driftfleet | (no subject)

I had no idea, surely we would know-

[ She grits her teeth before she moves forward. At least she has Charles in her arms now, even if it means that she's all the more worried because he's an otter and it doesn't make sense. She doesn't have time to worry about it not being sensical right now, though; she's too worried about her family. ]

Is there anything I can do?

Keep him calm? Make sure he breathes slow. Keep him focused.

[he has no idea what else he can tell her to do that isn't keeping the both of the calm. He has no idea what's happened and it irks him, that this happened when he wasn't around to help. That it's scratching at all the worries he just managed to put at the back of his mind]

Then we'll switch and you can keep Erik company. Sit on him if you have to.

I'm a professional at sitting on people.

[ For different reasons, of course. She hesitates for a moment before she leans over, careful of the brother in her arms, and presses a quick kiss to Hank's cheek. It's more a sign of support and encouragement than anything else, but she's sure he understands that. ]

Let me know if I can do anything. I might not have an augment but I know how to work a bandage.

I only call in the best.

[he briefly smiles at the kiss, and - it says a lot, that he doesn't fluster even a little. There's more important things going on, but he appreciates the silent support]

I will. You know where everything is, if Charles needs something. Painkillers, ice packs -

I used to live here, Hank.

[ It's said teasingly, but she does nudge him. It's then that she goes to one side with Charles and waits, both for her brother and for Hank to be done being the doctor none of them deserve. ]

Exactly, that's why I said you know where everything is.

[a light tone, as he asks Erik seemingly innocuous questions about something that happened last week]

[ She nudges him gently before she goes and takes care of her brother, keeping an eye on him. It doesn't stop her from glancing at Hank more often than not, though, gazing at him worriedly. ]

[for as calm as he seems, it's not hard to miss how tense his shoulders are. It's easy - frighteningly easy - to shove everything deep down, every worry and concern he had that didn't involve taking care of Erik or Charles. To not care about anything past this room until he was certain he's done what he can and ask about what happened in more detail.

He can't get overwhelmed. Not yet]

[ Raven knows him and she knows when Hank is getting... Well, it's hard to explain, but letting his brain take over and talk too hard and she just - she knows that she needs to step in. Rising up, she leaves Charles where he is, resting with painkillers and the like, before she reaches out and puts a hand on Hank's shoulder. ]

Can I have a second?

Edited 2016-06-11 23:52 (UTC)

[he pauses and glances up at her, eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but there's no hesitation as he nods and sets aside the gauze in his hand, murmuring to Erik that he'll be right back. He considers her for a moment before tilting his head to the door]

Outside?

If that's okay.

[ She squeezes his arm gently before she steps away - and she doesn't give Erik a stern look, but she's sure that she doesn't need to. What she does need is to get Hank out for a moment, and that's what she's going to do. ]

Yeah, it's fine.

[he doesn't bother with stern looks, instead just pushing to his feet and stepping out of the lab. He waits for Raven to follow, then pulls the door shut behind them]

[ She waits until the door is shut until she moves, reaching out and wrapping her arms around Hank, tilting her head and slotting herself against him. She doesn't have a reason to talk to him, of course; she just wants to give him five minutes to sort his head on. Erik and Charles are okay - they can wait. ]

Are you all right?

[it takes a moment to drag his mind away from his concerns and to what she's asking, and after a pause he wraps his arms around her in return, ducking his head. He sighs out into her hair, a weak, shaky noise]

I'm okay. [it isn't a lie, not really; he's gone through times similar to this, of finding one or both of them in terrible conditions or worse. This was nothing compared to that, and yet it still dug deep] Are you?

[ It's easy to move her hand, to nudge Hank gently so he rests his head on her shoulder and lets her take some of his weight, just for a few brief moments. They're both a little shaken and uncertain and scared and they need this - they need to collect themselves and keep their cool for the other two, and if that means they take a moment for themselves then... Then that's fine.

Turning her head, she closes her eyes and curls around him. ] I'm fine. A little scared, but - but I'm alright.

[he only resists for a moment to take off his glasses, and that arm hangs limp as he goes as he's directed, his other arm tightening around her to make up the difference. Saying he's scared wouldn't be accurate now - not that he knew the extent of their injuries and knew he could at least do something about that.

No, he felt something else. Something he had no choice but to shove down] Good. They'll be alright. They've - been through much worse.

[ It's still a little too much and too sudden for Raven; she's not used to them being the ones that got hurt or having it be Charles that ends up in the middle of a fight; it doesn't work with the image she still carries of them all in her head. She knows that image is wrong, but... It's still a lot. It's almost too much, and she has to force herself to stay strong and stay put together, for their sake.

Careful, she holds onto Hank and closes her eyes, leaning close. ] I'm sure. [ Because, again, she has no clue. She'll never know. ] I'm going to go over and get Charles' chair in a little while. He's going to need it.

[he tightens his arm further, and turns his head to press his nose against her neck, breathing in. This isn't how it's supposed to go, he thinks. Charles wasn't helpless, and either was Erik, and yet one man practically plowed through them both with little trouble. Neither of them were combatants in the same way he or Raven were; if anything, their positions were supposed to be reversed]

He doesn't need it yet. [he doesn't want her going over there by herself, not when he doesn't know if it's still dangerous or not] And you're not going by yourself.

