house... sure. I uhh it's the House of Water, but you both really don't have to. I'm sure I can sneak back just fine."
SWEET
"Not a chance," Sweet said at once, having to bite his tongue to not add /young lady/. Instead, he eyed a pair of hulking demons coming towards them in the near-darkness, their eyes glinting red in the low light. He took a step to the side to flank Minnie, Tibbs on her other side.
"We're not doing anything wrong," he told the brutish beasts. They didn't say anything, just stared at the trio silently, but Sweet could hear their breathing--it rasped like wind through nettles.
TIBBS
As soon as he saw those demons he had a pretty bad feeling, and whilst legging it in the other direction was a nice thought, Tibbs feet were planted firmly against the ground, half hiding Minnie behind his shoulder, his eyes on the things. If something bad /was/ about to happen, he wasn't about to let it happen without him.
"We were just leaving." He added. He had no idea which way the House of Water was, but their best bet was in the opposite direction to those demons, red eyes watching them in the half-darkness. He didn't look at Minnie, but it was her he spoke to. She would have to lead the way, after all. "Let's go."
MINNIE
Minnie had every intention to respond right back to Sweets, but instead found herself basically covered by both men to be blocked from the line of vision of the brutish demon that now before them. Minnie's heart felt like it had now lunged itself in her throat.
No, no, no! This was not suppose to be happening!
She could hear both men speaking to the beast, Minnie staying ever so quiet behind both figures trying to think of a logical way out of all of this.
She had weapons in her person, nothing extravagant a couple of daggers, but she still had them. She wasn't a smith, strike one and then she was out at /night/ in the /dark/ strike two.
Of course all of that appeared highly suspicious and now she was expected to move, that would show her weapons. Minnie looked up at Tibbs she did not want to move maybe if she offered directions instead...
"My house... it's not too far off from here.. it's umm behind us, two blocks down and then a left."
SWEET
One of the demons stretched out its long claws, making a "give me" motion towards Minnie. Sweet didn't know what they could want. He hadn't see the weapons that Minnie was hiding. So, he just leaned his body in front of her more, heart racing. He couldn't tell if it was his or Tibbs or Minnie's or all three of them. But, he did his best to ignore it. Standing solid.
"Let's go then," Sweet said, putting his hand back and pressing on Minne's stomach gently to get her to take a step backwards.
He took a step backwards too, though he kept his eyes on the demons.
One of them disappeared in a column of smoke and reappeared behind Minnie--yanking the bag on her shoulder off, dumping the weapons out onto the street with a hiss like water being poured over steam.
TIBBS
Weapons. They echoed as they clattered to the ground, and for a second Tibbs' mouth fell open, his eyes on them. Christ. Bad enough that the three of them were out after dark, but now they had weapons with them - or rather, the unaccompanied woman had weapons with her.
What was Minnie even doing with those?
Tibbs, who had been still as Sweet had moved Minnie back now stepped forward, towards the demon that had outed his friend.
"They're not hers." He said, shoulders back. He was really the best candidate, here, right? He was a smith. It made sense. "I'd given them to her, to give to her master. That's all."
MINNIE
Minnie had felt Sweet press on Minnie's stomach and she instantly was broken out of her fear to well move. She took a step backwards to turn around and head back to the House of Water and that was then she was face to face with demon beast those glowing red eyes starring straight at her. Her heart only crawled up more in her throat practically hitching the motion of breathing all together. She had frozen in spot dread crawling over her skin as the demon poured out the evidence of what she had really been doing.
Tibbs seemed to have move a lot faster than Minnie's fear would allow her to as she suddenly found him in front of her falsifying a lie that could very well place him into trouble. Her heart fell from her throat and sank, but she knew better than to talk. Any word from her mouth would spill out the fear that was gripping at her, so she simply nodded her head.
SWEET
Before Sweet could do exactly what Tibbs was the bloody bastard did it first.
