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Characters: Mello, Near, and YOU!
Location: The Clinic
Rating: PG-13 at the very least
Time: April 5th, after the mission - April 8th
Description: The mission wasn't gentle to these two, and as a result, we have Mello in pretty bad shape at the clinic, with his Weapon hovering by and looking rather terrible, as well. Naturally, this means your character should come over and ~~mother and fuss over~~ bother them.

[Pretty much what it says on the tin!

Because of his injuries, Mello is going to have a couple of tubes draining blood from his thorax for the first couple of days, and he will be adequately drugged, so he may be too out of it from time to time. On top of that, the poor guy has a broken collarbone and a few broken ribs, so it wouldn't be a very good idea to poke him just to see if he's awake. That oxygen mask won't make communication any easier, either.

On the other hand, Near has a cut on his lip, and a few bruises on his face, forearms and hands-- but you really can't see his fingers or his palms, because they just so happen to be bandaged. His right shoulder has been bandaged, as well, which is also visible because his shirt (and skin) was ripped by the talons of a particularly vicious bird familiar. Ouch. Someone should bring him a change of clothes: all that dried blood makes everything look a lot worse than what it is.

Feel free to have your character approach one or both of them! Near will be either sitting by Mello's bed or hovering by, but if you want your character to have some time alone with Mello, just pretend Near went to the bathroom / went to get some food. Likewise, if your character just wants to talk to Near, just consider Mello's too drugged or knocked out to be conscious, or pull him aside. Just leave us a note somewhere in your tag so we'll know who you want!]

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[In the wee hours of the 6th, Near finally lets sleep claim him.

It was inevitable for such a thing to happen, of course: not even geniuses who were used to sleep depriving themselves could withstand such levels of stress and exhaustion for too long. The madness wavelength, the encounter with that Witch and the sheer terror of thinking Mello was dead and that he would soon follow after would have been enough to wear a normal person out after a while, but Near was far from being a normal person. Be it out of adrenaline or just pure, unadulterated stubbornness, he held on as the clinic staff did what was needed to make sure Mello survived, and made sure to check his stats and vital signs, as well, far more frequently than the staff did.

When a nurse came by and found him looking at the various screens for the second time in three minutes, she threatened to kick him out of the room if he didn't sit down immediately and gave it a rest.

He had glared at her and wondered what strings he could pull to get her fired, but he did as he was told, and sat down in the old armchair by Mello’s bed. Soon enough, all thoughts of revenge and everything else fled his mind, and Near gave in to his exhaustion, losing the battle far more quickly than he would have wanted.]

Edited 2012-11-12 03:34 (UTC)

[Mello wakes up, and tries to breathe.

He can't, and his chest feels like someone tried to crack it open with a fucking sledgehammer, more than once, and fuckdamnit not again--

The late realization that there's an oxygen mask over his face hits him, and he works backwards from that to figure out he's probably not having a heart attack, not without setting off a hundred monitors, which makes the panic recede at last.

The last thing he remembers clearly is falling, and obviously he isn't anymore, so something in between's missing, and he ought to be faster at this, reasoning things out... Right. Painkillers. Too many, enough to make his thoughts sluggish, and not enough, because it still hurts like a son of a bitch. Mello conducts a tentative exploration, touching his chest, feeling out the damage. Tubes: collapsed lung? Everything seems tender to the gentlest touch. He needs to see his damn chart.

It's when he looks around for it that he spots Near curled in the chair by the bed. The room's dim, but the bandages on his hands and shoulder are visible, and so is the damage to his shirt. Mello pushes the mask up to call out to him, but what comes out is barely a croak. So he snaps his fingers instead.]

[[Bakura wasn't very good with hospitals, having been in them far too often, but in Death City he had gotten much better at putting all that aside to go visit those of his friends who were being treated at the clinic. As much as he hated hospitals, being trapped in one with no one to visit made it so much worse.

As often, he had snacks with him; the usual anpan as well as a few homemade chocolate deserts tucked neatly away in a pastry box. He wasn't quite sure what state he'd find Mello in, having only gotten the most abrupt of details, but he was doing his best to be prepared for anything....

Still, it was a bit of a shock to see and he bit his lip a moment before knocking on the side of the door, not wanting to just walk inside.]]

