Description: It takes some time to recover from the fight that Hotaru, Eva, Drake, and Arika had against Kurow and Marise. Some wounds will take time to heal, but Hotaru gets to see the strength that will pull the Shooting Stars through this conflict.
With the commanding officer gone from the field, the Shadaloo troops began to scatter quickly before the resistance fighters. The smell of gun powder lingers in the air and will for some time, even though the actual smoke is being cleared by a gentle offshore breeze that is wonderfully refreshing given the normal sweltering humidity that blankets the area.
The radio tower is secured now and the men are in the process of scouting around the perimeter, making sure that no lingering troops remain. There were three small buildings at the base of this tower. Guards quarters, an armory, and the station containing the electronics. But two of them were destroyed in the fight, leaving only the electronics building. It has a wall blown out, but it looks like the actual devices within needed to operate the radio tower are still functioning.
In the aftermath of the battle, the three Shooting Stars have been moved over to rest in the shade of the last remaining building. It's the best that can be done for them right now. Field medics have checked them out, stopped the bleeding where it was severe, though no time was spent cleaning them up beyond that. There's too much to do! Still, they assured Hotaru that the three would survive, in spite the extreme injuries they had suffered, and that was enough for the girl to relax with relief.
Presently, Hotaru is sitting on the actual roof of the small building itself, watching the three rest. Her legs hanging over the side, she is idly playing with one of her pigtails with her hand, her expression distant as she periodically scans the area. The four of them survived. Not everyone that fought here today was so fortunate. The price for moving the battle front forward another couple miles was, for some, the ultimate sacrifice.
Drake may not have endured the greatest number of lacerations in this past battle, but of the Stars, he suffered the greatest damage all at once. A body doesn't usually cope with these things very well. As such, the leader of the Shooting Stars was quite limp and unresponsive to the medics when taken in to be patched up, and he still lies where he was placed, completely motionless save for the subtle motions of breathing.
Tucked away under the shade the model lies, looking perhaps as though he's displaced out here on a battlefield. His face is far too peaceful, far too distant, and his body is much too calm. But at least this means he's stabilized, right? They've not had much chance to figure out if he's stable or slipping. But regardless, there he is, looking like a youth napping on a lazy Summer's day while the world is in a hectic blurr around him.
Survived? Quite possibly, but at what cost to their bodies? Lacerations on her arms, much like the ones upon Drake's body, were cleaned just enough so that they could be carefully wrapped with medical gauze. Whoever took care of these particular wounds on the diva had a sense of humor, for the gauze is wrapped neatly like elongated boxing handwraps. The wound just below her neck has likewise been cleaned and tended to and a pressure bandage taped into place.
But Arika is still a bloody mess.
It would be unsurprising if she was just as comatose as Drake, but there's something in the back of her mind that's keeping her from looking so peaceful. Something she needs to do. Several things, actually.
The first is to wake up. Body aching all over she carefully tries to struggle to regain consciousness. Head lolling to the side, her eyelids begin to flutter and slowly open, only to be squeezed shut tightly once more. Pain and throbbing in her head is too much for her to handle just yet.
There's a lot to think about when left completely to herself for now. About how fired up Arika became as Drake fell. How she kept getting back up inspite incredible punishment from the fighting prodigy Kirishima is. She also has to ponder the difficulty she had in dealing with the young man. Their previous encounters had shown him to be the superior fighter, but not to such an overwhelming degree.
Not only was Kurow able to avoid her attacks, but many of her failures to connect against him ended up giving him leverage to strike at the others faster and harder than he would have been able to anyway. Sighing, Hotaru shifts, releasing the pigtail and leaning forward, resting her elbows on her knees, her chin propped up by the palms of her hands as she glances down over the Stars again. She really should get out of this whole mess. If it weren't for the captured girls she knows, she probably already would have.
Leaning her head to the side, she notices Arika shifting a little. She is the one Hotaru expected to take the longest to come to, after what she went through. But it seems Arika's tenacity continues to demonstrate itself even now. Remaining quiet, the girl smiles a little. Hopefully the medics come back by with some pain killers... Arika is going to need them she bets. She feels pretty guilty, herself. Other than having worked up a bit of a sweat trying to keep pace with Kurow, Hotaru doesn't have so much as a scratch on her anywhere.
