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[bloodandblunder]

"H... hello? Um, this is me-- ah, Noire! I'm Noire, and I'm very sorry for missing you somehow... I promise I'm not avoiding you, unless you're scary or you're Mo-- trying to curse me. U-um, so when I can figure out how to-- ( beeps ensue, followed by a shriek of fright ) O-oh, no! What did I push, how do I-- make it-- oh gods, did I break it?! W-why can't we just talk in person?!"

[ BEEP. ]

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Comments

[bloodandblunder]

[ ... That is not handling it!!

Luckily for Eugeo, he'll miss the various noises of alarm Noire makes. There's no attempt to drag him anywhere this time; she'll hold still, keeping him leaned against her and try very hard not to think about how much blood he apparently lost or how bad he looks or what would happen if they got attacked here.

She'll just. Sit. ]

[willbreak]

[ Not-dying is handling it!!

And um is she really going to just sit because he'll only stir after about an hour— ]

[bloodandblunder]

[ Yep. ]

[willbreak]

[ Then stirring after an hour it is! He'll crack his eyes open again, actually aware of his surroundings this time. ]

Noire... you didn't have to...

[ Still raspy. ]

[bloodandblunder]

You're my friend. [ still quiet, though definitely relieved. ] And you obviously needed that. Even if I wasn't strong enough to bring you back myself...

[willbreak]

Mm-mm... you did enough.

... I messed up... a little.

[ A little, he says. ]

[bloodandblunder]

You've... definitely seen better days, haven't you?

... Can I ask what happened?

[willbreak]

[ He laughs weakly. It's meant to be sheepish, but it just sounds like a choked cough. And even that hurts. ]

Training...

[bloodandblunder]

Tr-- training did this?? Why were you even training out here? And by yourself--

[ EUGEO WE TALKED THIS OVER I KNOW WE DID. ]

[willbreak]

Guess I overdid it...

[ OKAY TRYING TO GET UP NOW, his whole body feels like jelly let's see how this goes— ]

[bloodandblunder]

[ Well, she'll... try to help. Even if he's heavier. ]

S-slowly, all right?

[willbreak]

[ NOOOOOOIRE he doesn't want to crush you!! ]

Mm.

[ But he's grateful for her support all the same, and he does end up leaning on her a little as he gets to his feet.

At least he's not in that much pain anymore; he's just exhausted. ]

Thank you... I'll be okay from here.

[ Now he'll wobble and attempt to stand by himself. He has to manage anyway, they still have to get through half the tunnel! ]

[bloodandblunder]

... From the way things look, it might be days before you're "okay"... are you sure you don't need help?

[willbreak]

Hey. I won't collapse while fighting the monsters, don't worry.

[ Really, he won't. Now that he's had time to shake himself out of that just-want-to-sleep mindset, he can tune out the exhaustion for just a little longer. He'll even give her a small smile! ]

Things probably look worse than they actually are.

[bloodandblunder]

We'll have to make sure of that once we get you out of here.

But you should leave the monsters to me this time... okay?

[ She's been fighting a lot longer than you have, Eugeo. ]

[willbreak]

...

[ Can you tell how reluctant he is, Noire? ]

[bloodandblunder]

... I can fight, too. Can you please rely on me this time?

[willbreak]

[ He knows she can. He knew a long time ago and continued to coddle her anyway, which only upset her, and—

That isn't the point. The point is that he's half dead and Noire's not, and she did get here in one piece... ]

... You're still too kind.

[ And he's still too stubborn to say "yes" outright. But he'll nod. ]

[bloodandblunder]

I'm not. [ But she says it with a smile, reaching for her bow to get it ready. ] Anyway... we'll take it at your pace.

[willbreak]

[ Another nod, then he'll start walking forward, somehow without staggering. Hey, just because he's agreed to let Noire fight, doesn't mean he'll go about this like a weakling! Why does that sound like something Zohra would say? ]

[bloodandblunder]

[ It's fine, he's moving and not arguing, so Noire will keep one eye on him and the other eye trained ahead for when the monsters inevitably start charging. ]

[willbreak]

[ Split-direction eyes, that's creepy.

I mean.

Eugeo will twitch whenever a new group of monsters comes charging, obviously wanting to do something to help; but Noire's right, he really should leave them to her and focus on just getting out of there. If he collapses, it'll just be more work for her.

So yeah, he'll just keep walking on until they reach the end. ]

[bloodandblunder]

[ and the monsters are dead and Noire is fine, so it's all okay? And in this light, she can look him over a little better. ]

... We should probably get you back to the apartments... you look like you still need to rest.

[willbreak]

[ He manages another smile, shaking his head. ]

Soon... I have to clean up first.

[ Seeing as he looks like he's been dragged backward through several hedges at 30 mel per second. ]

Thanks again... for everything.

[ He's so exhausted that he doesn't feel exhausted anymore, which is why he can still talk kind-of normally — if that makes any sense? ]

[bloodandblunder]

... Do you, um... want to talk about anything?

[ She doubts it, knowing Eugeo, but she has so many questions... ]