#inkedwaters

[pyrrhicmessiah]

@inkedwaters said : i protect the family. from luca // tloas starters.

it's inevitable that there will be ops he's sent on that she's not, especially with her abilities; the asteri sometimes don't want to risk the possibility of losing their healer on retainer. but when he comes back like this, it always drives a spike of fear through her. without room for argument, she gestures for him to sit down and reaches out with her magic to survey the work laid out for her. once she has a catalogue of the visible and internal injuries, she sets to work on the ribs, which would otherwise be the slowest to heal on their own. frowning, she mutters to him, " at what cost? you're no good to anyone dead, luca. " the admonishment comes from a place of concern more than anything. after almost a century of working together, she considers him part of her family. " you should be more careful when i'm not out there with you. "

[pyrrhicmessiah]

@inkedwaters said : you can call me honey if you want. from silver // tloas starters.

a rare smile plays at her lips at that, eyes tracing the color rising in her cheeks with satisfaction; hand reaching up unbidden to follow that trail with her fingers in the next breath. tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, she leans in, words hushed just for the other woman. " well that's good, honey, because i want to. " while she's not typically one for pet names, there's something about it that just rolls of the tongue with silver. perhaps it's just worth seeing that flush, but there's a tightness coiling around her heart that belies the truth that it's deeper than that.

[pyrrhicmessiah]

@inkedwaters said : stop talking dirty to me from floyd // tloas starters.

" you are the most fucking insane, " she hisses through clenched teeth, " difficult, asinine prick--- " the rest of her mutterings are lost to the careful shuffling required to maneuver so she can at least crane her neck to face him. now that it's just her profile pressed against him in the cramped space, she can think a little straighter without his breath tickling her neck. " i'd have thought you'd be a little more attached to certain appendages, but by all means, keep pressing your luck. " there's no disguising her hand shifting to settle over the holster on her thigh when it's trapped between them.

[pyrrhicmessiah]

@inkedwaters said : " i had no choice. " from floyd // tlou starters.

her shoulders tense, lips pressing into a thin line as she takes that in, surveying the wreckage of the deserted lab. she'd insisted that coming here was worth the risk, that the supplies it could contain could help them immensely. his resistance hadn't made sense to her at the time, only agreeing when he'd been outvoted. sure as hell makes a lot more sense now. shaking her head, she looks up at him, accusation heavy in the air between them. " no choice? " betrayal is quickly giving way to outrage as she lobs the redacted file towards him. " i believe my father didn't want me involved, but he's dead. he's been dead for years. and i didn't know why! " the words are running away from her now, spilling out faster than she can think. " to cover up whatever was going on here, clearly. he found out and she, she really had him -- " she can't finish the sentence, sucking in a ragged breath at the pain from the implication, eyes falling from his to the ground as she's processing the life shattering information from that file. " i don't know what the fuck kind of sick twist of fate it is that i crashed onto this beach, i didn't even know it existed! " her gaze snaps back to his with all the force of her misplaced grief and hurt, " but you did! you've known exactly where we've been! and all you've done is fucking lie to my face since day one. why the fuck should i even listen to you right now? " moments they've shared play back in her mind's eye, moments that had made her trust him, now unable to parse the real ones from the faked. " my father isn't an excuse. you should've told me. "

[pyrrhicmessiah]

@inkedwaters said : My muse leans in as if to whisper something, their lips dangerously close to your muse’s ear. from jericho // action prompts.

suffice to say that when she'd agreed to participate in a rural fellowship program, she hadn't had a very clear picture of what a rural placement would truly encompass. if someone had told her, for example, that she would be hosting medical services for a veritable rodeo, for example, she would've likely laughed at the stereotypical assumption. stereotypical, maybe. assumption? evidently not. furthermore, if anyone would've told her about cowboys' -- yes, cowboys, the ones that ride bulls and lasso things with those hats they somehow manage to keep on their heads and everything -- propensity for completely disregarding appropriate times and places for flirting... well, she just would've been more prepared.

