[Voice | Filtered 100%, up from substandard filter]semper_cogitansMay 17 2011, 17:52:20 UTC
[The combination of the horribly bad timing of everything and the fact that Don's voice sounds incredibly strained - even to Robert's perception - means that, for once, he picks up on the implications of this.]
... I-I am glad he is back, but... he is in terrible shape, isn't he.
... What did the Malnosso do to him? Is there any way I can help?
[This might take Robert's mind off his own pain that he may or may not go through later.]
[Voice | Filtered 100%]i_speak_softlyMay 17 2011, 18:00:08 UTC
[He swallows hard before answering.]
... Vivisection.
[Vivisection. He had refused to think the word yesterday evening, but over the long hours of the night it had become impossible to deny the meaning of the patched-up hole in Raphael's plastron.]
[Voice | Filtered 100%]semper_cogitansMay 17 2011, 18:04:30 UTC
[Robert makes a wordless choking sound at that. Vivisection. That... well. The Malnosso had done horrible things to all of them. But... vivisection is something a step beyond that in terrifying. To do that while he was alive and probably even conscious - knowing the Malnosso - is absolutely terrifying.]
...
... Bloody hell.
... D-Don... [Softly:] Do you need anything...? Medical supplies, or an assistant, or...? [Robert is no doctor, but he knows more about turtle health care now than he did, and he finds himself inordinately glad that he tends to get obsessive about studying.]
[Voice | Filtered 100%/Action]semper_cogitansMay 17 2011, 18:23:36 UTC
I shall head out immediately.
[And he does. He doesn't even question the orders, just picks up his journal - still open - and his nanocomputer and leaves his apartment without a second thought, locking it behind him. It's a testament to his significantly-improved health that his breathing is a lot closer to normal than it was months ago - that, and he covers the distance much more quickly than he would have before. It probably takes him less than fifteen minutes to cover a distance now that would've taken him twice that at the minimum before.
At any rate, his expression is grim when he gets to the door of the Hamato house, and even though the feed probably makes it obvious where he is, he knocks on the door anyway.]
[Don opens the door and immediately falls on Robert, hugging him around the neck and just staying that way for a long minute. His own breathing is ragged and the shoulder of Robert's coat will be quickly soaked through with pent-up tears.]
[It only takes a second for Robert to respond - slow reflexes or not - and he holds Don almost fiercely, willing himself to be some kind of anchor for his partner. He doesn't even realize that he's whispering how much he loves Don and that things are going to be alright, at first; he just holds him and lets him cry (I've never seen him cry like this before...).
[After a time Robert will find himself pushed away, somehow into the house rather than back outside. The door slams, and then Don steers Robert over to the couch to see the damage that's been done.]
[Don doesn't speak, though whether he's unable to, or whether there's just nothing to say, is an open question.]
[Robert doesn't protest it right now - he wants to see anyway.
... It's disgusting. As much as Raph normally frightens him, it is disgusting and terrifying to see him like this - bruised and battered, thin from starvation in a way that makes his shell connect all awkwardly, with sickly discoloured patches providing a macabre pattern; eyes still somewhat swollen (though probably not as bad as yesterday).
But those parts are just details. The really fundamentally atrocious part is the bandage over his plastron. It's clear, and does absolutely nothing to hide the hideous remnants of the abominable practise that was done to Raphael - ridiculously precise score lines of a chunk of his plastron.
It is not difficult to guess what happened from that, and even the thought of it makes Robert want to vomit. He recoils in abject horror.] Oh dear gods...
... I-Is he infected...? [With an open wound on the scale Raph must have had, an infection could be potentially life-threatening. As if the Malnosso hadn't already done enough.]
[Raph's awake, but he doesn't bother making any hint of that. He really doesn't want company, so he'll just fake being asleep. Just leave him alone, Don. He's trying to rest.]
[Robert doesn't realize that, of course. And now, anything even remotely suggestive is the furthest thing from his mind. But the option of comforting his partner is a very good one, to him.]
Certainly. You look exhausted, Don...
[He lets his own head brush Don's shoulder and prepares to go wherever he leads.]
[Don leads Robert into one of the bedrooms - the same one where Robert rested after Yuber's attack and the conversation with Splinter - and starts stripping his gear. He had put it on yesterday for training and hadn't taken it off again all night.]
[While he does that:] Do you know what time it is?
[Robert's eyes sweep over his nanocomputer's atomic-calibrated clock, set to Luceti time.] 10:34 a.m., with about 42 seconds until the next minute...
... I assume that you have been up all night, with how you look... [He definitely needs sleep. Robert sighs gently and studies Don's shell. In a less dire situation, he'd offer to rub it again...]
... I-I am glad he is back, but... he is in terrible shape, isn't he.
... What did the Malnosso do to him? Is there any way I can help?
[This might take Robert's mind off his own pain that he may or may not go through later.]
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... Vivisection.
[Vivisection. He had refused to think the word yesterday evening, but over the long hours of the night it had become impossible to deny the meaning of the patched-up hole in Raphael's plastron.]
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...
... Bloody hell.
... D-Don... [Softly:] Do you need anything...? Medical supplies, or an assistant, or...? [Robert is no doctor, but he knows more about turtle health care now than he did, and he finds himself inordinately glad that he tends to get obsessive about studying.]
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Come. Bring your computer.
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[And he does. He doesn't even question the orders, just picks up his journal - still open - and his nanocomputer and leaves his apartment without a second thought, locking it behind him. It's a testament to his significantly-improved health that his breathing is a lot closer to normal than it was months ago - that, and he covers the distance much more quickly than he would have before. It probably takes him less than fifteen minutes to cover a distance now that would've taken him twice that at the minimum before.
At any rate, his expression is grim when he gets to the door of the Hamato house, and even though the feed probably makes it obvious where he is, he knocks on the door anyway.]
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[He's so glad you're here.]
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He's glad that he's here, too.]
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[Don doesn't speak, though whether he's unable to, or whether there's just nothing to say, is an open question.]
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... It's disgusting. As much as Raph normally frightens him, it is disgusting and terrifying to see him like this - bruised and battered, thin from starvation in a way that makes his shell connect all awkwardly, with sickly discoloured patches providing a macabre pattern; eyes still somewhat swollen (though probably not as bad as yesterday).
But those parts are just details. The really fundamentally atrocious part is the bandage over his plastron. It's clear, and does absolutely nothing to hide the hideous remnants of the abominable practise that was done to Raphael - ridiculously precise score lines of a chunk of his plastron.
It is not difficult to guess what happened from that, and even the thought of it makes Robert want to vomit. He recoils in abject horror.] Oh dear gods...
... I-Is he infected...? [With an open wound on the scale Raph must have had, an infection could be potentially life-threatening. As if the Malnosso hadn't already done enough.]
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W-Well, I hope there is nothing... latent or undiagnosed. But it will merely necessitate watching his condition...
... [He shakes his head quietly, his shoulders sagging a bit.] The thrice-damned Malnosso sink to new lows all the time...
[He turns to Don.] Shall we just... allow him to rest for the time being?
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I think the best I can do for him now is get some rest myself. Come with me?
[He wouldn't say that here if he knew Raph was awake.]
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Certainly. You look exhausted, Don...
[He lets his own head brush Don's shoulder and prepares to go wherever he leads.]
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[While he does that:] Do you know what time it is?
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... I assume that you have been up all night, with how you look... [He definitely needs sleep. Robert sighs gently and studies Don's shell. In a less dire situation, he'd offer to rub it again...]
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