ᴀᴠᴏʀᴀ ᴍᴀᴋᴀʀᴏᴠᴀ

Grayson has experienced more than a few years worth of unexpected scenarios in his line of work, so somewhere along the line he learned to stop being surprised.

Though he had to admit, he kind of hoped he’d end up in less situations after transferring units.

But of course, life doesn’t always go as planned.

Getting stuck under a pile of rubble, with only the body of an overturned supply truck keeping it from caving in completely, and his only company being a woman working for the opposing side of the current war wasn’t exactly on his to-do list for the day.

He was only meant to be the driver, not engaging directly in combat, but one explosive led to another and… here they were.

It had all happened so quickly, but as far as he knew, they’d both just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

He sighs, looking again around the cramped and dark space for a solution. He held a small flashlight in his hand, one he keeps on him for emergencies. So at least they could see.

Dust and debris floated around the space, and the chances of them getting free of this themselves seemed… slim.

“Seems so…” Grayson grumbles. “Could be worse, I suppose. At least we’re not on fire.”

Despite the fact Avora was the enemy, he still bothered to give her a once over for visible injuries after checking himself over.

He held a palm over the flashlight’s head, keeping it pointed downward to refrain from shining the light directly at her eyes. A common courtesy.

He attempts to adjust his position somewhat. The drivers side of the truck offered limited room now though, especially for someone of his height.

He got lucky not having any limbs pinned in the crash, but the ache in his side, and a swipe of his thumb across the blood trickling from his forehead suggested he wasn’t unscathed either.

He was definitely going to feel this later.

He watches Avora closely in the dark, assessing, as the metal body of the vehicle creaks and pops around them every so often, a grim reminder of the weight bearing down on it from above.

Trying to get out from inside would be difficult. Even if they manage to get a door open, it could potentially cause the rubble overhead to shift and make matters worse.

Grayson scans the wreck interior again.

Maybe one of the windows? The glass had all but shattered for most of them, if there was enough space to squeeze through without something blocking the way it might be their best option.

He was pulled from his thoughts when Avora spoke, turning to look back at her. The concern he saw on her face wasn’t something he took personally, assuming instead that it was directed at the situation in general.

He knew where they both stood.

They were not comrades.

Even so, she was still a person in this moment, and they needed to help each other if they wanted to get free.

“I’ve survived worse. It’s nothing too brutal.”

He pauses.

It may be dark, but in this proximity Avora can’t completely hide the fact that she’s injured. Or, at the very least, stuck. Grayson noticed it the moment she started shifting around earlier, and confirmed it when she failed to properly move.

“Unfortunately can’t say the same for you, miss.”

That acknowledgment sat between them like a silent weight for a few long seconds.

Under normal circumstances, she might have been able to maintain her composure and keep herself calm, but they were in an overturned vehicle and buried underneath rubble. If they don’t act quickly, they will both die and it won’t be painless.

Avora forces in a deep breath and takes another break from trying to free herself. It’s just not working and she’s too stubborn to ask for help, least of all from a person she tried to kill. He is supposed to be dead…

Not alive. Not breathing. Just a dead corpse on the ground, but here he is… Alive, breathing and trying to assess her injuries.

When Grayson tries to lean in closer to get a better look, Avora instinctively shoves him back, which in turn causes her shin to shift. That elicits a groan of pain and her eyes to tear up. “Don’t! I can handle it by myself!” She forces herself to focus back on the bar. She takes it in both hands and starts pulling pretty frantically, even though she knows it’s no use.

“It’s stuck… It’s fucking stuck…” Avora mumbles in Russian, feeling a burning, white-hot pain beginning to radiate from her leg. It hurts so badly that she’s struggling to focus on anything else. Another sharp intake of breath and she's forcing herself to stop trying—her efforts are only making it worse. Upon exhaling, she leans back and tries to relax.

