Playing in the Snow

[Benedali Serrus]

@[member="Maka Sumoto"]

Benedali just listened as Maka vented. She felt horrible that her Archer was hurting so much, and for once the Duchess was at a loss for what to do. She cared for him, that much was true -- but not in the same way that he did for her. And it was distressing.

As she thought about what to say, the redhead looked about as best she could without giving her riding companion an involuntary head butt. The trees were starting to become closer, and the Vongform corruption was becoming less evident. Up above were a couple of grey-colored clouds, though the sky remained clear otherwise.

Eventually, Benedali said in a light tone, "I wouldn't say this was a hellhole, exactly. That would imply there are fires around. As in warmth. This is more of an icehole, if you ask me." As she continued, however, her demeanour became more serious. "Maka, romantic advances would only scare me off if they came from old, creepy men. As far as I know, you are neither old nor creepy. No, what truly scared me was not knowing where you had run off to. I was worried that if -- when -- I found you, it... it wouldn't have been pretty."

Turning the horse away from a boulder, she sniffled slightly. The temperature seems to be dropping... The Duchess looked up, where it was starting to get cloudier. "Maka, you don't suck. The weather sucks. You don't, so...I order you to stop saying you suck and being pessimistic. It's bad for your health."

 

[Maka Sumoto]

Maka smiled at Bennie's optimism, and squeezed her a little bit.

"Well, you found me, and it isn't pretty. But at least you got me, and I've got a chance to talk. Without any chance of Arick throwing people. Or your wonderful Jedi walking in and sweeping you away. Not even some idiot prince doing something suicidal. Just you, me, and my lethally infected wound. Almost like some sappy movie, except for the fact that I can't feel my arm."

He looked up from Bennie's shoulder, and looked around as far as he could without poking the duchess with his chin.

"Don't worry... we'll get in before it starts to actually snow. I might be wrong, but I think we're pretty close. Now I just have to not kill myself with the disinfectant."

@[member="Benedali Serrus"]

 

[Benedali Serrus]

[member="Maka Sumoto"]

"Ma-kaaa....You've always got a chance to talk to me, silly." Benedali bit her lip, grinning mischievously. "But Orron is pretty wonderful, hmm? You have to admit that." She was poking fun at Maka's immense dislike of the Jedi, but just in case it simply aggravated him, she patted his hand. "Don't worry, I won't talk about him anymore until we get home."

The Duchess moved her head to the side and looked up as well, not wanting to head butt her Archer. "I hope we're close; snow is beautiful to look at, but I'd rather not get caught out in a blizzard."

 

[Maka Sumoto]

Maka smiled at Bennie's cute little grin, and slid the hand that wasn't attached to an infected arm up to poke her cheek. It aggravated him a little bit, that she was talking about the guy she had picked rather than him, but he wasn't gonna push the subject.

"If I could lean far enough over your shoulder to do so, I'd kiss that cute little bitten lip of yours. Too bad I can't lean over on my right."

He put his head back down on her shoulder and grimaced. The venom obviously hadn't spread away from his right arm, yet, and that could possibly simplify matters. His voice lowered to a whisper, and he steeled himself for what he was about to do.

"What would you say if I told you I had to cut off this arm? I might have to, before the venom gets to my chest."

[member="Benedali Serrus"]

 

[Benedali Serrus]

[member="Maka Sumoto"]

She rolled her eyes as Maka's flirtatious comment even as a small blush began to creep across her face. Or maybe it was from the cold? Yes, let's go with that.

Benedali was just about to make a witty comeback when she felt him rest his head on her shoulder again. Her eyes widened at his question, and she fought the urge to jerk away. "Cut your arm off?" she whispered hoarsely. "I would say that you should rest. In fact, that's what I am saying. The venom...it's affecting your reason. There's no way we're cutting off your arm! Go ahead and sleep. I'll wake you when we arrive." The Duchess said this with a tone that made it clear she wouldn't budge from her order, even as she blanched at the thought of amputating Maka's limb.

 

[Maka Sumoto]

Maka shook his head, sighing more heavily this time.

"I don't think the antivenom I've got will actually kill the toxin, or if it just contains it. If it contains it, I'll be down an arm anyway, as soon as an actual surgeon looks at it. I'd rather do it myself, if it's gonna come down to it. I'd rather lose an arm than wait too long and have to actually get surgery to remove an infected lung or something. Plus, arms can be replaced. Internal organs can't."

