Demonstuck (Strider and I)

[angels_and_blindfolds]

Sedell Dezaster

Piony Remark

Reniver Erista

Mini Amelanchier

Sedell Dezaster growled curses as he fought with his leg. The joints had decided not to work while he was making his way downstairs from his bedroom to his kitchen. His tail wrapped around it, he was still barely able to support his own weight on it, half an inch too short as it was. Dumb prosthetics. He leaned heavily on the banister and tried to avoid one of the many kittens he took care of trotting upstairs.

Of course, none of the medical staff in the emergency hospital would treat him - a defiant robo-prosthetic was hardly an emergency. They refused to treat anyone who wasn't on the absolute edge of death, and he'd hated the service three years ago when he first woke up after that accident all of his friends said he had. All of his friends had also informed him that they were his friends.

He struggled down the stairs and tripped over an older kitten, nearly a full cat, landing sprawled out on the floor of his hall. The normal ache on the edge of the prosthetic was amplified to a roaring pain, and he just lay there for a few minutes while it went away, degree by degree. They'd warned him, back in the hospital, that that might happen because the prosthetic was older - not as up-to-date as it could have been, because he wasn't as high a class as he could have been. He was high middle class, high enough to warrant getting something like a prosthetic to aid him - if he'd been low middle class or low class, like some of his friends, he would have gone home with crutches or a wheeled chair to help him for the rest of his life. If he'd been a greyblood, not even that.

Well, if he'd been a greyblood, he wouldn't have a home to go to. He thanked his stars for that, pressing his cheek to the cold floor. Sedell was used to this by now. It seemed like every day he would be sitting across the floor, kittens walking over his back, while pain racked his entire body to the point where he hardly twitched until it had subsided and he could push himself up again.

Wait, that was every day.

He pushed himself off the ground a little early and winced as the metal dug into his flesh and he propped himself up, shoving a few kittens away from him so he wouldn't end up stepping on them in his hasty stumble to the kitchen. Sedell yanked open a cupboard, leaning mostly on his right leg as he scoured the shelves for anything worth eating. There was enough snack food, but nothing he could see looked like it was any sort of appropriate for breakfast.

Finally he pulled down a box of biscuits - traveller's biscuits, of course, he couldn't afford any of the good stuff with the current meagre income he had from selling his cats - and started gnawing on one of them, trying to think as he chewed the tough material to shreds. He was nervous as hell, and the game he would be starting soon was not going to help that one bit. He really didn't want to think about how he'd function with his leg, though.

He finished one of the traveller's biscuits and set the box on the counter, going to lean against the kitchen sink so he could look out the window. A little claw caught at his long pants, reminding him that he had yet to feed the kittens. Well, it was time to go fight with their food - not like anyone would want to visit him today, while they were freaking out with the whole 'game' thing.  

[Cisala Elden]

Vladimir Valentin

Valerie Ermengild

Christopher Caligo

Melody Clementin

"Mel are you still here?!" Valerie called out through the house. "Damn it she left already." She cursed quietly before hurrying back into her room. She didn't have much time left to get Dez's present to him but she was having trouble getting it into her backpack modus. "I guess it can't be helped." she mumbled calmly before heading over to her work bench where she kept an automail leg that she had been working on for a year and a half. She desperately hoped that she had gotten the measurements right on the automail. It would be a shame if she had spent all that time on something on something that wouldn't fit her poor Dezzy-boo. She grabbed her tool box from off of her work bench and set it down next to her on the ground so that she wouldn't accidently put it in her modus. Now she had to be careful with the automail it wasn't finished yet and she wouldn't be able to finish it until she had it on Dez.

She programmed to metal limb into her MEMORY MODUS before bending over and grabbing her tool box. Now she just had to hurry up and get the automail over to Dez's place and get it attached in time to get back home and get ready for the game. But before she left she was going to grab her lap top and a robot for just-in-case. When she finished programming her favorite robot and her hopefully charged laptop she suck out of the house before Melody's guardian caught her. Her best friend may have had no problem with Val living at her house but her guardian did.

