(no subject)

[grandstanding]

Who: Erik, Charles, Hank and Raven
Broadcast: nah
Action: the Blameless. warning for injury treatment, probably.
When: June 7th, shortly after this

[This is the second time in the span of seven days that Erik has had to pilot a shuttle while his vision isn't a hundred percent. It's almost a pattern, he thinks blearily to himself. Different causes, though. As the shuttle docks with the Blameless, he can't help but blow out a breath.

First step done. Now to get out.]

Comments

[beathach]

[just like he said, Hank is there waiting for them when the shuttle docks. As soon as it's safe he's heading up to it, already expecting the worst. It was what he did, worry and expect the worst and hope that he was about to be proven wrong]

[grandstanding]

[Hank is greeted with only a slightly gory sight, once the shuttle door opens. There's Erik, panting in the pilot's seat, still-wet blood streaking his face from the gash above his left eye. He only has one hand on the control panel.

In his lap sits a limp otter.

Erik swivels his gaze to look at Hank when he approaches, and he's... dazed. But still able to focus.]

I think you should take Charles. [He says that without preamble, as he always does. There's strain in his voice, masking the pain of his injuries.]

[axiomed]

[ Said otter blinks blearily at the sound of his name, raising his head up. ]

[beathach]

[there's a moment where he just stares at the two of them, as if he's processing that yes - this is what he'd been worried about, that "worst" was here staring at him in the face. He has to shake himself out of it, shoving back old fears and anger that threaten to immediately try to overwhelm him.

It doesn't stop him from hissing out a curse]

I can take you both. Can you keep a hold on him?

[athru]

[ When Raven gets the message there's no hesitation; the way she moves reminds her more of the speed she felt when she was running in Paris, or fleeing from a thousand over places. There's no hesitation, and it's almost as if she tries her best to match Hank's speed herself. The sense of panic that she feels is new, though, and it's completely different to what she had felt for a long time - it reminds her of being at the CIA, the day that Shaw attacked, losing Angel and Darwin and being desperate for Charles to come back so she could fold into his arms and feel safe again.

She bursts into the lab almost with a noise, shutting the door behind her - she doesn't lock it if only because she's not sure if they'll need to run in and out for supplies of some kind. Breathing out, she walks forward, hair sticking to her face until she shoves it away. ]

What the hell happened?

[axiomed]

[ The otter only looks up blearily in Hank's arms. ]

[athru]

[ It takes her a little moment, a handful of seconds, really, to figure out who exactly is being given to her when the otter is passed into her arms, but seeing as Hank and Erik are to one side and there's no way Erik would be here in this condition without Charles... Well, there's another thing she didn't know. There's no point dwelling on it for now, though, even if it makes her heart stab with a little ache, and all Raven does is take the otter into her arms, shifting her clothes into something softer before she goes and sits down, brother in arms. ]

I thought it was your job to take care of me, Charles.

[ Crossing her legs under her, she cradles him against her body before she breathes out, trying not to let on just how afraid she is. Broken ribs, hiding as an otter, some terrifying message about her family getting hurt... It's not right. ]

[axiomed]

[ He huffs, shaking. As an otter, a lot of the effects are a little muted but still extreme. Taking this form doesn't limit the pain, only makes it easier to escape. And Winter's screams are still shuffling around in his head, making it jarring and difficult to concentrate. ]

I've always been bad at that job.

[grandstanding]

[By now Hank's forced Erik to sit down and clean up the blood from his face. He's still got a cloth pressed to it with his good hand, which means it's awkwardly crossed across his face. The battering he took hasn't formed bruises yet, but the telltale signs are there.
Raven's abrupt entrance makes him jolt, wheeling to look at the door in alarm.]

[athru]

[ Raven knows Erik and she knows bruises and she knows bruises on Erik; those are the kind of things you get used to when you do missions and work in close quarters. She doesn't spend a lot of time debating what she ought to do and, instead, she moves forward and holds her hands up carefully, shaking her head. ]

Just me.

[grandstanding]

[He relaxes fractionally, shifting his hand so his face isn't as obscured. The sudden movement had sent sparks of pain up his left arm, making him grimace.]

Hank told you?

[beathach]

[thank god she's here, because he doesn't know how he's going to manage the both of them alone, and especially not when he's already sniping at Erik. It isn't as bad as the usual bickering, but -

He gives her a brief, thankful look and holds out an otter to her.

Because that's normal]

Can you take him? Careful, his ribs are broken.

[athru]

[ Otter in arms, Raven sits and just... Holds her brother (because who else would it be, all things considered?) before she stares at Hank and tries to wrap her mind around the mess that is their lives all of a sudden. It's not exactly easy, but she manages to breathe out and settle down, letting Charles rest against her before she glances over at Hank. She doesn't want to interrupt him when he's obviously busy, but she leans forward all the same, quick and careful. ]

Are you alright?

[beathach]

I was here.

[and if she wants him to answer otherwise - he cant really focus on anything else right now. He turns to head back over to Erik, who has the more serious injuries of the two, but he talks to her over his shoulder] I don't know what happened yet. I've been waiting for them to arrive.

[axiomed]

[ Once Charles is safely deposited onto one of the tables, he switches back with a choke. His chest was on fire and he digs his hands to the side, so he wouldn't grab his stomach and make it worse. There are bruises on his face and arms as well.

