[ this pain isn't as bad as everything else, but jostling the wound doesn't help. he snarls when david pinches the sides together, but the feeling of the needle trying to go in doesn't hit him much. his skin's so burned and worn at this point, it's basically lost all the nerves.
maybe not all of them, but enough that a needle trying to break through doesn't register.
he watches with a half-sneer as david struggles, but that turns into another sharp noise when it finally does break through and the wire runs through him. he takes another drink and tries to hold onto his self-control so he doesn't knock david aside. this has happened before. other people have done this. just never a survivor. ]
[ the wire doesn't pull through as easy as thread would, that's another frustration, when he manages to push the needle through the other side of the wound and has to account for the stiffness, try not to bend it either. so focused he barely even notices the pain where the needle pushed back against him. ]
I've got it.
[ he has to adjust his grip, but he's got it. for now at least. the grip is uncomfortable, but he starts to push again into evan's flesh and it doesn't immediately hurt his hand. ]
Could do with one of those fuckin', uh-- one of those things you use for leather.
[ evan doesn't laugh, but there's something resembling a smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. ]
Sure.
[ it hurts. obviously it hurts. but it hurts in a small enough way that he can ignore it, or at least put up with it. he keeps the brandy close at hand and watches david as best he can as the blood keeps oozing out. even his own perpetual heat just isn't hot enough to solve that problem. ]
Ain't got one. Work around it.
[ anna probably has one, or something like it. but he's not about to ask her for it. not like this. ]
[ david just about fights the urge to roll his eyes or comment on evan being pushy for someone in his position, but he doesn't want to risk setting him off there. this is already difficult enough. ]
[ he keeps working, trying to ignore the way pushing that needle bruises his thumb and palm when he tries to push it through. a brief hesitation before he pulls the wire to make sure it stays tight and that what he's sewn so far isn't about to pull open. ]
[ he can tell david doesn't like the commentary, but he's the one who decided to do this. he's the one who wanted to fix evan up, for some reason. there was no asking. no demanding. evan even tried to get him to drop it. so that means he has to put up with whatever evan says. it's his shoulder, after all.
the wire hurts when it tightens. he grits his teeth against it, and tries to ignore everything. the alcohol's doing a little something given the blood loss, but there's still no real point to all this. either he'll survive and be miserable or bleed out and be pissed off. ]
Take this long and I'm gonna drop dead before you get halfway done.
[ david pulls the wire through a little more sharply after that one, annoyed but unsurprised. if evan's got the energy to talk shit then he doesn't need david to try and be gentle. not that he was, that's not his style. ]
Fuckin' needle's bent.
[ it's not broken at least, he looks at it in his hand with a frown now he's noticed it. could be worse, could be the point getting bent or blunted, but the curve forming in the length of it makes david a little worried the thing's gonna snap before he's done. ]
[ it was probably already kind of bent, but that's not something he's going to bring up. the comment makes him sneer, even as he goes for another drink of the brandy. ]
Somewhere softer'n I'd be dead.
[ most of the soft places are ones that haven't suffered as many burns and as much torment. not that anything is particularly soft on him, but everything - and everyone - has a weak point. it's why the leather's so thick on the waders. keeping his guts sort-of-protected. ]
[ everything at this point is slick and slippery with blood, david's been trying to ignore it and just power through but at this point it's hard to see what he's doing and it's even harder to keep a grip on evan's skin or the needle. ]
Explain that one to me.
[ he raises an eyebrow at evan as he wrings out the rag and brings it to wipe up evan's shoulder, gives the needle a once over too and wipes the blood off his hands, looking at the way the wound in evan's shoulder is torn all the way across and frowning at how little progress he feels like he's made, getting back to it with a sigh. this asshole needs a staple gun. ]
[ evan's well aware that any needle that isn't industrial-grade would probably bend itself out of shape on his skin, especially around the hook. that doesn't mean he's going to acknowledge the fact, or avoid pissing off david just because. gratitude is not one of his strong suits. it's almost not there at all.
he smirks a little at the bottle, which is starting to swim a little in his vision. not a great sign. still, it'll take more than this to kill him (probably) especially with someone there to try and deal with it (for the time being). ]
Glue might ... [ he trails off for a second, trying to focus. ] ... work better.
