Damn. [ Which doesn't sound as effective as the holy shit that actually comes out of her mouth. ] Let's get people to realize some inconsistencies then.
I'm wondering if there's going to be just as much room for knocking them out. It's the best solution we've got, for the time being. The gardens look okay, at least. They're dense enough that people might be able to hide in here until we can get it under control. Where will you be?
[ Allow her to take exactly one minute to reply while looking at herself in whatever reflective surface is nearby and deciding that in the end it doesn't really fucking matter. He wouldn't ask for that information so abruptly if it wasn't important. ]
I'm in medbay.
[ She is just going to ping him her exact location along with that response, not far from where he is, on her way to a shower somewhere. She sits down on the very edge of a chair and waits. ]
[ Severus spends that entire minute pacing. More seconds shaved away from how long he has until he has to leave; he's eerily withdrawn, aware that if he lets himself actually feel how angry he is, he'll lose it.
She responds and he's over there quickly, only not running to avoid alarming anyone else. Medbay is busy by necessity, and when he finds her-- ]
Come here. [ Into an exam room, hurriedly. He's too rushed to look apologetic. ]
[ She's too rushed to give him anything other than a brief and searching once over, looking for surface damage she can spot easily. It's cut short when she steps in front of him into the exam room and immediately rounds on him. Her hair is stiff with dried and crusted blood and swings over her shoulder as she turns. ]
[ He's not nearly as bloody, just a few scrapes here and there, but he's exhausted, covered in dried sweat and dirt and ash (ash?-- part of his jumpsuit sleeve is burned away). Barring having fallen over after Rogue touched him, he hasn't sat down in two days. But it's not that bad - good thing, too, seeing as what's head. ]
It's either something using William as a conduit or William's lost control of an ability he's never told anyone about before. [ Severus keeps his voice low, eyes also searching Claire, concerned but knowing he has no time and she has no way of permanently hurting herself anyway. ] He ran off into the hallways to try and get out of range, or kill himself.
[ Her reaction falls somewhere between an aggravated sigh and a rush of real concern. Claire's face looks frustrated more than anything, but the searching glance she spares the window says otherwise. ]
You're going out looking for him.
[ Is a pretty pointless statement, as she's already about 99.99% positive that's what this is about, but it affords her the opportunity to look back at him and note key points that have been burned away and discolored on his clothing and skin. More than anything, he looks exhausted, and Claire can sympathize. She's pretty sure that her regeneration has taken a beating and become lethargic not only because of the excessive amount she has had to heal but also because she hasn't allowed herself to sleep for longer than a blink or two.
She blinks now and wonders when she opens her eyes again if she's slept for five hours. He's still standing in front of her, so probably not. ]
Severus reaches out to take Claire's face in his hands, and kisses her. He hopes it doesn't end up being a goodbye, but for now, it's as good as. They're both filthy and he thinks he might taste dried blood (but probably not as his face doesn't disintegrate as though having ingested acid). She still smells like herself, which is a stupid observation to have, but there it is. ]
Take care of everyone. [ When he finally pulls back he doesn't move very far away, still holding her closer. For another half a minute. ]
[ Claire tries not thinking, focusing on the just doing instead, fitting fingers into the creases left behind as she bends them to press her nails into the fabric of his shirt. The toes of her boots squeak into the floor, giving her a little leverage to kiss him back, but her heels meet the ground again before she's really prepared for it. Time is relative and usually goes by far too quickly when you need it to slow down just for a second, and trying not to think is always an impossibility given how many thoughts assault you from every direction once you really commit to trying.
She worries about staining his clothing, but she's mostly dry or just sticky in the places where it matters the most, and listens to the rattle of his voice behind his breastbone as she steps in close and leans her forehead into his clavicle. In her head she starts counting, says nothing, and breathes in until she thinks can taste a mixture of odd ingredients: familiar coppery tang and smoke not from cigarettes, lingering detergent and whatever else xenogen might conjure up.
Twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine. Thirty. Her expression is firm when she steps back. She nods toward the doorway. ]
[ Severus leaves one hand on the back of her head, fingers not-quite tangled in her blood caked hair, until he has to step away. He brushes his thumb over her lower lip and offers a half-smile that's, for him, pretty good.
