Fandom Tale of Two Survivors { The Last of Us 1x1 with icedthemoon }

[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Cameron Harris, Kaiden Lachlan, Elijah Lewis, and Luke Smith (And the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former Firefly, Former WLF, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 19, 23, 26, 27, 22 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Ally blinked at the touch to her nose and shook her head a little. She looked from Hayden to Josh with awe in her eyes. Never settle if she’s not happy? And talk through things. She nodded her little head as Josh smiled to the kiss on his cheek. Ally looked over when she heard that bang with a confused look. “Oh they’re trying to help Soren. He’s injured and needs some help.” Josh explained as he looked over. Jacob had tears in his eyes as he heard Soren, saw him ram his hand into the table. “I’m sorry baby, I’m so sorry.. I know. I know it hurts.” He said as he looked at Ezekiel. “Little more, okay. Alright. He’s on his stomach. Thank you. I should be okay from he-“ He dismissed Ezekiel and paused as he saw Alex come in. Perfect. “I need you two, Alex, you need to help Nate. I think we’ve got some spinal damage preventing him from using his legs.” Jacob said as Alex looked at Nate behind him. He’d heard Soren’s painful cries.

Eli had been awake already, just enjoying the moment. He was running his fingers through Theo’s hair as he heard him yawn and felt him stretch out. “Good morning my love.” Eli said softly, looking at him with a warm smile on his face.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, Ezekiel Finch, Theophilus Sharpe, and Ravi Akuna (and the Smith Clan)
Former Fireflies, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 21, 24, 29, 25, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Hayden did not like the sound of whatever was going on over there, and he was not sure the little ones needed to be paying attention to that. “So, breakfast right? Who has a breakfast to eat?” He held onto his and Josh’s. “Do you want to eat up here with us? We don’t need a table!” He opened up his own food after giving Josh his and started to eat. Ezekiel backed away as Nate and Alex took his place. He watched long enough to know that it was probably a good thing that Kaiden was not in this tent anymore. He finally also left the tents to find Kai. Nate adjusted his glasses and moved to the other side of the table. Soren gripped the edge of the table as tight as he could. He could not sound like things were painful even though they very much were. In some places. In others, he had nothing. Absolutely nothing. Spinal damage. Was that the reason he couldn’t feel his legs? Nate wondered the same thing. “Do you think you know what it is? Or is this the part where we use both sets of eyes and hope?”

Theo pulled himself up and eventually stood. Or well, he tried to stand and instead kind of crumpled to the floor before popping back up like it was all fine and dandy. He bounced from one leg to the other. “Morning.” His word felt like someone else said it instead of him. Like someone else was there to live his life for him. That would be easier. When he woke up, it wasn’t the nice, blissfully unaware. No, he remembered. He remembered.​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Cameron Harris, Kaiden Lachlan, Elijah Lewis, and Luke Smith (And the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former Firefly, Former WLF, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 19, 23, 26, 27, 22 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Ally looked away from Soren at the mention of breakfast and nodded, shifting so she could open her own. “Yes! Hungry. Stay here.” She agreed as she started to eat her breakfast. Josh shifted so he could take his own and also started to eat. Jacob looked at Nate and sighed softly. “From what I felt a moment ago, there is significant swelling at the top of his spine and headed down, so I wonder if the whole thing is swollen and pressing down on nerves and pinching them. It might be why he can’t walk. Do you have more of that poultice?” Jacob asked, looking at Nate.

Kaiden had just gone by the medical tents. He’d gotten on his horse a few moments prior. Tears were glistening in his eyes, his heart felt tight as he neared the gate. He had to get away from it all. Run.. run far and fast. Get away from everything.