[ david does roll his eyes at that, unimpressed and annoyed, but any response he might have falls away when he catches the way evan trails off. he tilts his head to get a look at his face, try and judge if that's blood loss or booze — probably the former if he's honest with himself, but the latter's probably contributing a bit too. ]
[ he's got the hole that evan pulled the hook from closed, that should slow the blood, but the ruin of skin left where it was ripped across doesn't give him much hope it's gonna make much of a difference. ]
You got any glue or is that just an unhelpful suggestion?
[ he remembers using glue from time to time. not often, but enough. it meant the wound was dealt with without hiding it. and sometimes stitches just didn't work. but at the end of the day, he wasn't supposed to get hurt. he was supposed to be better than that.
evan looks into the darkness of his own workshop and gestures with the bottle. ]
Somewhere.
[ one of the worktables does have some, jammed in the back of a drawer. it's not medical glue, but here, that's not really an issue. it'll suffice if david can find it. right now, though, he can't remember where the hell it is, and he probably wouldn't be able to find it if he tried. he'd probably collapse if he tried to stand up at all.
so for now, for once, he sits and lets david make the decision. the pain from the wire stitching is radiating through his shoulder and the blood loss is getting to him. the alcohol might be helping those, but it's taking his focus out, too. not the best situation for a man used to killing everyone around him. ]
[ flat, deadpan as he looks into the workshop. at the shelves full of old jars and bottles, at the collections of stuff, boxes of god knows what under the benches. he could search for hours and not find anything. ]
[ glue would be faster, and easier, but in the time it would take him to find it, he might be able to finish sewing this up instead. ]
You get a better idea where exactly, let me know.
[ though david doubts that's happening with the state evan's in. ]
[ david's tone gets through the haze, making him look over finally. ]
Thought you loved wrecking the shit out of this place.
[ digging through his things. his things. all of them have done it, or at least all the bolder ones have, but over time people slowed down. there were other, less dangerous places to steal from, with better things to steal. he's always been glad about that.
still. some of them still do it for the thrill. or just to see how pissed off he can get. same thing for some of them, really. ]
[ oh great, here they go. back to evan's endless list of grievances. ]
Yeah? And when's the last time I did that, huh?
[ accompanied by another sharp tug of wire to punctuate his point. david's not going to sit here and take shit from evan when he's here trying to stop him bleeding out. especially not about something he doesn't even do anymore. ]
[ the jab makes him wince, just a little, and even if there's still something like a smirk on his face he glares at david. point made, he supposes. ]
Dunno. Figure I can't always tell. The rest of you ... just whenever you fuckin' feel like it.
[ he manages another drink, bad of an idea as it might be. the first injury, stitched closed, is slowly starting to pull itself back together. the wiring might be helping and it might just have no point. after all, the hook'll be back eventually. one more trial and it'll be like it never came out. ]
[ his hand is really starting to hurt, a sharp hiss slipping out as he forces the needle through with his thumb. ]
Don't even touch your traps if I don't have to anymore neither.
[ he's not expecting gratitude, or much of anything really, he'd just appreciate if evan would stop lumping him in with everyone when he's pissed. always with the "you lot" as if they're some homogenous whole, as if david's just another face in a crowd. pisses him off. ]
[ evan snorts, as if he doesn't believe it. it is true, though. he's noticed it. that's actually bothered him. avoiding traps so he doesn't get alerted is one thing. it's intelligent. sensible. avoiding them out of actual courtesy ... that's different. it's what people like anna and philip do. not survivors.
if i don't have to. that suggests more self-interest, so he doesn't say anything about it, but there's still something wrong about it. ]
Take your word for it.
[ he doesn't really notice david's anger with this kind of haze. he will later. he'll wonder about it, maybe even bring it up. but right now he's struggling enough that it's just words, the tone as normal as anything he remembers.
he growls as the needle pierces through him again, but doesn't lash out. not really enough strength left for that, either. ]
[ as much as that annoys him, evan's clearly in no state to fight about it, so david leaves it alone. tries not to think about why that bothers him either, the way something sinks in him at how little energy evan's got, subconsciously doubling down on trying to get this done faster. ]
Almost done.
