Triage {Tag: Kyria}

The moon chases the sun and the sun chases the moon. It was a dance that never ended, signaling the passing of days, and days marked the passage of time. Time healed all wounds, and with proper care those wounds didn’t leave scars. Malik’s wounds healed in spectacular fashion, leaving almost no scaring. Being New Breed, his wounds were prone to heal quickly and well, but Kyria’s expert touch left his body’s natural ability with a good start. That chance meeting saved his life and brought someone into it that would be there for the rest of it.

Malik was a man of his word. He’d said that he would thank her for the kindness she had done him, and he did so with actions instead of words. He was a man of action. Over the months that followed their meeting Malik had done his best to see that she was taken care of. It was a strange situation for Malik to be in. Kyria had a home already, a place to call her own. From what he learned from their talks, she even had a family already. The Pride was a collection of loners, lost souls who had found each other in the chaos, and held on for dear life. Kyria had been accepted into the Pride but she was special. They all came and went as they pleased, but Kyria had a place to go when she left.

The cage door slammed shut on the last of the darkhounds. They were strange wolf like creatures with six legs that allowed them to run incredibly fast. Their muscular bodies were covered with jet black fur that made them look like living shadows. Even their eyes and teeth were jet black to match their fur. In the night these beasts vanished almost completely. This latest hunt had been a difficult one. There were six in the pack, but the Pride was only able to take five of them alive. The last one was killed, and one of the captured five was in pretty bad shape. The contract they had paid per darkhound, and the loss of the fifth would be a large chunk of money lost. The injured hound needed medical attention, and the Pride needed a good payday.

The warehouse door was locked behind him and Malik hopped into the Mule and revved up the engine. He tore out of the parking lot and made quick work of the streets Librium without breaking any traffic laws to draw the eyes of the Military Police. He knew his destination and the routes in between because he had traveled there a great many times. It wasn’t long before he was pulling up to the quaint two story with the name Mykals stenciled on the mailbox. Malik pulled up to the curb of the street in front of the house, killed the engine, and got out of the Mule. He didn’t waste any time making his way up to the door because time was of the essence, and a life, a very valuable life, hung in the balance.

Malik lifted his hand and brought it down on the hard wood door that kept the outside world from crossing the threshold. He waited patiently until he heard the locks on the door being disengaged, and it opened to reveal the face he had been missing. Business vanished from mind and a smile spread across his lips. ”Hey,” he said through the upturn of full lips, ”I’ve missed you. How’ve you been?” Malik didn’t think about what he was doing as he did it. The Lion leaned forward and wrapped his arm around the medic’s tiny waist, and scooped her up off the floor. Lips found feminine mirrors to press upon, and he groaned with satisfaction as he kissed her. He didn’t know whether she was alone at the moment, and honestly he didn’t care.

The kiss lasted quite some time because he missed the taste of her, and enjoyed the feel of her pressed against his body. It wasn’t until their lips parted that he let the muscles relax so she could slide back down to the floor. ”You busy?” he asked her as he walked into the house with her. ”I need a little help. We’ve got a pack of darkhounds in the warehouse. One of them is wounded pretty badly. You think you can work your magic and patch him up. It’s a nice payday which means a good cut for you.” He walked into the living room and lifted the lid of an ornate box that was on the shelf. He was checking inside to make sure the contents were still there. Inside he found the loaded 9mm that he had left there. He wanted to make sure she was protected when he wasn’t around even if she didn’t like guns. "Maybe afterwards we can get something to eat?"

That was what he needed.  There was something about Kyria that always refreshed Malik when he saw her.  She was like a window being opened to let the fresh air in.  It was difficult not to smile when she was around, so Malik didn’t bother fighting it.  His lips split and teeth snowed in a genuine grin that touched his eyes and made the chocolate orbs catch the light.  ”Malcolm?” he said in a questioning voice.  He turned to look at her and raised his eyebrow.  ”You find somebody to replace me?” he said and then stalked towards her.  His large had reached down and grabbed a hand full of her ass.  There was a firm squeeze and gentle lift as he pulled her closer to him.  ”I’m just gonna have to do a better job of making you remember my name.”


There was no anger or hurt in his voice, just a playful promise of things to come, good things.  That was Malik's way.  He accepted that she was an adult and free to do as she pleased.  It was her business, but when they were together, it was just them.  It was almost complicated in its simplicity.  Malik gave her a quick peck on the lips before relinquishing his hold and moving to the door again.  He waited for her to get ready, but didn't urge her to rush because forgetting something could mean the loss of a life.  ”Just tell me what you're in the mood for.  You know I'll feed you.” he said as they walked out the door, and he waited for her to lock and secure it. 


