[Open]

[spaceforged]

Who: Shiro and you.
Where: Shelter, medical area
When: Hours after rescuing the King.
Rating Pg
What: Shiro comes back battered and wounded from the rescue mission. Keith swears a lot.



He runs his hands over the bandages around his ribs with a wince. He’d gotten so used to being able to shake off bullets and arrows. He has been mostly indestructible. He should have known better. Shiro slips from the small area laid out to treat his injuries as gingerly as he can manage. Cracked ribs are no joke.

He hisses through his teeth as the pain radiates out from his chest and side. He regrets a lot of things. He had charged at a pack of guards confident he would perfectly fine. “Crack goes the Lion.” He mutters as he pulls his duffel bag closer with a foot and fights not to breathe in.

Every breath hurts. They have a surplus of healers this time. The distraction team will all get back on their feet in less time than they would have otherwise. But until then he can just deal with it.

Comments

[lonered]

Keith moves easily with Shiro, paying close enough attention that he's not missing any minor twitch his friend makes, intent on trying to keep this as painless as possible -- which is probably not all that painless, honestly. He genuinely despises seeing the other in pain, and it's unfortunately a sight that he's seen way too often in their lives.

He listens as they walk though. "Huh. So definitely too valuable to kill straight away." Keith nods to himself. Okay. And now the King has been rescued, which has to throw a wrench in the plan.

Following Shiro's directions, he turns towards right. "Lasers... jawblade?" And there's a fleeting thought of if the others show up like this, could you form Voltron?, and that's a weirdly unsettling thought.

He's just... not going to mention that. To Shiro. Or anyone.

[spaceforged]

"I'll have to test it." Vague answer but, all of his focus is on navigating the halls. He moves slowly, testing each step. Maybe he should have laid down in the patient room. It's too late to turn back and that room would be needed for someone else. Shiro takes a right, then a left. "...Jalin is worried both factions will come after this sanctuary." There might already be Syndicate members inside waiting for a chance.

"Keep an eye out for anything suspicious." He doubts he needs to remind Keith of that. He's seen how he thinks now. He pushes open the door to the small side room with its bed up against the wall.

It's out of the way. Exactly what he needs right now. He almost sags with relief. Even this small trip taxed him. "...With so many of us down...this would be the time to strike."

[lonered]

"They might. But they aren't going to have an easy time of it. There's still enough of us on our feet," Keith agrees. This place is safe for now, but that could easily change. He's on guard -- though that's how he spends most of his time, especially lately, working with the Blade has got him always on his guard.

It's a survival skill. He eases Shiro over to the bed, easing him down to a seat carefully.

"I'll keep my eyes open, Shiro. Always. If an attack comes, we'll be ready."

[spaceforged]

He puts a hand against the wall as he sits down on the bed. "You can absolutely trust Jalin. Keeping Kathashun and the people here breathing is what he wants. That means us too." And Jalin is a friend of his. Shiro grabs the pillow and stuffs it up against the back wall. He leans his back against it.

"I know everything will be fine." He believes it. They've slowed the guards and have the king. "Pass me the bottle of water and the pill bottle from the duffel." He'll even obey Keith's previous order about the meds.

Despite how he'd like nothing better than to not.

[lonered]

"Good. That's definitely my top priority too. Glad we have that guy on our side then." Since he clearly had the people on his, which is useful given that they're a bunch of outsiders that the locals have limited reason to really trust save whatever goodwill they've built in their time here, before all hell broke loose.

Keith is definitely braced for a fight to get Shiro to take the pain medication, so when it doesn't come to that, he is quick to dig them out of the bag along with the water. Fine by him if Shiro is going to cooperate and take care of himself instead of killing himself looking out for everyone else first. It's something Keith has always admired about the older man, how genuinely selfless Shiro can be, but it's also something that's made him worry often enough.

And for good reason, he thinks, watching Shiro where eh's propped back and very clearly in pain. He hands over the pills and settles himself to a seat at the edge of the bed, perched carefully so as not to jostle Shiro. "I guess the Witch was right about this place being on the verge of something."

[spaceforged]

"At least we'll be much more prepared for the next world." Shiro agrees. He takes a swig of water uses it to swallow down the pills. The aftertaste is always awful. But that's a hell of a lot better than his arm being stuck by a damn alien injector. His hand twitches. He ignores it and takes a sip of water.