There was no way he could allow that to happen. He wasn't letting either Tibbs or Minnie go to jail. He'd take the fall for both of them. Whirling around, turning his back on the demon he was facing, he stared straight at the other one's face, coming shoulder to shoulder with Tibbs.
"No, they're mine--I'm planning a rebellion and I needed weapons. Minnie knew a smith. I didn't. She didn't know what they were being used for. Take me." The demon looked over Sweet's head to its brother and they both hissed at each other in confusion.
TIBBS
For God's sake.
He looked at Sweet with narrowed eyes - no. He was the one taking the blame, here. He wasn't about to let either of his friends be sent down into the Underworld, he just wouldn't have it. He could see the demons conversing, evidently confused. Tibbs couldn't blame them. It was about to get even more confusing.
"I'm the smith. I've been the smith of the House of Earth for a while now. I used to be a warrior, I was captured, and I was plotting against the Queen to regain my freedom. Minnie had nothing to do with it, and neither did he--"
Now he looked to Sweet, his eyes narrowing, hoping that Sweet would understand the silent /keep your mouth shut/ Tibbs was sending his way.
"And neither did he. It was me. Take me to the Queen. I'll confess it all to her."
MINNIE
Minnie couldn't believe what she was currently seeing here. She wasn't so sure if the demons were the ones more confused or if Minnie herself was. They were both trying to take the fall. That in and of itself made her chest feel tight. She couldn't allow them to do that! This had been /her/ fault not theirs even if they were both parading the idea of it being theirs. If it had been any other situation and Minnie was just a stranger looking in, she would shake her head and comment how they were both being idiots trying to out rank the other to take the fall.
That wasn't the case, however, as she tugged at both robes whispering harshly, though quiet enough so that only the both men heard her. "What are you doing?! You-you can't-stop just—just stop. I-you guys /can't/ I won't let you!"
SWEET
Sweet just scoffed at Tibbs.
His heart did give a tug at Minnie's harsh whispering but he wanted to protect her and he knew that someone was going to have to take the fall for this. And it couldn't be her. Both Tibbs and him had been alive much longer and they'd seen much worse (not that Minnie hadn't been through her fair share of tragedy.) He couldn't allow her to go down to the Underworld.
And he couldn't let Tibbs either. This was more--personal, in the sense that Sweet didn't have much of a reason outside the fact that Tibbs was his friend, and he didn't want him hurt. Would rather be hurt himself.
"Well, I'm planning to take the Queen down--I was going to use that knife, right there." He kicked it with his foot, making the demons hiss and one of them grabbed his arm, making him cry out from the burning heat from the demon's grip.
TIBBS
Tibbs looked to Minnie as she whispered, but he knew it was no good. He wasn't going to let her get in trouble, and he wasn't going to let Sweet get in trouble either. They were his friends, probably the closest thing he'd had to "brothers in arms" since he left the army, so yeah - he wasn't going to let either of them go to jail. Even Sweet, though he seemed so intent on going. The shout Sweet gave echoed off the walls of the houses that had sprung up, and Tibbs couldn't stand it.
"The /sword/. I was going to use the sword, and take the head of the Queen to show the rest of the citizens, to end this--"
MINNIE
They both weren't listening! Even when she had pleaded for them to stop they both continued to do so! And when Minnie heard the cry that had pierced from out of Sweet's lips her own hands had to clasp her mouth to keep it from screaming herself. She moved then getting closer to Sweet but looking at the demon. She could feel tears pulling at the rim of her eyes, her vision becoming blurred, her heart beating rapidly against her chest. She had /never/ meant for any of this! Why hadn't she simply kept her head down?!
"Please p-please s-stop!" She didn't know who she was speaking to at this point whether it was Sweet, Tibbs, or the demon. "I-it wasn't t-they d-didn't—" Do anything? It wasn't there fault? The demon wouldn't believe her at this point, not when both men gave convincing stories that could far surpass a measly little woman sneaking out with weapons. At this point tears were streaming down her eyes and Minnie... she didn't know what she could possible do!
