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Emma was returning with drinks for the two of them, a couple of girly, fruity drinks because damnit they tasted good. She was willing to relax a little and enjoy herself. Even the thought of relaxing surprised her, but she was pushing the thought aside to just... be.[break][break]

Because with Gavin, that seemed easy. And as much as that worried her, those worries had virtually melted away during their trip.[break][break]

Her heels click against the deck as she makes her way back. She has a long island iced tea in either hand and it's sweating in her palms. She pauses at the edge of Gavin's chair, hovering, before offering him the drink. She can't see that his eyes were closed behind his sunglasses.[break][break]

And as such, it surprises her when he glances over his glasses and refers to her with an overwhelmingly warm pet name. Her hesitation is evident in the way she holds onto his glass before giving it to him. But his kiss is returned and she pulls away to lay back in the sun. Her glass is abandoned and her sunglasses pulled down over her eyes again.[break][break]

The sun warms her skin as she resumes suntanning. But her thoughts are muddled with the meaning behind his casual tone. He had said it so naturally, and so out of the blue. It stirs uncomfortable feelings.

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The pet name is a subconscious slip; had Emma not hesitated, Gavin might not have noticed it himself. When she does, however, it immediately clicks into place. What he feels is not regret, nor any sort of embarassment... it's concern, instead, that he's somehow made her uncomfortable.[break][break]

He is somewhat reassured, at least, that she'd kissed back.[break][break]

He accepts the drink with a nod of thanks, sips at the sweet liquid as Emma returns to her sunbathing. He mulls over the taste as he mulls over broaching the subject: should he leave her be, or ask about it?[break][break]

He doesn't get a chance to decide; a scream cuts the air, and chaos descends.[break][break]

Gavin's on his feet before he's even processed the threat. Another ship has pulled up alongside the ferry and strange individuals are clambering aboard, shouting, sending out Pokemon. A horrific metal sound rips through the air and deafens Gavin, makes him stumble as his balance is called into question. He steadies himself on the edge of the lounge chair, squints against sickening vertigo.[break][break]

There's a sound like the shot of a harpoon gun, and his shoulder erupts into blinding pain. He blacks out.[break][break]

Dhelmise's anchor shot pins him to the deck as the pirates begin their hostile takeover.

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She's relaxed for only a moment when the ship is boarded and screams take the deck by storm. She's up in an instant, drink still untouched. It jostles with the impact of the pirates' attempts to attach their boat to the ferry. [break][break]

The woman lifts her sunglasses to the top of her head to make sense of the situation, to think before acting. Where Gavin leaps to protect, she's looking for an escape. Seeing him act selflessly is jarring and she finds herself following in his footsteps - her reasoning being that she wouldn't leave him.[break][break]

So she's running for a woman being harassed and robbed by the pool. She's screaming and crying and the pirate is assaulting her, ripping diamonds from her neck and pushing her into the water. [break][break]

Without another thought she's diving into the water herself, unaware that another pirate is coming for her in return. Emma wasn't wearing anything particularly expensive other than, perhaps, the pair of dangling earrings or the bracelet. Something pretty from Galar that either she or Gavin had purchased (or stolen).[break][break]

"Calm down, would you? Can you swim?"[break][break]

Her hands find purchase on the other woman, lifting her from the water and looking away as the woman gasps for air in her face.[break][break]

But then she's being dragged away by the hair and she's growling, reaching up to flip whoever had the bright idea of laying a hand on her.[break][break]

Of course, the person she's grabbed is much bigger and heavier than she is, and he quickly opts to drown her instead of ask questions. She's winded and surprised, nails digging at the man's hands but ultimately unable to break the surface.[break][break]

For a moment, she's genuinely concerned that she might be on death's door.

