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officially a swaggy gryffindor
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Posts: 130
Preferred Name: Kenny
Character Profile: Character Hub
Character Name: Kendra Saunders
Status: Active
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Post by Kendra on Jul 28, 2015 2:31:25 GMT -5
April 7, 2862___ The last thing she remembered involved pain.
Pain, and blood, and Allen screaming for someone to get a medic. The feeling of metal being picked out of her arm, the searing pain of chemicals being poured over what she assumed could only be a wound. Blood. Her blood. Soaking through the fabric of her shirt, pooling into the soles of her boots. Allen, was Allen safe? Were they okay?
She gasped for air, tried to reach up towards her fellows with both arms. Both? But there was only --
Kendra woke with a start, the tightness in her chest making her stomach clench and build up the taste of metal in the back of her throat. Her eyes snapped open, both hands moved to rip the blanket that was holding her down off... Both. Hands? She slowed, let her pulse drop as she tried to process just what was happening. What had happened. She felt light, off balance - And why couldn't she feel her left hand?
There had been the explosion, and she jumped in to shield Allen. Damned Allen, always getting into trouble since they had been paired together. But she had denser muscles, stronger bones. A little explosion wasn't going to hurt her. She had faced one when she was a kid without any sort of mods and gotten away with only scars and her brother alive. So why?"Fuck..." She hissed under her breath when she tried to shift in the apparent hospital bed she had been confined to. Her right hand moved to grasp her ribs, fighting off the urge to feel higher - to keep the thought of what had happened away from herself. She knew what was missing, she knew what she had lost. All because she had been stupid, all because she had forgotten that no matter what kind of scraps she got into, her body was far from indestructible. "Said I needed a vacation, right Parker?" Kendra muttered to herself, a wheezing laugh all she could handle as she allowed her head to fall back onto the plush pillow behind her. "One hell of a vacation." |
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Civilians
typical noodle conversations
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Post by Samuel on Jul 28, 2015 22:10:56 GMT -5
Well, this had been some interesting news to receive. Not everyday that you were going about your regular business and had someone come in to tell you one of your acquaintances arms had been blown off. Or well, not something he heard in relation to Upper Class folk at least. Plenty of his runners in the slums lost limbs all the time. But it was curious to hear that Kendra had messed up so terribly. Jumping in front of an explosion, really? Did she think she was invincible? This probably meant more scars too. And here he'd thought she had enough of those. They weren't particularly attractive. But he supposed she had a bigger defect to worry about now, didn't she?
Either way, he figured it would polite to go and see her. Condolences and all that. He'd even been so kind as to get her flowers. Not that his generosity was appreciated at all, since she was unconscious when he arrived. How terribly boring. He sighed and tossed the bouquet at her feet, pulling a chair near the side of her bed and leaning on the counter there, his chin in his hand. She looked positively terrible. Asymmetry didn't exactly suit her. He hoped she fixed that soon. But he figured he could wait here for a bit and see if she woke up. Maybe he'd start poking her eventually if she stayed under. A bit of electricity magic might do the job to shock her awake. And it wasn't like she was going to get in any worse shape than she was in now.
However, he was spared the trouble when she jolted awake herself, breathing heavy and hands wandering over herself to assess her condition. My, how naughty. And she didn't seem to notice he was there either, which was rather rude. But he could forgive her for this one instance, he supposed. That was an interesting name she'd muttered, though. Not one he'd heard before. He waited until she'd fallen back down on her pillow before he spoke, a bored expression on his face. "So who's Parker?" He had a right to be curious, no?
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Administrator
officially a swaggy gryffindor
rats in the freezer
Posts: 130
Preferred Name: Kenny
Character Profile: Character Hub
Character Name: Kendra Saunders
Status: Active
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Post by Kendra on Jul 29, 2015 0:46:39 GMT -5
A certain voice cut through the haze. Kendra tensed and instantly reached toward her hip where a sidearm normally sat, at least until she remembered who the voice belonged to - and where she was. No, she was fine. Nothing else was coming for them, at least not then. Samuel. It had been a while, and she wasn't exactly in the condition to see him how she'd like. Biting back while in a rough condition made things... Difficult.
