Almost Running but not Quite

[Kiwi]

Tara gave a wide grin, and leaned back against the driver’s seat. She flinched, remembering her back, but the pain didn’t ruin the moment. She kept her foot steady on the gas, and couldn’t help but feel happiness fill her chest. They made it. Some injuries had been sustained, but they were breathing, and that was good enough for this white hedgehog. Her blue eyes seemed to glow with pride. Banner did most of the shooting and hard stuff, but being able to drive through all of that was still pretty awesome.

The hover car exited the tunnel, and Tara glanced at her surroundings. Her eyes landed on her apartment building, which wasn’t far from the tunnel.

Her happiness was ruined slightly.

“Ah. Crap.”

The building was still intact, but it had indeed sustained damage. Broken windows, and so on, several holes also lined the building, obviously were lasers had been shot. The building actually looked fancy before all of the damage, it was a decent apartment complex, and not one of the slummy ones. Tara made sure that she got good quality in her living space, but that obviously didn’t matter at the moment. She gulped, wondering if any robots were inside. Or worse, if people died in there. She prayed not. Seeing her neighbors dead would only throw this hedgehog into shock. She tried to ignore the other smoldering buildings in this area as best as possible.

The place looked completely empty, she realized, maybe everyone had escaped. The young hedgehog slowed down the car, stopping right in front of the building. No need to park. She left the driver’s seat, and left through the passenger’s side. She came around to the drivers side, and waited for Banner to exit the car. Walking would be difficult with his ankle, and she was strong enough to at least help him to her floor. If they were lucky, the elevator might still work. She lived on the forth floor, and she knew that four flights of stairs would be like hell for someone with a bad ankle.

[Glyph]

Wincing, Banner shifted back into the car, stealing the back seat so he wouldn't jostle Tara while she was navigating the obstacle course of cars and debris.

"If that doesn't earn you a license," he croaked from over her shoulder, "I don't know what will."

His ears pricked at her discontent, and the fox leaned painfully over the driver's seat to get a better look at where they'd stopped. The building was a decent size--or had been, anyway--but now vaguely resembled a upended block of Swiss cheese, and by the look of some of the crumbling bricks, had about the same structural integrity. He heard Tara gulp, and realized that this used to be home.

The older Mobian sighed, popping open the car door one-handed and hobbling to the opening. Tara was waiting for him, but the fox raised a hand for her to wait a moment, and lightly touched down, shifting his weight almost immediately to his good leg. Banner was not one to let pride rule his actions--he knew very well that he wouldn't make it far without some sort of assistance--but he had to know, before he jostled it even further, if doing so would make things worse. It was painful enough to make him hiss through his teeth, but the fact that nothing crunched any further gave him some hope that it wasn't actually broken.

Wordlessly, he twisted around on one leg, holding out the laser pistol for the hedgehog to take, and holstered his own gun at his hip so his hands would be free.

"Alright," he said, keeping his foot held off the ground, "Lead the way."

[Kiwi]

Her hand reached forward, and took the laser pistol from his hand and set it into her coat pocket, well, her coat was now a ripped, torched mess, but at least she still had her pockets intact. Wordlessly, she went to his side, grasped his arm and set it over her other shoulder. That way he could lean against her and keep his foot off the ground. He was taller then her, and obviously heavier, but the white hedgehog didn’t complain as she lead him inside what had been her apartment complex.

Her eyes scanned around the empty lobby, noticing the scattered paper everywhere and the suitcases that also scattered the ground. The couch in the far corner was torched, the front hand desk had been tossed over, and the small chandelier had crashed into the ground, scattering shards of crystals every which way.

“Jeez, and I thought I had been to some crazy parties.” She muttered, trudging through the mess towards the elevator. Her free hand smacked the up button, and she sighed as the door opened. Her ears twitched forward, and the young hedgehog stepped inside. “ Oh man. This is great. I was worried that we’d have to take the stairs.”

