for brightspot

[mislay]

( continued from here )

[ He manages a slight nod even as he readjusts their course to take her directions into account, still faster than most humans despite Five's weight in his arms. It makes it easier to move and avoid being seen despite sticking to the shadows, a habit he still hasn't escaped even after all this time, but reaching the emergency exit isn't going to be as easy as simply walking through it, dropping back into a corner when he notices the commotion up ahead. It's only a couple of people -- likely guards that he had missed or maybe the ones coming in for the shift change -- and it would be faster to do this on his own. Larus doesn't blame her for being wrong; if anything, the mess that he'd made before complicates things, and he hesitates for a moment before crouching low to ease her onto the ground. He reaches back beneath his jacket to withdraw her knife, gently pressing it into her hands. ]

I don't want to leave you, but if they catch us, we're never going to get out of here. [ It shouldn't take much time to draw them far enough away to get rid of them. Knocking them unconscious will work better as long as they don't see his face. Larus brushes a hand against her cheek, rubbing at the dried smear of blood across her jaw as if to wipe it away. ] Don't move. I'll come back for you.

[ He doubts it's enough reassurance, though he lingers enough to confirm that she understands before slipping away. ]

Comments

[brightspot]

[There's a sharp intake of breath from Five as she notices the commotion as well, surprised even though it's probably to be expected considering the mess they're leaving behind. Someone was bound to notice eventually, and if they lost communication with a guard now dead - well. That would explain their sudden presence, definitely. From this distance she can't hear them though, so there's a chance their presence (in the place in general, not where they are specifically) is still unknown. Whether or not it is, however, doesn't really change what their next move has to be, and Five understands that.

She curls her fingers around the familiar handle of her knife, the one she keeps losing and Larus keeps ending up with. And it honestly doesn't look like anything special. Sharp enough to be useful and small enough to be discreet, but nothing to suggest it's very valuable at all. It's sentimentality that makes Five relieved to see it again, the fact it used to belong to one of the members of her found family, who she's not sure now she'll ever see again, who could be dead for all she knows.

Well, that, and the protection it gives when she's armed with nothing else, when she knows they have to part again and - despite his promise to return - there's always the chance he won't, through no choice or fault of his own. There's always that risk.

She nods in understanding since he seems to be waiting for confirmation, her eyes sad. But he's already slipping away by the time she thinks to add in a whisper,] Don't get hurt. [At that point it becomes more of a plea to some higher power to keep him safe than a request for Larus himself to hear.

Shifting so she's more fully hidden by the shadows, she clutches the knife to her chest and tries to keep herself from peeking around that corner or outright following him. Her instincts are telling her to do the latter, not even so much out of the anxiety that comes with being separated but more from the need to protect. Which is silly, because he's better at fighting and she's in no condition to help. Still, if he takes too long, if there's so much as a hint of unexpected trouble-- well, ankle be damned, she'll follow. But for now she can only wait.]