SWEET
Sweet shouted again as he saw the other demon reach out for Tibbs, reaching out and grabbing him by the biceps too. Sweet got a look of Minnie's tears as she came towards him and he felt his heart twist.
"No! Minnie! Stay back!" he shouted at her, just as both demons gave great flaps of their wings. The ground opened up beneath them and they jumped into the air, before diving down and disappearing into nothing, leaving Minnie standing on the sidewalk, all alone.
For Tibbs and Sweet the world was black, black, black nothingness until they were thrown down into the pits of the Underworld with the other condemned.
Summary: In where the ladies have reached The Paths and Raksha soon discovers that this is her piece of the journey before them.
Trigger Warnings: Death, blood, corpses (mangled corpses), fire, and grief
Additional Information: I’ll be switching point of views depending on who’s piece belongs to which lady in the journey so this post is on Raksha’s because this is her part of the journey. If that makes any sense....? Hopefully looool. Plus, this is long like very long!!! Hahaha I hate myself. I can never make things short xD
The steps were crumbling beneath Raksha’s feet, thin in width and almost appearing endless in route. It was as if all four women were going down, and down, and down with no final destination to be reached. They were all becoming unsteadier the further they went down, the steps themselves appearing smaller and smaller in size.
Raksha feared that soon there will be no steps left to take and if they were to take an unprecedented fall.... Raksha knew that could severely harm her unborn child. She was aware that this entire trip down to the Underworld was a severe risk to the child growing inside of her, but Raksha had no alternative.
Rahil had been taken away from her, and it was a lost she has not been able to heal from. This was her chance at a closure she knew was needed. Without it, how will she be a good mother to her child? It wasn’t fair... this child deserved a chance at a loving mother and Raksha had to fight to offer him or her just that.
At last, all four women reached the bottom, their feet landing on forest soil. Surrounding Raksha were lines of trees all barren, all silent, and motionless. Their branches casted shadows on the ground snaking one within the other ending in pointed jagged edges. It was in that moment that Raksha felt a frigid layer of cold sweep over her skin and that was an unlikely feeling for her as her wolf was a warm creature always isolating her in heat. This cold, however, penetrated deeper crawled itself inside of her setting her wolf on edge.
Raksha rolled her neck, soothing the beast so that she’d be able to set her focus on what mattered: the road ahead of her. They all continued walking settling in deeper within the forest. The deeper they got the lesser light became available as now only glimpses of such a thing spilled through the thick twining of branches all in hues of blue.
They all came to a sudden stop as before them the forest had split into a series of different paths. One path was of sand, another of charred ash, fragmented glass, forest soil, wooden paneled tiles, cobbled stone and the last one covered in a pure white snow.
“We’ve reached the paths.” It was the redheaded woman that broke the silence. “We choose the wrong one and we will all be lost forever.”
Violet looked at the ginger with a slight confusion in her eyes. “How... how do you know this?”
“I have a dead friend who just told me.” All the other ladies looked at Sally with shock and a mixture of disbelief coating their eyes. “I can see dead people.” Was all she replied to their looks. It was Raksha’s turn to speak now.
“Well, will this dead friend of yours be telling us which path is the correct one to take?”
In return Sally placed a smile on her lips turning to face the older woman. “Funny how it’s you who’s asking because you’ll be the one choosing the path for us.”
“Excuse me?”
“Yes.” Sally spoke simply with knowing eyes staring back at Raksha. “You’ll be the one to choose our path. Your destination is our next step, where you are meant to go is where we all must past through first. This is your piece, Raksha. You’re the start of our journey, therefore you have to choose.”
