Video; username: the.boneless

[ragnarsson]

[The video opens up on Ivar in the hallway of the hospital, sitting right outside a room. His free hand has a knife in it, fiddling round with it. Some might notice there's holes in the wall from where he's already stabbed through it a few times. He's got a grim look on his face and his eyes are hard, like someone facing a battle that they know they can't win.]

For those who care, Letha's in the hospital. Things aren't looking good. She's-- [There's a moment where something flickers over his face, an expression filled with pain and worry. Then he composes himself again.] --Something's gone wrong with her daughter, and according to the doctors, it's draining her life force. They don't know if they can fix what's wrong with her.

[For a moment, it appears that's all he's going to say. Then he turns and swiftly drives the knife into the wall again, burying the blade right up to its hilt. Well, Ivar wouldn't be himself without an irrational spike of anger.] Someone distract me before I kill one of these useless doctors.

Comments

@dodger/video

[smokedout]

No attachments, huh?

[Ah yes, the only downside of the network... Dodger is there. And there is a more than healthy amount of amusement on his face.]

Why you worried, Ragnarsson? The kid yours?

[potentialed]

[ He frowns at being told 'two months' but bites back any reprimand he would normally give. He listens to Ivar and there is some sympathy on his end. Most pregnancies are draining, some more so than others. It usually depends on the mother. It was easy to attribute the symptoms to that.

He sighs through his nose, nodding. But then, that last bit sticks out. ]

Would you feel tired or weak afterward?

[ragnarsson]

[Oh no. Out of all the faces that could have popped up on the network, Dodger's was the least welcome. Well, he'd been bound to find out about Letha eventually. Ivar scowls, giving him a withering stare.]

I got here five months ago. She's almost eight and a half months pregnant. You do the math, genius.

[There's a tone in his voice he usually reserves for Sigurd when he's being especially stupid.]

But she's mine in all the ways that count.

[ragnarsson]

I think she'd appreciate that. It'd be one less thing on her mind.

[She already had enough draining her both mentally and physically.]

[ragnarsson]

Never.

[He couldn't quite put together what that meant, that their daughter would drain her mother but not him. Maybe Strange would have some thoughts.]

She's resting right now if you want to take a look at her.

[smokedout]

[That's new information to him - people don't talk much about when they arrived, and Ivar was there before him. And, seeing as he knew nothing about Letha beforehand, he guesses that's new information too.]

Not for too much longer, by the sounds of it. [He takes a moment to light a cigarette, cocking his head like he's talking down to a five year old... an ironic attitude, since Dodger tends to take children much more seriously than he takes Ivar.] And you want a distraction while your girlfriend's dying on the slab... pathetic.

[ragnarsson]

[Normally, Dodger's words don't rile up Ivar nearly as much as they do right now. But he's voicing the exact fear that the Viking has been thinking for weeks now. Ivar's temper rises to the bait.]

Unless you've got something useful to say, or you're willing to let me cut out your tongue, you can just fuck off.

[Life's so unfair. Letha, who's sweet, kind, and good, might be dying, while this waste of space goes on living.]

[deathkid]

I could tell. I could sense it from where I was, but she's stubborn.

[ a sigh and then he snorts. ] Trust me, that won't happen.

[potentialed]

[ His brow creases at that, not sure what it means, either. Yet. But it is something. Especially if Letha felt better when Ivar was with her.

But he nods, ]

Better sooner than later.

[ragnarsson]

Hopefully, that stubbornness will help her get through this.

[If she gets through this, he thinks to himself before he can stop.]

So you say.

[deathkid]

I'm sure it will.

Meet me outside the housing in 15?

[ragnarsson]

Come on then.

[He wheels into Letha's room. She's pale, almost to the point of being grey, with her eyes closed. There's dark circles around her eyes and her long hair is disheveled. If it weren't for the slow rise and fall of her chest, she'd be easy to mistake for a corpse.

Ivar takes her limp hand gently.]

Letha? There's a doctor here who thinks he can help.

[burntbridges]

[After a few moments of silence, her eyes flutter open and she takes a moment to look at her surroundings. But Ivar is touching her, and she feels a pulse of relief as the pain and sickness at least stops for the moment.]

....still fine....

[It's about all she can manage, her voice rough and coming from cracked lips. But she's still clinging stubbornly to the idea that she's not going to die from this. She refuses to die.]

[potentialed]

[ Whatever relief he's seeing at Ivar using a wheelchair to get around is pretty much squashed by the sight of Letha. His expression says as much even if he presses his mouth into a thin line to keep silent.