He doesn't think he'll die. It seems too noble of a mission for him to die; this might make him look good postmortem, and part of him is sure that's not allowed.
Finally Severus disengages entirely, and leaves. ]
[ She isn't sure how long she stands there, but it can't amount to much longer than it takes Severus to vacate her line of sight followed by a few heavy beats of silence. Although silence isn't technically true, given the general calamity of medbay and the ship itself. Every few minutes it feels like there is some kind of shout or scream or something toppling over.
Claire ignores it, for the time being, looking down at her fingernails and the darkened lines of her hands. After a little while, she finds her way into one of the bathrooms and stands underneath the spray until the water stops looking like rust, and doesn't think. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[ And he still has such a fucking headache. ]
Reachable.
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[ At this point she is going to get a headache. ]
Alright. I'll try to check in. I'm going to see where I can be useful. Pretty sure I can get close enough to knock some people out.
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[ .. He'll be here. ]
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If I do... I don't know. Run, probably.
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[ Romance. ]
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Let's hope it doesn't come to that for either of us. Please be careful. Don't hesitate to contact me.
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24hours later
[ He's going to Apparate out if he has to. There's not much time. ]
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I'm in medbay.
[ She is just going to ping him her exact location along with that response, not far from where he is, on her way to a shower somewhere. She sits down on the very edge of a chair and waits. ]
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She responds and he's over there quickly, only not running to avoid alarming anyone else. Medbay is busy by necessity, and when he finds her-- ]
Come here. [ Into an exam room, hurriedly. He's too rushed to look apologetic. ]
I know what's going on.
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[ She's too rushed to give him anything other than a brief and searching once over, looking for surface damage she can spot easily. It's cut short when she steps in front of him into the exam room and immediately rounds on him. Her hair is stiff with dried and crusted blood and swings over her shoulder as she turns. ]
What's going on?
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It's either something using William as a conduit or William's lost control of an ability he's never told anyone about before. [ Severus keeps his voice low, eyes also searching Claire, concerned but knowing he has no time and she has no way of permanently hurting herself anyway. ] He ran off into the hallways to try and get out of range, or kill himself.
[ And obviously, that didn't work. ]
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You're going out looking for him.
[ Is a pretty pointless statement, as she's already about 99.99% positive that's what this is about, but it affords her the opportunity to look back at him and note key points that have been burned away and discolored on his clothing and skin. More than anything, he looks exhausted, and Claire can sympathize. She's pretty sure that her regeneration has taken a beating and become lethargic not only because of the excessive amount she has had to heal but also because she hasn't allowed herself to sleep for longer than a blink or two.
She blinks now and wonders when she opens her eyes again if she's slept for five hours. He's still standing in front of her, so probably not. ]
Don't die. I will be seriously pissed.
[ Romance, indeed. ]
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Severus reaches out to take Claire's face in his hands, and kisses her. He hopes it doesn't end up being a goodbye, but for now, it's as good as. They're both filthy and he thinks he might taste dried blood (but probably not as his face doesn't disintegrate as though having ingested acid). She still smells like herself, which is a stupid observation to have, but there it is. ]
Take care of everyone. [ When he finally pulls back he doesn't move very far away, still holding her closer. For another half a minute. ]
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She worries about staining his clothing, but she's mostly dry or just sticky in the places where it matters the most, and listens to the rattle of his voice behind his breastbone as she steps in close and leans her forehead into his clavicle. In her head she starts counting, says nothing, and breathes in until she thinks can taste a mixture of odd ingredients: familiar coppery tang and smoke not from cigarettes, lingering detergent and whatever else xenogen might conjure up.
Twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine. Thirty. Her expression is firm when she steps back. She nods toward the doorway. ]
Go.
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He doesn't think he'll die. It seems too noble of a mission for him to die; this might make him look good postmortem, and part of him is sure that's not allowed.
Finally Severus disengages entirely, and leaves. ]
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Claire ignores it, for the time being, looking down at her fingernails and the darkened lines of her hands. After a little while, she finds her way into one of the bathrooms and stands underneath the spray until the water stops looking like rust, and doesn't think. ]