Russian. English. Winter. Daybreak. His head was pounding. ]

[beathach]

[once he's done patching Erik up Hank is immediately at Charles' side. Any of his lingering, panicked thoughts are shoved back, far past what he could pick up from surface thoughts. He isn't a telepath by any means but he's spent enough time with Charles to know how to keep what's left calm and focused. To keep his worries from bleeding out and affecting the other man.

And Raven was taking care of him, too. That helped put more of his worries to rest. He kneels down and grabs Charles' hand for a moment, squeezing]

Hey, it's your turn. [focus on me if you have to, he puts out there, as gentle as he knows how to]

[axiomed]

[ He blinks, unfocused before he realizes who is standing there. He manages a tentative smile. ]

I really couldn't, right now.

[beathach]

Mmm. [that's worrying, but he keeps that to himself. He eyes the bruises on Charles' face before he focuses down on the ice packs Raven got for him]

I need to look to see how badly they're broken - are you having any problems breathing, or is it just painful?

[grandstanding]

[Erik slips over to him once Hank's ministrations are done. He touches Charles's cheek lightly, away from where the damage is.]

[axiomed]

[ He leans into that with a tired smile. ]

How are you feeling?

[ownassets]

( It's not until a little after Charles's message that Moira arrives, the concerned expression on her face only growing after she sees the state of him. Cuts, bruises. Injured is- )

What happened?

( How did this happen? Where was he? So many other questions )

[axiomed]

[ He manages a weak smile. ]

I sort of collided against a man with a metal arm.

[athru]

[ Once Charles and Erik are patched up and resting Raven feels as though the entire day catches up with her and she's lost, somehow, and the exhaustion slams into her like weighted bricks. The sudden onset of it makes her almost stumble, and if she wasn't as good at keeping herself together as she was then she might well have done it. Even now, standing in the lab, she feels awkward and strange, the weight of everything that's happened settling around her and leaving her drained, broken down and shattered into pieces she can't even think about putting back together.

The only thing she can really do is step outside and give herself a few moments, but she knows it's not going to be enough.

Door closed behind her, she rests her back against the wall and slides down, ending up with her knees lifting so she can press her face into them, closing her eyes and trying to keep some kind of control. She can still see Charles, battered and bruised, in her mind; she can still see Erik's wounds and hear the softness of his voice, the way that Charles had asked her to take care of him, the otter and the promise to tell her everything should she ask, how they were going to wait and wait and wait and maybe, just maybe, things would finally make sense.

She thinks, absently, that she's not strong enough for this. She can hunt and try to kill men; she can stand up and aim her weaponry at the president and walk away from everything she knows, but standing by and watching people she was half-scared to love suffer and get hurt? It's too much, and she presses her forehead into her own body, breathing out a sharp noise and trying to push it all down - down lower and lower and lower so it doesn't hurt her anymore.

It's selfish; selfish to be trapped in your own mind and your own pain when your friends are bloody and broken, but she can't help it. Everything had dropped so suddenly that she can't breathe, and the exhaustion is a weight that makes her close her eyes, taking a deep, shivering breath as she tries to hold it all together. ]

[beathach]

[he's cleaning up when she slips out, and he pauses to frown as he watches her before he drops what he's doing to follow. The past couple of hours had been draining in so many ways, emotionally and physically, and he can feel his shoulders protesting all of the stress gathering there. Sooner or later he'd have to sit and just take a moment to breathe and possibly rest himself - if he could even manage it.

But with Raven slipping out without a word, he pushes all of that aside to focus on her.

He can't say he's all that surprised to see her curled up on the floor like that, and he makes a faint noise before shutting the door, as quietly as he can. They didn't need to worry about this, not when they should be focusing on themselves. He knew they would anyway, if they saw - but there was nothing he could do about that.

This, though. He slips his glasses into a pocket and wordlessly moves to her side, sitting down and drawing her closer. He doesn't have to ask; today's been wearing on the both of them and he gets it, he understands it far too well and with everything done that could be done, there was not much else left to do but crash. He was near that point, too.

But not yet. Not when Raven, who had been keeping him centered, is at her breaking point. So he gathers her close and buries his face in her hair and offers his silent support]

[athru]

[ It doesn't surprise her at all that Hank follows after her; he's always on alert, always watching out for all of them, and with the other two resting his attention is on her and what she's doing. Any other time she might feel proud of it, that she could drag him away from his work and steal his attention, tease him for it and make it into a lighthearted joke, but right now the only thing she can feel is an ache in her heart and cold inside of her, exhaustion catching up with her and panic wearing her down into wanting to hide away.

The things she feels are too difficult to explain right now, she thinks, and she can't even put them into words in her own head. The fear and panic that came with hearing that Charles was hurt, the anger and rage that burned inside, not knowing who was to blame but knowing Charles wanted to help him, her stupid, too-good and too damn kind older brother that was so afraid of making the wrong move that he didn't tell her things anymore, all alongside Erik that was changed and sharp with her, wanting her to be someone he remembers rather than the person she thinks she is.

Raven doesn't fit the moulds anymore, but she's trying. She told Charles that; they're both trying so hard and she wonders when that, too, will explode in their faces and leave them hurt all over again.

As soon as Hank is beside her she tries to tighten herself up again, push the pieces back together and not let herself fall apart. This is the last thing he needs: she was the one there to help him, and she had stepped outside so that she wouldn't put more on his shoulders and make him worry and hurt more because of her. It does make her feel better, though, having him at her side, and she shifts, turning her head and twisting her body so she can move and tuck herself into him.

She doesn't cry, but it's hard, and she reaches out to grip at his shirt, feeling small and childish and not being able to say why. ]