hex

[pixiesweat]

Manuel’s first ever ambulance ride wasn’t one he was going to remember very well; most of it had already faded into a blur. He vaguely remembered sitting in an alleyway listening to the sound of sirens getting closer and thinking he should move before they reached him. He remembered lights. It seemed like it was only a few seconds later when they arrived at the hospital.

By the time they got there he was already more alert. He was actually focusing on what was going on around him, watching the world with wide, frightened eyes. He was finally able to keep a train of thought going long enough to realise how big this mess had the potential to get. He was sure he remembered the woman who’d been with him mentioning a “possible mugging” to the emergency services – were they going to send the police? He really didn’t want to try to explain a vampire bite to the human police force. Or the human medical staff. And he didn’t have the first clue what he was going to say if somebody asked to call his parents.

He wished he’d managed to disappear into the night when he’d had the chance.

He was still pale and sweaty. There were red, already swollen marks on his upper arms and left wrist from being manhandled by the vampire. They weren’t serious injuries, but he was going to have some impressive bruises. His neck had already stopped bleeding, but whoever looked underneath the blood-soaked gauze was in for a bit of a surprise.

((Relevant thread is here, btw c:))

Comments

[pixiesweat]

"I knew that," he said, though he looked confused still. Had he known what time of year it was? He couldn't remember.

[just_hex]

"Alright, yeah? That's good. That's a start. Where have you been for the past bit? Say...three days? Do you know where you've been?" he probed, hoping he could stitch together some sort of picture.

[pixiesweat]

"Just... around. In the city." He wasn't sure what else to say. He could hardly tell Hex that he'd been spending his time loitering and committing the occasional petty crime.

[just_hex]

"Do you have a home?" Hex asked. "I can call services to help set you up if you don't." It was a genuine offer meant only out of kindness. He was finding Manuel more confused than evasive and that concerned him deeply.

[pixiesweat]

"Yes." I live alone in a flat given to me by a faerie prince. More things he couldn't say. "I mean I do. It's fine."

[just_hex]

"Manuel, I'd like you to get comfortable. I'm going to go see about getting a little something to help you sleep," Hex said.

[pixiesweat]

"I don't need to go to sleep." Though considering that he still thought he wasn't badly hurt and didn't even need to be in hospital, he probably wasn't the best judge of that.

[just_hex]

"Just a little bit to take off the edge of worry. Not a big deal, mate. And I'll come back and sit with you a bit, yeah?" he said, but without waiting for Manuel's consent he left the room for what seemed like a terribly long time. It was only because it took a bit of time to get things into the charts and get permission for the medication.

[pixiesweat]

Manuel just lay and waited. There wasn't much else for him to do.

[just_hex]

Hex came back, all smiles.

"Sorry," he said. "I know it can be boring. I should have shown you how to turn on the telly. Alright, then, let me see your arm. This really won't hurt a bit."

He put the filled syringe on the bed and began to tear open an alcohol pad.

[pixiesweat]

Manuel wasn't so sure about that. He really wasn't keen on the idea of more needles. But he just waited quietly.

[just_hex]

"You've not got a lot to say," Hex noted. "Not like me. I talk all day. I talk about most anything. Especially what worries are on someone's mind..."

As he chatted on he quickly cleansed the bend of the young man's arm, found the vein, and gave him a stick.

"There we go. That should chase some of your fears away..."

[pixiesweat]

He wasn't in a very chatty mood, considering the circumstances.

He winced a little when Hex stuck him but stayed nice and still. He was about to open his mouth to say something, but the drugs went straight to his head and he forgot what that something was. He blinked and squinted, looking slightly confused as he tried to think past the sudden brain fog.

[just_hex]

"Feeling a bit better now?" Hex asked, taking Manuel's pulse to see if the medication was really slowing him down.

[pixiesweat]

It was slowing him down, alright. It was a moment before he answered.

"My head feels weird."

[just_hex]

"That's the drugs," he replied. "Would you like anything? Ice to suck on or some water? You can't have food unless you get admitted."

[pixiesweat]

"No. It's fine," Manuel said, his words a little slurred now.

[just_hex]

Now that it was clear the boy was well settled, Hex thought he would try again.

"So where have you been that you're so out of sorts, Manuel?"

[pixiesweat]

"Just in the street," he said, less restrained about giving away information now. He was too sleepy to think about it or care.

[just_hex]

"I thought you said you have a home. Why have you been in the street?" he asked gently.

[pixiesweat]

"I was out." Out loitering in the streets. Like he did practically every night.

[just_hex]

"Just out?" he pressed. "With mates? Or on your own?"

[pixiesweat]

"On my own." He barely had any friends.

[just_hex]

"What do you do when you're on your own, Manuel?" Hex asked, taking hold of the boy's hand to caress the back of it with a strong, gentle touch.

[pixiesweat]

Hex rubbing the back of his hand was making him even more relaxed. "There isn't anything to do."