Tenacious though she is, the pain in her head is -killing- her. Arika hasn't even begun to consider the rest of her body yet, but for the stickiness she feels all over and the bandages. Able to feel these things means she isn't dead. Likely hasn't been captured or taken anywhere in the battle which had to have ensued even after she fell.
Deep blue eyes suddenly snap open again. The intense pain it causes to her head is ignored as she begins to remember the other things she needs to do. Jerking her head to the side, she spies her teammates laying out in much the same manner she is. Neither appears to be stirring yet, which... isn't a good thing. Lips part and she begins to form a word as she edges herself over to Drake. Not that she's got anything against checking on Eva; it just happens that Drake is closer to her at the moment. "Wuh..." A strangled sound comes from her as she tries to speak, a hand moving up to the pressure bandage at her throat. Hanging her head as she exhales a sharp sigh, she tries again. "Wuh... water..." Throat is parched, but more than that? She's got to clean the blood off before attempting to wake Drake.
Leaning up on an elbow, she gently brushes a bandaged hand over Drake's face, trying to keep his hair from falling into his eyes.
From Hotaru's perch, it's a painful thing to watch. Seeing Arika take the condition of her teammates into view without knowing how they are going to fare. Having to scoot painfully over to check on Drake as the first conscious thing she does. Hotaru can understand that. She closes her eyes, bowing her head as her mind wanders to the fate of the young man she would have fought for in much the same way. She wonders where he is now. How his journey of discovery is going. Did he find the help he sought?
The gasping croak for water breaks the pig-tailed girl from her reverie and she opens her eyes again. There is a sound of cloth scraping against concrete as the girl gets up to her feet and jumps down off the building into the shaded grass. "Here," she offers, holding out a canteen hanging from a shoulder strap. She has a second one in her hand and she can round up more too if needed. Having opted to stay at the base of the tower to watch over the other fighters, she kind of got left in charge of what few provisions had been brought along.
The canteen offered, Hotaru settles into a seated position in the grass, trying to offer what hope she can. "He'll be all right. The medics said he's stable. If... if he doesn't wake up soon, we can move him back to the camp when this place is secure enough to spare some." She suspects Arika would carry Drake wherever necessary, were she in the condition to do so. But for now, she'll probably have to settle for help.
Grasping the canteen, the diva opens it and slowly sips from it. Taking no more than is necessary to quench her thirst. Eyes drift shut once more as she lets the somewhat cool water trickle down her throat. Tipping the canteen once more, she pours some water onto a handkerchief she had bunched up in her pocket and begins to try and remove the worst of the blood from her body.
"T-thanks," she says to Hotaru. "G-good to... know..." But she'll be damned if anyone is going to carry him back to the camp and risk further injury to him.
Reaching toward Drake, she makes an attempt to lift his head a little, canteen still held firmly in one hand. As soon as she exerts herself she clenches her teeth together tightly and suppresses a cry of agony. "P-pain killers would be handy right about now." Hard to maintain her accent with her throat hurting as it is, considering she can barely maintain a decent level of volume in her voice. Brushing a hand over his brow again, Arika leans in and whispers, "Wake up, Drake... please... just wake up..." The quietly broken voice is full of concern and wavers slightly as though she's trying to withhold tears.
Hotaru winces as Arika's pained cry. She's been at the receiving end of just a couple of Kurow's attacks, herself. The thought of how many of his powerful strikes, stabs, throws, and kicks the diva endured makes her ache all on its own. "R-right," the girl stammers, getting back up to her feet to scan the area. She pauses a moment to watch Arika fret over Drake. She wishes she could say more to offer comfort. But right now, Arika at least needs more than words.
"I'll see what I can get," is the best she can say as she hurries off, leaving the two alone for a moment while she chases after one of the field medics who is still moving from person to person, hovering over them briefly to evaluate what first aid or other help he can offer, before moving on to the next war victim.
The kid runs back the moment she was able to get her hands on a small, sealed, plastic bag of white pills. Strong stuff, the medic had warned her. Crouching down, she opens the bag and pours out two of the pills into her palm which she then offers to Arika. "Do you need more water?" she asks, not sure if the first canteen had already been emptied while she was gone. There's a long pause, before she finally adds something else on her mind, "You were incredible," she states. "The way you fought..." She shakes her head slowly. Toppling not just Kurow but Marise as well, albeit with the help from the others. "He'll be really proud when he hears about it," she finishes with a faint smile, eyes now on Drake.
