melodiesoflife | #7 | Return from the Brink

Characters: Sephiroth & OPEN (except 8th Feb: CLOSED to Jade Curtiss)
Where/When: 8th Feb - Republic of Esdham: A makeshift clinic, 9th Feb Onwards - Aqures Ixen: Hospital
Summary: Sephiroth's ordeal out towards the Desert of Roalie has left him battered, most notably with a leg which is now broken in two places. Even with potions and white magic available, the resources at Esdham are strained in the wake of the recovering effort after the attack by the Herans. Sephiroth is later transferred to Aqures Ixen Hospital where help befitting a Hero of Light is more readily available. Still, it's going to take time for him to get back on his feet.
Warnings: Cuts, bruises, broken limbs; as expected considering. Also he's lost a good few inches from the length of his hair but probably best not to talk about that.

EDIT: Added a #3) Here

#1) 8th Feb - Republic of Esdham: A makeshift clinic [Closed: Jade Curtiss]
Late on the 7th Feb, a rush of activity had ripped through one of the makeshift clinics set up to deal with the aftermath of the attack by the Heran Empire. Someone had been found, much further out than anticipated, by one of the preliminary patrols sent out towards the oasis, and even though the medical staff on hand had tried to keep their tones hushed on account of the late hour, the clinic was already over-capacity and so the urgent healing required by a Hero of Light couldn't be kept a secret.

The unmistakable sound of rain hitting the roof of the tent, or rather the absence of it's wetness hitting his face was what greeted Sephiroth as he came around. The afterglow of a Cure-spell receding it's color as the white-mage Tarutaru currently on shift lowered her hands and offered a kind smile in his direction before leaving just as he squinted eyes first and then chanced to open them. There was no more open-sky above him; so he hadn't dreamed that patrol after all. It had been difficult to tell, given the hallucinations -that dream a few nights ago, for example- that had to have signaled that his body were finally giving up on him.

As if it were waiting specifically for him to regain more consciousness first, the pain then all came crashing back. Sephiroth had gotten an elbow under his one side -the other were in a sling tight up against his chest- but the reeling nausea, centered in particular around that deep agony of bone moving like it shouldn't put him back down prone instantly. With stars across his vision no less. He blinked, registering details as he looked down over himself. There was a plaster cast up to his thigh, and also a supportive brace around his left leg and it were elevated just slightly by way of a few pillows beneath his ankle. He couldn't feel his toes as they poked out of the bottom. He swallowed a rising sick feeling that was stirred and -for the time being- drew his focus into the roof of the tent.

#2) 9th Feb Onwards - Aqures Ixen: Hospital [Open]
If there was something to say of the Aqurean government, they cared for their Heroes a lot. As soon as Sephiroth were out of the immediate hypothermic danger he'd been found in, arrangements had been made for his transportation to a better facility. A small airship had been arranged -no small feat considering the devastation to the airport that had been inflicted- and he'd been away.

Still, not much that Sephiroth could do with one arm still strapped in close to his chest and his leg throbbing away in it's heavy plaster cast and brace which was more often than not elevated into a position from which he couldn't miss it even if he wanted to. Talk about it being staged directly in his face. Hindsight really was 20/20, that leap had been a risk; but what was the alternative? To be killed anyway? Captured? Spencer had already informed him that some of the other Heroes had been taken. Sephiroth scowled heavily every time his thoughts were inevitably drawn that way; another failure to chip away at his pride.

His silver hair had been braided and was set down across one mostly-unblemished shoulder; it was noticeably shorter though. Having had to have had the singed ends cut away. Overall, Sephiroth sat mostly with the backrest up, alone in the ward they'd given him, in silence while the lesser injuries he had sustained; various cuts, bruises and burns, were gradually treated by potion, lotion or Cure-spells. Most often he could be found reading a book, slowly sipping at a glass of water, or reviewing some of the notes that he'd had Spencer bring him from his study area back at the house.

He hadn't the heart to have Spencer send a message to let significant others know he'd been recovered safely, as such exchanges would only lead to what he considered to be unnecessary concern; even as it became obvious that he wouldn't be getting back on his feet nearly as quickly as he would have had he been mako-infused, or so 'special' as he had been before. That and he wasn't sure he could take the pity.

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She very hesitantly brings her eyes back up to meet his. It's a relief to hear him say that. It's certainly what she wants to hear. To believe. But she's not convinced. She shakes her head.

"I hit Luffy almost as many times as I hit the robot. I wasn't trying to, but... everything was happening so fast and I kept losing track of where everyone was and I just...."

She sighs.

"I just messed up. And then he got captured..."

Ib is starting to understand that being a hero takes more than honest effort and a positive attitude.

Indeed, there is a certain steely nature that Heroes must take on as well, for when they don't do as well. They have to absorb that error and channel how it makes them feel into growing in their own strength. Heroes don't always get the smooth ride.

"It didn't look much like messing up from where I was standing."

Even if he hadn't been standing watching, Sephiroth had very much been in the thick of it dealing with the rank-and-file guards while the other Heroes had laid into the large arachnid-type robot. Until that limit-break and-

Well, yes. Exactly.

"That move of Luffy's, though, you know what that was, don't you?" Sephiroth remembered Luffy pulling a limit break before, even if it had been against him personally.

