Bleeding: Surprise

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September 1st, Paris, a lobby



Cold. It was much too cold in the lobby. Even on a late summer evening in a Paris hotel, where they didn't really believe in air-conditioning, it was too cold. Jennie sat hunched on one of the chairs in the lobby, chafing her arms and trying to get warmth back into them. She was even wearing long sleeves, which were covering up her alarmingly skinny arms. Perhaps the fact that her weight was melting away was not helping, but Jennie felt she had bigger things to worry about.

Like the girl.

They were supposed to meet in the lobby to go get food, but Marius hadn't bothered to show and Jennie wasn't feeling well, all weak and shaky, so Manuel had graciously offered to go and fetch food for them. Jennie was waiting in the lobby in case Marius ever showed.

The ping from the elevator didn't even register, nor did the figure that stepped out. It padded across the marble floor, confident and unhurried, until it was just a few feet away.

"Oi, Jen. Apologies for the wait."

The rough, leathery consistency to the skin was gone, though the color remained ashen. The eyes, too, still weren't right; the change had not extended to pigment. But all that was secondary.

For the first time in over two months, Jennie could see Marius smile.

"Marius?" Jennie said. Her tired thoughts were washed away by a wave of relief at the sight of her friend. Not how he used to be, not by a long shot, but at least happier. So it worked then.

She stood and walked over to him, and gripped him by his arms. "You...no wonder you were late." She gave him a tired smile.

Marius grinned, the edge slightly wild. "Yes, I was rather preoccupied, plumbing the depths of resourcefulness as I was. Quite deep, those depths. Should've known no good ever comes of thinking. It only causes needless complications. As in life, so with powers, eh?" Dreads flopped across his face as he looked around, his movements slightly too quick. His head felt strangely light without the ever-present burden of the respirator. He lifted a hand to brush the hair away. "So where'd Manuel go off to, then? There is a joyous occasion. And him with so little joy in his life, he could use one. Supposin' the theatrical bemoaning is true, that is."

Jennie paled as Marius smeared blood across his forehead trying to brush away his hair. "Dude, Marius. You're bleeding." The taller boy blinked and looked at his hands in surprise. Jennie grabbed and held them, palm-up. His hands were bleeding from dozens of tiny cuts across the fingers and palms.

Mind the skin, it's a bit on the prickly side.

"P-please, sit down. Sit before you bleed all over the place." Jennie was lightheaded but thankfully not nauseous. She backed him to her chair and made him sit. "The desk should have a first aide kit, be right back."

Marius' brow creased as he raised his hands. They were indeed seeping. Oh, right. There had been pain when he'd touched the girl, and a little blood during the time he's practiced the change before. He'd barely given it a thought.

"No worries," Marius told his friend as she strode back over with a kit in hand. "Think these're from the other night. Power must've been holdin' them closed. Body seems to take offense at unnecessary leaks." He shut his eyes and concentrated, trying to will the wounds closed, but he didn't have that kind of control yet. He'd imposed this state on his body against all instinct, and now it was all or none. For a moment he groped for a change, his natural shape shivering through like a ripple across the surface of a pond, then gave up.

"Right," Marius said as Jennie knelt beside him, "so maybe some practice is in order."

Jennie said nothing, just opened the kit and rummaged through it. Everything was in French, but Jennie's own clumsy french was improving day by day, plus everything had pictures. She cleaned the wounds on his hands and began to bandage them, band-aids on the fingers, the "flesh-colored" standing out starkly against Marius's new ashen tone. The hands weren't completely smooth, more like a callus about to form, but it was nothing compared to the rough seamed skin that had been present when she had gone downstairs.

"So...." Jennie said after a moment. "How'd you pull it off? You didn't try to break your own chin again, did you?" Her voice was a little higher than normal, and her hands shook as she tended to him. She really didn't like the way blood smelled.

"Nah. Just followed my instincts. About bloody time they came in useful." The slight tremor of her hands was making him twitchy, noticeable even through the rapid chatter. Marius tilted his head at her, the movement far more familiar without the bulk of the respirator. "All right there, Jen?"

"I hate the smell of blood, doofus. Remember? You're lucky I like you so much, otherwise you'd be doing this yourself." Using a bit of cotton padding, she covered up his palms and then wrapped gauze around them. Her medlab volunteer training finally coming in handy, the bandages were not too lose or too tight. "There. Just until you stop leaking all over the place." She sat back on her heels and looked up at him.

Marius stared at the white cloth wrapped around his hands. The memory was like a flick of lightning: the tang of disinfectant, gleaming new tiles, and the blisters that wouldn't heal. Just for an instant.

Then he lifted his head and beamed at her. "Ta for your sacrifice. I do appreciate it. Incidentally, we need to leave. France, for a preference."

"What?" Jennie gaped up at him, and then looked around the lobby. "Like now?"

Marius gave her an airy wave. "Oh, of course not. No call to be hasty. Say . . . tomorrow. Morning. We are now fugitives from my accursed begetters. I'm guessin' we have a good few days but safe is safe, eh?"

Jennie felt a small bubble of vexation fizzle up in her stomach. "What do you mean? We have to run from your parents? Just be straight with me for once, dammit!"

"Nothing so indelicate. 'Have to' is perhaps an overstatement. It has simply been decided my cheerful financial independence should be terminated until I concede to bringing our European adventure to an end." Marius shrugged fluidly. "I disagree."

Jennie stood up, this conversation was too serious to be sitting on the floor for, in spite of Marius's airy demeanor. "So they've cut you off," she clarified, dusting off her behind. "Fuck. What do we do? Where do we go? I've got money, but that's barely enough for a taxi ride here." Especially looking the way they did. And now double that they had the girl.

"Ah, calm down, Jen. They'll allow for a week or so, an' I've got two thousand an' a bit. Still, can't take the flying route. Doubt they'll approve purchase of any ticket not bound for the southern hemisphere. Just as soon not use credit anyway." Marius thought for a moment, then clapped his hands together, the impact barely making a sound through the gauze. "Right. It's time to experiment with the European train-system."

"A train," Jennie bit her lip and thought. "If we put the girl in the wheelchair, we could do it." There was no doubt that she would be coming with them. Jennie couldn't explain it, but she suddenly felt anxious. They really needed to leave, and they couldn't be found. She didn't know what would happen to them if Marius's parents found them, but it wouldn't be good.

Jennie unconsciously rubbed the small pink spot on her palm, a rash that refused to go away. "Manny's not gonna be happy, you know."

"He's endured far worse circumstances than public transportation, as he has so informed us. At length." Marius pushed another hand through his hair and murmured, "Just a bit more time. That's all I need."

Jennie nodded. "Right. Just another thrilling day in the life of being us," she sighed. She scooped up the first aid kit, and then placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "We'll get through this. I'll go drop this off and then wait for Manny. You should probably go pack," she turned to go, and then paused. "Where are we going anyway? Anywhere in particular, or just 'away?'"

"Don't know yet. But we'll get something sorted." He took a breath, cold and deep, and grinned at her. "Just another thrillin' day livin' with me."