[That small sound is enough to bring him back to consciousness: Near jerks awake with such violence that his communicator falls on to the floor, and Mello's rosary slips out of his shirt. His eyes are wide open, and he can't hold back the quiet hiss at the pain brought on by the sudden movement. He feels disoriented, unsure of how much he's slept-- if he has slept anything at all, because it really feels like he hasn't-- and the possibility of another attack happening crosses his mind before he actually looks at Mello's bed and finds his partner awake.

He knew that it was only a matter of time until Mello awoke-- it's not like he was in a coma-- but he's surprised by the strength of the relief that hits him when he sees his partner looking at him. Near gets up and closes the distance to the hospital bed, looking at the blond and trying hard not to squint in the darkness.]

Hey.

[Whatever happened to his lungs or chest or both, it's bad enough that breathing's a struggle, and Mello irritably resigns himself to the necessity of the oxygen. For now. He notices that Near has his rosary, but that, and his chart, are forgotten when he gets his first good look at the Weapon's shirt.

He reaches out and tugs at the hem, then points to the worst of the bloodstains. Points to himself, lifting his eyebrows to silently ask the obvious question: mine?]

[Mello's able to stay awake for longer at a time by now, and he's becoming frustrated with not being able to get breath enough to say as much as he wants as quickly as he's used to doing. He can resonate with Near to solve the problem, but unfortunately, that's a very narrowly applicable solution.

When Bakura hesitates in the doorway, Mello beckons for the kid to come in, with a slight eyeroll meant to convey that he's fine, really, no need to tiptoe around him.]

[Near leans in closer when his partner tugs at the hem, knowing he really should be resting, and not doing any kind of physical exertion, as tiny as this one may be.]

Partially, yes.

[Between Mello's blood and his own, he lost count of the number of bloodstains on his shirt, and their respective origins.]

Hold on.

[He reaches for the hand that tugged at the hem of his shirt and holds it, frowning slightly in concentration before he transforms and lands on Mello's hand. The fact that he actually has to focus so he can transform at all is a sure sign of how exhausted Near is, but they both need to communicate freely for a little while, so he does his best to allow that to happen.]

You can speak now.

[Near looks up from his communicator when he notices someone approaching Mello's room, takes a moment to examine him and the food he brought, and goes back to looking through the network. Huh, it's no wonder this boy became L's substitute for Watari, given how promptly he helps others without being asked.]

Bakura.

[It's far from being a normal greeting, but it's the Near equivalent of "hello" and "how are you doing?".]

[[Bakura can't help but smile just a bit at the rolled eyes, relaxing a touch as he properly enters the room. He nods over at Near in acknowledgement.]] Good morning. I brought some snacks... Should be enough for you both. I know hospital food isn't always the greatest! And sometimes it helps a little, I think, having something that's more real food than hospital food.

[[He's doing his best not to fidget or stare at the mess of tubes that Mello's hooked up to, but his nerves are showing in his babbling like an idiot and he's painfully aware of it. Deep breath. Staying in the present and not thinking.]]

How is it...? Do they know how long you'll be here?

[It's her duty to see to the well being and recovery of all the patients which includes stopping the one or two attempted escapes and seeing that any lingering Madness is soothed. There are a few she isn't permitted to visit and see how they're doing mentally immediately, she makes time when she finally can.]

[For this visit, she gets charged with pushing a cart with breakfast into Mello and Near's room. It squeaked faintly, but hey, it still moves.]

[Yamazaki didn't know the boy having ash-color hair who left Mello's room just when he arrived. he nodded to him and tried to knock on the door, but due to his anxiety and a big pack which looked too heavy to carry with one hand made the sound like it was a lot bird hitting the door with its wings.]

[L had meant to come see his successors directly after hearing that they were injured, but it needed to be added to a list of unfulfilled intentions. Though he supported their partnership fully, his own was often neglected, and he had chosen to remain with Gamzee, recognizing that he owed his fraying troll Meister the comfort of Resonance in a dark hour. There are other advantages; the night before, the mirror had shown L a creature with wild hair and wild eyes, and every few minutes he'd needed to reach toward his own throat to make sure someone else's hand wasn't constricted around it. This morning, his bruises are brighter, but they are human-inflicted, and therefore more manageable than many of the injuries sustained by those who had battled the distorted nightmares on the floating island and in the city.

He and Light are virtually evenly matched foes, after all. He can't say the same for his unfortunate successors and a Witch. Even if it is unlikely that a Witch cared enough about them on an individual basis to attempt what Light had. With any luck, Mello and Near' scars would be wholly physical and any trauma would fade relatively swiftly as they recovered.

