Illstar

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Eventually, silence overcame the room, and Aerin found it more unnerving than the sounds before. He dressed, pulled the straps of his backpack over his shoulders, and followed her with quiet steps. Anything she didn't take, he put in his bag. It was only to help her carry it around. Any words that he might have thought to say died on his lips before he could formulate a sentence. So he settled for quiet, mirroring her steps as they moved outside. She didn't speak, and he didn't fill the windy air with his voice. It was only when she turned and asked him a direct question did he answer.

"We should try to pick a house." A bed was always appreciated, dirty sheets or not. "If not, a store. They'll have canned food, maybe." Instead of waiting for an answer, he took the lead. Without as much dust blocking the sky, he was able to tell when the sun was going down and when it was gone. There were no streetlights to guide them, and Aerin nearly tripped on debris several times, but he finally chose a large suburban house with open doors and windows. Hefting the wooden door open, Aerin found the house somewhat cleaner than the others. It wasn't recently used, but not as much dust coated the knickknacks covering the shelves, nor was there as much wear and tear on the furniture pieces.

"...Suppose this will do for the night." Aerin padded into the kitchen, seeing a table in the corner with two chairs and scattered plates and dishes on the tile. A few cupboards were wrenched open and broken, but there were still random cans of food dotting the inside. He didn't linger, moving into what could have been considered the living room at one point. There was a television with a shattered screen and clocks that no longer worked. There was an upstairs, but Aerin didn't know how dangerous an upper floor would be with the deteriorating state of the house.
 
Nova let him lead, not really caring where they went. The house wasn't a bad choice though - she could recognize that even in the state she was in - and the brunette nodded at Aerin's words, watching as the two wolves sniffed about, investigating the rooms and making sure they were alone. They bounded right upstairs without incident and she moved toward them, too, speaking to the blond as she went. "I'll go shut the window if I can." Less likely to have any infected sneaking in that way. She padded upstairs, taking some care on the steps that creaked a bit, but otherwise held. The first room she passed was a child's bedroom and a pang came to her chest.

Alec.

Her little brother's face floated up in her memory and Nova took a hard breath, pushing it back down to the same place Shadow's death would go. She couldn't afford to break down again and she needed to focus...like on that soft spot in the floor due to water damage. Her brown eyes flickered to the sunken area and then upward to the....great hole in the roof. Well, so much for windows. They'd be useless now.

"Fang, Rifle, here!"

She turned back toward the stairs and the wolves rushed down before her, going immediately to where Aerin was before Nova joined him, behaving as nonchalantly as possible, as normal as she could as she dropped her pack and shed her weapons, but kept them within easy reach. Sleep would bring its own reactions - if she slept - but right now she was in control, even if that control was fragile. "There's a hole in the roof, so the windows are useless. Best to stay down here."
 
Aerin had found a guest bedroom with a set of slightly worn sheets and a flat pillow. There was a couch that he could sleep on, letting Nova have the bed. She had more to deal with. He popped out from the room as he heard the snapping command. Furry forms brushed his legs as Nova came down from the stairs. At her words, he nodded. "There's a room down that way. One bed... You can have it. There's a couch, and I'll find a blanket or something." His voice was tired, like he was ready to simply fall over and sleep. Fighting had worn him out more than he thought, not to mention carrying Shadow and then experiencing her death from afar.

He turned, not wanting to argue about sleeping arrangements. Setting his backpack down beside the couch, he pulled his pistol from its holster and removed the machine gun from his back. Then came the top half of his clothes, since it was actually warm inside the house, despite the broken windows and hole in the ceiling. Before sitting down, he rifled through a closet, finding a short, wool blanket to throw over himself. The material was scratchy, but he took it anyway.

Sitting on the edge of the couch, his fingers formed a steeple against his nose. He didn't know how to deal with... well, anything. With another sigh, he rubbed his forehead, looking down at his arm. The scratches had scabbed over, an ugly brown and red against his tan skin. His jaw wasn't as swollen, but he could feel bruises and marks on his back from when he'd been slammed on the ground. This whole day had gone from okay to awful in just a matter of minutes, and he felt like it was only going to get worse.
 
