Battlefield (Zombie and Pigeon) [18+]

[Zombie_In_A_Box]

Ramiel let the other walk off, presumably to explore the base. Sure, he could have used his powers and made sure of the reason, but he didn't want to invade Thie's privacy any further. He'd done enough of that already... He felt bad as it was, he wouldn't worsen it any further. As a pile of blankets and a table were placed in the middle of the room, Ramiel took it as a sign to use them to make even better beds, or, well, resting places, for both of them. They ended up being more like warm nests, but at least they would be able to get a good night's sleep like this. They wouldn't freeze to death, that was certain.

 

"I..." Ramiel began speaking before realizing that Thie wanted to show him something. Carefully, the man allowed his thoughts to meet with his partner's, curiously following him along, observing everything that was around him. "Thank you for trusting me." He said firstly after inspecting everything. "I don't need anything, though. This will be enough." He added quietly, turning around to dig in his backpack for some food. Just a little something to help keep his energy and truly restore his brain.

[Kotorichan]

Thie almost immediately regretted trying to show Ramiel everything. It was so stupid, there was nothing that he couldn't have just described. What was wrong with him? He had to shake off the feelings before they became overwhelming. The man stayed silent and rolled out his own sleeping bag. Maybe it would help if he could warm up a bit, at least then his joints wouldn't be so stiff and he could relax a little bit.

[Zombie_In_A_Box]

Ramiel nearly flinched at the flood of negative emotions that hit his brain. He turned around, biting his lip slightly. "Hey... This... This is good practice for later. When you're farther away from me, you'll need to rely on your thoughts instead of words to convey information. The more often we do this, the better it will be in case of an emergency." He spoke quietly, nervously holding a small packet of food in his hands. "Uh... Are you hungry? I'm gonna go heat this up somewhere, I could grab something for you too." He offered, looking over at his partner.

[Kotorichan]

"I don't need to eat..." Thie muttered. "You shouldn't waste rations on me." It wasn't like he couldn't eat, he even enjoyed it sometimes since he still had a sense of taste and warm food made him feel somewhat alive again. "But if you want to melt some snow in a cup then some hot water would be nice." He glanced up at the other man. This was he attempt to be friendly. "I'll make a fire in here so it's a bit warmer."

[Zombie_In_A_Box]

Ramiel once again felt something like a jab straight to his heart. God, he couldn't let himself relax around Thie... He was so full of negative emotions, it was too hard to handle. He breathed in slowly, only giving a slight nod at the following suggestion. Ramiel stood up, quietly climbing out of their hideout to collect the snow. The man closed his eyes for a moment, slowly breathing in and out to calm himself down. It was always hard to get a new partner, especially one like Thie... He'd manage, though. He had to. He just needed a moment for himself. Of course, if he was trying to relax, he wouldn't sense any danger - and everything alive in this forest saw him as prey.

[Kotorichan]

It only took a few minutes for Thie to start a fire, he made sure that it wasn't close to any of their supplies and that the smoke wasn't trapped so that his partner wouldn't get sick. He suddenly became aware of the sound of wolves strangely nearby and felt a pang of worry about Ramiel. After a moment of hesitation he began to follow the man's scent.

[Zombie_In_A_Box]

Ramiel stood still for a couple of minutes before actually beginning to collect the snow. The worst thing about his powers was that they only worked for conscious minds, ones that weren't driven by pure instinct. He only realized he was in danger when he saw a wolf leaping towards him. Letting out a terrified scream, Ramiel fell down, the pot he'd been collecting snow in falling out of his hand and rolling away. The next scream he let out was full of agony as the wolf landed on his leg. He could feel the bone fracturing. What a stupid way to die, wasn't it?

