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VICTOR VALE

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text » [backdated Nov 19]

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Vale. I need a drink.

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Do you now? Are you coming to me because you know I won't get carded?

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Haven't you heard? we're fucking heroes. back from the dead.

But I might murder the next person that thanks me. I need a buffer.

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[oh kaz ♥]

And you thought I'd make a good buffer for that? What if I encourage you?

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then I have an alibi and someone to help get rid of the body.

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That's fairly solid logic and hard to dispute.

Is the drink to dull the discomfort from overwhelming expressions of gratitude?

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among other things. I take it you didn't end up in the weird storm?

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I was otherwise engaged. We can't all be glorious heroes like you, Brekker.

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you know me, just doing my part for the betterment of society.

Where are we meeting?

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You are the very image of dutiful.

Do you want somewhere in close stumbling distance, or somewhere no-one knows your face or name?

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The latter, preferably.

Given the fact they were holding a vigil for the assumed dead, that might be a tall order.

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Likely difficult, but still probably lessened if it's not the hero city you were assigned to.

So, if not Maurita Falls for location, and not Heropa or Jeopardy for the crowds.

Why don't you come to Nonah?

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I find myself in need of a medic.
Are you available

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Where?

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Maurtia Falls. Address attached. Around back and up the stairs.

The address is, in fact, for a somewhat shady bar on the edge of the more lively district with nightclubs and casinos, both legal and illegal.

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I'll be there. Is a medic all you need, or should I expect to come into something hot?

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just a medic
will discuss more when you get here

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Ominous. Love it.

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True to his word though, Victor arrives at the address Kaz has sent him as quickly as he's able. There's no med kit in hand though, nothing to suggest he's doing anything but taking a casual stroll around the back of a shifty bar area.

His pace slows as he turns the corner, feeling out for signs of life on the air first to find Kaz and second to see if he's alone.

"Brekker?"

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Kaz is alone, and he is most certainly in pain. It radiates through him: his leg is in agony, there are bruises and a nasty burn.

Despite it all, when he hears Victor, he pushes the door open.

"Here."

He's clearly been in a fight and the burn is on the back of his neck. Kaz disappears back into the studio apartment over the bar. It's sparse, but clean and warm. He's working on it. He even has a little first aid kit open on the table.

"The burn, please."

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Victor certainly feels Kaz before he sees him, notes the way all his nerves are aflame with discomfort. That's the first thing to go--all the pain turning off in an instant without so much as a blink from Victor.

"Sit," he says curtly as he drags a chair from the table forward roughly toward Kaz.

Victor remembers Kaz, partly from this world, but mostly as an information runner back in the City--his City. Kuckily for Kaz, Victor has come back here with his more advanced grasp on his abilities which will make patching him up easier. Burns are still a pain to deal with though.

"What happened?"

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It's best to sit: he nearly falls over when the pain is suddenly gone. Still, he grips the back of the chair tightly as he goes down, like he's bracing himself. He is.

"Turn it back on," he mutters. "Don't want it all gone."

He tips his head forward so Victor can see the burn. Kaz is already down to a white button-down shirt and he's loosened it enough that the whole thing is exposed.

"Someone wants me dead. The burn is from their messenger."

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While Victor hears Kaz's request he doesn't immediately comply, instead taking the moment of receptor silence to place his fingers on the crown of Kaz's head and shift him in a few directions to see the extent of the damage. It wouldn't be easy to do with the pain on.

"Well don't you know how to stick your hand in a metaphorical blender."

He steps back, regarding Kaz carefully.

"Intentionally skimping on the details, or are you just building a sense of suspense for me?"

And, like an asshole, he turns the pain back on again. Kaz did ask him to, after all. He'll modulate it properly in a little while.

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Kaz wants to throw himself out of the chair the moment Victor touches his head. That there his a layer of dark hair between his skin and Victor's is the only saving grace. His stomach rolls. He can't do this.

Victor steps back and Kaz manages to hold back his relief. At least until the pain comes back. He clenches his jaw as it shoots back through him. But that is a relief, too.

"Neither. I don't know who it is yet. Most of the injuries are from an alley fight - some boys thought a cripple in a suit made for a good target." It felt good to fight. Kaz had thrown himself into that particular opportunity with everything he had. It was cathartic, it reminded him of who and what he is.

"Some shots broke the fight up. I got off a few of my own and managed to stab him while he was giving his fucking message. Don't know why he stopped, either. Left me knocked out on a fucking roof top."

Without his cane.