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helena’s pale gloves were slick with blood, and she hated the sound it made when she peeled the fabric back from elora’s arm; the sopping, sticky, slimy kind that promised nothing good underneath.
‘deep lacerations. missed the fence, hit the ground hard. forearm’s a horror show; knees don’t look any better. no obvious fractures, no bones trying to make a dramatic exit, but still bleeding like a waterfall straight from hell.’
she was focused with the eye of a huntress: continuously assessing, unflinching, unmoving, and maybe a little too intense for a run-of-the-mill injury, but you would be worried too if you watched your friend— acquaintance hurt themself real bad in real time.
‘prioritise the arm. clean, compress, prevent infection, minimise blood loss, stop the flow. quick.’
she stripped a length of elastic and cinched it high, just enough pressure to slow the crimson flood without killing the limb entirely. she worked with ample efficiency to disguise the SLIGHTEST QUIVER in her hands; it was convenient that elora was looking at literally anywhere else but.
“it’s not stupid,” she countered flatly as she wrapped gauze around torn flesh. “that FENCE? oh, brother, just look at that mess – angled metal, rust, terrible spacing, spikes at the top. whoever put that up clearly had it out for us… and a vendetta against paying better contractors. what a poor excuse for a DIY project.”
a corner of her mouth twitched. “… talk about hostile architecture.”
she finished the arm, securing the wrap before reaching for something from the utility belt she’d laid out earlier like a surgeon’s tray: a folded, fresh microfiber cloth, likely meant for wiping optics — the markswoman pressed it into elora’s good hand without ceremony. “here, wipe your face – or your pride, whichever needs it more.”
only then did she rock back on her heels, exhaling hard. the latex gloves came off with a SNAP, discarded to the side, freeing her hands. when elora spoke again, helena’s eyes cut back to her.
“have you seen yourself?” her voice cut clean like a blade, but there was no malice in it, only the truth and concern alike sharpened and cold like steel.
“you look like a leaked audition for the TWENTIETH SAW movie. of course i helped out.” a pause, then softer: “why wouldn’t i?”
huntress reached for a thing of water and took a swig, like it was a cue for a change of subject before vulnerability could creep in.
“anywhere else hurting? can you move that arm at all? can you walk?” even with the mask and the kevlar on, she appeared less tactical and more — like a person: normal, human. “there’s no rush. we can just sit here a minute and breathe. you take your time, i’ll … find a better way to get the hell outta here. you just respect my labour and my late-night runs to the PHARMACY.”