Deep Dweller: Conclusion

[voidtreckermods]

Victory

Deep in the desert, with the combined might and light of those working for Red and Orange teams a monster shatters. Not just any monster but the large, silver giant, shards melting away as they hit the sand.

A blast of energy, ripples from it, passing through Voidtreckers harmlessly but shattering any monsters that managed to survive the final battle.

In the laboratory it is the same story, monsters shattering and crumbling both inside the facility and outside. In the tunnels too, monsters crumble before Terran, Gry and Voidtrecker's alike.

Deep down in the cavern the combined might of those working with Purple and Blue, the Terran and the Gry has already cleared the cavern, with not one monster getting through to lay a claw on the Dweller.

There is a pause, another and yet another. No more monsters pour through the walls. Any monsters that somehow survived the blasting of light from those fighting at both entrances crumble now. Everyone in the cavern will feel a deep sated peace fill them. The terror and fear those in the Gry caverns had been feeling fades into deep satisfaction.

There are no words, but there is definitely a sense of gratitude, a thank you of emotions. The Gry are more vocal in their thanks, antennae waving and reaching out to stroke at Voidtrecker and Terran hands alike. Soon the older Gry gather the younglings and they circle the Burrower, the Terran take their leave respectfully, ushering any Voidtreckers out, leaving the Gry to their god.

It's a long climb up, for any who don't simply use their SCA to return to the train.

Meanwhile...

Those in the Terran tunnels, helping to clear up and rebuild after the chaos of the week may hear something interesting on the news that is spoken about.

A number of Terran had been found in various places around the world, in the desert, unconscious and injured. Assumed to be victims of all that had happened they had been taken to various hospitals. Yet the first couple had woken up, claiming to be scientists from the surviving lab.

How they had gotten to the desert is unhelpfully sumerised as activated alien technology to escape their besieged facility but there is much rejoicing and relief from Terran, a renewed hope that those missing may be alive, somewhere in the world. Even if the question of how they got there is on everyone's lips.

Both the Terran and the Gry who remained in their caverns are in high spirits, thankful to those that helped.

Return of the Voidtrecker.

All teams return to the Voidtrecker Express. The holographic message comes with helpful pick up point dots on their maps.

The Voidtrecker swoops through the air, landing gracefully on a set of railway tracks and approaching an area just outside the research facility, close enough to both there and the battleground where red and orange had fought for both teams to board.

Once everyone is onboard it speeds towards the tunnels. It picks up first those in the Gry caverns, followed by those in the Terran city and finally stopping to collect anyone climbing from the tunnels leading to the Dwellers domain.

Once all Voidtreckers are accounted for it leaves the tunnels and flies off into the sky and back into the void.

Comments

[blitzcheer]

There's a scoff at the mention of the Feedback post, an unimpressed expression slipped in to join its message. Tidus has a few things he wants to say to the train, the least of them about his clothes. But that was a bitter reminder of the walls around them than Tidus really wanted to pay any heed to.

Then again, story time doesn't inspire any better emotion in Tidus.

"That was it?" is his immediate conclusion. It might explain a few things on some level, but it left the mound of questions sitting even in the back of Tidus's throat. "What about the approaching signal in the lab? What exploded the others? The storm?" A sound leaves his throat, a confused thing. "All that was just fiends from outta space?"

[adregem]

"That's the only thing we can assume. The approaching signal fell in time with the planet storm that brought the monsters, and according to the Orange team, the scientists abandoned the labs when the signal grew too strong." The feeling of foreboding returns to him in an instant, and the outline of his journal sitting against his pocket felt heavier than usual. This was the reason he tried to stay behind and get some more accounts of the Terrans.

But he could read a room, and when two warring species came together in peaceful celebration after protecting their god, who was Roland to damper their spirits with incessant prodding?

"It was like the scientists were unaware of the alien force they were trying to communicate with. What makes matters worse," he finally reaches behind him, procuring his journal. It's already dogeared to the page he last wrote in prior to boarding the train. "Is that the first few missing Terrans said they came from the surviving laboratory. They said they couldn't remember how they came to be where they were found, just that some alien technology helped them escape in time."

