estoria | definitely not fun and games ( closed )

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definitely not fun and games ( closed )

Who: Yuri

thatdamnknight
When: 4/3 IC
Where: The jungle
What: Yuri and Flynn (and Repede) decide to take their own little jungle expedition on the road, because what kind of RPG protagonists would they be if they didn't walk their asses right into danger?
Rating/Warning: PG-13 for general Yuri-ness, boss fights and exchanging airflow.

[well, it's been... a long two days, that's for sure. but the way things went last time definitely has them prepared a little better for this situation. now? they're armed, they have supplies, food, and all the usual things they'd travel with when they know there's a threat out there.

maybe it's a bit foolish to walk right into danger. they'd been through hell and barely took much time to get back into the swing of things before heading out again—but that's just what they do, right? besides, it's better this way. no deities spiriting them away and guiding them, no CERES up in their business. maybe this way, they can actually find something useful. or so they'd thought, but two days of traversing the jungle north-west and they haven't found much. the humid jungle air has dissipated into something a little more arid—so maybe they're getting somewhere, but who knows?]

How're you holding up? [it's a ridiculous thing to ask when yuri full-well knows that flynn will say nothing is wrong. but yuri can feel a bit of a difference in the air compared to their last excursion, and while it hasn't had much effect on him, he's noticed flynn seeming winded on more than one occasion since they've broken past the colony's walls. he has to ask, regardless—at least then if something goes wrong later, he can appropriately punch his idiot best friend for shouldering something alone again.]

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[the venture outside held risks. flynn was full well aware of that. it was dangerous when they were thrown into it and it would likely remain just as dangerous. having preparations, food and weapons and all else (and a sweater because it was oddly chilly the past few days), significantly lowered these risks.

that said, no preparation could have accounted for actively not being able to breathe. the air was bad last time, but it took two weeks for it to get to the degree that it only took two days this time. it improved a few times, if briefly, before becoming worse and worse. why it improved? who knows. flynn isn't exactly focused on the details when he can barely manage to suck in enough air to keep conscious. it's bad. he knows it's bad. he's lightheaded and definitely en route to passing out due to lack of oxygen, if not worse.

but none of that shows. much. yuri's far too perceptive to not have noticed the slowed pace or the way flynn seems to have struggled for a breath a few times. voicing any of this will only make him needlessly worry. maybe... maybe it'll be okay. even if it won't, what good will saying anything do? they're around two days out. returning to the city before... before suffocating out here will be impossible at this point. all it'll do is make yuri worry and put an end to hunting for potentially vital clues. not happening, especially when neither yuri nor repede seem to be feeling these effects as intensely as he.

flynn forces a smile while doing his damnest to make his breathing seem normal. in and out. good. now keep walking straight despite the dizziness setting in. that's it. this is fine. he'll be fine. repeat it enough and maybe it'll become true.]

I'm fine. Let's keep moving.

[as if to emphasize just how fine he is, flynn forces himself to move faster. see? just fine. so fine, in fact, that it takes everything in him to do it, especially since the armor on his person actively feels heavy for once.]

[that response elicits a sigh from yuri, as he watches flynn press ahead. he's not fine.

yuri can tell, he's not fine, though it's impossible to tell exactly what's wrong with him from this point of view. being winded, or tired... that's not really an ailment of its own, after all. and since he's not feeling the fatigue of the atmosphere in any way that would warrant any sort of slowdown, it's just impossible to tell. but he knows that something isn't quite right, and he also knows that short of them duking it out in the jungle (again), flynn isn't going to give him a straight answer.

so for a moment, he looks down at repede, who only responds with a whimper that clearly agrees with yuri's sentiments. at least they both know it.

maybe it's a good thing that as they press forward, yuri catches a strange break in the scenery from the corner of his eye.]

Hey, hold on. [slow the hell down, flynn.] It looks like there's something over that way. And it doesn't look like it belongs here at all.

[possibly because it's not made of jungle goodness. he's not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but they should check it out. it seems like it could be a good place to take a rest and force flynn to rest for a bit... even if he has to do so by way of claiming he's the one in need of rest.]

[neither the sigh nor the silent human/canine commentary gets noticed. not much of anything receives any notice. one of the reasons he pushed ahead was to be able to freely try to blink the world into focus, though without any success. dammit. he needs to see straight. he needs to stop being dizzy. he... he really needs to breathe. currently, he's failing at all three.

the sudden observation, one missed entirely by the blond, comes in the middle of this intense blinking. his gaze shifts toward yuri before gazing toward the spot same spot. something that doesn't belong? where? flynn actively needs to squint in order to get his vision to focus, even if momentarily. a break in the forest... ah, there. what it is, he can't say, but it does seem to be out of place.]

You're right. We should take a look.