A million thoughts plagued her mind the moment she stepped foot outside of the house. What if the automail didn't fit Sedell? What if he didn't like it? What if something went wrong? What if it didn't work? So much could go wrong with the automail and that was the scary part. And it wouldn't be to long until she was standing on the fronts steps of Dez's house either. She really didn't want to think about what could go wrong for the time being that would only make her depressed and she didn't want to show up at Dez's house depressed. That would just worry Dez and she didn't want him worrying about her. She looked down at the tool box in her hand and wondered if she would be able to get the automail on Dez in time to get into the game. Probably not. She might have to stop somewhere along the way. Maybe she would stop at the park and start her session there.

It startled Val when she realized that she was standing in front of Dez's house. Had she really been that deep in thought? "Well there is no going back now." She said calmly to herself as she walked up to the front door. She hesitated slightly before knocking a bit harder then she had wanted to. "Dez it's me Val! Open up i have something for you!" She called from the front steps. She knew that he had to be in there because the kittens were mewling like crazy. He was probably feeding them from the sound of it. "Dez and his kittens." She purred quietly before wrapping her tail around her waist so that it wouldn't get in the way.

 

[angels_and_blindfolds]

Sedell Dezaster

Piony Remark

Reniver Erista

Mini Amelanchier

Sedell wrestled some of the meat he used for kitten food out of the cooler and limped into the room he'd dubbed the kittens' lunchroom. It was the only room he cleaned once a week, to make sure nothing started rotting - not like they'd leave much to rot, anyway. One would think they were constantly starving. He dumped the carcass onto the floor and grumbled curses as his left leg seized up again. The prosthetic just kept getting worse and worse over the years, and he was pretty sure it was just on its way to being junk. Maybe once it stopped functioning altogether he would be able to get something better from the emergency hospital, he thought sourly, but he never held his breath. It would probably be at least slightly functional for another couple of years.

In another couple of years, he would be called out for some job or other, in any case. He was lucky he hadn't been called in yet, he supposed. Not that he could ever think of leaving Valerie here... Smiling slightly at the thought of Val, Sedell leant against the wall of one of the many hallways in his home. The place was arranged like a maze; he barely knew how to get around, himself, and mostly relied on his memory to get from place to place.

When someone knocked loudly on the door, he was jolted out of his reverie, and he let his smile drop for a second until he heard Val's voice. Not many people called on him these days, and every time someone knocked he was afraid it would be an enlister, there to take him away from his friends - and his love. He limped through the kitchen to the entry hall and front door, opening it with a steady, careful smile. He didn't want Val to know the amount of pain he was dealing with. His tail, still wrapped around his prosthetic leg, flexed slightly - a muscle response to the twinges emanating from his hip.

"Val," Sedell said. He rested almost all of his weight on his right leg now, leaning against the doorframe. "What could you have brought for me that's so urgent? You should be at home - it won't be long before we start." He didn't want it to sound like he was scolding her... But Val was always so wonderful, even when it came to him. No doubt she'd thought of some new innovation and was just excited to show him, or something along those lines.

An electric shock ran through his nervous system from his left leg, and he straightened his posture ever so slightly, his smile becoming just a bit more strained. Almost imperceptible to those who didn't know him. Obvious signs of pain to those who did. He wouldn't say anything, though - she didn't need to worry about him, especially since she would be in the game before him. This immersion that Piony had been talking about for a month sounded dangerous, and he wanted Val in a safe place.  

[Cisala Elden]

Vladimir Valentin

Valerie Ermengild

Christopher Caligo

Melody Clementin

Valerie frowned when she realized he was trying to hide a bit of discomfort in his leg. Well hopefully the automail would be less painful to wear. "Don't scold me. I have broughten something that will hopefully make your life easier." She purred excitedly before walking past Dez and heading for the sitting room. It may have been a little rude of her to just barge into his house like that but she was to excited to care. If this did work Dez could ditch that old excuse of a replacement leg. She really hated that prosthetic leg. Sure it looked cool and all but it wasn't even long enough for him and it was such an old model that there would be no fixing it if it broke. She sidestepped a couple of kittens who were sprawled out on the ground taking a nap as she went over her mental map of the house. She hadn't been to Dez's house for a few months due to the fact that she had been trying to finish the automail before the game started so she felt a bit awkward being back after such a long time but that didn't stop her from rushing into the sitting room like a hyper active five year old.

