(Kassandra Vaitaki continued from Exploring)
Mina had been right. There really wasn't much to see in the marketplace. The place looked like it had been picked clean, so clean that it was almost eerie, as though no one had ever been there. But of course, there was some indicator that there had once been good in the market, and that was the smell. The air smelled of stale fish. That wasn't a descriptor that Kassandra ever thought she would actually use, but it seemed fitting.
Thankfully, she and Marion had managed to avoid running into anyone else on the way there. They were already injured, although not severely, so they would have probably looked like weak targets if someone along the way had been sick enough to play. Kass could still feel the sting in the cuts on her arms. Fortunately, none of said cuts were deep, but she would feel a little better with a little disinfectant all the same.
Kass hunkered down with Marion behind a particularly large stall, giving them a halfway decent cover from the rest of the market. She peeked out from behind it to ensure that no one else was around. Once she was sure that they were the only two in the area, she put her hands on Marion's shoulders and spoke to her, eyes full of worry.
"You aren't hurt, are you? I can take a look if the glass caught you."
Catching Breath in Stale Air
Phase 1 (0-12 Hours)
"I don't think I got any major cuts, but it'd still be nice if you checked," Marion said. "My back got the brunt of the glass, so that's where you'll want to look."
"Okay. I'm gonna take a look." Kassandra shuffled on her knees to a position behind Marion and started examining her back.
Her neck was unharmed, thank god, but she had taken some cuts under it, around her collar and between her shoulder blades. Thankfully, they didn't look any deeper than the cuts on Kass' own arms, so a quick rub with some disinfectant should do the trick. That was all that could be seen on her bare flesh, but that didn't mean that the rest of her back was safe just yet. A wily piece or two could have managed to get through her shirt, and Kass wouldn't feel comfortable with that uncertainty.
"Hey Marion..." She asked uneasily. "I'm gonna have to look under your shirt for a moment. Is that all right?"
Her neck was unharmed, thank god, but she had taken some cuts under it, around her collar and between her shoulder blades. Thankfully, they didn't look any deeper than the cuts on Kass' own arms, so a quick rub with some disinfectant should do the trick. That was all that could be seen on her bare flesh, but that didn't mean that the rest of her back was safe just yet. A wily piece or two could have managed to get through her shirt, and Kass wouldn't feel comfortable with that uncertainty.
"Hey Marion..." She asked uneasily. "I'm gonna have to look under your shirt for a moment. Is that all right?"
"Go ahead, babe," Marion told her. "I'd have lifted it up myself if it weren't for, you know, the handcuffs."
"All right, here it goes..." Kassandra hooked her fingers under the hem of Marion's shirt and lifted it, exposing her full back for further examination.
Straight away, Kass was distracted by a tattoo on Marion's lower back. A skull to be precise. Had that always been there? She hadn't really taken a good look at Marion from behind, so she probably just hadn't noticed it until now. Her eyes kept wanting to fall to the ink, but she forced herself to be responsible. She had to take care of Marion first, and she could think about the intricacies of her body later.
By some small miracle, Marion's back had largely avoided damage from the shower of glass. Kass managed to get some cuts even through the sleeves of her hoodies, so Marion must have had some insane luck on her side back in the alley. Once Kassandra had finished her visual inspection, which admittedly was not completely for medical reasons, she pulled Marion's shirt back down.
"You don't look too bad." She reported. "Just a couple little cuts, but we can put a little antibacterial on them and you'll be okay."
Straight away, Kass was distracted by a tattoo on Marion's lower back. A skull to be precise. Had that always been there? She hadn't really taken a good look at Marion from behind, so she probably just hadn't noticed it until now. Her eyes kept wanting to fall to the ink, but she forced herself to be responsible. She had to take care of Marion first, and she could think about the intricacies of her body later.
By some small miracle, Marion's back had largely avoided damage from the shower of glass. Kass managed to get some cuts even through the sleeves of her hoodies, so Marion must have had some insane luck on her side back in the alley. Once Kassandra had finished her visual inspection, which admittedly was not completely for medical reasons, she pulled Marion's shirt back down.
"You don't look too bad." She reported. "Just a couple little cuts, but we can put a little antibacterial on them and you'll be okay."
"All right, that's good to hear," Marion said. "I guess we'll go ahead and take care of our wounds while we wait for Mina, then."