[it ought to be a testament to how out of it the commandant is when no 'be careful' or 'we ought to proceed with caution' comes before he starts in that direction. behaving rashly only ends with it biting a person in the ass in the long run.

and this time, not proceeding with caution DOES bite him in the ass. the noises come softly, a twig snapping and then a branch rustling when none of them could have been the ones behind the noises. worst yet, flynn fails to notice them as he heads forward and directly toward the source.]

[yeah, there are about a million things wrong with this situation, and none of them slip past yuri in the least.

the fact that flynn isn't nagging, that he's not telling yuri to err on the side of caution is already like a neon flashing light that says "DANGER, DANGER!" but it doesn't change the fact that actually pointing this out will continue to net him nothing but the sort of response that waves things off.

and it doesn't get any better, not in the least. because as they're heading towards that mystery whatever in the near distance, yuri does catch the sound that comes from the side. he catches it, and flynn doesn't. the fact that yuri hears it at all is enough for him to raise his guard. which winds up being for the better as the beast comes barreling out of the foliage and directly towards them—or more, towards an unassuming flynn.]

Flynn! [yuri's quick to call out as the monster enters his peripheral vision. just as quickly, he unsheathes his sword, letting it fly out of his line of sight while repede follows up by getting his dagger in place. there isn't time to think, so he's immediately forgoing much else but lunging right into a dragon swarm in the hopes of distracting it and giving flynn time to either unsheath his own sword or get the hell out of the way.

what the hell is wrong with him that he didn't hear it coming? is a thought that lingers somewhere in the depths of his mind, but yuri can't put much effort to focus on that. this monster's gotta go down before they can do anything else.]

[complete unawareness continues up until that shout finally brings to attention the danger and in the nick of time. his eyes widen and he mental curses at his own inattentiveness, head darting to look behind him. no time exists to even properly get a look at whatever's coming. flynn narrowly dodges, rolling off to the side and ending up on one knee in a crouch. a quick reaction. nothing special. well, almost. in that one moment, how heavy his breathing is slips out courtesy of a few heavy pants that a simple maneuver like that not should have elicited.

this... this is bad. fighting while in this bad a shape won't end well. even so... even so there is no way in hell yuri's facing off against that alone. call it stupidity or stubbornness or what have you, but the responsibility of protecting the poor knightly damsel won't be another burden passed off to someone else. with one final heavy breath, he sways a little while standing and drawing his sword. the metal blade feels so much heavier than normal. his armor and shield feel much the same. bad as this is, he'll pull through or at least remain conscious until the battle ends.

a knight fights no matter how bad circumstances get. a knight will not let another carry their weight. a knight will fight until the end.

more importantly, he will not burden yuri with the task of protecting him. no more burdening his best friend. never again.

the beast thankfully took its sights off flynn at yuri and repede's joint attack. it howls as the strikes land and sweeps one of its imposing paws at the swordsman and quickly following it up with the other while the tails swoosh toward repede. player number 3 tosses himself into the fray by firing off a quick mistral soul. casting doesn't take as much physical exertion as actual attacking. that said, he won't hesitate to do more than cast if need be.]

Edited (ate a word) 2015-11-13 02:44 (UTC)

[okay, well, it seems like flynn has his head in the game enough, at least.
,
"enough" may not be what yuri wants to see, but it helps; every last bit helps right now. it doesn't entirely ease the concern about whatever may be wrong with flynn, but there's no time to ask right now. for all the times they may be good to banter while in a fight—doing so when blindsided is a bad idea. this beast is strong and surprisingly agile.

so while flynn is trying to cast, yuri and repede are trying to keep it at bay. repede's quicker and smaller, so it's easy enough for him to leap up and flip over the tail swish. yuri's not so lucky, though. as he's about to transition into a shining fang, there's a paw swiping at him. and much like a giganto, this thing is enough to knock yuri back with the move, simultaneously putting three deep gashes into his arm. it causes him to elicit a hiss of pain, but despite that, and despite the bleeding that comes with it, he doesn't stop.]

So that's how kitty wants to play, huh. [he mutters. yuri, is that even a cat? who knows. he rushes back forward, chaining slashes before transitioning into a rending wolf charge. he's fine with letting flynn fight from a distance, but yuri's got every intent of getting up close and personal with the beast until it falls. it's on now.]