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Gavin wakes disoriented and in excruciating pain but a few moments after blacking out — just in time to see Emma dive into the pool with a burly pirate in hot pursuit. She hasn't noticed him, too intent on whatever had caught her focus, and the splash of both of them hitting water resounds before Gavin can formulate warning.[break][break]

He feels powerless to help, the sharp metal sticking out of his shoulder pinning him in place. When he wraps a hand around it and gives an experimental tug, the pain nearly drags him back into unconsciousness.[break][break]

In desperation he takes a pokeball in blood-slick, shaking fingers and fumbles the button.[break][break]

"Corviknight, help Emma. Go!"[break][break]

The last word comes out in a low hiss as the metallic avian hesitates, as if intent on sticking by Gavin's side. With an indignant caw, Corviknight beats its silvered wings and launches skyward. The bird glows with blinding energy as Gavin pulls the pin from his glasses, triggering its mega-evolution. Its feathers catch the fading sunlight as it dives toward the water, digging sharp talons into the back of Emma's would-be murderer and carrying him into the air.

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Bubbles float to the surface as she struggles against her would-be murderer. His gruff chuckles are terrifying, his hands around her throat and pushing her down, down, down. She's fighting, thrashing, struggling against his iron grip. But she can feel herself slipping, water flooding her lungs. Panic sets in in place of rage and she gasps, blinking rapidly as she feels herself losing consciousness.[break][break]

And then the man's hands slacken and she forces herself awake, breaking the surface with a gasp and a fountain of water from her mouth. The woman she had rescued earlier is long gone, not brave enough to attempt to rescue her rescuer.[break][break]

Emma scrambles to the edge of the pool, gasping, couching, choking. Her elbows grip the warm tile or stone that surrounds it and she's blinking chlorine-water from her eyes. Her heart is hammering and she's surveying the deck, looking for someone, looking for him.[break][break]

It takes her a moment to put the pieces together, to formulate a reason for her attacker to have pulled away. It's because he's a bloodied heap off to the side, his shoulders ripped to ribbons with a mega-evolved Corviknight as the culprit. It's Gavin's.[break][break]

She's pulling herself out of the pool, water falling off of her in sheets. Her voice is hoarse, her energy low. She's drowned and bleary but she can see Gavin on the deck covered in blood. [break][break]

"Gavin!"[break][break]

The woman is reacting, instinct taking over reason. She's tearing a towel off of someone running past, ignoring their pleas. It's wrapped and tied around his torso before he can react. Her Weavile had been on the deck already, likely causing unseen mischief. They return at her hand signal, and one steps up to cut the harpoon free. It's likely still in his shoulder, but he isn't stuck to the deck anymore.[break][break]

"Look at me, Gav. Can you walk?"

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Breathing hard, heavy, Gavin slumps back against the deck in relief when he sees Emma drag herself out of the pool. If nothing else, she was all right. A heavy thud signifies Corviknight's victim hitting the deck, his screams drowning out much of surrounding chaos — but not Emma's voice, which cuts through as she calls his name.[break][break]

Look at me, she demands; he does his best, gaze unfocused through a haze of pain. His eyes are watering, blood pooled against his bare chest and forming rivers down his abdomen. The harpoon lodged in the wound stems a good deal of the bleeding, and Emma's quick placement of a towel does the rest. From death's door, he'll recover, but at what cost? He can barely move his right arm without crippling pain, lets out a choked laugh.[break][break]

"I think standing is the bigger problem," he jests through gritted teeth, but manages to haul himself up with his good arm with help from Emma and the deck chair he'd previously occupied.[break][break]

Corviknight alone is far more capable than many of the weak civilian pokemon on deck, driving back the force of pirates with size and brutality. It battles the Dhelmise that had wounded its master, tearing at seaweed with its beak. Gavin decides not to call it back, though he does return a cowering Alcremie to her pokeball.[break][break]

"I can walk."[break][break]

He's white-faced and shaking, definitely in need of medical treatment, but he follows Emma's lead.

