[ once again, he simply does as told, scooting a tad awkwardly as he tries to not jostle his side too much, relaxing a little as junpei sits down and he doesn't have to fear him just — leaving, for whatever reason. that is why, as junpei pats his leg in the universal sign of come here, his first thought is good, then he can't get up without me knowing, and he moves without really thinking anything more, lifts his head obligingly and rests it against his leg. only then does the reality of the situation set in, and he thinks, oh, and bites down a stupidly pleased little smile. he doesn't quite manage it, but some of it is lost in an exhale as he lets himself settle, feeling far more calm and whole than he has in the past days altogether.
with another slow exhale, he lets his overcoat flicker out of existence, then his bomber jacket, leaving him in just the black polo shirt — and without the extra fabric covering them up, the tears in his shirt are more visible, the stains that can only be dried blood, with the jagged edges of an arrow wound blackened, almost burnt-looking, peeking from underneath. ]
Took an iron-tipped arrow to the side, [ comes his answer, a little self-deprecating and succinct. ]
Ketsora's a fortress. Like, walls and archers on top and all that, and they're not keen on outsiders, yeah? So we had to [ he pauses, swallows, ] create a distraction. They weren't supposed to have anything that could hit me.
[ and, well, here's the result. and because he knows, he knows what this sounds like, ] We had to let the younger Peter and Gwen sneak in, they were the experts on this whole reset thing, and Shinji's the only one who'd been there before, so he showed them the way in. The older Peter and I stayed behind. And he — he took far worse hits so I wouldn't, so. [ so!! him getting hurt was an accident, and then peter actually ensured he wasn't hurt any worse. which he feels terrible about but it's fine!
anyway, ] And then the portal threw me at the beach, a lot of shit had gone down there when I got there, and I ended up helping with the terminal... [ hence the lack of a message. and no, he's not explicitly saying he never once stopped to rest or take care of his wound or do anything about it at all, but he's also not not saying that. ]
I came as soon as we were done. [ a pause. ] Sorry it took me this long.
no subject
with another slow exhale, he lets his overcoat flicker out of existence, then his bomber jacket, leaving him in just the black polo shirt — and without the extra fabric covering them up, the tears in his shirt are more visible, the stains that can only be dried blood, with the jagged edges of an arrow wound blackened, almost burnt-looking, peeking from underneath. ]
Took an iron-tipped arrow to the side, [ comes his answer, a little self-deprecating and succinct. ]
Ketsora's a fortress. Like, walls and archers on top and all that, and they're not keen on outsiders, yeah? So we had to [ he pauses, swallows, ] create a distraction. They weren't supposed to have anything that could hit me.
[ and, well, here's the result. and because he knows, he knows what this sounds like, ] We had to let the younger Peter and Gwen sneak in, they were the experts on this whole reset thing, and Shinji's the only one who'd been there before, so he showed them the way in. The older Peter and I stayed behind. And he — he took far worse hits so I wouldn't, so. [ so!! him getting hurt was an accident, and then peter actually ensured he wasn't hurt any worse. which he feels terrible about but it's fine!
anyway, ] And then the portal threw me at the beach, a lot of shit had gone down there when I got there, and I ended up helping with the terminal... [ hence the lack of a message. and no, he's not explicitly saying he never once stopped to rest or take care of his wound or do anything about it at all, but he's also not not saying that. ]
I came as soon as we were done. [ a pause. ] Sorry it took me this long.