Their silence was broken when he spoke, voice waking Sheave and startling Love. "I think I'm bleeding again."
Love hit her head against the wall. "F---, Mer!" She closed her eyes, struggling with the desire to become even more profane. A deep breath calmed her, however, and she brought herself to her feet, scanning the area. "Okay... C'mon."
She gestured gracefully with one arm and walked out to the street, Sheave scrambling after and Mer hanging back, just inside the alley. She gazed up and down the street, her eyes searching out what she needed....
Discovering what she desired, a slight smile touched her lips as she began walking again. "I said c'mon. And Mer, try an' bloody look normal for a change."
The boy nodded, cramming his hands into the pockets of his trenchcoat and keeping his eyes on the ground as they made their way up the busy street.
Love's strides were long and purposeful, and they carried her quickly to her destination. The building was rather shabby, with worn-down walls and dingy shades in the window; it didn't bother the girl, though, and came as no suprise to her. With the confidence of practice, she grasped the handle, spared a brief glance to the sign that read, "Adults Only", and disappeared inside.
Mer and Sheave waited outside, hanging by the wall a few doors down. Slow moments ticked by in silence,, and then Sheeve's voice rang out. "What's taking so long?" she asked anxiously, "You don't think they carded her, do you?"
Mer shook his head, looking annoyedly at the hair that fell before his eyes with the gesture. "No. They never card her. As long as she pays, she's okay." He tossed his head uncomfortably, succeeding in removing the hair only for a short time.
Sheave continued to look worried, blue eyes darting nervously among the faces of those that hurried past. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips. "Where will we go?" she asked suddenly. "They'll find us no matter what we do, and then--"
Mer's eyes shot up to meet the girl's face, filled with indignation. "They won't!" His voice came as a sharp hiss, a tone whose anger would have frightened most people. Sheave could read him through familiarity, though, as well as if she'd been a telepath and he a stranger. He was afraid.
Sheave paused a moment, meaning to point this out, or to say something comforting, or even to let him know she felt the same, but was stopped when the door to the "Adults Only" store swung open.
Love strode purposefully, though a slight tinge of disgust clung about the lips of the raven-haired girl as the door swung shut behind her. Only someone that knew her very well would have been able to detect it, so well was it hidden; both Mer and Sheave noted it immediately.
Walking to join them, Love dug in her pocket and came out with a handful of chainmail. "Got it," she said and tossed her head, nodding to them to follow as she continued on her way back to the alley.
Sheave and Mer fell into step behind her, and their stride brought them easily back to the side-street. Once relatively sheilded from the pedestrians outside, the three came to a stop.
Love nodded to the boy. "Hands," she instructed, and Mer took his taped fists out from his trenchcoat pockets. She grabbed ahold of one corner of the electric tape and, after a brief glance to Mer's face, gingerly began to unwind it. Pushing up his sleeves, she cautiously removed all the tape and looked appraisingly to the six-inch claws on either hand.
They were thin and long and oddly jagged, even on the sides, violent blades tapering to wicked points. The shortest of the elongated limbs, the thumb, was a full inch longer than the usual digit, and though it provided the boy with at least some manueverability, the blades left his hands almost entirely useless for even simple tasks.
The cause of the problem was easily spotted; the metal wrapped around his wrists had been punctured by the length of the blades, although Mer had done his best to touch it only gently. Blood welled up from between the ragged holes, and he drew in a sharp breath as Love removed the ruined covering from his arm.
"Fingers together," she commanded, and Mer flexed them, pressing them tightly side by side.
"Tape," the raven-haired girl said then, and Sheeve fished in her coat pocket until the desired item was found. She handed it obeidiantly to Love, watching as the young woman used it to bind Mer's wrists, successfully stopping the blood flow.
Withdrawing from her pocket the recently purchased chainmail, she fastened it tightly about each of his wrists. After she had finished, Mer folded his claw-like fingers as far down as they could go and bent his thumbs to rest inside the newly-covered palms. He forced them tightly closed as Love bound his fists with the thick, dark tape. When finished, if he allowed his arms to rest at his side, Mer's sleeves made it nearly impossible to tell that his hands were anything but normal. At a glance, it appeared that he was merely wearing black gloves.
Straightening with a sigh, Love offered Mer a stern look. "Be careful this time. We ain't got the money to keep this up."
He just nodded, letting his gaze fall to the floor of the alley. "Yeah, sure."
With that they stood again in silence, each allowing their thoughts to trace different paths. Love was the first to return to her original position, sliding down the wall until her gaze was met by the trashcan across the way. Sheeve soon followed, drawing her knees to her chest as she sat. Mer crouched nearby, carefully making sure that his hands remained relaxed.
It was Sheave that finally spoke. "What are we going to do? We have nowhere to go, and they're looking for us..." Her fair brow was furrowed as pale eyes flickered between her companions.
Mer looked away, muttering his reply. "We'll figure something out." He didn't sound confident, or enthusiastic.
Love glanced around the alley with sharp eyes, then shook her head. "We'd bloody well better. We came this far, an' we ain't gonna give up now."