He arrives approximately a half hour before visiting hours have officially started, and that feeling of a hand around his throat is returning. To kill time and some of his own concerns, he discreetly makes his way to the walk-in wing of the hospital and requests a battery of tests to check for diseases that could be transmitted through blood, saliva, or... bodily fluids in general, really. He doesn't seriously believe that someone as meticulous as Light would test positive for HIV or anything similar... but indulging his own desire for thoroughness is comforting. Even if the nurse's raised eyebrows and comments about his bruises are highly unwelcome.

Results will be sent to him within a week, but at least he bothered to do something.

He takes a deep breath and composes himself before finally finding Mello and Near's room and, for once, he knocks prior to entering a room containing both of them. After that slight warning, he turns the knob and lets himself in, stomach turning when he sees Mello. Near had hinted that it was bad, but somehow, L had hoped that it wouldn't be this bad. That perhaps Near was exaggerating, even if the white-haired young man was known for his strict adherence to accuracy. Even though his lungs suddenly seem to require more air than breathing normally can provide them with, he fights it, making every effort to appear as normal as possible. Staying calm will benefit everyone, and a visible panic attack (is that the name for it?) would only shake their confidence in their predecessor.

It is so difficult to be confident and unflappable when his collective legacy is in shambles, though.

L leans against the wall, pressing his curved back against the cool plaster. He addresses Near, unsure if Mello is awake or alert enough to hear him.]

Since I heard... I've thought that perhaps this wouldn't have happened if I had been there. That maybe I could have done something to prevent it, or at least lessen its severity. Though it's impossible to know definitively... do you think it ultimately mattered, Near? Was it like the caves?

[A very significant part of the detective feels that it should have been him in that bed. That a grave injury, or even death at the hands of a witch, would have been better than what had actually happened with Light. It certainly would have been less complicated.]

Thanks.

[Mello doesn't need to ask why Near has his rosary; the answer's obvious from his own injuries and how they've been treated. He's mildly surprised to discover he doesn't mind letting him have it for safekeeping.

He can feel that the Weapon's exhausted. Between that and Mello still being woozy himself from the meds, resonating is likely to make both of them worse before it'll make them better. He tries to limit his questions to the most urgent ones.]

How'd you hurt your hands? Are L, Matt, Sollux, and Bakura all right? When do I get to leave?

Edited 2012-11-13 02:39 (UTC)

[Their resonance feels almost fuzzy, like what happened when Mello got drunk and decided to reach out for his partner, a while back. This only makes it harder for Near to maintain his Weapon form: the exhaustion and the after-effects of the madness wavelength are bad enough as it is, without the added difficulty of a fuzzy resonance that feels almost heavy against him, weighing him down like a particularly heavy blanket.

He is exhausted enough (and distracted enough) that, when his Meister asks him about his hands, Near can't help but think of how it all happened. The image of how it happened springs into his mind, unbidden-- shaky hands doing their best to push a fragment of the floating island off of a body on the ground, fuelled by fear and adrenaline-- and Near pushes it away as quickly as it appeared, hoping that Mello didn't catch that.]

Forget about my hands. L and Matt are okay, but I'm not one hundred percent sure about Sollux and Bakura. As for when you get to leave, that will depend entirely on how your body will recover from the massive hemothorax you suffered, which in turn was caused by broken ribs.

[He pauses, unsure of what else he should say and if he should say anything at all, but then decides there probably won't be any harm in displaying concern.]

How are you feeling?

[Nice one, Near. That question isn't stupid at all.]

[Mello can't help but notice how Bakura seems to be looking everywhere except at him. He pushes the oxygen mask up for long enough to say something more important than 'thanks for the food.']

Quit. I'll be fine.

[His voice is still scratchy and quiet. He looks over at Near and mimes writing. To hell with waiting to say the things he wants to communicate if he can write them.]

[Mello's response to what sounds like someone starting to knock and changing their mind is more audible than it would've been the day before, when he could barely talk at all, but quieter than usual. He is still on oxygen, though by now he pulls the mask off about as often as he leaves it on.]

What?

[Near doesn't say thank you, but he finally takes a proper look at Bakura, which serves the same purpose in Near-speak.]

What did you bring us?