[chances are that any banter would have gone over flynn's head right now anyway. it takes all his concentration --all his stubbornness-- to do as much as he is without passing out. adding chatting would be too much. by now, the dizziness has grown from irksome to severe. breathing barely manages to pull in any air. exerting as much effort as battling requires can only be called a completely idiotic idea.

but better an idiot than a coward who'd leave his friends, who'd leave yuri to face the danger alone.

no more than a few seconds go by before the warm light of a cure envelops yuri and takes care of those gashes. THIS is why he can't sit out or pass out just yet. having a support leads to a higher chance of victory in fighting. maybe yuri could do minor healing, but neither canine nor swordsman possess any actual healing artes. chances are that even if they did, they would lack any proper chance to cast. as soon as the cure comes, another casting stance follows, this time for a holy lance. the incantations are cut as short as possible to avoid speaking more than necessary. it's halfassed and may make them a bit less potent but consciousness is more important than full strength.

the idea of actually suffocating lacks the same scariness as it did back in the caves, honestly. unlike then, the only one suffering here is flynn. it isn't fun. hell, this is the most unpleasant sensation he's ever dealt with. that said, better him than yuri. as long as yuri, and repede as well, are okay then this is okay. he pleads with his own body and with whatever deities may or may not exist to permit him to see this through long enough to ensure just that.

long enough means dealing with kitty, who by now has become a very unhappy kitty. between the strikes and the spells, it has realized that a quick lunch won't be possible. it rears on its hind legs before dropping back down with all its strength to either fully hit yuri or to at least knock him off balance.]

[one of the biggest problems with this situation is the fact that as much as yuri isn't consciously thinking about just how off flynn is right now, it's still incredibly disconcerting. sure, the cure reaches him, and the holy lance connected—he's not down for the count yet.

but his concern for flynn's well-being trumps over his own, and it trumps over his concentration in battle. the last time he can recall being this preoccupied with a fight, it's because it was against estelle, and before that, against raven. but this is different, because the distraction isn't about trying to avoid killing a beloved comrade. it's about the fact that he knows flynn will silently shoulder his pain, and something is wrong. so even though yuri's consciously paying attention to the fight, he's off his game too. his determination to win and take the beast down hasn't faltered, but his ears don't miss the imprecise way flynn casts; he knows every word of those incantations from how many times he's heard them. something is wrong.

so even though yuri is prepared to dodge and strike back, the way flynn is fighting is enough to handicap his reflexes slightly. and that slight miscalculation is enough for him to get hit, knocked backwards into the air. he manages an air recovery, but it's not without an incredibly pained groan.

there's a chance that beast's hard skull may have fractured a rib, but yuri's electing to ignore it for now. it hurts, but he keeps fighting. he can worry about injuries later. for now, it's a chain of attacks; azure edge, dragon swarm, shining fang drop. slash, repeat. slash, repeat. he's going in for the constant stream of attacks right at the front, raising the tension and waiting for a chance to use his most powerful attack. repede's at the back, doing much the same and keeping relatively unscathed.

yeah, this is a pretty ugly situation, and it's probably a good thing his back is turned to flynn, because the last thing yuri wants right now is for him to catch wind of an injury that can't be entirely healed by a first aid spell.]

[flynn's own sloppy casting ends right when the creature's attack lands. what this means is him looking up right in time to see his best friend take a solid hit and go sailing through the air. his eyes widen, concern gripping him immediately.]

Yuri!

[immediate regret comes at the shout when a short but intense round of coughing comes, one followed by wheezing and an even worse inability to actively breathe. this fight is quickly evolving into a question of how long flynn can hold his breath. answer: if this goes on past 5 or so minutes, his body may give out regardless of how much he tries to force it otherwise. putting an end to this battle needs to happen and soon.

while struggling to breath, a stray thought of how yuri managed to let himself get hit like that crosses his mind. the other man tends to have better reflexes than that. this is a topic best left post battle... and one that can take place if flynn's actually alive to have to it.

the recovery landing and immediate chaining settles some of flynn's worries about the severity of the injury, but still results in an immediate cure. were it not for the fact that running around would make the whole breathing issue worse, it'd have gotten followed up with a guardian field for good measure. since yuri's fine enough to battle and since flynn wants to see this battle through the end, leaving it at a cure and starting on casting divine streak sounds good for the moment. as soon as they end this, flynn'll double check the severity of that injury. although, once again, that implies not suffocating, but checking on it can always happen post re-spawning back in the city or wherever that happens.

thankfully, the monster seems to be slowing down from the damage the trio's been dealing. it howls loudly at the chain, once again lifting a paw to take a solid swipe at both yuri and repede. the attack, though packing a punch, lacks the same accuracy and speed as before.]

I'm fine, just keep hitting it!

[there's the barest edge of desperation to yuri's tone as he barks out that sort of a formation command. there are a few reasons for it. the first is that while flynn's cure eases some of the pain, yuri can tell the injury is too severe for that. so he's still in an immense amount of pain that he's ignoring because of the other primary reason: flynn.

it's not as if he can miss that something is wrong with flynn and getting worse by the minute. they need to put an end to this fight in a damn hurry. he can't let flynn keep fighting if something is wrong beyond a monster-induced injury, and he needs to find out what's up. they need to find some kind of shelter, or somewhere to just collect themselves, which can't be done with a furious beast in their way, attempting to make lunch of them.

for the better of the situation, the fact the the beast is slowing down helps a lot. it enables yuri to complete dodge despite his own slowed movements, and repede is only barely grazed by the motion. yuri himself is quick to chain into another set of artes as flynn's divine streak connects and it's just enough time for yuri to be able to go into overlimit.

which means he chains from dragon swarm right into divine wolf, and then—]

Let's finish this! O brilliant blade of coldest steel, rend the infinite darkness and crush my enemies to nothing! Savage Wolf Fury! [he just hopes it's enough to finish this guy off, because they're all just about at their limit now. on any other day, maybe he'd be more eager to draw the fight out, but his ribs hurt and flynn is just getting worse by the second. there's no time.]