He didn't like the idea much more than she did. Losing his dominant arm would mean learning to write, shoot, eat, and fight with either a prosthetic, or just his left arm. It didn't strike him as an enjoyable prospect, but it was possibly the only way he'd stay functional in any way.

"Plus, I'm the only one whose hands I trust on this sort of thing. A clean cut with my lightsaber, and I'll be safe. I'll still be able to hold onto you, and talk and walk and breathe normally. You wouldn't want me to be some wheezing, coughing guy who needs a synthesizer to speak, right?"

He didn't tell her that he was in more danger of the toxin reaching his heart than anywhere else. Keeping the poison in his arm could be the thing that decided whether or not he'd live, because he would start losing oxygen if it reached his heart.

[member="Benedali Serrus"]

 

[Benedali Serrus]

[member="Maka Sumoto"]

"Maka. I am not going to discuss this right now." Her knuckles were white as she gripped the reins. The thought of any surgery was enough to make the Duchess feel a bit squeamish. Talking about surgery for a loved one? Forget about it. "Now, do as I say and go to sleep." ((Jeff the Killer!! MWAHAHAHAHAH!!))

Benedali's whole posture showed that she was not going to carry on with the conversation. The reality about what the venom could do and the possible amputation to Maka's arm terrified her, truthfully.

She sniffled again. Darn cold, she thought grumpily. And I don't even have any tissues.

 

[Maka Sumoto]

Maka just sighed again, and nuzzled up into Bennie's shoulder a bit. He didn't want to press the argument, but he also didn't want to feel like he hadn't warned her what might happen. Already, he was thinking about what he'd have to do to get a new arm... How long it'd take, and how much he'd have to pay for it. How would he manage to re-teach himself the reflex and instinct his mother had been so proud to instruct him in? He looked up at his duchess, and sighed again.

"Dammit, Bennie. How am I supposed to do anything that'll make you that angry at me?"

[member="Benedali Serrus"]

 

[Benedali Serrus]

[member="Maka Sumoto"]

Benedali didn't answer, instead sitting in silence as she thought about his question. How, indeed?

She knew she was being selfish, and she knew the amputation was inevitable, but she was too cold to want to focus on that.

Instead, the Duchess studied her surroundings. There was a thin blanket of snow around, evidence of a previous snowfall. Despite the bitter cold (which was making her nose turn red) the scene had a sort of grim beauty to it. There were very few signs of life aside from them, but Benedali wasn't too worried. The creatures must be all asleep in warm beds, she thought. Not out in the freezing cold like two certain people.

 

[Maka Sumoto]

Maka didn't hear anything from Bennie for a little bit, and he looked up from her shoulder worriedly. He hadn't meant to make her feel bad. It'd been meant as more of his usual teasing, but he could see she was getting more and more worried about the prospect of amputating his arm.

"I'll be fine, Bennie... I'll be around for you for a long, long time, whatever I've gotta do to make sure of it. I promise, it won't even hurt me."

Just to emphasize his point, he leaned up to kiss her lightly on the cheek. His voice turned less ragged at the fact that he knew what he had to do, now.

"Come on, better get you inside before I go chopping off anything. No fun if I've only got a frozen girl to kiss my boo boos for me."

[member="Benedali Serrus"]

 

[Benedali Serrus]

[member="Maka Sumoto"]

Benedali's eyes widened slightly in surprise when Maka kissed her cheek. She felt her face begin to warm up, so she pulled up her scarf to hide it. "Maka, you're going to cut off your arm. There's no way you're going to be fine -- neither physically nor mentally!" Her voice began to rise in pitch, and she could sense herself getting hysterical.

So, with an effort to calm down and once again avoid the subject, she asked, "How much farther have we got, anyway? I don't think Balthazaar can last much longer -- and neither can I, otherwise you will be having a frozen girl." The Duchess shut her mouth, a peculiar look on her face. "Did that last bit sound weird? It sounded weird to me."

 

[Maka Sumoto]

Maka just chuckled in response, and began to scan for the door to his house... It would look like a part of the cliff that was sticking out. And he found it. He laughed louder, and pointed straight at the door.

"Well, we're here. Just bring the horse in the house. Poor thing'll probably collapse as soon as we get in."

He glared at his med-sealed shoulder, and grimaced.

"Then we'll see about this. Gotta find my lightsaber."

[member="Benedali Serrus"]

 

[Benedali Serrus]

[member="Maka Sumoto"]

Benedali furrowed her brows in confusion. "House? I don't see your house. All I see is a...cliff..." A blank look overcame the Duchess for a moment as she realized where, exactly, Maka lived.