Once they were in the Mule Malik didn't waste any to e getting them back to the warehouse where the shadow hounds were.  There was little time to waste in Malik's mind so he wanted to make side he saved every second possible.  Short cuts, excessive speeds, and anything else were used to get them there quicker.  His face however, barely showed any sign of stress or hurry.  He was used to driving like this in the wastelands where the terrain was far more treacherous.  The mule roared up to the warehouse doorway, and Malik cut the engine so they could disembark.  The door was chained closed as well as locked to protect the precious contents. 


Kyria had been here a number of times because this was where they held their cargo before turning it over to Omni.  The place was secure, out of the way, had good lines of sight, and the Pride stockpiled some heavy ordinance there.  It was ideal to make sure no other corporations or competing crews could take what they worked hard to get.  The last medium sized cage was  where the shadow hound was.  Malik brought out the extending tranquilizer spear and gave the hound a quick jab to inject another round of tranquilizer.  When the beast started to slow, he opened the cage door and went in.  He quickly wrapped the beast up with restraints to make sure it's pass and mouth were no threat to Kyria.   When he finished Malik picked up the beast and carried it to the separate room that they had set up as a medical room. It was kept separate so the smell of blood couldn't escape and set off some of their more excitable catches while Kyria worked.  ”Alright, it's ready for you. ” he said before stepping out of the way to watch, but close enough to act.  There was a lot of deep tearing in the muscle tissue along its sides and hind legs which made bleeding out a eventual certainty. 

As the mule rumbled along the path that seemed to have been worn into the earth from their constant passing, or so it seemed to Ria because the path had been imprinted into her mind now, she hummed softly to herself which was quickly overcome by soft giggles as she remembered Mal’s enticing threat. As he’d grabbed a large handful of her ass, and brought her flush against him, small thrills had ran along her nerve endings. She was looking forward to his efforts to make her remember his name, and made a mental note to call him by other names more often. Who knew? It was definitely not going to hurt anything, and he could definitely make her forget her own name once he got started. Though, truth be told, she knew his name very well, it was quickly being embossed upon her body and mind in a constant, evercoming wave that was slowly erasing others from her mind like a high tide that cleaned beaches of all debris and left it smooth and shiningly new; leaving only it’s own presence imprinted upon the sands.


Ria giggled again, and glanced over to Mal, marveling again at the marvelous planes of his face. To have gone through what he had, yet bear no mark of it upon his visage was a silent statement to his strength of character and fortitude. He was definitely made of a different ilk than any other males that she’d encountered. Her smile softened, and she reached over to give him a quick squeeze right above his knee. She knew his attention was upon the track to get them to the cargo he was concerned with, but he turned toward her with a smile and she could feel her own grow as their gazes met. She dropped her hand as they arrived at the large storage facility, knowing that Mal had to open everything up, and she grabbed her bag to do a quick once over of her supplies.


Following Malik inside, Ria made sure to keep to the middle of the pathways, and out of reach of some of the more excitable inventory. She’d quickly learned during her first few visits that the claws and paws of some could reach a lot farther than you believed, and she had more than a few clothes that she’d had to toss until she finally got into the habit of following directly in Mal’s footsteps. As they passed through the various crates, she let her gaze flow over them. This was how Mal and the pride made their money and supported themselves. Some of it was not extraordinary in most ways, but it was always things that were in high demand. Whether it was certain fruit, exotic food, or contraband was all up to the buyers that contracted out for things they couldn’t obtain by normal means.

Staying out of harm’s reach, but watching closely as Mal moved the creature around, she kept a mental accounting of things that needed to be mended, and automatically prioritized them in order of necessity to raise the chances of salvaging Mal’s precious fees. The shadow hound had various wounds and lacerations upon the left side, exposing ribs and muscles at some points; not to mention a few deep wounds upon two of its three legs on that side. As Mal continued to subdue the animal, Ria quickly scrubbed in; to her, it didn’t matter if her patient was human or not, she stilled rigidly followed all S.O.P.’s of surgery, and after gloving her long, lithe fingers, she began to set out various tools and instruments that she would most likely need. Spying the small bundle of gauze, she moved over to one of the cabinets that lined the room that had become her O.R. Grabbing up extras, she thrust them into the pile. Looking at the array of clamps, forceps, needles, retractors, and scalpels, she noticed that she needed more suction tools, and grabbed them from another cabinet that was at Mal’s back. Pulling open the drawer, she stepped back, and came up against the hard planes of his back. The ripple of muscles as he shifted around the large mammal felt funny along her spine, and she smiled. She was already cleaned up for surgery, so she stifled the urge to wrap her arms around him and instead settled for placing a quick kiss upon one of his shoulder blades before stepping around him and back to her tray of instruments. Nodding her head that all seemed in order, she turned her attention to the list of drugs that was now running through her mind that would be needed; stepping to yet another cabinet, she grabbed several vials, then shaking her head, put one back and grabbing another. She definitely needed a prophylaxis antibiotic, and it might as well be one that wouldn’t need to be repeated every four hours.