Your piece? Your destination....? You are the start of the journey? This woman was speaking in riddles and that irritated Raksha, nevertheless she took a step forward. How.... how was she suppose to choose?! There were seven paths splayed out before her. How was she suppose to know which one wasn’t the one that would doom them all into an eternity they couldn’t come back from? She turned back around to face this allusive redhead of a woman. She wanted to growl deadly at her, threaten her even if she must to get her to speak what she knew, but to her surprise all three women were no longer there.
Instead, the barren forest that was once lifeless around Raksha was now lit up in stark vivid flames of fiery red. The fire was viciously devouring the foliage, branches falling like rain dried in black shriveled ash. Smoke began to cover the skies in thick heavy fumes and Raksha could hear a noise that made her heart sink, and her body lose all ability in moving.
It was the howls of those she loved, the shrieking cries of brutal slaughter befalling her pack. Each howl pierced sharper and deadlier than the one before, each one causing her wolf to mourn in deep despair. The beast clawed desperately inside of her crying and begging for release. The howls were becoming louder now mixing with the sound of haunting screams. Raksha....Raksha didn’t know what to do!
The howls and the screams were filling her ear dreams each separate one a stab to her heart. The fire grew brighter, bigger, hungrier. It was spreading like a wild monster moving closer and closer to Raksha the thickness of the smoke blurring her vision and clotting her lungs. She took a step back to try and move away from it all. Her mind felt heavily scattered and broken from the despair of the deathly howls and screams, her feet stepping into something wet.
....wet? It was thick as the liquid soaked up her feet within the sandals. Raksha looked down her eyes growing wide in fear. She was in the midst of a large pool of blood. The thick crimson red liquid had now covered the entire forest ground the smell pungent against the sensitivity of her nostrils. Even in the midst of the raging fire and the thickened blur of the smoke Raksha could start seeing the formation of bodies appearing on the blood covered ground.
Raksha immediately stepped back again, tripping over a body that had formed behind her. She fell to the ground her robe covered in the heavy crimson substance, knees scrapping against the dirt and her body now over the lifeless corpse of Kavya, Akela’s mate. A piercing screamed escaped Raksha’s throat, tears now steadily streaming from her eyes. She desperately moved away crawling right into another body, the corpse of her dearest best friend, the one in whom Rahil had slept over their house the very night of the massacre. She was covered in burning scars, bullet holes decorating her body. Raksha covered her mouth with shaky hands. She couldn’t breath—she couldn’t breathe.
But... another body began to form against the mass hysteria of the fire and the smoke and Raksha she-she knew who’s it was. It was a smaller body, one of a boy with unruly dark hair mixed in thick blood. His body was mangled and pale, legs and arms dislocated. The corpse was filled with merciless stabbed wounds and penetrating bullet holes. Raksha slowly crawled over to the body uncaring of the pool of blood she needed to move through, the fire, the smoke....
It was Rahil, and suddenly Raksha couldn’t take the unrelenting grief that raked and shook her entire body. She cried tears and tears and unending tears that were wrenched straight from out of her heart. She pulled the dead corpse to her chest holding it in a desperate embrace as her head buried itself in her son’s body.
“I—I c-can’t do this! T-this-this s-should have never been you Rahil. I-it should’ve been me! I-I’m sorry. I-I am so, so sorry.” She wept agony filled tears. Raksha didn’t want to move on, she couldn’t do this... she-she couldn’t do this. Not-not this. A voice suddenly penetrated the air, soft and young in a whisper that only breathed against Raksha’s ears.
That’s not me maan. I’m okay now, maan. It’s okay. I’m at peace now, I promise. It’s okay.
“R-Rah-hil?” Raksha’s head shifted away from the corpse within her arms her eyes trying to find a figure within the thickened blur in front of her, but she couldn’t see anyone. All she could hear was the clear sound of her son’s voice.
You can do this, maan. You’re so close. That isn’t me. Let him go. Let him go for me and my baby sister. You know which way to go, maan. You can do this.
“B-but I-I don’t know... Rahil I-I don’t know.”