[ well, he's about halfway, maybe two thirds, but david thinks that counts as almost. ]
[ almost done. it doesn't feel like it. he can still feel the injury, but maybe that's just how it feels, even stitched shut. he glances over and sees the bloody wire, the way david's still working, even if he's pissed off.
why even bother, really? of course, why does he bother with treating anyone's injuries around here himself? half to make them owe a debt, half because he doesn't want them bleeding everywhere and attracting things like the demogorgon. that's all, really. or so he's always thought.
if he's almost done, no point in bothering him. evan focuses on the brandy and lets david finish, snarling when the wire drags against the open injuries but otherwise without any further commentary. ]
[ there's some quiet noises from david — pain from pushing the needle though evan's skin, frustration... also from pushing the needle through evan's skin — but he otherwise has little to say, working as quick as circumstances will allow, occasionally glancing at evan's face to make sure he's still alive. ]
[ once he's done, he grabs the pliers to help him tie things off and cut the wire, and then he grabs the bandage. thinks about wrestling evan to get it on him and weighs that against how much it'll even help and decides it's probably not worth it. ]
[ he's pretty sure he's survived losing more blood than this before, but it's hard to remember. he's fought a lot of people here. some of them were stronger than him, or luckier in the moment, or got the drop on him. the demogorgon probably just acted on instinct and managed to get the worst possible grip. it's no worse than anna landing an axe full-on in his chest, which she's done from time to time.
still. focus is difficult. the alcohol isn't helping with that even if it's helping with the pain. he doesn't speak because david doesn't until the pliers get involved. that's enough of a spark of pain to get his attention. ]
Yeah.
[ not dead. that's all that matters, really. even if it doesn't matter at all. ]
Finally got me on my knees and all you can say is "good brandy."
[ he's a comedian. ]
[ david reaches for the bucket to rinse his hands off, it doesn't do a great job with the amount of evan's blood he's wiped up, but it's enough that his hands come away mostly clean-ish when he wipes them off on his jeans. it's good enough he can inspect the damage; his palm has a few angry looking patches that'll probably bruise and there's a blood blister forming on his thumb, some pinpricks on his other hand that are bleeding a bit too but that's nothing worth his time. his hand is also just kind of sore and tired, but that'll pass soon enough. ]
[ that gets another smirk, this one slightly more focused. got him on his knees. that's a first, isn't it. ]
Expecting something else? Didn't think ...
[ the world swims for a few seconds, then rights itself. evan shakes himself, which brings the pain back a little too sharply. ]
Didn't think you wanted me thankin' you.
[ he's not getting up for a while in this condition. he won't notice david's injuries now, but might recognize them later. or at least grasp that they were inevitable. for now, he's keeping alert, but only barely. ]
Why wouldn't I? [ probably because it would be awkward and uncomfortable as hell for both of them. ] Just don't need it.
[ david watches evan, trying to get an idea of how he's doing. he'll probably be fine now he's not just oozing blood all over the place. he wonders if he should try and move him, could try and get him to the bed, but a deeply selfish part of him thinks he hasn't gotten his bottle's worth of sleep yet and he doesn't want to share. ]
[ if he'd been more alert, he might have said something vulgar instead of something bordering on vulnerable for both of them. as it is, he gestures with the bottle as if to dismiss david. he probably won't remember most of this later.
he's barely aware of it all now as he manages to get another drink out of the bottle before things really start to swim. he stays where he is, breathing if otherwise unmoving, so david's essentially got free rein here. it might have worried him before.
but he's not going to get angry if david just goes back to sleep. well. he won't get angrier than usual, anyway. ]
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maybe not all of them, but enough that a needle trying to break through doesn't register.
he watches with a half-sneer as david struggles, but that turns into another sharp noise when it finally does break through and the wire runs through him. he takes another drink and tries to hold onto his self-control so he doesn't knock david aside. this has happened before. other people have done this. just never a survivor. ]
Watch your hand.
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I've got it.
[ he has to adjust his grip, but he's got it. for now at least. the grip is uncomfortable, but he starts to push again into evan's flesh and it doesn't immediately hurt his hand. ]
Could do with one of those fuckin', uh-- one of those things you use for leather.
