exsiliumlogs | (open) mission: RETURN OF THE hit the beach

What about a hand up? Come on, if you make me come over there, there's going to be a lot of people displeased with the both of us!

( Which is to say she sets the canteen in front of her, guaging distance. If any of Elliot is in reach, she'll lean out and snag at him to tug him closer. )

The rocks are back the other way, silly! Have you been in the shade at all today?

A-Are you threatening me?! [Sadly, physical force is one of the few things that can actually get through to Elliot. He doesn't show any signs of intending to take it on his own power.]

Then why would they give us access to this part if there weren't any here?! And I was in the shade earlier! [Much earlier.]

( Going to grab on and tug you closer, mister! Though she does snort in amusement. )

I know a guy who knows a guy, if you're going to be that stubborn! But if you think I'm a threat like this, you are way worse off than I thought. As for that, it's called a bribe. If they make it pretty enough, we'll complain less, right? And stone isn't just in one place. They couldn't know how far out it'd go!

[Lottie kicked his ass, okay? He's not going to count her out just because she's a seemingly unarmed girl.]

I'm fine! And that means searching the entire area can't hurt!

[He starts to spin around to walk away, but right when he intends to stop moving it feels as though his head hasn't. The next thing he knows, his back makes contact with the ground.]

Oooff!

( It's like she hears the Scooby Doo YOINK in her head, gasp when Elliot finally goes down. Ahh! Boys!!! They were so criminally stubborn sometimes! )

Now you've done it! Man down, man down!

( She can't help herself: she has to laugh. )

Okay, hot-shot, no more options. I'm dragging your butt up and off to the water tent!

( She'll see about channeling like... Superwoman or something to do this, as she leans to the side, one hand gripping the handlebars, the other trying to grab hold of his collar. If she has to bodily drag him up, she will, asking him to work with her if he can, dealing with her own incapacity for certain types of support and the slowness that comes along with it otherwise.

It was annoying when she had to face certain creative limitations due to her own paraplegia, but she was never the sort to give up just because of a detail like that! )

[She'll get assistance not from Elliot cooperating, but from his attempt to get away from her grip.]

I...I don't need you to...!

[He awkwardly manages to get to his feet, but as he tries to stand, her hand on his collar sends him toppling into the ATV.]

ACK-! Dammit....!

Language!

( She says with a laugh, shifting grip to take Elliot from being merely toppled into the ATV to pulled bodily on top of it. )

Now hold on, Sir Flustered, because I got past asking nicely when you hit the ground!

( Plus it's extremely bizarre to be able to be helpful like this at all and she kind of likes the idea of the feeling. Of course, how well he's on the ATV, and how well he stays there when she starts the enginge again and they get moving -- uh. That remains to be seen! )

[Elliot doesn't have the chance to jump off before she gets moving again and finds himself gripping the sides for dear life.]

WHY DOES THIS THING SHAKE SO MUCH?!

[He thought the paths carriages went over were bad, wow.]

It's not shaking! That's the motor!

( Granted, until she hits one of her self-made pathways, it's rough due to terrain, but that evens out and shocks do wonders to cut down on actual shaking. The thrumming that remains would probably be highly awkward for Elliot if his body wasn't so thrashed from the sun's sapping exhaustion. (Perks of being a boy? No, wait, that's probably more of a downfall.) )

Plus you're woozy, I bet! Just grab on to me if you think you're going to fall. I won't be going anyplace!

( She is driving careful, now taking them under the shade, looking back over her shoulder at Elliot to make sure he's not looking too bleary eyed. Of course, if he is, she'll reach back with one hand and pull on his arm to drag him closer, but it has everything to do with not wanting to lose him and very little to do with anything else. )

Then why does IT shake so much?!

I'm fine! I certainly don't need your...!

[And then they hit another bump which he's pretty sure must have been a huge one since despite his grip on the ATV, he felt like he was about to topple to the ground. But at least he grabbed...her arm oh dammit...]

( His touch on her arm is all the permission she allows herself to need before she lets go with that hand, coasting for a moment, and yanks Elliot up against her, tucking his arm up against her side. She closes her arm over his, half locking him in place. )

Help? ( She finishes for him. ) Yeah, yeah, I hear you, now shut up and hold on!

( Which way was it to the medical tent? Goodness... she keeps going, following her mental map, relying on visuals and a sense of her own tracks across the jungle flora to get her back in the right area. )

[If he wasn't feeling like he could fall off this thing at any second or incredibly weakened, he would totally be pulling much harder than he is to get away from her. Seriously, he was right against her and she could hardly be called decent right now. THIS WAS NOT OKAY.]

I-I don't! And this is-!

[...Great, on top of the shaking everything seems to be spinning again. Why this...?]

You're sick.

( She says, sing-song. )

And I'm taking you to the people who can help you get better. Any other complaints can be filed with my PR office! Ask for Caesar Silverberg, or Xerxes Break!

( ... neither of those people are at all interested in decent PR services, Collette.

YOLO! )

I am not-!

[But that last part makes him stop complaining and try to look at her in surprise. The looking doesn't go so well though.]

You know Xerxes Break?

I've lived with him since May!

( She announces, oh so cheerily. )

You have?!

[And now all he can think about it how jealous he is that he can't be under the same roof as him (so to speak) for an extended period of time. There was no way he wouldn't pick up a few fighting tips from that, right?! Maybe he could have stopped that Holy Knight tragedy too...]

Have you...heard anything important?!

Important like what?

( Since sure, she has, as far as she rates scales of importance, but she's not sure what Elliot might mean. About Pandora? Break? Jack? )

[If he could thinking clearly and also had any clue about what she might know, sure!]

Like...about his fighting or...

[...Being dizzy and on this thing really weren't a good combination, ugh his head...]

( She pulls him tight to her back, sighing with a smile on her lips. )

Tell me after you're rehydrated. Ah! Look! There's the medical tent now!

( White canvas muddied and dirtied with streaks of green and red and brown and peat-green-black emerges in the more open air. )

I don't need to see a...!

[Huh, is this actually getting worse? He's not even fully aware that he's ended up gripping her arm. He'd felt more faint that this before, though.

Yeah, knowing what dying feels like can make it harder to know when to take care of yourself.]

( Collette would disagree, but she's had to take care of her own health for years, and the feeling of dying wasn't a liberating or qualifying experience next to those years of know-how. It does mean she keeps a firm hold on him until he's off loaded to the attendant medics at the tent, brought in and hooked up to an IV with ice wrapped in towels applied to his forehead and sides.

Collette stays outside, unable to come in closer, offering encouragement. )

Listen to what they have to say! Oh, and remember to drink water, stupid!

(open) mission: RETURN OF THE hit the beach

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