[A full set of medical supplies, noted. He holds a hand up as if to stop the thought of Dante walking about right now.]
You should be resting. Are you— [ah, wait, hm. No mouth...] Is there any pain medication you can use? Have you asked your medic to take a proper look at you?
[He's got a lot of practice with mother-hen mode recently, thanks to his injured and traumatized ward. The injury and trauma isn't his fault this time, but that doesn't mean his acting can't be effective!]
< I've had worse. And I've got a pretty good pain tolerance. >
[To put it lightly. Though from Altius's reaction, they're starting to wonder if they're in worse shape than they thought. Or maybe he's from one of those worlds that isn't used to this sort of thing?]
< Seriously, it's fine. It's not the first time I've hurt that shoulder, and this time it didn't even go all the way through. > [Everything's still attached, nothing lethal was hit, and the clock is still firmly on their shoulders. Nothing to worry about!] < But... I should probably talk to Yukina, shouldn't I? >
The look Altius fixes Dante with is one of some agitation, lips pressed together for a moment. He's putting on his lecturing hat.]
Yes, you should. [He's not a doctor himself, sure, but god has he had to read so much.]
Untreated pain hinders recovery, Dante. Trying to push through it will only make your wounds take longer to heal, and in the meantime you're still struggling. There's no point in avoiding what might make the process easier.
[He lets out a mild sigh through his nose and replies a little less forcefully:]
Yes, it does.
[Ultimately, the concern wins out over the stern demeanor. It's rare that he displays such direct forcefulness! Dante should be flattered, or something. Altius pulls out a small notepad from his pocket along with a pencil, jotting down a few notes.]
I'll see if I can't find you some local analgesic, along with the bandages. [Huh, he seems to be writing more than just that. He glances up.] How quickly are you used to healing?
< Pretty much immediately after getting back to the bus. Okay, not immediately immediately, but pretty close. And not for scratches and bruises either. >
[Not unless they were injured any worse and those happened to be healed along the way with the injection.]
[Which tells him that Dante really does not know how to take care of themselves, if just due to a lack of opportunity. He momentarily presses his lips together before making a few more notes.]
Alright. [He sounds accepting of the answer in a way that implies there's work ahead. He's not used to dispensing medical advice, but the surety in his tone might make that hard to guess:] For now, try to keep your injuries above the level of your heart. Ice packs can help with any swelling, but don't apply them directly to the skin. Hopefully Miss Yukina can help you with anything else.
[He closes his notebook and pauses before looking up, directly at Dante. If they had eyes to meet...]
[Sometimes not having eyes is a good thing: it means you don't have to meet others' eyes if you don't want to.]
< As good as I can be after all of that. >
[It's not the same sort of tension and exhaustion that tend to come with a mission involving a Golden Bough, but there are just enough similarities (and questions stemming from those similarities) to drag at them.
Or maybe their injuries are bothering them more than they thought.]
< Though, I feel like that's something I should be asking you. Aside from appearing here in the first place, this is the first time you've had to deal with something big happening in the simulation, isn't it? >
[At the question, he blinks like he's halfway to a flinch, and his eyes move just barely off of Dante's face—like the thought hadn't even occurred to him, perhaps. In one way, it's true: while the situation was certainly more obviously dire to everyone around him than any other he's been in, he'd had the resources and confidence to come out on the other side without trouble.
Not much of that makes sense for Altius, a man who up until now has supposedly only had one or two instances of violent trauma in his past, and certainly nothing supernatural. There's a lengthy silence as he seems to consider the question, in which he returns his notes to his pocket while taking a slow breath.]
It is, [he eventually says with a furrow in his brow.]
I've been moving from task to task. There hasn't been time to think about anything past that.
The silence is something familiar, but the movements leading up to it, and the words after... Maybe the whole thing just has them paranoid. Too much to think about. And too many things they'd rather not think about.]
< ...Sometimes it's the best way to handle it. Maybe not the healthiest, but you don't always get a choice. >
[Frankly, he's just not used to anybody asking him how he is. He's been the one in charge for so long, the one who asks everyone else how they are, the one who's always in control—or the one tearing it down, which hardly creates allies interested in your well being.
Funnily, it means he's out of his depth in this place, just in a different way than he tries to portray. Without a facial expression to judge, he merely takes Dante's momentary pause as appropriate to the difficult topic.]
I know it will catch up to me eventually, if we're granted any sort of peace after this, [he says with some resignation as he folds his arms.] So... I suppose I'll find out then just how well I'm handling it.
[Altius, at least, wouldn't pretend to be just fine in the face of all this, not after all the sorts of advice he gives to others. He turns his gaze back to Dante.]
It sounds as though this isn't the first such crisis you've been through, even outside of this place.
< You could say that. We have to deal with a lot of interesting situations thanks to my job, and home isn't exactly the best place out there to begin with. >
[Which is putting it lightly.]
< Believe it or not, this simulation, despite everything, is somehow... kinder? I'm not sure if that's the word I'm looking for. >
[He's getting the sense that "interesting" in this context means terrible and difficult. Between the mention of their prior injuries, the willingness to seek danger with their team, and the worries of being a horrible person should they recall their past, he would agree that it sounds distinctly not kind where they're from.]
I think I understand, [he replies, though he's not apparently happy to hear it, if the frown on his face is anything to go by.] I couldn't say the same compared my own, but... if you've found any reprieve here, I'm glad for that.