Placing them on the tray, she picked up a full face mask and slipped it around her ears. Her mind was now in medical mode and the affection that she held for Malik quickly faded into the background as she grabbed an antiseptic and a pile of gauze and began cleaning the wounds so she could better see what was needed to salvage the animal’s life. Since the skin was so thin along the sides, she knew that most of the wounds would be shallow, but there were a few blood vessels needing repair, and she clamped them off to slow the amount of blood loss. Moving quickly, she made quick work of clamping off as many of the vessels as she could throughout the massive body that lay in front of her. After cleaning and clamping, she had a good picture of how she needed to prioritize the wounds, and after a thorough cleaning, she set to work repairing the wounds to the best of her ability.


Ria sutured veins and vessels first, trying to keep the animal from bleeding out, griping and complaining as she had to cut precious tissue that was just too shredded to be salvaged. She bitched and complained softly under her breath, unaware that she kept up a running dialogue as she worked; alternatingly praising and damning Mal and the pride for the wounds as she struggled to repair their handiwork. After repairing the blood vessels, she turned her attention to the cartilage and tendons that had been torn from their moorings; whether that was bone or muscle, it was sutured back into place if Ria could manage it. One was tricky, and it preooccupied her that it might tear loose one the animal was alert, but she could only pray that her small tight stitches would hold when the animal began to move around. Turning her attention to the torn flesh, she finally let her attention be consumed by repairs needed to actually close up the wounds.

Ria lost count of time as her hands moved back and forth, moving medical instruments, gauze and tissue back and forth as she worked her way through the wounds. At times, it was just easier to remove a piece of flesh when the thick fur that covered the animal was causing more grief than it would benefit the animal. The tray, and even a second tray that she’d moved over was covered with masses of bloody instruments and pads when she finally stood up, and drug the latex gloves off her hands before resting them upon her hips. Arching her back, she let her head fall back and stretched out the muscles that had tensed up while she’d been hunched over the dark shape. A loud, well felt groan escaped her before she raised her head and let her gingered gaze rest once more upon her silent assistant. A wide smile blossomed over her lips as she remembered how he’d moved into place and assisted her whenever she needed help, but stepped out of the way when she didn’t. She liked that he didn’t need acknowledgement for everything he did. So many people wanted you to praise them with each and every move, and if she’d had to do that, they would have lost the hound. He’d had a few veins that had really been shredded, and only with quick fingers and total concentration had she pulled it off; or at least she hoped so. Time would tell. "Three hundred and forty seven stitches, Malik Karver." she grumbled at him good naturedly.


She began methodically cleaning up the area as she flashed him a smile. This wasn’t a hospital or clinic, there was no one here to clean up after her but herself, and she liked to get it out of the way as soon as she finished operating. She did not miss the days of working in a hospital; though it was nice to be able to walk away from the O.R. once the surgery was over, and leave the minions to clean up the mess, she hated all the posturing and politics that you had to put up with that came along with it. It wasn’t worth it, and though she was confident in her skills, she lacked the God complex that so many good surgeons had. She knew she was good, but she just couldn’t pull off the thought that without her, the world, or the surgical world anyway, would cease to function. After dumping all the dirty gauze, and slipping her tools into the autoclave, she finally turned to face the large male that dominated the room.

Ria let her caramel gaze flow over the mass of the werelion, once again marveling at the lithe frame that caged such brute strength and raw power. Her lips quirked slightly and turned a bit devilish as her thoughts turned to other stuff that the large frame contained as well. She liked the package, as did most females that encountered him, but she also liked what that packaged contained, and that said a lot about his character. Ria didn’t usually like the personalities of mercs, but there was something different about Mal, and his pride, when you came to it. Linking her fingers, she raised them in front of her and then over her head, once again trying to work out the kinks that were now bunching her muscles into knots from hunching over the dark mass that lay quietly upon her operating table still. Dropping her hand to cover a massive yawn, she stepped over to him and laced her arms around his waist, lying her head upon his chest for a moment to enjoy the feeling of a job well done, and to bask in his presence. Her words were slow, and a bit muffled against the soft material of his tshirt “I distinctly remember someone telling me they were going to feed this hungry woman”. Burying her face into his chest to hide another yawn, she teased him softly “You wouldn’t have been lying to me to get me to do what you wanted, would you?” “You know how much I like to eat.” Ria didn’t make friends easily, she’d had too many disappointments in the past, but she was woman of passions when she did feel comfortable enough around someone to be herself, and eating was definitely one of the passions she enjoyed.