[that does the trick. strong as it is, kitty can't take it and falls to the ground with a loud thump. whether or not the beast is dead or simply unconscious doesn't matter. the important part is that it's down for now and won't be getting back up any time soon. relief washes over flynn as he lowers his sword. good. at least this danger has passed and yuri and repede will be all right. that's all that matters.

another out of place noise comes, one more metallic sounding than the earlier rustling made by the monster. it takes a moment for it to register as his sword having slipped out from his grasp and clung upon hitting the ground. when it even happened, he can't say and lacks a chance to properly ponder it. shortly after the sword falls, flynn feels his legs give out. he feels himself collapse, only through sheer luck managing for the collapsing to end at his knees rather than have him face first in the dirt.

any and all luck ends there. earlier air entered enough to be able to breath. it was shallow breathing, but still breathing. no more. whatever the reason, the air has grown so thin that it does nothing. flynn can't officially can't breathe. trying results in a sort of reserve fish out of water deal. nothing happens, aside from a growing sense of panic that can't be helped. death has never been something off too much concern. dying on the battlefield or even via assassination is just part of the job. suffocating, however, isn't as swift. it's uncomfortable, painful and drawn out. it's... it's actually a little frightening.

he shallows hard, swaying unsteadily due to the severe and growing dizziness. relax. death has little meaning here. give it time and he'll come back. the present danger has passed. both repede and yuri are fine. without him dragging them down, they ought to be fine back. this is all fine. a knight ought to face death valiantly and not terrified. although the self-motivation eases the terror a little, some of the fear remains. not even he's strong enough to be entirely fearless when suffocating.]

[as the monster falls, yuri finds himself hunching over, the pained feeling in his chest briefly worsening as the adrenaline of the fight starts to dissipate. his expression is contorted with pain—executing savage wolf fury was definitely something of a mistake in some regard. it took the beast down quickly, but expended his energy and likely made his injury a bit worse.

...but there's not really any time to consider that.]

Dammit... [yuri mutters, just before he hears the clang of steel hitting the ground, followed too soon by a thud.

he wince, pained, as his head whips around. yep, there's absolutely no time for his own pain, not when he can see that flynn is collapsed to his knees. "i'm fine," this idiot says when he's absolutely not fine. yuri knew it was bad, but maybe not this bad.]

Flynn! [yuri's quick to call out. he doesn't waste any time making his way over to where flynn is collapsed; any notions of his own pain cease to matter. he's not getting any response, nothing verbal, not even a continued protest that he's fine. the first thing he does is grab on to flynn to hold him steady, but even that is causing yuri an agonizing level of pain that he can hardly mask.

his breathing is way too shallow—so much so that it's like he's not even breathing at all. what the hell. what the hell happened? yuri knows the air isn't quite right out here, but if flynn's been having this much of a problem, why the hell wouldn't he say anything?]

Idiot. [you're such an idiot, flynn. but yuri knows he can berate his friend more than that right now. he has to get him breathing properly again. maybe it's a good thing flynn can't see straight, or he'd actually be faced with a pained look of panic that rests in yuri's expression.]

Edited (html, my mortal enemy) 2015-11-16 19:01 (UTC)

[everything suddenly going from swaying to relatively stable confuses him for a second. realization comes shortly after, having noticed the person now directly in front of him. yuri. who it is gets quickly confirmed by that pleasant commentary. idiot, huh? well, maybe he is. flynn's gaze lifts from the ground and works its way up only to be met with that panicked expression. dizziness and near unconscious don't prevent it from coming across loud and clear. why is he so worried? death won't last. this is fine. stop looking so scared.

then again, the panic is something flynn can understand. zaude left him in a similar state, if one kept mostly to himself and only visible via the sheer stubbornness and intensity by which boats were constantly deployed to search the waters near the shrine. dealing with the potential death of a friend hurts more than anything imaginable. dealing with the potential death of yuri hurt worse than that. this, however, differs from then. dying doesn't last here, for one, and for another, the one facing death is flynn. knights do that for the greater good. finding potential information out here counts as for the greater good and therefore permits dying.

for a knight and only a knight. yuri or repede dying like this isn't allowed. maybe it's hypocritical for it to be okay for him and not yuri, but flynn never claimed he wasn't a hypocrite.

as if to emphasize how okay this is, a small if weak smile comes yuri's way. it conveys both 'sorry for being an idiot' and 'please don't worry'. really. this is fine so stop making that face. the final thought flynn hears himself think as his eyes slide closed is a snide remark about the swordsman's face staying that way if he keeps it like that for too long. seconds later, that limit finally hits and he slouches forward unconscious. some light breaths come, but ones far too shallow to keep him alive for much longer.]