"Sorry kittens you have to move." Val said calmly as she gently pushed several kittens off the love seat before setting her tool box on one of the arm rests. Without bothering to see if Dez had followed her. If he hadn't then he would probably be with her soon enough. She opened up her modus and watched as the cards revealed themselves before shuffling themselves up. She loved her modus it helped her with improving her memory and not to mention it was fun to use. It took her a few tries before she was able to match up the right cards but when she was successful the automail dropped out of her sylladex and onto the love seat. She cringed a bit as she watched her invention drop onto the love seat believing that it was going to break somewhere. Thankfully she didn't hear anything snap or crack so there most likely wont need to be any repairs done on the leg which made Val happy. It would have been a huge waist of time if she had to sit here and repair the leg instead of putting it on Dez.

She leaned down to inspect her work once more. After all she needed to make sure that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the automail because if just one screw was out of place the whole thing would act up on Dez when he might need the ability to run most. Of course she wasn't expecting Dez to start running as soon as he had the leg attached he would need to get used to it first. That's why she wished that she had finished it earlier but there was nothing she could do about it now but hope that the contraption worked and that Dez liked it. Because what was the point of making something for the one you loved if didn't even like it?

 

[angels_and_blindfolds]

Sedell Dezaster

Piony Remark

Reniver Erista

Mini Amelanchier

"If you say so..." Sedell let Val in - not like he had much of a choice when she was in a mood like this, to barge into his house. He worked on limping after her, trying not to hurt himself too much. He cursed under his breath at his leg, wishing fervently for the days when it had been, well, newer. At least then he could manoeuvre with it and manage to get around. The doctors had never told him how age would affect the nerve endings at the base of his leg, where flesh was forcibly connected to the light, crappy metal in what had to be the sloppiest way ever.

He hated his prosthetic. It made him feel old and bulky and crappy, just like it was, and he was definitely not normal. The rust-brown didn't look too good, either, especially not in contrast with his ashy white skin. Of course, he was also very sure his skin wasn't supposed to be ashy, but that couldn't be avoided - especially not in the scar tissue, which spread up in stripes from where the prosthetic began to about halfway up his side. Like they'd needed to slice his side open to get a fake leg on, or perhaps that had been damage from whatever had attacked him. He really didn't know.

All Sedell knew was that he definitely did not feel like a proper demon with a fake leg. He entered the sitting room shortly after Val, just in time to see her eject something from her sylladex. He froze in place, staring at the love seat in what was a strange perversion of horror and ecstasy.

"I... you... did this?" he asked from just inside the sitting room. All semblance of a smile had dropped from his face. "You... brought me... this?" He ignored the kittens rubbing up against his legs and nearly recoiled physically, unsure of how to receive the very idea of a new leg. He'd had this one for so long, it was almost unthinkable to him to have something else. Besides, he thought, he had no idea how he'd be able to change prosthetics, or if that was even possible, or if it would be too painful for him. He hadn't been awake for the connection of the one he had now.

Then again, the one he had now wasn't connected very well, he suspected. Val knew what she was doing... Sedell hoped she knew what she was doing. He took a deep breath and settled his weight as well as he could on both legs, even if it meant standing unevenly. He just had to feel solid on this subject.  

[Cisala Elden]

Vladimir Valentin

Valerie Ermengild

Christopher Caligo

Melody Clementin

Valerie was a startled out of her thoughts when she heard Dez's voice behind her. She turned around ton look at him and was a bit worried when she didn't see a smile present. He just looked... Blank. "Of course i did Dezzy-boo. Do you really think i was going to let you run around with that crappy piece of s**t they call a prosthetic? I think not!" She said rather enthusiastically as she walked over to her boyfriend and took his hands in her own. "This way your old prosthetic wont bother you anymore. And, i even made sure to use the correct measurements so that it wouldn't be to short like your current prosthetic. Plus, it's stronger and a bit heavier so it should be sturdy enough to take a few blows. Though it will have to be oiled regularly and i might have to tune it once in a while but other then that it should be a better then that piece of junck those doctors gave you." She purred happily as she squeezed his hands firmly to get some kind of reaction out of him.

