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[perfectsymmetry]

[Downtown, backed against a store front surrounded by zombies are two figures. One is Silence, holding his arm where he was bitten, blue blood trickling from between his fingers. The other is Crowe, who looks panicked and frightened, doing his best to shoot down the horde surrounding them. He won't be able to do it forever, he'll run out of bullets eventually. Before that happens, Crowe grabs Silence by the other arm, kicks the zombie in front of him down the an impressive force, and makes a break for it, down an alley, where Crowe will keep an eye out. he looks totally defeated.]

S-Silence, I... I'm so sorry.


Stalking through the streets now is Crowe, leading along an injured Silence by the hand. Crowe is holding out a pistol, and looks frightened, tired and panicky. Silence, most notably, is missing an arm. Crowe will stop to shoot any of the zombies that come their way in the head without hesitation, but his aim isn't the greatest right now. Crowe's trying to get him to the hospital or church, whatever he can get to first. Any other zombie fighters out there care to help? Any zombies looking for another snack?

[[OOC - replies will come from both Crowe and Silence in this post!]]

Comments

[mute-mystic.livejournal.com]

[Silence shakes his head at this; not that they shouldn't necessarily go there anyway - especially considering what he's about to do - but he seriously doubts they could make it there before the infection becomes irreversible. All the more reason to continue with his own plan.

Once the ribbon is as securely tied as he can get it, he touches Crowe's shoulder lightly - perhaps both in reassurance and preemptive apology - before taking a few steps backward, stretching his arm out straight before him, fist clenched.

Into the other hand, he calls his Mystic Sword, its blade seething violet.

The next few seconds go by mercifully quickly. When they're over, Silence's infected arm is lying on the ground, cleanly severed just below the elbow, and Silence is hurriedly trying to cast Starlight Heal on himself to staunch the flow of rich blue blood from his new stump. Mystic healing is extremely thorough, and works quite quickly on smaller wounds, but for larger ones it moves more slowly, and anything to accelerate the process will be useful. The tourniquet itself wasn't even strictly necessary.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Silence briefly hopes that Crowe realized what was happening in time to look away.]

[perfektsymmetry.livejournal.com]

Wai-- [that's as far as Crowe gets before Silence draws out the sword. He barely has time to look away before he registers what Silence was about to do. When it was over, without hesitation he darts forward to him.]

O-Oh God, what dis-- Are you-- Oh no…

[mute-mystic.livejournal.com]

[Silence is only barely paying attention to Crowe, focusing first on getting the wound to close - which, between the spells and his mystic regeneration, is happening quickly enough to actually be visible to the naked eye. Of course, with Silence feeling his blood gushing from the place where his arm was a moment ago, it can hardly go fast enough, and it seems ages before the wound entirely closes.

When he finally stops casting Starlight Heal and opens his eyes again, there's no sign of his wound beyond the arm lying at his feet and the (still somewhat sizable) pool of blue blood on the pavement. That, and Silence's hungering for blood like he hasn't in years. Blood isn't critical to a mystic - they aren't forced to feed on it as traditional vampires are said to - but it does grant them strength and power(even to the point of absorbing the power of other mystics should they drink mystic blood, which is often the primary purpose), and in particular helps them recover from grievous injury. The instinct to feed is suddenly no longer a casual impulse, but a fierce desire, and Silence has to force himself not to stare at Crowe's neck. He touches the stump of his arm with his other hand, which he notices - with some surprise - is trembling. Likewise, occasional shivers make themselves known through the stirring of his wings.

Finally, though, he manages to give Crowe a weak smile. The one good thing he's able to note is that the searing sensation - which he can only assume was the infection traveling through his mystic blood - is now entirely gone...most likely flushed out of his system entirely in the bleeding, or severed with his arm. Which, he notes with some distaste, is rotting away where it fell.]

[perfektsymmetry.livejournal.com]

[Crowe is oblivious to the vampiric side of mystics. He walks over and gently tries to help Silence to stand. It takes him a few tries to get words out.]