He offered the bedroom and Nova didn't debate it. First off, she was not going to complain about getting the bed, not after the things she'd had to sleep on for the last year. She wouldn't pass up that opportunity. Second, he was a guy. Pride alone would keep him from taking the room even if she refused to use it and then they'd both be being stupid and stubborn. So she didn't contest. What Nove DID do was go around and shut the window, locking them and pulling the drapes. The less people who knew they were here, the better. The front door was next and when she returned to Aerin, it was to see him on the couch and with far less clothing.

Somewhere inside she was rather appreciative of the figure he struck, but it was buried under the grief and fatigue right now, and when Nova approached the male it was after she'd pulled a few things out of her pack. She had opened a few packages of alcohol wipes, some gauze, had neosporin and had an ace bandage when her brown eyes met his green. "Let me see your arm."

It had almost been an unwritten rule - and one Nova was surprised he'd understood and respected - that there would be no contact between them the entire time they'd traveled together, but now Nova was initiating contact and while it might have just been to help, it was like a line was being tentatively crossed, blurred slightly. It felt almost strange and sent small shocks through her skin to be touching another human being, but Nove focused on the cuts with a single-minded purpose. She'd seen too many people who'd escaped being killed or infected neglect something they thought was trivial only to die of blood poisoning or infection or a common virus that their weakened immune systems couldn't handle now. She'd be damned if that was happening to her twice in such a short amount of time.

She hadn't been able to help Shadow, but she could help Aerin.

The brunette treated his arm with efficient, but gentle care and when she was done wrapping the ace bandage around his arm she stood with a nod. "Air it out in the morning and then I'll reapply the neosporin and gauze." she stated softly before simply turning away, collecting her pack and weapons to take to the bedroom. "Night, Aerin." She walked about two steps before stopping and then speaking again without turning around. "If...if you hear any screaming...I'm not in danger." She made a motion to Fang then as she walked down the hall and the brown wolf followed her into the bedroom.

Rifle, laying on the rug in the living room, didn't rise but he looked to Aerin. The black-white wolf-dog yawned with a whine and a groaning sound before he laid his head back down, apparently intent on staying right here with Aerin. Both canines would be a better watch system in the event someone tried to sneak in during the night.
 
He didn't seem to be aware of her presence until she spoke, causing him to flinch. His eyes searched her face before he held his arm out carefully. In her grip, he was tense, as if he was unsure if she was going to break his arm or patch it up. After a few slow ministrations and pressing neosporin onto the wounds, Aerin relaxed ever so slightly. The healing processes stung, but he kept his hurt expression in check while she worked. He kept his arm steady while she wrapped it, and he only responded to her words with a nod.

"Night, Nova." It seemed to be their routine conversation for the night time, but he didn't mind. Routine was welcome; it was a change from the chaos around them. He looked up as she mentioned screaming, but she had already turned away. He unfolded the blanket, propping his boots against the armrest of the couch and sliding his arms behind his head. When Rifle didn't move, he peered down at the wolf-dog. He managed a slight smile at Rifle before his eyes closed. "Night, Rifle."

Aerin didn't often dream, but he recounted his fight with the infected over and over in his head. At some point during his restless sleep, one hand fell on Rifle's neck. Aerin's fingers twirled in the wolf-dog's fur unconsciously, something to grasp and hold onto in the tumultuous thoughts reeling his mind.
 
Nova didn't sleep. She dozed and when dreams would start, she'd wake and the process would start all over again. She knew - oh, she did - that what she was doing to her body and her mind was not healthy. It broke so many medical 'rules' and would make any doctor cringe, but she didn't know how else to handle it. It wasn't like the world was normal anymore and with the medical knowledge she did have, Nova could keep a careful control of her own mental state. Or at least she fooled herself into thinking she could. Sure, she'd actually been getting ready to graduate medical school and had already put in hours at the hospital and had been accepted into a high-grade hospital already, but that didn't mean she couldn't be blind to the danger she was putting on herself. Sleep was detriment to the body and she'd been denying it for...well, months.

