A Former Enemy in Need (Closed)

The sound of distant battles and the sight of smoke rising in the distance were strangely comforting to Leonius. He needed to take a look around, having left El Taladro to his own devices for a while, but leaving a small communicator with his rather impressive partner. He had made the right decision, allying with the strange man. Friend, he thought. He calls me his friend... And I, him... A comrade...

It was, thus, interesting timing when he stumbled across the member of another team. The small girl whom he almost crushed in their battle, slumped against a tree, blood covering her leg where the Beowolf bit her.

"... You... looked better... last I saw you..." He flexed his fingers as he approached, shaking his head. "I did not... think the wound... was that serious... Did you try... to get to the infirmary... on your own?"

Isabelle sat against the tree, her head throbbing and her leg burning like hell.  She had cut some of the fabric off of her hoodie sleeve and wrapped it around her leg to try and stop the bleeding, but it hadn't done much except make it hurt more.  She had ditched her partner Isaac a few minutes earlier.  It made her feel a bit guilty, but she knew she needed to move quickly or she wouldn't make it.  After discovering that there was no way for her to climb the cliff face, she simply sat down to rest, not planning on standing up again.  She heard a familiar voice and turned to see the same student she had fought with earlier.  She listened to his words before speaking up, her voice sounding very weak.

"I... tried to.  But I couldn't find a way up, and now I'm just really, really tired."  She placed a hand on her wound to see how badly it was bleeding.

Tired... He knelt down, putting a massive finger under the girl's chin and lifting her head so that her face came better into view. "... You are pale... Far more than before... You are suffering... from massive blood loss..." Looking down at her thigh, he shook his head. "... Your first mistake... was this bandage..." He untied it, and lifted the leg of her shorts, before frowning under his mask and looking at her. "... Apologies... Your shorts... are too long... to apply a tourniquet... I must... remove them..."

He figured that Isabelle was too weak to resist as he broke the button to loosen them and pulled.

Knowing that it had to be done anyway, Isabelle buried her face in her hands as he took off her shorts.  Saying that she was embarrassed would be an understatement.  Not wanting this to take too long, she spoke again.

"Just hurry up..."

Leonius nodded, wanting to get the bleeding stopped as soon as possible. It did not, however, take any effort or time to take pictures as he twisted the cloth and wrapped the bloody bandage around her thigh, glancing up at her as his hand brushed her underwear, the intimate contact uncomfortable for him as well. But he had to put it around the proximal thigh, and the required... proximity. "... This will hurt..."

Ignoring the potential for pain and distress to a (now) comrade in favor of her not bleeding to death, he pulled the cloth tightly around the wound, cutting off circulation to her leg as he tied the tourniquet.

With the final knot, he reviewed his aerial maps, spotting the path up the cliff nearby. "... We are close... to a route up the cliff... If we move fast... we can get you up there... before your leg... needs to be amputated..." He didn't even ask before he picked her up, beginning a run through the woods toward the path. He didn't dare risk using his jets, and risk the girl being killed by g-forces her body couldn't handle in this state.

Isabelle winced a bit when he tightened the tourniquet, it hurt but at least the bleeding would be slowed down.  At the mention of the word "amputated", Isabelle started to panic.  Before she could say anything though, Leonius had snatched her up and was running.  She looked at the bite wound again.  It was probably going to become a scar, but that was the least of her worries.

"Little one..." Leonius said, his speaking hardly impacted by running. One of the silver linings of his life support system. He looked at her looking at her leg, frowning. "Your name... is Isabelle... correct..? ... I will... to ensure... you get to the cliffs... safely... That... I promise... to yo-"

Her hood had fallen.

Leo's pace did not slacken, the running cyborg continuing his steady progress as they hit the path. However, he focused on her, letting his secondary sensors handle the path itself. "You are... a Faunus..?"

Isabelle had noticed he was staring at her for some reason, and it seemed like he was no longer paying attention to the path.  Not knowing her hood had fallen, she was confused until he mentioned her being Faunus.  Her hands moved to her head, causing her to notice the absence of her hood.

"T-that's not a problem is it?  She asked nervously, hoping that he wouldn't judge her over it.