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Her hand finds purchase behind his head, lifting it. There's genuine concern in her eyes, raw fear. There was so much blood, she could see him blinking in and out of consciousness, desperate to hold on to her. [break][break]

Even still, he manages to jest. It brings a small smile to her face, a moment of relief.[break][break]

"Just stay with me, alright? You're too heavy for me to carry you."[break][break]

But she does her best regardless, putting his weight on her as she helps lift him to his feet. They need to escape, to get off this ship. Or at the very least, get to safety so that the actual authority could handle the pirates.[break][break]

Even if that meant letting them take what they wanted.[break][break]

On the way, the woman's Slurpuff runs to her side, wrapping around her leg to keep safe. It had been manning the ice cream stand as an adorable helper. Now, however, the Pokemon was stricken with panic.[break][break]

Her Weavile, on the other hand, are hard at work pickpocketing pirates as they hoard their items. They're quick, efficient, and debilitating in their attacks as they take down and drive back the pirates. Honestly, they're doing a better job altogether than security is.[break][break]

"I told you the ferry was a bad idea. Rich people stranded on a boat, ripe for the picking? It's a neon sign reading 'please rob me'."

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"M'with you," he assures her.[break][break]

He sucks in a sharp breath as movement aggravates the injury. It's hard to look away from the harpoon sticking out of his shoulder, from his own bloody fingerprints around its shaft. He tears his gaze away, follows Emma away from the chaos and action.[break][break]

As soon as they're out of the open, he finds he can go no further. He slumps against the hallway wall, supports himself on the railing and leaves it streaked with his blood. He's trembling with a combination of adrenaline and a struggle to remain upright, conscious.[break][break]

Weak. He feels weak, loathes himself for it.[break][break]

Yet there's an overwhelming amount of trust in the way he looks at Emma, does his best to focus on her face.[break][break]

"G-Gonna need to go to the hospital," he grits out. Hospitals are dangerous places for people like them, and he knows it — avoids them at all costs. But he's no fool. He'll need surgery to safely remove the harpoon, lest they hit something vital pulling it out. He pulls his wallet from his pocket, drops it with fumbling fingers. "Fuck's sakes..."[break][break]

He swallows hard. "I know it's asking a lot, but..."

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She grits her teeth, bearing most of his weight despite him telling her that he was with her. But she does it because she has to and because he needs her to. Unfortunately, he eventually stumbles and brings both of them crashing against a wall. Her elbow digs painfully into the surface and she sucks in her breath, struggling to keep him steady as he slumps.[break][break]

There's that uncanny, familiar sense of fear that pricks at her stomach. It makes her hot and cold and nauseous as she looks at the man's blood smeared against the wall and gripped around the railing. He's in pain and she's helpless to stop it in the moment.[break][break]

And it feels so familiar, so fucking familiar that it makes her blood boil.[break][break]

"Just breathe, Gavin."[break][break]

But she's really talking to herself. There's no denying it, though. He needs a hospital. His injuries are too grave for her to fix herself. She couldn't put him in more danger, she wouldn't.[break][break]

"I won't lose you, too."[break][break]

She says this in a whisper, a thought slipping from her tongue before she could stop it. The woman reaches for the wallet being passed to her and caresses his face, eyes searching his face. And then she reaches down to pick it up.[break][break]

"I'll get you safe."[break][break]

And then she glances up to see that her Noivern had found them - even on the ocean. They must be close to the shores of Hoenn.[break][break]

She beckons for the beast and the giant dragon lands, a concerned noise rumbling from her chest. Her ears tremble and she glances to the bleeding man.[break][break]

"We need to get to a hospital, Eris."

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Gavin wakes in the hospital to too-bright lights and swimming thoughts, the edge of pain threatening him behind a haze of whatever they'd drugged him up with during surgery. Much of the flight to the hospital, of being admitted for surgery, is lost in this fog — but not her.[break][break]

Emma's voice is what rouses him, sharp with anger.[break][break]

Engaged in a heated argument with hospital staff trying to admit her for examination, Emma does not notice when Gavin regains consciousness. It's not until his vitals spike from the stressful situation he finds himself in that the nurses turn their attention to Gavin, who squints at them as his eyes adjust to the obnoxious hospital lights.[break][break]

