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When he heard Dallas’ question, Vincent turned to the older man and grinned. [color=orange]”Yeah, I’m good,”[/color] he said, despite his broken and discolored forearm. [color=orange]”Takes a hell of a lot more than that to put me down. What about you? No offense or anything, but your nose kinda looks like a squashed tomato.”[/color] Dallas shrugged. [color=darkorange]”It looks worse than it is. The bleeding’s already stopped. I’m more worried about”[/color] Dallas lightly poked at some of the holes in Vincent’s clothes, [color=darkorange]“this. I hope you're not just acting tough?”[/color]

[color=orange]”Well, my forearm’s broken. I don’t need to be a doctor to be able to tell I’ve snapped both bones. Pretty sure I’ve got at least two cracked ribs and my shoulder kinda smarts. Oh, and I got grazed in the leg,”[/color] Vincent replied nonchalantly. [color=orange]”All in all, nothing too bad. Besides,”[/color] he nodded back where the A type had been and added with a grin, [color=orange]”You should’ve seen the other guy.”[/color]

[color=darkorange]“Heh. I was so busy getting chewed up by one of those tentacles that I missed everything. How’d you manage to take that thing out?”[/color] Dallas replied.

Grinning, Vincent said, [color=orange]”So, there I was, charging right at it. It was lobbing those energy balls at me, but thankfully, a thrall was kind enough to offer itself as a shield. I used it to get close, chucked it at the infernal to distract it as I jumped up into the air. It noticed me and threw another shot. It thought it had me dead to rights, but I smacked that shot out of the air–”[/color] he tried to swipe his arm through the air and immediately winced. [color=orange]”That hurt. Anyway, I knocked the shot away, landed next to the infernal, and gave it a good smack. Before it could react, I jumped on top of it and gave it one hell of a headache!”[/color]

He took a moment to relish in the satisfaction of a job well done, then turned back to Dallas. [color=orange]”What about you? What happened to the tentacle?”[/color]

Dallas planted his axe on the ground, causing droplets of gore to hit the pavement. [color=darkorange]“Nothing but a puddle left. My left arm got fractured in a few places after it landed on me though. You wouldn’t believe how heavy those things are.”[/color] Dallas felt a bit of blood pool under his tongue and spat it out. His inner cheek was stinging. He must have bit himself earlier during the melee.

Vincent whistled and gave Dallas a friendly smack on the arm. Dallas's eye twitched as he held back a grunt of pain. Vincent seemed to realize what he just did and quickly retracted his hand. [color=darkorange]"Oops, sorry."[/color] As the two muscle heads continued to brag about their kill count, Poppy swooped in from above with a bag of medical supplies. She landed gently next to Dallas and tapped him on the shoulder. [color=lightcoral]"Dallas, come with me. Let's get you patched up."[/color] He looked at her and nodded. Dallas turned back to Vincent. [color=darkorange]"Let's continue this on the ride home. Be more careful in the next engagement alright? I really was worried about you."[/color]

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Poppy led Dallas a few feet away and dropped her bag to the ground. She knelt down and retrieved a case of white pills, a blood pack, and two small water bottles. [color=lightcoral]"Dallas, I need you to sit next to me if you can."[/color] Dallas complied with her instructions and sat cross legged on the pavement. She opened the pill case and put one of the capsules in her mouth, then washed it down with a sip of water. Poppy offered one to him as well, along with the extra water bottle and a blood pack. [color=lightcoral]"Take these.[/color] Dallas popped the painkiller into his mouth and then took the drinks out of her hands. As he twisted the cap on the bottle and took a sip, he noticed the sidhe's eyes burning a hole in his head. Every time she examined him for injuries Dallas wondered if Poppy had x-ray vision. For all he knew she did. Dallas knew very little about her race. 

Poppy studied Dallas up and down while asking him questions about his condition. Once she learned of his injured arm, she began rummaging through her pack for something to cast it with. [color=lightcoral]"Shoot, I'm low on fabric..."[/color] Poppy let out a sigh. Without missing a beat, she removed her shawl and stretched it around his shoulder in an improvised sling. Dallas ignored the discomfort while she adjusted his arm into a secure position. The wingspan of his arm was evidently a challenge to fit into the garment. 

[color=lightcoral]"Keep your head still."[/color] Poppy dabbed a cloth with water and scrubbed at Dallas's dirty face. The cloth quickly turned brown with dust and dried blood. Now that the combat high was gone, Dallas suddenly realized how unsteady his breathing was. Though the battle was short, he felt fatigued. He could not explain why. His breathing wasn't affected that badly by the injury. After all, he could still use his mouth. [color=darkorange][i]I'll just keep it to myself. I'm probably overthinking it.[/i][/color]

Once she finally removed the cloth from Dallas's face, he noticed the ugly bruises on her exposed shoulders. His passive expression darkened ever so slightly. [color=darkorange][i]Poppy must be hurting too. I hope she's not pushing herself too hard...[/i][/color] Dallas wanted to say something, but he hesitated and ultimately kept his mouth shut. He truly had no idea how to talk to Poppy. He supposed this would be another of their one-sided conversations. 

[color=lightcoral]"Let me know if you need anything more. You did good."[/color] Dallas nearly let his surprise show on his face after hearing those words. Before he could formulate a reply, Poppy propped herself on his shoulder so she could stand up and then hovered away. For a brief moment, Dallas was alone with his thoughts. [color=darkorange][i]I did good huh? Well, this IS the lightest injury I've ever received while working with the Commune.[/i][/color]

A minute or so passed before Dallas heard a commotion nearby. He could hear Erik giving orders to the team. Erik sounded unusually serious this time around, which meant someone on the team was in bad shape. [color=gold]"Everyone, maintain security so we don't get surprised!"[/color] Dallas grabbed his axe and stood up in a flash. No more time to ponder. It was back to business. He distanced himself a bit further from the rest of the group in order to expand the perimeter. While sitting atop a piece of rubble, Dallas tried to ignore the tense conversation taking place behind him. As concerned as he was, he was more useful keeping an eye out for any remaining Lost.