Private/Closed Beyond the walls (A spin off rp from the Rapture universe)

[Nebula-Newt]

Asher's breath was coming short and fast now. The inside of his helmet was bathed in a soft red glow, the result of several warning lights vying for his attention on the armours holographic UI. Elevated heart rate, blood loss and of course the largest warning sign, "External armour compromised". You could say that again. With a groan the young man looked down at the large purplish spine sticking from his side, damn thing had managed to get in right through a soft spot in his armour. He had heard stories that spoke of thrasher spines possessing a kind of venom that burnt like fire. They were wrong, this was worse, so much worse.

Suddenly light could be seen at the end of the gloomy waste pipe Asher was staggering through, light that seemed to white to just be the suns rays. After a few agonising minutes of half crawling, half walking he got close enough to see why. It was snowing outside, thick and fluffy flakes of the stuff tumbling earthwards where they had already settled into a deep blanket of purity, one that masked the decay of the city underneath. How long had he been in that underground maze of death? A week, two? He could have sworn it wasn't Winter when he entered.that seemed so long ago now, just another step on his journey to, to...do what exactly? Avenge a bunch of nameless faces by throwing himself at an enemy that might as well be a god? Yeah that sounds about right.

The scavenger came tumbling out of the pipe's mouth like a new-born trying to take its first steps. Clumsy, uncalculated and without grace. Ironic really seeming as they very well may be his last. He only made it about 7 feet away from where he had fallen before he came to a stop. His body had decided to give up on him, not a response anywhere in his system. It was with an almost welcome sigh that he fell to the ground, much like the snowflakes swirling around him, and came to what would probably be his final resting place. There had been worse. Here between some rusted out cars, a giant sewage pipe that had long since dried out and the carcasses of skyscrapers all of which have been filled with new life in the form of vibrant vegetation that stood out against the stark white of the arriving Winter. The plants weren't the only thing, Asher himself was a red stain on an otherwise plain canvas, blood seeping from the hole in his side and mixing into a warm slush on the ground.

"Well sorry Mum, guess we just weren't meant to make it huh?" he whispered to himself, his own voice sounding distant and alien. "Goodbye world, can't say I'm gonna miss ya."

And with that the man closed his eyes, his hand curling into one last middle finger to the world.

@MegaAbsol

 

[MegaAbsol]

(The delay of this post is outstanding xD *attempts to laugh off and hide evidence of epic failure to respond in time ._.*)

Valeriya stared down in perplexity at her find. All she'd been looking for, in all sense of the innocence, was Midnicampum holicithias, and here she found a dying human. Her grip tightening over the basket she held - having woven it herself, she was rather proud of it - and cast about a glance over the quickly thickening blanket of snow. The man was almost, if not already, unconscious, and surely she couldn't be blamed for leaving him to his fate here. Hopefully a rat would make his death swift and merciful, but... the black haired female took a second look at the supine figure. The height and build was telling of his gender, and there was a giant rankling thorn-like projection sticking of his side - she winced, those were never good. She recognized the toxin the barbs, known for being notoriously difficult to treat, even for her - and though she possessed the bare minumum required dose of Aconitum required to counteract the poison...she bit her lip, hesitating. What should she do?!

She took a deep breath, dropped the basket and knelt to better examine the male. The slowly expanding cloud of blood had reached her feet, touching her boots as though in reverence. Would one plead to live when life was such? She swept her jacket out of harms way and fixed her visor to allow her a better look at the figure. Her hands stretched out, hesitated before gently touching the still-warm body. She almost recoiled - she wasn't a doctor! While not unused to blood...this looked a little too bad. Stifling the urge to throw up or otherwise react violently, she gently ran probing fingers over the edges of the wound. It was bad, but not untreatable. She closed her vivid blue eyes and sighed. This was going to be difficult.

