here we go again...

[bulletbiter]

Who: Everyone
Where: Aimintas
When: Day 56
Open/Closed: OTA

[ Feel free to use this entry as a mingle for whatever your characters will be up to during the bigger Uvi attack! You can find details about it in this weekly update post.

(This post is forward dated by a few hours as I temporarily forgot how timezones work... please forgive me.) ]

Comments

[soulcomet]

a. triage

[ everything is total chaos. jude has never seen anything quite like it. no matter what offensive magic he uses, it's just not enough, and that means he has to go on the total defense. he's healing any and every palai he can, but he can't keep his magic strength up forever. that doesn't mean he isn't going to try.

[ is your character injured? doctor mathis and (nurse) madoka are here to help — once they've settled on a somewhat secure location, they'll both be working frantically, together, and doing their best to treat whoever comes in as quickly as possible. ]

[ for her part, madoka will be alternating between following jude's directions, venturing back out into the fray to find people to rescue, and offering jude and his patients much needed moral support. need a save from an incoming Uvi? need someone to hold your hand? madoka is your gal. just. ignore the fact that her whole body is a very interesting shade of ashen, and that she seems to be pausing, as if in pain, every once in a while — it's fine, and it doesn't seem to be stopping her from doing her work. ]

b. wild card

[ want to help out? have questions? hit one (or both) of them up! ]

[ooc: you may get a response from either Madoka or Jude, or both, depending!]

b.

[deem]

[9S couldn't really mistake that head of pink hair anywhere, after meeting Madoka at that weird event the Palai muscled them into. He takes note of her a few times, observing the way she shepherds people away from danger, and continues on his circuit of knocking around any Uvi that crowd anyone along the way.

But on one of these occasions, he sees that some of the Uvi have taken note of Madoka as she escorts an injured Eltos. He observes from a distance as one catches the attention of several others and they start loping after the girl and her charge, and following that trajectory...

That's where she's been taking the injured to, isn't it?

9S finishes the battle he's currently engaged in without ceremony, throwing an arm toward his foe and watching his sword cleave through the air in a vicious arc, lopping its head clear off. He doesn't have time to play around, turning to pursue the train of Uvi that have begun to follow Madoka]

[soulcomet]

[Madoka very nearly doesn't realize what was happening until 9S is nearly upon the trail of Uvi behind her — too occupied with making sure the Eltos she'd been helping is safe. she whirls around, bow immediately called into her hands, as she sets herself square between the injured Eltos and the incoming Uvi.]

Ah — look out, Nines! [for the incoming arrow of pink energy, she means — it's headed straight for the Uvi closest to her.]

[deem]

Got it—

[So Madoka can generate a weapon, even without a NFCS — 9S notes it, curiosity close on the heels of this observation as he leaps out of the line of fire. He moves with the strange fluid grace of any YoRHA unit, swiftly bringing a large sword to bear and hurling it toward them with a flick of his wrist.

And not manually, at that. The weapon doesn't touch his hands so much as launch itself toward the Uvi nearest him, forcing them to divide their attention in order to avoid the blade slicing through the air]

They've got tough hides.

[He supplies, as a Scanner is wont to do. His sword and other melee accouterments, are actually made for damaging machine life-forms, and thus impact slices the hand of one Uvi clean off as it scrambles to avoid the blade]

[soulcomet]

[it seems that 9S is more than capable of handling this pack of Uvi, at least, but that won't stop her from continuing to fire off energy arrow after energy arrow at whichever one makes the mistake of drawing close to her, as she backs closer and closer to where Jude is camped with the others.]

[and, once they're both back safe — as safe as a medical camp next to a battlefield can be, anyway — Madoka just. plops right down on the ground, for a quick break — she lifts a hand to wave at 9S in thanks.]

That was too close...

[talim]

Madoka —

[ jude tosses her a concerned look, wary of her current physical state before he notices 9s' presence. ]

9S? You're here too?

[ jude is tending to the eltos that madoka had been keeping an eye on before the barrage of attacks above all else, so he only spares him a quick glance before going right back to what he was doing, fingers glowing. ]

Thank goodness. We could really use the backup. I don't have the magic to spare on attacking, and Madoka here is putting herself through the wringer. Do you mind sticking around?