Elijah sighed as he watched Theo get up, and crumple to the floor. Then before Eli could do anything, he popped back up and he sighed softly. “How are you doing?” Eli asked as he stood up seeing his partner bounce from one leg to the other. He was still very concerned for his partner.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, Ezekiel Finch, Theophilus Sharpe, and Ravi Akuna (and the Smith Clan)
Former Fireflies, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 21, 24, 29, 25, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Hayden and Grace ate on the bed where they were not a part of whatever was going on over there. Any time Grace looked over, Hayden called their attention back. “Did you two go home last night and draw us some beautiful artwork that we can have while we are stuck in here?” Nate nodded. Without saying anything, we walked to find the leftover of the poultice and brought it over for Jacob to use. “Alex, we are going to have to make more soon.” He would do it himself if he could. Maybe he could. He was getting better at working with only one hand. He frowned. “Spine and nerve damage could definitely cause that if it cut off everything to his legs. How did you fall in the landslide?” Soren, who was only barely focusing on this conversation, replied, “Down.” Nate coughed out a laugh. “Not what I meant. Did you fall on your back or side or-“ “Back.” Nate nodded once more. He shoved all of that pesky fabric out of his way. He placed his hand at the tip and gently ran his fingers down. Soren did not like this and was unable to stop from showing so. Nate ignored it. “Nerve compression and poor circulation. Could be that it’s pinched.” Or could be that it is worse. “The inflammation is pretty bad. And this is where you stop feeling it.” He didn’t need to ask, because Soren stopped reacting. “Actually, this looks better than I thought given the trauma.” He looked up at Jacob. “Is it strange that I’m impressed?”

Ezekiel exited the tent and stood there a moment, trying to figure out where Kaiden would go. Oh. There. Horse. “Kaiden!” He walked forward, not running or anything like that, in the hopes that he could catch up and get his attention. “Kaiden. If you’re going to go, don’t make me run after you. Because I will. Wouldn’t it be easier to take me with you?”

“Great! The falling proves it, right?” Theo smiled and laughed and bounced even though his heart was pumping poison through his veins. He spun around, and as he faced away, his entire face fell. It was back and happy again when he was looking at Eli. “It’s a brand new day!” And he was moving. “Probably shouldn’t hang out here all day. Things to do. Places to see. I’m thinking maybe I should patrol. Someone will go with me. We are down so many people and we don’t want anything like this happening to more. I can report back all the dangers.”​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Cameron Harris, Kaiden Lachlan, Elijah Lewis, and Luke Smith (And the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former Firefly, Former WLF, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 19, 23, 26, 27, 22 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Ally was eating alongside Josh, and her attention was drawn for a moment before her attention turned to Hayden and she nodded. "Yes!" She said, slipping off the bed and grabbed the drawings off the other table. "I got yours too Gracie!" She said, running back to the bed and crawled up again, handing her sister hers before showing off her own drawings to them with a smile. Jacob took the poultice from Nate and stirred it a little as he watched him run his fingers down the spine. He bit his lip at the cries of pain. He listened to Nate and hummed softly. "No, it's not strange. He's very impressive." Jacob said. "So we can start with the poultice, but I wouldn't wrap it. Help me cut off his shirt. I want the poultice on but left open, I'm afraid that any wrap around his torso could cause things to tighten instead of relax." Jacob said as he started to put the poultice down the entire spine once the shirt was off.

Kaiden barely heard Ezekiel, his desire to run clouded his thoughts, pumped through his veins. His fear for losing one of the most important people in his life was high. He did hear the rest of his partners words and slowed to a stop, looking back. "If you want to come, then hurry up and get on." His voice was tight with contained.. barely contained emotion.

Elijah shook his head as he watched him. "Theo.. Hey! Look at me." He said, putting both hands on his shoulders to turn him so they were facing each other. "You can't ignore what's going on inside. Would you like to go see if he's up? Would that make you feel better?" He asked, watching Theo with a concerned look on his face.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, Ezekiel Finch, Theophilus Sharpe, and Ravi Akuna (and the Smith Clan)
Former Fireflies, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 21, 24, 29, 25, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Grace watched as Ally jumped off the bed, grabbed the drawings, and came back. She took hers excitedly and watched as Ally showed off her drawing. Hayden looked at the drawing in Ally’s. “That is beautiful! Did you color this yourself? You did so well! Look, honey. Look how well she colored. I knew keeping Kai’s colors would come in handy.” Nate couldn’t do a lot for Jacob. That was hard as it had been. He couldn’t cut the shirt well. He couldn’t really do a lot. He could watch. He could listen. He could occasionally say something that he would hope would be helpful. Soren was working very hard not to make too much sound. Until he couldn’t take all this stress. “I… liked that- shirt.” He tried to make it funny. It was better if he was laughing. Everyone could feel better. Nate didn’t laugh.

Good. Ezekiel did not waste any time. He ran and hopped up onto the horse behind Kaiden. He slid his arms around his waist. “Run.” There was nothing else that he needed to say. Nothing. He would sit there and go wherever it was that Kai decided they were going. If they needed to run forever, then they would run forever. They could scream. Cry. Rage. He didn’t care.

