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 Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 7:43 pm
Hmm, clothing, clothing... Well, at least what was there didn't have any conspicuous fanciness about it and, given his more-or-less average build, fitting into the stuff wasn't an issue. Eventually Niko wound up setting on a (predictably simple) ensemble: dark rust-colored pants and a washed out looking pale shirt.
The long sleeves were more for coverage than warmth, really, figuring that his oh-so-conspicuous fire-patched arms were probably a dead giveaway in a crowd for police. Best to keep them out of sight for the sake of... blending in... huh...
"Stay here while I'm out," was the closest to a proper 'goodbye' that he bid, too, but at least it was something of a heads up for the girl in the bathroom so she wouldn't walk out to any surprises (or lack thereof) upon finishing whatever grooming procedure she'd gotten wrapped up in.
Right, then, off it was to ABANDON HER FOREVER--
... Or, more accurately, to grab a jacket from the innkeeper's personal stash (much to his displeasure) and throw it on, pulling the hood up over his face for a last bit of cover before it was off and into the great frozen yonder.
Hopefully his journey back and forth would be an uneventful one that ended in a quick and painless flight out of the city for good.
Karma sure owed them both the kind treatment.
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Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 7:54 pm
She actually was content with just hiding in the bathroom, door locked, and just soaking (drowning?) herself in the tub of warm water, using the towel and a bar of soap to scrub pathetically at her skin. Scrubbing to the point of it being red, raw, and disgusting.
Still attached, but very..
...
Unpleasant looking.
Her hair and scalp received similar treatment, eventually resulting in a very tender-bodied nobreed who after being in the tub for about... twenty minutes got out to shiver and dry her skin off, settling for braiding her hair up into a series of braids which she wrapped around the top of her head, using them to do her best at hiding the lack of 'furriness' to her ears.
...
......
She just needed a bit fuzzy hat to hide her ears in. That would be nice. Maybe something white like her fur should have been....
....
Like dad's was.
But then it was off to look through clothing and get herself dressed, settling for another one of the button up shirts (a more cream colored one) and then seeking her out a skirt.
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Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 9:54 pm
... Nine hours.
It had taken him nine ******** hours to make sight of the little Inn again, and when he did, the silhouette of it was starting to blur.
To be perfectly honest, Nikolas hadn't been expecting a peaceful trip there and back-- though it would've been a pleasant alternative to what wound up happening anyway.
The first short while went smoothly enough, pacing his way through back streets and frigid alleys like and experienced sneak. Sure, his knees might have complained at him after the fourth or seventh fence vaulting or roof leap, but those were things easily ignored.
The fact that he'd wound up getting a big chunk of hot bloody lead in one leg, however, was a little more difficult to gloss over.
Still, though, before that happened he'd managed to slip his way into the docks and find a docile cinnamon-furred young man in the agriculture trade who just so happened to be leaving that night on his hauling vessel and, coincidentally, cared far more about the prospect of making a fat sum than the legality of helping two vigilantes flee the city.
Arrangements had been made and upfront payments given, leaving Nikolas to sneak back right into the shadows once more for a safe return--
... And that was about the time it all started.
Perhaps it was just bad luck, or maybe it was some kind of karmic retribution he didn't know he deserved, but running across the city law had most certainly not been on his list of want for the day and... well, following a foot chase, a broken arm (not his, thankfully), a runaway horse trolley and two carriages crashing into one another, he'd finally managed to lose them-- just not without earning that damned lucky shot first.
Had it not been bleeding so profusely he could've ignored it, but unfortunately the awful thing had required him to sit out and lie low a few hours (until he recovered the constitution to WALK again) before it was off toward 'home'.
... The sun was just starting to set as he returned, shoving the door open and leering at the horrified innkeeper to shut down any questions before they could be asked.
No, it was back to limping upstairs to see whether or not his little 'captive' had stayed put or fled in terror during his absence.
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 8:16 am
Tamara had managed to get herself a skirt from the owner's wife (and some scowling looks from the guest's she'd been unable to avoid) as well as a decent hat and coat to keep her furlessness warm (She'd been sure to thank them repeatedly and even straighten up the room to the best of her abilities)... and that had only been the first couple of hours...
..
It was about that third hour when she'd started getting worried, past lunch she'd gotten concerned, and about that seventh hour she'd actually gone out of hiding in the room to sit in the front window and wait, a frown on her face wondering if he had...
...
He wouldn't have, would he?
But... why had he taken so long?
Had he actually left her there to be found and to rot? It would have been most horrible if that were the case, if she had anything to say about it.... But at least she'd made sure to disguise herself semi-properly before camping out.
It was nice and pleasant more or less, sitting there with her ears burrowed into her furry hat that could most definitely be mistaken for her actual fur and...
Noooo! Wait! WAITING, SOB!
It was only once she saw his familiar form (Dark fur = familiar to her) li-... Limping? OH GOD!
It was with just that Tamara actually pressed herself against the window and FROWNED EVEN MORE. FROWNING, FROWNING.