"Why? Worried I'm going to replace you?" There was no chance in hell she was going to tell him she happened to have a twin brother, that just so happened to be caught up in less than legal activities. Samuel would no doubt have a field day with seeing how he could twist that little bit of information. Besides, wasn't it much more fun when his attention was on her instead of someone else that looked like her?
She shifted, letting of a low groan of pain while she pushed herself upright. Her right hand went to cover the place her arm used to go, wishing the bed had been facing the other way. Knowing Samuel, he would want to poke her nub and see what would happen. How he hadn't lost a body part himself, she had no idea. Before she could turn to look at him, colorful blooms caught her eye at the edge of the bed.
"Flowers?" Her scarred brow rose, and she tried to bend forward to take hold of them. Instead, a sharp pain shot up her side and forced her to let out a choked breath while she moved back to her sitting position. "Really, Samuel. Being so generous and you couldn't put them somewhere nicer? I should be insulted."
A small laugh was all she could handle, taking the time to glance over towards him and take in his appearance. He had certainly changed since their days together. Then again, it had been four years since they met. Not that she could talk, especially not at the moment.
"So what do I owe for this visit? I'm surprised to see you here, if I'm to be honest. Especially the first thing I see after... Everything that happened." Not that she minded it being him, but she'd be damned before she told him that.
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Civilians
typical noodle conversations
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Post by Samuel on Jul 29, 2015 20:02:24 GMT -5
Well, of course she wasn't in a condition she'd be comfortable to see him in. If she was, he wouldn't have come. What was the fun in that, after all? "Trying to shoot me? That's rude. I'm just here to wish you well." Such terrible treatment of a guest, honestly. An eyebrow quirked at her question, though. "Do you have a limited amount of spaces for friends, Kendra? That sounds terribly elitist. And I'm personally offended that I am apparently so low on the list that I am in danger of being kicked off. Either way, you didn't answer the question." She knew better than to think she could change the subject on him. What, did she think he was going to treat her specially just because she'd lost a limb? That was terribly selfish of her.
"Would you like some help?" He watched her struggle to get up indifferently. It was so tempting to ask if she needed a hand. But he'd save it for later. His eyes did trail down to the stump though. She wasn't wrong, he was particularly curious about what was under the bandages. But it would also trouble him if she started bleeding and he got kicked out of the room. Infection would be unpleasant too. So he'd save the poking about for later. But he didn't move to grab the flowers for her despite her obvious discomfort. They weren't that important, were they? "I got them here. Finding the vase is usually the job of the host."
But yes, between the two of them, she had changed her appearance far more than he had. After all, tattoos could easily be removed. He preferred not to be scarred for life, if at all possible. Kendra had clearly shown though that she didn't think the same. But he smiled slightly at her question, straightening slightly. "Well, I thought it would be interesting." He stopped there, the smile still on his face. That was all it was, really. He'd never seen someone so prideful lose such a vital part of themselves before. He figured the reaction would be quite intriguing. She was taking this almost annoyingly calmly though. Not even a single tear? Boo.
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Administrator
officially a swaggy gryffindor
rats in the freezer
Posts: 130
Preferred Name: Kenny
Character Profile: Character Hub
Character Name: Kendra Saunders
Status: Active
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Post by Kendra on Jul 29, 2015 20:41:11 GMT -5
"So you are worried." The grin on her face wasn't anything she could help, even if it made her jawline burn from the skin stretching. "Parker is a guy I've known for years. You could call him my best friend, I suppose. Should we get closer to close the gap, Samuel? It has been some time. Can't let yourself fall behind."
A sigh left Kendra when he asked if she needed help. Of course he wouldn't help. She could find a vase for them later. Moving wasn't exactly something she wanted to do. She supposed she was lucky with how many pain meds happened to be pumping through her system.
"Interesting?" Her brow knit together in reply to his smile. A frown tugged at her own, her face going red while her eyes welled with tears.