Slowly, the elevator began to rise up through the floors, and the usual elevator music played. In here, it didn’t seem like everything was in complete disarray. She was thankful for that. Some normality in chaos was good for the soul…right? The door swung open as they reached her floor. The white hedgehog moved towards the exit, and peered around her floor, making sure no robots were around or anything. Finding the building empty, she continued forward. Her eyes darted every which way before she finally stopped at her apartment door. She dug her hand into her jeans pocket, removing a keychain. The door clicked and opened wide, welcoming them both inside. She gave a weak smile, overjoyed to see that her apartment hadn’t suffered any damage.

It was a nice apartment. A single bedroom, with a living room, walk in kitchen, and a bathroom. Of course, there was the matter as to why someone her age was living by herself, but that could be discussed later. Her feet patted across the hardwood floor as she moved towards a black leather couch, she loosened her grip on Banner, and moved out of his way, giving him a chance to sit himself down.

“I’ll grab the first aid kit.” She responded, and headed into the kitchen, using a spare dinning chair to stand above the fridge and remove one of the many white boxes she had.

[Glyph]

Banner was quiet through it all, save for a few, pained grunts that managed to sneak past his iron facade. He kept a close eye out for trouble, though there would be little he could do in his state. Still, some warning would be nice if a malfunctioning robot rounded the corner on them suddenly.

He made it through the lobby without a sound, but the elevator was looked upon with skepticism. How long would it take for the robots to reach the power station downtown? It'd be their luck that they'd step inside and get caught half-way between floors.

... But there was no way he was going to try to climb the stairs--his ankle wouldn't hold out--so the elevator it was. Luck was with them, and he sighed when the doors opened again on the fourth floor.

As they crossed through the hall and into the hedgehog's apartment, it did indeed cross his mind to wonder why such a young kid was out on her own, fending for herself. The fox didn't say anything, though, and simply let her lead him to the couch. More grateful than he was willing to put into words, Banner sank down onto the leather and bit back a hiss. What a relief it was to get the pressure off his ankle!

Banner leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and watched her go.

"Hey, don't worry so much about me. You're worse off than I am, remember?" The fox wasn't going to pretend he hadn't seen the blood, or the weariness in the hedgehog's eyes, and he was willing to bet that once the adrenaline wore off, they would both be in for a nasty surprise.

[Kiwi]

By the time Banner had spoke again, Tara had already walked back into the living room, first aid kit in hand. At the mention of her back, she could feel pain spark off like fireworks. She flinched slightly, but chose to not mention it aloud. “It’s not too bad if I don’t think about it.” She responded, and set the first aid kit down on the glass coffee table and opened the lid. “Besides, it stopped bleed, slightly. Your injury is easier to deal with at the moment anyway.” She removed a medical brace from underneath some bandage wraps.

“Your ankle isn’t broken right? Just sprained?” If it was broken, she wouldn’t be able to use the brace, and would probably have to make a make-shift cast instead, but she had the material for that, so it didn’t matter much. She set down the brace and rubbed at her forehead. She had taken a beating today. Smacking her head twice, and now this burn on her back that she hadn’t even gotten a good look at. Today was not her lucky day. Then again, no one was lucky today.

Her hand grasped the remote, and turned on her small TV. What she saw was only static. She flipped through several channels, each one the same. “Looks like the robots brought down any news stations or TV broadcasts.” Great. There wasn’t anyone to update them on the situation.

[Glyph]

Again, Banner perked a brow. Part of his training had been about reading body language and facial expressions, but it didn't take a genius to see that Tara was in no small amount of pain. He didn't press it, though; arguing about who was worse off wouldn't do anything but waste time.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's just been twisted." Banner replied, watching the hedgehog carefully. "Nothing crunches or looks misshapen, so I'm assuming it's only a sprain." Hurts like Hell, though...

The fox didn't even bother looking at the TV. "Communications have been down for hours--the only thing getting through is that ridiculous broadcast looping on the radio."