[that expression is enough to set a fury into him; what the hell is flynn's problem, always doing this like this? he knows exactly what that smile is meant to convey, and it just pisses yuri off because it's so flynn and also so goddamn stupid.

he can't apologize silently for pushing himself to the brink of death and then expect yuri, of all people on this world (or any others) not to worry. there's nobody who worries about flynn more than yuri does on a constant basis. for all the times they argue and wind up on opposite sides on an issue, yuri does so much of what he can for flynn's sake, oftentimes even if it means dragging himself down. there's a lot yuri wants to say in response... but there's no time. within seconds, flynn is slouching and yuri is using so much of his strength to not fall over from the agonizing pain it causes him.]

Shit! [he hisses the word out; the feeling in his chest is a mix of panic from flynn and pain from his rib, but he's completely ignoring the latter as much as possible. the first and only thing he can do to start is get flynn into a position where he can actually do something—that means laying him out on his back right here. his eyes scan the rise and falls of flynn's chest, and yuri can see it's not enough for him to do much else but die from the suffocation; it's terrifying, so he has to force himself into action. there's no time to actually be scared.

pain or no pain, fear or not... he needs to get flynn breathing and fast. his training from the knights sure as hell comes in handy now, since he hasn't forgotten the terca lumireis equivalent of cpr.

so there's no hesitation as he tilts flynn's head back, then uses a hand to support his jaw and part his lips enough for yuri to have an air passage. and once that's done, he leans in, using the other hand to pinch the nostrils closed before pressing his lips against flynn's and forcing two deep breaths of air into his mouth.

this is definitely not the romantic getaway a new couple should be taking, that's for sure.]

[neither location nor current activity of choice can be called romantic, really.

that said, unromantic as the mouth to mouth is, it by some miracle gets the job done. shallow breaths with barely any rising and falling of his chest soon start to even out and become more normal. the change happens oddly fast, too, with breathing being near its usual levels within a few moments.

dying won't happen any time soon is the good part; bad part is that neither will consciousness. the action earlier coupled with not getting proper oxygen for so long a time wore the knight out. sorry, yuri, looks like finding a hotel to stay in during this romantic getaway is all on you.]

[it's... weird.

it's weird enough that when yuri pulls back to check his chest, he's not sure what to think—save for being unconscious, it's like flynn was never struggling at all. the color returns to his cheeks, the breathing stabilizes, and he's left to wonder just what the hell happened.

it has to be something with the air, since even yuri can feel that it's not the same—but what exactly, he isn't sure, not when he isn't struggling. maybe now isn't the time to worry about this, though. actually, it's definitely not the time to worry about this. he breathes out a sigh of relief though, letting the touch on flynn's face linger for a brief moment before he pulls back.

idiot.

flynn's such an idiot, and boy is he going to hear about it later. for now, though? getting them somewhere safe to rest while flynn recovers... and maybe thinking a bit more on just what the hell happened that led to this.

yuri's eyes scan the area for the place they'd been headed to—guess that's their only ticket, he thinks.]

Repede, you walk on ahead. I'll take the idiot. [he nods towards the.... whatever it is, and then shifts. he's going to have to piggyback flynn there, he knows it. and it's not going to be easy. it takes a bit of finagling to get into position, but he manages—though actually lifting flynn up is a struggle. a painful struggle.]

Damn... haha... I guess I really did a number on it this time. [he grumbles to himself; the pain is pretty damn unbearable. the sting of tears is in his eyes because goddamn, his rib hurts more than he hurt when he got stabbed and fell off a shrine.

(yes, this is absolutely the real reason he sent repede on ahead of him)

but he can't leave flynn there, and they can't stay out in the open this way, so he perseveres, slowly taking agonizing steps towards their destination. it's not too far away, though it's covered by foliage and clearly a bit decrepit. it's a small building made of metal that's long since begun to rust away.

curious. very curious. but he's not in much position to question it yet, since once they get inside, yuri all but drops flynn before collapsing against the wall himself.

he feels like he's going to pass out from how severe the pain it. carrying your passed out friend like a sack of potatoes with a broken rib? 0/10 would not recommend.]

[sleeping beauty continues being as such for several more minutes. with breathing now normal and no other monsters, the sleep doesn't last for too much longer.]

Hnng...

[comes the soft groan, a sign that waking up is in the process. it takes a solid moment, but flynn's eyes soon open. several confused blinks follow. what happened? the question continues to repeat itself in his mind as he lulls his head around to figure where this is. that does nothing. wherever this is, it isn't a familiar spot. what was the last thing that happened? him and yuri were out in the jungle, weren't they? yes, then they fought something and the air made it impossible to breathe and...

