The main hallways. Good. And the coast seemed to be clear, so far. Link briefly wondered if the new clue would help the situation, or only make it more grim. He would know soon enough.
He didn't take his eyes away from the direction where the monster was until he noticed the group had stumbled into the first main hallway, meaning they were some distance away now in a place that potentially held new dangers. At least their original threat didn't seem to be following them yet. Zero could lower his gun and enjoy having strained ears for a few seconds of peace.
Only a few seconds. "We have to keep moving," he commented gruffly (as if it weren't obvious enough), turning to face his companions. As he looked at them, his eyes checked over their bodies for injuries. Harpuia looked to be the only one with an obvious wound. Otherwise, they were alive, and that was most important. (Meanwhile, scolding X for the obvious could wait until after they got moving again.) "Everyone okay?"
The adrenalin from the encounter had begun to fade, leaving X's head thumping and his body jumpy, as though there were hundreds of needles poking into every limb at once, and the only way to shake them off was to move.
Too bad there was a fat chance of that.
His heart was hammering, his stomach clenched, and his head was spinning...
But his mind was calm.
Calm, and already thinking over what happened as he leaned against Harpuia for support.
Even though he was wounded, Harpuia refused to leave him behind. X somehow knew it would be the case, but with what they were up against, not leaving him was risky. What if the...patient...(patient. What the hell did Landel do here?! Why did he do this?! Anger coiled in his stomach, burning hot and refusing to leave at the simple thought of the man) had brushed off Zero's shots and headed straight for them as Harpuia had dragged him off? What if...
Well, whatever could have happened, it didn't, and X couldn't have been happier for that.
But his eyes still flicked to his companion's arm.
It was for reasons like these that he had hoped to grab some medical supplies while he was out. Admittedly, X didn't know much about human medical procedure, but there had to be something they could do for his arm, if only to just wrap it.
Much like what Harpuia had done for him the night before, when he was...more than a little reckless.
And you weren't a few minutes ago? Did you really think they would have let you act as bait? And did you really think you would have gotten away unscathed?
Not unscathed, but he wasn't made of glass, even with his leg. He could have at least distracted him until they were far enough away.
...
Though looking at Harpuia's arm, probably not.
"When we get to a safe place, we need to get him taken care of."
"What?" Harpuia hadn't quite caught Zero's question; his ears were still ringing from those gunshots. Another reason to be resentful of this new body, then; as a reploid, he'd called down lightning countless times and never so much as flinched at the thunderclaps that followed it. A few little bangs shouldn't have impacted him in any way.
Well, X's response filled in enough of the blanks, anyway. He followed X's stare down to the arm that the patient had clawed up. The cuts were bleeding freely -- that could be troublesome, if he ended up leaving a trail that could be followed -- but the wounds themselves... that was nothing Harpuia minded. A steady, sharp sting that seemed to pulse in time with his heartbeat. Sensation in its purest, rawest form.
"It looks worse than it is. You don't need to be concerned about me," he said simply. "Let's head for the second floor. I was told where I could find a weapon there; if we get caught by surprise again, I'd at least like us to be a little more well-prepared."
...And a little more "not eager to throw our lives away at the first hint of danger," too. That particular lecture was on the tip of Harpuia's tongue, just waiting to be made once they were all safe, but he held himself back. He'd gotten plenty of scolding done the previous night, but Harpuia was in no position to talk about self-sacrificing being unwise without making a massive hypocrite of himself. He instead looked over to Zero, hoping eyes would be enough to convey the point: this one's all yours.
Zero got Harpuia's look, alright, but he wasn't ready to give any lectures, either. At least, not yet. Their present situation was too messy to be sitting around talking for too long. They just escaped from a monster which could follow them here at any moment, and one of their own was injured. So arming his allies was priority number one; continuing to protect them from further harm was priority number two. Scolding X for being reckless? A little further down the priority list.
But soon...
"I know what you're talking about. The upstairs closet... I found some decent supplies up there before." A metal pipe, for starters, and also a flashlight. There were other things in there, but Zero hadn't had enough time to examine them all before that particular night ended. In any case, it was a good start for these two.
"Then let's go there now. We need to keep moving," he repeated, eying the stairwell across the hall impatiently. "That thing is faster than we are, and we don't need anyone else throwing themselves at it recklessly." ...Okay, so he managed to sneak in an indirect scolding after all, complete with a look briefly shot at X. But no full scoldings yet. The quicker they got to that closet, the better. They didn't need any more injuries.
Though speaking of that... The first aid kit he had in his pocket...wonder if that would help Harpuia's arm any...? (However one would use half of the things that were in it.) But once again, it was something that could be discussed after they got moving. Not before.
Anyone else throwing themselves at it recklessly...ouch. If Zero's words had points at the end, X would have felt them lodge in his stomach and maybe twist a little bit.
...Well. It wasn't as though he didn't deserve it. He'd been more than a little reckless, and...well...
"All right."
X's eyes flicked down to the piece of glass still in his hand, clutched like a lifeline in a vice-grip. He was lucky he didn't cut himself, in hindsight. It glittered dimly in the light, but bits of it had chipped off in the fall, leaving part of it almost serrated in appearance.
It didn't have much use now, but until he found something better, he didn't have much of a choice. Maybe when they reached the closet, he could find something decent to replace it.
Who knew? Maybe along the way, they could find some medical supplies, a lone first aid kit, perhaps.
Glancing at both Zero and Harpuia, he moved away from his guardian, to at least stand up straight on his own. He had a limp and his leg burned, but he could at least try to move. Besides, it was starting to feel a little better, now...