“We need to do something… I don't think the truck is going to be able to support the weight of the rubble above us for much longer…” Avora isn't sure how long they even have to try and get out of there, but she knows they have to try. “...My leg is stuck. Got rebar through my fucking shin and I don't know how to get it out.” Her voice drops in volume out of shame. The acknowledgement that something is wrong only makes her feel vulnerable.

Instead, he takes a moment to recognize her panic. She was holding herself together pretty well, but it was also obvious that she’s beginning to feel the pain of her injuries, and she’s not as calm as she’s trying to be.

He watches as she forces herself to relax, but the signs of distress are still clearly visible on her face even in the dim lighting.

When she speaks, he listens until she’s finished, looking at her like her words matter right now even if she’s technically one of the last people he should be extending empathy to.

Roles didn’t matter so much here; survival did.

“Look.. I’m gonna help you, miss.” He says with certainty, his voice coming across more level than hers. An effort to calm her down, maybe.

Or maybe it’s simply his own training coming into play, keeping himself calm in order to sort this out.

“Take some breaths.” He waited a moment for her to do so, even if she might glare or scoff at him for the suggestion.

“Right. If they didn’t get crushed, there should be some bolt cutters in this truck somewhere. I’m gonna try to find them. Alright?”

Grayson knew the tool was in here somewhere with the rest of the cargo, it was meant to be a part of the supply delivery. If they were salvageable—or reachable—he could use them to get her free of the rebar.

Then they’d figure it out from there.

Carefully, he shifted onto his knees and elbows to crawl back towards what remained of the truck’s cargo. Moving slowly so as not to potentially shift the vehicle around and cause anything to worsen.

Glass shards and debris poked sharply against his forearms as he did so, but he ignored it. Shining the flashlight around the cramped space, looking for any sign of the tool.

All the while, the creaking and groaning of metal haunted the space.

Finally, after what felt like more minutes of searching than it was, Grayson managed to find and pull free a pair of bolt cutters from under a metal supply crate. The handle was a bit bent on one side, but other than that they were in working condition.

He shifts back towards Avora shortly after.

Maneuvering into an upright position, he hands the flashlight to her.

His head tilts to the side with a somewhat incredulous look.

“You tried to shoot me not even an hour ago.”

He may be willing to momentarily look past that detail to help her out of this so she doesn’t end up with the unfortunate fate of being crushed to death, but he definitely hasn’t forgotten it.

“Not to mention, I doubt you’ll be capable of walking very far with that leg.” He gestures to her injury.

The metal around them groans again, shaking loose more dust from overhead and interrupting any bickering before it could begin.

Grayson reacted swiftly, moving to position the bolt cutters over the bent shape of the rebar about an inch or two from where it spears Avora’s leg.

It’s is not an easy feat, even with the bolt cutters. The metal is strong, and it takes some strain on Grayson’s end to get it to give. The first attempt fails, but he just adjusts his grip and tries again.

Granted he is attempting this in a very awkward position, and with minor injuries of his own that aren’t doing him any favors.

Luckily, on the second try the rebar snaps in half, leaving a piece of it still lodged in Avora’s leg, but it’s no longer pinning her to the spot.

“There,” Grayson drops the tool aside. “Now will you let me help you move so we can get free? Or are you going to hurt yourself further by being a stubborn chancer?”

If she lets him, he will try to make it marginally less painful for her and hopefully more efficient for both of them on the way out.

While searching for the tool earlier he’d spotted at least one broken window near the back with enough space left between the frame and the ground for them to crawl out of, but that window is on the route to closing—literally and figuratively. If the truck’s body collapses any further it won’t be possible to squeeze through.

He nods, grateful at least that she didn’t argue with him further.

In the next few moments Grayson helps Avora move through what remained of the vehicle. Offering her what support he can in the difficult scenario, so her injury doesn’t completely hinder her as they crawl their way to the only visible exit point.

Once they reach the window, Grayson shifts forward quickly to assess. He shoves aside a few bits of debris and shattered glass to make the squeeze as manageable as possible.

From what they can see through the opening, there is nothing blocking the outside—for now. It’s still a tight fit, with the window frame bending in on itself. But it’s their only option.