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Sure.
[ it hurts. obviously it hurts. but it hurts in a small enough way that he can ignore it, or at least put up with it. he keeps the brandy close at hand and watches david as best he can as the blood keeps oozing out. even his own perpetual heat just isn't hot enough to solve that problem. ]
Ain't got one. Work around it.
[ anna probably has one, or something like it. but he's not about to ask her for it. not like this. ]
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[ david just about fights the urge to roll his eyes or comment on evan being pushy for someone in his position, but he doesn't want to risk setting him off there. this is already difficult enough. ]
[ he keeps working, trying to ignore the way pushing that needle bruises his thumb and palm when he tries to push it through. a brief hesitation before he pulls the wire to make sure it stays tight and that what he's sewn so far isn't about to pull open. ]
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the wire hurts when it tightens. he grits his teeth against it, and tries to ignore everything. the alcohol's doing a little something given the blood loss, but there's still no real point to all this. either he'll survive and be miserable or bleed out and be pissed off. ]
Take this long and I'm gonna drop dead before you get halfway done.
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Fuckin' needle's bent.
[ it's not broken at least, he looks at it in his hand with a frown now he's noticed it. could be worse, could be the point getting bent or blunted, but the curve forming in the length of it makes david a little worried the thing's gonna snap before he's done. ]
You couldn't've gotten torn up somewhere softer?
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[ it was probably already kind of bent, but that's not something he's going to bring up. the comment makes him sneer, even as he goes for another drink of the brandy. ]
Somewhere softer'n I'd be dead.
[ most of the soft places are ones that haven't suffered as many burns and as much torment. not that anything is particularly soft on him, but everything - and everyone - has a weak point. it's why the leather's so thick on the waders. keeping his guts sort-of-protected. ]
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Explain that one to me.
[ he raises an eyebrow at evan as he wrings out the rag and brings it to wipe up evan's shoulder, gives the needle a once over too and wipes the blood off his hands, looking at the way the wound in evan's shoulder is torn all the way across and frowning at how little progress he feels like he's made, getting back to it with a sigh. this asshole needs a staple gun. ]
How's it my fault exactly?
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[ evan's well aware that any needle that isn't industrial-grade would probably bend itself out of shape on his skin, especially around the hook. that doesn't mean he's going to acknowledge the fact, or avoid pissing off david just because. gratitude is not one of his strong suits. it's almost not there at all.
he smirks a little at the bottle, which is starting to swim a little in his vision. not a great sign. still, it'll take more than this to kill him (probably) especially with someone there to try and deal with it (for the time being). ]
Glue might ... [ he trails off for a second, trying to focus. ] ... work better.
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[ david does roll his eyes at that, unimpressed and annoyed, but any response he might have falls away when he catches the way evan trails off. he tilts his head to get a look at his face, try and judge if that's blood loss or booze — probably the former if he's honest with himself, but the latter's probably contributing a bit too. ]
[ he's got the hole that evan pulled the hook from closed, that should slow the blood, but the ruin of skin left where it was ripped across doesn't give him much hope it's gonna make much of a difference. ]
You got any glue or is that just an unhelpful suggestion?
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evan looks into the darkness of his own workshop and gestures with the bottle. ]
Somewhere.
[ one of the worktables does have some, jammed in the back of a drawer. it's not medical glue, but here, that's not really an issue. it'll suffice if david can find it. right now, though, he can't remember where the hell it is, and he probably wouldn't be able to find it if he tried. he'd probably collapse if he tried to stand up at all.
so for now, for once, he sits and lets david make the decision. the pain from the wire stitching is radiating through his shoulder and the blood loss is getting to him. the alcohol might be helping those, but it's taking his focus out, too. not the best situation for a man used to killing everyone around him. ]
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[ flat, deadpan as he looks into the workshop. at the shelves full of old jars and bottles, at the collections of stuff, boxes of god knows what under the benches. he could search for hours and not find anything. ]
[ glue would be faster, and easier, but in the time it would take him to find it, he might be able to finish sewing this up instead. ]
You get a better idea where exactly, let me know.
[ though david doubts that's happening with the state evan's in. ]
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Thought you loved wrecking the shit out of this place.