Zero knew the way, then? Harpuia wasn't exactly eager to follow Zero's lead anytime soon, but this was hardly a situation where he could afford to be choosy. This place was big enough that he would likely just end up lost if he tried to find the closet on his own. With that monster out there (and the distinct possibility that there might be even more patients like that roaming the Institute), it made far more sense to shelve his pride.
Harpuia spared a quick, concerned look X's way. He wasn't sure X should be standing on his own, since he seemed to have aggravated his leg injury, but it wasn't like he still needed dragging anywhere. Harpuia decided to let it be, instead cradling his bleeding arm in his free hand.
"Let's go, then. You can lead the way once we're on the second floor," he told Zero, ushering them all onward and upward.
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no subject
He didn't take his eyes away from the direction where the monster was until he noticed the group had stumbled into the first main hallway, meaning they were some distance away now in a place that potentially held new dangers. At least their original threat didn't seem to be following them yet. Zero could lower his gun and enjoy having strained ears for a few seconds of peace.
Only a few seconds. "We have to keep moving," he commented gruffly (as if it weren't obvious enough), turning to face his companions. As he looked at them, his eyes checked over their bodies for injuries. Harpuia looked to be the only one with an obvious wound. Otherwise, they were alive, and that was most important. (Meanwhile, scolding X for the obvious could wait until after they got moving again.) "Everyone okay?"
no subject
The adrenalin from the encounter had begun to fade, leaving X's head thumping and his body jumpy, as though there were hundreds of needles poking into every limb at once, and the only way to shake them off was to move.
Too bad there was a fat chance of that.
His heart was hammering, his stomach clenched, and his head was spinning...
But his mind was calm.
Calm, and already thinking over what happened as he leaned against Harpuia for support.
Even though he was wounded, Harpuia refused to leave him behind. X somehow knew it would be the case, but with what they were up against, not leaving him was risky. What if the...patient...(patient. What the hell did Landel do here?! Why did he do this?! Anger coiled in his stomach, burning hot and refusing to leave at the simple thought of the man) had brushed off Zero's shots and headed straight for them as Harpuia had dragged him off? What if...
Well, whatever could have happened, it didn't, and X couldn't have been happier for that.
But his eyes still flicked to his companion's arm.
It was for reasons like these that he had hoped to grab some medical supplies while he was out. Admittedly, X didn't know much about human medical procedure, but there had to be something they could do for his arm, if only to just wrap it.
Much like what Harpuia had done for him the night before, when he was...more than a little reckless.
And you weren't a few minutes ago? Did you really think they would have let you act as bait? And did you really think you would have gotten away unscathed?
Not unscathed, but he wasn't made of glass, even with his leg. He could have at least distracted him until they were far enough away.
...
Though looking at Harpuia's arm, probably not.
"When we get to a safe place, we need to get him taken care of."
no subject
Well, X's response filled in enough of the blanks, anyway. He followed X's stare down to the arm that the patient had clawed up. The cuts were bleeding freely -- that could be troublesome, if he ended up leaving a trail that could be followed -- but the wounds themselves... that was nothing Harpuia minded. A steady, sharp sting that seemed to pulse in time with his heartbeat. Sensation in its purest, rawest form.
"It looks worse than it is. You don't need to be concerned about me," he said simply. "Let's head for the second floor. I was told where I could find a weapon there; if we get caught by surprise again, I'd at least like us to be a little more well-prepared."
...And a little more "not eager to throw our lives away at the first hint of danger," too. That particular lecture was on the tip of Harpuia's tongue, just waiting to be made once they were all safe, but he held himself back. He'd gotten plenty of scolding done the previous night, but Harpuia was in no position to talk about self-sacrificing being unwise without making a massive hypocrite of himself. He instead looked over to Zero, hoping eyes would be enough to convey the point: this one's all yours.
no subject
But soon...
"I know what you're talking about. The upstairs closet... I found some decent supplies up there before." A metal pipe, for starters, and also a flashlight. There were other things in there, but Zero hadn't had enough time to examine them all before that particular night ended. In any case, it was a good start for these two.
"Then let's go there now. We need to keep moving," he repeated, eying the stairwell across the hall impatiently. "That thing is faster than we are, and we don't need anyone else throwing themselves at it recklessly." ...Okay, so he managed to sneak in an indirect scolding after all, complete with a look briefly shot at X. But no full scoldings yet. The quicker they got to that closet, the better. They didn't need any more injuries.
Though speaking of that... The first aid kit he had in his pocket...wonder if that would help Harpuia's arm any...? (However one would use half of the things that were in it.) But once again, it was something that could be discussed after they got moving. Not before.
no subject
...Well. It wasn't as though he didn't deserve it. He'd been more than a little reckless, and...well...
"All right."
X's eyes flicked down to the piece of glass still in his hand, clutched like a lifeline in a vice-grip. He was lucky he didn't cut himself, in hindsight. It glittered dimly in the light, but bits of it had chipped off in the fall, leaving part of it almost serrated in appearance.
It didn't have much use now, but until he found something better, he didn't have much of a choice. Maybe when they reached the closet, he could find something decent to replace it.
Who knew? Maybe along the way, they could find some medical supplies, a lone first aid kit, perhaps.
Glancing at both Zero and Harpuia, he moved away from his guardian, to at least stand up straight on his own. He had a limp and his leg burned, but he could at least try to move. Besides, it was starting to feel a little better, now...
no subject
Harpuia spared a quick, concerned look X's way. He wasn't sure X should be standing on his own, since he seemed to have aggravated his leg injury, but it wasn't like he still needed dragging anywhere. Harpuia decided to let it be, instead cradling his bleeding arm in his free hand.
"Let's go, then. You can lead the way once we're on the second floor," he told Zero, ushering them all onward and upward.
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