“Ladies first.”

Though it was short lived.

He signaled one of the other soldiers who’d trailed after him to stand guard over Avora. As far as they could see, she was weaponless and in no shape to cause much trouble if she tried, but precautions were taken regardless.

Then Price and the remaining soldiers with him assisted in quickly getting Grayson out from the wreck. Each of them making an effort to move debris and clear the exit point as much as possible.

The Irish man coughed against the dust when he finally pushed himself free, squinting against the sunlight as a hand was extended to him, which he wasted no time in taking.

With a strong pull he was back on his feet, he’s steadied by a firm hold on his shoulder and assessed for immediate visible damage.

“Nothing broken? We’ll get you fixed up.” Price offered in gruff reassurance. “You’re a lucky one.”

“Only occasionally.” Grayson remarked.

With the recovery portion handled, everyone present turned to look at the Russian woman.

It was very unlikely she would find herself being let off the hook here.

Oddly enough, Grayson almost pitied her in this moment. Almost. Though maybe he’s just being too empathetic towards someone who likely wouldn’t want it or deserve it.

He pushed the feeling aside.

At the end of the day, she’s still unpredictable and dangerous.

Price took two slow steps towards Avora, and stopped. Speaking tersely.

The driver and passenger seats of a vehicle

Everything had gone black for a couple of minutes, Avora’s body slack, suspended by the seatbelt as her eyes fluttered open, then shut again. It felt like the world around her was spinning, ears ringing as she glanced over at Jeanz. When Avora tried to lift her hand to check on Jeanz, distant voices became audible—a language all too familiar sounded foreign, as if it wasn’t her native tongue. “What the fuck were you thinking, Ivan?!” A voice blurted out in Russian as the two Konni operators approached the vehicle.

“You could have killed her!” The same one shouted, kneeling down to pry one door open while the other man shrugged his shoulders and moved to the passenger side of the car. He managed to get the passenger side door open and used his knife to cut the seatbelt away from Jeanz, which allowed gravity to kick in, leaving her to impact the overturned roof and the dashboard. The thud was loud, likely to leave bruises and cuts behind, but the operator didn’t care. He pulled her out of the vehicle. "She will be fine, Andrei." Ivan tried to reassure Andrei, but he knew that it wouldn't be enough to calm the Australian man down. "She's alive." Ivan pointed out, using his pointer finger to show Andrei that Avora was conscious, even if she'd been fading in and out.

Both Ivan and Andrei backed up a few steps. “You could have fucking killed us! What in the fucking hell were you thinking?!” Avora made it known that she was furious with the two of them, going so far as to shove Ivan and glare daggers at Andrei. Neither of them said a word.

“It wasn’t my idea, Rori—I told Ivan that it was a stupid idea, but he—”

“It doesn’t matter whose fucking idea it was!” Avora cut Andrei off, turning her attention to him fully—suddenly feeling her legs wobble and pain shoot through her body. It turned out adrenaline didn’t last too long after kicking in… When she staggered forward, Andrei moved to catch her, placing both hands on her shoulders to steady her, even when she swatted at him. It was clear she needed the extra support. “Why the fuck are either of you here?!”

It’d been a while since Fox had been badly injured off duty. A rare occurrence considering she doesn’t often throw herself into danger outside of the job that requires it.

She’d been walking through an area she’s never visited before while traveling, in an effort to change her surroundings. Something about aiding her mental health, though she wouldn’t word it that way out loud.

A change of pace was what she’d been after, and she got stabbed for it.

Some fucker on the street surprised her—much to her annoyance. She’s usually much more aware of her surroundings.

She left her belongings in her car, cell phone included, so the attempted thief left without anything of value.

Though not without a broken wrist, courtesy of Fox’s immediate retaliation to being stabbed.

Now, in an unfamiliar area with blood soaking her shirt, Fox makes her way to the nearest building with gritted teeth and a hand pressed firmly to her side.

At the doorstep, she knocked a few times, then waited.

