There is nothing to lose [morrison]

[Nessarose Allens]

It was the laugh that most surprised her, although she did not react to it. The laugh was bitter and harsh yet despite this, it was still a laugh and the first of those sounds that she had heard him do. Nes barely had to glance at Ivian to know that it was he who had allowed Morrison to have a brief moment of laughter. If Ivian could only talk, Nes would not need to be here, she could be wherever the fuck she wanted to be and he would be ... more happy? She didn't know, all she knew was that he would probably be worse off when Ivian was gone. It was not her place to interfere, he wanted to be alone and she would comply with that request. God knows it was time she did her job anyway.

"Pack up everything in that side table,"

Nes barely glanced at the side table and made a murmur of assent as she moved towards it slowly. The equipment on the side table was placed carefully into the bag so as not to damage anything or make the bandages unfold. The task was mundane and allowed her mind to wander in a way that it shouldn't. His case, with Meadhbh dead, resinated all too strongly with her own case, one that she had not allowed herself to think about for years. So much was wrong in this world, death was inevitable but when it was taken so unfairly, that was when it became something worthy of grief.

She finished the task quickly, throwing a small smile toward Ivian, he seemed somewhat annoyed with her, although she could not guess why. Probably because she'd upset Morrison more than he already was, she hadn't been able to help that, it was part of her nature to defend her 'short comings' with harsh words and a strong exterior. Nes only needed to control how harsh she came off. Morrison had made that clear enough without words.

"Jeena'll be here soon... Are you going to ride with her?"

A momentary, uncomfortable pause was between them at these words as Nes shifted her eyes so that they did not lock with his own. Pretending to make sure she'd gotten everything off the side table, she turned her back on him and controlled her expression. She felt the mask come back and a half smile played fleetingly upon her face, it was calm now, not betraying emotion. Back to how it used to be, there would be no more of this strangeness, she would soon be back to normal. Hopefully. And hopefully he would get better too, although Morrison's problem was not so easily fixed.

Eventually, Nes turned around again to face him, quick enough that her checking the table had not been too conspicuous. "Yes ... i'll go with her, only until the bridge." No further, not that it would help, but the members of Atrum didn't even know where she lived, let alone people she didn't know at all. Jeena was human, Ivian was injured, if either tried to harm her then she would win and if neither tried to harm her then she would do nothing. Either way there was little danger and Morrison was right, walking would only make her foot worse.

A light tap on the door caught her attention and she glanced towards it. Jeena, she assumed. Morrison had been right, they'd only finished packing all Ivian's things when she arrived. What timing.

[Morrison Whelan]

The pause at his words was expected, but still worrying. Nessa wasn't seriously going to consider walking, was she? If she did choose to walk, he couldn't force her to ride with Jeena, as he didn't have the strength, but it would surely hurt him. He might so much as scream, in the frustrated state he was in. And her hesitation to turn toward him only heightened his sense of anxiety. She couldn't walk home, not like she was, and Jeena was the most wonderful person, and human to boot...

"Yes... i'll go with her, only until the bridge."

Morrison let out a soft sigh, shoulders relaxing and jaw dropping slightly so that he would stop clenching them so hard and stop grinding his teeth. He had no idea how far away from the bridge she lived, but it couldn't be long as that was where he had first found her. He also didn't think that she had brought a car, as he hadn't seen any, so she wouldn't live more than a mile away, at least.

Almost as soon as Nes had finished speaking, there was a soft tapping on the door, alerting them to Jeena's arrival. Eager to see the human, Morrison practically jogged out of the room to the front door to open it. Upon letting the woman in, she slung her arms around his waist, squeezing him tight. The wolf bit his lip softly, moved by the gesture, and lifted his hand to pat the the back of her head, which was down by his chest as she was almost a foot shorter than he was. They pulled away from one and another then both stood there, looking at each other for a moment, before Jeena moved past him to Iivan's room.

Morrison found her stopped inside the doorway, staring in at the other woman. "This is Nessa," the wolf told Jeena quietly, nudging her into the room. The woman gave him a questioning look, obviously curious or concerned as to the source of the bandage around the other human's head. He wouldn't explain now; everything was better left for later as he was having trouble articulating his thoughts.

"Jeena, you get Iivan's IV and such," he sighed, moving around to the corner of room for the collapsed stretcher that was there. "Nes," the man said, turning to her, "I need help carrying him down." Morrison grabbed up the stretcher. locked together and secure, on the bed beside the cripple. Iivan helped his friend getting his battered body onto the apparatus by moving the bottom half of himself while Morrison had to pull his head and shoulders up, as it was too difficult for the other wolf to move his neck on his own. He then got Nessa to grab the end of the stretcher while the wolf took the head.

It took them a good twenty minutes to get Iivan all the way downstairs. The doorways were larger enough to accommodate the bulky stretcher, but the stairs were incredibly difficult. The cripple had to be kept mostly straight so that he wouldn't start to slide off and strain his neck. Morrison walked in front, going backwards, as he could hold the apparatus higher than Nes and keep it steady on the sloped steps. Jeena had the easy part, holding Iivan's bag and the IV just behind the other woman. Though she couldn't have helped to carry the wolf, seeing as she was so short, however strong she was.

The woman had to rest the bag on Iivan's stomach for a moment, making Morrison's and Nes' load a bit heavier so that she could open up the back of her converted van. Then, carefully, the cripple was set into the vehicle, a slight grunt escaping him as his body rested into the foam covered floor. Immediately, Jeena jumped up next to the wolf, getting him some oxygen and adjusting his IV.

With the woman busy, Morrison pulled Nes off to the side, his hand moving into his pocket. "I really don't want to do this," he sighed, face twisting with worry as he stared at the ground, "but I know you'll need it." The wolf pulled the drugs from his pocket then pushed them quickly into the woman's hands, so that he wouldn't be tempted to take them back. Sighing, he reached back into his pocket then also handed her the little bottle of blue detox. "Just in case," His eyes turned up to her, brows creased deep with anxiety and concern. "Oh, and be careful with dosing, all of it, you'll find that it's pretty strong." It pained him greatly to be enabling Nessa like this, since he was sure that she wasn't going to be using the detox to put herself off the drugs. Hopefully, some part of her realized soon how fucked up she was making her life.

"Morrison?"

He turned to see that Jeena was getting ready to leave, the car closed up and her keys in hand. "Could you drive Nes to the Millennium?" The wolf asked softly, rubbing his arm uncertainly. The woman wasn't usually one to associate with strangers, but he assumed that since Nes knew him, that Jeena would alright, since Morrison generally didn't hang around with 'bad' people.

"Sure," the woman smiled, her eyes moving the Nessa.

"Thanks," Morrison walked over to her to give her a short hug before leaning into the car's passenger side and looking into the back at Iivan. "Get well," he told the cripple, receiving a thumb's up in response. He then went back over to Nessa where he surprised himself by squeezing her tightly about the shoulders, whispering: "Thank you."

Goodbyes complete, the two women got into the van, leaving Morrison standing where he was. Jeena waved to him as they started to drive away, but he couldn't muster the will to wave back. Suddenly, he felt very lonely, realizing he had the entire day, alone. His head dropped forward, tears starting up again, and he trudged back inside and up to his room. Right then felt like the perfect time for a drink.