Theo practically vibrated under Eli’s hands. He slowed a little. Just a little. “I’m not. No ignoring. This is me actively not ignoring it. In fact, this is me very much aware of what is going on inside and out.” He put his hands on Eli’s as he stood there. “We can go back and see them and then I have to keep moving. I have to. I can’t-“ He blinked a few times. “I can’t do nothing. So, I think I need to go patrol or something.”​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Cameron Harris, Kaiden Lachlan, Elijah Lewis, and Luke Smith (And the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former Firefly, Former WLF, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 19, 23, 26, 27, 22 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Josh looked at the drawings and smiled, nodding his head. “Those are beautiful girls. Good job. I love the pink lion.” He said, looking at them with a soft smile on his face. “I’m glad you kept Kaiden’s colors.” Josh agreed as Ally smiled and showed Hayden her multicolored flowers. “Look it! So many colors.” She said happily. Jacob heard Soren’s comment as he was putting the poultice on. “I’ll get Maya to make another one. But you are going to have to stay on your stomach for the next twenty four hours. Give this a chance to work.” He said as he finished and washed his hands. “The moment things change, like you can feel things in your legs, let me know. I’m going to give you some painkillers and anti inflammatory medicine through the IV.” He added as he grabbed the things and did just that.

Kaiden looked back to see Ezekiel running towards him and hop onto the horse. He felt the arms slide around him but the single word got to him. He urged his horse into a front, through the gate and then urged her into a run. He galloped them into the distance, running until he couldn’t see anymore from the tears blinding his vision. He pulled back on the reins, visions of Josh in his arms swam in his mind. The horse was at a walk now, before stopping completely and now the only sound was the loud heart wrenching sobs that ripped from Kaiden’s mouth.

Eli could feel Theo practically vibrating under his hands and that he barely slowed. He felt the hands on his own and sighed heavily. “Okay..” He said, his voice skeptical. “Okay. Well, let’s go see our family then.” Elijah said as he moved his hands away to grab one of Theo’s so they could get to the horses.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, Ezekiel Finch, Theophilus Sharpe, and Ravi Akuna (and the Smith Clan)
Former Fireflies, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 21, 24, 29, 25, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Grace was so excited about both of their drawings. So. Excited. She loved all of the colors that they had. “She used so many pretty colors with her flowers!” She leaned across Josh and into Ally just enough to be with her. “You’re so good at coloring.” She smiled as the men looked at both of them. “We didn’t get to finish the other ones, because we had to go to sleep. But they said we could finish them here!” She waited for a moment and then looked over at Ally. “No school today?” Soren sighed. He didn’t really want to lay like this for the next full day, but he couldn’t really do a whole lot about it. “It’s fine,” he said resigned. “It was already messed up probably.” He didn’t actually know. Nate stood beside the table. He leaned over and stared at the poultice and skin. Examined. He wanted to know what was going on inside of this broken body.

Ezekiel sat behind him quietly as Kaiden moved the horse along. He would wait, and so he waited. He waited while they ran who knows where. Wherever. Anywhere. He pulled his arms up so that he could take the reins if Kaiden needed it. They slowed until they were stopped, and then he pulled Kaiden back as far as he could so that he could hold him as he sobbed. The sounds that his partner made felt like they were clawing at him. Part of him wanted to run as well. All of this was terrifying, and the hurt men weren’t ones he had known for so many years. “They’re going to be okay,” he whispered even though his words didn’t really matter. “It’s going to be hard, and we aren’t going to win every fight, but we are going to be okay.”

Theo knew that he was not handling everything well. He understood that Eli thought this too, and there was nothing else that he could do about this. He could only do as much as he could manage. He accepted that he was hurting. He accepted that everything was too much. He cried, he ran, and he did everything else in between, and none of it was working. As Eli took his hand, he ran. He ran to the horses, dragging poor Eli with him. “Do you…” No he shouldn’t do this. It would only hurt more. He frowned. “Do you think he’s going to be okay?”​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Cameron Harris, Kaiden Lachlan, Elijah Lewis, and Luke Smith (And the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former Firefly, Former WLF, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 19, 23, 26, 27, 22 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Ally looked at Grace and smiled, giggling a little bit as she felt her sister lean a little into her. "So are you! I loved your pink lion." Ally said with a smile on her face. "I don't know. Eli isn't here to take us, and uh.. our dads are gone, so I guess not." Allison added as she looked Josh and Hayden. "Can we stay here?" She asked. Jacob shook his head as he listened to Soren, kneeling down with a soft groan and creak in his knees and looked up at him from where he was knelt. "I know this isn't the greatest, but I'm hoping this helps us figure out what is going on." Jacob said, leaning up and kissing him gently.

