thearena | (no subject)

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Who| Karkat and Feferi
What| Feferi heals a very injured Karkat
Where| an alcove inside the spaceport
When| right after the cornucopia run
Warnings/Notes| talk of injury and violence

As soon as the Arena officially starts, Feferi books it for the Cornucopia-- or rather, awkwardly floats towards it. She tries not let herself get too distracted by everything going on around her; she keeps an eye on the other tributes approaching her, but she's otherwise focused on getting what she can from the Cornucopia. Sollux may be gone, but she's still determined to win this, even if it's slow going. She'd rather have those confounded ice skates than this.

She manages to get herself a key into the spaceport and a few other spoils before she decides its time to float her way out of there and get herself to the airlock, not wanting to press the limits of the oxygen supply she's been given. She comes away largely unscathed, nothing she won't be able to handle, and it's only when she gets in through the airlock and sheds her heavy outer suit that she really notices it. It's a warm surge of power, right at her core, like a deep breath of fresh air. Her Life powers. She doesn't need anyone to tell her to know it.

It's convenient, then, that as she makes her way further inside, the first tribute she stumbles upon looks very obviously in need of them. It's not until she gets closer and gets off their helmet that she recognizes that it's Karkat, and he's in terrible shape. She doesn't stop to think about it, working quickly and carefully to get his outer suit off before she hoists him onto her back to take him somewhere safe. Even as she holds onto him, she can feel like life leeching out of him, so the first alcove she finds, she sets him down and starts to work.

There's a lot to work with, so she starts with the biggest injuries, healing them just enough that he doesn't bleed out. She's already got bright red blood splotched all over her white suit-- why do they keep putting her in white?-- the last thing she needs is for him to die from blood loss. But she can't exhaust herself so soon, either, so she heals him most of the way with her powers, patch him up the rest of the way with her first aid kid, and... hope for the best.

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He tried to be fast.

It was a straightforward plan: get to the Cornucopia, get a case and a block, and go. And he didn't do it wrong! He kicked off straight, he went for what he wanted, he grabbed it--and he didn't pay attention. It wasn't his approach that was the problem, but the lack of caution for everyone else. Someone slammed into him out of nowhere and tried to fight him for it, someone stronger and meaner and more focused.

If he had more foresight, maybe it would have gone better. If he hadn't undone the tethering rope, maybe he could have fought back, but he thought he'd have to in order to get there. And his trajectory was fine! But as soon as someone started trying to knock him into space, he had to cling to the case and the chain holding it down, and it wound up too easy. They used the case against him: they hit him with it like a bludgeon, made his helmeted head smack into the crater surface, found some kind of foothold for leverage and near tried to crush his ribs with the damn thing. At some point his leg got tangled in the chain, and amongst all the chaos it broke hard - no simple fracture.

It had to be luck when he finally managed to knock them away with a shove and a kick from his good leg, and they moved onto something else. But that didn't make things easy. He had to hit the release button and find his way to the spaceport with all his pain and injuries, fiddle with the cube, and then fight the sudden crush of gravity inside. Obviously he couldn't walk - he had to crawl, and the pain got him before he could make it far.

So when Feferi finds him, he's barely aware of things. There is moving, sight, someone near. He hisses dully as she hoists and carries him - things hurt already, and the jostling makes little difference. His head hurts terribly from a bloody bump on the back, and more blood dribbles from his lips, coughed up from a lung punctured on a broken rib. His leg is a mess when she gets to it--bone should stay in the body, not piercing through. It's only being a troll that kept him from dying sooner. The rest is downright mild: a whole collection of bruises, mostly hidden by his suit.

It's funny, almost. He's supposed to be wearing pink, not red.

But in time - and it takes a while, even after she's healed the worst - he starts to realize that maybe he won't die. Consciousness filters back in, closer to where it should be, and he pays attention to who it is helping him. Long, black hair, grey skin, horns--he has to stare too long at those as she fiddles with something before recognition hits him.

"Feferi?"

Waiting patiently by his side, Feferi alternates between keeping a look out and keeping an eye on him, waiting for him to come back to reality. When he does finally speak, she perks right up, giving a big smile and fighting back the urge to hug him and not let go.

"Karkat, you're okay!" She breathes a sigh of relief, her shoulders slumping. Well, for certain definitions of okay. He'll live, and he might even stand a chance at getting through the arena. "You scared me, what happened? I haven't seen you in forever, when did you even get here?"

It's a flurry of questions, but the last time she saw Karkat, he was just a splatter on the ice rink.

Fuck, she said a lot. Karkat stares blearily, blinking confusion as he tries to process everything. Can he just sleep? Everything's sore and this is so much to deal with. At least his leg doesn't feel broken anymore, and while his mouth still tastes of blood, he's at least breathing alright - or better than he was. He coughs a little, ponders sitting up, then promptly decides against it.

"Mmmnf. There was..." Who even did this? He couldn't see a damn thing worth noticing with the helmets, just that they weren't a troll. The focus was all on the fight, not talking. "Someone... happened... tried to, to take the thing." His eyes cast around. Is his case still here? Did she bring it? She had to have moved him some, even just to get the white, outer suit off of him. He doesn't think he made it that far.

"It fucking hurt," he emphasizes, as if that couldn't have been obvious enough. "Just kept--hitting me with the thing, and... My leg got, something happened." He stares back down at it. "Something--the chain, and, they did something, it snapped. My leg snapped."

With a soft hiss for soreness, he brings his hand to rest at his ribcage. "Something here, too." It's vague and he can't try to figure out what the medical term might be beyond fucking ow and blood not where it's supposed to be, but that part should be obvious.

