"I'd rather die than ask for help, except I don't want to die"

[millenyal_pink]

Who: Elle and Dan
What: Elle taking up Dan's offer of first aid.
Where: Wherever they're making camp.
When: The same night the Faire was attacked.
Warnings/Notes: aftermath of violence, injury.

Once Elle makes sure the people she knows are safe and taken care of, she sheepishly sidles up to Dan.

To say she looks like shit is an understatement. They all look terrible, but Elle's once-nice clothes are in tatters and she's covered in dirt and ash. Her back is mostly covered in dried blood from her earlier injury.

"Hey," she says quietly, glancing around to make sure no one is paying particular attention to them.

"You got a minute?"

The expression on her face is a mixture of 'I would rather be doing literally else right now' and 'I am too exhausted to be as stubborn about things as I'd like to'.

Comments

[millenyal_pink]

"I'll probably be wandering the perimeter between the forest and the camp. Like I said, I'm too keyed up to get much rest tonight."

What Elle doesn't say is "There's an empty hole in my mind where my pack should be and I don't know if I can sleep without being able to feel them. I'm probably hurting too much to be able to lay down, and if I close my eyes all I'm going to see is my brother's dismembered body."

[hallelujahjunction]

"I don't never sleep before five a.m. if I can help it, so we might could run into each other while pulling watch."

She doesn't need to say it; it's basically the same thing going through Dan's head. He slept in a van, cramped up with his siblings, for years as they got picked off one by one. It was fifteen, twenty years ago. He still feels that empty hole, still wakes up sometimes and thinks Kitty must have stepped out for a smoke or Zack's probably off getting us another can of gas before he remembers where he is. And he never goes to sleep easy, even if it's easier now that he's married and can drift off in someone's arms.

"You tell anyone else who needs stitching that they can come to me, alright?"

[millenyal_pink]

"I promise not to maul you by accident if I see you wandering around," she jokes.

Elle stands up and shakes out her limbs. She's feeling a little stiff from sitting in the same position for so long.

"I'll let them know," she assures him. She almost starts to walk away, but pauses.

"Thank you, again. I get the feeling you would do this for anyone who needs it, especially if they asked, but I still appreciate it. I like to think I'm a good judge of character, and I'm glad I trusted you."

She tries to put as much gentle, genuine appreciation in her voice as she thinks he'll be able to handle. There's a reason she makes it about herself at the end, there, and it's because she doesn't think Dan is someone who lets himself take compliments.

[hallelujahjunction]

"I'm glad that I didn't give you no reason to regret that trust," he says to her, smiling as he gets to his feet - gingerly, like his back's really hurting him - and gives her a little wave. "See you around, Elle."