He misses the Sig Saucer P226s, he'd have loaded both of them and set them where he could reach them. Instead, he has his arm and a sword. Or if it came to it, metal teeth and claws.

Maybe Shehui made him too paranoid. "Don't think him a pushover." Ah right, he needs to say something about that. "I sparred with him. I threw my best at him and he kept up with me. ...Keith, he wasn't even actively trying. If he had, I would have lost very quickly."

[lonered]

"Sort of trial by fire here, but we're learning who we all are and where we fit, I guess. Whether we were ready for it or not." They'd have to refine it. This had been... messy. At best .The situation itself, but also the lot of them, a bunch of mostly strangers trying to act in some semblance of coherence. They can be better than that. They have to be.

Shiro is, however, forgetting one Blade in his arsenal -- one who will be doing what he can to help keep this shelter safe, stop the chaos from picking back up again in the streets, but who will also be making sure that Shiro stays safe and sound while he recovers. Over Keith's dead body is Shiro getting more hurt than he currently is.

He watches the other man swallow the painkillers, nodding to himself before, well, his eyebrows shoot straight up at that information. "Are you-- you're serious."

Well. That's saying something. Shiro didn't survive the Galra arena by being an okay fighter. And Keith is still desperately chasing the older man's shadow when it comes to combat. Shiro is strong and skilled. So to hear that he'd been matched without someone's full effort even coming into play. "Huh."

[spaceforged]

He watches the realization sink in. That's right, neither of them could take him. Possibly together but all fights in the arena are one on one. Shiro sips the water and nods. "I'm not sure if he has magic or not. If he does its passive and always on." He doesn't want to find out if that's true or not.

"It might be he's that naturally gifted in combat ability. Hard to say." Messing with him would be a massive mistake. "If you get to watch him fight...do it. You and I can learn a lot from him." They need to learn a lot of things. Starting with how to pull their group into one team. He has ideas he'll sit on for now. They need to focus on recovery and defense.

"...he's a good guy. You should tell him some stories about space sometime. He really enjoys hearing about anything outside this city." He quite likes Jalin. But... Shiro reaches out and sets his hand on Keith's shoulder. "...all that aside. Keith, I'll be alright. Are you going to be alright?"

[lonered]

"Yeah, I'll keep an eye out. That's something I think I'd want to see."

But it still is something to wrap his mind around. Magic or not, it does sound impressive. Keith will try to see some of it if he has the time, if things settle down enough that he isn't on permanent edge about the other shoe dropping with the tensions and violence in the city.

His hand lifts automatically to reach over and set atop the one of Shiro's at his shoulder, giving it a brief squeeze that he hopes is reassuring. "Of course. I always am." If nothing else, Keith is a survivor. But there's tension in the smile he offers Shiro, admittedly most of it worry for the broken Black Paladin. A great deal of his well being is dependent on Shiro's -- more than Keith likely realizes consciously, though it became clearer and clearer each time he's lost him.

[spaceforged]

He watches him and shifts, moving to pull Keith into a very careful hug. "Keith. It will be alright. The Circle is a large group. We have all sorts of powers among us. We can do this! I'll be fine back here. I doubt I'll need to fight for a while. I know you and the others can handle it."

Shiro cautiously tightens his hold on him, smoothing his hands down his back in a soothing gesture. "I don't like being benched but I can't argue that right now I need to be." The painkillers are finally taking the edge off. He slowly let's go and lays down.

He should try to sleep soon. What is his life that he has to calculate the averages of medication effects as he used to chart readings while he flew? Yet he still reaches out to touch Keith's arm and keep physical contact. "...be careful out there. I expect you to end up here because you're crashing for the night. Not because you got hurt from doing something risky."

[lonered]

Keith moves to hug back like he normally would, remembers immediately that Shiro is injured and instead sets a hand oh so very carefully against his uninjured side, leaning into him as cautiously as possible. He nods.

"I know. You're right."

And he is. Every point Shiro makes is correct, and Keith can't and won't argue with them. He'll do what he has to anyway, while there's still some battle to be fought to try to do some good in this place.

He makes sure Shiro is settling in and nods. He sets his hand on top of Shiro's at his arm, holding his gaze. He summons up a shade of a smile. "I'm always careful, Shiro." He lies, a lie so blatant that it's followed by a laugh at himself for even trying. "I'll be smart. No unnecessary risks." Just the necessary ones. Where that lines get drawn is the real question. "You should get some rest. Let the meds do their job."

