His big brother carefully and gently wrapped each of Virgil’s fingers one by one, blue eyes focussed ever so intently on the task.
No words were said.
None had been said the last time Scott had changed the bandages.
None had been said at the hospital.
None that Scott knew Virgil had heard. There had been the fog of anaesthesia, but he could have sworn he had heard his brother crying.
Virgil’s heart clenched at the memory.
“I’m sorry.” The words were out before he could think better of it.
Scott’s hands stilled a moment.
Those blue eyes looked up at him.
Lips moved as if to say something, but tightened almost immediately as his brother swallowed and went back to securing gauze.
But Virgil had had enough. “Scott, please!”
“What?!” He straightened, taking a step away from the infirmary bed. “What do you want me to say?”
“Tell me you’re okay.” A swallow. “That we’re okay.”
Scott’s shoulders dropped just a little. He grabbed the mitten that protected all the bandaging and fastened it over Virgil’s swollen hand. “Virgil, we will never be anything but okay.” He turned away and began packing medical supplies back into their storage box.
With both hands swaddled in various layers of cotton and non-stick dressings, there was little Virgil could do to grab his brother’s arm, so instead he hooked a long leg with a boot. “Talk to me!”
“So you can argue with me? Tell me it was the right thing to do?”
“Yes!”
“You’re wrong, Virgil! It was the wrong thing to do! I had a plan.”
“You were going to die!”
“I didn’t!”
“Because I saved your ass and you know it. That’s why you don’t want to talk, isn’t it! You thought you had it worked out, but it went south and I got hurt. That’s it, isn’t it!” He desperately tried to pin his brother with his eyes, but the man was still refusing to look at him.
Deep and forceful. “I. Had. A. Plan. You should have trusted me.”
“I do trust you. But you were going to die, Scott. And I refuse to let that happen.”
“So you decided to sacrifice yourself.”
“That’s what you were trying to do. At least doing it my way, we’re both alive to yell at each other.”
“But…” And Scott’s eyes fixated on Virgil’s hands. “At what cost?”
Virgil blinked before straightening. “Bargain basement.” His voice broke on the last syllable, but he meant it with everything he was.
His hands were burnt…badly. The rod had been that hot, it had melted through his heavy-duty gloves. There was question of scaring, possible movement loss and nerve damage. “I won’t lie to you, Scott. I’m scared.” He stared down at the swaths of white. “But nowhere near as terrified as I was of losing you.” He held his hands up. “This I can handle. With you here.” He let his hands drop gently into his lap. “Without you…” He sucked in a breath and, straightening up again, caught his brother’s wide eyes. “Without you, the world just doesn’t work anymore!” He glared at Scott. “And I will do anything to prevent that from happening!”
Blue eyes stared at him for a full moment before shifting away, wandering, and latching back onto the medical supplies like a raft in a storm. “That doesn’t sound very healthy, Virg.”
Virgil shimmied off the infirmary bed, onto his feet, and pushed himself into Scott’s personal space. His brother had always been taller than him, but Virgil didn’t need height. “You listen to me. You are integral to this family. You are the damned guiding light of this organisation and I will not see you sacrificing yourself if I can prevent it. You are my brother!”
Scott closed the lid on the medical box and looked down at Virgil. “And you are mine. So how can you expect me to watch you get injured like this for my sake.”
“Because the alternative would have hurt me more.”
Scott opened his mouth as if to rebut, but slowly shut it again.
Virgil continued to look up at him and if the pleading bled into his expression, he couldn’t help it. “Please, Scott?”
His big brother stared at him a moment, his eyes growing glassy until he had to blink.
Virgil tentatively reached out a bandage-covered hand and brushed it against his brother’s arm.
And Scott grabbed him, pulling him in, holding Virgil ever so close and tight. Bandaged hands fumbled and stuck out in awkward directions, but Virgil’s cheek found Scott’s shoulder and he clung the best way he could.
This was better.
Oh, so much better.
Virgil blinked a few times, but held on as if his life depended on it.
“I’m sorry, Scott.” Quiet, an attempt at reassurance.
Just listened to the Band of Brothers Podcast Part 8 on Spotify and Scott Grimes asked Donald Malarkey, as preparation for BoB, if he smoked. Malarkey's response was: "Like a fucking chimney!" And Scott Grimes was basically: "I'm fucked!"
How could a day go so horribly wrong, so fast? - Scott Tracy. (Okay, I’m doing more Tracy Elves! XD I hope you guys like the drawing and fic XD)
Scott pov.
He jumped between branches, making his way up to the high platform his family owned. There were easier ways to get to it, he didn’t need to climb but he found this more fun, more exciting.
Though his mother and father would have a fit if they knew, he thought to himself with a small grin as he made the jump from one giant branch to another, his leather satchel swinging about in the wind. He wasn’t stupid, he wasn’t climbing over open air, he was just taking a shortcut, nothing for them to panic about…
He was almost one hundred and forty,(14) he wasn’t a little Elfling anymore, he could look after himself, he thought as he dropped down onto the platform, dropping his bag on the floor, his parchment and bottle of ink spilling out.
