Probably Shouldn't be Awake for this...

[Sterling Kinslayer]

Sterling's hands were steady as he tightened the forceps around a piece of shrapnel, steadily pulling the cooled metal from Azure's side without ripping or tearing skin on the way out. As it would come free, he'd place the piece of metal aside on a tray with a handful of others, before slowly looking for the next piece. He'd been at this for a while now, steadily finding the pieces that peppered her side and keeping Azure thoroughly under, to prevent her from feeling pain and struggling against the bindings holding her in place. Of course they were reaching a point where they could keep her down from pain but, unfortunately, it wouldn't be long now for her to 'wake up' and be able to talk. Which meant the massive man working on her would have to communicate soon.

When the estimated time came, he found another piece, and spoke before attempting to get it. "Awake?" Well, spoke as much as the lizard normally did.

[member="Azure Djitred"]

 

[Azure Djitred]

Darkness.

That was all Azure could see as she slept. She couldn't tell how long she was sleeping for as she wandered aimlessly through the dark, black, void. The last she could remember was pain and agony. She wondered if this was what Death felt like. After a while, she could see a light in the distance, and began to walk towards it. As she got closer, it got brighter, and brighter, until Azure was shielding her face. As the light banished the darkness, Azure slowly opened her eyes to the real world. Her voice was gravelly from exhaustion and her screams of pain from when she was injured.

"Ster... ling?"

[member="Sterling Kinslayer"]

 

[Sterling Kinslayer]

"Yes." He just, confirmed who she thought he was, as he slowly picked another piece free. The last bit in that section, he moved onto another part of her side, cleaning the forceps a bit. He didn't really say much else as he moved them again to remove more pieces of the jagged scrap, but let the silence hang in the air as she got adjusted to the real world again. She probably wouldn't feel much physical sensation, but she would see the operating room and hear the machines tracking her vitals. She'd know where they were, probably, if she'd seen any of the medical facilities on Vanquo. This one in particular housed little more than himself, the staff needed to help monitor and control the situation if an emergency broke out, and her. Though frankly the others seemed to not be paying attention to anything but medical equipment, since evidently Sterling's hands were far steadier than they expected.

[member="Azure Djitred"]

 

[Azure Djitred]

Azure blinked slowly, as her eyes adjusted to the bright lights of the room. "I'm not... dead?" Azure looked around with her eyes, curiously. She could see the heart monitor, and hummed. "That looks a little weak, doesn't it?" She then looked back at Sterling, eyes unfocused from the drugs. "When did I get brought here? And... How long have I been asleep?" She looked down at her fingers, and attempted to move them. They were stiff, and trying to move them didn't do much more than a twitch. She was silent for a moment, and frowned. "I really messed up, didn't I?"

 

[Sterling Kinslayer]

"No. Not time yet. And not long. Short trip. Few hours. Two hours here. First spent on leg, big piece. Much bleeding." She could hear the sound of each small piece being dropped into the tray beside Sterling. "Heart fine. Drugs keeping pace. You did fine. Awards if live this. Not mistake Azure made. Mistake other make." More tings and clinks as metal pieces were dropped to the side, and Sterling continued to systematically move across Azure's side. Truth be told he was about two thirds done, the small pieces weren't lodged as heavily as he'd expected, nor as numerous. Just too much for the others to handle in a timely fashion.

"Won't move. Drugs dull body, no pain but no move." He said to her as a warning. "Many pieces close to tendon. Nerve. Must be careful yes?"

[member="Azure Djitred"]

 

[Azure Djitred]

Azure looked at the tray Sterling would drop the shrapnel into, curious as to how much had gotten stuck in her on Eshan. She hummed happily when he assured her this wasn't her fault. She didn't mention that she probably didn't deserve any awards. In Azure's mind, she barely did anything to help Valdus on Eshan. "You're a very kind man, Sterling."

When he mentioned the drugs dulling the pain, but making it so her body couldn't move, she hummed. "I'm quite lucky nothing hit any arteries, aren't I? I would have died before getting here, probably."