Drake has been rather still and motionless so far. But something in the back of his mind urges him to wake up. ..Or at least move. -Something-. The pay-off comes in the form of his fingertips twitching. His eyes then squeeze tighter before batting open.
The dark purple optics stare lifelessly at nothing for a whole two seconds before squeezing shut again. This time, he makes a noise with it; a groan. Not unlike someone waking up with a hangover, really... but it's a bit more than that. It's a pained, weakened sound.
After a few more seconds of this, his eyes lid halfway, and he sets his amethysts first on Arika. She looks like a blurr... but a recognizable blurr, anyway. Or at least, he thinks it's recognizable.
"Wha-..." Drake takes a moment to compose himself. "...Erica?"
Pinching the pills off of Hotaru's hand, she slips them between her lips and swallows without wasting the water that's left in the canteen. Who knows when they'll be able to get more? Not like she can have Hotaru run around the battlefield harassing the military forces for more provisions. Giving a nod of thanks for the pills, she glances back at Drake.
Oh... God! He's awake!
Moving with alacrity, Arika brushes her fingers over his brow again and begins to quietly sob. Tears just will not be stopped now, no matter how much willpower she seems to have that wants to say otherwise. Nodding at him, she chokes out, "Y-yes..."
She's not ignoring Hotaru though, and can hear what the girl said. The punk rock princess is just extremely focused on her team leader at the moment, overjoyed at the fact that he's awoken. It's taken quite a load off of her shoulders.
Sinking back down to the ground in a seated position, Hotaru ends up next to Eva now, the Pacific High student that remains completely still. Shaking her head, wonders about the girl. She's just a high school girl like herself, and while some might say she made some mistakes on the field, she also fought with bravery that deserved nothing but the utmost of respect. Maybe it's part of being a team that makes her so much tougher, Hotaru muses. Makes all of them tougher, even.
She turns her attention over to Drake as he stirs and watches Arika tear up. Whew. Having the young man conscious again is a relief. Waiting in silence for someone to wake up from the kinds of injuries the Shooting Stars took is painful in other ways. Now there's Eva to worry about.
Leaning forward, Hotaru slips two more pills from the plastic bag in her hand. "Here. I have a feeling he'll want these," she offers, holding them out toward Arika. She'll leave it up to the diva to administer the painkillers when she thinks it'll be best.
Drake can't see the tears. His eyes are refusing the focus. But he can make out Arika's voice well enough. "You okay..?," he asks, his own voice hushed from pain and fatigue. But despite this, his mind is racing. He was hit, and he was hit -hard- earlier. And that.. -thing-.. that held him in place for it. He got her back pretty solid, from the looks of things. He's pretty sure its neck snapped from the impact, too.
Oh, Hell. He killed someone.
That thought is pushed aside, and he continues to retrace things. Eva atacked that guy with the sissy claws. He went in to help her before she got mangled.
And that's when Hotaru's voice cuts in. "Who...?," trails Drake, eyes flitting about uselessly to attempt spotting the origin of the voice.
Erica's here and accounted for. He's still alive.
"W-wait.. where's Eva? Is she okay?," he asks, voice lifting in panic. "Sh-she's alright, isn't she?" He brought a young girl all the way out here, possibly to die, and he went and fell like some two-bit hack first thing! The senior teammate is at least mobile and conscious... but Eva? Where's she?
"Unconscious," Arika says quietly, motioning with her hand to Eva's prone body. Hotaru can explain whatever the medical team said a lot better than she can, so she doesn't bother saying anything more than that. The same hand comes up to wipe at the still falling tears, and she lowers herself down a little. Best not to put -too- much strain on her body now that she at least knows that Drake is safe.
"I'll be okay..." Even though to anyone watching this little scenario it's obvious that she's surviving on pure stubbornness at this point. Reaching to pilfer the pills from Hotaru's hand once again, she holds them out to Drake. "P-pain killers..." Holding the canteen up, she offers that to him as well.
"Eva will recover." Hotaru says, her voice strong with optimism. The field medics may have been just telling her what she wanted or needed to hear at the time, but she's happy to pass that same certainty on to Arika and Drake as well. "She just kept getting up time and time again..." she muses.