She looked over his expression once more to see if it had changed but he still looked broken. "Do you... Do you not like it?" She asked quietly as her smile dropped considerably. She knew something like this would happen. he just knew it. He hated it. Or did he just think it looked stupid? Well it didn't matter all that mattered was the fact that he hated it. "I-i can take it away if you don't like it just thought that since you had been complaining about your prosthetic for such a long time because it hurt you that you might just want a new leg and i'm sorry if i'm wrong please don't get offended." She mumbled quickly before she could stop herself. Gosh she was such a screw up. She couldn't do anything right could she? Did he hate her now? Oh no he hated her now! But, it's not like she meant to offend him or anything she was just trying to help him. Why did he have to freeze like that? She wondered nervously knowing full well that she would never figure out what he thought of the automail until she got him to talk.

"P-please Sedell just tell me that you hate it, love it. Anything! Don't do this to me." She pleaded quietly as she forced herself to keep her eyes from tearing up. She didn't need to start crying right now with Sedell in front of him. That would be a sign of weakness. And, it would also be very pathetic. She slowly let go of his hands and let her arms fall to her side. This would have been so much easier if he would just tell her what was wrong. Then she could fix the problem and get out of there so he wouldn't have to deal with her... Maybe he was just waiting for her to leave? "I can leave now if you want Dez. Just say the word and i'm gone." She said nervously before gently nudging away a kitten that had decided to play with the hem of her jeans. Any other time she would have let it be but not right now. Not when she was extremely nervous and rambling like an idiot.

 

[angels_and_blindfolds]

Sedell Dezaster

Piony Remark

Reniver Erista

Mini Amelanchier

"Are you kidding me." Sedell let Val take hold of his hands, looking at her with a very slight smile. "Val, are you kidding me. This is..." He shifted his weight uncomfortably to emphasize just how horrid his prosthetic was being. "Val, this is the most wonderful thing you could have done for me." He dropped his arms to his side for a moment as he watched her struggle with emotions. Did she really think he could hate it? He placed a gentle hand on top of her head and tried to look her in the eye, failing to keep himself from staring to cry. "Thank you - thank you so much," he said, running his hand over her hair.

He couldn't have hated this situation if he tried with all his might. She'd done something for him... She cared enough to do something for him. Val cared enough... Sedell swept her up in a tight hug, pressing his face into her shoulder so she wouldn't have to see him cry. He wished he had the words to explain just how wonderful a gift this new prosthetic was - he wished he could tell her in emotions, not words, let her know exactly how he felt. "I love you," he murmured, swaying slightly as he fought to keep his balance with the addition of her extra weight in his arms. He loosened his hold on her slightly and pulled back to look at her. In his opinion, she was beautiful; in his opinion, he didn't need anyone else to ratify the person he was in a relationship with. Yes, he was most likely about to be enlisted - yes, that would leave her without him for, quite probably, the rest of her life, unless they ran into each other later in life. Hopefully, though... Piony was his oldest friend, or she had said so, and he trusted her. She'd said this immersion would change their lives entirely - she just didn't seem to know how. Sedell didn't want to take chances.

Before he could kiss her, the ground came rushing up, and he found himself nearly capsized on his sitting room floor. His right knee felt bruised, as he'd landed on it when his bad leg fell out from under him and he lost his balance very, very quickly. His heart pounded in his ears, and he looked at Val with wide eyes. "Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you? Did I hurt you? I'm so sorry..." He crossed his arms across his chest tightly, gripping his forearms to let loose a bit of nervous tension. If he'd hurt Valerie, Sedell didn't know how he could live with himself. He bit his lip, wrapping his tail around his neck - a nervous motion for him when his prosthetic wasn't being reliable. He didn't need to be shocked in more than one place. The danger with this, though, was that he ran the risk of choking himself to the point of passing out.  

[Cisala Elden]

Vladimir Valentin

Valerie Ermengild

Christopher Caligo

Melody Clementin

"You don't hate it?" Val asked as relief flooded over her. She was just glad that he didn't hate it. She had put some much time and effort into making the new prosthetic for him that it would have broken her if he hadn't of accepted it. "I'm so relieved. When you didn't say anything i was so worried because you just looked so blank and i was afraid that i had broken you. Oh god thank you Dez. Thank you for not rejecting my offering." She whimpered slightly as she continued to restrain herself from crying. Why were her eyes still watering She was happy she wasn't sad or worried anymore so why hadn't her eyes dried up yet? Were these the tears of joy Mel was always talking about? Well Val didn't like it. She just wished that her eyes would dry up and stop threatening to spill over because the tears were annoying.