"Yeah, just what I was thinking." Kassandra started opening her bag to reach the first aid kit. "I'll start with you since I'm back here." She found what she needed pretty easily, considering how much the kit had probably been jostled about while she was busy running all over the island. She imagined that it must have been pretty well-organized when she first got it.
An antiseptic wipe was held in her fingers, hovering over Marion's cuts. "This'll sting a little, but just try to ignore it." Once the warning was out of the way, she ran the wipe from shoulder to shoulder. With just three swipes, she managed to cover all of the cuts. It was lucky that they were all in a fairly small area, rather than being spread all over her body.
"Okay, you're good. Now it's my turn." Kass stripped off her jacket to get better access to her cuts. She was working up quite a sweat with the extra layer anyway, so she figured that it might be good to go sans jacket for a while, or at least until it got colder that evening. Her cuts followed the same sort of pattern as Marion's, shallow and spread out over a small area, her forearms in this case. A couple of antiseptic swipes across each arm, and treatment was finished, at least for now.
"So is there anything else you need right now?" She asked as she deposited the first aid kit back into her bag. "Food? Water?"
An antiseptic wipe was held in her fingers, hovering over Marion's cuts. "This'll sting a little, but just try to ignore it." Once the warning was out of the way, she ran the wipe from shoulder to shoulder. With just three swipes, she managed to cover all of the cuts. It was lucky that they were all in a fairly small area, rather than being spread all over her body.
"Okay, you're good. Now it's my turn." Kass stripped off her jacket to get better access to her cuts. She was working up quite a sweat with the extra layer anyway, so she figured that it might be good to go sans jacket for a while, or at least until it got colder that evening. Her cuts followed the same sort of pattern as Marion's, shallow and spread out over a small area, her forearms in this case. A couple of antiseptic swipes across each arm, and treatment was finished, at least for now.
"So is there anything else you need right now?" She asked as she deposited the first aid kit back into her bag. "Food? Water?"
"I could go for some food and water myself," Marion said. "What is it, like noon now? Probably at least noon."
Secretly, Kassandra was really hoping that Marion would say yes, since she was getting pretty hungry herself. She pulled a pack of saltines and a bottle of water out of her pack. She didn't want to get into the MREs just yet. Yeah, they were probably better, but she wanted to save those for when they were really starting to fade. Same reason as to why she only took out one bottle of water. She wanted to make it last.
"Hope you like crackers and water, because that's what we've got right now."
"Hope you like crackers and water, because that's what we've got right now."
"Fine by me," Marion said. "You gonna pull mine out for me, or are we sharing yours?"
"Oh, I can get some of your stuff out if you want." Kassandra quickly answered. "I just kinda thought it would be easier with one bottle and one package, since I don't think either of us are gonna eat the whole thing of crackers on our own already, and I know we aren't gonna finish that water bottle right now." She shrugged. "I just thought it would be a little less mess to clean up once we were done, you know? Plus, stretches out supplies a little more. After all, who knows how long we're gonna be out here?"
"Haha, all right," Marion said, grabbing and eating some saltines. "Saving for when we're on the run, eh?"
"Yeah, I guess." Kassandra said, taking a few saltines in hand. "I just want to make sure that we don't wind up in a situation where we don't have any food, you know? I'm trying to plan ahead."
She popped one of the saltines into her mouth and chewed. It was crappy, borderline flavorless, and despite its name, barely salted. But it was still food, and that was the only hurdle it needed to pass.
"But you know, I think it's the stuff that I can't plan for that scares me the most. Like, the stuff that just happens." She cringed inwardly, memories of the incident in the alleyway still fresh in her mind.
She popped one of the saltines into her mouth and chewed. It was crappy, borderline flavorless, and despite its name, barely salted. But it was still food, and that was the only hurdle it needed to pass.
"But you know, I think it's the stuff that I can't plan for that scares me the most. Like, the stuff that just happens." She cringed inwardly, memories of the incident in the alleyway still fresh in her mind.
"What about stuff like this?" Marion asked, before leaning into Kassandra and kissing her on the lips.
Okay, this was the kind of surprise that she liked. She had been so scared that she had lost Marion when the glass shattered, and this was a nice reminder that she was still alive, and she had something worth fighting for. Her hand came up to lightly stroke Marion's cheek during the brief kiss, and she had a smile on her face when their lips separated.
"Thanks. I needed that."
"Thanks. I needed that."