Those Blu Sox

CONT.

She knew she should have been quieter, she held her breath tighter behind the palm of her hand but eventually, it shuddered through her nostrils, her weight shifting in a fraction and thus causing old wood beneath her feet to protest.

Wrestling with every muscle of her body during watching what happened, her mind wouldn’t shut up– Wouldn’t slow down. Was this really Rudolf? Of course it was! Who else could it be? His hands–Claws– Was he a hybrid? Was it only this once? Had the Sniper done something to wrong him?

Many thoughts raced at once, battling together for answers but her feet were quick to move her out of the cupboard she’d bundled into. Able to somehow find instant footing, perhaps due to the sheer nature of her class, she doesn’t know what to do from there– She doesn’t run, but she doesn’t simply stand still, moving away from the cupboard and around the other side of the Illusionist to have the body of the Sniper between them. Fear was still very much a fluttering emotion, as someone who refused to use respawn as a clutch to be reckless, it would of course be there; Why not? This was Eli off of the battlefield, without her vision of red, without that battle-hungry mindset that gnashed its teeth at the enemy. This was just, normal Eli.

When confronting a hybrid thus far, it had always been on her terms, on her will– Was this what they felt to suddenly be ambushed out of nowhere? But– Wait, no, this wasn’t even an ambush! This was a team member killing one of his own. Panic turned to paranoia, finally figuring out how to use her voice.

With her arms still folded across her chest, she felt defensive but more secure knowing if something suddenly had to happen, she could deal with it, but with the sheer amount of space between the two of them the Scout had a pretty confident head start.

But wasn't that entirely going against what she was trying to prove...?

Inhaling quietly through her nose, she scoops both hands up to lightly rake them through her fringe, exhaling again once her arms relaxed; Attempting to reset her brain space into something more manageable.

Getting back from respawn always felt strange. The first time he went through it, he felt dizzy and disorientated and vomited. The other mercs laughed it off and eventually he became used to the nauseating feeling. 

Over the years he tolerated it better and at times it just felt like waking up from a bad dream. There was never any time to think about it when he was immediately needed again in battle. 

Coming back after months was a different experience. It felt like he had been held under water and he gasped for his first breath. He fell over to his hands and knees and took inventory of himself. All there, no missing limbs. Others were less fortunate. 

On wobbly legs, he made his way down the familiar halls but it felt like he was moving in a dream. Heavy legs, and one wrong move and he’d wake up in a different place. 

Unless he was permanently replaced by a different Medic, he’d be expected to work again immediately so he went to his medbay. The florescent lights hummed as they flickered on. The medbay was just the way he left it: every item put in its place. 

The only difference - it took him a surprisingly long time to notice - was the additional desk with a familiar teammate slumped over it, asleep. There were a million things he wanted to ask her, but as always, his needs came second to the patient. Klaus found a perfectly folded blanket tucked away in the closet and gently draped it over her shoulders, trying not to wake her. 

It had gotten cold, a wind that traveled through with movement of the main doors into the medbay. The struggling lights above causing her to groan in distaste as she frowns in her sleep, curling one arm up over the edge of her face to shield from the intrusive glare. It took a few moments longer to get comfortable, and with such, came the strange warmth wrapping around her shoulders.

Pair the sensation with everything else, Eli was starting to finally come around with a helplessly sad expression. “Aw… C’mon I was just restin’ my eyes for a second, how much trouble did you get into now…?” She utters with exsaustion lacing every word, lifting her head up from her desk and cradling her forehead into the palms of her worn-out hands, still not being aware that it was Klaus himself that had returned. 

Klaus wasn’t a hugger. Keeping people at an arm’s length was his main course of action. It kept things simpler that way without messy emotions getting in the way of things. Of course, there were a few people he let in even against his own advice.

Klaus hugged her back, wrapping his arms around her, bowing his head against hers. He felt her shaking in his arms and tried to hold her tighter to make the shaking stop.

Such a tight lid on her emotions meant this tiny crack was difficult to control. "N-No, I'm-" Her voice suffered, broken under the weight of her emotions. "I can't help-- Tears."