[Kotorichan]

Thie broke into a sprint as he heard the sound of Ramiel's scream. He changed form as soon as he could see the other man. Even in this smaller form he was much larger than any wolf. A few of the pack went running as soon as they saw him. The sight of blood staining Ramiel's leg made rage boil up in Thie's chest. He lunged forward, his jaws snapping around the wolf's neck. The creature's neck snapped, killing it almost instantly. Thie whirled around and let out an earth shaking roar, sending the rest of the pack running in terror.

[Zombie_In_A_Box]

Ramiel whimpered, hot tears running down his cheeks as he breathed sharply, his teeth clenched in pain. His small body was shaking in both pain and fear that he was about to face his own death. The man sobbed in pain as the wolf moved away from his leg - or, rather, was shoved away by Thie, causing the same amount of pain as when the bone was broken. His mind was so overtaken with pain, he couldn't focus enough to even attempt to calm his partner down. He shivered, hiccuping as both the blood and tears felt as they were burning through his skin in the cold snow. How were they supposed to carry on with their mission?

[Kotorichan]

Thie's instincts were in full control, but for once it was more than just anger. He let out a rumbling growl before changing back to his human form. Despite changing form he was still overcome by his instinct to protect his partner. Without a word he pulled Ramiel up into his arms and began to carry him back inside.

[Zombie_In_A_Box]

Ramiel hissed in pain when he was picked up. Any movement to his leg caused intense pain. He was still shivering, tears continuously running down his cheeks as he tried to at least get his breathing under control. The man gripped lightly onto Thie's shirt, as if seeking some sort of comfort. Some sort of safety. He felt like he was slipping away. He hated being unconscious, he hated waking up from being unconscious... He didn't want to lose consciousness. It was the closest he'd ever been to hell.

[Kotorichan]

"Just hang on, we're almost there..." Thie murmured, his voice still gruff and animalistic. He brought the boy inside and gently laid him on a sleeping bag near the fire. He pulled back a bit and stared down at him for a moment, an expression of confusion crossing his face. He couldn't remember how to take care of a living body, it had been too long. "What.... What do I do?"

[Zombie_In_A_Box]

Ramiel's breathing was uneven and harsh as he was carried back to the base. Another pained sob left his lips as he was laid down, his cheeks wet with tears. Thie didn't know how to help him... Ramiel breathed in sharply, pulling the other down as much as he could to be able to look into his eyes. With all his might, he sent little fragments of what had to be done, just enough to figure out the rest. Along with the explanation, however, Ramiel couldn't not send bits and pieces of his pain. His mind was so overtaken by the sensation that every single thought was laced with pain. This was exactly why he couldn't work alone... Even things that an average human could be able to take on physically he wouldn't be able to. He was weak physically, more than anything. His mind was his only weapon.

[Kotorichan]

Thie flinched back as the thoughts entered his mind. He had not been expecting something like that, but it was over before he could react much more than that. "Oh, um..." He pulled away and went back outside to get the pot of snow before coming back and putting it over the fire to boil some water. After a moment of hesitation he pulled Ramiel's pants off so he could more easily examine the wound.

[Zombie_In_A_Box]

Ramiel was trying to block out the pain, at least a little bit. His eyes were still full of tears, some rolling down his cheeks when Thie came back. He groaned in pain as his pants were pulled down, revealing his unnaturally twisted leg. His breathing shuddered violently, feeling as if his leg was on fire. The first thing Thie would have to do is set the bones back into place, but... God, Ramiel wasn't sure if he could take the pain.

[Kotorichan]

Thie stared down at the boy, his hands shaking. This brought back memories that he had thought had disapmanypeared decades ago. "Ramiel..." The shaking began to subside as he took his partner's hands and stared down at him. "Focus on my voice. Don't think about anything else. This is going to hurt for a bit but then it'll be over, just try to hold on."

 

He didn't even think about how Ramiel might be able to see his memories. Scenes of holding his lover gently, speaking calming words as the other man tried to calm his panicked breathing. Without context the moments made little sense. Thie's lover had been injured many times and had spent many nights beaten and bruised in Thie's arms. But nothing in his memories implied that Thie had been the one to cause the wounds.