Roland's brows scrunch up, re-reading his words. If there was one thing he disliked, it was a partially solved mystery. "That's it. There are gaps in the story that I just can't seem to fill in." A beat. "Think you could ask the train to make another pit stop back to Terra so we can play detective?" It was delivered with some dry sarcasm sprinkled in, but if it could be done, Roland isn't going to complain.

[blitzcheer]

Tidus leans back into the booth with a sigh, shoulders slumping and his head tilting in a lazy sort of shrug.

"You try. Train's never listened to me." So why would it start now? It's not a line of humour that Tidus is in the mood for anyway, a frown sticking to his mouth. "Maybe this whole thing was just some stupid mess. The last mission was like that too. Some fiends went after people on an island and the Bui people ended up asleep for some reason. Eh."

And sometimes, scientists somehow call extraterrestrial hostile life to their planet. And they were the ones here to clear up the mess. Maybe the details didn't matter after all, and what they had to think about was getting out of their own mess--the train itself.

"Sometimes, things just happen," Tidus remarks unhelpfully. Was there anything really deeper to it?

[adregem]

"Things just happen, huh?" He mimics Tidus, leaning back against the seat with his arms crossing over his chest. "I doubt it. It's never that simple. Are there other people on this train who've kept accounts of past missions and what happened? We might be able to piece together some sort of pattern if we can consolidate information." Roland tilts his head, mind swarming with theories. One thing was for certain - there had to be an underlying reason for the alien interruptions.

His first mission only stirs in Roland a more pressing desire to discover the truth of the Voidtrecker Express and the method in which it operates. But for now, he will try to lighten the mood a little bit, watching Tidus grow increasingly agitated at the talk about the train's strange rhyme and reason.

"How about you? How are you holding up? Did you jump to assist other teams aside from Red?" As he shifts the topic, his other hand hidden from view attempts to loosen the tatters sticking to the blood still flowing from the open wound. The area was staring to clot, but he hadn't yet cleaned it before it closed. Perhaps if he loosened his boot too? The squishy feeling increasingly grows more uncomfortable as it pools at the heel...

tidus will simultaneously heal and murder you, roland

[blitzcheer]

Roland's thinking out loud gets nothing but a small sound out Tidus, a 'I dunno' without much commitment. He could find out for Roland, but not right now--or it could be a question for Roland to present to the train at large.

Instead, Roland moves the subject over, and that's an easier question for him to give anything to.

"I'm fine. We had a few healers at the end for Red and Orange, so we got everyone checked on before leaving." It was the only reason Tidus was taking the time now in walking around than just going straight to his cabin to rest up, though that was on the docket eventually. Yuna wouldn't have let him go anywhere without being cleared of any wounds after the battle, and him in turn for her.

"How about on your end?" Tidus looks over Roland, though apparently, not in the places he should be, such as under the table. "You got checked out? I think some of the healers from our side are going around looking out for people who need fixing up. Light and Yuna are good people."

he can try >:) look at him, so SNEAKY

[adregem]

"Good. Those two teams met more monsters than Blue or Purple, and for much longer too. Heh. I'm glad to see you in one piece, too. Sleep off that fatigue, get some rest soon. You deserve it." And he means that, really. The last Roland saw of Tidus was when he practically shoved a Potion down his gullet to replenish energy. Magic took a toll on all its users no matter how talented, and Roland knew that from even before the mission, watching his friends back home cast spell after spell and needing insane amounts of rest and support after every cast.

His face is a picture of calm, though his hand underneath the table has finally loosened his boot enough to cast it aside as gently as possible so as not to alert Tidus. It makes a quiet thump on the floor, his socks stained significantly with red, but Roland once again pays the feeling no mind. "Thanks. I'm doing fine. All I need is a nice, hot shower and maybe a cat nap or two, and I'll be ready for chores again." Roland chuckles, once again grateful for the surge of energy that only his young body could afford him.

MURDER, ROLAND

[blitzcheer]

"Ugghhhh, chores."

With nothing more immediate to be concerned for, Tidus slumps his body lower against the back of the seating, legs kicking out under the table and not considering the other limbs under there. Right, there was that whole bet, and did Tidus even care anymore? Ugh, Tidus didn't care about anything. He was going to whine later to the train probably, and then just sleep until the mood he'd been carrying a while since the mission began left him. There were orders he wanted to make, and he'd have to check how many points he had now, forget about what the Great Train would reward him later.