"You're telling me you live in a cliffside? Maka, that's almost as bad as living in a cave! You're similar to a hermit, almost." She shook her head, laughing quietly to herself. "I don't think I've ever met anyone else who lived in a cliff. In any case, you'll have to dismount first, otherwise we could both go tumbling down." As she spoke this, she began to untie the blanket, pulling it into her lap and bunching it up.

 

[Maka Sumoto]

Maka shook his head, sighing.

"No, I don't live in a cliff. The whole damn thing, including my house, is covered in snow. If I were to actually light a fire, you'd probably see a chimney under it."

He pushed himself up and away from the horse, landing neatly on his face in the snow. An exasperated sigh rose from the small pile of snow that could be identified as the vaguely annoyed archer.

[member="Benedali Serrus"]

 

[Benedali Serrus]

[member="Maka Sumoto"]

Benedali was about to make a particularly witty retort, but that was replaced with a startled gasp as Maka faceplanted into the snow. Sliding gracefully off the horse, she kneeled beside him, dusting the snow off.

"You didn't worsen your shoulder with that fall, did you?" she asked, scrutinizing him for any evidence of a change in his condition. "And it's a good thing you stayed awake on the ride. I guess your estimation was wrong, eh?"

The Duchess gently pulled Maka into a sitting position, brushing snow off of his face again.

 

[Maka Sumoto]

Maka stayed straight-faced for a second, and then laughed, pulling his right glove off to show Bennie the corruption. In fact, his hand had been poisoned rather quickly, and the archer's pale skin was shot through with black lines from the toxin in his veins.

"I couldn't make this worse if I was bitten in the shoulder again, Bennie. The only explanation I have for me not passing out is that the pain's dulled by the cold, and the painkiller. Basically, my shoulder is so numb that I didn't feel it."

He slid his legs up under himself and used them and his left arm to get up. Not even bothering to put his glove back on, he instead grabbed his duchess' hand, and nodded towards the house, or rather the door that was the only sign that the house wasn't in the cliff.

[member="Benedali Serrus"]

 

[Benedali Serrus]

[member="Maka Sumoto"]

The Duchess was silent as, eyes wide, she traced the black paths on Maka's hand, her fingers barely touching his skin. She'd known it was bad, but...this was horrid. "I guess amputation is now inevitable," she whispered, almost to herself. She felt the hysteria from earlier threatening to come back again, and she quickly swallowed it.

Instead, Benedali stood up with Maka, squeezing his hand gently. She started to walk with him, before stopping. "Oh! Your glove!" she exclaimed, stooping down to pick it up. Tucking it into her jacket, she clucked her tongue at her horse, who began to follow behind. "I've always wondered what the inside of your house looked like, have I said that already?"

 

[Maka Sumoto]

Maka blatantly ignored Bennie's anxious whisper, and simply squeezed her hand back with his uninjured one. He grinned, despite the circumstance of their arrival in his house, and gestured broadly as they stepped into the house.

"Well, this is where I lived, all that time I was out here, hiding in the forest. I was happy here, until I suddenly wasn't, one day. And that day, a few months ago..."

He reached over and tapped a finger on the duchess' nose.

"... Was the day I came to Castle Serrus. Glad I did."

[member="Benedali Serrus"]

 

[Benedali Serrus]

[member="Maka Sumoto"]

As they stepped into the house, Benedali looked around, impressed. The place had little decoration, and the furniture that was there was clearly only there for functionality. There was a place for everything, and everything had its place. The house had a homey feel to it, though right now it also had a dash of sadness as well. Must be my imagination. "I like it," she said. "A bit on the plain side, but I like it."

The horse, meanwhile, had shouldered past the two and was now in the kitchen, snuffling around. The Duchess gave Maka a halfhearted grin as he tapped her nose. "I'm glad you did, too. Otherwise right now I would be alone with just my servants for company while everyone else was gone saving the galaxy." She tugged on his hand, hoping to make him sit down and rest. "Now, go sit on the couch and I can get what you need. Er, what do you need?"

 

[Maka Sumoto]

Maka grinned a little bit at Bennie's praise, and obeyed her order to sit down. With a sigh at the thought of finally getting down to the actual process of cutting his arm off, he shrugged... Which caused him to yelp as a pain shot down his right arm. He glared at the offending limb, and his voice lowered to a dark mutter.

"The sooner I have this arm off, the better. Damn thing's hurting again."

He shook himself, and smiled back at Bennie again.

"I just need my lightsaber. I can cut and cauterize the whole thing with just the blade."

[member="Benedali Serrus"]