...and had he suffocated?

that seems the logical leap. god, how awful the sensation had been. his breathing now feels fine (maybe he takes a deeper than normal breath just to see if he can, relief filling him upon doing so without much trouble) so death and coming back inside the city makes sense but... his brows furrow as he pushes himself up with a grunt. the movement comes far too quickly and results in a dizzy spell. a hand flies to his head and the getting up stops at a sitting position.]

This isn't CERES or ViViD... but I could've sworn...

[sworn that he passed out due to lack of oxygen. all things considered, the only outcome possible was dying. what happened then after he passed out? and are yuri and repede all right? without the dead weight that was flynn they ought to be.]

[it works out a bit for the better this way. those few minutes are enough for yuri to regain a bit of his composure, at least. it still hurts like hell, but after what flynn's been through, he figures it best to just keep it to himself until they get back to the city.

there's no use in causing him more worry. yuri's already done that enough for the both of them—even as he's sat there trying to overcome the blinding pain, he's reached out more than once to check flynn's pulse and breathing. he can't help it; it's too important to follow up.

not that any of that concern shows in such gentle way as flynn regains consciousness. as that happens, yuri masks his pain and immediately deals with things...

well, in the way flynn and yuri do.]

Could've sworn what, Flynn? That you were a goner? Idiot. You should have said something if you couldn't breathe instead of letting it get that bad. [he doesn't yell, because it would be too painful to yet. but he's glowering as he speaks, the anger rising to the surface as he lets the depths of his worry bubble beneath the surface.

they're probably pretty obvious to flynn, but whatever. yuri will still try to pretend that's not the case for the moment.]

[that oh so unhappy voice solidifies the fact that he isn't back in the city, at least that is what he hopes. yuri having shared that same fate would be the worst surprise to wake up to. then again, what the voice says tends to imply death didn't end up happening. still a little wobbly, flynn frowns as he turns his head toward the source of the displeased commentator.]

Yuri...

[what a glower. though not intimidating, it causes a pang of guilt. why? because noticing the worrying hidden underneath the anger takes no effort. another thing that takes no effort is figuring out the cause of it. dammit, this is the exact opposite of what flynn wanted. the point of not saying anything was to prevent any worry, not make it worse. a small sigh comes as his gaze tears itself from yuri and begins to survey the surrounding area. maybe another reason behind looking away is not having to see that glowering expression, not having to see yet another mess up. yet again, he failed in something so simple like keeping his best friend from worrying over nothing.]

You and I were both aware that there would be risks involved in doing this. [like death. after a moment, he speaks again.] It also didn't feel worth mentioning when there was nothing that could be done.

[nothing could be done, after all. not being able to breathe meant--

wait. that thought causes flynn to pause and his brows to furrow. why is his breathing normal now? if they're still in the jungle then it shouldn't be so normal. considering how much worse and worse it kept growing, he should not be alive, let alone breathing so easily. something had to have happened to make this possible. all attention shifts back toward yuri, a confused expression now meeting that glower.]

What did you do?

So you shoulder it alone and make me deal with it? Yeah, it makes so much more sense when you put it that way.

[yeah, there's no doubt that yuri is pissed about this. what the hell would even make flynn think that's a better option? sure, they knew they were risking a lot by coming out here on their own—so much of what they both do in life comes with the knowing that they could die at any time.

hell, yuri's already been through that part. he's already expecting that his own death is inevitable since he's killed people that would warrant execution if the right people ever figure it out.

but this? not like this. this is not what yuri signed up for. he's not okay with the idea of flynn slowly suffocating alone, keeping it to himself and dropping dead without warning. that's not okay—there's no situation where that's okay.]

You're an even bigger idiot to think that was the way to do this. We could have just headed back into the city! [for a very brief moment, he winces; that hurt his rib, so he draws in a breath and pushes the pain aside.] You said you were fine every damn time I asked.

[yuri can help but to grit his teeth. he so angry that flynn decided to approach it this way. but mad as he is, he'll still answer flynn's question, albeit with his gaze averting.]

Rescue breaths. Not sure what the hell happened exactly, but you evened out right after that happened.

[yuri being so mad only makes flynn feel worse. this is completely the opposite of what he wanted. why all the anger and worry when dying has no meaning?

rather than dwell on it (and on the angry, if upset tone of yuri's voice), better to focus on that strange answer. rescue breaths? that's all? that's... impossible. impossible, but yuri has zero reason to lie so how can that be? mere cpr couldn't have had this big an impact. at best the action may have sustained him a few minutes more. for it cause an immediate recovery means something else has to be at play. what this something might be, who knows.]

Whatever the case... thank you for doing whatever it is that you did.

