I would walk five hundred miles [OPEN]

[of_the_faint_smile]

Characters: Teresa of_the_faint_smile & OPEN
Location: The Park
Rating: PG - minor blood
Time: January 19th - Late Morning
Description: Teresa ventured beyond the city walls, and she returned to realize how debilitated she is and how this partnership system requires her participation.

Cross-posted to Livejournal


While she had heard the express instructions that wandering beyond the city walls was dangerous, Teresa had eventually given up making constant rounds in the city. There were patrols of people for that, and she had memorized the outside walls protecting the city by now as well as most of the streets. She was nomadic by occupation, and she couldn't well sit around all day. This slow decline into inactivity was unacceptable, and she hadn't found morning training all that interesting. The only reason she went was to observe other fighting pairs and to occasionally speak with Yuuri; his views on life and trust were fascinating.

So, she had finally acquired a large hunting knife and began to walk the desert. It was strange that walking fatigued her now, that while her stamina was great, she actually had to settle down to rest. The desert situation only seemed to compound that realization that she had been reduced to a well-exercised human without any of the benefits she remembered.

The desert was vast, and most of the common animals fled in her presence or watched from afar. When she had finally encountered a creature willing to engage her, she was curious of its healing abilities and the slow grinding drive towards thoughts that were forbidden. Her knife strikes were perfect as always, but it healed with each stroke of the blade for longer than she would have thought was possible. It was resilient, which was a surprise, and she was disappointed to realize that she was forced to withdraw and leg it back to the city walls before her human frailty forced her to deal with a greater humiliation than the deep gash to her thigh.

It was the first time she had ever had to retreat from anything before. It was a serious knock to the foundation of her beliefs that she was just plain stronger than anything she faced.

She had returned to the park lands where she made her 'home', ignoring the blood soaking her uniform leggings and eventually seating herself cross-legged near a tree. It had been a long time since she had bled without it stopping almost right away. This world had made her experience a lot of things 'for the first time', and she wasn't certain that she approved of it at all. Still, it was better than being dead.

Flexing her fingers, she laid a hand over the still bleeding wound, closing her eyes to concentrate on stopping the flow. She was again disappointed when all of her youki was sealed, and her lips down-turned into a frown of displeasure. "How bothersome."

Comments

[kuzuryuusen]

Hiko had been out trying to find a secluded spot, away from the noise of the locals and guests going about their business. So it was only by chance that he passed by the woman and noticed her state.

"Unless you plan to bleed to death, you should go to a clinic," was his only comment, though he made no other gesture to assist. The fact that she hadn't gone to a clinic already was enough of a tell that she deliberately chose not, too, whatever that reason may be.

[alastinglight]

Takasugi happened to be in the area at that moment - he rather liked Shibusen's park, if only because it was quiet and did not have too many people lurking around. It was also where he went when he needed to think, and given how things had been as of late? He needed that.

He spotted the unfamiliar woman quickly enough, and, upon noticing she was injured, he immediately approached.

"Are you all right?"

[blue_wayfinder]

It was completely by chance that Aqua was at the park right now. Usually she'd be back in her apartment or at the library. But she couldn't quite focus on books and brooding alone was the last thing she wanted to do right now, all things considered.

She recognized Teresa from the tour that's why she walked in that direction with a smile. When she was close enough to notice the wound though, her smile turned into a concerned frown and she picked up the pace.

"What happened?"