"Interesting? You came to see me because you thought it would be interesting? Samuel, I'm not some… I'm not one of your…" Kendra cut herself off and choked back the break in her voice. Her shoulders shook while a hand rose over her face. She turned away from him and curled into herself, body shivering for a moment. The hand fell away to her side, waves of red hair covering her face from view.
"Samuel… I've got so many scars, and I'm off balance. There are so many thing wrong with me and I just… How could you love…" She cut off her words once more, gripping the sheet over her legs tightly. A shaky breath was drawn in before she let her grip loosen and turned to look at him.
Her expression was slightly smug, no sign of tears, no sign of anything actually being wrong. As if she would actually cry with him in the room. God forbid.
"Did you honestly expect this to break me so easily?"
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Post by Samuel on Jul 30, 2015 1:24:39 GMT -5
"Depends, what position exactly do I hold that's being replaced? You were talking about vacations, so I'm good leaving being your travel agent to him if that's what he is." One of the worst and most pointless Upper Class jobs, really. There was only one damn place you could 'vacation', even if it had different environments in it. He'd never much understood the point of the profession, but he supposed many of the Upper Class loved their useless complications. "I'm hurt I've heard nothing of him until this point. And here I thought we were close."
And...what exactly was she doing now? The smile dropped off his face as she began her dramatics. Well this was boring. He let her do that while he pulled up a small holoscreen in front of him, checking to see if he had any new messages from more interesting people. He glanced up a moment after she asked her last question, the screen still open. "Oh, were you done?" He hadn't particularly been listening to what she'd been saying. The instant she'd painted that look of fake pain over her face he'd stopped paying attention. "I'm not sure what this is about breaking, I was just stating a fact. Do you take everything so personally? Or are the painkillers just turning you into an idiot?" How terribly melodramatic.
Samuel yawned, his eyes falling back to his screen once more as he scrolled through the messages there. "So, have you fucked Parker?" He asked the question in a casual tone, eyes still focused on the text in front of him. He had a right to know, did he not? And besides, they'd talked enough about her arm, hadn't they? No need to restrict themselves to such an old topic.
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Administrator
officially a swaggy gryffindor
rats in the freezer
Posts: 130
Preferred Name: Kenny
Character Profile: Character Hub
Character Name: Kendra Saunders
Status: Active
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Post by Kendra on Jul 30, 2015 3:07:58 GMT -5
"There's always room to get closer. Wouldn't that be lovely?" The last time they had 'gotten close' damn near sealed her fate. And maybe since then she had been trying to not have alone time with him or to be cornered in a dark place. In reality, no one knew about Parker or the fact they were still so close. At least, not the people she associated with. The last thing he needed was to get dragged into something with her - or the less than savory acquaintances she had. I.E. Samuel.
"You could have at the very least humored me, you know. What would you have done if I was actually upset?" She wanted to pout, but refrained. However it did come out through her voice ever so slightly. Maybe the painkillers were getting to her. She was certainly on enough to make anyone else forget their own name. "You've known me quite a while, why don't you tell --"
She choked.
"No! Absolutely not!" Sure, the guy didn't know Parker was her brother but still... She had gotten enough of a view from walking in on him when they were younger. No thank you. Her face flushed red, and she was certain she could feel the tips of her ears burning in embarrassment. "And really, what sort of business is that of yours?"
A right to know? What right did he have to know about her private life? They were friends, acquaintances, she had no idea what they were. But he had absolutely no reason to ask her something like that. Then again, this was Samuel. He didn't exactly know when to pull back at times. The ass.
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Post by Samuel on Jul 30, 2015 21:02:53 GMT -5
"You know, you sound far more concerned with me being replaced than I ever have. I'm not sure if your hospital room is the best place for you to come onto me. That whole doctor/nurse kink works a bit different than this." Not exactly appropriate to get all hot and bothered from an armless and injured person, was it? "Try the whole getting closer line when you're a little less injured." She could hardly do anything in this state anyways, so what was the point of flirting?