You do know, maan. You already know. Let him go. You know maan.
Reluctantly, with a heavy heart, Raksha listened to the voice of her son allowing the corpse to drop from her arms. In that instant, the corpses had disappeared, the blood sucked into the ground and the fire had but all ceased. The smoke dissipated in the air and on the ground Raksha could now see the three ladies that had originally been with her. One of them, the young brunette, was perched down by her side, her arms around her and eyes filled with a frightened concern.
“Raksha? Raksha are you alright?! We’ve been calling your name you wouldn’t respond a-and you started crying and s-screaming. W-what happened?”
Raksha looked at Minnie with a lost gaze in her eyes, she shifted her blurry vision over to the redheaded woman standing up now as she wiped the tear stains from her cheeks. Rahil was right, she did know.
“It is the snow covered path. That is the one we have to go through.”
“Are you sure?” Sally asked her eyes steady over the woman, eyes that knew what Raksha had currently gone through even if the other two had no idea.
“You said that my destination is where we all have to go next. My destination is my son. When he was young he loved the mountains of our home because of the pure white snow that covered the ground. It was his favorite pass time, to simply create snow angels in the piles of snow... That is the path we have to take.”
Sally simply nodded her head stepping aside as she did so. “Then lead the way, Raksha.”
Raksha took one last look back before taking a deep breath in and stepping forward towards the path of snow.
Lou stood outside Minnie and Peri’s door, holding a bouquet in his hands. He stood there and wondered, vaguely, what the hell he was doing. This was both entirely out of character and perfectly in character for Lou. Trouble was, it was only in character if he actually...cared about the person on the other side of the door. And he had not been aware that he cared about Minnie Muyskens.
Not until he had heard what had happened to her and his heart had twisted with sympathy and he had wanted to know, had wanted to see for himself, that she was alright.
That was all this visit was.
He just--wanted to make sure that she was alright. Lou was not above recognizing kindness, and Minnie had always only ever been kind to him, even when he had treated her awfully in return.
If this was how he could repay her...
Lou raised his hand--not allowing himself another second’s hesitation--and knocked before standing back and readjusting his clothing and the bouquet, so that he would appear presentable.
In which Sweet and Tibbs perform Mr. Crowley’s surgery, assisted by Nurse Musykens.
@exsgttibbs, @sweetheart-minnie
[tw for death and like surgery so if that grosses you out do not enter here.]
SWEET
Today was the day. It had been a much anticipated arrival by many, he knew. Crowley had made quite a name for himself in the hospital among the nurses and doctors and even other patients. He was hard-headed and stubborn, but he had a sharp wit, and he wasn't afraid to laugh at his own expense. As a patient, Sweet thought he was surly; but, as a person, Sweet liked him a good deal. He felt honored that (after three hours of negotiation stretched over two days) Crowley had agreed to the surgery.
He felt confident as he entered the scrub room, crossing to the sinks and hitting the on button with his forearm, beginning to lather his hands with soap. The pressurized door hissed open and Sweet looked up with a smile.
"Ready for today?" he asked with a grin.
TIBBS
Tibbs hadn't advocated the surgery, and thus probably shouldn't be on it, but in their little chat (read: very long in depth conversation) he had told Crowley that he would be, because he was confident that it was all going to go well. He didn't mind having his name associated with a surgery that was going to be an absolute breeze, and end with a pretty good result. He had a feeling Sweet would already be there when he got there, and to his question Will nodded, giving him a small smile in return.
"Reckon so." He said, moving to begin scrubbing his hands. "Crowley alright this morning?"
MINNIE
Minnie had only entered the scrub room once everything in pre-op was done and done properly. The brunette was very specific with her patients and always made sure to be by their side at least once before entering any kind of surgery. As it was, she had a pleasant and rather spunky conversation with Mr. Crowley. The guy was a bit of a rascal, but it was something that pleased Minnie because it meant that his spirits were up.