She held her breath as she tried to figure out the best way to move the man. As he was, she couldn't possibly administer the antitoxin - which comfortably nestled in a jar at her home, long since dried and powdered. It was to be administered orally, no less, mixed into a potent mixture that Val took a certain glee in making, and watching her poor victims gag over the result. She was not physically capable of effectively dragging him, not to mention the massive spine sticking out of his side - best leave that there. Pulling it out would cause intense bleeding and inevitably death before she'd even have a chance to staunch the flow. And where blood flowed, predators wouldn't be far behind. She bit back a curse at her impossible circumstances. This man would no doubt be a huge time and resource drain...but would her conscience allow her to leave him there? ...Well, yes, it would actually. In such hostile environments, people died everyday...but here, this man fought on, alone and unafraid against the world. Val clenched her little hands into fists, and got on her knees, trying not to think of the blood soaking through the fabric.

With a deep breath, she tried slowly rolling the male over, and almost cried out as she discovered the valuable herb he'd collapsed on - well! She felt tempted to shove him over in frustration, but that would cause incredible pain, a really unnecessary addition to the pain he must already be experiencing. She fumed at the rankling spine - it was too unwieldy, but...she lacked the necessary items to deal with it. But it was impossible to work around it. She would just have to improvise. She got to her feet, stripping her jacket off swiftly and rolling it into a compact wad. She'd chosen not to wear her armour today, since it only impeded her scavenging, and now she kinda wished she had. Now all she wore against the biting cold was her tank top and throw on shirt, albeit thick. She sighed again, wondering if the male would be worth all this trouble, before firmly grasping the spine. Mumbling up a silent prayer, she hoped the male was unconscious for what was to come...and she pulled hard.

(The pain will probably jolt him awake unless he's too far gone...or the nerves are dead around there ._.)

 

[Nebula-Newt]

Asher was not expecting to be alive. Alive and in so, so much pain. He had barely jolted back into existence when he felt something leave his body with a sicking squelch, like somebody had just reached into his chest and decided to borrow one of his ribs. This sensation was followed by an even worse, much more intense rush of agony that snapped the scavenger out of his near death trance and put him back in a reality that currently was far from pleasant. Through the red tint of his visor and the array of information displayed on his HUD he saw the last thing he was expecting to see, a young woman now covered in blood and shivering in the cold who was holding something large, barbed and purple. The thrasher spine? With great effort he looked down at his own armour covered body and confirmed that indeed she had taken the infernal thing out of him, but why? He didn't know her, at least he didn't think so. So just a helpful face it would seem. The thought almost made the man chuckle but it came out as more of a splutter and cough, which didn't really represent quite how funny Asher was finding this. perhaps somebody up there was looking out for him after all.

"In m-" He began to whisper hoarsely to the girl before breaking out in another coughing fit and opting to just pointing at the item in question. His bag was laying a few feet away from where he currently sat amongst his own blood, exactly where he had dropped it. If she opened it she would surely spot the extremely rare bio-foam he kept inside, a final gift from his Uncle before the man's untimely demise. If she would just administer it on his wound he might be able to get through this haze of pure pain and get a grip on the situation. As of right now he couldn't even focus on her face for long enough to see what his rescuer looked like, but she was clearly a girl, he could still tell that much. She wasn't even wearing any armour, that at least boded well, she certainly didn't belong to one of the local enclaves if she was out here dressed as she was. Asher was getting sick of thinking. It was all he could bloody well do right now though, anything else was clearly too much for his broken body.

 

[MegaAbsol]

As Val fiercely pressed her jacket to the wound, trying to staunch the flow of blood, she rubbed her wrist against her cheek, leaving a charming streak of red where it had passed. She quickly glanced at her helpful basket to see if there was anything she could use to anesthetize the man - there wasn't, but perhaps that was good. She didn't want him unconscious, only to never awaken. That, and he could probably move about better when not comatose. She watched him sputter back to life with alarm, pressure from his side almost lifting, but she clung on with grim determination, trying to avoid eye contact; well, of what she could see of his eyes. The spine lay next to her, and she sidled around uncomfortably, trying to warm up while the cold bit at her. The man coughed, in an attempt to say something apparently, and Val grimaced, both in self-derision, as well as confusion. It cleared things up slightly when he pointed to some object - something she had missed completely, perhaps owing to the snow now piling on it. A satchel, no doubt the armoured male's. She hesitated, looked at the wad pressed against his side and got to her feet.