Ah, we should... we need to get y-you inside. Now. Preferably at the hospital...

[mute-mystic.livejournal.com]

[It's all the more difficult to hold back his hunger for blood at this close proximity, and Silence bites his own lower lip with visible fangs as a way to hold his own focus. Despite his discomfort, however, he finds himself leaning against Crowe more heavily than he'd planned - he feels a bit more woozy than he'd expected to, though there's nothing he can do about that fact other than resignedly accept it. A little lightheadedness is still infinitely better than the alternative, isn't it?

His Mystic Sword seems to have vanished, he belatedly notices; it only materializes when Silence actively calls on it, and it must have faded away during his spell-casting. He rests his remaining hand flat against Crowe's chest briefly, steadying himself on his feet with a conscious effort. Then he gives the boy a slight nod of agreement.]

[perfektsymmetry.livejournal.com]

[Fangs? Somewhere in the back of his mind it hits him. Silence mentioning Dr. Nusakan being a mystic as well, and the fangs he was sporting too... Not that he was sure what it all meant. Crowe will help Silence get his bearings, a bevy of emotions on his face. He'll check the exit back out onto the street before proceeding on, though. The last thing they needed was someone to jump them after all this.]

[mute-mystic.livejournal.com]

[But Silence isn't quite ready to leave just yet. He touches Crowe's shoulder in a restraining gesture, then holds up a finger. Wait.

One-handed, he pulls out his notebook. After being at a momentary loss for how to proceed, he actually kneels down to set the thing on the ground in order to write, somewhat less elegantly than usual.]

IF NECESSARY, LEAVE ME BEHIND. ARM WILL COME BACK IF I DIE ANYWAY, Y/N? AM NOW MORE EXPENDABLE.

[perfektsymmetry.livejournal.com]

[That statement gives Crowe a start.] Absolutely not. I-If you... If you stay here, you could get attacked a-and become a zombie. That's worse.

[He takes some ammo from his backpack, and begins reloading.] W-We can do this. We've gotten this far together.

[mute-mystic.livejournal.com]

WOULD NOT LET IT GET TO THAT POINT. [Silence doesn't elaborate any further than this, and probably doesn't need to. Still, Crowe's determination tells him that it's equally unlikely that the boy will permit him to be left in the first place...so the matter is moot.

He picks up the notebook and puts it away again; there isn't really anything more to say. Though, when he stands up again, his balance is off - to say nothing of sudden dizziness - and he has to put his hand on Crowe's shoulder for support.

Fortunately for both of them, Silence is anything but heavy. Even less so minus an arm.]

[perfektsymmetry.livejournal.com]

[He speaks gently now.] I-I won't let it get to that point either. Come on.

[He carefully wraps an arm around Silence's shoulder to help hold him up, pistol readied in the other.] We can do this. You ready?

[mute-mystic.livejournal.com]

[Silence gives Crowe a small and unmistakably grateful smile. For a moment, he almost feels as though he's back with IRPO, with one of his patrol partners; even Fuse wouldn't abandon him in this situation. Or so Silence hopes, at least; Fuse is especially grumpy and unpredictable when it comes to him. Crowe's refusal to abandon him reminds him of the people and the bonds between them that he misses - nearly as much as the work that goes with them.

In any case, if Crowe won't leave him, then it's incredibly important that he manage; he refuses to get the boy killed on his behalf. He gives his partner a firm nod, pulling out his own pistol. Not his preferred weapon by any means - he only ever carried one at home because it was standard IRPO issue - but it's the easiest for him to use one-handed, and he's as determined to protect Crowe as Crowe is to protect him.]

[perfektsymmetry.livejournal.com]

[Crowe returns the smile, glad to see Silence is still focused and with him. And at that, he'll start moving, slowly at first to gauge how well Silence can keep up, eyes scanning the streets.]