It was late at night—the sun already having set in the distance, replaced by the moon and stars that shimmered like a thousand diamonds—and Avora wasn’t expecting any visitors. Not when she was in the middle of getting ready to go out. With an annoyed sigh, she set her heels down and walked toward the door, feet padding against the floorboards as she made her way over. “I don’t allow solicit—”

Avora cut herself off after opening the door to see an injured Kaelith standing there. It’d be so easy—perhaps, too easy—to grab a pistol and shoot Kaelith in the head, but Avora… Hesitated.

She’d noticed the desperate expression plastered to Kaelith’s face and how her hand was pressed firmly against a bleeding injury, blood seeping through the gaps between her fingers. This wasn’t a good situation for anyone to be in. Avora said nothing, only stepping forward to guide the other woman into the cabin and just before shutting the door, she looked around. In the dark of night, it was hard to tell if anyone was out there, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Not wanting to take any chances, Avora locked the door after shutting it. “Why are you here? You could have gone anywhere else, but you chose… Here. Why?” There was no concern in her voice as she spoke to Kaelith, moving into the kitchen to grab a few dishrags to help slow the bleeding. “Do you realize how easily I could kill you right now?” It was necessary to point out—she pulled open a drawer, grabbed a handful of towels and a bottle of alcohol, then she headed toward Kaelith.

“But I couldn’t get to my car. This was closer.”

Had she known that Avora of all people would be here, she would’ve tried harder to find an alternative.

Even if that meant failing to find one.

Seeing the Russian woman’s face had initially brought forth a slip of the tongue from Kaelith, who’s usually a little more mindful with her words.

She had muttered an ungraceful “you’re fucking kidding me..” when the door had opened to reveal Avora standing there. She’d almost huffed a laugh in disbelief, but it had hurt too much to try.

Reluctantly, she shuffled into the cabin when Avora allowed her inside. Frankly Kaelith half expected to be stabbed a second time, and this time she knew the one doing it wouldn’t miss any vital points.

She’s not sure which outcome she preferred now. Suffering in the middle of nowhere alone, or at the hands of a woman whose motives were about as trustworthy as a Hyenas when opportunity presented itself.

Kaelith leaned her back against the wall in the entryway for support.

Thinking that Avora was being earnestly helpful in any way was about as wise as thinking a landmine wouldn’t blow if you stood on it.

Which is why Kaelith had to admit she felt confused when Avora pushed dish towels and alcohol into her hands a moment later, instead of shoving a pistol to the side of her head.

She winced as she firmly pressed the fabric material to her injury, but clenched her jaw to breathe through it regardless.

“I doubt anyone would believe me if I did mention it.”

That much was true. If she told anyone that Avora had given her aid? The following questions would most likely include ‘what did Avora gain from it?’

Selflessness and mercy were not really two words that Kaelith would associate with this woman.

She glanced back at Avora after a minute of somewhat stabilizing herself. Only now noticing her apparel.

Kaelith would rather bite her own tongue than ever compliment this woman. But there was some begrudging acknowledgement in the back of her mind that despite Avora being a massive criminal, she almost looked nice when she wasn’t in full gear or covered in someone else’s blood.

Too bad Kaelith can’t look past the massive criminal part.

“There is no rhyme or reason why you couldn’t have trudged your way back over to your car, unless you’ve been bleeding for quite some time.” Avora didn’t want to deal with this right now, but she wasn’t going to turn Kaelith away and let a wild animal eat her. It was the hard part of being considered a ‘girl’s girl’. She couldn’t turn Kaelith away like that…

Avora overheard what Kaelith said underneath her breath, only to let it slide this once. Under normal circumstances, it would have pissed her off and sent her down a spiral. Not this time. Avora maintained her composure and only gathered things that she knew Kaelith was going to need.

After that, Avora walked down the hallway, flickering on the bathroom light before digging through the drawers, until she found what she needed. A needle and thread. She closed the drawers and walked back into the living room, where Kaelith could be seen leaning against the wall, closest to the entryway. Even without all the lights on, Avora could easily see the pain Kaelith was in, despite trying to hide it.