[deem]

[9S' answer isn't an immediate one. His attacks are aggressive, gestures and waves of his arms guiding his sword to rip through the air around the Uvi and halt their progress. They're very much like the machines he'd so often fought in the field, rounding on him when his weapon bars their progress.

And that's just the way he wants it.

His sword flickers back into place behind him as the first Uvi closes distance, plunging its lance forward to close the distance between them. 9S leaps away, afterimages flowering out around him, and the Uvi lash out at these for the pale moment during which they linger in the air]

Would've thought somebody'd be stationed here— [His thought is interrupted by another attack and he slips aside, and with a flick of his wrist his sword cleaves the weapon in half before flicking back to slice at the Uvi] Guess I'd better get on the crowd-control, huh?

a!

[mapsio]

[And No matter what Haru did it wasn't enough. She's used most of her SP and she's down to the last couple of times she can manage a barrier. She's sustained cuts that looked a little more than nasty, and what seemed to be places where a jellyfish stung her?

That was probably the least of her worries.

She's going to take another particularly blunt hit from the Uvi riiiight over where Madoka and Jude are set up.]

— Ugh! They just... don't know when to back off!

[talim]

[ jude is turning toward her the second he hears her voice, and when he sees the gashes coloring her exposed skin his eyes widen. don't panic. so much is happening but he can't afford to panic.

not when people need him. ]

Haru!

[ jude is able to reach out and grab her wrist, a little too tightly, and pull her close enough to avoid another hit.

madoka and 9s will take care of the uvi. right now his job is to take care of haru. ]

Come with me!

[ the most important thing is getting them both to safety before anything else. ]

[mapsio]

[The initial grab startles her. She didn't know someone was reaching for her. She didn't need to be pulled away... she's hurt but she can still fight. She's fought through things equally as bad as this.]

We can't just leave.

[Haru knows when to quit, and now.... isn't time, is it? She'd like to say that most of the time she had more common sense.]

I'm fine, I'll be okay!

[talim]

[ jude pauses, easing his grip on her wrist, but he doesn't let go yet, instead looking her up and down with a concerned expression. ]

Don't worry. We've got backup. And you're hurt.

[ jude shakes his head. ]

Even if you're okay right now, I don't want to see you keep fighting until you aren't. It'll be the best course of action to get things under control. You can't help others if you're pushing yourself this hard.

[ he needs her wounds to be manageable in order to treat them. if she pushes herself to her limit, then there's a chance jude might not be able to help much at all, and madoka less so. ]

Please?

[mapsio]

[She has to put her worries aside for now. She really did take a beating this time around. She's torn, but she knows that this is the right thing to do.]

Okay. We need to go somewhere. I don't have a lot of energy left for anything.

[This fight was much more brutal than the last. She was pretty much meeting her minit within one to two more blows.]

I apologize.

[soulcomet]

[after she's helped clear out the latest wave of attacking Uvi, and after Jude has treated what he could, Madoka settles herself down next to Haru, and reaches for her hand. she hates seeing her friends injured so, so much.]

Haru-san ... Are you all right?

[mapsio]

Madoka-chan...

[She frowns, knowing that seeing her in rough shape must be hard on Madoka. But she needed to help fight. She needed to help the Palai. She's going to take MAdoka's hand, squeezing it in reassurance.]

I'm going to be okay, I promise.

[soulcomet]

[she understands — it's the same reason she keeps getting back up, why she keeps venturing out past the relative safety of their camp to find more people who need help. as long as she can continue moving, continue doing something to help, she can't bring herself to stop.]

[and comforting the injured, no matter how painful it might be for her ... it's something she agreed to do, when she agreed to help Jude out.]

Would you like for me to stay with you for a while?

[mapsio]

I would like that. It would make me feel better.

[As it stands, Haru isn't feeling so hot right now. She wishes she could do more than sit here.]

I apologize if this concerns you. I didn't mean to.

a

[alphonse]

[In a battle like this, it seems like there are almost as many injured to tend to as there are invaders to fight off. For the minor stuff, what to do is a simple decision--get them to the nearest barriered area and let basic first aid do the job until things are less hectic. For the seriously hurt, however, there's no choice but to add to the workload of the resident healers.

Al sends a quick telepathic message that he's on his way with two more in need of help, but when he arrives he's seemingly empty-handed. The only safe way to transport wounded through what's ostensibly a war zone is to put them where they can't be reached. Luckily, Al comes equipped with built in storage space.]