Banner scowled, glaring at the reflection in the coffee table. "Central's gone silent."

[Kiwi]

Tara sighed, rubbing the back of her head as she let his words sink in. So, they had been taken over. Scary, but she could probably worry about all that later. Her eyes darted back to the television. She turned it off with the remote and set it back down on the coffee table. It’s not like it was helping the situation. Her hands grasped the medical brace and gingerly moved over next to Banner. “I’d suggest bracing something.” She said slowly, knowing that the next few moments might hurt a bit.

She leaned down, and gently lifted up his bad ankle, setting it up on the coffee table to keep it leveled. She untied his shoe, and gently pulled it off before setting the brace in place. She clamped the device and adjusted it to were his ankle would be set in the proper place, but also allow some mobility on his part. She did this as quickly and gently as possible. She had bandaged up crashed riders at her place before, so she had some experience with broken bones, cuts and so on, but she was still nor doctor. The faster she worked, the less discomfort it caused. She pulled her hands away when she was finished and inspected her work for a moment.

“Better?” She asked, her eyes curious. If it was to tight or to lose she could fix it easily. It was his ankle after all.

[Glyph]

Wordlessly, Banner gripped the edge of the couch, holding his breath for the moment she touched his ankle. Fire shot up his leg, numbing his foot when Tara elevated it, and he tried to hold as still as possible while she removed his boot to prevent any more unnecessary jarring. His leg screamed at him, and his blood pounded until he could feel it pulsing past his ears, but Banner was no stranger to pain. Through the years he suffered much worse than a twisted ankle, and he'd come out of it just fine. He had the scars to prove it. So, the fox's teeth ground, and the muscle beneath his eye jigged a crazy, strained dance, but he didn't make a peep.

Banner watched through somber eyes as the young hedgehog bound the brace, and only a trace of pain appeared in his eyes when his ankle gave a protesting pop as it was--hopefully--set back into proper alignment. He felt, rather than watched, Tara take her hands away, and only then did he give the patching a once-over.

"It's fine." Satisfied and quietly grateful for her handiwork, the fox nodded and gingerly swung his foot off her coffee table, taking care not to let it bounce against the floor. He'd prop it up in a bit, but first there were more important things to tend to.

Like the hole in Tara's back.

"Your turn." He set her with an expectant stare, his stern expression leaving no room for argument. Inching down the couch to open up some space--and to put the first aid kit within reach--the fox motioned her closer and jerked his head toward the cushion next to him. "Plant it."

[Kiwi]

“Er…Alright.” Tara carefully set herself down on the cushion he pointed towards, her back to him. She carefully removed her jacket that had slightly covered her wound. She hadn’t exactly gotten a good look at her back, but that was a blessing in itself. The open wound was right in the middle of her back, and was thankfully not deep enough to touch her spinal cord. The laser had only brushed her, but it had defiantly ripped through her fur and skin like a knife through hot butter. Blood had seeped from her back slowly, most of it already dried and scabbed over, but it was still bleeding ever so slowly. The chance of this wound scarring was high. Tara kept her eyes focused on the wall across from her. She brushed her quills over her right shoulder to keep them out of his face.

“I don’t think it’s too bad…” Tara muttered. “The pain has died down, so that has to be good right?” She looked down at her hands that were in her lap. She clenched her hands, then opened them again. She was smart enough to know that she was lucky to be breathing still. Had the laser gone just a little bit deeper, it would have hit her spine, and who knew what would happen after that? She closed her eyes, trying to just stop thinking. She was still alive, she should be thankful for that, not thinking about how she could have died.

“…Do you have any idea how the robots got here? You seem like you know more then I do. One minute, it was just a normal day, and the next thing I know, I was running for my life.” It was true, Tara had no idea just how all of this had started, or what had brought this on.

[Glyph]

When he got his first real glimpse of the extent of the damage, the fox's eyes widened, a very real concern flashing in their depths. Then the soldier in him clamped down on the flutter of panic that niggled at the base of his throat, threw it into a head lock and tossed behind the iron bars of his steely expression.