For the moment. He moves over to her other side and leans down slightly to get a closer look at her skin, face. This isn't good.

He looks over at Ivar taking her hand and then watches her face for any change. He straightens up when she speaks and moves to get some gloves on. ]

I hate to point out the obvious but you are not fine, Letha.

[ Adding, ]

Sorry, my bedside manner has never been all that good. But when it comes to something this serious, I don't think sugar-coating it will help.

[ Once he has the gloves on, he's reaching down to carefully lift one of her eyelids up more and then the other to see the state of them better. ]

You might be in the process of dying.

[smokedout]

[That gets a lazy grin out of him. Finally, the kid's at a disadvantage and he can definitely use it...]

Really? A chick, that's all it takes to break you? How about some advice: pull the plug on her before someone you've pissed off does it for you. Free yourself to get laid, because damn do you need it.

[megabond]

[Good. Because he feels being cooped up in his Pokemon might not be very healthy.]

Alright. I'll come to pick him up tomorrow morning. Is that okay?

[ragnarsson]

[Ivar's glad to see her revive when he touches her, even if it's just for a moment. He just wishes there was more he could do.

At Strange's words, he glares at him, his words coming out in a fierce growl.]

She's not going to die! She's not!

[burntbridges]

[Her fingers squeeze Ivar's hand lightly, doing her best to comfort him back as well as be sure he won't stop touching her. She feels like she's dying all over again each time the doctors ask him to leave the room.

Her eyes seem fine and her pupils react normally, although she makes a weak attempt to close her eyes in protest of the inspection. Thankfully, with Ivar holding her hand, Strange won't have to feel the effects of touching her in this state.... but she seems far from willing to cooperate with him. It's more accurate to say that she's too weak to stop him.]

[ragnarsson]

Like you'd know anything about caring for someone. As far as I can tell, you've only ever loved yourself. Anyone would go running for the hills after a week with you.

[Oh, he's going to make Dodger bleed. He can't do anything for Letha right now, so he might as well do the one thing that he's good at.]

Where are you? I feel the intense need to remove your other eye.

[smokedout]

[Hmm... he wonders how long he could lead Ivar in circles, giving him false directions while his girlfriend fades out in the hospital. That would be a fitting punishment for the trouble he's caused. Dodger is just barely angry enough to prefer something direct, though.]

In my room. Come on over if you want - sure a godless piece of shit like you knows how to get through a locked door, yeah?

[It may be a risk to bring the fight to his home territory... but god is he ready to see this kid hopped up on Fearful Lampyr.]

[potentialed]

[ Stephen won't be asking him to leave the room but he will look over at him when he hears that growl. He's not bothered by it. He's a bit too concerned at the state of things with Letha. His hand moves to feel the pulse point on her neck. ]

I hope not. But I won't lie to you about how this looks.

[ Her eyes look better than he thought they would but her overall state is still worrisome. He looks Letha in the eyes, ]

I'm going to do what I can to help you, alright? I need you to work with me. Now, I am going to examine your stomach.

[ He steps to further down the bed and moves the blanket and gown if she'll let him. ]

[ragnarsson]

I'm going to bury you in the ground, Jamie.

[The use of his name is deliberate, just a little bit of a jab. Ivar goes into check on Letha. No real change there, she's weak and sick, her skin ashen. He kisses her forehead softly. He's loathe to leave her like this, but there's nothing he can do here just worrying over her.

Then he's heading back to the compound, murder on his face. He's not going to let this stand from such a worthless piece of shit. He's got his knives and axe on him. He checks his vest where two Pokeballs are stored. Time for his little horses to prove their worth.]

[ragnarsson]

That's fine. I'll have him waiting for you.

[That way he could devote himself to worrying about Letha 24/7.]

[ragnarsson]

[Ivar rubs his thumb over the smooth skin of Letha's hand. He doesn't want to think about life without her, having to raise their daughter on his own. That was even assuming the child was going to be born alright.

He can see the silent protest in her eyes at what Strange is doing and squeezes her hand.]

Let the doctor do his job.

[Only he is allowed to criticize the way things are going around here.]

[smokedout]

Bring it, Speed Racer.

[The nickname's stuck, alright?

Still, once the communication has shut off he takes a moment to double-check that the door is locked, tighten the springs on his trap, and run diagnostics on Brink. He's not taking any chances on this kid... the moment he's gotten through this door, he'll make sure he doesn't leave the place alive.]