Stepping in she smiled when she saw both surgeons already present as she herself began the whole process of scrubbing.
"Well, he is certainly not coding." An inside dig at the last patient Minnie had brought in for Dr. Sweet. "All pre-op procedure are accounted for and appropriately done. He also seems to be in very good spirits."
SWEET
Sweet smiled at both of them, feeling rather good about their chances. He took a deep breath, shaking his hands out in the sink and holding them up in front of him to let them dry. He chuckled a little at Minnie's quip.
"Good, good. That's what we like to hear." He gave a little wink and nod to both of them, then pushed into the surgical theatre, allowing himself to be gloved and gowned before he stepped up to Mr. Crowley, who was already sleeping peacefully under the anesthetic. He readjusted his scrub cap (covered in bright flowers) before glancing up at Tibbs and smiling behind his mask.
"How much do you think the sucker'll weigh?" he joked lightly as everyone got adjusted. "Should've included that in our persuasion. 'Lose weight, look good for the ladies.' I think that would've convinced him if nothing else did."
TIBBS
Tibbs gave a soft laugh, following Sweet into theatre and moving around the tables of equipment set up. Once gowned and gloved he took his place around the other side of the table to Sweet, and beneath the mask over his mouth, he cracked a smile.
"Hey, we managed to talk him round regardless. Just an added bonus he'll get to wake up to."
MINNIE
Minnie finished scrubbing her hands as she followed suit after both men entering the OR. She allowed herself to get gloved and gowned before heading beside Dr. Sweet. Her eyes fell over Mr. Crowley who by now had been anesthetized and was out for the count. She was glad that for his surgery he had two very good surgeons who would be wielding the scalpel, that made her feel more comfortable about his outcome.
"Oh, I'm sure he would've enjoyed that extra tidbit." She joked softly in return. "He was quite the ladies man with all the nurses on his floor. They all knew him very well at this point."
SWEET
Sweet chuckled at the both of them before sobering up somewhat and taking a deep breath. "Well, here goes nothing. Scalpel?"
Once the knife was in his hand, he made the first cut and hopefully only incision. A little line of blood followed the knife. It took a few minutes just to cut away all of the tissue and muscle to expose the organs that they needed to get to. Once they were there, Sweet glanced at the monitors. Everything seemed to be holding steady. He let out a low whistle at the sight of the engorged pancreas.
"You take the right, I'll take the left?" he said to Tibbs. "Nurse Musykens on suction?"
TIBBS
Tibbs gave a short nod, hands up and out of the way whilst Sweet got to work. He was still a little apprehensive about this, somewhere deep done, but... Well, not so much as to not get involved. He watched the monitors, looking down and frowning, huffing a sigh as he caught sight of the pancreas. Kind of hard to miss, really.
He gave Sweet a nod. "On it." He agreed, asking the nurse by his side for a clamp so he could get to work.
MINNIE
Minnie has had her share of assisting in surgeries as the Scrub RN or even the RN first assistant so this by no means was her first rodeo and yet each surgery no matter the case was unique in it's own right. The initial cut may be the same, perhaps even in the same anatomical region, but every time it was a different experience for Minnie as short as it lasted. It sadly didn't take long to see the very engorged pancreas that the surgeons were about to operate on.
It was not about to be an easiest task and that piece of knowledge made the brunette's heart drop as her eyes drifted over to the anesthetized Mr. Crowley. It was a second of a look of compassion, before she brought herself back to being focused on the task grabbing her necessary equipment and suctioning where needed.
SWEET
Sweet didn't have time to think about Mr. Crowley now. Though he felt every emotion in the room, Minnie's compassion soft and pink, the other nurse's quiet nervousness a light yellow, like a little sunspot. He focused on Tibbs' steady, deep brown concentration. That was a good color, a solid emotion that he knew he could zero in on and it wouldn't waver--unless something went wrong. He took a clamp and got to work himself, peeling the pancreas away from the rest of the body, slowly and carefully.