Kaiden felt the arms move up and once they were stopped, he felt himself pulled back. He heard the whispered words and pushed himself into his partner. He hated this, feeling so.. upset, but he was thankful for his partner. "How do you know that? I.. saw Soren, and Papa. I carried Papa back to Jackson myself.. And now, Soren might not be Soren anymore.. " Kaiden's voice was so broken, like glass. Something so close to being shattered. He slipped, or stumbled a little bit, off the horse, pulling free from his partners arms. He dropped to his knees once he was on the ground and dug his fingers into the soil as he cried.

Eli ran with Theo when he moved towards where the horses were tied up. He looked at Theo, hearing his question. "I do think he's going to be okay. H's a tough ol' bird, he'll make it. Even just to prove that he can." Eli said as he proceeded to get both horses set up. He knew this was hard on his partner and he was trying so hard to be supportive for him. To be there for him no matter what.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, Ezekiel Finch, Theophilus Sharpe, and Ravi Akuna (and the Smith Clan)
Former Fireflies, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 21, 24, 29, 25, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Grace looked at her sister and grinned. She squeezed one of her hands as they looked at the drawings. “I thought he would be happier pink.” She was not sure why. The big mane needed to be a better and more fun color. She turned her attention to Josh and Hayden, wondering too if they could stay there. She didn’t really want to go anywhere else before their dads disappeared, and now they were gone. She didn’t like that. But she thought maybe it was because they were busy. Or because they wanted to be with Josh and Hayden. It was probably fine. Hayden smiled warmly. “Of course you can stay with us! We would love to have you around.” Grace was so happy she threw herself into the two of them, which wasn’t hard since she was between them. Soren stared at the floor as Jacob joined him. He couldn’t even really smile when his husband was there instead of somewhere else. He reached a hand out for him after the kiss. “Jacob.” He wanted to hold him close. He wanted a hug. He wanted Jacob to wrap him up in his arms and never let go. He knew he should say hello to these little girls in there. He should talk more to Josh and Hayden. He should do more. “Jacob. My love. You’re doing so much. But I need you to know. If this doesn’t work, if you can’t fix me, that’s okay.” He desperately wanted to feel Jacob there. He felt like since he woke up, he hadn’t had his husband at all. “I might just be broken.”

The raw edges of Kaiden’s voice snagged at Ezekiel’s skin where he was exposed. For Kaiden, that was everywhere. Ezekiel never felt so open and naked as he did when he was with him. He dropped to the ground with Kai, first touching his back with hopeful fingers and then eventually deciding to move in front of him. Drop to his hands and knees. Dig his hands in the dirt too for a moment before putting those hands on Kaiden’s shoulders. “Would you rather he be dead?” It was a harsher question than most would do in this kind of moment, but the two of them had always been harsher with one another. “Bleeding out somewhere in these hills and mountains and crushed beneath whatever he was unfortunate enough to fall under? No, I’m sure you wouldn’t. He’s alive. I saw that. We heard that. And no, he isn’t perfectly healthy or put back together, but at least he’s not dead. So what if things make him a little different. How does that change who he is? Why can’t he still your uncle?”

Theo should have helped with the horses, but he couldn’t focus enough. He was a little afraid about riding back. Was he going to be able to control the horse? Was he going to be able to do anything right? He wondered if this was a bad idea. He could go back inside that ski lodge and stay there until he stopped feeling so restless and jittery. The thought almost made him laugh. Silly Theo, you never stop that normally. Instead of being useful, he paced and spun where he stood as though looking for something. As though lost. As soon as Eli finished, he was up on his horse. “What if he’s not? What if neither of them are? What if they can’t pull through this?” Because Eli could tell him that he was allowed to be afraid and he had to accept this fear and everything else, but that didn’t make the worry go away.​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Cameron Harris, Kaiden Lachlan, Elijah Lewis, and Luke Smith (And the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former Firefly, Former WLF, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 19, 23, 26, 27, 22 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Allison smiled at her sister, feeling her squeeze of her hands. She looked back at the drawing and nodded. "I'm sure he's so much happier like that. I know I'd be!" She added with a giggle as she looked at Grace then at the drawing once more. Her attention over to Hayden, seeing him smiling at them. "Yay!" Ally said happily as her smile grew as she dove into Josh's chest. "Easy there sweetheart, I'm a little sore still." He said softly though he had a big smile on his face anyway. Jacob sighed softly, seeing that Soren didn't really smile at him. He took his husband's hand and kissed it gently. He wanted to wrap his arms around his husband, but he didn't want to hurt him either. "No, don't talk like that. This will work. I know it. But.. if it doesn't. You'll never be broken to me, legs or no legs. I'll love you no matter what.." His voice trembled a little, eyes watering a little as he wrapped his arms around Soren's neck gently, leaning up and kissed him again, with all the love he had. He pulled back and looked at Soren. "I'm going to fix you.." He said softly, determination in his eyes.