But he does knock something, which is rather more important; though he isn't sure if that was a leg, foot. And when he retracts his decision with a "Oh, sorry-", another something catches along the way, coming with him. Tidus wonders if it was a body part at all, when- "There a bag there-?"

He's a little distracted by what his own legs are feeling to immediately respond to any reaction from Roland. Did he knock any legs under there Roland, or just his boot?

TIDUS, FIX YOUR POSTURE

[adregem]

Roland was just about to laugh at Tidus, just about to question his dour mood, just about to get the ball rolling with something that wasn't related to the mission, but instead all he could do was tighten his fist and hold back a wince threatening to break out. As Tidus slumps further and further back against his seat, his legs slowly inches closer to Roland's offending cut. There isn't exactly any wiggle room for him to evade, and so before Tidus' foot can hit his boot on the floor, it jerks against the injury, grazing it with the tip of his shoe.

It wasn't the most pleasant feeling, but it wasn't a grave or fatal injury. Far from it! So he keeps up his facade, clearing his throat before speaking up to dovetail Tidus' question.

"Just my boot." He doesn't even look down, doesn't glance from under the table so as not to give Tidus any reason to do so. "You try digging for a week straight and let's see if your feet aren't going to kill you by the end of it, heh."

/MAN SPREADS

[blitzcheer]

Oh. Pfft. Tidus straightens himself from the extent his slouching was about to take him, elbows coming to lean on the table with his forearms.

"How about being left in a desert to fend for yourself?" But it's a weak retort, nothing to it, a joke before anything else. They all had a hard time, and he isn't going to make fun of the guy for wanting to relax, take off his boots and wiggle his toes. So Tidus's feet come back to tuck closer to his side of the table, out of the way.

"What are you doing here anyway? Go back to your cabin and get some rest. Anything else can wait 'til later. Or you hungry?"

GOOD LORD SON, PEOPLE CAN SEE YOU

[adregem]

"Fair point." He chuckles again, clearing his throat a second time. The sock was probably going to be stained regardless if he soaks it in cold water at the laundry station, so that was a bust. He feels a drip of blood fall from the angle his calf rests on. But Roland's pressing concern is that the cut had been left untreated and uncleaned for goodness knows how long. Time passes strangely when you're fighting hordes of monsters that wouldn't die on the first strike. And since he only noticed his injury on the train, Roland isn't sure if he had sustained the injury during the first or second time he had to barrel roll away from the beasts.

Dammit.

"I just wanted to catch my breath, really. Take stock of things before I hunkered down for the night. Or day. No clocks, right?" He tries to act playful, but only now does the pain start actually causing him visible discomfort, a throb he silently fights against. "I might get something to eat, yeah. Wasn't too fond of the grub, but hey. It was good for protein apparently."

He doesn't budge from his seat.

"Go ahead and do what you have to do to unwind, kid."

Maybe it's the kid comment that does it, that subtle nudge to go ahead which could alert someone that Roland is actively trying to hide something.

NOT THAT KIND OF SPREADING!!

[blitzcheer]

...is it Tidus, or is there something off about Roland? He doesn't know if he's just seeing it, an automatic kind of quality, or-- nah. What's he thinking? In the few seconds Tidus has that bizarre thought, he dismisses it, whatever that weird reaction or thought that crossed his mind was.

"Yeah." His arms slips off from the table, a hand left behind as he shifts to bring himself to face out of the booth. "I'll bring you something. I'm going that way anyway......"

But his voice trails, dying at the end of that word, his head tipped and looking down at the floor from Roland's perspective--certainly not looking inward or anywhere near the man's own feet. Except Tidus doesn't need to look there for a sight he isn't sure was there before, what or where it came from.

Blood on the side of his shoe. Fresh looking, red.

It takes a few seconds from spotting it for him to look under the table.

also ur in trouble

[blitzcheer]

And when he comes back up, his head is whipped, facing Roland wide-eyed and stunned, alarm overtaking him.

"Roland!"