[When Mello moves his hand as if writing, Near raises an eyebrow at him, unimpressed--]

What? I'm not your nurse.

[--but he still points at the bedside table, because he placed a notebook and a pen inside the drawer while Mello was asleep, within his Meister's reach.

tsun tsun.]

[[Bakura nods, looking a touch chastised at the rebuke, but smiles, relaxing just a bit more.]] Sorry.

[[He turns to Near as he speaks]] Aaa-- some anpan and a few deserts, chocolate ones, since I know those are the preferred ones, [[smiles back over at Mello there]] though I wasn't sure what you preferred, [[finishes, looking back over at Near. If there was a food preference, he'd make note and the next batch would include it.]]

And these are the regular anpan, not the ones Ryuzaki-kun likes. [[adds in a bit quickly]] Since I didn't think either of you shared his tastes in sweetness!

[[The small-talk was helping to calm him. Everything was fine. Well. No. Everything would be fine. He'd relax properly soon enough and stop talking about food like a ninny.]]

[Throughout his time in Death City, Near has gradually built up a certain degree of resistance to the madness wavelength, but he still has some trouble with shaking off the after effects. It's as if the madness wavelength infiltrates his mind and won't leave that easily, oppressing him and pushing him down.

Luckily, it seems that, for once, he won't have a lot of trouble with shaking its remnants off: when the wolf walks into their room, the differences are palpable, and Near can feel himself relaxing against the armchair. The sudden lack of oppressing thoughts is as surprising as it is welcome, and Near blinks at the animal pushing a cart into their room. He knows her, of course: Amateratsu, if his network stalking is correct, which it always is.

He doesn't say anything yet, opting instead to watch her curiously and see what she will do next.]

[Mello catches some of the mental images. It's bizarre to see himself from outside, apparently lifeless, and stranger still to feel the echo of desperation.]

You saved my life.

[He tries to 'say' it with the mental tone of stating a simple fact, but the wonder and gratitude sneak in, and will doubtless embarrass them both when they can think about all of this more clearly.]

I feel like I fell out of the goddamn sky, how do you think?

[It's intentionally abrasive, but Mello feels like he'd laugh, if he were physically able to.]

You need to get some sleep in a real bed.

[If it's possible to flip someone off affectionately, that's how Mello makes the gesture at Near, hiding (not as well as he could) his amusement at how the notepad's already in place for him.

He gets it and the pen out of the drawer and writes, in a messy version of his normal jagged print:]

He likes chocolate
The darker the better
But he can't be bought

[and holds it up for Bakura to read. The sooner the kid sees that Mello's his usual self, except for being banged up, the sooner he'll stop being twitchy.

(Fine, it's also fun to needle Near.)

After giving Bakura time to read, Mello adds:]

Thanks
You all right?

It's only me. Yamazaki.

[Somehow he manages to step into the room and in the moment he looks at Mello he almost drops the huge pack.]

I...didn't know...you were so much hurt. It's...

[It's terrible to see the high and mighty Mello broken and in full bandage. Yamazaki feels like someone would try to tear out his heart through his throat.]

It's just a pack of cakes someone left at the headquarter of the Watch for you. You need to rest, it's better if I go now.

...

Please, don't...er, please feel better soon and take care of yourself.

[With the cart in a reachable distance for Mello, she propped herself on her paws to check on him. Oh bother... she could've been informed he was sleeping. Well, not too concerning; seems like the second patient is awake]

[The cart is moving again, this time, being pushed closer to Near. Once that task she done, she sat and stared back at him, her head cocking curiously. He'd been watching her since she walked in. Did he have a question?]

[Near watches the wolf as she checks up on his partner, trying his best to decipher her thoughts by looking at her expressions. Her attention shifts fairly soon, though, and after she pushes the breakfast cart in his direction, the Weapon reaches forward to grab some coffee. He takes a sip before finally speaking; he does indeed have a question, or rather, a lot of them, but there's no need to hurry. He has plenty of time to kill while he's staying at the clinic.]

Hello, Amateratsu. I didn't expect to see you here.

[She huffs at the silly statement and immediately invades his personal space by placing her head in his lap. She supposed she could be digging holes and burying the dead, but others had that covered.]

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[April 6th | closed]

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4/6, morning (either or both is fine!)

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April 7th, Morning

April 7th, morning (Mello, one last time.)

April 6, Morning [Open to either and both!]

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