 

Thie pulled his hands away and lightly put them on Ramiel's leg. "I'm going to reset your leg, take a deep breath and let it out on three... One... Two" One three he set the broken bone back into place with a loud snap.

[Zombie_In_A_Box]

Ramiel couldn't focus enough to actually grasp what he was seeing or hearing properly. For a moment he thought he saw himself in Thie's arms, wounded. Thie's voice calmed him down. Everything seemed to quiet down for a bit, and Ramiel even thought this was the end - until scorching pain surged through his body from his leg, tearing a scream of pure agony from the man. For a moment he tried to fight back against the dark that seemed to surround him whole, but his consciousness slipped away in the end. His body fell limp, even as tears continued rolling down his cheeks. His body wasn't made to bear pain of such levels. Just as his mind could barely take being unconscious. For him it felt like he was locked in a tiny, tiny cage that squeezed him into nothing. He could hear nothing, he could see nothing, he could feel nothing - there was just... Nothing there. He couldn't take it. He wanted to cry, but he was nothing. He wanted to scream for help, but nothing doesn't have a voice. His body was quickly growing cold, his breathing became shallow. He couldn't wake up. He couldn't do anything.

[Kotorichan]

"Fuck..." Thie quickly reset the broken bone and put it in a makeshift split. He gently shook the boy, trying to awaken him. "Hey, Ramiel? Don't pass out on me." He pulled the boy closer to the fire to keep his body warm and checked to make sure he had dressed all the boy's wounds. He didn't know how close to death his partner was and was worried that if he fell asleep he wouldn't wake back up.

[Zombie_In_A_Box]

There was no more response coming from Ramiel. The boy's body laid there without moving, his lips parted only the slightest bit to allow air into his lungs. He stayed this way for a few hours. At long last, his eyelashes fluttered open, a pained moan leaving his lips. He gasped for air momentarily as his mind attempted to get used to feeling everything again after being in utter darkness. Ramiel's eyes filled up with tears as he stared up at the ceiling, the pain radiating from his leg seeming even worse than before. He wasn't even sure if he could talk properly.

[Kotorichan]

Thie could do nothing but hold the boy to his chest as the night went on. He stared off into space, trying to fight the panic that threatened to change his form. Finally he saw Ramiel stir and held the boy a little tighter. "Ramiel? Are you awake?Just make some kind of noise if you can hear me, you don't have to talk..."

[Zombie_In_A_Box]

Ramiel's lips parted with a soft, quiet hiccup. He turned his head as much as he could, pressing his forehead against Thie's stomach. Everything he could feel was overwhelming. Every single thought in his head cut through his brain like a hot knife. The boy moaned in pain as he attempted to focus more on what his partner had said, tears continuously running down his cheeks. He truly despised being unconscious, but waking up afterwards was even worse.

[Kotorichan]

Thie leaned down and gently wiped the tears from Ramiel's cheeks. "It's okay... You're safe now... I won't let anyone hurt you here. Just try to breath, it's going to be okay..." His memories of his old lover began to surface again. Long nights cradling the younger male, tending to his injuries. "You're safe..." He murmured.

[Zombie_In_A_Box]

Ramiel shivered for a couple more moments, hiccuping quietly against the other male's body before finally beginning to calm down. As he breathed in, he allowed his thoughts to reach out a little bit, only to be fully enveloped in Thie's memories. They were so... Surprisingly warm. Ramiel's body ceased its shuddering as he coated himself in the emotions, pressing his forehead into the other's abdomen. "...You loved them so much." He whispered, his voice quiet, still full of pain.

[Kotorichan]

Thie froze at the boy's words, momentarily confused. Finally he realized that Ramiel must have seen his memories. He took a deep breath and looked away, trying to keep calm. "I... I did..." He knew he couldn't hide how painful it was to think of his lover, but he still didn't want to actually shed tears in front of Ramiel. "I loved him more than anything.."