lepidope

Light of The Rebellion

Matias leaned in, squinted, tilted his head... He blinked a few times before shifting his vision onto Iris.

"Yeah, I have no idea what this even says."

His posture straightened, and he folded his arms. He raised an eyebrow upon Iris making her suggestion.

"Are you implying that I have to sleep here? Fine, I guess."

Light of The Rebellion

Matias "hmm"ed and nodded along. While he personally wasn't interested in finding out why exactly the boss hid themselves, the reasons brought up just now were feasible. Still, it was just that– speculation, and nothing more.

Matias was about to ask what Scarlet meant by her statement, but his train of thought was interrupted by Iris exiting the warehouse. Matias was at least slightly relieved that his teammates would be alright, according to Iris at least.

"How old are we talking?" He asked, turning around fully to face Iris "Either way, probably not. Only know two."

Light of The Rebellion

Matias could feel his teeth clench behind his lips. It was almost a good thing, considering he didn't want to make the situation worse than he already made it. Still, he let out yet another sharp exhale as his eyes met Scarlet with no help from his head.

"It's fine," he said, "assuming you care for the boss a lot."

His eyes were drawn to the city lights again.

"But listen. We have to keep quiet about this. I don't think the boss is exactly going to like it if someone goes around telling people who they 'really' are."

Hand quotes on "really". His sour feelings remained.

"Though I'm not exactly sure how this is dangerous to us specifically..."

Light of The Rebellion

"I see," Matias replied. He decided to play ignorant.

He took a few steps forward to narrow the space between them. A gust happened to fall at that precise moment, making his hair flow softly and intensify the soap opera feeling.

"I get needing a distraction," he sighed, "I'm going to need a couple when I go home tonight, personally. Today was rough..."

Closer and closer he got until he was by the railing too. The city lights were attractive enough to peer down upon.

"They'll be fine. They just gotta rest."

Light of The Rebellion

Matias glared back, albeit silently. All the energy he would have had to argue back was dormant at this point. His blood dropped a few degrees when the slave camps were mentioned, but he remained as firm as he could. His eyes narrowed and looked towards the warehouse exit. Arms folded, his body rose and lowered as he let out an exasperated sigh.

"Fine."

He turned and left. His face glowed dully in the moonlight. From where he stood, he saw Scarlet in her current state. Under his breath, he muttered, "Oh, please". He could have sworn that he saw a few soap opera scenes that looked exactly like this.

"Scarlet."

His voice was low, almost cold.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? Get back inside. We have to tend to the others."

Word association Game!

worm

Light of The Rebellion

If eye rolls could make sound, Matias would have filled a ten-mile radius with pure noise. The half-hearted "Hah!" he yelled, however, filled that purpose about as well.

"Ay, por favor. If someone can't handle blood, they shouldn't be in the front lines, plain and simple. Maybe get over it? We're gonna be seeing this a lot."

He shut up to watch the skin quite literally do its magic. In a way, it was almost easier done than said. He was pulled from this wondrous display, however, by a sharp pain in his bicep.

"OW, ¡MIERCOLES!" he hissed. "What'd you do that for?! Ah?"

He took a moment to listen, which eased his nerves somewhat.

"Yeah... At least there's that. Thought we'd have to be here for a few hours, at least. Not sure what to say about the other guys, though."

Light of The Rebellion

Matias let out a frustrated huff at Scarlet's words. This time, his annoyance wouldn't be contained so easily.

"Would you knock it off with the gender thing?" he growled, still dabbing around the wound. "Nobody cares. Maybe try actually helping instead of saying stupid shit all the time."

That last part slipped out without him really meaning to, but it was too late to take it back now. There were more important things to worry about, and he was grumbling anyway, to add insult to injury. But now was the time to focus on the actual injury in front of him.

"It's not pretty," Matias replied to Iris's inquiry. "Whatever hit them hit them hard, I'll say that much. You can put the skin now if you want."

Light of The Rebellion

At least the plate had the decency to open on its own. Still, it was rather surreal to see even part of the boss uncloaked. He was about to grab the med kits set aside when Scarlet spoke. It was almost a blessing Matias was facing away from her, because the face he made was anything but pretty. Scrunched nose, furrowed brow, clenched jaw... All in all, not too happy. He took a moment to take in a single breath to calm his nerves before facing the boss again.

"Now's not the time to be assuming people's identities," he grumbled, "Get some dressing ready. I'm gonna disinfect this."

He took a pad from one kit and a bottle of alcohol in another, then dampened the former with the latter. The resulting chemical smell filled Matias's nostrils. He gently pulled up the boss's shirt, which took some effort as the fabric around the afflicted area was just beginning to stick to their skin.

"If you're awake... This is gonna sting."

He dabbed the pad on the edges of the wound, careful not to do it directly on it just yet. He saw the pad gaining rust-like stains, but he continued despite it.

Light of The Rebellion

Matias helped with the procedure, cradling the boss's legs and settling them down on the bloodied sheets. He eyed Scarlet as she spoke before looking back at the boss's pseudocorpse. With no blood or shadows or aggression in the way, he could now take a proper gander at what the group was looking at.

"Look," he said, pointing at the notable mark on the boss's chest. "That's the actual wound, pretty sure. Never seems anything like it, honestly. The marks..."

His fingers floated over the raised lines sprouting over the boss's skin from the wound itself.

"... Is this magic or something?"