She's getting there. There have been a lot of tough lessons she's had to learn. His next question is obviously a surprise though. Ib doesn't know what Luffy's growing shrinking thing has to do with anything at all.

"Huh? Yes... Well, not really...."

Yes and no. Good answer. She shrugs and tries to clarify.

"I mean, I've seen him do it before, but I don't really know how it works."

"It seems to be an ability he's able to pull off when he's took a considerable amount of damage." Limit breaks not being an unknown, in his own World after all - but Sephiroth doesn't want Ib to think too much into the events surrounding the last time that Luffy had 'popped'-

"What I'm trying to say is-"

He pauses for a beat, to perhaps reconsider how he should put this but then decides that there is no other way around the fact.

"-you were helping him get to that point. That move was a decisive turning point in the battle."

"Then.... then I was helping?"

She looks up at him hopefully. She really wants to believe that. Ib has been trying so hard since she got here to live up to her 'hero' title. Recent events have been rough on her confidence.

"You don't think I messed it up?"

Sephiroth has been a role model for her ever since she met him, so his opinion is important.

"No. I don't."

Though Sephiroth tried to make himself sound as encouraging as possible, he couldn't say anything more than that. He was mostly ignorant of what exactly had gone on around the giant mecha-spider as he'd been occupied in dealing with the other trash.

Still, if she hadn't...then Luffy couldn't have...

Indeed, it was that limit break that had knocked out a great deal of the regenerative power of the robot, which had enabled them victory ultimately. Therefore, Sephiroth's logic was sound and he 'hm'd as well to emphasize the fact to Ib.

"I think that you worry too much."

Ib gives him a relieved smile and very gently leans over and wraps her arms around him in a gentle hug. Or as close as she can get given the circumstances.

"Thanks..."

Sephiroth still believes in her. That's enough to bolster her faltering determination. She'd find some way to help Luffy and the other captives. She pulls back with a clearer expression and a weight off her shoulders.

"So did the doctors say when you could leave?"

He'll even manage to wrap his one good arm around her small shoulders and give a small squeeze in return, just to silently reassure her that he does understand where her anxiety comes from. Sephiroth had gone through many an occasion when he'd been younger where he'd been lacking that support and so it didn't seem fair to deny that to Ib when she was already giving the Hero thing her all.

"Well-"

And then the focus shifts inevitably back to his condition. Sephiroth quickly wets his lips and drags his gaze down over himself, glares at the toes peeking out of the bottom of his elevated cast and how he still can't feel them- much less attempt any motion yet. Just thinking about the pain that was always there underneath the plaster seemed to pull it immediately to the front of his mind. He made himself look away to Ib before it started to turn his stomach, though.

"-it hurts still." He tried to put it as lightly as possible, blowing air out of his mouth as if it might dismiss the fact. "But from what I've gathered it's going to be like that for a while.

"I don't think it'll be too long til I'll be allowed home."

Sephiroth didn't sound so sure though, the last attempt to get him to use the crutches hadn't been so successful.

“Oh...”

She follows his gaze down over the cast. It does look pretty bad. She's never broken a bone before but it's obviously not pleasant. Ib can't help but worry when he admits that it hurts, but she'll still try to cheer him up. She smiles, bright and encouraging.

“Don't worry! You're really strong, so I bet you'll get better soon. Is there anything I can do? Something else I can bring you?”

She's eager to help him if she can. He's done a lot to encourage and support her, after all.

Ib wasn't the only one who had never broken a bone before now. Call it a consequence of the childhood wrapped in the thick bubble-wrap of the Company, and then later on in life he'd simply developed so extreme of a constitution that such injuries had been reduced to an impossibility. Not to mention the acute self-awareness and of his surroundings that had come with the training which he'd dedicated himself to.

He smiled a little sheepishly at Ib's bright smile; how could anyone deny that encouragement? Sephiroth felt instantly that he was making it sound a lot worse than it really was, which in turn helped him to box the throbbing pain away again. He was stronger than this, and Ib was right - he would be back on his feet in no time!

"It's fine, really. You already brought cookies."

In Ib's case, most of her life had been quiet and safe. Until the art gallery, anyway. Only dumb luck and Garry saved her from serious injury in there.

But seeing him cheer up a little makes her feel like she's done well. And yay! He likes the cookies. She's really happy to be able to help.

"Okay. But tell me if you need anything else, alright?"

He doesn't like cookies, in general, but he's very appreciative of the thought Ib had to bring them. He might even have to eat one or two of them, if only because he'll feel bad to just dispose of them - even if Spencer probably would help.

"I think that pretty much everything is covered. Though-"

Sephiroth turns his head and looks over where she laid the cookies on the table. A kind half-smile stretching across the lower part of his face for a moment just before he tries to fidget in his laid-back seated position again. Getting comfortable didn't stay comfortable for very long.

"-I might need your help in eating some of those."

She follows his glance over the the cookies and giggles.

"I think I can help with that."

That's something she'll gladly lend a hand with. Ib will even help him open them. She'll also stay a bit longer just to keep him company.

[OOC: This just seems like a good place to end the scene y/n?]

#7 | Return from the Brink

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