He could see every vein and artery and muscle in his mind’s eye, his hand steady as he cut layer through layer. The rhythm of the heartbeat of the monitor turned into white noise for the next few hours.
Until blip. The yellow got brighter. Blip. Blip. Blip. The yellow was almost blinding.
"Er, doctor--his blood pressure is dropping rapidly."
Sweet furrowed his brow and ducked his head closer, gently moving the tissue that he'd cut away. "We've almost got it! What the--Tibbs do you see anything? Musykens, more suction! Where is that bleeding coming from?"
TIBBS
Tibbs kept his head down, his eyes on his work, as he tended to. He knew other surgeons who chatted or played music, but he was far too used to operating in silence, only shouting orders every now and then. He'd warm up eventually, he was sure, but for now his hands were steady, his gaze focused as he tried to get on with things.
His eyes flicked up to the monitor when he heard the nurse's voice, frowning at the results he saw before he looked back down. Easy enough. No need to panic.
"I can't see it--" He said, head shaking a little as he tried to find the source of the bleed. Releasing the clamp in one hand he tried to pin down another area, see if he could feel out the source of the bleeding, but if anything it seemed that Crowley only bled more, the monitor above them ringing out alerts. "Shit--"
MINNIE
Minnie didn't need the order from Dr. Sweets to suction more as she was already doing so long before being told moving quickly to try and keep up with the unexpected bleed. It was everywhere and that was never the best of omens when in a surgery, followed by two surgeons unable to spot nor feel said bleed... was hardly a good omen at all.
Minnie, however, didn't focus on that, her hands were working at top speed suctioning the blood while she voiced to the other assisting nurses to start using lap pads. Bleeders were a horrible thing as Minnie has come to learn because if you landed yourself with a rather tricky one that couldn't be found.... no amount of blood replacement or medications would do much of a difference.
SWEET
This was quickly going to shit. The monitors screamed, the blood poured into the almost empty cavity. He knew they didn't have much time a bleed like this? It wasn't going to be easy to come back from. Something must've--torn. He hadn't nicked anything. He was /positive./ And, he knew that Tibbs hadn't either. His hands were steady. Sweet trusted that it wasn't him. Minnie, bless her, was doing her best, but the blood just wouldn't stop pouring into the place where the pancreas was--had been. They'd made the final cut, removed the pancreas, it had gone flying, practically into a silver dish while three pairs of hands tried to soak up the blood, lap pad after lap pad, stuffing him full--but that just meant--that they couldn't see what they were doing. They couldn't see where the bleeding was coming.
"Dr. Sweet, he's bottoming out!" One of the nurses told him.
"I'm aware," he growled, his heart racing as his hands moved about in the cavity. His finger brushed against a slit in the colon, or just--just behind the colon.
"Tibbs--Tibbs I think I've--I've got it. I need a clamp!" he barked. "Sir--I--" The dreaded sound of the flatline started. "Shit. C'mon! Clamp, now!"
TIBBS
Tibbs had moved on from searching, grabbing at the lap pads being thrust at him from every direction, doing his best to help Minnie soak up the blood that was blocking their view. He worked steadily, but he had a bad feeling - a very bad feeling. He kept it pushed way down, eyes flicking to the monitor every few moments.
"Here, here," he grabbed s clamp from a nearby nurse, handing it off to Sweet. He didn't think it was going to do much good, but that didn't mean they could stop trying.
MINNIE
Minnie was suctioning as quickly and meticulously as possible, still passing off lap pads with her free hand. The bleeding was everywhere filling the body cavity faster than the blood replacement they were giving Mr. Crowley.
These were the moments the brunette truly dreaded surgeries, the incidents that came completely out of the blue without any type of forewarning. They were things everyone in the OR wished to never come by, what prevented them from having a smooth surgery for both themselves and the patient, and what was currently happening to poor Mr. Crowley.