She wasn't thinking of such things when she forced her body to get up the next morning. Nova wasn't thinking much at all as she pretty much stumbled her way from the bedroom and down the hall. She'd gone to bed in her tank-top, her hair undone and without any shoes. She almost looked like a normal surburban woman getting up for the day after a long night, but the scars and dirt and dried blood gave testament to a different story.

Nova padded into the kitchen, searching the cupboards and it was only when she went on her tiptoes to check a cabinet that her leg gave way. The brunette cried out as pain flared through her calf and she caught herself on the counter before she lowered herself down to the ground. Fang was at her side, whining and pressing into her with concern and Rifle shot into the kitchen from the living room from a dead sleep.

"Hey, move back." she told them both and the wolves listened, ears cocked and eyes focused as Nova carefully tried to peel her pant-leg away from her skin. She hissed in pain as the task proved difficult. Okay, it was downright agony. The blood had dried to the fabric, the fibers inside the bite wound and Nova looked at what she could see through the tears in her pants with horror.

How...how had she forgotten her leg?!
 
It was a mix of Nova's cry and Rifle's pull from his hand that woke Aerin. Rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand, he shook his head and threw the blanket from his legs and moved into the kitchen. He found Nova down on the floor with the wolves hovering around her. He stooped to one knee in front of her, eyes searching her leg. He knew what had happened, but in her grief, she must have forgotten to patch herself up. After all, she'd done it for him, so there'd been little reason not to do it for herself.

"What can I do to help?" he asked, keeping his voice soft. "I know we took stuff from the hospital. Do you want your pack?" He had taken supplies as well, but Nova would know what she needed. He wished he'd had practical knowledge like she did. There were basic things, but it meant little out in the Illstar-infected world. His interests were stupid when compared to the knowledge he could have had. He resisted the urge to sigh, his eyes going back to her leg. It was just as bad as his arm, but unlike him, she had nothing but a dirty pant leg to wrap hers up.
 
Nova looked up as he entered and she almost felt relief to remember she wasn't alone. And that was very, very new for her. Since when did she WANT human company? Okay, she actually knew the answer to that one; ever since she'd realized Aerin wasn't like any human she'd met, both before the Illstar and after it...and she couldn't even yet pinpoint why that was. She just knew it was true and now she nodded to him at the offer. When the blond came back, she started requesting things, first being the torn shirt and her canteen. She was more furious about the waste of water than anything else as she wet the cloth to keep as much contained as she could and of use. She started to work on the dried fabric, wetting it and loosening the blood at the same time. It was painful, so very painful but if there was anything the scars on her body said, it was that she knew what pain was and could move past it.

"I n-need, um...alcohol." Damn, that was going to HURT.

Nova had already made her lip bleed biting it so hard, but she had made progress and could now pull her pant leg up off the wound. She was carefully picking the fibers of fabric out now as the wound bled. It was nasty looking. Any bite would be, but hers had torn when she kicked the infected away and there were chunks of tissue missing here and there. It made her feel a bit dizzy to look at, but Nova took the alcohol from Aerin and then looked around for a moment before she picked up a piece of wood from the split cabinet and stuck it between her teeth.

Oh, yeah, this was going to hurt.

Right. Hurt didn't even begin to describe it. Nova gave a cry of pain around the wood, clenching it tightly in her jaw as she cleaned out the raw skin, tissue and muscle. Her hands shook and her leg jerked against her will by the time she was done. A sheen of sweat stood out on Nova's forehead and the wolves were pacing restlessly when she spit the wood out and let her head thump back, breathing hard.

She still needed to use the antibiotic and bandage the thing, but she needed to breathe first.
 
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Aerin moved away, doing his best to be quick about the motions. He went and came back with her backpack, unzipping the pockets and pulling out whatever she needed. He kept a short distance between them, but he knew that touch was fleeting. It had only been okay when she was fixing his arm. But now... she was still injured, so maybe it would be okay for a little while longer.