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 7:10 pm
Well it wasn't as if he'd meant to put her through such a row of anxious misery or anything, but there was no helping the unexpected issues and... really, he'd still managed to make it there without dropping exactly, so no harm done, right? Right?
Tamara's little disguise had actually worked pretty well; in fact, he nearly passed right by her in favor of heading to the staircase, and it was only when something compelled him to take a second look at the strange over-dressed (and overly concerned looking) woman in the room that it all clicked.
"... Oh." That was one hell of a lame greeting, but at least it was a definite recognition sound, haulting his grand limping ascent of two-steps and just... looking at her.
Perhaps a bit too wearily.
But he didn't say a thing about that or the fact that one of his pant legs was covered in blood from the thigh down (thank god he'd at least chosen a color like rust to semi-somewhat hide it), just grimaced and sighed in a strained manner.
"We're leaving after nightfall, understand?"
AH HA HA, that was, if they could even make it to the docks at all by then.
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 7:33 pm
Well if she could disguise herself properly, it would mean that she had to sneak a little less...
...
discreetly as they were looking for a nobreed, yes? As long as she gave herself some semblance of fluff all would be well. However, his lack of 'significant' greeting did earn him a frown, as still deep down she was WORRIED LIKE THE LITTLE KITTEN SHE WAS.
WORRY WORRY.
FROOOOWNING. "If you say so.." she whispered back, sighing and looking away from him to stare out the window as other Saligians walked by as if without a care in the world. FROWNING FROWNING.
Okay, apparently that was all she had to say to prince charmining. Perhaps she was angry? It was quite plausible, as she did seem to have been hella worried about him and his extended absence. Perhaps it was a little selfish, but he hadn't even explained himself.
Perhaps he had been off and being friendly with one of the locals (AH HA HA)
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 9:12 pm
Well it wasn't like he'd meant to cut her short on the greetings or seem crude, either... but who could really blame him for it, what with the day he'd had?
Just the fact that he'd managed to come back at all was a small miracle made painfully apparent as he started to ascend the stairs again, suddenly much less powerful in his stride than he had been before and, quite frankly, looking more like an injured stray than a feral monster.
But just as he'd always done, he bit down on any sounds that tried to escape, tightened his grip on the railing (perhaps to pull himself along by upper body strength alone), and finally limped his way up to the second floor, finishing the last leg (oh pun, it pained) of the journey down the short hall and more or less flinging the door to 'their' room open so he could... just keep dragging himself over to the bathroom, really.
What for? Well, to collect a basin full of water, for one, and some rags and a towel and, hell, maybe a pair of tweezers if he was lucky so there'd be no need to dig with bare fingers...
Oh, and a clean pair of pants would probably be decent later too, but not until he was done.
Because Niko was just the kind of self-reliant b*****d to perform a home extraction on himself like that.
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 9:28 pm
And Niko got all the time he needed to himself. Tamara, in the meantime, had been busy getting herself prepared for the trek in still...
...
Hmmm, he'd left at first morning light.. ish... been gone since, that was.... still two hours until nightfall? That didn't sound too horribly far away. So that gave her time to feed herself (again) as well as hide herself away to get some 'simple' things... Easily squirreled food things to be exact.
Which with those in tow, she was up the stairs after her benefactor.
An-
...
.......
"I think I walked in on something.... Sorry, I'll just go wait downstairs..." she only stayed in the doorway for a short amount of time, frowning just as much as she had been before and just....
..
depositing her offering (or rather what she was fully planning to take with her) on one of the chairs before excusing herself from the room. Better to leave the QUIET DESOLATE ROOM to it's bathroom-inhabiting...er.. inhabitor.
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 10:33 pm
Huh, funny, he hadn't thought she'd actually go trailing along after him like that, but... no, sure enough, there was Tamara in the room as soon as he'd gotten all his supplies together, wearily filling up the basin with some cold sink water as he heard the door creaking open yet again...
Perhaps she was only in there to grab some supplies (the concept of any possible 'concern' still eluded him), and it seemed she was, because no sooner had he set the basin on the floor and slid down with his back against the wall to 'sit' was she on her way out again, mumbling an apology and--
... What had she meant, walking in on something and going to wait downstairs?
Had he been putting off some kind of disgruntled GO AWAY vibes without realizing it?
Perhaps it was the fact that he'd just started hissing and growling quietly as he rolled up that blood soaked pant leg to leer at it, what with the big ugly gaping HOLE in his thigh. Mmm, still runny and sludgy, even though it had happened hour ago.
"Do whatever, I don't... really care," was all he bothered to say as she inevitably departed, just grimacing, picking up the harvested tweezers and--
... Oh, OUCH.
Yeah, it was a small miracle he could do that to himself without shrieking or snarling or passing out from the sight of his own mutilated flesh. Mmm, joy.
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 8:17 am
It was hardly that as all. It had only taken a gander over his lovely array of damage for her brain to go 'AH HA HA' and register her own 'lick wounds by herself' vibe and assume he too didn't need someone else looming over his battlewounds to assist him.