“Come sit down.” It wasn’t a question. Avora set the supplies down and pulled Kaelith by the arm to one of the couches. She pushed her, which in turn left Kaelith without a choice, but to take a seat, otherwise fall to the ground in an anticlimactic manner. Once that was over with, Avora moved Kaelith’s hand away from the injury and began to assess it. “Going to need stitches.” Avora didn’t speak directly to Kaelith—directing her own words at no one in particular.

“You want a picture then?” Before opting to stitch up Kaelith’s injury, Avora grabbed her phone from the coffee table and used her thumb to illuminate the screen. She flicked the camera app on, positioned the camera, until both she and Kaelith were in frame, smiled and snapped a picture. “Enter your number.” Avora was no longer smiling when she passed her phone to Kaelith after opening the text messaging application. “And send it to yourself or whoever the fuck you want to.”

❝ you seem pretty composed for someone carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders. ❞

❝ you seem pretty invincible for someone so self - sacrificing. ❞

❝ you seem pretty prideful for someone with so much self - loathing. ❞

❝ you seem pretty reserved for someone who longs to be understood. ❞

❝ you're pretty manipulative for someone who cares so much. ❞

❝ you seem pretty detached for someone familiar with loss. ❞

❝ you seem pretty cruel for someone who once loved someone so gently. ❞

❝ you seem pretty young for someone sticking their neck out so recklessly. ❞

❝ you seem pretty timid for someone with such ambitious dreams. ❞

❝ you seem pretty loyal for someone so untrustworthy as a friend. ❞

❝ you seem pretty self - sacrificing for someone who called it hypocritical. ❞

❝ you seem pretty trapped for someone who values freedom for others. ❞

❝ you seem pretty forgiving for someone who wants revenge. ❞

❝ you seem pretty selfish for someone so willing to do anything for anyone. ❞

❝ you seem pretty fearless for someone who's a coward. ❞

❝ you seem pretty realistic for someone living in a fantasy. ❞

❝ you seem pretty well put together for someone beyond repair. ❞

❝ you seem pretty cold for someone with such a soft heart. ❞

❝ you seem pretty calm for someone who's about to meet their demise. ❞

❝ you seem pretty human for someone who isn't. ❞

❝ you seem so insecure for someone who sees beauty in everything. ❞

❝ you seem pretty trusting for someone so scared of betrayal. ❞

❝ you seem pretty kind for someone so full of anger. ❞

❝ you seem pretty strong for someone holding back. ❞

❝ you seem pretty bright for somehow so scared to outshine others. ❞

❝ you seem pretty certain of yourself for someone that's spent years questioning their own existence. ❞

send one for my muse’s reaction to your muse ---

Alternatively, send ‘ + ‘ after the symbol for the roles to be reversed where possible! Please specify the muse for multimuses!

✘ = hugging them.

Δ = playing with their hair.

❤ = kissing them.

₪ = asking them out for dinner.

☀ = giving them a gift of _ ( asker’s choice ) .

♘ = stabbing them.

♕ = bowing down before them.

♒ = lying to them.

✿ = buying them flowers.

☾ = being found shirtless.

♢ = reading them a story.

☂ = giving them their jumper to keep warm.

✎ = speaking in a different language.

✏ = teaching them a different language.

▄ = telling them a joke.

♬ = singing to them.

☹ = insulting a loved one.

ஐ = slapping them.

✂ = threatening them.

❃ = dancing with them.

▤ = falling asleep on them.

☮ = waking them up after a nightmare.

♣ = discovering them crying.

回 = patching a wound.

✮ = stargazing.

▓ = caught stealing their belongings.

☽ = wandering alone at night.

♡ = complimenting them.

≡ = offering a place to stay overnight.

☢ = falling over.

✦ = being well-dressed.

❂ = wiping blood off their face.

◎ = taking care of them while ill.

☁ = being caught in the middle of a storm with them.

⇕ = holding their hand.

↱ = being lost with them.

☠ = pushing them against a wall.