[member="Sterling Kinslayer"]

 

[Sterling Kinslayer]

"Job. Tribe mate. Duty." Clink, clink, clink. Three more joined the others, and he swapped the forceps for another pair laying on the tray. As though he'd been somehow using up its usefulness and it now held no more worth in the operation. "Close. Very close. Tough warm-blood. Would be Chieftain wife in old tribe." He sighed a little bit, rolling his neck and making a number of audible cracks. How long really had he been stuck in that position, without really moving his head from his work... "Lucky drug work well. No screaming, no shaking. No nerve damage. Much relief, can imagine?"

[member="Azure Djitred"]

 

[Azure Djitred]

"You're still kind, Sterling." Azure let out a soft laugh, and watched as Sterling switched tools... For another pair of the exact same tools? Azure decided it best not to question the Komo man as her operated on her. When he mentioned that she would be the Chieftain's wife in his old tribe, she blushed. Azure looked away, down at the floor, and mumbled, "You'd be a good husband too... Strong... Kind... Attractive... Brave... Smart..."

Azure was so caught up in her drug-addled mind, she could only hum in response to Sterling's question about relief.

[member="Sterling Kinslayer"]

 

[Sterling Kinslayer]

"Perhaps. Godslayer, great shame, great honor. Perhaps not. Kinslayer, greatest shame. Much repent needed still. Perhaps more not." It was likely hard to pick up the genuine shame in his voice, considering the struggle it was to even speak for the Komo. Since becoming Mandalorian, he'd found the normally unused vocal cords were ever more a necessity, as no one was content to learn his body language instead. Clink clink, more pieces, onto another section. Getting much closer, somehow, with the distraction of talking to the drug addled Azure than he had been before.

"Is good though. Relief. Little in this life, except sun on scales. Few greater joys. If could, would like to end life that way." Some sentences were coming out more clearly, perhaps due to him not thinking too heavily on the words. Ah yes.. deserts. Azure hated them, from what he'd gathered, but they were a place he knew he could be safe and warm. Even his short stints outside the warmth that was his personal quarters and into the operating room were taxing on him, more so emotionally than physically most days. Clink... clink....

"What is husband, to witch? Komo marry on value. Good, stronger together. Sometimes love."

[member="Azure Djitred"]

 

[Azure Djitred]

Azure listened attentively as Sterling spoke. She couldn't really understand completely, but hummed in response to let him know she was listening. When he mentioned the sun on his scales, she smiled. "My clan lives on Bright Sun hill, you know. Every morning I would get up early to watch the sunrise with my mother, Lemja. Then we would go herb gathering... It was fun. I miss it."

Azure sighed quietly, staring at the wall blankly. It was only when Sterling asked what a husband would be to her, did Azure's eyes come back into focus a little bit. "Well... He would need to be strong, to pass that strength onto our children. Smart, to teach them things that I could not... A nice face wouldn't be too bad either... A kind heart, that knows when to show mercy would be preferable. He would need to be brave too, and able to go into combat with me." Azure hummed in thought, before seemingly realizing something. "Cuddles needs to like him too, of course."

[member="Sterling Kinslayer"]

 

[Sterling Kinslayer]

"Desert sun different. Harsh, unforgiving. Survive another day, same, but knows Komo will." Clink, clink. "Spend days hunting. Fighting. Tribe survive by being better than death. Night, warm bloods tend camp fire. Or death come when cold blood can't fight. Hard life. Good life." He sat back a bit, to look over his work. There was almost nothing left to remove at this point, anything that had been too dangerous had been tended to in a separate session, handling the more life threatening parts when they could. They'd called him in to let the, official doctors handle the rest. This was mostly clean up work after all.

He listened to her qualifications, and made a sound that sort of, vaguely, seemed like laughter. "Problem. Cuddles hate everyone. More likely Komo learn to fly." He kept 'laughing', which was mostly just air escaping his lungs as he went to work removing the final pieces. "More likely Con..feder...ate. Confederate tribe learn how fight good. More likely Aus..tral...is. Australis learn rest...traint. Restraint." Complicated words it just, difficult to say. He pronounced them slowly, sounding it out loud so he could do it properly.