I might need some help getting them out.

[Apologetically, since that's all the warning he has time to give. This is abrupt, weird, and not at all how he would have chosen to reveal himself, but protecting people always comes before protecting secrets. Without further preamble he unfastens the chest plate of his armor, revealing two injured Palai curled up in the otherwise empty space inside. One's unconscious and the other's clutching a deep, nasty looking wound running downward from their shoulder.]

[talim]

[ jude doesn't sit and gawk at the fact that there's nobody inside the armor, and there are two reasons for that. one: he's seen stranger, here, so many strange and unfamiliar things that it takes little to surprise him anymore. and more importantly, two: he doesn't have time to sit and gawk. people need help, and that's what he's here to do. help them.

al bringing them here is a huge help in itself. ]

I'll do it.

[ he doesn't waste any time getting over to al, kneeling before his chest plate in order to, very carefully, retrieve one palai, and then the other, setting them both on the mats he has laid out as makeshift beds. before jude does anything else, he shoots al a grateful look and gives him a nod.

thank you. ]

[alphonse]

[Grateful, Al returns the nod. There's a lot he might say if he had the time, but right now seeing to the Palai is the only thing that matters.

Once his chest plate is resecured, he's quick to follow after Jude.]

Is there anything I can do to help?

[He doesn't have much in the way of medical training, but he's got steady hands and takes well to direction. Without any Uvi looming in the immediate background, this seems like the most useful place to be.]

[talim]

There is. Do you mind grabbing the large first aid kit back there? It's next to two smaller ones. Bring them to me. I can't treat them both at once; Madoka isn't here, so if it's alright with you, I could use your help.

[alphonse]

Okay.

[If he sounds a little nervous, well. This sort of thing is scarier than fighting any day. Still, he dashes to grab the first aid kit and sets it down between the makeshift beds.]

Just tell me what to do.

[soulcomet]

[it isn't until there's a rare lull in work to be done that Madoka finally has a chance to pause to catch her breath — to find and talk to Al. she had been there when he arrived, and she had seen ... well, she saw what was underneath the armor.]

[now isn't a good time to be asking about it — and perhaps it isn't something he would want to discuss to begin with. she's trying so hard to quash any curiosity she has, the only thing she's outwardly conveying now is concern for him, underneath the tiny, tired smile she's mustering.]

Thank you ... you've really been a big help.

[alphonse]

I think I should be the one saying that.

[He hasn't missed how exhausted she looks, but with so many lives on the line he understands that real rest isn't a luxury any of them can afford. Still, it seems even more unfair in her case, and it's hard not to think that if he'd been better at protecting people they wouldn't be relying so hard on the already overworked med team.]

I know it doesn't feel like we're winning, but you've saved a lot of people.

[He can't begin to guess what she must thinking about him after the way he showed up, but he's not so much avoiding the subject as he is dismissing it as irrelevant. They've all got bigger priorities, and for now he's just hoping that talking to him will be enough of a distraction to get Madoka to take even a brief break.]

[soulcomet]

[Madoka lowers her head slightly, a touch bashful — but then she shakes her head.]

I'm just doing what Qri's asked of me, I think ... I'm happy that I've been able to do that, at least.

[but she steps closer, and reaches out to take Al's hand. smiles up at him.]

But you ... to put yourself out on the line completely like you have? [Madoka doesn't know his story. she doesn't have an explanation for why Al seems to have a suit of armor for a body, but she doesn't need one — the fact that he was willing to expose that secret because others needed his help tells her all she needs to know right now. that she was right in making friends with him.]

To me, that's just as important or brave as any number of people someone else can save.

[alphonse]

[Any response he has evaporates when Madoka grabs his hand, and for a long moment he stares at her in stunned silence. It's the kind of thing Winry would do--did do--and he's reminded of that night a long time ago when she and Ed hunted him down to guide him back home. Now, just like then, the gesture helps put the world back in focus, chasing off the creeping urge to brood or give in to self-pity. There's still work to be done and people who need him.

He drops his head and manages a small, quiet laugh. He could try and argue her point, but he's got a feeling they'd just end up going back and forth all day. Time for a compromise.]

We're both doing what we can. How about that?

[It's the most lighthearted he's sounded since the fighting began, and though it can't last, it's a welcome bit of respite.]