"Just like Arika did," she continues, glancing over toward the two now with a faint smile. "I don't know if I've ever seen anything like it before. The..." The amount of damage that was done to her was staggering just to think about. But that isn't really the kind of thing she would say to Drake considering the type of connection the two fighters seem to have. "... determination she had. It was inspiring. Between what you and Eva did to that devilish woman and what Arika and Eva did to Kurow, those Shadaloo mercenaries didn't have a chance," she offers with a bit of a grin.
She shifts her position a little, bending her legs to allow her to fold her knees up to her chest so that she can rest her chin atop them. "You three did an incredible job. The resistance is really fortunate to have your help."
Drake still has no idea who's doing the talking. The voice is familiar, but Drake - try as he might - simply cannot spot the female. Either she's one of the blurred shapes around him, or he can't get his head to turn that much just yet. "Good...," he says, sounding a bit more at ease with this. "Thanks.. whoever you are."
"Are you okay, Erica? You didn't get... too roughed up... did you?" A weak smile touches to Drake's face at that. "Sounds like you did a Hell of a job." It's a fortunate thing that Drake can't see straight. He'd be absolutely mortified by the injuries she's sustained, otherwise.
"Hotaru," Arika offers pointing at what she can only presume is a blurry object for Drake. Trying to help him out without doing -too- much talking and further harming her throat. Pressing the pain killers to Drake's lips she whispers, "T-take these..." And this time she waits for him to take them before offering up the canteen. After what he went through, he certainly needs them.
"I'm fine," she says again, hand subconsciously setting to her throat. "C-couldn't let him h-hurt you like that and... get away with it." Maybe people will learn not to hurt Drake when she's about. Doubtful, but maybe. It raises questions though, and so she turns to Hotaru. "W-where is he...?"
That he has no idea who she is is probably for the best, Hotaru ponders with a faint grin. It might make it easier for him to rest to not dredge up history with the girl. But Arika ends up clearing that up all the same and Hotaru just remains quiet for a long moment. She won't answer his question about his teammate's injuries. She wouldn't have the heart to tell him even if it were just the two of them talking.
But then the question comes to bear on her and Hotaru balks slightly, sitting up more straight at the question, no longer resting her chin atop her knees, "Ah- T-they both got away." she states before releasing a somewhat dejected sigh. Having Kurow would mean no more would have to suffer the indignity of being mind controlled. And it might have even resulted in some kind of leverage in getting the missing people back home safely. But now? Well, at least they had the radio tower. But she feels that as the last one standing, she should have not let her guard down long enough to let Kirishima get away in the first place.
"Hotaru?," Drake repeats, sounding a little more perplexed. He starts to ask more, but he's then force-fed. Those bleary eyes blink a couple times, then he swallows in a strain. He's having a hard time concentrating on what's going on around him. Sure, Arika mentioned that they're painkillers, but that's already left his mind. So all he knows is that Arika shoved some pills into his mouth. He trusts her, all the same.
"When did Hotaru get here?" Drake pauses, frowns a little. "When did you get here? Didn't think I'd see you in Thailand..." Drake's eyes drift shut at that. "Not that I can.. actually.. -see- you right now... brain not workin'..." Despite this, Drake retains his sense of mirth and humor. "..So we won, huh? I'm sorry I wasn't much use. Blindsided..." Pause. "...Did I actually kill that thing with the weird hair?"
Pushing the pain meds on him in this manner doesn't even cause her to blink. He needs them and so, he's getting them. Whether he likes it or not. "Shhh..." Arika brushes her fingers gently down his cheek and then sighs when she hears what Hotaru says. Radio tower secure, but for what? So Kurow and his band of merry creatures of the night can come and reclaim it as soon as the forces of good move on to their next mission and leave a skeleton crew around? The hand on Drake's face is suddenly withdrawn and she clenches it into a tight fist, causing the diva to wince once again and fall back onto the ground.
"D-don't know..." Paying attention to Hotaru's comings and goings isn't really something she can afford to focus on just yet. "We did... you didn't... I tried to... got away..."
At Drake's confusion, Hotaru remains quiet, her blue eyes watching the two teammates from her seated position nearby. "I've been here for a few days," she offers. "There's a few friends that... well, I wanted to help them. I don't know if I can though."