Kaiden was sobbing, tears dropping onto the soil. He felt the fingers on his back, and then felt hands on his shoulders. He flicked his tearful gaze up at those words. That harsh question. And he swallowed hard, looking at Ezekiel. Hearing him. "N- No.. I.. I'd not rather he was dead.." Kaiden whispered, his voice hoarse from the crying. "I know he's al- alive.. and he'll al- always be my un- uncle.." He managed as he sat back on his heels. "If we'd gotten there in time m- maybe he wo- wouldn't have these in- injuries.." He paused as he swallowed back the sorrow and fear. "Theo sent me away with Papa, when I should've taken Soren too. We could've.. c- could've.." Kaiden's voice paused as he swiped at the tears on his cheeks forcefully.

Eli didn't mind getting both horses ready though he did notice that Theo was pacing and spinning as if he was looking for something. Eli sighed softly as he climbed up onto his horse and looked at Theo. "They're going to pull through it. Joshua and Soren are fighters, and they are incredibly strong." He said as he turned his horse to head out of the lodge. "You watch, we'll get back to the medical tent and they'll both be up and healthy." Elijah told him as he headed back towards Jackson.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, Ezekiel Finch, Theophilus Sharpe, and Ravi Akuna (and the Smith Clan)
Former Fireflies, Former Seraphite, Former WLF | 21, 24, 29, 25, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Grace probably could have stayed there for the rest of time. She loved being with these two men. She wished she had them forever, and that was kind of weird. Everything was kind of weird. “Oh! Can we finish coloring the ones we didn’t get to finish? Because mine has two flamingos – they’re you – and they’re gonna be so sad if we never get to finish.” She puffer out her lip in a pout. Hayden looked over at the table where all of the coloring things were. They did seem to have it all already. Soren could feel the tears threatening to fall from his own eyes as Jacob kissed him. He was so determined. He was so sure. But Soren wasn’t. Jacob was the expert here, and he had great assistants, but that did not mean that everything was going to go back to perfect. He could feel that already. Even if by some miracle Jacob could fix some of it, there was so much that would never be able to heal right. Bodies weren’t built for that. They were built to survive, not to be perfect. His hand found Jacob’s chest. “I told you that you were a hero. And here you are saving me again. ‘Cause you did that. You know that, right? You saved me. You and the rest of our beautiful family. You already fixed me.”

“Theo sent you away with your Papa, because he saw that as the best chance you had at saving at least one of them.” Ezekiel was not going to let Kaiden’s heroic actions be shoved into a little box called ‘not enough’ anymore. He stayed crouched in front of Kaiden. “If you didn’t do that, and all of you were trying to move the two of them, you would be slower. You would not have gotten Josh to Jacob as quickly as you did, and the damage could have been much worse. Because let’s face it. Joshua was in far better condition than Soren when you found them.” Ezekiel wasn’t there. He didn’t see it, but he could tell. He heard and extrapolated enough. “Joshua was far more likely to survive. I’m pretty sure Soren should be dead. He should have died before you even got there. So, fine. You think you should have done something more for Soren? Maybe you could have sent Theo with Josh instead. That leaves you to slowly move your should be dead uncle. We would be in the same position as we are right now. He would still be alive.” Ezekiel pushed away those hands and held Kai’s face in his own. “Those kinds of injuries are bad when they happen. You could have been with them when it happened, and we would still be here. Do not blame yourself for saving them.”

Up and healthy. Eli couldn’t know that. He was saying what he thought Theo needed to hear, and it was helping. He did need to hear that, but it was going to hurt so much if they were wrong. He gripped the reins tight as he thought about the two strongest people in the world confined to a medical tent. Unable to move. Unable to do anything. He urged his horse forward, going from nothing to full gallop. He was going to see if they were okay. He had to. And if they weren’t? Then he didn’t know what he was going to do.​