after that mess of an experience, she'd been extremely reluctant to join her new coworkers at the local bar the following weekend. after enough cajoling, she'd been brought along, though. nursing her drink at the bar while observing an actual line dance start up had felt safe enough. of course, that couldn't last forever.

the drawling comment in her ear makes her flush, head snapping to the side to take stock of the face under the brim of the hat that seems to come standard in the small town. making out his features, she finds herself suddenly grateful for the dim lights that make it so difficult to see in here, hoping it might disguise how much he'd caught her off guard. " --- jericho, right? " she takes a second to take a sip of her drink to steady herself before adding, " how's your rib feeling? " her gaze drifts over him, assessing like she might be able to see it for herself. only after a few seconds does she realize in this context it could be taken the wrong way, gaze quickly jumping back up to his. she still has yet to address his actual question, but she's hoping to just succeed in changing the subject again.

[pyrrhicmessiah]

@inkedwaters said : " if i die it's on me, it won't be your fault. " from luca // tlou starters.

" that's bullshit. " comes the reply, swift and final. " if it were me, you're telling me you wouldn't feel responsible? " blue eyes narrow on the other malakh, arms crossing defiantly. " we're a unit, we're all responsible for each other, " she presses, taking a step around him to position herself between him and the door, refusing to feed into his self-deprecating whims today. " if i can stop something and choose not to, i might as well be doing it myself. so yes, luca, it would be partly my fault if i didn't tell you that you're being irrational right now and at least try to stop you from throwing yourself into this without at least taking backup. "

[pyrrhicmessiah]

@inkedwaters said : " i normally don't think before i talk, which has gotten me in trouble before, a lot. " from bessie // tlou starters.

blue eyes skate to the side to skim over her teammate on this mission, a frown pulling at the corner of her lips. " okay... i'm going to need you to work on that, bess. " the hunter sighs, shifting her weight to the other side as they survey the mess of the apartment they've turned up at. " since i can only imagine they've put us together to work on our... impulse control. " her eyes roll even as she glances to the cracked window, as if they might have a drone or satellite honed on them at the moment. " which is complete shit, really, and kind of insulting! " she's sure to enunciate carefully, wanting the comm to pick up her commentary as she starts picking her way around CSI and further into the scene. the smells are revolting, between the trash that needed tending to weeks ago at this point and the broken bottles of that flavored blood shattered and dripping from several surfaces. weeding through the scents to find the one belonging to their mark is a process, but given that it's his home, if the term even applies at this point, the scent is there beneath all the others. wrinkling her nose, she casts another look to the other hunter, grimacing, " mildew and apples really don't go together. "

[pyrrhicmessiah]

@inkedwaters said : " you're lying to me, and it's exhausting. " from floyd // tlou starters.

it's an effort to reel in the tension from her face and shoulders, one she's slightly irritated she has to undertake in the present moment because that's not what this is supposed to be. this isn't supposed to be happening in the first place, for that matter. what had started as a casual collision of coincidence has happened a time or two too many in the past weeks for it to remain casual. she really hadn't meant to fall fully asleep, damn it. blinking away the ghosts that chased her from slumber, she releases the fabric of the patchwork blanket clenched in her fists, breathing in deeply to calm her racing heart. carefully, she brushes a hand over her left shoulder, glancing to him with a measured challenge in her gaze, " you saw the marks the panther left when they were fresh. i nearly died. " shrugging her shirt's neckline back up over the marks, she avoids his gaze with a muttered, " is that not enough fodder for a subconscious? " dyed red locks, a mass of braids that's in desperate need of maintenance slip over her shoulder as she swings her legs over the side of the bed to reach for her things. " i'm not sure what you want me to say, it was just a dream. i lived, the panther died. " seems to be a theme. she brushes off the intrusive thought, keeping her back to him as she scrounges for her pants, socks, and boots. the sooner she can get out of here, the better.