[spaceforged]

"I mean it, Keith. No risky behavior. You're one of our few fliers. You're needed more than ever." He moves his pillow with only a wince at the pain. Keith had flat out lied in a way he's pretty sure was meant to make him feel better.

It doesn't. He gives him his flat stare to back up his statement and finally shuts his eyes. "I'll be back up on my feet as soon as the healers get my ribs fixed." He murmurs. He feels so drained. The demand of shifting isn't usually this bad. It has to be using the lasers and getting hurt.

Doesn't mean he has to like it.

[lonered]

Keith almost says Isn't there a dragon out there somewhere? But he's grown a little, in his time with the Blade, so he manages to keep that to himself. He knows Shiro worries, and he wants to shrug it off -- even after all this time, he's not really used to anyone worrying. Shiro's been the only one who has, since he was really young anyway.

And Keith gets it, in a way. He worries a lot about Shiro, after Keberos especially.

"I'll be as careful as I can, Shiro. I promise." And he does mean that.

He also means what he says next, "So... worry less about me and more about taking it easy until you're patched up."

[spaceforged]

He sighs. "Alright. Be careful out there." He's worried about Keith since he first met him. It's difficult to even consider shutting that off. So he doesn't. Shiro shuts his eyes.

"Make sure to keep an eye on the king's tent." He adds, "Can't miss it, it's isolated from the rest." Hopefully, Keith heeds his advice and doesn't get shot or stabbed.

[lonered]

"Got it. Now get some rest." Keith offers a smile, and with that he heads off to see what's going on beyond this room, and to let Shiro hopefully drift off to sleep.

...

Eventually, however, he makes his way back. It's been... a long day. To say the least. He makes his way into the room as quietly as possible, hoping not to wake Shiro if he happens to actually be resting.

But Keith's steps are a little heavier than usual, a little uneven. It may have something to do with the bandage currently wrapped around his torso -- which is entirely visible given that his shirt is currently in his hand.

Shiro. He ruined his new clothes. Also he got stabbed. A little.

So much for don't get shot, don't get stabbed. They've been overachievers this time.

[spaceforged]

He wakes up because the footsteps don't sound right. They're heavier, one side being favored more than the other. Then he smells the coppery tang that could only be one thing. Blood. He shoots up in bed so fast his side is awash with pain. He clamps his hand over it and breathes through it as he scans the area for the problem.

His eyes settle on Keith in the gloom. "Keith? What happened?" He lays back down, snatching up his lighter and uses it with a flick to light the lantern by his bedside. Shiro lets his eyes get accustomed to the lantern light and goes cold inside.

"Come closer." He'd jinxed it before. Damn it.

[lonered]

Keith freezes at the first sound of Shiro moving, staring through the dim light and wincing when he hears that breath. Damn it. He's already moving towards the bed, to make sure Shiro didn't go and injure himself further with that. "Sorry... I was trying not to wake you up..." he murmurs even as he watches the light flare to life.

Keith is far more concerned about Shiro at the moment than himself -- which is so true to usual that it barely bears being mentioned. "Are you all right? Did you hurt yourself moving?"

Stopping just beside the bed, he takes a moment to look at him, turned a bit so that his own injury isn't immediately visible. ...but the bandages are wrapped full around him so he's hiding nothing and knows it. "I'm fine, Shiro. Just made a stupid mistake. Forgot to watch my six."

[spaceforged]

He ignores the questions. They're not important. He wants to growl. What had he said about being careful?? If his temper wasn't set on low burn, he'd have said it. Shiro sits back up and gestures for Keith to turn. "How deep is it?" He'd smelled blood. Has to be some kind of wound instead of cracked bone or a break like his own issue.

"You're bleeding." He reminds him as he grabs the bottle of pills and the water bottle. "You take anything for the pain yet?" Hopefully he has but he has bets on that not being the case. Probably let himself get patched then came straight here to check on him.

It's touching but he worries for him.

[lonered]

"I was bleeding. I got myself stitched up." It's still bleeding, but between the stitches and the bandages, it's slowed to nearly nothing. He'll be fine, he's certain of that. It's not even worth having a healer look at it when their abilities are needed far more by people hurt far worse than him. He frowns a little at Shiro, like he's ready to argue about Shiro even wanting to look at it when Shiro should be lying down.

But instead he turns, lifting the arm on that side with a wince. "Not that deep. It didn't hit anything important."