NO TO SITTING LIKE UR ON THE SUBWAY!!! and pfft *is* he in trouble or is tidus imagining things.....

[adregem]

The first thought that comes to mind is how bad he truly is at acting. This wasn't the first time someone saw through his facade. I need to take classes...

The second thought is put into immediate action, almost like a coiled snake that clamps down on its prey without hesitation or pause. His hand darts forward, firmly grasping Tidus' forearm with a pressure that he hopes was reassuring. There's a smile on his face, hauntingly calm, as if nothing was wrong. He hushes out a whisper only audible enough for Tidus to hear.

"Take it easy. Don't even think about casting a spell to heal me either. I'm not having it. You're tired, and this isn't even life-threatening." He finally reveals the offending injury by slowly, gently pivoting his hips so that his legs swivel outside of the seat. Under this light, it looked a little worse for wear now that it had time to fully bleed out and clot. It was a long crescent in an angry shade of red, running from just above his ankle to a little under his knee. His whole left calf was drenched in a mix of drying and dried up blood he had ignored as it continued to bleed.

"It's superficial. I evaded a monster I failed to kill in one move." He sounds like he's assessing someone else's wounds, not his own. It was frighteningly detached. "I was going to wait for it to clot, then wash it off in the sleeper cabin shower. Have it bandaged with some leftover supplies from the Terran city. Our resources are precious. One small injury of mine shouldn't warrant a spell, or a potion, or magic."

perish, roland

[blitzcheer]

Tidus keeps that wide-eyed stare on Roland, as if frozen in his reaction by the hand on his arm, whatever action that would have followed delayed. But his brow shifts inward, bewildered, quizzical, slipping from the man's face over to his leg displayed when it's shown. The more haunted edges of Tidus's shock only becoming more visible under the better proof of the injury right under the table.

And with it, the words that bleed themselves into a noise that Tidus doesn't bother to process, his shock falls as Tidus himself does onto floor, dropping onto his knees, and any attempt to grab and pull on his arm and hand balancing him utterly ignored, even yanked back on. The same as Roland's excuses are dismissed, with Tidus drawling somewhere in the end of that too long, not listening spiel, "Shut uuuup."

'Cause hey, guess what, don't care. And his mood only heightens in heat as he brings up his dominant magic hand, the SCA still firmly around his left wrist, pyreflies and white lights glow and gathering as he makes the fist. Some sound like "dumbass...!" muttered from below.

...no, that was definitely it.

Now, is Roland going to struggle here as Tidus goes for his leg with this magic, or--

im going to tell on you to ur girlfriend >:(

[adregem]

Roland watches this unfold a little too late, realizing his explanation fall unto deaf ears. He had hoped his calm would keep Tidus steady, that really this was nothing to him, all part of the job. But perhaps there was something in the young man that Roland wasn't aware of - a deeper story, a trauma unprocessed that he was not privy to. So he does react with delay, standing up and ignoring that throb in his left leg as he moves.

"Tidus, I - "

He doesn't have much time to finish his retort when the light in Tidus' hand begins to radiate, something that alerts Roland to his intentions. No. No, this was exactly what Roland tried to avoid. He didn't need it. He was healthy, it was a cut that would do no lasting damage. Tidus was tired, and he was not going to let this young boy exert any more effort than he already has on such a strenuous mission.

His brows furrow and as sprightly as his body can allow, he evades Tidus with a quick shuffle from one foot to the other, though it does put pressure on the injury, causing the clot some damage, a fresh trail of crimson staining more of his skin and his sock. It looks almost comedic. Roland in all his pristine demeanor and stern personality, dancing away from Tidus' magical hand with a tattered pant leg and just one boot.

"No magic, Tidus. I'm not kidding around. We won't have another mission in the next two weeks, it'll heal on its own. I'm okay. You can come with me to the kitchen, I'll get a rag and some hot water to clean it. Or we can go to the medbay if it isn't too crowded." He sighs and hopes that he can reach out for some sort of compromise. Something tells Roland from Tidus' reaction that this might not be as easy as that, however...

meet him in the PIT, roland!!

[blitzcheer]

What a sight to behold if anyone was to walk in now, but if they were, they should come over and help Tidus hold this idiot in place, if Tidus were to have any thought or say on theoretical situations.