[All worlds are cruel in their own way, but some are more openly cruel than others, it seems.]
Are you usually given any time to recover? More than physically.
A company run only on unfettered cruelty, perhaps, [he says with a rare display of open disdain nearing anger, folding his arms. Maybe he's evil also, but he gives his employees proper sick leave options, damn it!
He doesn't have to ask to know this is just Dante's expectation of their world. But Dante isn't the target of his ire, so he turns his gaze to the wall.]
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< Some extra bandages, maybe? >
[They really were spoiled with all those ampules from K Corp, weren't they? Waiting for these to heal is going to be such a pain.]
< You don't have to though, really. I can still go get them if I need to. >
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You should be resting. Are you— [ah, wait, hm. No mouth...] Is there any pain medication you can use? Have you asked your medic to take a proper look at you?
[He's got a lot of practice with mother-hen mode recently, thanks to his injured and traumatized ward. The injury and trauma isn't his fault this time, but that doesn't mean his acting can't be effective!]
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[To put it lightly. Though from Altius's reaction, they're starting to wonder if they're in worse shape than they thought. Or maybe he's from one of those worlds that isn't used to this sort of thing?]
< Seriously, it's fine. It's not the first time I've hurt that shoulder, and this time it didn't even go all the way through. > [Everything's still attached, nothing lethal was hit, and the clock is still firmly on their shoulders. Nothing to worry about!] < But... I should probably talk to Yukina, shouldn't I? >
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The look Altius fixes Dante with is one of some agitation, lips pressed together for a moment. He's putting on his lecturing hat.]
Yes, you should. [He's not a doctor himself, sure, but god has he had to read so much.]
Untreated pain hinders recovery, Dante. Trying to push through it will only make your wounds take longer to heal, and in the meantime you're still struggling. There's no point in avoiding what might make the process easier.
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[They shrink slightly, from both the look they're being pinned with and the scolding.]
< I guess I'm too used to the technology from back home... >
[Even after everything, they couldn't deny how helpful the ampules from K Corp could be.]
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Yes, it does.
[Ultimately, the concern wins out over the stern demeanor. It's rare that he displays such direct forcefulness! Dante should be flattered, or something. Altius pulls out a small notepad from his pocket along with a pencil, jotting down a few notes.]
I'll see if I can't find you some local analgesic, along with the bandages. [Huh, he seems to be writing more than just that. He glances up.] How quickly are you used to healing?
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[Not unless they were injured any worse and those happened to be healed along the way with the injection.]
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Alright. [He sounds accepting of the answer in a way that implies there's work ahead. He's not used to dispensing medical advice, but the surety in his tone might make that hard to guess:] For now, try to keep your injuries above the level of your heart. Ice packs can help with any swelling, but don't apply them directly to the skin. Hopefully Miss Yukina can help you with anything else.
[He closes his notebook and pauses before looking up, directly at Dante. If they had eyes to meet...]
... How are you faring? Other than the physical.
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< As good as I can be after all of that. >
[It's not the same sort of tension and exhaustion that tend to come with a mission involving a Golden Bough, but there are just enough similarities (and questions stemming from those similarities) to drag at them.
Or maybe their injuries are bothering them more than they thought.]
< Though, I feel like that's something I should be asking you. Aside from appearing here in the first place, this is the first time you've had to deal with something big happening in the simulation, isn't it? >
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Not much of that makes sense for Altius, a man who up until now has supposedly only had one or two instances of violent trauma in his past, and certainly nothing supernatural. There's a lengthy silence as he seems to consider the question, in which he returns his notes to his pocket while taking a slow breath.]
It is, [he eventually says with a furrow in his brow.]
I've been moving from task to task. There hasn't been time to think about anything past that.
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Something doesn't sit right.
The silence is something familiar, but the movements leading up to it, and the words after... Maybe the whole thing just has them paranoid. Too much to think about. And too many things they'd rather not think about.]
< ...Sometimes it's the best way to handle it. Maybe not the healthiest, but you don't always get a choice. >
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Funnily, it means he's out of his depth in this place, just in a different way than he tries to portray. Without a facial expression to judge, he merely takes Dante's momentary pause as appropriate to the difficult topic.]
I know it will catch up to me eventually, if we're granted any sort of peace after this, [he says with some resignation as he folds his arms.] So... I suppose I'll find out then just how well I'm handling it.
[Altius, at least, wouldn't pretend to be just fine in the face of all this, not after all the sorts of advice he gives to others. He turns his gaze back to Dante.]
It sounds as though this isn't the first such crisis you've been through, even outside of this place.
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[Which is putting it lightly.]
< Believe it or not, this simulation, despite everything, is somehow... kinder? I'm not sure if that's the word I'm looking for. >
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I think I understand, [he replies, though he's not apparently happy to hear it, if the frown on his face is anything to go by.] I couldn't say the same compared my own, but... if you've found any reprieve here, I'm glad for that.
[All worlds are cruel in their own way, but some are more openly cruel than others, it seems.]
Are you usually given any time to recover? More than physically.
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< There might be a couple days of downtime while reports are written up? But other than that, no, not really. >
[Even on the Great Lake, with no real mission in hand until they returned to land, there had always been something to do.]
< It's a company, though, so that much is to be expected. >
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He doesn't have to ask to know this is just Dante's expectation of their world. But Dante isn't the target of his ire, so he turns his gaze to the wall.]
I'm sorry to hear it. You deserve better.