[member="Azure Djitred"]

 

[Azure Djitred]

"The desert it too bright for my eyes... It hurts to look at." Azure pouted as she looked at the wall. She couldn't really understand what Sterling was talking about with cold bloods and warm bloods, but hummed in response to show she listened. When the Komo man mentioned that Cuddles hates everyone, Azure looked at him with a pout. "She likes some people. Like Lemja. She tolerates you and Sister Cynthia. She doesn't know how she feels about the others yet."

At the mention of the Confederacy and one Kaine Australis, Azure's mood soured. Her pout turned into a disappointed frown. "Kaine Australis is lucky I'm alive, or I'm sure Sister Cynthia would have his head."

[member="Sterling Kinslayer"]

 

[Sterling Kinslayer]

"Only bright if look up." He couldn't help but snicker at her comment. To him it was something a child would complain of, not a full grown adult. He snickered a second time when she pouted at him, insisting Cuddles liked some people. "Tribemate. Has little choice but tol-er-ate us. Especially Chieftain Sin-The-Ah." Now he was no expert but, Sterling was more than capable of sensing when the mood soured, and listened to Azure's words. Quietly he worked, picking and clinking away some of the very last pieces, before sitting quietly. He had to think through the words he wanted to say to her, lets he say something wrong. So when at last he spoke, he commented slowly and calculatedly.

"Not changed. Bad blood. Austral-is grand tribe. Many loud booms. Cause trouble, other Tribes deal problems. Like Sterling pick pieces now from Azure. Not unusual." He hummed, the vibration in his chest being well more than audible to Azure as he continued to think. Yes it seemed to Sterling there was much inter-clan problems, when it came to certain populations. "Odd tribe of tribes. How can get along, do not understand. Komo tribe fight Komo tribe, survive. Not all time, need children. Need men and women, can't destroy tribe. But tribe fight often."

[member="Azure Djitred"]

 

[Azure Djitred]

"It reflects off of the sand!" Azure huffed at Sterling's smart response to her disagreement with the sun. As he commented on Cuddles, Azure wanted to shrug. "Cuddles only tolerated other Rancor on Dathomir, you know. Not even the Clan Mother could get Cuddles to behave."

"Important clan or not, what he did at Eshan was far too destructive, and could have gotten the civilians in our care injured. However, I can only hope Sister Cynthia can handle the diplomacy in regards to this. That's the only way such a large group can survive."

[member="Sterling Kinslayer"]

 

[Sterling Kinslayer]

"Then look ahead. Not up not down." He hummed at the commentary on Cuddles's distaste of other rancors. Curious but not unthinkable, perhaps simply preferring to stick with Azure had made her grow distant. Or perhaps growing distant had encouraged her to stick to Azure's side. THe whole story was not his and, frankly, he wasn't sure if he particularly cared yet to know the full details. He rubbed his scaled neck in thought, nails dragging across the scales a bit audibly.

"Chieftain can. Chieftain must. Duty demands it. Sin-The-Ah handle fine. Sin-The-Ah capable warm-blood. Like Azure capable warm-blood."

[member="Azure Djitred"]

 

[Azure Djitred]

Azure hummed in thought. The lack of clinks let her know Sterling finished with the shrapnel, and she looked at him curiously as he commented on how both she and Cynthia were capable warm-bloods. "Thank you... I think?" Azure looked at the wall in front of her, looking quite serious. "I suppose it's time for me to go back to sleep, then? To go in a bacta tank, or something."

[member="Sterling Kinslayer"]

 

[Sterling Kinslayer]

"Yes." He stood himself up and dusted off, before motioning for the other staff to get to work. They helped him with tending to the wounds, making sure that she wasn't bleeding and everything was tended to well enough. The rest of the procedures took a while but, when they were finished, Sterling scooped Azure up gingerly and carried her away. He didn't let anyone else touch her except to help him get her set in the bacta tank, with the breathing mask and proper buoyancy setup. Since there really wasn't anything else for him to do, he cleaned up, and sat himself down there to keep watch. Even in safety there was no such thing as... too safe. Plus, he had much to think about.

[member="Azure Djitred"]