Her clothes was marked with crimson - not irreversible, she hoped, and strode across rather warily, keeping an eye out for any predators that may sense the blood now dripping from her hands as well. Where she walked, small droplets of one's lifeblood scattered, and that drove the female to hurry up. She chuckled at the small joke she allowed herself - a trail of blood when she herself was saving a life - and leaned to pick up the bag. Once again, she allowed herself only the merest of moments of anxiety before opening it. Almost immediately, the first item she saw was...
Of immeasurable value. Having worked with medical equipment, Val knew what the thing was, and how much it cost. Bio-foam, an engineered patch to staunch wounds effortlessly; she held a piece of top-notch science in her hands. The object compressed in her hand as her grip tightened; who was this man? Why did he have this rare object with him? How did he afford it? A glimmer of greed passed through the girl's mind - it wasn't too late to leave the man to his bled out fate. It would only take him a few minutes to lose consciousness, and from there, what happened wasn't her concern. But...she bit her lip. He'd pointed out such a valuable item in a desperate bid to save his own life. She liked to believe there was a grain of trust in the whole workings...but the truth was seldom so cheery. She looked down again at the foam, only this time with revulsion. Was this item worth a man's life? No, no it wasn't. Especially not the man whose blood now rolled in droplets from her hands. She turned, strode over with a hint of annoyance, and bent, carefully administering the patch to the gaping wound. Her hands didn't tremble; this decision, she wouldn't regret. Because she believed it to be right. She'd rather trust and regret, than doubt.

 

[Nebula-Newt]

Instant relied flowed throughout Asher's body as the precious foam got to work on his wound, its miraculous properties activating in an effort to stop the mans life from draining out of his side. After another few moments gasping and struggling for air his breathing began to settle into a more regular rhythm and his eyes were able to focus on his rescuer at last.

The young woman was almost illuminated against the snow and ice, such a stark contrast between her and the environment they had both found themselves in. She had saved him, it was almost unbelievable, the chances of her arriving here just as he did, the fact she had made it this far without armour and even more so that she had actually chose to use the bio foam on him rather than just taking the item for herself. Something like that could buy enough food to last a person a few months, a small fortune. Most souls out here in the urban jungle would have taken it and at best put him out of his misery quickly with a bullet to the head but no, she clearly wasn't just another bandit stuck beyond the great walls of the Dominion. What a great fucking stroke of luck.

Now that the foam had been given the chance to infiltrate Asher's body he was beginning to regain control of his motor functions, first his fingers twitched once, twice before curling into a fist. Not today world, not today. With relatively little effort, considering the fact he had just been at deaths door, he managed to slowly get into a kneeling position so that he was now face to face with his saviour. For a few moments he simply stared, her face reflected in his visor in such a way that she would have no idea what was going on behind his helmet. His heavy breathing was amplified by the device, blood already beginning to dry and freeze on his armour.

"Fuck me that was close, you really saved my ass there!" Asher suddenly laughed, gently punching the girl on the shoulder as he got to his feet, already back to his usual loud and confident self. The transformation from the shell of a man he had been moments before was extraordinary, if it wasn't for the wound you would have no idea he had ever been close to taking his last breaths in this world. That image was thoroughly shattered now as he moved away from the girl to go pick up his fallen weapons and bag which were already slightly buried by snow. He walked back over to her, even more himself now he had a weapon in his hand, limping slightly but otherwise back in his stride. The armoured man stopped before her and gave her one more glance over before extending a metal clad hand out to her, a little covered in blood but hey its not like either of them were blood free right about now. "So, to who do I owe my thanks?"

