[PRP] Kentucky Fried Mink (Preacher & Mercer)

[The Semblance of Unity]

He wasn't... he wasn't chasing after her. Maybe he'd finally decided she wasn't worth his time, Preacher thought. Gasping for breath, she changed back, sprawling on her back int he cool grass. Her throat and chest hurt so much, her hands, her foot. Even breathing hurt. What if there were ticks here, she thought dispassionately. The sky is so blue, she thought. What happened if she never got up, she thought. Anything to keep from thinking about how she'd fled.

Preacher Maria had run away. The shame of it shivered through her body. She'd never done that before, not since the first time. Running away just meant you got more later. She should have stayed and died. ********, everything hurt and tear pricked at the corners of her eyes. What if she just... slept for a while. She could deal with this later.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

It had been a faint sense of unease, one he had a hard time ignoring. Jeremiah had already been uneasy because of Preacher's text the previous day. Not that there was anything he could message back because it was Preacher.

She would do it. Hopefully-

It only got worse, the feeling, and he knew as the minutes passed that it was Preacher. Bad enough that Algie had noticed bits of icy scales that were creeping up along his collar. There was not much he could do, not with the alert in his mind.

The Semblance of Unity

tab text to: admink maria

checking in. text back.

Simple enough, not entirely- No, the feeling merely got worse and so did Jeremiah's nerves with it. There was no way around it, no ignoring it, the sensation far worse than when America had been inhabited by a thing or when Algie had simply wanted him around. No, this felt dire. Taking a breath, closing his eyes, Jeremiah followed the pull of the call in his mind. Not in other ashdown, but Ashdown.

His eyes opened up and he was near the college. Still, it wasn't the right spot and he moved briskly until he caught sight of the gazebo that was behind the music building. The trail and trees nearby ... The hair rose on his arms, the sensation spiking as he followed the trail for only a few steps and frowned as he saw blood and smelled flesh and-

"Bloody ******** hell," he said when he finally saw her, moving in a blink to her side and crouching. Jeremiah's hand hovered, the smell of burnt flesh and blood making him want to recoil but he did not.

"Preacher?" The feeling dispersed but in it's place was something else entirely as he mentally went over the checklist for helping someone injured. It was cold and calm and familiar. "You with me, firecracker?" That should get her attention.  

[The Semblance of Unity]

She blinked and frowned. Preacher didn't especially want to be awake, really. Everything hurt.

"What're you doin' here, boss?" Even talking hurt because her skin moved. She made a small noise and debated shifting. After a small movment, Preacher decided it was a bad idea. "Go 'way."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"Can't do that," replied Jeremiah. "You're in bad shape." Then, as he thought of it. "... and I'm here because you're in bad shape."

At least she was responsive, that was good. Still, he could smell burnt flesh and she looked like she had run afoul a fire. Except Jeremiah knew what it was. There was a list in his mind already: burnt hands, missing shoe/burnt foot, burns around her throat and jaw ...

"Stay awake, alright? You think you can stand up if I help you? Just blink once for yes," twice for no; wasn't that how it went? "if speaking hurts too much." Otherwise she was probably going to get picked up (and Jeremiah would hope to the powers that be she would not hold it against him later).

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

She rolled her eyes at him. Why was getting up so ******** important? It would hurt. "Don't wanna," she muttered darkly. But still, she tried to push herself upright, arm collapsing when she put weight on her hand. Breath whistled out between her gritted teeth. This hadn't hurt as much earlier and she supposed it was the now-faded adrenaline and the stiffening of her muscles/ And, like the good little skin it was, her hands had tried to crust over a bit, blisters and raw flesh warring for dominance. Preacher closed her eyes and clenched her teeth before trying to push herself up again.

"Feel like s**t." It was an understatement; she was definitely going to need help. Preacher paused, breath coming shallowly, and tried to catalog where she was hurt and how, but it was kind of hard to think. She didn't even want to look at her foot.

azuredreammmms

 

[azuredreams]

"I know you don't but ..." Jeremiah paused, finally reaching forward and placing a hand against her back. "Actually, let me try something." He reached forward, fingers pressing lightly to the back of her hand.

"This might hurt at first but it might help the burns some." As soon as he finished talking there was a coolness that spread from the tips of his fingers to her skin. It was a biting cold at first before it eased into what he hoped was a cool sensation on her skin and made the burns more tolerable.

