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Ol'random

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From: Somewhere by the Mountains

Registered: 2018-05-25

Posts: 416

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Aftermath - LP 10/26/19

OOC: A very short session, but hey.

Rcr. Isla and Cpl. Terrence, hares.

A day or so after the rescue...

She'd been given the speech, of course. How things change when you slay a beast for the first time, how that feeling never truly goes away - she had tucked the talk away in the back of her mind. Another boring lecture by the healers, another concept that seemed too abstract. Too future. But that wasn't how it went, was it? Isla wasn't quite ready to kill a beast as a recruit, but it is what it is, and she's going to deal with that. The more immediate issue, however, is the cold sweats keeping her up through the night as the wound on her arm festers. She awake with a flail in the makeshift medical tent, not quite sure where she is for a moment, eyes wide. That's right... They escaped, and were rescued - she can start treating it all as a bad dream, now. Right? She's sick, sicker than she thought she would be from sch a small wound - but it was nasty conditions. "Water?" Her voice is dry and raspy, it sounds foreign to her, but she sits up on the little cot, squinting at the light streaming through the sides of the little tent.

Terrence, who had been snoring outside the tent, exhausted, jerks awake at the noise, and, while rubbing sleep from his eyes, gets up. The corporal glances around, confused for a moment. "Ah- right." He mutters to himself, recalling were he was and why. Opening the tent flap, he pokes his head in to check on the recruit, and, seeing her at least somewhat awake, says, "Hello there, Isla. How're you holding up, wot?"

"Feels like I got a badger on m'chest." The recruit blinks, blearily. Winter looms on the not-so-distant horizon, but she feels like she's on fire. Her arm has been cleaned and wrapped, but she can feel it throbbing in time with her racing heartbeat beneath the bandages. "An' like a family'a jellyfish took up residence in me arm." She lifts the bandaged appendage, frowning at it. "Did... They find Private Kassimir?" She asks, idly scratching at her arm and the mess of ooze that she knows it to be beneath the wrapping. Gross.

There's a pause as the corporal tries to match the name to a face. "...No," Terrence begins, quietly, "No, they haven't. Dom's still out there, somewhere, wot." He enters the tent fully now, sitting nearby the cot. "I say, you look like it, recruit. I can't imagine you'll feel any better 'till we get you back to the mountain and out of the field, wot."

There's a nod - she expected that. She watched the madness take Dominik, and there's something other than grief that unknots in her chest. Is it relief? Is she afraid of the private? "Was just a little..." She looks like she's about to say 'cut', but it doesn't match the wound. "...Flaying." Isla chuckles instead, chuckling. "Didn't think it'd set th'rest a'me on fire, wot." She rubs at one of her eyes, her head swimming. "Mountain sounds nice. A week at th'Tavern sounds even better." What young Patrol hare doesn't want some shore leave to flirt with the barmaids? "An' Zolomon an' the corporal an' Nilear made it back?"

"Yes, yes they did." Terrence says, looking her over. "Like fire you say? Have you told the healers, wot- it may well be far worse than you say, you know. And..." The corporal takes in a deep breath, looking down at his lap while wringing his paws. "Pvt. Konner is missing as well."

There's a slow nod as Isla digests that knowledge. "Think I yelled at 'im last we spoke." She finally sighs, then gives a shrug. Not for the first time, she finds herself doubting whether she made the right decision in coming here - but it's too late for that, now. She pushes away the thought. "Healers say s'an infection. Bloody nasty one, didn't have nothin' t'cover th'wound with, sat in mud an' muck fer a few days. Suppose I'm luck t'have th'thing at all, eh?" Her tone is joking, but there's obvious distress hidden in it. "Suppose I owe th'rest of you lot a thanks fer comin' t'fish us outta th'swamp. That typical for a trainin' exercise?"

"No need to thank us, wot." With a grim smile, Terrence looks her in the eye. "It was nothing typical- the entire thing's been a right ol' disaster, wot, leastways if you ask me. You and the others should never have been caught in the first place, and we should have paid more attention to the toads, and because of that, it's our fault all this happened, not yours and the others." The corporal's leans back, his face a look of visible concern. "And don't go beating yourself up about Konner, wot. It won't do any good now."

"Right." Isla nods, though whether or not she internalizes the corporal's words remains unsaid. "Right." She repeats, instead, easing back on her cot once more. Sitting up has become a chore, and she can feel her body begin to fight back against her and the wound. "I'll be chuckin' m'guts now, Corporal. If ya don't wish t'see, ya might want ta..." She can't finish her warning and suggestion, and turns to the other side of the bed. There's a bucket there for precisely this reason - it's going to be a long day.

Terrence blanches as the recruit upchucks, standing quickly. "Well, erm, right then." His eyes snap closed as the sounds reaches him, and he quickly bows out of the tent. "I do hope you feel better, wot wot, but I need to go!"

---

I play Atticus, John, Lossow, Terrence, and Spruce
The Long Patrol Landing Page!
Usually on the MUCK Saturdays + Monday & Wednesday evenings if I have the time
Fastest way to reach me is via my Discord: Luke_SkyOtter#1438