Where the laser had been thickest, the raw flesh had almost been cauterized; the trickle of blood came from the tissue around that, where the laser burst had been sloppier and less concentrated. The fox studied it for a moment, chewing his lip as he pondered how to begin to tackle the injury. Finally, he decided the best thing to do at the moment would be to clean it up and dress it... and keep a close eye on Tara.

As he rifled through the first aid kit, the elder Mobian flicked his ears toward the hedgehog, frowning.

"... We'll see." He finally said, levelly, not wanted to alarm her, but not wanting to lie to her either. Numbness could be a warning sign of nerve damage or shock, but scaring her needlessly would do neither of them any good.

Slowly, the fox shifted, a clean cloth and a bottle of disinfectant in hand. "Hang tight," he muttered, warning her of what he was about to do, and then, with a gentleness that belied the stony, harsh mask the fox had worn earlier, began working his way around the wound with the soaked cloth.

While he worked, he spoke, answering her previous questions and hopefully giving her something else to focus on. "No idea, although if you're inclined to believe that broadcast, then I'd wager a guess that it has something to do with that Metal Sonic character taking over in Capital Hill."

[Kiwi]

Her fingers dug into the material of her couch, twisting the leather in her grasp as she clenched her teeth and bowed her head as the fox gingerly rubbed the disinfectant around her wound. The new pain stung and mixed in with the already throbbing sensation she had been experiencing. It made her eyes sting, and the pain was almost enough to make her yell out, but she stayed strong and steady, despite the slight shaking of her shoulders, or the way her fur seemed to stand on end with each time he brushed a sensitive area. She took a deep shaky breath. Metal Sonic? Who the hell was that.

“C-can’t say I’ve head the broadcast, but, if this guy is in charge of this, I‘m going to rip him a new-” Her sentence was cut short as her back flared in pain again, the hedgehog closed her jaw with a snap. It felt like someone was shooting fireworks against her back. Her grip on her sofa tightened, her ears laying flat against her head. She wasn’t able to hold up a tough façade like he was able to, but she was trying. The faster he got it bandaged the better. She kept repeating that sentence through her head.

She found herself wondering just how bad her wound was, but she decided that if Banner wasn’t panicking, then it couldn’t be anything too bad. Right? Then again, this guy didn’t seem like the type to freak out about anything. At least he was fixing her up. Tara didn’t want to know were she’d be right now if she hadn’t run into him.

“Thanks. For everything.” She said slowly. “I’d be in deep trouble if I hadn’t met you.” She scratched the back of her head, feeling rather embarrassed by saying that.

[Glyph]

Banner noticed her bristling fur and the hunch drawing up her shoulders, but he grit his teeth, forcing himself to finish what he'd started. A bleeding heart would do no good if it left him unable to take care of the actual wound.

Still, it didn't take long for him to finish. Gently, he took the rag away from the laser burn and dabbed at the dried blood around it instead, giving her a few moments to recuperate before he reached for the bandages.

"It's mostly hot air--the usual threatening rant you'd expect from a nutjob." Banner grumbled, clapping a hand on her shoulder, possibly trying to be reassuring. It was hard to tell, considering he only sounded slightly less grumpy than usual. In reality, he was smirking inwardly; this kid had a spark to her, didn't she? It reminded him a bit of his niece... Actually, now that he thought about it, he realized that Tara and Glacy had to be about the same age.

It was a sobering thought.

Deflating, the fox removed a package from the kit, jerking off his gloves and setting them aside before touching the sterile gauze.

The first patch he applied seeped through quickly, but Banner just held it in place and added another layer, concerned that if he tried to remove the dirtied one he'd just be hindering the work of the coagulating blood.

Tara's words surprised him, and the fox looked up in the middle of applying a slight pressure to the area. Banner blinked, slowly, and if Tara had been facing him she would have seen something that could have almost been considered soft put a dent in his stony expression.