He loved this place…He thought as he closed his eyes and took in the fresh air, his big pointy ears taking in the sounds of the birds singing and chirping. He grinned as he took in the wonderful view, this was one of the best places to watch a sunset…
There were a couple more platforms where the canopy gave way to this amazing view, one of them being within climbing distance to the one he was on now, he thought as he spotted his brother Virgil on the other platform, his art supplies scattered around him.
Should have known Virg would be out here, he thought with a chuckle as he sat down on the timber floor of the platform. He grabbed his parchment and opened his ink bottle, dipping the tip of his quill into the ink, getting to work on his homework.
———
He almost had his homework finished when he heard something landed on the platform. He looked up in surprise, his eyes widening as he spotted a foxowl sitting just a metre away from him, looking at him curiously.
He had heard stories and seen paintings of foxowls, his father said they could not be trusted, that they were sneaky little thieves. His mother said they were just very curious creatures, they didn’t mean any harm. They weren’t known to live around this area, so to see one right in front of him was a surprise.
“Um hi there..” he said softly, giving the creature an uneasy smile, feeling uncertain about the whole situation. Foxowls wasn’t known to be aggressive towards elves but they were still a wild animal and those teeth did look really sharp.
“Um, what are you doing so far from…from where you live, um little guy?” The bird wasn’t actually that little, it was nearly as big as him but he couldn’t think of anything else to call it, okay?
The foxowl cooed softly at him, tilting its head as it hopped closer to him. He swallowed nervously, his left ear starting to twitch rapidly, a nervous tick that he hasn’t grown out of yet…
The foxowl sniffed his bag, looking between him and it with a curious look. It cooed at him again and he could feel himself relaxing slightly, it was just curious, it wasn’t going to do him any harm, he thought with a small smile, having a good look at the beautiful bird, It was actually kind of cute.
The foxowl clawed at his bag slightly, chipping and cooing at him. He raised a confused eyebrow, “That’s my satchel bag, my dad got it for m-“ The Foxowl snatched up the satchel in its claws, preparing to fly away.
His eyes widened in horror, “Hey! No! Give that back!” He jumped at the bird, grabbing its legs and pulling it down to the ground before it could getaway.
But that turned out to be a mistake because a foxowl was a lot stronger than one little elfling and it had sharper claws and teeth than he did...
“Argh! No! it’s not yours! give it back!” He cried out as he struggled to hold the bird, sharp claws and teeth scratching at his skin, blood starting to seep out of his wounds. “Ahh! No! Stop it! Ow, give it bac-agh!” It scratched his cheek, barely missing his eye. The pain was intense, the cut was deep.
He needed help! This thing was going to get away or...or kill him, he needed help! Right now but who- “Virgil! Virrrrgggil! Virgil help!” He cried loudly, not being able to hide the fear that was in his voice as he tussled all over the platform with the creature.
His call didn’t go unanswered and only moments later, his brother and best friend appeared, “Scott, what the matte-what the heck is that?!” Virgil exclaimed, his brown eyes widening in alarm.
“Asks questions later! It has my s-Ahhgh!” The foxowl bit his arm, making him lost his grip as he cried out in pain. He made a mad dash after it, not caring that he was starting to bleed really badly now, “help me!”
Virgil tried to help him corner the bird but it was too late, the foxowl had flown out of their reach, steadily flying away from them, his satchel in its claws...
“Um, maybe it will come back?” Virgil suggested softly, trying to stay hopeful for him.
The Foxowl dropped his satchel, his bag starting to fall and fall until it hit the hard ground so very far below, hundreds of miles from their colony, in doom’s valley…
There was no way they were getting that back, he thought with wide eyes, gaping at where his satchel had fallen. Of all the places…
Dad was going to be mad…
He unintentionally whimpered out loud, just the thought of that place made him shiver with fear, though if questioned he’ll never admit to being scared of that place. He wasn’t scared by scary stories, no way…
Virgil glanced at him, deep concern filling his brother’s eyes.
His wounds were starting to sting now, making their angry presence known to him but at the same time, he was beginning to feel numb, fuzzy in the head. He couldn’t get his head around what had just happened…
What the heck had just happened?!
He jumped as Virgil touched his arm, startling him out of his thoughts. “Scott, are you okay?” His little brother’s voice shook slightly, “You’re covered in blood and ink..”
He was about to reassure his brother that he was fine but stopped short as he realised what Virgil had said.“Wait, ink?” He blinked at Virgil, that numb feeling really taking hold now.
He turned to look at where he had left his homework and found his neatly written homework covered in ink, completely ruined and un-legible. That had taken him hours to do! He was almost done!
He felt suddenly faint headed and violently sick to his stomach, swaying slightly on his feet. You know that feeling where you just want to start crying because everything has just gone so wrong, so fast? So fast that you don’t know how to react?