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

Preacher hissed, her whole body shuddering as a wave of chill spread through her. It wasn't so much that it detracted from the pain as if gave her something else to focus on. She grabbed onto that feeling with both hands, blinking fiercely.

"Y'know, I don' think I won."

azurdreams

 

[azuredreams]

Cold was always good for that. A focus through everything else. It was what Jeremiah relied upon sometimes, what he called upon when everything else could give him nothing.

"You survived the encounter, that counts for something ..." Jeremiah looked her over, before he sighed. "I apologize in advance for this but it'll make it easier. Hit me later for it, when your hands aren't hurt." He knew, without a doubt, were she in a shape that she could do so she would have hit him then and there.

"I'm taking you to the hospital, alright?" This was not something he could deal with and while he could, potentially, heal her with magic in other ashdown he would rather not take the chance.

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

Mercer was right, she would have hit him if even the air on her hands didn't hurt so much. So she allowed herself to be picked up, feeling out of it. Then he mentioned the hospital and she stiffened, wriggling a bit, despite everything. She remembered the last time she'd been picked up like this, how much smaller she was.

"No! M'not supposed ta go to tha hospital." Her eyes were wide and seemed to look through him. "I'll be fine, fine n' y'ain't gotta n' I jus'... jus' fell over a bit. M'fine."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah had not expected Preacher to start wriggling, his arms shifting and adjusting with her as she did so.

"Preacher- you have to go." He was already doing his best to not touch skin, not at the moment, not when he was worried. "I'm going with you and I'll stay the entire time, alright? The burns are bad." If he had not noticed the look on her face, the way her eyes were looking through him, not at him, he could tell she was just borderline out of it.

The 5emblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"M'not supposed to," she said sadly, but stilled in his arms. Everything just hurt so much.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"It'll be alright," Jeremiah promised her, trying to be reassuring regardless of the fact that she stilled. The tone and her state tugged at his heart and made him impossibly angrier (but it was a cool anger, something tucked away later to be dealt with).

They disappeared in a blink, reappearing a bit away from Ashdown Hospital but not so far away that he did not have her in the ER in a few moments. Jeremiah did not even have to use his authority voice to get attention, someone immediately at his side and peering at Preacher and up at him with wide-eyes.

"Fire accident," he said grimly, daring the person to argue with him. Though there was the usual wariness of someone so known with magic (Jeremiah), nothing more was pressed as he was directed past the double doors to a bed to set her and then people rushed in. It was a blur from there as Preacher was looked over, eventually moved to a more private room, and Jeremiah - as he had promised - had stayed the entire time.

Would stay until she was at least somewhat aware and conscious.

There might have been some brief hand holding because he was very concerned and worried about her that thankfully, when she was more aware, was not going on.

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

They gave her plenty of morphine, which Preacher should be thankful for, but it didn't really make the pain go away. It just made her not care about it. When she came to, she was in a hospital bed, in a gown and bandaged to hell and back. She didn't know it yet, but parts would need skin grafting.

She blinked, slowly, and tried to turn her head. Nope. Nope, that hurt. Still, she caught sight of a familiar face. "What're you doin' here, boss?"

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah had been reading, his kindle set aside as he heard the sound of movement and then Preacher speaking.

"Slow it down there, Preacher." He shifted more into her vision. "You're pretty solidly bandaged." A pause. "... and I'm here because I told you I would stay." His hand raked through his hair, bangs falling into his forehead and eyes before brushed out of the way. "I found you unconscious and brought you here."

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"How'd ya even find me? I dint tell no one where." Honestly, she felt like popping right the ******** out of this hospital bed and heading over to court to booby-trap every inch of ******** McFiredick's domain, or whatever fancy nobles called their areas. Turn about is fair play when he had ********' lied about there being a legitimate throw-down, never mind that he'd kind of fought at the end. He had still lied.

She imagined woozily how a conversation between her and Silk might go.

"'Ey, Silk, can y lemme into Ezra's rooms. I gotta draw somethin'."

"Why, Preacher Maria, are you carrying bear traps? Are those.. is that a sock full of tacks?"

"Lemme in."

It would go swimmingly. Preacher wasn't aware that she was mumbling about bear traps and trip wires.

azuredreams