Tiny inward breaths were pressed into the fabric of his jacket, sniffing through her blindness to rub her eyes back and forth against the top of her arm but refused to relinquish him just yet. Not when he might still just be a figment of her brain.

Getting back from respawn always felt strange. The first time he went through it, he felt dizzy and disorientated and vomited. The other mercs laughed it off and eventually he became used to the nauseating feeling. 

Over the years he tolerated it better and at times it just felt like waking up from a bad dream. There was never any time to think about it when he was immediately needed again in battle. 

Coming back after months was a different experience. It felt like he had been held under water and he gasped for his first breath. He fell over to his hands and knees and took inventory of himself. All there, no missing limbs. Others were less fortunate. 

On wobbly legs, he made his way down the familiar halls but it felt like he was moving in a dream. Heavy legs, and one wrong move and he’d wake up in a different place. 

Unless he was permanently replaced by a different Medic, he’d be expected to work again immediately so he went to his medbay. The florescent lights hummed as they flickered on. The medbay was just the way he left it: every item put in its place. 

The only difference - it took him a surprisingly long time to notice - was the additional desk with a familiar teammate slumped over it, asleep. There were a million things he wanted to ask her, but as always, his needs came second to the patient. Klaus found a perfectly folded blanket tucked away in the closet and gently draped it over her shoulders, trying not to wake her. 

It had gotten cold, a wind that traveled through with movement of the main doors into the medbay. The struggling lights above causing her to groan in distaste as she frowns in her sleep, curling one arm up over the edge of her face to shield from the intrusive glare. It took a few moments longer to get comfortable, and with such, came the strange warmth wrapping around her shoulders.

Pair the sensation with everything else, Eli was starting to finally come around with a helplessly sad expression. “Aw… C’mon I was just restin’ my eyes for a second, how much trouble did you get into now…?” She utters with exsaustion lacing every word, lifting her head up from her desk and cradling her forehead into the palms of her worn-out hands, still not being aware that it was Klaus himself that had returned. 

A few heartbeats pass as she stares at him, blue eyes transfixed that she felt blinking might cause the Medic to vanish once more. It wasn't until tears gathered in the edges of her vision that she was forced to, rapidly, and he remained in existence.

Bolting upright from her desk with the blanket slipping to the ground in the sudden movement, the Scout would cast her arms around his neck and hug as tight as he would allow. She couldn't believe it!

Words choked her throat as Eli mastered the silent cry, shoulders violently shaking with the rush of adrenaline at the moment.

CONT.

She knew she should have been quieter, she held her breath tighter behind the palm of her hand but eventually, it shuddered through her nostrils, her weight shifting in a fraction and thus causing old wood beneath her feet to protest.

Wrestling with every muscle of her body during watching what happened, her mind wouldn’t shut up-- Wouldn’t slow down. Was this really Rudolf? Of course it was! Who else could it be? His hands--Claws-- Was he a hybrid? Was it only this once? Had the Sniper done something to wrong him?

Many thoughts raced at once, battling together for answers but her feet were quick to move her out of the cupboard she’d bundled into. Able to somehow find instant footing, perhaps due to the sheer nature of her class, she doesn’t know what to do from there-- She doesn’t run, but she doesn’t simply stand still, moving away from the cupboard and around the other side of the Illusionist to have the body of the Sniper between them. Fear was still very much a fluttering emotion, as someone who refused to use respawn as a clutch to be reckless, it would of course be there; Why not? This was Eli off of the battlefield, without her vision of red, without that battle-hungry mindset that gnashed its teeth at the enemy. This was just, normal Eli.

When confronting a hybrid thus far, it had always been on her terms, on her will-- Was this what they felt to suddenly be ambushed out of nowhere? But-- Wait, no, this wasn’t even an ambush! This was a team member killing one of his own. Panic turned to paranoia, finally figuring out how to use her voice.

Breathing out once she realized it had been caught in her chest, the Scout turned away slightly to avoid having to look at the mess they found themselves in. Had she ever had a reason to doubt him? Had they ever really disagreed on much...? What would happen in the future if they did, and-- God, okay, reel it back in.