"Would you stop speaking like you know how okay or not okay I am?" Tidus is glaring at Roland from his place, hands turned inward, aggravation in his throat. "I'm fine. I can heal! I'm tired, doesn't mean I'm gonna kill myself dishing out some heals! I'm not gonna listen to the guy who just sat there with a bleeding leg saying he was okay!"

He gestures with a nudge of his head to the offending limb, but that isn't enough said for Tidus. He should just get down to this and patch Roland up, but his annoyance is a thing being chewed between his teeth.

"What's your problem? What do you think you're doing? You think you matter less than me or something? If it's so small, then why not let me fix it up, huh?"

This is bullshit, a whole lot of bullshit, and he doesn't care if he leave this exchange on a sour note. It'll at least be with that leg fixed up before the end of it.

stop throwing a tantrum and maybe he will!! you're talking to the King of Repression here!!!

[adregem]

The more aggression Tidus displays, the more Roland responds with such a degree of steady calm that it could infuriate anyone. Be it from his paternal instincts or that he was just used to dealing with people who were always so angry at him, at the decisions he makes, at the policies he chooses...He's sat at hotter tables, and at the very least, Roland knows this anger was because he wanted to help someone else and not for any other selfish agenda. Despite the rising tension, it was still all too clear to him that Tidus was an all-around good person and that pushes him to try and placate the boy at all costs.

"Alright, I won't assume anything of you, then." He replies without a single lilt in his voice. "You'll have to pardon some understanding on my part too. I can't help but worry when the last time I saw you underground, you were barely able to stand straight from how much heals you dished out." He recalls Tidus wobbling as he sat, sipping half-halfheartedly from the Potion he gave to Roland days earlier. "But at that time, I knew you had to keep going for the greater good. We all had to, one way or another."

He could go on, he really could. But Roland glances down at his leg for a moment, his head tilted down so that his chin touched his chest, and the feeling was only growing more and more uncomfortable by the second. It wasn't even pain anymore, it was just heavy like a dullness he couldn't shake. The disgusting moistness from a bloody sock wasn't helping his case either. He closes his eyes and imagines scenarios of running or fighting him about this, but neither end very well. And so, ever the peacemaker, Roland sighs and doesn't even attempt to answer the last of Tidus' well-placed ramblings. He allows his sermon of serving someone worse off than him die on his tongue.

Instead, he finally does something befitting of his age and groans, cracking his back before turning around as if walking away. But he doesn't. He stays and waits for Tidus to stand back up and follow him out. He concedes.

"Come on. Let's do this somewhere else, we're blocking the hallway. I was thinking the kitchen or dining car, where there's more space and running water. And I really did mean it. I am pretty hungry."

no!!! GETS MORE ANGRY

[blitzcheer]

Tidus doesn't trust in that calm tone. He knows it--knows that it doesn't mean anything, all depends on the individual wielding it and what they believe right. Not even Roland's explanation placates the frustration in him, being made to sat there and not taking anything serious while the guy was bleeding right in front of him.

But Tidus holds his tongue, lets Roland speak. Not needing to be waited for when the man turns, since Tidus has watched him walk off without a word too many times to allow him to try that act here, right now. The magic in his hands having been dulled to an invisible state, the bitter-chewed expression keeping its place on his face.

"You sit back in, put up your leg, and I'll get something to clean it before I heal, if that's what you want. We can get food after. You don't need to be walking on it."

It's a simmering level, calmer in volume than he'd spoken before, but far from calm. Playing the rational game as Roland's providing it, but not covering the fact he's unhappy, willing to get in a huff again.

Because he is.

mister you are an angry golden retriever who needs a TIME OUT >:|

[adregem]

"..."

He turns back just slightly, enough to watch Tidus speak from the corner of his eye. There's a pregnant pause before he moves smoothly to bend at the hip, his hands tearing off the frayed parts of the pant leg by his injury. Some of it stuck to the wound site from the dried blood, which causes him to wince. He decides not to risk that, nor does he wish to jeopardize this strange parlay he has reached with the young man adamant at healing him by dallying any further. Roland pockets the remains of the article of clothing and walks back to the bench, sitting only partially the way in so that his leg continues to dangle for easy reach. His right leg moves up so he can rest an elbow against his knee.