Yeah, he was feeling that…
“Virg, please tell me what just happened didn’t just happen?” He asked softly as he looked at the mess that used to be his almost completed homework, blinking rapidly to keep his tears at bay. “Please tell me a foxowl didn’t just fly away with my satchel…”
His little brother winced, taking a firm hold of his arm. “I think the scratches on your cheeks speak for themselves, Scooter..” Virgil tugged him towards the staircase that led down to their house and the other social spaces. “Come on, mum needs to have a look at those cuts!”
“But we can’t leave this mess here..” He protested weakly, starting to feel really horrible and sick. Maybe that was why he wasn’t putting up much of a fight as Virgil practically dragged him to their house, “We...we need to clean it up..”
“I’ll clean it up later, you’re bleeding!” Virgil frowned at him as he continued to drag him, “what the heck Scott? Why did you jump on that thing?! Dad could always get you a new satchel..”
He wrinkled his nose, even in the state of shock he was in, he still didn’t like being scrutinised by his little brothers. Even if they were right, that just made it worse…
“I couldn’t have just let it get away and...and anyway, He’s never going to believe me..” he muttered softly, his voice quivering as he ran a shaky hand through his hair, “a foxowl! A foxowl stole my satchel!? What the heck just happened?!”
“I would like to know that as well!” Their mother’s voice made him jump as he suddenly realised that they were home, and before he knew it, his mother was in front of him, fussing over him, “What the heck happened to you, Scotty?!”
A blink and the waterworks started full force, his walls crumbling to pieces.
“T-there was an f-foxowl…” he sobbed, ”-and it stole m-my sat-satchel! A-and m-my homework ruined!” He cried, salty tears streaming down his face, making his cuts hurt worse. “Everything hurts mummy!”
He was feeling every bit the young elfling, that he didn’t want to admit he was.
“Oh, oh my Scotty..” his mother pulled him into an embrace, stroking his brown hair gently as he sobbed into her collarbone, “Shhh, I’m here, everything’s going to be okay now..”
His mother gently guided him over to a wooden bench, sitting him down gently on it. Now that he had started crying, he couldn’t stop! Why couldn't he stop? He sobbed as his mother stroked a bit of hair out of his teary, wet eyes.
Her brown eyes looked at him with motherly concern, “Virgie, can you get me a wet cloth, please sweetheart?” His mother asked, a concerned and slightly teary-eyed Virgil, who had followed them over to the bench, standing slightly to the side.
Virgil nodded with a sniffle, turning and running to get that wet cloth.
He bit his lip, trying to make himself stop crying but the stinging pain of his wounds, plus now the guilt that he had caused his little brother to get upset, made that nearly impossible.
His mother lifted his chin slightly, looking at a cut on his cheek with a worried frown, “I’m going to have to call the healer, okay sweetie?” His mother sighed softly, gently stroking his hair back. “Those cuts and bites are way out of my medical expertise, you’re lucky you didn’t lose your eye, Scott..”
“I..I know..” he sniffled, rubbing at his eyes with his fist, starting to feel really sick now “I’m sorry..”
“Oh it’s alright, Scotty baby..” his mother gently kissed his forehead, bending down slightly so she was eye level with him, a feat that was not easy for a pregnant woman, “You didn’t mean to get hurt, those things just happen…”
Virgil came back a second later with the cloth, which his mother took and started dabbing on his wounds, cleaning them the best she could. He couldn't help but whimper each time the cloth made contact with his bleeding wounds, it hurt so much...
His little brother watched off to the side, his damp eyes filled with concern. He hated that he had caused his brother so much concern, why did he pick a fight with a foxowl over a bloody satchel?
He was starting to break out in a cold sweat, “Mummy, I don’t feel good..” he mumbled softly to her as his stomach flipped upside down. He was feeling really nauseous now…
”Shhh, I know dear…” his mother sighed sadly as she cleaned a particularly deep cut on the side of his torso with care. “Virgil, can you go get your father, please?”
He felt himself bite his lip at the mention of their father, Dad was going to be so mad at him, but worst of all, Dad was going to be worried. He was already worrying his mother and brother, did he have to worry his father too?
Virgil nodded, running off to find their father.
“I’m going to call for the healer now, okay Scotty?” His mother said gently, cupping his uninjured cheek tenderly. “You just stay there and try to stay calm, okay?”
He nodded with a small sniffle as he watched his mother write a quick note on a piece of parchment, before summing a small ball of blue energy, which flew out the window in the shape of a small bird with the message in its claws.
He hoped the healer would come quick, he thought as he tilted slightly to the side, feeling so ill now. He really was not feeling good...
((Well... no doubt what this suit is for. 😂 I remember they said awhile back they were gonna do something for radiation. WHELP. Now I really wonder since Virg is gonna be on scene, if he really will have a matching orange ugly one too! *o*a
Got the 720p if want to gif this at all, Bro ^^ <3 Oh Bro already giffed it. XDDD <3))