"Probably taken notes." He'd never seen her legitimately upset before, after all. Just childish plays like she'd just done. "Although on that topic, I will say you are surprisingly calm about this whole affair. Most people at least act mildly surprised when they find a part of them has been blown off." He paused, thinking for a moment. "Speaking of which, do you know if they've saved your arm anywhere? I'd be interested in seeing it, or what's left of it." Her muscle structure was fairly decent, and would be good for basing other prosthetics off of. And it was always helpful to have an accurate model he could reference his shaping off of. And even if there was only some parts of it left it would make for some good data. She wouldn't have any sentimental attachment to it, right? She certainly didn't have a physical one anymore.
He laughed somewhat at her reaction to his question. Well that was far more believable than her previous melodrama. "I almost feel sorry for him. That was quite an outburst. And why shouldn't it be? No secrets between partners and all that." He had to report so many of the details of his life to her, so it was only fair she shared some in return, no? It wasn't like who slept with who was all that big of a deal anyways, was it? He was allowed to be curious.
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Administrator
officially a swaggy gryffindor
rats in the freezer
Posts: 130
Preferred Name: Kenny
Character Profile: Character Hub
Character Name: Kendra Saunders
Status: Active
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Post by Kendra on Jul 30, 2015 21:27:27 GMT -5
"Come onto-- I am not! Absolutely not, oh my god. Contrary to what you might think, you can be friends with someone and not have a need to get into their pants. Hard for you to believe, I'm sure." Her face was red, there was no use trying to deny it. A hand moved through her bangs as she scoffed, glancing away in an effort to hide the color that only made her hair look that much brighter. Coming onto him. Ha. No way in hell was she trying to come into him.
She blinked and raised a brow at him, wondering why she was so calm herself. Had she been alone, her reaction to waking up would have been so much different. But Samuel was there, being the ass he Could be counted on for. Comfortable. She hated to admit it, but him being there held so much more comfort than being alone.
"I don't really think it's sunk in. Drugs and all." She shrugged her shoulders, or well... She tried to. "You're literally the first thing I saw when I finally came to so, maybe you're helping I don't know." Kendra's voice dropped at the end, her gave moving down to her right hand while she turned it over in her lap. Scarred up, burned, but all of those would heal. Her lips were getting a bit looser then she would have liked around him. "As for my arm, I have no idea. I'm sure you can poke around like you do and find any little scraps to keep in a jar next to your bed."
Her face went slightly red again, a scoff pushing past her lips. Partners. They had been at one point, and then she became his contact. Funny how things worked out that way. "Parker gets enough action to not need that sympathy. But really, what reaction did you expect? I don't ask who you're sleeping with, or need to know for that matter. Should I report to you when I find a partner suitable?"
Wait, damn it. Kendra bit her tongue. Hopefully that hadn't been too obvious about the state of her nonexistent love life.
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Civilians
typical noodle conversations
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Post by Samuel on Jul 30, 2015 23:03:41 GMT -5
"You're the one who was stressing that we should get closer. If you don't want me to misunderstand, try to sound a little less desperate. There are better ways to comfort yourself anyways." Interesting shade of red on her face though, wasn't it? Kendra certainly was touchy about the topic of sleeping with people. Probably meant that she hadn't yet. He wasn't particularly surprised.
"Really? With just those? You're a bit of a lightweight, Kendra." Huh, it was interesting to see the shoulders move when there was nothing attached to them. He wondered how much that hurt. "Oh my, was that almost a compliment? I'm uncertain if I should be blushing or not." His eyes followed hers towards her other hand. Well, that one did look terrible as well. Nothing that a bit of surgery couldn't fix though. So no need to worry about it, right? "A jar? What do you take me for? I'd get some nice formaldehyde for it and keep it in my lab. I could probably petrify it or preserve it a better way too, since I wouldn't much want to worry about smell...but I digress. We can discuss that more later."
Well, that was generally how social networks worked, yes. You knew someone, and then if they got in power somewhere you used that for your own benefit. It wasn't his fault that Kendra didn't understand one of the most basic social concepts. "So it's okay for you to know about his sex life, but not me yours? That seems like a bit of a double standard, don't you think?" And he shrugged at her other question. "Perhaps something less explosive. But I wouldn't mind. It would be interesting to see who someone as prideful as you settled for. Although I take it that means you haven't found one at all yet. Aren't you getting a bit old?"
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