When she requested the alcohol, he had to search several cabinets. Apparently, the previous owners of the house hadn't thought to take it with them, because he found half a bottle in a few short minutes. Unscrewing the lid, he handed it to Nova before crouching down beside her again, this time just a few inches closer. That distance didn't matter as the liquid spilled around her wound. Instinctively, his hand darted to take a hold on her ankle so her leg wouldn't shake. He couldn't stop the painful jerk, but as soon as her body stopped moving, he released her. He took the time to take in her appearance. She looked awful, he had to say. She was attractive, but the pain scrunching her face and her panting chest and her bitten leg all added up to a less than appealing appearance.

Before he could really stop himself, Aerin reached out, his fingers swiping along her forehead to rid her of the sweat. Her skin was soft, despite the harsh conditions outside. Maybe it was her hood that protected her face, much like her mask. He hadn't minded the touch. And then a red color flushed his cheeks as he ducked his head, deliberately looking for the bandages and other supplies she would need to fix her wound. He should have said something, but no words would come out. He also shouldn't have touched her, but it was already past. He pulled out the few antibiotics she had, setting them down beside the bandages before going to his own pack and searching for the other bottles he had. He didn't know what she needed, so if he gave her everything, she could tell him what would work and what wouldn't.
 
She hadn't even noted the grip on her leg. She'd been far more focused on the pain and had felt nothing else. Someone could have yanked her hair and she wouldn't have noticed it. But the touch to her forehead...oh, that she noticed. It was gentle, quick but caring and she stared at the blond when he pulled back, head ducking and his complexion resembling a tomato. Why...why had he done that? And why had she...not broken his arm for it?

All right, maybe it was sad that she couldn't imagine anyone being comforting anymore, but the world they lived in didn't leave much room for such things. And Nova...she had her own reasons for distrusting contact, for distrusting people in general. It had only been Shadow, Fang and Rifle's influence that had gotten her to travel with Aerin and if the wolves told her to leave him now, she would. That was the hard fact of the matter at the moment. He wasn't anything to her. Not a friend, not family, not a lover, not even someone she needed. He was a companion and she hadn't even wanted that.

Yes, she was starting to like his presence, but she could get used to not having it far quicker and she could leave easily at this point. Surely he had to know that, suspect it. So why was he being so...kind? No one was kind anymore. And why was she still thinking about this?

Nova shook her head just as she shook the thought away and made herself focus back on her task. Namely her bleeding leg. Right. That wasn't minor and should take precedence. Damn, she needed some sleep. She searched over what he'd pulled out and smiled just a little to see something that was supposed to be used for toothaches coming out of his pack. Oh, she was going to have to teach him some basic medic rules and procedures. Still, Nova merely took what she needed, thanked him quietly for the other things but declined them and then started back on the wound. It was easier - a bit - to handle it. It still hurt, but the worst was over and she packed it full of antibiotics and a numbing gel before wrapping it securely, but not so tightly as to cut off circulation.

When she was done, Nova sighed and ran a hand back through her long hair, feeling the dampness along the edges of her hair-line. "Well, that was fun. I would have preferred breakfast, but I guess the universe knows best." She said the last bit with a grunt as she got to her feet and carefully tested her weight on her leg. It sent a streak of pain right up to her knee and then a throb through her thigh and up into her hip, but it held and the brunette sighed, breathing carefully past the discomfort.

"At least I can walk." Well, limp, but legs were a great part of survival in this world and she'd manage.
 
Anything she didn't take, Aerin put back diligently. He didn't have everything she needed, but he understood his lack of knowledge was shining in that moment. So he remained quiet, glancing at her every so often just to make sure she was okay. The red had faded from his cheeks, but his act still remained. He didn't know if it had been smart, but she hadn't set the wolves on him or tried to stab him, so that was a start.