"How'd... How did you find me?"

He kind of forgot her second question. If she asks again, he'll answer, but he's clearly not up to full processing speed yet.

His story isn't making any sense at all, but Feferi humors him and listens closely, trying to make out as much of it as she can. She already figured that he got attacked at the Cornucopia or shortly thereafter, though the extent of the damage is rather surprising. She wonders if he hit his head a little too hard-- a concussion is unfortunately out of the realm of her abilities, the brain being far too delicate for her to mess with at her level. Maybe if she'd achieved godtier, she'd have finer control, but she doesn't want to risk it by trying. He's awake and responsive, and that's good enough for her.

"Mostly by accident," Feferi confesses to his question, giving a little shrug. "I saw someone hurt, and it turned out to be you. I healed as much as I could for now, but if I pass out then I will not be good to either of us! If I had known you were here, we could have made a run for it together."

Her first time in the arena, she had gone it alone, but it seemed like it might be beneficial to have an ally right off the bat. She'll have to keep that in mind, even if she keeps hoping there won't be a next time.

He did get slammed around pretty roughly. He'll be fine eventually, or at least not die from it. For now he's bound to be out of it as he recovers.

There's another pause after her answer before he can answer, but less of one than the time before. "No, the helmets--I wouldn't see you," he insists. "Can't see a damn thing, the face, it's too shiny." He motions loosely around his own face. What he means is how they were too reflective to see who was inside.

But face too shiny or no, she did manage to find and help him. He heard the rest of what she said, and it leaves him looking at her for a stretch, lips pursed together. Of course she's his teammate, and she has her Life powers, but she very literally saved his life. Someone else might have let him die, or offed him to get it over with. And for all his blood might not matter anymore, it's still striking when it's another troll who saved a mutant like him.

"Look--" He reaches his hand toward her, only for his brow to crease. "Damnit, why is your hand so far?" And he lets it drop.

It just seems important, and he wants his emphasis and sincerity to be understood when the contents of his brain feel like a toppled shelf. He swallows, hating the taste and wishing he had water to wash out the lingering blood.

"I'm not making any sense. Listen--" Hand back up, he motions, too vague for any specific meaning. "What I mean is, thanks. I thought I was... Thanks. I didn't want to die. Not like that."

It's a little hard not to laugh at how disjointed he is, if only because she knows he's okay for now and-- well, he's right. He isn't making any sense at all. She puts her hand over is and gives it a little squeeze.

"You're very whalecome. It would be kind of lame to die on day one anyway." Knowing that if she wants to win, Karkat has to die though... she tries not to think about it. He's her friend, and she's starting to lose those more and more as time goes on here. "Do you think you can stand up? So we can go somewhere safer, I don't like being out in the open like this."

It wouldn't be hard for someone to stumble on them like this, so if they can find somewhere a little more secluded or out of direct line of sight, she could let him get some rest and keep watch.

There's her hand. He looks down to it, a little fond, and turns his to squeeze back. He's not thinking about how at least one of them will have to die. True though it is, he's not about to go making that call for her. She's his teammate and his friend, and if circumstances were different, he'd be the one trying to help her.

He looks up at her question, then down to himself. "Nn..." His voice is stuck between consideration and a whine. Everything hurts still, even if it's not near as bad. "My leg? It's not broken?"

It was very broken before, and he still remembers the agony of trying to drag himself in the heavy, white outer suit.

"Not as much as it was." She hopes, at least, that he'll be able to put some weight on it, maybe if she leans him on his shoulder. She pauses for a second, listening, trying to hear if anyone's approaching, but decides it fruitless and turns back to him. "Do you want to try at least? If we stay here, there will be worse things than broken bones."

She's trying not to sound nervous for his sake, but she has good reason to be cautious. She's already lost people important to her, she's not going to lose more.

Not as much as it was. Promising isn't quite the word he'd use for that, but it doesn't feel as bad as it did before. Her concern is apt, as well, and it's that which makes him give it proper concern.

"... Okay. Help me?" he asks, looking at her again. He doesn't know how much he'll need before he's actually up, but in the way of everything hurting, he doesn't yet want to contemplate trying unaided. Still, he does shift his limbs in preparation for standing, trying at least to get his good leg in a position where he can put his weight on that foot.

Feferi nods, getting to her feet and holding out both hands to him. "Come up, I can lift you."

And carry him, if she really needs to. Now that he's stable, it would be a lot easier, except for the fact that he might not appreciate it, so she doesn't say anything. "You can lean on my shoulder, if you need to. I'm feeling a lot better in here."

She braces her feet against the floor, but his weight is nothing to her now that she has her full strength back. She's missed it a lot, and it gives her a little confidence boost, going into the Arena.

He reaches for her once he's more in position, and uses his good leg as he rises. The other one isn't so bad that he can't put any weight on it, and he's better built to withstand the pain than a human would be, but that's no reason to give it extra strain now. He hisses for the ache in his body, but even disoriented and probably concussed, he does know it's not as bad as it was.

He doesn't so much as lean on her as slump against her, but the result's the same. A bit of awkward shifting gets his arm around her shoulders. "Thanks," he mumbles. "Where are we going?"

"I don't know yet," Feferi confesses, as she adjusts the both of them so that she's practically carrying him, without it looking like she's carrying him. She wonders if he's lucid enough to squawk at her if she just hoisted him over her shoulder, but she's not interested in causing a stir and attracting any more attention. "Come on, let's try this way."

She knows there's nowhere to stop for a while back the way she came from, so she can only keep heading down the hall, hoping to find an open room that's out of the way.

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tl;dr and a bit of gore

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