The wound is on his left side, closer around to his back. It missed his kidney by a few inches, apparently. But hey he has two of those so that can't be a big deal either. He hesitates at the question. Way to call him out on exactly what he did, Shiro. Patched up and straight here. So a shake of his head and he answers in a non-answer, "It doesn't really hurt. You should save those." Bad enough he took them for a hangover really, especially now that he's had a very clear reminder of how much he hates seeing Shiro in pain.

[spaceforged]

Keith had turned to present his left side and lifted his arm. With the bandages around his middle, he can guess where it probably is. Missed vitals but he's still bringing his eyebrows down with disapproval. "If it doesn't hurt you're in shock. Take the pills, Keith. I can restock at the temple."

He won't give on this. Shiro pulls back on the anger curling in his chest. Not at Keith, at their situation. They don't have the medical equipment he'd want to have. "We don't have the resources here we'd have in space." He says as he pulls his pillow up, shoving it up against the wall so he can sit up for a while.

"You're going to need sleep whether you let yourself be healed or not. Pain makes that a lot harder." He stretches his legs back out and takes a moment to let himself settle. "The first night is always the hardest, remember?"

[lonered]

"I'm not in shock, I'm in denial," he provides. But he also sighs. Sometimes arguing with Shiro isn't worth it. It's never easy, and the older man has a way of relying on things like reason and logic that Keith has little actual ammunition against. So he'll go to retrieve the pills and some water, setting himself to a seat on the edge of Shiro's bed and opening them up.

He glances over at the other man now, frowning. "How are you feeling? Do you need these while I have them out?"

Because Shiro is right. "You still need your rest too."

He leans heavily on his unstabbed side, hand braced to the mattress, wincing just faintly. "I remember. Guess we got a little spoiled by healing pods, huh?"

[spaceforged]

"...yeah, we did." They got used to needing only a little time before they were back up on their feet. He reaches out to steady Keith with a hand on his uninjured side. "And yes, I could use another dose." He's about as he expected, slightly cranky and achy. Shiro covers his own injured side with his Galra hand and drops it back onto the bed.

"You know what this means. I'd like you to stay closer to the Arena. Or not fight at all. There's a lot of tasks to be completed back here." In the past, he'd have urged Keith to help in the infirmary. But he trusts him. "We needed a scout sticking closer to our encampment as it is."

[lonered]

"Yeah, I know. I'm not quite grounded, but I'll stick close." As much as possible anyway. Even Keith has to admit that he's at the limit of how useful he can be at the moment. Circumstances could change, and he could be launching himself back into the fray without a second thought if it comes to it. But for now, Shiro is right. "Last thing I need is to wind up a liability."

And without getting a chance to heal up, he's in danger of being just that if he pushes too hard. He takes a moment to swallow a couple of the pills before passing Shiro a dose as well. They've been in worse shape before, the both of them, more than once, but both of them being injured at the same time is far from ideal. To put it mildly.

"But first... I really need a nap." He's worn out, between the blood loss and the fighting, and the short painful flight back. Shiro is right. He really shouldn't fly when he's injured. The strain of it nearly took him straight out of the air. And now he knows.

[spaceforged]

He grins at him, relief in his grey eyes. All evidence pointed towards Keith not taking more reckless actions but, in the past, he'd have been stubborn about it. He slowly reaches around his back and grips him in a one-armed hug. "Make sure you let the healers work on you when you get up. We need trained scouts right now, Keith. Don't put yourself on the lower priority list."

He'll let them work on him too. Shiro lets him go and swallows his dose of pills. Any later and the old dose will wear off and the edge will come back. "You can crash here, the bed is big enough for both of us." And he can keep a sharp eye on him.

He knows they've been hurt worse before. But that was when they had healing pods and he has been alone for a while. Having Keith close is important to him.

[lonered]

It isn't lost on Keith, that look of relief, and it takes him a moment to figure out what it's for, to realize that Shiro was braced for him putting up a fight about this. And thinking about it, he's sure he might have not all that long ago.

He's still considering this as he leans into Shiro, carefully, because they're both in a state.

"I will. As long as they've got a free hand." He'll see about trying to get himself mended. But that goes for Shiro too. Honestly, that goes for Shiro first if he's being honest. Keith will feel better once Shiro is back on his feet anyway.

For now though, he offers a grateful smile, nodding and moving to settle very very gingerly on the bed. "Thanks. Kick me out if I bother your side, okay?"