"Don't mention it," he said gruffly, equally embarrassed by the open display of gratitude. "... What were you doing out all alone anyway?"

[Kiwi]

“I make enough money to live by myself, if that’s what you mean. You‘d be surprised what happens when you get a sponsor or two.” She replied slowly, wondering if he was asking why she lived alone, or why her parents weren’t around. She wasn’t one who enjoyed seeming like some charity case, so she decided to answer as to why she was able to live alone. It was easier to answer. “If it’s not obvious, I race air gear for a living. Income is good, high risk sometimes, but the pay makes up for it in some ways. It‘s not a very stable profession though.” A part of her wished she finished her education at her engineering school. “You win a race, and they had you a stack full of money. If you don’t win a race, you walk off empty handed.”

She tensed slightly as he set on another layer of the bandages. He was probably finished. The pale hedgehog rubbed at her temple. She felt tired. Probably from all of the running. Her eyes darted to the clock on her wall. It was only five. She blinked. She could have figured that it was six or seven. “I think my place might be safe for the night.” She said slowly. “Hopefully, anyways.”

[Glyph]

"If you walk off." Banner said bluntly, perking a wry brow at the back of her head. "Hopefully you ride a bit better than what I saw earlier?"

In truth, the fox knew that without her quick thinking in the hovercar, he'd probably be little more than a laser-scorched grease spot on the road. Joking aside, the fox wondered why the hedgehog had to partake in such a dangerous sport in the first place. She shouldn't have to worry about things like finances yet. Why wasn't she in school? Didn't she have parents to worry about money for her, someone looking after her?

He was beginning to suspect not--but he wouldn't press the issue any farther. It was none of his business, and there were more pressing matters to take care of at the moment. Adding a final patch of gauze, Banner finally reached for the roll of bandages, uncoiling them with a simple flick of his wrist. Ignoring the twinge the movement sent down his ankle, the gray fox looped the first length a bit below her ribs.

"Hold on--lift your arms a bit, would ya?" He layered the bandages firmly around her middle, working his way down, keeping the pressure on the wound constant while leaving enough slack so that breathing was comfortable and her movement was mostly unhindered.

"All right," he grunted, tucking the loose end in to keep it in place, "That ought to hold you for a while. How do you feel?"

Leaning back, Banner, too, followed her gaze at the clock, and frowned. "Safer than on the streets, an' it's not like we can go anywhere busted up like this tonight."

[Kiwi]

Tara laughed at that comment. “I’m one of the best damn racers they have in the Underground. Another year or so from now, I‘ll be good enough to ride in the big races.”Of course, the name Underground might cause some to raise a eyebrow, but a officer would probably be able to realize what she was talking about, mostly because those races tended to be...well, one or two may be illegal. Well, maybe six or seven, but in Tara's defence, she never rode in those races..that many times. The races from the Underground were known to be fast paced, and usually took place in random locations. Highways, freeways, parks, it didn't matter were, and that's were the illegal part came in. Riding through a freeway at several hundred miles an hour around traffic and other vehicles couldn't be legal.

She smirked, allowing her little dream filter through her thoughts. Yeah, a real professional rider. That’s were the real money comes in. of course, Tara wasn’t doing this JUST for the money. Riding was her passion, her life would feel empty if she didn’t have a board on her shoulders, or a pair of skates on her feet.

Tara frowned for a moment. She knew that by doing this she was missing out on a experience most teenagers had, but Tara never really had that many normal experiences anyway, so it made sense that she’d be shoved off into something like air gear riding. Most riders she knew were 17, 18, some even in their twenties. They had finished high school, while she only had a freshmen education.

She lifted her arms up at his command. She felt him wrap the bandages around her ribs, thankfully, it didn’t hurt her wound too much, the pressure actually felt kind of nice. Once he finished, she set her arms back down and gave a sigh. “I feel so much better. Thanks.”

She shook her head at his next words. “Yeah. I don’t even want to risk leaving.”