hungry and hollow for all the things you took away

[isntbroken]

For the thirty thousand millionth time or so, the (former) Lieutenant walks along the beach, looking for a way off this crazy island.

"Beebending," he spits, shaking his head.

For once, he's alone out here. No magicians, no psychics, no "heroes" in eye-searingly bright, skintight garments, no grey kids with horns. No damned beebenders, and today

Comments

[createdequalist]

Does it still count as 'alone' if the only other person on the beach is unconscious and floating facedown in the water? It depends on the Lieutenant's definition.

The Lieutenant would probably find the man's clothes very familiar--or he would, were they not half burned off. Whatever happened to this man, it looks like it's going to leave some scars. If he survives, that is.

[isntbroken]

Wading through a tide pool, he gets a little lost in thought, remembering some childhood visit to that tourist dive Ember Island. What a dump. His strongest memories are the smells: the greasy snacks, the rotting piles of refuse, the peeling paint of the boardwalk, the burnt corpses washed up on the beach-- wait a second.

Okay, so it's not a corpse, but this guy needs some serious medical attention. Lu Ten doesn't even want to turn him over to see the rest of the damage; his back is a mess of burns and blood and he's not sure how much skin is left to keep the sand out. Heavy bastard, too, but the Lieutenant manages to sling him over his back and start the long haul back to the hotel.

[isntbroken]

When the doctor flips the guy over in his bed after tending to his wounds the best they* can, it occurs to him that the guy is kinda hot.

When the guy's face is half cleaned up, it occurs to him it might be Amon.

Well, fuck.

Might as well just... take care of this anyway. What's he going to do, turn Amon over to the beebender?

When he's nice and healthy, he can (attempt to) kick his ass then.

*it would seem our foremost medical professional is Elias. um

[createdequalist]

It's a few weeks before Amon gains consciousness for more than a minute at a time. And when he finally wakes up enough to realize he has no idea where he is, his hand flies to his face.

No mask.

He twists around--his back hurts, enough that he makes a pained grunt--and frantically looks over the bedstand, the desk, every surface he can see in the room.

No mask.

He was supposed to be dead.

[isntbroken]

Was that a noise...? Lu Ten wanders blearily into the bedroom, muttering to himself. "If you fell out again, I swear I'm just gonna leave you there and-"

He's awake.

Well, fuck.

He pauses awkwardly in the doorway, since he has to squash the sudden urge to hug him hadn't exactly planned out what to yell at him first.