middleofsomewhere | Final: Blue and Purple

Final: Blue and Purple

Blue: A Call to Arms

On the sixth night (G10) since arriving in the Gry coves the fighting is the heaviest than it has been all week. What’s more anyone who tries to sleep that day or night will find their dreams are the clearest yet. Darkness, downward tunnels, fear yes but a clear calling. A draw. A call for help. A cry to arms.

The caverns are a flurry of activity but by the morning (G11) the elders address the cove. It is clear. The Burrower wishes them to descend. Furthermore if the aliens have been having dreams as well then it is clear that they are invited.

Not all can go of course, the caverns still need defending. But any who wish to may. The morning is spent preparing for the descent, or rather making sure that there are still defenders of the caverns and that everything is in order for them to descend.

Purple: A Plan for Aid

The fighting is still thick and fast but the morning of the seventh day (G11) brings another flurry of activity. The teenagers who had been growing restless all week can be found gathering in groups.

If approached by anyone who isn’t a Terran adult they will let them in on the secret. The Gry were going down to the dweller. The Gry dream forums have been full of Gry teens talking about this, worried their god is in danger. Worried they are in danger and going down there will mean certain death.

So of course the Terran want to help and their adults have not been listening. They have found one of the entrances that they believe will go down into the dwellers domain. They plan to strike out by noon and won’t say no to any one who wants to go with them.

It’s a steep entrance, going almost vertically down into the darkness below. They are pretty certain it leads to the dweller.

Meanwhile the monsters are still attacking the city with increasing numbers and almost every Terran is engaged in some level of fighting.

The Descent (Please specify team colour.)

The tunnels down from both the Gry coves and the Terran tunnels are steep. Even the Gry and Terran themselves struggle with the descent and voidtreckers will definitely need to use climbing equipment. It takes most of the day and into the evening to climb down. The air is dry and thin the further down they get but their SCA keeps them going.

The Terran and Gry have no such technology but they are better acclimatised. It’s a long climb down through the darkness.

Meanwhile... (Please specify team colour.)

For those that don’t descend there is still plenty to do. Monsters are still attacking, though as night falls they dwindle, as they begin to rush down to the cavern below. Still there are pockets of monsters around that need dealing with.

Parts of both tunnel systems are in need of repair. Down in the Terran tunnels the areas that had been collapsed still need a lot of work, though all the citizens have been rescued. The Gry systems are less structurally damaged but they are a mess and the clean up operation will take a while.

Deep Dweller

Finally the dark downward descent leads into a huge cavern. In the centre of the cavern there is a large, grey creature easily filling the space. It looks almost like a grub, if a huge one. It is hard to ascertain if it has eyes or a mouth even but it moves, slowly up and down as if it is breathing.

The elder Gry make respectful gestures towards it, the younger ones follow suit, a little more hesitantly. The Terran teenagers mostly seem some mixture of horrified and amazed.

There are four large entrances to the cavern, the two that the two groups came down and two other large ones from elsewhere. There are also numerous small ones, high and low in the walls. The two groups arrive at roughly the same time and it is not long before they have company…

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Eyes slowly closed. He didn't want to sleep, Gerome was unsure if that would be wise, given his condition. But by closing his eyes he could focus more inward. He concentrated on his breathing, tried to be as still as he could possibly be. Stillness lessened some of the pain he felt, though not all of it. He'd felt pain before. He'd had broken bones before. He'd been cut before, shallow and deep... There were the scars to prove that he had been through battles often enough... The sheer embarrassment of having been brought so low by rocks was pain enough.

"... You... had better... not..." Gerome muttered quietly. Talking was so much more difficult when he couldn't take a full breath and it felt like if he wasn't careful everything was just going to fall out of him. Without realising he'd curled an arm around his middle as best he could, as if he could stop that from happening. It hurt so damn much. But he had to reply to Inigo. Needed to show he was still here with him... Needed to show he wasn't going anywhere either.

It's obvious that it's hard for Gerome to talk right now. It makes Inigo appreciate the few words he can say all the more, of course, though he wishes Gerome wouldn't push himself too much while he's in this state.

So..

"I'm.. just going to talk, okay? If it gets too annoying, just tell me to shut up."

But he at least wants Gerome to have something to listen to. If not just so he can focus on that rather than in how much pain he must be right now.

"Uh, I.. was talking to one of my friends earlier this mission. He was on another team, but apparently stopped by here for a moment, though I'm not quite sure why-- either way, that's not the point. He seems to be from a time much different from ours, quite like a lot of people on the train. And he was talking about masseurs. Apparently they exist where he comes from. Those are people.. erm, professionals you can go see and they give you a massage." Listen, Inigo's story might not be the most coherent, but he's trying. He's still pretty panicked right now, but he's trying to contain that in order to not make Gerome worry or panic in turn. It does make his story more rambly though. "Apparently they just touch your back and neck in just the right places.. like giving you a shoulder rub, but more extensive than that. Doesn't that sound nice? I rather like the sound of it. I don't think there's anything like that back on the train, but maybe I should learn how to do that sort of thing? Then I could give you a massage. You know, when your body stops hurting.. which it will! Of course! With time! But that sounds nice, right? Apparently it's supposed to make you feel really nice and calm."

Gerome fell quiet and just listened since that was what he had been asked to do. He let Inigo chatter away about something strange. Something that made him wonder just how he got into these kinds of conversations with people. Until he remembered that, oh yes, Inigo was a flirt. Of course he'd have conversations about touching people in certain ways. It made sense when Gerome put it in that context.

