FUTURE / CURSE.

As his hand is taken, Izuku helps the other back onto his feet. He made sure not to let go until the other boy seemed stable. “I’m glad you’re alright! That looked like a nasty fall…it’s a good thing you didn’t break any bones…” He doesn’t restrict him in any way, allowing the stranger to step back and put distance as needed.

Izuku just smiled brightly at the other. “Um…how come you were in the tree in the first place, anyway?” he asked quietly. Honestly, the appearance wasn’t too much of a concern for Izuku - he was more concerned about the wellbeing.

          getting back to his feet, nox immediately felt a bit better. quietly watching the other boy, curious but cautious. 

          “ yeah, but its not the first tumble i’ve had, probably won’t be the last. “ he says so in such a distinct way. it’s not like this was going to stop him from hanging out in the trees. it was his favorite past time, reminding him of simpler times. 

          nox will meet the other’s smile with a ghost of one, offered in politeness before disapearing moments later. 

Throughout his morning run through the woods of UA grounds, Izuku could tell that there was something amiss. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it though, deciding for now to continue his training. That is until a sudden snap had him whirling around, gasping in shock as someone dropped right out of the trees.

“Whoa, hey- are you okay?!” He extended a hand immediately, heading over to the crumpled form of the other. “Here, let me help…”

ow. ow, ow ow. nox makes a huff of a noise as one of his lower sets of arms tries to grab some semblance of leverage to get back up. they clutch, but his legs are still a bit took shaken to grip. 

that’s when the stranger reappears. head popping up, and nox is fully ready to see the kind expression morph to disgust as soon as he had caught sight of him --

but he didn’t. asked if he was okay, offered a hand. nox will look at the other, unsure and obviouly trying to tuck his extra arms behind him before taking the hand with this upper pair. the pair that better resembles a normal position of arms.

“ ... y. yeah, just took a tumble is all. “ still, nox hesitates before grabbing the hand, pulling himself up and stepping back a few paces. naturally people are scared or unsure around him, so he’s a bit on edge that this stranger ( that seems to be around his own age ), is so nonchalant about the thing. 

his herbs wrapped in his arms, he looks above to a bard in a tree. tilting his head quietly, he can’t help himself when he calls out. 

“ um ! sir ? are you okay ? “ 

obviously he wasn’t stuck, dumb dumb, come on gabriel. a sigh escapes his throat, hesitating, “ would you like something to eat ? “ 

this is how you lose your hiding place, this is how you get recaptured. gabriel wants to retract the statement, but something in him tells him that ... that its okay. 

        wrapping his arms around him, the shock finally begins to settle into him. he’s escaped, he’s out. 

        now what ? keep running ? the sound of footsteps immediately send him into a panic, sweeping to grab the spear and point it forward. however, with the way he holds it and shakes in place, it’s obvious for defense rather than offense. 

                “ stop there .... “ barefeet step back, cringing as he almost slips. shit. 

     she’s grateful he says nothing. if nothing else, ebony has tried to pretend the scars don’t exist whenever she can. it doesn’t always work, of course, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t try her best anyway.

     swallowing, she keeps her gaze to the side, eyes slipping closed as she bites her lip. as he pokes and prods, she can’t say the urge the scream doesn’t arise. it hurts, aches more than it had originally, now that he presses against it. when he finally pulls back, finally moves away, she lets her tunic drop back down, fingers curling against her thighs. listening to him as her frowning, brows knitting together. of course it was more than just a bruise. would she ever catch a damn break ? at least it wasn’t the worst it could be.

     ‘  …thank you.  ’ gently take ice and shift to lean against the wall, pressing the ice to her side as she sits there. a wince is given at the cold through the fabric of her top but then she simply relaxes.

     it’s only as he moves towards it that she notes the pot (  he must have set it going before he’d left earlier, he’d not been over to the stove since they’d come in  ). her eyes widen a little, the smell finally hitting her. it causes her stomach to growl and she feels the telltale flush dusting her cheeks. sapphire hues stay focused on his movements, watching each new thing get added into the water.

     ‘  no…i…i think that was the worst of it.  ’ it wasn’t, of course, but she’s already pushing her luck here. and if he asks for compensation of some sort, she doesn’t have enough for him to look at even more of her injuries. besides, the cut on her thigh had long since stopped bleeding, so it should be fine, right ?

     ‘  both of them are known to keep people awake.  ’ words slip forth before she’s shaking her head, clearing her throat. ‘  b-but uh…i couldn’t ask you t’ share your food or anything with me. i should really get going, anyway.  ’

     but the moment she tries to stand, her knees buckle and she plops right back down onto the cot. god damn it.

“ don’t mention it. “ a smile, and when he goes back to cooking, he notices the way her eyes linger. gently tucking a strand of his hair behind his ear. of course she was hungry. who knew how long she had been running ? a concerned hum slips from his throat, though he quietly masks it as a melody. stirring it a little, he places it in the bowl, feeling the warmth radiate from it. 

moving to sit it on the small bedside table, he waves off her concern. “ i have plenty to share, don’t worry about it. “ another moment pause, before he quietly sighs. 

“ well i didn’t exactly ask if it was the worst. if there is anything else that you are worried about, its best to bring it to my attention now. wouldn’t want it getting infected or worse than it already is. “ 

another moment’s pause, “ you aren’t going to be charged for any of this, you know. “ he can tell with the way she would glance around, contemplating how much it was worth. gabriel didn’t want her feeling as if she had to hide something to prevent the additional weight of price. eyes flicker back toward her, another smile shot her way.