World of Darkness World of Darkness: Attrition - The Measure of a Friend

[Owns-The-Night]

((Continued from Making Enemies))

He stepped out of the taxi and paid the man off, ignoring the bird the human flipped him at the absence of a tip. Declan's jaw was set tight as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jacket and walked along the block to where Amber had pulled over to wait for him.

Owns-The-Night was furious. Even if they weren't a pack yet, whatever their differences, Amber Wren was a friend, a sister in arms. His silver grey eyes snapped with anger at the thought of her pain, of what he would enjoy doing to the leeches responsible. Impaling them on a church steeple a few minutes before dawn was the burly Rahu's current fantasy, and it kept him entertained for the duration of the short walk. He readily spotted Amber's clunker ahead.

Without preamble he opened the truck and climbed in as though it belonged to him. As soon as the door was shut, he leaned across to the passenger side and gently touched his head to Amber's, a wolflike gesture of sympathy and support. He growled slightly at the sight of the silver protruding from the black-edged wounds, and straightened up again.

"I brought some first aid gear." He said to her quietly. "We'll put it to use once we get where we're going." He started the truck and put it in gear. "Where to?"

[z-Amber Wren]

The door opening made her jump and she bared her teeth; when she saw it was Declan, she relaxed. His head against hers calmed her and even reduced her pain, just through sheer comfort. His very presence was a balm, a reassurance that she wasn't alone or forgotten.

"I brought some first aid gear." He said to her quietly. "We'll put it to use once we get where we're going." He started the truck and put it in gear. "Where to?"

That was an excellent question. Dragging her mangled ass into his place might cause suspicion; same with hers. She sighed and rested her head on the seat. There was only one place that she could think of, but Declan wouldn't like it.

"Theodore's house has privacy and space," she said, studying him for reaction. "Everyone else will be asleep. We can do what needs to be done there. Unless you can come up with something that doesn't risk exposing us."

[Owns-The-Night]

"Sounds good to me." The truck moved slowly but steadily out into the traffic, Owns-The-Night's eyes on the road with the careful attention of one who doesn't drive a whole lot. "Just tell me where to go."

They were quiet for most of the ride, Amber now and then giving Declan a direction. He tried not to think about the smell of silver-burned flesh and the occasional stifled whimper of pain coming from the other Rahu. He squeezed the steering wheel hard, the leather creaking under his fingers as he resisted the urge to howl his fury at the thrice-damned leeches that had done this to his friend. He fought for calm, taking deep breaths as they turned into Theodore's driveway.

"This vamp gonna mind you bringin' guys home at all hours?" He winked at Amber, as he gently stopped the truck, injecting some of their old joke flirtation to keep both their spirits up.

[z-Amber Wren]

"What is he going to do, fire me?" Amber asking, grinning a little. "He knows I know enough now to run to his enemies, or just finish him myself. He's got the wolf by the ears." That grin faded as she moved; her breath sucked in through her teeth. She eased out of the truck and limped up the path to the door. A quick twist of her key got them in, and as Declan followed her, she quickly punched in the security code that reset the alarms.

"Kitchen's the best place for this," she murmured, leading him through the high-arched entry, done in the Federal style. To their left was a dining room; to their right, a living room. The room ahead clearly had once had floor to ceiling windows, but they had been covered by massive shelves holding numerous books, and the French doors had been replaced by massive wooden doors. Almost everything was painted white or a variant of white. It created a sensation that was both oppressive and bright.

Amber took a hallway to the left beyond the dining room, which opened into a large kitchen, also very white. Here, Amber paused and looked back at Declan. "What do I need to do?" she asked. "Boil water?"

[Owns-The-Night]

He started to shake his head, then changed his mind and nodded. "You ain't likely to get an infection under normal circumstances, but silver'll play hell with your body. Best play it safe." Rooting around, he dug out a couple of pans and, filling them with water, set them on the stove. He gestured to Amber and pointed at a chair.

"Take a seat and tell me where the towels're kept." he told her in a no-nonsense tone. Following her directions, he returned with a large stack of white towels from the closet. The water was heating up, and Declan dug out a scalpel and several sizes of tweezers from the first aid kit, laying them out on the table. He kept his hands busy and his mind focused. The next step, always the next step. That was how he would help Amber, one step at a time. Casting worried glances at her as he laid towels out on the floor, he finally nodded as he created a comfortable enough bed there. Squatting back on his haunches, he grinned wryly at his friend.