Once she was bandaged, he stood up, closing their packs and searching the cupboards for something to eat. Food was still important, as she pointed out. He looked down as she stood up, ready to support her. He didn't need to, and his hand shrank away to his side, though he didn't even realized how far he'd moved out to help. "Yeah," was all that came from him as he moved their packs out of the way. God, what the hell was wrong with him? He knew he wasn't the social butterfly he might have wanted to be, but he could still talk. Even in the wake of the Illstar, he was going to make things awkward. With an inward sigh, he stood on the tips of his toes, swiping cans from the shelves. He was only able to find four before he went on the search for a can opener, or at the very least, something to stab the top with. He eventually found an opener, even though there was evidence of rust on the tips.

"We have a lovely choice between," he twirled the labels on the cans, "canned peaches or pineapple." Well, he could have found worse things in a can. At least he had an opener now.
 
She saw his hand retreat from the corner of her eye and Nova tensed a bit, unsure what to think of that, but she didn't comment on it and her body soon released it's wariness again. She couldn't maintain that forever and besides....she was exhausted, hungry and now thoroughly hurting. Not a good combination in her, though, she was handling it rather well by not snapping at anyone and that included the wolves as Rifle sniffed at her leg, his nose bumping it just a little and causing her to grit her teeth as she looked down at him. Nothing but a faint growl left her throat and the canine backed off.

Fang knew better and had taken a position at the kitchen entrance, laying down and panting as he kept watch, ears swiveling. Rifle joined him with a whine and got a light snap for his trouble before the wolf-dog went to his own corner, laid down with a huff and watched the people in the room with his head on the floor.

Nova, for her part, had given Aerin her attention and she was smiling just a bit in amusement as he held up the cans. She looked to the ceiling, pretending to think and finally rolled her eyes, though not unfriendly about it. "Peaches."

As he got to work on that, she half-walked, half-limped to her pack and pulled it up to the counter, brushing her unruly hair back behind a bare shoulder before she dug around and came up with another can. Beans. Ugh, she was getting tired of beans. But they were protein. The brunette slid them over the counter to the blond before going back into her pack and coming up with a brush. It took a bit of effort to push off from the floor with one leg and get on the counter, but she managed and then started to brush the tangles sleeping had created out of the dark brown mane.

"Just for curiosity's sake; what was your favorite food before hell began?"
 
Aerin only opened up one can of peaches and pineapple, saving the other two for later. It was always better to go slightly hungry if it meant stretching food out. He found a fork in one drawer and a spoon in another, and he let Nova have her choice of silverware. He cracked open her proffered can of beans, nearly snapping the top as the teeth of the opener got stuck on the can. It wouldn't be helpful to break their only tool, even if it was difficult.

He dove into the pineapple, spearing a piece of the fruit before she spoke. "Favorite food?" The thought of his previous diet made him chuckle. "I was a broke college kid. I made my diet on ramen and Easy-Mac. I wouldn't say they're my favorite, but that's what I ate," he said, biting into the canned fruit. It had a slight metallic taste to it, but it was better than nothing. Aerin had learned very quickly not to complain when he was given food. "I suppose if I had to think really far back, it would be my dad's chocolate chip pancakes. I'd always slice strawberries and shower them on top and then put heaps of whipped cream and syrup on top. It was awful for me, but we loved it. Didn't matter that he couldn't make them from scratch or that sometimes we didn't have strawberries. It was what we did together."

Aerin smiled and shook his head at the story. "Sorry. You asked for a question, not a story. What about you?" A poor attempt at taking the conversation away from his life. He was surprised she'd asked the question at all, given his habit of giving a paragraph when only a sentence was needed.
 
He might not have realized it and Nova was not about to tell him in so many words - she wasn't that kind of person and she didn't know him - but a story had been exactly what she needed. She was still feeling the loss of Shadow, she was tired, hurting, nerves frayed....hearing someone else talk - and in the calm, quiet way Aerin did - was actually rather soothing at the moment. No, she didn't always like stories, but right now, Nova didn't mind and she smiled just a bit as she set the brush down, pushed her hair back behind her and grabbed the spoon. She fished out some pineapple, eating with complaint.