 

[MegaAbsol]

Val found herself clutching grimly to the spine, watching mesmerized as the scientific tool seemingly dissolved into the wound. Only when she noticed his breathing becoming steadier, and his fingers twitching that her hands nervously clenched, both coming together to defensively hold the spine against herself. For the first time, she inspected the purple weapon carefully. It was sharp, almost perfectly so, and she had vague ideas of the poison it possessed - the idea of such elusive knowledge at such ready reach excited her, and with a small smile, she tossed the large oblong object into her basket. Naturally, being much bigger, it knocked the light wooden object over, and itself settled comfortably in the snow, eliciting an annoyed sound from the girl...and it wasn't the only sound around.

The man had slowly, almost ominously gotten to his haunches, staring dead straight at her - considering how his heavy breaths rattled hollowly around his helmet to escape as a deathly wheeze, and his bracing, poised position, a justified fear began to sink into the girl. Now that she thought about it, this man was clearly a skilled killer if he could survive out here in the unforgiving environment. She had no idea what he had tangled with to get in such a position, but now that he was seemingly quickly recovering, it was evident it was something much stronger than herself. This man was leagues above her in brute strength, and could kill the likes of her, unarmed, defenseless people, with little effort. The power to extinguish life, both human and animal, was in this man's capability...and it scared her. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as her breathing dropped to a frightened, shallow rhythm. Surely...surely he wouldn't bite the hand that fed him...? She had little to offer in terms of wealth--

"Fuck me that was close, you really saved my ass there!" Although she had been waiting for his first words, she cringed as almost instantly - and rather naturally, she grimly noted - curses flowed rather readily from the male's mouth. Despite growing up in fairly lawless areas, Val had always been incredibly self-aware of her language, keeping it as clear as possible. Having been surrounded by similarly cursing individuals - cursed like sailors, they did - she was rather used to the whole thing, but it still didn't stop her from rebuking the odd offender...or flinching when the first words that dropped in this odd scene were so crude. The fact that he had managed a laugh put her slightly at ease - atleast he had no immediate intentions of harming her, but the punch that landed on her shoulder made her seriously reconsider that. Crouching as she was, the blow caught her unprepared, and while obviously done in the spirit of friendship, if it could be called that, it knocked her over flat. She unceremoniously toppled over onto the blanket of snow, tossing up a light flurry, and had the wind knocked out of her, to her further indignation. She didn't quite feel like the triumphant savior as she sat there on the snow, rather awkward at having clearly fallen on her arse, but oh well. She hurriedly got to her feet and brushed herself off, breathing a few hasty sighs of relief...before her eyes fell on the weapon he was bringing over, and the panic began again.

Despite her racing heartbeat and flushed cheeks, small hands defensively clutched into fists, she still didn't fail to notice the male's gaze raking over her - making her grow more self-conscious than frightened. However, she was more than happy to return the favour, critical glance sweeping over the armour clad human, taking in weapon and all. At the back of her mind, lingered the fact that this man had been dying moments ago of blood loss and poison. Clearly, while he wasn't losing any more blood, he would have to suffer through several days of weakness and dizziness before he fully recovered...and then there was the matter of the poison. Valeriya chewed her lip as the man approached. The bio-foam was clearly a painkiller, which was why the man could walk at all now, beside the slight limp, but it wouldn't help with the poison. And unless he knew where to fin Aconitum, which considering all things, didn't seem likely, it looked like Val was really leaving a job half-done.

But that later - the man had come over, offering a gloved hand - a gesture of comradeship! Val's eyes floated downwards onto the extended appendage, unsure of how to feel. Natural suspicion began to trickle back, despite the small amount of entitlement she held to herself at having helped this man. Clearly, he was thanking her, as his words said. Well, her name never cause any harm. Cautiously accepting the proffered paw and shaking it, she nodded politely and cleared her throat, "Er, Valeriya. My name is Valeriya." She gritted her teeth as the cold from the metal bit deep into her own ungloved hands - she hadn't wanted her gloves to be soiled with blood. Ordinarily, this would be the end of their little fateful encounter - thanks exchanged, perhaps a favour promised, and paths part...but clearly the saga wasn't over for the armoured man yet.