Val was a bit uncomfortable with being picked up but seeing as how it was Dez it was ok. "Dez why are you crying?" She asked calmly as she felt something wet on her shoulder. She was curious as to why this was such a bi thing for Dez. It's not like she was able to make one of the more advanced models seeing as how she was forced to work with what materials she could get her hands on. She was about to question him further when he said her three favorite words. "I love you to Dez." She purred softly as she wrapped her arms around Dez as much as she could seeing as how they were practically pinned to her sides. Though she didn't mind as long as Dez was happy. She felt them starting to sway a bit and that worried a bit. She was pretty sure that they shouldn't be swaying like this maybe she should get Dez to put her down before they fell?

"Um Dez..." Val started but was interrupted by the sudden presence of rushing wind as they fell to the floor. She cringed slightly as her head smacked against the floor. But, other then a slowly forming headache and the fact that Sedell was really heavy she was fine. "Yeah. I'm ok. But, what about you? You didn't hurt yourself did you? Oh why did you pick me up? You knew it was going to make you unbalanced." She scolded. She seriously didn't understand why he did such stupid things. But then again it was sweet of him in a way. Atleast she didn't get any head trauma from the fall... As far as she knew. "Don't do that love. I rather like you awake." She purred lightly as she carefully unwrapped his tail from his neck. She quickly stole a kiss before she began pushing Sedell off of her. "Now could you get off me because you are kind of heavy." She said calmly with a small smile. This was the man she loved. The one she was stuck with for the rest of her life. He better just be thankful that she did love him or she wouldn't of put up with his s**t.

 

[angels_and_blindfolds]

Sedell Dezaster

Piony Remark

Reniver Erista

Mini Amelanchier

Sedell pushed himself away and sat to the side of Val, allowing her to unwrap his tail from around his neck with minimal resistance. "I'm so, so sorry," he stammered out, flushing pale red. He could feel the heat rise in his face - god, was he stupid. Just too stupid. He wiped his eyes and purposefully ignored the tell-tale streaks from tears on his sleeve. "It's just... It's perfect, Val." He attempted a half-assed smile and said, "You're perfect." He wished he could show her just how grateful he was that she had even thought of him and his prosthetic when they were on the verge of going into an immersion game. That she had - presumably - had to work on this for such a long time...

Trying to focus on not hurting himself too badly, Sedell edged over to the nearest of his two armchairs and used it as best he could for support in standing. His prosthetic, having been nearly yanked out of its socket in the fall, ached like a - yeah. He winced and sat on the arm of the chair, trying to downplay the amount of pain he was in so Val wouldn't worry. He just rubbed slightly where flesh moulded into crappy plastic and metal. It only succeeded in easing some of the discomfort. He hated that they couldn't even give him a full prosthetic, they just left practically half of his thigh in place and stuck the metal in his ******** leg. And that was actually a really disturbing thought.

Satisfied that his tail was wrapped around the stumpy little leg of the armchair and not anything important that he might break in a twist of pain, he stood on his own and smiled shakily at Val. There was a sickening pop, and Sedell's eyes widened. He was pretty sure that didn't mean anything good. The colour drained entirely from his face, and he fell - not gradually, like people seemed to think falling was, but one second he was standing, albeit not very successfully, and the next he had his cheek to the ground and blood rushing to his new bruise. "Ah... Val? A little help?"  

[Cisala Elden]

Vladimir Valentin

Valerie Ermengild

Christopher Caligo

Melody Clementin

"You don't have to apologize Dez. I know that your stupid prosthetic isn't long enough for you and that you have trouble balancing with it." Val said with a small smile as she watched him wipe at his eyes. She wouldn't comment on the fact that he was crying and embarrass him but she did want to hold him and make sure that he knew that everything was alright. "Dez it isn't perfect. In fact it's pretty amateur so just get over it ok? It's not like those prosthetic that they would give the high class brats like Vladie and Mini." She mumbled quickly as she tried to keep an embarrassed blush from forming it's way across her face. She hated any kind of praise. It just made her feel uncomfortable and undeserving. It was just weird. She completely ignore it when he said that she was perfect. He couldn't be any further from the truth. There was so much wrong with her that she didn't even know where to begin.