He pointedly ignores the staff.[break][break]

"Should let'm look at you, love."[break][break]

His words slur slightly, and his expression contorts in annoyance. This is precisely why he doesn't do drugs, and drinks only in moderation — he feels out of control. Glancing down, he notes the bandaging around his chest and shoulder, tries to move his right arm and manages only a few inches before he finds pain and stiffness impeding his progress. One of the nurses admonishes him, but he doesn't take in the words.[break][break]

It's worse than he'd thought.[break][break]

He feels sick to his stomach with the realization, but maintains a brave face — at least, as brave a face as a man laid up in a hospital bed could manage.

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It had been a fight to get him in, if only because she was angry and unreasonable. Really, it had been a struggle to let her in, what with her aggression and unwillingness to explain the situation. Because, after all, who comes rushing in with a harpoon sticking out of their shoulder?[break][break]

But the aftermath is that Gavin has the object removed. She's not allowed inside until he wakes and she's adamant that she see him. It turns out their concern wasn't for his safety but for her own. For the duration of his surgery, she had been experiencing incredible chest pain and shortness of breath. She had begun coughing harshly but refused help.[break][break]

Apparently she hadn't survived her near-drowning unscathed.[break][break]

The feeling that she needs to vomit rises but she forces it down because all of a sudden Gavin's monitor is beeping like mad. She's stifling her next round of chest-aching coughs to get to his side only for him to effectively brush her aside and encourage her to be seen.[break][break]

"I'm fine. It's you that I'm worried about."[break][break]

Worry. Attachments are dangerous. [break][break]

The thought is cold and gives her a sense of dread.[break][break]

Behind her, the nurses are insisting, asking what had happened to her. She refuses to answer, unwilling to admit she had been nearly drowned. The bruising around her neck is blossoming, making it difficult to speak or cough or breath.

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Gavin's lip twitches fondly at the ferocity in her tone. She is the wolf in more ways that one, with a bark as strong as her bite.[break][break]

"M'gonna be OK," he insists, reaching out to take her hand with his left. His grip is weaker than usual, but stronger than it should be as he puts all of his energy into squeezing her fingers. "They've got me on the good shit."
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He laughs, then flinches at the discomfort caused when it jostles his still-healing wound. The drugs are wearing off, but he waves a dismissive hand when one of the nurses moves to check the IV-drip.[break][break]

"No more. When can I leave?"[break][break]

As they discuss the terms of his being discharged from the hospital — it'll be a few hours, at least, to ensure there are no complications — Gavin finds his attention focused on Emma. On her neck, blossoming with dark bruises, and on the difficulty in which her words are formed.[break][break]

She's not OK; his concern spikes.[break][break]

The nurses begin to question him about the encounter, finding Emma uncooperative. Where had they come from? How did he come to have a harpoon sticking out of his chest? What had happened to Emma? Had she been strangled?[break][break]

Gavin's patience wears thin, though the diminishing haze of drugs keep him mellow.[break][break]

"She's got a right to refuse treatment," Gavin points out as firmly as he can manage. He's not happy with the idea of Emma going untreated, but he knows better than to force her hand. "Now can you leave us in peace?"[break][break]

At least if he can get her alone, he can ask what's troubling her.

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Her hand is shaking when he reaches for it, and does not still even when he squeezes. She instinctively latches on, however. His comforting gesture helps her see reason in her blind rage, her fear.[break][break]

Because she is scared in the moment, overwhelmed by her own inability to acknowledge her situation. Her skin is cold to the touch, clammy even. She's likely going into some semblance of shock, violently flinching from any nurses who are eager to help her, stop her from collapsing.[break][break]

The woman's breath is rapid as Gavin insists they leave her alone. But he wouldn't have a chance for peace and quiet because she's pulling her hand from his to hold her head, fingers gliding to her throat and then her chest.[break][break]

"Fuck... it hurts to breathe."[break][break]

A wracking cough brings her to her knees and it's all the incentive the nurses have to lead her away.

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