He watches Tidus move from his spot after getting into position.

"Anybody ever tell you you're a stubborn one?" he says, under his breath, his gaze trained at the wound on his calf and nowhere else. But Roland doesn't say this with a trace of malice or anger, not even frustration. It's as if he was pointing out a fact - an observation - and he thinks that Tidus' stubbornness was a good thing. It's why he seems to be able to help so many people on the train, all at once.

no tidus the golden retriever is winner B)

[blitzcheer]

"And you're--annoying."

There's a beat, a second taken to decide the word, and it doesn't come out with confidence. A retort without the proper bite, when he's distracted by the wound that he sees. An uncomfortable knot in his throat where he wasn't sure where this was going to end, but he's not in the right state to be glad or relieved right now.

"Stay here, don't hobble off." A command given, a hand lifted, while Tidus takes a few steps aside. And then he jogs along the hall to where closest toilet is, opening the door and giving a quick peek out before he completely slips in, like Roland can't be trusted not to run off.

Which he can't be, currently. Maybe Tidus's mind will be changed another day, when it has reason to.

He's quick regardless, kicking the door as he leaves but not resulting in it shutting as he comes back out, his stride taken with large steps. He's got paper towels soaked, a few dried, and he comes to a stop at Roland's leg--and anyone who comes on by and has a problem with him kneeling and taking up room can buzz off.

The dry towels are placed down while the wetter ones are pressed to the wound with a careful hand, a tight-mouthed grimace. The magic returns to his now free hand, white light collecting under his palm as moves to lay it over his one holding the soaked towels in place. A numbing effect taking place, at least not putting Roland through the experience as muscle and skin come and stitch back together.

Tidus watches his hands, his set gaze unflinching.

istg give him 1 more tantrum and he's REALLY going to give you the sermon of a lifetime

[adregem]

"That's not so bad. I've been called worse."

Anyone can tell by the way he says this so straight-faced and relaxed that it's probably true. There's no fire in his response either. But it quickly dawns on him that this is all still new to him. Even after everything his group has been through, he still wasn't used to it. To this. When Glorfindel called him a friend. When Tidus calls him names and gives him potions.

When people treat him beyond his role, beyond the mister president's and sir Roland's.

He exhales and leans his head back, eyes closed peacefully as he listens to the rummaging happening about him. Tidus' movements are heavy and noticeable, he wasn't trying to hide his feelings at all. It almost made him smirk, as the poor door of the nearest toilet suffers his wrath. If Will ever grows up to be this rebellious, Roland's already sure he'll sprout even more white hairs than he already has. Had. (And Will is sure to grow up, he's determined that without a doubt, hasn't he? Don't let the train make you forget, don't let the train take it away from you, the memories, all of it - )

When Tidus returns, he will find Roland compliant in all accounts, still as a statue. His hands decide to clasp together as he rests them on his stomach, and he doesn't even blink as the wet towels cool the pooling heat around a new, throbbing gash against the meat of his calf. The relief follows, but it's nothing like Reno's Cure spell that washed over him as if sitting by a fireplace after walking through a blizzard. Oh no, this time Roland glances down at the magic, the white light reflecting in the glaze of his eyes. There is that thick wash of silence between the two men again, before he speaks low and careful.

"Have you always been able to do this? It's...new. Reno used a summoned animal to heal us. Yours is..." He had no words to explain it, but it was different and he wasn't quite sure how. The eloquence of magic eludes him. But he's observant enough to know Tidus was using something a little bit more special than what he's already been treated with.

whiiiine...!!!!

[blitzcheer]

"My friends taught me." This time, there's no thin line of a temper threatening to come out in his cool tone, more even than the previous levelled calm. Tidus doesn't look up still, focusing on his work. "We travelled together, watching each others' backs. There's two healers better than me, but I learned to take the edge off for the. To help."

The sensation is closer to a limb that's been fallen asleep on, numb in that way; the tingles that follow once the pressure is released, the relief that'll come. Pooling out to any minor nicks and cuts that may be elsewhere on Roland's body.

"I never used magic 'til I knew them. I never fought 'til then." How much his life has changed. What did Lulu say about magic? "'Each spell contains a piece of you.'"