"... No." Leonius's eyes moved back to the path, though not before sneaking another glimpse at her panties. "It is... not... Seeing you handle... the Beowolves... and your actions... upon being injured... were a fine example... of what we are here... to become..." He looked back down at her as he sidestepped a rock in their way. "If every Faunus... were like you... your kind would not... be in its distressful state..."

Isabelle nods in agreement, smiling a bit.  Her species was prone to setting themselves up for stereotypes. Eventually, she could feel herself becoming light-headed, and was fighting to stay conscious.  At least the tourniquet had slowed down the bleeding, otherwise she would have definitely passed out and possibly bled out by this point.

"Any idea how close we are to the top?"  She figured that talking might help her stay awake.

"Thirty percent... of the way there..." He looked at her leg, frowning. "I could not get... a good seal... with that cloth... How are you... feeling?"

He traced his vision back up the girl, shaking his head.

"... You are... going to make it... in time... at our current rate... of travel..."

He wasn't sure if he was telling the truth.

"Heeeyyyyyyyyyyyy!" A voice echos from above Leo and Isabelle. Above them, Kirkka jumps off the edge of the cliff, using dust from her staff to create jumping platforms. Before long, she is on the ground in front of Leonius. "How is she? You left the forest so we can't watch you guys anymore." She looks at the weakened Isabelle with concern, awaiting a reply.

"Her femoral artery is... punctured..." Leonius didn't stop, pushing past Kirkka and continuing up the path. "She has lost a great deal of blood... And this tourniquet is not sufficiently strong to stop all of the blood... Until her blood pressure reaches critically low levels... And I do not dare risk using my thrusters... lest I induce cerebral hypoxia from the G-forces..."

He did not look back at Kirkka, not wishing to slow his progress, but he sighed.

"If you have... any form of strong, tightly woven cord... I can stem the remaining flow of blood... And buy her some more time... for her to get to the infirmary..."

As Leo walks past Kirkka, she steps aside and walks alongside him. "I don't have anything like that except a rag. But I do have the next best thing. You'll need to stop moving for a minute though." As she says this, she doesn't try to stop Leo in any way, just keeps walking with them, folds up her staff and stores it safely on her back. As she inspects the two, she wonders how heavy Leonius' armor is, then shakes her head. Focus on this task. Worry about other things later!

Isabelle was having a hard time focusing on what the two of them were talking about at this point.  Her head was spinning, and her leg was feeling numb.  She wanted to fall asleep, but knew that she'd be in trouble if she did.  To keep herself alert, she decided to speak up again.

"So...  do we have a plan of some sort?"

Leonius slowed and stopped, looking at Kirkka. "Yes. Yes I believe... we do." He adjusted the girl in his arms, freeing a hand and sticking two fingers in Isabelle's mouth. He did not want to have gone through all only to have her swallow her tongue or something, and having something to bite down on would help with the pain management process. With the armor weave, rather than the plates, against her teeth, there was a little give. With how out of it she was, and the loss of control that came with blood loss, he hoped a bucket and rag to clean up his armor wasn't in his future beyond the blood that had gotten on his arms. "Bite down... Do not worry about harming me. Your tiny teeth... are no threat to my gauntlets..."

He looked back at Kirkka, nodding.

"I am assuming you intend... to cauterize the wound... given your dust patterns... appear fire aspected... Please work quickly..."

Kirkka nods, and steps closer. She lays one hand on Isabelle's chest, and her other hand on her shoulder and closes her eyes. After a few moments, she begins glowing a faint red color, which envelops Isabelle. There is no pain from the effect, only a soothing calm. Isabelle can feel both Kirkka's and her own aura strengthening. This effect lasts for about 20 seconds before fading, and Kirkka stands back, visibly tired. Looking at Isabelle, she says, "I strengthened your aura and stopped the bleeding for now, but you still need proper treatment. I trust your armored companion can still provide transport?" She looks at Leo as she says this, nodding. "Its temporary, but it will be enough to allow you to get her up the cliff with time to spare."

Issac comes skidding to a stop after charging down the path. "Hey, monster. Where'd you find her? I thought some more grimm got her after I saw her trail..."

Isabelle sees Isaac approaching them and waves to him. How many people had to see her not wearing pants?  She still felt bad about leaving him back in the forest, and seeing that he had been ahead of them, it might have not been such a good idea after all.

"Hey."

