distressedude | 016 ~ [Action]

[After being flung into countless numbers of trees from the third party's traps during the last draft, Ion swore to himself he'd never climb another tree for as long as he lived. Obviously, he didn't count on finding a baby bird having fallen out of its nest when he made that declaration. And with the mother bird calling for her child overhead, Ion couldn't just leave the poor thing there to die.]

[Thankfully, getting to the top of the tree where the nest was had been surprisingly easy! Getting down... not so much. He didn't notice the lower branch breaking until after he stepped off of it, and now that he was on his way down, he found himself stuck. He wasn't too high up, but this particular tree had quite a few thorn bushes around it. He'd been able to avoid them going up for the most part, but if he were to try jumping, the chance of him falling into one of these bushes was rather high. He wasn't too far off the path, just a ways north of the village, so hopefully someone will spot him.]

[Though, in restrospect, today was probably a bad day to wear green.]

~

[Assuming the princess is eventually rescued, Ion will be spending the remainder of the day at the library in search of a few new books to read before eventually returning home, his clothes still looking a bit worse for wear.]

[[ooc: Feel free to break time and space for the first part, or run into him walking towards the library looking... well, like he fell out of a tree.]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[And he lands!]

[...sort of.]

[He doesn't make it even close to the area he'd been aiming for and instead lands right into one of the thorn bushes. Mercifully, he doesn't stumble or trip, but he might need a hand stepping out of the bushes. Especially with his legs feeling stiff from the jump.]

[Oh...dear. She immediately comes closer to give him a hand navigating out of the thorns]

Are you all right?

[He'll take that hand, gripping it just a bit more tightly than he intended. The thorns weren't sticking to his clothes as much as they would be if he were wearing his robes, but that just meant more of them were digging into his skin.] I-I should be, yes.

[Once out of the thorns, he looks down at his arms and legs with a small frown. His clothes got rather snagged just climbing up the tree; the damage was a bit worse now, especially with the addition of quite a few cuts and scrapes.]

[She doesn't have anything to say to this. He was, in one sense, doing the right thing. Even if it was kind of a foolish thing]

You don't seem to have much luck with high places.

[One arm goes around his shoulders, though.]

That certainly seems to be the case, doesn't it? [With a soft laugh. Perhaps he wouldn't have that problem if he didn't keep getting himself into situations where heights are involved...]

I was headed for the library, but I should probably go back and get cleaned up first.

That sounds like a good idea. You should at least clean those scratches.

[And maybe pull some of the twigs out of his hair while he's at it. He nods.]

Yes. Thankfully none of them seem to be too bad... [A smile.] Thank you for helping me, Nephry.

I'm not sure I want to be thanked for helping you land in a thorn bush.

[...good point.]

[But he just laughs.] Well, you helped me climb out of the bush after I fell in?

What kind of friend would I be otherwise?

[Why is it so easy for her less-formal self to show through the cracks, around Ion?]

[Probably for the same reason Ion always feels so at ease when Nephry's around.]

[House one wasn't too far from where he'd gotten stuck, so they get there soon enough.]

Nephry, would you mind helping me with these? [There weren't as many cuts on his arms as on his legs, but it would still be awkward trying to bandage them with one arm.]

Of course. Come into the kitchen.

[And let's do this before ~~your father~~ Dist finds out.]

[He'll find out anyway. You know how ~~Daddy~~ Dist is.]

Thank you, Nephry. [And following along beside her to the kitchen!] I'm not sure whether they'll all need to be bandaged or not. But I think it might help stop some of them from stinging.

[But if he finds out some time later, his spasm might be less.

In your case I think it might be better to bandage too many than too few. [She's sort of teasing. ...If only it weren't so true. At least she's only going to wash them with soap and water at the sink, instead of anything that would sting even more.]

[With a soft laugh:] Perhaps you have a point. It's better to be safe than sorry, right?

[And while it may not sting as much as antiseptic would, it still stings enough to make Ion wince. The cuts were small, but there were enough of them for it to be a bit painful.]

[Her brother would just pour the bottle of rubbing alcohol onto them and call it a day, you know.

Because they're so small, it doesn't take long. Soon enough she's drying off his arms and trying to decide how many band-aids (or boxes thereof) she will need.]

...I don't recall thanking you. Which I should have done.

[And she wondered why he didn't want Jade examining him...]

Thanking me? What for?

[It's safe to say she didn't wonder at all.]

For what you did for me after the Malnosso returned me, of course.

[Even if she did thank him? She doesn't remember it.]

[He looks a little confused for a second, but then he smiles.]

Nephry, you don't need to thank me for that. I'm just glad you're all right now.

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