[his voice holds pure sincerity to it. sorry for the worrying, but thank you for saving him. really. ...even if that means having to relied on yuri's aid yet again instead of pulling his own weight. dammit, he can never do anything right on his own, can he? always ALWAYS someone does the actual important stuff. yuri felled the beast, yuri saved him and yuri found shelter. what had flynn done? nearly suffocated, dragged his allies down in battle and made yuri worry. some future commandant.

his thoughts about his own capabilities take a backseat for the moment. this is neither time nor place for it. calming down the pissed off best friend comes first. maybe providing a quick explanation behind keeping silent will appease yuri and get that anger level down.]

I really hadn't expected my breathing to deteriorate to this level so quickly.

[with the small, if accidental implication that he HAD expected it to deteriorate to this level to begin with. whoops. flynn pauses, noticing the slip up, before continuing with the hopes that he was the only one who had.]

By the time I realized how severe it had gotten, we were already too far away from the city. No point existed in attempting to return when it wouldn't do anything in the end and when searching for information was our priority.

You should have said something as soon as you damn well realized it wasn't right to begin with.

[he knows that flynn is sincere in his thanks; it's not something that matters though. it's only natural that yuri would do whatever it took to try and save his friend—even if it mean doing all of these things while suffering from such a severe injury. there's a damn specific reason he hasn't so much as moved from the position he's sitting in, and that's the pain.

he's managed to quell it enough by not moving at all, but one breath too deep or wrong movement, and the severity of his pain will be written all over his face. that's something he can't have right now, not in light of everything they're talking about at this exact moment. and really, even that feels like something of a non-issue to him... he knows that having this argument with flynn is pointless. this is what flynn does, because he's an idiot.

(yuri's an idiot too, which is why he keeps his injury as hidden away as possible. there's nothing that can be done about it here anyway, right?)]

We'll figure it out if it happens again, but don't just keep it to yourself like a moron. [there's obviously a way around it, and maybe they could have found it and prevented things from getting this bad if he'd spoken up to begin with.

yes, the hypocrisy is real. yes, yuri's aware of it. no, he's still not going to do a damn thing about it.]

All right.

[no point in arguing that. if it starts getting bad again, he'll be more honest about it if only because fooling yuri twice won't be doable. any lagging behind or heavy breathing won't get brushed off any more. that's the only reason. were this anyone else, keeping potential difficulties in breathing hidden would continue. what a shame yuri isn't anyone. he'd notice and get angry again. as admirable as a keen sense of observation is, it can also be annoying in certain circumstances, this one included.

but being honest doesn't mean downplaying severity can't happen. and it will. worrying yuri over minor breathing difficulties won't happen, not when he's already worried so much.

the dizziness has by now mostly subsided and flynn attempts to slowly rise to his feet. some wobbliness happens, but he manages. focusing on that also leads to a lack of focusing on yuri. any potential pained looks or how oddly still the swordsman is fail to draw attention.

what does grab his attention is their surroundings. last thing he recalls is being out in the jungle. this very obviously is not a jungle.]

Where is this, anyway?

[now mostly free of that pesky dizziness, taking a more thorough look around can take place. a damaged on one of the walls catches his eye and he starts toward it.]

The place I spotted before we got sidetracked.

[it's good that flynn's attention is off him now—at least this way, it'll make things easier for him to deal with. mostly in that flynn won't see the way yuri's expression contorts with pain as he moves to stand, or that he's a little unsteady on his feet at first as a result.]

Didn't get much of a chance to look around. Go figure, carrying a bunch of dead weight with heavy armor can wear a guy out. [he say it a bit teasingly though; that's how he plans to frame the whole thing.

because naturally, he could have been checking everything out in the meanwhile, but he'd been too burdened by the pain from his ribs to even keep his eyes open, let alone stand and scope out the area. now's the time for that, and yuri is careful to keep his back turned to flynn. he'll do whatever he can to evade flynn's hawk eyes from catching the severity of his wounds for now. instead, he runs his finger along a desk that's largely empty, save for some pens and pads of paper that don't seem to have anything on it. the desk is covered in dust, which is only made more obvious by the clean line his finger leaves.] Looks like nobody's been here in a while, whatever it is.

[they'll have to look a little more closely if they're going to find anything significant, it seems.]

[teasing that fails to come across as such. it's not teasing if it's the truth. yuri HAD carried dead weight. yet another burden placed on his friend which is the very thing he'd wanted to avoid. flynn makes no comment on that for this reason. what can be said? sorry for being dead weight? sorry for being a shitty friend who keeps throwing problems at you?

no, that won't do. speaking or thinking more about this isn't the way to go. dwelling on it won't do any good right now. getting a good look around ought to be the focus and that's what flynn shifts his attention to. maybe he also doesn't want to think more about how big of a failure he is. some goddamn future commandant.

now standing in front of the damaged map, he attempts to see if anything useful can be gained from it. hmm... it's so damaged...]

