[center][h1]Trost - HQ[/h1]
[@Wolverbells][@LetMeDoStuff][@HecateProxy]
[h2][color=7ea7d8]Lauren Jones[/color][/h2][/center]

[color=Gray][color=662d91]""Lauren are you okay?"[/color]

She twitched her jacket, trying to pull it over to cover the red stain blossoming across her shirt but it was too far gone now, creeping across the white fabric stubbornly as the wound in her side continued to bleed.  Searching around for some way to distract her friend, some way to redirect her concern away, to maintain her status as infallible 'bossy big sister' of the group, she saw no way out and reluctantly let her jacket slip back down again to reveal the bloody shirt underneath.

[color=662d91]"Lauren what's going on? Are you hurt?"[/color]

Lauren nodded, sighing and closing her eyes as a wave of weakness washed over her.  She swayed, the temptation to resign herself to the pain and the drowsiness descending on her growing ever stronger, but caught herself and focused her mind on staying away, staying conscious.  Grant was speaking to the group, pacing in a circle of gathering soldiers as more roused themselves to listen to the first one to propose a plan.  She could not hear everything that he said but she was glad that someone, anyone, was taking charge of the survivors.  Doing nothing would surely result in their deaths and she no longer had the will, confidence or strength to try and lead again; the look on Emil and Helen's faces had told her all she needed to know about the results of her first attempt.

[color=7ea7d8]"I sort of got caught, a little bit."[/color] She held up her left hand, the one she had been holding her side with, to show the sticky blood covering her palm and forced a smile to soften the shocking blow she was sure she was dealing to Jade's nerves.  Gabriel's absence was haunting but they could pretend that he was save somewhere, out there.  Seeing someone injured allowed no such delusion, no fantasy to allow one to carry on until they had time to sort out their compartmentalisation of the traumatic events of the day.  [color=7ea7d8]"I made a stupid mistake, taking an Abnormal head on when it had caught Helen."[/color] She shifted her position, trying to take pressure off her bruised side through her posture, leaning back against the crate stacked behind the one on which she sat.  [color=7ea7d8]"Ra showed up, caught me before I hit the ground.  If she hadn't shown up..."[/color]

She tailed off, staring up at the ceiling high above them, long and straight shadows cast from the beams running the length of the room by the oil lamps set into the walls around them.  With a force of will she turned her gaze back onto Jade, having wanted to avoid seeing the worry she knew would be in her friend's eyes but knowing that, even if she were the cause of it, she could not ignore or gloss over it; no longer were they kids where she was just old enough to cast herself as a mothering figure.  They were soldiers now and she could not let her mistakes impede Jade's actions.

[color=7ea7d8]"Don't worry, I'll be okay once we get back over the Wall.  I.. just need Ra's help with some bandages and cleaning it."[/color] She hissed as her chest suddenly flared with pain as she paused to breath, protesting her continued talking and exercising of her lungs beyond their minimal resting capacity.  [color=7ea7d8]"Focus on getting us out of here, Jade.  I can't do anything to help now so it's up to you guys to work it out.  Maybe be more careful than me though, eh?"[/color][/color]