The only reason she'd stepped in in the first place (see: scratched up arm) was because he'd been doing it wr-.... And there was a still great possibility that he would do it wrong again. Sigh.
Tamara hadn't moved far from the doorway, despite having closed the door, before she about-faced and wandered right back into the room, rolling up her sleeves as to prevent her from bloodying up her own disguise.
"Straighten out your leg." she stated flatly, kneeling to get a better look at the limb despite the RESOUNDING FROWNING. FROWN FROWN FROOOOWN.
Despite his inability to register her concern, he could still at least give her an opportunity to be useful (even if she'd shunned herself in the first place).
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 3:51 pm
He'd really just been trying to dispel any thoughts along the line of OH GOD HE'S PURPOSELY SHUNNING ME, but uh... this worked too, he guessed? Not that he'd really been expecting Tamara to come in and start ordering him over the injury.... though maybe he should have, given that she'd done the very same thing yesterday with his arm.
"........" Not that that fact made it any less awkward to suddenly be facing a command from what should have been his terrified victim any less peculiar-- or the odd compulsion for actually obeying it.
What was all that about?
Well, whatever it was, he eventually just gave in and went along with it anyway, face tensing up a little and hissing to himself (out of discomfort, naturally) as the muscles were all forced to shift. There, he'd straightened it out. "... Better?"
Though the nasty gaping hole still looked just as nasty and gaping as it had before, and to be perfectly honest, the only difference he could figure from this 'change' was having to bend his spine over more for picking at it.
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 3:58 pm
Which wasn't his job anymore, as Tamara was more than happy to get her fingers bloodied on checking the spot, a very much.. disturbed and a partially 'HOLDING IN MAH VOMIT" look on her face at the sight of the flesh.
Hmmm, well, she wasn't a doctor, so she wasn't exactly sure how to go about checking on the spot, outside of looking at the tweezers in his hand and holding her hand out for them. GIVE.
......
.........
...
Because, frankly, it was either she get the tweezers from him or she dig her FINGERS into his flesh to prod around for what it was that had caused the damage. Which, while not being a deep wound, all she'd have to do is shove that bullet against his bone and it'd be OWOW nerve central.
Like that feeling of getting teeth drilled.
"What happened while you were out? I was worried you'd just..."
...
EERRRR, yeah.. she'd be nice and vague about that.
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 4:45 pm
Nnn, damn, he was starting to feel like one of those pet cats coerced into medical treatment-- you know, the kind you had to sit on and wrestle with and fight tooth and nail to shove a splint on or something, complete with hissing, spitting, claws and fangs...
Except for the fact that he wasn't a damn pet cat of any sort and really didn't have the fight in him for more than a dull growl, ears flicking back as he leered at her 'GIVE IT HERE' hand, then sighed, then finally gave in and passed the tweezers over... if only because he knew she'd 'force' the treatment on him regardless.
And for the record, digging foreign bodies out of raw flesh with one's bare hands sucked. Horribly.
As for her question...
"I was... held up a while."
Well no freakin' duh there, genius! Just the sight of him all blood-covered and torn open was enough to get that much; though he did seem to elaborate after a few seconds' pause-- just... not as much as he probably should have.
"Authorities..." And obviously with guns at their disposal. "... 'Had to get through them. They were in the way."
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 4:52 pm
Her expression tightened at the mention of the nature of the holdup, her frown ever more bothered as her ears attempted to flatten back under the hat she'd hid them in in vain. That...
...
Didn't sound like a positive thing to her by any means, she'd admit it too if she was asked her thoughts on it...
..
Though she wasn't expecting that, really.
"Well.... I was.." Er, yeah, again she'd be vague about that, just frowning a bit more and, after a bit of warming her hands up to the tweezers and their range of movement, as to prevent any catastrophe, went about...
...
Well, giving Niko a warning of "I'll admit I'm not a veteran at this" before she CAREFULLY pushed the tip of the tweezers, pushed together to make entry into the wound a bit easier and moved evvveeer so slowly to feel around with a light prodding motion for the surface of the bullet.
Awww, she was being gentle!
A dull feeling at the other end of her tool and she knew she'd found the darn thing, now to open the tweezers as slowly as to prevent pain as possible.. WEEEE.
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 6:17 pm
... Sadly, there were some things that would never be capable of getting pulled off gently regardless of care-- and dragging hot lead out of raw bloodied flesh more than qualified.
He didn't really have the time or the inclination to ask what she'd meant to say prior to that trailing off before the tweezers were slipped in and, hoo boy, did he feel it and then some.
Sure, it could've been far worse if the 'wielder' had gone in with a more heavy-handed approach (like he would have), but there was still a dull rumbling would-be-snarl in his chest and his ears turned back in an obvious reflex of discomfort. Just because he'd encountered his share didn't mean he liked suffering it, after all.
(Such a shame that not every tough furry b*****d in the world could have fried pain receptors like certain people.)
One had to give him credit for sitting there (albeit tensely) and just taking it in silence though. So long as he could just tough it out until the bullet was removed, he could shove some linens over it and walk the whole thing off... right?
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