Yeah, and whoever left seems to have done so in a hurry.

[scrutinizing the map closely fails to yield anything useful. thanks to the excessive damage, nothing of use can really be made out. that said, it can still hold some information not immediately noticeable. why not take it with? it isn't heavy and should be easy to carry. yeah, why not?]

We should take this map with us. It's damaged, but maybe we can get something out of it.

Sounds good to me. Someone else may be able to figure something out from it that we can't.

[he continues to look around the room, but he's not finding all the much. even if he were to have much else to spot, he's still a bit sidetracked by the pain to be at full attention. most of what he sees is more of the same though.]

Doesn't look like there's much else here. The whole thing doesn't look like it belongs here though. Seems a hell of a lot more like CERES work than what we saw from natives in that abandoned village. [he's just guessing here, since it's obviously long since been left behind and forgotten; the fact that there's nothing particularly telling aside from the architecture of the building says enough. if it's CERES, they were stationed here for some reason, at some point.

was it to find a place to build? were they scoping out the natives? was there a war? there are a lot of possibilities that this discovery opens up, but completely fails to deliver any answers about.]

[flynn can't argue that deduction. unlike the abandoned village or even the one inside that cavern or volcano or whatever it was, this place is build differently. it feels about as out of place as it gets. with a gentle touch just to ensure ripping doesn't occur, the map gets taken down and rolled up without any hassle. first thing to go right this whole unfortunate trip.]

The only question is why build something so far outside the city only to abandon it later?

[it needed to serve an initial purpose and that purpose had to have been rendered unimportant in order for it to be abandoned this way. flynn's eyes scan the area momentarily, face lighting up briefly upon finding exactly what he wanted: paperclips. one at the bottom, one at the top and presto, map is good to go. with that taken care of, his gaze turns back toward yuri.]

But it's unlikely we'll find the answer to that here. Everything else here seems unimportant.

[unless you need paperclips. good to know they have a supply if the city ever runs short on supply of those.]

I get the feeling we're probably more likely to find that answer by pressing someone from CERES more than we will out here. You can tell it's been a hell of a long time since anyone's stepped foot in this place.

[that doesn't take much of an observant eye to figure out. yuri's still peering around the room, but it's mostly a fruitless effort at this point. there's nothing left to be found here. after steeling himself to draw in a deep breath (which hurts. like hell.), he turns to flynn.]

Probably should just head back to the city for now. I wanna see what's past here, but our luck's been pretty cursed this go. May as well report this back before we go any further, maybe look into what the hell happened with you, too. [has anyone else left the city like them yet? have they had this breathing issue too? who knows.]

And why if there's a reason behind why you're not feeling the same effects I am.

[which flynn can't help but be relieved at. suffocating to death is a concern only one of them ought to worry about. then again, at present the need for concern no longer exists. ah, being able to breathe feels so good. a small, if comforting smile get directed at yuri.]

Not that I'm feeling them at the moment, either, thanks to you.

[not much, anyway. getting back home before that changes sounds like a good idea. the last thing yuri needs on his plate is dealing with a second round of flynn not breathing. maybe they can try this again after figuring out the mouth to mouth mystery.]

[yuri's relieved about it too, even if he's still incredibly wary that it happened to begin with. sure, it's better than flynn dropping dead any day of the week, but maybe there's just an underlying concern it'll happen again—and that maybe next time they won't be so lucky.

but they can't worry about that bridge when they cross it, right? yuri responds by shrugging a little, but follows it up with something that obviously needs to be said.]

If you start feeling like that again, tell me. No more pretending it's fine when you're about to keel over. [says yuri, as he does the exact same thing.]

[the smile fades into a more neutral expression and is accompanied by a nod.]

All right. I will.

[but not because he wants to. flynn knows yuri won't ignore any potential signs of distress this time around, not when the cause of them is now known. as bad as worrying him is, no point in lying exists when it means getting called out about it, anyway. the only downside to being best friends with someone is them not falling for the same bullshit twice. maybe it's a good thing when yuri's the one pulling the bullshit, especially since that bullshit rarely tends to be okay, but it's annoying when flynn's trying to get away with bullshitting.

hey, no one ever said the commandant can't be a complete and utter hypocrite.]

[they're both undoubtedly terrible hypocrites at this point, but that's just the way it goes, right?]

'Kay. Then let's get moving. It's gonna be one hell of a trip back if we run into another monster like what found before. [yuri's sure that where there's one, there's more. there wasn't just a single giganto back on terca lumieis, and there's no way another monster of that caliber exists on its own.

and really, they can't afford to run into another one. flynn may be in fighting condition now, but the hit yuri took is definitely going to handicap him in a fight, especially now that the initial adrenaline has worn off. he'd rather avoid that, as much as he usually looks for a good fight. but he's sure that even flynn realizes that they're undermanned for another fight like that. ]

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definitely not fun and games ( closed )

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