His head tilts slightly, eyes closing for a second and then opening.

"It just means take care. Magic is...whatever it resonates in you. Something like that."

Maybe he's over-explaining now. Whatever...

[adregem]

"That's...really poetic. But I suppose being around the right people can do that to you." He tucks that piece of information in the back of his mind. He forgets sometimes that Tidus, with all his bravado and whining about chores and playful spirit, has a story of his own. Somewhere away from all this void nonsense, he was somebody else with a journey to complete, whatever it may be. A part of him is curious to ask already, but the mood doesn't seem right. Perhaps one day soon, he could hear it for himself.

He then turns his attention to the feeling in his calf. It's strange, but it's not unwanted. The dull throb that troubled him before slowly begins to fade away and he knows that even if he can't feel it, the magic Tidus was sharing with him was working wonders on the cut. It may even be completely gone, not a scar in place, by the time he finishes. But as he listens closely to Tidus, Roland simultaneously trains his gaze on his general well-being too, making sure he wasn't just bluffing, that he really was going to be okay after casting a spell like this on him.

The moment Roland sees him wobble again...

I'm one to talk, huh?

He isn't sure how much more needs to be done to treat his leg, but Roland is determined to follow the younger man's lead before he moves. He answers after all is said and done, voice still cool at the edges. If magic is supposed to contain a part of you as you cast it -

"Thanks." He looks away from him, a warmth returning to break whatever feelings lingered from their spat. "For sharing with me a piece of who you are. Even when you're being stubborn, I know your heart's still in the right place."

[blitzcheer]

"Hey, don't get poetic on me," Tidus warns, though there's some colour to it, actual humour in its delivery lost somewhere in the tension of sparring personalities. "That's just what a friend told me. I'm not really sharing a piece of me in... ergh."

And his nose scrunches when he realises how weird that piece does sound out loud out of context. ...and even in. But the spell itself doesn't take much longer than that, with Tidus lifting his hands to peek to check the wound himself, and then, satisfied, wiping it down to take any blood and grit that might be there. There's no dull pain of a sore or raw wound, no skin threatening to tear. Giving it a quick wipe, he doesn't have the clean manners of a proper healer when he picks up the dry paper towels, then just lifts both wet and dry, offering, "You wanna--I dunno?"

Look, he wasn't exactly prepared, and this wouldn't be enough to completely clean Roland down. Hadn't been the intention. But there will be no scar to speak of, nothing but a mess, and Tidus takes the edge of the table, picking himself up so as to get out of Roland's way, to get off the floor, too. There's no wobble to speak of, though inwardly, he feels a little blank: healed and recovered even despite the hours of fighting not so long ago, but his body knowing his true tired state. It's not enough to get to him, and he sounds no less unimpressed when he pipes up.

"I don't know why you keep talking about me being stubborn. How about next time you ask me if I'm up for healing? Or is bleeding under the table while you're chatting to someone normal where you're from."

[adregem]

Roland actually breaks into an amused smile, watching him try to be graceful about the whole task. "Give it here." He asks for the paper towels to be handed to him, but really, there's not much else to clean when he bends down to check his leg. The injury wouldn't be a problem now, pain dissolving with the light from Tidus' hand.

"Well now...Would you look at that?" With eyes slowly widening, he flexes his left calf, moving it from left to right and stretching it by the ball of his foot, extending the muscle to see if everything was really fixed. The wonders of magic would never cease to amaze him.

When Tidus moves, so does he. The discarded paper towels are set aside so as not to be wasteful, and he bends over to grab his boot from under the table. The bloody sock that soaked in most of the initial drench is also quickly removed with pinched fingers and a grimace, rolled up inside-out and also pocketed for him to throw out later on. It was beyond saving. The boot is placed back unto his left foot and aside from how disheveled both men looked, it was almost as if they just rolled around in dirt and not much else.

"Cheeky." He quips dryly, folding his arms up again. He thinks about what to say next, about how he's going to say it. He looks away for a moment as Tidus chides him, a strange turn of events when it's usually the other way around for Roland, before he speaks.

"...Risk and reward. Have you ever had to weigh a decision based on those two?"