She continued to watch him as he made his way over to one of the arm chairs in his living room and forced herself not to frown as the evident pain began to make itself known. She had to admit that Dez was good at playing it off but she was with him to often for him to be able to trick her that easily. But she would let him learn his lesson and ignore his pain. That would teach him not to ask for help. "Dez if we are going to get this thing on before it's my turn to get into the game i'm afraid that we are going to have to start now." She said calmly as she finally forced herself to get up from her spot on the ground and stretch out her soar muscles. She hoped that she could attache the automail without any kind of problem arising because she wasn't sure if they would have enough time to start over if she made a mistake. And knowing that she was being timed didn't help her relax any at all. In fact it only stressed her out even worse. God why couldn't this be as easy as putting a leg on a robot?

"Sedell are you ok?" Val asked quickly as she stumbled over a kitten in her attempt to help Dez up. When she finally managed to gently push the kitten out of the way she grabbed one of Sedell's arms and pulled him up off the ground forcing him to use her as a support when she wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Why must you be such a dumb a**? Can'tr you just ask for help once and a while? I mean it's not like anyone is going to think any less of you if you ask for a bit of help." She snapped sourly while helping him over to the couch where she would be able to remove his old prosthetic. Of course she would either have to numb him up or knock him out first so that he wouldn't be in to much pain. "Don't move." She said calmly as she went back over to the love seat and grabbed her tool box and bringing it back over to Dez before digging around in her second modus for the medicine that Mel had given her a while back. She pulled out a small bottle of pills and uncapped it before pouring a few of them into Sedell's hand. "Take these. They'll help you sleep through the operation or whatever you want to call it."

 

[angels_and_blindfolds]

Sedell Dezaster

Piony Remark

Reniver Erista

Mini Amelanchier

"I don't like too much help," Sedell said, attempting to guide himself to somewhere he could sit and slouching when he could rest. He ran a hand through his hair nervously a few times and tried to quell his giddy smile. "And no, no, it is perfect. You don't get it, Val. I've spent three years with this piece of s**t, and now I might be able to actually walk without falling down every other step. Goddammit, Val. You're so perfect." He laughed brightly and let himself grin for just a second before wiping the expression off his face. He leant back, reclining luxuriously.

Yes, he knew it should hurt like hell, especially if the anaesthetic wasn't as effective as it could be. Yes, he knew it would take a while for him to get used to a new leg. It had taken him months to get used to this one, and no doubt one with better motor ability would let him adapt faster. She had a point, though. They would have to get started very soon if he wanted to be able to get her into the game in time, even if they would be the last pair. It had been arranged by Piony, who argued it was only the most sensible way of doing things if Sedell wanted to make sure Val was safe. Not that he would tell anyone that that was his reason to insist on being right after her. If anything were to happen to anyone, it would happen to him, the last one to get into the game, and even without him it would be possible to close the loop and make sure everyone else made it through.

He smiled up at her and took the medicine, tossing the pills down easily. It was almost like the 'adaptation week' they had given him in the emergency hospital, except they hadn't given him any kind of painkillers, let alone anything to knock him out when they were making their slight adjustments. They just trusted that his nerve endings were dulled enough for him not to be able to feel what they were doing. That was seldom the case. Sedell was hardly a stranger to pain, but then he had been, remembering only a flash of such before the blurring of his entire memory. Now, perhaps, he could stand such things better, having fallen down stairs and recently, it appeared from his inability to do anything about his leg, dislocated his hip, along a hundred thousand unrelenting harms when it came to everyday actions. Something that someone else would hardly think about - such as taking a walk to see their friends - involved a ridiculous amount of effort for him. Not to mention climbing those damn stairs whenever he wanted to visit Reniver, who, for some reason, had lately been refusing to leave his apartment... Well, whatever. His friends could do what they wanted.

A thought struck him, and Sedell paused, his tail flicking out to catch Val by the wrist. It was a familiar action for him, something he was so used to it was almost second nature. He had to stop too many people from asking him why he limped, and, for some reason, the idea of someone being offended by a question like that was odd to most of them. He bit his tongue a second before saying, "Val... Thank you. I love you."