"Against a tree... Bleeding to death..." Leonius shifted Isabelle's weight again and nodded to Kirkka, pleasantly surprised at the defiance of his expectations. It was a temporary solution, but would likely buy the girl some time. He didn't even wait for a response from either party before he began running again, assuming that Issac would keep up.

His sensors registering Issac in a similar relative position after he started moving again, he was not disappointed.

"You are her partner... and you allowed her to go without knowing the extent... of her wound. Apparently the beowolf... grazed the femoral artery and the wound... opened further... over time... I have applied a tourniquet that allowed her... to make it this far... and Miss Scarlet has done something... with her aura to stem the loss... I would suggest... keeping a better eye on your teammate... in the future... And perhaps learning... some first aid..."

Issac turns towards Isabelle, ignoring ears and pantslessness. "Hey, sorry I couldn't help you. I'll try to do more in the future." Issac turns back to Leo, "Yeah, yeah. I suppose I should thank you for this. Guess you're not all bad."

Leonius glanced as Issac, making a note to come back to help Kirkka up later, when Isabelle had been safely delivered. "You speak of the way that I forced your surrender... Your pride is the only thing hurt... by my actions... The only thing... that was harmed by threatening you... into accepting surrender... And you made the right choice in spite of that pride... That... takes something that mere power alone cannot replace... Had you refused to surrender... you would have put your partner in jeopardy in a fight... she would have been able to contribute little to... and El Taladro and I would have... had to beat you into submission... inflicting injury... that would have carried over to your next fight... "

He glanced down at Isabelle and sighed.

"... A fight that I am afraid... is likely to be a solo one... The little one... has lost a great deal of blood... and will need healing... from the damage hypoxia has likely caused... to her leg already..." Leo's gaze drifted back to Issac. "Were it within my power... and the rules allowed it... I would even your odds for you... You will make... an excellent Huntsman..."

Isabelle had almost forgotten about initiation already.  What a horrible way to lose, she was out before she could even fight anyone, not including the Grimm that defeated her anyway.  She closed her eyes, feeling bad for her partner.  She didn't want to leave him to fight on his own, but there wasn't much she could do about it at this point.  Using what energy she had left, she spoke to Isaac.

"You could try to fight...  But I don't think that fighting two against one would be a very good idea.  Sorry."

He heard it in her voice. The weakness and disorientation. Slowly, he looked over the girl, his pace quickening. Something inside the war machine snapped when he heard her speak. "... Isabelle... I want you to know... that you are going to be fine..."

He knew that sound.

"... You will take time... to heal... but you will be fine..."

He knew these words.

"... Modern medicine... can do wonders..."

He smelled the burnt flesh, and a phantom pain crawled across Leo's skin. He shook his head, trying to dismiss the memories and feelings.

"... You will be back on your feet... in no time..."

This time, it wasn't a lie. Isabelle was close to medical help. Her leg had only had circulation cut off relatively recently. The situations were completely different. And yet still, he held her a bit closer unconsciously. Her voice. He heard it in her voice. The same as it had been in his, on the edge of death. Fully aware as his arm was amputated. He knew these words. He had heard these words. And he would not repeat this script.

"... You will not... lose your leg... You will not know... what it is... to not be whole... You... You will not... You will survive... And you will be healthy... again..."

The cyborg's organic vision blurred to uselessness, and though it was a minor element amidst his streams of sensory data from artificial sources, he was aware of it, considering calling up diagnostics until he remembered it was his natural eye. Still, he wondered why.

Until he felt the trickle on his cheek. "We are almost... there... You have only a little longer... to hold out... You will not know... what I know... You will not experience the loss of not feeling... the grass between your toes... or awaken to the chill of cold metal... You will not... You must not..."

In defiance of his will, it was his arm that was still flesh that betrayed him, as he felt it tremble. Under the mask, Leonius grit his teeth. His emotions interrupted his usual rhythm of breathing, and he choked a moment on his own life support system before the system stepped back into synch. Still, he did not falter, as he stepped back into the script as memory dictated, but he bent word to his will.

"... You are no doubt feeling... very weak... and my words may be... very confusing... Everything... will become clear... with time... Just do not take the path... of losing hope because of... how you feel right now..."

That sound in her voice. That was all it had taken to make the machine falter, and bring the human to the surface...