Minnie's heart was sinking because she can feel the inevitable, even when her hands were working against the odds, her eyes darting in anger at the other nurses who were speaking words that were of no help, mind forced clear to focus and her hope holding unto the tiniest sliver.... Minnie could still feel the inevitable.
It was now screeching at her in the form of a flatline.
SWEET
Sweet was mumbling to himself, the words getting louder and louder--"nonono, c'mon Crowley, c'mon Bernard, don't do this--c'mon, we've got it! We got it!" He could feel the warmth of the blood through his gloves. It was like sticking his hands in a sink, like he was doing the dishes--though the blood was thicker. The monitor was screeching it's flatline.
"Doctor--we should attempt resuscitation."
"That's not going to matter if we can't get this bleed under control!"
"It's been two minutes sir."
"Just a few moments." He got his hand on the clamp, shutting the leak off like it was a faucet. "Okay! Paddles!" he barked.
Minnie was already ready with them, bless her.
He took them with a nod.
"Charge 200. Clear!" Dum. Dum.
The monitor blipped, then flatlined again.
"C'mon Bernard. Charge 200. Clear!" Dum. Dum.
The monitor didn't even blip that time, the blood pressure too low.
"Charge!" Sweet barked again.
TIBBS
Tibbs stepped back as soon as he saw Sweet reach for the paddles, hands up, clear. He had a bad feeling and it looked as though he had been right. The bleed was too bad, Crowley's poor heart too weak and too frail to be able to keep going, especially with such a loss. Crowley was gone. There would be no bringing him back today. Tibbs barely new the man but he had the decency to feel bad as he stepped forward, surgical staff moving aside so he could make his way to Sweet.
"He's gone." he said, voice low and steady, trying to reach him on some level. "Sweet, he's not coming back, you KNOW that. C'mon. Put the paddles down."
MINNIE
Minnie could see it clearly even after passing the paddles and still holding onto a the tiniest sliver of hope that the monitor would start reading a sinus rhythm, she could see it clearly. Mr. Crowley wasn't going to make it out of this one. The truth of that statement felt heavy on Minnie's chest. The surgeons, yes they knew him, they knew their patient, but it was different with Minnie. She truly knew him. She was the one their for him when his nights got rough, when he was pain, she held his hand when he simply needed someone beside him, was his confidant when he needed a listening ear.
The pain of losing Mr. Crowley right in front of her was sinking in in sharp crumbling waves, but she shoved that down. At this moment, she had to focus she had to stop Dr. Sweets. It was too late already.... Mr. Crowley was already gone. The moment it was safe to do so (to avoid shock of course) Minnie placed her hand gently on Dr. Sweets' arm her voice soft, but leveled and filled with compassion.
"You have to stop now. He's gone, Joshua.... you did all that you could, but now you have to let him go.... it's okay... let him go."
SWEET
He knew. Sweet knew. He'd seen this kind of thing plenty of times before. That didn't mean he had to like it. Didn't mean that he didn't want to fight it. Tibbs' voice was in his ear, low and calm and assertive, but it felt like he was listening to it through a wind tunnel, his adrenaline rushing in his ears. It wasn't until Minnie put her hand on his arm, her voice soft and calm as well that Sweet's shoulders relaxed somewhat. He did not cry, but he hung his head, throwing the paddles violently back onto the equipment.
"Dammit," he ground out turning to look at Crowley's body--still. No life left in it. He turned to look to Tibbs, his eyes a little desperate, helpless. "We had it."
TIBBS
Tibbs looked to Minnie, glad that she had moved forward, too, to convince Sweet to let go. He flinched when the paddles were thrown to one side, clattering as they fell. When Sweet turned to him he gave a soft sigh, and nodded.
"I know we did." He murmured. "I know. Your did your best - we all did. He'd appreciate that."