She swallowed and only then answered the question...deciding spur of the moment to answer him in a way she didn't typically do; with some personal history. Nova had remained very factual up until now, but...maybe she was just feeling sentimental. Or maybe the lack of sleep was catching up with her. Hmm, could be blood loss....nah, she hadn't lost that much.

"I liked steak. My father was horrible at making it, burned every time, but my mother was good at it. She was the one everyone wanted to barbecue when we had people over. My brother, Alec, he hated steak. Would always eat macaroni when we had it. I used to tease him over that. I mean, who doesn't like steak?" She scoffed slightly, fondly and shook her head after a moment, looking down before Nova grabbed another pineapple without a word and started to eat again.
 
Aerin laughed, the sound not so loud, especially with the wind picking up outside. Sounded like it was going to be another windstorm day. He ate several more pieces of the pineapple before he switched over to the beans. They both needed the same amount of food, so he was careful not to devour everything. "I would certainly appreciate a steak right now. I bet those two wouldn't mind it either," he said, jerking his chin at the two wolves in the corner. He had two slices of the peaches before he let Nova have the rest, finding spaces for the unopened cans and the opener in his pack. His gaze went toward one of the few unbroken windows to see dust and sand swirling around. A storm was passing them over, and it was no way to travel.

"We can stay here for another day... No one's stupid enough to try and walk in this." There were some people who had cars, but because gas was so scarce, the cars were only used for emergencies. Granted, the whole country was in a state of emergency, but that didn't matter. "We can let your leg try to get better. Oh, did you want to check my arm again? I would, but, as you can tell, I don't really know what I'm doing. I knew how to put band-aids on, if that makes you feel better." It was a ramble, but it ended with a smile and another poor joke. He was trying, maybe a little too hard, but given their circumstances, no one could really blame him.
 
Nova finished up her own food and shook her head a bit at his joke, slightly amused, but more focused on what that meant for how much she had to start teaching him. And she DID have to start teaching him. If something happened to her that she couldn't direct him, he needed to have some idea of what to do...assuming he helped her at all, but hey, that would be for him to decide if the time came. At any rate, it would be good for him to have some knowledge just so he could help himself if nothing else. She might not always be around to help HIM.

She moved off the counter, careful not to put too much weight on her leg when she hit the floor and then moved to the pack, pulling out some gauze and neosporin. She approached Aerin then and set the things down on the counter before holding at her hand for his arm. When he gave it, she started the process of treating the scratches on his skin. "My leg is going to give me trouble for a while yet, but it should be fine. These cuts will heal sooner." she informed him in what could only be described as a 'doctor's' voice.

"As for your skill." Brown eyes looked up to his green from beneath dark brown hair. "I'll teach you. At least the basics. I'm surprised you've survived this long without knowing at least some medical knowledge." She smiled slightly. "I guess some of us are just too stubborn to die."
 
Aerin held his arm out for her. He was a little more relaxed than he had been last night when she'd touched him. Maybe his earlier motion had broken the ice somehow. Still, it was better than being afraid that she'd smack him or something for touching. His eyes followed her movements until she spoke. He'd survived because he'd understood his basic needs. "Well, I guess I'm better at not being shot. Any Wanderers that I came across either just left me alone or traded something. I talked them down most of the time. And the Illstar communities all kicked me out once they found out I was immune. They were so upset at me that they didn't even bother to shoot me. Guess they figured that the weather would eventually beat me down and kill me."

Aerin tried not to wince as the neosporin came into contact with his wound. Even if it had sat for a night, it still stung. "Uh... Thanks. For doing this, I mean. I know I'm not very good with medical stuff, but I haven't needed it so far... Luckily. I've been shot at, not shot. My luck will run out sometime, I suppose." Maybe it wasn't so good to talk about being shot after Shadow's death.