[ Raven doesn't even consider things like either of them calling for help or being able to fight: Charles was in his chair and relearning things and Erik, while still used to his mutation, was likely more focused on her brother than anything else. If she'd been there she might have been able to do something, or at least take some of the blows, but she wasn't. She wasn't even someone told about it until Hank made sure she knew. She was helpless and she hated it.

Hank sticks closer and she makes a little noise before she shakes her head. ] I don't need a babysitter, Hank. I'm not going there until I know it's safe - I know how to infiltrate somewhere dangerous without getting myself killed. [ And then maybe she'd feel useful somehow. ]

[there's a lot of helplessness drifting around, and Hank feels it, too. Had Erik not sent him the second text, he was minutes away from heading over himself. He would never ignore that the people he considered his family or friends were in possible danger - he never could. He'd do anything for them, and what he's doing now doesn't seem like it's enough. Because it shouldn't have happened in the first place.

It's why he hesitates; he knows Raven is capable, but he doesn't want to think she's walking back into something dangerous. He couldn't take it if the casualties went up another number] Okay. Just - not yet. I - we need you here.

[not just him, not just to help him out, but she was anchoring him. She was helping her brother, and speaking with Erik. Her role in this was just as important as his]

[ Raven doesn't like feeling as though she's useless - she's never done well just standing around and watching and she's sure she'd proved that with how she acted in Washington. It's not that she wants to create trouble, it's more that she wants to do things, help her kind, fight for those that can't. It's hard for her not to have a purpose here, and feeling helpless in the lab isn't making things better. She's restless and anxious and anchoring herself to Hank is the only thing that's making it easier for her. It's not fair, she knows it, but she can't help what she needs no more than anyone else can.

Instead, she holds onto her boyfriend, thinking about how she doesn't want to let go. Not just yet. She could, of course, and she could turn and let him go back into the lab and see to Charles and Erik, to make sure they're okay, but for just a few more moments she needs something to lean on - someone to lean on. She needs Hank, just for now, even if she is completely useless in the other room. ] You're the doctor, Hank. I think they need you.

[ It's easier to think of herself as unnecessary because it's far, far less frightening than the truth. ]

[he needs this as much as she does; her steadying presence when the ones he's come to depend on are currently laid out in his lab, minds and bodies abused. So he doesn't keep shoving everything down, and it doesn't get to the point where he can't get out again. He wonders if he'd be reacting to all of this a little better if he had seen it coming, or expected it, rather than simply feared it.

He wants to point out that he isn't meant to be this kind of doctor, despite having the schooling for it from home and the augment here. That he can't keep all of this up for very long before he's going to have to step away again]

They need both of us. [really, that's the only thing he can be completely certain of]

[ That's what Raven is here for, she thinks. She promised Charles she would take care of Hank and that she would take care of Erik and she's going to do it. It makes sense for her to be the one that comforts and calms because she doesn't quite have the knowledge or the skill to help out completely - she can do some things, but others she's blind to. That's where Hank steps in, and she knows that, together, they can do this; they can survive this. They can help the other two get better and then they can figure out how to make sure this never happens again.

For now, though, she just strokes her fingers over Hank and touches him gently, drawing him close and offering herself as a counterbalance to all the horrors around them. She'll drag him out as often as she thinks he'll need it and she can make him step out to one side - because she knows him, and she knows he'll listen to her. If he doesn't then she can drag him out by an ear and she knows that Hank knows that, too.

Closing her eyes, she squeezes her arms around him a little tighter. ] Just take a few minutes, okay? You need the break. [ Skirting around the issue. ]

[to some it might be frightening how quickly they all became dependent upon each other again, as if ten years and another world hadn't separated them. It wasn't the same as it once was but just as important, and later he'll take the time to be incredibly thankful that it was still there. That for the giant mess they all were, this was still there, among the broken pieces being fit back together.

She knows you echoes through his mind and while he never doubted it, she was proving it right now. Pulling him out and giving him the time he needed to collect himself, being there to do it again when he would inevitably need the time again. He didn't have that before. All he had was himself and shoving everything down in the hopes that it didn't explode one day.

His arm tightens around her, as tightly as he can without it hurting] I want to hit something. [he finally mumbles, petulant and tired. Anger sits in the back of his throat, so strong he can taste it. It rarely gets to that and he's still able to stand here like this]

[ No one can really understand what it's like for the four of them; she and Charles had lived a life of being alone and drawn up with each other, depending on each other and ending up suffering for it, and Hank and Erik entering the equation had made things a little easier but still a struggle, still awkward and difficult to manage. Ten years apart hadn't made things much better, of course, but they're relearning what it means to be together, what it means to depend on each other, to love each other. Time changes things but it can also repair things as well, and Raven knows that.

Right now Raven is focussed on soothing and taking care of Hank, so that's what she does. She brushes her fingers through his hair, she lets her other arm hold onto him gently, and she just stands, letting him take from her whatever it is he might need. He might not be quick to anger but it doesn't mean there's not fury simmering under the surface waiting to come out and she knows him well enough to help urge him to calm.

Turning herself, she leans back and kisses him, once, gently. ] I know. I do too. I want to find whoever did this and just... [ She breathes out, shaking her head before she presses closer. ] But we need to make sure they're alright first.