Medical training wasn't a part of Malik's core curriculum during his training by Omni. Omni and the military were more interested in his ability to take life than to save it. He know how to survive, but his were physiology made him more resilient than his human counterparts. Over time he picked up a few tricks of field medicine so that he could look out for the men in the platoon he what been assigned to. They watched his back and he watched theirs. In a way they had become his family on the battlefield so it was only natural that he look out for them. Instincts made him who he was. Kyria had taught him a great deal over the months he had known her bit this was well beyond him. Malik knew it was for the best to just stay well out of her way. He kept his distance, but not too much just incase the sedated beast suddenly awoke. He needed to be close enough to protest Kyria.


Malik remained quiet during the entire ordeal so that Kyria could maintain her concentration. It was easy to forget that someone so big was so close, but he was a cat and cats knew the value of stillness. It was something they were born with. His heart hammered in his chest from all the suspense. It was like being in a gunfight without ever hearing a shot fired off. Throughout it all he wasn't bored at all because Kyria's banter with herself kept him entertained. When it was finally over Malik let lose the breath that he didn't realize the has been holding, and opened his arms to receive the incoming surgeon. Embrace closed around her and his chest rumbled against her as he whispered, "That one put up more fight than the others. "


He didn't rush the embrace to be done because he loved holding her as much as she loved being held. Kyria had this way of just fitting perfectly no matter how she moved. She nuzzled her face into his chest and Malik lowered his head so that he was buried face first in the scent of her hair. He inhaled deeply and gave her a meaningful squeeze. They were a stark contrast. He wondered how she could enjoy the smell of gun oil, metal, and sweat. Those seemed to be the main components that made up Malik's world on a daily basis. Somehow she managed to stand it, and Malik appreciated how accepting she was.


"You're right. I did promise you food. I'll put this fella away, and help you clean up. Then we can go out and get some food." Malik loosened his grip so that Kyria could slip free, and turned his attentions to the massive hound that lay across the operating table. It was definitely a handful but Malik was strong enough that he could lift the hound with little problem. He carefully moved it out of the room and back to the wall of cages. He placed it in a different one so that there was no smell of blood to incite it, secured it, and took the bloody cage outside so that he could hose it down. Malik had done these tasks many a time over the years so they were easy, and over quickly. He left it by itself at the back of the warehouse to drip dry, and returned to help Kyria. Those were the tasks that were unfamiliar, and he needed to take his time with.


Kyria's experience and speed made that task a breeze, and before he knew it, Malik was locking up the warehouse so they could make their way into the city to find dinner. There was a small place just on the edge of the shipping district that had amazing food. They did well because a great deal of the workers made there way there for lunch day after day. It was a lot quieter after the sun went down on the city and the workers went home for the night. That just meant it was easier to get a good meal from them. "You don't mind getting take out do you? That way we can be close incase the hound has any complications through the night?" A smile broke his lips and he gave her a slightly mischievous smile. "I probably should have asked you if you were ok with spending the night too. Anything could happen...." he said letting his voice trial off so that the imagination could run away with the possibilities.


True to his word Malik was feeding her. Between the two of them they had ordered half of the menu to go, and left half of Malik's wallet in the register and tip jar. The two of them went back to the ware house with two bags full of food filled containers. Spending the night in the warehouse wasn't as bad as it sounded. The Pride would often need to stay with them cargo over night while waiting for Omni or whatever other group had contracted them to arrive and take possession of their goods. They were leasing the building, so they took the liberty of setting up the second story office like a loft apartment. There wasn't any privacy but it was comfortable. There were a number of couches, a table, tons of throw pillows, and a few beds for them to sleep in when they weren't sleeping in a pile on the pillows. They were a Pride big cats and a human after all. Now they were two humans and there was no arguing with sleepy cats.


Military life was so engrained in their habits that the Pride was always clean and well organized. They could make a mess while having fun, but it never stayed dirty in their wake. Malik flipped on the lights, and then adjusted the blinds so that he could see down into the warehouse floor below. He spent a few moments watching the hound in the cage to make sure he was still alive and breathing, and then started unpacking the food while Kyria set the table. His stomach was growling angrily. The inner beast was roaring from beneath the flesh. "Just in time.." Malik said to her as he laughed. "I might have eaten you"