"Okay Ms Wren. I'm gonna need to get you outta those clothes and onto the floor." His face sobered as he stood up and moved to stand beside her, his clasp knife in hand. "I'll probably need to cut them off. It'll hurt too much for you to stretch and contort otherwise, okay?"

[z-Amber Wren]

It was strange being pampered, to sit on her ass while Declan did the work, but the Uratha was too sore to care. She forced herself to remember that she'd done the same for Declan when he'd been hurt. He was being a friend, and she'd let him do it. She forced herself to sit and direct him as he worked.

Amber started to ask him to preserve the clothes, as they were one of her rare dedicated sets, but a glance downward revealed it was a useless gesture. The bomb had already shredded the clothing. "Alright," Amber sighed, holding her arms away from her body. "Let's get this over with. When I get this vampire, I'm going to turn him into so many meat chucks."

[Owns-The-Night]

"I'm tempted to muscle in on that fun. The pack that plays together, and all that." Declan smiled grimly as he began to cut the clothing away. The only care he took was to avoid paining Amber more than necessary, and in about five minutes the female Uratha was being gently lowered to the mass of towels. Dec ran his eyes over her body, his clinical air only marred slightly by his sympathy for the pain he imagined she was going through. Very gently, he laid a rough-skinned hand on Amber's forehead and held a wadded-up towel up. "This is gonna hurt. Take this, and if you feel the need to scream and bite, use it."

Picking up the tweezers and scalpel, he set to work.

Click to reveal.. (OUCH!)

Dex & Medicine roll for keeping a steady hand while removing the silver

(00:22:54) ChatBot: (Dec) rolls 4d10 and gets 4,6,9,7.

1 sux. Could be worse, but the job gets done.

[z-Amber Wren]

It was torture. The bomb had hurt like fuck, but it had been quick. This was slow, and painful. Declan was gentle, as gentle as he could be. But there was no way to do this gently, no way to soften the pain as he dug into her wounds and painstakingly removed each piece of silver.

Her teeth scored deeply into the towel, but she choked back anything more than a strained whimper. She couldn't stop the tears that squeezed out from under her clenched lids, or the shakes that forced Declan to stop occasionally and wait.

Click to reveal..

1d10.open(10)=6, 1d10.open(10)=3, 1d10.open(10)=8, 1d10.open(10)=2 = 1 sux

[Owns-The-Night]

Eventually, with the *plink* of a silver fragment hitting the bottom of a bowl of water, the bloody deed was done. Declan gently rinsed the wounds, more out of habit than any real need to prevent infection, and bandaged them carefully. What the hell, might as well give her regeneration less to do, right?

"There." He cleared away the instruments and the bloody towels, washing his hands thoroughly as Amber sat still, tear tracks running down her cheeks and her breath coming in shallow gasps. He came back and crouched before her and cupped her left cheek in his hand, warm regard in his eyes. "When you're ready to move, we'll get you somewhere more comfortable, okay?"

[z-Amber Wren]

Her entire body went limp as she realized it was over. She was silent and still as Declan cleaned and bound her wounds. She looked, aside from the painful looking cuts, almost asleep.

Amber nodded slowly before reaching up to pull a towel out of her mouth. "The employers are sealed up for the day, but their rooms are open. Would you be willing to get something out of the second room on the right? Just a set of sweats. Please?"

[Owns-The-Night]

He nodded and trotted out of the kitchen, heading up the stairs and into the room she had indicated. Rummaging quickly though the clothing, the Rahu moved back down to the kitchen again, entering with a set of pale grey sweats in hand.

"Here, these do?" he crouched in front of her, setting them down.

[z-Amber Wren]

Amber nodded. Moving with distinct care, she pulled on the sweats. After she was done, she slowly moved so that she could lean against the island in the kitchen, her breath easing out of her. After a moment, she smiled at Declan. "Thanks, Dec. I appreciate this. And I owe you."

[Owns-The-Night]

He made a distinctly canine grumbling snort, but smiled. "You've done more for me in the past, Amber." He moved up next to her and offered her an arm to lean on. "C'mon, lets get you somewhere you can rest. Then I'll go get you a couple buckets of chicken to keep you going. You want me to stick around until your bosses wake up?"

[z-Amber Wren]

Amber smiled. "Nah, that's ok," she said, not adding that she didn't really want Declan to see them, or them to see Declan. It really wasn't Declan; she didn't want them getting funny ideas about him. "But the chicken sounds fantastic. I have money somewhere if you need some.

"There's a chair in Theodore's den," Amber added, reaching up and carefully grabbing the edge of the counter. As she started to pull herself up, she said, "That's probably the most comfortable chair in the whole building."