In fact, the thought made him groan and drop his head into his free hand. "Ugh... Sorry. I'm not good at... this," he said, waving his fingers up and down. "My profession didn't call for dealing with people, even if I didn't mind it. Before all this, my worst fear was a broken pencil or running out a pretty paint color or ripping my tracings. I guess I'm calm when I talk, but it's only to cover up the anxiety." Why was he talking so much? Part of it was to fill the quiet and his screw up over talking about Shadow's death, but another part was to... He didn't even know. Liking to talk and having a good speaking ability were two different things.
 
She listened to him ramble without comment, keeping to her task and as she was finishing, Nova looked up at his apology, frowning slightly. Wait...what? Not good at what? Talking? He seemed to have that down. Had she missed something? Well, then again she'd kind of been zoning out just a little and she realized that she was far more tired than she'd first thought as she blinked rapidly and focused on what Aerin was saying, stepping back to lean against the opposite counter.

The brunette raised a brow at his last comment and she shook her head, running her hand back through her hair. "Aerin, you're fine. We already played the who's screwed up more game, remember? I won." It was the closest to a joke she'd get right now and she looked to the wolves, checking on them before she looked back at the blond. "You're lucky that you haven't needed a doctor yet." She glanced at her own shoulder, the bullet scar there and then pushed away from the counter and started to limp her way to the living room. "I'm not so proficient in that area, I'm afraid."

She sank down on the couch with a groan and yawned. "And you can relax. Shadow...she died. It happens. I'm not going to bite your head off if you say something wrong. Most I will do is ignore you." Hey, it was honest.
 
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Aerin only bit his lip to keep himself from talking again. She was right, after all. They had already gone over who had it worse. That was even more apparent from her scars. He watched her limp away to his spot on the couch, and all he could think to do was sit down beside her. He did keep his distance, just in case she'd had her fill of contact for one day. He let the wind be the only thing to swipe the air as he formulated a proper response.

"...How did you get all of those? I mean, you don't have to tell me. It's just... There's a lot. You'd know better than me, I guess." Aerin's skin, though rough and sand-bitten from the weather, was flawless in terms of scars. He'd been a careful child, and he hadn't run into anything particularly menacing after the Illstar hit. Lucky came back to his mind. Could all of his encounters really boil down to luck? Maybe he wasn't as savvy as he thought he was.

He leaned his head back against the couch, eyes closed. The feel of the bandage was foreign on his arm, and he found himself scratching at the material, even if he didn't pull it off. In fact, everything was foreign to him now. The only thing he knew still was art, and even then, he found little time to release his stress with the pen and paper.
 
Nova tried not to tense, she really did, but it was unavoidable at the question and she was glad Aerin wasn't looking at her as a haunted look came to her eyes. She breathed in carefully, trying not to show how many images were flashing before her eyes right now as she exhaled steadily and licked her lips, tasting the dried blood still there from where she'd bitten it. The brunette opened her mouth, shut it again and then looked down at her own skin, debating before she decided which ones she would actually explain, already knowing well which ones she probably wouldn't.

Okay, so she actually didn't want to talk about most of them. That could be a dilemma. But it wasn't like she owed Aerin an explanation...but she didn't owe him scorn either. The woman sighed and let her body slump to the side, bringing her feet up and bent her legs carefully as she curled into the corner of the sofa. Damn she was tired. Another yawn escaped before Nova looked at the floor and started to speak, talking so late that Aerin probably thought she wasn't going to at all.

"I got shot in the shoulder trying to rescue a child from an infected mob. Stupid, really. She was already infected herself and I barely escaped alive. Pure moronism on my part that one." She'd shut her eyes, body relaxing despite herself and Nova spoke more quietly. "Got the barbed wire scars climbing a fence. Damn thing got my wrist. Wasn't even worth it. They caught me again anyway." Perhaps it was because she was already half-asleep now that the last bit came out, but Nova was to far into sleep to really be aware and she drifted off soon after that, curling further into the cushions as the wind shrieked outside.

She probably wouldn't remain that way for long, but whatever sleep she could get would be good.
 
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