[ digging through his things. his things. all of them have done it, or at least all the bolder ones have, but over time people slowed down. there were other, less dangerous places to steal from, with better things to steal. he's always been glad about that.
still. some of them still do it for the thrill. or just to see how pissed off he can get. same thing for some of them, really. ]
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Yeah? And when's the last time I did that, huh?
[ accompanied by another sharp tug of wire to punctuate his point. david's not going to sit here and take shit from evan when he's here trying to stop him bleeding out. especially not about something he doesn't even do anymore. ]
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Dunno. Figure I can't always tell. The rest of you ... just whenever you fuckin' feel like it.
[ he manages another drink, bad of an idea as it might be. the first injury, stitched closed, is slowly starting to pull itself back together. the wiring might be helping and it might just have no point. after all, the hook'll be back eventually. one more trial and it'll be like it never came out. ]
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[ his hand is really starting to hurt, a sharp hiss slipping out as he forces the needle through with his thumb. ]
Don't even touch your traps if I don't have to anymore neither.
[ he's not expecting gratitude, or much of anything really, he'd just appreciate if evan would stop lumping him in with everyone when he's pissed. always with the "you lot" as if they're some homogenous whole, as if david's just another face in a crowd. pisses him off. ]
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if i don't have to. that suggests more self-interest, so he doesn't say anything about it, but there's still something wrong about it. ]
Take your word for it.
[ he doesn't really notice david's anger with this kind of haze. he will later. he'll wonder about it, maybe even bring it up. but right now he's struggling enough that it's just words, the tone as normal as anything he remembers.
he growls as the needle pierces through him again, but doesn't lash out. not really enough strength left for that, either. ]
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Almost done.
[ well, he's about halfway, maybe two thirds, but david thinks that counts as almost. ]
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why even bother, really? of course, why does he bother with treating anyone's injuries around here himself? half to make them owe a debt, half because he doesn't want them bleeding everywhere and attracting things like the demogorgon. that's all, really. or so he's always thought.
if he's almost done, no point in bothering him. evan focuses on the brandy and lets david finish, snarling when the wire drags against the open injuries but otherwise without any further commentary. ]
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[ once he's done, he grabs the pliers to help him tie things off and cut the wire, and then he grabs the bandage. thinks about wrestling evan to get it on him and weighs that against how much it'll even help and decides it's probably not worth it. ]
[ he tilts his head to look at evan's face. ]
Still alive?
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still. focus is difficult. the alcohol isn't helping with that even if it's helping with the pain. he doesn't speak because david doesn't until the pliers get involved. that's enough of a spark of pain to get his attention. ]
Yeah.
[ not dead. that's all that matters, really. even if it doesn't matter at all. ]
Nice job. On the brandy.
[ at least he's semi-coherent. ]
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[ he's a comedian. ]
[ david reaches for the bucket to rinse his hands off, it doesn't do a great job with the amount of evan's blood he's wiped up, but it's enough that his hands come away mostly clean-ish when he wipes them off on his jeans. it's good enough he can inspect the damage; his palm has a few angry looking patches that'll probably bruise and there's a blood blister forming on his thumb, some pinpricks on his other hand that are bleeding a bit too but that's nothing worth his time. his hand is also just kind of sore and tired, but that'll pass soon enough. ]
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Expecting something else? Didn't think ...
[ the world swims for a few seconds, then rights itself. evan shakes himself, which brings the pain back a little too sharply. ]
Didn't think you wanted me thankin' you.
[ he's not getting up for a while in this condition. he won't notice david's injuries now, but might recognize them later. or at least grasp that they were inevitable. for now, he's keeping alert, but only barely. ]
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[ david watches evan, trying to get an idea of how he's doing. he'll probably be fine now he's not just oozing blood all over the place. he wonders if he should try and move him, could try and get him to the bed, but a deeply selfish part of him thinks he hasn't gotten his bottle's worth of sleep yet and he doesn't want to share. ]
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he's barely aware of it all now as he manages to get another drink out of the bottle before things really start to swim. he stays where he is, breathing if otherwise unmoving, so david's essentially got free rein here. it might have worried him before.
but he's not going to get angry if david just goes back to sleep. well. he won't get angrier than usual, anyway. ]
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