As Marise comes up, Hotaru shakes her head. "I don't even know what would kill /her/." she states, pushing herself up to her feet. "But still, I... what you were doing, how you fought... it was inspiring to see. I wasn't going to get involved anymore, but you three were a wonderful example. I think I've found that I'm not cut out for this war though." She shakes her head, idly dropping the second canteen of water and the clear plastic bag with the white pills onto the grass at her feet.
"I hope that you three get through this okay. Helping these people out is really brave. I don't think I can do it anymore though." She just wants to go home now. No more long, hot days in the steamy jungle. No more fighting someone else's /war/. No more clashing against Shadaloo's people, putting her life on the line with every fight. Time and time she's been told she should just go home while she still can.
"Take care of each other, ne? I think it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better." Taking strategic locations is nothing compared to the fights ahead if the resistance is going to push their way into the capital. What happened here is only a taste of things to come.
Drake can tell that, despite how Arika is mobile, she's not exactly one hundred percent. That's clear from the way she talks. It's... different. Not the usual spunky sound of her Cockney accent, or the pleasant lilt she sometimes takes. And she doesn't sem to be forming her thoughts too well, either. He'd lift a hand towards her, but he's come to realize that he's too weak to really do that. So he just lays there.
"Heh.. got a clean record of no kills still...," Drake murmers. Some might view that as a terrible thing in a war. Drake likes to think he can be fully efficient and not get blood on his hands in doing so. "What -was- that thing, though? Talk about freakish..."
Drake makes another effort to squirm, accomplishing a foot-wiggle. It's a work in progress. "About the time you think you can't do something... is about the time it becomes a reality. Remember that, Hotaru," he offers.
Call her insane, but Arika never even thought for a moment that they -couldn't- overcome the Shadaloo forces and retake the radio tower. Even -knowing- how much those idiotic claws can hurt. As for forming coherent thoughts to the outside world, the diva -is- having quite a bit of difficulty. All she cared about was defeating the ones who hurt Drake and ensuring the safety of her team. Now that she's done that, she's letting the pain carry her away a little.
"W-who knows... arms elongated... head popped off its neck..." The diva nearly said 'her' neck but she can't be certain if that creature had a gender at all beyond what she was trying to portray. "Are you alright, darling?" It's almost more of a 'can I pass out now?' question.
Drake's comment is taken in, Hotaru pausing for a moment. It's kind of silly, she realizes. It sounds like something she might've said a week ago. Could her resolve have been weakened so much in so little time? "It's something to think about," she replies to the male fighter.
To Arika she smiles faintly, "Yeah, I'm all right. You two should get some rest. You definitely earned it." And /need/ it, she thinks, before turning to walk off a ways. She won't be going anywhere far. She won't leave until she knows Eva will be recovering as well. Only then will she be able to slip away and spend more time thinking about what she's doing here.
Drake starts to answer Arika, but Hotaru becomes the darling instead. Drake's eyes open to blink once in confusion. Maybe he misheard something. He probably did. His eyes shut again. "Y-yeah.. I'm feeling loopy.. I think I should rest up a little." Pause. "Arika?" He's back to using her assumed name. Yes, there's a slight pronunciation difference. "..I'm proud of you. You're awesome."
And with that, Drake falls silent. Presumably to drift off again.
Maybe it's the soft wavering of her voice. Maybe it's the confusion in her own mind. When Hotaru answers the question she was directing at Drake, the diva simply blinks and shrugs her shoulders. Sure, it's odd... but hey. Arika could just have that kind of sex appeal. Who knows?
Drake's words cause a slight coloring on Arika's cheeks. The punk rock princess is ecstatic by the pride he feels, but it's something more than that. Loopy though the words are, it was a compliment to her abilities and prowess as a fighter. "Thank you," she whispers quietly. Attention is given once more to Hotaru as the Stars' leader begins to drift off. Slipping back into her 'second-in-command' position she picked up during the fight, the diva says, "Stay. Make sure Eva is alright. I need rest..."
Leaning toward Drake, she watches him until she's certain he's resting comfortably. Only once it's determined that he is, does she allow her body to actually relax a little and get the much needed rest.
Log created on 14:22:54 06/23/2007 by Hotaru, and last modified on 20:58:29 06/24/2007.