"... Flirt." Gladio spoke quietly, not opening his eyes and not feeling like he needed to explain himself more.

He really didn't like the idea of someone touching him in that way. It seemed much too intimate for his liking. How anyone could go and want a person to do that? Well, he knew people like Inigo would, who liked such things as touch. But Gerome? It was still such a strange thing to know that Inigo wanted to do things like... hug him... and keep hold of his hand like that.

"Wha.."

Inigo's jaw drops open, though he doesn't move.

"I-- I can platonically touch people!"

Despite how worried he still is about Gerome, those aren't just pretend dramatics. Okay, maybe he's dialling it up a bit to make Gerome feel like all this is familiar, but he genuinely didn't discuss it in a flirty context! .. For once! He wasn't even the first person to bring it up in that conversation! He was totally thinking of platonic massages, okay!

"In fact.. I am touching you!" At least he says that less loudly, realising that his full on dramatics might be a little much for Gerome in his current state. "Right now! And I'm not going to let go until you're safely back on the train."

There was the softest of snorts, followed by a low groan. He hadn't laughed but had come close enough to have caused a flash of pain that reminded him why he was leaning against Inigo in the first place.

"... But... are you touching me for me... or you...?" Gerome asked quietly. Of course he knew that Inigo wasn't flirting with him. The touches were purely platonic, there were no doubts about that. He didn't think there was anyone in any universe that would want to touch him in any other way. Or at all. Inigo was a rare breed indeed. And one of only a very, very small handful that Gerome could tolerate to do even that.

"Huh?" Although that question doesn't seem to pull out the same levels of a defensive response as the last thing Gerome said did, Inigo still seems a little surprised by it. Mostly since he immediately thinks about the question and realises that he's not quite sure of the answer himself.

So for a moment Inigo is quiet until the words slowly start to come out of his mouth.

"I'm.. touching you to let you know I'm still here." After all, Gerome said that Inigo better not leave, right? And while it's not like Inigo was planning on doing that in the slightest, he might as well try to reassure the other as much as possible that he's right here.

But he knows that's not the full answer.

So he does continue, though he ducks his head a little - while making sure to not move his body, since he's still supporting Gerome's weight.

".. and to let me know that you're still here." Because for a moment back there he had been absolutely terrified that he had lost Gerome. Inigo doesn't think there's much worse that could happen to him on this whole train journey than that.

"Ah..."

That... did make sense. In a way. It was reassuring to know that Inigo was there. While he hoped that his injuries would not eventually kill him, if he were to die, he would be happy to know that... a friend was at his side.

Gerome's eyes closed, and for a brief moment the hand within Inigo's tightened before it relaxed again.

"... I... am not leaving..." Was it a promise? It sure sounded like it was a promise. It was the only one that Gerome had to give in that moment.

That is a promise that Inigo really wants to keep Gerome to. Not just right now - though right now is really important too, for obvious reasons - but in the future too. As selfish as it may be, he just.. really doesn't want Gerome to leave his side.

Ever.

"I won't let you," he softly says. It has nothing to do with him forcing Gerome to stay or anything of the sort though - if Gerome ever wanted to leave for whatever reason, Inigo would let him. Even though it would upset him so much. No, in this case it just means that he won't let Gerome die here and now. If the other starts looking too weak, Inigo will just drag a healer back from those tunnels himself if he has to. He doesn't care what he'd have to do for it. He won't let Gerome die. ".. I need you here."

Gerome was quiet. He couldn't remember ever being needed. Truly needed before. He kind of wished that Inigo had said something before a wall of rocks had fallen on him... Or before they had been brought to a world not their own. He wished he'd known back home... Would it had changed anything? Maybe. Who knew? Would it have made them better friends...? Gerome thought that maybe, if Inigo had worked as hard as he had since his arrival on the train back home, he probably would have had to admit defeat. He probably would have allowed a friendship to form.

Maybe. But it was all in the past now. Nothing they could do to change how things had happened. No point in looking back. Fate had decided this path for them, had decided that these were the consequences of their actions. All they could do was walk the path and see what lay at the end.

"Inigo...?"

Gerome's voice was soft... a whisper, pained and low.

"... I think... I'm going to pass out." And his eyes closed as he slumped to the side and against Inigo's shoulder, saved from falling and causing himself more injury. Saved by Inigo being at his side, like he'd promised.

Inigo is alert the moment Gerome speaks with that kind of voice. Sure, the other hasn't sounded great - and who could blame him? - ever since the rockslide, but something about his voice right now in particular sounds so pained.

His head is about to snap to the side to look at what's wrong, but then Gerome already continues before he can do so. The words seize his heart for a moment, making it feels as if it has stoped beating, especially when he feels Gerome slump more against him.

For a moment he sits there, almost frozen, but then Inigo's hand moves. He lets go of Gerome's hand, just so he can move a little higher and put his finger on Gerome's wrist instead, feeling his pulse.

.. It's still there. Maybe not the strongest it's ever been, but it's still very much there. Inigo lets out a breath of relief that he didn't even realise he was holding.

If Gerome only passed out, then that's not too bad.. Hopefully it shouldn't take too long for the mission to end and the train to arrive. Then he can let someone take a proper look at Gerome.

But until then.. Inigo will keep sitting here. And he most certainly won't remove his hand from Gerome's wrist. The slow, but steady beat of that pulse is just about the one thing that's holding Inigo together right now, rather than completely making him fall apart from worry.

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Final: Blue and Purple

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